JP2736738B2 - Locking device for telescopic columns for display devices - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an upper support having a plurality of engaging holes arranged in a vertical direction formed on a side surface thereof. A display device in which a required gap is provided between opposing side surfaces of the lower column and the upper column and the lower column are slidably fitted to each other so that a shelf support or a hanger bracket can be engaged with the upper column and the lower column. A locking device for locking an upper column at a desired position with respect to a lower column.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a commodity display apparatus using a telescopic strut which is slidably fitted with a hollow cylindrical lower strut and an upper strut is provided, the telescopic strut is fixed or locked at an arbitrary height. Conventionally, various types of fixing devices (or locking devices) exist. As an example of a general fixing device, a screw is screwed into a side portion of a lower support, and a tip of the screw is pressed against a side wall of the upper support to support the upper support on the lower support at an arbitrary height. There is a device. Other than this, for example, a latch described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-53735 and a support described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-90169 are known.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned screw type, when the upper column is extended or retracted, the screw is loosened and the pressing of the upper column by the screw is released to allow the upper column to slide. After determining the height, the upper strut must be re-tightened to support the lower strut at the desired height. This is troublesome and troublesome. On the other hand,
Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-53735
The support described in JP-A-90169 discloses a projection (or a locking portion) of a latch (or a support) when the upper support is pulled up.
Is naturally released from the positioning hole (or locking hole), and the protrusion (locking portion) is locked again in the positioning hole (locking hole) if the lifting of the upper support is stopped and the hand is released from the upper support. It has become. In this case, the operation became easy only in raising the upper column. However, when the upper support is contracted, the latch (support) must be held by hand in a state of being opened from the positioning hole (locking hole). Usually, since the commodity display device is composed of two or more telescopic struts, the operation of contracting the upper strut is difficult to be performed by one person, and has to be performed in collaboration with another person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily pull up and contract a telescopic strut of a commodity display device by a simple operation.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a telescopic strut locking device for a display device according to the present invention is characterized in that an upper strut having a series of vertically arranged engaging holes formed on a side face is hollow. The lower column having a cylindrical shape is provided with a required gap between the side surface on which the engagement hole is formed and the side surface of the lower column facing the engagement hole, and is slidably fitted in the up-down direction. The upper strut is disposed near the upper end and is provided with an upwardly extending shoulder extending into the gap. The upper strut engages with an upper edge of an engaging hole of the upper strut. Is urged between a locking position for preventing the lowering of the locking hole and a release position pressed by the lower edge of the engaging hole and disengaged from the engaging hole, and biased to return to the locking position. Release holding means for holding the locking means in the release position on the lower support. It is characterized in that disposed in part (claim 1).

The present invention is also characterized by the following points. (1) The locking means includes an engaging portion which is loosely fitted into a through hole formed near the upper end of the lower support and is rotatably engaged and supported on the lower edge thereof. ). (2) By setting the center of gravity of the locking means inward from the fulcrum, which is an engaging portion with the through hole of the lower support, the locking means is urged to return to the locking position by gravity. (Claim 3). (3) The release / holding means has an inward projection that applies weight to a portion near the shoulder of the locking means and gives the locking means a return gravity toward the locking position. Claim 4). (4) A release holding position in which the release holding means has its base end pivotally attached to a position above the locking means at the upper end of the lower support, and its free end holds the locking means in the release position. And an inoperative position in which the locking means is rotatable in a direction in which the locking means is engaged with the engagement hole. (5) The release holding means is vertically slidably mounted at a position above the locking means at the upper end of the lower column, and the lower end has a release holding position for holding the locking means at the release position. The locking means is vertically movable between an inoperative position in which the locking means is rotatable in a direction engaging with the engagement hole (claim 6).

[0007]

The upper support can be pulled out from the lower support as much as possible while pushing the locking means from the locking position to the release position at the lower edge of each engaging hole. If not, when the upper support is to be lowered, the shoulder of the locking means engages with the upper edge of the closest engaging hole of the upper support, and further lowering of the upper support is prevented. When the release holding means is operated, that is, when it is in the release holding position, the locking means is held in the release position by the release holding means, and the upper support can be freely lowered with respect to the lower support.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a part of a telescopic strut (1) of a commodity display device.
Is provided. The telescopic strut (1) consists of an upper strut (2) and a lower strut (3), and the upper strut (2) is shown in FIG.
And a plate-like member (2b) formed by welding both ends to form an overhanging portion on both sides of a hollow rectangular tubular elongated member (2a) as shown in FIG. It is.
The lower support (3) is a hollow rectangular tube, into which the upper support (2) is loosely fitted slidably in the vertical direction. A series of engagement holes (8) aligned in the vertical direction are formed in the side surface of the upper support (2) sandwiched between the two plate members (2b). The side surface on which the engagement hole (8) is formed is surrounded by the above-mentioned overhanging portion, and a required gap (d) is formed between the side surface and the inside of the opposite side surface of the lower support (3). I have. Reference numeral (4) designates a cap attached to the upper end of the lower support (3). The cap has a function of a locking means or a locking member (6) hooked on a through hole (7) of the lower support. Release holding means for releasing, that is, a release holding member (5) is pivotally mounted. The locking member (6) and the release holding member (5) constitute a main part of the locking device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of the portion shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing details of a first embodiment of the locking device of the present invention. As shown in this figure, a horizontally extending pin (9) is attached to a cap (4) attached to the upper end of the lower support (3).
As a result, the base end of the substantially L-shaped release holding member (5) is pivoted. The free end of the release holding member (5) is pivoted upward in this figure and rests on the upper surface of the cap (4), but when it is pivoted downward (clockwise in the figure), it will be described later. As shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the bent portion is at the release holding position where it contacts the locking member (6). The locking member (6) has its lower cut portion (6e) loosely fitted into the lower edge (7a) of the through hole (7) near the upper end of the lower support (3), and is engaged and supported. The locking member (6) rotates or swings between the locking position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 and the release position as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 with the engaging portion as a fulcrum. You are allowed to. The portion inside the lower support from the engagement portion is indicated by the inside of the tube (6a), and the portion outside the lower support is indicated by the outside of the tube (6b). In this case, make the inside of the pipe (6a) larger than the outside of the pipe (6b), and
The center of gravity of (6) is set so as to be inside the fulcrum. An upwardly facing shoulder (6c) is formed at the innermost part of the inside of the pipe (6a), and this shoulder is engaged with the engaging hole (8) of the upper column (2).
Abuts on the upper edge of the upper column 2 to prevent further lowering of the upper column 2, that is, contraction of the telescopic column.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining lifting of the telescopic support (1). That is, from the state of FIG.
When (2) is pulled up as it is, the shoulder (6c) of the locking member (6)
Goes away from the upper edge of the engaging hole (8) of the upper support (2), and the inclined edge (6d) formed below the shoulder (6c) is engaged with the upper support (2). Kicked by the lower edge of the hole (8), the locking member (6) pivots upward, that is, outwardly, about the lower notch (6e), which is the engaging portion, as a fulcrum. Therefore, the upper support (2) can be lifted as it is. Locking member
(6) always attempts to rotate downward with the engaging portion as a fulcrum by its own weight, so if the upper support (2) is pulled up and faces the engaging hole (8), the shoulder (6c) will It always fits in the engaging hole (8). While repeating the movement of the locking member (6), the upper support (2) is lifted up, and if the hands are released at a desired height, the shoulder (6c) of the locking member (6) becomes the upper support (6). The upper post (2) is locked by engaging with the upper edge of the engaging hole (8) immediately above (2) (state in FIG. 3).

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the first stage when the upper column (2) is contracted. In this case, first the locking member
The release holding member (5), which is pivotally attached to the cap (4) above the (6), is rotated downward, that is, clockwise, so that its bent portion is outside the tube (6b) of the locking member (6). Abut on the top of
Then, the weight of the release holding member (5) is added to the outside (6b) of the pipe of the locking member (6). Then, when the upper column (2) is slightly lifted to disengage the shoulder (6c), the locking member (6) pivots upward about the fulcrum, and the outer surface of the pipe inside (6a) becomes lower column. (3) abuts against the inner surface and is held in that state;
(2) can be slid vertically. This state is shown in FIG. Then, when the upper column (2) is contracted to a desired height, the release holding member (5) is turned in the opposite direction to the front, so that the weight applied to the outside (6b) of the pipe is eliminated. Then, the locking member (6) pivots downward about the fulcrum by its own weight, and the shoulder (6c) engages with the engaging hole (8), so that the upper support (2) is engaged with the lower support (3). It is supported (again, the state of FIG. 3).

FIGS. 7 to 10 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The major difference in this embodiment is that the release holding member is used.
This is the shape of (5). That is, the release holding member (5)
Has an inner projection (5a) that can enter the inside of the lower support (3) and an outer projection (5b) that can abut against the outside (6b) of the tube of the locking member (6) at its free end. Have. In the state shown in FIG. 7, the inwardly protruding portion (5a) of the release holding member (5) that has been pivoted upward has a locking member in the gap between the upper column (2) and the lower column (3).
Abut the upper end of the inside of the tube (6a) of (6), add the weight to the inside of the tube (6a), and forcibly rotate the locking member (6) downward to remove the shoulder (6c). Into the engaging hole (8) of the lower support (3). FIG. 8 is a view showing a process of pulling up the upper support (2). In this case, when the engagement hole (8) of the upper support (2) is released, the locking member (6) pushes up the release holding member (5). And rotate upward. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to naturally raise the upper column as in the first embodiment. Upper strut
In the contraction of (2), when the release holding member (5) is rotated downward as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the outward projection (5b) of the release holding member (5) is attached to the outside of the tube of the locking member (6). The weight is applied to the outside of the tube (6b) by contacting the upper end of (6b), and the locking member (6) is turned upward (clockwise in the figure). This operation is exactly the same as the contraction in the first embodiment.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a third embodiment. In the case of this embodiment, the release holding member (5) is
c) having a shape extending in the vertical direction.
The pin (9) is engaged with the long groove (5c) to allow the release and holding member (5) to move up and down. The tip (5) of the release holding member (5)
d) is always in contact with the upper end of the outside (6b) of the pipe of the locking member (6) (the state of FIG. 11). When the upper support (2) is pulled up, the locking member (6) pivots upward and the shoulder (8) is pulled out of the engagement hole (8).
(6c) leaves. At this time, a space is created between the locking member (6) and the outer surface of the lower support (3), and the release holding member is formed in this space.
The tip (5d) of (5) falls, and the inside inclined edge of the outside (6b) of the tube
(6f), the locking member (6) is locked with the shoulder (6c) separated from the engaging hole (8). In this state, when the slidable upper support (2) is pulled out or contracted to a desired height, the release holding member (5) is slid upward to remove the tip (5d) from the space. . Then, the locking member (6) rotates downward about the fulcrum by its own weight, and
The shoulder (6c) is locked at (8) (the state of FIG. 11).
As a modification of the third embodiment, a release holding member is provided.
(5) can also be operated in the gap between the lower support (3) and the upper support (2). In this case, the outside (6b) of the tube of the locking member (6) can be substantially omitted.

Further, the locking member (6) may be biased toward the locking position by an appropriate spring in order to assist gravity or not.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the operation of raising and contracting the plurality of telescopic struts constituting the commodity display device can be easily performed by an easy operation. In particular, in the past, several people had to cooperate in the contraction work, but with the locking device of the present invention, only one person can easily perform the work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a telescopic strut of a product display device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the vicinity of a locking device for a telescopic strut shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a state of the locking device when the upper support is in the process of being lifted.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a first stage in which the release holding member is turned downward to contract the upper support.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a second stage in which the release holding member locks the locking member at the rotation position.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, showing a state in which an inward projection of the release holding member is in contact with an upper end inside the tube of the locking member.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, showing a state in which the outward projection of the release holding member is in contact with the upper end of the locking member outside the tube.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a release holding member holds a locking member in an inoperative position in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 11, showing a state in which a locking member is released.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) Telescopic strut (2) Upper strut (2a) Hollow rectangular tubular elongated member (2b) Plate member forming overhanging part (3) Lower strut (4) Cap (5) Release holding member (release holding means) (5a) Inward projection (5b) Outer projection (5c) Long groove (5d) Tip (6) Locking member (locking means) (6a) Inside pipe (6b) Outside pipe (6c) Shoulder ( 6d) Inclined edge (6e) Lower notch (6f) Inside inclined edge (7) Through hole (7a) Lower edge (8) Engagement hole (9) Pin (d) Clearance

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An upper column having a series of vertically extending engagement holes formed on the side thereof, a hollow columnar lower column having a lower column formed with the engagement holes and a side surface of the lower column opposed thereto. And a fitting provided slidably in the up-down direction with a required gap therebetween, disposed near the upper end of the lower support, and provided with an upward shoulder extending into the gap. Means for engaging the upper post with the upper edge of the engaging hole to prevent the lower portion of the upper post from lowering; And a release holding means for holding the locking means at the release position while allowing the rotation to return to the locking position. A locking device for a telescopic strut for a display device, which is disposed at an upper end portion. 2. The locking means according to claim 1, further comprising an engaging portion which is loosely fitted into a through hole formed in the vicinity of an upper end portion of the lower support, and is rotatably engaged and supported on a lower edge thereof. The locking device for a telescopic strut for a display device according to claim 1. 3. By setting the center of gravity of the locking means inward from a fulcrum, which is an engaging portion with the through hole of the lower support, the locking means is urged to return to the locking position by gravity. 3. The locking device for a telescopic strut for a display device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The release and holding means has an inward projection which applies weight to a portion of the locking means near the shoulder to give the locking means a return gravity toward the locking position. 4. A locking device for a telescopic strut for a display device according to claim 2, wherein 5. A release mechanism wherein the release holding means has a base end pivotally mounted at a position above the locking means at an upper end of the lower support, and a free end of which holds the locking means in the release position. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding means is rotatable between an inoperative position in which the locking means is rotatable in a direction in which the locking means is engaged with the engagement hole. The telescopic strut locking device for a display device as described in the above. 6. A release / holding means for vertically slidably mounting the release / holding means at a position above the locking means at the upper end of the lower support, and the lower end of which holds the locking means at the release position. 4. A vertical movement between a position and an inoperative position in which the locking means is rotatable in a direction in which the locking means is engaged with the engagement hole. The locking device for a telescopic strut for a display device according to claim 1.