JP2935827B2 - Hinges for folding ladders - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hinge for a folding ladder for folding and locking a ladder at an arbitrary predetermined angle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a hinge for a folding ladder not only connects and supports both legs of the ladder, but also folds the legs at a desired angle. Such a known folding ladder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,666,328 and 4,770,559.
No. Of these, U.S. Pat.
No. 66,328 is described in FIG. First leg 10
Has a disk-shaped disk portion 12 at one end. An opening 14 is provided at the center of the disk portion 12. A pair of first insertion holes 16 provided on both sides adjacent to the opening 14 and the second insertion hole 1 adjacent thereto are provided.
8 are formed.

On the other hand, a second leg 20 joined to another leg of the ladder in accordance with the first leg 10 is composed of two parts, a second outer leg 21 and a second outer leg 25. I have. One end of the second outer leg portion 21 is joined to the leg of the ladder, and the other end constitutes a disk-shaped second outer disk portion 22. The second outer disk portion 22 has a large number of close contact holes 23 arranged in a circumferential shape on the surface thereof. In addition, the circular operating plate 30 is provided with a plurality of opened second contact holes 32 correspondingly. The circular operation plate 30 is configured such that one end surface thereof is connected to the second outer disk portion 22 by a spring, and the first contact hole 23 and the second contact hole 32 are staggered to some extent. On the other hand, the second inner leg 2
5 has a ladder leg joined at one end, and a second inner disk portion 26 at the other end. The center of the second inner disk portion 26 is open, and a spring device 27 is formed around the center. A thin plate 28 is placed on the upper surface in the axial direction from the spring device 27, and both ends thereof are symmetrically fixed to the surface of the second inner disk portion 26 from the central axis.

[0004] Double projections 29 are formed near both ends of the thin plate 28, and are inserted into the first insertion holes 16. The double protrusion 29 is configured such that one protrusion is longer than the other protrusion, and can penetrate the first insertion hole 16 and the second close holes 32 and the first close holes 23 connected thereto.
Further, the disk portion 12 of the first leg 10 and the second
The centers of the inner and outer disk portions of the leg portions are attached to the hollow shaft 42 and the ends thereof are attached by rings 44. The hollow shaft 42 is
No. 0 is bonded by a connection pin 46. Also, connection pin 4
Reference numeral 6 has a projection formed at one end thereof in one direction. The connection pin 46 is located between the second outer disk portion 22 and the disk portion 12, and the pressing rod 40 is pressed and detached, thereby being pressed into and detached from the second insertion hole 18. . Therefore, in the hinge having such a configuration, when the pressing rod 40 is pressed, the thin plate 28 connected thereto is pressed.
The double protrusion 29 is detached by pressing. Therefore, both legs of the hinge can be freely rotated.

[0005] Thereafter, when the user positions the ladder at a desired angle, it is restored by the spring device 27, the double projection 29 is inserted again into the first insertion hole 16, and the ladder can be folded and fixed at the desired angle. become.

However, as shown in FIG. 1, the conventional hinge for a foldable ladder is constructed by adjusting both legs of the foldable ladder connected to the hinge at a desired angle, and attaching the double projection 29 to the hinge. Responding first insertion hole 16, second adhesion hole 32, and first adhesion hole 23
Can be locked by inserting them together. That is, in such a conventional hinge, projections should be inserted into a plurality of openings in order to fold and lock the ladder at a desired angle. Therefore, the user should pass the projections through all the openings one by one. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes a long time to fold and lock the ladder.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hinge for a folding ladder which is easy to fold.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the present invention, a ladder formed by two legs is folded at a desired angle by a user and fixedly locked. In a hinge for a tatami-type ladder, one leg of the ladder is inserted into one end, and at least one or more locking grooves are formed at the other end at the above-mentioned arbitrary angle, and a central portion of the substantially connecting portion is axially attached. An inner hinge portion provided with a first inner hinge portion and a second inner hinge portion, the other end of the ladder being inserted into one end surface, and the other end surface being constituted by a pair with the inner hinge portion. An outer hinge portion having a first outer hinge portion and a second outer hinge portion attached thereto, and a substantially central portion placed between the first inner hinge portion and the second inner hinge portion and pivoted around the shaft. It becomes movable, and a curved surface is formed only on the part of the outer peripheral surface in the direction opposite to the rotation forward direction. A circular plate provided with a concave groove to be formed, and a contact piece which is connected to an elastic device formed so as to be directed toward a substantially central portion of the circular plate, a compressive force is applied from the elastic device, and is tightly attached to the outer peripheral surface of the circular plate. A pivot axis extending from one of the first hinge portion and the second hinge portion toward the other side and extending uniaxially from a surface of the first hinge portion, the circular plate, and the second hinge; And an angle adjustment rod which is rotatable by being provided with a preventive piece for preventing attachment / detachment at the tip thereof, and which is tightly attached to the circular plate and is rotated integrally with the rotation shaft. Located on hinges for tatami ladders.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a hinge for a folding ladder according to the present invention. The hinge comprises an inner hinge part 100 and an outer hinge part 150 to which both legs of the ladder are joined. The connecting portions of the inner hinge portion 100 and the outer hinge portion 150 are mounted on a shaft, and an angle adjusting rod 170 is connected to the shaft. The angle adjusting rod 170 has a groove 176 that is recessed in a part of the outer peripheral surface, and an operating hole 153 is provided on the surface of the outer hinge 150 that is positioned perpendicular to the groove 176.

More details will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the hinge for the foldable ladder according to the present invention as viewed from the front, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view viewed from the rear. The inner hinge part 100 includes a first inner hinge part 102 and a second inner hinge part 104. A first protrusion 112 is formed on the surface of the first inner hinge portion 102, and a first insertion groove 110 is formed on a surface of the second inner hinge portion 104 corresponding thereto. In this manner, the first protrusion 112 is moved to the first insertion groove 110.
, The first inner hinge portion 102 and the second inner hinge portion 104 can be connected to each other.
In addition, a large number of locking grooves 108 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first inner hinge portion 100. The number of locking grooves 108
Means the number of angles that can be folded and locked. However, in FIG.
By limiting the angles to four angles of °, 105 °, and 180 °, the number of the locking grooves 108 becomes four. Further, the ratchet device 160 is provided on the surface of the second inner hinge portion 104.
Is configured. The device includes a ratchet piece 162 that is somewhat resilient, with one end secured to the second inner hinge 104 and the other end bent into a ring. The outer hinge part 150 is the first outer hinge part 1
52 and the second outer hinge 154. A second protrusion 157 is formed on the surface of the first outer hinge part 152, and the second outer hinge part 1 corresponding thereto is formed.
A second insertion groove 159 is formed on the surface of the groove 54. By inserting the second protrusion 157 into the second insertion groove 159 in this manner, the first outer hinge portion 152 and the second outer hinge portion 154 can be connected. An operating piece 153 is formed at one end of the outer hinge 150 so as to face the central axis. Inside the working hole 153, a contact piece 140 connected by a compressed elastic device 142 is placed. The contact piece 140 is configured such that the area of the inserted portion is pitted in the locking groove 108.

On the other hand, the first inner hinge portion 102 and the second
A circular plate 130 having a concave groove 134 is placed between the inner hinge 104 and the inner hinge 104. The circular plate 130 has a concave groove 134 formed in a part of its outer peripheral surface. This groove 13
4 has a curved surface on one side and a steeply inclined surface on the other side. Further, an insertion groove 132 is formed in the circumferential direction on the back surface where the circular plate 130 contacts the second inner hinge portion 104. The insertion groove 132 has a ratchet piece 1
62 ring-shaped ends are inserted. Therefore, the circular plate 130 can rotate only in one direction.

Further, the first hinge portion 106, the circular plate 130 and the second hinge portion 156 thus configured have a pivot shaft 172 extending from the angle adjusting rod 170 at a substantially central portion thereof.
The shaft is attached. The end of the rotating shaft 172 is fixed by a locking piece 174 and can be fixed without being detached. The rotating shaft 172 is configured to have a pair of opposed flat surfaces 173 on a part of the outer peripheral surface thereof that penetrates and contacts the circular plate 130. In this structure, the angle adjusting rod 170 can rotate integrally with the circular plate 130 by bringing the rotation shaft 172 into close contact with the circular plate 130. The angle adjusting rod 170 has a groove 176 on its outer peripheral surface. The groove 176 is formed in a straight line on the basis of the axis and the concave groove 134 of the circular plate 130 on which the shaft is mounted. Consequently, the recognition mark 17 is provided on the surface of the angle adjusting rod 170.
8 are provided. The ladder shows the most frequently used angles of 0 °, 40 °, 105 °, and 180 °.
In addition, a reference marker 180 is formed near the outer peripheral surface so as to be a reference corresponding to the recognition marker 178.
As described above, the recognition marker 178 corresponding to the reference marker 180 indicates the angle formed by the two legs of the ladder when the angle adjusting rod 170 is rotated and locked. Thereby, the recognition marker 178 indicating the desired angle is matched with the reference marker. This one
The ladder can be folded at a stroke only by operating the angle adjusting rod 170 at a time to achieve a desired angle.

An actual operation example will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIGS. 5A to 5C are views showing an operation example in which the hinge for the foldable ladder according to the present invention is folded and locked at an angle of 0 ° to 180 °. This drawing shows only a circular plate and a second hinge portion to show an operation example.

FIG. 5A shows a hinge locked at an angle of 0 °. As shown in the figure, the locking groove 108 of the second inner hinge portion 104 is 0 °,
The first locking groove 108a and the second locking groove 108 are formed by four different angles of 40 °, 105 °, and 180 °, respectively.
b, 4 of the third locking groove 108c and the fourth locking groove 108d
It consists of two locking grooves. However, in this drawing, the concave groove 134 of the circular plate 130 and the first locking groove 108a
Shows that the contact piece 140 is inserted and the hinge is fixedly locked at an angle of 0 °. Of course, in this state, the recognition mark 0 ° on the upper surface of the angle adjusting rod is matched with the reference mark. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the user rotates the angle adjusting rod in the direction shown by the arrow, and adjusts the recognition marker 180 ° shown on the upper surface to the reference marker. Accordingly, the circular plate 130 connected thereto is rotated, and the elastic device 14 is rotated.
The close contact piece 140 connected to 2 is pressed and removed from the locking groove 108. Thereafter, when the user operates the second outer hinge portion 154 by 180 degrees, the clapping sound is heard and the contact piece 14 is set at the 180-degree position.
0 is pushed by the elastic device 142 and the groove 13 of the circular plate 130 is pressed.
The contact piece 140 is inserted again into the fourth and fourth locking grooves 108d. Thus, the hinge can be fixedly locked at a position of 180 °. Also, in this way, the hinge allows the ladder to be folded and locked not only at 180 ° but also at any other desired angle.

[0015]

As described above, the hinge for the folding ladder according to the present invention constitutes a recognition sign indicating the folding angle most frequently used for the angle adjusting rod which is axially mounted on the circular plate,
In addition, by defining a reference sign as a reference and matching the recognition sign with the reference sign, the hinge for the ladder can be easily folded and locked by a single operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a hinge for a folding ladder according to one form of the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a hinge for a folding ladder according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a hinge for a folding ladder according to the present invention as viewed from the front.

4 is an exploded perspective view showing the hinge for the foldable ladder of FIG. 3 as viewed from the rear.

5 (a) to 5 (c) are views showing an operation example in which a hinge for a folding ladder according to the present invention is folded at an angle of 0 ° to 180 °.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Inner hinge part 102 1st inner hinge part 104 2nd inner hinge part 106 1st hinge part 108 Locking groove 110 1st insertion groove 112 1st protrusion 130 Circular plate 134 Depressed groove 140 Contact piece 142 Elastic device 150 Outer hinge part 152 First outer hinge part 153 Working hole 154 Second outer hinge part 156 Second hinge part 157 Second protrusion 159 Second insertion groove 160 Ratchet device 162 Ratchet piece 170 Angle adjusting rod 172 Rotating shaft 173 Flat surface 174 Prevention piece 176 Groove 178 recognition sign 180 reference sign

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) E06C 7/50 E05D 11/06-11/10

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hinge for a foldable ladder, which folds a ladder composed of two legs at an angle desired by a user and locks the ladder in a fixed manner, wherein one leg of the ladder is inserted into one end. An inner hinge portion having a first inner hinge portion and a second inner hinge portion having at least one or more locking grooves formed at the other end at the arbitrary angle and having a central portion of the substantially joined portion pivotally mounted; An outer hinge portion having a first outer hinge portion and a second outer hinge portion, the other end of the ladder being inserted into one end surface, and the other end surface being constituted by a pair with the inner hinge portion and being axially mounted; And a substantially central portion is pivotally mounted on the first inner hinge portion and the second inner hinge portion so as to be rotatable, and is curved only in a part of the outer peripheral surface in a direction opposite to the rotation forward direction. A circular plate having a concave groove having a surface; A contact piece that is connected to the elastic device that has been applied and that is applied with a compressive force from the elastic device and that is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the circular plate; and from one of the first hinge portion and the second hinge portion to the other side. The first hinge portion, the circular plate, and the second pivot shaft are disposed so as to face each other and extend uniaxially from a surface.
It has an angle adjustment rod that penetrates the hinge portion and is provided with a prevention piece at its tip for preventing attachment and detachment, and is rotatable, and is tightly attached to the circular plate and is rotated integrally with the rotation shaft. Hinge for folding ladder. 2. One end is attached so as to approach a tangential direction in proximity to an axis through which one of the first inner hinge part and the second inner hinge part is penetrated, and the other end having elasticity. Further comprising a ratchet device which is inserted into and detached from a number of circumferentially formed insertion grooves in the circular plate corresponding to the circular plate so that the circular plate is rotatable only on one side and maintains a fixed position. The hinge for a foldable ladder according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The angle adjusting rod is provided with a groove so that the position of the groove can be divided into the same position extending uniaxially from the groove formed in the circular plate. A hinge for the foldable ladder as described. 4. The ladder according to claim 1, wherein a recognition mark is provided on a surface of the angle adjusting rod, and the ladder is folded and locked at a desired angle at a stretch by matching the recognition mark with a reference mark. Hinges for folding ladders.