Assembly elements for a columnar support

Abstract

 An apparatus for coaxial assembly of objects on elongated elements (2) comprises resilient ring means (6) associable with said elongated elements (2), sleeve means (5) connected to said objects and surrounding said elongated elements (2), pressing means (7) placed between said sleeve means (5) and said resilient ring means (6) and provided with a conical surface (12) suitable for interacting with operating means (16) of said sleeve means (5), said operating means comprising a further conical surface (16) shapingly associable with said conical surface (12); sleeve means suitable for being used to obtain coaxial assembly means (1) of objects on elongated elements (2) comprises operating means suitable for interacting with a conical surface (12) of pressing means (7) to push said pressing means (7) towards said elongated elements (2), said operating means comprising a further conical surface (16) shapingly associable with said conical surface (12).

Description

[0001] The present invention concerns an apparatus for coaxial assembly, particularly for furnishing elements comprising a column.

[0002] Furnishing elements are known that are provided with a column that extends between a floor and the ceiling of a room, for example a kitchen, with which containers are associated that are suitable for accommodating objects of different types, e.g. fittings, tools, or ornamental articles.

[0003] Said containers are connected to the column by means of coupling devices comprising bushes to which the containers are directly fixed, i.e. by means of support-plane elements that are supported by arms having an end that is firmly connected to one of the bushes.

[0004] The bushes have a conformation such as to have an internal diameter that is greater than the external diameter of the column, in such a way that they can be associated with the column by being placed on an end of the latter before the column is fixed to the floor and to the ceiling.

[0005] As attached Figures 1 to 3 show, prior-art coupling devices furthermore comprise a resilient ring 100 made of rubber that is placed between the bush 101 and the column 102.

[0006] Prior-art coupling devices are also provided with a deformable crown 103 that is arranged between the bush 101 and the resilient ring 100.

[0007] The deformable crown 103 is provided at one end with a first plurality of appendages 104 that define a first conical surface 105 suitable for interacting with the resilient ring 100.

[0008] The deformable crown 103 is furthermore equipped, at a further end opposite said end, with a second plurality of appendages 106 that define a second conical surface 107 suitable for interacting with locking means 108 associated with the bush 103.

[0009] The locking means 108 comprises a shank 109 housed in a respective seat 110 created in the bush 103.

[0010] The locking means 108 furthermore comprises, in an end zone thereof, a projection 111 suitable for being pressed against the second conical surface 107.

[0011] The devices described above act in the following manner: when the bush 103 is pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow F, the projection 111 of the locking element 108 exerts on the second conical surface 107 a pressure that is transferred from the deformable crown 103 to the resilient ring 100.

[0012] The resilient ring 100, is thus partially deformed to ensure that the bush 101 and the container associated therewith are locked at a preset longitudinal section of the column 102.

[0013] One defect of the coupling devices described above consists of the fact that they are rather complex inasmuch as they comprise a large number of components, which must be assembled together.

[0014] As said components are made of plastic a mould is required to form each one thereof.

[0015] In this way, the production of the aforementioned coupling devices requires non-insignificant investments due to the high cost of the moulds, said investments thus contributing to increasing the sales price of said devices.

[0016] Another defect of the devices described above consists in the fact that they are relatively complicated to assemble.

[0017] As the resilient crown has opposite ends that are both provided with appendages, an operator who is not particularly expert, who is unable to distinguish the one of said ends from the other, runs the risk of assembling said deformable crown in reverse way.

[0018] This may cause the deformable crown to deteriorate or break, and also make the prior-art devices practically unusable.

[0019] One object of the invention is to improve the apparatuses for the coaxial assembly of sleeve elements on support bodies such as columns or shafts.

[0020] Another object of the invention is to obtain an apparatus for coaxial assembly that is simple to make and has rather a limited cost.

[0021] A further object is to obtain an apparatus for coaxial assembly that can be easily assembled even by a non-specialised workforce.

[0022] In a first aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided for coaxial assembly of objects on elongated elements, comprising resilient ring means associable with said elongated elements, sleeve means connected to said objects and surrounding said elongated elements, pressing means placed between said sleeve means and said resilient ring means and provided with a conical surface suitable for interacting with operating means of said sleeve means, characterised in that said operating means comprises a further conical surface shapingly associable with said conical surface.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment the pressing means comprises a substantially annular body at one end of which said conical surface is created.

[0024] The conical surface is advantageously identified by a plurality of appendages projecting from the body, said appendages being separated from one another by incisions made between them.

[0025] As a result of using said appendages the conical surface is equipped with a high degree of deformability, which enables more effective locking to be obtained.

[0026] In another preferred embodiment, the body comprises, at a further end thereof opposite said end, a yet further conical surface suitable for pressing the resilient ring means against the elongated elements.

[0027] In particular, the yet further conical surface is obtained in an internal face of the pressing means arranged towards the resilient ring means.

[0028] In a second aspect of the invention, sleeve means is provided suitable for being used to obtain coaxial assembly means of objects on elongated elements, comprising operating means suitable for interacting with a conical surface of a pressing means to push said pressing means towards said elongated elements, characterised in that said operating means comprises a further conical surface shapingly associable with said conical surface.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the sleeve means comprises a tubular element inside which the further conical surface is defined.

[0030] Owing to these aspects of the invention, an apparatus for coaxial assembly can be obtained that is simpler and cheaper than the state-of-the-art devices.

[0031] In particular, the apparatus according to the invention comprises sleeve means provided with a portion shaped in such a way as to engage with a corresponding portion of the pressing means.

[0032] It is thus not necessary to provide a ring body internally associable with the sleeve means to constitute a shoulder that is suitable for interacting with the pressing means.

[0033] Providing an apparatus equipped with a smaller number of parts not only enables production and assembly of the apparatus to be simplified but also the cost of the latter to be limited inasmuch as the number of forming moulds that need to be used can be reduced.

[0034] The invention may be better understood and carried out with reference to the attached drawings, that illustrate an exemplifying and not limiting embodiment thereof, wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatical and interrupted cross-section taken along a vertical plane of a coupling device according to the state of the art;

Figure 2 is a detail of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a side view of a deformable crown of the device in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an exploded side view of an apparatus for coaxial assembly according to the invention suitable for supporting a container that must be associated with a column of a furnishing element;

Figure 5 is a side view of sleeve means of the apparatus in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a side view of pressing means of the apparatus in Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a side view of resilient ring means of the apparatus in Figure 4, which can be associated with the column of the furnishing element;

Figure 8 is a cross-section taken along a plane VIII-VIII of Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a cross-section taken along a plane IX-IX of Figure 6;

Figure 10 is a cross-section taken along a plane X-X of Figure 7;

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic and interrupted section taken along a vertical plane of a coupling device according to the invention, in a configuration wherein it is fixed to the column of the furnishing element.

[0035] With reference to Figures 4 to 11, an apparatus 1 for the coaxial assembly of an object on an elongated element is shown.

[0036] The elongated element may consist of a column 2 of a furnishing element, that can, for example, be installed in a kitchen.

[0037] The object may consist of a support 3, suitable for supporting a container that is not shown, connected by an arm 4 to sleeve means 5 of the apparatus 1.

[0038] The apparatus 1 comprises a resilient ring 6 made of elastomer material that is fitted onto the column 2 by being placed over a terminal portion thereof, for example over the terminal portion A, and is positioned in a preset longitudinal section S of the column 2, at which said container must be placed.

[0039] The apparatus furthermore comprises pressing means 7 equipped with an annular body 8 that surrounds the column 2 similarly as described for the resilient ring 6.

[0040] The sleeve means 5 comprises a tubular element 9 with a conformation such that it can be fitted onto the column 2 and inside which a cavity 10 is defined that is suitable for accommodating, in an assembly configuration indicated by M in Figure 11, the pressing means 5 and the resilient ring 6.

[0041] The pressing means 7 is provided, at one end 11 of the annular body 8, with a first conical surface 12 arranged to interact with the sleeve means 5, as will be described in greater detail further below.

[0042] The first conical surface 12 is defined by a plurality of appendages 17 protruding from the end 11, said appendages 17 being created by making a plurality of incisions 18 in the portion of the annular body 8 arranged near the end 11.

[0043] The first conical surface 12 therefore has a conformation such as to be easily deformable, which enables effective fixing of the apparatus 1 to the column 2 to be obtained even when not particularly high pressure is exerted on the sleeve means 5.

[0044] The pressing means 7 is furthermore provided at a further end 13 of the annular body 8 opposite the end 11, with a second conical surface 14 suitable for pressing the resilient ring 6 against the column 2.

[0045] The annular body 8 has, at the further end 13, an internal diameter that is slightly greater than the external diameter of the column 2.

[0046] On the other hand, at the end 11 the annular body 8 has a conformation such as to have an external diameter that is substantially the same as or slightly less than the external diameter of the column 2.

[0047] This prevents the pressing means 7 from being incorrectly assembled on the column 2, in particular the risk of its being assembled in a reverse way is eliminated.

[0048] When the pressing means 7 has to be associated with the column 2 the further end 13 is placed over the terminal portion A of the column 2.

[0049] Subsequently, the terminal portion A interacts with the appendages 17, distancing them from one another to also enable the end 11 to be placed over the column 2.

[0050] If an inexpert operator tries by mistake to associate the pressing means 7 with the column 2 by first placing the end 11 over it, he is prevented from doing so by the appendages 17.

[0051] Furthermore, as the appendages 17 are in only one of the end regions of the pressing means 7, to prevent assembly errors the operator needs only remembering that the end region of the annular body 8 that must be placed first over the column 2 is the one without appendages.

[0052] The sleeve means 5 comprises, in a zone defined inside the tubular element 9, a third conical surface 16 suitable for being shapingly associated with the conical surface 12.

[0053] During assembly of the apparatus 1, when the tubular element 9 is pushed in the direction of the arrow F1, the third surface 16, cooperating with the surface 12, transfers the pressing means 7 along the further direction F2 that is substantially parallel to the direction F1 to make the pressing means 7 interact with the resilient ring 6.

[0054] The force transmitted by the pressing means 7 to the resilient ring 6 causes partial deformation of the resilient ring 6, which is accommodated in the region 15 delimited by the second conical surface 14 and by the column 2.

[0055] In this way, the apparatus 1 and the container associated with it are firmly fixed to the column 2 at the required section S.

Claims

1. Apparatus for coaxial assembly of objects on elongated elements (2), comprising resilient ring means (6) associable with said elongated elements (2), sleeve means (5) connected to said objects and surrounding said elongated elements (2), pressing means (7) placed between said sleeve means (5) and said resilient ring means (6) and provided with a conical surface (12) suitable for interacting with operating means (16) of said sleeve means (5), characterised in that said operating means comprises a further conical surface (16) shapingly associable with said conical surface (12) .

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said sleeve means (5) comprises tubular element means (9) that is suitable for surrounding said elongated element (2), and inside which said further conical surface (16) is defined.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein inside said tubular element means (9) a cavity is obtained (10) that is partially delimited by said further conical surface (16) and is suitable for accommodating, in an assembly configuration (M), said pressing means (5) and said resilient ring means (6).

4. Apparatus according to any one of the previous claims, wherein said pressing means (7) comprises annular body means (8) at one end (11) of which said conical surface (12) is defined.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said conical surface (12) is identified by a plurality of appendage means (18) projecting from said annular body means (8).

6. Apparatus according to claim 4, or 5, wherein said pressing means (7) furthermore comprises, at a further end (13) of said annular body means (8) opposite said end (11), a yet further conical surface (14) suitable for interacting with said resilient ring means (6).

7. Apparatus according to any one of the claims 4 to 6, wherein said annular body means (8) has at said end (11) an internal diameter that is greater than an external diameter of said elongated elements (2).

8. Apparatus according to claim 6, or according to claim 7 when dependent on claim 6, wherein said annular body means (8) has at said further end (13) an internal diameter that is substantially equal to an external diameter of said elongated elements (2).

9. Apparatus according to claim 6, or according to claim 7 as appended to claim 6, wherein said annular body means (8) has at said further end (13) an internal diameter that is smaller than an external diameter of said elongated elements (2).

10. Sleeve means suitable for being used to obtain coaxial assembly means (1) of objects on elongated elements (2), comprising operating means suitable for interacting with a conical surface (12) of pressing means (7) to push said pressing means (7) towards said elongated elements (2), characterised in that said operating means comprises a further conical surface (16) shapingly associable with said conical surface (12) .

11. Sleeve means (5) according to claim 10, and furthermore comprising tubular element means (9), that is suitable for surrounding said elongated element (2), and inside which said further conical surface (16) is defined.

12. Sleeve means according to claim 11, wherein inside said tubular element means (9) a cavity is obtained (10) that is partially delimited by said further conical surface (16) and is suitable for accommodating, in an assembly configuration (M), said pressing means (5) and resilient ring means (6) associable with said elongated elements (2).

Drawing