The present invention relates to a table with operating units adjustable in height.
The present invention falls within the technological field of office furniture or furnishings for kitchens.
Work tables or desks with a top which is adjustable in height and/or inclination are known in the field: said tops are often supported by one or more telescopic legs, resting on the ground and extendable along a vertical axis, so that the top of the table or desk can be raised or lowered to satisfy the requirements of the users.
The regulation of the worktop allows a greater convenience of use of the table, but is not very functional, however, if the table has to support operating units that must be arranged in more convenient and ergonomic positions to be able to be used, such as an additional supporting shelf, the video terminal of a computer or a keyboard.
Tables are also known, indicated with the term "workspaces", in which the worktop is divided into two parts, a part for working and a part for supporting objects, for example, the video terminal of a computer, a keyboard, lecterns or the like.
These parts can be arranged in a fixed position, parallelly, one above the other and/or horizontally offset with respect to each other.
Alternatively, tables are also known in which, in addition to the fact of having a worktop composed of various parts, means are also provided, which allow the independent regulation in height of the two parts of the worktop, so as to be able to adapt the workspace to the specific requirements.
These tables, however, have various disadvantages as, in order to allow the regulation in height of the supporting shelf for objects, they have a vertical supporting element having an adjustable height, resting on the ground or anchored to the upper surface of the worktop, said vertical supporting element, although allowing objects to be positioned more ergonomically, is aesthetically unattractive and cumbersome and limits the availability of space for the user.
In particular, an element that allows the regulation in height of the supporting shelf of operating units anchored to the upper surface of the worktop is encumbering and limits the space available to the user on the worktop, whereas a vertical supporting element adjustable in height resting on the ground limits the space beneath the worktop and creates a further obstacle for cleaning operations of the surface resting on the ground.
Said vertical supporting element adjustable in height resting on the ground, is not, in fact, suitable for regulating the height of the worktop, or parts of it, connected to self-supporting modular panels of multiple workspaces.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a table, a supporting group and a workspace comprising at least one table, which is capable of supporting operating units that must be arranged in the most convenient position for being reached and/or in a raised position with respect to the worktop of the table, that is aesthetically attractive and allows the regulation in height of the parts of said table without creating encumbrances for the user, allowing the space available to be rationalized at all moments.
The invention achieves the objectives described above through a table, a supporting group and a workspace having the characteristics specified in the enclosed claims.
In particular, the worktop, object of the present invention comprises:
- at least one worktop or support,
- at least one operating unit, such as an additional supporting shelf, a supporting arm or the like,
- at least one supporting group of said at least one operating unit; said at least one supporting group is fixed to said worktop or support and can be moved between two end positions, i.e. between a first lowered position, substantially coplanar with said worktop or support of the table, and a second raised position spaced from said worktop so as to allow the regulation in height of at least one operating unit with respect to said worktop or support.
According to an embodiment, said supporting group comprises a telescopic column fixed to said worktop or support spaced from the ground and suitable for supporting, at its top or substantially close to its top, said at least one operating unit.
Thanks to the table and supporting group, object of the present invention, that can have the worktop or support sustained by legs adjustable in height, by side panels resting on the ground, or have the worktop or support sustained by a self-supporting modular panel, single or multiple workspaces can be created in which all the rest surfaces, either primary or additional, the supporting elements, such as articulated arms, or any other operating unit such as a lectern, a computer screen, keyboard, printer or the like, are optimally positioned in the space according to the requirements of the working environment and demands of the single user.
Furthermore, the supporting group of said operating unit (s) is created and positioned, with respect to the worktop, so as to limit the encumbrance both below and above the worktop, in particular annulling said encumbrance above the worktop when the user does not need to have a raised operating unit, such as, for example, an addition rest surface, with respect to said worktop or support of the table.
As is evident from the figures and as described in detail hereunder, the supporting group of said at least one operating unit does not rest on the ground but is fixed to the worktop or support of the table so as to leave ample freedom of movement and space in correspondence with the surface of the table resting on the ground or in correspondence with the panel resting on the ground that supports the worktop: this allows the supporting group to be also used for workspaces in which the worktop or support is not supported by legs but cantilever-carried by self-supporting panels. The fact that the supporting group does not rest on the ground, moreover, avoids the presence of cumbersome elements beneath said top.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the supporting group is anchored to the lower surface of the worktop or support and through the thickness of said top.
In particular, the supporting group can comprise a telescopic column that passes through a pass-through hole or opening formed in said worktop or support.
Said telescopic column comprises a body suitable for being fixed to the worktop or support of the table, and at least one element slidingly connected to said body along a development axis A in a direction substantially perpendicular or oblique with respect to the surface of the worktop, said sliding element being suitable for being fixed to said at least one operating unit.
The body of the telescopic column is hollow, at least one telescopic element being provided, which slides in said hollow body and is suitable for being fixed to at least one fixing element of said at least one operating unit.
Said sliding element is in fact fixed, preferably by means of a fixing element, in correspondence with one of its ends, to at least one operating unit, such as an additional supporting shelf and/or a supporting arm.
Said fixing element can consist of a flat plate or an "S"-shaped section.
The body of the telescopic column, on the other hand, is anchored to the lower surface of the worktop or support of the table, by means of a fixing element such as a peripheral flange, and the vertical sliding of at least one element supporting the operating unit, through the surface of said top, is enabled by the presence of a pass-through hole on the surface of said worktop or support, or a recess along any edge of the worktop or support.
When the telescopic column has its sliding elements in a withdrawn position inside said body, this enables the supporting group to be substantially coplanar to said worktop or support and, for example, the additional supporting shelf supported on an end of the sliding element, opposite the end slidingly connected to the body of the telescopic column, can therefore be moved from a raised position to a position in which it rests on said worktop or has its upper surface aligned with or substantially aligned with the upper surface of said worktop or support.
An object of the present invention also relates to a multiple workspace comprising at least one table produced as described and claimed herein.
These and other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear more evident from the following description of some embodiments illustrated in the enclosed drawings in which:
- figures 1 and 2 illustrate a perspective view of a table according to the known art with a top having a manually adjustable height and by means of telescopic elements resting on the ground;
- figures 3 and 4 illustrate a perspective view of a table according to the known art with a top having an electrically adjustable height and by means of telescopic elements resting on the ground;
- figure 5 illustrates a perspective view of the supporting group in an extended position;
- figure 6 illustrates a partially exploded view of the table according to the invention;
- figures 7 and 8 illustrate a perspective view of a table according to an embodiment of the present invention with a supporting group consisting of a telescopic column in a withdrawn, or lowered, and extended, or raised position, respectively;
- figures 9 and 10 illustrate a side view of the table according to the embodiment illustrated in figures 7 and 8, with the telescopic column in a withdrawn, or lowered, and extended, or raised position, respectively;
- figures 11 and 12 illustrate a perspective view of a table according to a further embodiment of the present invention, with the telescopic column in a withdrawn, or lowered, and extended, or raised position, respectively;
- figures 13 and 14 illustrate a side view of the table according to the embodiment illustrated in figures 11 and 12, with the telescopic column in a withdrawn, or lowered, and extended, or raised position, respectively;
- figures 15 and 16 illustrate a perspective view of a table according to a further embodiment of the present invention, with the telescopic column in a withdrawn, or lowered, and extended, or raised position, respectively;
- figures 17 and 18 illustrate a side view of the table according to the embodiment illustrated in figures 15 and 16, with the telescopic column in a withdrawn, or lowered, and extended, or raised position, respectively;
- figure 19 illustrates a perspective view of a piece of office furniture composed of a plurality of tables produced according to the present invention, forming a multiple workspace.
With reference to the figures, figures 1 to 4 illustrate a table 1 with a worktop or support 2 adjustable in height with the use of telescopic supporting legs 3 extendable along a substantially vertical axis, with respect to the surface resting on the ground, composed of various sliding elements that are inserted into each other.
The activation mechanisms of the axial sliding of said segments can be a manual activation or by means of an electric actuator 5.
The table 1, object of the present invention, in addition to having the worktop or support 2 adjustable in height, is composed of various parts and is provided with at least one supporting group which allows the regulation in height of operating units which need to be arranged in a more functional and ergonomic position.
Said operating units are preferably fixed to said supporting group by means of fixing elements 44.
Operating unit refers to any object that can be of help to the user for carrying out his tasks, such as an additional supporting shelf 6, an arm 7, for example an articulated arm, the monitor of a computer, a keyboard, a printer, a display screen, a lectern or the like.
Said supporting group can be moved between two end positions, i.e. between a first lowered position, substantially coplanar with said worktop 2, and a second raised position spaced from said worktop 2 so as to allow the regulation in height of at least said one operating unit with respect to the worktop or support 2.
As illustrated in figure 5, said supporting group comprises a telescopic column, indicated as a whole with 4, fixed to said worktop or support 2 and suitable for supporting, at its top or substantially close to its top, said at least one operating unit, such as a shelf 6 and/or a telescopic arm 7.
Said supporting group can consist of any element having an adjustable extension from a withdrawn, or lowered, position in which said group has a minimum height, to an extended, or raised, position in which said group has a maximum height, such as, for example, a pantograph.
The telescopic column 4 develops along an axis A, in a substantially perpendicular or oblique direction with respect to the flat surface of the worktop 2, and can be regulated between a withdrawn, or lowered, position in which the column 4 has a minimum length, and an extended, or raised, position in which the column 4 has a maximum length.
In the present description, the terms "longitudinal" or "vertical" refer to a direction parallel to or substantially parallel to the development axis A.
The telescopic column 4 comprises a body 41 suitable for being fixed to the worktop or support 2 of the table 1, and at least an element 42, 42I slidingly connected to said body 41 along the development axis A.
According to an embodiment illustrated in the figures, the body 41 is hollow and at least one telescopic element 42, 42I is provided, sliding in said hollow body 41.
The hollow body 41 can be anchored, by means of a fixing element 43, to the worktop or support 2.
The embodiment illustrated in figure 5 shows a telescopic column 4 with two elements 42, 42I telescopically sliding between each other and with said body 41 along the development axis A, said telescopic column 4 therefore also possibly comprising an intermediate element 42I slidingly interposed between the body 41 and an upper element 42, also sliding.
The body 41 and elements 42, 42I forming the telescopic column 4 can have any section transversal to the development axis A, such as a circular, elliptic, rectangular or generically polygonal section.
The length of said sliding elements 42, 42I can be the same as or less than the length of the body 41 so that, when in a withdrawn position, said elements are completely contained inside the body 41, thus avoiding any encumbrance for the user.
Regulation and stopping means, not illustrated, of the axial sliding of said telescopic elements 42, 42I, are provided, suitable for regulating the extension of the telescopic column 4 and/or activation means, either manual or electric 5, of said regulation and stopping means.
As illustrated in figure 5, the body 41 is provided with an element, such as a peripheral flange 43, for the fixing of said body 41 to the worktop or support 2 of the table 1, so as to make said body 41, and therefore at least part of said telescopic column 4, integral with said worktop or support 2.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the supporting group is fixed to the worktop 2 and does not rest on the ground.
In the embodiments illustrated, a peripheral flange 43 is fixed at the top of the hollow body 41, which allows the fixing of the telescopic column to the worktop or support 2; the peripheral flange 43 is fixed to the lower surface of the worktop or support 2 of the table 1 so that the opening provided at the top of said hollow body 41 is aligned or substantially aligned with the lower surface of said worktop or support 2.
Thanks to said peripheral fixing flange 43 of the telescopic column to the worktop or support 2, it is obviously possible for the opening at the top of said hollow body 41 to be aligned or substantially aligned with the upper surface of said worktop or support 2.
According to an embodiment, illustrated in the figures, the worktop or support 2 of the table 1 is provided with a hole or pass-through opening 21 which allows the vertical sliding, along the development axis A, of said at least one sliding element 42, 42I through the thickness of said worktop or support 2 of the table 1.
Alternatively to or in combination with said hole 21, there can obviously be a recess along any edge of the worktop or support 2, which forms a housing for the sliding of said at least one sliding element 42, 42I.
Said sliding element 42 therefore has a proximal end slidingly associated with the body 41, or with a further intermediate sliding element 42I, of the column 4, and a distal end with which at least one operating unit can be associated.
Said sliding element 42 is in fact suitable for being fixed to an additional supporting shelf 6 and/or to an arm 7 and/or to any peripheral input or output of a computer, such as for example a video display terminal 8 or the like.
As illustrated in the figures, said telescopic column 4 comprises a fixing element 44 to an additional supporting shelf 6 and/or to an articulated arm 7.
The fixing element 44 consists of a flat plate or "S"-shaped section fixed to said sliding element 42 and to said at least one operating unit.
The fixing element 44 is integrally connectable, for example by means of welding or removable means, such as screws or the like, to the sliding element 42, for example at its distal end, and to the additional supporting shelf 6 and/or to the articulated arm 7.
The fixing element 44 extends in a substantially parallel or oblique direction with respect to the surface of the worktop or support 2 of the table 1.
In the embodiment illustrated in figures 5 and from 6 to 10, the fixing element 44 is a plate or an "S"-shaped section with a plurality of holes for fixing to an additional supporting shelf 6.
As illustrated in figures 15 and 16, the additional supporting shelf 6 is fixed to an underlying flap 441 of the substantially "S"-shaped section, whereas at the other end 442, the section 44 is integral with the distal end of the sliding element 42.
In the embodiment illustrated in figures 11 to 18, the fixing element 44 is a plate, having any shape, with a flat profile, and is integrally connected to the distal end of the sliding element 42 and additional supporting shelf 6, in particular to the surface, preferably the lower surface, of said shelf 6.
As illustrated in the figures, the telescopic column 4 not only supports an additional supporting shelf 6, but can also be connected to any supporting element, such as an articulated arm 7, or to any peripheral input or output of a computer, such as a video display terminal 8 or the like.
Said supporting element 7 can consist of an articulated supporting arm for the cantilevered supporting of a computer monitor 8 or the like.
Thanks to these elements, the telescopic column 4, anchored to the worktop 2 of a table 1, and having an adjustable extension, is capable of sustaining various components of a worktable or various operating units, at different heights depending on the user's requirements.
Furthermore, thanks to the fact that the supporting group, such as the telescopic column, does not rest on the ground, there is no element that can represent an obstacle on the ground, below the worktop or support 2.
In the embodiments illustrated in figures 6 to 14, the worktop or support 2 of the table 1 has a housing seat 22 for the additional supporting shelf 6, so that said additional supporting shelf 6, supported by the sliding element 42 of the telescopic column 4, in a central or decentralized position, i.e. cantilevered, in a withdrawn condition of said sliding element 42 in the body 41 of the telescopic column 4, can be inserted in said complementary housing seat 22 and form a continuous rest surface with the worktop or support 2 of the table 1, the upper surface of said shelf being positioned in alignment with the upper surface of said worktop or support 2.
Thanks to this embodiment, a retractable additional supporting shelf 6 is produced, said shelf 6 being repositioned inside said housing seat 22, if, for example, a completely flat work surface and as much space as possible, are required.
As illustrated in figure 12, the housing seat 22 is formed in the surface of the worktop or support 2 so that said top 2 forms a continuous frame that defines the housing seat of said shelf 6.
As illustrated in figure 6, the housing seat 22 of the shelf 6 can be produced in the form of a U with the open side in correspondence with an edge of said worktop or support 2.
The sliding pass-through hole 21 of the element 42, 42I can be positioned close to the edge of said housing seat 22, as illustrated in figure 6, or in alignment with said edge so as to form a recess along the continuous frame that defines the housing seat of said shelf 6, as illustrated in figure 12.
In the embodiments illustrated in figures 15 to 18, the additional supporting shelf 6 supported by the telescopic column 4, slides parallelly and longitudinally with respect to the worktop or support 2 of the table 1 and rests, in a withdrawn, or lowered, condition of the column 4, wherein said column 4 has a minimum length, on the upper surface of said worktop or support 2 of the table 1.
The functioning of the supporting group which allows the positioning at different heights of one or more operating units is therefore the following: thanks to at least one supporting group anchored to the worktop or support 2, and not resting on the ground, of a table 1, that can be moved from a first lowered end position, substantially coplanar to the worktop 2, and a second raised end position, spaced from said worktop 2, at least one additional supporting shelf 6, or articulated arm 7, or any other operating unit, can run in the two directions along the development axis A, thus moving from a position substantially in abutment against the upper surface of the worktop or support 2 of a table 1 to a raised position with respect to said upper surface.
The arrangement of said supporting group with respect to the worktop or support 2 of the table 1, according to the present invention, allows the regulation in height of supporting elements of objects, such as a shelf 6 or a supporting arm 7 and also other operating units such as lecterns, monitors and the like, both in tables 1 in which the worktop is supported by legs resting on the ground and also in tables in which the worktop is cantilever-supported by self-supporting panels.
This arrangement, moreover, ensures that the sliding supporting element 42, 42I of a supporting group composed of a telescopic column 4, does not create encumbrance on the upper surface of the worktop 2 when there is no need for having one or more operating units in a raised position.
There is therefore a multiple use of the supplementary supporting surfaces and supporting elements in relation to the user's requirements: the additional shelf 6, for example, can be aligned with or resting on the worktop 2, with the supporting group, that allows its regulation in height, positioned below the top of the table if there is no need for a raised additional support.
Similarly, as illustrated, for example, in figures 9 and 10, the articulated supporting arm 7 of the monitor 8 of a computer, can be in either a raised position or, with its base, aligned with the worktop 2, thanks to the telescopic column 7.
According to a variant of the present invention, not illustrated, the supporting group that allows the regulation in height of said fixing elements 44 of said operating units, comprises a series of levers articulated with respect to each other on a plane perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the worktop 2 and constrained to said worktop 2, of which one is sliding, at an edge of said top, in the two directions along the development axis A, so as to allow the lifting and lowering of said operating units with respect to said top 2.
An object of the present invention also relates to a supporting group as described above.
Said supporting group can be moved between two end positions, i.e. a first lowered position, substantially coplanar said worktop 2, and a second raised position, spaced from said worktop 2 so as to allow the regulation in height of said at least one operating unit with respect to the worktop or support 2.
The workgroup preferably comprises a telescopic column which passes through a pass-through hole or opening 21 formed in said worktop or support 2.
As illustrated in figure 19, the table 1, object of the present invention, can be used for creating multiple workspaces in which one or more supplementary rest and supporting surfaces can be in a raised position with respect to the worktop, independently of each other.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but variants and/or modifications can be applied to the table and supporting group object of the present invention, without being excluded from the inventive concept disclosed and claimed.