EP2098138A1

EP2098138A1 - Carriage with lifting mechanism to fit into the sides of the base structure of furniture, for the purpose of allowing easy lifting onto wheels in order to facilitate movement

Info

Publication number: EP2098138A1
Application number: EP09425074A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Celso Neri; Nolberto Neri
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-03-06
Filing date: 2009-02-24
Publication date: 2009-09-09
Also published as: ITLI20080001A1

Abstract

A carriage with a lifting mechanism to be solidly fixed to the inside of the sides of the base structure of furniture (A) in a position which is not visible from outside, with the purpose of easily lifting the furniture onto wheels (E) to facilitate its movement whenever necessary for maintenance, cleaning etc. The piece of furniture is lifted from the floor acting on a screw (B) which is screwed into a pivot. The movement acts on the arms (D) of the carriage causing the wheels on these to come out from beneath the bottom of the piece of furniture. The exit of the wheels causes the piece of furniture to be lifted from the floor by an amount sufficient to allow its easy movement within a room. When the piece of furniture is positioned anew, action is taken in an opposite sense on the mechanism to make the wheels of the carriage re-enter.

Description

Field of the invention

This invention falls within the field of furniture manufacturing and in particular refers to a lifting mechanism on wheels applied to the sides of the base structure of the furniture, which has the purpose of lifting it from the floor to facilitate movement within rooms.

Technical description

When it is necessary to move furniture within the rooms where it is situated, for whatever reason (maintenance, cleaning or other), use is made of the arms incorporated in the piece of furniture, if this is not heavy, or of a lifting device not incorporated, when the piece of furniture to be moved is heavy. This lifting device consists of a mechanism mounted on wheels which is independent of the piece of furniture and is able to lift it and allow it to be moved. The mechanism is stored separately once the operation is finished. For particularly heavy and cumbersome pieces of furniture, it may in some cases be necessary to disassemble the item in order to allow it to be moved.

Summary of the invention

The purpose of this invention is to allow easy movement of furniture within rooms by way of a mechanism fitted inside the piece of furniture itself, applied to the bottom of the piece in correspondence with the sides of the base structure. Each single piece is composed of a carrying frame that allows the carriage to be assembled onto the side of the base structure of the piece of furniture, of two or more arms, at the ends of which wheels are fitted, and of a screw mechanism the controls of which are reached from the flat bottom of the piece of furniture. This mechanism, by acting on the arms, allows the piece of furniture to be easily lifted onto the wheels and so to permit subsequent movement.
When the piece of furniture is situated in the chosen place in the room, the mechanism in question is housed inside the base of the piece in a position that is not visible from outside. Only the head of the screw of the lifting mechanism is visible on the bottom shelf inside the piece of furniture, and is easily disguised in a variety of ways.
There are many motives for which it is necessary to move such pieces of furniture - generally of large dimensions and so very heavy. To place them in the correct place after assembly, for cleaning, to paint the walls against which they stand, for maintenance, to change their position, etcetera. When such a motive arises, it is necessary to act on the head of the screw situated on the bottom shelf inside the piece of furniture with a hand wrench or an electric screwdriver. The mechanism causes the arms to move and makes the wheels come out from beneath the bottom of the piece of furniture, lifting this up onto the wheels. Once the operation has been repeated for each of the carriages mounted on the base, the piece of furniture will be raised onto the wheels by an amount sufficient to allow it to be easily moved within the room.
The mechanism in question may be made in many different ways; more than one wheel may be applied to each arm, according to the weight of the piece of furniture; the mechanism may be constructed in such a way that it lifts only one arm at a time; the wheels may be of a straight-line type or of the type that rotates freely at 360° in one direction or another, etcetera. All of this is to facilitate further the movement of furniture within a room.
The system in question is adaptable and may be mounted both on pieces of furniture made with a base that rests directly on the floor and on those made to be supported by 'legs' or 'feet'.
n the case of furniture made in such a way that the base rests directly on the floor, the ideal form is to apply a device with supports that may be regulated, so-called 'adjustable feet', to compensate for any unevenness in the flooring.
The device may be mounted both on pieces of furniture under construction and on those already made.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention is shown below with descriptions of the forms in which it may be manufactured, as an illustration, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a simplified representation of a piece of furniture for which the invention may apply, in which the letter A indicates the sides of the base structure of the piece onto which the invention under consideration is mounted. Generally the base structure is very robust and therefore able to support the weight of the piece of furniture once it has been lifted by the illustrated invention.
Figure 2 shows a view of the invention of the lifting device under consideration applied to the sides of the base structure of the piece of furniture, in the non-operational position within the base. The letter D indicates the arms, at the ends of which the wheels are fitted (letter E). The letters B and C show the screw mechanism for lifting the mechanism.
Figure 3 shows a view of the lifting mechanism under consideration fixed to the side of the base structure of the piece of furniture, in the operational position with the wheels (E) lifting it from the floor.

Description of one way of activating the invention

At the time when it is necessary to move a piece of furniture within which the invention under consideration is applied, inside a room for one of the reasons described, all the lifting mechanisms applied to the side of the base structure are rendered operative acting on the screw mechanism indicated with the letters B and C. This is activated by using a manual instrument on the head of the screw, or alternatively with the use of an electro-mechanical instrument. This causes the movement of the arms (D) which, acting on the wheels (E) raise the piece of furniture a sufficient amount to move it from the position in which it is situated within the room, once the operation has been repeated for all the lifting mechanisms applied to the sides of the base structure of the piece of furniture

Claims

Carriage with lifting mechanism to be solidly fixed to the base of furniture (A-FIG 1), with the purpose of easily lifting the piece onto wheels whenever it is necessary to move it within rooms. The operation of lifting it onto wheels is carried out acting on the screw (B-FIG.2 and 3) which screws into the pivot (C-FIG.2 and 3). The movement acts on the arms (D-FIG.2 and 3) causing the wheels (E-FIG.2 and 3) to come out from the base and thus lifting the piece of furniture from the floor (G-FIG.3). This allows easy movement of the piece of furniture within a room. When the piece of furniture is positioned anew action on the screw (B-FIG.2 and 3) is performed in the opposite sense to make the wheels re-enter.
As claimed in claim 1, a carriage with lifting mechanism solidly fitted to the sides of the base structure of furniture (A-FIG.1) assembled on the frame made for this purpose (F-FIG.2 and 3). The piece of furniture illustrated in figure 1 represents only an example of the many different pieces of furniture to which it may be fixed.
As claimed in claim 1, the purpose of the invention is that of easily lifting furniture onto the wheels of the carriage invention under consideration in order to move it easily within rooms whenever necessary. The reasons to move a piece of furniture may be many - to place it in position after assembly, to paint the walls against which it is situated, for cleaning, for maintenance, to put it in a new position, etc.
As claimed in claim 1, the carriage invention under consideration is composed, preferably but not exclusively, of a screw that screws into a pivot (B-FIG.2 and 3), by arms (D-FIG.2 and 3), by wheels (E-FIG.2 and 3) and by the structure that allows its assembly and fixing within the sides of the base structure (F-FIG.2 and 3).
As claimed in claim 1, when it is necessary for one of the reasons adduced to move the piece of furniture action is taken with a hand wrench or with an electric screwdriver on the screw (B-FIG.2 and 3), the screw is screwed into the pivot (C-FIG.2 and 3) causing the arms to move (D-FIG.2 and 3) with the consequence that the wheels (E-FIG.2 and 3) come out beyond the bottom of the piece of furniture. Once the operation of lifting onto wheels is completed for each of the carriages fixed to the sides of the base structure of the piece of furniture (A-FIG. 1), this is lifted from the floor onto the wheels by an amount sufficient (G-FIG.3) to allow it to be moved easily within a room.
As claimed in claim 1, the invention under consideration may be made in such a way that the lifting mechanism acts on the wheels independently, lifting them one at a time.
As claimed in claim 1, the fixed line wheels (E-FIG.2 and 3) may be substituted by wheels that have the possibility to move 360° both in one direction and another in order further to facilitate movement of the piece of furniture within a room.
As claimed in claim 1, once the piece of furniture has been placed anew in its original position or in another position within the room, action is taken in an opposite sense on the screw (B-FIG.3) to bring the carriage back to its original position, as illustrated in figure 2.
As claimed in claim 1, the invention under consideration may be applied both to furniture made with a base that rests directly on the floor and to that where the base rests on fixed or moveable support devices called "adjustable feet"
As claimed in claim 1, the invention under consideration may be applied both to furniture under construction and, with some small modifications, to that already made.