U.S. patent number 3,860,307 [Application Number 05/339,989] was granted by the patent office on 1975-01-14 for bedside table.
Invention is credited to Karl Fostel.
United States Patent |
3,860,307 |
Fostel |
January 14, 1975 |
BEDSIDE TABLE
Abstract
A swivel top table is provided having a rotatable upper section
which mounts a drawer. The rotatable upper section is provided with
means for locking the section in several predetermined positions
depending upon the position of the user. Two L-shaped doors are
provided in a lower section with independent locking means to
provide substantially complete access to the inner portion of the
lower section. The table is particularly suitable for bedriddent
patients who generally are unable to rotate the entire table to
obtain access to the drawer or the cabinet portion.
Inventors: |
Fostel; Karl (A 1181 Vienna,
OE) |
Family
ID: |
23331423 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/339,989 |
Filed: |
March 12, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/249.4;
312/324 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
79/00 (20130101); A47B 49/004 (20130101); A47B
11/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
11/00 (20060101); A47B 79/00 (20060101); A47B
49/00 (20060101); A47b 049/00 (); A47b
088/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;312/252,324
;108/94,103,139,142 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gilliam; Paul R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Pennie & Edmonds
Claims
I claim:
1. A swivel top table which comprises:
a. a first stationary section which defines a lower storage
compartment;
b. door members pivotally mounted on adjacent portions of a rear
wall of the first section, said members having open and closed
positions and being so configured that when at least one door
member is rotated to the open position, access is provided to the
inner storage compartment of said first section from a plurality of
directions;
c. a second section pivotally mounted to an upper portion of said
lower section for rotatable swivel movement with respect
thereto;
d. a lower support plate connected to the upper portion of said
lower section;
e. an upper support plate supporting said upper section on said
lower section;
f. a substantially elongated member connected to said upper support
plate and extending through a substantially central opening in said
lower support plate, to pivotally support said upper support plate
on said lower support plate;
g. bearing means between said upper and lower support plates
rotatably suspporting said upper support plate on said lower
support plate to thereby provide rotatable swivel movement of said
upper swivel section relative to said lower section;
h. a substantially elongated guide member attached to said lower
support plate to pivotably support said elongated pivot member with
said upper and lower support plates in face-to-face spaced
relation;
j. a resilient member received on the free end portion of said
elongated pivot member;
k. a locking member received on said free end portion of said
elongated pivot member and adapted to adjustably secure said upper
and lower sections in assembled relation.
l. a plate member fixed substantially horizontally to the upper
portion of said rotatable upper section so as to form a table
rotatable with the upper section in a manner such that access to
substantially all portions of the upper surface of the table may be
provided from one direction by rotating said upper section;
m. a storage receptacle slidably mounted in the upper rotatable
section and rotatable therewith such that access is provided to
said receptacle from a plurality of directions corresponding to
rotated positions of the upper section; and
n. means to fix the upper section in selected rotated positions
relative to the lower section such that rotation of said upper
section with respect to said lower section facilitates access to
the entire upper surface of said table while said lower section is
maintained in a stationary position, thereby providing convenient
accessibility to substantially all portions of the table.
2. The swivel top table according to claim 1 wherein said upper
support plate is supported on said lower support plate by spaced
ball bearing means positioned securely therebetween.
3. The swivel top table according to claim 2 wherein said ball
bearing support means comprises: at least two spaced substantially
spherical ball bearing members received within openings defined by
the lower support plate; resilient means to bias said ball bearing
members upwardly against said upper support plate; and at least two
correspondingly spaced recesses in a lower surface portion of the
upper support plate to engageably receive said ball members therein
and to lock the position of said upper section in selected
positions relative to said lower section.
4. The swivel top table according to claim 3 further comprising:
eight spherical ball bearing members received within eight spaced
openings defined by said lower support plate, said openings being
equally spaced in a circular arrangement having 45.degree. of arc
between adjacent balls and said upper plate having eight spaced
recesses in the lower surface portion, said recesses being spaced
in a circular arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of said
balls; and a spring member associated with each ball and adapted to
resiliently bias said balls against the lower surface portion of
said upper support plate such that said upper section may be
rotated in 45.degree. increments and locked in selected positions
by the engageable reception of said balls in the said recesses of
said upper support plate.
5. The swivel top table according to claim 4 further comprising two
L-shaped door members pivotally mounted on two adjacent corner
portions of the lower section, said doors adapted to provide
substantially complete access to the inner portion of said lower
section when in an open position by being pivotally rotated so as
to be substantially parallel to an adjacent wall.
6. The swivel top table according to claim 5 wherein each of said
door is provided with a locking device so as to provide independent
opening of said doors.
7. A swivel top bedside table comprising in combination:
a. a lower section having a storage portion therein;
b. two substantially L-shaped door members pivotally mounted on
said lower section along two adjacent corner portions thereof such
that substantially complete access to the inner portion of said
lower section is provided from a plurality of directions when said
doors are in an open position, each of said door members having
separate locking means associated therewith;
c. an upper section having a receptacle defining a drawer slidably
mounted therein and a substantially horizontal plate member
defining an upper table surface;
d. an upper support plate for supporting said upper section, said
plate having eight spaced-apart recesses in a lower surface
portion, said recesses being distributed in a circular arrangement
having approximately 45.degree. of arc between adjacent
recesses;
e. a lower support plate connected to said lower section and
adapted to support said upper support plate, said lower support
plate having a central opening extending therethrough, said lower
support plate further defining eight openings equally spaced in a
circular arrangement corresponding to said arrangement of recesses
in said upper support plate and having approximately 45.degree. of
arc between adjacent openings;
f. a cylindrical bushing member connected to said lower support
plate and projecting from a lower portion of said lower support
plate, said bushing member having a substantially cylindrical
central opening substantially coinciding with the central opening
of the lower support plate;
g. ball members positioned in the openings of said lower support
plate;
h. spring members positioned on the rearward portion of said lower
support plate behind said openings and adapted to resiliently bias
said ball members upwardly from said lower support plate;
i. a cylindrical bolt member connected to said upper support plate
and extending through the central opening of the lower support
plate and through said bushing member to pivotally support said
upper support plate on said lower support pllate with the lower
surface portion of the upper support plate in engaging relation
with said ball members;
j. a spring member received on the end portion of said bolt member;
and
k. a locking member received on the free end portion of said bolt
member against said spring member, said locking member adapted to
resiliently assemble said upper section and said lower section such
that rotation of said upper section in 45.degree. increments will
cause said ball members to be engageably received in the spaced
recesses of said upper section thereby locking said upper section
in selected positions relative to said lower section.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to swivel top tables of the type having a
rotatably mounted upper swivel section particularly adaptable for
use in hospitals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bedside tables of the prior art generally provide a pivotally
mounted door in the front section and the rear section so as to
provide access from either side. This convenience was primarily
intended for bedridden individuals to provide ready access to the
inner portion of the lower or cabinet section of the table with
minimum effort. A drawer was provided generally in the upper
section of the table with a provision for front mounting or rear
mounting as required by the individual user. A part of the wall
section of the bedside table in the rear portion was removable to
facilitate inserting the drawer therein. Thus the drawer could be
mounted in the front or the rear of the cabinet.
British Pat. No. 634,749 relates to a bedside cabinet which
includes a swivelled upper part which can be rotated to provide
access to the drawer from several directions. However no means are
provided for locking the roatable section in position once a
desired position is selected. Thus a slight force exerted against
the upper section will result in rotation of the section away from
the desired position thereby creating an unnecesssary inconvenience
for bedridden patients who may be unable to rotate the upper
portion.
It is therefore an object of this invention to create a bedside
table of the type described but having a drawer section which may
be used from two or more sides without the necessity to perform any
conversions such as rotating the entire table for the convenience
of a particular user.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bedside table of
the type described having a swivelling upper part which is capable
of swivelling into any desired position and locked in that
position. Thus a drawer of the bedside table may be used in such a
way that it does not swivel further with the upper part if a slight
force is exerted against it.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To attain these objects, the invention provides that the upper part
which houses the drawer is swivellingly connected to rotate about a
vertical axis relative to the lower part, with means for locking
the upper part in several predetermined positions. By swivelling
the upper part into any desired position the drawer of the bedside
table may be used from the one of several sides. The swivelling of
the upper part can be done easily by a person in bed and does not
provide any difficulties, while a detent means provides for locking
the upper part in a selected position.
The invention further relates to the provision of a supporting
plate in the lower section at its upper side on which the upper
section rests with an appropriate supporting plate by means of a
bolt connected thereto. The bolt penetrates the lower support
plate.
The object of the invention is solved by the provision of an upper
supporting plate with recesses in a circular arrangement for two or
more stop balls carried in holes of a lower supporting plate,
against which springs are resting from below. By this arrangement
of the balls an engaging reception thereof is made possible in
several swivelled positions on the one hand, while on the other
hand a smooth gliding is ensured on the lower part while rotating
the upper part. The stop balls may be arranged in such a way in
this connection that the exact adjustment of the upper part on the
lower part is possible if all edges are made to be aligned. The
invention also relates to the provision of a bolt member with an
adjusting nut supporting itself -- by way of a spring -- at the
lower end of a guide member which surrounds the bolt. The
above-mentioned spring at the end of the guide member provides
additional support and the bias of the springs against the stop
balls may be selected depending on the particular use intended.
Finally the invention relates to the provision of eight stop
recesses in circular arrangement in the upper supporting plate so
that the upper part together with drawer may be swivelled and
locked at 45.degree. intervals.
Broading stated, a swivel top table is provided having a rotatably
mounted upper swivel section which is capable of being locked by a
detent means at selected rotational positions. A lower stationary
section is provided with at least one door member pivotally mounted
thereon to provide access to the inner portion of the lower
section. An upper section preferably having a drawer slidably
mounted therein, is provided with a substantially planar upper
table surface. The upper section is pivotally mounted on the lower
section in a manner which permits rotatable swivel movement of the
upper section relative to the lower section. Detent means are
provided to lock the upper section in selected positions relative
to the lower section such that the upper section may be
conveniently rotated to any number of positions and locked in the
selected position. The preferred table of the present invention is
particularly suitable for use in hospitals and thus includes two
L-shaped door members which provide substanially complete access to
the inner portion of the lower section of the table when opened.
Such door members cover portions of an adjacent wall when in a
fully opened position. Rotational swivelling support of the upper
section is provided by an upper supporting plate which is adapted
to rotatably swivel about a vertical axis on a lower supporting
plate connected to the lower section of the table by a bolt member.
A plurality of stop balls or ball bearing members are positioned in
openings in the lower supporting plate while spring members
resiliently bias the ball members upwardly in engaging relation
with the lower surface portion of the upper support plate. The
upper support plate has correspondingly arranged recesses which
engageably receive the balls and lock the upper section in position
when it is rotated to specified positions. Thus the arrangement as
well as the number of balls determines the rotational increments
which the upper section may be rotated between locked positions. In
the preferred embodiment, eight stop balls are equally spaced to
form a circular arrangement while a corresponding arrangement of
eight equally spaced recesses are provided on the lower or under
surface of the upper support plate. Thus, with such an arrangement,
the upper section of the table may be rotated freely while
providing locking positions every 45.degree. of rotational movement
of the upper section.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described hereinbelow
with reference to the drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bedside table according to the
invention with one door shown partially open;
FIG. 2 is an appropriate representation of the bedside table with
the upper swivel section shown partially rotated;
FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the upper section of the bedside
table with sidewall portions broken away;
FIG. 4 is a top view of the inner portion of the rotatable upper
section taken along section 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the locking feature of the doors of
the bedside table;
FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the connection between the
upper and lower sections of the bedside table taken along sections
6--6 of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 7 is a one-half portion of a top view of the bedside table
with the top table portion removed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
From the drawings it may be seen that the bedside table according
to the invention includes a lower section with feet and two
L-shaped doors, 2, 3 and a storage area therein, preferably having
a horizontally supported storage shelf as shown in FIG. 1 An upper
section 4, houses a slidably mounted drawer 5. The upper section 4
may be swivelled to such an extent that the drawer may be used from
any desired direction as is shown in FIG. 2. For this purpose the
upper section 4 is swivellingly connected with the lower part 1 of
the bedside table by means of a bolt 6. The bolt is also connected
to a supporting plate 7 of which the upper part is connected, such
as by welding with frame 8 of the upper part. The lower section 1
is provided at its upper frame part 9 with an appropriate
supporting plate 10, which is provided with centre bore 11 and a
bushing 12. The bushing 12 is inserted in the plate 11 and serves
to guide and support bolt 6. At the free end of bolt 6 there is
provided a nut 13. At its free end the bolt supports an
intermediate spring 14 at the lower end of bushing 12. The bolt is
secured against spring 14. Between supporting plate 7 and plate 10
there may be arranged several balls such as 15 to 19 as shown
(three balls not shown in FIG. 7) in holes in plate 10 which are
held from below and biased upwardly by springs 20, 21. Thus through
the action of springs 20, 21 the balls 15 to 19 are engageably
received in recesses 22, 23 in previously determined swivelling
positions of the upper section to provide a detent or lock. Such
balls may be of any type which is capable of supporting the bearing
loads provided by the upper section. Thus for the purpose of this
description, these balls may be referred to as ball bearing
members.
Both doors 2, 3 are locked with double hooks 24 in the manner shown
in FIG. 5 such that at any time only one door may be opened if
desired.
As indicated in FIG. 7, there are provided eight balls equally
spaced and circularly arranged such that adjacent balls are spaced
by approximately a 45.degree. arc on the circle. The appropriate
correspondingly arranged recesses 22, 23 in the lower surface
portion of the upper supporting plate 7, make it possible to swivel
and lock the upper section 4 relative to the stationary lower
section 1 every 45.degree. of rotation such that a position such as
the position of the upper section 4 may be reached as represented
in FIG. 2.
The numbers and arrangements of the balls and recesses can be
varied to determine the desirable stop angles provided in the
pivotal incremental movements of the upper section of the table.
The convenience to bedridden patients unable to rotate the entire
table to facilitate the use of the drawer may be clearly seen from
the versatility of the table as described.
* * * * *