US2020503A - Adjustable leg structure - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 12, 1935. H. c. HANSON ET AL ADJUSTABLE LEG STRUCTURE Filed April 17, 1933 JIM/72677230715- W Z iked?" ii w' wys Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES zszosoa ADJUSTABLE LEG STRUCTURE Hans 0. Hanson and Sophus Rasmussen, Albert Lea, Minn.

Application April 1'7, 1933, Serial No. 666,501

2 Claims.

This invention relates to adjustable and collapsible leg construction capable of wide general application.

It is an object of our invention to provide simple, strong and highly efiicient adjustable leg construction for supporting various articles, and structures and particularly adapted for use in supporting portable devices at various heights relative to a floor, table or other supporting surface.

It is a further object to provide a supporting structure of the class described wherein a plurality of supporting legs are pivoted to thedevice to be supported in such manner that they may be compactly collapsed against the lower edges of the device and wherein each is provided with a slidably adjustable extension very effectively connected to and reinforced by the, main leg sections and clamped thereto rigidly by a single clamping element.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:-

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of our adjustable supporting structure applied to a portable cooking stove;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing one of the adjustable legs attached;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the legs detached;

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken approximately along the lined-4 of Fig. 1, and a Fig. 5 is a detail View showing one of the spring pressed bolts for retaining a leg in upstanding supporting-position.

- In the drawing our adjustable leg structure is shown associated with a conventional type of portable cooking stove, although it will, of course, be obvious that said structure is equally applicable for adjustably supporting different articles; and devices.

which may be, if desired, constructed from sheet I the elongated slot lZa.

metal having the upper end of one of its sides or webs extended beyond the upper end of the other web to form an attachment portion 6a which is pivoted at its inner corner by suitable means such as a rivet or pin '1 to a point adjacent 5 oneof the lower corners of the stove casing C. The extended Web 6a also has, as shown, a slot 61) adjacent its outer corner which is adapted to engage a retaining element, such as a spring pressed bolt 8 mounted in the casing C adjacent 10 one of the lower longitudinal edges thereof. Retaining bolt 8 works through an aperture 9 formed in casing C, and, as shown, is secured to the free end of a leaf spring 50 which is attached at its opposite end to casing C. The attachment web 60!. of the main leg section 5 is disposed parallel to and flush against the side of the casing C to which the leg is pivoted, while the other web of the leg section is disposed substantially at right angles to web 6a and terminates at its upper end in an edge 60 which is adapted to underlie and engage the bottom of casing C to brace the leg structure when the same is disposed in erect supporting position. The leg may be swung to the collapsed position, shown in the dotted lines in Fig. l, flush against the lower edge of easing C swinging on pivot I.

An adjustable leg section l2 of angle bar construction and which also may be made of sheet metal, is slidably connected with the inner surface of the main leg section 6 and is disposed longitudinally of and on the inner side thereof. Adjustable leg section l2 has a longitudinal slot lZa formed in its bent or folded edge. The slotted portion of section I2 is engaged and clamped by means of a single clamping device, as shown, comprising a clamping bolt l3 which passes through an aperture formed in the lowerv portion of leg section 6, and which extends inwardly and horizontally when the leg is in supporting position, bisecting the angle formed by the two webs of section 6. A clamping nut l3a threadedly engages bolt l3 and bears against a small truncated conical clamping washer M, which is loosely mounted on the intermediate portion of the bolt. The conical periphery of clamping washer l4 engages the edges of the leg section l2 which define V The elongated slot lZa in leg'section l2 terminates in a T-shaped recess IZb of approximately the width of the mean diameter of small clamping washer It in order to accommodate the same to more rigidly secure the two leg sections 6 and I2 when adjustable section i2 is extended to extreme position.

Recesses R are formed in the longitudinal lower edges of box casing C to accommodate the nuts l3a of the appropriate legs when the said legs are swung to the collapsed positions shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Adjacent each of 'the recesses R, is a horizontally disposed slot S formed in each instance in one of the vertical walls of the casing. The adjustable leg sections [2, each carries adjacent its free end an inwardly projecting retaining element P, which may be indented from the stock of the leg and which, when adjustable leg I2 is in retracted position, engage slot S to retain the leg in collapsed position.

The two main leg sections 6 at each end of the stove or other device are preferably connected 'for swinging in unison and for reinforcement purposes by a pair of spaced transverse braces I5 and I6 respectively. The braces may be in the form of metal strips corrugated for strength, the ends of which are spot welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the leg sections 6. The upper brace l5 is preferably secured in such position that it will engage the bottom of the casing C when the legs are set up for supporting the device. With our construction it will be noted that the angular adjustable leg section I2 is clamped against and reinforced by the similarly shaped angular portion of the main leg section 6. Consequently, the adjustable leg section is confined or restricted against swingable displacement relatively to the main leg section in either direction. It will further be noted that the angular adjustable leg l2 may be tightly wedged against the main leg section by the action of the single clamping device. In the fully extended position the area of frictional engagement between the two sections is of course greatly reduced but an efficient clamping action is obtained by the interlocking of the small wedge plate M in the T- shaped recess I21) at the upper end of slot I2a.

It will be apparent that the several legs may be quickly swung from the collapsed position to the upright position, the retaining bolts 8 of the device engaging the slot 6b in the attachment flange of each leg to retain the leg against swingable displacement. The extensible sections I2 will then be quickly adjusted as desired and locked in position by manipulating the clamping nuts [3a.

When the legs are swung to collapsed position the projections or other retaining elements P carried by the leg sections IE will engage the slots S to prevent downward swinging movement of the legs.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have provided a simple, rugged and efficient adjustable leg construction adapted to be .manufactured at low cost and capable of being 7 very quickly adjusted for supporting portable devices at various heights.

It will further be seen that the several sectional legs are mounted to be compactly telescoped against the longitudinal corner edges of the device supported and that further they are reinforced and efficiently braced when in set up position.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details and. arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of our invention, which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, and in the novel parts and combinations of parts disclosed and pointed out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Adjustable leg construction comprising a. main leg section of angular cross sectional shape, an adjustable leg section also of angular cross sectional shape and longitudinally disposed and nested in the angular portion of said main leg section, said adjustable section having a longitudinal slot formed in its corner edge, a single clamping mechanism for adjustably and rigidly securing said sections together, said clamping mechanism including a bolt carried by said main section and working through said slot and substantially bi-secting the angle of said section and a conical clamping element mounted on said bolt and closely conforming to the shape of the angularly disposed edges ofv said adjustable section which define said slot, the slotted portion of said adjustable section being cut to form a transversely extending enlargement of, said slot at one end thereof, said enlargement being smaller in one dimension than said conical element whereby said conical element may be securely seated therein.

2. Adjustable leg construction comprising a main leg section of angular cross sectional shape, an adjustable leg section also of angular cross sectional shape and longitudinally disposed and nested within the angularportion of said main leg section, said adjustable section having an elongated longitudinal slot formed in its corner edge, and a single clamping mechanism for adjustably and rigidly securing said sections together, said clamping mechanism comprising a bolt carried by said main section and working through said slot and substantially bi-secting the angle of said section and cooperating clamping means mounted on said bolt including a conical element conforming in shape to the angularly disposed edges of said adjustable section and including threaded means disposed inwardly of said conical element and adapted to be readily tightened or released by hand without the use of a tool.

HANS C. HANSON.

SOPHUS RASMUSSEN.

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