Tool for adjusting feet for furniture items and the like
AssigneeLeonardo S.P.A.
InventorCarlo Cattaneo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tool for controlling a controlled element of a height adjustable foot of a furnishing item and the like includes an engagement portion and a handle coupled to the engagement portion and having two arms shaped to embrace an outer edge of the height-adjustable foot and keep the engagement portion associated laterally with the adjustable foot. The engagement portion is arranged between the two arms and includes a toothed section that extends over a rounded area of the surface between the two arms of the handle so as to engage radial septa or seats defined in the controlled element and converging toward a central axis of the adjustable foot. The toothed section is shaped as an arched and rounded tooth extending toward one of its free ends in the direction from one arm to the other.
Claims7
A furniture adjustment system, comprising:
- a furniture foot;
- and
- a tool configured to engage the furniture foot to vary a height thereof;
- wherein the furniture foot comprises,
- a threaded stem, and
- a ferrule rotatably engaged to a lower end of the threaded stem, the ferrule comprising,
- an upper end flange and a lower end flange,
- a plurality of septa connecting the upper end flange to the lower end flange, the plurality of septa extending radially from an outer perimeter of the ferrule to a longitudinal lumen of the ferrule that receives the lower end of the threaded stem, the plurality of septa being spaced from one another to define vanes arranged around the outer perimeter of the ferrule;
- and
- wherein the tool comprises,
- a handle,
- two arms extending from an end of the handle in directions that diverge outwardly and from each other, the two arms defining a cavity configured to receive the ferrule of the foot between the two arms so as to laterally associate the tool to the ferrule,
- engagement and control means comprising a tooth extending into the cavity between the two arms so as to engage the ferrule by penetrating into one of the vanes, the engagement and control means causing a rotation of the ferrule around a longitudinal axis of the foot when the handle of the tool is rotated around the longitudinal axis of the foot,
- wherein the tooth has a wider distal body portion arranged in an interior of the handle and a narrower proximal body portion facing the cavity,
- wherein a first longitudinal seat is defined within the handle and is open to the cavity defined by the two arms at a proximal end of the handle, the first longitudinal seat receiving the tooth and further housing a spring biased against the tooth so that the tooth can slide longitudinally within the first longitudinal seat to extend into the cavity or retreat into the first longitudinal seat, the seat having, at an end facing the cavity, an abutment surface that provides a run-end for the wider distal body portion of the tooth, and
- wherein the narrower proximal body portion of the tooth has a free end and lateral sides facing one of the two arms, at least one of the lateral sides having an arched and rounded shape rising from the wider distal body portion toward the free end.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.