Abstract:
A detachable stand includes a transverse bar having a first coupling hole and a second coupling hole at each of two distal ends thereof, a pair of upper support rods coupled to the first coupling holes of the transverse bar, a pair of lower support rods coupled to the second coupling holes of the transverse bar, and quick-release mechanism provided at the transverse bar and operable to lock the pair of upper support rods and the pair of lower support rods to the transverse bar. When the quick-release mechanism is released, the pair of upper support rods and the pair of lower support rod are unlocked and able to be removed from the transverse bar, reducing space requirement for storage of the detachable stand.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims, under 35 U.S.C. §119, priority to Taiwanese Application No. 098133050, filed Sep. 29, 2009, which application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, inclusive of the specification, claims, and drawings. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to support means for supporting a power tool, and more particularly, to a detachable stand, which can be detached from the power tool when not in use. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Taiwan Patent Number M283108 discloses a stand entitled “Stand for machine.” According to this design, the stand includes a plurality of support legs and a plurality of bearing members. Coupling grooves and coupling flanges are provided between the support legs and the bearing members so that the support legs and the bearing members can be fastened together. To enhance connection stability between the support legs and the bearing members, locking members are provided to lock the support legs and the bearing members in position. 
         [0004]    The aforesaid stand has a big size that requires a large amount of storage space when it is not used. In order to save storage space, the support legs and the bearing members can be detached from one another. However, it requires a significant amount of time and labor to detach the support legs and the bearing members. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,441,760 discloses a stand entitled “Work table,” which includes a support leg arrangement formed from a plurality of telescoping legs and a tool or workpiece bearing portion mounted on the support leg arrangement. The bearing portion includes a first bearing member and a second bearing member. At least one guide bar extends between the first and second bearing members. To permit movement, the first bearing member is movably arranged on the guide bar. The second bearing member is fixed relative to first bearing member by the support leg arrangement. This structure of the work table is collapsible, however the table still occupies a large amount of storage space when collapsed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The present disclosure of a detachable stand provides advantageous solutions to the above discussed drawbacks. In particular, a detachable stand is provided, which is easy to assemble and disassemble, and which effectively reduces the space occupied when the stand is collapsed. 
         [0007]    An exemplary embodiment of a detachable stand according to the present disclosure includes a transverse rod, a pair of upper support rods, a pair of lower support rods, and a quick-release mechanism. The transverse rod has at least one first coupling hole and at least one second coupling hole at each of two opposed first and second ends thereof. The upper support rods are respectively inserted with the bottom ends thereof into the first coupling holes of the transverse rod. The lower support rods are respectively inserted with the top ends thereof into the second coupling holes of the transverse rod. The quick-release mechanism is mounted in the transverse bar and is adapted for locking the upper support rods and the lower support rods to the transverse bar. 
         [0008]    When the quick-release mechanism is tightened, the upper support rods and the lower support rods are locked to the transverse bar. Thus, the detachable stand can be used to support a machine tool above the ground. When the quick-release mechanism is loosened, the upper support rods and the lower support rods are unlocked from the transverse bar and can be removed from the transverse bar. Thus, the detachable stand can be detached rapidly to reduce the space occupied when the stand is not in use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is an elevational view of a detachable stand in an extended configuration in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a schematic side view of the detachable stand shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of a part of the detachable stand shown in  FIG. 2 , showing the handle of the quick-release mechanism in the locking position. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the detachable stand shown in  FIG. 3  showing the detailed structure of the detachable stand. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 3 , showing the handle of the quick-release mechanism in the unlocking position. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is an end view of a detachable stand in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  corresponds to  FIG. 6 , showing the pair of upper support rods and the pair of lower support rods detached from the transverse bar. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    A first embodiment of a detachable stand  10  according to the present disclosure is shown in  FIGS. 1 through 5 . The detachable stand  10  includes a transverse bar  20 , pairs of upper support rods  30 , pairs of lower support rods  40 ;  42  and a quick-release mechanism  50 . 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  5 , the transverse bar  20  has an axial hole  22  extending through the opposed first and second ends thereof, a pair of first coupling lugs  24  and a pair of second coupling lugs  26  bilaterally arranged at each of the two opposed first and second ends. 
         [0018]    Each first coupling lug  24  extends obliquely upwardly from one end of the transverse bar  20  in the radial direction, defining therein a first coupling hole  242 . Each second coupling lug  26  extends obliquely downwardly from one end of the transverse bar  20  in the radial direction, defining therein a second coupling hole  262 . Additionally, the two pairs of first coupling lugs  24  and the two pairs of second coupling lugs  26  are equiangularly spaced around the axis of the transverse bar  20 . Further, the first coupling lugs  24  and second coupling lugs  26  of the transverse bar  20  each have side opening  28 . 
         [0019]    According to this embodiment, the upper support rods  30  are straight rod members, each having the bottom end thereof inserted into one coupling hole  242  of the transverse bar  20  and the top end thereof provided with a bearing block  32  for supporting a machine tool thereon. 
         [0020]    According to this embodiment, the two lower support rods  40  are straight rod members, and the other two lower support rods  42  are slightly curved. Each lower support rod  40  or  42  has the top end thereof inserted into one coupling hole  262  of the transverse bar  20  and the bottom end thereof arranged for contacting the ground. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the quick-release mechanism  50  has a pull rod  51 , an adjustment nut  52 , two clamping plates  53 ;  54 , two spring members  55 ;  56 , and a handle  57 . 
         [0022]    The pull rod  51  is inserted through the axial hole  22  of the transverse bar  20 , and includes an opposed screw end  512  and a coupling end  514 . The adjustment nut  52  is threaded onto the screw end  512  of the pull rod  51 . 
         [0023]    The two clamping plates  53 ;  54  are respectively arranged on the coupling end  514  and screw end  512  of the pull rod  51 . The two spring members  55 ;  56  are concentrically arranged on the pull rod  51 , and respectively abutting between one of the first and second ends of the transverse bar  20  and one of the two clamping plates  53 ;  54 . 
         [0024]    The handle  57  has a cam portion  572  located on one end thereof and is pivotally coupled to the coupling end  514  of the pull rod  51  in such a manner that the handle  57  can be moved relative to the pull rod  51  between a locking position P 1  and an unlocking position P 2 . 
         [0025]    When the handle  57  is in the locking position P 1  as shown in  FIG. 3 , one clamping plate  53  is forced by the cam portion  572  to hold down one pair of upper support rods  30  and one pair of lower support rods  42 , and the other clamping plate  54  is forced by the nut  52 , which is pulled by the cam portion  572  via the pull rod  51 , to hold down the other pair of upper support rods  30  and the other pair of lower support rods  40 . 
         [0026]    When the handle  57  is in the unlocking position P 2  as shown in  FIG. 5 , the cam portion  572  is released from the associated clamping plate  53  for enabling the associated clamping plate  53  to be pushed outwards by a biasing force applied by one spring member  55 . Meanwhile, the pull rod  51  is not pulled by the cam portion  572  and thus enables the associated clamping plate  54  to also to be pushed outwards by a biasing force applied by one spring member  56 . Therefore the upper support rods  30  and the lower support rods  40 ,  42  are released from the constraint of the two clamping plates  53 ;  54  and are movable away from the coupling holes  242 ;  262  of the transverse bar  20  respectively. 
         [0027]    In use of the detachable stand  10 , the lower support rods  40 ;  42  are inserted into the coupling holes  262  of the second coupling lugs  26  of the transverse bar  20  respectively to allow the bottom ends of the lower support rods  40 ;  42  to be supported at the ground. Next the upper support rods  30  are inserted into the coupling holes  242  of the first coupling lugs  24  of the transverse bar  20 , and then the handle  57  is moved to the locking position P 1  as shown in  FIG. 3  to allow the upper support rods  30  and the lower support rods  40 ;  42  be clamped in between the first and second ends of the transverse bar  20  and the clamping plates  53 ;  54  respectively. Therefore, the upper support rods  30  and the lower support rods  40 ;  42  are locked to the transverse bar  20  in the respective coupling holes  242 ;  262 . 
         [0028]    Thus, the user can mount a machine tool, for example, a saw machine (not shown) on the bearing blocks  32  of the upper support rods  30  to facilitate operation. Further, the user can rotate the nut  52  to adjust the distance between the two clamping plates  53 ;  54  so that the handle  57  can be adjusted to the appropriate tightness subject to the user&#39;s preference. 
         [0029]    After each use of the detachable stand  10 , the handle  57  is moved upwards from the locking position P 1  shown in  FIG. 3  to the unlocking position P 2  shown in  FIG. 5  to release the force applied by clamping plates  53 ;  54  to the upper support rods  30  and the lower support rods  40 ;  42 . At this time, the user can remove the upper support rods  30  and the lower support rods  40 ;  42  from the coupling holes  242 ;  262  of the transverse bar  20  respectively. 
         [0030]    As stated above, by means of operating the quick-release mechanism, the user can detach the detachable stand conveniently and rapidly to reduce the space occupied when the stand is not in use. Further, when the detachable stand is set up, it provides an excellent supporting effect. 
         [0031]    It is to be understood that the detachable stand can be variously embodied.  FIG. 6  illustrates a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The detachable stand  60  according to this second embodiment is substantially similar to the aforesaid first embodiment with the exception of the below noted differences. 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , the transverse bar  70  has a first coupling lug  72  and a second coupling lug  74  respectively located on each of opposed first and second ends thereof. Each first coupling lug  72  extends vertically upwardly from one end of the transverse bar  70  in the radial direction, defining therein a first coupling hole  722 . Each second coupling lug  74  extends vertically downwardly from one end of the transverse bar  70  in the radial direction, defining therein a second coupling hole  742 . 
         [0033]    The upper support rods  80  are Y-shaped bars, each having a main leg portion  82  and two supporting leg portions  84 . The main leg portions  82  of the upper support rods  80  are respectively inserted into the first coupling holes  722  of the transverse bar  70 . The supporting leg portions  84  each have a bearing block  842  at the top end. 
         [0034]    The lower support rods  90  are also Y-shaped bars, each having a main leg portion  92  and two sub-leg portions  94 . The main leg portions  92  of the lower support rods  90  are respectively inserted into the second coupling holes  742  of the transverse bar  70 . The sub-leg portions  94  of the lower support rods  90  are arranged to contact the ground. 
         [0035]    The mounting and dismounting operations of this second embodiment are generally the same as the aforesaid first embodiment. When the handle  96  is in the locking position P 1  shown in  FIG. 6 , the upper support rods  80  and the lower support rods  90  are locked to the transverse bar  70  in the respective first coupling holes  722  and second coupling holes  742  to provide an excellent supporting effect. 
         [0036]    When the handle  96  is moved to the unlocking position P 2  shown in  FIG. 7 , the upper support rods  80  and the lower support rods  90  can be removed from the first coupling holes  722  and second coupling holes  742  of the transverse bar  70  respectively to detach the detachable stand. 
         [0037]    A prototype of detachable stand has been constructed with the features of  FIGS. 1˜7 . The detachable stand functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed above. 
         [0038]    Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.