Abstract:
A chair having sliding and swiveling device, mounted on a stationary post for adjustment. A slide plate supports the chair and a lower surface has a longitudinally extending roller channel, in which a plurality of rollers of a holder are provided to support the slide plate so that the slide plate is longitudinally slideable. The holder swivels on the post. A first lock releasably locks the holder against swiveling; and a second lock releasably locks the slide plate against sliding. A lock controller, including a handle, controls both locks, wherein rotating of the handle in a one direction locks the holder against swiveling, and rotating in an opposite direction locks the slide plate against sliding. The handle extends and retracts toward and away from the post. When the chair has a horizontal seat with a front portion that is pivotable upward if the chair is unused, the slide plate supports a rear portion of the seat on the upper surface of a support portion of the plate, and the lower surface has two roller channels to receive the rollers of the holder. The lock controller includes an elongated control member for coupling the handle to the locks, so that by rotating the handle the control member is rotated to control the locks. The control member is extendible to bring the handle from beneath the rear seat portion to a forward end of the seat, for convenient access.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The subject matter of the present invention is a continuation-in-part of applicants&#39; copending application Ser. No. 09/506,904, field Feb. 18, 2000, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates in general to an adjustable mounting device for use with a post mounted item such as a chair. More specifically, the invention enables the operator to swivel the item 360-degrees in a rotational direction and to slide it backward and forward on rollers in a horizontal direction, by adjusting a single telescoping handle that may be retracted when it is not in use. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Because of the high speeds and heavy shaking involved with vehicles such as pleasure boats, chairs for these vehicles are typically mounted on a support post fixed to the underlying deck. To permit the occupant to adjust the rotational and longitudinal position of the chair, a sliding and swiveling device is mounted between the chair and the stationary post. The cam locking type sliding and swiveling device, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,729, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, includes a slide plate and a holder. The holder has a lower cylindrical sleeve portion and an upper web portion. The sleeve is shaped to receive the post and it is rotatably coupled to the post in a manner that allows the holder to swivel 360-degrees in a rotational direction around the post. The top of the upper web portion terminates in a pair of parallel longitudinal skids. The slide plate has an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface supports an item such as a chair. The lower surface of the slide plate has a pair of parallel longitudinal tracks which receive the skids of the holder, and in this manner the slide plate is slidably coupled to the holder permitting the slide plate to slide longitudinally with respect to the holder. The device also features a first locking assembly for releasably locking the slide plate and holder against rotation with respect to the chair post. A second locking assembly is provided for releasably locking the slide plate and holder against longitudinal sliding. The device features a handle and an assembly for triggering a release of the first locking assembly upon rotation of the handle in a first direction (e.g., clockwise) and for triggering a release of the second locking assembly upon rotation of the same handle in a second direction (e.g., counter-clockwise). Biasing devices are provided to place the two locks or locking assemblies in a locking state when the handle is not rotated in one direction or the other. 
     The slide plate slides on a pair of parallel tracks. An item such as a chair is attached to the upper surface of the slide plate. When the overlying chair is stationary, static friction forces develop between the track and the skid. Thus, to move the chair forward or backward, the operator must shove the chair with enough force to overcome the static friction forces, and this can cause the chair to slide past or overshoot the desired position. To slide the chair back from the over-shot location to the desired position, sufficient force must be developed once again, and this may cause the chair again to slide past the desired location. 
     When an item such as a chair is mounted to a boat deck utilizing a conventional sliding and swiveling device, the chair obstructs precious deck space, whether or not it is in use. In addition, the handle must protrude laterally outward from the device to an outer edge of the chair so that the operator can reach it with ease. Thus, the handle of the sliding and swiveling device as well obstructs the boat deck space. 
     It can be understood from the above discussion that the prior sliding and swiveling device offers serviceable performance. However, longitudinal adjustment of the prior arrangement is inaccurate and inconvenient, because the operator must shove the chair hard enough to develop a large momentum to overcome static friction forces, and as a result the desired new location may be over-shot. Furthermore, the device and the item that the device supports obstruct space, whether or not they are in use. Finally, the rotational locking mechanism, or thrust plate, is composed from numerous components, and as a result it is relatively complicated to manufacture. 
     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a sliding and swiveling device that develops a minimal amount of static friction when it is at rest, requires less force for horizontal movement, and does not obstruct lateral space when the device is not in use. A still further object is to provide such a device that utilizes a rotational locking mechanism having a minimal number of components. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a sliding and swiveling device, for adjustment of an item, such as a chair, mounted on a stationary post. It includes a slide plate having a support portion for supporting the item on an its upper surface, a lower surface of the support portion having a longitudinally extending roller channel. A holder, which is adapted to be mounted to swivel on a stationary post, has a plurality of rollers longitudinally spaced apart in the channel, to support the slide plate so that the slide plate is longitudinally slideable. A first lock releasably locks the holder against swiveling with respect to the post; and a second lock releasably locking the slide plate against longitudinal sliding with respect to the holder. A lock controller, including a handle, controls both locks, wherein rotating of the handle in a one direction from a neutral position, locks the holder against swiveling, and rotating of the handle from the neutral position in an opposite direction locks the slide plate against longitudinal sliding. The handle is extendible and retractable respectively toward and away from the post. 
     In a preferred embodiment, two opposing lateral sides of the slide plate form two C-shaped channels, and a plurality of rollers are confined within each channel. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the supported item is a chair and forms, with the device, a chair system. The chair has a horizontal seat with a rear portion and a front portion, with the front portion being pivotable upward so as to occupy less deck space when the chair is not in use. The slide plate supports the rear portion of the chair seat on the upper surface of the plate&#39;s support portion, and the lower surface of the support portion has two longitudinally extending roller channels. The rollers of the holder are longitudinally spaced apart in both channels, so that the slide plate is longitudinally slideable with respect to said holder, on the rollers. The lock controller includes an elongated control member for use in coupling the handle at one end, to the two locks, so that by rotating the handle, and thus the control member, the control member is rotated to control the locks. The control member is extendible to bring the handle to a forward end of the forward seat portion, for convenient access by an occupant of the chair, and is retractable to bring the handle beneath the rear seat portion. Thus, when the chair is unoccupied, deck space is conserved by pivoting the front seat portion upward and retracting the control member. Moreover, according to another aspect of the invention, the coupling between the handle and the locks through the control member is the same in the when the control member is extended as when it is retracted, so that the controller operable to control the locks in both states. 
     The foregoing object to provide a device which develops a minimal amount of friction is accomplished by the above described device in that it provides rollers within the holder and the slide plate to reduce friction between the holder and the slide plate. In addition, the rotational locking mechanism has only two components, a thrust plate and a biasing device, thus it utilizes a minimum amount of parts. The foregoing object to provide a device having a handle that does not obstruct use of lateral space when the device is not in use, is achieved by the telescoping handle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent by way of the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a sliding and swiveling device attached to a post mounted chair in accordance with the invention, with the chair shown in schematic side cross section, and showing the telescoping handle fully extended, 
     FIG. 2 is a cross section of the device showing the cam plate and the push plate, 
     FIG. 3 is plan view of the underside of the device, 
     FIG. 4 is a cross section of the device showing the locking teeth of the push plate, 
     FIG. 5 is a cross section of the device showing a roller and its housing, 
     FIG. 6 is an end view of the device showing the telescoping handle, 
     FIG. 7 is a simplified cross section of the device showing the operation of the cam plate and the push plate, when the device is unlocked to permit rotational movement, 
     FIG. 8 is a simplified cross section of the device showing the operation of the cam plate and the push plate, when the device is in a fully locked position, 
     FIG. 9 is a simplified cross section of the device showing the operation of the cam plate and the push plate, when the device is unlocked to permit longituinal movement, and 
     FIG. 10 is a side view of a sliding and swiveling device attached to a post-mounted chair in accordance with the invention, with the chair shown in schematic, side cross section, showing the telescoping handle fully retracted and with a thigh rest in an up position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a sliding and swiveling device  2 , in accordance with the invention, attached to an item  4  in the form of a post mounted chair, wherein the chair  4  is shown in schematic side cross section. The chair  4  is a conventional chair adapted for use on boats, having a rear seat portion  102  and a front seat portion in the form of a thigh rest  100 , wherein the thigh rest  100  is hingedly connected to the rear seat portion, and is shown in its extended position for support of an occupant&#39;s thighs during use. The particular manner of hinged connection is not important to the invention, and so such hinges are omitted from the drawings for the sake of simplicity. 
     The chair  4  is rotatably and slidably attached to a stationary post  6  via the sliding and swiveling device  2 . The post  6  preferably is mounted within a base assembly  7 , which is fixed to a surface  8  such as that of a deck of a boat. 
     Referring to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, the sliding and swiveling device  2  includes a slide plate  10 , a slide plate holder  12 , a spacer sleeve  13 , a stationary post  14 , a push plate  16 , a cam plate  18 , a thrust plate  20 , and rollers  22 . The slide plate  10  has a flat, preferably rectangularly shaped support portion  11  having an upper surface  24  and a lower surface  26 , that serves as a base for the item  4 . 
     FIG. 3 is plan view of the underside of the slide plate  10 . Mounting holes  27  preferably are provided in the slide plate  10  for fastening the item  4  to its upper surface  24 . As shown in FIG. 2, a “C” shaped longitudinal first reception slot  28  a and a second reception slot  29  are integrally formed to protrude from the lower surface  26  of the slide plate  10 . The slide plate  10  also has two parallel sides  32 ,  33 . Similarly, the push plate  16  has a first end  34  and a second end  35 , and the cam plate  18  has a second end  37 . The parallel sides  32 ,  33  of the slide plate  10  are formed into C-shaped roller channels  38  that confine the rollers  22  (see FIG.  5 ). As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, a handle  39 , which is telescoping as explained below, is fastened to a first end  36  of the cam plate  18  with a bolt or other suitable fastener  40 , and is located at a first end  30  of the slide plate  10 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 2,  3 , and  5 , the slide plate holder  12  is slidably attached to the bottom surface  26  of the slide plate  10  via the rollers  22 . As shown in FIG. 5, the slide plate holder  12  forms a roller housing  41  that encircles each of the rollers  22 . The roller housing  41  holds an axle  42  for each roller  22 , so that the rollers can rotate around the axles. As best shown in FIG. 2, the rollers  22  roll within the roller channels  38 , and they are in contact with the upper interior surface  38 A of the roller channels  38 , permitting the slide plate  10  to move longitudinally with respect to the slide plate holder  12  in non-slip relation to the rollers. The slide plate holder  12  has a web portion  43 , first and second semi-cylindrical protrusions  44 ,  45 , and a sleeve portion  46 . As best shown in FIG. 3, the sleeve portion  46  of the slide plate holder  12  has a vertical slot  47 , a pair of clamping ribs  48 , a clamping bolt  49 , and a handle  50 . The handle  50  operates to tighten the sleeve portion of the slide plate holder  12  around the stationary post  14 , without the use of hand tools. In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the clamping ribs  48  may be fastened with a conventional fastener such as a nut and bolt. A locking tooth  52  for the slide locking mechanism protrudes from the second semi-cylindrical protrusion  45 , and thrust plate support holes  54 ,  56  are formed by the semi-cylindrical protrusions  44 ,  45 , see FIGS. 2 and 4. The thrust plate  20 , has a first shaft portion  58  and a second shaft portion  59  protruding from each end, is movably supported by the thrust plate support holes  54 ,  56 . In addition, the thrust plate  20  has a cam plate contact portion  60  and a locking tongue portion  62 , and a thrust spring  63  is located around the second shaft portion  59 . 
     As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cam plate  18  is an elongated plate that has a cylindrical head  64  located at its upper portion, a cam portion  66  with a hollow core  68  therethrough, located at its lower portion, and an intermediate neck section  69  that connects the upper and lower portions. The cylindrical head  64  of the cam plate is confined by the first reception slot  28 , and it has a width or diameter that precludes release from the first reception slot  28  in a vertical direction while allowing for longitudinal insertion and rotational movement. The cam plate  18  can thus, through its cylindrical head  64 , slide in opposite longitudinally directions, and rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise in the first reception slot  28 . 
     As shown on FIG. 2, the left hand surface of the cam plate  18  has a thrust plate contact protrusion  70 , and the right hand surface has a push plate contact portion  72 . A tension spring  74  is connected between the push plate  16  and the slide plate  10 . The tension spring  74  includes a central coil section  76  and two straight wire sections  78 ,  80  that terminate as hook connections. The hook connector for wire section  78  is received within a hook reception slot  82  in slide plate  10 . The opposite hook connector is received within a pin hole  84  formed in the second end of push plate  16 . 
     As also shown in FIG. 2, the hollow core  68  of the cam plate  18  preferably extends along the entire length of cam plate  18  so as to open out at opposite ends thereof, making it operative at any longitudinal position thereof. At the first end  36  of the cam plate  18 , the hollow core  68  is preferably provided with threads that threadably receive the fastener  40 , that extends through the base of the handle  39  to secure the telescoping handle  39  to the cam plate  18 . Since the cam plate  18  may be moved longitudinally within the first reception slot  28  this permits the handle  39  to be extended from the device  2  or retracted inwardly toward the device  2  in a telescoping manner, as shown respectively in FIGS. 1 and 10. 
     The push plate  16 , as best illustrated in FIGS. 2,  3 , and  4 , is an elongated, narrow width plate, that has a cylindrical head portion  88  located at its upper end and a rack portion  90  constituted of several rectangular teeth  92  located at its lower end. The semi-cylindrical head portion  88  is mounted such that the push plate  16  can rotate both clockwise and counterclockwise in the second reception slot  29  formed within the slide plate  10 . The width or diameter of head portion  88  is such that it is vertically confined within the reception slot  29 . 
     When the slide plate  10  is in a fixed state as shown in FIGS. 2,  3 ,  4 ,  7 , and  8 , the rack portion  90  is meshed with a locking tooth  52  provided on the top surface of the semi-cylindrical protrusion  45  of the slide plate holder  12 . The slide plate  10  is in a longitudinally locked state due to the push plate  16  being in mesh with the locking tooth  52  on the sliding holder  12  so that slide plate  10  cannot move longitudinally forward or backward. Also, in order to prevent the push plate  16  itself from moving longitudinally within the reception slot  29 , threaded slot sections  93  are provided on both ends of the reception slot  29  and set screws  94  are threaded into contact position with the opposite ends of the push plate  16 . These components are best illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     The assembly of the sliding and rotating device  2  will now be described. FIG. 3 shows the undersurface of slide plate  10  after assembly. As shown in FIG. 2, reception slots  28  and  29  extend the full length of slide plate  10  and are respectively sized to receive the cylindrical head portions  64 ,  80  of the push plate  16  and cam plate  18 . To assemble the device, the cylindrical head portion  64  of the cam plate  18  is inserted longitudinally into its respective reception slot  28 , so as to have the first end  36  aligned with the first end of the slide plate  10 . Next, the slide plate holder  12  and the push plate  16  are aligned for simultaneous installation into the slide plate  10 . While the slide plate holder  12  is installed by aligning its rollers with the roller channels  38  of the slide plate, the cylindrical head portion of the push plate  16  is inserted longitudinally into an open end of the reception slot  29 . At opposite ends of the reception slot  29  threaded sections  93  are provided. Set screws  94  are threaded inwardly until contact is made and the push plate  16  is centered and rotatably fixed therebetween, and the handle  39  is fastened to the first end of the cam plate  18 . 
     The operation of the sliding and rotating device  2  will now be described. Referring to FIG. 6, the operator positions the handle  39  of the sliding rotating device  2  to adjust the position of the item  4  relative to a stationary supporting post  6 . When the handle  39  is centered in a neutral position  95  as shown in FIG. 6, the device  2  is fully locked. When the handle  39  is rotated in a first direction  96 , preferably counterclockwise, a longitudinal or sliding adjustment is possible, and when the handle  39  is rotated in a second direction  97 , preferably clockwise, a rotational adjustment is possible. 
     Referring again to FIG. 1, and also to FIG. 10, complimentary positions of the chair  4  and handle  39  are illustrated in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. As noted above, the chair  4  is fastened to the slide plate  10  of the device  2 , and has a rear seat portion  102 , and a movable front portion  100 . The movable front portion extends longitudinally beyond the forward end of the slide plate to serve as a thigh rest when the chair is occupied, and may be moved, with the use of unillustrated hinges, upward and rearward to conserve deck space, such as boat deck space, when the chair is not in use. As shown in FIG. 10, the telescoping handle  39  retracts toward the holder  12  with inward longitudinal movement of the cam plate  18 , to conserve space when the device  2  is not in use, and as shown in FIG. 1, the handle  39  extends outwardly away from the holder  12  with outward longitudinal movement of the cam plate  18 , so that the operator can reach and control the handle  39  with ease. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the device supports a chair  4 , however, the invention is also applicable to other type of items that extend longitudinally beyond the slide plate  10  and that may be reduced in longitudinal size. 
     The push plate  16  and the cam plate  18  are normally biased to the neutral position  95 , as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. The tension spring  76  biases the push plate  16  toward the neutral position  95 . The cam plate  18  is biased toward the neutral position  95  in the first direction  96  by the push plate  16 , and the thrust spring  63  presses the thrust plate  20  toward the cam plate  18 , biasing the cam plate  18  toward the neutral position  95  in the second direction  97 . The push plate  16  can move in the first direction  96  only, however the cam plate  18  may move in either the first direction  96  or the second direction  97 , as shown in FIGS. 7-9. 
     As best shown in FIGS. 7,  8 , and  9 , to facilitate an understanding of how the invention operates, an explanation is first provided as to the operation of the push plate  16  and cam plate  18 . FIG. 9 illustrates the rotation of the cam plate  18  by the handle  39  in the first direction  96 , preferably 45 degrees counterclockwise, for unlocking the longitudinally locked slide plate  10  from its locked neutral state  95 , which is shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. The counterclockwise rotation of cam plate  18  causes the push plate contact portion  72  of the cam plate  18  to force the teeth  92  of the push plate  16  out of engagement with the locking tooth  52 . The thrust plate  20  remains stationary during rotation of the cam plate  18  in the first direction  96 . Also, rotation of both the cam plate  18  and the push plate  16  causes the tension spring  74  shown in FIG. 3 to be stretched, permitting the cam plate  18  to rotate in the first direction  96  out of its neutral state  95 . Once the teeth  92  of the push plate  16  are rotated out of alignment with the locking tooth  52  and as soon as sufficient longitudinal force is applied to move the slide plate  10 , the slide plate  10  and the chair  4  are shifted longitudinally with respect to the slide plate holder  12  and the stationary post  14 , on the rollers  22 . Once the handle  39  is released following the longitudinal shift in position of the slide plate  10 , a new set of meshing teeth  92  on the push plate  16  meshes with the locking tooth  52  that has remained stationary while the slide plate  10  and push plate  16  were shifted longitudinally. This remeshing is caused by the spring  74  forcing the push plate  16  to return to its neutral state  95 . 
     FIG. 7 illustrates the movement of cam plate  18  out of its vertical neutral state  95  upon rotation of the handle  39  in the second direction  97 , preferably  45  degrees clockwise. Rotation of the handle  39  in the second direction  97  also rotates the cam plate  18  out from its neutral position  95 . The coil portion  76  of the tension spring  74  is preferably spaced far enough away so as not to contact the cam plate  18  during such rotation. 
     Movement of the cam plate  18  in the second rotational direction  97  causes the thrust plate contact protrusion  70  of the cam plate  18  to abut against the cam plate contact projection  60  of thrust plate  20 , so as to shift the locking tongue  62  sufficiently to cause the locking tongue  62  to move inwardly out of engagement with a vertical locking slot  98  in stationary post  14 . Once the end of the locking tongue  62  clears the interior surface of stationary post  14 , slide plate holder  12  with attached and longitudinally locked slide plate  10 , can be rotated by a desired amount. The slide plate  10  can then be rotated in either direction until the handle  39  is released such that the locking tongue  62  again becomes aligned with another the locking slot  98  in the stationary post  14 , and the compressed thrust spring  63  causes the locking tongue  62  to move back into the locking slot  98  in the stationary post  14 . The stationary post  14  may also be formed with a plurality of equally spaced locking slots  98  to allow for specific stepped rotation adjustments in the longitudinally fixed slide plate  10 . 
     Persons skilled in the art will understand from the above that various modifications and similar arrangements can be obtained within the spirit and scope of the invention, and the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.