Patent Publication Number: US-2004051011-A1

Title: Adjustable support trestle

Description:
[0001] The invention relates to a support trestle having a base and a support head mounted to be height-adjustable on the latter, which support head has a support element which can be used as a workpiece support and is designed as a roller.  
       [0002] Such support trestles are known in the state of the art. The base of the support trestles known in the state of the art consists of a pair of legs. This pair of legs has on the ground side a crossbeam in the form of a transverse support, which has standing feet on the end side. The two legs of the pair of legs may be coupled to one another to be pivotably moveable, so that they may be brought from a parallel position into a stay position. A height-adjustable tube, which supports a support head on the end side, may project from one of the legs. This support head supports a roller, the axis of which lies in the horizontal, so that a workpiece for supporting the same may be placed on the top of the roller.  
       [0003] The object of the invention is to develop such a support trestle to be advantageous in use.  
       [0004] The object is achieved by the invention indicated in the claims.  
       [0005] Claim 1 proposes in particular that the support head has at least one further support element which can be used as a workpiece support instead of the roller. According to the invention, the generic support trestle is designed to be adjustable. Not only the known roller, but also a further support element may act as a workpiece support. In a further development of the invention, provision is made in that the at least one further support element can be brought into its operational position by a pivoting manipulation. The further support element may thus be assigned to a pivoting mount, which can be pivoted from a non-use position lying next to the roller to an operational position lying above the roller. The pivoting mount may lock in its operational position. In a development of the invention, provision may be made in that the pivoting mount forms two support elements, wherein the one support element occupies its operational position in an approximately 90° pivoting position with respect to the roller operational position and the other support element in an approximately 180° pivoting position. A flat bearing surface is particularly suitable as a support element. However, it is also possible to use a row-like arrangement of bearing balls as a support surface. A combination of the two is preferably used, so that in the first pivoting position, the flat bearing surface points upwards, on which a workpiece may be placed, so that it is held there to be secure against rolling. In the other operational position, a row-like arrangement of bearing balls may point upwards. The workpiece may be placed on the top points of the bearing balls, so that it can be displaced in the entire horizontal plane, and does not have a preferred direction as for the roller support. The flat bearing surface may be formed by an angular extension of the sheet metal section supporting the bearing balls of the pivoting mount designed as a punched bent component. The pivoting mount may thus be punched from sheet metal and be brought to the appropriate shape by bending. The pivoting mount may thus have two angular end sections which as a whole stand U-shaped with respect to one another. These angular sections may have elongated holes, through which extensions of the roller axis engage as pivoting bearings. These angular sections may furthermore also have recesses which serve to lock the pivoting mount in the 90° position. The bulges are thus inserted via locking journals. The locking journal may be formed by a neck of a screw, which is thread-free in the locking region. 
     
    
    
     [0006] One exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated below using attached drawings.  
     [0007]FIG. 1 shows the support trestle of the invention in elevation,  
     [0008]FIG. 2 shows the support trestle in plan view,  
     [0009]FIG. 3 shows the support trestle in side view,  
     [0010]FIG. 4 shows the support trestle in plan view with pivoted pivoting mount,  
     [0011]FIG. 5 shows an enlarged representation of the support head according to FIG. 1, with active flat bearing surface.  
     [0012]FIG. 6 shows a representation according to FIG. 5 with pivoting mount pivoted by 90°, wherein the bearing balls point upwards,  
     [0013]FIG. 7 shows a representation according to FIG. 5 with pivoting mount pivoted by about 180°, with non-active pivoting body,  
     [0014]FIG. 8 shows an enlarged representation of the section according to line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6. 
    
    
     [0015] The legs  1 ,  2  of the exemplary embodiment essentially have the shape of an inverted T, wherein the T-crosspiece forms in each case a transverse support  3 ,  4 , on the ends of which end caps  5  sit, which form the feet of the support trestle.  
     [0016] The support trestle has a fixed leg  2 , in which a support tube  6  is inserted, which can be telescoped out of the fixed leg  2  and which can be fixed in the different height positions by means of a clamping element  7 . In the region of the clamping element  7 , the second leg designed to be longer is pivotably articulated so that it may be brought from the stay position limited by a stop shown in the drawings into a parallel position to the fixed leg.  
     [0017] The support head  8  is screwed on the free end of the support tube  6 . This support head  8  has a sheet metal strip made into a U shape which forms a roller support  12 . This roller support  12  has a bend  12 ′, with which it is screwed to the end of the support tube  6 . The U-shaped design of the roller support is used to mount the roller  9 . The extensions forming the U shape have openings. The roller with its roller axis projections  13  is inserted in the openings of the U limb.  
     [0018] The two opposing roller axes  13  running in the horizontal plane are furthermore the pivoting bearings for a pivoting mount  14 , which is articulated pivotably on the roller support  12 . This pivoting mount  14  likewise has a U-shaped design and is also designed as a punched bent component. On the rear side of its surface area, the roller support  12  has in total 8 rotatably held balls  11  arranged in rows one behind another, the tops of which lie on a line, and which form a support element, on which a workpiece may be placed so that it may be displaced in all directions of the plane.  
     [0019] The base surface is continued on one side in an extension  20 , which is continued in a 90° bend which forms a bearing surface. On the opposite side, the base surface is likewise continued in a stop extension  21 , which kicks against the roller support  12  when the bearing surface  10  points upwards, so that the pivoting mount  14  is supported. This position is shown in FIG. 1 and in FIG. 5.  
     [0020] In the position shown in FIG. 6, the base surface of the pivoting mount  14  is directed upwards, so that the bearing balls  11  occupy their operational position. In this position, a recess  17 , which is arranged in the intended extension of the elongated hole, covers a locking journal  18  assigned to the roller support  12 . The locking journal  18  is formed by a thread-free neck section of a screw.  
     [0021] In the operational position shown in FIG. 7, the front of the roller  9  is in its operational position. The pivoting mount  15  is now pivoted back so far that the support extension  21  lies below the horizontal plane, which goes through the top of the roller. In this position, the pivoting mount  14  is likewise supported against the locking journal  18 . The U-shaped extension of the pivoting mount  14  also having the recess  17  thus has a further recess  19 .  
     [0022] A stop angle, which cooperates with the locking journal  18  in the position shown in FIG. 5, is situated opposite the recess  19 . The stop angle thus engages behind the locking journal  18  in order to prevent displacement of the pivoting mount  14 .  
     [0023] All disclosed features are (in themselves) essential to the invention. The disclosure content of the accompanying/attached priority documents (copy of the prior application) is thus also completely included in the disclosure of the application, also for the purpose of also incorporating features of these documents in claims of the present application.