Patent Publication Number: US-2023139039-A1

Title: Tool for adjusting feet for furniture items and the like

Description:
The present invention relates to a tool for adjusting feet for furnishing items and the like. 
     A wide variety of feet, in particular adjustable feet, can be provided in the field of feet for furniture and similar furnishing items. Various types of adjustable feet are used, in fact, such as feet with front adjustment directly installed on the furniture by the seller, but feet are also used that can be installed and adjusted by the end customer or consumer of the furniture, that, for example, can also be assembled, like the furniture, by the end customer. 
     Furniture or furnishing elements, such as kitchens, furniture, etc. must in fact be able to easily and safely reach a stable and leveled position through adjustment with these feet if they are arranged in front of the furniture, i.e. easily accessible, and also, above all, if they are arranged at the rear and are less easily accessible. 
     It has been seen that this type of adjustment is easier and more manageable to effect if achieved with the aid of a tool or wrench which is more manoeuvrable by the user, in particular for the rear feet. 
     GB 2535024 and DE 202018105370 relate to tools having a handle and a two-armed end suitable for adjusting supporting legs with a variable height which provide a central engagement means between the two arms. 
     WO 2019/043660 relates to a furniture-leveling apparatus which comprises a handle equipped with a control end-knob which actuates a pinion arranged between two arms which become engaged on the foot. The pinion engages with a rack integral with the foot. 
     The general objective of the present invention is to provide a tool for adjusting feet for furnishing items capable of solving the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art in an extremely simple, economical and particularly functional way. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a tool which ensures optimal action on the single foot. 
     Another objective of the present invention is also to provide a tool that is extremely simple, but which ensures a stable engagement on the single front foot and/or, above all, on the rear foot of the furniture or the like. 
     Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a tool for adjusting a foot, in particular of the type consisting of flanges transversal to its axis and radial septa converging towards the centre, arranged between the flanges. 
     The above objectives are achieved by a tool for adjusting feet for furnishing items produced according to independent claim  1  and the following subordinate claims. 
    
    
     
       The structural and functional characteristics of the present invention and its advantages with respect to the known art will become even more evident from the following description, referring to the attached schematic drawings, which show an embodiment example of the same invention. In the drawings: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a tool according to the invention positioned adjacent to a foot to be adjusted; 
         FIG.  2    is a view from which it can be seen how the tool in  FIG.  1    can be actuated for adjusting the foot; 
         FIGS.  3 ,  4  and  5    show further perspective views with different orientations of the tool of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIGS.  6   a ,  6   b  and  6   c    are sectional views from above of the tool in  FIG.  1    when actuated in subsequent positions; 
         FIG.  7    is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a tool according to the invention positioned adjacent to a foot to be adjusted; 
         FIG.  8    is a view from which it can be seen how the tool in  FIG.  7    can be actuated for adjusting the foot; 
         FIGS.  9 ,  10  and  11    show further perspective views with different orientations of the tool of  FIG.  7   ; 
         FIGS.  12   a ,  12   b  and  12   c    are sectional views from above of the tool in  FIG.  7    when actuated in successive positions; 
         FIG.  13    is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a tool according to the invention positioned adjacent to a foot to be adjusted; 
         FIG.  14    is a view from which it can be seen how the tool in  FIG.  13    can be actuated for adjusting the foot; 
         FIGS.  15   a ,  15   b  and  15   c    are sectional views from above of the tool in  FIG.  13    when moved in successive positions for engaging on the foot; 
         FIG.  16    shows a perspective view from below of a bottom of a piece of furniture provided with front and rear feet in which a tool according to the invention is being used for adjusting a rear foot. 
     
    
    
     With reference to the figures, which are illustrative and non-limiting, these show various embodiments of a tool for adjusting feet for furniture and similar furnishing items according to the present invention. 
     In particular,  FIGS.  1  to  6     c  show a first embodiment of the tool which comprises a fork-shaped body  11  inside which an engagement means  12  is arranged, forming an engagement or control means, which is inserted in a seat  13  of a foot  14 . 
     The fork-shaped body  11  provides a handle  15  from which two arms  16  extend which diverge and widen outwards. The engagement and control means  12  is produced in the form of an arched and rounded tooth rising towards its free end in the direction from one arm to the other. The two arms  16  provide edges  17  protruding towards the inside of the same which define housing and centering seats for peripheral parts of the foot  14 . 
     In the example, the foot  14  provides in fact a pair of end flanges  18  from which a threaded stem  19  extends, suitable for being inserted, screwable and unscrewable, into a cylindrical body  20  or of another suitable shape, which can be coupled with a piece of furniture or a part thereof M. Radial septa  21  are arranged between the two end flanges  18  and are spaced apart to define said seats  13  for the tooth  12 , forming a rotatable ferrule  22  of the foot which constitutes a controlled element. The radial septa  21  all converge towards a central axis X at the foot. 
     In particular, specifically, the two arms  16  provide edges  17  protruding towards the inside of the same, which define housing and centering seats for at least a peripheral part of the ferrule  22  which acts as a controlled element of the adjustable foot  14 . 
     The shape of the two arms  16  that diverge and widen outwardly from the handle creates an invitation for positioning the tool on at least a part of the adjustable foot  14 , for example the ferrule  22  of the foot  14 . 
     The two arms  16  embrace the ferrule or controlled element  22  of the height-adjustable foot in order to keep the tool and the engagement or control means  12  associated laterally with the adjustable foot  14 . 
     Furthermore, the edges  17  protruding inwardly from the arms  16  allow the tool to be fitted on the ferrule  22  of the foot with extreme safety and ease. 
     The tooth  12 , also thanks to its arched shape, becomes easily and safely engaged in one of the series of seats  13  of the ferrule  22  of the foot  14  in any direction in which it is rotated or in which the tool is turned towards the foot  14 . The specific function of the diverging arms  16  and of the tooth  12  is clarified by the succession of  FIGS.  6   a ,  6   b  and  6   c    which, as already mentioned, are in a sectional view from above of the tool. These figures show the positions that the tool acquires when positioned in engagement on the ferrule  22  of the foot  14 . They also show how the tooth  12  can be brought into engagement in the various seats  13  of the foot  14  so as to cause it to rotate for adjusting its height.  FIG.  2    clarifies how the tool can acquire different positions so as to be rotated easily and from different actuation positions. 
       FIGS.  7  to  12     c  show a second embodiment of the tool in which identical elements have the same reference numbers or, if having similar functions, are preceded by “ 1 ”. 
     It can therefore be noted that the fork-shaped body  11  here again provides an engagement means  112  between the two arms  16 , in the form of a tooth which is inserted into a seat  13  of a foot  14 . The arms  16  appear in a simplified form without protruding edges and are in any case divergent from each other. 
     In this embodiment, however, it can be seen ( FIGS.  12   a ,  12   b  and  12   c   ) that the tooth  112  is of the yielding type according to an axis Y of the handle  15 . A seat  23  is provided, in fact, in the handle  15  of the fork-shaped body  11 , between the two arms of the fork-shaped body  11 , in which a spring  24  or similar elastic element is arranged which pushes the tooth  112  which slides therein. The seat  23  in one of its ends facing outwardly between the arms, provides an abutment  27  for the shaped body of the sliding tooth  112  which forms a run-end for the same within the seat  23 . The tooth  112  is therefore normally held in this abutment position by the spring  24 , but it can move back when rotated with respect to the foot  14  to favour its rotation. This is also thanks to its arched and rounded shape rising towards its free end.  FIG.  8    here again also illustrates how the tool can acquire different positions so as to be rotated easily and from different actuation positions. This also occurs thanks to the possibility of the tooth  112  sliding in the seat  23  thanks to the spring  24 , as can be seen in  FIGS.  12   a ,  12   b  and  12   c   . These figures in fact show the positions that the tooth  112  acquires in the tool when it is positioned in engagement on the ferrule  22  of the foot  14  or is caused to rotate around it. 
     Finally,  FIGS.  13  to  15     c  show a third embodiment of the tool according to the invention and here again identical elements have the same reference numbers, where possible, or if having similar functions, they are preceded by “ 2 ”. 
     The tool of the invention in this example has a fork-shaped body  211  inside which an engagement means  212  is arranged which is inserted in a seat  13  of a foot  14 . 
     The fork-shaped body  211  provides a handle  215  from which two arms  216  extend, which converge towards a central axis X to the foot in directions parallel to those of the septa  21  present in the ferrule  22  of the foot  14 . In this case, the two arms  216  are short so that they can be received and contained in the seats  13  of the ferrule  22  of the foot  14 . Between these two arms  216  there is the engagement means  212  produced in the form of a tooth in a triangular shape and such as to be able to be inserted between two consecutive septa  21  of the ferrule  22 . For greater engagement between two consecutive septa  21  the tooth  212  extends further with respect to the arms  216  than the handle  215 . 
     In this case, converging arms  216  of the fork have been formed that can be inserted in the seats  13  of the ferrule  22  of the foot  14  to enable a greater force to be exerted on the ferrule  22  of the foot  14 , together with the tooth  212 , when the tool is actuated to cause an adjustment rotation, as shown in  FIG.  14   . 
       FIGS.  15   a ,  15   b  and  15   c    show even more clearly what the actuation phase with this tool may be or how the tool can be disengaged and re-engaged with respect to the different seats of the ferrule  22  of the foot  14 . 
     It should be noted that in the fork-shaped body  11 ,  211  a blind hole  25  is provided, obtained in an axial position at the handle  15 ,  215  for receiving an actuation rod  26  of the tool which allows easier use. It is also possible in fact to intervene below the bottom of a piece of furniture M as shown in  FIG.  16   , thanks to this rod  26  by manoeuvring from the outside of the furniture. The rod  26  also allows a greater torque to be applied, facilitating the rotation of the single foot  14  even in the presence of strong friction or heavy furniture that hinders this rotation. 
     It is therefore possible to adjust the feet from the front of the furniture frontally thanks to the use of a tool or wrench according to the present invention. 
     It can therefore be noted that this specific tool according to the invention allows the easy adjustment of a supporting foot or leg such as that on a piece of furniture or other furnishing item which provides this type of foot, by adjusting the foot or supporting leg in order to correct its level. 
     It is also evident that this specific tool is engaged with the movable or rotating part of the foot in order to allow adjustment, even if this part is difficult to reach and if a significant force must be applied to it due to the weight of the furniture. 
     The objective mentioned in the preamble of the description has thus been achieved. 
     The protection scope of the present invention is defined by the enclosed claims.