Patent Description:
At present, a lifting column for a conventional height adjustable desk is usually secured to a corresponding foot via a fastener such as a screw; this assembly manner is troublesome to a terminal user. The complicated and inconvenient assembly process degrades user experience. A known lifting column is disclosed in <CIT>.

To address at least one of the technical problems noted above, a lifting column according to claim <NUM> is provided.

According to the invention, the lifting column comprises: a column body and a foot mounted to a lower portion of the column body, an insert-joint assembly is provided at the bottom of the column body, a snap groove is provided on the insert-joint assembly, the foot comprises a base and an insert-joint socket provided on the base, a receptacle configured to receive the insert-joint assembly and an elastic snap-fit assembly disposed at a lower portion of the receptacle are provided on the insert-joint socket, a guide bevel disposed at a lower portion of the snap groove is further provided on the insert-joint assembly, wherein on insert-fitting between the insert-joint assembly and the receptacle, the elastic snap-fit assembly is compressed by the guide bevel, and after the insert-joint assembly is mounted in place, the elastic snap-fit assembly is snap-fitted in the snap groove to thereby secure the column body to the foot.

According to the invention, the elastic snap-fit assembly comprises two snap-fit rods slidably attached on the insert-joint socket and an elastic member disposed between the two snap-fit rods, such that after the insert-joint assembly is mounted in place, the snap-fit rods are pushed by the elastic member and snap-fitted into the snap groove.

In some embodiments, a slide groove disposed at either side of the receptacle and communicating with the receptacle is provided at the bottom of the insert-joint socket, and two ends of each of the snap-fit rods extend into the slide groove so as to abut against the elastic member in the slide groove.

In some embodiments, a mounting groove is further provided in the slide groove, and the elastic member is partially disposed in the mounting groove.

In some embodiments, a cover plate is removably attached onto the insert-joint socket, and the cover plate covers the bottom of the slide groove.

In some embodiments, two snap hooks are symmetrically provided at the bottom of the insert-joint assembly, and the snap groove is disposed at either opposite side of the two snap hooks.

In some embodiments, an insert-fit rib is vertically provided on an outer sidewall of the insert-joint assembly, and a slot is provided on an inner wall of the receptacle, the insert-fit rib being insert-fitted with the slot to retain the insert-joint assembly circumferentially.

The disclosure offers the following advantages:.

By providing an insert-joint assembly at the bottom of the column body and providing a receptacle on the foot, the disclosure enables secured fixation between the column body and the foot by insert-fitting the insert-joint assembly into the receptacle, where during the insert-fitting process, the insert-joint assembly creates a push force to compress the elastic snap-fit assembly in the receptacle; and after the insert-joint assembly is mounted in place, the elastic snap-fit assembly will be reset under the action of elastic force, whereby the insert-joint assembly is snap-fitted into the snap groove; fitting between the elastic snap-fit assembly and the snap groove retains the insert-joint assembly from being detached from the receptacle, whereby the column body is secured to the foot, preventing the column body from disengaging from the foot freely. Detachable arrangement between the column body and the foot facilitates packing and transportation; after receiving the package, a user may securely assemble the column body and foot simply by aligning the insert-joint assembly at the bottom of the column body with the receptacle and then insert-fitting the former into the receptacle, which offers a simple, convenient assembly manner and a stable structure; in addition, the reduced assembly difficulty facilitates the user's do-it-yourself (DIY) assembly and improves user experience.

Features and advantages of the disclosure will be described in detail through the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings below.

Hereinafter, the disclosure will be described further through embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Embodiments of the invention provide a lifting column, comprising a column body and a foot mounted to a lower portion of the column body, an insert-joint assembly being provided at the bottom of the column body, a snap groove being provided on the insert-joint assembly, the foot comprising a base and an insert-joint socket provided on the base, a receptacle configured to receive the insert-joint assembly and an elastic snap-fit assembly disposed at a lower portion of the receptacle being provided on the insert-joint socket, a guide bevel disposed at a lower portion of the snap groove being further provided on the insert-joint assembly, where on insert-fitting between the insert-joint assembly and the receptacle, the elastic snap-fit assembly is compressed by the guide bevel, and after the insert-joint assembly is mounted in place, the elastic snap-fit assembly is snap-fitted in the snap groove to thereby secure the column body to the foot. By providing an insert-joint assembly at the bottom of the column body and providing a receptacle on the foot, the disclosure enables secured fixation between the column body and the foot by insert-fitting the insert-joint assembly into the receptacle, where during the insert-fitting process, the insert-joint assembly creates a push force to compress the elastic snap-fit assembly in the receptacle; and after the insert-joint assembly is mounted in place, the elastic snap-fit assembly will be reset under the action of elastic force, whereby the insert-joint assembly is snap-fitted into the snap groove; fitting between the elastic snap-fit assembly and the snap groove retains the insert-joint assembly from being detached from the receptacle, whereby the column body is secured to the foot, preventing the column body from disengaging from the foot freely. Detachable arrangement between the column body and the foot facilitates packing and transportation; after receiving the package, a user may securely assemble the column body and foot simply by aligning the insert-joint assembly at the bottom of the column body with the receptacle and then insert-fitting the former into the receptacle, which offers a simple, convenient assembly manner and a stable structure; in addition, the reduced assembly difficulty facilitates the user's do-it-yourself (DIY) assembly and improves user experience.

Hereinafter, the technical solutions of the disclosure will be explained and illustrated through embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the disclosure, not all of them. Other embodiments derived by those skilled in the art without exercise of inventive work based on the examples in the embodiments all fall within the protection scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

In the description of the disclosure, it needs to be understood that the orientational or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center," "longitudinal," "transverse," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise" refer to those orientational and positional relationships illustrated in the drawings, which are intended only for facilitating description of the disclosure and simplifying relevant depictions, but not for indicating or implying that the devices or elements compulsorily possess such specific orientations or are compulsorily configured and operated with the specific orientations; therefore, such terms should not be construed as limitations to the disclosure.

Besides, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes, which shall not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features referred to. Therefore, the features limited by "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise indicated, "plurality" indicates two or above.

In the disclosure, unless otherwise explicitly provided and limited, the terms such as "mount," "connect," "couple," and "fix" should be understood broadly, which, for example, may refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection; which may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; which may be a direct connection or an indirect connection via an intermediate medium; which may also be a communication between the insides of two elements. To a person of normal skill in the art, specific meanings of the above terms in the disclosure may be construed based on specific situations.

In the disclosure, unless otherwise explicitly provided and limited, an expression that a first feature is "above" or "below" a second feature may refer to a direct contact between the first feature and the second feature or may refer to a scenario where although the first feature and the second feature do not contact directly, they contact via a further feature therebetween. Moreover, the expression that the first feature is "above" or "over" or "on" the second feature refers to a situation where the first feature is exactly or generally over the second feature or only refers to a situation that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than the second feature. The expression that the first feature is "under" or "below" or "beneath" the second feature refers to a situation where the first feature is exactly or generally below the second feature or only refers to a situation that the horizontal height of the first feature is lower than the second feature.

A lifting column, as illustrated in <FIG>, comprises a column body <NUM> and a foot <NUM> mounted to a lower portion of the column body <NUM>, an insert-joint assembly <NUM> being provided at the bottom of the column body <NUM>, a snap groove <NUM> being provided on the insert-joint assembly <NUM>, a receptacle <NUM> configured to receive the insert-joint assembly <NUM> and an elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> disposed at a lower portion of the receptacle <NUM> being provided on the foot <NUM>, where on mounting the column body <NUM> to the foot <NUM>, the insert-joint assembly <NUM> at the bottom of the column <NUM> is simply aligned to the receptacle <NUM> and insert-fitted into the receptacle <NUM>; during the insert-fitting process, the insert-joint assembly <NUM> creates a push force to compress the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> in the receptacle <NUM>; and after the insert-joint assembly <NUM> is mounted in place, the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> will be reset under the action of elastic force, whereby the insert-joint assembly <NUM> is snap-fitted into the snap groove <NUM>; fitting between the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> and the snap groove <NUM> retains the insert-joint assembly <NUM> from being detached from the receptacle <NUM>, whereby the column body <NUM> is secured to the foot <NUM>, preventing the column body <NUM> from disengaging from the foot <NUM> freely. In the embodiment, the insert-joint assembly <NUM> and the column body <NUM> are preferably detachably connected via a screw such that the insert-joint assembly <NUM>, once damaged, may be independently replaced, whereby maintenance cost is reduced.

By providing an insert-joint assembly <NUM> at the bottom of the column body <NUM> and providing a receptacle <NUM> on the foot <NUM>, the disclosure enables secured fixation between the column body <NUM> and the foot <NUM> by insert-fitting the insert-joint assembly <NUM> into the receptacle <NUM>, where during the insert-fitting process, the insert-joint assembly <NUM> creates a push force to compress the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> in the receptacle <NUM>; and after the insert-joint assembly <NUM> is mounted in place, the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> will be reset under the action of elastic force, whereby the insert-joint assembly <NUM> is snap-fitted into the snap groove <NUM>; fitting between the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> and the snap groove <NUM> retains the insert-joint assembly <NUM> from being detached from the receptacle <NUM>, whereby the column body <NUM> is secured on the foot <NUM>, preventing the column body <NUM> from escaping from the foot <NUM> freely. Detachable arrangement between the column body <NUM> and the foot <NUM> facilitates packing and transportation; after receiving the package, the user may securely assemble the column body <NUM> and foot <NUM> simply by aligning the insert-joint assembly <NUM> at the bottom of the column body <NUM> with the receptacle <NUM> and then insert-fitting the former into the receptacle <NUM>, which offers a simple, convenient assembly and a stable structure; in addition, the reduced assembly difficulty facilitates the user's do-it-yourself (DIY) assembly and improves user experience.

In this embodiment, as illustrated in <FIG>, the foot <NUM> comprises a base <NUM> and an insert-joint socket <NUM> provided on the base <NUM>, the receptacle <NUM> and the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> being provided on the insert-joint socket <NUM>, the insert-joint assembly <NUM> being assembled with the insert-joint socket <NUM> so as to be secured to the foot <NUM>. By arranging the foot <NUM> such that the insert-joint socket <NUM> is split from the base <NUM>, once the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> is damaged, the foot <NUM> may be repaired by independently replacing the insert-joint socket <NUM>, whereby maintenance cost of the foot <NUM> is reduced. It is preferable in this embodiment that an accommodation cavity <NUM> is provided in the base <NUM>, where the insert-joint socket <NUM> is inlaid in the accommodation cavity <NUM>, rendering a more pleasant appearance to the foot <NUM>.

The snap groove <NUM> may be symmetrically provided at either side of the insert-joint assembly <NUM>, and alternatively, may be provided at one side of the insert-joint assembly <NUM>. Preferably, in this embodiment, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, a slide groove <NUM> disposed at either side of the receptacle <NUM> and communicating with the receptacle <NUM> is provided at the bottom of the insert-joint socket <NUM>; the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> in this embodiment comprises two snap-fit rods <NUM> and an elastic member <NUM> disposed between the two snap-fit rods <NUM>, where a middle portion of each of the two snap-fit rods <NUM> is disposed in the receptacle <NUM>, and two ends of each of the two snap-fit rods <NUM> extend into the slide groove <NUM> at either side of the receptacle <NUM>, and are slidable along the slide groove <NUM>; two elastic members <NUM> are provided, each elastic member <NUM> is disposed in either slide groove <NUM>, where two ends of each elastic member <NUM> abut against the two snap-fit rods <NUM>, respectively; the elastic member <NUM> is preferably a spring. In this embodiment, in order to quickly mount and position the elastic member <NUM>, a mounting groove <NUM> is further provided in the slide groove <NUM>, such that on mounting the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> to the insert-joint socket <NUM>, it is only needed to dispose the elastic member <NUM> into the mounting groove <NUM>; the mounted elastic member <NUM> is partially disposed in the mounting groove <NUM> and partially projects out of the mounting groove <NUM> such that two ends of the elastic member <NUM> abut against the snap-fit rods <NUM>, whereby assembly efficiency is enhanced. As illustrated in <FIG>, two snap hooks <NUM> are provided symmetrically at the bottom of the insert-joint assembly <NUM>, a snap groove <NUM> being formed on each snap hook <NUM>, where snap grooves <NUM> are provided at opposite side of the two snap hooks <NUM>, respectively, i.e., the snap grooves are disposed to face the inner side of the insert-joint assembly <NUM>; and a guide bevel <NUM> inclined toward a corresponding snap groove <NUM> is provided at the bottom of each snap hook <NUM>.

To mount the insert-joint assembly <NUM> into the receptacle <NUM>, the guide bevels <NUM> at the bottom of the snap hooks <NUM> engage the snap-fit rods <NUM> and move into the receptacle <NUM> along with the insert-joint assembly <NUM>, and the snap-fit rods <NUM> slide towards the elastic member <NUM> along the guide bevels <NUM>, i.e., the snap hooks <NUM> push the two snap-fit rods <NUM> towards the elastic member <NUM> via the guide bevels <NUM>, where the two snap-fit rods <NUM> slide towards the elastic member <NUM> along the slide grooves <NUM> to compress the elastic member <NUM> till the insert-joint assembly <NUM> is mounted in place; at this point, the guide bevels <NUM> disengage from the snap-fit rods <NUM> and move till underneath the snap-fit rods <NUM>, and the snap grooves <NUM> are displaced to the outside of the snap-fit rods <NUM> to align with the snap-fit rods <NUM>; pushed by the elastic force of the elastic member <NUM>, the snap-fit rods <NUM> released of external force compression slide towards the snap grooves <NUM> along the slide grooves <NUM> and are snap-fitted with the snap hooks <NUM> via the snap grooves <NUM>, thereby finally realizing tight snap-fitting between the elastic snap-fit member <NUM> and the insert-joint assembly <NUM>. With provision of the guide bevels <NUM>, this structure enables the snap hooks <NUM> to automatically compress the elastic snap-fit member <NUM> when the user pushes the insert-joint assembly <NUM> to the inside of the receptacle <NUM>, whereby the snap-fit rods <NUM> mounted in place are automatically snapped into the snap grooves <NUM>; the simple structure saves labor for the user's assembly process and facilitates the user's DIY assembly.

As illustrated in <FIG>, an insert-fit rib <NUM> is vertically provided on an outer sidewall of the insert-joint assembly <NUM>, and a slot <NUM> is provided on an inner wall of the receptacle <NUM>, such that when the insert-joint assembly <NUM> is mounted in place, the insert-fit rib <NUM> is vertically insert-fitted into the slot <NUM> so as to retain the insert-joint assembly <NUM> circumferentially from rotating relative to the receptacle <NUM>, which ensures stability between the column body <NUM> and the foot <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, in this embodiment, a cover plate <NUM> is removably attached onto the insert-joint socket <NUM>. The cover plate <NUM> is preferably tightly locked to the bottom of the insert-joint socket <NUM> via a fastener such as a screw, such that the cover plate <NUM> serves to cover the bottom of the slide groove <NUM>. The cover plate <NUM> serves to limit the snap-fit rods <NUM> and the elastic member <NUM> so as to prevent the snap-fit rod <NUM> and the elastic member <NUM> from disengaging from the slide grooves <NUM> freely, which ensures stability of the connection between the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> and the insert-joint socket <NUM>. The cover plate <NUM> is movably attached onto the insert-joint socket <NUM>, such that once the elastic snap-fit assembly <NUM> fails, the cover plate <NUM> may be removed to facilitate quick, separate replacement of the snap-fit rods <NUM> and the elastic member <NUM>, which reduces maintenance cost. The cover plate <NUM> does not block the receptacle <NUM>, such that a tool may access via the bottom of the receptacle <NUM> to pull the snap-fit rods <NUM> to disengage from the snap grooves <NUM>, further realizing detachment between the column body <NUM> and the foot <NUM>, i.e., the user may disassemble the column body <NUM> from the foot <NUM> by themselves as needed, which improves user experience.

Claim 1:
A lifting column, comprising: a column body (<NUM>) and a foot (<NUM>) mounted to a lower portion of the column body, wherein an insert-joint assembly (<NUM>) is provided at a bottom of the column body, a snap groove (<NUM>) is provided on the insert-joint assembly , the foot comprises a base (<NUM>)
and an insert-joint socket (<NUM>) provided on the base, a receptacle (<NUM>) configured to receive the insert-joint assembly and an elastic snap-fit assembly (<NUM>) disposed at a lower portion of the receptacle are provided on the insert-joint socket, a guide bevel (<NUM>) disposed at a lower portion of the snap groove is further provided on the insert-joint assembly, wherein on insert-fitting between the insert-joint assembly and the receptacle, the elastic snap-fit assembly is compressed by the guide bevel, and after the insert-joint assembly is mounted in place, the elastic snap-fit assembly is snap-fitted in the snap groove to thereby secure the column body to the foot; wherein the elastic snap-fit assembly comprises two snap-fit rods (<NUM>) slidably attached on the insert-joint socket and an elastic member (<NUM>) disposed between the two snap-fit rods, such that after the insert-joint assembly is mounted in place, the snap-fit rods are pushed by the elastic member and snap-fitted into the snap groove.