WO2003016790A1

WO2003016790A1 - Supporting device, particularly for air conditioner

Info

Publication number: WO2003016790A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/009382
Authority: WO
Inventors: Carlo Garbet; Silvio Grassi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-08-14
Filing date: 2001-08-14
Publication date: 2003-02-27
Anticipated expiration: 2004-02-14

Abstract

Supporting device to be placed on walls for supporting cumbersome and heavy articles such as air conditioners, comprising at least two first elements (1) adapted to form a rest plane and at least two second elements (2) adapted to form two stanchions to be hooked to a crosspiece (3) secured to a wall. The first and second elements are arranged along a direction substantially orthogonal from each other, and comprise hooking means (9, 13 17) provided on the second element (2) and the first element (1) is so shaped as to be able to cooperate with said hooking means (9, 13) in a manner to form a removable restrained joint therewith.

Description

SUPPORTING DEVICE, PARTICULARLY FOR AIR CONDITIONER

The present invention relates to a supporting device to be placed on walls for supporting substantially cumbersome and heavy articles, for example air conditioners, comprising at least two first elements adapted to form a rest plane and at least two second elements adapted to form two stanchions to be hooked to a crosspiece secured to a wall, said first and second elements being arranged along a direction substantially orthogonal from each other.

Recently, owing to the increased use of air conditioning apparatuses, several solutions have been examined to provide for suitable shelves made with low manufacturing costs, reliability on supporting rather heavy loads, simple maneuvrability when assembling and securing it to walls and capacity of compacting the elements with each other so as to make easier the transport thereof.

A device made with a single shearing die only for both the shelf and the stanchion has been recently obtained in a manner to avoid scraps. In such case, instead of using two bolts two rivets have been used for joining the horizontal element with the vertical element thereof, which solution permits these elements to be transported at an already assembled condition thereof, even if the rivet coupling of such elements isn't reliable satisfactorily with respect to the bolts. Another device provides for a slit into which the shelf is sliding while being secured to the stanchion by a bolt which, in addition to join the two elements, secures them to the wall.

Still another provision taken on analogous devices has been that to made the stanchions of the device slidable along the crosspiece fixed to a wall, thanks to the provision of the same crosspiece with an inclined profile, on which each stanchion is inserted for the purpose to adapt simply and automatically the width of the rest plane to the sizes of the article to be supported, but above all in such a way as to be able to hook simply and immediately the stanchion with the crosspiece, without use of bolts or other elements for fixing each stanchion to the crosspiece, in which case the advantage of the cost cutting for the device, as well as times and costs cutting when assembling the device to a wall is attained. A problem which has not yet been solved is to couple the horizontal elements forming the rest plane with the stanchion vertical elements, by avoiding the need to use bolts, rivets and the like in such a way as to make easier the joining of the two elements together and contemporaneously, so as to ensure a load supporting capacity thereof when it is secured to the wall and submitted to a heavy load such that of an air conditioner or the like. Still another characteristic not to be underestimated is that of a cheap manufacturing cost of the various elements (rest plane, stanchion, crosspiece and different components thereof), thanks to the simple construction of the component elements of the entire device. These problems are solved with the present device made according to the appended claims of the invention. These and other characteristics will be evident from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which :

- Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of the device according to the invention when assembled to a wall ;

- Figs. 2a, 2b and 2c represent respectively a front, a side and a perspective view of a stanchion according to the invention ; - Figs. 3a, 3b represent respectively a plan view and a perspective view of the element forming the rest plane of the device according to the invention ;

- Fig. 4 represents a perspective view of the assembling operation of the horizontal element on the stanchion of the device according to the invention ;

- Fig. 5a, 5b, 5c represent a side view of the device according to the invention, in three operative step of the horizontal rest element with respect to the stanchion ; - Fig. 6 represents an alternative solution of the hooking elements according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION The device according to the invention includes two elements 1 (see Figs. 1, 3) adapted to form a rest plane for air conditioners or the like and two elements 2 (Figs. 1, 2) adapted to constitute two stanchions to be hooked to a crosspiece 3 secured to a wall by means of at least two bolts 4. Each element 1 is constituted by an U folded sheared sheet provided with a set of holes 6 and terminating with an arched profile 7 (see Fig. 4) at its portion intended for being inserted in the correspondent element 2, the function of which will be described later. The element 1 at its front portion to be bent has two upper recesses 8, adapted to co-operate with two tongues 9 (see Figs. 2, 4) of each stanchion 2, such tongues being made by shearing and bending the side profiles of the stanchion 2 and having a vertical profile directed downward so as to be able to be inserted on the upper recesses 8 of the element 1. Each stanchion 2 has also two lower recesses 11 adapted to co-operate with a terminal rectilinear portion 12 of the element 1. Two tongues 13 are made by shearing and bending said recesses 11, and have a vertical profile directed upward, the function of which will be described later. The tongues 9 and the tongues 13 represent two pairs of hooking means of the device according to the invention, provided onto each stanchion 2 and therefore are provided with two profiles complementary from each other, in that the tongues 9 have a profile extended downward, while the tongues 13 have a profile extended upward.

The crosspiece 3 has at its front side a flange 14 having a substantially vertical profile (see Fig. 1), adapted to co-operate with a recess 16 of the stanchion 2, in such a manner as to be able to slide therein, in order to be put into the optimum arrangement thereof depending on the sizes and weight of the article to be disposed on the horizontal elements 1. The device according to the invention is assembled in the following way. In the first installation step, the crosspiece 3 is fixed on the wall intended to support the device, by means of the bolts 4. The elements 1 intended to form the rest plane for the article such as an air conditioner, in order to reduce the space during the transport are extending inside the stanchions 2. Then, the stanchions 2 are each inserted, in a number of at least two of them, with their recess 16 over the flange 14 of the crosspiece 3. At this point, an element 1 is inserted into each stanchion 2, on the lower side thereof, which element is intended to form the rest plane to which an air conditioner or another article having substantially the same encumbrance and/or weight is put. Fig. 5 illustrates the various assembling steps of the element 1 onto the stanchion 2.

The Fig. 5 a illustrates the optimum position that the element 1 shall assume with respect to the stanchion 2. While keeping the element 1 always substantially inclined with respect to the stanchion 2, as indicated on Fig. 5b, the element 1 is pushed inward the stanchion 2 until the two tongues 9 of the stanchion enter the recesses 8 of the element 1. At this point, the element 1 (see Fig. 5c) is rotated up to assume a substantially horizontal position in such a way that the two terminal portions 12 (Fig. 3) of the element 1 come to restrain inside the space comprised between the vertical walls of the stanchion 2 and the two tongues 13. In such manner, it is provided a bearing and a restrained joint of the element 1 with the stanchion 2, without need of special provisions such for example the use of bolts, rivets and the like for obtaining a joint of the stanchion with the element forming the rest plane. Moreover, whenever the stanchion and the element 1 must be disjoined, is it sufficient to rotate the element 1 in an anti-clockwise direction (see Fig. 5c) and to extract it from the stanchion, without need to unscrew bolts or other coupling means of the two elements 1 and 2. An alternative embodiment to the illustrated embodiment may be represented by positioning in a different manner the tongues 13, which instead having a vertical extension may have a horizontal extension, so as to become practically two wings 17 (see Fig. 6). The arrangement remains practically the same, except the profile of the element 1, which becomes the element 18, and the stanchion 2 which becomes the stanchion 19. A double stepped profile 21 is provided instead of the arched profile 7 of Fig. 3, which stepped profile is intended to enter, during the device assembling, the stanchion 19 with a bearing surface 22 which is restrained also in the wing 17, so as to attain a firm junction. " It is evident that the description of the present invention covers all the possible variants, in which the joint between the element 1 and the stanchion 2 is effected by avoiding the μse of particular means such as bolts, rivets etc., so as to permit the two elements 1 and 2 to be coupled with a fixed joint and in case to disjoin the two elements in a simple and not expensive manner.

Claims

1. Supporting device to be placed on walls for supporting cumbersome and heavy articles such as air conditioners, comprising at least two first elements (1) adapted to form a rest plane and at least two second elements (2) adapted to form two stanchions to be hooked to a crosspiece (3) secured to a wall, said first and second elements being arranged along a direction substantially orthogonal from each other, characterized by hooking means (9, 13; 17) provided on said second element (2) and by the fact that said first element (1) is so shaped as to be able to cooperate with said hooking means (9, 13) in a manner to form a removable restrained joint therewith.

2. Supporting device according to claim 1, characterized in that said hooking means comprise at least a first and a second pair (9, 13; 17) of tongues, which are made by shearing and bending the side profile of the relative stanchion (2), and that said first element (1) is provided at its terminal portion (12) with recesses (8) and a shaped profile (7 ; 21) on positions corresponding to the positions of said first and second pair of tongues (9, 13 ; 9, 17), for engaging them respectively.

3. Supporting device according to claim 2, characterized in that said tongues have a vertical or a horizontal profile.

4. Supporting device according to claim 2, characterized in that said shaped profile has an arched form (7).

5. Supporting device according to claim 2, characterized in that said shaped profile has a stepped form (21).

6. Supporting device according to claim 1, characterized in that each stanchion (2) has a recess (16) co-operating with a vertical flange (14) provided on said crosspiece (3) in a manner to slide therein.