The present invention relates to a table stand intended for use preferably in caravans and motorhomes, wherein 5 the stand supports at the top thereof a frame-like part on which a tabletop is intended to be placed and which can be adjusted vertically so as to position the table¬ top in different height positions.

10 The tables provided in caravans/raotorhomes normally have the form of a tabletop which is fitted to the top of a stand. This type of table is normally intended for two different purposes. Firstly, the table is intended for use as a conventional dining table, from which food

15 and coffee can be partaken in the caravan/motorhome. Secondly, the table shall be capable of being raised and lowered, so as to enable the tabletop to be lowered to a position in which it will function as part of a bed in the caravan/motorhome. Lowering and raising of

20 the table has hitherto been a complicated process, and consequently t.ι.me-consuming.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate this problem and to provide a tabletop stand which can 25 be readily handled and manoeuvred when lowering and raising the same. This object has been achieved with a stand of the aforesaid kind which is characterized by the following combination of features:

30. - The stand includes at least two leg members which are hinged or pivotally connected together such as to enable the parts of said leg members located on mutu¬ ally opposite sides of tfc hinge or pivot to be moved towards and away from one another in a scissor-like

35 fashion;

Each leg member has at each end thereof a transverse rod, of which the lowermost rod functions to support the stand against an underlying supporting surface, 5 whereas the upper rods coact with the frame-like part in a manner such that the parts of the two leg members located on opposite sides of the hinge or pivot can be moved towards and away from each other so as to raise or lower the frame-like part n relation to the under- 0 lying supporting surface;

- A gas-spring, or piston-cylinder device, so arranged in the stand as to enable the frame-like part of said stand to be adjusted vertically, both down- 5 wardly and upwardly, wherein the gas-spring can be blocked in its position, so as to maintain the position of the frame-like part and therewith the position of the tabletop in relation to the underlying supporting surface. This enables the frame-like part, and there- 0 with the tabletop, to be adjusted continually to any selected vertical position, in which position the gas- spring is locked.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be 25 described in more detail with reference to the accom¬ panying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows the inventive stand in a raised position and provided with a lockable gas-spring and a spring operating or activating means; Figure 2 illustrates the stand of Figure 1 in a lowered 30. position; Figure 3 and Figure 4 show the attachment of the gas-spring to the upper part of the stand, wherein Figure 4 shows the attachment from beneath; and Figure 5. illustrates the construction of the operating means.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the inventive stand. The stand includes a frame-like part 1 which is carried by two leg members 2, 3. Each leg member 2, 3 includes two substantially parallel rods or bars 4, 5; 6, 7, wherein the two bars of each pair of bars are spaced from one another and are connected together at both ends thereof by means of a respective transverse rod 8, 9; 10, 11, wherein the lowermost transverse rods 8; 10 function to support the stand against the underlying support sur- face and wherein the upper, transverse rods 9; 11 are intended to coact with the frame-like part l. The two leg members 2, 3, i.e. the pairs of bars 4, 5; 6, 7 are mutually connected by means of a hinge means or pivot in the form of a transverse rod 12, which extends through the bars approximately midway therealong the rods, preferably at a location which is slightly above centre. This enables the two ends of respective pairs of bars 4, 5; 6, 7 to be moved towards and away from each other in a scissor-like fashion and therewith move the frame-like part 1 vertically.

The frame-like part 1 nd bars of the illustrated embodiment are made of varnished or lacquered steel plate and the frame-like part includes four bars 13-16 disposed in the form of a rectangle. The stand may, of course, be made of some other material and the frame¬ like part 1 may have the form of a square. At least two of the frame bars, the longitudinally extending bars 14, 15 of the illustrated embodiment have a substan- tially U-shaped cross-section with the legs of the II facing inwards. The upper transferse rods 9, 11 of the two leg members 2, 3 are intended for coaction with the frame bars 14, 15. The one rod 9 is pivotally mounted in the bars 14, 15, whereas the other transverse rod 11 is provided at both ends with suitable means for

sliding in the U-shaped part of the bars in order to achieve the aforesaid scissor-like movement of the leg members.

5 An essential feature of the invention is that a block- able gas-spring 17, or piston-cylinder device, is provided for enabling the position of the frame-like part 1 to be adjusted vertically in a smooth continuous fashion, both in an upward and in a downward direction. 0 The gas-spring includes a bottom part 18 which is pivotally connected to the leg member 3 beneath the pivot rod 12, and an upper part 19 which is pivotally connected to the transverse frame-bar 15 on the same side of a vertical plane passing through the rod 12 as 5 the lower part 18 (see also Figures 3, 4).

The gas-spring 17 is provided with a centrally posi¬ tioned pin 20 which protrudes slightly from the upper part 19 of the gas-spring in an axial direction. This 20 pin 20 is intended to activate a release valve provided within the gas-spring.

The pin 20 is intended to coact with a cylindrical bushing 21 which is pivotally connected to a holder

25 means 23, by means of screws 22 or the like, said holder means being mounted on the inside of the frame bar 15. The pin 20 thus extends straight through the bushing 21 in its transverse direction and protrudes slightly beyond the bushing for coaction with an opera-

30. ting means or activator 24 (see also Figure 5). Because the bushing 21 is pivotally connected to the holder means 23 and because the bottom part 18 of the gas- spring 17 is pivotally connected to the leg member 3, the gas-spring will take different angular positions in

35 relation to the frame-like part 1 of the stand and the

leg member 3. According to this embodiment, the leg member 3 includes two parallel bars or rods 6, 7. The bottom part 18 of the gas-spring 17 is therewith pivot¬ ally connected to a transverse rod 25, which mutually 5 connects the bars or rod 6, 7 and which is positioned beneath the hinge or pivot rod 12.

The operating means 24 has an elongated shape and has a handle 26 provided on the rear thereof and a part 27

10 which functions to engage the end of the pin 20 on the front thereof. The part 27 is provided with a hole 28 by means of which the operating means is pivotally conencted to the holder means 23 substantially immedi¬ ately above the pivot 22 for attachment of the bushing

15 21. The position of the pivot 22 has been referenced x. in Figure 5. The forward part 27 of the operating means 24 is also provided with a concave recess 29 which is intended to abut the end of the pin 20 and which in¬ cludes substantially 90 ^β of a circle. The radii R of

20 the recess 29 are therewith essentially the same, taken from the .. One important advantage afforded hereby is that the force exerted on the pin 20 by the operating means will act substantially in the longitudinal direc¬ tion of the pin, irrespective of the height position of

25 the stand, i.e. irrespective of the angle between the operating means 24 and the longitudinal axis line of the pin 20. This fact enables the gas-spring 17 to be operated effectively. When the pin 20 is pressed in¬ wardly by means of the operating means 24, the release

30. valve in the gas-spring will open. The gas-spring is thereby compressed with a force which is greater than the resistance exerted by the gas-spring, which takes place when the stand is to be pressed down to a low level. If it is wished to maintain the stand at this

35 low level, the pressure on the pin is removed, thereby

causing the pin to return to its starting position. This closes the release valve in the gas-spring and the spring will thereby be blocked and function as a rigid rod. When wishing to raise the stand, the pin 20 is pressed-in by means of the operating means 24, thereby raising the frame part of the stand to the desired position, whereafter the pressure on the pin 20 is removed.

It will be understood that the invention is not res¬ tricted to the described embodiment and that modifica¬ tions can be made within the scope of the following Claims. For instance, each leg member may consist of a single rod instead of two mutually connected rods, as illustrated in the described embodiment.