JP2001303632A - Positioning structure for determining rotative directional position - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable light and smooth rotational operation of a positioning structure for determining a rotative directional position of a spout head when it is rotated with respect to a head holder, and to make compact a peripheral portion inclusive of the positioning structure per se. SOLUTION: The positioning structure for elastically positioning the spout head 22 at the rotative directional position set with respect to the head holder 24 with a tactile click touch, is constructed in the following manner. A circumferentially extending elastic piece 52 is arranged on the head holder 24, and an engaging lug 54 is formed at the tip of the elastic piece 52. On the other hand, a plurality of engaging recesses 56 are formed in the spout head 22 with a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction. By virtue of elastic engagement between the engaging claw 54 and one of the engaging recesses 56, the rotative directional position of the spout head 22 is positioned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotational position determining structure suitable for a water faucet device having a water discharge head capable of shower water discharge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a faucet device in which a shower head capable of spouting a shower can be pulled out from a head holder together with a hose connected thereto is widely used as a faucet device for washing a shampoo or a faucet device for a kitchen. Have been.

FIG. 12 shows an example. In the figure, reference numeral 200 denotes a counter as a mounting base, and a faucet main body 202 and a water discharge section 204 are mounted on the counter 200 at positions separated from each other.

The faucet body 202 has a supply pipe 2 for water and hot water.
Reference numeral 06 is connected, and water and hot water are supplied to the faucet body 202 through the supply pipes 206. Faucet body 2
02, the supplied water and hot water are mixed at a predetermined ratio by rotating the handle 208, and the mixed water is mixed with the outflow pipe 2
Drain through 10.

[0005] The water discharge section 204 has a water discharge head 214 at its distal end capable of switching water discharge from the water discharge port 212 from rectified water discharge to shower water discharge or vice versa. The water discharge head 214 has a curved and tubular shape. Head holder 21
At 6, it is held so that it can be pulled out together with a hose 220 described later. Here, the water discharge head 214 is provided with a switching operation unit 218 for performing a switching operation from rectified water discharge to shower water discharge or vice versa.

The water discharge head 214 has the hose 2
20 is connected to one end. The hose 220 is inserted into a head holder 216 and a slide tube 222 that moves up and down integrally with the head holder 216, and the other end side is a counter 2.
On the lower side of 00, it is connected to an outflow pipe 210 extending from the faucet body 202. That is, the mixed water is guided to the water discharge head 214 through the hose 220.

[0007] Reference numeral 224 denotes a water discharging unit 204 which is a counter 200.
A guide tube (slide holder) 226 having an external thread on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and a slide tube 222 is inserted into the guide tube 226 so as to be vertically slidable. .

In the water faucet device of this embodiment, the water discharge head 214 is rotatable with respect to the head holder 216 within a predetermined angle range, that is, the head can be swung. Further, the slide tube 222 is rotatable with respect to the base unit 224 together with the head holder 216. Thus, water can be discharged from the water discharge head 214 in various directions.

[0009]

By the way, in the case of this type of conventional faucet apparatus, the spouting head 214 which is rotatable with respect to the head holder 216 is rotated against the clamping force of the elastic member, The position is maintained at a predetermined position in the rotational direction by the tightening force, that is, the frictional resistance between the elastic member. Furthermore, the slide tube 222 is mounted on the pedestal unit 224 against the tightening force of the elastic member.
, And is held in a predetermined rotational position by its tightening force, that is, based on a frictional force with the elastic member.

However, in this case, the water discharge head 214
When rotating the slide tube or rotating the slide tube 222 together with the head holder 216, the tightening force of the elastic member,
There is a problem that the operation feeling is bad because the rotation operation is performed against the frictional force. If the elastic member is worn or deteriorated by repeating the rotation operation, the operation feeling and the position holding are performed. There was a problem that the function deteriorated.

As a countermeasure, a predetermined member is provided by providing an elastic piece on one of the members that rotate relative to each other, providing a locking claw on the elastic piece, and elastically locking the locking claw in a locking recess on the other side. It is conceivable to position elastically at the position in the rotation direction.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, a fitting portion 228 is provided in the head holder 216 in a state of being projected in the axial direction, and an elastic piece 230 is provided in a state of extending in the axial direction. A locking claw 232 is provided at the distal end of the elastic piece 230 and is elastically locked in one of a plurality of locking recesses formed in the water discharging head 214, so that the water discharging head 214 is elastically moved to a predetermined rotation direction position. It is conceivable that the positioning is performed.

In this manner, the water discharge head 214 can be positioned at a set angular position with a predetermined click feeling within the allowable rotation angle range. In this case, the water discharge head 214 can be lightly rotated, the operation feeling is good, and the water discharge head 214 is positioned at the set rotation direction position based on the elastic locking of the locking claw 232 and the locking recess. Therefore, there is an advantage that the positioning function does not decrease even if the rotation operation is repeated.

In this case, however, the water discharge head 214
Of the elastic piece 2 in order to be able to rotate the light piece lightly, that is, to make the elastic resistance of the elastic piece 230 appropriate strength.
30 and, consequently, the fitting portion 228 must be formed long.
The fitting portion to the fitting portion 228 in 4 also needs to be secured long, which hinders downsizing of the faucet device.

The same applies to the fitting portion between the slide tube 222 and the pedestal unit 224. Further, other than the faucet device, that is, the first member and the second member are relatively rotated. In addition, this is a problem commonly occurring when positioning is performed at a set position in the rotation direction.

[0016]

The positioning structure of the present invention has been devised to solve such a problem.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a positioning structure for elastically positioning a first member and a second member which are relatively rotated in a fitted state with a click feeling at a set rotational direction position. An elastic piece extending in the circumferential direction is provided on one of the first member and the second member, and a locking claw is provided on one of the distal end portion and the other of the elastic piece and a corresponding mating member is provided. Stop recesses are provided, respectively, and the positions of the first member and the second member in the rotational direction are determined by the elastic locking action of the locking claws and the locking recesses.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the locking claw is locked in a rotation direction in which a force acts on the elastic piece in a tension direction and a rotation direction in which a force acts in a compression direction. Making the shape of one or both engagement surfaces with the recess different,
The resistance at the time of detaching the locking claw from the locking recess is equalized in both directions.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, one or both of the engaging surfaces of the engaging claw and the engaging recess in the rotational direction in which a force acts in the compression direction have a bent or inclined shape. A gently curved shape with respect to a bent or inclined shape of one or both engagement surfaces of the locking claw and the locking recess in the rotation direction in which a force acts in the pulling direction. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, at least one pair of the elastic pieces is provided, and the elastic pieces extend in mutually opposite circumferential directions. And

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, one of the first member and the second member is a water discharge head in a faucet device, and the other is rotatably holding the water discharge head. Characterized in that it is a head holder that performs

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, one of the first member and the second member inserts a hose connected to the water discharge head into the inside, and holds the water discharge head. A slide tube that can move up and down together with the holder is provided, and the other is a slide holder that slides and guides the slide tube.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an elastic piece extending in the circumferential direction is provided on one of the first member and the second member which rotate relative to each other, and the tip of the elastic piece and the other end are provided. A locking claw is provided on one of the sides, and a locking recess is provided on the corresponding mating side, so that the rotational position of the first member and the second member is determined by their elastic locking action. In this way, it is possible to improve the operational feeling when performing the rotation operation, and it is possible to prevent the positioning function from being lowered even if the rotation operation is repeated.

In this positioning structure, since the elastic piece extends in the circumferential direction, the axial length of the elastic piece and its peripheral portion can be shortened unlike the case where the elastic piece is provided in the axial direction. When the positioning structure is applied to the fitting portion between the water discharge head and the head holder, the water discharge head, and eventually the faucet device, can be made compact (claim 5).

Further, when the positioning structure is applied to a fitting portion of a slide tube and a slide holder for slidably holding the slide tube, they can be made compact (claim 6). ).

When the elastic piece is formed in the circumferential direction as described above, the case where one of the first member and the second member is rotated in the normal direction and the case where the elastic member is rotated in the opposite direction are described in detail. There is a difference in the resistance when the locking claw is released from the locking recess when the locking claw is rotated in the direction in which the force acts in the tension direction and when rotated in the direction in which the force acts in the compression direction. Therefore, there arises a problem that the operational feeling at the time of rotation differs between the forward and reverse directions.

Here, one or both of the locking claw and the locking recess are provided in the rotation direction in which a force acts on the elastic piece in the tension direction and the rotation direction in which the force acts on the elastic piece in the compression direction. The shape of the engaging surface is changed to make the resistance when the locking claw is disengaged from the locking recess uniform in both directions. In this case, either one of the first member and the second member can be used. At the time of the rotation operation, the operation feeling is constant regardless of whether the rotation is performed in the forward or reverse direction, and a good operation feeling can be secured.

In this case, the bent or inclined shape of one or both engagement surfaces of the locking claw and the locking recess in the rotation direction in which the force acts in the compression direction is changed to the rotation in which the force acts in the pulling direction. The shape of the engaging surface of one or both of the locking claw and the locking recess in the direction can be made gentle to the bent or inclined shape of the engaging surface (claim 3).

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a pair of elastic pieces are provided, and they are formed so as to extend in directions opposite to each other in a circumferential direction. The same operation feeling can be obtained when either one of the second members is rotated in the forward direction or when the second member is rotated in the reverse direction.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a counter serving as a mounting base, and a faucet main body 12 and a water discharge section 14 are fixed to the counter 10 at positions separated from each other.

A pair of supply pipes 16 are connected to the faucet body 12, and water and hot water are supplied to the faucet body 12 through the supply pipes 16. The faucet body 12 mixes the water and hot water supplied by the rotating operation of the lever 18 at a predetermined ratio, and causes the mixed water to flow out through the outflow pipe 20.

On the other hand, the water discharging section 14 has a water discharging head 22, a head holder 24 for holding the water discharging head 22, and a pedestal tube 26. The water discharge head 22 has a water discharge port 28, and further has a switching operation unit 30 on its front surface for switching the water discharge from the water discharge port 28 from rectified water discharge to shower water discharge or vice versa. Here, a hose 32 is connected to the water discharge head 22, and the water discharge head 22 can be pulled out together with the hose 32 from the head holder 24.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 33 denotes a pedestal unit including a pedestal tube 26, which has a guide tube (slide holder) 34 having an external thread on its outer peripheral surface.
4 and a fixing nut 36 below the counter 10.
Is tightened. The pedestal tube 26 is provided with the fixing nut 3
6, the counter 10 is fixed to the counter 10 in a state where the counter 10 is sandwiched from both upper and lower sides via triangular packings 38.

The head holder 24 has a tubular shape and a curved shape as a whole, and a slide tube 40 extends downward from a lower end thereof in a state of moving up and down integrally with the head holder 24. The slide tube 40 is a guide tube 3
The slide tube 40 is slidably inserted into the guide tube 4 and is guided by the guide tube 34 when the slide tube 40 moves up and down together with the head holder 24.

The hose 3 connected to the water discharge head 22
2, the head holder 24, the pedestal tube 26, and the slide tube 40 are inserted, and the other end of the lower side of the counter 10 is connected to the outflow tube 20 extending from the faucet body 12. That is, the mixed water from the faucet main body 12 is supplied to the water discharge head 22 through the outflow pipe 20 and the hose 32.
Is to be led to.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the head holder 24 has a hose guide 42 which forms a part of the head holder 24 at the tip. Hose guide 4
2 is provided with a male fitting portion 44 having a circular cross section that protrudes forward. On the other hand, the water discharge head 22 is provided with a female fitting portion 46 corresponding thereto, and the female fitting portion 46 and the male fitting portion 4 are provided.
The water discharge head 22 is rotatably held by a head holder 24 in a state in which the water discharge head 4 is fitted.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a convex stopper 48 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the male fitting portion 44 so as to project radially outward. On the other hand, spouting head 2
An arc-shaped concave stopper 50 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the corresponding female fitting portion 46, and the rotation range of the water discharge head 22 is within a predetermined angle range (30 in this example).
(Within °).

The male fitting portion 44 is also provided with an elastic piece 52 extending in the circumferential direction as clearly shown in FIG. 3, and a locking claw 54 is provided at the tip of the elastic piece 52. Is formed. On the other hand, on the inner peripheral surface of the female fitting portion 46 on the water discharge head 22 side, as shown in FIGS.
And a plurality of (three in this example) locking recesses 56 are formed at a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction in correspondence with the above. ,
A click feeling (a sense of moderation) indicates the position of the water discharge head 22 in the rotation direction
And is elastically positioned.

Here, the locking concave portion 56 at the middle position is set so that the water discharging port 28 of the water discharging head 22 becomes just downward when the locking claw 54 is locked thereto, that is, the state shown in FIG. 5B. That position has been chosen. From this state, the water discharge head 22 is turned leftward (counterclockwise) to the position shown in FIG.
(The position of (A) is a position rotated by 15 ° to the left from the state of (B)), the locking claw 54 is elastically locked at a predetermined position in the locking recess 56 at the left position in the figure, Also (B)
When the water discharge head 22 is rotated rightward in the drawing from the state of (C) to the position of (C) (the position of (C) is rotated 15 ° to the right from the state of (B)), the locking at the right position in the figure is performed. The locking claw 54 is elastically locked to the concave portion 56,
At each position, the water discharge head 22 is positioned with a click feeling.

The elastic piece 52 receives a force in the compression direction when the water discharge head 22 is rotated leftward from the neutral state shown in FIG. 3B, and is pulled in the tension direction when the water discharge head 22 is rotated rightward from the state shown in FIG. Receive strength. Thus, the elastic pieces 52 have different elastic resistances when receiving a force in the compression direction and when receiving a force in the tension direction (the elastic resistance when receiving a force in the compression direction increases the force in the tension direction). It is larger than the elastic resistance when receiving).

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the engaging surface 56B in the compression direction relative to the shape of the engaging surface 56A in the tension direction in the locking concave portion 56 is a gentle curved shape or inclined shape. As a result, the operation resistance is equalized even when the water discharge head 22 is rotated to the right or to the left.

Although the engaging surface 56B in the compression direction of the locking recess 56 is a gentle surface here, the engaging surface 54B of the locking claw 54 in the compression direction may be pulled as shown in FIG. The engagement surface 54A in the direction may be formed as a gentle curved surface or an inclined surface.

According to this embodiment, the operational feeling when rotating the water discharge head 22 can be improved, and the positioning function does not deteriorate even if the rotating operation is repeated. In this example, since the elastic piece 52 extends in the circumferential direction, unlike the case where the elastic piece 52 is provided so as to extend in the axial direction, the male fitting including the elastic piece 52 as shown in the comparative example of FIG. The axial length of the female fitting portion 46 in the joint portion 44 and the water discharge head 22 can be shortened, and the water discharge head 22 and the head holder 24 can be made compact.

Further, the elastic piece 52 extends in the circumferential direction, and when the water discharge head 22 is rotated to the left, the elastic piece 52 receives a force in the compression direction. Despite the force in the compression direction, the engagement surface 56A in the tension direction and the engagement surface 56B in the compression direction of the locking recess 56 are different in shape. Of the engagement surface 56 in the tension direction
Since the water discharging head 22 is rotated to the left or to the right, the operation resistance is uniform because the shape is a gentle curved shape or inclined shape with respect to the shape of A. Is good.

The slide tube 40 and the guide tube 34 are
In this embodiment, each of the guide tubes 3 is a resin member.
An elastic piece 60 is provided at the upper end of 4 as shown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11. Locking claws 62 are provided at the upper end portions of the elastic pieces 60, and the locking claws 62 are engaged with annular grooves 58 </ b> A and 58 </ b> B formed at two upper and lower positions of the slide tube 40. Slide tube 40
Are held at the ascending position and the descending position, respectively.

In the slide tube 40, as clearly shown in FIG. 10, at the lower position of the annular groove 58A (and 58B), a saw blade-shaped locking concave portion 64 is formed at a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction over the entire circumference. It is formed over. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11B, two sets of a pair of elastic pieces 66 are provided in the guide tube 34 at two locations in the circumferential direction so as to extend in the circumferential direction and in directions opposite to each other.

A locking claw 68 is provided at the tip of the elastic piece 66.
Are formed, and the locking claws 68 are elastically locked in the saw-shaped locking concave portions 64, so that the slide tube 40 is formed.
Are rotationally positioned. In this example, the pair of elastic pieces 66 extending in the circumferential direction opposite to each other have the same circumferential length, that is, the same arm length. In this example, both the engaging surface in the compression direction and the engaging surface in the pulling direction of the locking claw 68 and the locking concave portion 64 have the same shape.

In this example, when the slide tube 40 is rotated with respect to the guide tube 34 together with the head holder 24, the slide tube 40 can be rotated lightly.
At a predetermined rotation angle position, the rotation direction position of the slide tube 40 can be elastically positioned with a predetermined click feeling based on the elastic locking action between the locking claw 68 and the locking concave portion 64.

In this embodiment, since the pair of elastic pieces 66 extend in opposite directions in the circumferential direction and at equal lengths,
The same operation resistance is obtained when the slide tube 40 is rotated rightward and leftward.
That is, there is a feature that an equal operational feeling can be obtained.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned various faucet devices or other than the faucet device, the first member and the first member which rotate relative to each other. The present invention can be configured in a form in which various changes are made without departing from the gist thereof, such as being applicable as a positioning structure with two members.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a faucet apparatus including a positioning structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a water discharge head of FIG. 1 and a peripheral portion thereof.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the water discharge head of FIG. 1 and its peripheral portion in a separated state.

4 is a perspective view showing a fitting portion between the water discharge head and the head holder in FIG. 3 together with a positioning structure.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram when the water discharge head of the same embodiment is rotated.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of the positioning structure of the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a positioning structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a comparative example diagram showing the elastic pieces and peripheral portions of the examples of FIGS. 1 to 6 and 7 together with a comparative example.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of the faucet apparatus of FIG. 1 including a positioning structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a view showing the slide tube and the guide tube of FIG. 9 separately.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged transverse sectional view showing the positioning structure of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a faucet device to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 22 water discharge head 24 head holder 32 hose 34 guide tube (slide holder) 40 slide tube 52, 66 elastic piece 54, 68 locking claw 54A, 54B, 56A, 56B engaging surface 56, 64 locking recess

Claims (6)

[Claims] A first rotating member which rotates relative to the first fitting member;
A positioning structure for positioning the member and the second member elastically with a click feeling at a set rotational direction position, wherein one of the first member and the second member is provided with an elastic piece extending in a circumferential direction. A locking claw is provided on one of the distal end portion and the other of the elastic piece, and a locking recess is provided on the corresponding mating side, and elastic locking action between the locking claw and the locking recess is provided. ,
A positioning structure for a rotational position, wherein the first member and the second member are positioned in the rotational direction. 2. The locking member according to claim 1, wherein one of the locking claw and the locking recess is formed in a rotation direction in which a force acts on the elastic piece in a tension direction and a rotation direction in which a force acts in a compression direction. A positioning structure for a rotational direction position, characterized in that the shapes of both engagement surfaces are different, and the resistance when the locking claw is disengaged from the locking recess is equalized in both directions. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein one or both of the engaging surfaces of the engaging claw and the engaging recess in the rotational direction in which a force acts in the compressing direction is bent or inclined in the pulling direction. The position in the rotational direction position characterized by a gentle shape with respect to the bent or inclined shape of the engaging surface of one or both of the engaging claw and the engaging concave portion in the rotating direction in which a force acts. Decision structure. 4. The rotational position according to claim 1, wherein at least one pair of the elastic pieces is provided, and each of the elastic pieces extends in a circumferential direction opposite to each other. Positioning structure. 5. The water supply head according to claim 1, wherein one of the first member and the second member is a water discharge head in a faucet device, and the other is a head holder that rotatably holds the water discharge head. A rotational position determining structure, characterized in that: 6. The water supply head according to claim 1, wherein one of the first member and the second member has a hose connected to a water discharge head inserted therein, and can be moved up and down together with a head holder holding the water discharge head. A positioning structure for a rotation direction position, wherein the positioning member is a slide tube and the other is a slide holder for slidingly guiding the slide tube.