JP2003097520A - Snap fit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a snap fit formed of an engaging claw and to be used for an opening and closing part and for connection between parts of various equipment and capable of eliminating a malfunction such as the generation of unevenness of the engagement and the engaging force due to unevenness of the accuracy of plastic parts and the lowering of the elastic force with the lapse of time without hindering advantages such as lowering of the cost by reducing the number of parts items, improvement of the productivity by facilitating the assembling work, and maintenance and improvement of appearance. SOLUTION: This snap fit is provided with an object 5 to be engaged, an engaging claw 2 projected upward from a base member 1 and to be engaged with the object to be engaged freely to be released. The engaging claw is provided with a column member 3 projected upward from the base member freely to be elastically deformed forward and backward, a jaw part 4 projected from a tip front surface of the column member and to be engaged with the object to be engaged, and a column member deformation quantity control means 10 arranged along a back surface of the column member.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a snap fit made of a resin material such as plastic, and more particularly to an improvement in a snap fit used for opening / closing parts of various devices and connecting parts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electric appliances such as home electric appliances, office automation equipment, and personal computers, and electric appliances are becoming smaller and cheaper according to the demand of society.
As weight reduction is in progress, even for the materials that make up these devices, the parts where the materials can be changed are shifting from metal to plastic. In addition, when fixing other parts to plastic parts or fixing the plastic parts themselves to the housing, the number of parts is reduced (cost reduction), the assembly work is facilitated and the assembly time is shortened. For the purpose of improving the quality and the appearance,
As the fixing means and the engaging means, a snap fit (patching stop) composed of engaging claws is often used instead of the conventionally used screw. Also, levers, magnets, and latches were used for the open / close fixed parts that require strength, but recently, plastic snap fits have been used as alternative means for levers, magnets, latches, etc. to fix the open / close parts of products. It is being used more often.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of a conventional general snap fit. The snap fit is an engaged object (a mating object) having a plastic engaging claw 2 protruding from the base member 1 and an engaged part (a hole or a protrusion) 6 with which the engaging claw 2 engages and disengages. Member) 5 and. Engaging claw 2
Is a pillar member 3 projectingly provided on the base member 1 in a state of being elastically deformable in the front-rear direction, and a jaw portion 4 projectingly provided on the front end surface of the pillar member 3 and engaging with the engaged portion 6. , Are provided. As shown in FIG. 7A, the engagement force of the engagement claw 2 is determined by the strength of the column member 3, that is, the ease of bending due to the thickness (t1) and the material, and the protruding amount (t2) of the jaw portion 2. . The engagement force increases as t1 and t2 increase. Figure 7
When fitting and engaging in the engaged portion (hole) 6 of the mating member 5 as shown in (a), the engaging claw 2 bends backward as shown by the dotted line during engagement, and When the jaw portion 4 crosses the engaging portion 6, the engagement is finished as shown in FIG. 7B. Figure 7
In the case of (b), it is possible to disengage from the inside of the engaged portion 6 of the mating member 5 by bending the jaw portion 4 in the back direction of the engaging claw 2, but as shown in FIG. If the lower surface of the jaw portion 4 is provided with a surface inclined downward, the engagement with the engagement claw 2 can be released only by lifting the mating member 5 in the upward direction. However, since the conventional plastic engagement claws use the fitting structure and the elasticity of the plastic engagement claws, there is a difference in the attachment / detachment force (the opening / closing force for the opening / closing part) of the engagement part due to variations in component accuracy. There is a problem that the initial attachment / detachment force cannot be obtained, such as the occurrence or the deterioration of the elastic force due to repeated attachment / detachment.When repairing this, there is a drawback that all parts including the plastic engaging claws must be replaced. there were.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in the snap fit composed of a plastic engaging claw used for opening / closing parts of various devices and connecting parts, the number of parts is reduced. Cost reduction through reduction,
Without compromising the advantages such as improved productivity due to easier assembling work, maintaining and improving the appearance, there is variation in precision of plastic parts, variation in engagement and locking force, and elastic force over time. An object of the present invention is to provide a snap fit that can solve the problem of deterioration.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is such that the object to be engaged and the object to be engaged are provided so as to project from the base member and are detachable from the object to be engaged. In a snap fit provided with an engaging claw to be engaged, the engaging claw has a pillar member projectingly provided on the base member in a state of being elastically deformable in a front-rear direction, and a tip front surface portion of the pillar member. A jaw portion projecting and engaging with the object to be engaged, and a deformation amount adjusting means of the pillar member arranged along the back surface of the pillar member,
It is characterized by having. The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the deformation amount adjusting means is composed of at least one rib which is projectable along the back surface of the column member and can be broken. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the deformation amount adjusting means changes the height position in contact with the back surface of the pillar member by movably or rotatably arranged on the back surface side base member of the pillar member. It is characterized in that it is a height-adjustable adjusting means. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the deformation amount adjusting means can be moved or rotatably arranged on the base member on the back surface side of the column member, thereby changing the pressure contact force to the back surface of the column member. It is characterized in that it is an adjusting means for varying the pressure contact force. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the deformation amount adjusting means includes a bolt portion supported by a screw receiving portion provided on the base member so as to be capable of adjusting a vertical position and a rotation angle, and a tip portion of the bolt portion. An abutting member or a pressure contact member that is fixed and pressure-contacts or pressure-contacts the back surface of the pillar member;
It is characterized by having. The invention of claim 6 is characterized in that it is a device provided with the snap fit according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 at the opening and closing portion.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. A structural feature common to each embodiment of the present invention is that an engaged object 5 as an opponent member having an engaged portion 6 such as an engaging hole, an engaging recess, and an engaging protrusion.
And an engaging claw 2 projectingly provided on a base member 1 forming a part of a device or a part and detachably engaging with an engaged portion 6 of the engaged object 5. In the snap fit, the engaging claw 2 is provided with a pillar member 3 projectingly provided on the base member 1 in a state of being elastically deformable in the front-rear direction, and a projection front surface of the pillar member 3 which is engaged and engaged. The point is that the jaw portion 4 that engages with the portion 6 and the deformation amount adjusting means 10 of the column member arranged along the back surface of the column member 3 are provided. The deformation amount adjusting means 10 is located on the back side of the column member 3 forming the engaging claw 2, and restricts or expands the deformation amount of the column member to the back side, or the deformation amount to the front ( It exerts functions such as adjusting the amount of protrusion).

First, FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are rear perspective views of a snap fit according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, a structural feature common to the respective embodiments of FIGS. 1A and 1B is that the deformation amount adjusting means 10 is provided, and the deformation amount adjusting means 10 according to this embodiment is
The pillar member 3 is composed of at least one rib 11 that can be broken and is provided so as to project along the back surface of the pillar member 3. That is, this snap fit is made up of a plastic engaging claw 2 that is provided on a base member 1 that constitutes a part of a device or the like, and an engaging claw 2 that is made of plastic.
The object to be engaged (mate member) 5 having the engaged portion (hole, recess, or protrusion) 6 that engages and disengages. The engaging claw 2 is elastically deformable in the front-rear direction and is in a state capable of being elastically deformed.
The column member 3 is provided so as to project upward, and the jaw portion 4 that is provided so as to project at the front end surface of the column member 3 and engages with the engaged portion 6 is provided. In the snap fit of FIG. 1A, a triangular plate-shaped rib 11 of the same shape is integrally formed from the middle height position on the back surface of the pillar member 3 to the upper surface of the base member 1 in the left-right direction (width direction) of the pillar member 3. ) Is arranged at equal intervals. In this example, three ribs 11 are formed, but one or more ribs may be provided, and the number and arrangement of the ribs are not limited. These ribs 11 can be detached (folded and removed) manually or with a handy tool such as a driver or pliers so that the ribs 11 can be attached to the column member or the base in advance, or the strength of the ribs themselves ( The wall thickness) is set appropriately. The ribs 11 do not necessarily have to be integrated with the back surface of the pillar member and the top surface of the base member 1 at the same time, and may be integrated with only the back surface of the pillar member or the top surface of the base member 1. , The other may not be fixed but only contacted. By doing so, removal due to a defect becomes easy. In the snap fit of FIG. 1B, a part of the ribs 11, in this example, only the central rib 11a of the three ribs 11 is used for the other ribs 11.
A larger structure is characteristic, and other structures and characteristics are the same as those of the rib of (a).

As described above, the snap fit shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) has a deformation amount adjusting means 10 composed of a plurality of ribs 11 which can be broken between the back portion of the column member 3 and the base member 1. Since it is equipped with the engaging claw 2 and the engaged object 5
When the positional relationship between the rib 11 and the engaging claw 2 is deviated and the amount of flexure of the engaging claw 2 toward the back side is insufficient (engagement is hard), the rib 11 is responsive to the insufficient amount of flexure. 1
It is possible to increase the amount of bending of the column member by folding and removing the required number of two pieces to obtain an appropriate amount of bending suitable for engagement and disengagement with the engaged portion 6. Further, if the sizes of the plurality of ribs 11 are changed as in the embodiment of FIG. 1B, even if one rib is folded, the amount of bending can be adjusted by the size of the folded rib, which is convenient. Is.

Next, FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing the structure of a snap fit according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in FIG. 1 will be described with the same reference numerals. Further, the engaged object 5 is omitted in the drawings of the following embodiments. The characteristic configuration of the deformation amount adjusting means 10 of each snap fit shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) is a linear movement on the base member 1 on the back side of the pillar member 3 constituting the engaging claw 2, or By being rotatably arranged, the height-variable adjusting means (height-variable adjusting means) 15 capable of changing the height position in contact with the back surface of the pillar member 15
Is equipped with. First, the height variable adjusting means 15 as the deformation amount adjusting means 10 of the snap fit shown in FIG. 2A is movable with a screwing hole 16 formed on the base member 1 on the back side of the engaging claw 2. The adjusting piece 17 and a fastening means 18 such as a screw are provided. First, the movable adjustment piece 17 made of plastic has the elongated hole 20a penetrating therethrough and has the base member 1
The sliding plate 20 placed on the upper surface of the sliding plate 20 and the wedge piece 21 standing upright from one edge of the sliding plate 20 are provided. The fastening means 18 includes a screw 18a, a nut 18b, and the like. The screw 18a is inserted into the screw attachment hole 16 through the elongated hole 20a and is fastened with the nut 18b. It is possible to fix it at any position along the. In addition, the wedge piece 21 has a top surface 21a extending in the width direction along the back surface of the pillar member 3 so as to be inclined and raised from one side to the other side, so that the movable adjusting piece 17 is fixed by the fastening means 18. The height position at which the back surface of the pillar member 3 contacts the upper surface 21a varies depending on the difference in the position. Therefore, if the low-height portion of the upper surface 21a is in contact with the back surface of the pillar member, the pillar member 3 can be largely deformed to the back surface side, while the high-height portion of the upper surface 21a is When in contact with the back surface of the pillar member, the amount of deformation of the pillar member toward the back surface side is restricted. That is, the movable adjustment piece 17 that can be moved linearly makes the wedge piece 21 abut against the back surface of the pillar member 3 of the engaging claw, and changes the fixed position on the base member 1, so that the back surface of the pillar member 3 is fixed. The engagement force is adjusted. The sliding plate 20 extending from the wedge piece 21 has an elongated hole 20 a in the longitudinal direction thereof, and can be fixed to an arbitrary position of the base member 1 by the fastening means 18. Wedge piece 21
If the high part of the inclined surface 21a is brought into contact with the back surface of the pillar member 3, the length of the pillar member 3 of the engaging claw 2 is apparently shortened, and a strong engaging force can be obtained. On the contrary, if the lower part of the inclined surface 21a is brought into contact with the back surface of the pillar member 3, the length of the pillar member 3 is apparently increased and the engaging force can be weakened. Note that, conversely to the illustrated example, a slot may be provided on the base member 1 and a screwing hole may be provided on the sliding plate 20 side.

Next, the height varying means 15 as the deformation amount adjusting means 10 of FIG. 2B has a bottomed cylinder in which the height of the upper end surface 25a (the height of the outer peripheral wall) changes along the circumferential direction. The cam 25 has a shape of That is, the cam 25 has a screw hole 26 at the center of the bottom surface, and a screw serving as a fastening means 27 is inserted into the screw hole and a hole (not shown) formed in the base member 1 and fixed by a nut. . This cam 25 is attached to the base member 1 corresponding to the back surface of the pillar member 3 of the engaging claw 2 by the fastening means 27.
And by rotatably arranging by holes 26, etc.,
An arbitrary portion of the upper end surface 25a having a different height depending on the circumferential position can be brought into contact with the back surface of the column member 3 to finely adjust the amount of deflection. That is, the height varying means 15 of FIG. 2B has a configuration in which the bottomed cylindrical cam 25 is rotatably supported in a state of standing on the base member 1, and has a non-uniform height. It has an outer peripheral wall and a hole 26 through which a screw 27 can be inserted, and can be fixed on the base member 1 by a screw 28. By loosening the screw 27, the cam 25 can be rotated, and the high outer peripheral wall portion and the low outer peripheral wall portion can be deformed in the rear direction of the pillar member 3 by bringing them into contact with an arbitrary height portion of the rear surface of the pillar member 3. The amount can be fine-tuned.

Next, FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are perspective views showing the construction of a snap fit according to another embodiment of the present invention. The configuration common to each of the embodiments is the deformation amount adjusting means 10, and is the base member 1 on the back side of the pillar member 3.
In the point of using the adjusting means for adjusting the contact pressure force (variable adjusting means for contact pressure force) 30 that can change the pressure contact force to the front side of the back surface of the column member by being linearly moved or rotatably arranged above. is there.

First, the pressure contact force variable adjusting means 30 shown in FIG.
The width direction fixed position shown by the arrow is arbitrarily adjusted on the base member 1 on the back side of the two engaging claws 2A and 2B having the same bending force provided on the base member 1 so as to be adjacent to each other in the width direction. A flat plate-shaped wedge piece 31 configured as possible, an elongated hole 31a penetratingly formed in the wedge piece 31 and into which a fastening means 33 described later is inserted, and an inclined surface 32 formed along the front end surface of the wedge piece 31; Wedge piece 3
A screw (nut) as a fastening means 33 for fixing 1 to an arbitrary position and a screw hole 35 penetratingly formed in the base member 1 and with which the fastening means 33 engages are provided. By fixing the width direction position of the wedge piece 31 to an arbitrary position by using the fastening means 33, the position where the inclined surface 32 of the front end surface of the wedge piece 31 contacts the engaging claws 2A, 2B is different. That is, since the inclined surface 32 is a surface inclined in the front-rear direction of the engaging claws, the rear surface of each of the two engaging claws 2A and 2B can be changed by changing the position at which the wedge piece 31 is fixed on the base member 1. The amount of pressing forward can be different. When the wedge 31 is fixed on the base member 1 in the state shown in the figure, the engaging claw 2B is always urged forward with a stronger pressure contact force than the engaging claw 2A, so that a strong fitting force is obtained. Will be urged. On the contrary, when it is desired to make the pressure contact force with respect to the engagement claw 2A stronger than the pressure contact force with respect to the engagement claw 2B, the front and back of the wedge piece 31 may be reversed and fixed on the base member 1. The strength of the pressure contact force with respect to each engagement claw can be adjusted by moving the wedge piece 31 in the width direction indicated by the arrow to change the fixing position. It goes without saying that the elongated hole may be provided on the base member 1 side and the screw hole may be provided on the wedge piece 31 side. Further, the wedge piece 31 may be configured to simultaneously adjust the pressure contact force with respect to a plurality of engagement claws as described above, but it is arranged with respect to one engagement claw to adjust the pressure contact force. You can That is, the pressure contact force variable adjustment means 30 shown in FIG. 3A has the inclined surface 3 provided on the wedge piece 31.
Since the direction of 2 is the inclination toward the front-rear direction of each of the engagement claws 2A and 2B, the inclined surface 32 is brought into contact with the back portion of the engagement claw 2A set to a weaker engagement force, and the pillar member is formed. The state where 3 is bent in the engagement direction (forward) to some extent is set as the target position. If the inclined surface 32 of the wedge piece 31 is brought into stronger contact with the spine of the engaging claw, the engaging claw is less likely to bend toward the back side, and a strong engaging force can be obtained. On the contrary, if the inclined surface 32 is moved away from the back surface of the engaging claw, a weak engaging force can be obtained.

Pressure contact force variable adjusting means 3 shown in FIG. 3 (b).
Reference numeral 0 denotes a substantially cylindrical cam 38 in which a hole 37 provided on the bottom surface is rotatably and fixedly fixed to a screw hole 36 on the base member 1 by a fixing means (not shown). . The cam 38 includes a bottomed cylindrical base portion 38a supported on the base member 1 and a cam body 38b provided at an upper end portion of the base portion 38a. By changing the fixed position in the rotational direction, the position where the outer peripheral surface of the cam body 38b contacts the back surface of the one or more engaging claws is different, so that the effect of adjusting the pressure contact force can be obtained in the same manner as the wedge piece described above. You can The movable adjustment piece, the wedge piece, and the cam shown in each of the above embodiments may be made of plastic or other hard resin material, or may be made of an elastic material such as rubber. Good.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a structural example of a deformation amount adjusting means 10 according to another embodiment. The deformation amount adjusting means 10 is, for example, a cubic shape (a polyhedral shape such as a hexahedron). It is composed of one block 41 and is shown in FIG.
It also has the functions of the respective embodiments shown in FIG. That is,
This block 41 has a structure in which screw holes 42 are formed through all six surfaces, and by means of fastening means 50 such as screws in a state where the screw holes 42 are aligned with the screw holes on the base member 1. By screwing and fixing, the contact position and contact height of each surface with respect to the back surface of the engaging claw (not shown) located on the left side,
The pressure contact force can be adjusted in various ways. Further, the screw holes 42 formed by solid lines one by one on each surface have different distances from each surface, and for example, when the illustrated contact surface 43 is brought into contact with the back surface of the engagement claw, Upper surface, left and right side,
Alternatively, by using one of the screw holes 42 provided on the bottom surface to fix the screw holes on the base side, the difference in the distance between each screw hole 42 and the contact surface 43 is used for engagement. You can adjust the pressure contact force against the back of the nail. The screw hole 42 shown by the dotted line is provided together with the screw hole 42 shown by the solid line to select a screw hole on one surface to adjust the contact pressure of the contact surface with the back surface of the engaging claw. It is also possible to do so. This aims at the same pressure contact force adjustment effect as in the embodiment of FIG. Further, the protrusions 44 projecting from different positions on the respective faces of the block 41 are brought into contact with the rear face of the engaging claws to adjust the contact height to thereby bend the rear face side. Is adjusted. This aims at the same effect as the embodiment of FIG.

Next, FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing another embodiment of the deformation amount adjusting means 10 in the snap fit of the present invention. The deformation amount adjusting means 10 according to this embodiment is an adjusting means 60 having a configuration in which a bolt portion 61 is screwed into a screw hole (screw receiving portion) 55 provided on the base member 1, and Is an example of adjusting the contact height of the engaging claw 2 with respect to the back surface, and (b) is an example of adjusting the pressure contact amount of the engaging claw 2 with respect to the back surface. In this example, the screw holes 55 are formed on the upper surface of a pedestal 56 that is provided on the base member 1 by projecting integrally. The contact height adjusting means 60 of FIG. 5A is screwed into a screw hole 55 provided on the base member 1 corresponding to the back surface of the engaging claw 2 and is supported so that the vertical position can be adjusted. Bolt portion 61 and abutting member 6 fixed to the front end of bolt portion 61 and abutting on the back surface of pillar member 3.
2 is provided. The radius of the disk-shaped contact member 62 is
When the bolt 61 is tightened in the screw hole 55, the engaging claw 2
Set so that it contacts the back of the. By rotating the adjusting means 60 to adjust the height position of the contact member 62, the contact height of the pillar member 3 with respect to the rear surface is variously changed, and the amount of bending of the engaging claw 2 toward the rear surface is adjusted. It becomes possible. In this embodiment, by adjusting the position of the contact member 61, that is, the tightening dimension of the bolt portion 61,
The same effect as that of the embodiment of FIG. 2 can be obtained without using a wedge or a cam. Further, if the screw hole 55 is provided at a position where a general-purpose product can be used as the bolt portion 61, further cost reduction can be achieved. Figure 5 (b)
The pressure contact force adjusting means 60 is a bolt portion 61 that is supported by a screw hole 55 provided on the base member 1 corresponding to the back surface of the engaging claw 2 so as to adjust the turning angle, and the bolt. Part 61
And a pressure contact member 65 as an eccentric cam that is fixed to the front end of the column member 3 and presses against the back surface of the column member 3. Adjusting means 60
By adjusting the force with which the peripheral surface of the press contact member 65 presses against the back surface of the column member 3 by changing the contact angle of the back surface of the column member 3 to the front side of the engaging claw 2. It is possible to adjust the amount of deformation. That is, the same effect as the embodiment of FIG. 3 can be exhibited. Since the pressure adjusting means 60 can also adjust the height of the pressure contact member 65,
The same effect as that of the above embodiment can be exerted.

Next, FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus using the snap fit of the present invention in various parts. The image forming apparatus 70 includes a front door 71 for toner replenishment,
A right door 72 for removing a paper jam is provided, and each door 71, 7
2 respectively opens and closes in the direction of the arrow. Conventionally, a magnet, a lever for locking, or the like has been used as a means for holding these doors in the main body side housing in a closed state. Instead of these, by using the engaging claw 2 and the deformation amount adjusting means 10 of the present invention, the engaging force, that is, the force required for opening and closing the doors 71 and 72 can be adjusted. Further, even if the engagement claw 2 is weakened by repeated engagement (opening and closing of the door), the deformation amount adjusting means 10 adjusts the amount of deflection of the engagement claw toward the back side and the forward pressure contact force. By doing so, it is not necessary to replace any parts. The deformation amount adjusting means 10 of the present invention can be applied not only to the image forming apparatus but also to general equipment including an opening / closing part and a connecting part between parts.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the snap fit consisting of the opening / closing part of various equipment and the engaging claws used for connecting the parts, the cost reduction and the assembling work by reducing the number of parts Without compromising the advantages of improved productivity, maintenance of appearance beauty, etc. due to simplification, etc., variation in accuracy of plastic parts causes variation in engagement and locking force, and elastic force decreases over time. It is possible to provide a snap fit that can eliminate such problems. According to the invention of claim 1, since the deformation amount adjusting means for adjusting the deformation amount of the engaging claw is provided, the amount of bending of the engaging claw to the rear and the amount of pressure contact to the front are adjusted to be optimal. You can make fine adjustments. In the invention of claim 2, a plurality of ribs are provided on the back portion of the engaging claw made of plastic or the like. When the engaging force of the engaging claw is stronger than the target due to the variation of parts, the rib of the engaging claw increases the deflection of the pillar member of the engaging claw, and the engaging force can be weakened.

According to the third aspect of the invention, another member such as a wedge piece, a rotatable cam or the like, whose position can be changed, is provided on the back portion of the engaging claw. When the engaging force of the engaging claw is stronger than the target, it is possible to lower the separate member and simply extend the length of the pillar of the engaging claw to increase the deflection, that is, to reduce the engaging force. On the contrary, when the engaging force of the engaging claw is weaker than the target, increase the other member to reduce the deflection by simply shortening the length of the pillar of the engaging claw, that is, increasing the engaging force. You can Further, according to the present invention, even when the engaging force of the engaging claws becomes weak due to repeated attachment and detachment, the engaging force can be restored by raising another member. That is, it is possible to freely adjust the engaging force of the engaging claws regardless of repeated attachment / detachment (engagement). According to the fourth aspect of the invention, another member such as a wedge piece or a cam that can push the back portion of the engaging claw freely in the engaging direction is provided. Similarly to the third aspect, when the engaging force is stronger than the target, the engaging force can be weakened by moving the separate member in the direction away from the engaging direction of the engaging claw. vice versa,
When the engaging force is weaker than the target, the engaging force can be weakened by moving another member in the engaging direction of the engaging claw. Also in the present invention, as in the third aspect of the invention, the engaging force of the engaging claws can be freely adjusted regardless of repeated attachment and detachment. Claim 5
According to the invention, the function of the separate member described in claims 3 and 4 is realized with a simple structure of one screw, and the cost is further reduced. That is, the head portion of the screw is brought into contact with the back portion of the engaging claw, and the screw is tightened.
The effect of is obtained. Further, the effect of claim 4 is obtained by forming the head portion of the screw into a cam shape, abutting it on the back portion of the engaging claw, and adjusting the tightening angle of the screw. According to the invention of claim 6, the above-mentioned engaging claws are mainly used for the opening / closing portion of the cover of OA equipment such as home appliances, personal computers, image forming apparatuses, etc., so that the opening / closing force can be adjusted according to the customer's preference. Even if the engaging claw is weakened by repeated opening and closing, it can be returned to its original state, and replacement of the entire cover can be eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are perspective views of the back side of a snap fit according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

2A and 2B are perspective views showing a snap fit configuration according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B are perspective views showing a configuration of a snap fit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of deformation amount adjusting means according to another embodiment.

5A and 5B are views showing another embodiment of the deformation amount adjusting means in the snap fit of the present invention, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus using the snap fit of the present invention for various parts.

7 (a), (b) and (c) are explanatory views of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 base member, 2 engaging claws, 3 pillar members, 4 jaw parts, 5 engaged objects, 6 engaged parts, 10 deformation amount adjusting means, 11 ribs, 15 height variable adjusting means, 16 screwing holes , 17 movable adjusting piece, 18 fastening means, 20 sliding plate, 20a elongated hole, 21 wedge piece, 21a upper surface (slope), 25 cam, 26 screwing hole, 27 fastening means, 2
8 screws, 30 adjusting means (press contact force variable adjusting means), 3
1 wedge piece, 32 inclined surface, 33 fastening means, 35 screwing hole, 36 screwing hole, 37 hole, 38 cam, 38a base, 38b cam body, 41 block, 42 screw hole, 43 contact surface, 50 stop Attachment means, 55 Screw attachment hole, 56
Pedestal, 56 contact height adjusting means (pressure contact force adjusting means),
61 bolt portion, 62 contact piece, 65 pressure contact member, 70
Image forming apparatus, 71 and 72 doors.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A snap fit comprising an engaged object and an engaging claw protrudingly provided on a base member and detachably engaged with the engaged object, wherein the engaging The claw includes a pillar member projecting on the base member in a state of being elastically deformable in the front-rear direction, and a jaw portion projecting on a front end surface of the pillar member and engaging with an engaged object. A snap fit, comprising: a column member deformation amount adjusting means arranged along the back surface of the column member. 2. The snap fit according to claim 1, wherein the deformation amount adjusting means includes at least one rib that is projectable along the back surface of the column member and can be broken. 3. The deformation amount adjusting means is arranged movably or rotatably on a base member on the back side of the pillar member to change the height position in contact with the back surface of the pillar member. The snap fit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the snap fit is a height-adjustable adjusting means. 4. The pressure contact force capable of changing the pressure contact force with respect to the back surface of the column member by movably or rotatably arranged on the base member on the back surface side of the column member. The snap fit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the snap fit is a variable adjusting means. 5. The deformation amount adjusting means is fixed to a bolt portion supported by a screw receiving portion provided on the base member so as to be able to adjust a vertical position and a rotation angle, and fixed to a tip portion of the bolt portion. The snap fit according to claim 1, further comprising: an abutment member or an abutment member that comes into pressure contact with or is in pressure contact with the back surface of the column member. 6. An apparatus comprising the snap fit according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 at an opening / closing portion.