JP2006340734A - Connector for pet fence - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a panel connector which is used in a pet fence such as a pet cage or pet circle used, when a pet such as dog, cat, bird or hamster is raised in a room, whose parts are reduced to lower the cost, and which can simply be assembled or the like. <P>SOLUTION: This connector 5 which is used for a pet fence and has laterally arranged holding holes 5a for rotatably holding longitudinally extended wire rods 2x, 3x, 4x placed on both the right and left sides of pet fence panels 2, 3, 4 constituting the pet fence is characterized by forming the holding holes 5a at a distance for arranging the connected panels 2, 3, 4 in parallel, forming the connector 5 from two connector carriers 25 formed by dividing the holding holes 5a at positions longitudinally dividing the holding holes 5a, and disposing engaging convex and concave portions 27, 28 capable of being engaged with each other on the two connector carriers 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to pet fences such as pet cages and pet circles that are used to keep pets such as dogs, cats, birds, and hamsters indoors, and more specifically, pets constituting the pet fences. The present invention relates to a connector for connecting a fence panel.

  The pet cage encloses the entire circumference to form a pet accommodation space, and the pet circle encloses only the circumference to form a pet accommodation space. In either case, it is generally configured using a wire mesh panel, and the panel is connected and then combined with other members, or only the panel is connected.

  There are various connecting tools for connecting panels, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. However, there has been a demand for a connecting tool that can be firmly connected with a simple configuration that does not cost much.

  The connector of Patent Document 1 is composed of two members, and the panels are connected as follows. First, one first member is arranged on the inner side of the pet cage, and then the wire of the panel is inserted into the receiving groove of the first member. Next, the other second member is arranged on the outside of the pet cage, and the holding portion of the second member is externally fitted to the first member from a substantially right angle direction, and is temporarily attached and aligned. do. Subsequently, the end of the second member is pressed and rotated to engage the second member and the first member so as to be closed.

  According to this coupling tool, when the first member and the second member are coupled, it is not necessary to perform the alignment operation and the engagement operation at the same time, and the engagement operation may be performed after the alignment is performed. That is easy.

  However, since the first member and the second member have different shapes and have a complicated structure for temporary bonding, there is a problem that costs are increased. Moreover, since a rotation operation is required for the joining work, the assembling work is troublesome unless used.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-18937

  Accordingly, the present invention mainly relates to a pet fence panel connector, and it is a main object to be able to reduce costs, simplify assembly, and the like by suppressing the number of parts.

  Means for that is a connecting tool in which holding holes for holding a wire rod that is positioned on the left and right sides of the pet fence panel constituting the pet fence and that is rotatably held vertically are arranged in parallel on the left and right, The connected panels are formed with an interval arranged in parallel, and the connector is composed of two connector carriers formed by dividing the holding hole into two at the front and rear, and the two connector carriers Is a connector provided with engaging means for engaging with each other.

  That is, when connecting the pet fence panels, the connecting member carrier may be integrated by engaging the connecting member carrier back and forth using an appropriate engaging means such as a fitting structure or a screw. The wire rod on both the left and right sides of the fence panel is sandwiched and placed in the holding hole.

  The connected pet fence panel holds the wire in a rotatable manner, and the holding holes are formed at intervals in which the panels are arranged in parallel, so the pet fence panel can be simply deformed. Pet cages and pet circles using can be deformed flatly (compactly).

  The two connector carriers may be formed in the same shape. If the shape is the same, only one mold is required for molding, and the cost can be reduced.

  Specifically, an engaging convex part and an engaging concave part are formed in order on the left or right edge part of the connector carrier in order, and the other edge part has the same shape as the engaging convex part. It is preferable to form an engaging concave portion that engages with the engaging convex portion and an engaging convex portion that engages with the engaging concave portion having the same shape as the engaging concave portion in this order.

  According to the present invention, the connector for connecting the pet fence panel is composed of two connector carriers formed by dividing the holding hole into two in the front and rear directions, and these connector carriers are engaged with each other. Since the fitting means is provided, the panel can be connected by simply engaging the connector carrier. Moreover, since the connecting holes arranged side by side are formed at intervals in which the connected panels are arranged in parallel, if they are deformed so as to change the orientation of the panels, the flat shape or three-dimensional shape can be changed. The shape can be easily changed, and the effect that the handling is convenient can be achieved, and in combination with the effect of the locking device, a valuable pet fence, that is, a pet cage or a pet circle can be obtained.

  In particular, if the connector carrier is formed in the same shape, it is sufficient to have a single mold for manufacturing the connector, which greatly contributes to reduction of cost and parts management burden.

An embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a pet cage 1. As shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 2, the pet cage 1 includes a metal mesh-like front panel 2 formed by combining metal wires vertically and horizontally. The peripheral panel member 6 is formed by connecting the rear panel 3 and the two side panels 4 in total, each of which is two, with a connector 5, and a metal mesh-like ceiling panel made of a metal wire material is also formed on the peripheral wall member 6. 7 is attached and the upper surface is closed, and this is placed on the bottom member 8 made of synthetic resin.

  The peripheral wall member 6 is deformed so that the front panel 2 and the rear panel 3 approach each other by folding the side panel 4 inward, and will be described in detail later.

  The ceiling panel 7 is provided with a plurality of locking portions 7 a, 7 b, 7 c made of a wire on the outer peripheral edge, and is detachably locked to the upper edge of the peripheral wall member 6.

  The bottom member 8 is provided with an edge 10 on the outer peripheral edge of a rectangular bottom plate 9 having a size on which the peripheral wall member 6 can be placed, and a width on which the peripheral wall member 6 can be placed on the inner peripheral side. The peripheral wall portion 11 is erected through the groove. The peripheral wall portion 11 is formed on the entire circumference, and the front side thereof is formed low as a pet entrance / exit 11a. And the intermediate position of the right-and-left both-sides surface part of the said edge part 10 protrudes slightly outward, and hold | maintains the buckle 12. FIG. The buckle 12 hooks the side surface of the peripheral wall member 6 placed in the groove, that is, the adjacent portion of the two side panels 4, onto the laterally extending wire 4 a in the side panel 4 and presses it down to fix it.

  Casters 13 with stoppers are attached to the four corners of the bottom surface of the bottom plate 9 to facilitate movement.

  Next, the front panel 2 used in the pet cage 1 having such a general structure will be described.

  The front panel 2 is formed with an entrance / exit 14 having an arch shape at the top for pet entry / exit, and a door 15 is pivotally attached to close the entrance / exit 14. And the locking device 16 for maintaining the closed state of the door body 15 is attached to the opposite side to the pivoting part 15a of the door body 15. In addition, a second locking device 17 is provided as an auxiliary locking device at an upper position of the door body 15 so as to obtain a closed state of the door body 15.

  First, the locking device 16 will be described. This locking device 16 is as shown in FIG. 3 and mainly comprises three members. That is, two sliding members 18 and 19 combined in the front-rear direction to slide in the left-right direction, and a tension coil spring 20 (hereinafter referred to as a spring) as an urging member provided therein.

  The inner surface of the rear sliding member 18 located on the rear side is shown in FIG. 4, and the inner surface of the front sliding member 19 located on the front side is shown in FIG.

  Here, the attachment position in the door body 15 to which the locking device 16 is attached will be described. At this attachment position, a sliding portion 15b made of a wire material having a horizontally long U shape in front view is formed. The tip of the sliding portion 15b protrudes outward from the wire 15c on the outer peripheral edge of the door 15 and extends to a position straddling the wire 14a at the opening / closing opening 14 facing the door 15 with its tip edge facing backward. It is bent into a letter shape.

  The rear sliding member 18 and the front sliding member 19 are formed so as to slide left and right on the sliding portion 15b.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rear sliding member 18 is formed wider than the sliding portion 15 b, the sliding portions 18 a are formed at both upper and lower edge portions, and the sliding portion is formed inside thereof. A second protrusion having a height higher than that of the first protrusion 18b formed to maintain a predetermined distance between the first protrusion 18b for restriction along the inner side of 15b and the front sliding member 19. Two 18c are formed (see FIG. 6).

  Two step portions 18d are formed between the first protrusion 18b and the second protrusion 18c, and a coupling member 21 (see FIG. 3) made of a screw or the like is inserted into the center of the step portion 18d. A through hole 18 e for coupling with the front sliding member 19 is formed. You may comprise so that it may mutually fit by an unevenness | corrugation, without using the separate coupling member 21. FIG.

  A holding protrusion 18f that holds one end of the spring 20 is provided between the second protrusions 18c. As shown in FIG. 6, the holding projection 18 f has a tip fitted into the front sliding member 19, and a regulating piece for regulating the position of one end of the spring 20 on the lower side of the circumferential surface. Two 18g pieces are formed on the upper and lower sides so as to project in the outer peripheral direction. The height of the restricting piece 18g is maintained so that the height of one end of the spring 20 does not decrease, so that when the slider 20 slides against the urging force of the spring 20, it is positioned by locking in the pulled state. Enable.

  The sliding range of the locking device 16 is set from the mounting position of the locking device 16 to the protruding position that protrudes and straddles the opposite side. Then, on the side of the rear sliding member 18 opposite to the pivoting portion 15a, the locking device 16 protrudes when the positional relationship as shown in FIG. When slid to the position and straddles the wire 14a extending vertically at the opening edge of the entrance / exit 14, the one sandwiching portion 18h located on the rear side of the wire 14a is formed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the front sliding member 19 is formed wider than the sliding portion 15b, and the sliding portions 19a are formed at both upper and lower edges. A separation column 19b whose tip is in contact with the stepped portion 18d is erected at a position corresponding to the stepped portion 18d of the rear sliding member 18, and the engaging member 21 such as a screw (see FIG. 3) is provided at the center thereof. Through-holes 19c are formed.

  Further, the position corresponding to the portion where the holding projection 18f of the rear sliding member 18 is formed bulges to form a knob portion 19d on the front side, and the tip of the holding projection 18f is fitted at the center. A fitting hole 19e is formed.

  The front sliding member 19 is also formed to have substantially the same length as the rear sliding member 18, and the end portion on the side opposite to the pivoting portion 15a is set as the other pinching portion 19f. Further, the end (opposite protruding position side) opposite to the other side 19f of the sandwiched portion extends slightly from the rear sliding member 18 and slides toward the mounting position side against the biasing force of the spring 20. A locking portion 19g is formed which is detachably locked to the attachment position, that is, the vertically extending wire 15d.

  The locking portions 19g are formed at two positions in the inner position of the slid portion 15b so as to be spaced apart from each other, and have a shape protruding rearward. Several protrusions 19h are arranged in parallel inside the locking portion 19g so that the fingers can be easily caught when the locking is released.

  Further, a concave portion 19i that is recessed in a bay shape is provided between the locking portions 19g so that the fingertip is hooked during the sliding operation. In the figure, 19j is an inspection window.

  One end of the spring 20 is held by the holding protrusion 18 f and the other end is held by a vertically extending wire 15 c located on the outer peripheral edge of the door body 15. In this state, the rear sliding member 18 and the front sliding member 19 may be combined from the front-rear direction so as to sandwich the door body 15 and integrated using an appropriate coupling member.

  In the above configuration, one sandwiching portion is formed by the rear sliding member 18 and the front sliding member 19, but the sandwiching portion may be formed in only one of them.

  In the state where the door 15 is closed, the locking device 16 configured as described above sandwiches the wire 14a extending vertically along the opening edge of the doorway 14 between the pair of sandwiching portions 18h and 19f in the front and rear directions as shown by the solid line in FIG. However, when the finger is put on the concave portion 19i and the knob portion 19d and pushed down against the biasing force of the spring 20, it slides as indicated by the phantom line. And the latching | locking part 19g is latched by pushing the latching | locking part 19g side a little back, and hooking it on the wire 15d extended vertically. When locking, the fingertip is hooked on the back side of the locking portion 19g to cause a slight trigger, so that the locking portion 19g is unlocked. Good.

Next, the second locking device 17 will be described.
The second locking device 17 is for restricting the upper part of the door body 15 to a closed state. The opposite part of the upper part of the door body 15, that is, the upper part of the opening edge of the doorway 14 is set as the attachment position, and this attachment is performed. Installation is in place. Since the upper part of the opening edge of the entrance / exit 14 is curved in an arch shape, the second locking device 17 is formed in a substantially horizontally long rectangular shape in which the lower end edge is curved in an arch shape. If the upper portion of the door body 15 has a shape other than the arch shape, the door body 15 is formed in a shape corresponding thereto.

  This 2nd locking device 17 is also comprised using the two sliding members 22 and 23 which pinch | interpose the front panel 2 which consists of wire materials back and forth. The rear sliding member 22 positioned on the rear side and the front sliding member 23 positioned on the front side are formed in the same front view shape. As shown in FIG. 8, the rear sliding member 22 is formed with concave grooves 22a through which four vertically extending wires 2a forming the mounting position of the front panel 2 are passed, and two left and right concave grooves are formed. A step 22b close to the thickness of the groove 22a is formed at a position sandwiching 22a. A through hole 22c is formed at the center of the stepped portion 22b.

  Further, the second locking device 17 slides in the vertical direction, and protrudes downward from the mounting position to the opposite side, i.e., the protruding position straddling the upper edge of the door body 15, A portion located in the sliding direction, that is, a sandwiching portion that sandwiches the upper end edge of the door body 15 forward and backward. One of the sandwiched portions 22d is set to the lower end edge of the rear sliding member.

  The front sliding member 23 is formed to be thicker than the rear sliding member 22, and a projection 23b having a projection 23a at the tip of the tip fitting into the through hole 22c is formed at a position corresponding to the stepped portion 22b. To do. A hole for inserting a coupling member (not shown) such as a screw is formed in the center of the protrusion 23a.

The protrusion 23b has a larger diameter than the protrusion 23a, and a protrusion 23c is formed in a cross shape on the outer peripheral surface thereof. Slight gap between the ridges 23c, when combined with the rear sliding member 22 and the front slide member 23, and the distal end surface of the protrusion 23c, and the stepped portion 22b of the rear sliding member 22 It is to be able to do.

  A spring 24 made of a wire is held in the gap as a sliding contact member. The spring 24 has a shape in which both ends of a straight wire made of spring steel are rounded to a size that fits outside the protrusion 23a. After fitting both ends of the spring 24 to the protrusion 23a, it is applied to the front side (front side) of the mounting position of the front panel 2 as it is, and the rear sliding member 23 is assembled from the back side (rear side).

  In addition, in the center part of the upper surface of the said front side sliding member 23, the uneven | corrugated 23d (refer FIG. 7) for slip prevention is provided by formation of the several protrusion.

  Further, the lower end edge of the front sliding member 23 is formed thinner than the upper portion thereof, and a predetermined interval is provided between one of the sandwiched portions 22d of the rear sliding member 22 so that the upper end edge of the door body 15 is formed. Is set to the other 23e of the sandwiching portion.

  If comprised as mentioned above, the spring 24 hold | maintained between the rear side sliding member 22 and the front side sliding member 23 will contact | connect the vertical wire 4a surface side of an attachment position with an elastic force. For this reason, sliding contact resistance is born, and the position can be fixed at an arbitrary position while being slidable in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 7, if the door body 15 is lowered, the position of the upper end portion of the door body 15 can be restricted to the closed posture.

  If it is set so that sliding contact resistance is generated only by combining the rear sliding member 22 and the front sliding member 23, the spring 24 can be omitted. In addition, when the rear sliding member 22 and the front sliding member 23 are molded, a spring-like sliding contact portion that contacts with elasticity may be provided integrally. Further, an appropriate spring or urging means is used to urge in either the vertical direction so that the sliding state can be maintained against the urging force as in the locking device 16 described above. A stop or the like may be formed.

Next, the connector 5 will be described.
The connector 5 is for connecting the side panel 4 and the rear panel 3 to the front panel 2 to which the locking device 16 and the second locking device 17 are attached to form the peripheral wall member 6. As shown in FIG. 2, among the wires constituting each of the panels 2, 3, and 4, the wires 2x, 3x, and 4x that constitute both side edges and extend vertically are arranged at a predetermined interval. It attaches between the wire 2y and 4y extended horizontally.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the connector 5 and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the shape in detail. 10, (a) is a left side view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a rear view, (d) is a BB cross-sectional view, (e) is a plan view, and (f) is AA. It is sectional drawing.

  In other words, the connector 5 is a connector 5 in which holding holes 5a that are positioned on the left and right sides of the panels 2, 3, and 4 and that extend vertically and hold the wire rods 2x and 4x rotatably are arranged side by side. The hole 5a is formed at an interval in which the connected panels 2, 3, and 4 are arranged in parallel, and the two connecting member carriers 25 having the same shape are formed by dividing the holding hole 5a into two at the front and rear positions. It consists of. And these two coupling tool carriers 25 are integrally provided with engaging means that engage with each other.

  Specifically, two vertically extending concave grooves 26 are formed on the left and right side portions on the inner side which are formed in a rectangular plate shape when viewed from the front and whose side surfaces are curved to have a circular cross section. After the concave groove 26 is engaged, the holding hole 5a is formed. In other words, the concave groove 26 is formed in a half size of a circle that is externally fitted to the wire rods 2x and 4x, and has an interval at which the connected panels 2, 3, and 4 are arranged in parallel.

  Engaging means are integrally formed outside the concave groove 26. The engaging means is an engaging convex portion 27 and an engaging concave portion 28 that engage with each other. The engaging convex portion 27 rises from the surface that forms the concave groove 26, and then forms an inclined surface 27 a on the outside. And it is the structure which formed the return part 27b in the lower end. The engaging recess 28 has a structure in which an inclined surface 28a is formed on the inner side, and an engaging groove 28b to be engaged with the engaging convex portion 27 is formed below, after being erected along the curved surface of the side surface portion. is there.

  The engagement protrusions 27 and the engagement recesses 28 are arranged such that the same type is aligned on a diagonal line. That is, the engaging convex part 27 and the engaging concave part 28 are formed in order on the left or right edge in order, and the engaging concave part 28 and the engaging convex part 27 are formed in order on the other edge. is doing.

  Further, the concave grooves 26 are formed by planes that are in contact with each other between the connector carriers 25, and the upper and lower portions at the intermediate positions in the horizontal direction of the planes are respectively fitted with fitting protrusions 29 that are fitted to each other. And the fitting hole 30 is formed.

  Two connector carriers 25 configured in this way are prepared for one connection, and each connector carrier 25 faces each other, with the vertical wire 2x, 3x, 4x corresponding to the concave groove 26. The engagement protrusion 27 and the engagement recess 28 may be engaged with each other. It will be in a slammed state and a firm and solid connection will be obtained.

  When connected, the state as shown in FIG. 11 is obtained, and the side panel 4 connected two by two is folded inward so that the front panel 2 and the rear panel 3 can be folded into a flat state. Conversely, when assembling the pet gauge 1, the side panel 4 may be raised or the rear panel 3 and the front panel 2 may be separated.

  In addition, if the clearance gap which hold | maintains the wire material extended horizontally is formed between the engagement convex part and engagement concave part which were formed up and down, the panel without two parallel wire materials can also be connected.

  Further, instead of the integrally formed engaging means as described above, mutual integration may be performed by separate engaging means such as screws.

  In the pet cage 1 having the front panel 2 and the connector 5 (connector carrier 25) as described above, the locking device 16 that holds the closed state of the door body 15 is moved toward the mounting position against the urging force. Since the locking portion 19g that locks to the mounting position when the door is slid and unlocked is formed, the state of moving to the mounting position can be maintained. In other words, since both hands can be opened, other operations such as putting in and out of pets can be facilitated. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, even when the front panel 2 used for the pet cage 1 is large and the door body 15 is also vertically long, a plurality of locking devices 16 are provided. Each locking device 16 can be fixed at the openable position of the door body 15 by the locking of the portion 19g, so that other operations can be performed with both hands open as described above, which is very convenient. In FIG. 12, the same components as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Moreover, since the entire locking device 16 slides in the left-right direction, there is no need to incorporate a lock operating body as in the prior art, and there are mainly three of the front sliding member 19, the rear sliding member 18 and the spring 20. And the number of parts can be suppressed. For this reason, the assembling work is simple, and the labor and cost required for assembling can be reduced.

  Further, when the second locking device 17 is provided, the closed state of the door body 15 can be maintained both in the upper part of the door body 15 and in the lower part if necessary, so that the pet may accidentally pinch the body. It can prevent anything and improve safety.

  Furthermore, the connection tool 5 that connects the useful front panel 2 and the other panels 3 and 4 in this way is constituted by two connection tool carriers 25 that are formed by dividing the holding hole 5a into two parts in the front-rear direction. Since the coupling carrier 25 is provided with the engaging convex portion 27 and the engaging concave portion 28 that engage with each other, the coupling state of the panels 2, 3, and 4 can be obtained simply by engaging the coupling carrier 25. be able to. Moreover, since the connecting holes 5a arranged side by side are formed at intervals in which the connected panels 2, 3 and 4 are arranged in parallel, after connecting, they are deformed so that the directions of the panels 2, 3 and 4 are changed. By doing so, it can be easily changed to a flat shape or a solid shape, and the handling is convenient. For example, even if sold in an assembled state, it can be made compact, so it is easy to carry and store.

  In particular, since the connector carrier 25 constituting the connector 5 is formed in the same shape, it is sufficient to have one mold for manufacturing, which can greatly contribute to the reduction of cost and parts management burden.

In the correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the configuration of the above-described embodiment,
The pet fence of the present invention corresponds to the pet cage 1,
Similarly,
The pet fence panel corresponds to the front panel 2, the rear panel 3, the side panel 4,
The engaging means corresponds to the engaging convex portion 27 and the engaging concave portion 28,
The present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and other forms can be adopted.

  For example, the front panel 2 as described above may be used for a pet circle having only an enclosure having no ceiling or bottom. Moreover, the attachment position of the locking device 16 or the second locking device 17 may be on the opposite side of the attachment position described above.

The front view of the cage for pets. The disassembled perspective view of the cage for pets. The partially broken front view of a locking device. The surface view of the rear side sliding member which comprises a locking device. The back view of the front side sliding member which comprises a locking device. Sectional drawing which shows the action state of a locking device. The front view of the action state in the 2nd locking device. Sectional drawing of a 2nd locking apparatus. The perspective view of a connector carrier. Explanatory drawing of a coupling tool carrier. Explanatory drawing of the operation state of a coupling tool. The front view of the cage for pets concerning other examples.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pet cage 2 ... Front panel 3 ... Rear panel 4 ... Side panel 5 ... Connection tool 5a ... Holding hole 14 ... Entrance / exit 14a ... Wire material of entrance / exit opening edge 15 ... Door body 15a ... Pivoting part 15d ... Vertical of an attachment position 16 ... Locking device 17 ... Second locking device 18 ... Rear side sliding member 18h ... One of the clamping parts 19 ... Front sliding member 19f ... The other of the clamping parts 19g ... Locking part 20 ... Tension coil spring 22 ... Rear sliding member 22d: one of the sandwiching portions 23 ... front sliding member 23e ... the other of the sandwiching portions 24 ... spring 25 ... coupling tool carrier 26 ... concave groove 27 ... engaging convex portion 28 ... engaging concave portion

Claims (3)

It is a connecting tool in which holding holes for rotatably holding a wire rod that is located on both the left and right sides of the pet fence panel that constitutes the pet fence are rotatably arranged on the left and right,
While forming the holding hole with an interval in which the connected panels are arranged in parallel,
The connector is composed of two connector carriers formed by dividing the holding hole into two at the front and rear positions,
These two connector carriers are each provided with an engaging means for engaging each other. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the two connector carriers are formed in the same shape. On the left or right edge of the connector carrier, an engaging convex portion and an engaging concave portion are formed in order up and down,
On the other edge, an engagement recess that engages with an engagement protrusion having the same shape as the engagement protrusion, and an engagement protrusion that engages with an engagement recess having the same shape as the engagement recess The connector according to claim 2 formed in order.

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