JP2007252735A - Bathtub cover - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive bathtub cover capable of sufficiently securing the lightweight property, and excellent in the safety. <P>SOLUTION: In the bathtub cover 1, a plurality of bar-like hollow members 2 made of hard synthetic resin are disposed parallel. The adjacent hollow members are connected and integrated with each other by a belt-like connection piece 3 made of soft synthetic resin. A bar-like hollow reinforcing material 6 made of hard synthetic resin, whose cross section has the similar shape to that of a hollow part, is inserted and disposed into each hollow part 4 of from one to five hollow members 2 located at the central area in the longitudinal direction of the bathtub cover 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a bathtub lid, and more specifically, a retractable shutter type in which a large number of rod-like hollow members made of a hard synthetic resin are connected via a belt-like connecting member made of a soft synthetic resin. It relates to a bathtub lid.

  In this specification and claims, the “length direction” of the bathtub lid refers to the parallel arrangement direction of the rod-shaped hollow members, and the “width direction” refers to the length direction of the rod-shaped hollow members. Shall be said.

  Recently, along with the trend toward larger bathtubs, large-sized bathtub lids are increasingly used.

  On the other hand, regardless of the type of the bathtub lid, in order to ensure the safety of the user, even if the user accidentally touches the upper surface, the bathtub lid should bend and come off. Therefore, it is required to have an excellent bending strength, and the SG standard also defines a certain standard for the bending deflection of the bathtub lid.

  However, the larger the bathtub lid, the more difficult it is to provide a high flexural strength that can satisfy the SG standard, especially with a shutter-type lid.

Conventionally, in order to improve such bending strength, in addition to increasing the thickness of the rod-shaped hollow member that is a constituent member of the lid body, a reinforcing wall that connects the upper wall and the lower wall in the hollow portion is provided. It is provided in a continuous manner in the length direction (see Patent Document 1 below), or a plurality of transverse partition walls are provided at predetermined intervals in the hollow portion of the hollow member, and stainless steel is used to penetrate the partition walls. A means has been proposed in which a bar-shaped reinforcing member made of a round bar or the like is inserted and arranged (see Patent Document 2).
JP-A-7-96560 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-89736

  However, in order to ensure the required bending strength by increasing the wall thickness and adding a reinforcing wall as in the former case, the material used for the hollow member must be increased to a considerable extent. In addition, there is a problem that the weight of the bathtub lid itself is increased and the handling becomes inconvenient. Moreover, in the case of incorporating the latter rod-shaped reinforcing material made of metal or the like, since the hollow member is provided with a transverse partition wall, in addition to the fact that the hollow member cannot be efficiently manufactured by the extrusion manufacturing method, The work of assembling the reinforcing material is also troublesome, and it is practically hardly put into practical use due to problems such as high cost and increased weight.

  The present invention is based on the above-described background art, and is a shutter type that can ensure low cost and sufficient lightness, and has high bending strength and excellent safety under practical use. The object is to provide a bathtub lid.

  For the above purpose, the present invention presents the following configurations.

[1] In a bathtub lid in which a large number of rod-like hollow members made of a hard synthetic resin are arranged in parallel, and adjacent hollow members are connected and integrated by a strip-like connecting piece made of a soft synthetic resin,
A rod-shaped hollow reinforcing material made of a hard synthetic resin having a similar cross-sectional shape that fits into the hollow portion is inserted and disposed in the hollow portion of the one or more hollow members positioned in the center portion of the bathtub lid in the length direction. The bathtub lid characterized by having.

  [2] In the hollow member, a reinforcing wall that connects the upper wall and the lower wall of the hollow member is formed continuously in the length direction in the hollow portion, and at least one in the divided hollow portion defined by the reinforcing wall. The bathtub lid according to the preceding item [1], in which a hollow reinforcing material having a similar cross-sectional shape that fits into the divided hollow portion is inserted and arranged.

  [3] The hollow reinforcing material is adjacent to the hollow member in which two hollow reinforcing materials are inserted and disposed in the two divided hollow portions in one hollow member located in the center of the bathtub lid in the length direction. The bathtub lid according to the preceding item [2], wherein one hollow reinforcing material is inserted and arranged in one divided hollow portion in the two hollow members.

  Even if the bathtub lid described in the above item [1] is a large one, a rod-shaped hollow reinforcing material is incorporated into one or a plurality of hollow members located in the central portion in the length direction. Therefore, the material used can be greatly reduced compared to the case where the thickness of all hollow members is increased or the thick bending wall is provided to obtain the required bending strength. In addition to being able to suppress an increase in material cost, it is possible to reduce the weight and make it advantageous in handling. In addition, when only one or a plurality of hollow members in the central portion are reinforced, the length of the entire periphery is supported by the upper edge of the bathtub when the lid is applied to the bathtub. This makes a skeleton due to the presence of a strong reinforcing part in the center of the direction. As a result, even if a load from above is applied to any part of the entire surface of the bathtub lid, it is easy for the bathtub lid to easily It is possible to prevent the downward bending and deformation. Accordingly, it is possible to ensure sufficient bending strength in practical use, and as a result, sufficient safety can be ensured. Furthermore, since it can be manufactured by adding a work process in which a rod-shaped hollow reinforcing material is inserted and arranged in only one or a plurality of hollow members, the manufacturing can be simplified and the manufacturing cost is greatly increased. Therefore, it is possible to provide a shutter-type bathtub lid that is relatively inexpensive and highly safe.

  In the configuration described in [2], the bending strength can be further increased by the presence of the reinforcing wall.

    Furthermore, in the configuration described in the above item [3], since the use of only four hollow reinforcing materials can provide a highly safe bathtub lid having a required high bending strength, the cost can be reduced. And it can also be excellent in lightness.

  Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a planar shape of a bathtub lid (1) according to the present invention. In this bathtub lid (1), a large number of rod-shaped hollow members (2) made of hard synthetic resin are arranged in parallel at regular intervals, and adjacent hollow members (2) are arranged at the lower edge thereof. It is a shutter-type bathtub lid connected and integrated by a narrow strip-shaped connecting piece (3) made of a soft synthetic resin.

  The hollow member (2) has a substantially trapezoidal or semicircular cross section with a flat bottom surface and an upper surface having a mountain shape, and a hollow portion (4) on the inner side connects the upper wall and the lower wall. The right and left divided hollow portions (4a) and (4b) are partitioned by a reinforcing wall (5).

  Moreover, the bathtub lid (1) is formed in what has a different width | variety in each site | part of a length direction by arrange | positioning the hollow member (2) from which length differs mutually by site | parts.

  In the bathtub lid (1), the three hollow members (2) located in the central portion in the length direction thereof are divided into the hollow portions (4a) and / or (4b) as shown in FIG. A rod-like hollow reinforcing material (6) made of hard synthetic resin made as a separate member is inserted and arranged. More specifically, a single hollow member (2) located in the center in the length direction of the bathtub lid (1) has a transverse cross section in both of the two divided hollow portions (4a) and (4b). A hollow synthetic material (6) (6) made of a hard synthetic resin having a similar cross-sectional shape corresponding to the surface shape is inserted and arranged carefully, and two hollow members (2 on the left and right adjacent to the central hollow member (2) (2 ), A hollow reinforcing member (6) similar to the above is inserted and arranged one by one in one divided hollow portion (4a) or (4b) closer to the center.

  Accordingly, the bathtub lid (1) has a higher bending strength than the portion constituted by the other hollow members (2) in the region where the three hollow members (2) are present at the center in the length direction. It is supposed to have.

  The hollow reinforcing material (6) is made of a hard synthetic resin, so that an increase in the overall weight of the bathtub lid (1) can be kept as low as possible and a material cost can be reduced. In addition, by having a similar cross-sectional shape suitable for the hollow portion (4) or the divided hollow portions (4a) and (4b) of the hollow member (2), the hollow portion ( 4) It is advantageous in that a stable arrangement state can be ensured by simply inserting into (4a) and (4b) without causing loose movement in the hollow portion.

  In the present invention, the number of hollow members (2) reinforced by the hollow reinforcing material (6) is not limited to three as in the illustrated embodiment. When the width of the central portion in the length direction of the bathtub lid (1) is relatively short, for example, about 700 to 900 mm, hollow reinforcement is provided for only one hollow member (2) located in the center. It is good also as what inserts and arrange | positions 1 or 2 materials (6), and conversely, when it is a wide thing which a center part width | variety is 900-1100 mm, it is 4-5 pieces of a center part. The hollow member (2) may be reinforced by inserting a hollow reinforcing material (6). However, when the hollow reinforcing material (6) is inserted into all of the many hollow members (2) exceeding six, the weight and cost are increased, and the advantages of the present invention cannot be fully enjoyed. This is not preferable. Therefore, it is preferable to reinforce in the range of 1 to 5, particularly in the range of 2 to 3.

  Moreover, although it is preferable on intensity | strength that a hollow member (2) shall have a reinforcement wall (5), this is not necessarily required. In particular, the hollow member (2) other than the hollow member (2) positioned at the center and reinforced with the hollow reinforcing material (6) may not have the reinforcing wall (5).

  The hard synthetic resin constituting the hollow member (2) and the hollow reinforcing material (6) is not particularly limited. For example, polypropylene resin, ABS resin (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resin), polycarbonate resin And hard vinyl chloride resin. Among them, it is preferable to use a polypropylene resin because it is low in cost, excellent in heat resistance, and does not generate a toxic gas such as hydrogen chloride at the time of incineration and has a small environmental load.

  The soft synthetic resin constituting the connecting piece (3) is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a thermoplastic synthetic resin or a soft synthetic resin softened by adding a modifier to a hard synthetic resin such as polypropylene.

  Examples of the former thermoplastic elastomer include hydrogenated styrene / conjugated diene rubber represented by hydrogenated styrene / butadiene rubber (HSBR), or styrene / ethylene / butylene / styrene block copolymer. Hydrogenated styrene / conjugated diene / styrene block copolymer or a copolymer of two or more components selected from the group consisting of ethylene, propylene and butene-1 (for example, ethylene / butene copolymer rubber, propylene / Butene copolymer rubber, ethylene / propylene / butene copolymer rubber, etc.).

  Examples of the modifier for softening in the latter include the former thermoplastic elastomer, and more specifically, ethylene / propylene / diene / methylene copolymer, styrene / ethylene / butylene / styrene copolymer, and the like. And a styrene / ethylene / propylene / styrene copolymer.

  Examples of the soft synthetic resin include other ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer resins and ethylene / ethyl acrylate copolymer resins.

  Next, one specific example of the present invention is shown in comparison with a comparative example.

  By the extrusion molding method, the hollow member (2) and the hollow reinforcing material (6) were molded into a shape as shown in FIG. 2 with a resin composition consisting of 100 parts by weight of polypropylene resin and 40 parts by weight of talc. Here, the hollow member (2) is set to have a width of 29.5 mm, a height of 14 mm, a thickness of 0.8 mm, and a reinforcing wall thickness of 0.6 mm, while the hollow reinforcing material (6) has a thickness of 2.0 mm. Set to.

  On the other hand, the strip-shaped connecting piece (3) was set to a thickness of 0.4 mm using an olefin elastomer.

  And while connecting many of the said hollow members (2) via a connection piece (3), as shown in FIG. 2, a hollow reinforcement material (6) is shown with respect to one hollow member (2) of the center. Two hollow reinforcing members (6) are inserted into the two hollow members (2) on both sides of the two, and both ends of the hollow member (2) are ultrasonically heated with resin caps. To obtain a substantially rectangular bathtub lid having a length of about 1503.5 mm and a center width of about 970 mm.

<Comparative example>
Except for not using the hollow reinforcing material (6), a bathtub lid exactly the same as in the above example was manufactured.

<Contrast test>
Therefore, a bending strength comparison test was performed for each bathtub lid of the above example and the comparative example in accordance with the SG certification standard by the Product Safety Association. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the bending strength test is performed by placing a smooth metal rod (41) having a diameter of 40 mm on the side of the bathtub (40), and placing the bathtub lid (1) thereon. After heating for 1 hour while maintaining the water temperature of the bath at 75 ± 3 ° C., immediately put a weight of 30 kg on the center of the bath lid (1) gently through a wooden loading plate (42) with a diameter of 100 mm. The difference between the deflection amount immediately before loading and the maximum deflection amount after 3 minutes after loading was obtained using a scale, and this value was defined as the bending deflection amount (mm). It shows that it is excellent in bending strength as a bathtub lid, so that this bending deflection amount is small.

  As a result, the bending deflection of the bathtub lid according to the embodiment of the present invention was about 72 mm, whereas the bending deflection of the bathtub lid according to the comparative example was about 93 mm. An improvement effect was obtained, and it was confirmed that the standard value of bending deflection in the SG standard of 86 mm or less could be satisfied.

  In addition, when comparing the weight as if holding both bathtub lids in the hand, it was confirmed that the difference was such that almost no difference was felt and that there was no problem in handling. .

It is a top view which shows the bathtub lid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the AA in FIG. It is a perspective view of a hollow reinforcing material. It is explanatory drawing of a bending deflection test method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bathtub lid 2 ... Hollow member 3 ... Connection piece 4 ... Hollow part 5 ... Reinforcement wall 6 ... Hollow reinforcement material

Claims (3)

In a bathtub lid in which a large number of rod-like hollow members made of hard synthetic resin are arranged in parallel, and adjacent hollow members are connected and integrated by a belt-like connecting piece made of soft synthetic resin,
A rod-shaped hollow reinforcing material made of a hard synthetic resin having a similar cross-sectional shape that fits into the hollow portion is inserted and disposed in the hollow portion of the one or more hollow members positioned in the center portion of the bathtub lid in the length direction. The bathtub lid characterized by having.   In the hollow part, a reinforcing wall that connects the upper wall and the lower wall of the hollow member is formed continuously in the length direction in the hollow part, and at least one of the divided hollow parts defined by the reinforcing wall The bathtub lid according to claim 1, wherein a hollow reinforcing material having a similar cross-sectional shape that fits into the divided hollow portion is inserted and disposed.   In the hollow reinforcing material, in one hollow member located in the center of the length direction of the bathtub lid, two hollow reinforcing materials are inserted and disposed in the two divided hollow portions, and two hollow reinforcing materials adjacent to the hollow member are disposed. The bathtub lid according to claim 2, wherein in the hollow member, one hollow reinforcing material is inserted and arranged in one divided hollow portion.

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