JP2008064289A - Spring clamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spring clamp for allowing a worker to easily mount a tube on a mounting part using a tool even when the mounting part for the tube is located at a narrow site. <P>SOLUTION: The spring clamp 1 comprises a fastening ring part 27 formed by winding a linear material 25, and a first arm part 29 and a second arm part 31 formed with the linear material 25 extending from the fastening ring part in two directions. By thrusting the first arm part and the second arm part to each other, the inner diameter of the fastening ring part 27 is enlarged to cancel fastening force. Each of the arm parts 29, 31 has a thrust portion 33 in the form of collectively receiving the thrust. The thrust portion 33 can be wound into a ring shape. A positional relationship between the center of the fastening ring part 27 and the center of the thrust portion 33 of each of the first arm part 29 and the second arm part 31 may be of an isosceles triangle with the center of the fastening ring part as a peak. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a spring clamp for preventing a tube from coming off in a state in which a tube carrying a liquid or gas is fitted to the outside of a cylindrical mounting portion.

  For example, in a system that prevents drying and solidification of ink in a recording head of an ink jet printer, the recording head is sealed with a cap, and the sealed space is decompressed with a suction pump through a tube, and ink is discharged from the ink discharge hole of the recording head Is sucked and guided to a waste ink tank. The end of the tube is fitted to the outside of the cylindrical mounting part that protrudes from the tank, and a spring clamp is provided around it, and the end of the tube is securely attached by the contraction force inside the spring clamp. It is fixed to the part.

  An example of such a spring clamp is disclosed in Patent Document 1. That is, Patent Document 1 discloses a low-pressure hose leaf spring clamp that is attached to the outer periphery of a low-pressure hose connection portion formed by inserting a metal tube end portion into a flexible hose end portion. The structure provided with the stopper which can be prevented from expanding further is disclosed.

However, the spring clamp as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is suitable for use in a relatively accessible place, but the members are dense like the periphery of the waste ink tank of the ink jet printer as described above. When the tube mounting part is located in a narrow place, it is difficult for the operator to attach the spring clamp. In addition, since the structure is relatively complicated, the cost tends to increase.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-4776

  An object of the present invention is to provide a spring clamp that allows an operator to easily attach a tube to a mounting portion using a jig or the like even when the mounting portion of the tube is located in a narrow place. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a spring clamp according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a tightening ring portion formed by winding a linear material, and a first material formed of a linear material extending in two directions from the tightening ring portion. In a spring clamp comprising one arm part and a second arm part, wherein the inner diameter of the tightening ring part is increased by pressing the first arm part and the second arm part toward each other to release the tightening force Each of the arm portions is provided with a pressed portion having a shape for receiving the pressing force in a concentrated manner.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily increase the inner diameter of the tightening ring portion and release the tightening force simply by pressing the pressed portions having a shape that receives the concentrated pressing force toward each other. . In addition, since it can be easily formed by simply winding a highly rigid linear material, a low-cost spring clamp can be provided.

The spring clamp according to the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the pressed portion is formed by being wound in a ring shape.
According to this aspect, a finger is put into the pressed portion wound in a ring shape, or the tip of the nipper is inserted, and the pressing force is concentrated and applied so that both pressed portions approach each other. Can do. Further, it is possible to prevent the tip of the nipper from shifting or coming off the pressed portion while the pressing force is applied.

  A spring clamp according to a third aspect of the present invention is the spring clamp according to the first aspect or the second aspect described above, in which the center of the tightening ring part and the pressed parts of the first arm part and the second arm part are provided. The positional relationship with the center is an isosceles triangle whose apex is the center of the tightening ring portion. According to this aspect, it is possible to apply a pressing force to both pressed parts with a good balance.

  Further, in the spring clamp according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect or the third aspect, the tightening ring part and the first arm part are connected at a first connection part, and the tightening ring part And the second arm portion are connected to each other at a second connection portion, and the tightening ring portion includes an overlapping portion in which linear materials overlap between the first connection portion and the second connection portion, The ring-shaped pressed portion in the arm portion is wound in the direction where the first connecting portion is located in the overlapping portion, and the ring-shaped pressed portion in the second arm portion is The overlapping portion is wound in the direction of the side where the second connection portion is located.

  According to this aspect, when both the ring-shaped pressed parts are pressed toward each other and the spring clamp is deformed to a position where the first arm part and the second arm part overlap, the two pressed parts Since the members do not interfere with each other, the pressed portion can be pressed until the tightening force of the spring clamp can be sufficiently released.

  Further, in the spring clamp according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the second to third aspects, the tightening ring part and the first arm part are connected at a first connection part, The tightening ring portion and the second arm portion are connected at a second connection portion, and the tightening ring portion includes an overlapping portion in which linear materials overlap between the first connection portion and the second connection portion. The ring-shaped pressed portion in the first arm portion is wound in a direction toward the side where the second connecting portion is located in the overlapping portion, and the ring-shaped pressed portion in the second arm portion. The part is wound in the direction where the first connecting part is located in the overlapping part.

  According to this aspect, when both ring-shaped pressed parts are pressed toward each other, a moment in a direction in which the first connecting part and the second connecting part are separated from the opposing linear materials hardly acts. The clamping force of the spring clamp can be reliably released.

  Further, in the spring clamp according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the second to third aspects, the tightening ring portion and the first arm portion are connected at a first connection portion, The tightening ring portion and the second arm portion are connected at a second connection portion, and the tightening ring portion includes an overlapping portion in which linear materials overlap between the first connection portion and the second connection portion. The ring-shaped pressed portion in the first arm portion is wound in the direction where the first connecting portion is positioned in the overlapping portion, and the ring-shaped pressed portion in the second arm portion. The part is also wound in the direction where the first connecting part is located in the overlapping part.

  According to this aspect, when both ring-shaped pressed parts are pressed toward each other, the two pressed parts come into contact with each other, and further deformation is impossible, which is necessary for the spring clamp. The above force can be applied to prevent the linear material from being plastically deformed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a rear perspective view of a printer to which a spring clamp according to the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a rear enlarged perspective view of the printer, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a use state of the spring clamp of the present invention. 4 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the spring clamp of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the spring clamp of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is another view of the spring clamp of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment having a pressed portion of another form.

  The spring clamp 1 of the present invention can be applied to, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus 3 (hereinafter simply referred to as a recording apparatus) as shown in FIG. The recording apparatus 3 includes a carriage 7 for causing a recording head 5 that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium (not shown) to scan the recording medium in the main scanning direction. When recording at the beginning of the recording medium, waste ink that has fallen downstream from the beginning of the recording medium is discarded into a recess (not shown) located downstream, and when recording at the end of the recording medium, Waste ink that has fallen upstream from the end of the recording medium is dumped into a recess (not shown) located upstream.

  The downstream side of the recess is connected to an ink suction tube 9 made of a flexible tube. As shown in FIG. 2, the ink suction tube 9 passes through the ink suction pump 11 in the middle, and its downstream end 13 is waste ink. It is connected to a flow path 15 connected to a tank (not shown). In the present embodiment, the waste ink tank is provided in the ink cartridge. The ink suction pump 11 includes a rotating body 19 that can rotate around a rotating shaft 17, and an ink suction tube 9 is disposed between the rotating body 19 and an outer wall portion 20 formed around the rotating body 19. . Further, a roller 21 is provided around the rotating body 19, and when the rotating body 19 rotates, the roller 21 crushes the flexible ink suction tube 9, thereby causing a gap between the peripheral surface of the roller 21 and the outer wall portion 20. Thus, the flexible ink suction tube 9 is successively elastically deformed, and as a result, a negative pressure is generated in the ink suction tube 9 upstream of the ink suction pump 11. Thus, the waste ink is transported to the waste ink tank through the ink suction pipe 9. An example of such an ink suction pump 11 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-310486.

  In the flow path 15 connected to the waste ink tank, a cylindrical mounting portion 23 having an outer diameter into which the downstream end 13 of the ink suction tube 9 just fits is formed, and the ink suction tube is formed outside the mounting portion 23. The downstream end 13 of 9 is fitted. The spring clamp 1 is provided around the downstream end 13 of the ink suction tube 9, and the clamping force prevents the downstream end 13 of the ink suction tube 9 from coming off the mounting portion 23.

  The spring clamp 1 is configured by using a single linear material 25 such as a steel wire as a whole, and includes a tightening ring portion 27 formed by winding the linear material 25 almost once, and a tightening ring portion 27. Are provided with a first arm portion 29 and a second arm portion 31 which are made of the same linear material 25 extending in two directions. At each end of the first arm part 29 and the second arm part 31, pressed parts 33 and 35 configured by winding the same linear material 25 in a ring shape are formed. By putting a jig such as a finger or a nipper into each ring-shaped pressed portion 33, 35 and pressing it in a direction in which the pressed portions 33, 35 approach each other, the pressing force concentrates on the closest positions of the pressed portions 33, 35. With this pressing force, the inner diameter of the tightening ring portion 27 is expanded, and the tightening force can be released.

  The center A of the tightening ring portion 27 and the centers B and C of the pressed portions 33 and 35 in the first arm portion 29 and the second arm portion 31 are isosceles triangles having the center A of the tightening ring portion 27 as a vertex. The positional relationship is as follows.

  Next, the relationship between the winding state of the tightening ring part 27 and the winding state of each of the pressed parts 33 and 35 will be described. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the tightening ring portion 27 and the first arm portion 29 are connected at the first connecting portion 37, and the tightening ring portion 27 and the second arm portion 31 are connected at the second connecting portion 39. ing. The tightening ring portion 27 includes an overlapping portion 41 where the linear material 25 overlaps between the first connection portion 37 and the second connection portion 39.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the ring-shaped pressed portion 33 in the first arm portion 29 is wound in the overlapping portion 41 toward the side where the first connection portion 37 is located. In addition, the ring-shaped pressed portion 35 in the second arm portion 31 is wound in the overlapping portion 41 toward the side where the second connection portion 39 is located. With such a configuration, when both the ring-shaped pressed parts 33 are pressed toward each other and the spring clamp 1 is deformed to a position where the first arm part 29 and the second arm part 31 overlap each other, 2 Since the two pressed portions 33 do not interfere with each other, the pressed portion 33 can be pressed until the tightening force of the spring clamp 1 can be sufficiently released.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the configuration of the tightening ring portion 27 is the same as that in the embodiment of FIG. 4, but as shown in FIGS. The portion 33 is wound toward the side where the second connecting portion 39 is located in the overlapping portion 41, and the ring-shaped pressed portion 35 in the second arm portion 31 is the first in the overlapping portion 41. It is wound toward the side where the connecting portion 37 is located. With such a configuration, when both ring-shaped pressed parts 33 are pressed toward each other, the moment in the direction in which the first connecting part 37 and the second connecting part 39 are separated from the opposing linear materials, respectively. Since it does not act easily, the tightening force of the spring clamp 1 can be reliably released.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the configuration of the tightening ring portion 27 is the same as that in the embodiment of FIG. 4. However, as shown in FIGS. The portion 33 is wound toward the side where the first connection portion 37 is located in the overlapping portion 41, and the ring-shaped pressed portion 35 in the second arm portion 31 is also connected to the first connection in the overlapping portion 41. It is wound in the direction of the side where the portion 37 is located. With such a configuration, when both the ring-shaped pressed parts 35 are pressed toward each other, the two pressed parts 35 come into contact with each other, and further deformation becomes impossible. It is possible to prevent the linear material from being plastically deformed by applying an excessive force to 1.

  In any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, the number of turns of the linear material 25 in the tightening ring portion 27 is an appropriate number of 1 or more depending on the tightening force of the spring clamp and the material of the linear material 25. Can be set to In addition, the number of windings and the size of the linear material 25 in the ring-shaped pressed portion 35 can be appropriately determined according to the type of jig inserted into the pressed portion 35 when using a nipper or the like.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, all of the pressed parts that receive the pressing force in a concentrated manner are ring-shaped, but in addition to this, for example, as shown in FIG. The portions may be the pressed portions 33 and 35, or the portions formed in a “U” shape inside as shown in FIG. 7B may be the pressed portions 33 and 35.

1 is a rear perspective view of a printer to which a spring clamp according to the present invention is applied. The rear expansion perspective view of a printer. The perspective view which shows the use condition of the spring clamp of this invention. The perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the spring clamp of this invention. The perspective view which shows other embodiment of the spring clamp of this invention. The perspective view which shows other embodiment of the spring clamp of this invention. The perspective view of embodiment which has a to-be-pressed part of another form.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spring clamp, 3 Inkjet recording device, 5 Recording head, 7 Carriage, 9 Ink suction pipe, 11 Ink suction pump, 13 Downstream end of ink suction pipe, 15 Flow path connected to waste ink tank, 17 Rotating shaft, 19 Rotating body, 20 outer wall portion, 21 roller, 23 mounting portion, 25 linear material, 27 clamping ring portion, 29 first arm portion, 31 second arm portion, 33 pressed portion, 35 pressed portion, 37 first connecting portion 39, second connection part, 41 overlapping part, A center of the clamping ring part, B center of the pressed part of the first arm part, C center of the pressed part of the second arm part

Claims (6)

A tightening ring formed by winding a linear material;
A first arm portion and a second arm portion made of a linear material extending in two directions from the tightening ring portion;
A spring clamp capable of releasing the tightening force by expanding the inner diameter of the tightening ring portion by pressing the first arm portion and the second arm portion toward each other,
A spring clamp, wherein each arm portion is provided with a pressed portion having a shape for receiving a pressing force in a concentrated manner.   The spring clamp according to claim 1, wherein the pressed portion is formed by being wound in a ring shape.   3. The spring clamp according to claim 1, wherein a positional relationship between a center of the tightening ring portion and a center of each pressed portion in the first arm portion and the second arm portion is a vertex of the center of the tightening ring portion. A spring clamp characterized by being an isosceles triangle.   4. The spring clamp according to claim 2, wherein the tightening ring portion and the first arm portion are connected at a first connection portion, and the tightening ring portion and the second arm portion are connected at a second connection portion. The tightening ring portion includes an overlapping portion in which linear materials overlap between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion, and the ring-shaped pressed portion in the first arm portion is the overlapping portion. The ring-shaped pressed portion of the second arm portion is wound in the direction where the second connection portion is located in the overlapping portion. A spring clamp characterized by being wound around.   4. The spring clamp according to claim 2, wherein the tightening ring portion and the first arm portion are connected at a first connection portion, and the tightening ring portion and the second arm portion are connected at a second connection portion. The tightening ring portion includes an overlapping portion in which linear materials overlap between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion, and the ring-shaped pressed portion in the first arm portion is the overlapping portion. The ring-shaped pressed portion of the second arm portion is wound in the direction of the side where the first connection portion is located in the overlapping portion. A spring clamp characterized by being wound around.   4. The spring clamp according to claim 2, wherein the tightening ring portion and the first arm portion are connected at a first connection portion, and the tightening ring portion and the second arm portion are connected at a second connection portion. The tightening ring portion includes an overlapping portion in which linear materials overlap between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion, and the ring-shaped pressed portion in the first arm portion is the overlapping portion. The ring-shaped pressed portion of the second arm portion is also wound in the direction where the first connection portion is located in the overlapping portion. A spring clamp characterized by being wound around.

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