JP2024048825A - Air vent frames and anti-slip members - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] The objective of the present invention is to provide an air vent frame and a slippage prevention member that optimizes the resistance between the slippage prevention member and the member to which the air vent frame is attached, such as a box, and prevents the member to be attached from rising up or the air vent frame from being unable to be properly temporarily fixed when the air vent frame is inserted into the member to which the air vent frame is attached. [Solution] The air vent frame 1 is inserted and fixed into the member to which the air vent frame is attached, and a slippage prevention member 5 is attached to the outer surface of the air vent frame 1 to prevent the air vent frame 1 from slipping when the air vent frame 1 is inserted into the member to which the air vent frame 1 is attached, and the slippage prevention member 5 has a base 51 and a substantially semi-cylindrical protruding portion 52, and the base 51 is attached to the air vent frame 1, and the protruding portion 52 is formed so as to be able to elastically contact the member to which the air vent frame is attached. [Selected drawing] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a frame for an air vent and a slip prevention member.

Background Art Boxes (BOXes) for air conditioning ducts that regulate the air inside and outside the building, as well as sound-absorbing chambers, are provided on the ceilings of buildings, etc., and air intake devices are known that communicate with these boxes (BOXes) and send air into the building or exhaust air from inside the building.
A typical air vent device has, for example, a cylindrical air vent frame (housing, etc.) that is attached to the neck of a box or the like, and a so-called face (also called an air vent or air vent member) that is supported by this air vent frame and is positioned exposed on a wall or ceiling surface.
Also known is an air vent device in which an air vent frame is attached directly to a duct without using a box.

When constructing such an air vent frame, first, when a worker inserts the air vent frame into the neck of a box or a duct or other member to which it is to be attached, there is a gap between the inner peripheral surface of the member to which it is to be attached and the outer peripheral surface of the air vent frame, and if the worker releases his or her hand from the air vent frame, the air vent frame will fall. For this reason, the worker must hold the air vent frame with one hand or his or her head, etc., and use a tool such as an electric screwdriver to screw the air vent frame to the member to which it is to be attached, or two workers must work together, with one person holding the air vent frame inserted into the member to which it is to be attached and the other using a tool such as an electric screwdriver to screw the air vent frame to the member to which it is to be attached, resulting in low work efficiency.

In addition, when installing an air vent device on a wall, simply inserting the air vent frame into the mounting member placed in the opening of the wall will result in the air vent frame being tilted at an angle. For example, a worker must hold the air vent frame with one hand while using a tool such as an electric screwdriver to screw the air vent frame into the mounting member, resulting in low work efficiency.

Therefore, a structure was proposed in which the air vent frame is provided with a slip prevention member that allows the air vent frame to be temporarily fixed to the mounting member. (See Patent Documents 1 to 3)

US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0127977 U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,171 JP 2014-016050 A

For example, the box, which is the mounting member, is fixed to a building structure or the like with bolts and nuts, but it is structured so that it can move upwards simply by hanging from the nuts.
When an air vent frame provided with a slip prevention member that can temporarily fix the air vent frame to the mounting member is inserted into such a box, the box may rise up if there is a large resistance between the slip prevention member and the box. This makes it difficult to insert the air vent frame into the box smoothly, requires time to return the raised box to its original position, and reduces the efficiency of the construction work (see Figure 5(a)).

Conversely, if the resistance between the slip prevention member and the box is small, the air vent frame may not be temporarily fixed properly, causing it to slip down or tilt. This makes it impossible to temporarily fix the air vent frame in the correct position, which reduces the efficiency of the construction work. (See Figure 5 (b))

The present invention aims to provide an air vent frame and anti-slip member that optimizes the amount of frictional resistance between the anti-slip member and the attached member, such as a box, and prevents the attached member from rising up or the air vent frame from being unable to be properly temporarily fixed when the air vent frame is inserted into the attached member.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration.
A frame for an air duct that is inserted and fixed into a mounting member, the frame having an anti-slip member attached to an outer surface of the frame for the air duct to prevent the frame for the air duct from shifting when the frame for the air duct is inserted into the mounting member, the anti-slip member having a base and a substantially semi-cylindrical protrusion, the base being attached to the frame for the air duct, and the protrusion being formed so as to be able to elastically contact the mounting member.

The present invention provides a frame for an air vent and a slip prevention member that has a base and a roughly semi-cylindrical protrusion, allowing the frame for the air vent and the member to be attached to be temporarily fixed with an appropriate holding force.

1A is a plan view, FIG. 1B is a front view, and FIG. 1C is a side view of an air duct frame 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a plan view, and FIG. 1C is a side view of a slippage prevention member 5 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the installation of an air duct frame 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an attachment portion of the anti-slip member 5 in FIG. 3 . FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a problem to be solved by the present invention.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, an air duct frame 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate parts having the same functions, and duplicated descriptions in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.

[Overall structure]
3(c), the air vent frame 1 of the first embodiment is inserted into the neck portion 21 of the sound absorbing chamber 2, which is a cylindrical mounting member, and fixed to the neck portion 21 by the air vent frame fixing screws 6. The mounting member may be a box for an air conditioning duct, an air conditioning duct, a storage box for various devices, etc.
An opening 31 is formed in a ceiling plate 3 of the ceiling, and the sound absorbing chamber 2 is disposed above the opening 31.
As shown in FIG. 3( e ), the air duct frame 1 is provided with a detachable face 4 (also called an air duct or an air duct member) at the lower part of the air duct frame 1 .
It should be noted that there are a number of different types of face 4, such as a universal register, a universal grill, a line diffuser, etc., and any type of face may be used.
As shown in Figure 3 (b), after the air vent frame 1 is inserted into the neck portion 21, until it is fixed with the air vent frame fixing screws 6, the anti-slip member 5 attached to the outer surface of the air vent frame 1 is pressed against the inner surface of the neck portion 21 of the sound-absorbing chamber 2, preventing the air vent frame 1 from falling off the neck portion 21.

[Air vent frame]
FIG. 1 is a plan view, a front view, and a side view of an air duct frame 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The air vent frame 1 is, for example, a cylindrical frame that is rectangular in plan view and is made of galvanized steel plate, etc. The air vent frame 1 may be made of any metal material other than galvanized steel plate, such as a stainless steel plate or an aluminum steel plate, and the shape in plan view is not limited to a rectangle but may be any other shape, such as a polygon, a circle, or an ellipse.
The air vent frame 1 has an upper cylindrical section 11, a middle cylindrical section 12, and a lower cylindrical section 13 arranged concentrically and in a stacked manner, with the length of one side of the middle cylindrical section 12 (one side of a rectangle in a plan view; the same applies below) being shorter than the length of one side of the lower cylindrical section 13, and the length of one side of the upper cylindrical section 11 being shorter than the length of one side of the middle cylindrical section 12.
In addition, the upper part of the lower cylindrical portion 13 is connected to the middle cylindrical portion 12 , and the upper part of the middle cylindrical portion 12 is connected to the upper cylindrical portion 11 .
The lower end portions of the four flat surfaces 131 of the lower cylindrical portion 13 are separated by notches 132 provided at the corners, allowing them to resiliently swing slightly in the horizontal direction.

A flange portion 133 bent outwardly by 90° is formed on the lower edge of the lower cylindrical portion 13. The flange portion 133 is configured to be able to come into contact with the lower end of the neck portion 21, and functions to position the air vent frame 1 relative to the neck portion 21.
The shape and structure of the air intake frame 1 are not limited to a three-stage structure, but may be a two or more stage structure, or may be a structure without stages. Also, the frame is not limited to an integral structure, but may be an assembly of a plurality of members, and the structure of the positioning flange portion may be any shape or structure as long as it can perform its function.

The air duct frame 1 has anti-slip members 5 made of an elastic material such as resin attached to its outer surface. As shown in Fig. 1, two anti-slip members 5 are attached to each of two opposing flat surfaces 121 of the four flat surfaces 121 of the middle cylindrical section 12. Anti-slip members 5 may be attached to all four flat surfaces 121 of the middle cylindrical section 12, or each flat surface 121 may have one or three or more anti-slip members 5 attached, not limited to two. Also, anti-slip members 5 may be attached to the upper cylindrical section 11 or the lower cylindrical section 13, instead of the middle cylindrical section 12.
The air intake frame 1 is not limited to a structure consisting of only a frame as in the first embodiment, but may be a frame having a shutter such as a fire shutter or a frame having a blower fan. It may also be a frame supporting a lighting device or a frame supporting a speaker.

[Slip prevention member]
2A, 2B, and 2C are a front view, a plan view, and a side view, respectively, of the anti-slip member 5 of the first embodiment.
2, the slip prevention member 5 has a sheet-like base 51 and a substantially semi-cylindrical protrusion 52, and is integrally formed from a resin having elasticity such as rubber, for example, NBR, CR, EPDM, etc., so that a part of an opening surface of the substantially semi-cylindrical protrusion 52 is covered by one surface of the sheet-like base 51. Note that the base 51 and the substantially semi-cylindrical protrusion 52, which are separately molded, may be integrated by bonding, fusion, etc.

The base 51 is a portion used for mounting the anti-slip member 5 to the air vent frame 1 by adhesion or the like, and is made wider than the width of the protruding portion 52 and shorter than the length of the protruding portion 52. The base 51 only needs to have an area necessary for the anti-slip member 5 and the air vent frame 1 to be sufficiently fixed to each other, and if the base 51 is small, the anti-slip member 5 and the air vent frame 1 cannot be sufficiently fixed to each other, and if it is large, it will suppress the expansion and contraction of the protruding portion 52, which will increase the resistance when the protruding portion 52 is inserted into the neck portion 21 of the sound-absorbing chamber 2 of the air vent frame 1, so it is designed to have an appropriate area.
In addition, the base 51 may be provided at any position along the longitudinal direction of the protrusion 52, but considering the force applied to the anti-slip member 5 when the air vent frame 1 is inserted into the neck portion 21 of the sound-absorbing chamber 2, it is preferable to provide the base 51 at the tip side of the insertion direction of the protrusion 52.
The base 51 is not limited to a sheet shape, but may be a block shape or the like.
In addition, the attachment of the base 51 to the air vent frame 1 is not limited to adhesive, but may be accomplished by engaging an engaging member of the base 51 with an engaged member of the air vent frame 1, or by using screws or the like. Any means may be used for attachment as long as the means can sufficiently secure the base 51 and the air vent frame 1 together.

Of the two longitudinal ends of the approximately semicylindrical protrusion 52, at least the end at the leading end in the insertion direction is molded into an inclined portion 521 having an inclined shape that forms an acute angle in side view so that the height from the base 51 of the protrusion 52 increases with increasing distance from the end in the longitudinal direction. The other end may be molded into a vertical portion that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in side view, but may also be molded into an inclined portion that forms an acute angle in side view, similar to the end at the leading end in the insertion direction, or may have another shape.
In this way, by forming the end into an inclined portion 521 that forms an acute angle, when the air damper frame 1 is inserted into the neck portion 21, the inclination can minimize the sliding resistance, preventing the sound absorbing chamber 2 from rising up and allowing the air damper frame 1 to be inserted smoothly. The angle of the acute angle can be appropriately designed taking into consideration the coefficient of friction between the neck portion 21 and the slippage prevention member 5, the size of the gap between the air damper frame 1 and the neck portion 21, etc., but is preferably about 20° to 40°.
The vicinity of the apex of the approximately semi-cylindrical shape of the protrusion 52 comes into contact with the inner surface of the neck portion 21 in a crushed manner, and the elastic repulsive force of the protrusion 52 generates a frictional force between the protrusion 52 and the neck portion 21, preventing the air vent frame 1 from falling out of the sound-absorbing chamber 2. By forming the protrusion 52 into a semi-cylindrical shape rather than a semi-cylindrical shape, the frictional force between the slip prevention member 5 and the neck portion 21 is prevented from becoming excessive, and the sound-absorbing chamber 2 is prevented from rising up when the air vent frame 1 is inserted.

The slip prevention member 5 is attached to the air vent frame 1 with an adhesive or the like so that the longitudinal direction of the protruding portion 52 is approximately parallel to the insertion direction of the air vent frame 1. The protruding portion 52 of the slip prevention member 5 attached to the air vent frame 1 can elastically contact the inner surface of the neck portion 21.
The overall elasticity of the anti-slip member 5 can be adjusted by the materials of the base 51 and the protrusions 52, the thickness of the base 51, and the dimensions of the protrusions 52, such as width, height, and thickness.
In addition, the anti-slip member 5 can also absorb errors such as manufacturing errors and construction errors in the gap between the air duct frame 1 and the neck portion 21.
The height of the slip prevention member 5 (the thickness of the base 51 plus the height of the protruding portion 52) may be designed as appropriate, taking into consideration the elasticity of the protruding portion 52, the dimensions of the gap between the air vent frame 1 and the neck portion 21 and the error therein, etc. Furthermore, the length of the protruding portion 52 may be designed, taking into consideration the coefficient of friction between the neck portion 21 and the slip prevention member 5, the weight of the air vent frame 1, etc., so that necessary and sufficient friction is obtained between the air vent frame 1 and the neck portion 21.

[Installation of air vent frame]
FIG. 3 is a diagram explaining the installation of the air duct frame 1 of embodiment 1, and FIGS. 4(a) and (b) are enlarged views of the installation locations of the anti-slip members in FIGS. 3(a) and (b), respectively.
(1) The frame 1 for the air vent is aligned below the neck portion 21 of the sound absorbing chamber 2 installed above the opening 31 of the ceiling board 3 (see Fig. 3(a) and Fig. 4(a)).
(2) When the air duct frame 1 is inserted into the neck portion 21 in this state, the inclined portion 521 on the tip side of the protrusion 52 of the anti-slip member 5 abuts against the inner surface of the neck portion 21 .
Furthermore, as the air vent frame 1 is inserted into the neck portion 21, the protrusion 52 is crushed in the gap between the outer surface of the air vent frame 1 and the inner surface of the neck portion 21 and advances into the neck portion 21. By crushing the approximately semicylindrical protrusion 52, no excessive frictional resistance is generated between the protrusion 52 and the inner surface of the neck portion 21, so that the neck portion 21 does not rise up.
Then, the insertion is stopped when the flange portion 133 of the lower cylindrical portion 13 of the air vent frame 1 abuts against the lower end of the neck portion 21. (See Figs. 3(b) and 4(b)) At this point, even if the hand that was inserting and supporting the air vent frame 1 is released, there is a sufficient static friction force acting between the protrusion 52 and the inner surface of the neck portion 21 to temporarily fix the air vent frame 1 to the neck portion 21, so the air vent frame 1 will not fall or tilt.
(3) With the air vent frame 1 temporarily fixed within the neck portion 21, the air vent frame 1 and the neck portion 21 are fixed together with the air vent frame fixing screws 6. (See FIG. 3(c)) At this time, as described above, even if the hands are released from the air vent frame 1, the air vent frame 1 is temporarily fixed, so the screw fastening work can be done with both hands.
(4) The face 4 is aligned with the air duct frame 1 below the air duct frame 1 fixed to the neck portion 21 (see FIG. 3(d)).
(5) Fix the face 4 to the air diffuser frame 1 with the face fixing screws 7 (see FIG. 3(e)).

[Modification]
In the above embodiment 1, the air vent frame 1 is inserted vertically from below into the neck portion 21 of the sound-absorbing chamber 2 installed in the opening 31 of the ceiling board 3, but the air vent frame 1 may be inserted horizontally from the side into a mounting member installed in an opening in a wall, or the air vent frame 1 may be inserted vertically from above into a mounting member installed in an opening in a floor, or the air vent frame 1 may be inserted in any direction into any mounting member installed in any location.

[Embodiment 2]
In the above embodiment 1 and its modified example, the air vent frame 1 is inserted into a mounting member installed on a ceiling, wall, floor, etc. inside a building. However, the mounting member or the member inserted into the mounting member is not limited to a sound-absorbing chamber or an air vent frame, and may be any architectural member such as an interior or exterior member of a building, or further, may be any various members such as automotive members, electrical appliance members, etc., and may be applied to parts that fit together.
In other words, when there are two members, a first member and a second member, which are movable relative to each other, an anti-slip member 5 can be arranged between the first member and the second member to prevent the first member and the second member from becoming misaligned relative to each other.

The air vent frame 1 and anti-slip member 5 of each embodiment of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and design changes that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention.
Furthermore, the above-described embodiments and modifications can be combined by utilizing each other's technologies, so long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in the purpose, configuration, or the like.

Reference Signs List 1 Air vent frame 11 Upper cylindrical portion 12 Middle cylindrical portion 121 Planar portion 13 Lower cylindrical portion 131 Planar portion 132 Cutout portion 133 Flange portion 2 Sound absorbing chamber 21 Neck portion 3 Ceiling plate 31 Opening 4 Face 5 Anti-slip member 51 Base portion 52 Protruding portion 521 Inclined portion 6 Air vent frame fixing screw 7 Face fixing screw

Claims (4)

A frame for an air duct that is inserted and fixed to a mounting member,
A displacement prevention member is attached to the outer surface of the air duct frame to prevent the air duct frame from being displaced when the air duct frame is inserted into the mounting member,
The anti-slip member has a base and a substantially semi-cylindrical protrusion,
The frame for an air duct, wherein the base is attached to the frame for an air duct, and the protrusion is formed so as to be able to elastically contact the attached member. The air duct frame described in claim 1, characterized in that the anti-slip member is attached to the air duct frame so that the longitudinal direction of the protrusion is approximately parallel to the insertion direction of the air duct frame. The air duct frame according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the end of the protrusion on the tip side in the insertion direction is formed into an inclined portion that forms an acute angle such that the height of the protrusion from the base increases as it moves away from the end in the longitudinal direction of the protrusion. A slip prevention member made of an elastic body, the slip prevention member being provided on a first member or a second member that is movable relative to each other and disposed between the first member and the second member,
The anti-slip member has a base and a substantially semi-cylindrical protrusion,
A slip prevention member, characterized in that the base abuts against one of the first member and the second member, and the approximately semi-cylindrical protrusion abuts against the other of the first member and the second member.

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