JP2024114459A - Intercom Equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an intercom device to which a decorative cover can be easily attached. [Solution] A front case 2 is provided with a storage section 15 including a base 16 on which a nut 53 can be placed along a plane perpendicular to the screwing direction, a front wall 18 erected upward from the base 16 and located in front of the nut 53 to restrict the forward movement of the nut 53, and side walls 17, 17 erected upward from the base 16 and located on both the left and right sides of the nut 53 to restrict the left-right movement of the nut 53. A rear case 3 is provided with a boss body 31 protruding forward and a holding step 32 recessed one step rearward along the lower edge of the boss body 31, a rear part of the nut 53 is positioned within the holding step 32, and the front surface of the boss body 31 within the holding step 32 restricts the rearward movement of the nut 53, and the nut 53 is sandwiched from above and below by the upper surface of the base 16 and the step surface of the holding step 32 to restrict the vertical movement of the nut 53. [Selected figure] Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an intercom device with a decorative cover attached to cover the front of the main body case.

Some known intercom devices have a decorative cover attached to cover the front of the main case. Some intercom devices with such a decorative cover have a lower plate that extends rearward on the decorative cover, and screw holes for integrating the decorative cover and the main case are drilled in the lower plate of the decorative cover and the underside of the main case to improve the appearance (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2018-170599 A

Considering that intercom devices are generally installed on walls, etc., if screw holes are drilled in the bottom plate of the decorative cover and the bottom surface of the main case, when trying to attach or remove the decorative cover while it is installed on the installation surface, the installation surface gets in the way, making it difficult to operate tools, and making the work of attaching and removing the decorative cover cumbersome. For this reason, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the screw holes are provided so that the mounting screws are screwed in at an inclination such that the screw portion protrudes from the head of the mounting screw in a direction that inclines backward, but in that case, the nut that the mounting screw screws into must also be held in an inclined position inside the main case. However, with conventional intercom devices, it is difficult to hold the nut in such an inclined position, and the nut flutters when the mounting screw is screwed in, which again creates the problem of making the work of attaching and removing the decorative cover cumbersome.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide an intercom device that can easily be fitted with a decorative cover.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an intercom device in which a decorative cover is attached to a main case consisting of an assembled front case and rear case so as to cover at least the front and bottom surfaces of the main case, and screw holes through which mounting screws can be inserted are drilled in the bottom surface of the decorative cover and the bottom surface of the main case, and the mounting screws are screwed into the main case in an inclined position in which the screw portion protrudes upward from the screw head and is inclined diagonally backward, and the decorative cover is attached by screwing the mounting screws into nuts arranged in the main case, and the front case and the rear case are connected to each other. On one side, there is a mounting section on which the nut can be placed along a plane perpendicular to the screwing direction of the mounting screw, a first restricting section located on the side of the nut that restricts the nut from moving forward or backward, and a second restricting section located on both the left and right sides of the nut that restricts the nut from moving left and right, while on the other side, there is a third restricting section located on the other side of the nut that restricts the nut from moving backward or forward, and a fourth restricting section that protrudes toward the side of the one case, is located above the nut, and restricts the nut from moving upward.

According to the present invention, either the front case or the rear case is provided with a placement section on which the nut can be placed along a plane perpendicular to the screwing direction of the mounting screw, a first restriction section located on the side of the nut that restricts the nut from moving forward or backward, and a second restriction section located on both the left and right sides of the nut that restricts the nut from moving left and right, while the other case is provided with a third restriction section located on the other case that restricts the nut from moving backward or forward, and a fourth restriction section that protrudes toward the one case and is located above the nut to restrict the nut from moving upward. Therefore, even though the nut is held in an inclined position along a plane perpendicular to the screwing direction of the mounting screw, the nut does not flutter when the mounting screw is screwed in, and the decorative cover can be easily attached and detached.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the intercom handset from the front. 1 is a front perspective view of the intercom handset in a disassembled state; FIG. 1 is a perspective explanatory view showing the intercom handset in a disassembled state from the rear. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of part C in FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of part D in FIG. 3 . 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of the storage section and its surroundings in a vertical cross section at the center part in the left-right direction of the front case. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of a portion relating to a nut holding structure in a cross section taken along line AA in FIG. 1. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of a portion relating to a nut holding structure in a cross section along the line BB in FIG. 1.

Below, we will explain in detail the intercom handset that is one embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the intercom handset 1 from the front. Figure 2 is an explanatory perspective view showing the intercom handset 1 in a disassembled state from the front side. Figure 3 is an explanatory perspective view showing the intercom handset 1 in a disassembled state from the rear side. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of part C in Figure 2. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of part D in Figure 3. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of the storage section 15 and its surroundings in a vertical cross section at the center part in the left-right direction of the front case 2. Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of a part related to the holding structure of the nut 53 in the cross section taken along line A-A in Figure 1. Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of a part related to the holding structure of the nut 53 in the cross section taken along line B-B in Figure 1.

The intercom handset 1 has a main body case assembled with a front case 2 arranged on the front side and a rear case 3 arranged on the rear side, and a decorative cover 4 assembled to cover the main body case from the front. A camera unit 5 for capturing an image of the front of the intercom handset 1 is provided at the upper front of the intercom handset 1. A microphone unit 6 for calling is provided to the right of the camera unit 5 on the front side of the intercom handset 1. In addition, a name display unit 7 that can display the name of the resident and also functions as a speaker unit for calling and as a night light, and a call button 8 that a visitor operates to call the resident, are provided below the camera unit 5 on the front side of the intercom handset 1. Such an intercom handset 1 is installed on the wall of the entrance of the residence, and when the call button 8 is operated by a visitor, it calls the intercom master unit (not shown) installed in the residence and activates the camera unit 5 to capture an image of the front of the intercom handset 1 including the visitor. In addition, when a response operation is performed, such as by operating the response button on the intercom master unit, the microphone unit 6 and speaker unit are activated, making it possible to communicate with the intercom master unit.

Here, the mounting structure of the decorative cover 4, which is a main part of the present invention, will be described.
The decorative cover 4 is formed in a rectangular box shape that opens to the rear, and includes a front cover plate that covers the front of the main body case, side cover plates that extend rearward from both left and right edges of the front cover plate to cover the left and right sides of the main body case, an upper cover plate that extends rearward from the upper edge of the front cover plate to cover the upper part of the main body case, and a lower cover plate 4a that extends rearward from the lower edge of the front cover plate to cover the lower part of the main body case. A cover mounting hole 11 is drilled so as to penetrate the lower cover plate 4a from top to bottom, and through which a mounting screw 50 can be inserted in an inclined position as described below. The cover mounting hole 11 is formed on the front (lower) side of the lower cover plate 4a, and is composed of a large diameter portion 12 that can accommodate a screw head 51 of the mounting screw 50, and a small diameter portion 13 that is formed on the inner (upper) side of the lower cover plate 4a and has approximately the same diameter as the threaded portion 52 of the mounting screw 50.

The front case 2 is formed in a rectangular box shape that opens to the rear, just like the decorative cover 4, and can be stored inside the decorative cover 4. Case mounting holes 14 are drilled through the case bottom plate 2a of the front case 2, which constitutes the bottom surface of the main body case, from top to bottom, into which mounting screws 50 can be inserted in an inclined position. Also, a storage section 15 is provided on the inner surface (upper surface) of the case bottom plate 2a for storing nuts 53 into which the threaded portions 52 of the mounting screws 50 can be screwed.

The storage section 15 includes a base 16 formed as a step protruding upward on the case lower plate 2a, a pair of left and right side walls 17, 17 erected upward from the base 16, a front wall 18 erected upward from the base 16 and blocking the front ends of the side walls 17, 17, and an upper wall 19 connecting the upper ends of the side walls 17, 17. The rectangular plate-shaped nut 53 can be placed on the base 16 and stored in a state where its movement in the left and right directions is restricted by the side walls 17, 17 and its movement forward is restricted by the front wall 18, by the space that opens to the rear and is surrounded by the base 16, the side walls 17, 17, the front wall 18, and the upper wall 19. The depth in the front-rear direction of the space that stores the nut 53 is shallower than the front-rear length of the nut 53, and the rear part of the nut 53 stored in the storage section 15 protrudes rearward from the storage section 15. Additionally, the distance between the left and right side walls 17, 17 is approximately the same as the left and right width of the nut 53.

A communication port 20 that communicates with the case mounting hole 14 is provided in the storage space of the nut 53 in the base 16. The top surface of the base 16 is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the rear, and this inclined surface is a plane that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the screw portion 52 that is screwed into the storage section 15 from the cover mounting hole 11 through the case mounting hole 14 and the communication port 20. In addition, the top wall 19 is provided with a notch 21 to avoid interference with the tip of the screw portion 52.

On the other hand, the rear case 3 is formed as a plate body that closes the rear opening of the front case 2, and a holding portion 30 for holding the nut 53 in the storage portion 15 is provided on the front surface of the lower end of the rear case 3. The holding portion 30 has a boss body 31 that protrudes forward from the front surface of the rear case 3, and a holding step 32 that is recessed one step rearward from the front surface of the boss body 31 is provided along the lower edge of the boss body 31. The front surface of the boss body 31 in the holding step 32 is an inclined surface that slopes downward and forward, and the upper surface of the base 16 and the front surface of the boss body 31 in the holding step 32 are perpendicular to each other. In addition, the distance from the lower end of the boss body 31 to the step surface of the holding step 32 (more precisely, the length in the inclined direction of the front surface of the boss body 31 in the holding step 32) is approximately the same as the thickness of the nut 53. Furthermore, at a location on the front surface of the boss body 31 above the retaining step 32, a pair of protrusions 33, 33 are provided that protrude forward from both the left and right edges of the boss body 31.

When the rear case 3 is attached to the front case 2 with the nut 53 stored in the storage section 15 to assemble the main case, the nut 53 protruding rearward from the storage section 15 fits into the retaining step 32, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The tips of the protrusions 33, 33 also fit into the gap between the nut 53 and the upper wall 19 in the space of the storage section 15. Therefore, the rearward movement of the nut 53 is restricted by the boss body 31, and the nut 53 is sandwiched from above and below by the upper surface of the base 16 and the step surface of the retaining step 32, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the nut 53. When attaching the cosmetic cover 4 to the main body case assembled in this manner, the cosmetic cover 4 is assembled so as to house the main body case from the front of the main body case, and then the mounting screw 50 is inclined so that the threaded portion 52 protrudes upward from the screw head 51 and is inclined diagonally backward, and the threaded portion 52 is screwed into the storage portion 15 through the cover mounting hole 11, the case mounting hole 14, and the communication port 20. Then, the mounting screw 50 and the nut 53 are screwed together, and the cosmetic cover 4 is attached in a state of covering the main body case.

According to the intercom handset 1 having the above-mentioned configuration, the front case 2 is provided with a storage section 15 including a base 16 on which the nut 53 can be placed along a plane perpendicular to the screwing direction, a front wall 18 standing upward from the base 16 and located in front of the nut 53 to restrict the forward movement of the nut 53, and side walls 17, 17 standing upward from the base 16 and located on both the left and right sides of the nut 53 to restrict the left-right movement of the nut 53, while the rear case 3 is provided with a boss body 31 that protrudes forward and a retaining step 32 that is recessed one step rearward along the lower edge of the boss body 31. The rear part of the nut 53 is positioned within the retaining step 32, so that the rearward movement of the nut 53 is restricted by the front surface of the boss body 31 within the retaining step 32, and the nut 53 is sandwiched from above and below by the upper surface of the base 16 and the step surface of the retaining step 32, restricting the vertical movement of the nut 53. Therefore, even though the nut 53 is held in an inclined position along a plane perpendicular to the screwing direction of the mounting screw 50, the nut 53 does not flutter when the mounting screw 50 is screwed in, and the decorative cover 4 can be easily attached and detached.

In addition, protruding pieces 33, 33 are provided on the front surface of the boss body 31 at a location above the retaining step 32, and the tips of the protruding pieces 33, 33 are designed to fit into the gap between the nut 53 and the upper wall 19 in the space of the storage section 15. This makes it even more difficult for the nut 53 to flutter when the mounting screw 50 is screwed in, making it extremely easy to attach and detach the decorative cover 4.

The intercom device according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the overall configuration of the intercom device as well as the configuration related to holding the nut can be modified as necessary without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, contrary to the above embodiment, there is no problem if the front case is provided with a holding portion having a boss body or the like that protrudes rearward, and the rear case is provided with a storage portion capable of storing a nut.
In addition, the specific configurations of the holding section and storage section can also be modified as appropriate; for example, the rear surface of the front plate of the front case can be the first regulating section without providing a front wall, or the surface of the rear case can be the third regulating section.It is also possible, rather than providing a base, to configure the lower plate of the front case as a mounting section so that the nut is placed directly on the lower plate.
In addition, while the above embodiment describes an intercom handset, which is an example of an intercom device, the present invention can also be suitably applied to other intercom devices, such as an intercom master unit or a collective entrance unit, as long as a decorative cover is attached to cover at least the front and bottom of the main body case, and screw holes are drilled in the bottom of the decorative cover and the bottom of the main body case through which mounting screws can be inserted at a predetermined inclined position.

1: Intercom handset (intercom device), 2: Front case (main case), 2a: Case bottom plate, 3: Rear case (main case), 4: Decorative cover, 4a: Cover bottom plate, 11: Cover mounting hole, 14: Case mounting hole, 15: Storage section, 16: Base (mounting section), 17: Side wall (second restricting section), 18: Front wall (first restricting section), 19: Upper wall, 20: Communication port, 21: Notch, 30: Holding section, 31: Boss body, 32: Holding step section (third restricting section, fourth restricting section), 33: Projection piece, 50: Mounting screw, 51: Screw head, 52: Threaded section, 53: Nut.

Claims (1)

a decorative cover is attached to a main body case formed by assembling a front case and a rear case so as to cover at least a front surface and a bottom surface of the main body case, and screw holes through which mounting screws can be inserted are drilled in the bottom surface of the decorative cover and the bottom surface of the main body case;
The intercom device has a decorative cover attached by screwing the mounting screw into the main body case in an inclined position in which a threaded portion protrudes upward from a screw head and the threaded portion is inclined diagonally backward, and screwing the mounting screw into a nut disposed in the main body case,
One of the front case and the rear case is provided with a mounting portion on which the nut can be mounted along a plane perpendicular to the screwing direction of the mounting screw, a first restricting portion located on the side of the nut facing the one case and restricting forward or rearward movement of the nut, and a second restricting portion located on both the left and right sides of the nut and restricting left and right movement of the nut.
The intercom device is characterized in that on the other side there is provided a third regulating part located on the other case side of the nut and regulating the backward or forward movement of the nut, and a fourth regulating part protruding toward the one case side, located above the nut, and regulating the upward movement of the nut.

Images