JP3259887B2 - Connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector suitable for use, for example, when attaching a toilet seat to a toilet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, a toilet seat having various functions such as heating, washing, and drying is used in a Western style toilet. This type of toilet seat is required to be easily removable for maintenance and cleaning.To meet this demand, many technologies have been proposed that can be easily attached and detached without using special tools. Have been. This is, for example,
No. 9-64100.

[0003]

However, in the structure of the conventional connector, when the toilet seat is attached to the toilet, the nut to which the final fastener is attached is rotated many times and moved to a predetermined position. After that, it is necessary to rotate the final fastener to perform final tightening. On the other hand, when removing it, it is necessary to rotate the nut again and again to the predetermined position after releasing the final tightening, remove the nut from the bolt, and then remove the toilet seat from the toilet bowl. take time. For this reason, it is troublesome to remove / attach for maintenance, inspection, cleaning, and the like, and it is particularly difficult to work in a narrow place.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a connecting device which can easily connect two members firmly without using a tool even in a narrow place. Is to provide. Further, other objects will be clarified sequentially in the contents described below.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a strip-shaped relief groove continuous along the center of the shaft is formed on the outer peripheral surface by removing a part of the male screw. And a mounting hole into which the bolt is inserted at the center, and can slide into the clearance groove on the inner surface of the mounting hole, and can be screwed with the male screw when rotated by a predetermined amount. A slider provided with an internal thread, a tubular body provided to cover the outer periphery of the slider, and movable independently of the slider, and a slider provided between the slider and the tubular body. And a cam means for applying a force to move the cylindrical body in a direction along the center of the axis of the bolt when the cylindrical body is rotated independently. .

[0006]

According to this construction, the slider is moved together with the cylindrical body with respect to the bolt until the tip of the cylindrical body comes into contact with the counterpart, with the female screw corresponding to the clearance groove, and then the slider and the cylindrical body When the female screw and the male screw are rotated with respect to the bolt, the female screw and the male screw are screwed together, and when only the outer cylindrical body is further rotated, the slider is screwed to the bolt, and only the cylindrical body is formed by the cam action of the cam means. Is moved in the direction along the center of the axis of the bolt, that is, toward the mating side, and the cylindrical body is firmly pressed against the mating side, whereby the final connection and fixing is performed.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a side view showing an example of a toilet bowl to which a toilet seat is attached using a connector to which the present invention is applied. In this toilet 1, a connector 10 is used between the toilet 1 and the toilet seat 2 to attach the toilet seat 2 having functions such as heating, washing, and drying.

As shown in FIG. 2 as an enlarged sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4, and FIG. Washer 12, Rubber bush 13, Resin washer 1
4. It is composed of a fastening nut unit 15 and the like.

More specifically, the bolt 11 is attached to the head 1
1a and a shaft portion 11b, and a male screw 17 is formed on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 11b. Note that the male screw 17 is not formed over the entire circumference of the shaft portion 11b,
It has a structure in which a strip-shaped relief groove 18 is provided at a position shifted by 80 degrees continuously along the center of the shaft, with a part of the male screw being cut off. Here, the case 4 on the toilet seat 2 side is provided with an engagement chamber 6 having a bolt slit 5 through which the shaft 11b of the bolt 11 passes.

Then, the head 11a of the bolt 11 is inserted into the engagement chamber 6 through the shaft portion 11b through the bolt slit 5, and the toilet 2 and the bolt 11 are integrated. After passing through a ring-shaped rubber washer 12 having a through hole 12a, the shaft portion 11b of the bolt 11 is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 7 of the toilet 1 and attached. When the bolt 11 is thus inserted into the bolt insertion hole 7 of the toilet 1, the tip of the shaft portion 11 b projects from the lower side of the toilet 1.

The rubber bush 13 is formed in a semicircular sphere, and has a hole 1 at the center through which a shaft 11b of the bolt 11 can pass.
8 are formed. A resin washer 14 is attached to the lower side of the rubber bush 13, and a hole 19 through which the shaft portion 11 b of the bolt 11 passes is formed at the center of the resin washer 14.

5 to 7 show the fastening nut unit 15 alone. FIG. 5 is a side view, FIG. 6 is a bottom view, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view. The structure of the fastening nut unit 15 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 together with FIGS. 5 to 7 will be further described.
Is mainly composed of a slider 21 and a tubular body 31.

The slider 21 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a resin material such as polyacetal resin (POM). On the inner surface, a female screw 22 corresponding to the clearance groove 18 of the bolt 11 and slidable in the clearance groove 18 and capable of being screwed with the male screw 17 when rotated is displaced by 180 degrees from each other. Is formed. On the other hand, engaging cam pins 23 are provided on the outer surface at positions displaced by 180 degrees, respectively. When the female screw 22 is made to correspond to the clearance groove 18 in the slider 21, the shaft portion 11 b of the bolt 11 can be inserted into the slider 21, and the rider can ride as it is. The male screw 17 and the female screw 22 are screwed together, and this screwing can suppress the movement between the bolt 11 and the slider 21 in the direction along the center of the shaft.

The cylindrical body 31 is made of the same material as the slider 21, for example, a resin material such as polyacetal resin (POM), and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a through hole 32 in which the slider 21 can be arranged at the center. In addition, the slider 21
A pair of cam holes 3 respectively corresponding to the engagement cam pins 23
3 are provided separately at positions displaced by 180 degrees, and a flange-shaped knob 37 is integrally formed on the lower end side.

The cam hole 33 has a slider 2
The engaging cam pin 23 on one side is engaged and attached, and the cam hole 33 and the engaging cam pin 23 constitute cam means. When the tubular body 31 is rotated with respect to the slider 21, the tubular body 31 can move in the direction along the center of the shaft by the cam action of the cam hole 33 and the engaging cam pin 23. A small protrusion 34 is provided on one end 33a of the cam hole 33 to releasably click-lock the engaging cam pin 23 reaching the one end 33a. Immediately below, a relief hole 35 is formed to elastically deform the small ridge 34 downward so that the engaging cam pin 23 can pass through the small ridge 34. In addition, an escape groove 36 and an elastic piece 38 for allowing the engagement cam pin 23 to escape when the slider 21 is inserted into the tubular body 31 and arranged are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 32. Then, in the cylindrical body 31, the engaging cam pin 23 is
When the slider 21 is inserted correspondingly, the engaging cam pin 23 is released by the escape groove 36 and inserted. When the elastic piece 37 is inserted to a position corresponding to the elastic piece 38, the elastic piece 37 is elastically deformed outward and is released.
7 is self-elastically restored, and the distal end surface 38 of this elastic piece 38 is
a forms a part of the cam surface of the cam hole 33 and is prevented from falling off, and the fastening nut unit 15 is formed.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the operation of the connecting tool 10. Therefore, a procedure for attaching the toilet seat 2 to the toilet 1 using the connector 10 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 1A is a side view in an operation state, FIG. 1B is a bottom view in an operation state, and FIG. 1C is a side view in an operation state. FIG. 4D is a bottom view in the operation state, FIG. 5E is a side view in the operation state, and FIG. 5F is a bottom view in the operation state.

First, the head 11a is inserted into the engagement chamber 6 of the case 4 on the toilet seat 2 side to integrate the toilet seat 2 and the bolt 11, and the engagement chamber 6
After passing a ring-shaped rubber washer 12 on the lower surface of the toilet 11, the shaft 11 b of the bolt 11 is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 7 of the toilet 1.
To be inserted. Next, the toilet 1 is passed through the bolt insertion hole 7.
A rubber bush 13
And the resin washer 14 are inserted.

Next, the fastening unit 15 is attached to the shaft 11b of the bolt 11. In this case, FIG.
As shown in (b), the engagement cam pin 23 is disposed at one end 33a of the cam hole 33, and the entire cylindrical body 31 is displaced downward with respect to the slider 21. In this state, The female screw 22 is attached to the bolt 11 so as to correspond to the clearance groove 18. Then, the fastening unit 15
The cylindrical body 31 is mounted on the toilet 1 via the resin washer 14 and the rubber bush 13 while sliding on the bolt 11 without being disturbed by the male screw 17 of the bolt 11.

When the distal end of the tubular body 31 is brought into contact with the toilet 1, the knob 37 of the tubular body 31 is pinched and rotated by about 45 degrees. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D, the engagement cam pin 23 is disposed at one end 33 a of the cam hole 33, and the entire cylindrical body 31 is located below the slider 21. In the displaced state, the female screw 2
2 is screwed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (f), the knob 37 of the tubular body 31 is pinched and further rotated by about 45 degrees. Then, in this rotation, since the male screw 17 and the female screw 22 are screwed, the screwing becomes a resistance,
The rotation between the bolt 11 and the slider 21 does not rotate, but the sliding occurs between the cylindrical body 31 and the slider 21, and only the cylindrical body 31 is engaged with the other end 33 b of the cam hole 33 by the engaging cam pin 2.
3 is rotated until it abuts. When this rotation is performed, only the engagement pin cylindrical body 31 moves along the center of the shaft by the cam action of the engagement cam pin 23 and the cam hole 33, as in the operation shown in FIG. As a result, the tip of the tubular body 31 is firmly pressed against the toilet 1 while elastically compressing the rubber bush 13. In this state, the reaction force of the rubber bush 13 acts between the male screw 17 and the female screw 22 to prevent the male screw 17 and the female screw 22 from being easily unscrewed. The fixed holding between them is firmly performed.

Next, when removing the toilet seat 2 from the toilet 1, it is possible to remove the toilet seat 2 by performing a completely opposite operation to the case where the toilet seat 2 was previously mounted.

In the above embodiment, the case where the toilet seat 2 is attached to the toilet 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be widely applied as general fixing means. Also, a structure in which the cam hole 33 is provided in the tubular body 31 and the engaging cam pin 23 is provided on the slider 21 side has been disclosed.
It is of course also possible to adopt a structure in which the engaging cam pins 23 are provided on the cylindrical body 31 side.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Slide the slider together with the tubular body to a predetermined position on the bolt, and then rotate the slider and the bolt to screw together, and further rotate the tubular body to move the tip of the tubular body toward the other side. The contact is made firmly, the final fixation is made by this contact, and the reverse operation can be performed when removing it, so that both installation and removal work can be easily performed by a continuous series of operations Workability is improved. In addition, work can be easily performed even in a narrow place without using a tool.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the operation of the coupler of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the coupler of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an example of a toilet using the connector of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a fastening nut unit used in the connecting tool of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of a fastening nut unit used in the connecting tool of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a fastening nut unit used in the connector of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connecting tool 11 Bolt 15 Fastening nut unit 17 Male screw 18 Relief groove 21 Slider 22 Female screw 23 Engaging cam pin 31 Cylindrical body 33 Cam hole

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16B 37/08 A47K 13/26

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bolt formed by removing a part of an external thread and providing a striped relief groove continuous along the center of the shaft on the outer peripheral surface, and a mounting hole in the center of which the bolt is inserted. A slider having an internal thread which is slidable in the clearance groove on the inner surface of the mounting hole, and which is provided with a female screw which can be screwed with the male screw when rotated by a predetermined amount, and which is provided so as to cover an outer periphery of the slider. A cylindrical body movable independently of the slider, provided between the slider and the cylindrical body, and rotating the cylindrical body independently of the slider, the cylindrical shape A connecting means for applying a force to the body to move in a direction along the center of the axis of the bolt. 2. The slider according to claim 1, wherein said cam means comprises a cam hole provided on a peripheral surface of said cylindrical body, and an engaging cam pin provided on the peripheral surface of said slider by engaging with said cam hole. The connecting device as described.