JP3970834B2 - Liquid container lid open / close structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lid opening / closing structure in a liquid container such as an electric water heater.

  In a liquid container such as an electric water heater, the rear end of the lid that opens and closes the opening of the container body is attached to the container body by a hinge so that the lid can be opened and closed for the treatment of internal liquids and other conveniences. In general, it can be attached freely. A lid packing is attached to the outer peripheral edge of the lower end of the lid, and sealing is performed by bringing the lid packing into contact with the inner peripheral edge of the opening when the lid is closed. In addition, a hook that engages with the container body is provided at the center of the front end of the lid so that it can be moved in and out, and the hook is retracted by a user operating a hook lever provided on the lid to release the engagement with the container body. Further, the lid is opened by the hand holding the hook lever (see Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, when closing the lid, hold the hook lever in the same way as when opening it, fully close the lid with the hook retracted, and then remove the hand from the hook lever and the lid will close without any problem Is done. However, the user often closes the lid without gripping the hook lever, or even after gripping, the user releases the hook lever immediately before closing, and in these cases, the hook is closed with the protrusion protruding. In some cases, the hook does not close with the peripheral edge of the opening of the container body, and does not close completely. For this reason, it is necessary for the user to apply a load with the fingertip, push the lid, and engage the hook with the container body.

At this time, if you put your finger on the center of the front edge of the top of the lid and push it in, the lid will be pushed down while maintaining the horizontal state and the hook will be smoothly engaged with the engaging recess. If the position is biased to the left and right, the lid is inclined, and the hook becomes difficult to engage with the engaging recess, or is gradually engaged under a large load. In order to prevent such a situation, the front center portion of the upper surface of the lid is normally set as a normal pushing position, and an instruction manual or the like is instructed to put the finger on that position and push the lid.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-16565 (Example)

  However, in spite of the above instructions, the user can easily operate according to his / her position with respect to the container body, i.e., the left side of the front end of the upper surface of the lid which is left or right away from the normal pushing position or In many cases, a finger is placed on the right side of the front end (hereinafter, these portions are referred to as non-regular push-in positions) and a load is applied to that portion.

  The hinge of the lid is given a certain backlash considering the attachment and detachment of the lid, and there is a dimensional variation of each member constituting the lid, so when a load is applied to an unauthorized push position and the lid is pushed in The lid is tilted so that the pushed side is lowered, and a part of the lid comes into contact with a part of the container body before the hook is engaged, so that the lid is difficult to close. As a result, the hook does not engage with the container body. In this case, if a large force is applied, the hook may be engaged if it is pushed in force, but the light usability is impaired and a failure may also occur.

  As measures for the above, there may be a method of setting a large clearance between the contact portion of the lid and the container body or adjusting the hook engagement timing. There are some problems and it is not easy.

  Therefore, the present invention has no problem in appearance or dimension setting when the finger is pushed into the non-regular push-in position, and only pushes in with a light force similar to that in the normal push-in position. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lid opening / closing structure in which a hook can be easily engaged.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention attaches a rear end portion of a lid for opening and closing an opening of a container body to the container body with a hinge by a hinge, and a lid that adheres closely to the periphery of the opening. A packing is attached, and a hook that engages with the container body is provided at the center of the front end of the lid so as to be able to protrude and retract. When pushed in a posture, the hook engages with the engagement recess of the container body, and when a load is applied to an irregular push position that is biased to the right or left of the regular push position, the lid is tilted. In the lid opening / closing structure of the liquid container to be pushed in, within the range from the irregular pushing position to the hinge along the peripheral edge of the opening, the lid in the regular posture is at a lower position. Contact A contact convex portion that comes into contact with the lid in an irregular posture is provided on either the peripheral edge of the opening or the lid, and the convex contact portion and a part of the hinge are connected to the lid in an irregular posture. The straight line is used as a correction axis, and the lid is corrected to a normal posture by a load applied to an irregular push-in position so that the hook is engaged with the engagement recess.

  In the lid opening / closing structure having the above-described configuration, when the user pushes the lid with the fingertip in the final stage of closing the lid, if the user pushes it with the finger at the regular pushing position, the regular posture is maintained without tilting, and The hook is engaged with the container body without contacting the contact projection. On the other hand, when the finger is pushed in at either the left or right irregular pushing position, a part of the lid comes into contact with the contact convex portion on which the lid is inclined before the hook is engaged. A tilt also occurs in the hinge of the lid, and the lid makes point contact at a part of the hinge, but a line connecting the contact point and the contact convex portion forms another rotational axis of the lid (this rotational axis is referred to as “ This is referred to as the “correcting axis”). Due to the load applied to the non-regular push-in position, the lid is slightly rotated around its correction axis, so that the posture of the lid is corrected and becomes a normal posture. As a result, the hook is engaged with the container body.

  The position of the contact convex portion is formed in a range from the non-regular pushing position to the hinge along the periphery of the opening, and the correction axis is formed between the hinge and the hinge as long as it is within the range. However, the closer the position of the correction shaft is to the hinge side from the non-regular push position, the smaller the load applied for push-in, but the larger the accumulation of dimensional errors, the harder the hook is to engage. On the contrary, when the position of the contact convex portion approaches the irregular pushing position, the accumulation of errors is small and the accuracy is improved, but the load applied for pushing becomes large and the usability is lowered. For this reason, the position of the contact convex portion is set in consideration of the decrease in usability and other matters due to the accumulation of the push load and the dimensional error.

  The contact convex portion is generally provided at a symmetrical position on both sides of the lid center line.

  In addition, the contact convex portion may be provided on the container body or the lid, but in any case, by providing a shielding portion that blocks the line of sight from the outside on the outer periphery of the contact convex portion, It is desirable in terms of appearance to prevent the contact convex portion from being seen from the outside.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the hook of the lid of the liquid container is engaged with the container body and closed, the container body can be closed even when the lid is pushed into the non-regular pushing position. A lever plate is formed with a correction axis formed on a line connecting the contact convex portion provided on either the peripheral edge of the opening or the lid and a part of the hinge, and the lid is corrected to a normal posture. Therefore, even when the lid is pushed by pushing the non-regular pushing position of the lid, the hook of the lid is smoothly engaged with the container body side, and the usability is improved.

  Note that the height of the contact protrusion is set so that it does not come into contact with the lid in the normal posture, so that there is a problem when the finger is pushed into the normal pushing position of the lid and pushed in. Never become.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid container of Example 1 is an electric water heater. This electric water heater includes a container main body 1, a lid 2, a handle 3 attached to the container main body 1, an inner container 4 accommodated in the container main body 1, and the like.

  The container body 1 is provided with an annular shoulder member 6 on the body member 5. The shoulder member 6 forms the opening 7 of the container body 1. A front end portion of the shoulder member 6 extends forward to form a nose portion 8. An operation portion 9 is provided on the upper surface of the nose portion 8, and a discharge portion 11 is provided on the lower surface. Further, a hinge 12 is provided at the rear end portion of the shoulder member 6, and the rear end portion of the lid 2 is detachably attached. The inner container 4 is supported by a step portion 14 having a flange 13 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the shoulder member 6 (see FIG. 3).

  The lid 2 is formed so that the lower plate 15 is fitted to the inner periphery of the opening of the inner container 4, and the lid packing 16 is attached to the outer periphery of the lower end portion. As shown in FIG. 3, the lid packing 16 comes into contact with the inner peripheral protrusion 17 of the inner container 4 to achieve a seal. The front plate edge 19 extends along the inner side of the nose 8 so that the upper plate 18 of the lid 2 closes the opening 7 of the shoulder member 6 (see FIG. 2), and the left and right side edges 21, 21 and the rear edge 22 are open. A shape along the arc of the portion 7 is formed. The hinge 12 is provided at the center of the rear edge 22.

  Further, a hook lever 23 is provided on the center line of the lid 2 so as to approach the center portion of the front edge 19 of the upper plate 18 of the lid 2. The hook lever 23 is interlocked with a hook 24 that can be moved in and out on the front surface of the lower plate 15, and when the user grips and lifts one end of the hook lever 23, the hook 24 moves backward, Since it disengages from the engaging recess 25 provided on the peripheral surface, the lid 2 can be opened by pulling up the lid 2 with a hand holding the hook lever 23.

  FIG. 4 shows details of the hinge 12 described above. The hinge 12 is provided with a hinge shaft 27 between two arms 26, 26 protruding from the lid 2. Oppositely, the shoulder member 6 of the container body 1 is provided with recesses 28 and 28 for receiving the arms 26 by cutting out a part of the peripheral wall thereof, and a hinge receiving portion 29 is provided between the recesses 28 and 28. Yes. A guide plate 31 is provided in front of the hinge receiving portion 29, and a lock plate 32 that protrudes and protrudes in the vertical direction is further provided behind the guide plate 31. Each arm 26 is fitted in each recess 28, and the hinge shaft 27 is fitted between the hinge receiving portion 29 and the lock plate 32. The hinge shaft 27 is rotatably supported between the hinge receiving portion 29 and the lock plate 32, and is detached from the hinge receiving portion 29 when the lock plate 32 is immersed by an external operation. As described above, the hinge shaft 27 is attached so as to be freely detachable as well as rotated, and there is a certain backlash in the radial direction and the axial direction of the hinge shaft 27 due to the inevitable dimensional error.

  In the electric water heater, when the lid 2 is closed from the fully opened state as shown in FIG. 1, the safest and most reliable method is to hold the hook lever 23 and retract the hook 24 in the same way as when the lid is opened. If the lid 2 is fully closed, it is closed without any problem. However, as described above, the user may press and close a part of the lid 2 without gripping the hook lever 23, or may release the hand just before closing even if the hook lever 23 is gripped. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the hook 24 remains protruding, so that it contacts the inner peripheral surface of the shoulder member 6 (opening 7) above the engaging recess 25 and is incompletely closed. It becomes a state.

  Thereafter, the user is positioned at the center of the front end of the upper surface of the lid 2 (the range indicated by the symbol A in FIG. 2 and located on the center line C of the lid 2. Hereinafter, this portion will be referred to as “regular pushing position A”. .)) And press the lid 2 with your fingertip. As a result, the lid 2 maintains a horizontal posture (this posture is referred to as a “normal posture”) and descends while the hook 24 is retracted, and the hook 24 engages with the engagement recess 25 to be in a completely closed state. (See FIG. 5C). The “regular push-in position A” is specified by an instruction manual or the like. A symbol d shown on the left and right in FIG. 5C indicates a gap existing between the lid 2 and a contact convex portion 33 described later in a state where the lid 2 is completely closed. Eventually, the lid 2 is closed without contacting the contact projection 33 as long as the normal posture is maintained.

  In this way, as long as the user pushes down the normal pushing position A, the hook 24 of the lid 2 smoothly engages with the engaging recess 25, but the position biased to the left and right of the lid 2 from the position A, that is, As indicated by symbol B in FIG. 2, the corner portion formed by both end portions of the front end edge 19 and the side edges 21 and 21 and the vicinity thereof (hereinafter, this position is referred to as “non-normal pushing position B”) are pushed down. If no measures are taken as in the conventional case, the lid 2 is tilted and a part of the lid 2 comes into contact with a part of the shoulder member 6 so that it cannot be pushed further, and the hook 24 is engaged. I can't let you.

  In this embodiment, the following means are taken as measures for smoothly engaging the hook 24 even when the lid 2 is not in a normal posture. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the contact convex part 33 was provided in the left-right symmetric position of the internal peripheral surface of the shoulder member 6 (internal peripheral surface of the opening part 7). The circumferential range of the contact convex portion 33 is a part of the range from the non-normal pushing position B to one end portion of the hinge 12 along the periphery of the opening 7 as indicated by the symbol α in FIG. Is provided. This range α exists symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the center line C, and the position of the contact convex portion 33 is also provided at the left-right symmetrical position.

  The end of the range α on the non-normal pushing position B side is in the right end of the position B in the case of the right range α, and the end on the hinge 12 side is close to the right end. It is. In the range α on the left side, it is at the left end of the position B, and the end on the hinge 12 side is a position close to the left end. If there is a drain recess 34 (see FIG. 6) within the range α, the contact protrusion 33 is provided avoiding the position.

  The height relationship of the contact convex portion 33 is set as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, on the inner peripheral surface of the shoulder member 6 forming the inner peripheral edge of the opening 7, a horizontal upper plate step corresponding to the upper plate 18 of the lid 2 in order from the upper end surface. A portion 35 is provided, and the above-described step portion 14 that supports the flange 13 of the inner container 4 via the inclined step portion 36 is provided below (see FIG. 3). The contact convex portion 33 is formed on the upper plate step portion 35 as a medium convex shape having a height a and having a suitable length in the circumferential direction. Further, since the strength is insufficient only by the width of the upper plate step portion 35, a bulge 37 having a thickness b is formed on the inner surface between the upper plate step portion 35 and the inclined step portion 36 in order to increase the width of the contact convex portion 33. Provided.

  The height a of the contact convex portion 33 is the same as that described above even in the fully closed state where the lid 2 is lowered most when the normal push-in position A of the lid 2 is pushed down and the normal posture is maintained. Thus, there is a gap d (see FIG. 5C) between the lid 2 and the upper plate 18 so that a part of the lid 2 such as the upper plate 18 does not contact the contact projection 33. Is set. On the other hand, when the user depresses the irregular push-in position B, the lid 2 is inclined, the pushed-in side becomes lower than the opposite side, and the upper plate 18 contacts the contact convex portion 33. In this state, the clearance is 0 (zero) on the contact convex portion 33 side in FIG. 7, and there is a constant clearance e on the opposite side.

  When the contact convex portion 33 is formed as described above, when the user puts his / her finger into the normal depressed position A from the state immediately before the lid 2 is fully closed, the lid 2 is lowered while maintaining the normal posture. The hook 24 engages with the engagement recess 25 without contacting the contact protrusion 33.

  However, when the user pushes the irregular push-in position B with the fingertip (see the load P in FIG. 7), the lid 2 is inclined and first comes into contact with the contact convex portion 33 (see FIG. 7). When pushed further in, the lid 2 is supported at two points, that is, the contact convex portion 33 and one end portion of the hinge 12, and rotates around the two points as a rotation center, so that the posture is corrected. The rotation center is referred to as a correction axis G (see FIG. 2). In FIG. 2, when a load is applied to the right non-normally pressed down position B and the correction axis G is generated, the posture of the lid 2 is corrected so that the normal push-in position A side is lowered. The hook 24 is engaged with the engaging recess 25 in the pushing posture.

  As can be seen from FIG. 2, a relatively large load is required when the position of the contact protrusion 33 is too close to the non-regular push-in position B. Since it becomes smaller, the engagement accuracy becomes higher. When the position of the contact convex portion 33 moves away from the irregular push-in position B toward the hinge 12, the reverse relationship is established.

  As described above, when the lid 2 is inclined, a lever plate that corrects the inclination of the lid 2 is formed by bringing a part of the lid 2 into contact with the contact convex portion 33 and forming the correction axis G before the deep depression. It is formed. For this reason, the burden placed on the fingertip of the user is small, and the lid can be easily closed.

  The contact protrusion 33 may be provided on the lower plate 15 of the lid 2. If the contact convex part 33 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the shoulder member 6 as described above, it is shielded by the outer peripheral surface of the shoulder member 6, so that the appearance is not impaired.

  The first embodiment is an electric water heater of a type in which the lid 2 is fitted to the inner periphery of the shoulder member 6, but in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the outer peripheral portion of the lid 2 faces downward. The curved shape is such that the lower edge thereof is placed on the upper surface of the shoulder member 6 except for the front edge portion. In the electric water heater of this type, the contact convex portion 33 is provided on the upper surface of the shoulder member 6 and is brought into contact with the lower plate 15 of the lid 2 as shown in FIG. In this case, when pushed in a normal posture, contact with the contact convex portion 33 does not occur as shown by a two-dot chain line. In the case of FIG. 9B, the contact convex portion 33 is provided on the intermediate step portion 38 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the shoulder member 6. In this case, the external visual field for the contact step convex portion 33 is blocked by the outer peripheral surface of the shoulder member 6. In the case of FIG. 9C, the contact convex portion 33 is provided on the upper surface of the shoulder member 6, but the contact convex portion 33 is formed by making the outer peripheral portion of the lid 2 hang downward from the contact convex portion 33. The field of view from outside is blocked. In either case, the contact protrusion 33 may be provided on the lower surface of the lower plate 15.

The perspective view at the time of lid opening of Example 1 Top view when the lid is closed Partially enlarged sectional view of the above Exploded perspective view of the hinge part Partial cross-sectional view during lid closure Sectional drawing of the bb line of FIG. 5a Partial sectional view when the lid is completely closed (A) Partially enlarged perspective view of the above, (b) (a) Partially omitted sectional view of the figure Partially enlarged sectional view when the lid is tilted The perspective view of Example 2 (A) Partial sectional view of the above, (b) Partial sectional view of a modified example of FIG. (A), (c) Partial sectional view of a modified example of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container body 2 Lid 3 Handle 4 Inner container 5 Body member 6 Shoulder member 7 Opening part 8 Nose part 9 Operation part 11 Discharge part 12 Hinge 13 Flange 14 Step part 15 Lower board 16 Lid packing 17 Inner peripheral protrusion 18 Upper board 19 Front edge 21 Side edge 22 Rear edge 23 Hook lever 24 Hook 25 Engagement recess 26 Arm 27 Hinge shaft 28 Recess 29 Hinge receiving portion 31 Guide plate 32 Lock plate 33 Contact projection 34 Drain recess 35 Upper plate step 36 Inclination step Part 37 bulge 38 middle step part

Claims (3)

The rear end of the lid that opens and closes the opening of the container body is attached to the container body with a desired backlash by a hinge, and a lid packing that is in close contact with the periphery of the opening is attached to the lid. A hook that engages with the container body is provided so that it can be moved in and out. A normal pushing position is set at the center of the front end of the top surface of the lid, and when the load is pushed into the position in a normal posture, the hook engages with the container body. In the lid opening / closing structure of the liquid container, the lid is pushed in an irregular posture when the load is applied to the irregular pushing position biased to the left and right of the regular pushing position. Within the range from the end on the hinge side of the normal push-in position to the hinge along the periphery of the opening, the lid in the normal posture is at a lower position and does not come into contact with the lid. To the attitude of A contact convex portion that comes into contact with the lid is provided on either the peripheral edge of the opening or the lid, and a line connecting the contact convex portion and a part of the hinge with respect to the lid in an irregular posture is used as a correction axis. A lid opening / closing structure for a liquid container , wherein a lever plate is formed by a load applied to a regular pushing position, the lid is corrected to a regular posture, and the hook is engaged with the engagement recess.   2. The lid opening / closing structure for a liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the contact convex portions are provided at symmetrical positions on both sides of the lid center line.   In any of the cases where the contact convex portion is provided on the container main body or the lid, the outer periphery of the contact convex portion has a shielding portion that blocks the line of sight from the outside. The lid opening / closing structure of the liquid container described.

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