JP5577055B2 - Ball chain of operating device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball chain used as an operation cord for a horizontal blind, a vertical blind, a roll screen, a screen door, an upper and lower sliding window, an awning, a skylight, and a lifting / lowering device for a laundry basket.

  As one type of horizontal blind, an endless ball chain is hung on a pulley that is rotatably supported at one end of the head box, and the pulley is rotated by operating the ball chain to move the slat up and down. Some are adjustable in angle.

  The ball chain is formed by, for example, molding synthetic resin balls at equal intervals on a cord formed of a synthetic resin in a string shape. The balls can be sequentially engaged with recesses formed at equal intervals on the peripheral surface of the pulley, so that the pulley can be driven to rotate.

  Such a ball chain is generally configured to be endless by connecting both ends of a cord formed by attaching a large number of balls with a connector. In addition, in the case of a horizontal blind in which the ball chain is repeatedly circulated with respect to the pulley and the slats are moved up and down, the ball shape and the ball interval of the coupling portion of the ball chain are the same as the ball shape and the ball interval of other portions. There is a need.

  In such a case, it has been proposed to divide the ball of the joint part into two parts and fit the divided parts to each other to form a ball. (See Patent Document 1)

JP 2003-184456 A

When the endless ball chain is suspended from the pulley as described above, the endless edge of the ball chain may be caught by a resident moving in the room or other moving objects.
Therefore, when an excessive pulling force that exceeds the pulling force that is applied during normal operation is applied to the connecting part that forms the endless ball chain, it is divided by the pulling force to ensure the safety of the occupant. In addition, it is necessary to provide a fail-safe function for preventing damage to a pulley or the like on which the ball chain is mounted.

  Even when the ball chain includes a connecting portion having a fail-safe function, the connecting portion may not be divided when an excessive tensile force is applied to the ball chain. One example will be described with reference to FIG.

  A ball chain 2 is hooked on the pulley 1, and the ball chain 2 is connected by a connecting portion 3 to be endless. And the upper part and rear side part of the pulley 1 are covered with the guide 4, and the drop-off | omission from the pulley 1 of the ball chain 2 is prevented.

  In such a ball chain 2, when the endless edge of the ball chain 2 is caught by a resident or other moving object while the connecting portion 3 is engaged with the pulley 1, the ball chain 2 is suspended from the pulley 1. A tensile force F in the direction of the arrow acts on both sides.

  At this time, one of the ball chains 2 hung on the pulley 1 is engaged with the guide end portion 4a, and the other is engaged with the projection 6 of the pulley 1 because each ball 5 of the ball chain 2 is engaged. The tensile force F does not sufficiently act on the portion 3. As a result, the connecting portion 3 is not divided and the fail safe function does not act.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a ball chain that can exhibit a fail-safe function regardless of the circumferential position of a connecting portion having the fail-safe function.

  In claim 1, synthetic resin balls are molded and fixed on the cord at equal intervals, and both end portions of the cord are connected by connecting portions having the same outer shape as the ball to form an endless ball chain, In a solar shading device in which the ball chain is suspended by hanging on a pulley and the pulley is rotationally driven by the operation of the ball chain to operate the solar shading material, the fitting is elastically detachable from the connecting portion. The connecting portion is provided with at least two connecting portions over the entire length of the ball chain, and the interval between the connecting portions is equal to or greater than the length of the ball chain engaged with the pulley.

In Claim 2, the said connection part was provided in two places over the full length of the said ball chain, and the space | interval of the said connection part was made more than the outer peripheral length of the said pulley.
In Claim 3, the said connection part is provided in two places over the full length of the said ball chain, the said ball chain is hung on a pulley, and it hangs down from the outer peripheral part both sides of this pulley, The space | interval of the said connection part is said pulley It was set to 1/2 or more of the perimeter length of.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the connecting portions are provided at two locations over the entire length of the ball chain, and when the ball chain is pulled out from the pulley through the guide member, the interval between the connecting portions is related to the pulley and the guide member. of ball chain that case was greater than or equal to the length.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the interval between the connecting portions is an interval other than a length that is ½ of the total length of the ball chain.
In Claim 6, the said connection part was provided in three or more places over the full length of the said ball chain, and the said connection part was provided at equal intervals.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the ball chain which can exhibit a fail safe function regardless of the circumference position of the connection part provided with the fail safe function can be provided.

It is sectional drawing which shows the operating device of the horizontal blind of one Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the operating device of the horizontal blind of one Embodiment. It is a front view which shows a ball chain. It is sectional drawing which shows a connection part. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a connection part. It is a front view which shows a 1st connection member. It is a top view which shows a 1st connection member. It is a side view which shows a 1st connection member. It is CC sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is a front view which shows a 2nd connection member. It is a rear view which shows a 2nd connection member. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is the EE sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is the FF sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the fitting state of a connection member. It is a front view which shows another example. It is a front view which shows another example. It is sectional drawing which shows a prior art example.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a horizontal blind operating device, in which a pulley 12 is rotatably supported by a case 11 attached to one end of a head box.

  An endless ball chain 13 is hooked on the pulley 12, and a guide 14 is formed on the case 11 from the upper side to the rear side of the pulley 12 to prevent the ball chain 13 from falling off the pulley 12.

  At the rear of the ball chain 13, the lower end of the guide 14 extends along the outer peripheral surface of the pulley 12 to the vicinity of the lower edge of the pulley 12 to form a guide end 14 a that protrudes in a cross-sectional shape. Yes.

  The ball chain 13 is always suspended from the pulley 12, and at the time of operation, one of the ball chains 13 is pulled downward or obliquely downward toward the room interior as indicated by a chain line in FIG. When the pulley 12 is rotated by the operation of the ball chain 13, the slat is lifted or lowered via the slat lifting device and the slat angle adjusting device disposed in the head box.

  The ball chain 13 is connected at two locations by connecting portions 17a and 17b and is formed in an endless shape. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the distance between the connecting portions 17 a and 17 b is such that when one of the connecting portions 17 a and 17 b engages with the pulley 12, the other does not engage with the pulley 12. Is set.

  Next, a specific configuration of the ball chain 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, in the ball chain 13, synthetic resin balls 16 are formed on a polyester cord 15 at equal intervals. Each ball 16 is formed by forming a long spherical solid body on the surface of the cord 15 with a molding machine, and each ball 16 is fixed to the cord 15 so as not to move.

  The cord 15 is connected by two connecting portions 17a and 17b to form an endless ball chain 13. Since the connecting portions 17a and 17b have the same configuration, the configuration of the connecting portion 17a will be described.

  As shown in FIG.4 and FIG.5, the connection part 17a is the 1st fitting part 43 provided in the end part of the two 1st connection members 41 of the same structure. (Second fitting portion) 42.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first connecting member 41 has a hemispherical portion 20 that is half the shape of the ball 16 formed at one end of a connecting cord 19 made of the same material as the cord 15, and the other end at the other end. The first fitting portion 43 is formed. A ball 44 having the same shape as the ball 16 is fixed between the hemispherical portion 20 and the first fitting portion 43, the distance between the first fitting portion 43 and the ball 44, and the ball 44 and the hemispherical portion 20. Is the same as that of the balls 16.

The hemispherical portion 20 and the first fitting portion 43 are formed at both ends of the connecting cord 19 with the same synthetic resin as the ball 16.
The base end portion of the first fitting portion 43 is formed in a hemispherical shape similar to the end portion of the ball 16, and a round shaft-like fitting protrusion is formed at the distal end portion of the first fitting portion 43. 45 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 8, an enlarged diameter portion 46 is formed in line symmetry with respect to the center of the round shaft on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the fitting protrusion 45. A concave strip 47 having a semicircular cross section is formed in the middle.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, a rotation restricting portion 48 protruding in the radial direction of the round shaft is formed at the base end portion of the fitting protrusion 45 in a line-symmetric manner with respect to the center. Each rotation restricting portion 48 is formed at a position 45 degrees away from the recess 47 in the circumferential direction with respect to the center of the round shaft.

  The second connecting member 42 is formed as a second fitting portion having a fitting hole formed in a cylindrical shape with the same synthetic resin as the first fitting portion 43 and the balls 16 and 44, As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the opening portions 49 a and 49 b on both sides are formed in a bowl shape that allows insertion of a distal end portion including the enlarged diameter portion 46 of the fitting protrusion 45. In addition, the openings 49a and 49b have shapes in which the direction of the bowl shape is rotated 90 degrees relative to the center of the cylinder.

  A circular hole 50 having a diameter that allows the distal end portion of the fitting projection 45 to turn is formed inside the second connecting member 42. Further, locking portions 51a and 51b that prevent the bulging portion 46 from coming out of the circular hole 50 are formed on the opening edge in the short axis direction of the flange shape of the opening portion 49a, respectively. Locking portions 51c and 51d are formed on the opening edge in the minor axis direction to prevent the bulging portion 46 from coming out of the circular hole 50, respectively.

Further, on the inner side of the locking portions 51a and 51c, protrusions 52 that engage with the recesses 47 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the circular hole 50, respectively.
In order to connect the first connecting member 41 and the second connecting member 42, the fitting protrusion 45 of the first fitting portion 43 is inserted into the opening 49 a of the second connecting member 42, One fitting portion 43 is rotated 90 degrees clockwise with respect to the second connecting member 42. Then, the recess 47 of the fitting protrusion 45 is engaged with the protrusion 52 in the circular hole 50, and the rotation restricting portion 48 is moved from the bowl-shaped corner of the opening 49a to the adjacent corner, Positioning is performed as shown in FIG.

  Similarly, the fitting protrusion 45 of the first connecting member 41 is inserted into the other opening 49b of the second connecting member 42 and rotated 90 degrees for positioning. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the first connecting member 41 is connected via the second connecting member 42.

In this state, the enlarged diameter portion 46 of the fitting protrusion 45 of each first connecting member engages with the locking portions 51 a to 51 d of the second connecting member 42, and the circular hole of the second connecting member 42. 50.
This holding force is set so that the fitting protrusion 45 does not come off from the second connecting member 42 with a normal pulling force acting on the ball chain 13 during a normal slat raising / lowering operation and a slat angle adjusting operation. Yes. Only when a large pulling force exceeding the normal pulling force is applied to the ball chain 13, the second connecting member 42 is connected to the second connecting member 42 by the expanded diameter portion 46 of the fitting protrusion 45 due to the elasticity of the synthetic resin of the second connecting member 42. The opening portions 49 a and 49 b of the member 42 are pushed and expanded so that the fitting protrusion 45 is detached from the second connecting member 42.

Further, the outer shape in a state where the first fitting portion 43 is fitted to both sides of the second connecting member 42 is formed to be the same shape as the ball 16.
The hemispherical portion 20 of the first connecting member 41 is welded and fixed to a hemispherical portion 16 a that is outsert-molded at both ends of the cord 15 to form a ball having the same shape as the ball 16. When the first connecting member 41 is connected by the second connecting member 42, an endless ball chain 13 is formed.

  In the ball chain 13 thus configured, balls of the same shape are formed at the same interval over the entire length of the cord 15 and the connecting cord 19 of the connecting portions 17a and 17b. Therefore, the ball chain 13 can circulate around the pulley 12 without limitation.

  Next, the operation of the horizontal blind provided with the ball chain 13 as described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, when the ball chain 13 suspended from the pulley 12 is operated to rotate the pulley 12, the slat is lifted or lowered.

  At this time, neither of the connecting portions 17a and 17b engages with the pulley 12, or as shown in FIG. 1, when one engages with the pulley 12, the other does not engage with the pulley 12.

  When the endless edge of the ball chain 13 is caught by a resident or other moving object, for example, when the ball chain 13 is pulled obliquely toward the outdoor side as shown in FIG. F acts.

  At this time, if neither of the connecting portions 17a and 17b is engaged with the pulley 12, at least one of the connecting portions 17a and 17b is divided. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in a state where the connecting portion 17a is engaged with the pulley 12, the tensile force F acts on the guide end portion 14a and the protruding portion 12a of the pulley 12 and hardly acts on the connecting portion 17a. . Accordingly, the connecting portion 17a is difficult to be divided, but the connecting portion 17b is not engaged with the pulley 12, and therefore is divided by the tensile force F.

Similarly, when the connecting portion 17b is engaged with the pulley 12, the connecting portion 17a is not engaged with the pulley 12, so that the connecting portion 17a is divided.
FIG. 16 shows a case where the ball chain 13 is not guided to the lower side of the pulley 12 by the guide 14 and the ball chain 13 is suspended from both sides of the outer peripheral portion of the pulley 12. In this case, since the ball chain 13 is engaged with the pulley 12 with a length that is approximately ½ of the outer peripheral length of the pulley 12, the connecting portions 17 a and 17 b have an interval exceeding ½ of the outer peripheral length of the pulley 12. Position them apart. Then, when the pulling force F in the arrow direction acts on both the ball chains 13, one of the connecting portions 17a and 17b is divided.

In the ball chain 13 configured as described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) When a large tensile force exceeding a normal tensile force is applied to the ball chain 13, at least one of the connecting portions 17a and 17b can be reliably divided. Therefore, when the endless edge of the ball chain 13 is caught by a resident moving in the room or other moving objects, the ball chain 13 is divided at least one of the connecting portions 17a and 17b to ensure the safety of the resident. In addition, it is possible to prevent damage to the pulley 12 and the like on which the ball chain 13 is mounted.
(2) By setting the distance between the connecting portions 17a and 17b to be equal to or longer than the length of the ball chain 13 engaged with the pulley 12, when a large tensile force is applied, at least one of the connecting portions 17a and 17b is divided. be able to.
(3) When the ball chain 13 is pulled out from the pulley 12 through a guide member such as a guide end 14a, the interval between the connecting portions 17a and 17b is set so that the pulley 12 and the ball chain 13 that engages the guide member from the pulley 12 Over the length. Then, when a large tensile force is applied, at least one of the connecting portions 17a and 17b can be divided.
(4) By making the space | interval of connection part 17a, 17b more than the outer periphery length of the pulley 12, when a big tensile force acts, at least any one of connection part 17a, 17b can be parted.
(5) As shown in FIG. 16, when the ball chain 13 is suspended from both sides of the outer peripheral portion of the pulley 12, the interval between the connecting portions 17 a and 17 b is not less than ½ of the outer peripheral length of the pulley 12. The hemispherical portion 20 of the first connecting member 41 is welded to the hemispherical portion 16 a at the end of the cord 15. With such a configuration, when a large tensile force is applied, at least one of the connecting portions 17a and 17b can be divided.

You may implement the said embodiment in the following aspects.
-It is good also considering three or more connection parts as the space | interval of each connection part.
When one of the two connecting portions 17a and 17b is located at the top of the pulley 12 and the other is located at the endless edge of the ball chain 13, a resident or other moving object moving in the room is caught on the endless edge In some cases, the tensile force does not sufficiently act on both the connecting portions. Therefore, it is desirable that the interval between the two connecting portions 17a and 17b be an interval other than a length that is ½ of the entire length of the ball chain 13.
As shown in FIG. 17, first fitting portions at both ends of the two cords so that the connecting portions 17 a and 17 b are located at a position spaced apart by an interval A that is 1/2 or more of the outer peripheral length of the pulley 12. 43 may be outsert molded, and the first fitting portion 43 may be connected by the second connecting member 42.
In the above embodiment, the joint surface between the hemispherical portion 16a and the hemispherical portion 20 may be inclined with respect to the axial center of the hemispherical portion 16a and the hemispherical portion 20 to increase the area of the joint surface.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Pulley, 13 ... Ball chain, 14a ... Guide member (guide end part), 15 ... Cord, 16 ... Ball, 17a, 17b ... Connection part.

Claims (6)

Synthetic resin balls are formed and fixed on the cord at equal intervals, and both end portions of the cord are connected by connecting portions having the same outer shape as the ball to form an endless ball chain, and the ball chain is connected to a pulley. In an operating device that hangs down and hangs down and drives the pulley to rotate by operating the ball chain,
The connecting portion is provided with a fitting portion that is elastically detachable, and provided with at least two connecting portions over the entire length of the ball chain, and the interval between the connecting portions is a ball that engages with the pulley. A ball chain for an operating device, characterized in that it is longer than the length of the chain.   2. The ball chain for an operating device according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portions are provided at two locations over the entire length of the ball chain, and the interval between the connecting portions is equal to or greater than the outer peripheral length of the pulley.   The connecting portion is provided at two locations over the entire length of the ball chain, the ball chain is hung on a pulley and suspended from both sides of the outer peripheral portion of the pulley, and the interval between the connecting portions is 1 of the outer peripheral length of the pulley. The ball chain of the operating device according to claim 1, wherein the ball chain is at least / 2. Provided in two places of the connecting portion over the entire length of the ball chain, when the ball chain is withdrawn through the guide member from the pulley, the ball chain the spacing of the connecting portion, engaging with the pulley and the guide member The ball chain of the operating device according to claim 1, wherein the ball chain is equal to or greater than   The ball chain of the operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the interval between the connecting portions is set to an interval other than a length that is ½ of the total length of the ball chain.   The ball chain for an operating device according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portions are provided at three or more locations along the entire length of the ball chain, and the connecting portions are provided at equal intervals.

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