JP6489772B2 - Furniture leg cap - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a furniture leg cap.

  As a furniture leg cap that includes a leg fitting opening and is externally fitted and fixed to a furniture leg front end portion to provide a grounding portion, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 has been known. In this conventional example, the furniture leg cap has a substantially flask shape, and is formed by embedding engineering plastic having sufficient hardness in a cap body made of a flexible vinyl chloride resin. The engineering plastic is exposed to the outer surface in a slightly narrow region at the lower end, and constitutes a part of the lower outer shape formed of a substantially spherical shape together with the vinyl chloride resin.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-28032

  However, the conventional example described above has a drawback that the installation surface is easily damaged. That is, it is not uncommon that a small and hard object such as a hairpin has fallen on the floor surface, which is a typical installation surface, and it may be stepped on by a furniture leg without noticing this. In this case, if engineering plastic with high hardness is arranged on the outer surface as in the conventional example, hairpins etc. are pressed very strongly against the floor surface when stepped on, and in this state, it slides on the floor surface. If the furniture is slid and moved, the floor may be damaged.

  The risk of damage to the floor surface can be prevented or suppressed by forming a furniture leg cap with only a flexible vinyl chloride resin, but in this case, the above-mentioned sliding movement is more difficult. , Furniture becomes unusable.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a furniture leg cap which can improve the usability of furniture without damaging the installation surface.

According to the invention, the object is
A furniture leg cap that is externally fitted and fixed to the furniture leg tip 2 to provide a grounding part 3.
The grounding unit 3 is
A substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the front end side in contact with the installation surface 16 and a substantially hemispherical portion 8 on the rear end side are formed in a substantially spherical shape, and pass through the substantially hemispherical portion 8 on the rear end side so as to be substantially hemispherical on the front end side. A body portion 4 having a leg fitting opening 1 leading to 7 ,
A covering material 5 that covers the outer surface of the substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the distal end side and that is formed separately from the substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the distal end side ;
The main body 4 has a lower hardness than the thermoplastic elastomer that forms the substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the distal end side and the thermoplastic elastomer that forms the approximately hemispherical portion 7 on the distal end side, and is inserted into the leg fitting port 1. It is formed by two-color molding of an acceptable thermoplastic elastomer by elastically deforming the furniture leg tip,
In the substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the front end side, the covering material 5 is aligned, and an inner portion of the covering portion 6 provided on the substantially hemispherical portion 8 on the rear end side and covering the end edge portion of the covering material 5 is provided. This is achieved by providing a furniture leg cap that is provided with an engaging projection 14 that engages with a wall surface to prevent deformation and displacement of the cover 6 .

  According to the present invention, the grounding portion 3 of the furniture leg cap has the main body portion 4 and the covering material 5 that covers the outer surface of the main body portion 4. Both hardness and softness can be demonstrated. That is, it is possible to ensure appropriate hardness in the main body 4 which is the main body by configuring the surface layer and the main body as separate bodies, rather than configuring all of them uniformly with a single material. At the same time, it is possible to ensure appropriate softness with the covering material 5 as the surface layer portion.

  Since the thickness of the covering material 5 is not so large, even if it is configured flexibly, it is possible to ensure appropriate hardness and shape retention as the entire furniture leg cap, Thus, even if it is thin to some extent, it can be deformed so that it is swallowed to some extent when it is stepped on, so that the load acting on the installation surface can be distributed over a wide area. Moreover, since the above-mentioned grounding part 3 is formed in a substantially spherical shape, the grounding area is not so wide in combination with the above-described shape retaining property, and it is difficult to pick up unevenness on the installation surface. It becomes easy to move the slide. Furthermore, since it has a substantially spherical shape, even if it is attached to various furniture legs with different grounding angles to the installation surface, it can always maintain a substantially constant grounding state and grounding area, so it can exhibit high versatility. it can.

  In addition, by using a material having a low coefficient of friction in addition to the cushioning property as described above for the covering material 5, the sliding movement on the installation surface of the ground contact portion 3 can be made extremely smooth.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, by attaching to the furniture leg, it becomes possible to make the sliding movement easy to slide on the installation surface, and a hairpin or the like falling on the installation surface is stepped on by mistake. However, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent or suppress the installation surface from being damaged.

  Further, as described above, when the covering material 5 is disposed on the outer surface of the substantially spherical grounding portion 3 and is repeatedly slid on the installation surface, it is in a state of being stretched on the spherical surface due to frictional resistance. There is a risk of peeling off from the edge portion, but when the cover portion 6 covering such an edge portion is provided on the main body portion 4, the possibility of such peeling can be satisfactorily prevented or suppressed. it can. Further, when the grounding portion 3 is formed by insert molding the covering material 5 on the main body portion 4, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent the covering portion 6 from peeling off from the edge portion due to residual stress during molding. it can. Further, when the grounding portion 3 is formed by injection molding as described above, the coating material 5 prevents the wax applied to the floor surface, which is a typical installation surface, from reacting with the plasticizer. Is also possible.

  Specifically, the main body 4 can be formed of, for example, an elastic material, and thereby, when the hairpin or the like is stepped on, it can be deformed together with the covering material 5 to contribute to load distribution. In this case, if the main body 4 is formed of a slightly hard elastic material, a certain degree of shape retention can be ensured. On the other hand, the covering material 5 can be formed of, for example, a non-woven fabric. As a result, as described above, the covering material 5 can be easily deformed so as to swallow a hairpin and the like, and the frictional resistance can be well suppressed.

  In addition, the shape retaining property and deformability of the main body 4 described above are formed by two-color molding of thermoplastic elastomers having different hardnesses, and the substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the front end side has a higher hardness than the rear end side 8, Very good compatibility can be achieved. In this case, when the leg fitting port 1 is formed to a depth reaching the front end side of the substantially hemispherical portion 7, the furniture leg can be compressed and fixed well in the range of the rear end side of the substantially hemispherical portion 8, The lower end surface of the furniture leg can be firmly supported.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a furniture leg cap that can improve the usability of furniture without damaging the floor surface so much and make life more comfortable. Can be.

It is a figure which shows the cap for furniture legs concerning this invention, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a top view, (c) is the 1C-1C sectional view taken on the line of (b). It is a figure explaining a use state, (a) is a side view which shows when it mounts | wears with the furniture leg which takes a perpendicular | vertical attitude | position with respect to an installation surface, (b) is a furniture leg which takes the attitude | position which inclines with respect to an installation surface. The side view which shows when mounting | wearing, (c) is a principal part cross-sectional view which shows the time of mounting | wearing to the furniture leg of a rectangular section, (d) is a principal part cross-sectional view which shows the time of mounting | wearing to the furniture leg of a circular section. is there. It is a figure explaining a use condition, (a) is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the time of mounting | wearing with the furniture leg which takes a perpendicular | vertical attitude | position with respect to an installation surface, (b) is a principal part longitudinal cross-section which shows the time of stepping on a hairpin FIG.

  1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, the furniture leg cap A includes a grounding portion 3 formed in a substantially spherical shape and a neck portion extending from the grounding portion 3 toward the rear end side. 11, and the leg fitting port 1 is formed through the inside of the neck portion 11, thereby forming a substantially flask shape.

  The grounding portion 3 includes a main body portion 4 formed in a substantially spherical shape and a covering material 5 that covers the outer surface of the main body portion 4. As shown in FIG. 1C, the covering material 5 is disposed in a range of a substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the distal end side of the main body portion 4, in other words, a substantially hemispherical region on the distal end side in the grounding portion 3. The covering material 5 is made of a nonwoven fabric, more specifically, a felt of wool having a relatively low frictional resistance, high flexibility and difficult to unwind, and a 2 mm thick one compressed to 1 mm.

  On the other hand, the main body 4 is arranged such that the surface of the substantially hemispherical portion 8 on the rear end side swells slightly outside the front end side, and the covering material 5 is provided at the intermediate portion in the height direction which is a boundary portion thereof. A covering portion 6 that covers the entire periphery is formed at the end edge portion of the cover. The main body portion 4 is formed of a thermoplastic elastomer, and the outer surface of the substantially hemispherical portion 8 on the rear end side is subjected to embossing (not shown).

  On the other hand, the neck portion 11 has a cylindrical shape with the leg fitting opening 1 as a hollow portion. As shown in FIG. 1B, the outer peripheral surface is formed in a circular shape, and the inner peripheral surface is formed in a star-shaped regular octagon. Is done. The neck portion 11 is formed of a thermoplastic elastomer like the main body portion 4 described above, and its outer diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the grounding portion 3.

  Moreover, the said leg fitting port 1 is formed in the depth which penetrates the neck part 11 and reaches in the main-body part 4, as shown in FIG.1 (c). The leg fitting port 1 has an inner diameter dimension in a substantially hemisphere on the front end side of the main body portion 4 that is slightly larger than an inner diameter dimension in a substantially hemisphere on the rear end side. It is made the same size as the general outer diameter of the chair leg. Further, a cavity 12 formed in a hollow cylindrical shape having a slightly smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the leg fitting port 1 is recessed in the bottom portion of the leg fitting port 1. In addition, in FIG.1 (c), 13 is a site | part corresponding to the hollow pin-shaped part of the metal mold | die which functions as a runner when the main-body part 4 is injection-molded so that it may mention later.

  The furniture leg cap A described above is formed by forming the main body 4 and the neck 11 by injection molding of a thermoplastic elastomer and simultaneously insert-molding the covering material 5. Thereby, the coating | covering material 5 is fixed with respect to the main-body part 4 in a thermocompression bonding state.

  The main body 4 and the neck 11 are formed by two-color molding of thermoplastic elastomers having different hardnesses. As shown in FIG. 1C, the substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the front end side of the main body portion 4 has a higher hardness, while the substantially hemispherical portion 8 and the neck portion 11 on the rear end side of the main body portion 4 have hardness. Formed by lower ones. Specifically, those having a hardness of 70 and a hardness of 30 measured by a durometer are used. In addition, the cover portion 6 described above is made of an elastomer having a lower hardness and extends from the substantially hemispherical portion 8 on the rear end side toward the front end side, and also has a substantially hemispherical portion 7 on the front end side having a higher hardness. Engagement projections 14 that engage with the inner wall surface of the cover 6 are provided at positions closer to the rear end, so that the cover 6 is not easily deformed or displaced. The engaging protrusions 14 can also be used for alignment of the covering material 5 during molding.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the above-described furniture leg cap A is attached to the distal end portion (furniture leg distal end portion 2) of a furniture leg 15 such as a chair or a table, and FIG. When attached to the leg 15 whose vertical contact angle is perpendicular to FIG. 2B, FIG. As shown in these figures, since the grounding portion 3 has a spherical shape and the covering material 5 is disposed in the range of a substantially hemisphere on the tip side, the same grounding stability and covering material can be used in any of the usage modes. The slipperiness according to 5 can be obtained.

  FIG. 2C shows a case where the tip 2 of the leg 15 has a rectangular cross section, and FIG. 2D shows a case where the tip 2 has a circular cross section. Since the leg fitting port 1 has a star-shaped regular octagonal shape, it can be firmly fitted to any of the legs 15 having a rectangular cross section or a circular cross section. At the time of fitting, the leg fitting port 1 is elastically deformed so as to be spread by the tip portion 2 in the range of the rear end side of the body portion 4 made of soft elastomer, and the tip made of hard elastomer Since the lower end of the leg 15 is firmly supported in the side area, the furniture leg 15 does not easily fall off during use.

  If the furniture leg cap A is attached to the chair leg 15 as described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the ground contact area can be further reduced by the harder elastomer, and the covering 5 Since the frictional resistance is suppressed by the above, when the chair is pushed and pulled, it can be made to slide on the installation surface 16 very easily.

  Further, when the hairpin etc. 17 falling on the installation surface 16 is stepped on, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the covering material 5 and the main body 4 are deformed so as to wrap the hairpin etc. Even if the chair is slid on the installation surface 16 in the state, the installation surface 16 is not damaged much.

  In the above-described embodiment, the covering material 5 is made slightly thin, and an elastomer is used as the material of the main body portion 4, so that when the hairpin or the like 17 is stepped on, the covering material 5 and the main body portion 4 Although the case where both are deformed has been shown, for example, even if a material having a considerably low elasticity is adopted as the main body portion 4, it is possible to prevent the installation surface 16 from being damaged by increasing the thickness of the covering material 5. Is possible. Even if the thickness of the covering material 5 is increased as described above, the edge portion that is likely to be wrinkled due to the close contact deformation to the spherical surface at the time of manufacture is pressed by the covering portion 6. It can be prevented from peeling off easily, and the appearance can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Leg fitting opening 2 Furniture leg front-end | tip 3 Grounding part 4 Main-body part 5 Covering material 6 Covering part 7 Front end side substantially hemispherical part 8 Rear end side substantially hemispherical part

Claims (3)

A furniture leg cap that is externally fixed to the furniture leg tip to provide a grounding portion,
The grounding part is
Leg fitting that has a substantially hemispherical portion on the front end side in contact with the installation surface and a substantially hemispherical portion on the rear end side, is formed in a substantially spherical shape, passes through the substantially hemispherical portion on the rear end side, and reaches the substantially hemispherical portion on the front end side. A main body with a joint ,
Covering the outer surface of the substantially hemispherical portion on the distal end side, and having a covering material formed separately from the substantially hemispherical portion on the distal end side ;
The main body part has a lower hardness than a thermoplastic elastomer that forms a substantially hemispherical part on the front end side and a thermoplastic elastomer that forms a substantially hemispherical part on the front end side, and the front end of the furniture leg inserted into the leg fitting opening It is formed by molding two colors of an acceptable thermoplastic elastomer by elastically deforming the part,
The covering material is aligned with the substantially hemispherical portion on the front end side, and is engaged with an inner wall surface of a covering portion provided on the substantially hemispherical portion on the rear end side and covering the edge portion of the covering material. A furniture leg cap provided with an engagement protrusion for preventing deformation and displacement of the cover .   The furniture leg cap according to claim 1, wherein the grounding portion is formed by insert molding a covering material on the main body portion.   The furniture leg cap according to claim 1, wherein the main body portion is made of an elastic material, and the covering material is made of a nonwoven fabric.

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