JP6833198B2 - Frame corner connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a frame such as a picture frame, particularly a connector for connecting frame materials at a corner portion of a metal frame.

The frame is usually constructed by connecting four frame materials. Specifically, the frame material has inclined cut surfaces cut at 45 degrees at both ends, and these are abutted and connected to each other. For the connection, an L-shaped connecting tool that fits entirely in the frame material is used.

However, since it has an inclined cut surface, the edges of the frame material are sharp, and even when the frames are connected to form a frame, the corners are sharp. Therefore, especially when the frame material is made of metal, there is a risk of unexpected injury or damage to the wall surface during handling.

In order to eliminate such inconvenience, a connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 below has been devised. This connector has a corner guard portion that protrudes from the surface of the frame material between the frame materials, and two insertion portions that are inserted into the frame material at an angle of 90 degrees to each other. The corner guard portion has a sufficient amount of protrusion to guard the corner guard portion so that a finger or the like does not touch the top of the corner end portion. A screw hole for fixing to the frame material is formed in the insertion portion.

When a connector having such a configuration is used, the corner guard portion prevents the corners of the frame material from directly hitting the human body or the wall, so that handling safety can be expected.

However, since the connecting tool connects the frame materials by screwing, the work is complicated. For this reason, such a connector is not suitable for a frame having a structure in which the frame must be removed each time an exhibit is taken in and out, and the screws pierce the frame material when fixing the exhibit, so that the frame is firmly fixed without rattling. It gradually becomes difficult to obtain a strong fixed state in which the end faces are in close contact with each other.

As a connecting tool for a frame material that does not rely on screwing, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 2 below. This connector is configured by forming the tip portions of the two insertion portions in half and detachably attaching a lever capable of standing and tilting to the gap between the tip portions. When the lever is tilted to widen the gap, the insertion portion is fixed to the frame material.

However, since the lever is pivotally attached so that it can be attached and detached, the thickness of the part that fits in the frame material must be thickened, making the frame material thicker and the shape of the part where the insertion part is inserted unique. I need to do it. That is, such a connector cannot be used for a thin frame.

Further, since the direction in which the lever is tilted at the time of connection is the direction of the tip of the insertion portion, the range occupied by the connecting tool in the corner portion of the frame in the connected state is wide. For this reason, these desired attachments may be restricted when a back plate retainer is required or a suspender is required.

Registered Utility Model No. 3029741 Japanese Patent No. 4348551

It is a main object of the present invention that it can be handled safely, it can be easily connected firmly, and the scope of application can be expanded.

The means for that is a frame having a sandwiched portion sandwiched between the inclined cut surfaces at the end of the frame material and an insertion portion integrally formed on both sides of the sandwiched portion and inserted into the through groove of the frame material. In the corner connector, a split groove that divides into a plurality of parts in the width direction is formed in the insertion portion, and a folded portion that overlaps the insertion portion when folded is integrally formed at the tip of the insertion portion via a hinge portion. In the folded portion, a convex portion that is inserted into the dividing groove to expand the insertion portion is formed , and a locking structure that locks each other between the folded portion and the insertion portion is formed. It is a corner connector for the frame.

In this configuration, the sandwiched portion of the integrated sandwiched portion and the inserted portion is sandwiched between the inclined cut surfaces of the frame material to be connected to prevent the corners of the end portion of the frame material from being exposed, and the inserted portion. Firmly integrates between each other to increase rigidity. On the other hand, the insertion portion is expanded by the convex portion inserted into the dividing groove, and is fixed in the through groove in a state where the inclined cut surface of the frame material is pressed against the sandwiched portion. Since the folded-back portion having the convex portion is integrated with the insertion portion via the hinge portion, the thickness of the insertion portion, the hinge portion, and the folded-back portion can be made thin. Further, since the folded portion is folded so as to overlap the tip portion of the insertion portion, the occupied range of the connecting tool at the corner portion of the frame is reduced.

According to the present invention, since the sandwiched portion suppresses the exposure of the corners of the frame material, it can be handled safely. Moreover, since the insertion portion integrated with the sandwiched portion is fixed to the through groove of the frame material by expansion deformation, a firm connection can be easily performed. In addition, since it has an integrated structure having a hinge portion, it can be made thinner, and since it has a structure that is folded back at the time of connection, it is possible to reduce the size at the time of connection and expand the applicable range.

The plan view which shows the main part of the back surface of a frame. Front view of the frame. Bottom view of the frame. Rear view of the frame. Perspective view of the corner connector of the frame. Side view of the corner connector of the frame. Top view showing the front of the corner connector of the frame. Top view showing the back of the corner connector of the frame. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. Top view showing the working state. FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. The perspective view of the corner connector of the frame which concerns on another example. The perspective view of the corner connector of the frame which concerns on another example. The perspective view of the corner connector of the frame which concerns on another example.

FIG. 1 shows a partially enlarged rear view showing a main part of the frame 11. As shown in FIG. 2, which is a front view of the entire frame 11, FIG. 3 which is a bottom view of the entire frame, and FIG. Hereinafter, it is assembled in a rectangular frame shape using a "connector").

The frame material 21 is made of metal, for example, aluminum, and is obtained by cutting a long object to a required length. A 45-degree inclined cut surface 22 is formed on both end faces of the frame material 21 to form a square frame shape when the end faces are abutted against each other. A part of the connector 31 is exposed on the surface of the frame 11 between the frame members 21, that is, between the pair of inclined cut surfaces 22.

As shown in FIG. 4, the frame 11 shown in this example has a configuration in which an exhibit or the like is taken in and out from the back surface side of the frame 11, and the exhibit is held together with the back plate 13 by the back plate fastener 12. Therefore, as shown in a cross section in a part of FIG. 4, the frame material 21 includes a through groove 23 having a substantially quadrangular cross section, an opening groove 24 having a constant width for opening the through groove 23 on the back surface of the frame material 21, and the like. On the front surface side, it has a projecting piece 25 that projects inward for the frame 11. The thickness of the frame material 21 is set shorter than the length of the surface of the frame material 21, that is, the portion having the projecting pieces 25 (width of the frame material 21), and is thin as a whole.

The back plate fastener 12 is detachably held in the opening groove 24 of the frame material 21. Similarly, the string holder 15 that holds the hanging string 14 is also detachably held in the opening groove 24 of the frame material 21.

The connector 31 is integrally molded entirely of synthetic resin. As the synthetic resin, a thermoplastic resin having deformability such as polypropylene is preferably used.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the connecting tool 31, and shows a surface that becomes a front surface during the connecting operation, that is, a surface that corresponds to the back surface of the frame 11. As shown in this figure and FIG. 1, the connecting tool 31 is integrally formed on both sides of the sandwiched portion 32 sandwiched by the inclined cut surface 22 at the end of the frame member 21 and the frame member 32. It includes two insertion portions 33 that are inserted into the through groove 23 of the 21.

The sandwiched portion 32 has an appropriately thick plate shape. That is, the thickness of the portion of the sandwiched portion 32 sandwiched between the inclined cut surfaces 22 is constant. The thickness of the sandwiched portion 32 can be appropriately set, but it is set in consideration of the strong integration of the two insertion portions 33 and the appearance when appearing between the frame members 21. It is preferable that the appearance of the frame 11 fits into the appearance of the frame material 21 without overly asserting its existence when the surface of the frame 11 is viewed, so that the frame 11 as a whole can express a novel aesthetic appearance. In the case of the frame material 21 having a width of about 15 mm on the front surface side and a thickness of about 5 mm on the outer peripheral side, the thickness of the sandwiched portion 32 is preferably about 2 mm to 5 mm, preferably about 3 mm.

The color of the sandwiched portion 32 is appropriately set so as to obtain a desired aesthetic feeling such as milky white, transparent, various chromatic colors and achromatic colors.

As shown in FIG. 6, which is a side view of the connector 31 viewed from one of the insertion portions 33, the sandwiched surfaces 32a having the same size and shape as the inclined cut surface 22 of the frame material 21 are formed on both sides in the thickness direction. Has on the surface. Therefore, the exposed surface 32b exposed between the frame members 21 in the sandwiched portion 32 is flush with the surface of the frame member 21.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 7, and 8, at the corner of the portion between the sandwiched surfaces 32a on the side corresponding to the outer peripheral side of the frame 11, that is, the outer corner of the sandwiched portion 32, the frame material 21 A convex curved surface 32c is formed in which a corner is dropped from a height that is flush with the surface to make it round. The corner of the portion between the sandwiched surfaces 32a corresponding to the inner peripheral side of the frame 11, that is, the corner of the inner corner of the sandwiched portion 32 corresponding to the projecting piece 25 of the frame material 21 is also concave. A curved surface 32d is formed. The corners 32e of the inner corners of the sandwiched portion 32 other than the portion corresponding to the projecting piece 25 of the frame material 21 are formed at right angles as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8.

The insertion portion 33 is formed in a portion of the sandwiched portion 32 inside the sandwiched surface 32a so as to project straight and perpendicular to the surface. The cross-sectional shape of the insertion portion 33 is rectangular, and is large enough to be inserted into the through groove 23 of the frame material 21 without rattling. The length of the insertion portion 33 is set to an appropriate length so that the two frame members 21 can be firmly connected.

The insertion portion 33 is formed with a dividing groove 34 that is divided into a plurality of parts in the width direction. The dividing groove 34 is formed at the tip of the insertion portion 33, and the insertion portion 33 is divided into two to form two insertion tip portions 35.

The width of the dividing groove 34 is set so as to achieve both the rigidity and the deformability of the insertion tip portion 35 in relation to the width of the insertion portion 33. A ridge 35a projecting inward is formed on the tip side portion of the two insertion tip portions 35 on the opposite inner side surfaces. The surface of the raised portion 35a in the protruding direction is flat, but in order to facilitate insertion of the member between the raised portions 35a on the upper edge portion of the raised portion 35a, that is, the edge on the side corresponding to the back surface of the frame 11. A curved or inclined surface is formed.

The two insertion tips 35 are independent of each other. That is, the tip portion of the insertion portion 33 is formed with a dividing portion 36 that makes the insertion tip portion 35, which is a portion divided by the dividing groove 34, independent of each other. The dividing portion 36 is composed of a notch groove that opens in the width direction of the insertion portion 33, in this example, in the direction corresponding to the inside of the frame 11.

At the tip of the insertion portion 33, a folded portion 37 that overlaps with the inserting portion 33 when folded back as shown in FIG. 1 is integrally formed via the hinge portion 38. In order to form the hinge portion 38, as shown in FIGS. 5, 8 and 9 (cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 8), the side of the two insertion tip portions 35 that does not have the divided portion 36 An integrated arm portion 39 is formed at the tip of the insertion tip portion 35. Since the arm portion 39 extends in the width direction of the insertion portion 33 and forms the dividing portion 36 as described above, the tip of the arm portion 39 is not in contact with the other insertion tip portion 35.

The hinge portion 38 is formed at a portion of the arm portion 39 corresponding to an intermediate position in the width direction of the insertion portion 33. The width of the hinge portion 38 is a width that fits in the opening groove 24 of the frame material 21.

Continuing from the hinge portion 38, the above-mentioned folded-back portion 37 having a narrow portion 37a having the same width as the hinge portion 38 is formed. The folded-back portion 37 is a portion that overlaps the tip end portion of the insertion portion 33, and is formed on one of the front and back directions of the main body portion 37b having the same width as the narrow width portion 37a and the surface opposite to the folded-back direction. It has a plate-shaped lid portion 37c that is one size larger than the main body portion 37b. Since the main body portion 37b has the same width as the hinge portion 38, it has a size that fits in the opening groove 24 of the frame material 21, while the lid portion 37c is larger than the opening groove 24 of the frame material 21 as shown in FIG. It is wide.

On the surface of the main body 37b opposite to the side having the lid 37c, a convex portion 40 that is inserted into the dividing groove 34 of the insertion portion 33 to expand the insertion portion 33 is formed. The convex portion 40 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is formed at a position closer to the hinge portion 38 side of the main body portion 37b so as to be inserted into a portion of the dividing groove 34 having the raised portion 35a (see FIG. 1).

The width of the convex portion 40 is wider than the width between the raised portions 35a of the insertion portion 33 in the normal state, as shown in FIG. 10 which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.

The connector 31 configured as described above is used as follows to form the frame 11.

As shown in FIG. 11, the folded portion 37 is inserted into the through groove 23 of the frame material 21 connecting the inserted portion 33 in the extended state. At the time of this insertion, the folded-back portion 37 of the connecting tool 31 is bent by the hinge portion 38 and raised so as to stand up at a substantially right angle. Then, the entire lower insertion portion 33 from the narrow width portion 37a can be inserted into the through groove 23.

The insertion portion 33 is firmly inserted into the frame material 21 as far as it will go, and while the sandwiched surface 32a is pressed against the inclined cut surface 22 of the frame material 21, the standing folded-back portion 37 is tilted so as to overlap the insertion portion 33. , The convex portion 40 of the folded portion 37 is pushed into the dividing groove 34 of the inserting portion 33. As a result, as shown by a virtual line in FIG. 11, the insertion tip portion 35 of the insertion portion 33 is deformed so as to open outward in the width direction, and the insertion portion 33 expands mainly in the width direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 1, the insertion portion 33 firmly contacts and fixes the inner surface of the through groove 23 of the frame material 21 without damaging it.

When the frame material 21 is connected to the two insertion portions 33 to assemble the four frame materials 21 in this way, the frame 11 is completed.

As described above, the connector 31 has the sandwiched portion 32, and the sandwiched portion 32 suppresses the corner of the end portion of the frame material 21 from being greatly exposed. Moreover, the sandwiched portion 32 has a curved surface 32c at the outer corner. For this reason, safety can be ensured by preventing accidental injury to the hand or contact with the wall surface to damage the wall surface.

Further, since the exposed surface 32b exposed between the frame members 21 in the sandwiched portion 32 is provided, the exposed surface 32b gives a desired novel aesthetic feeling to the frame 11 and can exert a design effect.

Moreover, since the thickness of the sandwiched portion 32 is constant and the exposed surface 32b is flush with the surface of the frame material 21 and does not have a particularly protruding shape, it has advantages such as good handleability. .. That is, in the configuration of Patent Document 1 described above, since the corner guard portion protrudes from the surface of the frame material, it is conspicuous and susceptible to impact. For this reason, the corner guard portion becomes an obstacle both in appearance and physically, and when the frame 11 collides or falls, the corner guard portion is easily cracked and damaged. .. In this respect, since the sandwiched portion 32 is formed as described above, it does not interfere with the appearance or physically, and the occurrence of inconvenience can be avoided.

In addition to safety and aesthetics, the sandwiched portion 32 also functions to strongly integrate the two insertion portions 33. That is, when the connector is configured with only two insertion portions without the sandwiched portion, it is necessary to reinforce the portion between the insertion portions to which the load is applied, and for that purpose, the portion between the insertion portions must be thickened. It will be formed or a reinforcing structure will be added, and then that part will protrude from the back surface of the frame material. In this respect, the sandwiched portion 32 is a thicker portion than the case where only the insertion portion is inserted, and strength can be obtained. Further, since the sandwiched portion 32 supports the insertion portion 33 in a state of being sandwiched by the inclined cut surface 22 of the frame material 21 as described above, the load can be dispersed and a strong unity can be maintained.

The folded-back portion 37 for fixing to the frame material 21 has a plate-like shape and a thin shape as a whole. Therefore, the protrusion on the back surface of the frame 11 is small, and it is possible to avoid causing an unexpected catch with another article or the like except when the frame 11 is intentionally removed. In this regard, in the configuration of Patent Document 2 described above, since the connecting tool and the lever protrude to the back surface of the frame greatly, there is a possibility that the connector and the lever may come off unexpectedly due to an impact when dropped or being caught by another article or the like. If the lever is caught, the lever that is loaded in the disengaging direction may unexpectedly disengage, but the connector of the present invention can avoid such inconvenience.

Further, the insertion portion 33 is expanded by inserting the convex portion 40 formed in the integrated folded portion 37 via the hinge portion 38, and is fixed in the through groove 23 of the frame material 21, so that the insertion portion 33 is deformed. Coupled with the fact that it is made of a synthetic resin having a property and that the dividing groove 34 is formed at the tip end portion of the insertion portion 33 to form the dividing portion 36, the through groove 23 is firmly fixed without being damaged. At this time, by fixing the held portion 32 in a state of being pressed against the inclined cut surface 22 of the frame material 21, the inclined cut surface 22 of the frame material 21 is brought to the held surface 32a of the held portion 32 which also has deformability. Can be in strong contact. Therefore, there is no rattling, and a firm connection state in which the sandwiched portion 32, the insertion portion 33, and the frame material 21 are in close contact with each other can be obtained. Moreover, the operation for that purpose is extremely easy because only the folded-back portion 37 is folded back.

Further, since the folded-back portion 37 for fixing the insertion portion 33 has an integral structure via the hinge portion 38, the thickness can be reduced. Therefore, it can be used for a thin frame 11, and the entire insertion portion 33 can be accommodated in the through groove 23 of the frame material 21, so that extra protrusion can be prevented and the frame 11 can be made thinner. , It is possible to reduce the part that becomes an extra catch.

Further, since the insertion portion 33 is fixed by folding back the folded portion 37, the range occupied by the corner portion of the frame 11 at the time of connection can be reduced. Therefore, it is easy to freely hold the back plate holder and the string holder at a desired position. In addition, even if the hinge portion 38 is torn, the fixing of the insertion portion 33 is not affected, and a strong fixed state can be maintained.

Hereinafter, another example of the connector 31 will be described. In this description, the same parts as those described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The connector 31 shown in FIG. 13 has a locking structure formed between the folded-back portion 37 and the insertion portion 33 so as to lock each other. In the example of FIG. 13, locking projections 41 and 42 are formed at the tip of the folded-back portion 37 and at the base of the dividing groove 34 in the insertion portion 33. The locking projection 41 of the folded-back portion 37 is formed at the tip of the hanging piece 41a extending in parallel with the convex portion 40 over the entire width direction. The locking projection 42 of the insertion portion 33 is formed at the end of the dividing groove 34 on the side corresponding to the back surface of the frame 11.

In the connector 31 having such a configuration, in addition to the same effect as described above, since the locking projections 41 and 42 are engaged with each other, the inserted state of the convex portion 40 can be strongly maintained. Therefore, the amount of expansion of the insertion portion 33 can be increased.

Similar to the connecting tool 31 of FIG. 13, the connecting tool 31 shown in FIG. 14 has a locking structure that locks each other between the folded-back portion 37 and the inserting portion 33. Specifically, in this example, the insertion portion 33 is formed with a protruding portion 43 projecting through the opening groove 24 of the through groove 23 of the frame material 21, and the folded portion 37 is engaged with the protruding portion 43. It is a configuration in which a locking claw 44 for stopping is formed.

The protruding portion 43 is formed at the base of the dividing groove 34 on the surface corresponding to the back surface of the frame 11 in the inserting portion 33, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The above-mentioned locking claw 44 is provided so as to project from the dividing groove 34 side at the upper end edge of the protruding portion 43. The tip of the lid portion 37c of the folded-back portion 37 is locked to the locking claw 44.

The connector 31 having such a configuration also has the same effect as the connector 31 shown in FIG.

The connector 31 shown in FIG. 15 has a string holding portion 45 formed in the insertion portion 33 so as to project through the opening groove 24 of the through groove 23 of the frame material 21 and hold a separate hanging string 14 (see FIG. 4). It is a configuration. At the same time, a locking claw 44 for locking the folded-back portion 37 is formed in the string holding portion 45, which is a protruding portion protruding through the opening groove 24.

The string holding portion 45 has an arch-shaped string insertion hole 45a formed inside. The locking portion is formed on the surface of the string holding portion 45 on the dividing groove 34 side. The tip of the lid portion 37c of the folded-back portion 37 is locked to the locking claw 44.

In the connecting tool 31 having such a configuration, in addition to having the same effect as the connecting tool 31 of FIGS. 13 and 14, it is possible to omit the attachment of a separate string holder for lowering the hanging string 14. There are advantages that can be done.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the configuration of one form described above,
The locking structure of the present invention corresponds to the above-mentioned locking projections 41, 42 and locking claws 44,
The present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and other configurations may be adopted.

For example, the back plate retainer may be integrally formed on the folded-back portion 37.

11 ... Frame 21 ... Frame material 22 ... Inclined cut surface 31 ... Frame corner connector 32 ... Holding part 32a ... Holding surface 32b ... Exposed surface 32c ... Curved surface 33 ... Inserting part 34 ... Dividing groove 36 ... Dividing part 37 ... Folded part 38 ... Hinge part 40 ... Convex part 41, 42 ... Locking protrusion 44 ... Locking claw 45 ... String holding part

Claims (6)

A corner connector for a frame having a sandwiched portion sandwiched by an inclined cut surface at the end of the frame material and an insertion portion integrally formed on both sides of the sandwiched portion and inserted into the through groove of the frame material. hand,
A dividing groove for dividing into a plurality of parts in the width direction is formed in the insertion portion.
At the tip of the insertion portion, a folded portion that overlaps the insertion portion when folded is integrally formed via a hinge portion.
A convex portion that is inserted into the dividing groove and expands the insertion portion is formed in the folded portion .
A corner connector for a frame having a locking structure formed between the folded-back portion and the insertion portion so as to lock each other. The dividing groove is formed at the tip of the insertion portion, and at the same time,
The corner connecting tool for a frame according to claim 1, wherein a dividing portion for making the portion divided by the dividing groove independent is formed at the tip end portion of the insertion portion. The thickness of the portion sandwiched between the inclined cut surfaces in the sandwiched portion is constant, and
The corner connector for a frame according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the exposed surface exposed between the frame materials in the sandwiched portion is flush with the surface of the frame material. The corner connector for a frame according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which has a curved surface at an outer corner of the sandwiched portion. The frame according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a string holding portion is formed in the insertion portion so as to project through the opening groove of the through groove of the frame material and hold a separate hanging string. Corner connector. A frame provided with a corner connector for the frame according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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