JPH08178155A - Hose clip - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform expansion and contraction operation of a hose clip by a general purpose tool. CONSTITUTION: A temporary lock claw 7 is formed at a first knob piece 3, and a second knob piece 5 has a lock piece 14 extended toward the first knob piece 3. The lock piece 14 is formed in a down state in a natural state and an engaging hole 8 separably engaged with the temporary claw 7 is formed. Further, an unlock claw 15 is formed in the engagement hole 8. When a hose clip is formed in a spread state, the temporary claw 7 is engaged with the engaging hole 8. When an expansion state is released, with the two knob pieces 3 and 5 grasped and caused to approach each other, a lock release claw 15 is pressed by the temporary lock claw 7. Since given inclination is set at the lock release claw 15, the lock piece 14 is forcibly bent and deformed along with grasp operation and the temporary lock claw 7 and the engaging claw 8 are released from engagement with each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hose clip for tightening a hose.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various hoses are arranged in the engine room of an automobile. A metal hose clip has been used for connecting these hoses, and a simple tightening work is performed by utilizing its spring property. I've been told. Such a hose clip has to be carried in with its diameter expanded in order to facilitate the connection work at the site, and for this reason, various types of self-holding in the expanded state have been developed.
An example thereof is that of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-75588.

This is a so-called holderless type in which a holder is not used for holding the expanded diameter state.
The holderless type has a problem that it is generally difficult to manufacture due to the complexity of the shape of such part because the function for holding the expanded diameter is integrally formed on the clip body itself. In the case of this publication, the diameter expansion holding portion is formed as a separate body so that it can be easily manufactured.

[0004]

However, there is room for the following improvement in this product as well. That is, in the above-mentioned one, the temporary fixing claw is formed at one end (one knob piece), and the holding member is fitted to the other end (the other knob piece), and the locking piece is inserted from here. In order to hold the expanded diameter, it is extended and a temporary fixing claw is engaged with an engaging hole formed in the locking piece. On the other hand, when the expanded diameter state is released, it is necessary to push down both locking pieces and push down the locking pieces to deform them. In other words, since the knob operation and the pressing operation must be performed at the same time, it cannot be released with a general-purpose tool such as pliers, and a dedicated tool for that purpose is required. If there is no choice but to use a tool that cannot be diverted to other uses, it lacks versatility and increases cost.

The present invention has been devised and devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a hose clip which can be used for a general-purpose tool.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a hose in which a strip-shaped leaf spring member is bent into a substantially annular shape and the hose can be tightened by its elastic force. In the clip, a pair of knob pieces that can be operated by a knob are formed at both ends of the clip body of the hose clip so as to stand up in the radial direction, and one of the knob pieces has a locking portion, and the other is A holding member that extends toward the locking portion and holds the clip body in a diameter-expanded state by detachably engaging with the locking portion. It is characterized in that a guide portion is formed which is brought into sliding contact with the holding member and deforms the holding member in an engaging and disengaging direction in accordance with a knob operation on the knob piece.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a hose clip in which a strip-shaped leaf spring material is bent in a substantially annular shape and the hose can be tightened by its elastic force, knobs are provided at both ends of the clip body of the hose clip. A pair of operable knob pieces are respectively formed to stand upright in the radial direction, a locking portion is formed on the one knob piece, and the locking portion is formed on the other knob piece toward the one knob piece. The holding member which is disengageably engaged with the holding member is extended, and the extending direction of the holding member is set to be inclined in the natural state so as to disengage the engagement.

[0008]

In the invention of claim 1, the clip body is
The engagement portion and the holding member are engaged with each other in a state where the two knob pieces are close to each other, so that the enlarged diameter state is maintained. When releasing the expanded diameter state, when the two knob pieces are operated by a tool, the guide portion and the holding member are brought into sliding contact with each other, and the holding member is forcibly deformed. As a result, the engagement between the holding member and the locking portion is released, and hence the clip body is reduced in diameter by the elastic force of the clip body itself.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the holding member is inclined in a direction in which it disengages from the engaging portion in the natural state, but when the engaging member engages with the engaging portion, it is based on the elastic force of the clip body. Since both the knob pieces are urged in the separating direction, the holding member is deformed in a direction in which the engagement with the locking portion is strengthened and is engaged in a tensioned state. In the case of releasing the engagement, when the two knob pieces are grasped and brought close to each other, the holding member is deformed by the elastic force of the holding member in the direction of releasing the engagement with the locking portion. As a result, the holding member is deformed to the inclined posture, and is forcibly deformed in a direction in which the inclination angle is increased as the distance between the two knob pieces becomes closer by the subsequent knob operation. as a result,
The engagement between the holding member and the locking portion is disengaged, and the diameter of the clip body is reduced.

[0010]

The effects of the present invention are as follows. According to the invention of claim 1, by simply operating the knob piece,
The holding member is automatically deformed in the disengagement direction by being guided by the guide portion. In other words, since it is only necessary to operate the knob in one direction, the engagement can be released by a general-purpose tool. According to the invention of claim 2, the holding member is preliminarily formed in an inclined posture without providing any special guide means, so that the engagement with the locking portion is released by utilizing the inclination of the holding member itself. it can. Therefore, since the guide means need not be particularly formed, the structure can be simple.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. Of these, FIG. 2 shows a state in which the inner diameter of the hose clip is reduced in order to tighten the hose. The clip body 1 is formed by bending a strip-shaped leaf spring material into an annular shape, and has a triangular window 2 on its peripheral surface.
Is open at multiple locations. This triangular window 2 is a device for uniformly clamping the entire circumference of the hose H, but since this is a well-known technique, its explanation is omitted. The one end of the clip body 1 is narrowed over a predetermined length range from the tip, and then a part of the tip stands outward at a right angle in the radial direction to form a first knob piece 3.

At the other end, a receiving groove 4 formed wider than the first knob piece 3 is opened along the circumferential direction, and the receiving groove 4 is formed at a narrow portion on the first knob piece 3 side. It is adapted to be received in the central portion thereof and to form a peripheral surface substantially the same as this. Further, the tip end portion of the portion where the receiving groove 4 is provided is a gate-shaped second knob piece 5 that stands up radially outward and faces the first knob piece 3. This second knob piece 5
At the center of the upper end of the projection 6, a projection 6 is projected outward, and on the opposite side, a temporary fixing claw 7 (corresponding to a locking portion of the present invention) is integrally projected. The temporary fixing claw 7 can be engaged with an engagement hole 8 described later. As shown in FIG. 1, the tip of the temporary fixing claw 7 is bent obliquely outward so as to secure a catch in the engagement hole 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, a mounting member 9 is attached laterally through a mounting hole 9 at a position near the tip of the first knob piece 3. The holding member 10 has a core material 11 made of a thin metal plate inserted inside the synthetic resin material, and has a mounting portion 10a for attachment to the first knob piece 3. The mounting portion 10a has a vertical insertion hole 12 which is inserted into the first knob piece 3 (press fit) for mounting. And
A retaining claw 13 projects inside the insertion hole 12, and the holding member 10 is retained by elastically engaging with the mounting hole 9 of the first knob piece 3.

On the side surface of the mounting portion 10a, a locking piece 14 extends toward the second knob piece 5, and the locking piece 14 is provided.
Also, the core material 11 is partly covered and inserted with a synthetic resin material. Further, in the natural state, the locking piece 14 is inclined obliquely downward with respect to the mounting portion 10a with a predetermined inclination angle, and has an appropriate flexibility in the vertical direction. A rectangular engaging hole 8 penetrates in the middle (central portion) of the slope of the locking piece 14, and can be engaged with and disengaged from the temporary fixing claw 7. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the resin coating is applied only to the peripheral portion of the portion where the engaging hole 8 is provided so that the core material 11 is exposed. Further, in this embodiment, a lock releasing claw 15 is provided at the hole edge on the mounting portion 10a side of the engaging hole 8. The lock release claw 15 is set to have a steeper slope than the locking piece 14, and plays a role of causing the locking piece 14 to perform a forced deformation for releasing the engagement. Further, the tip of the locking piece 14 is also bent downward, and guides the deformation of the locking piece 14 downward when the hose clip is moved to the expanded state.

The first embodiment is constructed as described above, and the hose clip of this embodiment is carried into the connecting work site of the hose H with the clip body 1 in the expanded state. By the way, when the clip body 1 is in the expanded diameter state, the temporary fixing claw 7 is engaged with the engagement hole 8, but at this time, the elastic force of the clip body 1 itself causes the two tabs to separate from each other. Since the locking piece 14 is biased by the pulling force from the second knob piece 5, the locking piece 14 is forcibly deformed in a substantially horizontal state as shown in FIG. There is. Therefore, the temporary fixing claw 7 is engaged with the engaging hole 8
It is deeply engaged with the hole edge, and the engagement state is reliable.

Now, at the connection work site, the hose clip in the expanded diameter state is inserted into the mouth of the hose H and then fitted into the pipe to be connected as it is.
Then, using a general-purpose tool T such as pliers, the first and second
The two knob pieces 3, 5 are gripped, and the both knob pieces 3, 5 are brought close to each other. Then, the temporary fixing claw 7 is separated from the hole edge of the engaging hole 8 and the locking piece 14 is released from the above-described pulling force, so that the locking piece 14 returns to the inclined posture which is the natural state, and further, When the knob operation proceeds and the temporary fixing claw 7 moves to the opposite side of the engaging hole 8, the temporary fixing claw 7 hits the lock releasing claw 15. At this time, when a pressing force is applied from the temporary fixing claw 7 to the lock releasing claw 15, the locking piece 14 is forcibly deformed downward, so that the temporary fixing claw 7 comes out of the engaging hole 8. Therefore, it is possible to separate the tab pieces from each other while the tab pieces are being held by the tool T, whereby the hose clip slowly shifts from the expanded diameter state to the reduced diameter state to tighten the hose.

On the contrary, when it is desired to re-expand the hose clip, such as when replacing the hose, the tool T is used to pinch both the knob pieces 3 and 5 to bring them closer to each other. As a result, the temporary fixing claw 7 hits the bent portion of the tip of the locking piece 14 and is forcedly pushed down, so that the entire locking piece 14 bends downward, and as a result, the temporary fixing claw 7 is re-inserted into the engaging hole 8. Can be engaged. As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to unlock by simply pinching the two knob pieces 3 and 5 with the tool T, and it is not necessary to use a dedicated tool as in the prior art, which is convenient. It is excellent and contributes to cost reduction.
In addition, in the first embodiment, since the locking piece 14 is formed to be inclined downward in advance, the inclination of the locking piece 14 is used without the lock releasing claw 15, that is, the temporary fixing claw 7 is engaged. When the engaging hole 8 is pressed against the hole edge, a force in the downward pressing direction is forcibly applied to the locking piece 14, so that the temporary fixing claw 7 can be similarly pulled out from the engaging hole 8. Is. However, when the locking piece 14 is in the expanded state as shown in FIG. 3, the locking piece 14 is tensioned in a horizontal position by receiving a pulling force. The posture may not be restored, and as a result, unlocking may be difficult. Even in such a case, if the lock release claw 15 is set as in the first embodiment, the lock can be reliably released.

6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the tip end of the first knob piece 3 is folded back to the second knob piece 5 side in a U shape, and this portion becomes the temporary fixing claw 7. However, the tip of the temporary fixing claw 7 is bent so as to be closed slightly inward. On the other hand, the second knob piece 5 is formed in a gate shape having the receiving groove 4 similarly to the first embodiment, and the holding member 10 formed of a metal thin plate material is fixed to the upper edge thereof. There is. The holding member 10 has a hook piece 20 formed at one end thereof on the upper edge of the second knob piece 5 to be hooked in a crimped state, and has a first end at the other end.
The locking piece 14 extends toward the knob piece 3. The locking piece 14 is formed obliquely downward in a natural state as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 7, and a rectangular engaging hole 8 is opened to engage with the temporary fixing claw 7 in a detachable manner. In addition, the lock release pawl 1 is provided on the side of the engagement hole 8 facing the second knob piece 5 at the hole edge.
5 is formed to be bent obliquely downward.

The second embodiment is constructed as described above. Also in the second embodiment, when the two gripping pieces 3 and 5 of the hose clip in the expanded diameter state (solid line state in FIG. 7) are gripped by the tool T, the temporary fixing claw 7 pushes the lock releasing claw 15 and the locking piece 14 is pressed. Since the whole is forcibly pushed down, the temporary fixing claw 7 comes out of the engaging hole 8 and the expanded diameter state is released. On the other hand, when the diameter is to be expanded again, the provisional fixing claw 7 contacts the tip of the locking piece 14 by pinching both the knob pieces 3 and 5 and bringing them closer to each other. At this time, since the locking piece 14 is inclined downward as shown in FIG. 7, the locking piece 14 is further pushed down according to the knob operation, whereby the temporary fixing claw 7 engages with the engagement hole 8. As a result, the clip body 1 is held in the expanded state again.

As described above, the same working effects as those of the first embodiment are exhibited, such that the general-purpose tool can be used in the second embodiment. The rest of the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, so that the same operational effect is obtained. 8 and 9 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the tip end of the first knob piece 3 is slightly bent outward (the side opposite to the second knob piece 5), while the second knob piece 5 is the same as in the first and second embodiments. Has been formed. Further, the holding member 10 is fixed to the second knob piece 5, but in this embodiment, it is attached to the opening edge of the receiving groove 4 in the direction opposite to that of the second embodiment. Then, the locking piece 1 of the holding member 10
4 extends obliquely upward in the natural state, and the temporary fixing claw 7
Has an engagement hole 8 that is detachably engaged with
A lock release claw 15 is erected obliquely upward at the hole edge of the engagement hole 8.

Also in the third embodiment constructed as described above, when the expanded diameter state of the hose clip (state shown by the solid line in FIG. 9) is released, the temporary holding claw 7 is unlocked by the gripping operation of both knob pieces. Since the pawl 15 is pushed and the locking piece 14 is pushed up and deformed, the temporary fixing pawl 7 is disengaged from the engaging hole 8 and the hose clip is reduced in diameter. When returning to the expanded diameter state again, if both knob pieces are gripped and the knob pieces are brought close to each other, the temporary fixing claw 7 pushes up the locking piece 14 and passes through, and as a result, engages with the engagement hole 8. The hose clip is held in the expanded state again. The rest of the configuration is the same as that of the first and second embodiments, so that the same operational effect can be exhibited.

The present invention should not be limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but various modifications can be made. For example, the following are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In each of the embodiments, the locking piece is slanted and extended. However, if a deformation guide means such as a lock release claw is set, the locking piece may be horizontally extended. On the contrary, as described above, the lock release claw is not always essential if the locking piece is inclined and extended. The attachment of the holding member is not limited to that of the embodiment, and a method of fixing by caulking using a rivet or the like may be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a diameter-expanded state.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hose clip in a tightened state.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway view showing a main part when the diameter is expanded.

FIG. 4 is a cutaway view showing a diameter expansion releasing operation.

FIG. 5 is a cutaway view showing the completion of expansion expansion cancellation.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a main part at the same time of the diameter expansion releasing operation.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a main part of the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a main part at the same time of the diameter expansion releasing operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Clip main body 3 ... 1st knob piece 5 ... 2nd knob piece 7 ... Temporary fixing nail 8 ... Engagement hole 10 ... Holding member 14 ... Locking piece 15 ... Unlocking nail

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A hose clip in which a strip-shaped leaf spring material is bent into a substantially annular shape so that a hose can be tightened by its elastic force. Each of the pieces is formed so as to stand in the radial direction, one of the knob pieces has a locking portion, and the other of the knob pieces extends toward the locking portion and is detachable from the locking portion. A holding member for holding the clip body in the expanded diameter state is formed by engaging the clip body, and the holding member is slidably contacted with the holding member in accordance with a knob operation on the two knob pieces to engage the holding member. A hose clip characterized in that a guide portion for deforming in the dissociation direction is formed. 2. A hose clip in which a strip-shaped leaf spring material is bent into a substantially annular shape so that a hose can be tightened by its elastic force. A pair of knobs that can be operated by a knob are provided at both ends of a clip body of the hose clip. Each of the pieces is formed so as to stand in the radial direction, a locking portion is formed on the one knob piece, and the other knob piece is detachably engaged with the locking portion toward the one knob piece. The hose clip, wherein the holding member is extended, and the extending direction of the holding member is set to be inclined in a natural state in a direction in which the engagement is disengaged.