JPH09217731A - Damper device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a damper device capable of damping turning force acted on a rotary shaft effectively, simplify a structure, and manufacture easily. SOLUTION: A rotary shaft 8 is supported on the center part of a bottomed cylindrical casing 1 freely to rotate it and not freely to move it in the axial direction, and a slider 3 is inserted and arranged in the casing not freely to rotate it relatively and freely to displace it the axial direction, in a condition in which the rotary shaft 8 is pivotally fitted to the center hole of the slider 3. An annular rubber member 2 is narrowly arranged between the inner end of the slider 3 and the bottom surface of the casing 1. A cam 21 is formed on the outer end surface of the slider 3 so as to convert rotary action of the rotary shaft 8 into the inward action of the slider 3, and a projection 25 is projected from the rotary shaft 8 in a diameter direction so as to engage it with the cam 21. The rubber member 2 is pushingly pressed to the slider 3 displaced inward according to rotation of the rotary shaft 8 and it is deformed so as to press the inner circumferential surface thereof against the rotary shaft 8. It is, thus, possible to damp rotary effort by directional force generated at this time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a damper device for damping a rotational force input to a rotary shaft.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A toilet seat of a Western-style toilet is generally pivotally attached to the toilet body so as to be rotatable between a position where the toilet body overlaps with a standing position where the toilet body is slightly tilted backward. If the returning operation from the to the stacking position is performed randomly, the toilet seat may accelerate during the rotation and may collide violently with the toilet body, which is not preferable. On the other hand, it is inconvenient to rotate the toilet seat while holding it by hand to avoid this collision. Therefore, if a resistance imparting means is provided to the rotary shaft that pivotally supports the toilet seat to damp the rotational force so that the toilet seat can be gently rotated,
This is convenient because it reduces the impact and improves usability.

[0003]

As such resistance applying means, various damper devices using the viscous resistance of fluid and the sliding frictional resistance between members are known, but these conventional damper devices are known. Since a resistance is added in both directions, applying this to a toilet seat causes a problem that it becomes heavy when it is caused. In order to limit the direction in which the resistance is applied, a one-way clutch has to be provided, the structure tends to be complicated, and the demand for manufacturing cost reduction cannot be sufficiently satisfied.

[0004] The present invention has been devised to solve such disadvantages of the prior art, and its main objects are as follows.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a damper device that can effectively reduce the rotational force that acts on a rotary shaft and that has a simple structure and can be easily manufactured.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a damper device for attenuating a rotational force input to a rotary shaft, the damper device having a bottomed cylindrical shape and having a central portion. A casing that supports the rotating shaft so as to be rotatable and immovable in the axial direction, and a slider that is inserted in the casing so as to be relatively unrotatable and displaceable in the axial direction, and that pivotally mounts the rotating shaft in its center hole. A rubber member provided between the inner end of the slider and the bottom surface of the casing, a cam formed on the outer end surface of the slider to convert the rotational movement of the rotary shaft into the inward movement of the slider, and the cam. The rubber member is deformed by being pressed by the slider that is displaced inward in response to the rotation of the rotary shaft, and has a protrusion protruding radially from the rotary shaft so as to engage with a cam, and the inner circumference thereof Face against the axis of rotation It is achieved by providing a damper device characterized by comprising as to.

Particularly, it is preferable that the rubber member has a substantially annular shape.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The structure of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a damper device constructed according to the present invention. This damper device is provided as a pair in a left-right symmetrical manner on a hinge portion that pivotally supports a toilet seat of a Western-style toilet, and has a bottomed cylindrical casing 1, a rubber ring 2 received inside the casing 1, and A slider 3 fitted into the casing 1 from the outside of the rubber ring 2
And a central hole 5 provided in each of the slider 3, the rubber ring 2, and the annular bottom plate portion 4 of the casing 1.
A rotary shaft 8 inserted through 6 and 7, and an E-shaped retaining ring 9 that is fitted to the end of the rotary shaft 8 that has come out of the center hole 7 of the casing 1.

The casing 1 has a cylindrical portion 10 extending from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom plate portion 4, an annular boss portion 11 projecting outward from the opening edge portion of the center hole 7 of the bottom plate portion 4, and a screw from the lower surface side. The mounting portion 12 is fastened and fixed to the toilet body, and is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material. In the front and rear walls of the cylindrical portion 10, a pair of elongated holes 14 are formed along the axial direction with which a pair of retaining pieces 13 projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the slider 3 described later engage. On the inner surfaces of the upper and lower walls of the cylindrical portion 10, a pair of guide grooves 16 that engage with a pair of ridges 15 projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the slider 3 extend in the axial direction.

The rubber ring 2 is formed of a highly flexible rubber material so as to form a hollow endless circular ring, and its center hole 6 is formed to have a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the rotary shaft 8. ing.

The slider 3 is, as shown in FIG.
A cylindrical outer cylindrical portion 17 that fits into the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 10 of the casing 1, an inner cylindrical portion 18 that forms the central hole 5 through which the rotating shaft 8 is inserted, and the outer cylindrical portion 17 and the inner cylinder. It is composed of four radial ribs 19 coaxially interconnecting the parts 18 and an annular bottom plate part 20, and is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material. A pair of the above-mentioned retaining pieces 13 are formed in front of and behind the outer peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion 17 on the outer end side,
This engages with the long hole 14 of the cylindrical portion 10 to prevent the slider 3 from coming out of the casing 1. Further, a pair of the above-mentioned projections 15 extending in the axial direction are provided above and below the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylindrical portion 17, and these are engaged with the guide groove 16 of the cylindrical portion 10 and fitted into the casing 1. The slider 3 can slide in the axial direction in a state where the relative rotation with respect to the casing 1 is restricted.

A pair of cams 21 projecting in the axial direction are formed at the outer end of the inner cylindrical portion 18 of the slider 3 so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis. This cam 21 is shown in FIG.
As also shown, the top 22 and the valley 23, which are formed flat so as to be parallel to the plane orthogonal to the axis, are formed over a range of 45 degrees each. Further, an inclined portion 24 that is inclined toward the top portion 22 is formed adjacent to the valley portion 23 counterclockwise over a range of 90 degrees.

The rotary shaft 8 is formed of stainless steel in the shape of a round bar. A spring pin 25 is diametrically inserted in an axially intermediate portion of the rotary shaft 8, and each end of the spring pin 25 engages with a pair of cams 21 provided on the slider 3. It is like this. The rotating shaft 8 is provided with a key surface 26 for connecting to a toilet seat 30 described later so as to be relatively non-rotatable, and an E-shaped retaining ring 9.
And an annular groove 27 which is engaged with. The E-shaped retaining ring 9 is for obtaining a reaction force when the spring pin 25 presses the slider 3 via the cam 21 with the rotation of the rotary shaft 8 as described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, the damper device thus constructed is fixed to the toilet body 29 via a bearing member 28 that supports the rotary shaft 8.

The toilet seat 30 connected to the end of the rotary shaft 8 is
As also shown in FIG. 3, it is stably held in an upright state in which it is slightly tilted backward. In this state, the spring pin 25 of the rotary shaft 8 is in contact with the valley portion 23 of the cam 21 provided on the slider 3.

When the toilet seat 30 is tilted forward from this standing state, the toilet seat 30 starts to rotate with its own weight about the rotary shaft 8 as a fulcrum.
At this time, the spring pin 25 of the rotating shaft 8 is engaged with the inclined surface 24 of the cam 21, whereby the rotational force acting on the rotating shaft 8 is converted into a pressing force that pushes the slider 3 inward in the axial direction. As a result, the slider 3 presses the rubber ring 2 as the rotary shaft 8 rotates. Therefore, the rotary shaft 8 rotates against the elastic force of the rubber ring 2, and as a result, resistance is added to the forward tilting motion of the toilet seat 30.

On the other hand, the rubber ring 2 pressed by the slider 3 is gradually flattened in the radial direction in response to the rotation of the rotary shaft 8, and the center hole 6 of the rubber ring 2 is reduced in diameter accordingly.
The inner peripheral surface comes into pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 8 over the entire circumference. Therefore, a frictional force acts on the rotary shaft 8 that rotates relative to the rubber ring 2. Due to the braking effect of this frictional force, the rotational force acting on the rotating shaft 8 is attenuated,
Due to the elastic force of the rubber ring 2 described above, the toilet seat 30 can be gently tilted forward.

At this time, when the rotating shaft 8 rotates and the inclination angle of the toilet seat 30 becomes smaller, the rotational force acting on the rotating shaft 8 due to the weight of the toilet seat 30 gradually increases accordingly. On the other hand, as the rubber ring 2 becomes flatter as the rotary shaft 8 rotates, the tightening force of the rotary shaft 8 also increases. Therefore, it is possible to rotate the toilet seat 30 at a substantially constant speed or to rotate in a decelerating manner by substantially balancing the two.

Further, since the inner diameter of the central hole 6 of the rubber ring 2 is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the rotary shaft 8, the inner peripheral surface of the rubber ring 2 becomes flat when the flattening of the rubber ring 2 progresses to a predetermined extent. It is adapted to come into pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 8, and the braking effect can be obtained only here. Therefore, there is no braking effect in the initial stage of rotation from the standing state, and the toilet seat 30 rotates with an acceleration tendency. Then, the braking effect is generated when the predetermined inclination angle is reached, and thereafter, the braking force is gradually increased as the inclination angle becomes smaller. This braking force becomes maximum when the toilet seat 30 overlaps with the toilet body 29, and can be overlapped with the toilet body 29 when the rotation speed is sufficiently reduced. Therefore, the toilet seat 30 can be swung swiftly and the impact at the time of polymerization can be effectively mitigated.

On the contrary, when the toilet seat 30 is pulled up from the state where it is superposed on the toilet body 29, although the frictional force due to the tightening of the rubber ring 2 acts on the rotating shaft 8, the elastic force of the rubber ring 2 is increased. Since it is applied in the pulling direction, it can be pulled up with a relatively small operating force.

In the present embodiment, the slider 3
A rubber ring 2 having a hollow endless annular shape was used as a rubber member provided between the inner end of the casing and the bottom surface of the casing 1.
The rubber member in the present invention is not limited to such an annular member. Further, it may be a solid one, not hollow. Further, for example, a straight rubber material may be bent to form an end ring shape, or a plurality of rubber materials may be arranged so as to be substantially annular shape as a whole. .

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the rubber member elastically deforms in accordance with the rotation of the rotating shaft to tighten the rotating shaft, and the rotating force is effectively attenuated by the frictional force generated at this time. Therefore, the rotating body such as the toilet seat of the Western-style toilet can be gently operated. Therefore, there is a great effect in reducing the impact when the rotating body is stopped at a predetermined position and enhancing convenience and usability. Moreover,
Since the resistance force does not qualitatively act in the reverse direction, there is no need for a directionality imparting means such as a one-way clutch, the structure is simple, the number of parts is small, and the assembly is extremely easy, so it is cheap. It can be manufactured. Further, since the braking force increases with the rotation of the rotating shaft as described above, the rotating force increases in accordance with the rotation because it rotates by its own weight from the vertical state to the horizontal state like a toilet seat. Especially suitable for. In particular, if the rubber member has a substantially annular shape so as to surround the rotating shaft over the entire circumference, the frictional force can be applied to the rotating shaft substantially uniformly over the entire circumference,
Further, the endless annular shape as in the above embodiment has an advantage that the assembling becomes easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a damper device configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an assembled state of the damper device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Casing 2 Rubber ring 3 Slider 4 Bottom plate part 5, 6, 7 Center hole 8 Rotating shaft 9 E-shaped retaining ring 10 Cylindrical part 11 Annular boss part 12 Attachment part 13 Detachment piece 14 Long hole 15 Projection 16 Guide groove 17 Outer Cylindrical part 18 Inner cylindrical part 19 Radial rib 20 Bottom plate part 21 Cam 22 Top part 23 Valley part 24 Inclined part 25 Spring pin 26 Key surface 27 Annular groove 28 Bearing member 29 Toilet body 30 Toilet seat

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mikio Nezu 1 184 Maioka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 1 Nifco Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A damper device for attenuating a rotational force input to a rotating shaft, the casing having a bottomed cylindrical shape and supporting the rotating shaft rotatably and immovably in an axial direction at a central portion thereof. And a slider which is inserted into the casing so as not to be relatively rotatable and axially displaceable and which pivotally mounts the rotating shaft in a center hole thereof, and is narrowly provided between an inner end of the slider and a bottom surface of the casing. A rubber member, a cam formed on an outer end surface of the slider to convert the rotational movement of the rotary shaft into an inward movement of the slider, and a protrusion protruding radially from the rotary shaft to engage with the cam. The rubber member is deformed by being pressed by the slider that is displaced inward in response to the rotation of the rotating shaft, and the inner peripheral surface of the rubber member is in pressure contact with the rotating shaft. Damper device 2. The damper device according to claim 1, wherein the rubber member has a substantially annular shape.