JPS6223979Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to a plastic latch device for doors and lids, and in particular, when closing the doors and lids,
To provide a latch device which can be opened by simply pushing a lid or the latch device toward an opening closed by the door or lid, and by pulling a knob of the latch device when opening with little resistance.

Various latch devices have been developed to keep doors and lids closed, including those made of plastic.
There are some convenient devices on the market that allow you to simply press the door or lid when closing, and this point is generally satisfied. However, there was only a one-to-one correspondence between the force required to keep doors and lids closed and the opening force required by the operator to open the doors and lids as necessary against this force. .

In other words, if you increase the force to maintain the closed state (closed state maintenance force) to prevent the door or lid from being opened accidentally or by unexpected force, the force when opening the door or lid intentionally will increase. A contradictory relationship could not be avoided from the functional requirements of requiring a large opening force and worsening operability.

This proposal was developed in view of the above, and takes advantage of the advantages of certain conventional products in that the closing operation requires only a simple pressing operation, while increasing the opening force even though the force required to maintain the closed state is large. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a plastic latch device that does not require a plastic latch.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the door and lid will be collectively referred to as the lid.

The latch device 1 shown in the first to third figures is a first embodiment of the present invention and has a two-part construction. That is, it consists of a main body 2 and a knob 3 which are separately molded in plastic, and the main body 2 has a lid L (second and third
It has a flange 4 which faces the surface of FIG. 1 and from which depends an internal hollow housing 6 having openings 5, 5 on both sides from which latch pawls, to be described below, project. In this embodiment, the openings 5, 5 are larger than the size required for the latch pawl due to the cutting process in plastic molding, and the housing 6 is connected to a pair of side walls 6a, 6a depending from the flange 4.
and a bottom plate part 6b that connects the lower part of the bottom plate part 6b. In this case, both the housing 6 and the flange 4 have rectangular cross-sectional outlines, and the flange 4 is divided into a pair of parts along the upper edges of the housing side walls 6a, 6a. The knob, which will be described later, is placed in between. However, this is because we wanted it to be smart as a so-called exterior part, and there is no inherent limitation to the shape of the flange or knob.
The housing profile may also be circular or otherwise.

The internal hollow part of the housing 6 opens upward at the surface where the flange 4 is located at an opening 7, and on both sides of this opening there are housing side walls 6a,
There are reinforcing rods 8, 8 that connect between the flanges 6a and the separated flanges 4, 4. However, this can be omitted if there is no problem in terms of strength.

From the openings 5, 5 on both sides of the housing,
A pair of latch claws 9, 9 protrude outward from each other, back to back to each other, and these latch claws 9, 9 protrude outward from the housing in this way in response to the operator's pinching operation, which will be described later. The posture can be changed between the first posture state to the original state (FIG. 1 and FIG. 2B) in which the housing is moved, and the second posture state (FIG. 2C) in which the housing is retracted into the housing. In order to store the elastic restoring force to return to the first posture in the two-position state, elastic pieces 10, 10, each having a base end fixed to the bottom plate 6b of the housing, are formed on the free end side. That is, this elastic piece 1
0, 10, as shown in each figure 1 and figure 2B,
In this case, the latch claws 9, 9 are rotated about the base end of the connection with the housing bottom plate 6b as a fulcrum between the first posture in which it is approximately upright and the second posture in which it has fallen inward as shown in FIG. 2C. come and go.

In addition, the elastic pieces 10, 10 and the latch claws 9, 9 in this case are not suitable for the connection member provided on the knob 3, which will be described later, due to the problem of cutting out the plastic molding of the main body 2. 10, the openings 5 and 5 are offset from each other in the lateral direction when viewed from the front (Fig. 2A), and are also offset in the direction spanning the openings 5 and 5 (Fig. 2B). .

Next, to explain the knob part 3, the knob part 3
has a knob 11 that the operator picks when opening the lid, and the knob 11 in this embodiment can be changed into a shape that is easy to pick as will be detailed later, but as a general rule or basic shape, the knob 11 is is in the form of a flat plate that fits exactly between the pair of flanges 4, 4 spaced apart from each other on the main body 2 so that they are flush with each other, and rests on the reinforcing rods 8, 8. This knob 11 and the elastic pieces 10, 10 described above are connected and interlocked by a connecting portion 12, and in this embodiment, this connecting portion 12 is connected to three members 12a described below. ,12b,1
It consists of 2c.

First, there is a plate-shaped rod member 12a hanging from approximately the center of the lower surface of the knob 11. When the separately molded knob 11 is placed between the flanges of the main body 2, this rod member 12a is inserted into the housing 6. It is inserted into the hollow part inside the housing through the upper opening 7 and inserted into the gap between the pair of elastic pieces 10, 10 (Fig. 1C, Fig. 2A).
figure). As clearly shown in FIG. 2B, the width of this rod member is such that it spans both of the elastic pieces 10, 10 which are offset from each other in the direction extending between the openings 5, 5 of the housing, and both sides of the lower part thereof. On the surface, there are protrusions 12b, 12b that protrude toward the respective elastic pieces (therefore, these protrusions are also shifted to the left and right when FIG. 2B is viewed from the front). Cam surfaces 12c, 12c that engage with the protrusions 12b, 12b are formed on one side.

This cam surface is formed as a part of the peripheral wall surface of a groove 13 cut out from the surface of the elastic pieces 10, 10, and as it extends upward from the side near the base end of the elastic piece toward the free end side, It is a downwardly inclined surface extending outwardly toward the housing openings 5, 5, that is, an overhanging surface. The upper end of this cam surface ends at the ceiling surface of the peripheral wall of the groove 13, and this ceiling surface serves as a stop surface 14 that stops the movement of the protrusion 12b and, by extension, the movement of the knob 11, as will be described later.

Therefore, when assembling the knob 3 to the main body 2,
As mentioned earlier, the rod member 12a is connected to the elastic pieces 10, 1.
In the process of settling between 0 and 0, the protrusions 12b and 12b are still
is fitted into the groove 13 of the elastic piece 10 and the cam surface 12c
These protrusions 12b, 1
Since the elastic pieces 2b forcefully enter between the elastic pieces 10, 10 so as to spread them apart from each other, the lower surfaces of the protrusions 12b, 12b are shaped as shown in FIG. It is better to take a taper as shown in .

In this way, after the knob 3 and the main body 2 are assembled, the protrusion 1 is inserted into the groove 13 of the elastic piece 10.
2b is accommodated, and the rod member 12a is held on both sides by the surfaces of the elastic pieces, so that it is stably supported, and furthermore, in this embodiment, even on the opposing edge surfaces of the reinforcing rods 8, 8 mentioned earlier, Since the side edge of the rod member is pressed as shown in Figure 2B, there is no wobbling, and only the vertical movement of the entire knob 3 is allowed.

Next, we will describe how to use and operate this device. First, the device 1 is designed by inserting the main body incorporating the knob from the surface side of the lid L into the mounting hole H drilled in the lid L, so that the flange 4 touches the surface. Attach it so that it comes out to the back side and integrate it with the lid. The attachment means for this purpose may be arbitrary, such as screwing or adhesive, but in this embodiment, in view of convenience of workability, the lid L is attached to the outer surface of the side wall portions 6a, 6a of the housing 6 from the bottom surface of the flange. A locking claw 15 protruding outward at a distance equal to or slightly shorter than the thickness of the plate,
15 is provided, and when the attachment hole H is forcibly penetrated, it is restored by the elasticity of the material, and it is attached to the lid L by being pressed between the locking pawl and the flange as shown in Figure 2A. However, it is also possible to attach only the main body 2 to the lid before assembling the knob 3, and then assemble the knob in the manner described above.

On the other hand, the opening edge E of the inside of the container etc. to be closed with this lid is provided with engaging edges 16, 16 which are placed in a locking relationship with the latch claws 9, 9 as described later. In the example, each of the second figures and especially the third figure
As clearly shown in Figure B, these engaging edges are formed as both sides of the opening of the through hole A, so in the following explanation, the main body 2 may be described as being pushed into the through hole A.

For convenience, the explanation will begin when the lid L is maintained in the closed state as shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3A. In this closed state, the main latch device attached to the lid L a latch pawl 9 projecting outward from the housing 6 of 1 through the opening 5;
9 protrudes from the back side of the engaging edges 16, 16 of the opening edge E. In addition, when viewed from the front, as can be seen especially in FIG. 3A, in this embodiment, the knob 11 appears to be integrated with the flanges 4, 4, and there is little protrusion from the lid L, which improves the appearance. It gives a sophisticated feel.

To open the lid L from this state, the operator grasps the knob 11 with his fingers F (FIG. 2C) and pulls it up.

In this embodiment, the knob itself is also devised, and normally, as mentioned above, the flange 4,
When the operator tries to pull up the rod member 12a by pinching both sides, there are hinges 17, 17 formed by thinning the rod member 12a near both sides of the base of the rod member 12a. Therefore, the knob 11 is deformed as shown in FIGS. 2C and 3B so that approximately half of each outward half is folded over each other around these hinges, and the back surface 11a, which has a considerable area and has been hidden until now, is transformed. , 11a serve as the picking surfaces, making it easier to pick.

In any case, when the knob 11 is pulled up, the rod member 12a naturally rises, and so does the protrusion 12b. Then, as the protrusion 12b rises, the cam surface 12c engaged with it is restrained in the position of the protrusion 12b, and as it goes up, the cam surface 12c that was previously slanted outward is raised up, and the lid is closed. , elastic pieces 10, 10
rotates inwardly around the base ends connected to the housing bottom plate 6b, and the latch claws 9, 9 are retracted into the housing, and the engagement edges 1 that had been engaged until then are retracted into the housing.
The engagement with 6 and 16 is released.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 3B, the lid L is opened by the same series of pulling operations starting from pulling up the knob 11.

When closing the open lid L, it is sufficient to simply push the lid L itself (or the knob) toward the opening edge E.

That is, after opening the lid L as described above,
When the operator stops lifting the knob 11 and releases his/her hand from the knob, the elastic piece 1 is lifted by the elastic restoring force stored in the elastic pieces 10 as described above.
0 and 10 are restored to their original state, and in addition to pulling down the rod member 12a through the protrusion 12b, the latch claws 9 and 9 are made to protrude to the outside of the housing, so in that state, the lid L is turned toward the opening edge E. Press the lid L of this device 1.
When the back side portion of the elastic piece is inserted into the through hole A again, the lower tapered side edges 10a, 10a (FIG. 2B) of the elastic pieces leading to the latch claws 9, 9 are aligned with the engaging edge 16,
16, the elastic pieces 10, 10 are relatively bent inward by the engaging edges 16, 16 while passing through the through hole A, and when the latch pawls 9, 9 cross the engaging edges, they are restored. This returns the lid L to the state at the beginning of this operation description, in which it is locked to the back surface and the lid L is maintained in a closed state. however,
When the engagement edge passes, the engagement between the cam surface and the cam ridge (protrusion) is released, so there is no movement in the knob.

The knob 11 itself returns to its original flat shape due to the elasticity of the material when you release your finger, but in order to keep the appearance of the hinges 17 and 17 in good condition, for example, Light protrusions 1 on both sides of 11
8, 18; 18, 18 are provided, and recesses 19, 19; 19, 19 are provided on the corresponding inner surface portions of the flanges 4, 4 to allow the protrusions to slip out (or the protrusions and recesses are reversed). ), lightly press the knob 11 and snap each protrusion 18 into each recess 19 so that it can be kept flush with the flange 4.

However, the knob 11 is not limited to the shape of this embodiment.
In addition, it does not have to be folded in two, and can be a simple flat plate as shown by the dotted line I in Figure 1A.
It can be in any shape, such as a handle or a button, like a normal drawer or other knob.

Further, at least one elastic piece and latch pawl is sufficient, and there is no need for a pair, and the fulcrum position of the elastic piece may be any position that allows the latch pawl to move in and out as described above.

In the above embodiment, the main body 2 and the knob 3 are molded separately from plastic, and three connecting members 12 are formed.
The knob 1 is connected to the connecting part 12 consisting of a, 12b, and 12c.
The retraction movement of the latch pawl is linked to the movement of step 1, but in the embodiments shown in FIG.
By configuring the device 1 with a fixed connecting rod 12d, the entire device 1 is constructed as a single component.

Figure 4A shows the device 1 in its unfolded state at the end of molding.
Components corresponding to those in the previous embodiment will be described with corresponding reference numerals.The housing side wall 6
a is divided into two halves 6a', 6a' approximately at the center in this embodiment, each of which is connected at its lower end to the housing bottom plate 6b by a hinge 20, 20; It is molded in an open state on approximately the same plane as the Accordingly, the flanges 4, 4 formed on the upper side wall of the housing are also divided into a pair of halves 4', 4';4',4'.

Also, in this embodiment, the main body 2 is attached to the lid L using the elastic locking claws 15, but since the housing side wall 6 is divided into two halves, the outer surface of the main body 2 is attached to the lid L. This elastic locking claw 15 provided is also a half body 1 that is vertically divided into two parts.
5', 15';15',15' are formed in each housing side wall half.

The elastic locking pawl 15 in this case has a so-called anchor type fastener shape in order to have greater flexibility than the one in the previous embodiment and to increase manufacturing tolerance tolerance of the opening size of the mounting hole H of the lid L. We are hiring. In other words, the locking claws 15 (half bodies 15', 15') are formed at the free ends of the elastic arms 21 (half bodies 21', 21') extending obliquely outward from the housing side wall (half body). By restoring the elastic arm after passing through the attachment hole H of the lid L, the main body 2 is attached to the lid L by engaging the locking claw 15 on the edge of the hole.

A pair of elastic pieces 10, 10 stand up from the upper surface of the housing bottom plate 6b, and the free ends thereof are provided with latch claws 9, 9 which protrude from the openings 5, 5 on both sides of the housing after assembly, as will be described later. In this respect, it is similar to the previous example, but in this example, plastic injection molding is planned with the housing unfolded, so there is no problem with mold cutting, and the dimensional This prevents misalignment even when the latch claw or elastic piece is retracted.
Both elastic pieces or latch claws are designed to have approximately the same width when looking at the opening 5 from the front.

The knob 11 in the knob part 3 is also foldable in two like the previous one, that is, the parts 11a, 11a beyond the hinges 17, 17 on both sides of the central part are folded upward, making it easier to pick. However, the connecting part 12 for interlocking the latch claws 9, 9 to retract when the knob 11 is pulled up extends diagonally between the lower surface of the center of the knob 11 and the upper part of each elastic piece. Connecting rods 12d each having a fixed length at each end
It consists of

This action will be described later to describe the actions up to the attachment to the lid L. Each half of the housing side wall 6a', which is molded in the unfolded state, is rotated around its respective hinge 20 to raise it, and as shown in FIG. 4B. , 4C, the whole is box-shaped as shown in the figure. As a result, the inside of the housing 6 becomes hollow as in the previous embodiment, the latch claws 9 protrude from the openings 5 on both sides thereof, and the knob 11 is shaped to fit exactly between the flanges 4. . However, if you let go of your hand in this state, each half of the housing side wall will return to its original unfolded state due to the elasticity of the hinge 20.
Insert the housing tip into the mounting hole H of the lid L,
At the edge of the hole, the elastic arm 21 is bent and passed toward the side wall of the housing, and when it passes through the edge of the hole, it is restored and the locking claw is engaged with the edge of the hole. In this way, the housing side wall is prevented from expanding at the edge of the mounting hole, so that the device 1 is attached to the lid L as in the previous embodiment, as shown in Figures 5A and B. can.

However, if necessary, in order to maintain the temporarily assembled state in which the housing is constructed by folding the housing side wall halves into two, it is possible to provide two parts of this type of plastic molded product, such as hook members that engage with each other on both halves. Of course, it is also possible to provide a member that fastens the two members together using known techniques.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which the latch claw 9 is engaged with the engaging edge 16 of the opening edge E of the container, etc., and the lid L is closed, which is the same as the state shown in FIG. 3A above.

Then, when the operator picks up the knob 11 with his finger F or the like and pulls it up (Fig. 5B), the connecting rod 12d naturally also moves.
The whole part moves upward, but the elastic piece 1 on the other end side
0 and 10 are fixed in the vertical direction, and the length of the connecting rod 12d is also constant, so in the end, the connecting rod 12d
The elastic pieces 10, 10 have no choice but to shift their posture in a direction in which they are raised up from the angle in the previously oblique state, and along with this, the elastic pieces 10, 10 are also displaced inwardly so as to approach each other.

Therefore, the latch claws 9, 9 are retracted into the housing 6, and the lid L can thereafter be opened as in the previous embodiment.

The same applies when closing, and the latch claw is at the engaging edge 1.
6 and 16, it is restored on its back side to return to the state shown in No. 5A.

However, a slight difference from the previous embodiment is that as the latch pawl moves inward when closing, the knob 11 also protrudes slightly outward at that time. However, this is just a difference in movement, and there is no difference in functional essence.

Although this second embodiment does not have bosses (small protrusions) or small holes for temporarily maintaining the knob 11 in a flat state, it is of course possible to provide these as in the first embodiment. .

On the other hand, in this second embodiment, in order to better prevent the knob 11 from rattling, the hanging member 22 that hangs down from the lower surface of the knob is provided with lateral guide protrusions 23, 23, while the side wall of the housing is provided with guide protrusions 23, 23. A guide groove 24 is provided to guide the vertical direction. (Therefore, when molding in the unfolded state, the part 24' where this groove is formed,
24' is also formed at the abutting surface of each side wall half)
However, this is, of course, a desirable consideration.

The biggest feature of the latch device 1 of this invention is that even if the latch pawl 9 has a large overhang length in the direction along the back surface of the engaging edge 16 to increase the force for maintaining the lid L in the closed state, it will not be active when opening. The opening force should not be too large because the latch claw will be retracted automatically, and the pulling action itself to open the lid L will cause the latch claw to retract as described above, so the opening force should not be too large. Another major advantage is that it only requires the operation of the process.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1A, B, and C are perspective views of the first embodiment of the latch device of the present invention in an exploded or unassembled state, an assembled state, and an assembled state with the main parts fragmented;
The figures are a front view, a side cross-sectional view, and a side cross-sectional view of the latch device of the first embodiment when it is attached to the lid, and a side cross-sectional view during the opening operation, and Figures 3A and 3B respectively show the lid as viewed in its entirety. Perspective views in closed state and open state, 4th
Figures A, B, and C are perspective views of the second embodiment of the latch device in the disassembled/unassembled state, the assembled state, and the open state, respectively, and Figures 5A and B show the second embodiment as a lid. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the attached state in a closed state and an open state. In the figure, 1 is the latch device as a whole, 2 is the main body, 3 is the knob, 4 is the flange, 5 is an opening on both sides of the housing, 6 is the housing, 9 is the latch claw, 10
is an elastic piece, and 11 is a knob.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A housing that is hollow inside and has an opening on the side that is attached to a door or lid; one end is fixed to the housing and the other free end is an opening that is closed by the door or lid. has a latch pawl that engages with an engagement edge formed on the opening edge of the housing, and has a first position in which the latch pawl projects from the side opening of the housing and a second position in which it is retracted toward the inside of the housing. an elastic piece having a restoring force from the second position to the first position; a knob located on the surface side of the door or lid that can be picked by the operator; A latching device for doors and lids, comprising: a connecting portion provided between the elastic piece and the elastic piece, and converting the elastic piece from the first attitude to the second attitude by pulling the knob.