JPH048134Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field The present invention relates to a moderation device that provides moderation to a predetermined moving member, and particularly relates to a moderation device that has a small number of parts and is easy to assemble.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A moderation device that sequentially engages with a predetermined moving member that moves in one direction to provide moderation to the moving member is conventionally known. One type of such a moderation device is (a) a housing that includes an end face and a flat surface adjacent to the end face, and in which a plurality of mutually parallel accommodation grooves with one end opening on the end face are formed on the flat surface. (b) a plurality of engaging members each disposed within the plurality of accommodation grooves so that their heads protrude from the opening and are movable along the accommodation grooves;
(c) a compression coil spring that is inserted between the engagement member and the other end of the housing groove and always biases the engagement member in a direction to protrude from the opening; and (d) the engagement member a stopper that prevents the movable member from protruding beyond a certain amount from the opening, and as the movable member moves along the end surface, the engaging member resists the biasing force of the compression coil spring. There is one in which moderation is given to the moving member by being sequentially pushed into the housing.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Incidentally, in the conventional moderation device of this type, the stopper is first attached to a predetermined member, and then the engaging member and the compression coil spring are accommodated in the housing groove from one plane of the housing. However, if left as they were, there was a risk that the engaging members and compression coil springs would come off the housing groove, so it was necessary to cover the opening in one plane of the housing groove with a lid member, etc. It was hot. In addition, in such a moderation device, it is necessary to assemble each of the engaging members and compression coil springs into a large number of housing grooves, so there is a problem that the previously assembled one may come off during the assembly process. It was.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its gist consists of the above-mentioned (a) housing, (b) engaging member, and (c) ) a compression coil spring; and (d) a stopper, and as a predetermined moving member moves along the end surface of the housing, the engagement member is sequentially moved into the housing against the biasing force of the compression coil spring. In a moderation device that moderates a moving member by being pushed,
A concave groove is provided in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the engaging member on one of the side wall of the housing groove formed in the housing and the side surface of the engaging member opposite to the side wall, and a groove is provided on the other side of the housing groove in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the engaging member. and a portion where the groove is located when the compression coil spring is compressed has a convex shape corresponding to the groove, and when the compression coil spring is in the compressed state, the engaging member is positioned on one plane of the housing. However, when the engagement member is accommodated in the accommodation groove and moved to the opening side of one end of the accommodation groove, the one plane of the engagement member an engagement protrusion that prevents the stopper from being separated from the opening, and that does not engage the stopper when the compression coil spring is in a compressed state, but engages with the stopper when the engagement member protrudes a certain amount from the opening; and an engaging recess, and the engaging protrusion and the engaging recess are integrally provided in one and the other of the housing groove and the engaging member.

Effect of operation and invention In such a moderation device, when the compression coil spring is compressed, the positions of the concave groove and the convex portion provided on one side and the other side of the side wall of the housing groove and the engaging member are aligned. and the engagement protrusions provided on one and the other of the housing groove and the engagement member do not engage with the engagement recess,
When the compression coil spring is in a compressed state, the compression coil spring and the engagement member can be assembled into the accommodation groove from one plane of the housing, and then the engagement member moves into one end of the accommodation groove according to the biasing force of the compression coil spring. When the engagement member is moved toward the opening side, the protrusion prevents the engagement member from separating from the one plane. That is, when the protrusion is provided on the side wall of the housing groove, it is engaged with the engagement member, and when the protrusion is provided on the side surface of the engagement member, , by being engaged with an engagement groove etc. formed in the side wall of the accommodation groove along the moving direction of the engagement member,
This prevents the engagement member from coming off the one plane. The engaging member, which is thus moved toward the opening of one end of the housing groove in accordance with the biasing force of the compression coil spring, is kept constant from the opening by the engagement between the engaging protrusion and the engaging recess. By holding the movable member in a protruding state and pushing it into the housing as the movable member moves a predetermined amount, moderation is applied to the movable member based on the biasing force of the compression coil spring.

As described above, in the moderation device of the present invention, once the engaging member and the compression coil spring are assembled in the housing groove, the convex provided on the side wall of the housing groove and the other side of the engaging member opposite to the side wall. Since the engaging member is prevented from separating from the accommodation groove by the part, there is no need to provide a cover member etc. at the part where the accommodation groove opens on one plane of the housing, unlike in conventional moderation devices, and assembly is simplified. Even during work, there is no risk of the previously assembled items coming off. In addition, since the stopper that prevents the engaging member from protruding beyond a certain amount is composed of an engaging protrusion and an engaging recess that are integrally provided on one and the other of the housing groove and the engaging member, the stopper is a separate piece. This also eliminates the trouble of assembling a stopper formed in a predetermined member to a predetermined member. Therefore, the number of parts of the moderation device is reduced, and the ease of assembly is greatly improved.

Note that the above-mentioned convex portion and the engaging convex portion do not necessarily need to be provided separately, and the convex portion may also be configured to serve as the engaging convex portion. In that case, the groove and the engagement recess are formed continuously.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a paper tray of a sorter disposed close to a copying machine or the like, and a support pin 12 as a moving member is fixed to a corner of the paper tray 10. Support pin 12 is vertical plate 1
4 protrudes laterally from a slit 16 formed in the vertical direction, and is engaged with a spiral groove 20 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 18. This rotating body 18
The support pin 12 is rotated around the shaft 22 by rotationally driving a shaft 22 passing through the center thereof in the vertical direction, and as the support pin 12 is guided through the slit 16, It is moved up and down, and the height position of the paper tray 10 is adjusted according to the number of sheets of paper to be accommodated. Also,
In the vicinity of the slit 16, a moderation device 24 is connected to the bolt 2.
6, the support pins 12 which are moved up and down are given moderation to position and hold them in multiple stages (four stages in this embodiment).

The moderation device 24 includes a rectangular housing 28 and five plungers 30 as engaging members, each of which is slidably disposed in the housing 28. The housing 28 is integrally molded from a resin material such as nylon by injection molding, and as shown in FIG. They are formed parallel to each other on one plane 36 adjacent to 32 . Each of the five plungers 30 is integrally molded from a resin material such as oil-impregnated polyacetal by injection molding, and has a longitudinal shape with a head 38 at the tip, as shown in FIG. , whose head 38 is connected to the end surface 3 of the housing 28.
2, and are disposed within the five housing grooves 34 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction. Each of these plungers 30 has a fourth
As shown in the figure, a circular hole 40 is formed along the longitudinal direction from the rear end to accommodate one end of a compression coil spring 42.
This compression coil spring 42 is connected to the housing groove 34.
By being disposed with a preload applied between the plunger 30 and the end surface 43 on the other end side, a biasing force is always applied to the plunger 30 in the direction of protruding from the end surface 32 . A single protrusion 46 with a rounded tip is provided along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface 44 of the plunger 30, and the depth of the accommodation groove 34 is equal to the height of the plunger 30 including the height dimension of the protrusion 46. The dimensions are approximately the same as the height of. The lower surface 48 of the plunger 30 is an arcuate surface that bulges outward toward the center in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and is adapted to come into sliding contact with the bottom surface of the accommodation groove 34 at the center.

On both side walls 50 of the housing groove 34, protrusions 52 that project inwardly from each other are provided at opposite positions of the upper edge opening into the one plane 36, and are disposed within the housing groove 34. plunger 3
Although movement in the longitudinal direction of the plunger 30 is permitted, movement upward, that is, toward the plane 36, is prevented by engagement between the upper surface 44 of the plunger 30 and the convex portion 52. On the other hand, on both side surfaces 54 of the plunger 30, a convex portion 52 and an upper surface 44 are provided at the portions where the convex portion 52 is located when the plunger 30 moves toward the rear end and compresses the compression coil spring 42. A concave groove 56 that disables engagement is formed from the upper surface 44 to the lower surface 48 in the vertical direction, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the plunger 30. Plunger 30 regardless
can be inserted into the accommodation groove 34 from the one plane 36 side or taken out from the accommodation groove 34 towards the one plane 36 side.

Further, the convex portions 52 on both side walls 50 of the accommodation groove 34
At positions closer to the end surface 43, engagement convex portions 58 with rounded tips are vertically provided, and engagement recesses 60 are formed on both side surfaces 54 of the plunger 30 from the upper surface 44 to the lower surface 48. It is now possible to make sliding contact with the This engagement recess 60
In the compressed state of the compression coil spring 42, in other words, in the state where the plunger 30 is held in a position where the convex portion 52 and the groove 56 match, the plunger 30 does not engage with the engaging convex portion 58, but the plunger 30 does not engage with the engaging convex portion 58. When the head 38 protrudes a certain amount from the end surface 32 according to the biasing force of the compression coil spring 42, the plunger 30 engages with the engagement protrusion 58 and prevents the plunger 30 from protruding further. It is formed over a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction. These engagement protrusions 58 and engagement recesses 60 constitute a stopper that prevents the plunger 30 from protruding beyond a certain amount. In addition, on both sides 54 of the plunger 30, protrusions 62 with rounded tips are provided along the grooves 56 at the portions closer to the head 38 than the grooves 56. It is designed to allow sliding contact.

The moderation device 24, which is composed of the housing 28, the plunger 30, and the compression coil spring 42, has one end of the compression coil spring 42 inserted into the circular hole 40 of the plunger 30, and the other end pressed against the end surface 43 of the accommodation groove 34. By pushing the plunger 30 into the housing groove 34 from one plane 36 side while compressing the plunger 30 until the concave groove 56 matches the convex part 52 of the housing groove 34, the engaging convex part 58 and the engaging concave part 60 plunger 30 and compression coil spring 42 without engaging
can be assembled into the receiving groove 34 of the housing 28. The plunger 30 assembled in the housing groove 34 is connected to the compression coil spring 4.
By being moved toward the head 38 according to the urging force of 2, the upper surface 44 is engaged with the protrusion 52 and is prevented from separating from the one plane 36, and the engagement recess 60 is engaged with the engagement protrusion. The head 3 is engaged with the portion 58.
8 is held in a state in which it protrudes a certain amount from the end face 32.

Moderation device 24 assembled in this way
is the housing 2 as shown in FIG.
Temporary fixing is achieved at the same time as positioning by inserting the clip 64 protruding from the one plane 36 of the housing 28 into the mounting hole 66 of the vertical plate 14, and then the bolt 26 is inserted into the circular hole 68 formed in the housing 28. By screwing into the screw hole 70 of the vertical plate 14,
The housing 28 is fixed with one plane 36 facing the vertical plate 14. Then, as the support pin 12 is moved up and down while slidingly contacting the head 38 of the plunger 30, the five plungers 30 are sequentially pushed into the housing 28 against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 42.
When the support pin 12 is located between two adjacent plungers 30, moderation is given to the support pin 12 to position and hold it.

In addition, when the moderation device 24 is attached to the vertical plate 14 in this manner, the protrusion 46 of the plunger 30 is brought into sliding contact with the vertical plate 14, and the plunger 30 is moved toward the one plane 36 side. Therefore, even if the concave groove 56 is moved back to the position where it matches the protrusion 52 when the support pin 12 is pushed into the housing 28 as it moves, the two will not engage. There is no risk that the movement of the plunger 30 will be impaired. Also, plunger 3
Since the bottom surface 48 of the plunger 30 is an arcuate surface, the tips of the protrusions 46 and 62 are rounded, and the tips of the engagement protrusions 58 provided in the housing groove 34 are also rounded, making it easy for the plunger 30 to slide. The resistance is very small, and the support pin 12 can be slid smoothly as it moves up and down.

As is clear from the above description, according to the moderation device 24 of this embodiment, the engagement with the convex portion 52 prevents the plunger 30 assembled in the housing groove 34 from coming off from the one plane 36 side. Therefore, as in the conventional moderation device, the housing groove 34 is connected to the housing 2.
There is no need to provide a cover member or the like on the part that opens on one plane 36 of 8, and there is no risk that the previously assembled item will come off during the assembly work.
Moreover, there is no need to use any assembly tools. Furthermore, since the stopper that prevents the plunger 30 from protruding beyond a certain amount is composed of the engagement protrusion 58 and the engagement recess 60 that are integrally provided in the housing groove 34 and the plunger 30, respectively, the stopper is formed separately. This eliminates the trouble of assembling the stopper to a predetermined member. Therefore, the number of parts of the moderation device 24 is reduced, and the ease of assembly is greatly improved.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition,
In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the parts common to those in the above embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, the housing 28
The accommodation groove 34 is provided with inwardly directed protrusions 72 on opposing portions of both side walls 50, and the protrusions 72 are provided on both sides 54 of the plunger 30 when the compression coil spring 42 is compressed.
2 is located, a groove 74 is formed from the lower surface 48 side toward the upper surface 44, and the groove 74
An engagement recess 76 extending toward the rear end side along the longitudinal direction of the plunger 30 is continuously provided at the upper end. In this way, the plunger 30 assembled in the accommodation groove 34 with the compression coil spring 42 compressed is moved rearward toward the head 38 side, thereby engaging the protrusion 72 and the engagement recess 76.
By engaging with the upper and lower side walls of the engaging recess 76, the engagement recess 76 is prevented from coming off from the plane 36 side, and the rear end wall surface of the engaging recess 76 comes into contact with the protrusion 72, so that the engagement recess 76 is prevented from protruding beyond a certain amount. blocked. In other words, the protrusion 72 serves both as a protrusion that prevents the plunger 30 from coming off the plane 36 and as an engagement protrusion that engages with the engagement recess 76 to prevent the plunger 30 from protruding beyond a certain amount. -ing

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail based on the drawings, the present invention can also be implemented in other embodiments.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the moderation device 24 according to the present invention is attached to the vertical plate 14 of the sorter to provide moderation to the support pins 12 of the paper tray 10. It can also be used to provide moderation.

Further, in the embodiment, the protrusion 52 and the engagement protrusion 58 or the protrusion 72 are arranged on both side walls 50 of the housing groove 34.
The groove 56 and the engaging recess 60 or the groove 74 and the engaging recess 76 are provided in the plunger 30.
However, the protrusion 52 and the engagement protrusion 58 or the protrusion 72 are formed on both sides 54 of the plunger 3.
0, and the groove 56 and the engagement recess 60 or the groove 74 and the engagement depression 76 can also be formed in the housing groove 34. Moreover, they may be provided only on one side 54 of the plunger 30 and on one side wall 50 of the housing groove 34 facing the side 54.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the housing 28 is attached with one plane 36 facing the vertical plate 14, but it is also possible to attach the housing 28 in the opposite direction.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, one protrusion 46 is provided on the upper surface 44 of the plunger 30;
In the case where the amount of pushing of the plunger 30 due to the movement of the support pin 12 is relatively small, it is not necessarily necessary to provide the protrusion 46.

Although no other examples are given, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a moderation device according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a vertical plate of a sorter in order to provide moderation to a support pin of a paper tray. 2 is a perspective view of the housing of the moderation device of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the plunger of the moderation device of FIG. 1; Figure 4 is the third
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state in which a compression coil spring is attached to the plunger shown in the figure. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway front view showing the moderation device of FIG. 1 attached to the vertical plate of the sorter. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the main parts of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 6. 12... Support pin (moving member), 24... Moderation device, 28... Housing, 30... Plunger (engaging member), 32... End surface, 34... Accommodating groove, 3
6... One plane, 38... Head, 42... Compression coil spring, 43... End face (other end), 50...
Side wall, 52...Convex portion, 54...Side surface, 56, 74
... Concave groove, 58 ... Engagement projection, 60, 76 ... Engagement recess, 72 ... Protrusion (projection, engagement projection).

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A housing comprising an end face and a plane adjacent thereto, and in which a plurality of mutually parallel accommodation grooves with one end open to the end face are formed in the plane; and the plurality of accommodation grooves. a plurality of engaging members disposed within the housing so that their heads protrude from the opening and are movable along the housing groove; and an intervening member between the engaging members and the other end of the housing groove. a compression coil spring that is inserted and always urges the engaging member in a direction to protrude from the opening; and a stopper that prevents the engaging member from protruding beyond a certain amount from the opening, In the moderation device that moderates the moving member by sequentially pushing the engaging member into the housing against the biasing force of the compression coil spring as it moves along the end surface, A concave groove is provided in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the engaging member on one side wall of the side wall and the side surface of the engaging member opposite to the side wall, and the other side of the side wall and the side surface of the engaging member A convex shape corresponding to the groove is formed in a portion where the groove is located in a compressed state, and when the compression coil spring is in a compressed state, the engaging member is moved from the one plane into the accommodation groove. A convex portion is provided that allows the engagement member to be inserted, but prevents the engagement member from leaving the one plane when the engagement member is accommodated in the accommodation groove and moved toward the opening side. , and the stopper includes an engaging protrusion and an engaging recess that do not engage when the compression coil spring is compressed, but engage with each other when the engaging member protrudes a certain amount from the opening, and A moderation device characterized in that an engaging protrusion and an engaging recess are integrally provided in one and the other of the housing groove and the engaging member.