JP6928953B2 - Flange member for aquarium - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a flange member for a water tank, which is fitted and attached to the upper end edge of the peripheral wall of the water tank and has a flange for supporting the upper lid and the like of the water tank.

As shown in Patent Document 1 below, in a frameless aquarium for general ornamental fish used in homes and the like, a flange member as a flanged upper frame member is attached to the upper end edge of the peripheral wall of the aquarium in order to place the upper lid. Things are well known. As shown in FIG. 5, a conventionally general flange member 100 is made of an integrally molded plastic product, and includes a groove-shaped (cross-section downward U-shaped) fitting portion 101 that is open downward. There is. The fitting portion 101 is attached so as to fit on the upper end edge of the peripheral wall 9 of the water tank. Further, a flange 102 is integrally formed on the inner piece of the fitting portion 101 so as to project toward the inside of the water tank. The outer peripheral edge of the upper lid 95 such as a glass plate is placed and supported on the flange 102 of the flange member 100 so that the upper lid 95 can be opened and closed in the water tank.

Patent No. 3973743

By the way, as the ornamental water tank, those having a thickness of a glass plate constituting the peripheral wall 9 of, for example, 4 mm, 5 mm, and 6 mm are generally used. Since the flange member 100 is fitted into the peripheral wall 9 of the water tank, it is necessary to use a flange member 100 according to the plate thickness of the water tank. For example, in a water tank having a plate thickness of 6 mm, a flange member 100 having a groove width of the fitting portion 101 set to about 6 mm is used. Similarly, a flange member 100 having a groove width of about 5 mm for the fitting portion 101 is used for a water tank having a plate thickness of 5 mm, and a flange member 100 having a groove width of about 4 mm for the fitting portion 101 is used for a water tank having a plate thickness of 4 mm. .. As described above, conventionally, since it is necessary to use the flange member 100 of the type (groove width) corresponding to the plate thickness of the water tank, there is a problem that the number of types of the flange member 100 increases and the versatility is lacking.

Further, when a flange member 100 having a groove width that does not correspond to the plate thickness of the water tank is used, for example, when the flange member 100 corresponding to the water tank having a plate thickness of 6 mm is attached to a water tank having a plate thickness of 4 mm as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, since the groove width of the fitting portion 101 in the flange member 100 is considerably wider than the plate thickness of the water tank, a large gap is formed in the groove of the fitting portion 101. As a result, the flange member 100 rattles, and the flange member 100 cannot be reliably attached to the water tank. As a result, there is a problem that the upper lid 95 cannot be supported on the flange 102 in a stable state, and the flange member 100 may fall out of the water tank in some cases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a flange member for an aquarium that can be reliably attached to any frameless aquarium having a different plate thickness and has excellent versatility. With the goal.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following means.

[1] A fitting portion having an inner piece and an outer piece arranged inside and outside the water tank, which is configured to be fitted to the upper end edge of the peripheral wall of the water tank, and a fitting portion having an inner piece and the inner piece of the fitting portion projecting toward the inside of the water tank. A flange member for an aquarium provided with a flange integrally formed with the aquarium.
Composed of elastic and flexible material,
In the natural state, the outer piece is arranged in an inclined manner so as to be located on the inner piece side as it goes downward.
The outer piece is formed in a bent shape in which the lower half is arranged so as to bend downward with respect to the upper half.
In the fitting portion fitted to the upper end edge of the water tank peripheral wall, the lower half of the outer piece is in contact with the outer surface of the water tank peripheral wall, and the upper side of the upper half is the water tank, depending on the plate thickness of the water tank peripheral wall. Either a form in which the outer piece is arranged away from the peripheral wall or a form in which the bent portion of the outer piece is in contact with the outer surface of the aquarium peripheral wall and the lower side of the lower half portion is arranged away from the aquarium peripheral wall. A flange member for an aquarium, characterized in that it is configured to be attached to the peripheral wall of the aquarium even if it is in the form.

[2] The flange member for an aquarium according to item 1 above, wherein a flange-side convex portion is integrally formed on the upper surface of the flange so as to extend continuously in the length direction of the flange member.

[3] The above item 1 or 2 in which an inner one-sided convex portion is integrally formed at the lower end of the inner piece of the fitting portion facing the water tank peripheral wall so as to extend continuously in the length direction of the flange member. The flange member for aquarium described in.

According to the aquarium flange member of the invention [1], when the fitting portion is fitted into a water tank having a thin plate thickness, the lower half of the outer piece is attached in contact with the peripheral wall of the water tank, and the outer piece is attached. Can be securely attached to the aquarium peripheral wall because it comes into contact with the aquarium peripheral wall in a wide range. Therefore, although the contact area of the outer piece with respect to the water tank peripheral wall is narrowed, the gap in the fitting portion is small and the elastic restoring force is large due to the thick plate thickness, so that the outer piece can be reliably attached to the water tank peripheral wall. As described above, according to the flange member for aquarium of the present invention, it can be reliably attached to any aquarium having a different plate thickness, and versatility can be improved.

According to the flange member for a water tank of the invention [2], since the convex portion is formed on the upper surface of the flange, the convex portion is brought into close contact with the upper lid 95 to prevent water droplets and the like adhering to the back surface of the upper lid 95. It is possible to prevent water from leaking out of the water tank through the gap between the upper lid and the flange due to the capillary phenomenon.

According to the flange member for the water tank of the invention [3], since the convex portion is formed on the inner surface of the inner piece in the fitting portion, the convex portion is in close contact with the peripheral wall of the water tank, so that the water in the water tank is released. It is possible to prevent leakage to the outside of the aquarium through the gap between the inner piece and the peripheral wall of the aquarium due to the capillary phenomenon.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a flange member for an aquarium according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the flange member of the embodiment in a natural state. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the flange member of the embodiment is attached to a water tank having a plate thickness of 4 mm. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the flange member of the embodiment is attached to a water tank having a plate thickness of 5 mm. FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the flange member of the embodiment is attached to a water tank having a plate thickness of 6 mm. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which a high load is applied to the flange member of FIG. 3A. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a conventional flange member is attached to a water tank. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a conventional flange member corresponding to a plate thickness of 6 mm is attached to a water tank having a plate thickness of 4 mm.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a water tank flange member 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a water tank flange member 1 according to an embodiment, and FIGS. 3A to 3C are a water tank flange member according to the present embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which 1 is attached to each of the water tanks of different plate thicknesses.

As shown in these figures, the water tank flange member 1 in the present embodiment is configured as a flanged upper frame member attached along the peripheral wall 9 of the water tank. The flange member 1 is made of a soft synthetic resin such as a soft vinyl chloride resin having a fitting portion 2 fitted to the upper end edge of a water tank peripheral wall 9 made of glass or the like and a flange 10 formed on the fitting portion 2. It is composed of integrally molded products.

The fitting portion 2 is formed in a groove shape (substantially U-shaped in cross section) that is open downward, and is an inner piece that is arranged along the inner surface of the water tank peripheral wall 9 in a state of being fitted into the water tank peripheral wall 9. 3 is provided with an outer piece 4 arranged along the outer surface of the water tank peripheral wall 9, and a connecting piece 5 for connecting the upper ends between the side pieces 3 and 4. In the cross-sectional view in the natural state shown in FIG. 2, the inner piece 3 is arranged at right angles to the connecting piece 5, in other words, the connecting piece 5 is arranged horizontally and the inner piece 3 is arranged vertically. It is configured in.

The outer piece 4 is not perpendicular to the connecting piece 5, but is inclined inward as compared with the vertical posture, and is arranged so as to gradually approach the inner piece 3 side from the upper end position to the lower end position. Further, the outer piece 4 is divided into an upper half portion 41 and a lower half portion 42 in a substantially middle portion thereof, and the upper half portion 41 is formed so as to bend downward with respect to the lower half portion 42. It is formed in a bent shape like a "". In the present embodiment, the bent portion (intermediate portion) between the upper half portion 41 and the lower half portion 42 of the outer piece 4 is configured as the bent portion 43.

In the present embodiment, the bent portion 43 corresponds to the lower end position of the upper half portion 41 or the upper end position of the lower half portion 42. Further, in the present embodiment, when the periphery of the bent portion 43 is referred to, the lower end portion of the upper half portion 41 and the upper end portion of the lower half portion 42 are also included.

Here, in the present embodiment, in the cross-sectional view in the natural state shown in FIG. 2, the bending angle (inner angle) θ1 of the upper half 41 of the outer piece 4 with respect to the connecting piece 5 is set to 55 °. Further, in the outer piece 4, the bending angle (outer angle) θ2 of the lower half portion 42 with respect to the upper half portion 41 is set to 20 °.

In the present embodiment, the bending angle θ1 of the outer piece 4 is preferably set in the range of 50 ° to 60 °, and the bending angle θ2 of the lower half 42 is set in the range of 20 ° to 25 °. Is preferable. That is, when the bending angles θ1 and θ2 are set in the above specific range, the flange member 1 (fitting portion 2) is surely placed in any frameless aquarium regardless of the thickness of the peripheral wall 9 as described later. The water tank top lid 95 can be supported in a stable state.

Further, in the present embodiment, the total sum of the bending angle θ1 of the outer piece 4 and the bending angle θ2 of the lower half 42 is set to be smaller than the right angle (90 °). As a result, the lower half portion 42 is inclined more steeply than the upper half portion 41, but both the upper half portion 41 and the lower half portion 42 are inclined so as to gradually approach the inner piece 3 side from the upper end position to the lower end position. Is arranged.

Further, in the present embodiment, the upper end position (innermost portion) of the fitting grooves 21 formed between the inner piece 3 and the outer piece 4 has the widest groove width, which is set to about 6.6 mm in the present embodiment. ing. The dimension of the maximum width portion is set to be slightly larger than the plate thickness of the 6 mm thick water tank having the largest plate thickness. Therefore, the peripheral wall 9 of the water tank having a plate thickness of 6 mm can be fitted into the fitting groove 21 of the fitting portion 2.

Further, the groove width at the position of the bent portion 43 of the fitting groove 21 of the fitting portion 2 is, in other words, the groove width at the lower end position of the upper half portion 41 of the fitting groove of the fitting portion 2 is the plate thickness. Is set to be smaller than the plate thickness of a narrow 4 mm thick water tank. In the present embodiment, the groove width at the position of the bent portion 43 of the fitting groove 21 is set to 3.7 mm.

Needless to say, in the present embodiment, the lower end position (opening) of the fitting groove 21 of the fitting portion 2 is formed so as to have the narrowest groove width.

In the present embodiment, the lower end portion of the inner surface (opposite surface of the outer piece 4) of the inner piece 3 of the fitting portion 2 is a convex portion on one inner side so as to extend continuously in the length direction of the flange member 1. 36 are integrally formed. Further, a contact edge portion 46 extending continuously in the length direction of the flange member 1 is integrally formed on the lower end edge of the outer piece 4 of the fitting portion 2 so as to project toward the inner piece 3.

Further, in the present embodiment, the wall thickness of the inner piece 3 in the fitting portion 2 is formed to be thick as a whole, and is configured to obtain a sufficient elastic repulsive force (restoring force).

The flange 10 is integrally formed on the outer surface of the inner piece 3 of the fitting portion 2 so as to project toward the inside of the water tank. The protrusion amount of the flange 10 is set as long as 30 mm, so that it is possible to reduce the jumping out of fish and the scattering of water.

Further, on the upper surface of the flange 10, a flange-side convex strip 16 is integrally formed so as to extend continuously in the length direction of the flange member 1. A plurality of the flange-side convex portions 16 are formed in parallel arrangement at appropriate intervals in the protruding direction of the flange 10.

As described above, the flange member 1 of the present embodiment having the above shape is made of a soft material such as a soft synthetic resin, and specifically, the hardness is set to 90 degrees. In this embodiment, the hardness is preferably set to 80 to 90 degrees. Here, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 above, the conventional general flange member uses a rigid plastic integrally molded product, and the flange member 1 of the present embodiment is compared with the conventional flange member. It can be seen that it is highly soft.

In the present embodiment, by setting the hardness of the flange member 1 within the above-mentioned specific range, the flange member 1 (fitting portion 2) can be placed in any water tank regardless of the thickness of the peripheral wall 9 as described later. Can be securely attached, and the water tank upper lid 95 can be supported in a stable state.

On the other hand, the flange member 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be mountable on each of three types of water tanks having different thicknesses of glass plates as the peripheral wall 9. Specifically, it can be mounted in a water tank having a plate thickness of 4 mm as shown in FIG. 3A, a water tank having a plate thickness of 5 mm as shown in FIG. 3B, and a water tank having a plate thickness of 6 mm as shown in FIG. 3C.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the flange member 1 of the present embodiment is mounted in a water tank having a plate thickness of 4 mm, the inner piece 3 and the outer piece 4 in the fitting portion 2 of the flange member 1 resist the elastic restoring force. The fitting portion 2 is fitted into the upper end edge of the water tank peripheral wall 9 so that the upper end edge of the water tank peripheral wall 9 is accommodated in the fitting groove 21 while being deformed so as to open on both sides. In this fitted state, the inner piece 3 of the fitting portion 2 is arranged so as to come into surface contact with the outer surface of the water tank peripheral wall 9 due to the elastic restoring force, and the connecting piece 5 comes into surface contact with the upper end surface of the water tank peripheral wall 9. It is arranged like this. Further, among the outer pieces 4 of the fitting portion 2, the lower half portion 42 is arranged so as to be in surface contact with the outer surface of the water tank peripheral wall 9, and at least the upper side of the upper half portion 41 is separated from the outer surface of the water tank peripheral wall 9. It is arranged to do.

In this state, the lower half 42 of the outer piece 4 contacts the water tank peripheral wall 9 in a wide range, and the water tank peripheral wall 9 is sandwiched between the outer piece 4 and the inner piece 3 that come into contact with the water tank peripheral wall 9 in a wide range. The portion 2 is securely attached to the water tank peripheral wall 9 with sufficient holding force without rattling or the like. Therefore, when the upper lid 95 of the water tank is placed on the flange 10 of the flange member 1, it is possible to reliably prevent the flange member 1 from being distorted and deformed by the load of the upper lid 95 or the like. Therefore, the flange member 1 can support the upper lid 95 in a stable state, and it is possible to reliably prevent problems such as misalignment of the upper lid 95 and inability to install the upper lid 95.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the flange member 1 of the present embodiment is mounted in a water tank having a plate thickness of 5 mm, the fitting portion 2 of the flange member 1 is elastically deformed in the fitting groove 21 in the same manner as described above. The fitting portion 2 is fitted into the upper end edge of the water tank peripheral wall 9 so that the upper end edge of the water tank peripheral wall 9 is accommodated. In this fitted state, the inner piece 3 of the fitting portion 2 is in surface contact with the water tank peripheral wall 9, while the outer piece 4 is in contact with the water tank peripheral wall 9 only around the bent portion 43, and at least the upper half portion 41 is in contact with the outer piece 4. At least the lower portion of the upper side and the lower half portion 42 is separated from the water tank peripheral wall 9. In this state, the contact area of the outer piece 4 with respect to the water tank peripheral wall 9 is small, but since the plate thickness of the water tank peripheral wall 9 is thick, the gap in the fitting groove 21, particularly the water tank peripheral wall 9 and the upper half 41 of the outer piece 4 Since the gap between the two is narrowed and the thickness of the peripheral wall 9 is thick, the elastic restoring force of the outer piece 4 is also large, and the periphery of the bent portion 43 of the outer piece 4 is in close contact with the peripheral wall 9 with a strong force. Therefore, the fitting portion 2 can be securely attached to the water tank peripheral wall 9 with sufficient holding force without rattling, and when the water tank upper lid 95 is placed on the flange 10 of the flange member 1, the flange member 1 is distorted and deformed. Etc. can be reliably prevented. Therefore, the flange member 1 can support the upper lid 95 in a stable state, and it is possible to reliably prevent problems such as misalignment of the upper lid 95.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the flange member 1 of the present embodiment is mounted in a water tank having a plate thickness of 6 mm, the bent portion 43 of the outer piece 4 is in a state where the fitting portion 2 is fitted in the water tank peripheral wall 9. The periphery of the water tank peripheral wall 9 is in contact with the water tank peripheral wall 9, and the upper end portion of the upper half portion 41 and the lower portion of the lower half portion 42 are separated from the water tank peripheral wall. In this state, the gap between the water tank peripheral wall 9 and the upper half 41 of the outer piece 4 is narrower due to the thicker plate thickness of the water tank peripheral wall 9 as compared with the case where it is mounted in a 5 mm thick water tank. In addition, the elastic restoring force of the outer piece 4 is also large. Therefore, the fitting portion 2 can be more reliably attached to the peripheral wall 9 of the water tank, and when the upper lid 95 of the water tank is placed on the flange 10 of the flange member 1, distortion and deformation of the flange member 1 can be reliably prevented. The flange member 1 can support the upper lid 95 in a stable state.

In the present embodiment, when the flange member 1 is mounted in a water tank having a thickness of 6 mm, a small gap is formed between the water tank peripheral wall 9 and the upper side of the upper half 41 of the outer piece 4 as shown in FIG. 3C. However, it is possible to almost eliminate this gap. That is, in the present embodiment, by setting the groove width of the fitting groove 21 of the flange member 1 to about 6 mm or slightly larger than that, when the flange member 1 is mounted in a water tank having a thickness of 6 mm, It is also possible to configure the outer piece 4 so that almost the entire upper half portion 41 is in contact with the water tank peripheral wall 9.

As described above, since the flange member 1 of the present embodiment can be reliably attached to any water tank having a thickness of 4 mm, 5 mm, or 6 mm, it can be reliably attached to any water tank regardless of the plate thickness. It can be attached to and can improve versatility. Therefore, for example, when the user purchases the flange member, if the flange member 1 of the present embodiment is selected, the user can purchase the flange member without worrying about the type of water tank such as the plate thickness, and as in the conventional case. In addition, since it is possible to prevent mistakes in attaching flange members due to differences in plate thickness, it is not complicated for the user and the commercial value can be significantly improved.

Further, in the flange member 1 of the present embodiment, the convex portion 36 is formed on the inner surface of the inner piece 3 in the fitting portion 2 so that the convex portion 36 is brought into close contact with the peripheral wall 9 of the water tank. It is possible to prevent the water inside from leaking out of the water tank through the gap between the inner piece 3 and the water tank peripheral wall 9 due to the capillary phenomenon.

Further, in the flange member 1 of the present embodiment, since the convex portion 16 is formed on the upper surface of the flange 10 so that the convex portion 16 is brought into close contact with the upper lid 95, the convex portion 16 is formed on the lower surface (back surface) of the upper lid 95. It is possible to prevent the adhering water droplets from leaking out of the water tank through the gap between the upper lid 95 and the flange 10 due to the capillary phenomenon.

Further, since the flange member 1 of the present embodiment is made of a soft synthetic resin, it can be easily cut and the length can be easily adjusted.

By the way, in the flange member 1 of the present embodiment, when the flange member 1 is mounted in a water tank having a thin plate thickness of 4 mm, the gap in the fitting groove 21 is the largest, so that an excessively large load is applied downward to the flange 10 and the like. In that case, there is a concern that the water tank peripheral wall 9 may fall out. However, the flange member 1 of the present embodiment can surely prevent this falling off. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the flange member 1 of the present embodiment is mounted in a water tank having a thickness of 4 mm and a large load F is applied to the flange 10, the flange member 1 rotates slightly inward as a whole and is inward. It becomes a state of leaning to. Here, in the present embodiment, since the outer piece 4 of the fitting portion 2 of the flange member 1 is arranged so as to bend inward, when the flange member 1 is tilted inward due to a high load F, the outer piece 4 is above the outer piece 4. The half portion 41 is in close contact with the water tank peripheral wall 9 in a surface contact state and engages with the water tank peripheral wall 9. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the flange member 1 from being excessively tilted inward, and it is possible to reliably prevent the flange member 1 from falling off from the water tank peripheral wall 9.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the load F is removed in a state where the flange member 1 is tilted inward by a large load F, the elastic restoring force of the inner piece 3 automatically returns to the normal state shown in FIG. 3A. As a result, the flange 10 of the flange member 1 returns to the horizontal posture, and as described above, the flange 10 can reliably support the upper lid 95 in a stable state.

The flange member of the present invention may be attached to the entire circumference of the water tank peripheral wall, or may be attached to a part of the water tank peripheral wall. For example, the flange member may be attached only to the front and rear walls of the water tank peripheral wall, or may be attached only to both side walls.

The flange member for an aquarium of the present invention can be used when attaching an upper lid to an aquarium for viewing while breeding and cultivating aquatic organisms such as ornamental fish and aquatic plants in a general household or the like.

1: Flange member 10: Flange 16: Flange side convex portion 2: Fitting portion 3: Inner piece 36: Inner one side convex portion 4: Outer piece 41: Upper half portion 42: Lower half portion 43: Bent portion 9 : Peripheral wall 95: Top lid

Claims (3)

A fitting portion having an inner piece and an outer piece arranged inside and outside the water tank, which is configured to be fitted to the upper end edge of the water tank peripheral wall, and a fitting portion so as to project toward the inside of the water tank to the inner piece of the fitting portion. A flange member for an aquarium provided with a flange integrally formed.
Composed of elastic and flexible material,
In the natural state, the outer piece is arranged in an inclined manner so as to be located on the inner piece side as it goes downward.
The outer piece is formed in a bent shape in which the lower half is arranged so as to bend downward with respect to the upper half.
In the fitting portion fitted to the upper end edge of the water tank peripheral wall, the lower half of the outer piece is in contact with the outer surface of the water tank peripheral wall, and the upper side of the upper half is the water tank, depending on the plate thickness of the water tank peripheral wall. Either a form in which the outer piece is arranged away from the peripheral wall or a form in which the bent portion of the outer piece is in contact with the outer surface of the aquarium peripheral wall and the lower side of the lower half portion is arranged away from the aquarium peripheral wall. A flange member for an aquarium, characterized in that it is configured to be attached to the peripheral wall of the aquarium even if it is in the form. The flange member for an aquarium according to claim 1, wherein a flange-side convex portion is integrally formed on the upper surface of the flange so as to extend continuously in the length direction of the flange member. The invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an inner ridge portion is integrally formed at the lower end portion of the inner piece of the fitting portion facing the water tank peripheral wall so as to extend continuously in the length direction of the flange member. Flange member for aquarium.

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