JP7530164B2 - Suspension wire protection cover - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a suspension line protection cover that is attached to the hanger hook on a suspension line in order to suspend a contact wire from the suspension line via a hanger hook on a train track.

Conventionally, a suspension line protection cover is constructed by assembling a pair of divided bodies, each of which has a semi-cylindrical portion divided in two along the axial direction, a flange portion at one end of the semi-cylindrical portion, and an engaging protrusion portion that protrudes radially from the other end and can be fitted into the engaging recess of the flange, in a spool-like manner around the suspension line by engaging the divided bodies alternately in the axial direction of the semi-cylindrical portion (Patent Document 1). The pair of divided bodies is fixed in place by engaging a stopper between the flange portion and the engaging protrusion portion. The stopper is elastically contracted and deformed to pass through the through hole of the flange portion and engage with the engaging recess of the engaging protrusion portion, while when the tip portion comes out of the through hole, it returns to its original shape to prevent it from coming out of the through hole.

JP 2019-43537 A

In the above-mentioned conventional suspension line protective cover, even if the assembly of the pair of segments is incomplete and the fitting recess and fitting protrusion are misaligned in the axial direction, the stopper can be positioned in the correct engagement position, making it difficult to recognize improper attachment to the suspension line and risking the cover falling off due to vibrations during train operation. Since attachment to the suspension line is done at night outside of operating hours, in poor visibility conditions such as when it is dark to the touch, the semi-cylindrical portion and the stopper are the same dark color, which makes it difficult to distinguish, making it even more difficult to recognize improper assembly of the segments.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a suspension wire protection cover that prevents the risk of improper installation due to improper assembly of the divided bodies.

In the present invention, a pair of divided bodies 2, 2 each having a semi-cylindrical portion 3 divided in two along the axial direction, a flange portion 4 at one end of the semi-cylindrical portion 3, and a fitting protrusion 5 that protrudes radially from the other end and can be fitted into the fitting recess 8 of the flange portion 4 are alternately engaged in the axial direction of the semi-cylindrical portion 3 to form a suspension line protection cover that is assembled around the suspension line in the form of a spool. The flange portion 4 and the fitting protrusion 5 are engaged with a stopper 11 to prevent the two divided bodies from being separated. The flange portion 4 has a through hole 9a that opens in the direction of alignment with the fitting protrusion 5 and through which the stopper 11 is inserted. The fitting protrusion 5 has an engagement portion 10 that engages with the stopper 11 inserted into the through hole 9a to prevent relative axial movement between the flange portion 4 and the fitting protrusion 5. The stopper 11 is elastically contracted and deformed to pass through the through hole 9a, which is narrower than its original shape, and has a locking protrusion 13b that protrudes to the side to prevent it from falling out of the through hole 9a by returning to its original shape when the tip comes out. The engagement portion 10 of the fitting protrusion 5 is inserted into the through hole 9a and engages with the stopper 11 in the stop position to prevent relative movement in the axial direction between the flange portion 4 and the fitting protrusion 5, while preventing the stopper 11 from entering the engagement position when the flange portion 4 and the fitting protrusion 5 are in an incompletely fitted state that is shifted in the axial direction.

In the present invention, if the assembly of the pair of semi-cylindrical portions is incomplete and the mating recess and the mating protrusion are misaligned in the axial direction, the stopper will be prevented from entering the mating position by the engaging portion of the mating recess and will not be able to engage, and since there is no clicking sound caused by the stopper engaging with the engaging portion at the anti-slip position relative to the through hole, it is possible to recognize abnormal installation of the suspension line protection cover on the suspension line and it can be securely attached to the suspension line.
Furthermore, if the stopper is made bright enough to be distinguishable from the two separate bodies in a dark place, it will be easily visible even when the work of attaching it to the suspension line is carried out in a dark environment, the positional relationship of the stopper to the semi-cylindrical portion will be clear, and the engagement operation can be performed reliably, thereby enabling it to be attached to the suspension line more reliably.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the suspension wire protection cover according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the suspension wire protection cover of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a rear view of the suspension wire protection cover of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a plan view of the suspension wire protection cover of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a side view of the suspension wire protection cover of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the suspension wire protection cover of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the suspension wire protection cover of FIG. 1 in a state before the stopper is engaged. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the suspension wire protection cover in FIG. 1 in an engaged state. 2A is a front view of the suspension line protection cover of FIG. 1 , in which (A) shows a state in which the stopper is removed, (B) shows a state in which the stopper is in a retaining position, and (C) shows a state in which the stopper is in a locked position. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views of the suspension wire protection cover of FIG. 1, in which FIG. 2A shows an engaged state of the stopper, and FIG. 2B shows a state in which the stopper is inhibited from engaging.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5, the suspension line protection cover 1 is in the shape of a spool with flanges on both ends of a cylindrical portion. As shown in Fig. 6, the suspension line protection cover 1 is configured by splitting the cylindrical portion into two along the axial direction, and assembling a pair of synthetic resin split bodies 2, 2 each having a flange 4 on one end in a staggered manner so that the flanges 4 are located at both ends.

The divided body 2 comprises a semi-cylindrical section 3 obtained by dividing the cylindrical section of the suspension wire protection cover 1 in half along the axis, a flange section 4 that extends radially from one end of the semi-cylindrical section 3, and a mating protrusion section 5 that extends perpendicular to the axis from the other end of the semi-cylindrical section 3. The side edge of the semi-cylindrical section 3 is provided with an axial groove 6 and a protrusion 7 that can slide and engage when the two sections are assembled together. The flange section 4 is provided with a mating recess section 8 in which the mating protrusion section 5 fits, at the center of the arc-shaped side surface of the semi-cylindrical section 3 on the opposite side of the axis. The semi-cylindrical section 3 has an arc-shaped projection 3a that abuts against the flange section 4 of the other divided body 2 to position it.

The outer surfaces of the flange 4 and the mating protrusion 5 are provided with a through-holding portion 9 and an engaging portion 10 that are joined via a stopper 11 that protrudes outward. The through-holding portion 9 is provided with a rectangular through-hole 9a that opens toward the engaging portion 10 in a direction perpendicular to the axis. The engaging portion 10 is in the form of a plate extending in the axial direction. The side of the engaging portion 10 facing the through-holding portion 9 is provided with a notch 10a that faces the opposite side and is formed by the outer surface of the mating protrusion 5 and a hook portion 10c that protrudes from the tip toward the through-holding portion 9, and a positioning recess 10b that is further recessed from the notch 10a toward the opposite side.

The stopper 11 is made of an elastic synthetic resin material with a generally M-shaped cross section that is clearly distinguishable from the divided body 2 by visual inspection, and has a white color that is different from the black divided body 2. The stopper 11 is equipped with a rectangular base 12 with chamfered upper and lower corners at the rear, a pair of legs 13 that extend forward from both the upper and lower sides of the tip surface of the base 12 and are folded back vertically, facing each other vertically across the base 12, and each extend to the rear of the base 12, and a positioning protrusion 14 that protrudes forward from between the legs 13, 13 of the base 12. The legs 13 are plate-shaped and elastically deformable vertically so that their front ends and rear ends can approach each other, and can be inserted into a through hole 9a that is narrower than the vertical width. The upper and lower outer surfaces of the front end and middle part of the leg 13 have a retaining projection 13a and a locking projection 13b that return to their original shape when passing through the through hole 9a of the through-holding part 9 to prevent it from slipping out of the opening edge of the outlet side of the through hole 9a. Both projections 13a, 13b are wedge-shaped so that the front side in the insertion direction is smoothly inserted into the through hole 9a and the rear side is hooked on the opening edge of the through hole 9a. The retaining projection 13a holds the stopper 11 on the through-holding part 9 and can be assembled integrally with the divided body 2 to prevent it from being lost. The locking projection 13b presses the stopper 11 into the through hole 9a and prevents the stopper 11 from slipping out at the engagement position where the hook portion 10c reaches the side surface of the base 12. The positioning protrusion 14 takes the stopper 11 inserted into the through hole 9a and enters the engagement recess 10b of the engagement part 10 to position it in the engagement position, but in a state of insufficient engagement where there is axial misalignment between the flange part 4 and the engagement protrusion 5 due to incomplete assembly of the semi-cylindrical parts 3, 3, the hook part 10c prevents the stopper 11 from entering the engagement position, preventing the split bodies 2, 2 from being fixed.

To attach this suspension line protection cover 1 to the suspension line, as shown in Fig. 6, the semi-cylindrical parts 3 of the pair of divisional bodies 2, 2 are alternately arranged in the axial direction with the suspension line sandwiched therebetween, and the grooves 6 and the protrusions 7 are slidably engaged to fit the fitting protrusions 5 into the fitting recesses 8 of the flange 4. Next, as shown in Fig. 9, the stopper 11 is inserted into the through hole 9a of the fixed part 9 in the assembled state of the pair of divisional bodies 2, 2. The stopper 11 may be passed through the through hole 9a of the fixed part 9 in advance and assembled as one body, as shown in Fig. 7. If the rear ends of both legs 13 of the stopper 11 are pinched vertically and the tip is pushed into the through hole 9a, the tip is reduced vertically and can be inserted into the through hole 9a. When the retaining projections 13a of the stopper 11 come out of the through hole 9a, the stopper 11 returns to its original shape and expands beyond the opening on the outlet side of the through hole 9a, so that it is caught by the edge and prevented from coming off, and is held by the fixed part 9. When the stopper 11 is further pushed into the through-hole 9a, it is deformed and reduced in the width direction so that the distance between the legs 13, 13 narrows, and when the locking projection 13b passes through the through-hole 9a, it returns to its original shape and expands beyond the opening of the through-hole 9a, so that it is hooked on the edge and prevented from falling out. In this state, as shown in Figures 8 and 10(A), the base 12 of the stopper 11 enters into the notch 10a of the engagement portion 10, and the positioning projection 14 enters into and engages with the positioning recess 10b, and at this engaged position the hook portion 10c reaches the side surface of the base 12, preventing the axial movement of the flange portion 4 and the fitting projection 5, thereby fixing the divided bodies 2, 2. If, as shown in Figure 10 (B), when the semi-cylindrical portions 3, 3 are assembled, the flange portion 4 and the mating protrusion 5 are misaligned in the axial direction and are in an insufficient fit, even if the stopper 11 is pushed into the through hole 9a, the positioning protrusion 14 will be prevented from entering the positioning recess 10b, and improper installation can be confirmed by the fact that no clicking sound is heard when the locking projection 13b of the stopper 11 passes through the through hole 9a.
On the other hand, to remove the suspension line protective cover 1 from the suspension line, the rear ends of both legs 13 of the stopper 11 are pinched sideways to shrink and deform it in the width direction while pulling it out of the through hole 9a, and when the locking projection 13b comes out of the entrance opening, the stopper 11 disengages from the notch 10a of the engagement portion 10, and the divided bodies 2, 2 can be slid in the axial direction to separate them. If the stopper 11 is attached to the fixing portion 9 of one of the divided bodies 2, it can be prevented from being lost.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1: Suspension wire protection cover 2: Division 3: Semi-cylindrical portion 3a: Arc-shaped projection 4: Flange portion 5: Fitting projection 6: Groove 7: Protrusion 8: Fitting recess 9: Penetration holding portion 9a: Through hole 10: Engagement portion 10a: Cutout portion 10b: Positioning recess 10c: Hanging portion 11: Stopper 12: Base portion 13: Leg portion 13a: Holding projection 13b: Lock projection 14: Positioning projection

Claims (2)

A suspension line protective cover comprising a pair of divided bodies, each of which has a semi-cylindrical portion divided into two along the axial direction, a flange portion at one end of the semi-cylindrical portion, and a fitting protrusion portion protruding radially from the other end and capable of fitting into a fitting recess of the flange portion, the two divided bodies being assembled in a spool-like shape around the suspension line by alternately engaging the two divided bodies in the axial direction of the semi-cylindrical portion, and the two divided bodies being fixed in place in the axial direction by a stopper that engages with the flange portion and the fitting protrusion portion at the fitting position between them,
the flange portion includes a through hole that opens in a direction aligned with the fitting protrusion portion and through which the stopper is inserted,
the stopper is elastically contracted and deformed to pass through the through hole having a narrower width than the original shape, and has a locking projection that protrudes laterally so as to return to its original shape when the tip portion is pulled out and engage with the opening edge on the outlet side of the through hole to prevent it from coming out;
the fitting protrusion includes an engagement portion that engages with the stopper at a retaining position through the through hole in a fitted state with the flange portion to prevent relative movement in the axial direction between the flange portion and the fitting protrusion, and a notch portion that receives the stopper at a portion of the engagement portion facing the penetration direction of the stopper at the retaining position through the through hole in a fitted state with the flange portion to prevent relative movement in the axial direction,
the stopper comprises a base portion that enters the notch portion, and a pair of legs that extend forward from both upper and lower sides of the tip of the base portion in the entry direction, are folded back rearward so as to be elastically contractible and deformable between each other , and each of the legs has a retaining protrusion and a locking protrusion that prevent the stopper from slipping out of the through hole on the way to the engagement position,
The base of the stopper includes a positioning protrusion protruding forward between the legs,
The engagement portion of the mating protrusion receives the positioning protrusion to position the stopper in the engagement position when the flange and the mating protrusion are in an engaged state, while the engagement portion is provided with a positioning recess that prevents the positioning protrusion from being received as the stopper enters the engagement position when there is an axial misalignment between the flange and the mating protrusion in an incompletely engaged state. The suspension line protection cover according to claim 1, characterized in that the semi-cylindrical portion and the stopper are colored in different, distinguishable intensities.

Images