JP7634835B2 - Gas valve mounting bracket - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mounting bracket for a gas valve, and in particular to a mounting bracket for a gas valve that, when attaching a gas valve with a flange plate connected to the end of a flexible pipe to a wall surface, is attached to the back surface of the wall plate and presses the wall plate between the flange plate that is attached to the front surface of the wall plate.

As a mounting bracket for mounting a gas cock (3) having a flange plate (30) at its base end to a wall surface, the following have been devised: those disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-36390 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-266366 (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
5 and 6, the conventional mounting fitting 300 is composed of an annular support plate 31 that can be fitted onto a joint 41 to be connected to an end of a flexible pipe 42 that is pulled out from an opening 40 formed in a wall panel 4 into a room and can be inserted into the opening 40, and a pair of backing plates 32a, 32b that are set in positions symmetrical about the center of the support plate 31, parallel to the support plate 31 and overlapping with each other, and the length between the tips of the backing plates 32a, 32b is set longer than the diameter of the opening 40. A leaf spring 33 is interposed between the backing plates 32a, 32b, and elastic deformation of the leaf spring 33 allows the backing plates 32a, 32b to swing in a direction in which the tips approach each other, as shown in FIG.

After the support plate (31) is inserted into the flexible pipe (42) pulled out from the opening (40) of the wall plate (4), the flexible pipe (42) is screwed to the pipe connection tube portion (35) of the gas valve (3) via the joint (41). Then, a pair of mounting screws (5) inserted into the flange plate (30) of the gas valve (3) are screwed into a pair of screw holes (34) provided in the support plate (31). With the flange plate (30) and the mounting bracket (300) thus connected via the mounting screws (5), the mounting bracket (300) is pushed into the back side of the wall plate (4) through the opening (40).
At this time, the backing plates 32a, 32b are swung until they are positioned at a substantially right angle to the support plate 31, and while maintaining that position, they are passed through the opening 40 together with the support plate 31. After insertion, the backing plates 32a, 32b return to their original position overlapping and parallel to the support plate 31 on the rear side of the wall plate 4 due to the elastic restoring force of the leaf spring 33, as shown in FIG.

In this state, when the flange plate (30) is attached to the surface of the wall plate (4) and the mounting screws (5) are tightened, the support plate (31) moves closer to the back surface of the wall plate (4) together with the backing plates (32a) and (32b) as it is tightened. When the mounting screws (5) are tightened until they reach their final tightening state, the gas valve (3) is attached to the wall plate (4) in such a way that the flange plate (30) and the backing plates (32a) and (32b) clamp the periphery of the opening (40) of the wall plate (4) from the front and back.

Publication No. 6-36390 JP 2006-266366 A

However, in the conventional mounting fixture (300) described above, in order to insert the mounting fixture (300) into the opening (40) in the wall panel (4), the backing plates (32a) and (32b) must be swung until they are approximately perpendicular to the support plate (31), then inserted into the opening (40) while maintaining that position, and then returned to their original position after insertion. For this reason, a space is required behind the wall panel (4) that allows the backing plates (32a) and (32b) to be swung by approximately 90 degrees. In other words, if the space behind the wall panel (4) is narrow and the backing plates (32a) and (32b) cannot be swung by approximately 90 degrees, the conventional mounting fixture (300) cannot be used to attach the gas valve (3) to the wall panel (4).

The present invention was made in consideration of these points, and aims to provide a mounting fixture for a gas valve that can pass through an opening in a wall panel from the front side even when the space behind the wall panel is narrow, and that can be reliably attached around the opening on the back side of the wall panel after passing through.

The technical means of the present invention to solve the above problems is a mounting bracket for a gas valve to be attached to the periphery of an opening on the back surface of a wall panel,
a support plate that is connected to an end of the flexible pipe and can be fitted onto a joint that is connected to a gas valve equipped with a flange plate, the support plate having a screw hole into which a mounting screw inserted into a flange plate equipped on the gas valve can be screwed;
a backing plate that is pivotally supported by the support plate so as to be swingable in the radial direction of the opening, and has a surface on which the tip of the mounting screw that is screwed into the screw hole abuts, the surface having an inclined surface that descends toward the radially inner edge,
The plate can pass through the opening in a basic position where the plate is overlapped on the support plate,
When the inclined surface is pressed by the tip of the mounting screw as the mounting screw is tightened, the backing plate swings outward in the radial direction relative to the support plate, and a part of the backing plate is deformed into a protruding position protruding toward the periphery of the opening,
When the mounting screws are tightened to their final tightening position, the flange plate and the protruding portion of the backing plate in the protruding position can clamp the periphery of the opening in the wall plate from the front and back.

The above technical means operates as follows.
A joint is connected to a gas cock equipped with a flange plate. On the other hand, a flexible pipe located on the back side of the wall plate is pulled out into the room through an opening formed in the wall plate, and after a support plate equipped with a backing plate is attached, the end of the flexible pipe is connected to the joint. Then, the mounting screw inserted into the flange plate is screwed into a screw hole provided in the support plate, and in this state, the support plate together with the backing plate is pushed into the back side of the wall plate. At this time, by overlapping the backing plate on the support plate and setting it to a basic position, it is possible to easily pass through the opening. In addition, it is preferable that the length of the mounting screw is set so that a gap equal to or larger than the thickness of the wall plate is formed between the flange plate and the support plate, and that in the basic position, the tip of the mounting screw does not abut on the inclined surface of the backing plate.

Then, the flange plate of the gas valve is attached to the surface of the wall plate, and the mounting screw is tightened. As the mounting screw is tightened, the support plate is pulled to the back surface of the wall plate together with the backing plate, so that the tip of the mounting screw is firmly abutted against the inclined surface of the backing plate. Then, as the mounting screw is tightened in this state, the tip of the mounting screw presses against the inclined surface along the inclination, causing the backing plate to swing radially relative to the support plate and assume a protruding position that protrudes radially outward beyond the opening in the wall plate. The protruding portion is attached to the periphery of the opening on the back surface of the wall plate. In this state, if the mounting screw is tightened to the final tightening position, the wall plate can be clamped from the front and back between the flange plate attached to the gas valve and the protruding portion of the backing plate in the protruding position, and the gas valve can be fixed to the wall plate.

In the above-mentioned gas cock mounting fixture, preferably, "an initial position stopper is provided for the support plate to hold the backing plate in the basic position."
Since the initial position stopper can keep the position of the backing plate relative to the support plate in the basic position, there is no inconvenience that the backing plate will not be able to be inserted into the opening in the wall plate due to the backing plate accidentally swinging from the basic position to another position when the mounting screw inserted into the flange plate is screwed into the screw hole in the support plate, and the support plate can be reliably inserted into the opening in the wall plate together with the backing plate. Furthermore, by simply tightening the mounting screw, the tip of the mounting screw can be reliably brought into contact with the inclined surface of the backing plate and the backing plate can be swung into the overhanging position, which makes it easier to install the gas valve on the wall plate and improves workability.

In the above-mentioned gas cock mounting fixture, preferably, "a swing stopper is provided for holding the backing plate in the protruding position relative to the support plate."
By simply tightening the mounting screw, the tip of the mounting screw presses the inclined surface, causing the backing plate to swing, and when the backing plate is transformed into the extended position where the protruding portion can be attached to the back surface of the wall plate, the swing stopper holds the backing plate in that position, so that the backing plate can be easily transformed from the basic position to the extended position, and the gas valve can be attached reliably to the periphery of the opening on the back surface of the wall plate. In other words, unless the backing plate is in the extended position, the mounting screw cannot be tightened until it reaches the final tightening position, so there is no problem in that the gas valve is attached to the wall plate with the backing plate not fully oscillating relative to the support plate. This allows the gas valve to be installed safely and reliably.

In the above-mentioned gas valve mounting hardware, it is preferable that "in the basic position, the entire backing plate is overlapped on the support plate, and in the extended position, the inner edges of the swing base and swing end of the backing plate are set to overlap with the support plate."
The backing plate can be swung from the basic position to the overhanging position with almost no gap between it and the support plate, and even when it reaches the overhanging position, the swing base and swing end of the backing plate do not come completely off the support plate and become free, preventing the inconvenience of foreign matter getting caught between the support plate and the backing plate. Also, when the periphery of the opening of the wall plate is clamped from the front and back with the flange plate, the inner edges of the swing base and swing end of the backing plate are pressed against the periphery of the opening on the back surface of the wall plate by the support plate, so that even if the tightening force of the mounting screws is large, the backing plate can be firmly fixed to the back surface of the wall plate without deforming it.

In the above-mentioned gas cock mounting fixture, preferably, "the support plate is a generally annular body having a central hole that is smaller in diameter than the opening and can be fitted onto a joint that is connected to an end of a flexible pipe,
The backing plate is a pair of generally arc-shaped bodies, one end of which is pivotally supported at each position symmetrical with respect to the central hole of the support plate,
In the basic position, an outer edge of the backing plate is set to be located inside an outer edge of the support plate,
The support plate is provided with screw holes into which the mounting screws can be screwed at positions symmetrical with respect to the central hole.
Since a mounting bracket that can be securely attached to the back surface of a wall panel can be configured using one approximately arc-shaped support plate, two approximately arc-shaped backing plates, and two mounting screws, a mounting bracket with a simple component configuration and low cost can be provided.
Furthermore, in the basic position where two backing plates are stacked on one support plate, the outer edge of the backing plate is positioned more inward than the outer edge of the support plate, so that the mounting bracket in the basic position can be inserted through an opening provided in the wall panel without damaging the wall panel when inserted into the opening.
In addition, by tightening two mounting screws, the wall plate can be clamped from the front and back by the pair of backing plates and flange plate, so the gas valve can be stably attached.

By simply swinging the backing plate relative to the support plate in the radial direction of the opening, i.e. by swinging the backing plate along the wall plate, it can be transformed from the basic position to a protruding position and attached to the periphery of the opening on the back side of the wall plate, so the back side of the wall plate only needs to have the thickness of the backing plate and support plate stacked together, and no extra space is required within the wall. Therefore, even if the back side of the wall plate is narrow, the mounting bracket can be easily and reliably attached to the back side of the wall plate, and the gas valve can be attached to the wall plate by clamping the wall plate with the flange plate attached to the front side. In addition, the transformation from the basic position to the protruding position is possible simply by tightening the mounting screw from the front side of the wall plate, which improves the usability of the mounting bracket and makes it easier to attach the gas valve to the wall plate.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing how a gas cock is attached using a mounting bracket for the gas cock according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the protruding position of a mounting fixture for a gas cock according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the protruding position of a mounting fixture for a gas cock according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the basic posture of the mounting fixture for the gas cock according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a process for installing a gas valve using a conventional gas valve mounting bracket. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the back side of a wall plate of a gas valve mounting bracket using a conventional gas valve mounting bracket.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, as shown in Fig. 1, the flange plate (30) is fitted onto the pipe connection tube (35) of the gas valve (3). The mounting screws (5) are inserted from the front side at positions symmetrical on the left and right sides of the center of the flange plate (30), and the joint (41) is screwed into the pipe connection tube (35). The flexible pipe (42) is pulled out into the room from the opening (40) formed in the wall panel (4), and the mounting bracket (100) is inserted therethrough, and the end portion is connected to the joint (41). As a result, the gas valve (3) is connected to the end portion of the flexible pipe (42) via the joint (41), and the mounting bracket (100) is fitted onto the flexible pipe (42).
The mounting fixture (100) is composed of an annular support plate (1) and a pair of approximately arc-shaped backing plates (2a) and (2b) that are attached to the support plate (1) at opposing positions.

First, the support plate (1) will be described.
2 and 3, the support plate (1) is formed into an annular body by connecting the left and right ends of a pair of arc-shaped portions (11) positioned above and below in the drawings with raised portions (12) raised to a predetermined height from the arc-shaped portions (11), and a joint (41) can be inserted into a central hole (10) formed by the inner peripheral edges of the arc-shaped portions (11) and the raised portions (12). The raised portions (12) are provided with protruding pieces (14) that protrude outward from a pair of legs (13) that are continuous with the arc-shaped portions (11) so that their outer peripheral edges form an arc with the same diameter as the outer peripheral edge of the arc-shaped portions (11), and a screw hole (15) is formed in the center of the protruding pieces (14) into which the above-mentioned mounting screws (5) are screwed.
Further, shaft screws (50a) and (50b) that pivotally support one end of each of the pair of backing plates (2a) and (2b) so as to be swingable are provided near one end of the arc-shaped portion (11) and at positions symmetrical with respect to the central hole (10).

Next, the backing plates 2a and 2b will be described.
The backing plates (2a) and (2b) are generally arc-shaped bodies that are journalled near one end of each of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) by shaft screws (50a) and (50b) so as to be swingable in the radial direction relative to the support plate (1). As shown in FIG. 4, in the basic position in which the backing plates (2a) and (2b) are entirely overlapped on the support plate (1), the outer periphery of the mounting bracket (100) formed by the support plate (1) and the backing plates (2a) and (2b) is set to have a smaller diameter than the opening (40) formed in the wall plate (4).
In addition, the inner peripheral edge of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) at a location corresponding to the raised portion (12) provided on the support plate (1) is cut out in a rectangular shape so as to surround the pair of legs (13) to form a rectangular cutout portion (23), and the central portion of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) corresponding to the protruding piece (14) is recessed in the direction in which the mounting screws (5) are tightened to form an inclined surface (20) that descends toward the inner peripheral edge.

As described above, the mounting bracket (100) is formed by attaching a pair of backing plates (2a) and (2b) to the surface of the support plate (1) with the axial screws (50a) and (50b). In the basic position shown in FIG. 4, only the inclined surface (20) of the pair of backing plates (2a) and (2b) is located a predetermined distance behind the raised portion (12) of the support plate (1).

In addition, in the above basic position, the inner end faces of the rectangular cutouts (23) on the inner edges of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) are set to abut against the outer end faces of the legs (13) constituting the raised portion (12) of the support plate (1) and are held in that position. In other words, the outer end faces of the legs (13) function as initial position stoppers that determine the initial positions of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) in the basic position, and the mounting bracket (100) is held in the basic position shown in Figure 4, and inadvertent rocking of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) is restricted.

To attach the gas valve (3) to the wall plate (4) using this mounting bracket (100), as shown in FIG. 1, the mounting screw (5) inserted from the front side into the flange plate (30) of the gas valve (3) is screwed into the screw hole (15) formed in the protruding piece (14) located on the left and right in the drawing of the support plate (1) of the mounting bracket (100) with the flexible pipe (42) inserted into the central hole (10). At this time, the mounting bracket (100) is held in a basic position in which the inner end surface of the rectangular cutout portion (23) of the backing plate (2a) (2b) abuts against the outer end surface of the leg portion (13) constituting the raised portion (12) of the support plate (1), and the inclined surface (20) of the backing plate (2a) (2b) is located on the back side of the protruding piece (14) in which the screw hole (15) is formed.

While maintaining this basic position, the mounting bracket (100) is inserted into the opening (40) of the wall panel (4). As described above, the mounting bracket (100) in the basic position is set to have a smaller diameter than the opening (40) formed in the wall panel (4), so the mounting bracket (100) can be easily inserted into the opening (40) without damaging the wall panel (4) during insertion.
The length of the mounting screws (5) is set so that the distance between the flange plate (30) and the mounting bracket (100) is equal to or greater than the thickness of the wall plate (4).

Then, the flange plate (30) is attached around the opening (40) on the surface of the wall plate (4), and the mounting screws (5) are tightened from the front side. As the mounting screws (5) are tightened, they continue to screw into the screw holes (15) of the support plate (1), and the support plate (1) is pulled toward the back side of the wall plate (4) together with the backing plates (2a) and (2b), and the tip of the mounting screw (5) comes into contact with the inclined surface (20) of the backing plates (2a) and (2b). As the mounting screws (5) are further tightened, the tip of the mounting screw (5) moves in the tightening direction while pushing against the inclined surface (20) along the slope. When the tip of the mounting screw (5) presses the inclined surface (20), as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the right-side backing plate (2a) swings to the right on the surface of the upper arc-shaped portion (11) of the support plate (1), with the axial screw (50a) provided near the bottom end as the swing fulcrum, and the swing end (21a) located at the top of the drawing swings to the right on the surface of the upper arc-shaped portion (11) of the support plate (1), and the left-side backing plate (2b) swings to the left on the surface of the lower arc-shaped portion (11) of the support plate (1), with the axial screw (50b) provided near the top end as the swing fulcrum.

By swinging the backing plates (2a) and (2b) left and right relative to the support plate (1), the backing plates (2a) and (2b) assume a protruding position in which their outer periphery protrudes outward from the opening (40) of the wall plate (4). In order to hold the backing plates (2a) and (2b) in an appropriate protruding position, extensions (22a) and (22b) are formed near the pivot points of the shaft screws (50a) and (50b) of the backing plates (2a) and (2b), respectively, which extend along the outer periphery of the backing plates (2a) and (2b), and protrusions (16a) and (16b) are provided at positions symmetrical about the center near the pivot points on the upper and lower arc-shaped portions (11) of the support plate (1).

In the backing plate (2a) located on the right side, the extension portion (22a) abuts against the protrusion portion (16a) from below, and in the backing plate (2b) located on the left side, the extension portion (22b) abuts against the protrusion portion (16b) from above, preventing further swing. In other words, the protrusion portions (16a) and (16b) function as swing stoppers that hold the backing plates (2a) and (2b) in the swing final positions, and the mounting bracket (100) is held in the protruding position as shown in FIG. 3.
In this state, if the mounting screws (5) are tightened until they reach the final tightening position, the flange plate (30) on the gas valve (3) is attached to the periphery of the opening (40) on the front side of the wall plate (4), and the right-side protruding portion of the backing plate (2a) held in the protruding position is attached to the right side of the opening on the back side of the wall plate (4), and the left-side protruding portion of the backing plate (2b) is attached to the left side of the opening on the back side of the wall plate (4), with the periphery of the opening in the wall plate (4) being clamped from both sides by the flange plate (30) and the mounting bracket (100). This allows the gas valve (3) to be attached to the front side of the wall plate (4).

The backing plates (2a) and (2b) swing while almost in contact with the surface of the support plate (1), and even when they reach the final swing position, the swing base of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) on the swing fulcrum side and the inner edge of the swing end (21a) and (21b) side overlap the support plate (1). Therefore, the backing plates (2a) and (2b) swing with almost no gap between the backing plates (2a) and (2b) and the support plate (1), and the backing plates (2a) and (2b) do not come off the support plate (1) as a whole. This prevents the inconvenience of chips of the wall panel (4) or parts of the insulation material getting stuck or caught between the backing plates (2a) and (2b) and the support plate (1) when opening the opening (40).

In addition, when the mounting screws (5) are tightened and the left and right overhanging portions of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) are attached to the back surface of the wall plate (4), both the swing base side and the swing end sides (21a) and (21b) are pressed against the back surface of the wall plate (4) by the support plate (1). Therefore, even if the mounting screws (5) are tightened strongly, the backing plates (2a) and (2b) will not deform, and the mounting bracket (100) can be reliably and firmly fixed.

The basic position can be maintained by abutting the inner end face of the rectangular cutout (23) against the outer end face of the leg (13) constituting the raised portion (12) of the support plate (1) which functions as an initial position stopper. In the extended position, the extensions (22a) and (22b) of the backing plates (2a) and (2b) abut against the protrusions (16a) and (16b) which function as swing stoppers, thereby maintaining the extended position, and improving workability.

The backing plates (2a) and (2b) can be transformed from a basic position to a protruding position that can be attached to the back surface of the wall panel by simply swinging them radially relative to the support plate (1), in other words, by swinging them along the back surface of the wall panel (4), so that the back surface of the wall panel only needs to have a space approximately the thickness of the support plate (1) and the backing plates (2a) and (2b) stacked together. This expands the options for where to install the gas valve (3).
In addition, the mounting bracket (100) accommodated on the back side of the wall plate (4) in the basic position can be transformed into a protruding position simply by tightening the mounting screws (5) from the front side of the wall plate (4). This provides a user-friendly mounting bracket (100), which makes it easier to install the gas valve (3) on the wall plate (4) and improves workability.

(1) ・・・・・・Support plate
(2a)(2b) Backing plate
(3) Gas valve
(4) ・・・・・・Wall board
(5) Mounting screws
(15) Screw hole
(20)・・・・・・Slope surface
(30) Flange plate
(40)・・・・・・・Opening
(41) .....Coupling
(42) Flexible piping
(100) Mounting bracket

Claims (5)

A mounting bracket for a gas valve to be attached around an opening on the back side of a wall panel,
a support plate that is connected to an end of the flexible pipe and can be fitted onto a joint that is connected to a gas valve equipped with a flange plate, the support plate having a screw hole into which a mounting screw inserted into a flange plate equipped on the gas valve can be screwed;
a backing plate that is pivotally supported by the support plate so as to be swingable in the radial direction of the opening, and has a surface on which the tip of the mounting screw that is screwed into the screw hole abuts, the surface having an inclined surface that descends toward the radially inner edge,
The plate can pass through the opening in a basic position where the plate is overlapped on the support plate,
When the inclined surface is pressed by the tip of the mounting screw as the mounting screw is tightened, the backing plate swings outward in the radial direction relative to the support plate, and a part of the backing plate is deformed into a protruding position protruding toward the periphery of the opening,
When the mounting screw is tightened to the final tightening position, the flange plate and the protruding portion of the backing plate in the protruding position can clamp the periphery of the opening in the wall plate from the front and back. The gas cock mounting hardware according to claim 1,
A mounting bracket for a gas valve, the mounting bracket having an initial position stopper for holding the backing plate in the basic position relative to the support plate. The gas cock mounting fixture according to claim 1 or 2,
A mounting bracket for a gas valve, the mounting bracket being provided with a swing stopper that holds the backing plate in the protruding position relative to the support plate. The gas cock mounting fixture according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A mounting bracket for a gas valve in which, in the basic position, the entire backing plate is overlapped on the support plate, and in the extended position, the inner edges of the swing base and swing end of the backing plate overlap with the support plate. The gas cock mounting fixture according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The support plate is a generally annular body having a central hole that is smaller in diameter than the opening and can be fitted onto a joint that is connected to an end of the flexible pipe,
The backing plate is a pair of generally arc-shaped bodies, one end of which is pivotally supported at each position symmetrical with respect to the central hole of the support plate,
In the basic position, an outer edge of the backing plate is set to be located inside an outer edge of the support plate,
A mounting bracket for a gas valve, wherein the support plate has screw holes into which the mounting screws can be screwed, at locations symmetrical with respect to the central hole.