JP7698304B2 - Cover opening/closing unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cover opening and closing unit.

In recent years, a cover opening/closing unit has been proposed that is attached to an opening such as a wiring hole provided in a table or the like used in an office, and has a cover for opening and closing the opening. A known configuration of this type of cover opening/closing unit is one in which one or more arms are provided that are rotatably supported within the opening, and a cover is provided that is rotatably supported on the arms.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a wiring box as a cover opening and closing unit, which has a rotating arm rotatably supported on a side cover inside an opening, and a lid rotatably supported on the rotating arm. This wiring box is configured so that when the lid transitions between an open state and a closed state, the rotation shaft of the rotating arm and the rotation shaft of the lid both rotate, allowing the lid to rise and fall while maintaining a substantially vertical position.

JP 2012-186883 A

In a configuration in which the rotating arm's rotating shaft and the lid's rotating shaft rotate simultaneously, as in the above-mentioned conventional cover opening/closing unit, if the frictional forces associated with the rotation of both rotating shafts differ, the opening and closing operation depends on the operation of the rotating shaft with the greater frictional force, which can cause problems with opening and closing the cover. In addition, because multiple rotating shafts rotate simultaneously, it can sometimes be difficult to open and close the cover.

The present invention aims to provide a cover opening and closing unit that allows easy opening and closing of the cover while utilizing an arm.

The cover opening/closing unit of the present invention is a wiring hole cover unit having a cover that opens and closes an opening, and an arm connected to the cover, and has a first rotating part that rotatably supports one end of the arm within the opening, and a second rotating part that rotatably supports the cover at the other end of the arm, and is configured to be able to transition between an open state in which the cover is open, a closed state in which the cover is closed, and a half-open state that is a state between the open state and the closed state, and between the open state and the half-open state, only the first rotating part of the first rotating part and the second rotating part rotates to transition between the open state and the half-open state, and between the half-open state and the closed state, only the second rotating part of the first rotating part and the second rotating part rotates to transition between the half-open state and the closed state.

The present invention provides a cover opening and closing unit that allows easy opening and closing of the cover while utilizing an arm.

1 is a perspective view of a table to which a wiring hole cover unit according to an embodiment is attached, as viewed obliquely from above. 1 is a perspective view of a table to which a wiring hole cover unit according to an embodiment is attached, as viewed obliquely from below. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the wiring hole cover unit according to the embodiment in a closed state. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the wiring hole cover unit according to the embodiment in an open state. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the wiring hole cover unit according to the embodiment in a half-open state. 4 is a front view of a first wall portion of the wiring hole cover unit according to the embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the wiring hole cover unit according to the embodiment, in which the part enclosed by the dashed line is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the roller portion. 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams showing the trajectory of a cover in the wiring hole cover unit according to the embodiment;

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A wiring hole cover unit (cover opening and closing unit) 10 according to the embodiment is attached to the back side of a table 2 as shown in, for example, Figures 1 and 2. The table 2 is a table placed in an office or the like, and is composed of a top plate 4 and four legs 6 supporting the top plate 4. Approximately in the center of the top plate 4 of the table 2, a substantially rectangular wiring hole (opening) 4a is provided for drawing out wiring (not shown) onto the top plate 4. The wiring hole cover unit 10 is attached to the top plate 4 in a manner that covers the wiring hole 4a.

The wiring hole cover unit 10 is generally box-shaped as shown in FIG. 3 and has a pair of covers 12 that can open and close the wiring hole 4a when attached to the table 2, and an arm 14 connected to each cover 12. Here, FIG. 3 shows the pair of covers 12 in a closed state (hereinafter referred to as the "closed state"), FIG. 4 shows the pair of covers 12 in an open state (hereinafter referred to as the "open state"), and FIG. 5 shows one cover 12 in a state approximately half-open (a state between the open state and the closed state; hereinafter referred to as the "half-open state"). Note that in FIG. 5, for the sake of explanation, the front wall (first wall 31 described later) is shown in a see-through view.

Each cover 12 is made of synthetic resin and has a flat rectangular top surface 12a and flat side surfaces (side surfaces) 12b provided on both the front and rear sides of the top surface 12a. In the following description, the up-down direction in the wiring hole cover unit 10 coincides with the normal direction of the top surface 12a of each cover 12 in the closed state, the front-rear direction in the wiring hole cover unit 10 coincides with the longitudinal direction of the top surface 12a of each cover 12 in the closed state, and the left-right direction in the wiring hole cover unit 10 coincides with the transverse direction of the top surface 12a of each cover 12 in the closed state.

The upper surface 12a of one cover 12 is provided with a flexible rubber body 13 that extends toward the upper surface 12a of the other cover 12 at the edge that faces the upper surface 12a of the other cover 12 in the closed state. This rubber body 13 closes the gap between the upper surface 12a of the pair of covers 12 in the closed state. The pair of upper surface portions 12a and rubber body 13 as a whole have a contour shape and contour size in the closed state that approximately matches the shape and size of the opening edge of the wiring hole 4a, so as to close the wiring hole 4a. In addition, the rubber body 13 makes it possible to pull out wiring and the like from the inside while preventing the intrusion of dust and the like into the wiring hole cover unit 10 in the closed state.

Each arm 14 is an arm-shaped member made of synthetic resin and is connected to both front and rear sides of the cover 12. That is, two arms 14 are connected to one cover 12, and the wiring hole cover unit 10 has four arms 14. One end of the arm 14 (the end not connected to the cover 12) is rotatably supported by a first rotating part 21 within the wiring hole 4a. In addition, both front and rear sides of each cover 12 are rotatably supported by a second rotating part 22 (see FIG. 5) at the other end of the arm 14 (the end connected to the cover 12).

In the wiring hole cover unit 10, when each cover 12 moves around the first pivoting part 21, the two arms 14 connected to the cover 12 move in conjunction with each other. The wiring hole cover unit 10 is also configured to be able to transition between an open state, a closed state, and a half-open state by the rotation of the first pivoting part 21 and the rotation of the second pivoting part 22. The configurations of the first pivoting part 21 and the second pivoting part 22 will be described in detail later.

As shown in FIG. 4, the wiring hole cover unit 10 has a pair of first walls 31 (walls) as side walls facing each other in the front-rear direction, a pair of second walls 32 as side walls facing each other in the left-right direction, and a bottom plate 34 as a bottom plate. The pair of first walls 31 are made of, for example, synthetic resin, and the pair of second walls 32 and bottom plate 34 are integrally formed, for example, by bending a plate-shaped sheet metal member into a U-shape. The wiring hole cover unit 10 is made into a substantially box-like shape by the pair of first walls 31, the pair of second walls 32, and the bottom plate 34, thereby forming an internal space S in the wiring hole 4a (see FIG. 7). This internal space S stores wiring, power taps, etc.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lower portion of the first wall 31 has an opening 31a that opens in a rectangular shape over most of it. Wires connected to an external power source or the like are routed, for example, from the underside of the table 2 through the opening 31a into the internal space S of the wiring hole cover unit 10. The upper portion of the first wall 31 has a pair of recesses 31b on both the left and right sides that are recessed outward (opposite the internal space S). Each recess 31b has a first arc-shaped portion 31b1 on the side of its lower portion that curves in an arc shape outward in the left-right direction, and a second arc-shaped portion 31b2 on the side of its upper portion that curves in an arc shape diagonally downward.

A pair of wall-side shaft holes 31c, in which the first shaft member 41 described later is supported, are provided in parallel on the left and right at approximately the center position between the pair of recesses 31b. Each wall-side shaft hole 31c is a circular hole penetrating in the front-rear direction, through which the first shaft member 41 is inserted. A protrusion 31d that protrudes from the first wall 31 toward the inside (the inner space S side) is provided on the upper side of the pair of wall-side shaft holes 31c. The protrusion 31d has a horizontally elongated shape that covers the upper part of the pair of wall-side shaft holes 31c. In addition, the lower ends on both the left and right sides of the protrusion 31d are chamfered in an inclined shape that slopes upward toward both the left and right sides, forming inclined surfaces 31d1.

A pair of cover restricting pieces 31e protruding inward (toward the internal space S) from the first wall 31 are provided on both left and right sides of the protruding portion 31d, near the recessed portion 31b. Note that, although the configuration of one of the first wall portions 31 has been described above, the opposing other first wall portion 31 has the same configuration.

As shown in FIG. 3 etc., the upper ends of the pair of second wall portions 32 are provided with flat plate-like protruding portions 32a that protrude outward in parallel. Each protruding portion 32a is formed, for example, by bending the upper end side of the second wall portion 32. Each protruding portion 32a is provided with three mounting holes 32a1 at equal intervals on both the front and rear sides and in the center. Each mounting hole 32a1 is a through hole that opens in an elongated manner from the plate surface of each protruding portion 32a to the upper part of the second wall portion 32.

A screw or the like is inserted into each mounting hole 32a1 from below. The wiring hole cover unit 10 can be attached to the table 2 by clamping both protruding parts 32a to the opening edge of the wiring hole 4a from the back side of the top plate 4 of the table 2 and screwing them in. Note that by forming each protruding part 32a so that the height H (see FIG. 8) from the top surface of each protruding part 32a to the upper end of the first wall part 31 is approximately equal to the thickness of the top plate 4 of the table 2 to which the wiring hole unit 10 is to be attached, the upper surface part 12a of the cover 12 and the upper surface of the top plate 4 to which the wiring hole cover unit 10 is attached can be made to be approximately uniform.

Next, the configuration of the first rotating part 21 and the second rotating part 22 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and the like. As shown in FIG. 7, one end of each arm 14 is provided with an arm-side first shaft hole 14a through which the first shaft member 41 is supported. Each arm-side first shaft hole 14a is a circular hole penetrating in the front-rear direction, through which the first shaft member 41 is inserted. The arm-side first shaft hole 14a of each arm 14 is overlapped with the wall-side shaft hole 31c of the first wall portion 31, and the first shaft member 41, which is a shaft-shaped member, is inserted into the arm-side first shaft hole 14a and the wall-side shaft hole 31c, and screwed with a screw member (not shown) screwed into the shaft portion of the first shaft member 41 from the opposite side of the first shaft member 41, so that each arm 14 is supported rotatably around the axis of the first shaft member 41. That is, the first rotating part 21 is composed of the wall-side shaft hole 31c, the arm-side first shaft hole 14a, and the first shaft member 41.

Here, the convex portion 31d provided on the first wall portion 31 described above is positioned around the axis of the first rotating portion 21, and its protruding height is set to a height that overlaps in the vertical direction with the arm 14 that is pivotally supported by the first wall portion 31. Therefore, when the cover 12 is opened or closed, the first rotating portion 21 rotates, causing the arm 14 to come into contact with the inclined surface 31d1 of the convex portion 31d, thereby restricting the first rotating portion 21 from rotating any further.

As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of cover-side shaft holes 12c in which the second shaft member 42 described below is supported are provided at approximately the center of the side portion 12b of each cover 12. Each cover-side shaft hole 12c is a circular hole that penetrates in the front-rear direction, and the second shaft member 42 is inserted through it. In addition, the other end of each arm 14 is provided with an arm-side second shaft hole 14b in which the second shaft member 42 is supported. Each arm-side second shaft hole 14b is a circular hole that penetrates in the front-rear direction, and the second shaft member 42 is inserted through it.

The cover side shaft hole 12c of the side portion 12b of each cover 12 is overlapped with the arm side second shaft hole 14b of the arm 14, and the second shaft member 42, which is a shaft-shaped member, is inserted through the cover side shaft hole 12c and the arm side second shaft hole 14b, and screwed in place with a screw member or the like (not shown) that is screwed into the shaft portion of the second shaft member 42 from the opposite side of the second shaft member 42, so that each cover 12 is supported rotatably around the axis of the second shaft member 42. That is, the second rotating portion 22 is composed of the arm side second shaft hole 14b, the cover side shaft hole 12c, the second shaft member 42, etc.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7, a cover restricting rib 12a1 is provided near the cover side shaft hole 12c, extending in a rib-like manner from the back side of the top surface 12a of the cover 12 along the side surface 12b. In addition, a contact wall 12a2 is provided on the opposite side of the cover restricting rib 12a1 across the cover side shaft hole 12c, extending in a wall-like manner from the back side of the top surface 12a of the cover 12 along the side surface 12b. The second rotating part 22 is restricted in rotation so that the angle θ (see FIG. 8) between the arm 14 and the top surface 12a of the cover 12 does not exceed approximately 90° by the arm 14 contacting the contact wall 12a2 when the cover 12 is opened or closed. In this way, the wiring hole cover unit 10 is configured so that the cover 12 does not open too much.

Next, the manner in which the side surface portion 12b of the cover 12 engages with the first wall portion 31 will be described. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 7, the corners of both side surface portions 12b of each cover 12 are provided with roller-shaped roller portions 12d that protrude outward (the side opposite the internal space S). The rotation axis of the roller portion 12d is parallel to the first shaft member 41 of the first rotating portion 21 and the second shaft member 42 of the second rotating portion 22.

The first arc-shaped portion 31b1 in the recess 31b of the first wall portion 31 is formed so that its radius of curvature is equal to the distance L1 (see FIG. 8) between the roller portion 12d and the first rotating portion 21. The second arc-shaped portion 31b2 in the recess 31b of the first wall portion 31 is formed so that its radius of curvature is equal to the distance L2 (see FIG. 8) between the roller portion 12d and the second rotating portion 22.

When the arm 14 and the cover 12 are attached to the first wall 31, the side surface 12b of each cover 12 is in a shape in which the front surface is close to the first wall 31. The rollers 12d provided on each side surface 12b fit into the recesses 31b of the first wall 31 that face each other between the closed state and the open state, and are engaged with the recesses 31b. Specifically, each roller 12d rotates while abutting against the first arc-shaped portion 31b1 of the recess 31b between the open state and the half-open state. Between the half-open state and the closed state, each roller 12d rotates while abutting against the second arc-shaped portion 31b2 of the recess 31b. The rollers 12d rotate while abutting against the side surface of the recess 31b during the opening and closing operation of the cover 12, thereby functioning as guide rollers that guide the side surface 12b of the cover 12 along the side surface of the recess 31b.

Next, referring to FIG. 8, the operation of the cover 12 and the arm 14 accompanying the opening and closing operation of the cover 12 will be described. In FIG. 8, four states of the trajectories of one of the cover 12 and the arm 14 as they transition between the open state and the closed state are illustrated by dashed lines. First, in the open state, the cover 12 is approximately perpendicular to the plate surface of the bottom plate portion 34, and the angle between the arm 14 and the top surface portion 12a of the cover 12 is approximately 90°. In the open state, the roller portion 12d provided on the side portion 12b of the cover 12 is in contact with the lower position of the first arc-shaped portion 31b1 in the recess 31b.

When the cover 12 is lifted slightly upward from the open state, the arm 14 is lifted together with the cover 12, and the first rotating part 21 rotates. At this time, since the distance L1 between the roller part 12d and the first rotating part 21 is set equal to the radius of curvature of the first arc-shaped part 31b1, the roller part 12d moves upward while rotating along the first arc-shaped part 31b1 without changing the distance L1. In other words, only the first rotating part 21 rotates without the second rotating part 22 rotating, while the angle between the arm 14 and the upper surface part 12a of the cover 12 is maintained at approximately 90°.

When the cover 12 is pulled further upward, the arm 14 is pulled up together with the cover 12, the first rotating part 21 rotates further, and the side of the arm 14 interferes with and comes into contact with the inclined surface 31d1 of the convex part 31d of the first wall part 31. At this time, as in the above, only the first rotating part 21 of the first rotating part 21 and the second rotating part 22 rotates, and the roller part 12d moves upward while rotating along the first arc-shaped part 31b1. Then, the roller part 12d is positioned at the boundary between the first arc-shaped part 31b1 and the second arc-shaped part 31b2. At this time, the cover 12 is about half open, and the arm 14 comes into contact with the inclined surface 31d1 of the convex part 31d. This state is called the half-open state.

Even if the cover 12 is pulled further upward from the half-open state, the arm 14 abuts against the inclined surface 31d1 of the protrusion 31d, so that the first pivoting part 21 cannot be rotated upward, and the cover 12 cannot be pulled upward any further. Therefore, the pulled-up upper part of the cover 12 is pushed down toward the center of the wiring hole 4a from the half-open state to close the wiring hole 4a, thereby rotating only the second pivoting part 22. Then, each cover 12 rotates and the tip of the cover restricting rib 12a1 abuts against the cover restricting piece 31e of the first wall part 31, so that the upper surface part 12a of the cover 12 becomes approximately parallel to the plate surface of the bottom plate part 34, and further rotation of the cover 12 is restricted. This allows the wiring hole cover unit 10 to be in the closed state.

When transitioning from the half-open state to the closed state, the distance L2 between the roller portion 12d and the second rotating portion 22 is set equal to the radius of curvature of the second arc-shaped portion 31b2, so the distance L2 does not change and the roller portion 12d moves outward in the left-right direction while rotating along the second arc-shaped portion 31b2. Therefore, even if the first rotating portion 21 is not rotated in contact with the convex portion 31d (even if the distance L2 does not change), the half-open state can be transitioned to the closed state by rotating only the second rotating portion 22. As described above, the roller portion 12d guides the cover 12 along the trajectory of the side portion 12b of the cover 12 transitioning between the open state and the closed state.

The transition from the closed state to the open state can be achieved by reversing the above procedure. That is, in the closed state, the opposing ends of the upper surface portions 12a of the pair of covers 12 are pulled upward to rotate only the second rotating portion 22 of the first rotating portion 21 and the second rotating portion 22. This causes the roller portion 12d to move along the second arc-shaped portion 31b2 and transition to the half-open state. After that, the half-open cover 12 is pushed down to rotate only the first rotating portion 21 of the first rotating portion 21 and the second rotating portion 22. This causes the roller portion 12d to move along the first arc-shaped portion 31b1 and transition to the closed state.

As described above, the wiring hole cover unit 10 according to this embodiment is configured to be able to transition between an open state, a closed state, and a half-open state. Between the open state and the half-open state, only the first rotating part 21 of the first rotating part 21 and the second rotating part 22 rotates (in other words, only the arm 14 rotates), and between the half-open state and the closed state, only the second rotating part 22 of the first rotating part 21 and the second rotating part 22 rotates (in other words, only the cover 12 rotates). Therefore, in the wiring hole cover unit 10, multiple rotating shafts do not rotate simultaneously during the opening and closing operation of the cover 12, and the opening and closing operation of the cover 12 can be performed smoothly while using the arm 14.

In addition, in the wiring hole cover unit 10, a convex portion 31d that protrudes inward around the axis of the first pivot portion 21 is provided on the first wall portion 31 located inside the wiring hole 4a, and the state transition between the closed state and the half-open state occurs with the arm 14 abutting the convex portion 31d. Therefore, a specific configuration can be realized in which the first pivot portion 21, which is the pivot axis of the arm 14, does not rotate between the closed state and the half-open state, and only the second pivot portion 22 rotates between the half-open state and the closed state.

In addition, in the wiring hole cover unit 10, a first wall portion 31 having a recess 31b recessed outward is provided in the wiring hole 4a, and the cover 12 has a roller-shaped roller portion 12d that protrudes from its side surface and engages with the recess 31b, and the recess 31b guides the cover 12 along the trajectory of the side surface portion 12b of the cover 12 that transitions between the closed state and the open state. In this way, when the cover 12 is opened or closed, the roller portion 12d moves within the recess 31b while functioning as a guide roller that guides the side surface portion 12b of the cover 12, thereby making it possible to open and close the cover 12 more smoothly.

In addition, in the wiring hole cover unit 10, the recess 31b has a first arc-shaped portion 31b1 on its side, which is formed in an arc shape so that the radius of curvature is equal to the distance between the roller portion 12d and the first rotating portion 21, and a second arc-shaped portion 31b2, which is formed in an arc shape so that the radius of curvature is equal to the distance between the roller portion 12d and the second rotating portion 22. This allows smooth switching between the rotation of only the first rotating portion 21 in the transition between the open state and the half-open state and the rotation of only the second rotating portion 22 in the transition between the half-open state and the closed state at the boundary between the first arc-shaped portion 31b1 and the second rotating portion 22. This further improves the workability of opening and closing the cover 12.

The above-described embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims.

2 table 4 top plate 4a wiring hole 6 leg portion 10 wiring hole cover unit 12 cover 12a upper surface portion 12a1 cover regulation rib 12a2 abutment wall portion 12b side portion 12c cover side shaft hole 12d roller portion 13 rubber body 14 arm 14a arm side first shaft hole 14b arm side second shaft hole 21 first pivot portion 22 second pivot portion 31 first wall portion 31a opening 31b recess 31b1 first arc-shaped portion 31b2 second arc-shaped portion 31c wall side shaft hole 31d convex portion 31e cover regulation piece 32 second wall portion 32a protruding portion 32a1 mounting hole 34 bottom plate portion 41 first shaft member 42 second shaft member H height S internal space L1 distance L2 distance θ angle

Claims (4)

A cover opening/closing unit having a cover for opening and closing an opening and an arm connected to the cover,
a first rotation portion that rotatably supports one end of the arm within the opening;
a second pivot portion that pivotally supports the cover at the other end of the arm,
The cover is configured to be able to transition between an open state in which the cover is open, a closed state in which the cover is closed, and a half-open state which is a state between the open state and the closed state,
Between the open state and the half-open state, only the first rotation portion of the first rotation portion and the second rotation portion rotates to transition between the open state and the half-open state,
Between the half-open state and the closed state, only the second rotation portion of the first rotation portion and the second rotation portion rotates to transition between the half-open state and the closed state.
A cover opening and closing unit characterized by the above. A protrusion is provided in the opening around the axis of the first rotation portion, the protrusion protruding inwardly,
2. The cover opening/closing unit according to claim 1, wherein the state transition between the closed state and the half-open state occurs with the arm in contact with the protrusion. A wall portion having a recess recessed outward is provided within the opening,
A roller portion is provided on a side surface of the cover so as to protrude outward and engage with the recess,
3. The cover opening/closing unit according to claim 1, wherein the roller portion guides the cover along a trajectory of the cover as the cover transitions between the open state and the closed state. The cover opening and closing unit according to claim 3, characterized in that the recess has, on its side, a first arc-shaped portion formed in an arc shape so that the radius of curvature is equal to the distance between the roller portion and the first rotating portion, and a second arc-shaped portion formed in an arc shape so that the radius of curvature is equal to the distance between the roller portion and the second rotating portion.

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