Spacer

Abstract

This article is a spacer that is interposed in a crescent-shaped gap between the upper outer circumference of the guide holder and the inner surface of the storage container's peripheral wall when storing a roll-shaped elongated object in a storage container having a cylindrical peripheral wall via a guide holder, thereby fixing the guide holder inside the storage container. Here, the roll-shaped elongated object is a long medium made of a web such as plastic film or metal foil wound around a metal core in a retractable manner, with rotation support parts of the core protruding from both ends of the elongated medium. The guide holder has a circular guide body made of synthetic resin and a circular retaining hole provided in the center of the guide body to hold the rotation support parts of the core. This article is configured in a roughly crescent-shaped, symmetrical form with both ends cut off so that it can be fitted into the crescent-shaped gap with some play, and as shown in the [reference perspective view], the central part has a recess as a relief part to ensure the movement of the fixing clamp shaft, and the two sides on either side of this recess are formed as a pair of hollow spacer blocks. Specifically, the spacer comprises a pair of inner circumferential arc plates provided on either side of a recess as the inner circumferential portion with a diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the guide holder, a pair of outer circumferential arc plates provided on either side of a recess as the outer circumferential portion with a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the peripheral wall of the storage container, a single rear side plate joined to the rear ends of the pair of inner circumferential arc plates and the pair of outer circumferential arc plates and having a roughly crescent shape, and a pair of front side plates joined to the front ends of the pair of inner circumferential arc plates and the pair of outer circumferential arc plates and having a shape that divides the roughly crescent shape into two with a recess in between. Furthermore, as shown in [AA cross-sectional view] and [BB cross-sectional view], the pair of spacer blocks are configured as a hollow structure with a rectangular cross-section and a roughly crescent shape, with both ends of the pair of inner circumferential arc plates and the pair of outer circumferential arc plates separated by end partition plates. Furthermore, an internal partition plate is positioned approximately in the circumferential center of the spacer block. Although the spacer block is a hollow structure, the end partition plates and internal partition plates function as reinforcing members, resulting in a structure with high bending rigidity. Additionally, the recess is enclosed by the rear side plate and the end partition plates positioned facing the recess of the pair of spacer blocks, with open spaces between the pair of inner circumferential arc plates and between the pair of outer circumferential arc plates.Furthermore, in this example, the recess of the spacer and the inner circumferential arc plate, outer circumferential arc plate, back side plate, front side plate, end partition plate, and internal partition plate that constitute the spacer block are formed into predetermined shapes using metal plate material such as stainless steel, and joined by welding or the like to form a spacer of the desired shape. Moreover, the spacer has an alignment mechanism for aligning with the guide holder. In this alignment mechanism, an alignment piece is projected from the lower part of the back side connecting plate facing the recess of the spacer, while a recessed part to be aligned is formed on a part of the outer circumference of the guide holder, and the spacer is aligned with the guide holder by aligning the alignment piece with this recessed part. As a result, the spacer is positioned at a predetermined position on the outer circumference of the guide holder, and slippage between the spacer and the guide holder is suppressed. The size and shape of the spacer are set as follows. From the viewpoint of effectively restricting the movement of the guide holder with the spacer and not damaging the guide holder, it is preferable to set the width dimension of the spacer to at least half the width dimension of the outer circumference of the guide holder. Furthermore, regarding the arc shape of the spacer, the inner circumferential arc plate of the spacer is positioned in close contact with the outer circumference of the guide holder. In contrast, the outer circumferential arc plate of the spacer does not adhere tightly to the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the storage container, but rather has a small gap (e.g., 5 mm to 15 mm) as it moves away from the position of the recess. Having such a small gap makes it easy to attach and detach the spacer. Furthermore, a preferred circumferential length of the spacer is one in which it is provided facing 1 / 2 to 2 / 3 of the half-circumferential region of the outer circumference of the guide holder. Here, if it is less than 1 / 2 of the half-circumferential region of the guide holder, the amount of wrap-around by the spacer is small, making it easy for the guide holder to be insufficiently fixed, and if it exceeds 2 / 3, there is a concern that the ease of attaching and detaching the spacer due to the gap will be impaired. Furthermore, as an example of the use of this product, as shown in the [Reference Diagram Showing Usage] and [Reference CC Cross-Sectional Diagram], in addition to the spacer, a fixing clamp is used to secure the rotational support portion of the roll-shaped, elongated core to the storage container.Here, the fixing clamp comprises a base portion that is positioned on a positioning portion pre-provided on the guide holder, and a clamp component installed on this base portion. The base portion is provided with a blocking member that abuts against the rotation support portion of the core. A toggle clamp with a locking mechanism is used as the clamp component, fixing a support block to the base portion, and a shaft as a movable part is provided on this support block via a toggle mechanism, and the shaft is moved forward and backward by rotating the handle. To specifically explain an example of use of this article, first, a spacer is fitted into a gap located above the outer circumference of the guide holder near the opening of the storage container. At this time, the positioning piece of the spacer should be aligned with the positioning recess of the guide holder, and then the spacer should be fitted into the gap. The recess located in the circumferential center of the spacer is positioned adjacent to the positioning portion of the guide holder. Next, the base of the fixing clamp is fitted into the positioning part of the guide holder and positioned. By rotating the handle of the fixing clamp from the upright position to the reclined position, the shaft of the fixing clamp is advanced from the retracted position to the extended position, and the shaft is pressed against the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the storage container via the recess of the spacer. In this state, the fixing clamp restrains the space between the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the storage container and the rotation support part of the core. Preferably, the tips of the shaft and the blocking member are elastically in contact via an elastic material. In this way, the fixing clamp restrains the storage container and the rotation support part of the core, so the roll-shaped elongated body is fixed inside the storage container. Therefore, it is prevented from rotating or moving axially within the storage container. In this example, since the fixing clamp is positioned on the positioning part of the guide holder, when the fixing clamp restrains the storage container and the rotation support part of the core, the guide holder on which the fixing clamp is positioned is also inevitably restrained. Furthermore, although the spacer is interposed in the gap between the peripheral wall of the storage container and the outer circumference of the guide holder, the shape of the gap is such that it is widest in the vertical line passing through the center of the storage container and gradually narrows as it moves away from the vertical line in the circumferential direction. The shape of the spacer is also selected to match the shape of the gap, so the spacer is configured to be difficult to move circumferentially along the outer circumference of the guide holder.In particular, in this example, the spacer is aligned with the guide holder via an alignment mechanism (alignment piece, alignment recess), so the spacer does not move along the outer circumference of the guide holder, and although there is a minute gap (not shown) between the outer circular arc plate of the spacer and the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the storage container, rattling of the spacer within the gap is also avoided. As described above, the illustrated form is the basic form of this article, but it is possible to modify the basic form as appropriate to make it the same or similar to the basic form. For example, in this article, the rear ends of both the inner circular arc plate and the outer circular arc plate are joined by a rear side plate, and the front ends of both are joined by a front side plate, and the thickness of the inner circular arc plate and the outer circular arc plate is not visible in the front and rear views, but it is also possible to make the thickness of the inner circular arc plate and the outer circular arc plate visible in the front and rear views by bridging them between the rear side plate and the front side plate, or to make a shape in which the outer circular arc plate is omitted as a spacer block. Furthermore, the materials used to construct the spacer are not limited to metal materials such as stainless steel; high-strength non-metallic materials such as corrugated plastic can be used and joined together with adhesive. In addition, while the spacer block is a hollow structure, it may also be a solid structure made of high-strength synthetic resin. Moreover, a stopper protruding downwards may be provided on a part of the front side plate of the spacer block, so that when fitting the spacer around the outer circumference of the guide holder, the stopper can be hooked onto the front side of the outer circumference of the guide holder to restrict the position in which the spacer is pushed in.

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