Root portion holding force improvement method of flexible tube

Abstract

To improve a bend holding force of a root portion of a flexible tube by attaching a coil spring to the root portion of the flexible tube, and to prevent the damage of the root portion of the flexible tube caused by an excessive bend.SOLUTION: A holding force of a root portion of a flexible tube is improved by attaching a coil spring to an external peripheral part of the root portion of the flexible tube, and reinforcing the root portion of the flexible tube, and the damage of the root portion of the flexible tube caused by an excessive bend of the root portion of the flexible tube is prevented by using the elasticity of the coil spring.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for increasing the holding force of the base portion of a metal bent flexible tube and for preventing damage to the base portion of the flexible tube due to excessive bending. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, bent metal flexible tubes have a mechanism at the tip for mounting and holding lighting or audio equipment, but during use, stress tends to concentrate at the base of the flexible tube, making it necessary to reinforce the bending retention force of this part. [Figure 1] Previous solutions have included: - Method to solve the problem by using a flexible tube with a larger outer diameter -Method of attaching reinforcement material to the inside of the base of a flexible tube - A method of covering the outer circumference of the base of a flexible tube with a heat shrink tube or other reinforcing material - A method in which the base is a thick flexible tube and the tip is connected to a thin flexible tube via a relay fitting. are being dealt with in similar ways. However, in either method, the reinforcement against the stress concentration at the base portion is quite limited, and the measures to prevent damage to the base portion due to excessive bending are limited. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 09-229292 is an example of a prior art in which a reinforcing material is applied to the outer periphery of the base of the flexible tube mentioned above. [Patent Document 2] Patent application No. 2-143956 [Patent Document 3] These are examples of the flexible tubes mentioned above that have a reinforcing material attached to the inside thereof to improve the bending retention of the flexible tubes.

[0004] If a flexible tube with a thicker outer diameter is used to strengthen the base of the flexible tube, the base can be strengthened, but at the same time, the holding power of the entire flexible tube increases, which creates the problem of reducing the ease of bending the tip of the flexible tube, which must be flexible and smooth to move. Furthermore, the overall weight of the flexible tube increases, which reduces the holding power of the base of the flexible tube, and the measures to actually improve the holding power of the base of the flexible tube and prevent breakage due to excessive bending are limited. [Figure 2] To solve this problem, there is a method of attaching a reinforcing material such as a wire to the inside of the base of the flexible tube [Fig. 3], but this method has limited applications due to the problem of making electrical wiring inside the flexible tube difficult.Another method is to cover the base of the flexible tube with a reinforcing material such as heat shrink tubing to improve the holding power of the base [Fig. 4], but the effect is quite limited due to the appearance of the flexible tube and the material of the heat shrink tubing used as a reinforcing material. Another solution that has been adopted in the past is to use a thick flexible tube at the base and connect the tip to a thin flexible tube via a relay metal fitting, thereby achieving a difference in holding power due to the thickness of the flexible tube at the base and tip, but this is a limited solution in terms of preventing damage to the base due to excessive bending. [Figure 5] Means to solve the problem

[0005] By attaching a coil spring to the outer periphery of the base of the flexible tube, the base of the flexible tube is reinforced, improving the holding power of the base of the flexible tube, and utilizing the elasticity of the coil spring to prevent damage to the base of the flexible tube due to excessive bending of the base. [Fig. 6] Furthermore, by adjusting the wire diameter and number of turns per unit length (spring constant) of the attached coil spring, it is possible to adjust the reinforcement of the base of the flexible tube, making it possible to optimally reinforce the base of the flexible tube. [Fig. 7] Effects of the invention

[0007] Since reinforcing material is not attached to the inside of the base of the flexible tube as in conventional technology, there are no restrictions on the gap inside the flexible tube, and it is possible to reinforce the base of the flexible tube without interfering with the placement of wiring, etc. Furthermore, rather than a limited reinforcement method such as covering the base of the flexible tube with a reinforcing material, this method makes use of the characteristics of the flexible tube and reinforces by attaching a coil spring, which makes it possible to significantly improve the mechanical holding power of the base of the flexible tube and significantly improves the prevention of damage due to excessive bending of the base. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a conventional flexible tube structure. [Diagram 2] It has a thick flexible tube structure. [Diagram 3] This is a structure in which reinforcing material is attached inside the base of the flexible tube. [Figure 4] The flexible tube has a reinforcing material covering the outer periphery at its base. [Diagram 5] It has a double structure with a flexible tube relay fitting. [Figure 6] 1 shows a reinforcing structure of a flexible tube according to the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a method for adjusting the base reinforcement of a flexible tube using a coil spring. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] [Figure 6] shows a structure in which a coil spring is attached to the outer periphery of the base of a flexible tube to reinforce the base of the flexible tube. Even if the coil spring is attached to the base of the flexible tube without fixing both ends with fasteners, etc., it is possible to obtain a certain degree of improvement in the holding force of the base of the flexible tube and prevention of damage to the base due to excessive bending, but by having a structure in which the coil spring is fixed with fasteners, etc. at both ends, it is possible to utilize the elastic force of the coil spring to improve the holding force at the base of the flexible tube and to significantly improve the prevention of damage to the base due to excessive bending. Furthermore, since both ends of the coil spring are fixed, the number of turns of the coil spring between them and the wire diameter (spring constant) of the coil spring can be appropriately adjusted to reinforce the base of any flexible tube. [Explanation of symbols]

[0010] 1 Flexible tube 2 Lighting fixtures and others 3 Pedestal 4 Thick flexible tube 5 Reinforcement 6. Heat shrink tubing and other reinforcing material covering 7 Relay bracket 8 coil springs 9 Fastener 10. Wire diameter of coil spring 11 Number of turns of coil spring between fasteners

Claims

1. This article is characterized in that by attaching a coil spring to the base portion of a bent metal flexible tube, the elastic force of the coil spring is utilized to significantly improve the bending retention force of the base portion of the flexible tube.

2. An article characterized in that a coil spring is attached to the base portion of a flexible tube as a reinforcing material, thereby improving the holding force of the base portion and preventing damage due to excessive bending of the base portion.

Images