Support member

Abstract

To provide a support member capable of actualizing the overturn preventing function for a supported object against a shock such as an earthquake in a simple construction.SOLUTION: A support member 10 to be mounted on a bottom face 3 of equipment 1 as a supported object includes a grip part 11 for contacting an installation surface 100 where the equipment 1 as the supported object is installed, and a slide part 20 having a relatively smaller friction coefficient than the grip part 11 for contacting the installation surface 100 at the outside in the predetermined direction (the width direction) of the equipment 1 further than a portion of the grip part 11, which contacts the installation surface 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a support member that is attached to the bottom surface of an object to be supported. [Background technology]

[0002] Vibration isolation technology has been used to protect electronic devices such as computers from shaking caused by earthquakes, etc. This type of technology is described, for example, in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 describes a vibration isolation / isolation device that isolates vibrations under normal circumstances and prevents equipment from falling over or being damaged in emergencies such as earthquakes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-125587 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The vibration isolation / damping device described in Patent Document 1 is configured using a mechanical vibration isolation mechanism, resulting in a complex configuration. Furthermore, it requires space to install the vibration isolation / damping device, and may not be applicable to small equipment.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a support member that can prevent an object to be supported from falling over due to an impact such as an earthquake, with a simple configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one aspect of the present invention is a support member that is attached to the bottom surface of a supported object, and includes a grip portion that contacts an installation surface on which the supported object is placed, and a slide portion that has a relatively lower coefficient of friction than the grip portion and that contacts the installation surface outside the portion of the grip portion that contacts the installation surface in a predetermined direction of the supported object.

[0007] In addition, the support member may further include a joint portion that is disposed between the object to be supported and the grip portion and that joins the bottom surface of the object to be supported and the grip portion by adhesive force, the joint portion being located more inward in the specified direction than the slide portion, and when the object to be supported is placed on the installation surface, the load of the object to be supported causes the portion of the grip portion where the joint portion is not located to elastically deform and come into contact with the bottom surface of the object to be supported.

[0008] The slide portion may be arranged on a ground surface of the grip portion that faces the installation surface, and may be made of a sheet-like member having a thickness.

[0009] The thickness of the joint portion may be greater than the thickness of the slide portion.

[0010] The support object may be an electronic device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a support member that can achieve the function of preventing an object to be supported from falling over due to an impact such as an earthquake with a simple configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing a device to which a support member according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached. [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view of the bottom surface of a device to which a support member according to the present embodiment is attached, viewed from below. FIG. [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a support member according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before equipment is installed on the support member according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after equipment is installed on the support member according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the support member according to the embodiment when the device is tilted. FIG. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating the mechanism of tipping over due to rubber feet in a conventional example. [Figure 8] 5A to 5C are schematic diagrams illustrating a mechanism for preventing tipping over by a support member according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before equipment is installed on a support member of a first modified example. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before equipment is installed on a support member of a second modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] Fig. 1 is a front view showing a device 1 to which a support member 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is attached. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a bottom surface 3 of the device 1 to which the support member 10 according to this embodiment is attached, as viewed from below.

[0015] 1 shows a device 1 as an example of a support object to which a support member 10 is attached. The device 1 is, for example, an electronic device such as a desktop computer, a server, or a storage device, a precision device such as a measuring device, or an audio device such as a speaker, and is placed on a tabletop installation surface 100.

[0016] In this embodiment, the device 1 includes a rectangular parallelepiped housing 2. The housing 2 is configured to be relatively short in the width direction and relatively long in the depth direction. Hereinafter, the width direction of the housing 2 (device 1) may be referred to as the short side direction, and the depth direction of the housing 2 (device 1) may be referred to as the long side direction. In the case of a housing 2 configured in this way, the center of gravity is disposed so that it is prone to tipping over in the short side direction.

[0017] The support members 10 are rubber feet that are attached or assembled to the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2 of the device 1 to prevent the device 1, which is generally placed on a table, from tipping over. As shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of support members 10 are arranged on the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2 of the device 1, and the device 1 is placed on an installation surface 100 via the support members 10. In this embodiment, the support members 10 are arranged in four locations corresponding to the corners of the bottom surface 3.

[0018] Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the support member 10 according to this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 3, showing the state of the support member 10 according to this embodiment before the device 1 is installed.

[0019] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the support member 10 includes a grip portion 11 which is a portion that is not slippery on the installation surface 100, a slide portion 20 which is a portion that is slippery on the installation surface 100, and a joint portion 30 for fixing the support member 10 to the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2.

[0020] The grip portion 11 is made of a material with a relatively high coefficient of friction with respect to the installation surface 100 of the device 1. The material of the grip portion 11 can be, for example, urethane rubber, which can achieve a friction coefficient that provides an effective grip. The friction coefficient of the contact surface 12 that faces the installation surface 100 of the grip portion 11 is preferably, for example, 7 or more. The grip portion 11 of this embodiment is made of an elastically deformable material, such as rubber, that has a restoring force. Hereinafter, the length of the grip portion 11 in the short direction of the device 1 is referred to as the length L0 of the grip portion 11.

[0021] The sliding portion 20 is made of a slippery material with a relatively low coefficient of friction with respect to the installation surface 100. The coefficient of friction of the surface of the sliding portion 20 facing the installation surface 100 is preferably, for example, 0.1 or less. The sliding portion 20 of this embodiment is made by adhering a sheet-like material with a relatively low coefficient of friction with respect to the grip portion 11 to the contact surface 12 of the grip portion 11.

[0022] The sliding portion 20 is formed over substantially the entire area of ​​the grip portion 11 in the longitudinal direction (depth direction) of the device 1 (see FIG. 3), while it is formed on a portion of the outside of the device 1 in the lateral direction (width direction) of the device 1 (see FIG. 4). In this embodiment, if the length of the sliding portion 20 in the lateral direction of the device 1 is taken as length L1 of the sliding portion 20, then length L1 of the sliding portion 20 is shorter than half the length L0 of the grip portion 11. Length L1 of the sliding portion 20 is, for example, 4 mm. It is preferable that the ratio of the widthwise length of the grip portion 11 to the widthwise length of the sliding portion 20 is 4:1.

[0023] The joint 30 is disposed in a portion of the support member 10 facing the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2. The joint 30 of this embodiment is configured in the form of a sheet having adhesive portions on both sides, like double-sided tape, and is attached to the device side surface (support object side surface) 13 of the grip portion 11 facing the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2.

[0024] The joint 30 is formed over substantially the entire area of ​​the grip portion 11 in the longitudinal direction of the device 1, and is formed in a part of the inside (toward the center of the device 1) in the lateral direction of the device 1. The joint 30 and the sliding portion 20 are arranged to be offset from each other in the width direction by a distance d1, and are positioned so as not to overlap when viewed in the vertical direction.

[0025] In this embodiment, if the length of the joint 30 in the short side direction of the device 1 is defined as the length L2 of the joint 30, the length L2 of the joint 30 is longer than half the length L0 of the grip portion 11. Furthermore, the length L2 of the joint 30 is set to be longer than the length L1 of the sliding portion 20. The length L2 of the joint 30 is, for example, 11 mm.

[0026] 3 shows the state before the device 1 is installed. The sliding portion 20 is configured in a sheet-like shape and has a thickness T1 of the sliding portion 20. When the device 1 is not installed on a table, there is no load from the device 1, and therefore a step corresponding to the thickness T1 of the sliding portion 20 is generated on the contact surface 12 of the grip portion 11. Similarly, the joint portion 30 is configured in a sheet-like shape and has a thickness T2 of the joint portion 30. When the device 1 is not installed on a table, there is no load from the device 1, and therefore a gap corresponding to the thickness T2 of the joint portion 30 is generated between the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2 and the device side surface 13 of the grip portion 11.

[0027] Next, the state after the device 1 is installed will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state after the device 1 is installed on the support member 10 according to this embodiment.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 5, when the load of the device 1 is applied to the support member 10, the grip portion 11 undergoes elastic bending deformation that is not uniform across the width of the device 1. More specifically, the inner portion of the contact surface 12 of the grip portion 11 in the width direction comes into contact with the installation surface 100 due to elastic deformation. In other words, both the grip portion 11 and the sliding portion 20, which have a high coefficient of friction, come into contact with the installation surface 100. Even if a slight impact is applied to the device 1 in the lateral direction (width direction), the position of the device 1 is maintained by the frictional force of the grip portion 11.

[0029] Furthermore, when the load of the device 1 is placed on the installation surface 100, it is applied to the support member 10, and the outer widthwise portion of the side surface 13 of the device of the grip portion 11 is brought into contact with the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2 due to elastic deformation. That is, the grip portion 11, which has a high coefficient of friction, comes into contact with the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2 of the device 1 together with the joint portion 30. Even if a slight impact is applied to the device 1 in the lateral direction (width direction), the adhesive force of the joint portion 30 and the frictional force of the grip portion 11 prevent the support member 10 from shifting in the lateral direction relative to the device 1.

[0030] Compared to when the joint 30 is formed over the entire device side surface 13 of the grip portion 11, the grip portion 11 can bend and deform to the extent of the gap between the device side surface 13 of the grip portion 11 and the bottom surface 3 of the housing 2, ensuring a larger contact area between the ground surface 12 of the grip portion 11 and the installation surface 100. Also, because the joint 30 and the sliding portion 20 are positioned so that they do not overlap in the vertical direction, the grip portion 11 can bend more elastically.

[0031] Next, the state after the device 1 is installed will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the support member 10 according to this embodiment when the device 1 is tilted. Fig. 6 shows the state in which the upper part of the housing 2 is tilted outward in the width direction.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 6, when the housing 2 tilts, the contact surface 12 of the grip portion 11 moves away from the installation surface 100. In this state, the frictional force of the grip portion 11 is released, and only the sliding portion 20 of the support member 10 comes into contact with the installation surface 100. As described above, the sliding portion 20 is made of a material with a low coefficient of friction, and therefore moves as if sliding in the width direction across the installation surface 100. This sliding movement prevents the device 1 from tipping over.

[0033] Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a mechanism for preventing tipping in the direction of floor shaking using the sliding movement of the support member 10 of this embodiment will be described in comparison with a conventional example.

[0034] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the mechanism of tipping over due to a conventional rubber foot 50. FIG. 7 shows, in stages, how a device 1 equipped with a conventional rubber foot 50 tips over due to floor shaking in the direction of the left side of the page. Note that the floor shaking may be caused not only by an earthquake but also by external shocks. The fulcrum vertical line shown in FIG. 7 is an imaginary line that passes vertically through the right end of the rubber foot 50, which is located on the right side when viewed from the front (the center of rotation when the device 1 tips over).

[0035] FIG. 7( a ) shows a conventional example of a rubber foot 50 supporting the device 1 in a normal state, standing on the floor of the installation surface 100 without tilting. The conventional rubber foot 50 is made of the same rubber material as the grip portion 11 of the above-described embodiment and is designed to have a high coefficient of friction on the contact surface to prevent slipping. If the floor of the installation surface 100 moves to the left of the page relative to the device 1 from the state shown in FIG. 7( a ) due to an external impact caused by an earthquake or the like, the upper part of the device 1 will tilt to the right of the page, as shown in FIG. 7( b ). Because the surface of the rubber foot 50 that contacts the installation surface 100 has a high coefficient of friction, the lower part of the device 1 will attempt to stay in place due to the gripping force. As a result, the device 1 will tilt until the center of gravity of the device 1 crosses the fulcrum perpendicular line, as shown in FIG. 7( c ), and will eventually tip over as shown in FIG. 7( d ). As such, the conventional rubber foot 50's gripping force prevents it from slipping when subjected to lateral shaking caused by an earthquake or the like, which can easily cause the device 1 to tip over and lead to damage or malfunction.

[0036] Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the mechanism of tipping prevention using the support member 10 according to this embodiment. Fig. 8 shows, in stages, how the device 1 to which the support member 10 according to this embodiment is attached tilts due to the shaking of the floor to the left of the page, but recovers without tipping over.

[0037] FIG. 8(a) shows a normal state in which the device 1 is standing on the floor of the installation surface 100 without tilting due to the support member 10. If the floor of the installation surface 100 moves to the left side of the page relative to the device 1 from the state shown in FIG. 8(a) due to an external impact such as an earthquake, the upper part of the device 1 will tilt to the right side of the page as shown in FIG. 8(b). Before the center of gravity of the device 1 moves from this state to the state shown in FIG. 8(c) about to cross the fulcrum vertical line, the frictional force of the grip portion 11 of the support member 10 is released as shown in FIG. 6, and only the sliding portion 20 is in contact with the installation surface 100. With only the sliding portion 20 in contact with the installation surface 100, the lower part of the device 1 slides to the right on the installation surface 100 (in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 8), and the upper part of the device 1 swings back to the left side as shown in FIG. 8(d). Finally, the device 1 returns to its normal state as shown in FIG. 8(e) without tipping over.

[0038] As described above, the support member 10 attached to the bottom surface 3 of the equipment 1 as the supported object comprises a grip portion 11 that contacts the installation surface 100 on which the equipment 1 as the supported object is to be installed, and a slide portion 20 that has a relatively lower coefficient of friction than the grip portion 11 and that contacts the installation surface 100 outside the portion of the grip portion 11 that contacts the installation surface 100 in a specified direction of the equipment 1 (the width direction, short side direction of the equipment 1).

[0039] As a result, during normal use, the grip of the contact surface 12 of the grip portion 11 stably maintains the posture of the device 1. Even slight tilting of the device 1 due to lateral shaking caused by an earthquake or other events on the installation surface 100 causes the slide portion 20 to slide (slide) sideways, preventing the device 1 from tipping over. This simple configuration—the grip portion 11, which is a non-slip portion, and the slide portion 20, which is a slippery portion, are located on the same surface that contacts the installation surface 100—improves the stability of the device 1's posture, suppresses vibration transmission, protects the surface of the bottom surface 3 of the device 1, and prevents tipping over due to shaking in a specific direction caused by earthquakes or external impacts. Furthermore, because tipping over due to lateral sliding can be prevented, the support member 10 does not need to extend widthwise from the device 1, allowing for a narrower widthwise spacing between the left and right support members 10. Furthermore, the grip portion 11 and slide portion 20 can be constructed from different, relatively readily available materials, providing inexpensive vibration isolation functionality to supported objects such as the device 1 and reducing the risk of damage or malfunction due to tipping over of the device 1.

[0040] In addition, the support member 10 of this embodiment further includes a joint 30 that is arranged between the equipment 1 and the grip portion 11 and joins the bottom surface 3 of the equipment 1 to the grip portion 11 by adhesive force, and the joint 30 is located inside the slide portion 20 in a predetermined direction, and when the equipment 1 is placed on the installation surface 100, the load of the equipment 1 causes the portion of the grip portion 11 where the joint 30 is not located to elastically deform and come into contact with the bottom surface 3 of the equipment 1.

[0041] As a result, the bending of the grip portion 11 caused by the weight of the device 1 and the difference in height caused by the presence of the joint portion 30 allow the contact surface 12 of the grip portion 11 to be securely in contact with the installation surface 100, thereby increasing the stability of the device 1 under normal conditions while maintaining its anti-tip function.

[0042] Moreover, the sliding portion 20 of this embodiment is arranged on the ground surface 12 of the grip portion 11, which faces the installation surface 100, and is made of a sheet-like member having a thickness T1.

[0043] This allows the elastic deformation of the grip portion 11 to ensure a grip under normal conditions, while the thickness T1 of the slide portion 20 allows the slide portion 20 to quickly contact the installation surface 100 when the device 1 is tilted, making it possible to more reliably prevent tipping.

[0044] In addition, the thickness T2 of the joint portion 30 in this embodiment is configured to be thicker than the thickness T1 of the slide portion 20.

[0045] As a result, even if the slide portion 20 is positioned lower than the grip portion 11 before the device 1 is installed, the contact surface 12 of the grip portion 11 can be brought into contact with the installation surface 100, and the grip effect of the grip portion 11 under normal conditions can be more reliably exerted.

[0046] Next, modified support members 110 and 210 having different configurations from the above embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same reference numerals will be used to designate components that are common or similar to those in the above embodiment, and the description thereof may be omitted.

[0047] Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the support member 110 of the first modified example before the device 1 is installed. As shown in Fig. 9, the support member 110 of the first modified example mainly comprises a slide part 120 made of a material with a low coefficient of friction. The slide part 120 has joints 30 arranged over the entire surface facing the device 1, and the support member 110 is fixed to the device 1 via the joints 30.

[0048] Grip portion 111 is formed by performing a process such as printing that provides a high coefficient of friction on contact surface 121 of sliding portion 120 that faces installation surface 100. The coefficient of friction of contact surface 112 of grip portion 111 is set to be higher than the coefficient of friction of contact surface 121 of sliding portion 120. Grip portion 111 is formed on the inner side in the width direction of contact surface 121 of sliding portion 120, and is configured so that the outer side in the width direction of contact surface 121 of sliding portion 120 is exposed.

[0049] In the first modified example, before the device 1 is placed on the installation surface 100, the contact surface 112 of the grip part 111 is located below the contact surface 121 of the slide part 120, and the grip part 111 is configured to be in secure contact with the installation surface 100. In the first modified example as well, the grip part 111 is in secure contact with the installation surface 100, thereby enabling the device 1 to be supported more stably.

[0050] Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of support member 210 of the second modified example before installation of device 1. As shown in Fig. 10, support member 210 of the second modified example is configured such that grip portion 211, which has a relatively high coefficient of friction, and slide portion 220, which has a relatively low coefficient of friction, are separate bodies rather than being integrated. Slide portion 220 is disposed adjacent to grip portion 211 on the outer side in the width direction.

[0051] Grip portion 211 is fixed to device 1 by joint 30a arranged over the entire surface on the device 1 side. Slide portion 220 is fixed to device 1 by joint 30b arranged over the entire surface on the device 1 side. Joint 30a and joint 30b are also separate and independent structures.

[0052] Before the device 1 is placed on the installation surface 100, the contact surface 212 of the grip part 211 is located lower than the contact surface 221 of the slide part 220, and the grip part 111 is configured to reliably contact the installation surface 100. In the second modified example as well, the device 1 can be supported more stably by forming the grip part 211 from an elastically deformable material.

[0053] The configurations of the first and second modified examples described above can also provide the same tip-over prevention effect as the above embodiment.

[0054] In addition, within the scope of the spirit of the present invention, the components in the above-described embodiments may be replaced with well-known components as appropriate, and the above-described modified examples may be combined as appropriate.

[0055] For example, in the above embodiment and modified examples, a rectangular parallelepiped device 1 has been described as an example of a support object, but the configuration of the device 1 is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the shape of the housing 2 constituting the device 1 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped, but may be a cube or a three-dimensional shape with curved surfaces such as a cylinder. Furthermore, the support object to which the support member 10 is attached is not limited to the device 1, but may also be attached to furniture, etc.

[0056] In the above embodiment and modified examples, the joint 30 is configured using double-sided tape, but this configuration is not limited to this. The joint 30 may be configured to fix the support member 10 and the device 1 by mechanical fixation using fastening members such as bolts.

[0057] In the above-described embodiment and modified examples, the sliding portions 20, 120, and 220 are configured to be disposed on the outer side in the width direction relative to the grip portions 11, 111, and 211, but the location of the sliding portions is not limited to the outer side in the width direction. In the case of a supported object whose short side is the depth direction, such as a television, the sliding portions may be disposed on the outer side in the depth direction. In this way, the positional relationship between the sliding portions and the grip portions can be changed as appropriate depending on the structure of the supported object. [Example]

[0058] Next, a description will be given of a demonstration test that was conducted to confirm the tip-over prevention function of the support member 10 of this embodiment and the tip-over prevention function of a conventional rubber foot 50 as shown in Fig. 7. The conventional rubber foot 50 will be described below as a comparative example.

[0059] In the demonstration test, the device 1 equipped with the support member 10 was placed on a platform that could slide in the width direction, and the number of times it tipped over when it was swung in the width direction at an amplitude of 12 cm was confirmed. Similarly, the device 1 equipped with the rubber feet 50 of the comparative example was placed on a platform that could slide in the width direction, and the number of times it tipped over when it was swung in the width direction at the same amplitude of 12 cm was confirmed.

[0060] As a result, the rate of tipping over in the number of experiments for the device 1 attached with the support member 10 of this embodiment was 20%, while the rate of tipping over in the number of experiments for the device 1 attached with the rubber feet 50 of the comparative example was 100%. These experimental results demonstrated that the support member 10 of this embodiment has an excellent effect not found in the prior art in that it can prevent tipping over better than the rubber feet 50 of the comparative example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1. Equipment (supported object) 2. Case 3 Bottom 10,110,120 Support member 11,111,211 Grip 12,112,212 Ground plane 13 Equipment side 20,120,220 Slide section 30 Joint 100 Installation surface

Claims

1. A support member attached to the bottom surface of a support object, a grip portion that comes into contact with a mounting surface on which the support object is to be mounted; a slide portion having a relatively lower coefficient of friction than the grip portion and contacting the installation surface on the outer side of the portion of the grip portion that contacts the installation surface in a predetermined direction of the support object; A support member comprising:

2. a joining portion disposed between the support object and the grip portion and joining the bottom surface of the support object and the grip portion by adhesive force; the joint portion is located inside the slide portion in the predetermined direction, When the support object is placed on the installation surface, a portion of the grip portion where the joint portion is not disposed is elastically deformed by a load of the support object and contacts the bottom surface of the support object. The support member of claim 1 .

3. The slide portion is The grip portion is disposed on a ground surface facing the installation surface, and is made of a sheet-like member having a thickness. The support member of claim 2 .

4. The thickness of the joint portion is configured to be thicker than the thickness of the slide portion. The support member of claim 3 .

5. The support object is an electronic device. A support member according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images