Snap-fit connection structure

Abstract

To provide a snap-fit connection structure that can improve the efficiency of assembling work by improving assemblability.SOLUTION: A snap-fit connection structure 1 connects a pipe component 20 to a pipe component 10 by using the elasticity of a material. The pipe component 10 comprises an engagement convex part 12 in an outer wall of a main body part 11. The pipe component 20 comprises a tongue piece 22 extending in the fitting direction, and arranged along the outer wall of the main body part 11. The tongue piece 22 comprises a hole part 23 into which the engagement convex part 12 is fitted. A guide groove 24 for guiding the engagement convex part 12 to the center of the hole part 23 is formed at an end part of the tongue piece 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a snap-fit ​​connection structure that utilizes the elasticity of materials to connect parts together. [Background technology]

[0002] A snap-fit ​​connection structure that utilizes the elasticity of the parts to connect them is known as a connection structure for assembling and mechanically connecting a part to a part being attached. An example of such a snap-fit ​​connection structure is that disclosed in Patent Document 1. The connection structure disclosed therein has an engaging protrusion provided on the outer wall of the part being attached, and an engaging piece provided on the part being attached so as to fit along the outer wall of the part being attached. The engaging protrusion and the hole formed in the engaging piece (tongue) are aligned and fitted together to connect the part to be attached.

[0003] In this connection structure, the engaging piece (tongue piece) has a slit that extends from the hole in the fitting direction, making it difficult for the engaging piece to come off the engaging protrusion even when a load is applied. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-1825 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the above-described coupling structure, if the engaging projections and the holes are not aligned before assembling the attachment part to the attachment target part, the engaging projections will not fit properly into the holes, and the attachment part may not be able to be assembled to the attachment target part. Therefore, since it is necessary to assemble the attachment part to the attachment target part while understanding the positional relationship between the engaging projections and the holes, assembling the attachment part to the attachment target part is difficult, the assembly work takes time, and the efficiency of the assembly work may be reduced.

[0006] Therefore, the present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a snap-fit ​​connection structure that can improve assembly ease and increase the efficiency of assembly work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present disclosure is to In a snap-fit ​​connection structure in which a mounting part is connected to a mounted part by utilizing the elasticity of the material, The attached component has an engaging protrusion on an outer wall thereof, the attachment part includes a tongue piece extending in a fitting direction and arranged along the outer wall portion, the tongue piece has a hole into which the engaging protrusion is fitted, The tongue has an end formed with a guide groove for guiding the engaging protrusion to the center of the hole.

[0008] In this snap-fit ​​connection structure, a guide groove is formed at the end of the tongue to guide the engaging protrusion to the center of the hole, so when the assembly part is moved in the fitting direction during assembly, the guide groove guides the engaging protrusion to the center of the hole in the tongue. In other words, even if the engaging protrusion and the hole are not precisely aligned (even if they are slightly misaligned), they are automatically aligned when the assembly part is moved in the fitting direction.

[0009] Then, as the assembly part is moved further in the fitting direction, the engaging protrusion is guided by the guide groove to the center of the hole in the tongue piece, and the engaging protrusion fits into the hole, joining the assembly to the workpiece. Even if the engaging protrusion and the hole are slightly misaligned, a snap-fit ​​connection can be achieved, improving assembly efficiency and shortening the time it takes to assemble the assembly to the workpiece. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a snap-fit ​​connection structure that can improve the ease of assembly and the efficiency of the assembly work. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing pipe parts joined using the snap-fit ​​joining structure of the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 2] 1 is a side view showing pipe parts joined using the snap-fit ​​joining structure of the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A snap-fit ​​connection structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the present disclosure is applied to a connection portion of pipe parts.

[0013] <Component configuration> A snap-fit ​​connection structure 1 of this embodiment will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a pipe part 10, which serves as the part to be attached, and a pipe part 20, which serves as the part to be attached, are assembled and connected using a snap-fit ​​connection. The pipe parts 10 and 20 are made of synthetic resin.

[0014] 1 and 2, the pipe part 10 has a cylindrical main body 11 and a flange 15 provided at the end opposite the joint. The diameter of the main body 11 is slightly smaller than the diameter of a main body 21 of a pipe part 20 (described later), and the pipe part 10 is joined in a state where the main body 11 is inserted into the main body 21 (a state where the outer wall of the main body 11 and the inner wall of the main body 20 are in close contact with each other) (see FIG. 3).

[0015] An engaging protrusion 12, which is part of the snap-fit ​​connection structure 1, is formed on the outer wall of the main body 11. In this embodiment, two engaging protrusions 12 are provided at opposing positions. Each engaging protrusion 12 has a quadrangular prism shape, and as shown in FIG. 3, an inclined surface 12a is formed at its upper end. In other words, the upper end of each engaging protrusion 12 is formed in a triangular prism shape. This inclined surface 12a allows a tongue 22, which will be described later, to smoothly ride over the engaging protrusion 12 when connecting the pipe part 10 and the pipe part 20.

[0016] 1 and 2, the pipe part 20 includes a cylindrical main body 21 and an elbow 25 formed on the opposite side from the joint. The pipe part 20 includes a tongue 22 at the end opposite the elbow 25, which extends in the fitting direction and is disposed along the outer wall of the pipe part 10 (main body 11). The tongue 22 is part of the snap-fit ​​joint structure 1. The tongue 22 is a thin cantilever beam with one end fixed to the main body 21 as a fixed end and the other end as a free end.

[0017] The tongue piece 22 is provided with a hole 23 into which the engaging protrusion 12 of the pipe part 10 is fitted. A guide groove 24 is formed at the free end of the tongue piece 22, as shown in Figure 2, to guide the engaging protrusion 12 to the center of the hole 22. This guide groove 24 has an inverted tapered shape that gradually widens toward the tip. As a result, when the pipe part 20 is moved in the fitting direction with the engaging protrusion 12 positioned within the guide groove 24, the guide groove 24 acts as a guide to guide the engaging protrusion 12 to the center of the hole 22, and the engaging protrusion 12 and the hole 22 are automatically aligned.

[0018] <Assembly of each part> Next, the assembly of the above-mentioned parts 10, 20 will be described. When assembling (connecting) the pipe part 10 to the pipe part 20, the pipe part 20 is fitted from above the pipe part 10. Specifically, first, the tip of the main body 11 of the pipe part 10 is fitted inside the main body 21 of the pipe part 20, and the positional relationship between the two parts 10, 20 is adjusted so that the engaging protrusion 12 is positioned within the guide groove 24 of the tongue piece 22. At this time, the positional relationship between the engaging protrusion 12 and the guide groove 24 can be easily confirmed visually, so that the engaging protrusion 12 can be easily positioned within the guide groove 24.

[0019] Next, with the engaging protrusion 12 positioned within the guide groove 24, the pipe part 20 is moved in the fitting direction (downward). As a result, the engaging protrusion 12 is guided by the guide groove 24 to the center of the hole 23 of the tongue piece 22. In other words, even if the engaging protrusion 12 and the hole 23 are not precisely aligned (even if they are slightly misaligned), the engaging protrusion 12 and the hole 23 are automatically aligned as the pipe part 20 is moved in the fitting direction.

[0020] As the pipe part 12 is further moved in the fitting direction, the tip side of the tongue 22 elastically deforms to open outward, climbing over the engaging protrusion 12 and placing the engaging protrusion 12 in the hole 23. At this time, the inclined surface 12a formed on the upper end of the engaging protrusion 12 allows the tongue 22 to smoothly climb over the engaging protrusion 12. Once the engaging protrusion 12 is positioned in the hole 23, as shown in Figure 3, the tip side of the tongue 22 returns to its original position, and the engaging protrusion 12 is fitted into the hole 23 with the lower end surface of the engaging protrusion 12 engaged with the lower end surface of the hole 23. This prevents the pipe part 20 from coming off the pipe part 10 and securely joins the pipe part 10 to the pipe part 20.

[0021] As described above, in the snap-fit ​​connection structure 1 of this embodiment, even if the positions of the engaging protrusion 12 and the hole 23 are slightly misaligned during assembly, snap-fit ​​connection can be performed, improving the ease of assembling parts together. This improves the efficiency of the part assembling work and reduces the work time.

[0022] As described above, according to the snap-fit ​​connection structure 1 of this embodiment, the end of the tongue 22 of the pipe part 20 is formed with a guide groove 24 that guides the engaging protrusion 12 of the pipe part 10 to the center of the hole 23 of the tongue 22. Therefore, when the pipe part 20 is moved in the fitting direction during assembly, the guide groove 24 guides the engaging protrusion 12 to the center of the hole 23 of the tongue 22, automatically aligning the engaging protrusion 12 with the hole 23. Therefore, even if the engaging protrusion 12 and the hole 23 are slightly misaligned, a snap-fit ​​connection can be performed, improving the ease of assembly and the efficiency of the assembly work, thereby reducing the assembly work time.

[0023] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the present disclosure in any way, and various improvements and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the present disclosure is applied to a snap-fit ​​connection structure for connecting pipe parts, but it is not limited to the connection of pipe parts, and can also be applied to, for example, a snap-fit ​​connection structure for connecting a cover part that fits the shape of a case part to a case part of various shapes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1. Snap-fit ​​connection structure 10 Pipe parts 11 Main body 12 Engagement protrusion 20 Pipe parts 21 Main body 22 Tongue piece 23 Hole 24 Guide groove

Claims

[Claim 1] In a snap-fit ​​connection structure in which a mounting part is connected to a mounted part by utilizing the elasticity of the material, The attached component has an engaging protrusion on an outer wall thereof, the attachment part includes a tongue piece extending in a fitting direction and arranged along the outer wall portion, the tongue piece has a hole into which the engaging protrusion is fitted, A guide groove is formed at the end of the tongue piece to guide the engaging protrusion to the center of the hole. A snap-fit ​​connection structure characterized by the above.

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