Spring-filled cushion

Abstract

The present invention provides a spring-loaded cushion that absorbs the impact applied to heavy objects during dropping or transport. [Solution] The spring-loaded cushion 100 of the present invention comprises a coil spring 1 and a mesh belt formed by weaving metal wires and wound in a cylindrical shape around the axis of the coil spring 1 to cover the coil spring 1. The coil spring 1 comprises a maximum diameter portion with the largest diameter, a minimum diameter portion with a diameter smaller than the maximum diameter, and an inclined portion that gradually decreases in diameter from the maximum diameter portion to the minimum diameter portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cushion using a coil spring, and particularly to a cushioned spring in which a mesh belt formed by braiding a metal wire into a wire mesh shape is wound around a coil spring.

Background Art

[0002] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-099395 filed on June 20, 2024, and incorporates all the contents of the base application.

[0003] The base application relates to a work locking member for a belt conveyor that prevents a work conveyed by the belt conveyor from sliding in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the belt conveyor in a belt conveyor that pulls a quenched metal workpiece from a quenching layer.

[0004] As such a work locking member, a knife-shaped plate member extending in the width direction of the conveyor belt has been used. However, since this work locking member is made of a metal such as aluminum, there is a problem that when a workpiece introduced from a heating furnace into a quenching bath collides with the work locking member, the workpiece is damaged.

[0005] Therefore, the inventors of the present invention proposed a work locking member in which a coil spring is housed inside a mesh belt in the base application. For this mesh belt, a mesh belt in which a helical member is connected by a corrugated bar-shaped rib, as described in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, for example, is preferably used.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

[0007] However, cushions with coil springs housed inside a mesh belt like this are not limited to their use as workpiece securing members on belt conveyors. They can be widely used to prevent damage to heavy objects such as metal parts during transport, or where cushioning is needed to absorb the impact of falling heavy objects. This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide a spring-loaded cushion that can be used in a variety of applications for the purpose of preventing damage or breakage of heavy objects such as metal parts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The invention made to solve the above problems is characterized by comprising a coil spring and a mesh belt formed by weaving metal wires and wound in a cylindrical shape around the axis of the coil spring.

[0009] In this spring-filled cushion, the coil spring is wrapped in a mesh belt by winding it in a cylindrical shape around the axis of the coil spring. Therefore, by placing it on the bottom of a basket that receives falling heavy objects, for example, it can cushion the impact of the fall and the vibrations during transport, thereby protecting the heavy objects.

[0010] Preferably, the coil spring has a maximum diameter portion with the largest diameter and a minimum diameter portion with a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter portion. This allows for a gap to be created between the coil spring and the mesh belt, thereby further enhancing the cushioning properties of the locking member body.

[0011] Preferably, the coil spring has an inclined section that gradually decreases in diameter from the maximum diameter section to the minimum diameter section. This allows the force to be released in the axial direction of the coil spring when a falling object or an object placed on it applies force to the inclined section.

[0012] Preferably, multiple coil springs are arranged in a row with gaps between them in the axial direction. By providing gaps between the coil springs in this way, the cushioning properties of the spring-filled cushion can be further enhanced.

[0013] Preferably, the mesh belt is formed by weaving metal wires together in a wire mesh shape, and comprises right-handed and left-handed helical members extending in the width direction of the mesh belt, arranged in parallel and alternately in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the width direction, and rod-shaped reinforcing ribs connecting the two types of helical members by being inserted into both adjacent right-handed and left-handed helical members. Using this type of mesh belt, the circumferential length of the mesh belt can be adjusted by making the rod-shaped reinforcing ribs wavy, straight, or by adjusting the height of the waves in the wavy rods, so that the mesh belt can be wound around the coil spring without any gaps. In addition, the flexibility of the reinforcing ribs makes the mesh belt more flexible in the circumferential direction, which can improve the cushioning performance of the spring cushion.

[0014] It is preferable to provide a wavy spring member that is inserted through both the right helical member and the left helical member, thereby biasing the two adjacent helical members in a direction that increases the distance between their axes. In a mesh belt in which a right-handed helical member and a left-handed helical member are connected by rod-shaped reinforcing ribs (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2), a mesh belt in which a portion of the reinforcing ribs is replaced with a spring member that expands and contracts in the longitudinal direction, as in the mesh belt of Patent Document 2, has superior cushioning compared to a mesh belt without such a spring member. If a wavy spring member is used as this spring member, the pitch in which the helical members of the mesh belt are arranged in the longitudinal direction becomes smaller, making it easier to wind the mesh belt around an elastic member. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] As described above, the spring-loaded cushion of the present invention can absorb the impact of falling or vibrating heavy objects by receiving them or placing it under heavy objects.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] [Figure 1] (a) Partial transparent front view and (b) X-X cross-sectional view of the spring-included cushion according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] An enlarged front view of the coil spring shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] A partial transparent front view of the spring-included cushion according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] (a) Partial transparent plan view, (b) partial transparent front view, (c) bottom view, (d) side view, and (e) enlarged view of part Y in (b) of the spring-included cushion according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] A developed view of the mesh belt according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and appropriate changes can be made without departing from the gist.

[0018] (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a spring-included cushion 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The spring-included cushion 100 is used to receive a heavy object such as a metal part or to lay it under a heavy object to buffer the impact applied to the heavy object. The spring-included cushion 100 includes a plurality of (four in the example of FIG. 1) coil springs 1, 1,... arranged linearly with the same axial direction and a mesh belt 2 covering the coil springs 1, 1,.... However, only one coil spring 1 may be provided.

[0019] A plurality of coil springs 1, 1,... are arranged linearly in the mesh belt 2 while providing a gap 13 therein as shown in Fig. 1(a), and are integrally wound by the mesh belt 2. In the example of Fig. 1, the spring cushion 100 has five gaps 13 at both ends and the middle part in the direction in which the coil springs 1 are arranged.

[0020] The coil spring 1 is formed by winding a metal wire for the spring in a spiral shape as shown in Fig. 2, and has a maximum diameter portion 1a where the outer diameter is the largest, a minimum diameter portion 1b where the outer diameter is smaller than the maximum diameter portion 1a and is the smallest, and an inclined portion 1c where the outer diameter gradually becomes smaller from the maximum diameter portion 1a toward the minimum diameter portion 1b. In the example of Fig. 2, the coil spring 1 has two maximum diameter portions 1a and three minimum diameter portions 1b, and two of these minimum diameter portions 1b are provided at both ends of the coil spring 1. Thus, since the coil spring 1 includes the minimum diameter portion 1b and the inclined portion 1c, a gap 14 is formed between the coil spring 1 and the mesh belt 2.

[0021] In addition, the coil spring 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a sparsely wound portion 1f wound in a state where a gap 1e is provided between adjacent annular metal wires 1d, 1d in the axial direction within a certain range centered on the maximum diameter portion 1a in the axial direction. On the other hand, a tightly wound portion 1g is provided which is wound in a state where no gap 1e is provided between adjacent annular metal wires 1d, 1d in the axial direction within a certain range centered on the minimum diameter portion 1b in the axial direction and extending to the middle of the inclined portion 1c.

[0022] Moreover, since the minimum diameter portion 1b has the same diameter over a certain length, the peripheral surface is cylindrical, while around the maximum diameter portion 1a, the diameter continuously changes in the axial direction, and the peripheral surface is curved and bulges outward in the radial direction.

[0023] As shown in Figure 5, the mesh belt 2 is rectangular in its unfolded state and covers the coil spring 1 by being wound in a cylindrical shape around the axis of the coil spring 1. As shown in Figure 5, the mesh belt 2 comprises a right helical member 3, a left helical member 4, a reinforcing rib 5, and a wavy spring member 6. All of these are formed from metal wire such as stainless steel or iron.

[0024] The right-handed helical member 3 is formed to extend in a right-handed helical shape from one end to the other end of the mesh belt 2 when viewed from one end (upper side in Figure 5(b)) in the width direction (up and down direction in Figure 5(b)) when the mesh belt 2 is unfolded, while the left-handed helical member 4 is formed to extend in a left-handed helical shape from the same end to the other end. The helical members 3 and 4 extend in the width direction of the mesh belt 2 and are arranged in parallel and alternately in the longitudinal direction.

[0025] The reinforcing bars 5 are formed from metal wire in a wavy rod shape and have numerous alternating waves 5a and 5b arranged in the length direction (width direction of the mesh belt 2). Wave 5a engages with the ring 3a of the right helical member 3, and wave 5b engages with the ring 4a of the left helical member 4, thereby connecting adjacent helical members 3 and 4 while preventing them from shifting in the width direction. However, the reinforcing bars may be straight lines without waves instead of wavy rods.

[0026] As shown in Figure 5, the wavy spring member 6 is formed in a wavy shape with continuous waves 6a at a pitch P2 that is larger than the pitch P1 of the rings 3a and 4a of the helical members 3 and 4. By making the pitch P2 larger than the pitch P1, it is possible to suppress the waves 6a of the wavy spring member 6 from getting stuck between the rings 3a and 4a of the helical members 3 and 4, allowing the wavy spring member 6 to be inserted between the helical members 3 and 4 while they are spaced apart. When the distance between the axes of the helical members 3 and 4 decreases, the waves 6a are pushed by the rings 3a and 4a of the helical members 3 and 4, causing deformation that reduces the wave height of the waves 6a, thus forming an elastic force in the wavy spring member 6. The pitch P2 is preferably twice or more the pitch P1, more preferably three times or more, even more preferably four times or more, and particularly preferably five times or more.

[0027] The wavy spring member 6 is fixed at both ends by welding to only one of the helical members 3 and 4, and is not fixed to the other helical member 3 or 4. In this way, the wavy spring member 6 can move freely within the helical members 3 and 4, and the movement of the wavy spring member 6 causes the distance between the axes of adjacent helical members 3 and 4 to expand or contract.

[0028] The wavy spring member 6 may have both ends 6b, 6b welded to the ends of the helical member 3 or helical member 4. However, when the wavy spring member 6 undergoes deformation that reduces the wave height, it stretches in the length direction (width direction of the mesh belt 12). If both ends are fixed by welding, the stretching is constrained, and there is a risk that deformation that reduces the wave height will not be possible.

[0029] Furthermore, the wavy spring member 6 does not necessarily have to be welded at both ends, but if both ends are free, there is a risk that the wavy spring member 6 may shift position in the width direction of the mesh belt 2 as the mesh belt 12 repeatedly expands and contracts.

[0030] By welding only one end of the wavy spring member 6 to the end of the helical member 3 or helical member 4, the wavy spring member 6 can undergo elastic deformation that reduces the wave height without restricting its extension or causing displacement, thereby effectively forming an elastic force, making the mesh belt 2 expandable and contractible, and giving the mesh belt 2 cushioning properties.

[0031] When multiple wavy spring members 6 are arranged in parallel, it is preferable to weld at least some of the wavy spring members 6 to the helical member 3 or helical member 4 at an end 6b on a different side from the other spring members 6. It is even more preferable to change the end 6bw to which the multiple wavy spring members 6 are welded at regular intervals between one end and the other end in the width direction of the mesh belt 2, and even more preferable to change the end 6bw to which each spring member is welded alternately. This allows the mesh belt 2 to expand and contract uniformly.

[0032] The mesh belt 2 is formed into a cylindrical shape by winding coil springs 1,1,... around it and then connecting the circumferential reinforcing ribs 5,5 at both ends with helical members having an appropriate outer diameter.

[0033] The mesh belt 2 is not limited to the one shown in Figure 5; any belt formed by weaving metal wires will suffice. This makes it easier to wrap around the coil spring 1 and allows it to deform easily when an object collides with it. Furthermore, the mesh belt 2 is preferably made up of at least two helical members, a right helical member 3 and a left helical member 4, alternately connected in a direction perpendicular to the axis. This allows the mesh belt 2 to be wound around the coil spring 1 without gaps when winding it around the coil spring 1 and connecting both ends in the circumferential direction, by selecting the right helical member 3 and left helical member 4 with appropriate diameters for the connection. Alternatively, the right helical member 3 and the left helical member 4 may be connected by a reinforcing rib 5. In this way, when winding the mesh belt 2 around the coil spring 1 and connecting both ends in the circumferential direction, by selecting a helical member of an appropriate diameter or a reinforcing rib 5 having a straight shape or waves 5a, 5b of an appropriate height, the belt can be wound around the coil spring 1 without any gaps.

[0034] (Effects / Actions) The spring-loaded cushion 100 according to the first embodiment has the following functions and effects due to the configuration described above. (1) By providing a coil spring 1 on the inside of the mesh belt 2, the cushioning of the spring cushion 100 can be enhanced. (2) The mesh belt 2 is wound around the axis of the coil spring 1, making it easy to wind the mesh belt 2 onto the coil spring 1. (3) Since there is a gap 14 between the smallest diameter portion 1b and the inclined portion 1c of the coil spring 1 and the mesh belt 2, the cushioning of the locking member body 10 can be further enhanced. (4) Since the coil spring 1 is equipped with an inclined portion 1c, the impact when the workpiece collides with the inclined portion can be dissipated in the axial direction of the coil spring 1, thereby further enhancing the cushioning performance of the spring cushion 100. (5) Multiple coil springs 1 are arranged with gaps 13 between them, so the coil springs 1 This allows for easier expansion and contraction in the axial direction, further enhancing the cushioning properties of the locking member body 10. By providing gaps 13 at both ends of the locking member body 10, it is possible to prevent the coil springs 1 from protruding from both ends of the mesh belt 12. (6) As the mesh belt 2, a wavy spring member 6 with a small pitch between the helical members 3 and 4 is used, making it easy to wind the mesh belt 2 around the coil spring 1.

[0035] (Second Embodiment) Figure 3 shows a spring-filled cushion 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The spring-filled cushion 200 is composed of the same components as in the first embodiment, except that four coil springs 21 of a different shape from those in the first embodiment are arranged with gaps 13,... between them.

[0036] The coil spring 21 in the spring-loaded cushion 200 has a minimum diameter portion 21b between two maximum diameter portions 21a, 21a, which are straight cylindrical shapes with the largest outer diameter, and a stepped portion 21c between the maximum diameter portion 21a and the minimum diameter portion 21b. Because the coil spring 21 has the minimum diameter portion 21b and the stepped portion 21c, a cylindrical gap portion 214 is formed between the coil spring 21 and the mesh belt 2. As a result, the cushioning properties of the spring-loaded cushion 200 are increased.

[0037] (Third embodiment) Figure 4 shows a spring-loaded cushion 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The spring-loaded cushion 300 has fixing means 20 for fixing to a strip-shaped or sheet-shaped object A, such as a conveyor belt (not shown).

[0038] (Fixing means) As shown in Figure 4, the fixing means 20 comprises a base plate 25 made of a long metal plate and fixing bolts 22 extending from the lower surface of the base plate 25.

[0039] As shown in Figure 4(c), the substrate 25 is shaped like a long plate and is sandwiched between the coil spring 31 and the mesh belt 2 on the side of the object A to which the coil spring 31 is fixed. A pair of spring locking members 24, 24, made of metal rods extending in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 25, are welded to both ends of the upper surface of the substrate 25 in the width direction (left-right direction in Figure 4(d)). As shown by the dashed lines in Figure 1(d), the spring locking members 24 abut against the outer circumference of the coil spring 31 to prevent the coil spring 31 from falling off the substrate 25 and guide the axial expansion and contraction of the coil spring 31.

[0040] The fixing bolt 22 is a countersunk bolt and is welded through the base plate 25 with its head embedded in the base plate 25. The fixing bolt 22 extends through the mesh belt 2 and the object to be fixed A, and is fixed to the object to be fixed A by a nut 23 through a bolt hole in the base B, which is made of a C channel and is provided on the lower side of the object to be fixed A. In this way, the spring cushion 300 is fixed to the object to be fixed A. However, the fixing bolt 22 does not have to be a countersunk bolt, and its head may protrude above the base plate 25. Alternatively, a female screw hole or nut may be provided on the base plate 25 side on the inside of the mesh belt 2, and the fixing bolt 22 inserted from the lower side of the object to be fixed A may be passed through from the outside of the mesh belt 2 to fix it.

[0041] The coil spring 31 of the spring-loaded cushion 300 consists of a single coil spring with the same outer diameter extending almost the entire length of the spring-loaded cushion 300. Therefore, the spring-loaded cushion 300 does not have any gaps in the middle section.

[0042] Furthermore, the spring-loaded cushion 300 according to this embodiment includes cover plates 323, 323 that contact both ends of the coil spring 31 to prevent the coil spring 31 from escaping from the mesh belt 2, and U-shaped frame members 324, 324 whose ends are welded to both ends of the base plate 25 in order to accommodate both ends of the coil spring 31.

[0043] In the spring-loaded cushion 300 of the third embodiment, the mesh belt 2 is sandwiched between the base plate 25 and the object to be fixed A, and the locking member body 10 is connected to the object to be fixed A with fixing bolts 22, thus eliminating the need to fix the base plate 25 and the mesh belt 2 separately. Furthermore, in the spring-loaded cushion 300, since the base plate 25 is placed inside the mesh belt 2, damage to the workpiece by the base plate 25 can be suppressed. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0044] 100, 200, 300 Spring-filled cushions 1. Coil spring 2 Mesh belts 1a Maximum diameter 1b Minimum diameter part 1c Slope 13 Gap 3 Right-hand spiral member 4 Left spiral member 5 Strength bone 6. Wavy spring member

Claims

1. Coil spring and, A mesh belt formed by weaving metal wires and wound in a cylindrical shape around the axis of the coil spring, A spring-loaded cushion equipped with [features / features].

2. The spring-filled cushion according to claim 1, wherein the coil spring comprises a maximum diameter portion with the largest diameter and a minimum diameter portion with a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter portion.

3. The spring cushion according to claim 2, wherein the coil spring has an inclined portion that gradually decreases in diameter from the maximum diameter portion toward the minimum diameter portion.

4. The spring cushion according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of coil springs are arranged with gaps in the axial direction.

5. The spring cushion according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the mesh belt is formed by weaving metal wires into a rectangular wire mesh, and is wound around the coil spring with its width direction oriented in the axial direction of the coil spring, and comprises a plurality of right-handed helical members and left-handed helical members extending in the width direction of the mesh belt and arranged alternately in parallel in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the width direction, and a rod-shaped reinforcing rib connecting the two types of helical members by being inserted through both adjacent right-handed and left-handed helical members.

6. The spring-loaded cushion according to claim 5, further comprising a wavy spring member inserted through both the right helical member and the left helical member, thereby biasing the two adjacent helical members in a direction that increases the distance between their axes.

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