Wiring duct

Abstract

For example, the dimensions in a predetermined direction, such as the vertical height, can be easily adjusted, and the wiring duct can be made simpler to install. [Solution] An adjustment duct 12 slides relative to the duct body 11, and the amount of protrusion from the duct body 11 is adjusted by the sliding motion. In addition, coil springs 33, 33... are provided to bias the adjustment duct 12 upward, and the biasing force of the coil springs 33, 33... causes the adjustment duct 12 to be in the raised position. Therefore, by simply sliding the adjustment duct 12 downward while resisting the biasing force of the coil springs 33, 33..., the amount of protrusion of the adjustment duct 12 from the duct body 11, and thus the vertical height of the wiring duct 1, can be easily adjusted, simplifying installation work, etc.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wiring duct that is attached, for example, to cover wiring drawn from a ceiling into a cabinet.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, for example, when drawing wiring from a ceiling into a cabinet, a wiring duct is sometimes attached so as to fill the gap between the ceiling and the top plate of the cabinet for reasons such as appearance. As such a wiring duct, there is one that allows adjustment of the height in the vertical direction, as described, for example, in Patent Document 1.

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0003]

Patent Literature 1

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, according to the wiring duct described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to loosen and tighten screws when adjusting the vertical height, so there is a problem that the adjustment work is cumbersome.

[0005] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wiring duct that can easily adjust the dimension in a predetermined direction such as the vertical height, and can simplify installation work and the like.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the invention described in claim 1 of the present invention is a wiring duct comprising a duct body capable of covering wiring and an adjustable duct capable of covering the wiring and slidable relative to the duct body, wherein the amount of protrusion of the adjustable duct from the duct body can be adjusted by sliding, and a biasing means is provided for biasing the adjustable duct toward the side that protrudes from the duct body, and the biasing force of the biasing means positions the adjustable duct at a predetermined protruding position. The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, the duct body has a front plate portion and side plate portions extending rearward from both left and right ends of the front plate portion, while the adjustment duct has an adjustment front plate portion, adjustment side plate portions extending rearward from both left and right ends of the adjustment front plate portion, and biased plate portions extending inward in the left-right direction from at least the adjustment side plate portions, and is slidable in the vertical direction relative to the duct body with the surface of the adjustment front plate portion in contact with the inner surface of the front plate portion and the surface of the adjustment side plate portion in contact with the inner surface of the side plate portion, and further, a base portion is provided on the inner surface of the side plate portion below the adjustment duct, projecting inward in the left-right direction, and the lower end of the biasing means is in contact with the base portion side and the upper end of the biasing means is in contact with the biased plate portion side. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, an adjustable duct that slides relative to the duct body can have its protrusion amount from the duct body adjusted by sliding, and a biasing means is provided to bias the adjustable duct toward the side that protrudes from the duct body, so that the adjustable duct is positioned at a predetermined protruding position by the biasing force of the biasing means. Therefore, without using tools as in the conventional method, the amount of protrusion of the adjustable duct from the duct body, and thus its size in the sliding direction, can be easily adjusted simply by sliding the adjustable duct toward the duct body while resisting the biasing force of the biasing means, thus simplifying installation work. Furthermore, because the adjustable duct is biased toward the protruding side by the biasing means, the protruding end of the adjustable duct is pressed against, for example, the ceiling surface. Therefore, it is possible to create a wiring duct in which gaps are less likely to occur between the protruding end of the adjustable duct and the surface it contacts during installation. Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 2, the duct body has a front plate portion and side plate portions extending rearward from both left and right ends of the front plate portion, while the adjustment duct has an adjustment front plate portion, adjustment side plate portions extending rearward from both left and right ends of the adjustment front plate portion, and a biased plate portion extending inward in the left-right direction from at least the adjustment side plate portion. The adjustment front plate portion is slidable vertically relative to the duct body with the surface of the adjustment front plate portion in contact with the inner surface of the front plate portion and the surface of the adjustment side plate portion in contact with the inner surface of the side plate portion. In addition, a base portion is provided below the adjustment duct on the inner surface of the side plate portion, protruding inward in the left-right direction, with the lower end of the biasing means in contact with the base portion side and the upper end of the biasing means in contact with the biased plate portion side.Therefore, the installation structure of the biasing means can be realized with a simple structure, and the biasing means can be housed inside the wiring duct, so that the appearance is not easily impaired. Furthermore, the upper part of the duct body can be designed to function as a guide for the sliding of the adjustment duct, resulting in a rational structure. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is an explanatory diagram showing a cabinet with a wiring duct installed, viewed from the front. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view diagram showing the wiring duct from the front. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view diagram showing the wiring duct from the rear. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical cross-section of a wiring duct with the adjustment section in the raised position. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram showing a wiring duct with the adjustment unit in the lowered position, viewed from the front. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical cross-section of a wiring duct with the adjustment section in the lowered position. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram showing examples of changes in the installation method of wiring ducts. [Figure 8] This is an explanatory diagram showing the first example of modifications to the wiring duct. [Figure 9] This is an explanatory diagram showing a second example of modifications to the wiring duct. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The following describes in detail, based on the drawings, a wiring duct which is one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the cabinet 2 with the wiring duct 1 installed from the front. Figure 2 is a perspective explanatory diagram showing the wiring duct 1 from the front. Figure 3 is a perspective explanatory diagram showing the wiring duct 1 from the rear. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical cross-section of the wiring duct 1 with the adjustment duct 12 in the raised position. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the wiring duct 1 with the adjustment duct 12 in the lowered position from the front. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical cross-section of the wiring duct 1 with the adjustment duct 12 in the lowered position.

[0010] The wiring duct 1 comprises a duct body 11 capable of covering wiring and an adjustment duct 12 capable of covering wiring and attached to the duct body 11 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The duct body 11 is made by bending a metal plate and has a front plate portion 13 formed into a rectangle when viewed from the front, side plate portions 14, 14 extending to the rear from both the left and right ends of the front plate portion 13, bent portions 15, 15 bent inward in the left and right directions from the rear ends of the side plate portions 14, 14, and a bottom plate portion 16 extending to the rear from the lower end of the front plate portion 13. The front plate portion 13 has an opening 17 for tasks such as installing the wiring duct 1 on the cabinet 2, and a cover plate 18 for covering the opening 17 is screwed to it.

[0011] Furthermore, a base plate 19 is provided on the upper part of the inner surface of each side plate 14, projecting inward in the left-right direction. The front and rear of each base plate 19 are provided with lower nut portions 31 to which the lower end of a bolt 30 (described later) can be screwed, and the base portion 19 functions as a base for supporting the adjustment duct 12 so that it can slide in the vertical direction. In addition, a fixing portion 20 is provided on the bottom plate 16 for screwing the duct body 11 onto the top plate of the cabinet 2. Moreover, a wiring support member 21 for bundling wiring that passes through the duct body 11 is detachably attached so as to span across the left and right bent portions 15, 15.

[0012] On the other hand, the adjustment duct 12, like the duct body 11, is made by bending a metal plate and has an adjustment front plate portion 23, adjustment side plate portions 24, 24 extending rearward from both left and right ends of the adjustment front plate portion 23, an adjustment upper plate portion 25 formed by bending the upper ends of the adjustment front plate portion 23 and the adjustment side plate portions 24, 24 inward towards the inside of the duct (i.e., the upper end of the adjustment front plate portion 23 is bent towards the rear, and the upper ends of the adjustment side plate portions 24 are bent inward in the left and right directions), and an adjustment lower plate portion 26 formed by bending the lower ends of the adjustment front plate portion 23 and the adjustment side plate portions 24, 24 inward towards the inside of the duct in the same way as the adjustment upper plate portion 25. Such an adjustable duct 12 has approximately the same left-right length and front-to-back width as the duct body 11, and can be fitted into the duct body 11 with the surface of the adjustable front plate portion 23 in contact with the inner surface of the front plate portion 13, and the surfaces of the adjustable side plate portions 24, 24 in contact with the inner surface of the side plate portion 14 above the base plate 19. In addition, when the adjustable lower plate portion 26 is fitted into the duct body 11, an insertion hole (not shown) is drilled in the portion facing the lower nut portions 31, 31... through which the upper end of a bolt 30 can be inserted.

[0013] In addition, inside the wiring duct 1, four bolts 30, 30... are attached with their lower ends screwed into lower nuts 31, 31... and their upper ends protruding into the adjustment duct 12 through through holes, with upper nuts 36, 36... screwed onto their upper ends to prevent them from coming loose. Coil springs 33, 33... are wound around the bolts 30, 30... in a compressed state. The lower end of each coil spring 33 is in contact with the lower washer 34 (on the base plate 19 side) attached to the lower nut 31, and the upper end is in contact with the upper washer 35 (on the adjustment duct 12 side) which is in contact with the lower surface of the adjustment lower plate 26. The adjustment duct 12 is biased upward by the biasing force of these coil springs 33, 33...

[0014] Therefore, in the above-described wiring duct 1, when the adjustment duct 12 is in a normal state where no downward load is applied thereto, the adjustment duct 12 is positioned at an ascending position (protruding position) where the upper surface of the lower adjustment plate portion 26 abuts against the upper nuts 36, 33, ... by the biasing force of the coil springs 33, 33, ... (FIG. 4). Naturally, when the adjustment duct 12 is at the ascending position, the adjustment duct 12 protrudes upward from the upper end of the duct main body 11 to the maximum extent, and the vertical height of the wiring duct 1 becomes maximum. Further, when a downward load is applied to the adjustment duct 12 of such a wiring duct 1, the adjustment duct 12 slides downward while being guided by the inner surface of the duct main body 11 and the bolts 30, 30, ... Finally, the adjustment duct reaches a descending position where the lower surface of the lower adjustment plate portion 26 abuts against the lower nut portions 31, 31, ... (strictly speaking, the washers 34, 34, ...). When the adjustment duct 12 is at the descending position, the amount of upward protrusion of the adjustment duct 12 from the duct main body 11 is minimized, and the vertical height of the wiring duct 1 is minimized. As described above, the height of the wiring duct 1 in the vertical direction can be adjusted by sliding the adjustment duct 12 vertically between the ascending position and the descending position.

[0015] When installing the above-described wiring duct 1 on the top plate of the cabinet 2, a downward load is applied to the adjustment duct 12 to push the adjustment duct 12 in, and the wiring duct 1 is inserted from the front into the gap between the top plate of the cabinet 2 and the ceiling surface S in a state where the vertical height of the wiring duct 1 is made smaller than the distance between the top plate of the cabinet 2 and the ceiling surface S. Then, when the load on the adjustment duct 12 is released, the adjustment duct 12 slides upward by the biasing force of the coil springs 33, 33, ... until the upper adjustment plate portion 25 abuts against the ceiling surface S, and is held in the abutting state. Finally, when the bottom plate portion 16 of the duct main body 11 is fixed to the top plate of the cabinet 2, the installation of the wiring duct 1 on the top plate of the cabinet 2 is completed. After installation, the wiring support member 21 may be attached as needed, and the wires in the wiring duct 1 may be bound, for example.

[0016] With the wiring duct 1 having the above configuration, the adjustment duct 12, which slides relative to the duct body 11, can adjust the amount of protrusion from the duct body 11 by sliding. Furthermore, coil springs 33, 33... are provided to bias the adjustment duct 12 toward the side that protrudes from the duct body 11, i.e., upward, and the adjustment duct 12 is positioned in the raised position by the biasing force of the coil springs 33, 33... Therefore, without using tools as in the conventional method, the amount of protrusion of the adjustment duct 12 from the duct body 11, and consequently the vertical height of the wiring duct 1, can be easily adjusted simply by sliding the adjustment duct 12 downward while resisting the biasing force of the coil springs 33, 33..., thus simplifying installation work.

[0017] Furthermore, since the adjustment duct 12 is biased upward by the coil springs 33, 33..., when the wiring duct 1 is installed on the top plate of the cabinet 2, the adjustment upper plate portion 25 of the adjustment duct 12 is pressed against the ceiling surface S. Therefore, the wiring duct 1 can be made such that a gap is less likely to occur between the adjustment upper plate portion 25 of the adjustment duct 12 and the ceiling surface S during installation.

[0018] Further, the duct main body 11 includes a front plate portion 13 and side plate portions 14, 14 extending rearward from both left and right ends of the front plate portion 13, while the adjustment duct 12 includes an adjustment front plate portion 23, adjustment side plate portions 24, 24 extending rearward from both left and right ends of the adjustment front plate portion 23, and an adjustment lower plate portion 26 formed by bending lower ends of the adjustment front plate portion 23 and the adjustment side plate portions 24, 24 toward the inside of the duct. In a state where a surface of the adjustment front plate portion 23 is in contact with an inner surface of the front plate portion 13, and surfaces of the adjustment side plate portions 24, 24 are respectively in contact with inner surfaces of the side plate portions 14, 14, the adjustment duct 12 is slidable in the vertical direction relative to the duct main body 11. Furthermore, a base plate 19 protruding inward in the left-right direction is provided on an inner surface of each side plate portion 14 below the adjustment duct 12, lower ends of the coil springs 33, 33... are in contact with the base plate 19 side, and upper ends of the coil springs 33, 33... are respectively in contact with the adjustment lower plate portion 26 side. Accordingly, the installation structure and the like for the coil springs 33, 33... can be realized with a simple structure, and additionally, the coil springs 33, 33... and the like can be housed inside the wiring duct 1, so that the appearance is less likely to be impaired. In addition, a rational structure can be achieved in which an upper portion of the duct main body 11 functions as a guide portion for the sliding of the adjustment duct 12.

[0019] It should be noted that the wiring duct according to the present invention is not limited to the aspect of the above embodiment at all, and not only the overall configuration of the duct main body and the adjustment duct, but also the configuration for sliding the adjustment duct and the like can be appropriately changed as necessary within a range not departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0020] For example, in the above embodiment, the height in the vertical direction is adjustable, but the wiring duct according to the present invention may be installed between a cabinet and a wall surface so as to cover wiring drawn into the cabinet from the wall surface. In such a case, the configuration may be such that the length in the left-right direction or the front-rear direction can be adjusted instead of the height in the vertical direction.

[0021] Furthermore, the shape of the duct body and adjustment duct can be modified as appropriate, and there is no problem with using a cylindrical duct body and adjustment duct. Moreover, even in the embodiment described above, where the duct body and adjustment duct are constructed by bending a metal plate, it is also possible to omit the bent portion, or to bend only the lower end of the adjustment side plate inward to form the adjustment lower plate. In addition, in the embodiment described above, the adjustment lower plate formed by bending the lower end of the adjustment side plate is used as the biased plate portion to which the upper end of the biasing means abuts, but it is also possible to separately provide a biased plate portion that protrudes inward in the left-right direction from the inner surface of the adjustment side plate, similar to the base plate to which the lower end of the biasing means abuts.

[0022] Furthermore, in the wiring duct of the above embodiment, for example, it is also possible to attach an elastic member such as a gasket to the adjustment upper plate. By attaching an elastic member in this way, the gap with the ceiling can be filled more reliably.

[0023] Furthermore, there is no problem in installing the wiring duct 1 so that the lower end of the adjustment duct 12 abuts against the top plate of the cabinet 2, for example, by fixing the duct body 11 to the ceiling surface S by providing anchors to the ceiling surface S as shown in Figure 7. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8, the adjustment upper plate portion 25 of the adjustment duct 12 may be bent outwards from the duct, and screw holes may be drilled in the adjustment upper plate portion 25 so that the adjustment duct 12 can be screwed to the ceiling surface S.

[0024] In addition, as shown in Figure 9, the mounting position of the coil springs 33, 33... can be changed in the height direction. That is, a second base plate 40 is provided on the inner surface of each side plate portion 14 of the duct body 11 at a position above the base plate 19, and a second lower nut portion 41, 41... is provided on this second base plate 40. On the other hand, in addition to the insertion holes of the above embodiment, insertion holes are also drilled in the adjustment lower plate portion 26 at locations opposite to the lower nut portions 41, 41... Then, depending on the installation environment, the lower end of the bolts 30, 30... can be appropriately selected to be screwed into either the lower nut portions 31, 31... or the lower nut portions 41, 41... of the base plate 19. By configuring it in this way, the maximum amount of protrusion of the adjustment duct 12 from the duct body 11 can be changed, resulting in an extremely user-friendly wiring duct. Needless to say, the specific structure of the lower nut portions 31 and 41 and the upper nut 36, which are related to the mounting of the coil spring 33, as well as the presence or absence of washers 34 and 35, can be modified. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1. Wiring duct, 11. Duct body, 12. Adjustment duct, 13. Front plate, 14. Side plate, 19. Base plate (base part), 23. Adjustment front plate, 24. Adjustment side plate, 26. Adjustment lower plate (biased plate), 30. Bolt, 31. Lower nut, 33. Coil spring (biasing means), 36. Upper nut.

Claims

1. A wiring duct comprising a duct body capable of covering wiring, and an adjustable duct capable of covering the wiring and slidable relative to the duct body, The adjustment duct is designed so that the amount of protrusion from the duct body can be adjusted by the slide, A wiring duct is provided with a biasing means for biasing the adjustment duct toward the side that protrudes from the duct body, and the adjustment duct is positioned at a predetermined protruding position by the biasing force of the biasing means.

2. The duct body has a front plate portion and side plate portions extending rearward from both left and right ends of the front plate portion, The adjustment duct comprises an adjustment front plate portion, adjustment side plate portions extending rearward from both left and right ends of the adjustment front plate portion, and biased plate portions extending inward in the left-right direction from at least the adjustment side plate portions, and is slidable vertically relative to the duct body with the surface of the adjustment front plate portion in contact with the inner surface of the front plate portion and the surface of the adjustment side plate portion in contact with the inner surface of the side plate portion. Furthermore, a base portion is provided on the inner surface of the side plate portion below the adjustment duct, projecting inward in the left-right direction. The wiring duct according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower end of the biasing means abuts against the base portion and the upper end of the biasing means abuts against the biased plate portion.

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