Micrometer Holder

Abstract

Provided is a micrometer holder that facilitates one-handed operation of a micrometer and reduces the burden on the measurer. 【Solution means】The holder 1 is a holder attached to a micrometer 100 including a substantially U-shaped main body frame 101, an anvil 102 provided on one end side of the main body frame, a spindle 103 disposed on the other end side of the main body frame and movable forward and backward in the axial direction with respect to the anvil, and an operation unit disposed on the other end side of the spindle for moving the spindle forward and backward, and includes a mounting portion 10 mounted on the main body frame and a gripping portion 20 located on the other end side of the mounting portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a holder for a micrometer.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, outside micrometers have been widely used for precisely measuring the dimensions and shapes of parts in fields such as machining and quality control. For example, the outside micrometer described in Patent Document 1 includes a substantially U-shaped main body frame, an anvil provided at one end of the main body frame for fixing the object to be measured, and a spindle disposed on the other end side of the main body frame and movable forward and backward in the axial direction with respect to the anvil. It is configured to measure dimensions and shapes by sandwiching the object to be measured between the anvil while advancing the spindle. This spindle is configured to advance or retreat in the axial direction in conjunction with the rotation operation of a thimble rotatably provided on the other end side of the main body frame and a ratchet stop provided at the tip of the thimble.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, when operating the above-described outside micrometer with one hand, the measurer needs to hold the object to be measured with one hand, for example, and rotate the thimble or the ratchet stop with the thumb and index finger while gripping the main body frame with the other hand. However, this operation places a heavy burden on the measurer, and furthermore, one-handed operation becomes difficult when the size of the outside micrometer is large. Also, when the object to be measured is large or has an irregular shape, one-handed operation becomes even more difficult, making it difficult to perform efficient and precise measurement.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and an object thereof is to provide a holder for a micrometer that facilitates one-handed operation of the micrometer and reduces the burden on the measurer.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a holder for a micrometer that is attached to a micrometer including a substantially U-shaped main body frame, an anvil provided on one end side of the main body frame, a spindle disposed on the other end side of the main body frame and movable forward and backward in the axial direction with respect to the anvil, and an operation unit disposed on the other end side of the spindle for moving the spindle forward and backward, the holder including a mounting portion mounted on the main body frame and a gripping portion located on the other end side of the mounting portion.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, one-handed operation of the micrometer can be facilitated, and the burden on the measurer can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] [Figure 1] Perspective view showing a mounting mode of a holder for a micrometer (holder) according to an embodiment of the present invention to a micrometer [Figure 2] Perspective view of the holder shown in FIG. 1 [Figure 3] Plan view of the holder shown in FIG. 1 (however, illustration of the fixing member is omitted) [Figure 4] Perspective view showing a mode of one-handed operation of a micrometer to which the holder shown in FIG. 1 is attached

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] (One Embodiment) Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a micrometer holder (holder 1) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. However, a more detailed description may be omitted as necessary. For example, a detailed description of already well-known matters or a redundant description of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid making the following description unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided for those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and it is not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims thereby.

[0010] Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the “front-rear direction”, “left-right direction”, “up-down direction”, “up”, “down”, “right”, “left”, “front” and “rear” are defined. The “front-rear direction”, “left-right direction” and “up-down direction are orthogonal to each other. It should be noted that each direction defined here is defined to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art, and does not necessarily correspond to the direction during the use of the holder 1.

[0011] <Configuration example of micrometer> First, with reference to FIG. 1, a configuration example of a micrometer 100 to which the holder 1 can be attached will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mounting mode of a micrometer holder (holder) according to an embodiment of the present invention to a micrometer. It should be noted that the micrometer 100 shown here is an example provided to deepen the understanding of the holder 1 described later, and does not limit or specify the use purpose of the holder 1.

[0012] The micrometer 100 is, for example, an outside micrometer. The micrometer 100 includes a substantially U-shaped main body frame 101, an anvil 102 provided on the inner surface of the lower end of the main body frame 101, and a spindle 103 that is held on the upper end side of the main body frame 101 and can move forward and backward in the axial direction (in this example, the vertical direction) with respect to the anvil 102. Further, the micrometer 100 includes a thimble 104 that is rotatably provided on the upper end side of the main body frame 101 and advances and retracts the spindle 103, and a ratchet stop 105 that is provided at the upper end of the thimble 104 and idles the thimble 104 with respect to the spindle 103 when a load equal to or greater than a certain value acts on the spindle 103.

[0013] This micrometer 100 is configured such that, for example, when the ratchet stop 105 (or the thimble 104) is rotated, the spindle 103 moves forward or backward in conjunction therewith. That is, in the micrometer 100, the ratchet stop 105 (or the thimble 104) is rotated to move the spindle forward while clamping the object to be measured between the anvil and the object to measure dimensions and shape.

[0014] Further, the micrometer 100 further includes a display unit 106 on the front surface of the main body frame 101. For example, the measurement result of the object to be measured measured as described above is displayed on the display unit 106.

[0015] <Holder> Next, the holder 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the holder 1 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the holder 1 shown in FIG. 1 (however, the fixed member 15 is not shown). FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a single-handed operation mode of the micrometer 100 with the holder 1 shown in FIG. 1 attached.

[0016] The holder 1 can be attached to a known micrometer 100 (in other words, an off-the-shelf product) as described above, and does not require a special micrometer.

[0017] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 3, this holder 1 is provided integrally with a mounting portion 10 that is mounted on the main body frame 101 so as to cover the rear surface side of the main body frame 101, and a gripping portion 20 that is located on the side of the ratchet stop 105 (or the thimble 104) as an operation portion of the micrometer 100, that is, on the upper side, rather than the mounting portion 10.

[0018] The mounting portion 10 integrally has a bottom wall 11, a right peripheral wall 12 erected forward from the bottom wall 11, and a left peripheral wall 13 erected forward from the bottom wall 11. The right peripheral wall 12 is formed in a shape corresponding to the outer surface of the main body frame 101. The left peripheral wall 13 has a shape corresponding to the inner surface of the main body frame 101 and is formed so as to be able to sandwich the main body frame 101 together with the right peripheral wall 12. By this bottom wall 11, right peripheral wall 12, and left peripheral wall 13, a storage space 14 that opens forward and houses the main body frame 101 is defined in the mounting portion 10.

[0019] Groove portions 12A and 13A that are recessed rearward are formed on the front end surfaces of the right peripheral wall 12 and the left peripheral wall 13, respectively. These groove portions 12A and 13A each extend substantially linearly in the left-right direction and are formed so that their extending directions coincide with each other.

[0020] Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 2, the mounting portion 10 further has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped fixing member 15 that can be fitted into the groove portions 12A and 13A. By fitting this fixing member 15 into the groove portions 12A and 13A, the micrometer 100 housed in the storage space 14 is prevented from coming off (see FIGS. 1 and 4).

[0021] The holding part 20 has a wall part 21 extending upward from the bottom wall 11 of the mounting part 10, and this wall part 21 forms a continuous flat wall with the bottom wall 11. In other words, a part of the flat wall functions as the bottom wall 11, and the other part functions as the wall part 21. A finger-hooking hole 22 penetrating in the front-rear direction is provided in this wall part 21, and this hole 22 is designed such that at least two fingers among the middle finger, ring finger, and little finger can be hooked. The hole 22 shown in this example has an elliptical structure extending obliquely from the lower right to the upper left, and the upper left part of the ellipse is formed in a shape that further extends slightly to the left.

[0022] At the palm-side corner of the wall part 21 (the upper right corner in this example), a contact part 23 protruding toward the palm side (diagonally upward to the right in this example) is provided. This contact part 23 is designed to abut against the palm when rotating the ratchet stop 105 (or the simple 104). Further, recesses 24, 24 are formed near the contact part 23 on the upper side surface and the right side surface of the wall part 21, respectively, to make the protrusion of the contact part 23 more prominent. These recesses 24, 24 are designed such that the contact part 23 naturally abuts against the palm.

[0023] On the other hand, at the corner of the wall part 21 opposite to the palm side (the upper left corner in this example), a notch 25 is formed in which the corner where the upper side surface and the left side surface are connected is cut out. This notch 25 is designed such that the finger does not interfere during the above rotation operation.

[0024] The configuration of the holder 1 has been described above. To attach this holder 1 to the micrometer 100, first, the micrometer 100 is housed in the housing space 14 through the opening of the housing space 14 such that the rear end surface of the micrometer 100 abuts against the bottom wall 11. Subsequently, the holder 1 is attached to the micrometer 100 by fitting the fixing member 15 into the groove parts 12A, 13A.

[0025] To operate the micrometer 100 with the holder 1 attached in this way with one hand, hold the object to be measured with one hand, and grip the micrometer 100 by placing the fingers of the other hand (the ring finger and little finger of the right hand in the example shown in FIG. 4) on the hole 22. In this state, the ratchet stop 105 can be rotated with the thumb and index finger. At this time, the contact part 23 abuts against the palm of the other hand, maintaining a stable gripping state. As a result, the measurement point can be easily slid around the finger placed on the hole 22 or the palm against which the contact part 23 abuts.

[0026] The manufacturing method of the holder 1 described above is not particularly limited, but it can be manufactured, for example, by a 3D printer. In this manufacturing method, the dimensions of the holder 1 can be adjusted according to the shape of the micrometer 100 and the size of the measurer's hand, etc. Also, this manufacturing method is excellent in small batch production and customization, and is also advantageous in the prototype stage and the production of custom orders.

[0027] As described above, according to the present embodiment, one-handed operation of the micrometer can be facilitated, and the burden on the measurer can be reduced.

[0028] (Other Modification Examples) As described above, various embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings, but it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that within the scope described in the claims, various changes, modifications, substitutions, additions, deletions, and equivalents can be made, and it is naturally understood that those also belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure. Also, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention, the components in the above-described various embodiments can be arbitrarily combined.

[0029] (Supplementary Note) From the description of the above embodiments, the following technologies are disclosed.

[0030] <Technology 1> A micrometer holder 1 for mounting on a micrometer 100, comprising a substantially U-shaped main body frame 101, an anvil 102 provided at one end of the main body frame 101, a spindle 103 disposed at the other end of the main body frame 101 and axially movable forward and backward with respect to the anvil 102, and an operating portion (e.g., 104 or 105) for moving the spindle 103 forward and backward and disposed on the other end side of the spindle 103. A mounting portion 10 mounted on the main body frame 101. A gripping portion 20 located on the other end side of the mounting portion 10. The micrometer holder 1 comprising the above.

[0031] With this configuration, since the holder is stably mounted on the main body frame of the micrometer, there is no need for a special micrometer or a special jig for gripping the micrometer, and one-handed operation is facilitated, reducing the burden on the measurer.

[0032] <Technology 2> The mounting portion 10 is defined by a bottom wall 11 and peripheral walls (e.g., 12 and 13) standing up from the bottom wall 11, and has a receiving space 14 for receiving the main body frame 101. The micrometer holder 1 according to Technology 1.

[0033] With this configuration, the main body frame can be held in the receiving space, preventing the holder from falling off and enabling the mounting on the micrometer to be performed simply and reliably.

[0034] <Technology 3> The gripping portion 20 has a wall portion 21 extending from the mounting portion 10 to the other end side. A finger-hooking hole 22 is provided in the wall portion 21. The micrometer holder 1 according to Technology 1 or Technology 2.

[0035] With this configuration, a position for the measurer to hook a finger is provided, improving the stability during one-handed operation.

[0036] <Technology 4> The gripping portion 20 has a contact portion 23 that abuts against the palm of the user who grips the micrometer holder 1. The micrometer holder 1 according to any one of Technologies 1 to 3.

[0037] With this configuration, since the contact portion abuts against the palm, a fulcrum of the hand is secured, so that the gripping state is stabilized, the operability during measurement is improved, and the burden can be reduced.

Industrial Applicability

[0038] The present invention is useful as a micrometer holder that facilitates one-handed operation of a micrometer and reduces the burden on the measurer.

Explanation of Signs

[0039] 1 Holder 10 Mounting portion 11 Bottom wall 12 Right peripheral wall 13 Left peripheral wall 12A, 13A Groove portion 14 Accommodation space 15 Fixing member 20 Gripping portion 21 Wall portion 22 Hole portion 23 Contact portion 24 Concave portion 25 Notch portion 100 Micrometer 101 Body frame 102 Anvil 103 Spindle 104 Thimble 105 Ratchet stop 106 Display portion

Claims

1. A micrometer holder for mounting on a micrometer, comprising a substantially U-shaped body frame, an anvil provided on one end side of the body frame, a spindle disposed on the other end side of the body frame and axially movable forward and backward with respect to the anvil, and an operation portion disposed on the other end side of the spindle for moving the spindle forward and backward, a mounting portion mounted on the body frame, and a gripping portion located on the other end side of the mounting portion. The micrometer holder is provided with the above components.

2. The mounting portion is defined by a bottom wall and a peripheral wall standing from the bottom wall, and has a housing space for housing the body frame. The micrometer holder according to Claim 1.

3. The gripping portion has a wall portion extending from the mounting portion to the other end side, and a hole for hooking a finger is provided in the wall portion. The micrometer holder according to Claim 1.

4. The gripping portion has a contact portion that will abut against the palm of a user who grips the micrometer holder. The micrometer holder according to Claim 1.

Images