Piping support

Abstract

To provide a pipeline support with no possibility of damaging a pipeline surface while ensuring strength of a hinge mechanism to seismic load.SOLUTION: A pipeline support 1 is provided with a hook 6 at the other end of a band body 3a, and also provided with a hook receiver 7 to which the hook 6 is locked at the other end of a band body 3b. The hook 6 is composed of a hook side taking-out part 22 extending from the other end of the band body 3a at a center in a width direction thereof and a hook body 23 provided at a tip thereof. The hook receiver 7 is composed of receiving side taking-out base parts 32 and 32, receiving side taking-out parts 33 and 33 respectively extending from them, and a receiving body 34 connecting tips of the receiving side taking-out parts to each other, and the hook body 23 is locked to the receiving body. The receiving side taking-out parts 33 and 33 are configured to protrude outward from the curve of the band body 3b and to be each formed into a cylindrical shape, and also such that the hook body 23 is accommodated in their inner spaces.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pipe support used to support various types of pipes in the form of a hanging band or a standing band. [Background technology]

[0002] In air conditioning and sanitary equipment construction, various types of piping are used depending on the application and purpose, and when classified by material, they can be broadly divided into metal pipes and plastic pipes.

[0003] For example, water supply pipes are made of lined steel pipes with the inside coated with polyethylene or rigid polyvinyl chloride, or plastic pipes such as rigid polyvinyl chloride pipes or polyethylene pipes, while hot water pipes are made of stainless steel pipes or heat-resistant rigid polyvinyl chloride-lined steel pipes.

[0004] These pipes are installed inside a building by hanging them from the ceiling or upper floor slab with hanging bands if they are horizontal pipes, or by fixing them to the wall with vertical bands if they are rising pipes. These pipe supports, such as hanging bands or vertical bands, are made up of a pipe insertion section made by bending a strip of steel material into a ring shape in the out-of-plane direction so that the pipe can be inserted inside it, and a pair of connecting sections extending radially from each end of the pipe insertion section so as to face each other.

[0005] Such a piping support clamps the lower end of a connector fixed to the ceiling surface or the underside of the upper floor floor slab, or the tip of a connector fixed to the wall surface, between the pair of connecting parts mentioned above, and by inserting the above-mentioned piping into the piping insertion parts and inserting bolts into the pair of connecting parts and tightening them, the piping can be suspended from the ceiling or upper floor floor slab or fixed to the wall.

[0006] Here, hanging bands and standing bands are roughly classified into two types, lantern type and hinge type, depending on the opening and closing method. With the lantern type, the pipe insertion section is formed as a single ring. When in use, the pipe is held by hand near the connecting section and opened outward, causing elastic or plastic deformation of the pipe insertion section to widen the gap between the connecting sections. After inserting the pipe, the pipe insertion section is closed in the opposite direction to return the connecting sections to their original opposing positions, and then the band is bolted to the connector as described above.

[0007] On the other hand, the hinge type has a structure in which the above-mentioned connecting parts are extended from one end of a pair of semi-cylindrical band bodies, and the other ends are connected to each other via a hinge mechanism to form a pipe insertion part.The band body or connecting parts are held by hand and opened outward around the hinge, the spacing between the connecting parts is widened to insert the pipe, and then the connecting parts are closed in the opposite direction to return them to facing each other, and the parts are bolted to the connector as described above. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-152063 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-152793 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-46245 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] Among hinge-type suspension bands, the hinge mechanism typified by the hinge mechanism 4 described in Patent Document 1 is configured by providing a pair of semicircular band bodies, or in Figure 2 of the patent document, suspension bands 5A and 5B at their hinge-side ends with an embracing portion capable of embracing a pin, and then placing one embracing portion close to the other so that it is sandwiched between them, and inserting the pin coaxially through each embracing portion. Since it is sufficient to process the hinge-side end of the band body into a rounded curve, this mechanism can be manufactured inexpensively and has been widely adopted in the past.

[0010] However, because the hinge side end of the band body is simply curved into a round shape, when a tensile load acts on the curved part via the pin, depending on the magnitude of the load, the curved part may stretch and unravel, which may result in the band bodies becoming disconnected and the piping falling off.

[0011] This means that the suspension bands and vertical bands will break under a load lower than the strength of the base material of the band itself, raising concerns that the bands may not be sufficiently safe against earthquakes, etc.

[0012] Additionally, a type of suspension band known as an assembly type has also been developed, in which a hinge mechanism appears on-site. For example, the suspension band described in Patent Document 2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, has a T-shaped engagement protrusion 6a formed at the tip of one band piece 6 that engages with a T-shaped engagement hole 7a formed at the tip of the other band piece 7. When assembling, band piece 6 is rotated so that band piece 6 is positioned at a right angle to band piece 7, and then the engagement protrusion 6a of said band piece is inserted into the engagement hole 7a, and then band piece 6 is rotated in the opposite direction to return it to its original position.

[0013] However, with such a hinge mechanism, when the band pieces 6, 7 are opened or closed, there is a risk that the leading edges of the engaging protrusion 6a or the engaging hole 7a may hit the pipe and damage the surface of the pipe when they rotate toward the pipe, and in the case of metal pipes in particular, there is a concern that corrosion may occur and progress due to the damage.

[0014] The same problem occurs with the curved band piece 2 described in Patent Document 3. When installing pipes, if the worker does not have sufficient experience or is working at a high altitude, the receiving portion 13, which is a component for temporarily holding the pipe, may hit the pipe at its tip edge, potentially damaging the surface of the pipe. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a pipe support that ensures sufficient strength of the hinge mechanism against earthquake loads, etc., and that does not pose a risk of damaging the surface of the pipe, even if the worker installing the pipe does not have enough experience or is working at a height.

[0016] In order to achieve the above object, as set forth in claim 1, the pipe support of the present invention comprises a pair of band pieces each formed by extending a connecting portion from one end of a band body curved in an out-of-plane direction to the outer side of the curve, the band bodies being configured as pipe insertion portions so that a pipe is held between them with the inner sides of the curve facing each other, and the connecting portions being configured so that they can be bolted to a connector sandwiched between them, and a hook is provided at the other end of one of the band bodies and a hook receiver to which the hook is engaged is provided at the other end of the other band body, so that the pair of band pieces can be connected to each other. The hook is composed of a hook-side extension portion extending from the other end of the one band body at the center in the width direction thereof and a hook body provided at its tip, and the hook receiver is composed of a pair of receiving-side extension portions extending from a pair of receiving-side extension bases provided so that notches formed at the other end of the other band body are sandwiched between them, and a receiver body connecting the tips of the receiving-side extension portions to each other, so that the hook body is engaged with the receiver body when the hook-side extension portion is inserted between the pair of receiving-side extension portions, The pair of receiving side extension portions are formed cylindrically and convexly on the curved outer side of the other band body, and the pair of receiving side extension portions are each configured so that the hook body fits into the inner space thereof.

[0017] In the pipe support according to the present invention, the pair of receiving-side extending portions are configured so that their inner peripheral surfaces extend continuously from the inner peripheral surface of the other band body.

[0018] In the pipe support according to the present invention, the pair of receiving-side extending portions are configured so that their inner peripheral surfaces extend continuously from the outer peripheral surface of the other band body.

[0019] In the piping support device of the present invention, a hook is provided at the other end of one of the band bodies, and a hook receiver to which the hook is engaged is provided at the other end of the other band body, so that the hook and hook receiver function as a hinge mechanism and the pair of band pieces are connected to each other.In the present invention, the pair of receiver-side extensions that make up the hook receiver are each formed in a cylindrical shape so that they are convex on the curved outward side of the other band body, and are configured so that the hook body fits within the internal space thereof.

[0020] In this way, when a tensile load acts on the hinge mechanism consisting of the hook and hook receiver, the hinge mechanism resists the tensile load by engaging the hook body with the receiver body, and the failure mode is either the breakage of the hook-side extension or the breakage of the pair of receiver-side extensions, so in either case the strength of the base material of the band body is fully demonstrated.

[0021] Furthermore, when configured as described above, when in the position where the pipe is being held, there is no risk that the pair of band bodies will protrude toward the pipe, and therefore they will not come into contact with the surface of the pipe when held in place.When attaching and detaching to and from the pipe, the pair of receiving side extension portions are each formed in a cylindrical shape, so even if they come into contact with the surface of the pipe, only the outer surface of the cylindrical receiving side extension portion will come into contact with the surface of the pipe, and the hook body is configured to fit within the inner space of the cylindrical receiving side extension portion, so it will not actually come into contact with the surface of the pipe.

[0022] Therefore, in the past, there was a concern that the end face of the band body, which is the end face where the cross section of the band body is exposed, would hit the surface of the pipe, thereby damaging the surface of the pipe.However, according to the present invention, this situation of damaging the surface of the pipe is prevented in advance, so there is no concern that the pipe will be damaged, and in the case of metal pipes, there is also no risk of it causing corrosion.

[0023] Each band body can be configured so that its inner surface abuts the surface of the piping, or it can be configured so that its inner surface abuts the outer surface of a specified suspension band attachment; in the former case, the piping is supported directly, and in the latter case, the piping is supported via the suspension band attachment.

[0024] The pair of receiving side extension portions are provided at the other end of the other band body, and are each formed cylindrically so as to be convex toward the curved outer side of the other band body, and are configured so that the hook body fits within their internal space. Specifically, these can be broadly divided into cases where the inner surface of each receiving side extension portion is configured to extend continuously from the inner surface of the other band body, i.e., where it is formed cylindrically curved on the same side as the curved direction of the other band body, and cases where it is configured to extend continuously from the outer surface of the other band body, i.e., where it is formed cylindrically curved on the opposite side to the curved direction of the other band body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view of a pipe support 1 according to the present embodiment, which is composed of a pair of band pieces 2a, 2b. [Figure 2] 1A and 1B are diagrams of a pipe support 1, in which (a) is an overall perspective view of a band piece 2a, (b) is an overall perspective view of a band piece 2b, and (c) is a partial perspective view of the band piece 2b. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram of a pipe support 1, in which (a) is an overall front view of the band piece 2a, (b) is an overall front view of the band piece 2b, (c) is a cross-sectional view of the hook 6 formed at the other end of the band body 3a, (d) is a cross-sectional view of the hook receiver 7 formed at the other end of the band body 3b, and (e) is a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism consisting of the hook 6 and the hook receiver 7. [Figure 4] 3A to 3C are explanatory diagrams showing a procedure for using the pipe support 1. [Figure 5] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the function of the pipe support 1, where (a) is a front view of the pipe support 1 in a pipe-holding position, (b) is a front view of the pipe support 1 in a position when being installed or removed, (c) is a front view of a conventional pipe support in a pipe-holding position, and (d) is a front view of a conventional pipe support in a position when being installed or removed. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams of a pipe support according to a modified example, in which (a) is an overall front view of the band piece 2a, (b) is an overall front view of the band piece 2b', (c) is a cross-sectional view of the hook 6 formed at the other end of the band body 3a, (d) is a cross-sectional view of the hook receiver 7' formed at the other end of the band body 3b, and (e) is a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism consisting of the hook 6 and the hook receiver 7'. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a pipe support according to another modified example. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a pipe support according to yet another modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a pipe support according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] 1 to 3 are diagrams showing a pipe support 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in these figures, the pipe support 1 according to this embodiment is composed of steel band pieces 2a and 2b, in which band piece 2a has a connecting portion 4a extending outward from one end of band body 3a, which is curved in the out-of-plane direction, and band piece 2b has a connecting portion 4b extending outward from one end of band body 3b, which is also curved in the out-of-plane direction, and band bodies 3a and 3b are configured as pipe insertion portions so that a pipe 5 is held between them with the inner sides of the curves facing each other, and connecting portions 4a and 4b are configured so that they can be bolted to a connector (not shown) sandwiched between them.

[0028] In this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, "curved" refers to the bending state in a cross section perpendicular to the material axis of the piping 5, and "inner curve" refers to the side on which the piping 5 is held, and "outer curve" refers to the opposite side.

[0029] A hook 6 is provided at the other end of band body 3a, and a hook receiver 7 to which hook 6 is engaged is provided at the other end of band body 3b. Hook 6 and hook receiver 7 function as a hinge mechanism for connecting band pieces 2a and 2b to each other so that they can rotate freely.

[0030] As can be clearly seen in Figures 2 and 3, the hook 6 is composed of a hook-side extension base 21 that extends in a curved outward direction from the other end of the band body 3a, a hook-side extension portion 22 that extends from the hook-side extension base at the center of its width, and a hook body 23 provided at the tip of the hook-side extension portion 22, and the hook-side extension portion 22 and hook body 23 form a T-shape overall.

[0031] On the other hand, the hook receiver 7 is composed of receiving side extension bases 32, 32 that are arranged to sandwich the notch 31 formed at the other end of the band main body 3b, receiving side extension portions 33, 33 extending from them, and a receiving main body 34 that connects the tips of each receiving side extension portion to each other, and the hook main body 23 is engaged with the receiving main body 34 when the hook side extension portion 22 is inserted between the receiving side extension portions 33, 33.

[0032] Here, the receiving side extension portions 33, 33 are each formed in a cylindrical shape so as to be convex on the curved outward side of the band main body 3b, and are configured so that the hook main body 23 can be accommodated in the internal space thereof.

[0033] The hook body 23 is formed so that its outer surface abuts against the inner surface of the cylindrical receiving side extension portion 33, 33, as can be clearly seen in Figures 2 and 3, so that it fits snugly into the inner space of the receiving side extension portion.

[0034] 2 and 3, the receiving body 34 is curved into a cylindrical shape with substantially the same curvature as the receiving-side extending portions 33, 33.

[0035] In the pipe support 1 of this embodiment, a hook 6 is provided at the other end of the band body 3a, and a hook receiver 7 to which the hook is engaged is provided at the other end of the band body 3b, so that the hook 6 and the hook receiver 7 function as a hinge mechanism, allowing the band pieces 2a, 2b to be freely connected to each other.Furthermore, in this embodiment, the receiver-side extension portions 33, 33 that make up the hook receiver 7 are each formed in a cylindrical shape so as to convex toward the curved outward side of the band body 3b, and are configured so that the hook body 23 can be accommodated in the internal space thereof.

[0036] In this way, when a tensile load acts on the hinge mechanism consisting of the hook 6 and the hook receiver 7, the hinge mechanism resists the tensile load by having the hook body 23 engaged with the receiver body 34, and the failure mode is either breakage of the hook side extension portion 22 or breakage of the receiver side extension portions 33, 33, and in either case the strength of the base material of the band bodies 3a, 3b is fully exerted.

[0037] Furthermore, with the above-described configuration, the band bodies 3a and 3b do not come into contact with the surface of the pipe 5 when the band bodies 3a and 3b are in a position where the pipe 5 is held.

[0038] On the other hand, when attaching or detaching to the pipe 5, since the receiving side extension portions 33, 33 are each formed in a cylindrical shape, even if they hit the surface of the pipe 5, only the outer surface of the cylindrical receiving side extension portions 33, 33 will abut against the surface of the pipe 5, and as the hook main body 23 is configured to fit within the inner space of the cylindrical receiving side extension portions 33, 33, it will not actually hit the surface of the pipe 5.

[0039] To hold a pipe 5 using the pipe support 1 according to this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 4(a), rotate the band piece 2a so that it is positioned at a right angle to the band piece 2b, and then insert the hook body 23 of the hook 6 provided on the band piece into the space between the notch 31 sandwiched between the receiving side extension bases 32, 32 of the hook receiver 7 provided on the band piece 2b and the receiving side extension portions 33, 33, and then rotate the band piece 2a in the opposite direction so that it is on the same plane as the band piece 2b.

[0040] Next, as shown in Figure 4(b), the band piece 2a is translated relative to the band piece 2b so that the hook side extension portion 22 moves along the space sandwiched between the notch 31 and the receiving side extension portions 33, 33, and the hook main body 23 is dropped into the inner space of the receiving side extension portions 33, 33 (straight arrow in the same figure), and then the band piece 2a is rotated relative to the band piece 2b so that the band main bodies 3a, 3b clamp the piping 5 (arc arrow in the same figure).

[0041] As described above, according to the piping support 1 of this embodiment, the receiving side extension portions 33, 33 that make up the hook receiver 7 are each formed cylindrically and convex on the curved outward side of the band main body 3b, and are configured so that the hook main body 23 fits within their internal space.Therefore, the failure mode of the hinge mechanism consisting of the hook 6 and the hook receiver 7 is either breakage of the hook side extension portion 22 or breakage of the receiving side extension portions 33, 33, and in either case the strength of the base material of the band main bodies 3a, 3b is fully exerted.

[0042] Furthermore, according to the pipe support 1 of this embodiment, due to the characteristic structure of the hinge mechanism consisting of the hooks 6 and hook receivers 7 described above, they do not come into contact with the surface of the pipe 5 when held in place, as shown in Figure 5(a), and when attaching or removing them to or from the pipe 5, as shown in Figure 5(b), the receiving side extension portions 33, 33 and the receiving main body 34 are each formed in a cylindrical shape, so even if they come into contact with the surface of the pipe 5, only the outer surface of the cylindrical receiving side extension portions 33, 33 or the receiving main body 34 will come into contact with the surface of the pipe 5, and the hook main body 23 is configured to fit within the inner space of the cylindrical receiving side extension portions 33, 33, so it will not actually come into contact with the surface of the pipe 5.

[0043] Therefore, even if the worker does not have sufficient experience when installing the pipes or if the work is done at a height, there is no risk of damaging the pipes 5, and in the case of metal pipes, there is no risk of corrosion.

[0044] Incidentally, in the prior art such as that described in Patent Document 2, there is no risk that the band bodies 52a, 52a will hit the pipe 51 and damage the surface of the pipe when in the pipe holding position (Figure 5(c)), but when attaching or detaching to or from the pipe 51, as shown in Figure 5(d), the band bodies 52a, 52a will hit the surface of the pipe 51 at their ends, that is, end faces 53a, 53a where the cross section of the band bodies is exposed, as shown in Figure 5(d), so there is a risk of damaging the surface of the pipe 51.

[0045] The same is true of the prior art described in Patent Document 3.

[0046] In this embodiment, a hook side extension base 21 is provided at the other end of the band main body 3a, extending in a curved outward manner from the other end, and a hook side extension portion 22 is provided extending from the hook side extension base at the center of its width.However, instead of this configuration, the hook side extension base 21 may be omitted, and the hook side extension portion 22 may be provided extending from the other end of the band main body 3a at the center of its width.

[0047] In addition, in this embodiment, the receiving side extension portions 33, 33 of the hook receiver 7 are configured so that their inner surfaces extend continuously from the inner surface of the band main body 3b, but instead of this configuration, as shown in Figure 6, receiving side extension portions 63, 63 may be configured so that their inner surfaces extend continuously from the outer surface of the band main body 3b, in other words, be curved in the opposite direction to the receiving side extension portions 33, 33.

[0048] In this case, a hook receiver 7' made up of receiver-side extended portions 63, 63 and a receiver body 64 connecting their tips together is provided at the other end of the band body 3b to form a band piece 2b'.

[0049] The receiving body 64, like the receiving body 34, is formed into a cylindrical curve with approximately the same curvature as the receiving side extension portions 63, 63, and is configured so that the hook body 23 is engaged with the hook side extension portion 22 inserted between the receiving side extension portions 63, 63.

[0050] Other configurations and effects are generally the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and therefore will not be described here.

[0051] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the outer peripheral surface of hook body 23 is formed to abut against the inner peripheral surface of cylindrical receiving-side extension portions 33, 33, thereby ensuring that the hook body fits securely within the internal space of receiving-side extension portions 33, 33 (FIG. 3), and in the modified example, the outer peripheral surface of hook body 23 is formed to abut against the inner peripheral surface of cylindrical receiving-side extension portions 63, 63, thereby ensuring that the hook body fits securely within the internal space of receiving-side extension portions 63, 63 (FIG. 6). However, as long as the hook body fits within the internal space of the receiving-side extension portion, it is not necessary to configure the hook body as in the above-described embodiment or modified example. In the modified example of FIG. 6, hook body 23' may be curved in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. 7, or hook body 23" may be formed flat.

[0052] In addition, in this embodiment, the pipe support 1 is used so that the inner surfaces of the band bodies 3a and 3b abut against the surface of the pipe 5, but instead, as shown in Figure 8, it is also possible to use the band bodies 3a and 3b so that the inner surfaces of the band bodies 3a and 3b abut against the outer surface of the suspension band attachment 71.

[0053] In this case, the pipe 5 is supported by the pipe support 1 via the suspension band attachment 71, but for the same reason as explained in Figure 5, there is no risk that the receiving side extension portions 33, 33, receiving body 34, or hook body 23 of the pipe support 1 will damage the suspension band attachment 71.

[0054] The suspension band attachment 71 may be selected appropriately from a heat insulating or vibration isolating attachment made of, for example, a thermoplastic elastomer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1 Piping support 2a Band piece 2b,2b´ Band pieces 3a, 3b Band body 4a,4b connection part 5 Piping 6 Hooks 7,7´ Hook holder 22 Hook side extension 23,23´,23″ hook body 31 Cutout 32,32 Receiving side support base 33,33 Receiving side carrying part 34 Receiving body 63,63 Receiving side carrying part 64 Receiving body

Claims

1. A pipe support comprising a pair of band pieces each formed by extending a connecting portion from one end of a band body curved in an out-of-plane direction to the outer side of the curve, the band bodies configured as pipe insertion portions so that a pipe is held between them with the inner sides of the curve facing each other, the connecting portions configured so that they can be bolted to a connector sandwiched between them, and a hook provided at the other end of one of the band bodies and a hook receiver for engaging the hook provided at the other end of the other band body, so that the pair of band pieces can be connected to each other, The hook is composed of a hook-side extension portion extending from the other end of the one band body at the center in the width direction thereof and a hook body provided at its tip, and the hook receiver is composed of a pair of receiving-side extension portions extending from a pair of receiving-side extension bases provided so that notches formed at the other end of the other band body are sandwiched between them, and a receiver body connecting the tips of the receiving-side extension portions to each other, so that the hook body is engaged with the receiver body when the hook-side extension portion is inserted between the pair of receiving-side extension portions, A piping support device characterized in that the pair of receiving side extension portions are each formed cylindrically and convexly toward the curved outward side of the other band body, and the hook body is configured to fit within the inner space between them.

2. 2. A pipe support according to claim 1, wherein the pair of receiving-side extensions are configured so that their inner peripheral surfaces extend continuously from the inner peripheral surface of the other band body.

3. 2. A pipe support according to claim 1, wherein the pair of receiving-side extensions are configured so that their inner peripheral surfaces extend continuously from the outer peripheral surface of the other band body.

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