Stem guide clip

Abstract

To provide a stem guide clip with a simple structure, which prevents bundled stems from coming apart and, on the other hand, allows the bundled stems to be easily opened when they are to be opened. [Solution] The stem guide clip of the present invention is characterized by comprising a main body formed by joining the ends of first and second binding pieces, each connected at its base, to form a loop, and a clamping part that clamps the hanging cord, the end of the first binding piece being cylindrical or spherical with a convex part connected to it, the end of the second binding piece being a concave part that fits over the convex part, the front part of the end having a tongue-like end with an acute cross-sectional angle, and the rear part having another end with a wider cross-sectional angle than the tongue-like end, and a protrusion located near the base of the convex or concave part that is the same size as or slightly smaller than the distance between the first and second binding pieces when they are joined. This configuration results in a structure that is less likely to come off accidentally, but is easy to remove when intended.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a stem guide clip used to bind a hanging cord to the stem of a plant. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, stem guide clips are C-shaped and form a loop when closed, bundling the hanging string and the plant stems. For example, as described in Patent Document 1, a complex resin molded product with a barbed locking part has been proposed to prevent the bundled stems from coming apart. Once closed, clips of this configuration cannot be easily opened, which can be a hassle on cold or rainy days, for example. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-178571 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional examples, and aims to provide a stem guide clip with a simple structure that does not require a barbed locking portion, prevents the stems and hanging strings from coming apart, and yet allows the bundled stems to be easily released when it is time to release them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the stem guide clip of the present invention is a stem guide clip in which the ends of a first binding piece and a second binding piece, which are connected at their bases, are joined together to form a ring shape, and the stem guide clip is composed of a main body for bundling the plant stems and a clamping part for clamping a hanging cord. In this stem guide clip, the end of the first binding piece is cylindrical and has a convex part with its side connected or a spherical body with a part of its spherical surface connected, and the end of the second binding piece is connected by fitting over the convex part. The second binding piece has a concave portion which has a tongue-shaped end with an acute angle in cross section at the front end of the second binding piece, and another end with a wider angle in cross section than the tongue-shaped end at the rear end of the second binding piece, and has a protrusion at a position near the base of the convex portion of the first binding piece or at a position near the base of the concave portion of the second binding piece, the protrusion being the same size as or slightly smaller than the distance between the first binding piece and the second binding piece when the concave portion is connected to the convex portion.

[0006] It is preferable that the first binding piece and the second binding piece have a clamping portion near their bases that narrows in space in response to the operation of connecting the convex portion of the first binding piece and the concave portion of the second binding piece, and that clamps the hanging cord. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, when a force is applied from the inside of the bundle of stems to release the convex and concave joint, the tongue-shaped end is soft and unable to brace itself, so no force acts on the tip of the tongue-shaped end as a fulcrum in the direction of moving the concave portion away from the convex portion, or the force acting is weak, and the other end with the wider corner is more firmly engaged with the convex portion, resulting in a locked state.On the other hand, when a force is applied from the outside in a direction of squeezing the convex and concave joint, the protrusion acts as a fulcrum, and the tongue-shaped end moves away from the convex portion, and because it is soft, the engagement is released and the stems are easily released. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1](a) is an oblique view showing the open state of a stem guide clip according to one embodiment of the present invention, (b) shows the clamping part that holds the hanging cord in a closed state, and (c) shows the state in which both ends are connected and closed into a ring shape. [Figure 2] (a) illustrates the structure of the stem guide clip, where the connecting part closes tightly against pressure trying to open it from the inside, while (b) illustrates the structure that allows it to be easily opened by pinching it from the outside. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The stem guide clip of the present invention comprises a main body for bundling plant stems, in which the ends of a first and second binding piece, whose bases are connected to each other, are joined to form a loop, and a clamping part for clamping a hanging cord. The end of the first binding piece has a convex part, which is cylindrical and connected at its side or spherical and connected at part of its spherical surface. The end of the second binding piece has a concave part that fits over the convex part and is connected to the convex part. The front part of the second binding piece has a tongue-like end with an acute cross-sectional angle, and the rear part of the second binding piece has a locking part with another end with a wider cross-sectional angle than the tongue-like end. Furthermore, the clip is characterized by a protrusion located near the base of the convex part of the first binding piece or near the base of the concave part of the second binding piece, the protrusion being the same size as or slightly smaller than the distance between the first and second binding pieces when the concave part is connected to the convex part. By adopting this configuration, when a force is applied from the inside of the bundled stems to release the uneven connecting part, the tongue-shaped end is soft and does not have enough strength, so the force does not act in the direction of moving the concave part away from the convex part with its tip as a fulcrum, or the force that acts is weak, and the other end with the wide corner is more firmly engaged with the convex part like a bottle opener, and it becomes locked.On the other hand, when a force is applied from the outside in the direction of squeezing the uneven connecting part, the protrusion part acts as a fulcrum, and the tongue-shaped end moves in the direction of moving away from the convex part, and because it is soft, the engagement is released and the product is easily released.

[0010] The stem guide clip 1 of this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Figure 1(a) shows a perspective view of a stem guide clip 1 with both ends open. The stem guide clip 1 is composed of a main body 2, which bundles the plant stems, and a clamping portion 10, which holds the hanging string A. It is made of a resin molded product, such as PP or silicone resin, and is approximately 2-3 mm thick. The main body 2 is composed of a first binding piece 3 and a second binding piece 4, and is formed into a loop by connecting the bases 3a, 4a of the first binding piece 3 and the second binding piece 4 and the ends 3b, 4b of the second binding piece 4. The bases 3a, 4a of the first binding piece 3 and the second binding piece 4 are connected by a thin sheet-like resin member 5.

[0012] Near the base 3a of the first binding piece 3 and the base 4a of the second binding piece 4, there is a clamping portion 10 that narrows in space as the convex portion 3c of the first binding piece 3 and the concave portion 4c of the second binding piece 4 are joined, and that clamps the hanging cord A. More specifically, the clamping portion 10 is equipped with a pair of opposing flat portions 10a, 10b whose space narrows in space as the convex portion 3c of the first binding piece 3 and the concave portion 4c of the second binding piece 4 are joined, a cylindrical convex portion 10c whose side is connected to the first binding piece 3, and a concave portion 10d that fits over the convex portion 10c on the second binding piece 4. As shown in FIG. 1(b), the convex portion 10c and the concave portion 10d are configured so that once they have closed to clamp the hanging cord A, they do not easily come apart.

[0013] The end of the base 3a of the first binding piece 3 and the end of the base 4a of the second binding piece 4 are connected by a thin sheet-like resin member 5, and by adopting this configuration, the two binding pieces do not come apart, improving ease of handling. Also, instead of or in addition to providing the convex portion 10c and the concave portion 10d, a configuration may be adopted in which the flat portions 10a and 10b are bound together by a rubber band that binds the vicinity of the flat portions 10a and 10b, or a metal spring that sandwiches the flat portions 10a and 10b.

[0014] The end 3b of the first binding piece 3 has a cylindrical convex portion 3c whose side faces are connected, and the end 4b of the second binding piece 4 has a concave portion 4c that fits over the convex portion 3c. As shown in Figure 1(c), the convex portion 3c fits into the concave portion 4c, causing the main body 2 to become ring-shaped, allowing the stems of plants to be bundled together.

[0015] 2(a) and 2(b) show enlarged views of the convex portion 3c of the first binding piece 3 and the recessed portion 4c of the second binding piece 4 that fits into it. The end 3b of the first binding piece 3 has a cylindrical convex portion 3c whose side faces are connected. The end 4b of the second binding piece 4 has a recessed portion 4c that fits over the convex portion 3c. The front portion of the end 4b has a tongue-shaped end 4d that has an acute angle (angle α) in cross section, and the rear portion of the end 4b has another end 4e that has a wider angle in cross section than the tongue-shaped end 4d (angle β > α). In this specification, the term "cross-sectional view" refers to a cross section taken along the plane of FIG. 2(a). A protrusion 6 is provided at a position closer to the base 3a of the convex portion 3c of the first binding piece 3, or at a position closer to the base 4a of the concave portion 4c of the second binding piece 4, the protrusion 6 being the same size as or slightly smaller than the distance L1 between the first binding piece 3 and the second binding piece 4 when the concave portion 4c is connected to the convex portion 3c.

[0016] As shown in Figure 2(a), when force B is applied from inside the main body 2 to release the convex and concave joint, the tongue-shaped end 4d is soft and does not provide sufficient support, so no force acts in the direction of moving the concave portion 4c away from the convex portion 3c, or the force that acts is weak, and the other end 4e with a wider angle becomes more firmly engaged with the convex portion 3c like a bottle opener, and instead becomes locked.

[0017] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 2(b), when force C is applied from the outside in a direction that crushes the area near the joint of the convex and concave portions, protruding portion 6 acts as a fulcrum, using the principle of a lever, and force D is applied in a direction that moves tongue-shaped end 4d away from convex portion 3c. Because tongue-shaped end 4d is soft, the joint between end 3b of first binding piece 3 and end 4b of second binding piece 4 is easily released.

[0018] As explained above, the concave portion 4c of the present invention has a tongue-like, soft part 4d near the tip of the second binding portion 4, so that even if a force is applied from the inside to undo the bond between the convex portions, they are difficult to separate. On the other hand, when a force is applied to crush the main body 2, the force acts on the specially provided protrusion 6 as a fulcrum, and the bond can be easily untied.

[0019] After making and testing a prototype, it was found that it was difficult to remove when subjected to force B, but was easily removed with a relatively light force when subjected to force C.

[0020] The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-described various embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the convex portion 3c provided on the end portion 3b of the first binding piece 3 is not limited to a cylindrical shape, but may be spherical. Even in this case, the same effect can be obtained as long as the concave portion 4c of the second binding piece 4 has a tongue-shaped end portion 4d with an acute cross-sectional angle at the front of the end portion 4b of the second binding piece 4, and another end portion 4e with a wider cross-sectional angle than the tongue-shaped end portion 4d at the rear of the end portion 4b of the second binding piece 4.

[0021] The cross-sectional shape of the portions of the first and second binding pieces 3, 4 between the base portions 3a, 4a and the end portions 3b, 4b is not limited to a rectangle, but may be an ellipse, a circle, or the like.

[0022] Furthermore, the concave portion 4c of the second binding piece 4 is not limited to a cylindrical cutout shape corresponding to the cylindrical shape of the convex portion 3c, as shown in Figure 1(a), but may be, for example, a thick structure with walls on both ends, as long as it has an effect due to the softness of the tongue-shaped end 4d and a bottle opener-like effect due to the hardness of the wide-angle end 4e. [Industrial Applicability]

[0023] The present invention relates to a stem guide clip used to bind plant stems by clamping and positioning a hanging cord, but it can also be used in similar applications, such as bundling cords and cables by clamping and positioning a hanging cord or thin rod-like object. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1 stem guide clip 2 Main unit 3 First binding piece 4 Second binding piece 3a, 4a base 3b, 4b end 3c Convex part 4c concave part 6 protrusions 10 Clamping part

Claims

1. A stem guide clip is comprised of a first binding piece and a second binding piece, the ends of which are connected to each other at their bases, forming a loop, a main body for bundling plant stems, and a clamping part for clamping a hanging cord. The end of the first binding piece has a convex portion that is a cylinder whose side is connected or a sphere whose spherical surface is connected in part, and the end of the second binding piece has a concave portion that fits over the convex portion, and has a tongue-shaped end that is acute in cross section at the front part of the end of the second binding piece, and another end that is wider in cross section than the tongue-shaped end at the rear part of the end of the second binding piece, A stem guide clip characterized by having a protrusion at a position near the base of the convex portion of the first binding piece or at a position near the base of the concave portion of the second binding piece, the protrusion being the same size as or slightly smaller than the distance between the first binding piece and the second binding piece when the concave portion is connected to the convex portion.

2. The stem guide clip according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a clamping portion near the base of the first binding piece and the base of the second binding piece, the gap between which narrows in response to the action of joining the convex portion of the first binding piece and the concave portion of the second binding piece, and which clamps the hanging cord.

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