JP2560774Y2 - Remote control structure for aquarium drain plugs - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for remotely opening and closing a drain plug provided on a bottom of a bathtub, for example, by operating an operation button provided on a rim surface of the bathtub.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A drain plug provided at the bottom of a bathtub is known as the simplest one which is connected to a chain of balls and opened by opening the plug. Instead of this, recently, an operation mechanism of a drainage plug incorporated in the outside of a bathtub and remotely operated by a push button or a rotary handle provided on a rim surface of the bathtub has been widely used.

[0003] Such remote-operated drain plugs include:
For example, one described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-43262 is a typical example. In this method, a pipe-shaped protection tube is laid along the outer wall of a bathtub from an operation section to a drain plug, and a plurality of link rods are incorporated in the protection tube as an articulated type. In addition, a rotary operation handle is provided in the operation unit, and the rotation of the operation handle pushes down the link rod, and has a mechanism for lifting the drain plug by a lever-type operation rod facing the lower end of the link rod.

[0004] By housing the link rod in such a protective tube and utilizing the leverage of the operating rod, it is possible to provide a facility that can open and close the plug with a light operating force and that does not expose the member in the bathtub. .

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The plurality of link rods housed in the protective tube are bent in an arc shape because of their strength and smooth operation when pushing down from the operation part. . In this case, when each link rod moves in the protection tube, it easily contacts the inner wall of the protection tube, and the joint between the link rods also moves while hitting the inner wall.

As described above, when the link rod moves while being in contact with the inner wall of the protection tube every time the operation is performed, the frictional resistance is increased, and the operation with a light touch is hindered. In addition, the generation of noise due to the contact of the link rod cannot be ignored, and there is a problem in that the durability is reduced due to wear.

Further, when the position of the operation unit is changed in accordance with the specifications of the bathtub, the positional relationship between the drain plug and the operation unit naturally changes. For this reason, the pipe shape of the protective tube is not only the simplest L-shape, but may be a complicated and winding pipe.

As described above, when the shape of the conduit of the protective tube is complicated and its radius of curvature is small, it cannot be inserted depending on the length of the link rod, or even if it can be assembled, smooth movement is impeded. Will be left. Accordingly, there is a limit to the shape of the conduit of the protective tube, which affects the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the operation unit with respect to the bathtub.

[0009] On the other hand, for obstacles due to bending of the pipeline,
What is necessary is just to shorten each link rod and change the attitude of the link rod following the bending of the pipeline. However, since the purpose of the link rod is to lower the lever-type operating rod, when a large number of short link rods are arranged, the joints are bent and the rolling force is insufficient,
Proper operation may not be possible.

Further, even if the conduit is not complicatedly bent,
When the distance between the drain plug and the operation unit is large, the number of link rods disposed between the operation unit and the lever-type operation rod also increases. However, since the number of joints increases along with the number of link rods, the transmission force from the operation unit is easily attenuated, and the reliability of the operation remains uneasy.

As described above, in the case of using a link rod, the influence of friction is large, and it is not suitable for a bent protective tube. There's a problem.

The problem to be solved in the present invention is to improve the operability by reducing the movement of the chain system between the operation unit and the drain cock, and to provide versatility to various water tanks having different specifications. It is in.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a drain plug provided at the bottom of a bathtub or the like, a chain mechanism provided in a guide tube extending around the outside of the bath, and operating the chain mechanism. A water tank provided with an operation unit for opening the drain plug, wherein the chain mechanism includes a roller that can roll along the inner wall of the guide tube.

As the chain mechanism, a plurality of articulated link rods which can be moved up and down by an operation unit can be used.
When a roller is attached to a pin connecting these link rods, the roller is located at a point where the link rod bends, and a configuration in which rolling can be performed according to the guide tube can be achieved.

[0015]

When the drainage cock is opened by moving the chain mechanism by the operation part, the chain mechanism does not directly contact the guide tube because the rollers provided on the chain mechanism roll on the inner wall of the guide tube. For this reason,
The resistance at the time of operation is reduced, and the drain cock can be opened with a light operation force.

Further, if a multi-joint link rod is used as a chain mechanism and a roller is rotatably provided using a pin provided at the joint, each link rod can be moved by rolling of the roller while bending around the pin. . For this reason, even if it is a rod-shaped link rod, quick movement in the bent guide tube becomes possible.

[0017]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a remote control structure of a drain plug according to the present invention. In this embodiment, an operation structure of a drain plug of a bathtub will be described.

In FIG. 1, an operation section 3 for opening and closing a drain plug 2 disposed at the bottom of a bathtub 1 is installed in a posture facing upward from a rim 1a at an upper end of the bathtub 1. A guide tube 4 laid along the outer wall on the side surface of the bathtub 1 is provided between the operation unit 3 and the drain plug 2.
And a connector tube 5 connected to the lower end of the bathtub 1 and provided along the bottom surface of the bathtub 1. A drain pipe 5a is connected to the pipe end of the connector tube 5 coaxially with the drain plug 2, and the drain plug 2 is installed at the upper end of the drain pipe 5a and a drain pipe (not shown) is connected to the lower end. To collect wastewater from bathtub 1.

Further, a total of five link rods 6 connected to the operation unit 3 are arranged as a chain mechanism inside the guide tube 4, and a leverage link mechanism 7 is housed inside the connector tube 5.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part when the drain plug 2 is opened.

The drain plug 2 has a structure in which a drain fitting 2a integrated with a drain cylinder 5a is incorporated in the bottom surface of the bathtub 1, and a plug 2b can be raised and lowered with respect to the drain fitting 2a. The plug 2b is provided with a packing 2c, and a fitting 2d is protruded downward, and a guide blade 2e having a cross-shaped cross section is connected therearound. The mounting bracket 2d has a hollow cylindrical shape, and has a spline 2f formed on the inner periphery of the lower end thereof.
Connect g. Then, a coil spring 2h is incorporated between the movable element 2g and the plug 2b to urge the plug 2b and the movable element 2g away from each other.

The final stage link of the leverage link mechanism 7 in the connector tube 5 is connected to the moving element 2g of the drain plug 2. The lever link mechanism 7 includes a driven link 7a having one end facing the lower end of the guide tube 4, a fulcrum link 7b having an arched shape and seated on the inner wall of the connector tube 5, and two connector links 7c. , 7d. The final stage connector link 7d is connected to the movable member 2g by a screw 7e, and the fulcrum link 7b
By means of the combined movement of the two connector links 7c and 7d, the moving element 2g can be moved up and down.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the operation unit 3.

The operation section 3 has a thrust lock mechanism employed in, for example, a mechanical pencil or a ballpoint pen, inside a sleeve 3a fixed through the rim 1a of the bathtub 1. The thrust lock mechanism has a function of setting and locking the member from the non-operation position to the operation position by pressing the button once, and then returning from the operation position to the non-operation position again by pressing the button again.

In FIG. 3, inside the sleeve 3a,
A spindle guide 3b is provided to support the spindle 3c connected to the thrust lock mechanism and the link rod 6 coaxially and movably. The spindle 3c is urged upward by a coil spring 3d, and restrains the link rod 6 in the guide tube 4 at a raised position when there is no pressure from above.

At the upper end of the sleeve 3a, a hollow cylindrical operation button 8 having an open lower end is incorporated so as to be vertically movable. As shown in FIG. 4, two operation buttons 8 are provided on the outer peripheral surface at two positions symmetrical with respect to the center of the slit 8a.
By engaging a stopper 3e provided on the inner periphery of the sleeve 3a with the slit 8a, the slit 3a is prevented from coming off from the sleeve 3a.

A thrust lock mechanism provided between the operation button 8 and the spindle 3c is, as shown in FIG. 5, a bushing 9 fixed in the spindle guide 3b, and is inserted into the bushing 9 and can move coaxially. A pressing rod 10 having its upper end abutted against the lower surface of the operation button 8
And a rotor 11 connected to the lower end of the pressing rod 10 and having its lower surface abutted against the upper end of the spindle 3c.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the bushing 9, in which (a) is a longitudinal sectional view and (b) is (a).
1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2C is a bottom view.

The bushing 9 is coaxially fixed in the spindle guide 3b, and has a chamber 9a having a larger inner diameter at the lower end thereof. As shown in FIG. 6B, three types of first grooves 9b and two second grooves 9c radially arranged on the inner peripheral surface above the chamber 9a are formed in the axial direction by three each. Then, on the wall at the upper end of the chamber 9a, there is provided a feed dog 9d having unevenness downward.

The feed dog 9d is connected to the adjacent first groove 9b.
From the first groove 9b to the front part of the next first groove 9b, and has a total of six steps in the circumferential direction as shown in the developed view of the feed dog 9d in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows the details of the pressing rod 10, in which FIG. 8A is a longitudinal sectional view and FIG. 8B is a bottom view.

The pressing rod 10 has a hollow cylindrical shape with an open lower end, and is slidably inserted into the first and second grooves 9b and 9c of the bushing 9 on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end.
A plurality of ridges 10a are formed. A feed dog 10b having a total of six peaks is formed on the entire lower surface including the ridges 10a.

FIG. 9 is a detailed view of the rotor 11, in which (a) is a front view, (b) is a plan view, and (c) is a bottom view.

The rotor 11 has a support shaft 11a protruding from the upper end thereof, and the support shaft 11a is rotatably mounted on the lower end of the pressing rod 10 so as to be movable in the axial direction. Spindle 1
At the lower end of 1a, a hollow holding seat 11b is formed to cover and connect the upper end of the spindle 3c.
Three protrusions 11c are provided around 1b. These ridges 11c have a shape that can be inserted into the first groove 9b of the bushing 9, and are slidable in the first groove 9b.

Further, the rotor 11 has a total of three ridges 11c on the upper surface of the holding seat 11b in the direction in which the ridge 11c extends in the radial direction.
The teeth 11d are provided. These teeth 11d have a triangular tooth shape in which one surface of the upper end is inclined in the same direction as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the thrust lock mechanism composed of the above-described components is inserted into a bushing 9 in which a pressing rod in which a rotor 11 is integrated at a lower end is fixed in a spindle guide 3b. The upper end of the push-down rod 10 abuts against the lower surface of the operation button 8.

When the operation button 8 is pressed, the push rod 10 is pushed down as shown in FIG. 10, and the spindle 3c is pushed downward by the rotor 11 at the lower end of the push rod 10. At this time, the ridge 10a of the pressure rod 10 enters the chamber 9a of the bushing 9, and the rotor 1
A stroke is taken so that one holding seat 11b is lowered to a position where it can be accommodated in the chamber 9a. Then, when the operation button 8 is released thereafter, the spindle 3c is raised by the coil spring 3d, and accordingly, the rotor 11 and the pressure rod 10 also move upward.

As the rotor 11 rises, the teeth 11d provided on the upper surface of the holding seat 11b mesh with the feed teeth 9d of the bushing 9. On the other hand, when the rotor 11 is held by the bushing 9, the ridge 11c slides in the first groove 9b, and moves without rotation. During this movement, the tooth 11d is
0 feed dog 10b remains engaged with the rotor 11
Does not change its posture, as shown in FIG.
Rotation becomes possible only when 1c comes out of the first groove 9b.

With such a structure, when the rotor 11 rises and its teeth 11d abut against the feed dog 9d of the bushing 9, the feed dog of the bushing 9 has a different inclination with respect to the feed dog 10b of the pressing rod 10. By forming 9d, the teeth 11d rotate when meshing with the feed dog 9d. If the rotation angle is set to 60 degrees, the ridge 11c of the rotor 11 is out of alignment with the first groove 9b, and the holding seat 11b is restrained by the lower end of the bushing 9 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the position of the spindle 3c pushed downward is locked at the position shown in the figure, and is maintained at the fixed position.

Further, when the operation button 8 is pressed from the state of FIG. 11, the state returns to the state of FIG.
1d is the feed dog 10b by the lowering of the pressure rod 10.
Become bite. At this time, the rotor 11 rotates by an angle of 60 degrees due to the difference in the shape and inclination of the feed dog 9d of the bushing 9 and the feed dog 10b of the pressing rod 10. Therefore, the ridge 11c is formed in the first groove 9 of the bushing 9.
3b. As a result, if the operation button 8 is pressed only once, the state returns to the state shown in FIG. 3 by the restoring force of the coil spring 3d.

As described above, by using the thrust lock mechanism, the lowering and raising operations of the spindle 3c can be performed only by pressing the operation button 8.

Each joint of the link rods 6 from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage connected to the lower end of the operation unit 3 is provided with a roller 6a for rolling on the inner peripheral surface of the guide tube 4. Details of the incorporation of these rollers 6a are shown in FIGS.

The uppermost link rod 6 is connected to a spindle 3c protruding from the operation bushing 3, and the lowermost link rod 6 is attached with a weight 6e that falls into the connector tube 5. As shown in FIG. 13, the link rod 6 is formed by connecting two plates 6b by stays 6c, and has a shape in which the interval between the lower ends thereof is widened and the upper end of the lower link rod 6 is sandwiched. The rollers 6a are rotatably supported using pins 6d connecting the adjacent link rods 6, respectively.

The roller 6a has a peripheral surface formed in an arc shape, and its outer diameter is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the guide tube 4. When the guide tube 4 has a pipe shape, the position of the roller 6a is determined by the curved shape of the inner circumference of the guide tube 4, and the rotating shaft of the roller 6a is always connected to the guide tube. 4 can be maintained in a posture orthogonal to the axis. Therefore, the roller 6a can smoothly roll without meandering in the guide tube 4.

In the above configuration, when the operation button 8 of the operation section 3 is pressed, the spindle 3c descends and stops at the position locked by the thrust lock mechanism as described above. As the spindle 3c descends, the link rods 6 connected thereto are also pushed downward, and the rollers 6a provided at these joints slide on the inner circumference of the guide tube 4 and roll.

When the link rod 6 is lowered, the weight 6e at its lower end falls into the connector tube 5, thereby pushing down the driven link 7a of the leverage link mechanism 7 downward. Therefore, the plug 2b of the drain plug 2 is pushed up by the fulcrum link 7b and the two connector links 7c and 7d, and the drain plug 2 is opened.

When the depressed operation handle 8 is pressed again, the spindle 3c is raised, and the link rod 6 and the weight 6e at the lower end thereof are also raised, as described with reference to FIGS. Thereby, the constraint on the driven link 7a is removed, and the drain plug 2 descends by its own weight of the plug 2b to close the flow passage.

By pressing the operation button 8 of the operation unit 3 in this manner, the link rod 6 moves in the guide tube 4 to open and close the drain plug 2. And the link rod 6 itself does not contact the inner wall of the guide tube 4,
Since the roller 6a moves by rolling, the resistance at the time of operation is reduced. For this reason, the force for pushing the operation handle 8 can be reduced, and a large load is not applied to the members.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The roller 6a of the joint of the link rod 6 rolls along the inner wall of the guide tube 4 even if it is gently bent at the location. Therefore, even if the guide tube 4 is complicatedly bent, if the length of the link rod 6 is appropriately adjusted to the curvature and the roller 6a is incorporated,
The link rod 6 quickly moves forward and backward. Therefore,
Even if the positional relationship between the drain plug 2 and the operation unit 3 is changed variously and the shape of the guide tube 4 becomes complicated,
The operation of the link rod 6 can be maintained smoothly.

Here, as a chain mechanism incorporated in the guide tube 4, a member such as a chain may be used instead of the link rod 6. Even in this case, if the roller is rotatably mounted on the chain at an appropriate interval, the roller rolls on the inner wall of the guide tube 4 and operation with less resistance is possible.

Although the embodiment has been described with respect to the drain plug of the bathtub, it is needless to say that the operation structure of the present invention can be applied to various water tanks such as a wash basin.

[0052]

According to the present invention, since a roller is provided in a chain mechanism for operating the drainage plug by the operation unit and the inner wall of the guide tube is rolled, the drainage plug can be easily opened and closed with a low resistance operation.

Further, since the roller moves following the inner wall of the guide tube, it can follow the bending of the guide tube as compared with the case where only the link rod is arranged. For this reason, even if the shape of the guide tube changes for each product having different specifications of the operation unit and the position of the drain plug, the guide tube can be incorporated without any trouble, and it is possible to cope with various types of products.

Further, if a multi-joint link rod is used as a chain mechanism and a roller is provided on a joint pin,
The roller will be located at the bending point of the link rod. For this reason, even if the guide tube has a meandering shape, reliable and light operation by the link mechanism is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an example in which the operation structure of a drain plug of the present invention is applied to a drain plug of a bathtub.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a drain plug is opened.

FIG. 3 is a detail of an operation unit, and is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part when a drain cock is closed.

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a main part showing a structure in which an operation handle of the operation unit is incorporated into a sleeve.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view showing elements of a thrust lock mechanism provided in an operation unit.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are detailed views of the bushing, wherein FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a plane including the axis thereof, and FIG. 6B is a view taken along line AA of FIG. Cross-sectional view of FIG.
Is a bottom view.

FIG. 7 is a development view of a feed dog provided in the bushing.

8A and 8B are detailed views of the pressing rod, in which FIG. 8A is a longitudinal sectional view and FIG. 8B is a bottom view.

9A and 9B are detailed views of the rotor, wherein FIG. 9A is a front view, FIG. 9B is a plan view, and FIG. 9C is a bottom view.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part when the operation button of the operation unit is pressed down to the stroke end.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the operation unit after the operation button is pressed and the drain cock is in an open state.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing an arrangement of a link rod and a roller provided at a joint thereof.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view taken along line BB of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bathtub 2 Drain tap 3 Operation part 4 Guide tube 5 Connector tube 6 Link rod 6a Roller 7 Lever link mechanism 8 Operation button 9 Bushing 10 Push-down rod 11 Rotor

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A drain plug provided at the bottom of a bath such as a bathtub, a chain mechanism provided in a guide tube wrapped around the outside of the bath, and an operation unit for operating the chain mechanism to open the drain plug. A remote control structure for a water tank drainage plug, wherein the chain mechanism includes a roller that can roll along the inner wall of the guide tube. 2. The chain mechanism includes a plurality of link rods that can be moved up and down by the operation unit, pins that connect the link rods, and rollers that are attached to the chain mechanism by the pins. 2. A remote control structure of the water tank drain cock according to 1.