Belt Fastening Device
An object of the present invention is to provide a belt tightener that is capable of tightening belts reliably by a smaller force and thus is excellent in operability. A belt take-up mechanism 5 of a belt tightener 100 includes a belt take-up shaft 7, a handle 20 supported about an axis on a body frame 3 so as to be coaxial with this belt take-up shaft 7, first and second one-way clutches 8 and 9 both fixed to the belt take-up shaft 7, a first latch 25 provided on the handle 20 and engageable with and disengageable from the first one-way clutch 8, and a second latch 31 provided on the body frame 3 and engageable with and disengageable from the second one-way clutch 9, and an inner wheel member 11 and an outer wheel member 10 of each one-way clutch 8, 9 and two cover plates 16 that block a space portion between the outer wheel member 10 and the inner wheel member 11 are integrally formed.
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The present invention relates to a belt tightener used for, for example, fixing a load on a truck or the like.
BACKGROUND ARTConventionally, as belt tighteners that tighten and release belts laid between sidewalls of the beds of trucks for fixing loads on the truck beds, ones with a variety of structures have been known. Among those, the following ratchet type belt tightener has been widely used. A general ratchet type belt tightener includes a belt take-up shaft that takes up belts, a ratchet gear provided with this belt take-up shaft at a center portion so as to penetrate therethrough and formed with a gear portion therearound, a latch pawl that is engageably urged against the gear portion of the ratchet gear so as to turn the ratchet gear in only one direction, and a handle that is capable of turning the belt take-up shaft in a wind-tightening direction.
And, when fixing a load by use of this ratchet type belt tightener, one end of each one of the two belts is fixed to the sidewall of a truck, and the other end thereof is coupled to the belt tightener at almost the center part of the truck bed. Then, the belt take-up shaft is turned by the handle in the wind-tightening direction to take up the belts, and the load is fastened with the belts so as to be fixed.
However, in this ratchet type belt tightener, when performing a drawing operation of the belts while turning the ratchet gear with the handle, since the latch pawl to prevent a reversal rotation of the ratchet gear rapidly moves from a projection of its gear portion to a recess to abut thereagainst, a large collision noise occurs. And thus, with the conventional ratchet type belt tightener, since a large noise occurs in the surrounding area at the time of a drawing operation of the belts, this has presented a large problem for, particularly, trucks that carry goods to convenience stores and the like in the early morning or nighttime.
Therefore, the applicant of the present application has proposed a belt tightener that is capable of preventing the occurrence of noise at the time of a drawing operation of the belts (see Patent Document 1). A belt take-up mechanism of this belt tightener includes a belt take-up shaft supported about an axis on a body frame, a handle supported about an axis on the body frame so as to be coaxial with the belt take-up shaft, a first one-way clutch and a second one-way clutch fixed to both end portions of the belt take-up shaft, respectively, and set in identical directions in terms of a slipping state and a meshing state, a first latch provided on the handle and engageable with and disengageable from an outer wheel member of the first one-way clutch, and a second latch provided on the body frame and engageable with and disengageable from an outer wheel member of the second one-way clutch.
When performing a drawing operation of belts by this belt tightener, while the first latch is engaged with the first one-way clutch and the second latch is engaged with the second one-way clutch, first, the handle is turned in a direction where both one-way clutches reach a slipping state. At this time, in the first one-way clutch, the outer wheel member turns in conjunction with the handle and the first latch, however, this turn of the outer wheel member is not transmitted to an inner wheel member through which the belt take-up shaft is inserted, so that the belt take-up shaft does not turn. Then, when the handle is turned in a direction where both one-way clutches reach a meshing state, the first latch and the outer wheel member of the first one-way clutch turn in conjunction with the handle, and the turn of the handle is transmitted to the belt take-up shaft via the first latch and the first one-way clutch, so that the belts are taken up by the belt take-up shaft. Also, at this time of a take-up operation of the belts, a force in the belt unwinding direction always acts on the belt take-up shaft due to tension of the belts taken up by the belt take-up shaft, however, since the second latch has been engaged with the outer wheel member of the second one-way clutch, a turn of the belt take-up shaft in the unwinding direction is restricted, so that the belts taken up by the belt take-up shaft are never unwound.
According to this belt tightener, even when the handle is turned in any direction, the first latch and the second latch never hit the outer wheel members of the one-way clutches, so that no such large noise occurs as a collision noise between the ratchet gear and latch pawl as in the conventional ratchet type belt tightener.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-222198
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the InventionHowever, in the belt tightener according to Patent Document 1 described above, since a force that acts on the handle at the take-up time of the belts is transmitted to the belt take-up shaft via only the first one-way clutch provided at one end portion of the belt take-up shaft, distortion easily occurs at the first one-way clutch. And, when distortion occurs at the first one-way clutch, a greater force is required for turning the handle. However, in recent years, there are an increased number of occasions where a tightening operation of the belts is performed by an operator with relatively weak strength such as a woman, and in such a case, as a result of insufficient tightening of the belts, the load may not be reliably fixed. In addition, the one-way clutches are composed of a large number of components such as inner wheel members and outer wheel members, and it is not easy to replace a one-way clutch with distortion.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a belt tightener that is capable of tightening belts reliably by a smaller force and thus is excellent in operability.
Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the InventionAs a belt tightener according to a first aspect of the invention, in a belt tightener to whose one end portion and other end portion a first belt and a second belt are coupled, respectively, and which produces and releases tension for these belts, the belt tightener has: a body frame; and a belt take-up mechanism provided at one end portion of the body frame and is capable of taking up and unwinding the first belt, the belt take-up mechanism includes: a belt take-up shaft which is supported about an axis on the body frame and by which the first belt is taken up; a handle supported about an axis on the body frame so as to be coaxial with the belt take-up shaft; a first one-way clutch and a second one-way clutch both provided on the belt take-up shaft and set in identical directions in terms of a slipping state and a meshing state; a first latch provided so as to be relatively movable on the handle and engageable with and disengageable from the first one-way clutch while being urged to the belt take-up shaft side; and a second latch provided so as to be relatively movable on the body frame and engageable with and disengageable from the second one-way clutch while being urged to the belt take-up shaft side, each one-way clutch has an inner wheel member through which the belt take-up shaft is inserted and an outer wheel member externally fitted to this inner wheel member so as to be freely slidable, further, to both side surfaces of the inner wheel member, two cover plates that block a space portion between the outer wheel member and the inner wheel member are fixed, respectively, and the inner wheel member, the outer wheel member, and the two cover plates are integrally formed.
When producing tension in the belts for tightening by this belt tightener, first, while the first latch is engaged with the first one-way clutch and the second latch is engaged with the second one-way clutch, the handle is turned in a direction where both one-way clutches reach a slipping state. Then, since the first one-way clutch is in a slipping state, a turning force of the handle (first latch) is not transmitted to the belt take-up shaft, so that the first belt is not taken up. Then, when the handle is turned in a direction where both one-way clutches reach a meshing state, since the first latch and the outer wheel member of the first one-way clutch are turned in conjunction with the handle, the turn of the handle is transmitted to the belt take-up shaft via the first one-way clutch, so that the belt is taken up by the belt take-up shaft. Also, at this take-up time of the first belt, due to the tension of the first belt taken up by the belt take-up shaft, a force in the belt unwinding direction always acts on the belt take-up shaft, however, since the second latch is engaged with the second one-way clutch, the belt take-up shaft does not rotate in the belt unwinding direction, so that the belt is never unwound. According to this belt tightener, since the first latch and the second latch never hit the outer wheel member of the one-way clutch at the time of a turn of the handle, no such large noise occurs as a collision noise between the ratchet gear and latch pawl as in the conventional ratchet type belt tightener.
Here, at the take-up time of the first belt, a force from the handle acts on only the first one-way clutch fixed to one end portion of the belt take-up shaft. However, since the two cover plates have been respectively fixed to both side surfaces of the inner wheel member of each one-way clutch, strength of the one-way clutch as a whole is increased, so that it becomes less likely that the first one-way clutch is distorted. Accordingly, it becomes possible to lightly turn the handle by a small force. Furthermore, by the cover plates on both side surfaces of the inner wheel member, the outer wheel member has been prevented from coming off from the inner wheel member, and the inner wheel member, outer wheel member, and two cover plates have been integrally formed, whereby the one-way clutch has been unitized, and thus even if the first one-way clutch is distorted, the one-way clutch can be easily replaced.
As a belt tightener according to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a fixing portion of the inner wheel member and the cover plate is protruded from a surface of the cover plate, and a gap exists between the handle and the cover plate. And thus, for the reason that the fixing portion is protruded from the cover plate so that a gap is formed between the cover plate and handle, the one-way clutch is less likely to contact the handle, so that it becomes possible to turn the handle smoothly.
As a belt tightener according to a third aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a corner on one side surface of the outer wheel member is formed round. Although it is necessary for the first and second one-way clutches, so as to be identical in directions of a slipping state and a meshing state, to be attached to the belt take-up shaft with a predetermined orientation, since the space portion of the outer wheel member and inner wheel member has been blocked by the cover plates, it is not easy to judge a slipping direction and a meshing direction of each unitized one-way clutch from its appearance. However, in this belt tightener according to the third aspect of the invention, since the corner on one side surface of the outer wheel member is formed round, it becomes less likely that the one-way clutch is oriented incorrectly when being attached. Therefore, an assembling operation of the belt tightener is improved in efficiency.
As a belt tightener according to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the space portion between the outer wheel member and the inner wheel member is formed so that its gap is enlarged along a circumferential direction, in the space portion, a roller member having a diameter equal to the gap at a circumferential middle portion thereof and a coil spring that urges this roller member in a contracting direction of the gap of the space portion, the roller member is formed in a columnar shape having a length almost equal to a thickness of the inner wheel member, and a shape of the coil spring viewed from its expanding and contracting direction is an oval shape.
When the outer wheel member turns in one direction and the roller member moves in the direction where the gap of the space portion is enlarged against an urging force of the coil spring, the turn of the outer wheel member is not transmitted to the inner wheel member, so that the one-way clutch reaches a slipping state. On the other hand, when the outer wheel member turns in the opposite direction and the roller member moves in the direction where the gap of the space portion is contracted, the roller member gets stuck in the middle portion of the space portion, so that the one-way clutch reaches a meshing state where the turn of the outer wheel member is transmitted to the inner wheel member via the roller member. Here, since the roller member has been formed in a columnar shape having a length almost equal to a thickness of the inner wheel member, in comparison with when the roller member is in a spherical shape, a contact area of the roller member between the inner wheel member and outer wheel member is increased, so that even with a roller member having a relatively small diameter, it becomes possible to transmit a large load. Accordingly, the diameter of the roller member is reduced to the utmost extent allowing transmitting a necessary load so that the outside diameter of the outer wheel member can be reduced as much as possible. Consequently, it becomes possible to turn the outer wheel member by a smaller force, and this allows taking up the belts more easily.
As a belt tightener according to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the first latch has a flat plate portion that extends parallel to its moving direction, a slope portion that extends to a side opposite the belt take-up shaft in a state inclined with respect to the flat plate portion, and a pull portion provided at an end portion of this slope portion on the side opposite the belt take-up shaft, and the pull portion is located on a plane extended from the flat plate portion to the side opposite the belt take-up shaft. Accordingly, pulling the pull portion allows moving the first latch to the side opposite the belt take-up shaft, so that it becomes easy to release a meshing state with the first one-way clutch. In addition, the pull portion is located on a plane extended from the flat plate portion to the side opposite the belt take-up shaft. Accordingly, since the first latch linearly moves in the direction of a force applied to the pull portion, it becomes possible to move the first latch by a smaller force.
As a belt tightener according to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the handle has two handle support plates arranged symmetrically at both end portions of the belt take-up shaft, and a grasping member provided at end portions of these two handle support plates on a side opposite the belt take-up shaft, the first latch is supported so as to be relatively movable on the two handle support plates, and on a surface of the first latch, formed are two first convex portions that guide a relative movement with respect to the two handle support plates. And thus, since a relative movement of the first latch with respect to the handle support plates is guided by the two first convex portions, it becomes easier to move the first latch, so that operability is improved. In addition, since rattling can be prevented even without strict control of machining accuracy of the first latch and the handle support plates, there is also an advantage in the aspect of a component cost.
As a belt tightener according to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the body frame has two frame plates that support both end portions of the belt take-up shaft about axes, respectively, the second latch is supported so as to be relatively movable on the two frame plates, and on a surface of the second latch, formed are two second convex portions that guide a relative movement with respect to the two frame plates. And thus, since a relative movement of the second latch with respect to the frame plates is guided by the two second convex portions, it becomes easier to move the second latch, so that operability is improved. In addition, since rattling can be prevented even without strict control of machining accuracy of the second latch and the frame plates, there is also an advantage in the aspect of a component cost.
A belt tightener according to an eighth aspect of the invention, in the seventh aspect of the invention, in the two frame plates, slits through which the second latch is inserted are formed, respectively, further, in at least one of the frame plates, continuously from the slit, formed is a notch portion through which the second convex portion of the second latch can be inserted, and in a state where the second latch has been inserted through the slits of the two frame plates and supported, the notch portion and the second convex portion are displaced in terms of a moving direction of the second latch. The second latch is inserted through the slits respectively formed in the two frame plates and is supported. At that time of fitting, the second convex portion is inserted through the notch portion continuous from the slit and is arranged inside the two frame plates. Here, since the positional relationship between the second convex portion of the second latch after having been fitted to the body frame and notch portion is displaced in terms of the moving direction of the second latch, the second latch is latched by the second convex portion, whereby the second latch is prevented from coming off from the slit after fitting.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to
In addition, at one end portion of the body frame 3, a belt take-up mechanism 5 capable of taking up the first belt 1 in one direction is provided. The belt take-up mechanism 5 has a belt take-up shaft 7 whose both end portions are freely rotatably supported about an axis on the frame plates 4 and 4, and first and second one-way clutches 8 and 9 provided on both end portions of this belt take-up shaft 7. The belt take-up shaft 7 is composed of a pair of shaft members 7a and 7b having almost semicircular sectional shapes, and these shaft members 7a and 7b are coupled and fixed at both end portions by latching members 15.
As shown in
As shown in
And, in the first and second one-way clutches 8 and 9, when the outer wheel member 10 rotates in the arrow direction A (opening direction in which a handle 20 of
Here, as shown in
As shown in
The first and second one-way clutches 8 and 9 are attached to the body frame 3 so as to be identical in directions of a slipping state and a meshing state of the outer wheel member 10 and inner wheel member 11. However, as described above, since the space portions 12 of the outer wheel member 10 and inner wheel member 11 have been completely blocked by the cover plates 16 (see
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In addition, as shown in
In the front end-side (belt take-up shaft 7-side) part of the flat plate portion 25e of the first latch 25, as shown in
In addition, a lateral side of the engaging portion 25b hangs over to the outside of the first latch 25. The end portion of the engaging portion 25b on the overhang side is, as shown in
Also, as shown in
In addition, as shown in
This second latch 31 is, at its both widthwise end portions, inserted through slits 4c and 4c respectively formed in the frame plates 4 and 4, and supported so as to be freely relatively movable with respect to the handle support plates 21 and 22 so that its front end portion faces the belt take-up shaft 7 side. In addition, to a rear end portion of the second latch 31, coupled is a coil spring 32 in a compressed state. The coil spring 32 urges the second latch 31 in the belt take-up shaft 7 direction.
In the front end-side (belt take-up shaft 7-side) part of the second latch 31, as shown in
The aforementioned second latch 31 is retracted by the handle 20. That is, the base end portions of the handle support plates 21 and 22 of the handle 20 are formed in slightly protruded curved shapes, and these base end portions abut against the front end of the second latch 31 to thereby retract the second latch 31 in the retracting direction. In addition, as shown in
Also, as shown in
In addition, as shown in
In the belt take-up mechanism 5 constructed as in the above, as shown in
At the other end portion of the body frame 3 on whose one end portion the aforementioned belt take-up mechanism 5 is provided, provided is the belt loosening mechanism 6 that gradually unwind the second belt 2. The belt loosening mechanism 6 has slope surfaces 4b for which the respective frame plates 4 and 4 are inclined to the downside toward the end portion side, loosening support plates 41 and 41 fixedly provided on the respective frame plates 4 and 4 and arranged in parallel, and a first shaft 42 provided sideways between the frame plates 4 and 4 and that guides the second belt 2 in a manner overlapped therewith. At both end portions of the first shaft 42, nuts 43 and 43 are screwed therewith, and each nut 43 fastens the loosening support plate 41 onto the frame plate 4.
As shown in
The aforementioned second shaft 45 is formed, at its both end portions, in cross-sectional circular shapes, and is formed, at its part excluding these both end portions, in a cross-sectional hexagonal shape. Moreover, the cross-sectional hexagonal-shaped part of this second shaft 45 is abutted against the upper end of the slope surface 4b of the frame plate 4 almost vertical to the axis line of the slotted hole 41a. Furthermore, at one end portion of the second shaft 45, a turning lever 47 to turn the second shaft 45 is fixedly provided. Thereby, as shown in
In addition, below the first shaft 42, provided is a belt retaining member 48 that sandwiches the second belt 2. The belt retaining member 48 is turnably supported on the frame 4. Moreover, the belt retaining member 48 is structured so that, as a result of one end being pressed by the second belt 2, the other end sandwiches the second belt 2 with the first shaft 42.
In the aforementioned construction, actions of the belt tightener 100 will be described.
(Attaching Operation) First, when fixing a load 51 on the bed of a truck 50, as shown in
Concretely, as shown in
(Lashing Operation) After completion of the attaching operation, subsequently, the grasping member 23 is grasped to turn, as shown in
When the outer wheel member 10 of the first one-way clutch 8 turns upon receiving the force in the closing direction, as shown in
On the other hand, in the second one-way clutch 9, when tension is produced in the first belt 1, a force in the unwinding direction (opposite direction to the arrow direction A) acts on the inner wheel member 11 via the belt take-up shaft 7. And, in this case, similar to when the outer wheel member 10 receives a force in the arrow direction A (opening direction), the roller member 13 moves to the narrower-gap side of the space portion 12 to be stuck, thus resulting in a state where the inner wheel member 11 and the outer wheel member 10 are meshed with each other by the roller member 13. However, the outer wheel member 10 of the second one-way clutch 9 has been restricted from turning by the second latch 31 provided on the body frame 3. Accordingly, when the handle 20 is turned in the closing direction, a turn of the belt take-up shaft 7 is restricted by the second one-way clutch 9, so that the first belt 1 is never unwound. Moreover, when the first latch 25 abuts against the protruded potion 30a of the stopper member 30, a further turn in the closing direction is restricted.
Next, as shown in
And, as shown in
Also, when turning the handle 20 in the opening direction to take up the first belt 1, since, via the engaging portion 25b of the first latch 25 engaged with the outer wheel member 10, the force from the handle 20 acts on only the first one-way clutch 8 fixed to one end portion of the belt take-up shaft 7, the first one-way clutch 8 is easily distorted. However, as described above, the two cover plates 16 have been respectively fixed to both side surfaces of the inner wheel member 11 of the one-way clutch 8, 9 and the outer wheel member 10 has been reinforced by the two cover plates 16 from both sides, strength of the one-way clutch 8, 9 as a whole is increased to be less likely to be distorted. Therefore, it becomes possible to turn the handle 20 by a smaller force. In addition, as shown in
Furthermore, since the inner wheel member 11, outer wheel member 10, roller members 13, coil springs 14, and two cover plates 16 of the one-way clutch 8, 9 have been integrally formed so that the one-way clutch 8, 9 have been unitized, even if the one-way clutch 8, 9 is distorted, the one-way clutch 8, 9 can be easily replaced.
After tension is sufficiently produced in the first belt 1, as shown in
Also, as shown in
(Releasing Operation) When the load 51 is unloaded after producing a sufficiently large tension in the first belt 1 and the second belt 2 by the belt tightener 100 as in the above, first, by the handle 20 being turned in the opening direction, the locked state of the belt loosening mechanism 6 is released. Then, as shown in
Thereby, the second shaft 45 coupled to the turning lever 47 is turned. At this time, as shown in
Thereafter, when the tension of the second belt 2 has sufficiently declined, while pulling up the first latch 25, the handle 20 is turned sufficiently in the opening direction. Then, by fitting the front end of the first latch 25 with the handle latching portion 4a (see
As in the above, the belt take-up mechanism 5 of the belt tightener 100 of the present embodiment includes the belt take-up shaft 7 which is supported about an axis on the body frame 3 and by which the first belt 1 is taken up, the handle 20 supported about an axis on the body frame so as to be coaxial with the belt take-up shaft 7, the first one-way clutch 8 and the second one-way clutch 9 both fixed to the belt take-up shaft 7 and set in an identical direction in terms of a slipping state and a meshing state, the first latch 25 provided so as to be relatively movable on the handle 20 and engageable with and disengageable from the first one-way clutch 8 while being urged to the belt take-up shaft 7-side, and the second latch 31 provided so as to be relatively movable on the body frame 3 and engageable with and disengageable from the second one-way clutch 9 while being urged to the belt take-up shaft 7 side.
Moreover, while the first latch 25 is engaged with the first one-way clutch 8 and the second latch 31 is engaged with the second two-way clutch 9, the handle 20 is turned in the closing direction (direction where both one-way clutches 8 and 9 reach a slipping condition). Then, since the first one-way clutch 8 is in a slipping state, the turn of the handle 20 (first latch 25) is not transmitted to the belt take-up shaft 7, so that the first belt 1 is not taken up. Next, when the handle 20 is turned in the opening direction (direction where both one-way clutches 8 and 9 reach a meshing state), this turn of the handle (first latch 25) is transmitted to the belt take-up shaft 7 via the first one-way clutch 8, so that the belt is taken up by the belt take-up shaft 7. Also, at the time of a take-up operation of the first belt 1, due to the tension of the first belt 1 taken up by the belt take-up shaft 7, a force in the belt unwinding direction always acts on the belt take-up shaft 7, however, since the second latch 31 has been engaged with the second one-way clutch 9, a turn of the belt take-up shaft 7 in the belt unwinding direction is restricted, so that the first belt 1 is never unwound.
Accordingly, at the time of a turn of the handle 20 when producing tension in the belt 1, the first latch 25 and the second latch 31 never hit the outer wheel member 10 of the one-way clutch 8, 9, so that no such large noise occurs as a collision noise between the ratchet gear and latch pawl as in the conventional ratchet type belt tightener.
In addition, at the take-up time of the first belt 1, a force from the handle 20 acts on only the first one-way clutch 8 fixed to one end portion of the belt take-up shaft 7, however, since the two cover plates 16 have been respectively fixed to both side surfaces of the inner wheel member 11 of the one-way clutch 8, 9, strength of the one-way clutch 8, 9 as a whole is increased to be less likely to be distorted. Accordingly, the handle 20 can be turned lightly by a smaller force. Furthermore, by the cover plates 16 and 16 on both side surfaces of the inner wheel member 11, the outer wheel member 10 is prevented from coming off from the inner wheel member 11, and the inner wheel member 11, outer wheel member 10, and two cover plates 16 have been integrally formed so that the one-way clutch 8, 9 has been unitized, and thus even if the one-way clutch 8, 9 has been distorted, the one-way clutch 8, 9 can be easily replaced.
Also, the first convex portion 25h that guides a relative movement of the first latch 25 with respect to the handle 20 and the second convex portion 31d that guides a relative movement of the second latch 31 with respect to the frame 4 are not limited in shapes to those in the embodiment described above, and these may, for example, be extended long in the moving directions of the first and second latches 25 and 31. In addition, the first convex portion 25h and the second convex portion 31d may be formed of separate members from the first and second latches 25 and 31.
It is not always necessary that the notch portion 4d through which, at the time of assembly of the belt tightener 100, the second convex portion 31d is inserted is formed on both of the two frame plates 4, and this may be formed on only one of the frame plates 4.
In addition, it is not necessary that the second shaft 45 is in a cross-sectional hexagonal shape, this may be in a polygonal shape equal to or more polygonal than a cross-sectional triangular shape, a circular shape, or an oval shape, and may, as shown in
In addition, the belt tightener 100 of the present embodiment is constructed with a locking means that restricts a turn of the second shaft 45. That is, as shown in
Also, in the present embodiment, the belt tightener 100 includes both the belt take-up mechanism 5 and belt loosening mechanism 6, however, the present invention is not limited hereto, and the belt tightener 100 may include only the belt take-up mechanism 5.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS[
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- 1 First belt
- 2 Second belt
- 3 Body frame
- 4 Frame plate
- 4c Slit
- 4d Hole
- 5 Belt take-up mechanism
- 7 Belt take-up shaft
- 8 First one-way clutch
- 9 Second one-way clutch
- 10 Outer wheel member
- 11 Inner wheel member
- 12 Space portion
- 13 Roller member
- 14 Coil spring
- 16 Cover plate
- 17 Rivet
- 20 Handle
- 21, 22 Handle support plate
- 23 Grasping member
- 25 First latch
- 25a Pull portion
- 25e Flat plate portion
- 25f Slope portion
- 25h First convex portion
- 31 Second latch
- 31d Second convex portion
- 100 Belt tightener
Claims
1. A belt tightener to whose one end portion and other end portion a first belt and a second belt are coupled, respectively, and which produces and releases tension for these belts, the belt tightener having:
- a body frame; and
- a belt take-up mechanism provided at one end portion of the body frame and is capable of taking up and unwinding the first belt, wherein
- the belt take-up mechanism comprises:
- a belt take-up shaft which is supported about an axis on the body frame and by which the first belt is taken up;
- a handle supported about an axis on the body frame so as to be coaxial with the belt take-up shaft;
- a first one-way clutch and a second one-way clutch provided on the belt take-up shaft and set in an identical direction in terms of a slipping state and a meshing state;
- a first latch provided so as to be relatively movable on the handle and engageable with and disengageable from the first one-way clutch while being urged to the belt take-up shaft side; and
- a second latch provided so as to be relatively movable on the body frame and engageable with and disengageable from the second one-way clutch while being urged to the belt take-up shaft side,
- each one-way clutch has an inner wheel member through which the belt take-up shaft is inserted and an outer wheel member externally fitted to this inner wheel member so as to be freely slidable,
- further, to both side surfaces of the inner wheel member, two cover plates that block a space portion between the outer wheel member and the inner wheel member are fixed, respectively, and the inner wheel member, the outer wheel member, and the two cover plates are integrally formed.
2. The belt tightener according to claim 1, wherein
- a fixing portion of the inner wheel member and the cover plate is protruded from a surface of the cover plate, and a gap exists between the handle and the cover plate.
3. The belt tightener according to claim 1, wherein
- a corner on one side surface of the outer wheel member is formed round.
4. The belt tightener according to claim 1, wherein
- the space portion between the outer wheel member and the inner wheel member is formed so that its gap is enlarged along a circumferential direction,
- in the space portion, a roller member having a diameter equal to the gap at a circumferential middle portion thereof and a coil spring that urges this roller member in a contracting direction of the gap of the space portion,
- the roller member is formed in a columnar shape having a length almost equal to a thickness of the inner wheel member, and
- a shape of the coil spring viewed from its expanding and contracting direction is an oval shape.
5. The belt tightener according to claim 1, wherein
- the first latch has a flat plate portion that extends parallel to its moving direction, a slope portion that extends to a side opposite the belt take-up shaft in a state inclined with respect to the flat plate portion, and a pull portion provided at an end portion of this slope portion on the side opposite the belt take-up shaft, and
- the pull portion is located on a plane extended from the flat plate portion to the side opposite the belt take-up shaft.
6. The belt tightener according to claim 1, wherein
- the handle has two handle support plates arranged symmetrically at both end portions of the belt take-up shaft, and a grasping member provided at end portions of these two handle support plates on a side opposite the belt take-up shaft,
- the first latch is supported so as to be relatively movable on the two handle support plates, and
- on a surface of the first latch, formed are two first convex portions that guide a relative movement with respect to the two handle support plates.
7. The belt tightener according to claim 1, wherein
- the body frame has two frame plates that support both end portions of the belt take-up shaft about axes, respectively,
- the second latch is supported so as to be relatively movable on the two frame plates, and
- on a surface of the second latch, formed are two second convex portions that guide a relative movement with respect to the two frame plates.
8. The belt tightener according to claim 7, wherein
- in the two frame plates, slits through which the second latch is inserted are formed, respectively,
- further, in at least one of the frame plates, continuously from the slit, formed is a notch portion through which the second convex portion of the second latch can be inserted, and
- in a state where the second latch has been inserted through the slits of the two frame plates and supported, the notch portion and the second convex portion are displaced in terms of a moving direction of the second latch.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 25, 2005
Publication Date: Aug 14, 2008
Applicant: ASHIMORI INDUSTRY CO., LTD. (Osaka-shi)
Inventor: Motoharu Tomosue (Osaka)
Application Number: 11/912,464
International Classification: B65D 63/16 (20060101);