Abstract:
A toggle type fastener to releaseably couple a fixed object and a movable object to each other includes a pedestal that is structured to be fixed to the movable object, a toggle lever pivotally coupled to the pedestal, a latching arm pivotally coupled to the toggle lever, a looseness prevention element that prevents movement of the movable object. The looseness prevention element is attached to the latching arm and sized to be hooked to a hooked member that is structured to be fixed to the fixed object.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from Japanese patent application serial No. 2012-192935, filed Sep. 3, 2012, entitled “Toggle type fastener,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a toggle type fastener for fixing a closed state of two objects that are a movable object and a fixed object mutually coupled pivotally to each other like a lid and a housing. The present invention especially relates to an improvement of a toggle type fastener provided with a function for preventing looseness between the movable object and the fixed object when the movable object is fastened such that it is fixed to the fixed object. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    An example of a fastener of this type is disclosed in Patent document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-183424). The toggle type fastener 1 disclosed in this Patent document 1 includes:
       a toggle lever (movable object) 20 pivotally supported by a fixed pedestal (fixed substrate) 10 that is fixed and attached to the movable object;   a latching arm (catch frame) 27 pivotally supported by this toggle lever 20; and   a hooked member (receiving tool) 30 on which the latching arm 27 is hooked at the time of fastening the movable object to the fixed object, the hooked member being fixed to the fixed object.       
 
         [0007]    When the fastener 1 fastens both of the objects, with the movable object closed with respect to the fixed object, a hooking end of the latching arm 27 on the movable object side is hooked to the hooked member 30 on the fixed object side. Then, the toggle lever 20 and the latching arm 27 are pivotally moved, as if pulling the latching arm 27 towards the hooked member 30 in the hooking direction, until the toggle lever 20 and the latching arm 27 are aligned almost in a straight line, and the toggle lever 20 is folded in the fixed pedestal 10. When the toggle lever 20 is completely folded in the fixed pedestal 10, the latching arm 27 would not be lifted and the fastener fastens the movable object to the fixed object. 
         [0008]    Although the fastener fastens a movable object to a fixed object in this manner, in order to prevent the movable object becoming unstable due to looseness of the sealing of the movable object with respect to the fixed object, the hooked member 30 is pivotally supported by a mounting member 31 that is to be fixed to the fixed object. When fastening the fastener 1, the hooked member 30 will seat on the movable object when the latching arm 27 is pulled by the toggle lever 20. Therefore, the hooked member 30 is provided with a function of hooking the latching arm 27 and a function of preventing the loosening of the movable object by pressing the movable object against the fixed object to be in a stable state. 
         [0009]    However, with such a structure, the hooked member significantly protrudes out near the opening of the fixed object (housing) when the movable object (lid) is in an opened state. Therefore, it was necessary to perform loading/unloading of items with caution because this hooked member became an obstacle when loading/unloading items into or from the fixed object (housing). There was also a risk of damage to the items in case of accidental contact with the hooked member. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    An object of the present invention is to provide a toggle type fastener in which a looseness prevention means for stably fixing a movable object to a fixed object when the fastener is fastened is provided not on the hooked member side, but rather on the latching arm side so that when the fastener is in an opened state, there is no significant protrusion near the opening of the fixed object, and easy loading/unloading of items through the opening becomes possible. 
         [0011]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a toggle type fastener to releaseably couple a fixed object and a movable object to each other includes:
       a pedestal that is structured to be fixed to the movable object;   a toggle lever pivotally coupled to the pedestal;   a latching arm pivotally coupled to the toggle lever; and   a looseness prevention element that prevents movement of the movable object, the looseness prevention element attached to the latching arm and sized to be hooked to a hooked member that is structured to be fixed to the fixed object.       
 
         [0016]    In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a toggle type fastener to releaseably couple a fixed object and a movable object to each other includes:
       a pedestal that is structured to be fixed to the movable object;   a toggle lever pivotally coupled to the pedestal;   a latching arm pivotally coupled to the toggle lever;   a looseness prevention element attached to the latching arm, the looseness prevention element preventing movement of the movable object; and   a hooked member that is structured to be fixed to the fixed object and hooked to the looseness prevention element.       
 
         [0022]    In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, a toggle type fastener to releaseably couple a fixed object and a movable object to each other includes:
       a pedestal that is structured to be fixed to the movable object;   a toggle lever pivotally coupled to the pedestal;   a latching arm pivotally coupled to the toggle lever;   a hooked member that is structured to be fixed to the fixed object and hooked to the latching arm when the movable object and the fixed object are releaseably coupled; and   a looseness prevention element that prevents movement of the movable object so that the movable object is securely fixed when the movable object and the fixed object are releaseably coupled,   wherein the looseness prevention element includes a pressing member attached to the latching arm, and   the pressing member contacts the movable object when the movable object and the fixed object are releaseably coupled.       
 
         [0030]    According to the present invention, the looseness prevention means is provided not in the hooked member but in the latching arm unlike the prior art. Therefore, when the movable object is opened with the fastener open, the looseness prevention means does not project at the opening of the fixed object, and the hooked member can have a low and simple shape in which the latching arm can hook on to the hooked member. Accordingly, loading/unloading of items through the opening of the fixed object can be performed easily without obstruction, and there is also no chance of items getting damaged. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0031]      FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  show a housing with a toggle type fastener of the present invention attached.  FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of the opened state.  FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the housing with the movable object (door) closed and fastened. 
           [0032]      FIG. 2  is a top view of a toggle type fastener according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0033]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the fastener of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0034]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the fastener of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0035]      FIG. 5  is a rear view of the fastener of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0036]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view along line  6 - 6  of the fastener of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view along line  7 - 7  of the fastener of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0038]      FIG. 8  shows the same cross-section as in  FIG. 6 , but is a cross-sectional view showing the fastener during the fastening operation. 
           [0039]      FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view of the fastener of  FIG. 2  without the hooked member. 
           [0040]      FIG. 10  is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing a state that is in the middle of closing the door from the state in  FIG. 1A . 
           [0041]      FIG. 11A  through  FIG. 11D  are horizontal cross-sectional views sequentially depicting the steps of closing the door and fastening the fastener from the state in  FIG. 10 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
       [0042]    The use condition of a toggle type fastener  10  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B . This toggle type fastener  10  is employed for fastening a housing  1  to a closed state, the housing  1  being made of a housing body  2  that is a fixed object, and a door  3  that is a movable object for closing an opening  2 K of this housing body  2  with a hinge. The door  3 , as shown in  FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 8 , is configured to close by engaging with a receiving edge  2 E formed as a recess inside the circumferential surface of the opening  2 K of the housing body  2 . 
         [0043]    The toggle type fastener  10  of the present invention includes:
       a movable object side section  10 M including: a fixed pedestal  20  that is to be fixed and attached to the outer surface of the door  3 , which is a movable object; a toggle lever  30  pivotally supported by the fixed pedestal  20 ; and a latching arm  40  that is pivotally supported by the toggle lever  30  such that it can be displaced in a longitudinal direction of the toggle lever  30 ; and   a fixed object side section  10 S including a hooked member  50  that is to be fixed near the opening  2 K of the housing body  2  that is the fixed object, and that is to be hooked to the hooking end of the latching arm  40 .       
 
         [0046]    The fastener  10  further includes:
       a locking means  60  for locking the toggle lever  30  to the fixed pedestal  20  when the door  3  is closed and fastened to the housing body  2 ; and   a looseness prevention means  70  for preventing looseness (rattling) of the door  3  by stably fixing the door  3  by pressing the door  3  against the receiving edge  2 E of the housing body  2  when the door  3  and the housing body  2  are fastened to each other.       
 
         [0049]    As shown in  FIG. 8 , and  FIG. 9  through  FIG. 11 , the fixed pedestal  20  includes:
       a substrate  22  that is fixed on the exterior surface of the door  3  with a locking screw  26 ;   one set of vertical pieces  24  rising from both sides of the front end of the substrate  22 ; and   a locking piece  64  rising from the rear end of the substrate  22 .       
 
         [0053]    The locking piece  64  constitutes a part of a locking means  60 , which is described later (see  FIG. 7 ). 
         [0054]    As shown in  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , especially in  FIG. 9 , the toggle lever  30  includes a top plate  32  and a pair of side pieces  34  that vertically suspends from both sides of the top plate  32  excluding its rear side. The toggle lever  30  is pivotally attached to the fixed pedestal  20  by having the pair of side pieces  34  pivotally supported to a pair of vertical pieces  24  of the fixed pedestal  20  by a pivot pin  36 . The top plate section curving upwards extending from the pair of side pieces  34  of the toggle lever  30  constitutes a handle  32 K, which is used for manually pivoting the toggle lever  30  in the tightening direction. 
         [0055]    The toggle lever  30  includes a latch member  62  disposed therein, and this latch member  62  constitutes a locking means  60  (described later) together with the locking piece  64  of the fixed pedestal  20 . 
         [0056]    As shown in  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 , and  FIG. 6  through  FIG. 9 , the latching arm  40  is comprised of a pair of side pieces  44  interconnected by an upper connecting piece  42 , and the rear end of the pair of side pieces  44  of this latching arm  40  is pivotally supported to a pair of side pieces  34  of the toggle lever  30  by a pin  46 . As shown in  FIG. 6  through  FIG. 9 , a support hole  34 H of the pair of side pieces  34  of the toggle lever  30  supporting the pin  46  is longer in the longitudinal direction of the toggle lever  30 . Accordingly, the pivoted section of the latching arm  40  can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the toggle lever  30 . The detail of this mechanism is described later. 
         [0057]    A tip of the latching arm  40  is provided with a hooking part in the form of a hook pin  48  that is to be hooked to a hooked member  50  of the fixed object side section  10 S and that is attached via a looseness prevention means  70 , which is described later. 
         [0058]    While the hooked member  50  is attached in the vicinity of the opening  2 K of the housing body  2 , which is the fixed object, as shown in  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 11 , this hooked member  50  includes a hook part  54  to which the hook pin  48  of the latching arm  40  is to be hooked at the end part of the opening  2 K side of the receiving seat  52  fixed to the housing body  2  by a screw  56 . 
         [0059]    The locking means  60 , as already described, is comprised of a latch member  62  disposed inside the toggle lever  30 , and a locking piece  64  provided in the fixed pedestal  20 . The latch member  62 , as shown in  FIG. 9 , is comprised of a pair of side pieces  62 S connected by a top plate  62 T. As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 9 , the latch member  62  is pivotally supported by the toggle lever  30  with the pivot pin  36  (a pin that pivotally supports the toggle lever  30  to the fixed pedestal) penetrating through long holes  62 SH formed in the side pieces  62 S, and includes a hook part  62 SK at a tip of the pair of side pieces  62 S. The locking piece  64  also includes a hook part  64 E that engages with the hook part  62 SK of the pair of side pieces  62 S of the latch member  62 . When the hook part  62 SK of the latch member  62  is engaged with the hook part  64 E of the locking piece  64 , the latch member  62  and the toggle lever  30  integrated therewith are locked to the fixed pedestal  20 . 
         [0060]    The latch member  62  has a spring  66  that biases the latch member  62  toward the locking piece  64  so as to be able to retract for only the surplus clearance between the long hole  62 SH and the pivot pin  36 . This spring  66  is disposed between a first spring rest  66 U 1  that vertically suspends between the side pieces  62 S from the top plate  62 T of the latch member  62 , and a second spring rest  66 U 2  attached between the pair of side pieces  62 S of the latch member  62  by the pivot pin  36  penetrating them. A spring support screw  66 S is screwed to the second spring rest  66 U 2  and penetrates the spring  66 . Therefore, the spring  66  is held between the pair of side pieces  62 S by the spring support screw  66 S. 
         [0061]    Accordingly, the latch member  62  is normally biased towards the locking piece  64  by the spring  66 , and an engagement between the latch member  62  and the locking piece  64  is maintained. However, for retracting the latch member  62  from the locking piece  64  while resisting the spring  66  in order to release this lock, the latch member  62  is provided with a lock release piece  62 TR extending from the top plate  62 T so as to protrude larger than the locking piece  64 . 
         [0062]    The spring support screw  66 S is screwed into the pin  46  that penetrates the long holes  34 H of the toggle lever  30 , and the tip of the spring support screw  66   s  protrudes from the pin  46 . A driver engaging groove  66 SG is provided at the protruded tip of the spring support screw  66 S. By engaging a driver to the driver engaging groove  66 SG of this spring support screw  66 S and rotating the spring support screw  66 S to left or right, it is possible to displace the position of the pin  46 . This is suitable, for example, for making an adjustment of a positional relationship if a hooking positional relationship between the latching arm  40  and the hooked member  50  is improper after attaching the movable object side section  10 M and the fixed object side section  10 S to the door  3  and the housing body  2  respectively. 
         [0063]    The looseness prevention means  70  is comprised of a pressing member  72  attached near the latching end of the latching arm  40 . This pressing member  72 , as shown in  FIG. 6  through  FIG. 9 , has a pair of side pieces  72 S rising from a bottom plate  72 B. This pair of side pieces  72 S is pivoted and attached swingably to the pair of side pieces  44  of the latching arm  40  by the pivot pin  74 . The hook pin  48 , which is intended for hooking the latching arm  40  to the hooked member  50 , is fixed between the both side pieces  72 S of the pressing member  72  at a position lower than the pivot pin  74  and at a position opposite to the seating surface with respect to the pressing member  72 . 
         [0064]    The pressing member  72  has an elastic engaging piece  72 R that presses the door  3 , which is a movable object, against the receiving edge  2 E of the housing body  2 , which is a fixed object, on the seating surface. 
         [0065]    A spring  76  is wound around the pivot pin  74 , and the respective ends of the spring  76  engage with the seating surface side of the pressing member  72  and the top plate  42  of the latching arm  40  respectively. Therefore, this spring  76  is angularly biased around the pivot pin  74  so as to bias the pressing member  72  towards the inner surface of the top plate  42  of the latching arm  40  in a normal state. Accordingly, the pressing member  72  is biased towards a position away from the seating surface by the spring  76 . 
         [0066]    When the hook pin  48  of the pressing member  72  is hooked to the hooked member  50  (see  FIG. 8 ), and the handle  32 K of the toggle lever  30  is pushed down and fastened in order to fasten the fastener  10 , the hook pin  48  is pushed towards the opposite side relative to the seating side. Therefore, the pressing member  72  pivots around the pivot pin  74  in a direction away from the hooked member  50  together with the latching arm  40  and the elastic engaging piece  72 R is seated on the outer surface of the door  3 , and the door  3  is pressed against the receiving edge  2 E of the housing body  2 . 
         [0067]    The operation steps of the toggle type fastener of the present invention are shown in  FIG. 10  and  FIG. 11 . As shown in  FIG. 1A , after fully opening the door  3  and loading/unloading items through the opening  2 K of the housing body  2 , the state just before the door  3  is closed from the state shown in  FIG. 1A  is illustrated in  FIG. 10 , and the state where the opening  2 K of the housing body  2  is fully closed with the door  3  is shown in  FIG. 11A . 
         [0068]    From the state of  FIG. 11A , by operating the toggle type fastener  10  of the present invention in the order of  FIG. 11B  through  FIG. 11D , the door  3  is fastened to the housing  2 . When the door  3  is closed, as shown in  FIG. 11A , the hooking end of the latching arm  40  of the movable object side section  10 M of the fastener  10  can go over the top of the hook part  54  of the hooked member  50  of the fixed object side section  10 S and move up to the position of  FIG. 11B  where it can hook onto the hook part  54 . 
         [0069]    By pushing down the handle  32 K of the toggle lever  30  from the position of  FIG. 11B  to pivotally move the toggle lever  30  around the pivot pin  36  in a clockwise direction of  FIG. 11 , and the toggle lever  30  is folded so as to stack on the fixed pedestal  20  as shown in  FIG. 11D . Thus, as shown in  FIG. 11D , the latching arm  40  and the toggle lever  30  become almost a straight line, and this latching arm  40  and the toggle lever  30  have a toggle function between the hooked member  50  and the fixed pedestal  20  to fasten the door  3  and housing body  2  to each other. 
         [0070]    When the toggle lever  30  is folded onto the fixed pedestal  20 , the pair of hook parts  62 SK of the latch member  62  of the locking means  60  follows the curved surface  62 SKC below and gets hooked to the pair of hook parts  64 E of the locking piece  64  that is integral with the fixed pedestal  20 , and the toggle lever  30  is locked to the fixed pedestal  20 . 
         [0071]    Meanwhile, as shown in  FIG. 10 ,  FIG. 11A  through  FIG. 11C , as for the pressing member  72  of the looseness prevention means  70 , until the hook pin  48  is hooked to the hook part  54  of the hooked member  50 , the elastic engaging piece  72 R is in a raised position by being biased by the spring  76  in an anticlockwise direction in  FIG. 11  around the pivot pin  74  till it abuts against the top plate  42  of the latching arm  40 . However, as shown in  FIG. 11D , when the hook pin  48  of the latching arm  40  is hooked to the hook part  54  of the hooked member  50  and fastened until the toggle lever  30  and the latching arm  40  reach a fastened position, the latching arm  40  is pulled to the right direction in  FIG. 11 , and therefore, the pressing member  72  pivots relatively in the clockwise direction of  FIG. 11  around the pivot pin  74  in a direction opposite to the hook part  54  of the hook pin  48  while resisting the spring-bias, and the elastic engaging piece  72 R of the pressing member  72  presses the door  3  against the receiving edge  2 E of the housing body  2  to prevent a loosening of the door  3  and fixes the door  3  in a stable state with respect to the housing body  2  as shown in  FIG. 11D . 
         [0072]    When opening the door  3 , at the position of the  FIG. 11D , the lock release piece  62 TR of the locking means  60  is pushed in the direction of the latching arm  40  side. When the lock release piece  62 TR is pushed, the latch member  62  retracts towards the latching arm  40  while compressing the spring  66 , and the hook part  62 SK comes off of the pair of hook part  64 E of the locking piece  64 , and therefore, the toggle lever  30  is released from the fixed pedestal  20 . Consequently, by operating the handle  32 K of the toggle lever  30  to displace the toggle lever  30  and the latching arm  40  in the order of  FIG. 11C ,  FIG. 11B  and  FIG. 11A , the hook pin  48  can be released from the hooked member  50 . In this way, it is possible to release the toggle type fastener and to open the door  3  from the housing body  2 . 
         [0073]    In the toggle type fastener  10  of the present invention, the looseness prevention means  70  is provided in the latching arm  40  instead of in the hooked member  50  unlike the prior art. Thus, as shown in  FIG. 10 , when the door  3  is opened with the fastener  10  in a released state, the looseness prevention means  70  does not project into the opening  2 K of the housing body  2 , and the hooked member  50  can also be of a low and simple design such that the hook pin  48  of the latching arm  40  hooks to the hooked member  50 . Accordingly, loading/unloading of items through the opening  2 K of the housing body  2  can be performed easily without any obstruction, and the items will not be damaged. 
         [0074]    According to the present invention, as described above, the looseness prevention means is provided in the latching arm rather than in the hooked member unlike the prior art. Therefore, when the movable object is opened with the fastener in a released state, the looseness prevention means does not project into the opening of the fixed object. Further, the hooked member can also be of a small and simple design, and accordingly, loading/unloading of items through the opening of the fixed object can be performed easily without any obstruction, and there is also no chance of items getting damaged. Consequently, the industrial applicability improves. 
         [0075]    While the principles of the disclosure have been described above in connection with specific apparatuses and methods, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as limitation on the scope of the invention.