FR2887600A1 - Cable strand ends connecting device for civil engineering machine, has handlever and collar moved between rest position where sheath connection slides freely on body, and locking position where body is deformed to lock connection on one end - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a handlever (16) operated to close a clamp collar (17) surrounding a body (7). The handlever and collar are mounted in movable manner on the body between a rest position, in which a sheath connection (5) slides freely on the body, and a locking position in which the body is elastically deformed by the handlever and the collar to lock the connection against a corresponding strand end of a cable.

Description

Connecting device by abutting two strands of cable

  respectively connected to a control member and a member to be maneuvered, for civil engineering machinery in particular.

Technical Field of the Invention

  The invention is in the field of cables used for the mechanical transmission of movement, in particular applied to the field of the connection between a cable control member and a member to be operated, such as a hydraulic distributor or the like. It relates to a connection device abutting between two cable end strands respectively connected to the control member and the member to maneuver.

State of the art

  It is common in the field of mechanical motion transmission to use a cable to connect a control member with a member to be operated. Such use is particularly applicable to the equipment of civil engineering machinery, in which the control member is the joystick type pivotally mounted on a housing, to exert traction on a cable in connection with a hydraulic distributor.

  To facilitate the connection between the control member and the member to be operated, they are connected to a respective cable strand, these cable strands then being abutted by means of a connecting device. Such a connecting device must make it possible to make up any play between the control member and the member to be maneuvered, and in particular must make it possible to put the cable under tension during the abutment of the strands which compose it.

  There is the problem of arranging means for abutting the cable strands together and the mobility of these abutting cable strands to catch said clearance and to put the cable under tension. Commonly, the cable strands are wrapped by a sheath which, at the end of the cable strands, is secured to a sheath connection, crimping or the like in particular. The sheath connectors are attached to the respective ends of a body, at least one of these sheath connectors being mounted axially movable on the body prior to its immobilization, by means of a particular screwing member. These provisions are intended to allow a catching of said game by sliding of the cable inside the sheaths. The cable strands are abutted by a junction device making them integral with each other, including implementing a screw member on which are engaged the two free ends of the cable strands.

  Such arrangements are difficult to implement, and require in particular the use of specific tools. More particularly, the various junctions made by screwing do not allow a simple and easy connection of the cable strands between them, nor fortiori a convenient catching of the clearance between the control member and the member to maneuver. In addition, it is necessary to make reliable the connection between the duct connections and the body to prevent their unintentional axial displacement. Furthermore, it is desired that the device is connected to a simple and lightweight structure, with a small footprint.

Object of the invention

  The object of the present invention is to propose a connection device by abutment between two strands of cable, such a cable being used for the transmission of a mechanical movement between a control member and a member to be maneuvered, in particular applicable to the machines of the civil engineering. It is more particularly the object of the present invention to provide such a connection device whose implementation is fast and easy, without requiring special tools, and allows a convenient catching of a possible clearance between the control member and the member to be maneuvered by tensioning the cable.

  It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a connection device whose structure is simple and lightweight, of a small footprint, and whose methods of assembly between the various components of the component is reliable, notwithstanding the ease of assembly sought.

  The device of the present invention is a connection device by abutment between two cable strands interposed between a control member and a member to be manipulated. Such a device is particularly applicable to the field of civil machines, for connecting a control box with a hydraulic distributor for example.

  The cable strands are freely wrapped by a respective sheath. The device comprises duct connections made integral with the sheaths at the respective ends of the cable strands, by screwing, crimping or the like. The device further comprises a body for receiving the sheath connectors by means of fixing means. At least one of these attachment means allows axial mobility of the sheath connection on the body prior to its immobilization. The device also comprises means for securing to one another the ends of the cable strands.

  According to the present invention, a device of the kind referred to above is mainly recognizable in that the means for fixing at least one of the sheath connectors on the body comprise a radial clamping member by elastic deformation of the body on the sheath connection. against an antagonistic radial support that takes the latter on the corresponding cable strand. The clamping member is mounted radially movably on the body between a rest position in which the sheath connection is freely sliding on the body, and a clamping position in which the body is radially elastically deformed by the clamping member, to tighten the duct connection against the corresponding cable run.

  These arrangements are such that the securing between the cable strands being carried out, the setting of the tensioning of the cable and the possible catching of a clearance between the control member and the member to be operated can be operated, the cable can freely circulate inside the ducts. This adjustment being made, the sheath connection can be immobilized by radial deformation of the body by means of the clamping member, so as to exert a concomitant clamping by clamping of the sheath connection between the body and the cable strand. corresponding. Thanks to these provisions, the immobilization of the duct connections on the body, after adjusting the power of the cable, can be easily operated by a simple gesture of the operator to deform radially body.

  The clamping member is advantageously formed by a handle or the like of a clamping collar or the like surrounding the body. The lever is more particularly arranged in an eccentric lever pivotally mounted on the clamping collar and operable in tilting between said resting and clamping positions. These arrangements allow the operator to achieve the immobilization of the duct fitting on the body without having to use specific tools, simply, quickly and easily, especially from a gesture in tilting of the lever causing closing of the clamp.

  The body is preferably axially slotted to promote its elastic deformation in the gripping zone by the clamping member.

  Preferably, the fastening means of the other sheath connection on the body consist of axial clamping means of the sheath connection on the body. It follows from the use of an axially movable clamping member on the body for fixing the corresponding sheath connection, that this attachment is simple, easy and quick to implement.

  According to a more global approach of the present invention, the means for attaching the sheath connectors to the body comprise for one a radial clamping member by elastic deformation of the body on the sheath connection and for the other a clamping member. axial of the duct connection on the body.

  Specifically, the means for attaching a first sheath connection to the body use a clamping member with exclusively radial mobility while the fastening means of the second sheath connection on the body use a coupling member. clamping with exclusively axial mobility. It emerges that the maneuvering of the fastening means along a single axis of respective mobility simplifies and makes easy the fixing of the sheath connections on the body.

  The axial clamping member is advantageously formed of an axial bearing socket against a shoulder that comprises the sheath connection. The latter is in axial abutment against an antagonistic shoulder that includes the body, said sleeve being equipped with connecting means on a sleeve that includes the body. Maneuvering the sleeve can be performed manually, without having to use a specific tool, the latter preferably having at its periphery a gripping terrain.

  The axial connection means between the sleeve and the body are for example of the type of connection by rotation of the sleeve on the body, implementing lugs formed on the sleeve cooperating with circumferential grooves formed on the body.

  The body is in particular composed of the sleeve receiving at one of its ends a cylinder housing a first sheath connection, this cylinder being axially split at least its corresponding end for its elastic deformation. The sleeve receives at its other end the receiving sleeve of the second duct connection. It follows that the body of the device of the invention is simple to make, easy to assemble by assembling the cylinder and the sleeve on the sleeve, and a small footprint.

  Said opposing shoulder is advantageously formed by the end of the cylinder, the latter being equipped with a counter nut for axial bearing against a shoulder of the sleeve for its axial immobilization against the body. The sheath connections are in axial engagement against each other against an axial counteracting engagement they respectively take against the shoulder of the sleeve and the sleeve. It follows from these provisions that the cylinder is axially immobilized on the sleeve, and is used to form an axial bearing member of the second coupling jacket. Note that this immobilization of the cylinder on the sleeve is likely to be operated in the workshop to avoid having to perform this on-site connection of cable strands between them.

  The securing means of the cable strands to one another are preferably constituted by fixed ends, by crimping or the like in particular, at the respective ends of the cable strands and equipped with means of assembly one to the other. other by abutment.

  According to a preferred embodiment of said assembly means, these consist of a sphere formed at the end of one of the end pieces cooperating with a helical groove formed on the other endpiece. It emerges from these provisions that the securing between the cable strands is easily achievable manually by an operator, from a rotary gesture of the quarter-turn type, without having to use specific tools.

  The radially elastically deformable sheath connection advantageously takes said radial abutment against the corresponding cable strand by means of the tip of which the latter is equipped.

Description of the figures.

  The present invention will be better understood, and details will arise from reading the description which will be made in connection with the figures of the attached plates, in which: Figure 1 is an axial sectional view of a device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

  Fig.1 and fig.2 are illustrations of the device shown in Fig.1, respectively viewed from the side and seen in perspective.

  In the figures, a connecting device is intended for abutment of two strands of a cable 1 and 2 by one of their ends, their other end being respectively connected to a control member and to a member to be maneuvered, not shown in the figures. Such a device is particularly applicable to the connection between two strands of a cable 1 and 2 used to connect a control box and a hydraulic distributor of a civil engineering machine.

  The cable strands 1, 2 are wrapped in a respective sheath 3 and 4, these sheaths 3, 4 each being equipped at their end with a sheath connection 5 and 6 intended to be fixed on a body 7. The connection between sheaths 3, 4 and sheath connections 5,6 are for example made by screwing, crimping or similar technique.

  It will be noted that this fixing is carried out during a step prior to mounting the device on site.

  The cable strands 1,2 are provided with respective ends 8 and 9 reported by crimping or similar technique. These end pieces 8, 9 are intended to allow the joining of the cable strands 1,2 to one another. For this purpose, one 9 of the end pieces comprises a sphere 10, which cooperates with a helical groove 11 formed on the other endpiece 8. The connection of the end pieces 8, 9 to the corresponding cable strand 1, 2 is also performed when a step prior to mounting the device on site.

  The body 7 comprises a sleeve 12 which receives at one of its ends a cylinder 13 for fixing the corresponding sheath connection 5, and at its other end a sleeve 14 for fixing the other sheath connection 6. The 1.2 cable strands being abutted through the sphere 10 and the helical groove 11, a clearance adjustment between the control member and the member to be operated can be operated with tensioning of the cable 1, 2. During this operation, the cable 1,2 is slidable inside the duct connections 5, 6. It will be noted that the cable strands 1, 2 are slidably guided inside the sheath connectors 5, 6 via the end pieces 8, 9.

  The cylinder 13 receives in free sliding the corresponding sheath connection 5.

  This cylinder 13 has axial slots 15 for its radial deformation under the effect of a compression exerted by a clamping member 16,17. This clamping member associates a handle 16 and a clamping collar 17, threaded outside the cylinder 13 in its axially slotted zone. The aforementioned adjustment being made, the lever 16, arranged as an eccentric lever pivotally mounted on the clamping collar 17, is operated to cause the closing of the collar 17 and the radial clamping of the sheath connection 5 against the corresponding cable strand 1. The deformation of the sheath connection 5 being favored by the axial slots 15 that it comprises, the latter is more particularly radially clamped between the clamping collar 17 and the end piece 8 which is provided with the corresponding cable strand 1.

  In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the clamp 17 is formed of two rods jointly supporting a pivot pin of the lever 16, the latter being arranged as an eccentric lever. These two rods are engaged on both sides of two half-bearings, so that a maneuvering of the lever 16 tends to bring the half-bearings closer to one another. It should be understood, however, that this arrangement is illustrated by way of example and can not be limiting as to the scope of the present invention. Similarly, the organization of the clamping member from an implementation of a controller, although advantageous because of its simplicity of implementation and implementation, can not constitute a restriction of the general scope of the present invention.

  The sleeve 14 is threaded onto the corresponding sheath connection 6. This sleeve 14 and the sleeve 12 are provided on their outer surface with a gripping relief to facilitate their manual gripping by an operator and the rotational maneuvering of the sleeve 14. The latter comprises a set of lugs 18 intended to cooperate with circumferential grooves 19 that includes the sleeve 12, for axial connection to one another. Such an axial connection arrangement is of the quarter-turn type, in which the lugs 18 are axially inserted inside the grooves 19, and then are housed at the bottom of the latter by rotation of the sleeve 14.

  The radially deformable sheath connection 5 extends inside the sleeve 12 to the vicinity of the other sheath connection 6, so that its end forms an axial bearing shoulder 20 for the latter. This axial support is antagonistic to the support that takes the sleeve 14, by its end, against a shoulder 21 that comprises the other coupling of sheath 6. The radially deformable sheath connector 5 is immobilized axially on the body 7 being taken in a vice between a counter nut 22 which is provided with its end, and a shoulder 23 that includes the sleeve 12. It follows from these provisions that the sheath connection 5 is axially immobilized on the body 7 by means of the counter nut 22, it constitutes an axial abutment member for the other sheath connection 6 against the axial clamping of the latter by the sleeve 14.

  Mounting the device on site is made simple and easy, without having to use specific tools. More particularly preliminary operations are in particular carried out in the workshop. These preliminary operations consist of: *) fixing the duct connections 5.6 at the end of the ducts 3,4.

  *) to fix the tips 8.9 at the ends of the cable strands 1,2.

  *) to connect the cylinder 13 to the sleeve 12, by introducing the cylinder 13 inside the sleeve 12 and by placing the nut 22 against.

  At the site of connection between the control member and the member to be maneuvered, the assembly of the device consists of: *) slidably inserting the duct connections 5,6 inside the corresponding ends of the sleeve 12.

  *) secure the cable strands 1,2 to one another, from a quarter-turn movement allowing the introduction of the sphere 10 inside the helical groove 11.

  2887600 10 *) fix the sleeve 14 on the sleeve 12, by quarter turn allowing the introduction of the lugs 18 at the bottom of the grooves 19.

  *) make the possible adjustment of clearance between the control member and the member to maneuver and power cable 1.2 from a traction exerted on the latter.

  *) fix the elastically deformable sheath connector 5 on the cylinder 13, by tilting operation of the lever 16 to close the clamping collar 17.

Claims (12)

claims   1.- Connecting device by abutment between two cable strands (1,2) interposed between a control member and a member to be maneuvered, the cable strands (1,2) being freely wrapped by a respective sheath (3,4) ), this device comprising duct connections (5, 6) made integral with the ducts (3, 4) at the respective ends of the cable strands (1, 2), and a body (7) for receiving the duct connections (5). , 6) by means of fastening means, at least one of said fixing means permitting axial mobility of the sheath connection (5, 6) on the body (7) prior to its immobilization, the device further comprising means for securing to one another the ends of the cable strands (1, 2), characterized in that the means for fixing at least one of the sheath connectors (5, 6) to the body ( 7) comprise a member (16, 17) for radial clamping by elastic deformation of the body (7) on the sheath connection (5) against an antagonistic radial support that takes the latter on the corresponding cable strand (1), the clamping member (16,17) being mounted radially movable on the body (7) between a rest position in which the connection of sheath (5) is freely sliding on the body (7), and a clamping position in which the body (7) is radially elastically deformed by the clamping member (16, 17) to tighten the sheath connection (5). against the corresponding cable strand (1).   2.- Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping member is formed of a handle (16) for actuating a clamping collar (17) surrounding the body (7).   3.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body (7) is axially split (15) to promote its elastic deformation in the gripping zone by the clamping member (16,17).   4.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening means of the other sheath connection (6) on the body (7) consist of axial clamping means of the sheath connection (6). ) on the body (7).   5.- Device according to claims 1 and 4, characterized in that the fixing means of the sheath connectors (5,6) on the body (7) comprise for one (5) a member (16, 17) of radial clamping by elastic deformation of the body (7) on the sheath connection (5) and for the other a member (14) for axial clamping of the sheath connection (6) on the body (7).   6.- Device according to any one of claims 4 and 5, characterized in that the axial clamping member is formed of a sleeve (14) of axial bearing against a shoulder (21) that comprises the fitting sheath (6), the latter being in axial abutment against an antagonistic shoulder (20) that comprises the body (7), said sleeve (14) being equipped with connection means on a sleeve (12) that comprises the body (7). ).   7.- Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the means for axial connection between the sleeve (14) and the body (7) are of the type of connection by rotation of the sleeve (14) on the body (7), implementing lugs (18) formed on the sleeve (14) cooperating with circumferential grooves (19) provided on the body (7).   8.- Device according to any one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the body (7) is composed of the sleeve (12) receiving at one of its ends a cylinder (13) housing a first coupling of sheath (5), this cylinder (13) being axially slit at at least its corresponding end for its elastic deformation, the sleeve (12) receiving at its other end the sleeve (14) for receiving the second duct connection (6).   9.- Device according to claim 8, characterized in that said opposing shoulder (20) is formed by the end of the cylinder (13), the latter being equipped with a counter nut (22) for axial bearing against a shoulder (23) of the sleeve (12) for its axial immobilization against the body (7), so that the sheath connections (5, 6) are in axial engagement against each other against an antagonistic axial bearing that they respectively take against the shoulder (23) of the sleeve (12) and the sleeve (14).   10.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the securing means of the cable strands (1, 2) to each other consist of ends (8.9) attached to the ends. respective cable strands (1, 2) and equipped with means of assembly to one another by abutment.   11.- Device according to claim 10, characterized in that said connecting means consist of a sphere (10) formed at the end of one of the end pieces (9) cooperating with a helical groove (11) formed on the other tip (8).   12.- Device according to any one of claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the radially elastically deformable sheath connection (5) takes said antagonistic radial support against the corresponding cable strand (1) via the mouthpiece (8) of which the latter is equipped.