JP2000134782A - Locking mechanism for spiral cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture the locking mechanism of a spiral cable with few number of part items, at low cost, and also through easy assembling. SOLUTION: This mechanism is constituted of a locking mechanism B for temporarily fastening a spiral cable A to the neutral position of the spiral cable A, having a rotatable under cover 1 relative to an upper cover 3 and a rotator 2 fastened to the upper cover 3. In this case, a locking piece 6 is attached movable to the upper cover 3 and to the outer and inner end portions of the locking piece 6, a bent portion 6a and a spring member 7 for energizing inward the looking piece 6 are attached respectively and integrally with the locking piece 6. Furthermore, in the outer peripheral portion of the under cover 1, fastening protrusive portions 8 for fixedly locking therein the bent portion 6a are formed, and when the rotator 2 to a steering 10 is attached, the locking piece 6 is pushed outward by the steering 10 so as to release the locking of the bent portion 6a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lock mechanism for a spiral cable, and more particularly, to a lock mechanism for temporarily fixing a spiral cable used for an energizing device between a steering wheel and a steering column of a vehicle at a neutral position. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A spiral cable is generally used as a device for electrically connecting a steering wheel and a steering column of a vehicle. This spiral cable includes a rotating body that rotates together with the steering wheel, and a fixed body that is fixed to the steering column.
A flexible spiral cable wound in a spiral shape is housed inside the rotating body and the fixed body. Such a spiral cable is provided with a lock mechanism for temporarily fixing the rotating body and the fixed body at a neutral position until the spiral cable is mounted on a vehicle.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a conventional spiral cable lock mechanism (see EP 633635).

A rotator 2 is provided at the center of the outer under cover 1, and an upper cover 3 is provided integrally with the rotator 2. A flexible flat cable 9 is accommodated in the inner space of the under cover 1.

[0005] A band-like plate 15 oriented in the radial direction is arranged on the upper portion of the upper cover 3, and the spring 16 urges the band-like plate 15 toward the rotator 2. Strip plate 15
A bent portion 15a is formed at an outer end of the bent portion 15a.
Is fitted and locked in a concave portion 17 provided on a side portion of the under cover 1 so that the upper cover 3 (and the rotator 2) and the under cover 1 are locked at a neutral position so as not to rotate relative to each other. It has become.

The above-mentioned locked state is maintained until the vehicle is assembled to the vehicle, and when the belt-like plate 15 is assembled to the steering wheel 10, it is pushed by the steering wheel 10 to move outward.
The bent portion 15a is separated from the concave portion 17 and the lock is released.

[0007]

A conventional spiral cable locking mechanism is such that a strip-shaped plate member 15 is separated from a spring 16 as a separate member.
Therefore, both the band-shaped plate member 15 and the spring 16 are required, and the number of parts is increased, and the assembly of the spring 16 is complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lock mechanism of a spiral cable which has a small number of parts, is easy to assemble, and can be manufactured at low cost.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a spiral cable having an under cover and a rotator, which are rotatable relative to each other, and having an upper cover provided on the rotator, is placed in a neutral position. A lock mechanism for a spiral cable to be temporarily fixed, wherein a lock piece is movably attached to the upper cover, and a bent portion is attached to an outer end of the lock piece and the lock piece is attached to an inner end of the spiral piece in an inward direction. A biasing spring member is integrally provided, and an outer peripheral portion of the under cover is formed with a locking convex portion for locking and locking the bent portion. When the rotator is attached to a steering wheel, the locking piece is formed. The lock is released by being pushed outward by the steering.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the lock piece and the spring member are integrally formed, the number of parts is small and the assembly is easy.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the spiral cable locking mechanism according to the first aspect, wherein the locking piece is provided with a locking hole for engaging with a projection formed on the upper cover. When the lock piece is pushed outward by the steering wheel, the lock piece rides on the projection and is bent upward to separate from the locking projection and release the lock. It is.

Therefore, in the second aspect of the present invention, the lock can be released with a small stroke of the lock piece, so that the protrusion amount of the lock piece can be small.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the spiral cable lock mechanism according to the first or second aspect, wherein the lock piece is slidable from both sides by pushing the lock piece into the upper cover. A guide piece for guiding is provided upright, and an engagement groove into which the spring member is fitted is formed.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the lock mechanism can be easily formed by pushing the lock piece into the guide piece and fitting the spring member into the engagement groove.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same members or those having the same functions as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 1, the spiral cable A is
The rotator includes an outer under cover, an inner rotator, and an upper cover fixed to the rotator, and the rotator and the upper cover are integrally formed.
It is designed to rotate relative to. A flexible flat cable (not shown) is accommodated in the internal space of the under cover 1. Note that the upper cover 3 may be provided integrally with the rotator 2.

On the upper surface of the upper cover 3, a lock mechanism B having a lock piece 6 for locking the under cover 1 and the rotator 2 at a neutral position is provided.

That is, two rows of guide pieces 5 are erected on the upper cover 3 in parallel with each other in the radial direction so as to face each other. To
An arcuate engagement groove 4 is formed along the inner circumference. At this time, the guide piece 5 is provided at its upper part with a claw 5a projecting to the side facing each other, and on the upper surface of this claw 5a, a tapered surface 5b for guiding the lock piece 6 at the time of assembly.
Is formed.

The lock piece 6 has a bent portion 6a at one end.
And the spring member 7 is integrally formed so as to protrude to both sides near the other end, and the length from the bent portion 6a to the other end is equal to the outer peripheral edge of the upper cover 3. It is configured as a band-shaped flat plate slightly longer than the interval between the portion and the inner peripheral edge of the rotator 2. This lock piece 6
Is formed integrally with the bent portion 6a and the spring member 7 using a metal material, for example, and is configured as one molded part.

The lock piece 6 has the spring member 7 opposed to the upper side of the engagement groove 4 and its both side edges abut the tapered surface 5a of the guide piece 5, and then presses the lock piece 6 downward. Then, the guide pieces 5 on both sides are pushed to the lower side of the claw portion 5a so as to bend slightly outward, and the spring member 7 is fitted into the engagement groove 4 to be attached to the upper cover 3.

In this mounted state, the lock piece 6
Are slidably guided by the guide pieces 5 on both sides, are urged inward (in the direction of the rotator 2) by a spring member 7 fitted in the engagement groove 4, and are bent. 6 a is fitted and locked between the locking projections 8 provided on the side of the under cover 1, and the inner end 6 b is attached to the rotator 2 so as to slightly project into the inner space.
The locking between the locking projections 8, 8 of the bent portion 6a locks the upper cover 3 (and the rotator 2) and the under cover 1 at the neutral position so as not to rotate relative to each other.

The above-mentioned locked state is maintained until the vehicle is assembled to the vehicle, and when assembled to the steering wheel 10 as shown in FIG. 2, the inner end 6b of the lock piece 6 is pushed by the steering wheel 10 to move outward. The rotator 2 moves, the bent portion 6a is separated from the locking projection 8, and the lock is released, and the rotator 2 can rotate freely.

As described above, in the spiral cable lock mechanism of the present embodiment, the lock piece 6 and the spring member 7
Is formed integrally, so the number of parts is small,
It is easy to assemble and can be manufactured at low cost.

FIGS. 3 to 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a projection 12 having a tapered surface 11 is formed on the upper surface of the upper cover 3, and the locking hole of the lock piece 6 is formed in the projection 12. 13 is locked (see FIG. 5). When the lock piece 6 is pushed outward by the steering wheel 10, the lock piece 6 rides on the protrusion 12 along the tapered surface 11, whereby the lock piece 6 curves upward, and the bent portion 6a is locked. The lock is released by separating upward from the projection 8 (FIG. 6).
reference).

As described above, in the second embodiment, the lock can be released with a small stroke of the lock piece 6, so that the protrusion amount of the lock piece 6 can be small, and the turning radius of the upper cover 3 can be reduced. This is advantageous when the cable installation space is small.

[0026]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the spring member for urging the lock piece inward is provided integrally, the number of parts is small and the assembly is easy. And can be manufactured at low cost.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the upper cover is provided with a projection and the locking piece is provided with a locking hole, and when the locking piece is pushed outward by the steering, the locking piece rides on the projection and locks. Is released, so in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the lock can be released with a small stroke of the lock piece, the protrusion amount of the lock piece can be small, and the spiral cable can be downsized. Becomes

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the lock mechanism can be easily formed by pushing the lock piece into the guide piece and fitting the spring member into the engagement groove. In addition to the effects of the invention described in item 1 or 2, it is possible to further facilitate the assembling property.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the unlocked state of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a lock release state according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part in a locked state according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part of a second embodiment in an unlocked state.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional side view of a conventional spiral cable lock mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Under cover 2 Rotator 3 Upper cover 4 Engagement groove 5 Guide piece 6 Lock piece 6a Bending part 7 Spring member 8 Locking convex part 10 Steering 12 Projection 13 Locking hole A Spiral cable B Lock mechanism

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A spiral cable lock mechanism comprising a relatively rotatable under cover and a rotator, wherein a spiral cable having an upper cover provided on the rotator is temporarily fixed at a neutral position, wherein a lock piece is attached to the upper cover. The lock piece is movably attached, a bent portion is provided at an outer end of the lock piece, and a spring member for urging the lock piece inward is integrally provided at an inner end of the lock piece. A locking projection for locking and locking the bent portion is formed, and when the rotator is attached to a steering wheel, the lock piece is pushed outward by the steering wheel to release the lock. Spiral cable lock mechanism. 2. The locking piece is provided with a locking hole that engages with a projection formed on the upper cover, and when the locking piece is pushed outward by the steering, the locking piece becomes 2. The spiral cable locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is lifted up on the projection, curved upward and separated from the locking projection to release the lock. 3. A guide piece is erected on the upper cover to guide the lock piece slidably from both sides by pushing the lock piece, and an engagement groove into which the spring member is fitted is formed. The spiral cable lock mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: