JP2000261947A - Chain-shaped cable holding tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To relax restrictions imposed on mounting conditions by providing cutout holes, which regulate the mutual bend angle of link members when the link members are linked, and touching surfaces which are formed in the front end parts of the outside side surface portions and become mutual bending stoppers for the link members, when adjoining link member are joined upside down. SOLUTION: Cutout holes 6a are formed in engaging holes 6 formed in outside side surface portions 1, and stopper portions 5a are formed in protruded parts 5 formed on the inside side surface portions 2. The cutout holes 6a and stopper portions 5a regulate the mutual bend angle of united link members. By bringing the upper end surfaces of the stopper portions 5a of adjoining link members into contact with the cutout holes 6a, the adjoining link members are prevented from being mutually bent to a specified angle or larger and turning into a possible cause for breaking of a cable, when a chain-shaped cable holding tool is bent. Consequently mounting restriction can be relaxed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chain-like cable holding mechanism for linking a plurality of link members formed in the same shape so as to be able to bend, and for holding a cable inside the plurality of link members in a bendable manner. About the tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an apparatus such as an industrial robot having a movable part which moves relatively to a machine main body, it is often necessary to perform electric wiring between the machine main body and the movable part. appear. In such a case, if the electric cable connecting the main body of the machine and the movable part is left naked, the electric cable is likely to be damaged due to contact with an external member, which may cause disconnection or the like. . For this reason, conventionally, when an electric cable is wired in such a relatively moving portion, the electric cable is housed in, for example, a flexible cable holder formed in a chain shape to protect the electric cable. . Since such a chain-like cable holder is configured to be deformable as the machine body and the movable part move relative to each other, it is possible to protect the electric cable from the outside without adversely affecting the movement of the movable part. It is.

[0003] As such a cable holder, for example, a cable holder disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-111721 is known. In this prior art, the structure of the mold for forming the link member is simplified, and the cost of the cable holder is reduced.

Here, in the above conventional example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a plurality of link members having the same shape are connected to each other by fitting the projections 20 and the holes 21 to each other, thereby forming a series of chain members. Each of the link members is provided with a respective link so that the bending radius of the cable 22 housed in the cable holder is excessively reduced to prevent disconnection. In order to regulate the bending angle of the member with respect to the other link member, it is formed at the connecting portion between the outer surface and the inner surface of the link member, and is formed in a linear shape extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the link member. The stepped portion 23 is brought into contact with a linearly formed contact surface 24 formed at the front end of the outer surface portion and extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the link member,
The bending angle between the link members is limited.

In order to prevent the cable 22 housed in the link member from jumping out, a beam member 25 is mounted in a mounting hole 26 provided in an upper portion of the outer side surface portion. The upper part 26a of the mounting hole 26 is
In addition, a slope is formed on the lower surface 25a of the locking projection of the beam member 25, respectively.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned prior art, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a plurality of link members are connected to each other by fitting a projection 20 and a hole 21 to each other to form a chain. The cable retainer is formed in a shape, but the bending direction is only one direction. Also, when the screw 27 or the like is inserted to fix the link member to the machine main body or the movable part that moves relatively, the above-described cable holding tool is used. Since the fixing direction is limited to three directions, that is, both sides and the bottom surface of the link member, there are many restrictions on mounting conditions.

The bending angle is regulated by a linear step 23 formed at a connection portion between the outer side surface and the inner side surface of the link member and a linear step 23 extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the link member. Since the formed contact surface 24 is in contact with the link member, if the bending angle between the link members is to be changed,
The mold for forming must be modified or newly manufactured, which increases the cost of the mold.

Further, the beam member 25 mounted for the purpose of preventing the cable accommodated in the link member from jumping out is provided on the lower surface 2 of the locking projection of the beam member 25 so as to be easily attached.
Since only the slope 5a is formed, it is necessary to check the vertical direction during assembly, which increases the assembly cost.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, to reduce the restrictions on the mounting conditions while preventing the link members from bending, and to prevent an increase in the mold and assembly costs. It is an object of the present invention to provide a chain-like cable holder which can be used.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the object, a chain-like cable holder of the present invention comprises a plurality of link members formed of an elastic material and formed in the same shape. In a chain-like cable holder for flexibly connecting and holding a cable inside the plurality of link members in a bendable manner, the link member constitutes a front portion of the link member, and an inner wall surface thereof is formed. A pair of outer surfaces arranged in a state separated from each other by a predetermined distance, and a rear portion of the link member, the outer clearance of the outer wall is slightly smaller than the distance between the inner walls of the pair of outer surfaces. A pair of small inner surface portions, a bottom portion formed integrally with the pair of outer surface portions and connecting lower ends of the pair of outer surfaces to each other, the pair of outer surface portions, and the pair of inner surface portions One of them has a substantially cylindrical projection formed so as to protrude in a direction perpendicular to the side surface thereof, a stopper formed on a part of the projection, the pair of outer surface portions, and the pair of inner surface portions. Formed on the other of
When two or more of the link members are connected by fitting holes formed in dimensions that can be fitted to the protrusions and formed in a part of the fitting holes and abutting on the stopper portions. A notch hole that regulates the bending angle between the link members, and is formed at the front end of the outer side surface portion, and serves to stop bending of the link members when the adjacent link members are connected upside down. And an abutment surface.

The projection and the fitting hole are formed at a center position with respect to the vertical direction of the link member so that the adjacent link members can be connected upside down. Alternatively, at least one of the projecting portion and the stopper portion has a rotatable or replaceable insert structure.

Further, the beam member mounted for the purpose of preventing the cable housed in the link member from jumping out has a vertically and horizontally symmetrical shape so that the mounting direction is not checked at the time of assembly. did.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a link member constituting a chain-shaped cable holder according to one embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a link member is formed of an elastic synthetic resin or the like, and is formed of a pair of an outer surface portion 1 and an inner surface portion 2 which are arranged at a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction. It is roughly composed of a bottom portion 3 for connecting lower ends to each other, and a beam member 4 for partially closing an upper portion of an outer side portion so that cables such as stored electric wires do not protrude from the link member. .

Since the interval between the inner walls of the outer surface portion 1 is set slightly smaller than the interval between the outer walls of the inner surface portion 2, the pair of inner surface portions 2 are inserted between the pair of adjacent outer surface portions 1. Then, it can be combined with another link member of the same shape. And in this combined state,
A cylindrical projection 5 is formed on the outer wall of the inner surface 2 so that the link members can be flexibly connected to each other, and the outer surface 1 is fitted with the projection 5. A mating hole 6 is formed. A notch hole 6a is formed in the fitting hole 6 provided in the outer side surface portion 1, while a stopper portion 5a is formed in the projection portion 5 provided in the inner side surface portion 2. The notch hole 6a and the stopper portion 5a are for regulating the bending angle between the linked link members, and as shown in FIG. 7, the stopper portion 5a of the link member adjacent to the notch hole 6a. By bringing the upper end surfaces into contact with each other, when the chain-shaped cable holder is bent, the adjacent link members do not bend by a predetermined angle or more and do not cause a break in the cable 10 or the like. . In this way, by connecting a plurality of link members, a series of chain-shaped cable holders as shown in FIG. 7 is formed.

Further, the fitting hole 6 shown in FIG.
The bending angle can be compared by making at least one of the notch 6a or the protrusion 5 formed at the bottom and the stopper 5a formed at the protrusion 5 a rotatable or replaceable insert. Can be easily changed. Accordingly, when it is desired to change the bending angle of the link member, it is not necessary to newly manufacture or modify the mold, and it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.

Here, by providing the protrusion 5 and the fitting hole 6 at the center (L1 = L2) with respect to the vertical direction of the link member, the external dimensions of the adjacent link member can be changed in the vertical direction. It can be connected without doing. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the rear end portion 1a of the outer surface portion 1 of the link member and the upper end surface of the projection 5a are connected to the contact surface 1b of the outer surface portion 1 of the adjacent link member and the lower end surface of the notch hole 6a. By contacting each of them, the bending of the link member is prevented. Thereby, when there is the mounting object C1 near the link member and there is a possibility that the bending of the link member may interfere with the mounting object C1, the adjacent link members are sequentially connected in the up and down direction within the range of W. Thus, even when the external member B4 slides in the direction of S, the link member in the range of W can be prevented from bending without being fixed to the external member B5 at a plurality of places with screws or the like. Interference between members can be prevented. Further, since the link member can bend in two directions, it can be connected to, for example, an S-shape. As a result, it is possible to cope with various cases where the area where the link member is stored and operated is various.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, mounting holes 7 for fixing the link member to external members B1 to B3 are formed in the outer side surface portion 1 and the bottom surface portion 3 of the link member. The mounting direction of the link member can be changed as required. That is, by attaching the link member upside down, the side surface of the link member is fixed to the external member B1 from both sides by screws 8 and the bottom surface of the link member is fixed to the external member B2 by screws 8 from above. In addition, the link member to be fixed is connected upside down, and the bottom surface of the link member is screwed from below onto the external member B3.
It is made to be able to arbitrarily select the state to be fixed with. As a result, the chain-shaped cable holder can be connected
Since it can be fixed from various directions and can be widely used in various mounting positions, design restrictions are eased, and there is no need to prepare special brackets for fixing to external members In addition, the cable holder can be composed of only one kind of component, and the cost of the cable holder can be reduced.

Next, a rectangular opening hole 9 is formed in the upper part of the outer side surface portion 1, and the locking projections 4 a formed at both ends of the beam member 4 are inserted into the opening hole 9. The beam member 4 is mounted on the link member. This beam member 4
Is for preventing a cable such as an electric wire stored in the link member from jumping out of the link member. When attaching the beam member 4 to the link member, the outer side surface 1 must be opened outward and the locking projection 4a must be inserted into the opening 9; Is formed with a slope 9a. On the other hand, slopes 4b are also formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the locking projections 4a of the beam member 4.
Therefore, when attaching the beam member 4 to the link member, the beam member 4 is simply pushed into the outer side surface portion 1 from above, and the slope 4b
Slides along the slope 9a, and the beam member 4 can be easily attached to the link member. In addition, since the beam member 4 is symmetrical in the vertical and horizontal directions, there is no need to consider the assembly direction during assembly. In addition, assembly costs can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 6, even when the chain-shaped cable holding portion is straightened, the notch hole 6 of the link member adjacent to the lower end surface of the stopper portion 5a.
a or the front end 3a of the bottom surface 3 of the link member.
And the rear end 3b of the bottom surface 3 of the adjacent link member abuts, so that the chain-shaped cable holder is prevented from bending to the opposite side. Therefore, the chain-shaped cable holder is flexibly bent between the state shown in FIG. 6 and the state shown in FIG. 7 (the angle of the notch hole).

As shown in FIG. 8, a general molding die structure of the present chain-shaped cable holder is an upper die 30 and a lower die 31.
The left mold 32 and the right mold 33 are formed of four types, and each of the left mold 32 and the right mold 33 has a convex portion due to a fitting hole 6 provided on the outer side surface portion 1 of the chain-shaped cable holding portion. 32
a and 33a are provided. Here, when removing the molded product of the chain-shaped cable holder from the mold, the mold slides in the left and right directions indicated by arrows and then slides in the up and down direction. When sliding, the outer surface portion 1 having a cantilever structure is insufficient in rigidity, so that the outer surface portion 1 is pulled by the convex portions 32a and 33a and inclined.
As a countermeasure against this, as shown in FIGS.
Pair of steps 23 formed at the connection between the inner surface 2
When the left mold 32 and the right mold 33 slide, the rib 34 is hooked on the upper mold 30 when the left mold 32 and the right mold 33 slide. Since the protruding portions 32a and 33a are pulled, no inclination occurs, and deformation of the fitting holes 6 and the like due to galling can be prevented.

[0023]

According to the present invention, the bending angle can be easily changed by making the notch hole portion for restricting the bending angle and the stopper having a mold structure which can be rotated or replaced. Adjacent link members can be attached upside down, and there is an effect that mounting restrictions are eased by diversifying the method of fixing to the mounting object and the bending locus. Further, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the deformation defect of the component, which easily occurs when the molded component is released from the mold by an inexpensive method.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a link member constituting a chain-shaped cable holder of one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a link member when adjacent link members are connected upside down.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which a chain-shaped cable holder is mounted on a device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a conventional chain-shaped cable holder is bent.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a link member constituting a conventional chain-shaped cable holder.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a plurality of link members are connected to form a chain-shaped cable holder.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the chain-shaped cable holder is bent.

FIG. 8: General mold structure of a chain-shaped cable holder

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a chain-shaped cable holder having a rib for preventing deformation.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a mold structure of a chain-shaped cable holder having ribs for preventing deformation.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Outer surface part, 1a ... Rear end part, 1b ... Contact surface, 2 ...
Inner side surface part, 3 ... bottom part, 4 ... beam member, 4a ... locking projection, 4b ... slope, 5 ... projection part, 5a ... stopper part, 6 ... fitting Hole, 6a: Notch hole, 7: Mounting hole,
8: Screw, 9: Opening hole, 9a: Slope, 10: Cable, 20: Projection, 21: Hole, 22: Cable, 2
3 step portion, 24 contact surface, 25 beam member, 25a
..Lower surface of locking projections, 26 mounting holes, 26a upper surface of mounting holes, 27 screws, B1 external members, B2 external members, B3 ... External member, B4 ... External member, B5
... External member, C1 ... Mounted product, 30 ... Upper mold, 31 ...
Lower mold, 32 ... left mold, 32a ... convex part, 33 ... right mold, 3
3a: convex portion, 34: rib

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Naoji Torii 1 Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside the Hitachi, Ltd. Information Equipment Division (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Hitomi 1st Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Prefecture Shares Hitachi, Ltd.Information Equipment Division (72) Inventor Yuka Makino 1st, Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi PrefectureInformation Equipment Division, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsutomu Natsume 1st, Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi, Aichi Prefecture Hitachi Asahi Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideaki Kurasaki 1 Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Prefecture Incorporated Hitachi Asahi Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Konobu Okada 1 Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd. Asahi Electronics F-term (reference) 3H023 AA04 AB07 AC21 AD31 AD54 3H11 1 AA02 BA01 DA01 DB19

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A chain-like cable for linking a plurality of link members made of an elastic material and having the same shape so as to be able to bend, and holding the cable inside the plurality of link members so as to be bendable. In the holding tool, the link member constitutes a front portion of the link member, and a pair of outer surface portions arranged with their inner wall surfaces separated by a predetermined distance from each other, and constitutes a rear portion of the link member. The outer clearance between the outer wall surfaces, a pair of inner surface portions set slightly smaller than the distance between the inner wall surfaces of the pair of outer surface portions, and formed integrally with the pair of outer surface portions, A bottom surface portion connecting lower ends thereof to each other; a substantially columnar protrusion formed on one of the pair of outer surface portions and the pair of inner surface portions so as to protrude in a direction orthogonal to the side surface; One And a fitting hole formed on the other of the pair of outer surface portions and the pair of inner surface portions, the fitting hole having a size capable of fitting with the protrusion, A notch formed in a part and abutting with the stopper portion to regulate a bending angle between the link members when two or more link members are connected, and a front end portion of the outer surface portion. A chain-shaped cable holder, comprising: a contact surface formed to prevent bending of the link members when the adjacent link members are connected upside down. 2. The chain-shaped cable holder according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion and the fitting hole are formed at a center position with respect to a vertical direction of the link member. 3. The chain-shaped cable holder according to claim 1, wherein the mold structure of the projection and the stopper, the fitting hole and the notch is a rotatable or replaceable insert type. . 4. A pair of ribs, which face the bottom surface and extend in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface, are formed on the inner surfaces of the pair of step portions generated when the pair of outer surface portions and the pair of inner surface portions are connected to each other. The chain-like cable holder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cable holder is provided.