JP2001342774A - Cable end engaging method and cable end engaging tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cable end engaging method which can easily connect two cable ends 44, 44 of two cables 17, 18 to a rocking piece 14 of a sliding door, to thereby obtain good rotational performance of the cable ends 44, and to provide a cable end engaging tool. SOLUTION: An engaging bracket is divided into an end holder 25 formed of a synthetic resin, which can engage with the cable ends 44, and a holder bracket 24 formed of a metal, to which the end holder 25 can be fitted from the side. Then, the cable ends 44, 44 of the two cables 17, 18 are engaged with both ends of the end holder 25 at a location separate from a rail, and the end holder 25 is fitted to the holder bracket 24. The end holder 25 has fitting projections 43 at both ends thereof, which each sideways protrude therefrom and have an engaging recess 45 for engaging with the cable end 44. Further, the holder bracket 24 is provided with engaging recesses 38 at both ends thereof, for receiving the fitting projections from the side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a cable end locking method and a locking tool used therefor. More specifically, in a drive device for opening and closing a slide door of an automobile, a cable end locking method for easily attaching a cable end of a pull cable to a door bracket of the slide door, a locking tool used in the method, The present invention relates to an end holder and a holder bracket constituting the locking tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for electrically opening and closing a slide door of an automobile, for example, a device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-61432 is known. As shown in FIG. 5, a rail (in this case, a lower rail) 101 whose front end side is curved inward, a door bracket 103 provided with a roller 102 running at the front end in the rail, and an end portion of the door bracket. Is locked, and the rail 101
There are provided two flexible cables 104 and 105 which are routed so as to extend in mutually opposite directions, and a driving means 100 which causes the cables to travel forward and backward. The door bracket 103 is attached to an inner surface of a door 106 guided forward and backward by the rail 101. The door 106 is also provided with a center rail disposed in the middle part in the vertical direction behind the vehicle and a door bracket corresponding to an upper rail provided at the upper end of the vehicle, but the details are omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 6, columnar cable ends 107, 107 are fixed to the ends of the cables 104, 105, respectively. Door bracket 1
A swinging piece 108 is swingably connected to a leading end of 03 by a shaft 109. At the front and rear ends of the swinging piece 108, a mounting bracket 11 in which two metal plates are stacked at an interval.
0 is provided. The upper and lower plates 110a and 110b of the mounting bracket 110 have a cable end 106,
A hole 111 through which the lower plate 11 is formed is formed.
0b, a groove 112 for passing the cables 104, 105
Are formed.

[0004] The above-mentioned opening and closing device firstly comprises a sliding door 1
06 to the vehicle (see FIG. 5), and then the cable ends 107, 107 are fitted into the holes 111 of the mounting bracket 110, and the cables 104, 105 are connected to the upper and lower plates 1
The cables 104 and 105 are locked to the mounting bracket 110 by extending forward and backward through the space between 10a and 110b. But the locking part is rail 101
It is difficult to work because it is inside. In addition, since it is between the vehicle and the door 106, it is also difficult to screw the door bracket 103 to the door after the cables 104 and 105 are locked. That is, in the case of FIG.
03 to the mounting bracket 110
It is necessary to insert the roller portion 113 of the door bracket 103 into the rail 101 after locking the locks 107 and 107, which is also difficult to perform.

When the roller portion 113 passes through the curved portion of the rail 101, the cable end 107 rotates around its own axis in the hole 111 of the mounting bracket 110, but since both are made of metal, the frictional resistance is large. (Unfamiliar). For this reason, bending stress is applied to the necks of the cables 104 and 105 (the root of the connecting portion to the cable end 107), which is not preferable in terms of durability.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a cable end locking method with high workability in assembling work and a locking tool used therefor. A further object of the present invention is to provide a locking tool having high rotation of a cable end with respect to a mounting bracket.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cable locking method for locking a cable end of two cables extending from opposite directions to a bracket. Prepare a bracket in which an end holder that can lock the cable ends of two cables and a holder bracket that can fit the end holder from the lateral direction with respect to the direction in which the cables extend are prepared. The cable ends of the two cables are previously locked to both ends of the end holder, and then the end holder is fitted to the holder bracket.

The cable end locking device of the present invention (claim 2) is a locking device for locking the cable ends of two cables extending from opposite directions. An end holder having a pair of locking portions for locking a cable end and a fitting portion extending in a direction transverse to a direction in which the cable extends, and a direction in which the cable extends in the fitting portion of the end holder. A holder bracket having a fitting portion for receiving a force in the cable direction when received from the side, and a locking mechanism for maintaining a state where the end holder is fitted to the holder bracket. It is characterized by being.

In such a locking device, the end holder has fitting projections projecting laterally at both ends, and the holder bracket has fittings at both ends to receive the fitting projections from the lateral direction. It is preferable to have a combination recess (claim 3). Further, it is preferable that the end holder is made of synthetic resin and the holder bracket is made of metal (claim 4).

[0010] The end holder (Claim 5) of the present invention comprises:
A central support portion, and fitting protrusions protruding in the lateral direction on the same side from both ends of the support portion. The fitting protrusions have a direction in which the support portion extends and a protrusion of the fitting protrusion. The axis of the shaft is oriented in a direction perpendicular to any of the directions, and at least one side is open to the outside, a columnar locking concave portion for locking the cable end is formed, and the fitting convex portion is formed. A horizontal slit is formed at right angles to the axis of the locking recess so as to communicate with the locking recess from the outside, and a vertical slit is engaged so as to communicate with the horizontal slit and the opening of the locking recess. It is characterized in that it is formed parallel to the axis of the stop recess. In this case, it is preferable to provide a locking claw extending in the same direction as the direction in which the fitting protrusion projects on the outer surface of the fitting protrusion.

[0011] The holder bracket of the present invention (claim 7)
Is provided with a central holding portion, and at both ends of the holding portion, a U-shaped curved portion provided so that its inner surface is depressed in a lateral direction. Is formed, and a horizontal slit which is open at the leading end is formed. In this holder bracket, it is preferable to form a locking slit for locking the locking claw in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal slit (claim 8).

Further, the combination of the end holder and the holder bracket having the above-described configuration is also the locking device of the present invention (claim 9).

[0013]

According to the cable locking method of the present invention (claim 1), the conventional bracket is separated into the holder bracket and the end holder, so that two of the conventional brackets are separated from the rail by the end holder. Cable end of the cable can be locked. Further, since the locked end holder is fitted to the bracket, the cable ends of the two cables can be simultaneously locked to the bracket, thereby simplifying the operation. Also,
The work is easy even after the door is mounted on the rail.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the cable end can be locked by a pair of locking portions, and the end holder is fitted to the holder bracket by fitting the fitting portion to the holder bracket. Can be attached to By using the holder bracket instead of the conventional bracket, the above-described locking method can be performed.

[0015] In the one in which engaging projections projecting in the lateral direction are provided at both ends of the end holder, and the holder bracket has a fitting recess for receiving the fitting projection in the lateral direction, the end holder side is convex. Therefore, the fitting operation is easy. When the end holder is made of a synthetic resin (claim 4), the frictional resistance between the metal cable end and the engaging portion of the end holder is small, and the adaptability is good. Further, by locking the cylindrical cable end to the locking portion formed of the cylindrical hole, the rotation of the cable end around its own axis is smooth. Therefore, the neck of the cable is prevented from being broken. When the holder bracket is made of metal, the operation of fitting the synthetic resin end holder to the holder bracket is smooth and can be firmly fitted.

The end holder of the present invention is inserted from the opening of the locking recess when the cable end is fitted into the locking recess. At this time, the cable connected to the cable end passes through the vertical slit. After the cable end is completely inserted into the locking recess, the cable is passed through the lateral slit. Thereby, the cable can move freely in the lateral slit, so that the cable end can freely rotate in the locking recess. Further, since the engaging concave portion is formed in the fitting convex portion, the structure can be simple and small.

Further, in the case where a locking claw extending in the same direction as the direction in which the fitting projection projects is provided on the outer surface of the fitting projection (claim 6), the end holder is fitted to the mating holder bracket. Sometimes it can be fixed with a locking claw at the same time.

[0018] The holder bracket of the present invention (claim 7).
In this case, the fitting protrusion of the end holder can be fitted into the curved portion, and at this time, the distal end of the horizontal slit is open, so that the cable can be passed through the horizontal slit. In addition, since it is composed of a plate-shaped holding portion and curved portions at both ends, it can be easily formed from a metal plate by press molding or the like. Further, in a holder bracket having a locking slit for locking the locking claw in a direction perpendicular to the lateral slit, the cable is locked after the locking claw of the end holder is locked to the locking slit. From the lateral slit.

The locking tool combining the end holder and the holder bracket described above (claim 9) can exhibit all of these functions and effects.

[0020]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a locking device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a locking device according to the present invention before assembling, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a slide door opening / closing device provided with the locking device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

First, referring to FIG. 2, the entire opening / closing device for the sliding door will be described. Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 2 denotes a vehicle such as an automobile, and a center rail 11 is provided at the center in the vertical direction behind the side wall so as to extend forward and backward. Note that an upper rail and a lower rail are also provided on the upper and lower sides of the side wall, and the door 12 is supported at three locations. The upper rail and the lower rail (see FIG. 5) are omitted in FIG.

Inside the door 12, a center rail 11 is provided.
A door bracket 13 is attached to a portion corresponding to the above, and a tip of the door bracket 13 is attached with a swinging piece 14 that swings around a vertical axis.
Two horizontal rollers 15 and one vertical roller (reference numeral 16 in FIG. 1) are rotatably attached to the rocking piece 14, respectively. The front end side of the center rail 11 is curved toward the inside of the vehicle 10. The same applies to the upper and lower rails, and they are curved at the front end. Thereby, the door 12 is supported by the three rails via the three door brackets 13 and the respective rollers so as to be movable back and forth, and can be closed at the front end side so as to be flush with the wall surface of the vehicle.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
The ends of a pair of cables 17, 18 disposed so as to extend back and forth in the center rail 11 are locked to the front end and the rear end of the tip of the swinging piece 14 of the door bracket 13 corresponding to By driving the doors 17 and 18, the door bracket can be opened and closed back and forth. For example, a cable 17 extending forward is connected to a drive mechanism 20 by a conduit 19 connected to the front end of the center rail 11.
Has been guided to. And a cable 18 extending to the rear side
Is a conduit 21 connected to the rear end of the center rail 11.
, Is guided to the drive mechanism 20. Drive mechanism 2
0 is substantially the same as the conventional one, and includes a drum that is reciprocally rotated by a motor with a speed reducer, and the other ends of the two cables are alternately wound and sent out to the drum, The loop of the cable is driven to circulate.

The locking device according to the present invention includes the door bracket 1
3 (oscillating piece 14 in this embodiment) and two cables 1
As shown in FIG. 1, the end brackets 7 and 18 are used to lock the end portions of the holder bracket 24 attached to the swinging piece 14 and the end holder 25 fitted to the holder bracket 24. It is configured.

The oscillating piece 14 is a component made of a thick metal plate whose tip is bent upward and further its tip is bent horizontally. It is rotatably mounted (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The two horizontal rollers 15 are rotatably attached to the front and rear ends of the horizontal portion 33 by shafts 34, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the base of the swinging piece 14 has a pin hole 35 that is swingably attached to the door bracket.

The holder bracket 24 is provided on the swinging piece 1.
4, a plate-shaped mounting portion or holding portion 36 which is mounted inside the vertical portion 31, and bent substantially inwardly from the front and rear ends of the holding portion toward the inside of the vehicle, bent in a U-shape and outwardly. And a curved portion 37 that extends. The concave portion on the inner surface side of the curved portion 37 is a fitting concave portion 38 into which the end holder 25 is fitted. The holding portion 36 may be rotatably mounted on the shaft 32 of the vertical roller 16, but is usually fixed by welding or the like. The holder bracket 24 can be manufactured from a metal plate by press molding or the like. In this embodiment,
The center of the curved portion 37 is made to coincide with the rotation center of the horizontal roller 15.

The outer wall 39 of the curved portion 37 is formed with a horizontal slit 40 that divides the upper and lower portions into two (see FIG. 1). The transverse slits 40 are for passing the cables 17 and 18, and extend in the lateral direction to allow the cables 17 to be shifted laterally, particularly when the door 12 in FIG. 2 passes through the curved portion of the center rail 11. ing. Further, the lateral slit 40 is open to the outside at the end of the outer wall 39 for passing the cable 17 when the end holder 25 is fitted to the holder bracket 24. Further, in the vicinity of the distal end of the outer wall 39, the locking slit 4
1 is formed.

The end holder 25 is connected to the cable 1
A rod-shaped support portion 42 extending in the direction in which the extensions 7 and 18 extend.
And fitting protrusions 43 protruding from both ends of the support portion 42 toward the inside of the vehicle. The fitting projection 43 is U-shaped in plan view so as to fit with the fitting recess 38 of the holder bracket 24. And the fitting projection 4
Downward from the upper end surface of the cable 3, a bottomed locking concave portion 45 for fitting a cable end 44 fixed to the distal ends of the cables 17 and 18 is formed. A horizontal slit 4 for passing a cable is provided in a vertical intermediate portion on the outer wall side of the fitting projection 43.
6 is formed so as to bisect the upper and lower portions. The lateral slit 46 communicates with the locking recess 45 on the inside. When the cable end 44 is inserted, the depth of the locking recess 4 is set so that the cable end 44 reaches the bottom when the cables 17 and 18 reach the position of the horizontal slit 46. However, depending on the case, the locking recess 45 can be penetrated to the bottom.

Further, on the outer wall side of the fitting projection 43, an upper portion bisected by the horizontal slit 46 is provided with a locking recess 45.
A vertical slit 47 is formed in the radial direction.
This vertical slit 47 engages the cable end 44 with the locking recess 4.
3 is a groove for passing the cables 17 and 18 when the cable 3 is inserted. Therefore, in order to prevent the cable from coming off during use, it is formed obliquely shifted with respect to the direction in which the cable extends. However, they may extend in the same direction.

Further, from the front and rear ends of the end holder 25, there are provided locking claws 48 which elastically engage with the locking slits 41 of the holder bracket 24. In this embodiment, the locking claw 48 has an L-shape in plan view, and a projection 49 that engages with the locking slit 41 is provided inside the tip of the locking claw 48.

The end holder 25 is made of nylon,
It is an engineering plastic such as polyacetal, and is manufactured by injection molding, for example. The two cables 17 and 18 are inner cables that constitute a pull control cable together with a conduit, and are formed by joining a plurality of metal wires, have flexibility, and transmit a pulling force. . A cylindrical cable end 44 is fixed to the tip of each of the cables 17 and 18. The cable end is usually a metal such as a zinc alloy, and is molded at the end of the cable by casting or the like and fixed at the same time. In addition to the columnar shape,
Other shapes may be used.

Next, a description will be given of a method of attaching the locking member configured as described above. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the door bracket of the door 12 is engaged with and supported by the upper rail, the center rail 11, and the lower rail attached to the side wall of the vehicle 10. The holder bracket 24 is attached to the swinging piece 14 in advance as shown in FIG. Next, in this embodiment, the cable 1 is attached to the center rail 11.
Pass through 7 and 18. The cables 17 and 18 may be passed first.

Then, as shown in FIG.
The cable end 44 is fitted into the engagement concave portion 45 of FIG. At this time, the cables 17 and 18 are
, While lowering the cable end 44. And when the cables 17 and 18 come to the position of the horizontal slit 46,
The cable end 44 reaches the bottom of the locking recess 45. As a result, the cables 17 and 18 enter the horizontal slits 46, so that they are extended back and forth. In the fitted state, the cable end 44 is rotatable around its own axis within the locking recess 45.

Next, as shown by an arrow P in FIG. 1, the end holder 25 is fitted to the holder bracket 24.
At this time, the cables 17 and 18 are passed through the horizontal slits 40 of the end holder 25. When the front and rear fitting projections 43 are completely fitted into the fitting recesses 38, the projections 49 at the tips of the locking claws 48 are engaged with the locking slits 41, so that the end holder 25 does not come off the holder bracket 24. When removing the end holder 25 from the holder bracket 24 for maintenance, the locking claw 48 may be removed with a tool or the like.

When assembled as described above, the end holder 25 is integrated with the holder bracket 24 as shown in FIGS. At this time, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the center of the cable end 44 is
Match with the center. After assembly, the door slides forward when one cable 17 is pulled, and the door retracts when the other cable 18 is pulled, as in the case of the conventional locking device. Therefore, the drive mechanism 20 shown in FIG.
Can be electrically operated.

As described above, in this locking device, the structure in which the cable end 44 is locked to the door bracket (the swinging piece) is realized by previously locking the holder bracket 24 attached to the door bracket and the cable end. It is configured to be separated from the end holder 25 to be fitted, and to be fitted later. Therefore, cable end 4
The work of fitting the end holder 25 into the end holder 25 can be performed at a position away from the rail. Therefore, the fitting operation is easy, and the subsequent work of fitting the end holder 25 to the holder bracket 24 is also easy.

Further, since the metal cable end 44 and the synthetic resin end holder 25 are fitted, when the door 12 shown in FIG. The cable end 44 smoothly rotates in the locking recess 45 in response to the
Is prevented from breaking. Further, since the center of rotation of the cable end 44 coincides with the center of rotation of the horizontal roller 15, when the swinging piece 14 swings, the swing angles of the cables 17 and 18 and the swing angle of the swinging piece 14 are changed. Matches. Therefore, the swing is smoother.

Further, since the end holder 25 is made of synthetic resin and the holder bracket 24 is made of metal, the fitting between the fitting projection 43 and the fitting recess 38 can be tight. Thereby, backlash does not occur and the fitting can be firmly performed.

In the above embodiment, the locking member is applied to the center rail of the slide door. However, the present invention can be applied to a case where a cable is passed through the lower rail as shown in FIG. In the above-described embodiment, the engagement protrusion 43 is provided on the end holder 25 side, and the fitting concave portion 38 is provided on the holder bracket 24 side. A fitting recess may be provided on the holder side.

Further, instead of the locking claw, the end holder may be fixed to the holder bracket by screwing or the like.
However, in the case where a locking claw that elastically engages with the locking slit is provided, the mounting operation is simple. The positions of the locking claws and the locking slits may be provided at the front and rear ends as shown in FIG. 1, or may be provided at other portions such as an intermediate portion in the front and rear direction and upper and lower ends.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a lock according to the present invention before assembly.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a slide door opening / closing device provided with the locking member.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway bottom view after assembling the locking device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a conventional slide door.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional lock before assembly.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle 11 Center rail 12 Door 13 Door bracket 14 Swinging piece 15 Horizontal roller 16 Vertical roller 17, 18 Cable 19, 21 Conduit 20 Drive mechanism 24 Holder bracket 25 End holder 31 Vertical part 32, 34 Axis 33 Horizontal part 35 Pin hole 36 Holding part 37 Curved part 38 Fitting concave part 39 Outer wall 40 Horizontal slit 41 Locking slit 42 Support part 43 Fitting convex part 44 Cable end 45 Locking concave part 46 Horizontal slit 47 Vertical slit 48 Locking claw 49 Projection

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission Date] August 7, 2000 (2000.8.7)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0003

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

As shown in FIG. 6, columnar cable ends 107, 107 are fixed to the ends of the cables 104, 105, respectively. Door bracket 1
A swinging piece 108 is swingably connected to a leading end of 03 by a shaft 109. At the front and rear ends of the swinging piece 108, a mounting bracket 11 in which two metal plates are stacked at an interval.
0 is provided. The upper and lower plates 110a and 110b of the mounting bracket 110 have a cable end 106,
A hole 111 through which the upper plate 11 is formed is formed.
0a, a groove 112 for passing the cables 104, 105
Are formed.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yuji Kita 10-1 Amanuma, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Nissan Shatai Co., Ltd. (reference) 2E052 AA09 BA02 CA06 DA03 DB03 EA16 EC01 KA15 KA16

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A method for locking the cable ends of two cables extending from opposite directions to a bracket, the bracket comprising an end holder capable of locking the cable ends of the two cables. Separate the end holder into a holder bracket that can be fitted laterally with respect to the direction in which the cable extends, and lock the cable ends of the two cables in advance at both ends of the end holder. Then, the end holder is fitted to the holder bracket. 2. A locking tool for locking the cable ends of two cables extending from opposite directions, and a pair of locking portions for locking the cable ends of the two cables. An end holder having a fitting portion extending in a direction transverse to the direction in which the cable extends, and receiving the fitting portion of the end holder from a direction transverse to the direction in which the cable extends, and A cable end locking tool, comprising: a holder bracket having a fitting portion withstanding a force in a cable direction; and a locking mechanism for maintaining a state in which the end holder is fitted to the holder bracket. 3. The end holder has fitting projections projecting laterally at both ends, and the holder bracket has fitting recesses at both ends to receive the fitting projections from the lateral direction. The locking device according to claim 2. 4. The latch according to claim 2, wherein said end holder is made of synthetic resin, and said holder bracket is made of metal. 5. A center support portion, and fitting protrusions protruding laterally on the same side from both ends of the support portion. The fitting protrusions include a direction in which the support portion extends and An axis is oriented in a direction perpendicular to any of the directions in which the fitting protrusions project, and at least one side is open to the outside, and a columnar locking recess for locking the cable end is formed, In order to communicate with the locking recess from outside the fitting projection,
A horizontal slit is formed in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the locking recess, and a vertical slit is formed parallel to the axis of the locking recess so that the horizontal slit communicates with the opening of the locking recess. End holder. 6. The end holder according to claim 5, wherein a locking claw extending in the same direction as the direction in which the fitting projection projects is provided on an outer surface of the fitting projection. 7. A central holding portion and both ends of the holding portion,
A curved portion curved in a U-shape provided so that its inner surface is depressed in the lateral direction, and on the outer wall surface of the curved portion,
A holder bracket with a horizontal slit that divides the wall into two and opens at the tip. 8. The holder bracket according to claim 7, wherein a locking slit for locking the locking claw in a direction perpendicular to the lateral slit is formed. 9. A cable end latch comprising the end holder according to claim 5 and the holder bracket according to claim 7.