JP2005195093A - Outer casing holder and cable guide - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an outer casing holder and a cable guide, in which an inner cable of a control cable can be prevented from damaging. <P>SOLUTION: The outer casing holder is comprised of a bottomed cylindrical main body to cover a front end and a periphery of an outer casing end of the control cable, and a cylindrical projection which is formed at a struck portion brought in contact with the front end of the outer casing in the main body, covering at least a chamfered portion of a liner of the inner surface of the end of the outer casing. In the cable guide, a holder having a holding surface for storing an end member installed in the front end of the cable is formed between an inserted part inserted for a cable and a circular guide part, and the holding surface is temporarily surface-contacted with the end surface at the root of the end member in assembling. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an outer casing holder and a cable guide. More specifically, the present invention relates to an outer casing holder and a cable guide that can prevent damage to an inner cable of a control cable.

  Conventionally, in the window regulator for an automobile shown in FIG. 7, the window glass is moved up and down using a control cable. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, a conventional general window regulator 31 is fixed to an inner panel 61 that constitutes an inner portion of an automobile door, and the inner panel 61 and an outer portion of the automobile door are arranged. It is housed in a space between the outer panel 62 and the constituent outer panel 62. The window glass 64 of the door shown in FIG. 7 can be moved vertically by the window regulator 31 while being guided by the sash 66 through the gap between the inner panel 61 and the outer panel 62.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the window regulator 31 includes an inner cable 32, a control cable 34 having an outer casing 33 in which the inner cable 32 is slidably arranged, and a drive for pulling and driving the inner cable 32. A portion 35, a carrier plate 36 fixed to the inner cable 32 and holding the end of the window glass 64, and attached to the inner panel 61 via brackets 37a and 37b, guide the carrier plate 36 in a predetermined direction. It comprises a guide rail 37.

  The drive unit 35 includes a cable drum housed in the housing 38 and a motor 39 for driving the cable drum, and is fixed to the surface on the inner panel 61 side. One end of the inner cable 32 is locked to the cable drum inside the housing 38, and the other end is locked to the carrier plate 36.

  The inner cable 32 is wound up by a cable drum rotated by a motor 39, guided by a pulley 40 or a cable guide 41, and changed in direction. The inner cable 32 between the housing 38, specifically, the outer end holder inside the housing 38 and the pulley 40 or the cable guide 41 is guided by an outer casing 33 that is divided into two upper and lower portions.

  The outer casing 33 is held at a predetermined assembly position in the vicinity of the pulley 40 or the cable guide 41 of the guide rail 37 and a predetermined assembly position of the housing 38 of the drive unit 35 via the outer casing holder.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the outer casing 33 used in the conventional control cable 34 has a liner 43 inserted on the inner surface of a coiled outer spring 42 and the outer surface of the outer spring 42. The outer coat layer 44 is coated. The inner cable 32 can slide while being in contact with a liner 43 made of a slippery material inside the outer casing 33.

  Here, in order to attach the control cable 34 between the drive unit 35 and the pulley 40 or the cable guide 41 on the guide rail 37 side, it is necessary to cut the outer casing 33 to a predetermined length. When the outer casing 33 is cut, burrs are generated at the end of the liner 43, the outer spring 42 falls inward, narrows the passage inside the outer casing 33, and the inward fall of the outer spring 42 contacts the inner cable 32. By doing so, the inner cable 32 may be worn or damaged. Therefore, after cutting the outer casing 33, as shown in FIG. 8, by chamfering the end of the liner 43 and the outer spring 42, the burrs of the liner 43 and the inner spring 42 fall down. It has been removed.

  On the other hand, when chamfering the liner 43, if the degree of chamfering is small, the burr on the liner is removed at the edge of the most distal end of the chamfered portion 45, but the outer spring 42 falls into the inside. Therefore, the inner cable 32 and the outer spring 42 come into contact with each other, and the inner cable 32 may be cut while continuing to slide.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, a cylindrical bush 51 made of synthetic resin or the like is inserted from the front end of the outer casing 33 to cover the chamfered portion 45 so that the inner cable 32 and the outer spring 42 are brought into contact with each other. It is possible to prevent it. The cylindrical bush 51 generally requires a total length of 3 mm or more in order to hold the outer casing 33 from the inside.

  Further, a cable guide 41 provided on the guide rail 37 of the window regulator 31 shown in FIG. 7 for slidably guiding the inner cable 32 has a substantially cylindrical shape as shown in FIGS. The inner cable 32 has an insertion portion 46 through which the inner cable 32 is inserted, and an arcuate guide portion 47 for guiding the inner cable 32 in a substantially arc shape continuously to the insertion portion 46. The arcuate guide portion 47 is formed with a groove 47a having a substantially V-shaped cross section.

  By the way, in a series of assembling processes of such a window regulator, in the process of assembling the cable guide 41 to the guide rail 37, in order to improve the slip of the inner cable 32, the groove 47a of the arcuate guide portion 47 that contacts the inner cable 32 is formed. Grease is applied to the inner surface. At this time, in order to expose the inner surface of the groove 47a of the arcuate guide portion 47 to which the grease is applied, the already routed inner cable 32 is connected to one end of the arcuate guide portion 47 (see FIG. 12). Specifically, it is necessary to draw it near the end portion in the vicinity of the insertion portion 46.

  However, as shown in FIG. 9, if a bush 51 that protects the chamfered portion 45 is inserted into the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 33, the end of the outer casing 33 extends from the inside by almost the entire length of the bush 51. Since it is restrained, the bending absorption length of the outer casing 33 is shortened. Therefore, if the inner cable 32 is repeatedly put in and out for raising and lowering the window glass after being used for many years, the end portion of the outer casing 33 is partially subjected to a large bending load as the bending absorption length is shortened. This may cause bending wrinkles or damage. Therefore, in an environment where the inner cable 32 is repeatedly taken in and out, the cylindrical bush 51 shown in FIG. 9 cannot be applied, and damage to the inner cable cannot be prevented.

  Also, by setting the bush 51, the work for removing the dedicated jig for inserting into the outer casing 33 and the liner at the portion into which the bush 51 is inserted (in addition to chamfering the outer spring 42), the number of parts is increased by adding the bush Since it is necessary at both ends of the upper and lower outer casings 33, it is increased by 4 points.

  In the cable guide shown in FIG. 12, when the inner cable 32 is pulled toward one end, the end surface 48 a on the base side of the terminal member 48 of the inner cable 32 comes into surface contact with the upper surface 49 of the cable guide 41. No. 32 has a problem that it is bent greatly in the vicinity of the terminal member 48 and is bent (in other words, residual bending strain occurs). When the inner cable 32 is bent, there is a problem that the inner cable 32 is easily broken near the bent portion while the inner cable 32 is repeatedly used.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an outer casing holder and a cable guide that can prevent the inner cable of the control cable from being damaged.

An outer casing holder according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an outer casing in which a liner is inserted into an inner surface of a coiled outer spring, and an outer coat layer is coated on the outer surface of the outer spring, and the outer casing. An outer casing holder for holding an outer casing end portion of a control cable having an inner cable slidably arranged therein and having an inner peripheral surface end portion of the liner chamfered,
A bottomed cylindrical main body that covers the front end surface and the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the outer casing, and an end portion of the outer casing formed on the abutting portion that contacts the front end surface of the outer casing inside the main body. It consists of a cylindrical projection that covers at least the chamfered portion of the inner peripheral surface of the liner.

  It is preferable that the height of the protrusion is 0.4 to 5 mm.

  It is preferable that the protrusion is formed so that the thickness thereof becomes thinner toward the tip.

A cable guide according to claim 4 of the present invention has a substantially cylindrical shape, an insertion portion through which the cable is inserted, and an arcuate guide for guiding the cable in a substantially arc shape continuously to the insertion portion. A cable guide for slidably guiding the cable, the terminal member being fixed so that an unreasonable load is not applied to the terminal member provided at the tip of the cable, and the inner cable A holding part having a holding surface for holding the terminal member is formed so as not to cause bending.
The holding surface may temporarily come into surface contact with an end surface on a root side of the terminal member during assembly.

  The holding portion is a substantially V-shaped cutout portion formed between the insertion portion and the arcuate guide portion, and the holding surface is an inner surface on the insertion portion side of the two inner surfaces of the cutout portion. Preferably there is.

  It is preferable that the holding surface is formed to be parallel to the normal line of the holding surface and the axial direction of the insertion portion, or to be inclined at 30 degrees or less.

  The inner diameter of the insertion portion is set so that an outer casing in which a liner is inserted into the inner surface of the coiled outer spring and an outer coat layer is coated on the outer surface of the outer spring can be inserted into the insertion portion. In addition, a cylindrical protrusion is formed on the inner back surface of the insertion portion with which the front end surface of the outer casing abuts to cover at least the chamfered portion of the inner peripheral surface of the end portion of the outer casing. It is preferable that

  According to the outer casing holder of the present invention, it is possible to protect the chamfered portion of the liner while ensuring the bending absorption length of the outer casing. As a result, the portion of the chamfered portion where the outer spring is exposed does not contact the inner cable, and the inner cable can be prevented from being damaged.

  According to the cable guide of the present invention, when the cable such as the inner cable of the control cable is pulled to one end for the work of applying the grease to the arcuate guide portion, the cable is largely bent in the vicinity of the terminal member. To prevent the cables from becoming bent and wrinkled. Therefore, it does not break near the cable bent during use, and the life of the cable can be greatly extended.

  Next, the outer casing holder and the cable guide of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view showing an embodiment of the outer casing holder of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view showing a state where the outer casing holder of FIG. 1 is attached to the end of a control cable, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cable guide of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a drawing of the inner cable routed in the cable guide of FIG. 3 near the insertion portion. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the state, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing another embodiment of the cable guide of the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer casing holder 1 of the present embodiment is configured such that the end of the outer casing 33 of the control cable 34 shown in FIG. 7 is connected to the pulley 40 or the cable guide 41 of the guide rail 37. It is used for holding at a predetermined assembly position in the vicinity and a predetermined assembly position of the housing 38 of the drive unit 35.

  That is, in the outer casing holder 1 of the present embodiment, a liner 43 made of a slippery polyethylene resin material or the like is inserted into the inner surface of an outer spring 42 in which a rolled steel wire or the like is wound in a coil shape, and And an outer casing 33 in which an outer coat layer 44 made of a soft synthetic resin such as a vinyl chloride resin material or a synthetic rubber is coated on the outer surface of the outer spring 42, and the outer casing 33 is slidably disposed inside the outer casing 33. It is an outer casing holder for holding the end portion of the control cable 34, which is composed of the cabled inner cable 32 and in which the end portions of the liner 43 and the outer spring 42 are chamfered to form a chamfered portion 45.

  The outer casing holder 1 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical main body 2 that covers the front end surface and outer peripheral surface of the end of the outer casing 33, and an abutting portion 3 that contacts the front end surface of the outer casing 33 inside the main body 2. The cylindrical projection 4 covers at least the chamfered portion 45 of the liner on the inner peripheral surface of the end portion of the outer casing 33.

  The outer casing holder 1 is manufactured using, for example, a synthetic resin such as a polyacetal resin material, and is manufactured by, for example, integrally forming the main body 2 and the protrusions 4.

  The protrusions 4 need only be high enough to cover at least the chamfered portion 45 of the liner 43, particularly at least the tip portion where the outer spring 42 may be exposed, and is particularly limited in the present invention. However, it is set to a height of about 0.4 to 5 mm.

  By covering the outer casing holder 1 with the tip of the control cable 34 and covering the main body 1 in contact with the tip and outer surfaces of the outer casing 33, the outer casing 33 is held from the outside, and together with this, The protrusion 4 can prevent the inner cable 32 from touching the chamfered portion 45 of the outer spring 42.

  Further, the outer casing 33 is held with a slight gap from the inner peripheral surface of the main body 2 of the outer casing holder 1, and the outer coat layer 44 is made of a soft synthetic resin or the like and has a high flexibility. It is possible to ensure a bending absorption length of about 7 to 12 mm of the outer casing 33 as much as the state without the casing holder 1. Therefore, there is no risk of damage such as buckling of the outer casing 33.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the protrusion 4 is formed so that the thickness decreases toward the tip, even if the gap between the liner 43 and the inner cable 32 is small, the protrusion 4 is in the gap. Can be easily and reliably inserted, and the chamfered portion 45 can be reliably covered.

  Although the case where the end part of the outer casing 33 was chamfered was described in the above embodiment, it can be used also when the end part of the outer casing 33 is not chamfered.

  The cable guide 21 of the present embodiment is provided on the guide rail 37 (see FIG. 7) of the window regulator, and the inner cable 32 (see FIG. 7) of the control cable 34 is provided in the same manner as the conventional cable guide 41 described above. The guide is slidable. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, the cable guide 21 has a substantially cylindrical shape, an insertion portion 22 into which the inner cable 32 is inserted, and the inner cable 32 that is continuous with the insertion portion 22. An arcuate guide portion 23 for guiding in an arcuate shape is provided. The arcuate guide portion 23 extends in an arc shape so that the inner cable 32 can be guided in a substantially arc shape by a predetermined angle (for example, 90 degrees), and the arcuate guide portion 23 accommodates the inner cable 32. A groove 23a having a substantially V-shaped cross section is formed.

  The cable guide 21 can employ various materials as long as the inner cable 32 can easily slide. For example, the cable guide 21 can be made of a synthetic resin such as a polyacetal resin material.

  In the cable guide 21 of the present embodiment, between the insertion portion 22 and the arcuate guide portion 23, a substantially V-shape is provided as a holding portion for holding the terminal member 48 provided at the distal end portion of the inner cable 32. The inner surface 25 on the insertion portion 22 side of the two inner surfaces of the substantially V-shaped notch portion 24 is in contact with the end surface 48a on the base side of the terminal member 48 as a holding surface. It has become.

  Thereby, in the step of assembling the cable guide 21 to the guide rail 37 (see FIG. 7) in a series of assembly steps of the window regulator, in order to expose the inner surface of the groove 23a of the arcuate guide portion 23 to which grease is applied, As shown in FIG. 5, when the inner cable 32 is pulled toward the end portion of the arcuate guide portion 23 near the insertion portion 22, the terminal member 48 of the inner cable 32 is accommodated in the notch portion 24, and the terminal member Since the end surface 48a on the base side of the surface 48 comes into surface contact with the inner surface 25, the inner cable 32 can be drawn without being largely bent. Accordingly, since there is no possibility that the inner cable 32 is bent and bent, it is possible to prevent the inner cable 32 from being broken from the bent portion when the inner cable 32 is used. As a result, the life of the inner cable 32 is prevented. Can be greatly extended.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, since the terminal member 48 can be reliably accommodated in the substantially V-shaped cutout portion 24, the terminal member 48 does not interfere with the grease application work, so that The grease can be efficiently applied.

  An angle θ of the inner surface 25 of the substantially V-shaped cutout portion 24 on the insertion portion 22 side with respect to the axis direction of the insertion portion 22 is normal or less than 30 degrees (see FIG. 3). If the inner cable 32 is formed so as to be inclined, the terminal member 48 can be reliably brought into surface contact with the inner surface 25 without bending the inner cable 32. The angle θ is preferably as small as possible as long as processing is possible from the viewpoint of reducing the bending of the inner cable.

  In the present embodiment, a liner 43 is inserted into the outer casing 33 of the control cable 34 as shown in FIG. 8, that is, the inner surface of the coiled outer spring 42, and the outer surface of the outer spring 42 is outer. The inner diameter of the insertion portion 22 is set so that the outer casing 33 covered with the coat layer 44 can be inserted into the insertion portion 22. In addition, a cylindrical protrusion 26 that covers at least the chamfered portion of the outer spring 42 on the inner peripheral surface of the end of the outer casing 33 on the inner back surface of the insertion portion 22 with which the distal end surface of the outer casing 33 abuts. Is formed. Accordingly, by inserting the distal end portion of the control cable 34 into the insertion portion 22 of the cable guide 21, the insertion portion 22 covers the outer casing 33 while making contact with the distal end surface and the outer surface of the outer casing 33. It can hold | maintain from the outer side, and the cylindrical protrusion 26 can prevent that the inner cable 32 touches the chamfered part 45 of the outer spring 42 with it.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a substantially V-shaped cutout 24 is formed as a holding portion for holding the terminal member 48 of the inner cable 32, and the inner surface 25 on the insertion portion 22 side is held. Although the surface is in surface contact with the end surface 48a on the base side of the terminal member 48, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, as another embodiment of the cable guide of the present invention, a cable guide 30 shown in FIG. 6 is for holding a terminal member 48 provided at the tip of the inner cable 32 on an extension line of the insertion portion 27. As a holding portion, a part of the arcuate guide portion 28 having a groove 28a for guiding the inner cable 32 in an arc shape protrudes so that the upper surface and the side surface are orthogonal to each other, and the side surface 29 serves as the holding surface and the root of the terminal member 48 The side end face 48a is in surface contact. Also in the cable guide 30 shown in FIG. 6, the inner surface of the groove 28a of the arcuate guide portion 28 to which grease is applied is exposed in the process of assembling the cable guide 30 to the guide rail 37 (see FIG. 7). Therefore, if the inner cable 32 is removed from the groove 28 a and pulled until it is on the extension line of the insertion portion 27, the end surface 48 a of the base member 48 of the inner cable 32 is in surface contact with the side surface 29 of the arcuate guide portion 28. Therefore, the inner cable 32 can be drawn without being greatly bent. Therefore, even when the cable guide 30 shown in FIG. 6 is used, the inner cable 32 is not likely to be bent and bent, so that when the inner cable 32 is used, the inner cable 32 is broken from the bent and bent portion. As a result, the life of the inner cable 32 can be greatly extended.

  In this specification, as an example of the slidable cable guided by the cable guide, the inner cable in the control cable of the automotive window regulator has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the cable guide of the present invention can guide the slidable cables of the various control cables in which the end member made of synthetic resin is set at the end of the outer casing.

It is a perspective explanatory view showing one embodiment of the outer casing holder of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional explanatory drawing which shows the state which attached the outer casing holder of FIG. 1 to the control cable edge part. It is a front view which shows one Embodiment of the cable guide of this invention. It is a top view of the cable guide of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the inner cable routed by the cable guide of FIG. 3 was drawn near the insertion part. It is a front view which shows other embodiment of the cable guide of this invention. It is perspective explanatory drawing of the state which decomposed | disassembled the door provided with the window regulator. It is sectional drawing of a control cable. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which attached the conventional bush to the control cable edge part. It is a front view of the conventional cable guide. It is a top view of the cable guide of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the inner cable routed by the cable guide of FIG. 10 was drawn near the insertion part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer casing holder 2 Main body 3 Abutting part 4 Protrusion 21, 30 Cable guide 22 Insertion part 23 Arc-shaped guide part 24 Substantially V-shaped notch part 25 Inner surface 26 Projection

Claims (7)

An outer casing in which a liner is inserted into the inner surface of a coiled outer spring and the outer surface of the outer spring is covered with an outer coat layer, and an inner cable slidably routed inside the outer casing. The outer casing holder for holding the outer casing end of the control cable chamfered the inner peripheral surface end of the liner,
A bottomed cylindrical main body that covers the front end surface and the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the outer casing, and an end portion of the outer casing formed on the abutting portion that contacts the front end surface of the outer casing inside the main body. An outer casing holder comprising a cylindrical projection covering at least a chamfered portion of the liner on an inner peripheral surface. The outer casing holder according to claim 1, wherein the height of the protrusion is 0.4 to 5 mm. The outer casing holder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the protrusion is formed so as to become thinner toward the tip. The cable is slidably guided and has a substantially cylindrical shape, and has an insertion portion through which the cable is inserted, and an arcuate guide portion for guiding the cable in a substantially arc shape continuously to the insertion portion. A cable guide for
A holding having a holding surface for fixing the terminal member so that an excessive load is not applied to the terminal member provided at the tip of the cable and holding the terminal member so that the inner cable is not bent. Part is formed,
The cable guide in which the holding surface can be in surface contact with an end surface on the base side of the terminal member temporarily during assembly. The holding portion is a substantially V-shaped cutout portion formed between the insertion portion and the arcuate guide portion, and the holding surface is an inner surface on the insertion portion side of the two inner surfaces of the cutout portion. The cable guide according to claim 4. The cable guide according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the holding surface is formed so as to be parallel to the normal line of the holding surface and the axial direction of the insertion portion or inclined at 30 degrees or less. The inner diameter of the insertion portion is set so that an outer casing in which a liner is inserted into the inner surface of the coiled outer spring and an outer coat layer is coated on the outer surface of the outer spring can be inserted into the insertion portion. In addition, a cylindrical protrusion is formed on the inner back surface of the insertion portion with which the front end surface of the outer casing abuts to cover at least the chamfered portion of the inner peripheral surface of the end portion of the outer casing. The cable guide according to claim 4, 5 or 6.

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