JP2604230Y2 - Cable holding device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cable holding apparatus for connecting a cable such as an optical fiber to be connected to a photoelectric switch to a housing such as a photoelectric switch body and removably clamping the cable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing an optical fiber clamp device exemplified as a conventional cable holding device, FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the device, and FIG. 10 is an assembled state of the device. It is a principal part front view shown. In the figure, 1
Denotes a switch main body of the photoelectric switch, and 2 denotes a fiber holding portion provided on one side surface of the switch main body 1.

[0003] The fiber holding section 2 has two fiber connection holes 3 above and below, and is formed of a block that expands and contracts these fiber connection holes 3 in the radial direction. That is, the fiber connection hole 3 is divided into right and left by a vertical slit 4 passing through each center, and one side wall portion of the vertical slit 4 is vertically divided by a horizontal slit 5 at the center. Clamp lever 6 that can expand and contract radially
It is formed as. The clamp lever 6 has a tapered engagement recess 6a outside the free end on the side of the horizontal slit 5. A latch pin 7 protrudes from an outer wall of the fiber holding unit 2 opposite to the clamp lever 6.

The plunger 8, which is slidably covered by the fiber holder 2 in a vertically slidable manner, has a rectangular shape with one side open, is urged upward by a spring 9, and has a fiber insertion hole 10 in the front wall. . Also this plunger 8
Has a concave portion 11 in a side wall portion, and a notch 12 through which the latch pin 7 penetrates is formed in the concave portion 11.

The upper part of a hook-shaped latch cam 13 is rotatably supported by a pin 14 in the recess 11. The latch cam 13 has a latch piece 13a that can be engaged with and disengaged from the latch pin 7, and a cut-and-raised piece 13b that rises from the base end of the latch piece 13a (the lower center of the latch cam 13). The cut and raised piece 13b is
It is bent outward from the latch piece 13a and rises so as to be an engagement escape portion of the latch cam 13 with respect to the latch pin 7. The latch cam 13 is urged by a spring 15 in a direction in which the cut-and-raised piece 13b faces the latch pin 7.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 16 denotes a latch cam 1
8 is a pressing plate that is crimped or glued to the third support pin 14. In FIG. 8, 17 is a cover, and 18 is a fiber insertion hole provided in the cover 17.

Next, the operation will be described. Plunger 8
10 is raised by the spring 9, the engaging concave portion 8 a of the plunger 8 is engaged with the engaging convex portion 6 a of the fiber holding portion 2.
The fiber connection hole 3 is naturally expanded. In such a raised position of the plunger 8,
The latch cam 13 is in a free (OFF) state in which the latch piece 13 a is located above the latch pin 7.

In this free state, the switch body 1
Is inserted from the fiber insertion hole 18 of the cover 17 through the fiber insertion hole 10 of the plunger 8 into the fiber connection hole 3 of the fiber holding unit 2.

Thereafter, when the plunger 8 is pushed down against the spring 9, the engaging projection 6 a of the clamp lever 6 of the fiber holding section 2 is formed on the tapered surface of the engaging recess 8 a of the plunger 8 by the slit width of the vertical slit 4. Is pressed in a direction to reduce the diameter of the fiber connection hole 3. Thereby, the optical fiber inserted into the fiber connection hole 3 is clamped.

During the clamping operation, that is, when the plunger 8 is pushed down, the latch cam 1
The bottom surface of the third arc is slipped. As a result, the latch cam 13 moves the spring 15 around the shaft pin 14 as the center of rotation.
The latch piece 13a once escapes from the latch pin 7 in the clockwise direction. In this state, when the latch cam 13 is further lowered together with the plunger 8 and the latch piece 13a is displaced below the latch pin 7, the latch cam 13 is rotated counterclockwise by the force of the spring 15.

As a result, the latch piece 13a is engaged with the lower side of the latch pin 7 to be in the ON state, and the plunger 8 in this state is locked at the lower position where the optical fiber is clamped by the fiber holder 2.

When the plunger 8 is further depressed from the locked state, the latch piece 13a of the latch cam 13 is lowered from the engagement position with the latch pin 7. In this case, the latch cam 13 is cut and raised along the latch pin 7 and
b descends, but the cut and raised piece 13b is
The latch cam 13 is rotated by the force of the spring 15 to the unlocked position since the latch cam 13 is bent to the position where the latch cam 13 is not engaged.

In this state, when the pressing down of the plunger 8 is released, the plunger 8 is pushed up by the spring 9, the latch cam 13 rises over the latch pin 7, and the engagement of the clamp lever 6 with the engagement recess 8a of the plunger 8 is performed. When the projection 6a escapes and the fiber connection hole 3 is restored and expanded, the clamp of the optical fiber is released, and the optical fiber can be pulled out.

[0014]

The conventional cable holding device is configured as described above, and the fiber can be clamped and released by one-touch operation of pushing down the plunger 8, but there is a limit to miniaturization. Was. In particular, since the fiber holding portion 2 is pressed laterally to deform and clamp the fiber, and the latch cam 13 and the latch pin 7 are arranged on the side surface of the fiber holding portion, the plunger 8 and the like are moved in the horizontal direction. There is a problem that the width becomes wide and the width dimension cannot be reduced.

Further, both the clamping operation and the releasing operation are performed by pushing down the plunger 8, and since the difference in appearance between the clamped state and the released state is a slight vertical difference of the plunger, it is checked whether or not the clamped state is established. It was difficult and it was easy to make work mistakes.

Further, many parts such as the latch cam 13, the spring 15, the holding plate 16 and the like are required, so that the assembling workability is extremely deteriorated and the cost is increased.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is possible to hold and release the cable with one touch, but the size is reduced particularly in the width direction, and the operation state can be easily checked. An object is to obtain a cable holding device having a small number of parts.

[0018]

A cable holding device according to the present invention is provided with a cable holding portion which is deformed by external pressure and presses and clamps an inserted cable in a housing to which the cable is to be connected. An operation lever for pressing and deforming the cable holding portion by a protrusion integrally formed by movement is rotatably attached to the cable holding portion.

[0019]

The operation lever in the present invention presses and deforms the cable holding portion by the protrusion integrally formed by rotation, and presses and clamps the cable passed through the cable pressing hole. Then, when the operation lever is returned to the original angle, the cable holding portion is restored and the cable is released.

As described above, in the present invention, the cable holding portion is pressed by the operating lever and deformed to clamp the cable, so that it is not necessary to provide another part for clamping on the side surface of the cable holding portion. Further, the operation state corresponds to the angle of the operation lever.

[0021]

[Embodiment 1] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional side view showing the cable holding device of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the same device in a state where the optical fiber is clamped, FIG.
Is an overall perspective view of a photoelectric switch unit to which the device is applied, FIGS. 5 and 6 are exploded perspective views of the photoelectric switch unit to which the device is applied, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a cable holding portion of the device and an element holder in the photoelectric switch unit. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing a joined state of FIG.

4 and 5, reference numeral 21 denotes an upper case (housing) of the photoelectric switch unit, 22 denotes a lower case (housing) of the photoelectric switch unit into which the upper case 21 is fitted, and 23 denotes an optical fiber of the photoelectric switch unit. A cover for covering the connection portion, 24 is an element holder disposed on the optical fiber connection portion side in the cases 21 and 22, and 25 is a cover 2
A fiber holder (cable holder) provided in 3;
Reference numeral 26 denotes an operation lever provided above the fiber holder 23 in the cover 23, and reference numeral 27 denotes a spring that urges the operation lever in a direction to raise the operation lever. Here, the fiber holder 25, the operation lever 26, and the spring 27 mainly constitute the holding device of the present embodiment.

The cover 23 comprises an upper case 21 and a lower case 2
5 and 6, which are fitted and mounted to the assembly 2 and have insertion holes 23a and 23 through which optical fibers are inserted.
3a is provided. The element holder 24 holds a photoelectric switch element (not shown), and is fixed to a mounting plate 28 of the upper case 21.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 7, the fiber holder 25 includes a joining portion 29 into which the distal ends of the optical fibers F are inserted, and a clamp portion 30 through which the optical fibers F are inserted and clamped. Consisting of Connection holes 31, 31 into which the ends of the optical fibers F, F are inserted are formed in the joining portion 29, and the lower case 22 has a side portion between the connection holes 31, 31. A claw 32 is formed on the inner surface so as to resiliently engage with the inner surface. Further, the clamp portion 30 is formed coaxially with the connection holes 31, 31 and formed with clamp holes 32, 32 through which the optical fibers F, F are inserted, and the pressing portion 33 formed on the upper portion is pressed down. , The clamp holes 32, 32 are deformed so as to reduce the diameter in the vertical direction.

That is, the clamp holes 32, 32 are vertically divided by horizontal slits, and the upper portions (movable portions) and the lower portions of the clamp holes 32, 32 are formed only by the thin portions 34, 34 on one side.
(Fixed part) are connected. Also, the clamp holes 32,
An upper surface portion (movable portion) of the upper portion 32 is connected to the pressing portion 33 by a vertical plate portion 35 on the other side, and when the pressing portion 33 is pressed down, as shown by a chain line in FIG. 3
The upper surfaces of the clamp holes 32, 32 are displaced downward due to the flexure of the clamps 4, 34. The vertical plate 3
5, a projection 35a as shown in FIG. 3 is provided at the lower end of the lower clamp hole 32.
By contacting the (fixing portion) side, the clamp portion 30 of the fiber holder 25 is prevented from being excessively deformed. In addition, the vertical plate part 35 in this embodiment and
The pressing portion 33 corresponds to a force transmitting portion of the present invention.

This fiber holder 25 is
The lower case 22 and the element holder 24 are fixed to each other by being fitted into the assembly of the element holder 24 as shown in FIG. In this attached state, the joining portion 29 of the fiber holder 25 is joined to the element holder 24 in a spigot relationship, as shown in FIG. 7, to ensure high positioning accuracy.

The operation lever 26 has shaft portions 36 projecting from both side surfaces thereof, and the shaft portions 36 on both sides are rotatably inserted into the lever support plate portions 37 of the upper case 21 so as to be rotatable. It is attached to the upper part 25 so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. The operating lever 26 is formed with a lever portion 38 extending in the radial direction of the shaft portion 36 and a projecting portion 39 extending substantially perpendicularly to the lever portion 38 about the shaft portion 36. Lever part 38
On the opposite side, a relief plane portion 40 having an outer diameter smaller than that of the protruding portion 39 is formed.

The amount of protrusion of the projecting portion 39 of the operating lever 26 or the supporting position of the shaft portion 36 is determined when the projecting portion 39 is tilted as shown in FIGS. The clamp portion 30 is set so as to be pressed against the pressing portion 33 of the fiber holder 25 to deform as described above. The distance or the like of the clearance flat portion 40 of the operation lever 26 from the shaft portion 36 is determined by the fact that when the lever portion 38 is raised as shown in FIG. , So that the deformation of the clamp portion 30 is released to return to the free state.

The spring 27 is a helical spring attached to the shaft 36. One end of the spring 27 elastically contacts the inner surface of the lever 38 of the operating lever 26 and the other end elastically contacts the upper case 21 as shown in FIG. By contact, the operation lever 26 is urged in a direction to cause the operation lever 26. The urging torque of the spring 27 is such that the protrusion 39 is
When the clamp portion 30 is deformed as described above by pressing against the pressure lever 3, the frictional resistance is set to a value smaller than the frictional resistance for holding the operation lever 26 at that position.

Next, the operation will be described. To connect the optical fibers F, F to the photoelectric switch unit provided with the cable holding device, the insertion holes 23a, 2
With the optical fibers F, F inserted from 3a to the connection holes 31, 31, respectively, it is only necessary to tilt the operation lever 26. Then, as shown in FIG.
9 presses the press contact portion 33 of the fiber holder 25 (cable holding portion), whereby the clamp portion 30 of the fiber holder 25 is deformed and the inserted optical fibers F, F are firmly clamped. Then, when the operation lever 38 is raised to the original angle, the wrap portion 30 of the fiber holder 25 is restored and the optical fibers F, F are released.
The optical fibers F, F can be easily pulled out. In addition,
When the operation lever 26 is released at a halfway angle, the spring 27 pushes back to a position where the lever portion 38 of the operation lever 26 is directly above as shown in FIG.

As described above, in the above-described apparatus, the fiber holder 25 is pressed from above by the operation lever 26 provided above and deforms to clamp the optical fiber. There is no need to provide parts. Therefore, the size can be reduced particularly in the width direction, and as a result, the entire photoelectric switch can be made extremely slim as shown in FIG. Also,
Since the fiber holding function can be constituted by a few components such as the fiber holder 25, the operation lever 26, and the spring 27,
Cost reduction can be achieved in terms of both assembly cost and parts cost.
Further, the operating state can be seen at a glance depending on whether the operating lever 26 is up or down, and the operating lever 26
Does not stop at a halfway position, so that fiber connection work defects can be reduced.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the cable holding portion is deformed and the cable is attached and detached by raising and lowering the operation lever, the size can be reduced particularly in the width direction. By reducing the number of parts, costs can be reduced from both the assembly cost and the parts cost. Furthermore, since the operating state can be seen at a glance depending on whether the operation lever is raised or collapsed, there is an effect that the operation failure of the fiber connection can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a cable holding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the cable holding device according to the embodiment of the present invention in a state where an optical fiber is clamped.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a deformation of a cable holding portion in the cable holding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the photoelectric switch unit to which the cable holding device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the photoelectric switch unit to which the cable holding device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the photoelectric switch unit to which the cable holding device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a joint state of a cable holding portion and an element holder in a photoelectric switch unit in the cable holding device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional cable holding device.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing a main part of a conventional cable holding device.

FIG. 10 is a front sectional view showing a conventional cable holding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Upper case (housing) 22 Lower case (housing) 25 Cable holding part (fiber holder) 26 Operation lever 39 Projecting part

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-203709 (JP, A) JP-A-63-119816 (JP, U) JP-A-4-94232 (JP, U) JP-A-4-98232 (JP) , U) Japanese Utility Model 4-40438 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 6-41066 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 5-90413 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 4-23035 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 5-25149 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/00 H01H 35/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A cable is provided in a housing to which a cable is to be connected,
A cable holding portion that deforms under external pressure and presses and clamps a cable passed through the cable insertion hole, and is rotatably attached to the housing so as to face the cable holding portion, and is integrally formed with a predetermined angle of rotation. An operating lever for pressing and deforming the cable holding portion by the projecting portion, wherein the cable holding portion has a fixing portion arranged in a direction parallel to a direction in which the projecting portion presses , and one end. Is connected to the fixed part
And, the protruding by the cable is arranged to confront the fixed portion in cooperation with said fixed portion connecting the movable portion for clamping, the other end of the movable part, operating the operating lever And a force transmitting section for displacing the movable section in a direction pressed by the section .