JPH0223728B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a technology for improving cable connectors, particularly connectors used to connect cables to each other.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, cables used in, for example, parking brake devices of automobiles are routed from the operating lever on the driver's seat to the parking brake mechanism. The cable extending from the operating lever and the cable extending from the parking brake mechanism are connected via a connector.

In this case, since the cable is passed through a confined space, the connector is required to be small and lightweight.

As a conventional cable connector, for example,
The one shown in the figure is known.

This conventional cable connector B has connecting wall surfaces 50 and 52 formed opposite to each other in the narrow width direction, and
Locking wall surfaces 54 and 56 are formed facing each other in the wide width direction, and an insertion hole 58 for a caulking piece is formed in one of the connecting wall surfaces 50, and from the insertion hole 58 to the center of the locking wall surfaces 54 and 56, respectively, in the opposite direction. The structure was such that cable guide grooves 60 and 62 were formed so as to extend from one side to the other.

In order to connect the cables 70 and 72 using this cable connector B, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. Turn it sideways and attach the caulking piece 74 to the locking wall surface 54.
It is designed to engage with the inner surface of the

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in this conventional cable connector B, the insertion hole 58 for the caulking piece is provided only on one connecting wall surface 50, and the insertion hole 58 in the other connecting wall surface 52 is connected to the insertion hole 58 in the other connecting wall surface 52. Since the opposing position is a wall, in order to insert the caulking piece through the insertion hole 58 and tilt it sideways, the connecting wall surfaces 50, 5
It was necessary to widen the facing interval _T1 between the two.

In particular, the caulking piece has a protrusion 7 at the tip of the cable to strengthen the caulking to the cable.
8 with a margin of about 2 mm, and due to the existence of this protrusion 78, the above-mentioned facing interval _T1 must be widened.
This had become an obstacle to making the product smaller and lighter.

In addition, in this cable connector B, the cable guide grooves 60 and 62 are formed in the same direction on the locking walls 54 and 56 (downward in FIG. When this occurs, as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, the connector B as a whole is biased downward, and as a result, there is a problem in that it gets caught or interferes with surrounding parts, which impedes the operation of the cable.

In addition, as a means of making it easier to incorporate the caulking piece while keeping the facing distance between the connecting walls narrow,
It is possible to make the insertion hole larger in diameter, but this would reduce the strength of the connecting wall by the larger diameter of the insertion hole. A problem arises in that the caulking piece easily comes off from the hole.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the conventional art, and as a technical means for that purpose, in the present invention, connecting wall surfaces are formed facing each other in the narrow width direction. At the same time, a locking wall surface is formed opposite to the wide direction perpendicular to the facing direction of the connecting wall surface, and a circular crimping piece for inserting a cylindrical caulking piece fixed to the tip of the cable is formed on the one connecting wall surface. An insertion hole is formed, and a cable guide groove is formed extending from the insertion hole to approximately the center of one of the locking wall surfaces, and a cable guide groove is formed in the other connecting wall surface, opposite to the insertion hole, for a crimping piece. An insertion hole is formed, and a cable guide groove is formed extending from the insertion hole to approximately the center of the other locking wall surface.

(Function) Therefore, in the cable connector of the present invention, insertion holes for the caulking pieces are formed facing each other in both connection walls, and cable guide grooves extend from each of the insertion holes. Therefore, when inserting the caulking piece through the insertion hole and tilting it sideways, interference between the caulking piece and the connecting wall surface can be avoided by both insertion holes, and especially the protrusion at the tip of the cable can be avoided. can be allowed to escape through cable guide grooves formed on the opposing connecting wall surfaces.

Furthermore, since the cable guide grooves are oriented in opposite directions on both locking wall surfaces, even if the cable becomes slack, the coupling tool can be biased only on one side with respect to the cable.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, a cable connector A used in a parking brake device P of an automobile will be described as an example.

In the parking brake device P, an operating lever 2 and a parking brake mechanism 6 built into a drum brake 4 are connected by a control cable 8, and the operating force applied to the operating lever 2 is transmitted to the parking brake mechanism 6 via the control cable 8. The structure is such that braking is applied to the drum brake 4 by transmitting the signal (FIG. 5).

The control cable 8 has two cables 10 and 12 connected in the middle due to the wiring. In this case, the cable 12 has one end connected to the operating lever 2, and the other end connects to the parking brake mechanism 6. The cable 10 is connected via a cable connector A (hereinafter referred to as a "connector").

Incidentally, cylindrical caulking pieces 14 and 16 for connection are fixed to the tips of the cables 10 and 12, respectively, and in this case, the caulking pieces 14 and 16 are attached to the tips of the cables 10 and 12 by about 2 mm. This is a means for securing the crimp strength of the crimp pieces 14, 16 against the cables 10, 12.

The connecting tool A is formed into a rectangular endless shape made by cutting a flat square pipe material into ring shapes, and the wall surfaces facing each other in the narrow width direction are connecting wall surfaces 20 and 22, and the opposite direction of the connecting wall surfaces 20 and 22 is The wall surfaces perpendicular to the wide direction are the locking wall surfaces 24 and 26, and a circular insert for the crimping piece 14 with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the crimping pieces 14 and 16 is inserted into the center of the one connecting wall surface 20. A hole 28 is formed, and the connecting wall surface 2 is inserted from this one insertion hole 28.
0 to the center of one locking wall surface 24, and a cable guide groove 30 is formed in the center of the other connecting wall surface 22, opposite to the insertion hole 28, for the crimping piece 16. An insertion hole 32 is formed, and a cable guide groove 34 is formed extending from the insertion hole 32 through the connecting wall surface 22 to the center of the other locking wall surface 26 (FIG. 1).

Generally, when the vehicle is a right-hand drive vehicle, the cable 12 extending from the operating lever 2 passes through the side of the engine cover 36 and then passes through the floor 40 to reach the rear, as shown in FIG. When the cable 12 is routed as shown in FIG. After turning it sideways at the upper edge, the engine cover 36 is passed through the side of the engine cover 36 and penetrated through the floor 40 as in the case of the right-hand drive.

The sideways portion of the cable 12 when applied to the left steering wheel is held by a holder 38 that is integrally formed on the upper edge of the engine cover 36. This has the advantage that it can be molded integrally with the holder 38, and that the time and effort required to attach the holder 38 can be omitted.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

Using the connector A of this embodiment, the cables 10, 1
2, as shown in FIG.
4 and 16 are engaged with the inner surfaces of the locking walls 24 and 26, respectively, and both cables 10 and 12 are tensioned.

In this case, for example, in order to engage one of the caulking pieces 14 with one of the locking wall surfaces 24, the caulking pieces 14 are inserted into the interior through the insertion holes 28 formed in one of the connecting wall surfaces 20, and then the cable 10 is inserted into the cable guide. By turning the crimping piece 14 horizontally while following the groove 30, the crimping piece 14 is laid down sideways, and the crimping piece 14 in the sideways state is placed on one of the locking wall surfaces 24.
(Fig. 3).

At this time, in this embodiment, both connecting wall surfaces 20,
Insertion holes 28 and 32 are formed in opposite directions in 22, respectively, and are larger in diameter than the caulking piece 14, and cable guide grooves 30 and 34 are formed extending in opposite directions from both insertion holes 28 and 32, respectively. The interference between the connecting wall surfaces 20, 22 and the diagonal corners caused by the inclination of the crimping piece 14 due to the installation and sideways movement of the crimping piece 14 is due to the gap between the insertion hole 28 and the crimping piece 14, and the insertion of the other one. It can escape through the gap between the hole 32 and the caulking piece 14 and the insertion holes 28, 32, and the protrusion 18 of the cable 14 can also escape through the cable guide groove 34 formed on the opposing connecting wall surface 22. .

Therefore, in this embodiment, there is no need to widen the facing interval T between the connecting walls 20 and 22 in order to prevent interference with the caulking piece 14 or catching on the protrusion 18 during cable connection work, and the connection can be made by that much. Tool A can be made smaller and lighter.

In addition, in the connector A of the embodiment, the locking wall surfaces 24, 2
Since the directions of the cable guide grooves 30 and 34 at 6 are opposite, even if the cables 10 and 12 become slack and the engagement between the caulking pieces 14 and 16 and the locking walls 24 and 26 sag, As shown in FIG. 4, one locking wall surface 26 with respect to the cable 12 is locked by the back wall of the cable guide groove 34, and compared to the overall deviation,
It is possible to get away with biasing only one side.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention may be modified without departing from the gist of the invention. included in the technical scope of

For example, in the embodiment, a coupling device used in a parking brake device of an automobile is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to any coupling device for connecting cables to each other.

Further, the size of the insertion hole is preferably made as large as possible, taking into consideration the ease with which the caulking piece can come off and the strength of the connector.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, when the crimping piece engages, both insertion holes release interference with the crimping piece, and prevent the cable from getting caught on the protruding end of the cable. The cable guide groove formed on the connecting wall surface allows the cable to escape, and when the cable hangs, the connector can be prevented from shifting to only one side.

This makes it possible to reduce the size and weight of the connector, thereby preventing interference with other components when installed in a confined space, and ensuring smooth operation of the cable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cable connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of cables connected to each other using the cable connector, and FIG. 3 is a process of connecting the cable connector. 4th cross-sectional view showing
5 is a perspective view of a parking brake device using the cable connector, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional cable connector, and FIG. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of cables connected using a conventional cable connector, Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the process of connecting the conventional cable connector, and Figure 9 is a cable of the conventional cable connector. FIG. A: Cable connector, 10: Cable, 12:
cable, 14: caulking piece, 16: caulking piece, 20: connecting wall surface, 22: connecting wall surface, 24:
Locking wall surface, 26: Locking wall surface, 28: Insertion hole, 3
0: Cable guide groove, 32: Insertion hole, 34: Cable guide groove.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Connecting wall surfaces are formed opposite to each other in the narrow width direction, and locking wall surfaces are formed opposite to each other in the wide width direction perpendicular to the opposing direction of the connecting wall surfaces, and on the one connecting wall surface. A circular insertion hole is formed for inserting a cylindrical caulking piece fixed to the tip of the cable, and a cable guide groove is formed extending from the insertion hole to approximately the center of one of the locking wall surfaces. , and on the other connecting side surface, an insertion hole for a caulking piece is formed opposite to the insertion hole, and a cable guide groove is formed extending from the insertion hole to approximately the center of the other locking wall surface. A cable connector characterized by: