JPH07211150A - Protective tool for flat cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a flat cable protecting tool which protects the folded-back part of a flat cable, with which folding-back can be made at any desired angle to offer a good versatility. CONSTITUTION:A protection plate 2 is formed from insulative flexible members to be fixed to the front and rear surfaces of a flat cable 4 in the orientation alongside the cable 4 and fitted with the first clamp 8 and second clamp 11 which are arranged symmetrically at the two ends of this plate 2 and penetrate it outward from the cable mounting surfaces 5a, 5b. The first clamp is fitted in the first panel mounting hole furnished in the panel face, and upon folding back the protection plate 2, the second clamp 11 is fitted in the second panel mounting hole, and the angle is setto any desired value.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat cable protector capable of insulating and protecting a flat cable and folding the flat cable at an arbitrary angle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A flat cable is a flexible sheet coated with a conductive circuit, and has recently come to be used for electrical wiring of automobiles and the like. This flat cable cannot be bent on the same plane, and it is common to fold and use the flat cable to bend and use a circuit. However, if this flat cable is folded and used, there is a risk that the insulating sheet may be damaged and electrical leakage may occur. Therefore, conventionally, for the purpose of protecting the folded portion, for example, two isosceles triangular protective plates were created and addressed. Connect the bases of the isosceles triangles to each other, align the folded back lines of the folded flat cable with the bases, and sandwich the flat cables from both sides to extend the flat cable from the two sides of the isosceles triangle. I used the protective equipment of the made structure.

However, in the wiring in the above state using this protector, when a tensile external force is applied to the projected flat cable, the folded flat cable deviates from the bottom side and is strongly sandwiched by the protective plate, resulting in disconnection. There was a risk of doing it. Therefore, in recent years, a proposal according to Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-21131 has been made. In this proposal, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the protector includes two substantially triangular protective plates 41a,
41b and a thin-walled hinge portion 42 interconnecting these protective plates are integrally provided, and the folded-back portion 43a of the flat cable 43 is housed in the space formed by the thin-walled hinge portion 42, and the flat cable 43
The overlapping portion 44 of (1) is sandwiched between the protection plates 41a and 41b for protection. In addition, as shown in FIG.
2 is provided with a bar-shaped guide bar 46, and the folded-back portion 43a
It has also been proposed to protect the (see FIG. 8) by folding back the guide bar 46 with a gentle curvature. The two protective plates 41a and 41b were connected to each other by the engaging means 45a and 45b provided at the apexes.

[0004]

However, when the above-mentioned flat cable protector is used, the flat cable must be bent in advance and the folded-back portion must be sandwiched between the hinge portions, so that the assembly work is troublesome. There's a problem. Further, in the case where the guide bar is provided, one end of the flat cable bent in advance by a jig or the like must be dipped between the guide bar and the hinge part and moved to the folded part of the flat cable. There is a problem in workability like the one,
Since the guide bar is configured to support at one point, there is a problem in strength.

A further decisive problem is that the flat cable protector having the above structure is not versatile for changing the bending angle because the bending angle of the flat cable is constant. That is, in the conventional structure, it is necessary to prepare different protectors depending on the bending angle, which causes an increase in cost due to an increase in the number of parts.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a flat cable protector which can be mounted by sandwiching the flat cable without previously providing the flat cable with the folding portion and setting the folding angle arbitrarily. Therefore, the object is to improve the assembly workability and to significantly reduce the cost by reducing the number of parts.

[0007]

The structure of a flat cable protector according to the present invention for achieving the above object is formed by insulating flexible members attached to the front and back sides along the longitudinal direction of the flat cable. Two protective plates, the protective plates being openably and closably connected to each other, and having locking means for fixing and holding the flat cable at least on the cable mounting surface of the first protective plate, and
The second protection plate and the second protection plate are folded back at an arbitrary angle.

Further, the flat cable protector has a clamp projecting at least on the cable mounting rear surface of the first protection plate, and the second protection plate is disposed in contact with the panel surface, and at the same time, the second protection plate is provided. The first protective plate may be folded back on the plate and the clamp may be fitted into the panel mounting hole to be set and held at an arbitrary angle.

The flat cable protector is provided at least on the cable mounting surface of the first protective plate, is provided on a tape for adhering the flat cable, and is provided on one end of the cable mounting surface. A first clamp penetrating through the first protective plate and protruding toward the cable mounting rear surface and fitted into a first panel mounting hole provided in the panel, and the first clamp on the cable mounting surface of the second protective plate. Is provided at an end portion opposite to the attachment side of the second protection plate, penetrates through the second protection plate, and projects to the rear surface of the cable attachment of the second protection plate,
A second clamp fitted into a second panel mounting hole provided in the panel, the first and second clamps in a state in which the first protection plate is superposed on the second protection plate. It is desirable that each of them be fitted into the first and second panel mounting holes and be folded back at an arbitrary angle.

Further, in the first clamp, it is preferable that a locking rib for restricting the position of the flat cable is provided on the back surface of the base having the clamp claw.

In the flat cable protector, protective plates are arranged on the front and back sides along the longitudinal direction of the flat cable, and the protective plate is integrally molded with the flat cable by an insulating flexible member and folded back at an arbitrary angle. It may be characterized by being performed.

[0012]

[Operation] The flat cable protector of the present invention having the above-described structure is configured so that the flat cable is aligned with the locking ribs provided on the cable mounting surface, and the flat plate is provided with the first protective plate and the second protective plate. After sandwiching with, it is folded back at an arbitrary angle. As a result, the folded portion of the flat cable is completely protected, and the locking ribs provided on the cable mounting surface and the adhesive surface prevent displacement in the protector.

Further, for example, the first clamp of the first protective plate is inserted and fitted into the first panel mounting hole of the panel surface for mounting and fixing the protector, and the second clamp of the second protective plate is attached. By folding back the first and second protection plates in an overlapping state and inserting and fitting them in the second panel mounting hole, the flat cable is folded back without being damaged and is wired along a predetermined path. Since the second panel mounting hole with respect to the first panel mounting hole can be formed with a degree of freedom, such a flat cable protector has a degree of freedom in bending angle.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a flat cable protector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a flat cable protective device, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the protective device before a flat cable is attached. 3 is a side view of the protector with the flat cable attached, and FIG.
Each of the enlarged side views showing the mounting state of the clamp is shown.

In FIG. 1, the flat cable protector 1 comprises a rectangular plate-shaped first protective plate 2a and a second protective plate 2b provided in the vertical direction in the drawing, and the longitudinal direction (lateral direction). The end faces of are connected to each other via a hinge 3 so as to be openable and closable. These first and second protection plates 2a and 2b are separately provided and can be connected by a hinge,
Alternatively, it may be provided by integral molding including a hinge,
In any case, the protection plates 2a, 2b when they are overlapped
The length in the vertical direction is larger than the width of the flat cable 4. Further, the protective plates 2a and 2b are formed of an insulating flexible member, and in particular, those integrally molded have a structure in which they are not cut even if they are folded in two.

The first and second protective plates 2a, 2b are formed with smooth flat cable mounting surfaces 5a, 5b for sandwiching the flat cable 4 on their opposing inner side surfaces which are superposed on each other. Cable attachment surfaces 5a, 5b
A mounting step 6a formed in the vertical direction at the diagonal end of
6b are provided respectively. These mounting steps 6a, 6b
A pair of through holes 7a and 7b are formed at both upper and lower end portions of the through hole 7a so as to sandwich the mounting step portions 6a and 6b.
A first clamp 8 and a second clamp 11, which will be described later, are attached to the a and 7b and the attachment steps 6a and 6b, respectively. Double-sided tape 9 is attached to each mounting step 6a, 6b.
a and 9b are attached, and the clamps 8 and 11 are adhesively fixed.

The first clamp 8 and the second clamp 11
Includes a base 12 that is dropped into each of the mounting step portions 6a and 6b described above, and a pair of clamp claws 15 that are vertically provided on one surface of the base 12.
As shown in FIG. 4, the clamp claw 15 is a claw provided with a downwardly widened portion on both sides of a pillar 16 projecting from the base 12, and has an elastic force. Therefore, when the clamps 8 and 11 are fitted into, for example, a panel mounting hole for mounting the protective equipment, the clamp claw 15 elastically deforms and contracts inward, and returns by passing through the opening edge of the panel mounting hole. , Can be fixedly locked to the panel. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the first clamp 8 is provided with locking ribs 13 at upper and lower positions on the base 12 corresponding to the cable mounting surface 5a. This locking rib 1
Locking holes 3 are provided at intervals slightly narrower than the lateral width of the flat cable 4 and have a protrusion height approximately equal to the thickness of the flat cable 4 and open in the flat cable 4 (see FIG. 2). The flat cable 4 can be positionally regulated at a predetermined position of the first protection plate 2a by being fitted into the.

In the first clamp 8 and the second clamp 11 having the above-described structure, the base 12 is fitted into the mounting step portions 6a and 6b of each protection plate 2, and the support columns 16 are opposed inner surfaces of each protection plate 2. Through hole 7 so that it protrudes more toward the rear of the cable
When it is inserted through a and 7b, the base 12 becomes the double-sided tape 9a,
It is adhesively held by 9b and the clamp claw 15 projects. The locking rib 13 of the first clamp 8 projects above the cable mounting surface 5a. On the other hand, the base 1 of the second clamp 11
When 2 is stored in the mounting step portion 6b, the cable mounting surface 5
It is flat with b.

In the protector 1 constructed as described above, the two protective plates 2a and 2b are opened, the locking holes 14 of the flat cable 4 are fitted into the locking ribs 13, and the flat cable 4 is inserted.
On the first protection plate 2a, and then the first protection plate 2a
By superimposing and closing the second protection plate 2b on a, the flat cable 4 is attached to the front and back surfaces along the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. The first clamp 8 and the second clamp 11 are provided so as to project from the front and back surfaces of the flat cable 4, respectively.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the protector 1 attached to the flat cable 4 is folded back at an arbitrary angle according to the route of the cable and attached to the panel surface 17 or the like. That is, when the protector 1 is folded back, the first clamp 8 and the second clamp 11 are located on the same surface side with respect to the surface of the cable 4. Therefore, the first panel mounting hole 18 and the second panel mounting hole 18 are provided at predetermined positions on the panel surface 17 in advance according to these clamp positions.
The panel mounting hole 19 is opened, the first clamp 8 is first press-fitted into the first mounting hole 18, and then the protective plate 2 is folded back to attach the second clamp 11 to the second mounting hole. By press-fitting into the hole 19, the flat cable 4 can be folded back at an arbitrary angle, and the flat cable 4 can be attached to the panel surface 17 while protecting the insulation.

In the above example, the first clamp 8 and the second clamp 11 are both provided, but
As can be seen from FIG. 5, for example, before the flat cable 4 is folded back, if the position of the flat cable 4 is regulated with respect to the panel surface 17 by some position regulating means, only the clamp on the folded and superposed side is used. In the illustrated case, the first clamp 8 can be dispensed with as the second clamp 11 only. In addition, the folding angle of the protector 1 is the first panel mounting hole 1
8 can be freely changed by setting the position of the second panel mounting hole 19.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the flat cable protector 1A according to the present invention. In the flat cable protector 1A, a protective plate 2 made of an insulative flexible member is integrally formed along the longitudinal direction of the flat cable 4. The other parts of the configuration are similar to those of the previous embodiment. Since the protector 1A is integrally formed and mounted as described above, the workability of mounting on the panel at the site is remarkably improved, and the cable strength of the folded portion is improved to enhance the safety.

[0023]

As described above in detail, in the flat cable protector of the present invention, the first and second protection plates are attached along the flat cable, and the first protection plate is provided with the first protection plate. The clamp is pressed into the mounting hole, and then the second clamp is folded back inside the protective plate to be attached. Therefore, the flat cable can be sandwiched between two protective plates without a folded portion in advance, and the bending angle can be set arbitrarily. It has the feature that it can be set and installed, and it has general versatility, and it is possible to secure sufficient safety and to reduce the cost by drastically reducing the man-hours and the number of parts.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a developed perspective view of a flat cable protector showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the flat cable protector of FIG. 1 in a state before being mounted.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the flat cable protector of FIG. 1 in a mounted state.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of the first clamp.

5 is a plan view showing a panel mounting state of the flat cable protector of FIG. 3. FIG.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a developed perspective view of a conventional example.

8 is an assembly diagram of FIG. 7. FIG.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1A Protective tool for flat cable 2 Protective plate 3 Hinge 4 Flat cable 5 Cable mounting surface 8 First clamp 10 Tape 11 Second clamp 17 Panel surface 18 First panel mounting hole 19 Second panel mounting hole

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A pair of protective plates formed of insulating flexible members attached to the front and back sides along the longitudinal direction of a flat cable, wherein the protective plates are openably and closably connected to each other, and at least The first protection plate has locking means for fixing and holding the flat cable on the cable mounting surface, and the first and second
A protective device for a flat cable, characterized in that the protective plates of are folded back at an arbitrary angle in a stacked state. 2. A clamp projecting at least on a cable mounting rear surface of the first protection plate, the second protection plate being disposed in contact with a panel surface, and the second protection plate being provided with the first protection plate. 2. The flat cable protector according to claim 1, wherein the protective plate is folded back in a state of being overlapped, and the clamp is inserted into a panel mounting hole and set and held at an arbitrary angle. 3. A tape provided on at least the cable mounting surface of the first protection plate, a tape for adhering a flat cable, and one end of the cable mounting surface, the first protection plate being provided from the cable mounting surface side. A first clamp penetrating and projecting to the rear surface of the cable mounting and fitted into a first panel mounting hole formed in the panel, and a cable mounting surface of the second protective plate opposite to the mounting side of the first clamp. A second clamp that is provided at an end portion that penetrates the second protection plate, protrudes to the rear surface of the second protection plate for cable attachment, and is fitted into a second panel mounting hole provided in the panel. And the second
The first and second clamps are fitted into the first and second panel mounting holes, respectively, in a state where the first protection plate is overlapped with the first protection plate, and are folded back at an arbitrary angle. The flat cable protector according to claim 1. 4. The flat cable protector according to claim 3, wherein the first clamp is provided with a locking rib for restricting the position of the flat cable on a back surface of a base having a clamp claw. . 5. A flat plate, wherein protective plates are provided on the front and back sides along the longitudinal direction of the flat cable, and the protective plate is integrally molded with the flat cable by an insulating flexible member and folded back at an arbitrary angle. Cable protective equipment.