JPS592327Y2 - Drive cable - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention is based on drive cables, particularly window regulator mechanisms that raise and lower automobile door window glasses, drive mechanisms that move the anchor position of passive seat belts, and sliding ceilings such as sunroofs. This invention relates to improvements to drive cables used in slide mechanisms, etc.

As a conventional drive cable of this type, for example, the first
There are some as shown in Figures 4 to 4.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a conventional wire-type window regulator, in which a window glass 2 of a door 1 is fitted into a window sash fixed to a door inner panel 5 so as to be vertically slidable.

The window regulator mechanism for raising and lowering the window glass 2 along the window sash 3 is incorporated in the inner space 7 of the door 1 between the door inner panel 5 and the door outer panel 6, except for its regulator bundle 4. , the regulator mechanism shown is a guide plate 9 fixed to the lower end of the windshield 2 by a screw 8.
, a guide rail 10 to which the guide plate 9 is slidably engaged and guided, and a drive cable 11 connected to the guide plate 9.

When the window glass 2 shown as a flat plate in the figure has a curvature, the guide rail 10 is curved approximately equal to the curvature of the window glass 2, and is arranged parallel to the window sash 3 and attached to the door by the mounting bracket 12. It is fixed to the inner panel 5.

The drive cable 11 includes a rigid metal guide tube 14 fixed to the door inner panel 5 by a mounting bracket 13, a flexible cable 15 slidably passed through the tube, and a resin member 21 to be described later. This flexi cable 15 consists of a projecting cable 1 around a flexible strand cable 16.
7 is spirally wound to form a rack, a drive pinion 1B rotated by the regulator bundle 4 is engaged with this rack, and a connecting fitting 19 fixed to the flexible cable 15 extends in the length direction of the guide tube 14. It is fixed to the guide plate 9 of the window glass 2 through a slit 20.

With this configuration, by rotating the pinion 18 via the regulator bundle 4, the flexible cable 15 is slid in the length direction within the guide tube, and the guide plate 9 is pulled up or down to be attached to the guide rail 10. The window glass 2 is opened and closed by raising and lowering the windshield 2 along the windshield.

The guide tube 14 is made of a thin steel plate whose surface has been subjected to anti-corrosion treatment such as galvanizing, and is formed continuously along the length to have a circular cross section (at least a portion thereof requires a slit 20).
A resin member 21, such as nylon, which is highly wear-resistant and has good sliding properties is fixed to the inner surface of the guide tube 14 so that it has almost the same wall thickness as the guide tube 14. are doing.

Further, on the inner surface of the resin member 21, a large number of protrusions 22 are provided that face inward and continuously extend in the longitudinal direction of the tube.
It is formed integrally with 1 and protrudes.

The inner diameter defined by these many protrusions 22 is approximately the same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the flexible cable 15.

As the material for the resin member 21, engineering plastics such as polyamide-based resins such as nylon or nylon containing molybdenum disulfide, and polyacetal-based resins such as Duracon (registered trademark) and Chirulin (registered trademark) are used.

The resin member 21 can be easily fixed to the metal guide tube 14 by coating the inner surface of the tube with the adhesive 23 and forming it into a circular shape by cold roll forming, and then passing it through a resin extrusion die. There is.

By providing a large number of protrusions 22 in the longitudinal direction on the inner surface of the resin member 21, the flexible cable 15 has the protrusions 22.
It is supported by line or point contact with the tip and slides smoothly.

However, in such a conventional drive cable 11, although the protrusion 22 is provided on the inner surface of the resin member 21, there is a curved portion P as shown in FIG. The cable 15 is eccentric from the center of the guide tube 14 by an eccentric amount e shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the tip of the protrusion 22 is crushed and the sliding frictional resistance R (or reaction force) between the resin member 21 and the flexible cable 15 suddenly increases with respect to the eccentricity e as shown in Figure 7. It was increasing.

Therefore, the tighter the curve of the curved portion P, the more the eccentricity e
becomes large, the sliding frictional resistance R becomes large, and as a result, the regulator handle 4 becomes difficult to operate, and the windshield 2 cannot be smoothly raised or lowered.

Therefore, this invention was made by focusing on such conventional problems, and instead of the conventional resin member with many protrusions protruding toward the center, it is made to protrude at an angle. It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a drive cable with a structure in which the flexible cable is supported on the side surface of the protrusion.

This invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment of this invention, and its structure is such that a resin member 21 is fixed to the inside of a metal guide tube 14 with an adhesive 23, and a flexible cable 15 is slidably attached to the inside of the metal guide tube 14. Although the mounting points are the same as those shown in FIG. 4, the protrusions 22 and 24 protruding from the resin member 21 are different.

Although the conventional protrusion 22 was provided protruding toward the center of the force-guide tube and supported the flexible cable 15 at its tip, the protrusion 24 of this invention is protruded obliquely in the circumferential direction. A flexible cable 15 is supported on the side.

If we pay attention to one of the protrusions 24, its supporting state is exactly like that of the flexible cable 15 when a resilient cantilever beam is supported.
The protrusion 24 flexibly supports the flexible cable 15 as a whole.

The protrusions 24 may be continuous in the longitudinal direction of the guide tube, or may be partially protruding and inclined in the circumferential direction.

Next, as shown in FIG.
When the guide tube 14 and the resin member 2 are bent and attached as shown in FIG.
1 and the center of the flexible cable 15 are eccentric.

The state in which the protrusions 24 support the flexible cable 15 almost uniformly as shown in FIG. 5 changes to the state in which the protrusions 24 on one side are largely bent as shown in FIG.

If we plot how the sliding frictional resistance R of the flexible cable 15 changes with respect to the eccentricity e, it changes almost linearly as shown in FIG. 8 until it reaches a large eccentricity.

In this respect, unlike the conventional protrusion 22 shown in FIG. 7 that protrudes toward the center, the sliding frictional resistance R does not increase in a quadratic or cubic curve.

As explained above, according to this invention, the driving cable has a structure in which the protruding stripes of the resin member protrude obliquely in the circumferential direction and support the flexible cable 15 on the side surfaces of the protruding stripes. Even if the flexible cable is installed in a curved manner, the sliding frictional resistance is small and the flexible cable slides smoothly.

Therefore, when this drive cable is used in a window regulator mechanism, the regulator bundle can be easily operated and the windshield can be raised and lowered smoothly.

Furthermore, since the flexible cable is not supported at the tip of the protrusion, but is supported elastically on the side of the protrusion, the sliding friction resistance is reduced, and the wear resistance of the protrusion is also good, resulting in a longer service life. arise incidentally.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view of an automobile window regulator, which is a typical application example of a conventional drive cable, Fig. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the conventional drive cable shown in Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 3 with some parts omitted, showing a state in which the flexible cable of the conventional drive cable is eccentric, and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible cable of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4, with some parts omitted, of the drive cable according to the present invention, FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is a flexible cable of the conventional drive cable. FIG. 8 is a diagram similar to FIG. 7 of the drive cable according to the present invention, which shows the relationship between the amount of eccentricity and sliding frictional resistance when the cable is eccentric. 11... Drive cable, 14... Guide tube, 15... Flexible cable, 21... Resin member, 22, 24...
Projection.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A guide tube, a resin member fixed inside the guide tube and having a number of protrusions protruding from the inside extending in the longitudinal direction of the tube, and a sliding member on the inside of the resin member. A drive cable comprising a flexible cable movably inserted through the drive cable, characterized in that the protrusion of the resin member projects obliquely in the circumferential direction, and supports the flexible cable on the side surface of the protrusion. drive cable.