JPS6354938B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable, for example, to automatically open/close sliding doors used in vehicles such as automobiles, or to automatically reciprocate other members. If a cable that runs back and forth, used for
This invention relates to a device that is maintained in a constant state of tension.

[Prior Art] For example, in an automatic sliding door opening/closing device used for automobiles, etc., which automatically opens and closes a sliding door using a cable that runs back and forth, the cable tends to stretch due to aging. If this occurs and the cable becomes loose, the sliding door movement timing will be delayed from the originally set time, and there is a possibility that the sliding door will not be able to be opened and closed reliably.

As a means to prevent such cable loosening,
Conventionally, it has been known to install a tension coil spring or the like between both ends of the cable, but with this method alone, if a large traction force is applied to the cable,
This has the disadvantage that the tension coil spring is stretched and the cable becomes loose.

In particular, in the automatic opening/closing device for a sliding door for an automobile as described above, a large tractive force is applied to the cables to move the sliding door, so the above-mentioned means alone cannot adequately cope with the problem.

As a means to eliminate such drawbacks, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-15777 or Japanese Utility Model Application No. 15777
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 58-17473.

The devices disclosed in these publications are used in automobile window regulators to prevent loosening of the cables used to raise and lower window glass. The rotating drums (pulleys) are disposed coaxially, and a pair of ratchet teeth that mesh with each other are provided on their opposing end surfaces, so that both rotating drums can rotate relative to each other in only one direction, If the cable becomes loose, both rotary drums rotate relative to each other in rotatable directions when the cable is wound up and unwound to remove the slack.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

According to the means disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, in order to allow both ratchet teeth to rotate relative to each other in one direction, one rotating drum is moved so that the peaks of both ratchet teeth can overcome each other. It must be able to move in the axial direction relative to the other rotating drum by the height of the ratchet teeth, which makes the structure complex and increases the axial thickness of the rotating drum. Therefore, there is a problem that the entire device becomes larger.

That is, in the above device, in the axial direction of the rotary drum, at least the thickness of both rotary drums themselves, the thickness of both ratchet teeth, and the axis of at least one of the rotary drums necessary for both ratchet teeth to move forward. The minimum required thickness is the amount of movement in the direction.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology, and its purpose is to make the entire device smaller, particularly thinner, and to have a simple structure and easy manufacturing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for preventing loosening of cables that can reciprocate.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the device for preventing loosening of a cable that reciprocates according to the present invention has serrated teeth provided on the inner circumferential surface of a rotating drum, engages with the teeth, and has a diameter of the rotating drum. by being elastically displaced in the direction, so as to be able to rotate in only one direction along the teeth;
A ratchet mechanism is constituted by a pawl member provided in the rotating drum, and a biasing means is provided for biasing the pawl member in a rotatable direction. The cable is characterized in that one end of the cable, which is made to reciprocate by being twisted, passes through the rotating drum and is fixed to the pawl member from a direction in which the pawl member cannot rotate. .

[Effect]

According to the device of the present invention, when the cable becomes loose, the pawl member is rotated step by step in the rotatable direction along the inner surface of the serrated teeth by the biasing force of the biasing means. Accordingly, the cable is drawn into the rotating drum, and the slack in the cable is removed.

〔Example〕

1 to 5 show a first embodiment in which the device of the present invention is applied to a drive mechanism in an automatic opening/closing device for a sliding door for an automobile.

1 is a car body, and 2 is a sliding door.

A channel-shaped lower rail 3 whose front end is slightly curved toward the inside of the vehicle body 1 and is disposed in the front-rear direction is fixed to the lower side of the vehicle body 1, and inside this lower rail 3, the inner surface of the sliding door 2 is fixed. A lower roller device 4 attached to the lower part is slidably fitted.

In the middle part of the rear side of the vehicle body 1, there is a channel-shaped waist rail 5 disposed in the front-rear direction.
is fixed to the waist rail 5, and a waist roller device 6 attached to the middle portion of the rear end of the sliding door 2 is slidably fitted into the waist rail 5.

Further, although not shown in the drawings, an upper rail is fixed to the upper side of the vehicle body 1 so as to form a pair of upper and lower rails with the lower rail 3, and an upper roller device attached to the upper inner surface of the sliding door 2 is attached to the upper rail. (not shown) are slidably fitted.

Therefore, in the sliding door 2, the lower roller device 4, the waist roller device 6, and the upper roller device are connected to the lower rail 3 and the waist rail 5, respectively.
By sliding along the top rail, the fully open door, shown as an imaginary line in Fig. 1, moves slightly outward from the vehicle body 1 from the closed position A shown by the imaginary line in Fig. 1, and then moves parallel to the rear. It can be opened to position B or closed in the opposite direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower roller device 4 includes a bracket 7 fixed to the inner surface of the sliding door 2.
A swinging piece 9 is pivotally attached to the tip of the bracket 7 protruding toward the inside of the vehicle with a vertical axis 8, and a swinging piece 9 is pivoted to the swinging piece 9 with a horizontal axis 10. vertical roller 11 and a vertical shaft 1 on the swinging piece 9.
A pair of front and rear horizontal rollers 13 pivotally supported with 2
The vertical roller 11 rolls along the upper surface of the lower piece 3a of the lower rail 3, and the horizontal roller 13 rolls along the inner surface of the side piece 3b of the lower rail 3. 3 so that it can slide smoothly.

At the front and rear ends of the swinging piece 9 fitted into the lower rail 3, each end of flexible cables 14 and 15 made of, for example, hard steel wire, arranged inside the lower rail 3, is stopped. It is worn.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cable 14 extending from the front end of the lower rail 3 is connected to a flexible cable conduit 17 that is fixed to the lower surface of the floor of the vehicle body 1 with an appropriate stopper 16.
and is wound along a spiral guide groove 18a formed on the outer periphery of the rotating drum 18.

In addition, the cable 15 extending from the rear end of the lower rail 3
is guided by a flexible cable conduit 19 fixed to the lower surface of the floor of the vehicle body 1 with an appropriate stopper 16, and curves into a U-shape at the rear of the vehicle body 1, and then
A spiral guide groove 1 facing forward parallel to the lower rail 3 and finally formed on the outer periphery of the rotating drum 18
8b, it is wound in a direction opposite to the winding direction of the cable 14.

As clearly shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4,
The rotating drum 18 has an appropriate detent fitting 22 attached to a downward output shaft 21 of a decelerator 20 with an electromagnetic clutch attached to the lower surface of the floor of the vehicle body 1.
They are fitted so that they cannot rotate relative to each other.

Inside the rotating drum 18, there is a cable loosening prevention device 2.
3 is provided.

The loosening prevention device 23 includes serrated teeth 24 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rotating drum 18 and a spiral spring 25.
It is equipped with Inner end 25a of spiral spring 25
is bent radially inward and fixed to the output shaft 21, and the outer end 25b of the spiral spring 25 is
It is bent radially outward to form a pawl member 26 that engages the teeth 24.

The pawl member 26 is always urged clockwise in FIG. 4 by the restoring force of the spiral spring 25.

The pawl member 26 and the teeth 24 allow the pawl member 26 to rotate relative to the rotating drum 18 only in the clockwise direction in FIG. 4, and prevent it from rotating in the counterclockwise direction. Mechanism 2
7 is formed.

The pawl member 26 is provided with the tip of the cable 15 that has entered the rotary drum 18 through a through hole 28 formed in the outer circumferential wall of the rotary drum 18 from the direction in which it is made unrotatable by the ratchet mechanism 27. It is attached. As a result, the cable 15 is always biased in the direction of extension.

The tip of the cable 14 enters the rotary drum 18 through a through hole 29 formed in the outer circumferential wall of the rotary drum 18 and is locked to the inner circumferential surface of the rotary drum 18 .

Thus, if the cable 15 becomes loose,
Due to the restoring force of the spiral spring 25, the tip of the cable 15 is pulled into the rotating drum 18, the slack in the cable 15 is automatically removed, and the pawl member is removed by an amount corresponding to the amount of elongation of the cable 15. 26 gradually engages with the tooth 24 at the back and is prevented from returning, so that no matter how large the traction force is applied to the cable 15 thereafter, the tip of the cable 15 will not move outward from the rotating drum 18. There is no fear that the cable 15 will be pulled back toward the cable, and the cable 15 can be kept under tension at all times.

Furthermore, when the cables 14 become slack, the decelerator 20 causes the rotary drum 18 to rotate idly by the amount of slack in the cables 14, so the slack in the cables 14 is transmitted to the cables 15, and the same process as described above occurs. As a result, slack is automatically removed, and both cables 14 and 15 can be kept under tension at all times.

30 is a drum cover attached to the lower surface of the speed reducer 20 so as to cover the rotating drum 18.

The speed reducer 20 may be of a known type, but in this embodiment, the speed reducer 20 is constructed as described in the patent application filed in 1983 by the present applicant.
It has the same configuration as that disclosed in No. 169717.

That is, it includes a worm (not shown) integrally formed with the input shaft 31 (see FIG. 3) and a worm wheel (not shown) that meshes with the worm, and there is a space between the worm wheel and the output shaft 21. , an electromagnetic clutch (not shown) is provided.

Note that the present invention is not directly related to the configuration of this speed reducer 20 itself, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

The input shaft 31 of the decelerator 20 is a rotating shaft 34a of a motor 34 which is fixed to the lower surface of the floor of the vehicle body 1 with appropriate mounting members 32, 33 and is rotatable in forward and reverse directions.
In addition, the core members 36 are connected to each other through a torque transmitting connector 37 that allows the core member 36 to freely rotate within the armored cable 35.

Thus, with the electromagnetic clutch built in the reducer 20 in operation, the rotating shaft 34 of the motor 34
By rotating a in a predetermined normal rotation direction, the rotating drum 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. By unraveling the cables 14, the cables 14 and 15 are made to travel in the positive direction of the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 3, and the sliding door 2 can be opened.

Furthermore, when the rotating shaft 34a of the motor 34 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above case while the electromagnetic clutch built in the reducer 20 is operated, the cables 14 and 15 are operated in the opposite direction to the above case. The sliding door 2 can be closed by running in the opposite direction.

Note that when the electromagnetic clutch in the speed reducer 20 is inactive, the motor 34 and the rotating drum 18 are disconnected, and the sliding door 2 can be freely opened and closed manually.

In this case, the cables 14 and 15 and the rotary drum 18 are simply driven by the manual operation of the sliding door 2.
Since the input shaft 31 side of the speed reducer 20 is not driven, manual operation of the sliding door 2 can be performed smoothly.

Since the loosening prevention device of the first embodiment has the above-described configuration, when loosening occurs in the cables 14 and 15 due to elongation or the like, the loosening can be immediately and automatically removed, and the cables can be loosened automatically. Article 14,1
Even if a large traction force is applied to the sliding door 5, the tip of the cable 15 is prevented from returning by the ratchet mechanism 27, so the cable 15 will not be pulled back from the rotating drum 18, and the large traction force will be applied directly to the sliding door. It is communicable and meaningful.

Further, in the case of the first embodiment, the outer end 25b of the spiral spring 25 is bent to form the pawl member 26, so the structure is simple and the number of parts is small.
It also has the advantage of being easy to manufacture.

6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the invention.

In this second embodiment, the loosening prevention device 2
3' consists of serrated teeth 24' formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rotating drum 18', a spiral spring 25', a lever-shaped pawl member 38, etc.; A ratchet mechanism 27' is formed.

A pawl portion 38a that engages with the teeth 24' is formed at one end of the pawl member 38.
A long hole 39 facing toward the claw portion 38a is formed in the center of the 8, and this long hole 39 is fitted into the boss portion 18c of the rotary drum 18' into which the output shaft 21 of the decelerator 20 is fitted. are combined.

The pawl member 38 also has a bottomed recess 4 that is continuous with one end of the elongated hole 39 and faces toward the pawl portion 38a.
0 is bored, and within this recess 40 is a slider 41.
is fitted to be slidable in the radial direction of the output shaft 21.

Slider 41 in this recess 40 and recess 40
An elliptical compression coil spring 42 is connected between the rear end of the
is compressed, and the urging force of the compression coil spring 42 presses the slider 41 toward the boss portion 18c, and the reaction force causes the pawl member 38 to move toward the pawl portion 3.
8a is constantly biased in the direction of engagement with tooth 24'.

The inner end 25'a of the spiral spring 25' is bent radially inward and fixed to the boss portion 18c, and the outer end 25'b of the spiral spring 25' is bent radially outward. A protrusion 38 is provided on the side surface of the end of the pawl member 38 opposite to the pawl portion 38a.
It is locked on b.

The cable 14 is wound an appropriate number of times along a spiral guide groove 18'a formed on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating drum 18', and then passed through the through hole 29' to the rotating drum 1.
8', and its tip is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the rotating drum 18'.

The cable 15 runs along a spiral guide groove 18'b formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum 18'.
After being wound an appropriate number of times in the opposite direction to the winding direction of No. 4, it enters the rotating drum 18' through the through hole 28',
Its tip is fixed near the protrusion 38b of the pawl member 38, and the pawl member 38 always keeps the cable 15 in the sixth position by the restoring force of the spiral spring 25'.
The cable 15 is biased clockwise in the figure, that is, in the direction in which the cable 15 is extended.

The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

In this second embodiment, when the cables 14 and 15 become loose, the entire pawl member 38 moves to the left in FIG. 6 with respect to the boss portion 18c against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 42. While moving slightly, the pawl portion 38a gradually advances over the teeth 24' one step at a time. Other operations are almost the same as in the first embodiment.

Further, the effect is almost the same as that of the first embodiment.

The above-mentioned embodiment is a case in which the present invention is applied to a drive mechanism in an automatic opening/closing device for an automobile sliding door, but the present invention can be used not only for such applications but also for other applications. Of course, it can be done.

In addition, if the loosening prevention device of the present invention is provided at both ends of the cable that runs back and forth, each time the cable runs back and forth,
The elongation of the cable can be equally absorbed at both ends.

For example, in the first embodiment, the rotating drum 18
A loosening prevention device similar to the loosening prevention device 23 is provided in two stages, and the tip of the cable 14 is fixed to one claw member, and the tip of the cable 15 is fixed to the other claw member, and the slide Each time the door 2 moves back and forth, the elongation of each of the cables 14 and 15 may be absorbed at both ends thereof.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, when a cable running back and forth becomes loose, the slack can be immediately eliminated, the cable can always be kept under tension, and the slack can be temporarily removed. Once absorbed, the cable will never return to its original loosened state, and even if a large traction force is applied to the cable, it is possible to provide a device for preventing loosening of the cable.

Further, according to the present invention, the ratchet mechanism consisting of the serrated teeth and the pawl member can be housed entirely within the rotating drum, and by elastically displacing the pawl member in the radial direction, the pawl member can be formed into the serrated tooth. Since the pawl member can be moved in one direction along the rotating drum, there is no need to make the pawl member moveable in the axial direction of the rotating drum, and there is no need to provide multiple rotating drums as in the past. Therefore, compared to conventional equipment, the overall thickness of the rotating drum in the axial direction can be made thinner to the same extent as the thickness of the rotating drum, contributing to miniaturization of the entire equipment. be able to.

In addition, there is no need to allow multiple rotating drums to move relative to each other in the axial direction, as in the past.
Moreover, since the rotating drum can be made into a single unit, there are advantages that the structure can be simplified and it can be manufactured easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the main parts of an automobile equipped with an automatic sliding door opening/closing device equipped with the device of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower roller device, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts of the sliding door drive mechanism, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the rotary drum and decelerator turned over with the drum cover removed, FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the inside of the rotary drum in the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6th
It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along the YY line of a figure. 1... Vehicle body, 2... Sliding door, 3... Lower rail, 4... Lower roller device, 5... Waist rail, 6... Waist roller device, 14, 15
... Cable, 17, 19 ... Cable conduit, 18, 18'
... Rotating drum, 20 ... Decelerator, 23, 23'
... Looseness prevention device, 24, 24' ... Teeth, 25,
25′...Spiral spring, 26, 38...Claw member,
27, 27'... Ratchet mechanism, 28, 28',
29, 29'...through hole, 34...motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Serrated teeth provided on the inner peripheral surface of the rotating drum,
A ratchet mechanism is formed by a pawl member provided in the rotary drum, which engages with the teeth and is elastically displaced in the radial direction of the rotary drum so as to be able to rotate in only one direction along the teeth. The cable comprises a biasing means for biasing the pawl member in a rotatable direction thereof, and the cable is wound and unwound around the outer periphery of the rotating drum so as to run back and forth. A device for preventing loosening of a reciprocating cable, characterized in that one end of the strip passes through the rotating drum and is fixed to the pawl member from a direction in which the pawl member cannot rotate.