Bowden cable

Abstract

Bowden cable for transmitting compressive and / or tensile forces and / or mechanical movements, comprising a core (1) which is surrounded by a guide tube (2) except for its two end regions, wherein the guide tube (2) has a guide tube end piece (3) at at least one of its two ends, to which a sealing element (6) is assigned, wherein the sealing element (6) is arranged in the end of the guide tube end piece (3) facing away from the guide tube (2), and wherein the sealing element (6) surrounding the core (1) is positioned visibly from outside the guide tube end piece (3) at the end of the guide tube end piece (3) facing away from the guide tube (2), characterized in that an additional guide device (5) for the core (1) of the Bowden cable is held on the guide tube end piece (3) at an outer distance from an end of the guide tube end piece (3), which end faces away from the guide tube (2).

Description

The invention relates to a Bowden cable for transmitting compressive forces and / or tensile forces and / or mechanical movements, comprising a core which is surrounded by a guide tube apart from its two end regions, wherein the guide tube has at at least one of its two ends a guide tube end piece to which a sealing element is assigned. The sealing element is arranged in the end of the guide tube end piece facing away from the guide tube, and the sealing element surrounding the core is positioned on the end of the guide tube end piece facing away from the guide tube from outside the guide tube end piece.Bowden cables are widely used, for example, in domestic appliances for emergency unlocking of closures, in sanitary technology for actuating valves, but also in the motor vehicle industry, for example for actuating parking brakes, for unlocking seats, trunk lids, tank lids, etc. The end regions of the guide tube or the guide tube end pieces can be exposed to harsh environmental influences. The entry of dirt and moisture into the interior of the Bowden cable can lead to difficulty, corrosion and blockages. For this reason, it is known to seal the interface between the core and the guide tube in a protective manner by means of sealing elements.Bellows or grommets made of elastomer materials are used here. Such sealing elements are exposed to external and thus all environmental influences, wherein high requirements, such as stone chipping, strong blast water, high-pressure blast water, possibly even at high temperatures, can lead to failure of the external sealing elements.Known internal sealing elements are arranged within the guide tube end piece and are thereby protected against the environmental influences. However, it is disadvantageous that when the Bowden cable is fully mounted, it cannot be recognized whether or not a sealing element has been installed.However, proposals have been made in the prior art to overcome this disadvantage. In a Bowden cable known from DE 85 10 490 U1, a seal protecting against water ingress should be provided in a space-saving and cost-effective manner protected against damage. The Bowden cable has a hose fastened at the end to a bearing head, a core passing through the hose and the head in a longitudinally displaceable manner, and an elastic seal fastened to the head, which seal in a sliding manner at least at its end facing away from the hose on the core. The Bowden cable is characterized in that the seal is arranged in the region of the outlet point of the core from the end face of the head opposite the hose in a cavity surrounding the core and open to the end face and / or in a plate-shaped manner on the end face.Furthermore, DE 31 08 046 A1 describes a Bowden cable with a flexible guide with an integral or separate inner lining made of plastic and a force-transmitting cable which can be displaced axially in the guide. In this case, at least in an end region of the Bowden cable, an end section of the inner lining protrudes out of the guide or the layer(s) of the guide surrounding the (s). The guide is provided with a flexible sealing bush of elastically deformable material which, with one part of its length, sealingly surrounds the projecting end of the inner lining and, with another part of its length, sealingly surrounds the cable.DE 697 26 331 T2 describes a protective cap system for a control cable, for example a control cable designed as a bicycle control cable, having an inner cable which moves within a cable housing, wherein no contaminants enter the control cable. A control cable protective cap includes a first section sized to fit over the cable housing and a second section sized to sealingly fit over the inner cable. The second subsection is formed from a flexible material, such that the second subsection can follow the inner cable in a sealing manner with any desired curvature. The cable housing may be the outer housing of the control cable or another structure that fits over the outer housing or cable. In the latter case, the first portion of the protective cap may have an outer diameter sized to fit within an inner portion of the cable housing.A cable cap for a cable sliding in a flexible hose, which is further known from DE 198 02 442 A1, comprises a tubular housing which is closed by a base provided with an opening for the passage of the cable. An extension of the tubular housing is provided on its inside with a lip seal and on its outside with at least one groove which is connected to the inside by channels, the material of the lip seal passing through the channels.DE 38 14 874 discloses an end cover for an outer cable guiding, in a bicycle, a control wire having a space between the bottom of a cover body and a holder for holding the outer cable to be fitted into the cover body. A sealing member is disposed in the space for preventing dirt adhering to an outer surface of the control wire from entering the outer cable.Finally, DE 10 2016 117 437 A1 discloses a bicycle adjustment module for operating an adjustable bicycle component. The bicycle adjustment module has an adjustment element and a Bowden cable with a Bowden cable sheath and a core, which is movably guided in the Bowden cable sheath for transmitting an adjustment force. The core is connected at a first end to the adjusting element. The Bowden cable sheath is receivable at least at a first end in an end piece. Furthermore, a one-piece seal is provided which encloses the first end of the Bowden cable sheath in a first region and which extends over a region of the core emerging from the Bowden cable sheath in a second region and sealingly abuts the core. The seal is configured to be pressed against the Bowden cable sheath in the first region by an end piece in a state accommodated in an end piece.In addition, depending on the design of the overpression between the core and the seal and the position of the seal within the guide tube end piece, a one-sided lifting of the core from the seal can occur during pivoting movements of the core, whereby a gap is formed which results in a leakage.The invention is based on the object of preventing pivoting of the core relative to the seal.This object is achieved in that an additional guide device for the core of the Bowden cable is held on the guide tube end piece at an outward distance from an end of the guide tube end piece, which end is remote from the guide tube.The invention has the advantage that the seal always rests against the guide tube end piece and the core without resulting in leaks.With the sealing element, which is arranged in the end of the guide tube end piece facing away from the guide tube and which is positioned on the end of the guide tube end piece facing away from the guide tube from outside the guide tube end piece, the object is achieved to ensure a secure, testable seal between the core and the guide tube or the guide tube end piece, which seal does not allow any leaks even when the core is crossed and also brings about a smooth movement of the core.The arrangement of the seal in the guide tube end piece ensures that the guide tube end piece surrounds the seal in a protective manner and thus ensures the greatest possible sealing effect. The visibility of the sealing element does not pose a question as to whether or not a sealing element has been installed in the guide tube end piece.It is advantageous that the sealing element has at least one zone which surrounds the core in a linearly contacting manner.In the case of a full-surface guidance of the core, the latter can be actuated only with difficulty. The linear contacting or also two or more contacts arranged in a linear manner ensure a smooth movement of the core.It has proved to be advantageous that the additional guide device brings about an angle of <10°, preferably <5 °, particularly preferably 0°, of the core guide relative to the guide in the sealing element of the guide tube end piece.As a result, there is no tilting or only such slight tilting between the core and the seal that the tightness of the Bowden cable is not endangered.It is expedient that the core is formed by a plastic-sheathed cable, preferably plastic-sheathed steel cable.Conventional steel cables made from individual wires usually have small gaps between the individual wires, which gaps cannot always be fully sealed by seals. The plastic jacket compensates for these gaps so that the core is provided with a smooth, non-gapped surface which can be optimally sealed. In addition, due to capillary action between the individual wires, moisture can pass via the interior of the core past the sealing element into the Bowden cable. The plastic sheathing prevents moisture from being able to pass from the steel cable into the Bowden cable. The plastic sheathing also has the effect that the core is guided particularly smoothly in the sealing element but also in the guide tube.The invention is explained in more detail with reference to a drawing. Figure shows FIG. 1 shows an end region of a Bowden cable equipped according to the invention, and FIG. 2 shows a sectional basic diagram through the end region according to the invention of a Bowden cable.FIG. 1 shows an end of a Bowden cable which has a core 1 which is guided in a guide tube 2. A guide tube end piece 3 is arranged at the end of the guide tube 2, wherein the end of the Bowden cable, not shown, can also regularly have a guide tube end piece. Two webs 4 are arranged on the guide tube end piece 3, which webs hold an additional guide device 5. The sealing element 6 can be seen on the guide tube end piece 3, so that the question as to whether or not a sealing element 6 is installed is not posed.In FIG. 2, the sealing element 6 can be seen inside the guide end piece 3. The sealing element 6 has two annular sealing lips 7 which surround the core 1 in a manner contacting it in a linear manner. The linear contacting ensures ready movement of the core 1.The core 1 is formed by a steel cable 8 which is surrounded by a plastic sheathing 9. This ensures that the gaps between the individual wires are compensated by the plastic sheathing 9. The moisture which reaches the Bowden cable past the sealing element 6 by capillary action between the individual wires via the interior of the core 1 is also kept away from the Bowden cable by the plastic jacket 9. The plastic sheathing 9 also brings about an additional smooth movement of the core 1 both between the sealing lips 7 and also in the guide tube 2.List of reference characters1 Core 2 Guide tube 3 Guide tube end piece 4 Webs 5 Additional guide device 6 Sealing element 7 Sealing lips 8 Steel cable 9 Plastic sheathing

Claims

A Bowden cable for transmitting compressive forces and / or tensile forces and / or mechanical movements, comprising a core (1) which is surrounded by a guide tube (2) apart from its two end regions, wherein the guide tube (2) has at at least one of its two ends a guide tube end piece (3) to which a sealing element (6) is assigned, wherein the sealing element (6) is arranged in the end of the guide tube end piece (3) remote from the guide tube (2), and wherein the sealing element (6) surrounding the core (1) is positioned visually from outside the guide tube end piece (3) at the end of the guide tube end piece (3) remote from the guide tube (2), characterized in that on the guide tube end piece (3) at an outward distance from an end of the guide tube end piece (3), which end is remote from the guide tube (2), an additional guide device (5) for the core (1) of the Bowden cable is held.Bowden cable according to claim 1, characterised in that the sealing element (6) has at least one zone which surrounds the core (1) in a linearly contacting manner.Bowden cable according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that two webs (4) are arranged on the guide tube end piece (3) and hold the additional guide device (5).Bowden cable according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the additional guide device (5) brings about an angle of the core guide relative to the guide in the sealing element (6) of the guide tube end piece (3) of less than 10°, preferably less than 5°, particularly preferably 0°.Bowden cable according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the core (1) is formed by a cable with a plastics sheathing, preferably a steel cable (8) with a plastics sheathing (9).

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