CABLE DUCT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a cable duct for receiving at least one cable.

[0002] In vehicle manufacturing, cable ducts are used to fix electrical cables or cable bundles in a specific position and protect them from potential damage. The cable duct must be adapted to the specific design of the cable or cable set, which is relatively expensive.

[0003] The present invention is based on the objective of providing a cable duct that is suitable for accommodating cables in an economical manner.

[0004] This problem is solved by a cable duct having the features of claim 1.

[0005] Thus, any number of cable housings can be detachably connected to one another in a geometrically structured manner. This allows for variable and therefore cost-effective adaptation of the cable duct to the specific design and requirements (e.g., predetermined routing on a vehicle) of the respective cable. Preferably, the cable housings are similar or identical with respect to essential geometric and functional features, enabling the cost-effective provision of different cable ducts with a single type of cable housing.

[0006] The aforementioned single type of cable housing means, in particular, that all cable housings used are identical in design, thus supporting the economical production of different cable ducts.

[0007] Overall, the cable duct and its cable housings have a modular, building block-like design, allowing for simple and cost-effective adaptation to different cable design requirements during assembly. Consequently, providing a variety of prefabricated cable ducts to accommodate different cable types in terms of routing and configuration is unnecessary.

[0008] The detachable connection between the connection terminal and a corresponding counter-terminal is designed, for example, as a snap-fit ​​connection and / or a positive-locking connection.

[0009] The term "cable" here refers to a single cable or multiple cables. The latter are preferably configured as a common cable bundle or cable set. The cable preferably represents one or more electrical conductors. However, other conductors, such as hydraulic and / or pneumatic lines, are also conceivable.

[0010] The cable duct can have various technical applications. It is primarily used in vehicles, particularly agricultural vehicles, forestry vehicles, and construction machinery.

[0011] Further advantageous embodiments of the cable duct according to the invention are evident from the dependent claims.

[0012] Preferably, the cable housing has at least one connection terminal and its corresponding counterpart. This supports the modular design of the cable duct.

[0013] Preferably, the connection terminal and the corresponding counterpart terminal are detachably connected in such a way that two connected cable housings can be arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the channel. This allows the cable channel to be extended individually in the longitudinal direction of the channel or cable and thus adapted cost-effectively to the specific requirements of the cable.

[0014] To facilitate the installation of individual extensions of the cable duct in the longitudinal direction, the connection port and the corresponding counter-port are preferably arranged on a longitudinal end section of the respective cable housing.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the connection terminal and / or the corresponding mating terminal of the cable housing is detachably connected to an end piece. This end piece effectively replaces the optional connection of an additional cable housing. The end piece incorporates flanking elements for radially supporting a cable received by the cable housing. These flanking elements extend at least in the longitudinal direction of the channel and / or in a circumferential direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the channel. For example, the flanking elements may be flanking ribs oriented in the longitudinal direction of the channel and / or a flanking ring surrounding the cable. Depending on their geometric design, the flanking elements can be arranged with or without a radial distance to the outer sheath of the cable.The use of the termination part with its flanking elements enables the cable to be fixed to a free end or end section of the cable housing, thereby ensuring, in a technically simple way, the maintenance of a desired target position of the cable.

[0016] According to the invention, at least one of the existing connection terminals and the corresponding mating terminal are designed and detachably connected to each other in such a way that two cable housings are arranged side by side transversely to the longitudinal direction of the channel. This allows the modular, variable extension of the cable channel to also occur transversely to the longitudinal direction of the channel. As required, this also allows a large number of cables to be stored side by side in a structured manner within a single cable channel. This, in turn, facilitates the handling of the cables during assembly, for example, when installing them in a vehicle.

[0017] According to the invention, the detachable connection is maintained by a spring force acting transversely to the longitudinal direction of the channel between the two cable housings. For this purpose, at least one spring element can be arranged on an outer side of the cable housing, which exerts a spring force transversely to the longitudinal direction of the channel on the other cable housing.

[0018] For a simple, detachable connection between two cable housings perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the duct, the connection terminal is preferably arranged on an outer side of the cable housing and is designed as a cantilever extending approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the duct. This cantilever is then detachably connected to the corresponding mating terminal, which is arranged on an outer side of the other cable housing. According to the invention, this detachable connection is maintained by the aforementioned spring force. By applying a counterforce greater than the spring force, the detachable connection can be released.

[0019] Preferably, the cable housing comprises two interacting housing shells which are detachably connected and, when connected, define a channel-like cavity for the cable. The shell-like structure allows for easy assembly and installation of the cable housing. Furthermore, such a cable housing facilitates easy handling of the cable during installation in the cable duct.

[0020] Preferably, a first housing shell of the cable housing acts as a receiving shell for the cable. The second housing shell then acts as a cover shell or lid, providing effective mechanical protection for the cable inserted into the first housing shell. In particular, the housing shell acting as a lid has a flat outer surface. This allows the entire cable duct to have a substantially flat outer surface, which simplifies the installation of the cable duct in a mounting area (e.g., in a vehicle).

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the cable housing has several spaced-apart fixing elements on an outer surface along the longitudinal direction of the channel for the detachable fixing of a cable. This allows the cable channel to also function outside its housing as a structured positioning and routing of cable- or conductor-like objects.

[0022] The cable can be designed in different ways. For example, it can be designed like a tape or strip with several flat conductors that serve for data or signal transmission.

[0023] In particular, the conductor is designed as an electrical busbar (e.g., a power busbar or grounding busbar). The busbar, fixed to the cable duct, acts, due to its stable and potentially rigid material properties, as a kind of mechanically stabilizing backbone for maintaining the mechanical connection between the cable housings.

[0024] To support a stable mechanical fixation of the cable to the cable duct, preferably two fixing rows extending equidistantly in the longitudinal direction of the duct are provided on the cable duct, each of which has several fixing elements spaced apart from one another.

[0025] The cable duct according to the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Components that are identical or comparable in function are marked with the same reference numerals. The drawings show: Fig. 1 a perspective and section-by-section view of a cable duct according to the invention with open cable housings in the area of ​​a cable held inside, Fig. 2 the view of the cable duct according to Fig. 1 with closed cable housings in the area of ​​the cable being installed, Fig. 3 a perspective partial view of the cable housings according to Fig. 1 , however without the cable included, Fig. 4 a perspective view of the in Fig. 3 the non-visible underside of the cable housings, and Fig. 5 the perspective view of the underside according to Fig. 4 and a line attached to it.

[0026] Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows a cable duct 10 for receiving a cable 12, which is designed in particular as an electrical cable with one or more electrical conductors. The cable duct 10 has a combination of several (in particular identically designed) cable housings 14, which receive the cable 12 at least section by section – here along a section 18 – along an axial cable or duct longitudinal direction 16. For combining and connecting several cable housings 14, multiple connection terminals and corresponding mating terminals are provided on the cable housings 14.

[0027] All cable housings 14 are identical, at least functionally and especially with regard to their dimensions and geometric dimensions. The connection terminals and corresponding mating terminals are therefore preferably present on every cable housing 14.

[0028] The connection terminals and corresponding counter-terminals, which are to be described below, are designed such that a large number of cable housings 14 can be arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the channel 16 and / or in a transverse direction 20 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the channel 16 ( Fig. 1 , Fig. 2 ).

[0029] In a comparison between Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 It can be seen that the cable housing 14 has two interacting housing shells 22, 24. A first housing shell of the cable housing 14 acts as a receiving shell 22 for receiving the cable 12. A second housing shell then acts as a cover shell 24 or a lid for effective mechanical protection of the cable 12 inserted into the receiving shell 22. The cover shell 24 has a flat outer surface 28 on its outer surface 26. This allows the entire cable duct 10 to have a substantially flat outer surface 26, which facilitates its installation, e.g., its installation in a vehicle.

[0030] After the respective section of cable 12 is inserted into the receiving tray 22 ( Fig. 1 ), the cover shell 24 is detachably connected to the receiving shell 22 to complete the cable housing 14 and to form a channel-like cavity 23 for the cable 12 ( Fig. 2 ).

[0031] In Fig. 3 It can be seen that when the two shells 22, 24 are joined, mounting lugs 30 of the cover shell 24 engage in mounting recesses 32 of the receiving shell 22. These mounting elements 30, 32 are preferably designed such that they support a detachable connection (e.g., positive and / or force-fit, snap-fit) of the two shells 22, 24.

[0032] In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 Four cable housings 14 arranged in a row are visible. Two cable housings 14 are arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction 16 of the channel, forming two parallel longitudinal rows 34. Viewed in the transverse direction 20, two cable housings 14 are also arranged in a row, forming two transverse rows 36. However, due to the installation, the cable housings 14 in the transverse row 36 are regularly offset along the longitudinal direction 16 of the channel.

[0033] In Fig. 3 It can be seen that the receiving shell 22 has a connection port 40 at one of its end sections 38 along the length of the channel, which is detachably connected to a corresponding counterpart port 42 of another end section 44 of the adjacent receiving shell 22. Each of the individual receiving shells 22 has both the connection port 40 and the corresponding counterpart port 42. In this way, any number of cable housings 14 can be arranged in a row along the length of the channel 16.

[0034] If no further cable housing 14 or further mounting shell 22 is attached to the respective end section 38, 44 of the receiving shell 22, a detachable connection of the connecting terminal 40 and / or the corresponding mating terminal 42 with a termination part 46 is provided. The termination part 46 carries flanking elements in the form of several flanking webs 48 and, if applicable, an additional flanking ring 50.

[0035] The flanking webs 48 are arranged at intervals in a circumferential direction 52 running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the channel 16 and extend essentially in the longitudinal direction of the channel 16. The flanking ring 50 runs in the circumferential direction 52 and, viewed radially, is arranged partly inside and partly outside the flanking webs 48.

[0036] The aforementioned flanking elements 48, 50 flank the cable 12 outside the cable housing 14 next to the end section 38 or end section 44. Depending on the configuration, individual flanking elements 48, 50 can flank the cable 12 with or without a radial gap. They contribute to ensuring that the section 18 of the cable 12 received by one or more cable housings 14 remains in the desired position and, consequently, no significant relative movements occur axially or in the longitudinal channel direction 16 between the section 18 of the cable 12 and the receiving cable housing(s).

[0037] For this purpose, the flanking ring 50 is designed, for example, as a cable tie, which is tightened until the cable 12 is pressed radially against individual flanking webs 48.

[0038] The end pieces 46 also contribute to ensuring that the cable 12 retains free sections 54 outside the recorded sections 18, which provide flexible bending sections for flexible routing of the entire cable duct 10 at the installation area, e.g. in a vehicle.

[0039] In Fig. 4 It can be seen that the receiving shell 22 has several connection points on its outer surface 56 in the form of flat connecting arms 58, which extend essentially in the transverse direction 20. Each connecting arm 58 is penetrated by a through hole 60 and corresponds to a connecting pin 62, which is arranged as a corresponding mating connection on the outer surface 56 of the further receiving shell 22.

[0040] The connecting arms 58 and the corresponding connecting pins 62 form a simple, detachable connection between two cable housings 14 in the transverse direction 20. A perforated wall 64 of the through-hole 60 and the corresponding connecting pin 62 abut each other in a positive-locking manner, which is maintained by a spring force F acting in the transverse direction 20. The spring force F is generated by several spring blocks 68 arranged on an outer flank 66 of the receiving shell 22. When the cable housings 14 are assembled in the transverse direction 20, the spring force F of the spring blocks 68 acts on a counter block 70. The counter blocks 70 are arranged on another outer flank 72 of the receiving shell 22.If the two cable housings 14 arranged in a transverse direction 20 are pressed against each other with a counterforce in the transverse direction 20 that is greater than the spring force F of the spring blocks 68, the detachable connection 58, 62 can be released.

[0041] As in Fig. 3 As can be seen, the spring blocks 68 and the counter blocks 70 in the receiving shell 22 are closed with breakable walls 74, 76, which can be removed by hand to form a cable outlet or a protected cable transition running between adjacent cable housings 14. Additionally, breakable sections 78 are provided in the cover shell 24, which can also be removed to enlarge the respective cable outlet or cable passage in the area of ​​the associated spring block 68 or counter block 70.

[0042] Fig. 5 shows the already in Fig. 4The visible underside of the cable duct 10 is shown with the outer sides 56 of the receiving shells 22. A conductor 80 is detachably fixed to this underside. The conductor 80 is preferably designed as a busbar, in particular an earthing busbar, and thereby contributes to the mechanical stabilization of the cable duct 10.

[0043] For the detachable fixing of the conductor 80, two fixing rows 82 extending equidistantly in the longitudinal direction 16 of the channel are provided on the cable housing 14, more precisely in the area of ​​the outer surface 56 of the receiving shell 22. Each fixing row 82 has several fixing elements 84 spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction 16 of the channel. These are designed, for example, in the form of locking tabs, which can be resiliently flexible in the transverse direction 20.

Claims

1. Cable channel (10) for receiving at least one cable (12), wherein the cable channel (10) has a combination of a plurality of channel-like cable housings (14), and the cable housing (14) has at least one connector (40, 58), which is releasably connected to a corresponding mating connector (42, 62) of a further cable housing (14) for the purpose of arranging two cable housings (14) together, wherein the connector (58) of the cable housing (14) and the corresponding mating connector (62) of the further cable housing (14) are releasably connected in such a way that two cable housings (14) are arranged together transversely to the channel longitudinal direction (16), characterized in that the releasable connection is maintained as a result of a spring force (F) acting between the two cable housings (14) transversely to the channel longitudinal direction (16).

2. Cable channel according to Claim 1, characterized in that the cable housing (14) has both the connector (40, 58) and the corresponding mating connector (42, 62).

3. Cable channel according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the connector (40) of the cable housing (14) and the corresponding mating connector (42) of the further cable housing (14) are releasably connected in such a way that two cable housings (14) are arranged together in the channel longitudinal direction (16).

4. Cable channel according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connector (40) and / or the corresponding mating connector (42) of the cable housing (14) is releasably connected in each case to a terminating part (46), wherein the terminating part (46) supports flanking means (48, 50), which, for radially flanking a received cable (12), extend in the channel longitudinal direction (16) and / or in a circumferential direction (52) extending transversely to the channel longitudinal direction (16).

5. Cable channel according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cable housing (14) has two mutually cooperating housing shells (22, 24), which are releasably connected to one another and, in the connected state, delimit a channel-like cavity (23) for the cable (12).

6. Cable channel according to Claim 5, characterized in that a housing shell (24) acting as a cover has a planar outer surface (28).

7. Cable channel according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cable housing (14), on an outer region (56) along the channel longitudinal direction (16), supports a plurality of mutually spaced securing elements (78) for releasably securing a line (74).

8. Cable channel according to Claim 7, characterized in that the cable housing (14) has two securing rows (76), which extend equidistantly in the channel longitudinal direction (16) and have in each case a plurality of mutually spaced securing elements (78).