Cable clamp

Abstract

To provide a cable clamp that enhances workability for mounting, can reliably hold a cable after mounting, and can further remove the cable simply during maintenance.SOLUTION: A cable clamp has a cable holding part with a substantially U-shaped cross section having an opening part on one side, and a clamp mounting part connected to the cable holding part. The cable holding part has an arc-shaped holding part, and a claw part that contacts the outer periphery of a cable held by the holding part. The claw part has a plurality of opening part-side claw parts protruding from the opening part side to the holding part. The plurality of opening part-side claw parts have a first claw part provided on the clamp mounting part side, and a second claw part provided on the side opposite to the first claw part across the opening part. The first claw part is arranged closer to the center of the holding part than the second claw part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0005]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cable clamp.

Background Art

[0002] In vehicles, a control cable that transmits the rotation or sliding of manually operated parts to operating parts is used. In particular, in a vehicle's heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, it is used for switching the blowing mode, switching between introducing outside air and inside air, adjusting the temperature (switching the air mix damper), and the like.

[0003] In order to ensure good transmission performance, such a control cable needs to be securely fixed at an appropriate position. Since the arrangement relationship between the unit of the operating part (for example, the operating unit) to which one end of the cable is connected and the unit of the operating part (for example, the air conditioner) to which the other end of the cable is connected in a vehicle varies depending on the vehicle type, considering the assembly workability and detachment during maintenance, a cable clamp with versatility and easy detachment is used to securely fix the cable at an appropriate position for various vehicle types.

[0004] Conventionally, a cable clamp for a vehicle has a main body made of an elastic plate spring material, which has a cable holding part with a substantially U-shaped cross-section open on one side. The cable holding part has an arc-shaped recess in which the cable is accommodated, and a claw-shaped protrusion that faces the recess and points to the center of the circle of the recess is formed by cutting and raising. Further, one piece of the cable holding part is extended to form a knob (see Patent Document 1 below).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0006] Vehicle cable clamps require two seemingly contradictory characteristics: ease of installation requires that the cable be easily inserted into the cable holder; however, considering the transmission performance of the cable after installation, the cable must be securely held in the cable holder; in other words, the cable must not easily come loose from the cable holder.

[0007] In contrast, the aforementioned conventional technology makes it difficult for cables held in the cable holder to come loose by having a claw-shaped projection face the recess of the cable holder. However, with the conventional technology, increasing the cable holding force also increases the insertion force, which is a problem in that good workability cannot be achieved.

[0008] The present invention aims to address these circumstances. Specifically, the objective of the present invention is to provide a cable clamp, mainly for vehicles, that improves workability during installation and securely holds cables after installation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To solve these problems, the present invention has the following configuration. A cable clamp comprising a cable holding portion having a substantially U-shaped cross-section with one side open and a clamp mounting portion connected to the cable holding portion, wherein the cable holding portion has an arc-shaped holding portion and a claw portion that abuts against the outer circumference of the cable held by the holding portion, wherein the claw portion has a plurality of open-side claw portions that protrude from the open-side to the holding portion, and the plurality of open-side claw portions have a first claw portion provided on the clamp mounting portion side and a second claw portion provided on the opposite side from the first claw portion with the open-side in between, and the first claw portion is positioned closer to the center of the holding portion relative to the second claw portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] A cable clamp with these features can improve work efficiency during installation and provide a cable clamp that can securely hold cables after installation. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] A side view of a cable clamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] A perspective view of a cable clamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] An explanatory diagram showing the installation status of the cable clamp. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different figures indicate parts with the same function, and redundant explanations in each figure will be omitted as appropriate.

[0013] In Figures 1 and 2, the cable clamp 1 comprises a cable holding portion 10 for holding the cable C and a clamp mounting portion 20 for attaching the cable clamp 1 itself to the mounting location. In the illustrated example, the cable holding portion 10 and the clamp mounting portion 20 are formed by processing a single plate-shaped member, but the invention is not limited to this, and the cable holding portion 10 and the clamp mounting portion 20 may be formed from separate members and joined together.

[0014] The cable holding portion 10 has a substantially U-shaped cross-section with an open portion 1A on one side, and has an arc-shaped holding portion 10A, as well as a claw portion 11 that abuts against the outer circumference of the cable C held by the holding portion 10A. The holding portion 10A is structured so that a pair of holding portions 10A, provided on either side of the open portion 1A, hold the cable C inserted through the open portion 1A. The inner surface of the holding portion 10A has a predetermined width along the longitudinal direction of the cable C so as to make surface contact with the outer circumference of the cable C.

[0015] The claw portion 11 provided on the cable holding portion 10 has a first claw portion 11A, a second claw portion 11B, and a third claw portion 11C. The first claw portion 11A and the second claw portion 11B here are multiple open-side claw portions that protrude from the open portion 1A side to the holding portion 10A. These claw portions 11 have the function of making it difficult for the cable C held by the holding portion 10A to come loose by contacting or biting into the outer circumference of the cable C held by the holding portion 10A.

[0016] The first claw portion 11A is provided on the clamp mounting portion 20 side relative to the opening portion 1A, and multiple claw portions (two in the illustrated example) are provided along the longitudinal direction of the cable C. The base end of the first claw portion 11A forms the opening portion 1A, and the tip end protrudes inward from the holding portion 10A in a pointed state.

[0017] The second claw portion 11B is provided on the opposite side of the opening portion 1A from the first claw portion 11A, and multiple claw portions (two in the illustrated example) are provided along the longitudinal direction of the cable C. Similar to the first claw portion 11A, the base end of the second claw portion 11B forms the opening portion 1A, and the tip end is pointed and protrudes inward from the holding portion 10A.

[0018] And the positional relationship between the first claw portion 11A and the second claw portion 11B is such that the first claw portion 11A is disposed closer to the center 10S of the holding portion 10A with respect to the second claw portion 11B. That is, the tip of the first claw portion 11A is disposed closer to the center of the holding portion 10A by the dimension t shown in the figure with respect to the tip of the second claw portion 11B. As a result, the first claw portion 11A abuts against the outer periphery of the cable C near the center of the holding portion 10A (near directly below the center 10S), and the second claw portion 11B abuts against the outer periphery of the cable C on the open portion 1A side of the holding portion 10A.

[0019] The cable holding portion 10 includes an elastic deformation portion 13 that is elastically deformable so as to widen the opening width a of the open portion 1A facing the open portion 1A. The elastic deformation portion 13 has a shape that curves convexly toward the side opposite to the open portion 1A and is arranged to connect the pair of holding portions 10A. A plurality of the above-described third claw portions 11C are provided so as to project from the elastic deformation portion 13 side to the holding portion 10A.

[0020] Also, an operation knob 14 for operating in the direction of opening the open portion 1A extends at the end of the cable holding portion 10 on the second claw portion 11B side. The operation knob 14 is used when inserting the cable C into the holding portion 10A during attachment or removing the cable C from the holding portion 10B during maintenance. When the operator presses the operation knob 14 with a finger in the direction in which the open portion 1A opens, the elastic deformation portion 13 elastically deforms and the open portion 1A is pushed open.

[0021] In the illustrated example, the clamp attachment portion 20 of the cable clamp 1 has a substantially U-shaped cross section opposite to the cable holding portion 10 and extends to the first claw portion 11A side of the cable holding portion 10. Such a clamp attachment portion 20 can attach the cable clamp 1 itself to the attachment location by sandwiching the plate-like portion of the attachment location between the substantially U-shaped cross sections, and can remove the cable clamp 1 itself from the attachment location by opening the clamp attachment portion 20.

[0022] The clamping attachment portion 20 has an elastic deformation portion 20A at the portion that contacts the bottom of the U-shaped cross-section, and a guide portion 20B and a locking portion 20C are provided at the end opposite to the portion connected to the cable holding portion 10. The guide portion 20B has a function of guiding the plate-shaped attachment location inside the clamping attachment portion 20, and the locking portion 20C has a function of locking to the sandwiched attachment location to make it difficult to come off.

[0023] According to such a cable clamp 1, when inserting the cable C into the holding portion 10A of the cable holding portion 10, by pushing the cable C against the opening portion 1A with an opening width a smaller than the diameter of the cable C, the elastic deformation portion 13 elastically deforms and the opening portion 1A is opened, and the cable C can be easily inserted into the holding portion 10A.

[0024] At this time, the operation knob 14 may or may not be operated assistively. A tapered portion 14A is provided on the side of the operation knob 14 from the opening portion 1A. By abutting the cable C against this tapered portion 14A and pushing it in, the opening width a of the opening portion 1A can be widened without daring to operate the operation knob 14. Also, by making the distance b between the first claw portion 11A and the second claw portion 11B equal to the opening width a of the opening portion 1A, the insertion force can be suppressed. According to this, the workability when attaching the cable C can be improved.

[0025] After the cable C is held by the holding portion 10A of the cable holding portion 10, the claw portions 11 (the first claw portion 11A, the second claw portion 11B, and the third claw portion 11C) of the cable holding portion 10 contact or bite into the outer circumference of the cable C at multiple locations. Also, the elastic restoring force of the elastic deformation portion 13 sandwiches the cable C with the pair of holding portions 10A. As a result, the cable C is firmly held by the holding portion 10A, and it becomes difficult for the cable C to come out of the cable clamp 1.

[0026] In this case, since the first claw portion 11A of the cable holding portion 10 is positioned near the center of the holding portion 10A, the cable C held by the holding portion 10A is pressed against the second claw portion 11B by the first claw portion 11A, so that multiple claw portions 11 reliably come into contact with or bite into the outer circumference of the cable C, thereby preventing the cable C from coming loose.

[0027] Furthermore, when removing cable C from cable clamp 1 for maintenance, the operating knob 14 is operated to widen the opening 1A and pull cable C out of the holding part 10A. At this time, because the first claw portion 11A is positioned closer to the center 10S of the holding part 10A relative to the second claw portion 11B, the second claw portion 11B side easily detaches from cable C when the operating knob 14 is pushed open, resulting in good workability when removing the cable.

[0028] Figure 3 shows a state in which a cable C is held to a part of an air conditioning unit (HVAC unit) H using a cable clamp 1. The cable clamp 1 is attached to the mounting location on the side of the air conditioning unit H by a clamp mounting part 20, and the cable C is held in the cable holding part 10.

[0029] In this case, cable C consists of an outer cable C1 and an inner cable C2, with the outer circumference of the outer cable C1 contacting the claw portion 11 of the cable holding portion 10A. One end of the inner cable C2 is connected to a link mechanism L that operates the damper H1 inside the air conditioning unit H. The link mechanism L includes a link member L2 that rotates around a rotation axis L1 and a lever member L3 connected to the link member L2, and one end of the inner cable C2 is connected to the working end of the link member L2. The other end of the inner cable C2 is connected to an operating component of an operating unit (not shown).

[0030] By using such a cable clamp 1 to hold the control cable of the air conditioning unit H, the cable C can be fixed in the appropriate location in various vehicle models where the deployment relationship between the operating unit and the air conditioning unit H differs. This enables the assembly of a highly versatile unit without compromising the operability of the control cable.

[0031] Furthermore, it improves the ease of attaching cable C during unit assembly and allows cable C to be firmly held after installation, thereby improving the efficiency of the installation work and enhancing the operability of the control cable.

[0032] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and any design changes, etc., that do not depart from the gist of the present invention are also included. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined by utilizing each other's technologies, as long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in their purpose and configuration. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1: Cable clamp, 1A: Open section, 10: Cable holding part, 10A: Holding part, 10S: Center, 11: Claw part, 11A: First claw part, 11B: Second claw part, 11C: Third claw part, 13: Elastic deformation part, 14: Operating knob, 14A: Tapered part, 20: Clamp mounting section, 20A: Elastic deformation part, 20B: Guide part, 20C: Locking part, C: Cable, C1: Outer cable, C2: Inner cable, H: Air conditioning unit, H1: Damper, L: Link mechanism, L1: Rotation axis, L2: Link member, L3: Lever member

Claims

1. A cable clamp comprising a cable holding portion having a substantially U-shaped cross-section with one side being an open portion into which a cable is inserted, and a clamp mounting portion connected to the cable holding portion, wherein the cable holding portion has an arc-shaped holding portion and a claw portion that abuts against the outer circumference of the cable held by the holding portion, The aforementioned claw portion is It has a plurality of open-side claws that protrude from the open-side to the holding portion, The plurality of opening-side claws each have a first claw provided on the clamp mounting side and a second claw provided on the opposite side from the first claw, with the opening in between. A cable clamp characterized in that, in the direction in which a cable is inserted into the opening, the first claw portion is positioned closer to the center of the holding portion relative to the second claw portion.

2. The cable holding portion includes an elastically deformable portion that is elastically deformable to widen the opening width of the opening portion, facing the opening portion. The cable clamp according to claim 1, characterized in that the claw portion has a third claw portion that protrudes from the elastically deformable portion side to the holding portion.

3. The cable clamp according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first claw portion abuts against the outer circumference of the cable held by the holding portion near the center of the holding portion.

4. The cable clamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that an operating knob for operating in the direction of opening the opening portion is provided at the end of the cable holding portion on the side of the second claw portion.

5. The cable clamp according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the distance between the first claw portion and the second claw portion is approximately the same as the opening width of the opening portion.

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