Bowden Cable Coupling Element for Confined Spaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional coupling elements for Bowden cables are too long and rigid, making them unsuitable for applications with confined spaces, as they require the outer sheaths to be mounted in line and restrict the inner cables' movement, limiting their use in applications with tortuous paths or tight spaces.
Innovation Solution
A coupling element with a mechanical linkage that includes a Z-shaped slider or pivotable levers, allowing the outer sheaths to be anchored on opposite sides of the base and enabling the inner cables to be connected in a way that allows force transmission around corners or through tight bends, with optional levers or meshing cogs providing mechanical advantage and flexibility in alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional coupling elements are used to connect two Bowden cables end to end, then the outer sheaths are securely anchored and the inner cables are connected in a form-locking manner, but the coupling element becomes too long and rigid to fit in confined spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element transitions from a linear arrangement where outer sheaths are mounted in line to a planar arrangement where outer sheaths are mounted on opposite sides of a base plate. This dimensional change allows the cables to be routed sideways rather than end-to-end, significantly reducing the axial length of the coupling element while maintaining secure form-locking connections through the slider mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling element incorporates a slider that can move linearly along the base plate, transforming the rigid fixed-connection design into a dynamic adjustable system. The slider allows the inner cables to move independently while maintaining connection, enabling the coupling to adapt to different cable lengths and tensions, and reducing the overall length requirement by allowing flexible positioning
2Stability of the object's composition
If the outer sheaths are mounted in line with one another to ensure proper alignment, then the connection is stable, but the cable path becomes rigid and cannot follow tortuous paths
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element allows outer sheaths to be mounted on opposite sides of a base plate rather than in line, changing the spatial arrangement from linear to planar. This enables the cable assembly to bend at right angles and follow tortuous paths while maintaining stable alignment through the base plate's rigid structure and the slider's guided movement
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate serves as an intermediary structure that decouples the alignment function from the cable routing function. The base plate provides stable mounting points for outer sheaths while the slider mechanism mediates the cable movement, allowing the cables to follow flexible paths without compromising the stability of the outer sheath alignment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the use of Bowden cables in spaces where conventional couplings would not fit by reducing the required length and allowing the cables to pass through tighter bends, providing a mechanical advantage and flexibility in geometry, thus accommodating complex paths and confined spaces.
Implementation Method 1
the mechanical linkage consists of a slider guided for linear movement relative to the base
Implementation Method 2
one or more levers that are pivotably mounted on the base. Connecting the ends of the inner cables to the arms of a bell crank lever pivotably mounted on the base offers the advantage that the outer sheaths need not lie parallel to one another
Implementation Method 3
the ends of the inner cables may be connected to two separate levers connected to meshing cogs that are rotatably mounted on the base
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
A coupling element for coupling the ends of two Bowden cables (20a,20b) to one another, comprises a base (12) having means for anchoring the outer sheaths (14a,14b) of the two cables to the base, and a mechanical linkage (22) movably supported on the base and connectible to the inner cables of the two Bowden cables to transmit force from one inner cable to the other.