Cable Retraction Structure for Mixed-Thickness Harness Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing retractable or movable subsystems in vehicles face challenges in maintaining operative connections, especially for safety-relevant functionalities, due to varying tensile and compressive stresses on cables with different thicknesses during bending and thermomechanical changes.
Innovation Solution
A cable retraction device featuring a bendable drag structure with multiple sections of supporting surfaces having different radii of curvature, allowing cables of varying thicknesses to be supported adjacent to each other, thereby reducing stress and enhancing durability and reliability of the operative connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single-radius supporting surface is used for the cable harness, then the device complexity is reduced, but cables with different thicknesses experience varying tensile and compressive stresses leading to increased risk of breakage and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting surface is divided into multiple sections, each with a different radius of curvature tailored to support cables of specific thicknesses. This local differentiation ensures that each cable experiences uniform stress distribution along its length, preventing breakage and wear while maintaining overall system reliability without excessive complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the bendable drag structure is made more flexible to accommodate frequent bending changes, then the adaptability increases, but the wear of cables due to varying tensile and compressive stress increases
Solution Approach 1:
By providing different radius sections for different cable thicknesses, the structure allows frequent bending movements while maintaining uniform stress distribution on each cable. This reduces cumulative wear from varying stresses even as the drag structure adapts to frequent position changes, extending cable durability while preserving bending adaptability.
3Device complexity
If cables with different thicknesses are supported on the same radius section, then the device complexity is minimized, but tensile and compressive stress differences between cables increase causing breakage risk
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting surface features multiple sections with different radii of curvature, where each section is optimized for cables of a specific thickness range. This local customization ensures that cables of different thicknesses experience comparable and uniform stress levels, preventing connection breakage while keeping the overall device complexity manageable through a systematic multi-section design.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cable retraction device (100) for a retractable or movable subsystem (300; 530) of a vehicle system (510), preferably a steering subsystem (300; 530), comprises a bendable drag structure (110) configured to support a cable harness (180, 180a, 180b) of the subsystem (530). The bendable drag structure (110) defines a bendable supporting surface (112, 112a - 112e) for the cable harness (180, 180a, 180b). Moreover, the supporting surface (112, 112a - 112e) comprises at least two sections (112a - 112e) which extend parallel to each other in a length direction of the bendable drag structure (110) and which at a given bending of the drag structure (110) have different radii of curvature (R1, R2).