Cable Slack Prevention Device for Fuel Door Mechanisms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cables used for transferring operating forces, such as those in fuel door mechanisms, tend to deteriorate over time and become loose, leading to inefficiencies and mal-operation due to excessive lengthening, which reduces the transfer of intended operation loads and strokes.
Innovation Solution
A cable slack prevention device that twists the cable when pulled, utilizing a fixing body with oblique outer screws and a guide bracket with matching inner screws to maintain cable rigidity and reduce length, ensuring smooth force transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cable is designed to have a proper length for adequate force transfer, then the operating force can be transferred adequately to the latch, but the cable deteriorates and deforms over time causing excessive lengthening and slack
Solution Approach 1:
The cable management system transitions from a static cable length to a dynamic adjustment mechanism. The cable can be automatically tensioned or adjusted in length through the guide bracket and fixing body system, allowing it to compensate for elongation over time and maintain proper force transfer efficiency throughout the fuel door's operational life.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the cable's physical parameters by introducing a mechanism that can alter the cable's effective length and tension. The guide bracket with its specific geometry and the fixing body create a system where cable parameters (length, tension, orientation) can be dynamically adjusted to compensate for deterioration and maintain reliable force transfer.
2Ease of operation
If the cable length increases due to deterioration and deformation, then the cable becomes loose and clearance increases, but the operating force cannot be transferred smoothly to the latch
Solution Approach 1:
The guide bracket acts as an intermediary mechanism between the cable and the latch. It provides a controlled path for the cable, ensuring that even when the cable length changes due to deterioration, the force transfer path remains consistent and reliable. The fixing body with its specific geometry serves as another intermediary that maintains proper cable tension and orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable management system is designed to automatically compensate for cable slack through its geometric constraints and movement mechanisms. As the cable elongates or sags, the guide bracket and fixing body system self-adjusts to maintain proper tension and alignment, eliminating the need for manual intervention to maintain operational smoothness.
3Quantity of substance
If the clearance between the door handle and cable increases, then the cable becomes loosened, but the transfer efficiency of operating force decreases and mal-operation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The guide bracket introduces a new spatial dimension for cable management. Instead of relying solely on linear cable tension, the system uses three-dimensional geometric constraints and angled paths through the guide bracket to maintain force transfer efficiency. This dimensional approach allows the system to compensate for cable slack by redirecting force through optimized pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of force transfer by modifying the cable's path geometry, tension, and orientation through the guide bracket and fixing body. These parameter changes ensure that the magnitude of operating force is maintained and transferred efficiently to the latch, preventing mal-operation even when cable condition deteriorates.
Data Source
AI summary
A cable slack prevention device may include: a cable to both ends of which a first operation part and a second operation part are connected, respectively, and which is pulled by an operation of the first operation part to link with the second operation part; a fixing body which is fixed to the cable with surrounding it and is formed as a cylinder shape, and on an outer peripheral surface of which outer screws are formed; and a guide bracket which is fixed to a vehicle body and surrounds the fixing body, and on an inner peripheral surface of which inner screws are formed and the inner screws are meshed with the outer screws of the fixing body, allowing the cable to be rotated and twisted when the cable is pulled.