Spherical Cable Guide for Automotive Slide Door Angular Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cable supporting devices for automotive slide doors are limited in their ability to accommodate wide ranges of vertical, transverse, and oblique angular changes, often resulting in cable twisting and requiring complex mounting configurations that vary by vehicle type.
Innovation Solution
A cable supporting device featuring a spherical guide member with a hollow frame and supporting members that allow the cable to rotate through a wide range of angles, preventing twisting and simplifying mounting by accommodating angular changes in vertical, transverse, and oblique directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If link members are rotatably connected with connection pins to follow cable angular changes, then the cable can accommodate vertical and transverse angular changes, but the device cannot cope with oblique directional movements and has limited angular ranges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs link members with spherical connection surfaces that rotate about connection pins, creating a spherical mechanism capable of following cable movements in multiple directions including oblique angles. The spherical geometry allows the link members to accommodate angular changes in vertical, transverse, and oblique directions simultaneously, resolving the limitation of planar rotation only.
2Ease of manufacture
If the vertical rotational angular range is restricted, then the device structure is simplified, but it takes time to consider mounting position and angle for each vehicle type
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the cable supporting device with link members that can follow cable angular changes in vertical, transverse, and oblique directions through spherical rotation mechanisms. This universal design allows the same device structure to be mounted on various vehicle types without requiring complex adjustments or reconfigurations, as the spherical mechanism inherently adapts to different mounting positions and angles.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cable displacement or inclination is large, then the cable can accommodate more movement, but the cable itself is twisted in the existing device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses spherical connection surfaces on the link members that allow rotation about connection pins, enabling the mechanism to follow large cable displacements and inclinations in vertical, transverse, and oblique directions. The spherical geometry ensures that the cable remains properly aligned throughout its range of motion, preventing twisting even when accommodating large movements.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for supporting a cable between a vehicle body and a movable member movably connected to the vehicle body is provided with a guide member including a first opening communicating with a hollow portion of a frame body and used for the insertion of the cable, a second opening spaced apart by a specified angle from the first opening, communicating with the hollow portion and used for the insertion of the cable, and a three-dimensional arcuate surface on the outer surface of the frame body; and a supporting member for rotatably holding the arcuate surface of the guide member. The supporting member is fixed to the vehicle body and/or movable member. The cable is inserted from the first opening of the guide member to the second opening through the hollow portion, so that the guide member can follow angular changes of the cable in vertical, transverse and oblique directions.