JP4199783B2 - Steel wire end fitting connection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in a steel cord suitable as an operation wire for a brake or a clutch of a motorcycle, for example.

  In general, as shown in FIG. 4, the steel wire a used as an operation wire is engaged with the free end of an operation lever c of a brake or a clutch via a terminal fitting b provided at an end, and pulls the steel wire a. Therefore, the operation lever c is used for the purpose of rotation. The steel wire a is made into a so-called Tyco shape, which is formed by twisting a large number of steel wires, or at the end of an element wire d made of a single steel wire, with the outer diameter cut into a round shape. The terminal fittings b are connected to each other.

  As a means for connecting the element wire d and the terminal fitting b, in recent years, bonding by plastic working with excellent productivity, for example, bonding by caulking is expected. However, a joining method in which the wire d is inserted into the terminal fitting b having a diameter larger than that of the wire d and the outer surface is squeezed so as not to come out is not always easy. Therefore, conventionally, it is avoided to apply plastic working to the large-diameter end fitting b, and as shown in FIG. 5, between the wire d and the end fitting b, auxiliary members e, which are relatively easy to perform plastic working. A method of joining f and engaging the auxiliary member with the terminal fitting b is commonly used.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, an auxiliary member e made of a bolt and a nut is interposed between the terminal fitting b and the wire d, and the wire is inserted into the thin portion provided at the end of the bolt. And fixing by pressing the outer surface
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4B, a small ring-shaped component f is attached to the end of the strand d, and the outer surface is pressed and plastically deformed to prevent it from coming off. , , Etc. are considered to be used.

  However, each of these methods requires a bolt-shaped auxiliary member e or a ring-shaped auxiliary component f between the terminal fitting b and the wire d, which increases the number of components and produces It was difficult to improve the property.

As a method for suppressing such an increase in the number of parts, so-called brazing is impregnated between the wire and the end fitting, so that brazing is considered, but heating equipment is required and the joining process takes a long time. There was a problem that required.
JP 2002-106644 A JP-A-10-196117 JP 2002-227628 A

  The problem to be solved is that the connection between the wire-end terminal fitting and the strand is a step in which an engagement element made of a small metal ring is once engaged with the end portion of the strand, and the engagement piece is provided on the end fitting. Since it is inserted through the attached insertion hole and used, a small metal ring must be used, and the structure becomes complicated. Moreover, since the insertion hole drilled in the terminal fitting was a stepped hole, extra man-hours were also increased in the production of the terminal fitting.

  The present invention provides an axially extending shaft hole on an end surface of a terminal fitting having a cylindrical shape having a cylindrical engaging surface and an insertion hole drilled in a direction crossing the axis of the engaging surface. The main feature is that the bottom wall of the shaft hole is plastically deformed in the direction of the insertion hole to sandwich the strand.

  According to the steel wire end fitting joining method according to the present application, since the Tyco type end fitting and the strand are directly connected, the number of parts is small, and the production process is shortened and the production is easy. In addition, the structure is simple, the durability is excellent, and stable quality can be maintained over a long period of time. Furthermore, there are effects such as simple appearance, excellent aesthetics, and excellent merchantability.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a steel cord 10 having a terminal fitting 12 at its end. In this example, the strand 11 forming the steel cord 10 is prepared for use in a small vehicle such as a motorcycle, and is made by twisting a large number of thin stainless steel wires, and the thickness thereof is around 1.2 to 2 mm. Further, the terminal metal 12 is made of the above-mentioned Tyco type made of stainless steel, and the outer diameter and length thereof are not significantly different from those of the conventional one, and the outer diameter is 5 to 8 mm and the length is about 10 mm. .

  The above-mentioned Tyco-shaped terminal fitting 12 has a smooth cylindrical shape on the outer surface that forms a sliding pair with an operator (not shown), and an insertion hole 14 through which the element wire 11 is inserted is formed at the axial center. It is drilled through.

  Further, the end fitting 12 is formed by cutting or plastically forming a hollow hole 16 provided on at least one end surface so as to leave a necessary thickness at the periphery. In addition, the bottom surface of the hollow hole 16 is formed to be substantially flat, and the thickness of the bottom wall 17 that forms the bottom surface remains such that the rigidity of the insertion hole 14 does not decrease.

  The lightening holes 16 may be provided not only at one end face but also at both ends as shown in FIG. 2, thereby further reducing the weight and reducing the material cost.

  Next, a method of connecting the terminal fitting 12 and the element wire 11 will be described with reference to FIG. First, a single strand 11 and a terminal fitting 12 are prepared. Next, the end portion of the strand 11 is inserted from the strand 11 into the insertion hole 14 of the terminal fitting 12 having a slightly larger diameter.

  With the wire 11 inserted into the terminal fitting 12, the wire 11 is moved onto the cradle 20 supported by a press (not shown), and the punch p having a circular cross section is lowered from above. In addition, it is natural that the outer diameter of the punch p is made slightly smaller than the above-described hole 16, and insertion is easy.

  The cradle 20 is provided with a circular positioning hole 22 on the upper surface, and the positioning hole 22 and the punch p are arranged concentrically in advance. Therefore, if the terminal fitting 12 is supported by the positioning hole 22, the lightening hole 16 provided in the terminal fitting 12 and the punch p are concentric.

  When the circular punch p is lowered, the front end of the punch p enters the lightening hole 16 and abuts against the bottom wall 17 and strongly presses downward. The bottom wall 17 is pressed to press the element wire 11 against the wall surface on the opposite side of the insertion hole 14 so as not to come out.

  Further, if the material of the wire 11 and the terminal fitting 12 is made of a heat-resistant material such as SUS304, it is suitable as a wire for operating a high temperature part such as a cylinder or a muffler.

  Therefore, according to the said Example, the terminal metal fitting 12 and the strand 11 from which a diameter differs greatly are directly couple | bonded. Therefore, the number of parts constituting the terminal structure of the steel cord 10 is reduced, and material can be saved, and high productivity can be obtained in manufacturing.

The Example of the steel cord 10 is shown, (a) is sectional drawing, (b) is a bottom view. It is sectional drawing equivalent to Fig.1 (a) which shows the other Example of the steel cable 10. FIG. It is process drawing which shows the assembly | attachment process of the steel cable 10. FIG. It is a front view which shows the use condition of the conventional terminal metal fitting. FIG. 5 is a cutaway front view showing an example of an auxiliary member having a bolt shape and (b) a Tyco shape.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Steel cord 11 Strand 12 Terminal metal fitting 14 Insertion hole 16 Die-off hole 17 Bottom wall 20 Base 22 Positioning hole p Punch

Claims (3)

  A hollow hole formed in an axial direction on at least one end face of a terminal fitting having a cylindrical shape having a cylindrical engagement surface and an insertion hole formed in a direction intersecting with the axis of the engagement surface. And connecting the end fitting of the steel cable by plastically deforming the bottom wall of the lightening hole in the direction of the insertion hole.   The steel wire end fitting coupling method according to claim 1, wherein the axially extending hollow hole is provided only on one side of the insertion hole, and only one bottom wall is plastically deformed to sandwich the strand. The steel cord according to claim 1, wherein the axially extending hollow holes are provided on both sides in the axial direction with the insertion hole interposed therebetween, and the bottom walls provided on both sides of the insertion hole are plastically deformed to hold the strands. Terminal fitting coupling method.

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