JP4557672B2 - Mounting structure of control lever for control cable - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure for attaching a control lever for a control cable. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mounting structure of an operation lever for pulling and operating a control cable used for a fuel lid opener or a trunk lid opener of an automobile.

No. 7-20293 JP 2001-349320 A

  In Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 6, a bracket 103 provided with one hole 102 or a screw hole on a mounting surface 101, and two cable operation levers 104 provided rotatably on the bracket, An opener 100 is disclosed having 105 and a spring 106 that biases the levers in the direction of cable slack. A U-shaped notch 107 for locking the conduit of the control cable is formed on the front end side of the bracket 103.

  Patent Document 1 describes an opener 108 similar to the above as a conventional technique (see FIG. 7). The bracket 103 of the opener 108 has a bent piece 103a provided with a notch 107 for locking the conduit at the front end, and a bent piece 103b bent in the reverse direction at the rear end.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, an opener 110 similar to the above is arranged inside a mountain-shaped member (car floor member) 111 of an underbody, and a screw 112 is provided on the inner surface side of a mounting surface 111a of the member 111. It is described that the bracket 103 is fixed and that the screw 112 is inserted from the outside and screwed into the bracket 103 (see FIG. 8). This is also provided with bent pieces 103a and 103b on the front and rear of the bracket 103, and a female screw 113 that is screwed with the screw 112 is formed on the bent piece 103a at the front end. Two holes 114 for locking the conduit are formed in the bent piece 103b at the rear end. Then, the bracket 103 with the levers 104 and 105 attached is passed through the front side plate (mounting surface) of the member 111, and can be shifted laterally until the bent piece 103 a at the front end matches the position of the female screw 113. An opening 115 having a thickness and shape is formed. Reference numerals 104a and 105a are knobs attached to the levers 104 and 105, respectively.

  In any of the above openers, the reaction force when operating the inner cable cable with the lever is supported by the mounting surface 111 a of the mountain-shaped member 111. However, since it is necessary to provide a large opening 115 in the mounting surface 111a, the rigidity is greatly reduced and the function of supporting the reaction force is insufficient. Further, if the opening 115 is to be made small, the attaching operation becomes troublesome. An object of the present invention is to provide a control cable operating lever mounting structure that does not significantly reduce the rigidity of the mounting surface 111a of the mountain-shaped member 111. Furthermore, it is a technical object of the present invention to provide an operating lever mounting structure that facilitates mounting the bracket 103 to the mountain-shaped member 111.

The control lever mounting structure for a control cable according to the present invention (Claim 1) includes one side plate and the other side plate rising obliquely so as to approach each other on the upper end side from the horizontal floor surface, and the one side plate and the other side plate. An upper body mountain-shaped member having a first opening on the one side plate and a second opening on the other side plate; A bracket provided with a mounting portion that is screwed to the inner surface side of the side plate, and a cable support portion that is connected to the end of the conduit of the control cable on the opposite side of the mounting portion, and is provided rotatably on the bracket. , and a lever for the control cable operation end of the operation side of the first opening protrudes, said first opening is sized to allow lever operation, the It is characterized in that the second opening is sized to be inserted the brackets while supporting the lever.
In such a control cable mounting structure, the bracket includes a vertically oriented main body, the mounting portion bent from the front end of the main body, the cable support portion bent from the rear end, and the rear of the main body. those and a knob piece provided to extend to the end is preferably (claim 2)

  Further, it is preferable that one side plate of the mountain-shaped member is provided with positioning means adjacent to the first opening, and the bracket is provided with means for engaging with the positioning means (Claim 3). In that case, the positioning means is a pair of arcuate locking grooves centered on a female screw for screwing and a pair of introduction grooves extending outward in the radial direction from the locking grooves, and the engaging means Is preferably a pair of bent pieces that can pass through the introduction groove and are locked in the locking groove.

  An operating device using a control cable according to the present invention (Claim 5) includes any one of the mounting structures, a conduit whose end is connected to a bracket of the mounting structure, and a slidably received in the conduit. The end portion is composed of an inner cable connected to the operation lever.

  Unlike the conventional mounting structure, the operating lever mounting structure according to the present invention is attached not from the first opening of the side plate to which the bracket is attached, but from the second opening of the opposite side plate. Brackets can be inserted. Therefore, the first opening is sufficient in shape and size to operate the lever after the bracket is attached to the member. Therefore, the rigidity of the side plate to which the bracket is attached does not decrease so much, and the amount of operation of the inner cable becomes accurate when the control cable is operated with the lever. Since the bracket is not attached to the side plate provided with the second opening on the opposite side, even if the second opening is greatly opened to reduce the rigidity, the operation of the cable is not significantly affected.

  In addition, since the bracket to which the lever is attached is inserted from the second opening of the side plate opposite to the side plate to be attached, it is possible to work while observing the state of the bracket from the first opening. Therefore, alignment is easy and attachment work is easy.

In the mounting structure, the bracket is provided to extend to the rear end of the main body, the mounting portion bent from the front end of the main body, the cable support portion bent from the rear end, and the rear end of the main body. If a knob piece (claim 2) can be inserted through the second opening by holding the knob piece. Therefore, the insertion work and the fastening work with screws are easy.

  When one side plate of the member is provided with positioning means adjacent to the first opening and the bracket is provided with means for engaging with the positioning means (Claim 3), the positioning for screwing is performed. It is easier and easier to install.

  Further, the positioning means is a pair of arcuate locking grooves centered on a female screw for screwing and a pair of introduction grooves extending radially outward from the locking grooves, and the engaging means is In the case of a pair of bent pieces that can pass through the introduction groove and are locked in the locking groove (Claim 4), the bending piece is inserted into the introduction groove and moved to the locking groove side. The female screw and the screw insertion hole come close to each other. Therefore, alignment is easier.

  Since the operating device using the control cable according to the present invention (Claim 5) is provided with the above-described mounting structure, the rigidity of the side plate to which the bracket is attached does not decrease so much, and when operating the control cable with the lever, The amount of operation of the rope becomes accurate.

  Next, an embodiment of a control cable operating lever mounting structure (hereinafter simply referred to as mounting structure) according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view before mounting showing an embodiment of the mounting structure of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are a plan view and a side view of an operating lever unit of the mounting structure, respectively, and FIG. 4 is in the mounting structure of FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view showing a mounting procedure of the mounting structure of FIG. 1.

  The mounting structure 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes an operation lever unit 11, a mountain member 12 to which the operation lever unit 11 is attached, and a mounting screw 13. The mountain-shaped member 12 is a floor panel of an automobile, for example, and includes a bottom plate 14, front and rear side plates 15 and 16 that rise somewhat from the bottom plate, and a top plate 17 that connects the upper ends of the side plates. This is formed by bending a metal plate such as a steel plate into a substantially trapezoidal mountain shape.

  The front side plate 15 is formed with a first opening 19 through which the lever 18 of the operating lever unit 11 is passed, and a screw insertion hole 20 through which the screw 13 is passed is formed adjacent to the first opening 19. Has been. The first opening 19 has a substantially rectangular shape in this embodiment, and does not interfere when the lever 18 is operated up and down as shown in FIG. 3, and the operation lever unit 11 is inserted through the screw as shown in FIG. The dimension is set so as not to interfere with the lever 18 when rotating in the direction of the arrow P about the hole 20.

  Further, as shown in detail in FIG. 4, the front side plate 15 is formed with a pair of upper and lower arc-shaped engaging grooves 21 centering on the screw insertion holes 20, and from the ends of the engaging grooves 21. An introduction groove 22 extends outward in the radial direction. On the other hand, the rear side plate 16 is formed with a second opening 23 having a large width. The 2nd opening part 23 is a dimension which can let the whole operation lever unit 11 pass, and is made into the rectangular shape in this embodiment.

  The operation lever unit 11 includes a bracket 25, the lever 18 that is rotatably supported by the bracket 25 by a pin 26, and a spring 27 interposed therebetween. The spring 27 is a tension coil spring that urges the lever 18 downward. The bracket 25 is formed by bending a metal plate, and includes a vertically oriented main body 28, a mounting portion 29 bent to the left from the front end of the main body, and a cable support portion 30 bent to the right from the rear end. ing. The folding direction may be reversed.

  A through hole for supporting the pin 26 is formed at the center of the front portion 28a of the main body 28, and a circular sliding seat surface (reference numeral 31a in FIG. 2) that slides on the lever 18 protrudes around the through hole. Further, a knob 31 extending backward is provided at the upper end of the rear portion 28b of the main body 28. The knob 31 may be vertically or horizontally or twisted to be inclined. However, it is preferable to protrude backward because it is not necessary to put a finger deeply into the second opening 23 as described later.

  The front portion 28a and the rear portion 28b of the main body 28 are connected by a connecting portion 28c having a low height, and a concave portion 32 is formed on the upper side thereof. A bent piece 33 projects laterally from the upper rear end of the front portion 28a. The bent piece 33 is a stopper that restricts the downward rotation end of the lever 18. Further, a protruding piece 34 that is a stopper that restricts the upward rotation end of the lever 18 protrudes from the front side of the upper end of the front portion 28a.

  At the center of the attachment portion 29, a cylindrical protrusion 36 is projected rearward by burring, and a female screw is formed on the inner surface thereof to be screwed with the screw 13. An engagement piece 37 for engaging with the engagement groove 21 of the mountain-shaped member 12 protrudes from the upper end and the lower end of the attachment portion 29. The engaging piece 37 includes a portion 37a extending outward in the radial direction, an insertion portion 37b protruding forward from the end portion, and an engaging portion 37c extending outward in the radial direction from the front end. Depending on the shape of the attachment portion 29, the outwardly extending portion 37a can be omitted. As shown in FIG. 2, the insertion portion 37 b is a portion that passes through the engagement groove 21, and the engagement portion 37 c passes through the introduction groove 22 to the front of the side plate 15 and engages with the front surface of the side plate 15. It is a part.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the cable support 30 has a hole or notch for supporting a casing cap (38 in FIG. 3) fixed to the end of the conduit (35 in FIG. 3) of the control cable. 39 is formed. A locking hole 40 for locking one end of the spring 27 is formed in the upper portion of the notch 39.

  The lever 18 can be substantially the same as the conventional one. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it has a central portion 18a supported by a pin 26, an operation arm 18b extending forward from the central portion, and an inward engagement arm 18c extending downward from the central portion. A projecting piece 42 that engages with a stopper (bending piece 33) of the bracket 25 is provided at the rear portion of the central portion 18a.

  A finger pressing member 43 made of synthetic resin is fixed to the tip of the operation arm 18b. The other part of the lever 18 can be manufactured by press-molding a metal plate. The distal end of the operation arm 18b and the finger pressing member 43 fixed thereto have an L-shaped (or T-shaped) cross-sectional shape. Thereby, it becomes the structure of the surface which pushes with a finger | toe, and the rib which supports the surface. The finger pressing member 43 may be provided by insert molding, and may be configured only by the tip of the metal lever 18. The inner rope engaging arm 18c includes a folded piece 44 that is folded back into a U shape with a gap. The original portion 45 and the folded piece 44 have a circular hole 46 for locking a cylindrical cable end (reference numeral 41a in FIG. 3) fixed to the end of the inner cable (reference numeral 41 in FIG. 3). Is formed. The hole 46 of the folded piece 44 communicates with the rear edge of the folded piece 44 by a slit 47 for inserting the inner cord.

  The lever 18 is rotatably attached to the bracket 25 by a pin 26 to form the operation lever unit 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the end portion of the pin 26 is caulked to prevent it from coming off.

  To attach the operation lever unit 11 to the angle member 12, the knob 31 at the rear end of the bracket 25 is picked and inserted from the second opening 23 of the angle member 12. Then, as shown on the left side of FIG. 5, the tip end of the lever 18 protrudes outward from the first opening 19, and is slightly inclined so that the engaging portion 37 c of the engaging piece 37 passes through the introducing groove 22, and the side plate 15 To the outside. In this state, the female screw of the cylindrical protrusion 36 substantially coincides with the screw insertion hole 20. Then, the entire operation lever unit 11 is slightly rotated in the direction of arrow P in FIG. 5, and the insertion portion 37 b of the engagement piece 37 is inserted into the engagement groove 21. As shown on the right side of FIG. 5, when the insertion portion 37 b comes to the end of the engagement groove 21, the engagement piece 37 comes almost vertically.

  In this state, since the side plate 15 is sandwiched between the front surface of the attachment portion 29 and the back surface of the engaging portion 37c, the operation lever unit 11 hardly moves even when the finger is released from the knob 31. In this state, the screw 13 is passed through the screw insertion hole 20 from the front side of the side plate 15 and screwed into the female screw of the cylindrical protrusion 36 of the attachment portion 29. As described above, since the operation lever unit 11 hardly moves, the screw tightening operation can be performed with both hands using a tool such as a screwdriver. It is also possible to screw the screw 13 with the left hand to some extent while holding the knob 31 with the right hand and then tighten the screw firmly using a tool.

  When assembling the mounting structure 10 as described above, the operation lever unit 11 is inserted from the second opening 23 formed in the rear side plate 16, and the operation lever is inserted into the first opening 19 of the front side plate 15. Of the unit 11, only the vicinity of the tip of the lever 18 is inserted. Therefore, the size of the first opening 19 does not interfere when the lever 18 is operated up and down as shown in FIG. 3, and does not interfere when the operation lever unit 11 is rotated as shown in FIG. Small ones may be used. Therefore, the first opening 19 of the front side plate 15 to which the bracket 25 is fixed can be made considerably smaller than the conventional one, and the rigidity of the side plate 15 can be maintained high. The rear side plate 16 is provided with a large second opening 23. However, since the bracket 25 is not fixed to the side plate 16, a reduction in rigidity is not a problem.

  To attach the control cable to the mounting structure 10 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 3, the casing cap 38 is crimped to the notch 39 of the cable support 30 of the bracket 25 and to the end of the conduit 35. And fixed with a nut 38a. The inner cable 41 extending from the conduit 35 is coupled to the lever 18 by locking the cylindrical cable end 41a at the tip of the cable 35 to the hole 46 of the folded piece 44 of the inner cable engaging arm 18c.

  A conventionally known pull control cable is used for the conduit 35 and the inner cable 41. What attached the conduit | pipe 35 and the inner cable 41 to the attachment structure 10 as mentioned above becomes the operating device 50 using a control cable. This operating device 50 is an embodiment of the operating device of the present invention. Such an operating device 50 is configured such that, for example, the other end of the inner cable 41 is connected to a lock lever such as a fuel lid or a trunk lid, and the other end of the conduit 35 is fixed to a bracket or the like in the vicinity thereof, thereby Used as a lid opener.

  In the embodiment, the engagement groove 21 formed in the front side plate 15 of the angle member 12 is a slit having a width slightly wider than the thickness of the insertion portion 37 b of the engagement piece 37 of the bracket 25. However, the introduction groove 22 may be enlarged, the engagement groove 21 may be lengthened, and a part of the engagement groove 21 may be formed in a tapered shape whose width gradually decreases toward the tip side. Thereby, the engagement piece 37 can be easily inserted into the introduction groove 22, and the centering can be automatically performed in accordance with the turning operation.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the engagement part 37c extended outward is provided in the engagement piece 37 of the bracket 25, only one side may be sufficient. Even in that case, the alignment is easy due to the engagement between the pair of insertion portions 37b and the engagement groove 21. And since the engaging part 37c of one side is engaged with the front surface of the side plate 15, the operation lever unit 11 does not fall off. Furthermore, the pair of insertion portions 37b can be left and both the engaging portions 37c can be omitted. Also in this case, the alignment between the female screw and the screw insertion hole 20 is easy. However, it is an operation of picking the knob 31 and stopping the screw while holding the operation lever unit 11.

  In addition to the engagement of the engagement piece 37 and the engagement groove 21, a combination of a tapered protrusion provided on one of the bracket 25 and the side plate 15 and a receiving portion of the protrusion provided on the other is known. An alignment means can also be employed. When positioning means that can be positioned by simply pushing the bracket 25 straight forward is provided, or when the positioning means is omitted, the operation lever unit 11 does not need to be rotated, so the first opening 19 is opened. It can be further reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the first opening 19 has a rectangular shape, but an L-shaped or T-shaped opening is formed in accordance with the shape of the finger pressing member 43 provided at the tip of the lever 18. You can also. However, the vertical groove has a dimension that can freely move in the vertical direction when the operation arm 18b rotates. When the finger pressing member 43 is mounted after the operation lever unit 11 is attached, the first opening 19 can be further reduced.

It is a perspective view before attachment which shows one Embodiment of the attachment structure of this invention. It is a top view of the operation lever unit of the attachment structure of FIG. It is a side view of the operation lever unit of the attachment structure of FIG. It is a principal part front view of the mountain-shaped member in the attachment structure of FIG. It is a front view which shows the attachment procedure of the attachment structure of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the conventional operation lever unit (opener). It is a perspective view which shows the other example of the conventional operation lever unit (opener). It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the other example of the conventional attachment structure.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mounting structure 11 Operation lever unit 12 Yamagata member 13 Screw 14 Bottom plate 15, 16 Side plate 17 Top plate 18 Lever 18a Center part 18b Operation arm 18c Inner engagement arm 19 First opening part 20 Screw insertion hole 21 Engagement groove 22 Introducing groove 23 Second opening 25 Bracket 26 Pin 27 Spring 28 Main body 28a Front portion 28b Rear portion 28c Connection portion 29 Attachment portion 30 Cable support portion 31 Picking piece 32 Recessed portion 33 Bending piece 34 Projecting piece 35 Conduit 36 Cylindrical protrusion 37 Engagement Joint piece 37a Extension part 37b Insertion part 37c Engagement part 38 Casing cap 38a Nut 39 Notch 40 Locking hole 41 Inner rope 41a Cable end 42 Projection piece 43 Finger pushing member 44 Folding piece 45 Original part 46 Hole 47 Slit 50 Operation apparatus

Claims (5)

The one side plate and the other side plate rising obliquely so as to approach each other on the upper end side from the horizontal floor surface, and a top plate connecting the upper ends of the one side plate and the other side plate, the first side plate A mountain-shaped member of an underbody of an automobile having a second opening on the other side plate,
A bracket provided with a mounting portion to be screwed to the inner surface side of the one side plate, and a cable support portion to which the end of the conduit of the control cable is connected to the opposite side of the mounting portion ;
A lever for operating the control cable provided on the bracket so as to be rotatable, and an end on the operation side projecting from the first opening,
The first opening is sized to allow lever operation;
The second opening has a size capable of inserting a bracket in a state of supporting a lever.
Mounting structure of control lever for control cable. The bracket comprises a vertical body, said mounting portion bent from the front end of the body, and the cable support portion bent from the rear end, and the tab that is provided to extend to the rear end of the body The mounting structure according to claim 1.   The mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein positioning means is provided on one side plate of the mountain-shaped member adjacent to the first opening, and means for engaging the positioning means is provided on the bracket. The positioning means is a pair of arcuate locking grooves centered on a female screw for screwing, and a pair of introduction grooves extending radially outward from the locking grooves;
The engaging means is a pair of bent pieces that can pass through the introduction groove and are locked in the locking groove.
The operation lever mounting structure according to claim 3. The operation lever mounting structure according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3 and 4,
A conduit whose end is connected to the bracket of the mounting structure;
Inner cord that is slidably accommodated in the conduit and whose end is connected to the control lever
An operating device using a control cable.