Clearance adjusting device for cable

A clearance adjusting device for a cable includes a wire having a first side connected to a drive mechanism and a second side connected to an operation mechanism to enable the drive mechanism to be operated in conjunction with the operation mechanism when the wire is moved in an other direction by operation of the operation mechanism, an elastic part having a first end portion connected to the wire and formed to be elastically compressible, and a clearance elimination mechanism fixed to a base, with the wire and the elastic part embedded therein while the wire passes therethrough, in a state where a second end portion of the elastic part is connected to and supported by the clearance elimination mechanism, such that the wire receives an elastic force provided in the other direction toward the operation mechanism by the elastic part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0087632, filed on Jul. 15, 2020, which application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a clearance adjusting device for a cable.

BACKGROUND

In general, a mechanical device includes a cable for enabling drive devices to be operated in conjunction with each other. Such a cable is used as a clutch cable, a gear shift cable, a hood opening and closing cable, or the like, when applied to a vehicle, to enable various mechanisms to be operated in conjunction with each other.

In particular, due to a tolerance when the cable is installed and a variation in length of the cable resulting from frequent use, there may be an event where the mechanisms fail to operate in conjunction with each other smoothly through the cable. That is, concerning a hood of a large-size vehicle, when a lever is operated, left and right latches connected through the cable need to be simultaneously operated, but when a clearance of the cable is generated, there may be a problem such as poor locking or poor operational feeling.

In order to resolve the generation of the clearance of the cable, the cable has been removed and then reinstalled. However, this requires an increase in the number of works and there is a limit in resolving a clearance generated at the time of mounting the cable.

The contents described as the related art have been provided only to assist in understanding the background of the present disclosure and should not be considered as corresponding to the related art known to those having ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a clearance adjusting device for a cable. Particular embodiments relate to a clearance adjusting device for a cable capable of simply adjusting a clearance generated at the time of installing a cable.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a clearance adjusting device for a cable capable of resolving a clearance tolerance at the time of installing the cable by automatically adjusting a clearance of the cable and resolving the clearance merely through a simple operation of adjusting the clearance even when the clearance of the cable is in an excessive adjustment range, resulting in an improvement in convenience of production and workability.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a clearance adjusting device for a cable includes a wire having one side to which a drive mechanism is connected and the other side to which an operation mechanism is connected to enable the drive mechanism to be operated in conjunction with the operation mechanism when the wire is moved in the other direction by operation of the operation mechanism, an elastic part having one end portion connected to the wire and formed to be elastically compressible, and a clearance elimination mechanism fixed to a base, with the wire together with the elastic part embedded therein while the wire passes therethrough, in a state where the other end portion of the elastic part is connected to and supported by the clearance elimination mechanism, such that the wire receives an elastic force provided in the other direction toward the operation mechanism by the elastic part to eliminate a clearance between the drive mechanism and the wire when the clearance is generated.

The clearance elimination mechanism may include a fixing socket mounted on and fixed to the base, having a hollow region to allow the wire to pass therethrough, and having a seating space for the elastic part to be seated therein such that the other end portion of the elastic part is supported by the other end of the seating space.

The wire may have a hook portion bent to hook the one end portion of the elastic part and the fixing socket may have a connection portion bent to hook the other end portion of the elastic part at the other end of the seating space to connect the wire to the fixing socket via the elastic part.

The seating space in the fixing socket may be formed to extend longer than a length of the elastic part when tensioned.

The clearance elimination mechanism may further include a length adjustment socket mounted to be movable on the fixing socket in a length direction, while allowing the wire to pass therethrough, to adjust the clearance between the drive mechanism and the wire according to a position to which the length adjustment socket moves.

The length adjustment socket may include a conduit part allowing the wire to pass therethrough and extending to the operation mechanism along the wire, and an adjustment socket having one end portion into which the fixing socket is inserted and the other end portion into which the conduit part is inserted, and screw-connected to an outer circumferential surface of the fixing socket and to an outer circumferential surface of the conduit part.

A connection socket inserted into the other end portion of the adjustment socket may be provided at one end of the conduit part, and the connection socket and the adjustment socket may be screw-connected to each other.

Screw threads may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the fixing socket and on the outer circumferential surface of the conduit part, respectively, and screw threads corresponding to the respective screw threads of the fixing socket and the conduit part may be formed on an inner circumferential surface of the adjustment socket, and the respective screw threads of the fixing socket and the conduit part may be formed to extend in opposite directions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a clearance adjusting device for a cable according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG.1is a view illustrating a clearance adjusting device for a cable according to embodiments of the present disclosure,FIG.2is an exploded view of the clearance adjusting device for a cable illustrated inFIG.1,FIG.3is a cross-sectional view of the clearance adjusting device for a cable illustrated inFIG.1,FIG.4is a view for explaining that a clearance is adjusted by the clearance adjusting device for a cable illustrated inFIG.1, andFIG.5is an enlarged view for explaining a wire, an elastic part, and a clearance adjustment mechanism in the clearance adjusting device for a cable illustrated inFIG.1.

As illustrated inFIGS.1to4, the clearance adjusting device for a cable according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes a wire100having one side to which a drive mechanism10is connected and the other side to which an operation mechanism20is connected to enable the drive mechanism10to be operated in conjunction with the operation mechanism20when the wire100is moved in the other direction by operation of the operation mechanism20. It further includes an elastic part200having one end portion connected to the wire100and formed to be elastically compressible and a clearance elimination mechanism300fixed to a base30, with the wire100together with the elastic part200embedded therein while the wire100passes therethrough, in a state where the other end portion of the elastic part200is connected to and supported by the clearance elimination mechanism300, such that the wire100receives an elastic force provided in the other direction toward the operation mechanism20by the elastic part200to eliminate a clearance between the drive mechanism10and the wire100when the clearance is generated.

Here, the wire100is provided to enable the drive mechanism10and the operation mechanism20to be operated in conjunction with each other. When the operation mechanism20is operated, the wire boo is moved and the drive mechanism10is operated accordingly. As an example, when being applied to a latch structure of a hood for a vehicle, the drive mechanism10may be a latch device and the operation mechanism20may be an operation lever. When the operation lever is operated, the wire100may be pulled and a locking operation of the latch device may be released accordingly.

However, a tolerance occurring at the time of assembling the wire100or a tolerance resulting from accumulated use of the wire100causes a problem that the drive mechanism10fails to be operated in conjunction with the operation mechanism20when the operation mechanism20is operated. In embodiments of the present disclosure, the tolerance occurring in the wire100is resolved through the elastic part200and the clearance elimination mechanism300.

To this end, the clearance elimination mechanism300is fixed to the base30to fix its position. Here, the base30may be a vehicle body, and a bracket31for mounting the clearance elimination mechanism300may be formed on the base30. Inside the clearance elimination mechanism300, the wire100passes and the elastic part200is embedded. The elastic part200may be formed of a compression spring, and one end portion of the elastic part200is connected to the wire100and the other end portion of the elastic part200is supported inside the clearance elimination mechanism300, such that the wire100receives an elastic force provided in the other direction. In addition, the elastic part200is provided in a tensioned state, when connected to the drive mechanism10and the operation mechanism20, to provide an elastic force to the wire100.

Accordingly, the wire100is always moved in the other direction by the elastic force of the elastic part200. Thus, even if a clearance of the wire100with respect to the drive mechanism10is generated, the clearance is eliminated by the elastic force of the elastic part200.

As illustrated inFIG.4, even if the wire100has an excessive length in a state where one end of the wire100is connected to the drive mechanism10, the clearance between the drive mechanism10and the wire100may be eliminated because the wire100is pulled in the other direction by the elastic part200provided in the clearance elimination mechanism300.

As described above, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the clearance of the wire100can be automatically adjusted by the elastic force of the elastic part200, thereby resolving a clearance tolerance.

More specifically, as illustrated inFIGS.3and5, the clearance elimination mechanism300may include a fixing socket310mounted on and fixed to the base30, having a hollow region to allow the wire100to pass therethrough, and having a seating space311for the elastic part200to be seated therein such that the other end portion of the elastic part200is supported by the other end of the seating space311.

That is, the fixing socket310is mounted on the base30to fix its position, and has the hollow region to allow the wire100pass therethrough. In particular, the seating space311in which the elastic part200is seated is formed inside the fixing socket310, and the elastic part200is supported by the other end of the seating space311. Here, the seating space311of the fixing socket310may extend longer than a length of the elastic part200when tensioned, and thus, the elastic part200may be provided in a tensioned state in the seating space311. In addition, the seating space311may be formed to extend in a linear form to smoothly perform an operation of tensioning or compressing the elastic part200. That is, since one end portion of the elastic part200is connected to the wire100and the other end portion of the elastic part200is supported by the other end of the seating space311in the fixing socket310, the wire100maintains the elastic force in the other direction.

This is preceded by a process of connecting the wire100to the drive mechanism10in a state where the spring is tensioned by pulling one end of the wire100at the time of installing the wire100. The wire100continuously receives the elastic force provided in the other direction by the compressing operation of the elastic part200, thereby eliminating the clearance between the wire100and the drive mechanism10.

Meanwhile, as illustrated inFIG.5, the wire100may have a hook portion no bent to hook one end portion of the elastic part200and the fixing socket310may have a connection portion312bent to hook the other end portion of the elastic part200at the other end of the seating space311to connect the wire100to the fixing socket310via the elastic part200. In this way, since the elastic part200is hook-connected to the wire100and to the fixing socket310, a process of mounting the elastic part200is simplified and the elastic part200does not escape from the wire100and from the fixing socket310. Here, the hook portion no of the wire100may have such a shape as to extend in a circumferential direction and then be bent in one direction in order to hook one end portion of the elastic part200and prevent the elastic part200from escaping in the other direction. In addition, the other end portion of the elastic part200is supported by the other end of the seating space311, and the connection portion312has such a shape as to extend from the other end of the seating space311inward of the elastic part200and then be bent in the circumferential direction, thereby preventing the elastic part200from escaping in one direction.

In this way, since the wire100is connected to the fixing socket310via the elastic part200, the wire100is always moved in the other direction by the elastic force of the elastic part200, thereby eliminating the clearance between the drive mechanism and the wire100.

Meanwhile, the clearance elimination mechanism300may further include a length adjustment socket320mounted to be movable on the fixing socket310in a length direction, while allowing the wire100to pass therethrough, to adjust the clearance between the drive mechanism10and the wire100according to a position to which the length adjustment socket320moves.

The length adjustment socket320adjusts a position of the wire100according to the position to which the length adjustment socket320moves on the fixing socket310in the length direction. In a case where the clearance is not eliminated by the elastic part200, the clearance of the wire100can be adjusted by the length adjustment socket320. That is, the length adjustment socket320is formed to surround the wire100, and when the length adjustment socket320moves on the fixing socket310in the other direction, an overall length of components surrounding the wire100increases, which functions to reduce a length of the wire. Accordingly, a clearance resulting from an excessive length of the wire100is eliminated, and a tolerance between parts is resolved.

More specifically, the length adjustment socket320may include a conduit part321allowing the wire100to pass therethrough and extending to the operation mechanism20along the wire100, and an adjustment socket322having one end portion into which the fixing socket310is inserted and the other end portion into which the conduit part321is inserted, and screw-connected to an outer circumferential surface of the fixing socket310and to an outer circumferential surface of the conduit part321.

As illustrated inFIG.5, the length adjustment socket320includes the conduit part321and the adjustment socket322. Here, the conduit part321extends along the wire100while one end portion thereof is connected to the adjustment socket322and the other end portion thereof is supported by the operation mechanism20. The fixing socket310may be inserted into one end portion of the adjustment socket322and one end of the conduit part321may be inserted into the other end portion of the adjustment socket322, and a position of the conduit part321may be changed inside the adjustment socket322. That is, the adjustment socket322is mounted on the fixing socket310to fix its position, and the conduit part321is moved in the adjustment socket322to adjust an overall length of the conduit part321.

To explain the adjustment of the overall length of the conduit part321, the conduit part321is made of a flexible material while allowing the wire100to pass therethrough. Here, one end of the conduit part321is inserted into the adjustment socket322, and the conduit part321extends to the operation mechanism20such that the other end of the conduit part321is supported by the operation mechanism20. Thus, the overall length of the conduit part321may be a length from a portion exposed from the adjustment socket322to a portion supported by the operation mechanism20. Accordingly, the overall length of the conduit part321may be changed by changing the position of the conduit part321in a state where the conduit part321is inserted into the adjustment socket322. This works in such a manner that when the overall length of the conduit part321increases, the length of the wire100therein relatively decreases. Thus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to adjust the length of the wire100by changing the position of the conduit part321in the adjustment socket322.

Here, as illustrated inFIGS.3and5, screw threads310S and321S may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the fixing socket310and on the outer circumferential surface of the conduit part321, respectively, and screw threads322S corresponding to the respective screw threads310S and321S of the fixing socket310and the conduit part321may be formed on an inner circumferential surface of the adjustment socket322. The respective screw threads310S and321S of the fixing socket310and the conduit part321may extend in opposite directions.

In this way, each of the fixing socket310and the conduit part321may be screw-connected to the adjustment socket322, while being inserted thereinto, to move the conduit part321when the adjustment socket322is rotated. That is, when the adjustment socket322is rotated on the fixing socket310fixed to the base30, the conduit part321is moved along the screw thread322S of the adjustment socket322. To this end, the screw thread310S of the fixing socket310and the screw thread321S of the conduit part321extend in the opposite directions, and the fixing socket310and the conduit part321connected via the adjustment socket322are moved close to each other or far away from each other when the adjustment socket322is rotated. Accordingly, the overall length of the conduit part321may be adjusted by rotating the adjustment socket322. When the conduit part321is moved in a direction far away from the fixing socket310by rotating the adjustment socket322, the overall length of the conduit part321increases and the length of the wire100relatively decreases, thereby adjusting the clearance resulting from the excessive length of the wire100.

Meanwhile, a connection socket323inserted into the other end portion of the adjustment socket322may be provided at one end of the conduit part321, and the connection socket323and the adjustment socket322may be screw-connected to each other. Accordingly, the conduit part321may be formed long to allow the wire100to pass therethrough when being molded, and the conduit part321may be connected to the adjustment socket322by separately molding the connection socket323to be connected to the adjustment socket322and coupling the connection socket323to one end of the conduit part321, thereby reducing a manufacturing cost of the conduit part321. That is, in a case where all screw threads are formed on the conduit part321in advance, there is a problem that the conduit part321should be replaced in its entirety when the screw threads are damaged, resulting in an increase in the manufacturing cost. Thus, the conduit part321may be provided with the connection socket323for connection to the adjustment socket322.

In the clearance adjusting device for a cable having the structure as described above, the clearance of the wire100can be automatically adjusted by the elastic force of the elastic part200, thereby resolving a clearance tolerance that occurs at the time of installing the wire100. In addition, even if the clearance of the wire100becomes excessive, the length of the wire100can be adjusted merely through a simple process of rotating the clearance elimination mechanism300, resulting in an improvement in convenience of work.

Although the present disclosure has been shown and described with respect to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure may be variously modified and altered without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims.