Electrical connectors – With or having flexible guard or support for cable or conductor
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-22
2004-08-10
Patel, Tulsidas C. (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With or having flexible guard or support for cable or conductor
C138S120000, C285S223000, C174S069000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06773297
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technical field of a cable drag chain, which holds and guides an electric cable or a hydraulic or pneumatic hose between a mobile portion where a machine tool, a civil engineering machinery, a transfer system or the like is moved and a fixed portion.
RELATED ART
When a cable or a hydraulic or pneumatic hose is connected to a mobile device such as a machine tool, a civil engineering machinery, a transfer system or the like, undue torsion or tension is generated in the cable or hose by its movement thereby damaging a cable or a hose and disordering its outward appearance. Therefore, a cable drag chain for holding and guiding the cable or hose has been proposed.
A support device for a cable or a hose, which was proposed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. Sho. 62-15008 for example, includes a plastic small-diameter tube member provided with a fan-shaped groove in upward and downward directions of an outer peripheral surface of its side, inside the support device, and also includes a half body of the tube member made of a metallic sheet up and down respectively on the inside the support device, and the halves of the tube members are attached to each other with a pin in such a manner that said small diameter tube member is sandwiched by the halves of the tube members from the upper and lower portions. Then by engaging the inner groove in the small diameter tube member and a stopper of the upper and lower halves of the tube members the support device has a structure connected in the longitudinal direction of the support device.
A cable drag chain “A” disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-278471 previously filed by the present inventor includes a pair of connector pins A
34
and pin hole portions A
35
at a front end portion A
32
and a rear end portion A
33
in a plurality of tubular intermediate frames A
3
respectively as shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5
. Then, the end surface of each of the front and rear end portions A
32
and A
33
is formed as a stopper surface, which limits a bending angle, and the connector pin portion A
34
and the pin hole portion A
35
of the adjacent intermediate frame A
3
are engaged to each other thereby connecting a plurality of intermediate frames A
3
. At the same time an outer periphery of the connected portion of the adjacent intermediate frame A
3
is covered with a detachable tubular outer frame A
4
to close a gap between the adjacent intermediate frames A
3
.
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
However, when the pin for engagement in the former support device for the cable or hose is removed, the upper and lower tube member halves and the small diameter tube member are taken apart in pieces and they are disconnected at the disassembled portion. Thus, assembling them to the original structure is troublesome. Further, there are problems that after the upper and lower tube member halves and the small diameter member are assembled once, it takes much time to disassemble them and when they are assembled again, a pin must be replaced with a new one, thereby increasing the cost and becoming inconvenient for maintenance.
Further, there are problems that since the upper and lower tubular member halves are made of a metallic material and the small tube member are molded of a synthetic resin, the metallic material shaves the synthetic resin during sliding and a large amount of wear powder is produced. Further, since the metallic material is used the holding device becomes heavier than that molded of only a synthetic resin. Additionally since a portion of a metallic material and a portion of a synthetic resin collide with each other during moving the support device, a high noise is generated. Furthermore, since the upper and lower tube member halves on the outermost periphery is made of metal the noise that the upper frame hits a floor surface during the movement of the device becomes higher.
On the other hand, in the latter cable drag chain A an intermediate frame A
3
is formed by a thick hollow rectangular tube body of a synthetic resin and there is a troublesome problem that the cable or the hose cannot be inserted during maintenance and repair as shown in FIG.
5
(
a
). Further, as shown in FIG.
5
(
b
) a thin tongue piece A
47
provided on the outer frame A
4
is engaged in a groove portion A
36
provided on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate frame A
3
to close the gap of the connecting portion. However, the thin tongue piece A
47
makes the contact conditions with the intermediate frame A
3
insufficient and the sealing degree cannot be exerted sufficiently.
Therefore, the objects of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a closed cable drag chain, which is capable of preventing the contact wear powder generated in the holding and guiding the cable or the like from being scattered by reliably closing the cable or the like, and wherein the assembling, maintenance and repair are easy while having light weight and low noise.
Means for Solving the Problems
To solve the above-mentioned problems a closed cable drag chain according to claim
1
, into which a cable or the like is inserted to be held and guided in conditions where a number of intermediate frames are articulately connected to each other, an outer frame including a removable opening/closing frame structure fit-covers a coupled portion of the adjacent intermediate frames to close the coupling gaps respectively thereby engaging it in a tubular shape is characterized in that said intermediate frame comprises an intermediate frame body in which a cable holding groove was provided and an opening/closing lid member fitted into said cable holding groove, and said intermediate frame body includes lower open end surfaces, which abut with each other on the chain bend inner peripheral side to hold a required bending position of the chain and upper open end surfaces, which abut with each other on the chain bend outer peripheral side to hold a straightly extended position of the chain.
A closed cable drag chain according to claim
2
further solves the above-mentioned problems by that fact that an elastic sealed portion, which closely fits said outer frame and said intermediate frame are formed on the inside of the front end and the inside of the rear end of the outer frame in addition to the configuration of claim
1
.
Further, a closed cable drag chain according to claims
3
and
4
further solves the above-mentioned problems by the fact that said outer frame is relatively movably connected to said opening/closing lid member while including an engagement piece, which is movably engaged in an engagement portion protruded on the opening/closing lid member in the coupling direction of the chain in addition to the configuration according to claim
1
or
2
.
Further, a closed cable drag chain according to claims
5
,
6
,
7
and
8
further solves the above-mentioned problems by the fact that said intermediate frame and outer frame are formed of a synthetic resin in addition to the configuration according to claims
1
to
4
.
Here, the intermediate frame used in the present invention comprises an intermediate frame body in which a cable holding groove is provided and an opening/closing lid member, which is fitted into said cable holding groove. If the intermediate frames forms a tubular coupling structure in which they were articulately connected to each other and has a form in which a cable or the like is inserted and can be held and guided, any annular forms having cross-sections such as a circular cross-section, an oval cross-section, a rectangular cross-section and the like may be used.
Further a number of intermediate frames in the present invention may be used if they are articulately connected to each other in a coupling structure. As the concrete connection structures a connecting structure in which connecting pin portions of the adjacent frames and the pin hole portions of the adjacent intermediate frames were fitted to each other, a connecting st
Patel Tulsidas C.
Tsubakimoto Chain Co.
Woodling Krost and Rust
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