The present invention pertains to a fastening device for fixing a cable at a shift actuating means or a transmission with a jacket end piece jacketing the end area of the cable and with a mounting element accommodating the jacket end piece at the shift actuating means or at the transmission.
Fastening devices of the type described in the introduction are preferably used to fix cables for transmitting movements of a gearshift lever to an associated motor vehicle transmission. Solutions have been known here in which the fastening device is designed as a so-called bayonet connection, in which the jacket end piece and the mount belonging to it must be aligned in a certain direction in relation to one another, so that the corresponding active surfaces on the individual components can be locked with one another to fix the cable and are thus secured against separation. It is problematic in such solutions that if the cable is mounted early during the manufacture of the vehicle, its alignment is often not taken into account. Problems will therefore occur again and again during the subsequent assembly of the transmission and the shifting device, because readjustment of the cable must be performed, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the cable is often subject to pretension in the locked state.
The object of the present invention is therefore to improve a fastening device of this type such that problem-free fixing of the cable at the shifting device of the transmission is made possible under all prevailing assembly conditions and, moreover, a fastening device is provided that permits inexpensive manufacture because of its simple design and the small number of components it comprises.
According to the invention a fastening device is provided for fixing a cable to a shift actuating means or a transmission with a jacket end piece jacketing the cable and with a mounting element accommodating the jacket end piece at the shift actuating means or the transmission. The jacket end piece has a circular groove and the mounting element has at least one projection engaging the groove in the fixed state of the cable, and the mounting element is provided with at least one spring element located in a plane extending in parallel to the plane of the groove. Thus, a distance corresponding to the installation conditions may be present between essentially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the cable or coaxially to the longitudinal axis of the cable.
This combination of the features makes it possible to ignore a special installation position of the cable. Regardless of the rotational position of the cable to be mounted, the projection has the possibility of bringing about the fixation of the cable in the axial direction due to the circular shape of the groove, and the spring element prevents the jacket end piece from slipping out of the groove.
It proved to be advantageous, in particular, for the spring element to have two spring tongues located diametrically opposite each other.
A preferred embodiment of the subject of the present invention provides, moreover, for the spring element to have an essentially U-shaped recess with a bottom area and two elastic leg areas located opposite each other, the said leg areas forming the spring tongues and the bottom area having an annular shape adapted to the external diameter of the jacket end piece. The U-shaped form of the recess of the spring element makes it possible to easily introduce the jacket end piece between the spring tongues located opposite each other, and it makes possible at the same time the secure fixation in the bottom area of the mounting element.
In the cases in which the shift actuating means or transmission assembly unit has a plastic housing, the mounting element may be made in one piece with the respective housing together with the spring element. The number of individual components can thus be reduced further and the mounting of the cable can be simplified.
Should the housing of the shifting device be made of a metallic material, the spring element may be manufactured from an elastically deformable plastic or an elastic metal.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.
In the drawings:
Referring to the drawings in particular,
The spring element has an essentially angular shape with two legs 9 and 10 extending at an angle of 90° in relation to one another. The leg 9 of the spring element 15 is fixed to a housing part 11 of the shift actuating means according to this embodiment. The approximately vertically extending leg 10 arranged at an angle of 90° accommodation, as is apparent from
The end of the cable 1, which end is to be fixed to the shift actuating means, is shown once again in the view of
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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101 07 635 | Feb 2001 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCTDE02/00564 | 2/15/2002 | WO | 00 | 9/26/2002 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO0206498 | 8/22/2002 | WO | A |
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34 41 716 | May 1986 | DE |
198 01 343 | Jul 1999 | DE |
299 08 465 | Sep 1999 | DE |
1 026 411 | Aug 2000 | EP |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20030051570 A1 | Mar 2003 | US |