Patent Grant
7255381
This application claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-430701, filed on Dec. 25, 2003 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-430708, filed on Dec. 25, 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hook employed to separate a wire harness from a vehicle body and to a method for separating the wire harness using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In handling of disused automobiles, a hook employed to separate a wire harness from a vehicle body is conventionally disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2833674.
As shown in
With the above configuration, as shown in
The rod member 55 prevents the wire harness WH from falling off an opening of the hook portion 52 because the rod member 55 closes the opening.
The plurality of clip means are divided into a right clip means group and a left clip means group around a place where the wire harness WH is hooked to the hook 50. The wire harness WH is rarely pulled out from the right and left clip means groups at the same time and usually pulled out from either the right clip means group or the left clip means group in first, when the tension load is applied to the hook 50. Therefore, external force occurs to the wire harness WH by one clip means group continuing to clip the wire harness WH wherein the external force acts in an axial direction of the wire harness WH.
If the external force occurs to the wire harness WH, the hook 50 tends to sideslip because the wire harness WH is only hooked to the hook portion 52 so as not to fall off the opening of the hook portion 52. Once the hook 50 sideslip on the wire harness WH, the tension load applied to the hook 50 is not efficiently transmitted to the wire harness WH, and accordingly it takes a lot of time to separate the wire harness WH from the vehicle body.
Further, if the hook 50 sideslip on the wire harness WH, the wire harness WH tends to slip through the hook 50 from the other clip means group side wherein the wire harness WH has been pulled out from the other clip means group. Once the wire harness WH slips through the hook 50, it is necessary to start a work for hooking the wire harness WH to the hook portion 52 from the beginning again, and accordingly it takes a lot of time and becomes complicated to separate the wire harness WH from the vehicle body.
A method for separating a wire harness using a hook is conventionally disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication 2000-207947.
As shown in
The object of the present invention is to provide a hook capable of separating a wire harness from a vehicle body quickly and certainly and a method for separating the wire harness using the hook.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hook comprising a hook body, a hook portion integrally fixed to a lower end of the hook body, a movable pressing portion rotatably supported to an upper end of the hook portion, a link unit having a first end rotatably connected to the movable pressing portion and an operating portion rotatably connected to a second end of the link unit, wherein if the operating portion is pulled upward, the movable pressing portion presses a wire harness, which is hooked to the hook portion, against the hook portion.
According to the present invention, a tension load is applied to a wire harness in a situation where the wire harness is sandwiched between a hook portion and a movable pressing portion. Therefore, a sideslip of a hook is certainly prevented, even if external force acts in an axial direction of the wire harness. As a result, the wire harness is quickly and certainly pulled out from a vehicle body.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for separating a wire harness using a hook comprising the steps of, disposing a movable pressing portion on an upper side of a hook portion, hooking a wire harness mounted to a vehicle body to the hook portion, pulling an operating portion upward wherein the movable pressing portion presses the wire harness against the hook portion and moving the hook upward wherein the wire harness is forcibly pulled out from the vehicle body.
According to the present invention, a tension load is applied to a wire harness in a situation where the wire harness is sandwiched between a hook portion and a movable pressing portion. Therefore, a sideslip of a hook is certainly prevented, even if external force acts in an axial direction of the wire harness. As a result, the wire harness is quickly and certainly pulled out from a vehicle body.
As shown in
The hook bodies 2, 2 are formed of two plates disposed apart from each other, respectively. The hook portions 3, 3 are integrally fixed to lower ends of the hook bodies 2, 2 respectively. The movable pressing portion 5 is substantially formed of a straight elongated-shape and rotatably supported between the hook portions 3, 3 via the support pin 4 on a first end side thereof. The coil spring 6 has both ends engaged to the first end of the movable pressing portion 5 and a bar which is fixed between the hook portions 3, 3, respectively. The operating portion 7 is subject to a tension load F of a hoist (not shown in
The hook portions 3, 3 are substantially formed of J-letter shapes, respectively and arranged parallel to and apart from each other. Each of the hook portions 3, 3 contacts a wire harness WH from below and has an uneven and concave upper surface.
The movable pressing portion 5 contacts the wire harness WH from above and has an uneven and convex lower surface. The movable pressing portion 5 abuts against the wire harness WH which is placed on the upper surfaces of the hook portions 3, 3, by rotating it around the support pin 4 in an A direction. Thus, the wire harness WH is sandwiched between the hook portions 3, 3 and the movable pressing portion 5.
The coil spring 6 biases the movable pressing portion 5 in a B direction. As shown in
The operating portion 7 has an engaging hole portion 7a to which an end of the chain 20 is engaged. When the operating portion 7 is subjected to the tension load F from the chain 20, the operating portion 7 moves in a direction where it separates from the hook bodies 2, 2.
The link unit 8 has a first link member 9 and a pair of second link members 10. The first link member 9 is substantially formed of a triangular shape and rotatably supported between upper ends of the hook bodies 2, 2 via a support pin 9a on a center position thereof. Also, the first link member 9 has a first end which is rotatably supported to a lower end of the operating portion 7 via a first pin 11a. The second link members 10, 10 are formed of a straight elongated-shape and have first ends which are rotatably supported to both sides of a second end of the first link member 9 via a second pin 11b, and second ends which are rotatably supported to both sides of a second end of the movable pressing portion 5 via a third pin 11c.
If the operating portion 7 moves upwards by the tension load F, the travel distance of the operating portion 7 is transmitted to the movable pressing portion 5 via the first link member 9 and the second link members 10, 10. Then, the movable pressing portion 5 rotates in the A direction against a bias force of the coil spring 6.
Next, a method for separating the wire harness WH from a vehicle body (not shown in
First, the movable pressing portion 5 is located in the waiting position by the biasing force of the coil spring 6 (see
Finally, the tension force F is further applied to the operating portion 7 via the chain 20, which moves the hook 1 upwards and pulls the wire harness WH upwards at the same time. The tension force F forcibly pulls out the wire harness WH form a clip means (not shown in
The hook 1 according to the present embodiment is characterized by the following.
It is hard to occur a sideslip of the hook 1 on the wire harness WH, even if external force acts in an axial direction of the wire harness WH by pulling out the wire harness WH from either a right or a left clip means group in first. Therefore, the wire harness WH is quickly and certainly pulled out from the vehicle body.
Shearing force acts on the wire harness WH to sandwich the wire harness WH in a bending state because the wire harness WH is sandwiched between the hook portions 3, 3 and the movable pressing portion 5 disposed between the hook portions 3, 3. Therefore, sandwiching force of the hook 1 strengthens against the external force acting in the axial direction of the wire harness WH. As a result, the sideslip of the hook 1 is certainly prevented, even if the external force acts in the axial direction of the wire harness WH.
If the hook 1 is released from the tension load F, the movable pressing portion 5 leaves the wire harness WH quickly because the coil spring 6 biases the movable pressing portion 5 in a direction of being away the upper surface of the hook portions 3, 3. Therefore, works of pulling out the wire harness WH from a vehicle body and hooking the wire harness WH to the hook 1 in a next step are easily performed.
Frictional resistance between the wire harness WH and the hook portions 3, 3 and between the wire harness WH and the movable pressing portion 5 increases because the upper surfaces of the hook portions 3, 3 and the lower surface of the movable pressing portion 5 are uneven. Therefore, the sideslip of the hook 1 is certainly prevented.
Next, modifications of the present embodiment will be described.
Although the link unit 8 is composed of three members such as the first link member 9 and the second link members 10, 10, the link unit 8 may be composed of one member or members being more than three.
Although the hook portion 3 is composed of two parts, the hook portion 3 may be composed of parts being equal to and more than three and then each movable pressing portion 5 may be disposed between adjacent hook portions 3, 3, as shown in
Although the bias means is coil spring 6, the bias means may be a means capable of biasing the movable pressing portion 5 in the B direction.
Although the upper surfaces of the hook portions 3, 3 and the lower surface of the movable pressing portion 5 are formed of unevenness, either the upper surfaces or the lower surface may be only formed of unevenness.
As shown in
The hook bodies 32, 32 are formed of two plates disposed apart from each other, respectively. The hook portions 33, 33 are integrally fixed to lower ends of the hook bodies 32, 32 respectively. The movable pressing portion 35 is substantially formed of a straight elongated-shape and rotatably supported between the hook portions 33, 33 via the support pin 34 at a central part thereof. Each of the coil springs 36, 36 has both ends engaged to the support pin 34 and the guide member 38, respectively. The operating portion 37 is subject to a tension load F of a hoist (not shown in
The hook portions 33, 33 are substantially formed of J-letter shapes, respectively and arranged parallel to and apart from each other. Each of the hook portions 33, 33 contacts a wire harness WH from below and has an uneven and concave upper surface.
The movable pressing portion 35 contacts the wire harness WH from above and has an uneven and convex lower surface. The movable pressing portion 35 abuts against the wire harness WH which is placed on the upper surfaces of the hook portions 33, 33, by rotating it around the support pin 34 in a C direction. Thus, the wire harness WH is sandwiched between the hook portions 33, 33 and the movable pressing portion 35.
The operating portion 37 has an engaging hole portion 37a to which an end of the chain 20 is engaged, on an upper end thereof. When the operating portion 37 is subjected to the tension load F from the chain 20, the operating portion 37 moves in a direction where it separates from the hook bodies 32, 32.
Each of the guide members 38, 38 has a guide groove 38a and guide pin 38b. The guide groove 38a is formed on central region of the hook body 32 and extends along the longitudinal direction of the hook body 32. The guide pin 38b is provided in a protruding condition to one surface of the lower end of the operating portion 37 and guided by the guide groove 38a. If the tension force F is applied to the operating portion 37 via the chain 20, the operating portion 37 is guided by the guide grooves 38a, 38a via the guide pins 38b, 38b to move toward the upper ends of the hook bodies 32, 32.
The link unit 39 has a pair of link members 40 and a pin 41. Each of the line-shaped link members 40, 40 has a first end rotatably connected to the lower end of the operating portion 37 via guide pin 38b and a second end rotatably connected to a first end of the movable pressing portion 35 via the pin 41. If the tension load F is applied to the operating portion 37, the operating portion 37 moves toward the upper ends of the hook bodies 32, 32. At this time, the travel distance of the operating portion 37 is transmitted to the movable pressing portion 35 via the link unit 39, which rotates the movable pressing portion 35 in the C direction against biasing force of the coil springs 36, 36.
Each of the coil springs 36, 36 has one end engaged to the support pin 34 and another end engaged to the guide pin 38b, respectively, and biases the guide pin 38b toward the lower end of the guide groove 38a. As shown in
Next, a method for separating the wire harness WH from a vehicle body (not shown in
First, the movable pressing portion 35 is located in the waiting position by the biasing force of the coil springs 36, 36 (see
Finally, the tension force F is further applied to the operating portion 37 via the chain 20, which moves the hook 31 upwards and pulls the wire harness WH upwards at the same time. The tension force F forcibly pulls out the wire harness WH form a clip means (not shown in
The hook 31 according to the present embodiment is characterized by the following.
It is hard to occur a sideslip of the hook 31 on the wire harness WH, even if external force acts in an axial direction of the wire harness WH by pulling out the wire harness WH from either a right or a left clip means group in first. Therefore, the wire harness WH is quickly and certainly pulled out from the vehicle body.
Shearing force acts on the wire harness WH to sandwich the wire harness WH in a bending state because the wire harness WH is sandwiched between the hook portions 33, 33 and the movable pressing portion 35 disposed between the hook portions 33, 33. Therefore, sandwiching force of the hook 31 strengthens against the external force acting in the axial direction of the wire harness WH. As a result, the sideslip of the hook 31 is certainly prevented, even if the external force acts in the axial direction of the wire harness WH.
If the hook 31 is released from the tension load F, the movable pressing portion 35 leaves the wire harness WH quickly because the coil springs 36, 36 bias the movable pressing portion 35 in a direction of being away the upper surface of the hook portions 33, 33. Therefore, works of pulling out the wire harness WH from a vehicle body and hooking the wire harness WH to the hook 31 in a next step are easily performed.
Frictional resistance between the wire harness WH and the hook portions 33, 33 and between the wire harness WH and the movable pressing portion 35 increases because the upper surfaces of the hook portions 33, 33 and the lower surface of the movable pressing portion 35 are uneven. Therefore, the sideslip of the hook 31 is certainly prevented.
If the tension load F is applied to the operating portion 37, the operating portion 37 moves on the hook bodies 32, 32 in a straight line. Therefore, the travel distance of the operating portion 37 is efficiently transmitted to the movable pressing portion 35 via the link unit 39 because the operating portion 37 stably moves. As a result, the tension load F efficiently acts on the wire harness WH.
The hook 31 is easily manufactured because each of the guide members 38, 38 is composed of the guide groove 38a and the guide pin 38b.
Further, The hook 31 is easily manufactured because the link unit 39 is composed of the link members 40, 40 and the pin 41.
Next, modifications of the present embodiment will be described.
Although the link member 40 of the link unit 39 is composed of two parts, the link member 40 may be composed of one part and parts being equal to and more than three.
Although the hook portion 33 is composed of two parts, the hook portion 33 may be composed of parts being equal to and more than three and then each movable pressing portion 35 may be disposed between adjacent hook portions 33, 33, as shown in
Although the bias means is coil springs 36, 36, the bias means may be a means capable of biasing the movable pressing portion 35 in a D direction.
Although the upper surfaces of the hook portions 33, 33 and the lower surface of the movable pressing portion 35 are formed of unevenness, either the upper surfaces or the lower surface may be only formed of unevenness.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P2003-430701 | Dec 2003 | JP | national |
| P2003-430708 | Dec 2003 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2333351 | Welch | Nov 1943 | A |
| 2344644 | Schwan | Mar 1944 | A |
| 2618505 | Rosenbaum | Nov 1952 | A |
| 2654630 | Renfroe | Oct 1953 | A |
| 3178219 | Renfroe | Apr 1965 | A |
| 3189377 | Gardner | Jun 1965 | A |
| 3300242 | Renfroe | Jan 1967 | A |
| 3336068 | Renfroe | Aug 1967 | A |
| 4273373 | van de Wetering | Jun 1981 | A |
| 4491358 | Choung | Jan 1985 | A |
| 4938517 | Langloy | Jul 1990 | A |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 19852858 | May 2000 | DE |
| 40-12977 | May 1965 | JP |
| 49-34283 | Sep 1974 | JP |
| 54-151256 | Nov 1979 | JP |
| 04-32883 | Mar 1992 | JP |
| 05-039188 | Feb 1993 | JP |
| 283367 | Oct 1998 | JP |
| 2000-207947 | Jul 2000 | JP |
| 2002-337630 | Nov 2002 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050287859 A1 | Dec 2005 | US |
