Cable attachment and method of assembling same

A cable attachment for attaching a cable to an end portion of a moveable member comprising:

• the member having an open ended loading slot that extends into the end portion of the member to an inner end forming separate cantilevered fingers on opposite sides of the loading slot, the loading slot spanning the separate fingers to form openings between the fingers at opposite sides of the end portion,
• the end portion having a retaining slot that is perpendicular to the loading slot, the loading slot having an inner end portion and the retaining slot having an outer end portion that overlaps the inner end portion of the loading slot,
• the end portion having a first transition slot that is perpendicular to the loading slot and the retaining slot and that extends from one of the opposite sides of the end portion through one of the fingers into the inner end portion of the loading slot and the overlapping outer end portion of the retaining slot,
• the end portion having a second transition slot that is aligned with the first transition slot and that extends from another of the opposite sides of the end portion through another of the fingers into the inner end portion of the loading slot and the overlapping outer end portion of the retaining slot, and
• the cable extending through the retaining slot and having a ferrule that engages a surface of the end portion adjacent the retaining slot for moving the member, the cable being moveable axially in the retaining slot to form a lost motion attachment with the end portion of the moveable member.

A method of assembling a cable attachment comprising the steps of:

• providing a member having an open ended loading slot that extends into an end portion of the member to an inner end forming separate cantilevered fingers on opposite sides of the loading slot, the loading slot spanning the separate fingers to form openings between the fingers at opposite sides of the end portion, a retaining slot that is transverse to the loading slot, the loading slot having an inner end portion and the retaining slot having an outer end portion that overlaps the inner end portion of the loading slot, a first transition slot that extends from one of the opposite sides of the end portion through one of the fingers into the inner end portion of the loading slot and the overlapping outer end portion of the retaining slot, and a second transition slot that extends from another of the opposite sides of the end portion through another of the fingers into the inner end portion of the loading slot and the overlapping outer end portion of the retaining slot,
• providing a cable having a ferrule attached to it,
• inserting an end length of the cable transversely into the loading slot until the cable is disposed in the inner end portion of the loading slot,
• rotating the end length of the cable in a planar fashion through the first and the second transition slots until the length of the cable is aligned with the retaining slot, and
• inserting the end length of the cable into the retaining slot so that the cable is moveable axially in the retaining slot and the ferrule is engagable with a surface of the member adjacent the retaining slot.