JP2000294357A - Rotary connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device capable of being easily assembled with the low cost by mounting a retainer for retaining a central part with respect to a folding part, near an inner peripheral edge or an outer peripheral edge of a flat cable on at least one of an inner connector and an outer connector. SOLUTION: A flat cable 5 provided with a retainer 12 at its central part is folded while forming a folding part 5A, the retainer 12 is inserted into a groove 11A of an inner connector 11 to retain the inner connector 11 by the flat cable 5 through the retainer 12, and then the inner connector 11 is accomodated in a ring-shaped space 4 formed by an outer case 1 and an inner case 2. By mounting the retainer 12 on the inner connector 11, the stress of the folding part 5A in the rotation of the inner case 2 is reduced, which prevents the flat cable 5 from being damaged at this part, further as the assembling can be executed in a state that the folding part 5A of the flat cable 5 is retained in the inner connector 11 by the retainer 12, the easily assemblable rotary connector can be provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used for a steering device of an automobile, etc., and uses a flexible flat cable for electrical connection between an outer case and an inner case rotatable relative to the outer case. The present invention relates to a rotary connector to be performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rotary connector of this type includes an outer case fixed to a steering column of an automobile, an inner case attached to the steering portion and rotating with the steering, and an electrical connection between the outer case and the inner case. It consists of flat cables for connection.

[0003] Such a conventional rotary connector,
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a conventional rotary connector.
8 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the same. In the same figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical outer case having upper and lower openings, and 2 denotes a relative outer case. The inner case 3 is rotatably housed in the housing 3, and the cover 3 is attached so as to cover the opening in the lower surface of the outer case 1. In a ring-shaped space 4 formed by the inner wall of the outer case 1 and the inner cylinder 2B of the inner case 2, a belt-shaped flexible member integrally covering a plurality of parallel conductive wires is formed. Is wound and stored a plurality of times.

[0005] An inner connector 6 fixed to the inner case 2 is connected to the inner peripheral end of the flat cable 5, and an outer connector 7 fixed to the outer case 1 is connected to the outer peripheral end. A folded portion 5A is formed in the vicinity of the inner peripheral end to form a rotary connector.

The folded portion 5A of the flat cable 5 is used for changing the connection direction between the flat cable 5 and the inner connector 6 to convert the arrangement of input / output signals from the inner connector 6 to the outer connector 7. The flat cable 5 may be provided not only near the inner peripheral end but also near the outer peripheral end, or may be provided near both the inner peripheral end and the outer peripheral end.

In the rotary connector having the above configuration, the outer case 1 is fixed to a steering column (not shown) of the automobile, and a steering wheel (not shown) is inserted into the inner cylinder 2B of the inner case 2. Outer connector 7 attached to the steering device of the automobile and fixed to outer case 1
Is connected to an electronic circuit of a steering column on the vehicle body side, and an inner connector 6 fixed to the inner case 2 is connected to an electronic circuit in the steering, and an electric connection between the steering and the steering column is connected via a flat cable 5. The connection is made.

When the steering is rotated, the inner case 2 attached thereto is rotated. When the rotation direction is clockwise, the flat cable 5 is unwound from the inner cylinder 2B side of the inner case 2. And the winding state is outer case 1
In the rewinding state where the inner wall side of the inner case 2 is increased, and in the counterclockwise direction, the flat cable 5 is connected to the inner cylinder 2 of the inner case 2.
The inner case 2 is wound so as to be wound around the inner cylinder 2 </ b> B side of the inner case 2 in a tightly wound state.

[0009]

However, in the above-described conventional rotary connector, since the folded portion 5A is formed near the inner peripheral end or the outer peripheral end of the flat cable 5, when the inner case 2 is rotated, the folded portion 5A is formed. The stress at the location becomes large, the flat cable 5 is easily damaged at the folded portion 5A, and the flat cable 5 is inserted into the ring-shaped space 4 formed by the outer case 1 and the inner case 2.
It is necessary to fix the inner connector 6 and the outer connector 7 to the inner case 2 and the outer case 1, respectively, while forming the folded portion 5A, so that the assembling work takes time.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive rotary connector in which a flat cable is hardly damaged, which is easy to assemble.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a flat cable in which a holding member is held closer to the center than a folded portion near the inner peripheral end or the outer peripheral end of the flat cable. The rotary connector is mounted on at least one of the inner connector fixed to the inner case and the outer connector fixed to the outer case.

As a result, it is possible to obtain an inexpensive rotary connector in which the flat cable is unlikely to be damaged, is easy to assemble, and is inexpensive.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to a cylindrical outer case and a lid portion which is rotatably housed in the outer case and covers an opening on the upper surface of the outer case. And an inner case formed of an inner cylinder protruding from the center of the lower surface, and wound and housed in a space formed by the outer case and the inner case, and a folded portion is formed at least at one of the vicinity of the inner peripheral end or the outer peripheral end. Flexible cable, an inner connector connected to the inner peripheral end of the flat cable and fixed to the inner case, an outer connector connected to the outer peripheral end of the flat cable and fixed to the outer case, A rotary connector comprising a holding member attached to at least one of the inner connector and the outer connector while holding the cable closer to the center than the folded portion near the inner peripheral end or the outer peripheral end. By holding the flat cable closer to the center than the folded portion with a holding member, and attaching the holding member to at least one of the inner connector and the outer connector, the folded portion when the inner case is rotated. The stress of the flat cable is less likely to be damaged at this point, and the flat cable can be assembled with the folded portion of the flat cable held by the inner connector or the outer connector by the holding member. It has the effect that a connector can be obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a predetermined gap is provided between the outer case and the inner case and the flat cable near the folded portion.
A flat cable is held by a holding member, and by securing a predetermined gap between the outer case and the inner case and the flat cable, friction and impact of the flat cable with the outer case and the inner case when the inner case is rotated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of abnormal noise and the like due to these.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the holding member, the inner connector and the outer connector are formed integrally with the flat cable by outsert molding. Since the holding member, the inner connector, and the outer connector can be formed at the same time, there is an effect that the assembling time of the rotary connector can be shortened and the cost can be reduced.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

The same components as those described in the section of the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a rotary connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the flat cable portion.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical outer case having upper and lower openings, 2 denotes an inner case housed in the outer case 1 so as to be relatively rotatable, and 3 denotes a cover attached so as to cover an opening on the lower surface of the outer case 1. A lid 2 in which the inner case 2 covers the opening on the upper surface of the outer case 1
A and a plurality of conductive wires are integrally formed in a ring-shaped space 4 formed by the inner cylinder 2B of the inner case 2 and the inner cylinder 2B protruding at the center of the lower surface. The flexible flat cable 5 in the form of a strip is wound around a plurality of times and housed in the same manner as in the prior art.

An inner connector 11 fixed to the inner case 2 is connected to an inner peripheral end of the flat cable 5, and an outer connector 7 fixed to the outer case 1 is connected to an outer peripheral end of the flat cable 5. A bent portion 5A is formed near the inner peripheral end of the flat cable 5 in the same manner as in the prior art. However, the flat cable 5 is held near the center of the folded portion 5A by the holding member 12, The member 12 is mounted on the inner connector 11 to form a rotating connector.

A method of assembling the rotary connector having the above-described configuration will be described. As shown in an external perspective view of the vicinity of the inner connector in FIG. 5A, the flat cable 5 having the holding member 12 formed near the center is provided. As shown in FIG. 5 (b), bending is performed while forming a folded portion 5A,
As shown in (c), the holding member 12 is inserted into the groove 11 </ b> A of the inner connector 11, and the inner connector 11 is held by the flat cable 5 via the holding member 12. The rotating connector is completed by being housed in the ring-shaped space 4 formed by the inner case 2.

Then, the rotary connector having such a structure fixes the outer case 1 to the steering column of the automobile, inserts the steering into the inner cylinder 2B of the inner case 2, and mounts the steering connector on the automobile. The outer connector 7 is connected to an electronic circuit of the steering column on the vehicle body side, and the inner connector 11 is connected to an electronic circuit in the steering, so that electrical connection between the steering and the steering column is performed via the flat cable 5. Is the same as in the prior art.

When the inner case 2 attached to the steering wheel rotates with the rotation of the steering wheel, and the rotation direction is clockwise, the winding state of the inner case 2 on the inner wall side of the outer case 1 increases. As in the case of the prior art, it is configured to be in a return state, and in the case of the counterclockwise direction, the winding state is configured to be a wound state in which the inner case 2 is wound around the inner cylinder 2B side much. However, the flat cable 5 is held by the holding member 12 near the center of the folded portion 5A, and the flat cable 5 is unwound and fastened in a state where the holding member 12 is attached to the inner connector 11. It is configured as follows.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the flat cable 5 is held by the holding member 12 at a position closer to the center than the folded portion 5A, and the holding member 12 is attached to the inner connector 11. 2 can reduce the stress of the folded portion 5A at the time of rotation, so that the flat cable 5 is less likely to be damaged at this position, and the folded portion 5A of the flat cable 5 is held by the holding member 12.
Can be assembled in a state where the rotary connector is held by the inner connector 11, so that an inexpensive rotary connector that is easy to assemble can be obtained.

The flat cable 5 is held by the holding member 12 so that a predetermined gap is provided between the upper surface of the cover 3 and the lower surface of the lid 2A of the inner case 2, and the flat cable 5 near the folded portion 5A. The outer case 1, the cover 3, the inner case 2, and the flat cable 5
Since a predetermined gap can be secured between them, friction and impact of the flat cable 5 with the outer case 1 and the inner case 2 during rotation of the inner case 2 can be eliminated, and generation of abnormal noise and the like due to these can be prevented.

Further, the holding member 12, the inner connector 11 and the outer connector 7 are formed integrally with the flat cable 5 by outsert molding, so that the holding member 12, the inner connector 11 and the outer connector 7 are simultaneously attached to the flat cable 5. Since it can be formed, the assembling time of the rotary connector can be reduced, and the rotary connector can be made more inexpensive.

In the above description, a structure in which the flat cable 5 having the folded portion 5A formed near the inner peripheral end is held near the center of the flat cable 5 by the holding member 12 and the holding member 12 is attached to the inner connector 11 will be described. However, as shown in the external perspective view of the flat cable portion in FIG. 6, a folded portion 5B is formed near the outer peripheral end of the flat cable 5, and the center is held by the holding member 12 and the holding member 12 is removed. It can be configured to be attached to the connector 13,
Alternatively, it is a matter of course that the present invention can be implemented by forming a folded portion at both ends near the inner peripheral end and the outer peripheral end of the flat cable 5 and holding both ends by the holding member 12.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an advantageous effect that a flat cable is hardly damaged and a rotary connector which is easy to assemble and inexpensive can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a rotary connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the flat cable section.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the vicinity of the internal connector.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the flat cable section.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a conventional rotary connector.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer case 2 Inner case 2A Lid 2B Inner cylinder 3 Cover 4 Space 5 Flat cable 5A, 5B Folding part 7, 13 Outer connector 11 Inner connector 11A Groove 12 Holding member

Claims (3)

[Claims] An inner case including a cylindrical outer case, a lid portion rotatably housed in the outer case, covering an opening on an upper surface of the outer case, and an inner cylinder protruding at the center of the lower surface; A flexible flat cable that is wound and housed in a space formed by the outer case and the inner case, and has a folded portion formed at least at one of the vicinity of the inner peripheral end or the outer peripheral end; An inner connector connected to the inner peripheral end and fixed to the inner case; an outer connector connected to the outer peripheral end of the flat cable and fixed to the outer case; and a folded portion near the inner peripheral end or the outer peripheral end of the flat cable. The rotary connector also includes a holding member attached to at least one of the inner connector and the outer connector. 2. A predetermined gap is provided between the outer case and the inner case and the flat cable near the turn-back portion.
2. The flat cable held by the holding member.
The rotating connector as described. 3. The rotary connector according to claim 1, wherein the holding member, the inner connector and the outer connector are formed integrally with the flat cable by outsert molding.