JP2002142346A - Rotary connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate disassembly of a jointed section of a cable to a lead wire for recycling a rotary connector assembled in a steering device for a vehicle. SOLUTION: This rotary connector is structured, so that a bus bar 17 provided integrally with a synthetic resin jointing substrate is covered with rubber sheets 19, 19 on both sides of a jointed section 15 formed by welding a flat cable 18 and that they are fitted elastically into a jointed section storage part 20 with resilience of the rubber sheets 19, 19.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary connection device for electrically connecting two relatively rotating members.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique and its problems are exemplified by a rotary connection device incorporated in a steering device of an automobile and used as a means for electrically connecting a steering wheel side (rotating side) and a body side (fixed side). Points will be described.

[0003] As shown in FIG.
A case 1, which is a fixed member fixed to the body side, and a rotor 2, which is a rotating member that rotates integrally with the handle shaft, are rotatably fitted and connected to each other, and a flat conductive flat cable therebetween. 3 is housed in a wound state.

In the case of a so-called reversing type in which the winding direction of the cable 3 is reversed halfway, a guide ring (not shown) for a cable guide is provided in the cable housing space.

One end of the flat cable 3 (the same cable 3
Are connected to the body-side lead wires 4..., And the other end (the other end) is connected to the handle-side lead wires 5.

This connection structure will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0007] Both connecting parts 6, 7 on the body side and the handle side
The conductor 3a of the flat cable 3 and the conductor of the lead wire (not shown in FIGS. 6 and 7) are connected to a bus bar 9 integrally provided on a connection board 8 made of synthetic resin by welding such as ultrasonic welding. The connecting parts 6, 7
In order to electrically insulate and protect the outside from outside, the entire connecting portions 6 and 7 are molded with the synthetic resin 10. 1
Reference numerals 1 and 12 denote this mold portion.

[0008] Of the body-side and handle-side mold parts 11, 12, the body-side mold part 1 is provided.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a case-side connecting portion housing portion (hereinafter, simply referred to as a case-side housing portion) 13 provided in the case 1, and a handle-side molded portion 12 includes a rotor-side connecting portion housing portion ( , Rotor-side accommodating portion) 14 and attached to the case 1 and the rotor 2.

[0009]

However, in the conventional rotary connection device, since the connecting portions 6 and 7 are resin-molded as described above, the rotary connection device is disassembled so as to be recyclable. When separately discarded, the connection parts 6, 7 cannot be disassembled and discarded separately because the mold parts 11, 12 cannot be disassembled.

As another means for insulating and protecting the connection portions 6 and 7, a cover member made of synthetic resin may be attached to the opposite side of the connection substrate 8 to cover the connection portions 6 and 7.

However, in the case of this lid system as well, from the viewpoint of ensuring insulation protection, since the lid member is mounted in a so-called mating state that cannot be easily removed by a manual operation by a lock structure, disassembly is impossible or difficult. Had basically the same problem as in the case of the resin mold method.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a rotary connection device which can easily disassemble a connection portion between a cable and a lead wire.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a conductive cable is housed in a wound state between two relatively rotating members, and a lead wire is connected to each end of the cable. In a rotary connection device in which one connection portion is accommodated in a connection portion accommodation portion of one member and the other connection portion is accommodated in a connection portion accommodation portion of the other member, a rubber sheet is provided at a connection portion between the cable and the lead wire. The rubber sheet and the connection portion are elastically fitted into the connection portion housing portion by the elasticity of the rubber sheet.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the rubber sheet is bonded to the connection portion with an adhesive.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first or second aspect, a cable and a lead wire are connected to a bus bar provided on a synthetic resin connection board to form a connection portion.

According to the above construction, with the rubber sheet covering the connecting portion between the cable and the lead wire (the portion connected via the bus bar on the connecting board in claim 3), the elasticity of the rubber sheet is applied to the connecting portion accommodating portion. Therefore, these can be taken out of the housing portion, easily separated into the connecting portion and the rubber sheet, and the connecting portion can be easily disassembled.

Moreover, since the rubber sheet elastically adheres to the connecting portion and covers the connecting portion without any gap, and can be firmly fixed in the accommodating portion, the connecting portion can be easily separated and disassembled as described above. Insulation and protection can be ensured.

In this case, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the rubber sheet is adhered to the connecting portion, there is no possibility that the rubber sheet is shifted or detached from the connecting portion. In addition, since the rubber sheet is merely an adhesive, it can be easily peeled off from the connecting portion and separated.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment, and FIGS.
Each of the embodiments is shown.

In both embodiments, the connecting portion 15 is
7, the conductor 18a of the flat cable 18 and the conductor (not shown) of the lead wire are ultrasonically welded to the bus bar 17 integrally provided on the connection board 16 made of synthetic resin. It is made by welding.

The connecting portion 15 has rubber sheets 1 on both sides.
The rubber sheet 1 is placed in the connecting portion accommodating portion 20 in a state where the sheets 9 and 19 are stacked (a state sandwiched between the rubber sheets).
It is fitted elastically using the elasticity of 9, 19.

In this state, the rubber sheets 19, 19 adhere tightly to the front and back sides of the connection portion 15 without any gap due to their elasticity and cover the connection portion 15, so that the connection portion 15 is electrically insulated from the outside and protected. In this state, it is fixed in the connection portion accommodating portion 20.

As described above, the connecting portion 15 is connected to the connecting portion accommodation portion 2.
Since the rubber sheets 19 are fitted into the rubber sheet 0 using the elasticity of the rubber sheets 19, they can be taken out of the housing section 20 and easily separated into the connection section 15 and the rubber sheets 19, 19 when discarded.

Since the flat cable 18 and the lead wire can be easily peeled off from the bus bar 17, the connection portion 15 can be easily disassembled.

In addition, since the connection portion 15 can be covered and secured firmly in the connection portion housing portion 20 by the elasticity of the rubber sheets 19, 19, the connection portion 15 can be reliably insulated and protected.

Here, in the first embodiment, the rubber sheets 19 on both sides are accommodated in the accommodating portion 20 in a state of being simply overlapped with the connecting portion 15 in a separated state, and adhered to the connecting portion 15 by its elasticity. State.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment (FIGS. 3 and 4), an adhesive layer (FIG.
The inside of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 2 is provided.
1, the rubber sheets 19 on both sides are adhered to the connection portion 15.

In this way, there is no possibility that the rubber sheets 19, 19 may be displaced or come off from the connecting portion 15, particularly when they are fitted into the housing portion 20, and they can be easily fitted into the housing portion 20 as one body. Can be.

Moreover, since the rubber sheets 19, 19 are only adhered, they can be easily peeled off from the connecting portion 15 and separated.

The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 21 may be formed by directly applying a pressure-sensitive adhesive to one side of the rubber sheets 19, 19,
A pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet in which a pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to both sides of a thin sheet may be attached to one side of the rubber sheets 19, 19.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the connection between the cable and the lead wire is covered with a rubber sheet.
Since the rubber sheet is fitted into the connection portion accommodating portion by utilizing the elasticity thereof, these can be taken out of the accommodation portion and easily separated into the connection portion and the rubber sheet, and the connection portion can be easily disassembled. For this reason, sorting and recycling (recycling) is facilitated.

Further, since the rubber sheet elastically adheres to the connecting portion and covers the connecting portion without any gap, and can be firmly fixed in the accommodating portion, the connecting portion can be easily separated and disassembled as described above. Insulation and protection can be ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connection portion between a flat cable and a lead wire in a rotary connection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a connection state of the connection portion.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a connection portion between a flat cable and a lead wire in a rotary connection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a connection state of the connection portion.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional rotary connection device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a connection portion between a flat cable and a lead wire in the device.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the connection portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Connection part 16 Connection board 17 Bus bar 18 Flat cable (cable for conduction) 19, 19 Rubber sheet 20 Connection accommodation part 21 Adhesive layer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A conductive cable is housed in a wound state between two relatively rotating members, and one end of the cable is connected to one end of the member with lead wires connected to both ends of the cable. In a rotary connection device in which a housing portion has the other connection portion housed in a connection portion housing portion of the other member, a rubber sheet is put on a connection portion between the cable and the lead wire, and a rubber sheet is formed by elasticity of the rubber sheet. A rotary connection device, wherein the connection portion and the connection portion are elastically fitted into the connection portion housing portion. 2. The rotary connection device according to claim 1, wherein the rubber sheet is bonded to the connection portion with an adhesive. 3. The rotary connection device according to claim 1, wherein a cable and a lead wire are connected to a bus bar provided on the synthetic resin connection board to form a connection portion.