JP3241245B2 - Rotating connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary connector which is incorporated in a steering device of an automobile and is used as an electric connection means of an air bag system or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rotary connector is formed by connecting a pair of housings which are coaxially and relatively rotatably connected to each other with a strip-shaped flexible cable. Broadly classified into types. One is a flexible cable spirally wound in an annular storage portion formed by both housings, and the other is a flexible cable wound in the opposite direction in the storage portion. Is more advantageous in reducing the total cost of the rotary connector because the required length of the flexible cable can be shortened.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional rotary connector of the latter type, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the rotary connector, which is disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,540,223. It was done. In these figures, reference numeral 100 denotes a first housing on the stator side.
The first housing includes a base 100a having an open upper surface,
A lid 100b for closing an open end of the base 100a,
It is fixed to the steering column side of the car. Reference numeral 101 denotes a second housing on the rotor side.
The second housing 101 is fixed to the handle. Between the first housing 100 and the second housing 101, a ring-shaped storage portion 10
2, a belt-shaped flexible cable 103 and a C-shaped moving body 104 in a plan view are stored in the storage section 102. The flexible cable 103 is led out of the storage unit 102 while being fixed to the first housing 100 and the second housing 101, respectively.
In 02, the winding direction is changed via a U-shaped reversing portion 103a. The movable body 104 has an opening 104a communicating with the inner and outer peripheral surfaces, and a roller 105 is pivotally supported near the opening 104a.
Is looped to the roller 105 through the opening 104a.

When the second housing 101 rotates clockwise from the neutral position in FIG. 5 in conjunction with the handle, the flexible cable 1 is rotated.
The reverse portion 103a of FIG. 3 moves clockwise in the storage portion 102 by a smaller rotation amount than the second housing 101, and the moving body 104 also moves clockwise following the reverse portion 103a. The flexible cable 103 having a length approximately twice as long is fed out from the inner tube portion side of the second housing 101 and is rewound to the outer tube portion side of the first housing 100. Conversely, when the second housing 101 rotates counterclockwise from the neutral position in FIG.
3 and the moving body 104 are connected to the second housing 1.
The flexible cable 103 is moved in the same direction by a rotation amount smaller than 01, and a flexible cable 103 having a length approximately twice as long as these movement amounts is fed out from the outer cylinder portion side of the first housing 100 and is moved inside the second housing 101. It is wrapped around the tube.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional rotary connector, the first housing 10 is not provided.
When the second housing 101 is rotated with respect to 0,
Noise is generated due to the sliding friction between the two, and there is a problem that the sliding noise increases particularly when both housings 100 and 101 are formed of the same kind of synthetic resin. Further, the flexible cable 103 moves up and down in the storage section 102 under the vibration from the automobile, so that both ends in the width direction of the flexible cable 103 define the storage section 102 and the bottom surface of the base 100a and the lid. There is also a problem that the sound collides with the body 100b and generates unpleasant noise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary connector capable of reducing noise with a simple configuration.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide first and second housings coaxially and relatively rotatably connected to each other , and to provide one of these housings.
Between the inner cylinder part provided and the outer cylinder part provided on the other side.
It is wound in the opposite direction through a reversing portion in an annular storage portion, and a band-shaped flexible cable whose both ends are fixed to the two housings, and rotatably disposed in the storage portion,
A moving body having an opening through which a reversing part of the flexible cable passes , and at least one of the inner cylindrical part and the outer cylindrical part.
This is achieved by forming a curved portion at the axial end opposite to the widthwise end of the flexible cable. With this configuration, when the flexible cable vibrates in the width direction, the end of the flexible cable does not collide with the top or bottom surface of the storage unit at right angles, and the direction in which the flexible cable collide is gradually deviated. , Collision noise is reduced.

In the above structure, when the curved portions are formed to face both ends in the width direction of the flexible cable, the effect of reducing the collision noise is increased. In addition, a sliding cap having a flange portion is provided at a rotating sliding portion between the first and second housings, and the flange portion and the curved portion are respectively opposed to both ends in the width direction of the flexible cable. Not only does the sliding noise generated from both housings be reduced, but also the widthwise ends of the flexible cable are clamped between the flange and the curved portion of the sliding cap, thereby reducing the impact noise. Is great. Further, a holder having an extension portion is provided on the moving body, and the extension portion and the bending portion are opposed to both ends in the width direction of the flexible cable. Is held between the extended portion and the curved portion of the holder, so that the effect of reducing the collision sound is great.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of a rotary connector, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the rotary connector. As shown in these figures, the rotary connector includes a first housing 1 and a first housing 1. A second housing 2 rotatably mounted on the housing 1;
2 schematically includes a flexible cable 4 wound around an annular storage section 3 formed by a movable member 2 and a movable body 5 rotatably disposed in the storage section 3.

The first housing 1 is composed of an upper case 8 having an outer cylinder 7 suspended from an outer peripheral edge of a top plate 6 and a lower cover 9 joined and integrated with a lower end of the outer cylinder 7. The upper and lower ends of the inner wall of the outer cylindrical portion 7 are rounded curved portions 8a, 8a.
b are formed respectively. The top plate 6 of the upper case 8
Center holes 10 and 11 in the center of
And a ring-shaped guide groove 12 is provided on the lower surface of the lower cover 9. On the other hand, the second housing 2 is formed of a cylindrical body having a shaft insertion hole 13 in the center,
The upper and lower ends of the outer peripheral edge are guided by center holes 10 and 11 of the upper case 8 and the lower cover 9 so as to be rotatably connected to the first housing 1. The outer peripheral surface of the second housing 2 is an inner cylindrical portion 14, and the upper and lower ends of the inner cylindrical portion 14 are rounded curved portions 2 a, 2.
b are formed respectively. The housing 3 is defined between the top plate 6, the outer cylinder 7 and the lower cover 9 on the first housing 1 side, and the inner cylinder 14 on the second housing 2 side.

The flexible cable 4 is made of a so-called strip-shaped flat cable in which conductors parallel to each other are laminated with a pair of insulating films.
Are fixed to the outer cylindrical portion 7 and the inner cylindrical portion 14 and then led out of the first housing 1 and the second housing 2, respectively. Further, inside the storage section 3, the flexible cable 4 is wound clockwise along the inner wall of the outer tubular section 7 and then inverted in a U-shape therefrom (hereinafter referred to as the inverted section 4).
a), and is wound counterclockwise around the outer wall of the inner cylindrical portion 14.

The moving body 5 includes ring-shaped upper and lower holders 15 and 16 facing each other at a predetermined interval, a plurality of rollers 17 pivotally supported between the holders 15 and 16, The lower holder 16 is integrally formed with a plurality of elastic arms 19 on the lower surface of the lower holder 16. Then, the moving body 5 configured as described above is disposed in the storage section 3, and each of the elastic arms 1
9 slides on the guide groove 12 of the lower cover 9 and is rotatably guided in the radial direction of the storage section 3.
At this time, the above-mentioned inverted portion 4a of the flexible cable 4 is looped to the fixed cylinder 18 and the roller 17 through an opening between the roller 17 and the roller 17 opposed thereto. The inner winding portion of the flexible cable 4 is sandwiched in the width direction by the two curved portions 2a and 2b of the second housing 2, and the outer winding portion of the flexible cable 4 is formed of the upper case 8. The two curved portions 8a and 8b are sandwiched from the width direction.

Next, the operation of the rotary connector will be described by taking as an example a case where the first housing 1 is used as a fixed body and the second housing 2 is used as a movable body.
In this case, the first housing 1 is fixed to the steering column side of the steering device, and the second housing 2 is connected to a steering shaft, a steering wheel, or the like.

In use, when the handle is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise, the rotational force is transmitted to the second housing 2, and the second housing 2 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise. For example, when the second housing 2 rotates clockwise from the neutral position of the handle, the reversing portion 4a of the flexible cable 4 moves clockwise by a smaller rotation amount than the second housing 2, and one of the rollers 17 reverses. The moving body 5 also moves clockwise following the reversing section 4a because the cable 4 is pulled by the section 4a, and the flexible cable 4 having a length approximately twice as long as the moving amount is pulled out from the outer cylinder section 7 side. And is wound around the peripheral surface of the inner cylindrical portion 14. Conversely, when the second housing 2 rotates counterclockwise from the neutral state of the handle,
The reversing portion 4a of the flexible cable 4 moves counterclockwise by a smaller rotation amount than the second housing 2, and
a separates from the roller 17 and presses the fixed cylinder 18,
The moving body 5 also moves counterclockwise following the reversing part 4a,
The flexible cable 4 having a length approximately twice as long as the amount of movement is fed out of the inner tube portion 14 and rewound to the outer tube portion 7.

Here, when a vertical force (axial direction of the steering shaft) acts on the flexible cable 4 due to vibration from the automobile, the flexible cable 4 tends to move in the storage section 3 in the vertical direction. . At this time, the inner winding portion of the flexible cable 4 has second ends at both ends in the width direction.
The curved portions 2a and 2b of the housing 2 are opposed to each other, and the curved portions 8a and 8b of the upper case 8 are opposed to both ends in the width direction of the outer winding portion of the flexible cable 4.
The ends of the flexible cable 4 are connected to these curved portions 2a, 2b, 8
The movement in the vertical direction is gradually deviated in the oblique direction by a and 8b, so that even if it hits the top plate 6 or the lower cover 9, almost no collision sound is generated.

FIG. 3 is a half sectional view showing a second embodiment of the rotary connector according to the present invention, and portions corresponding to FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment described above.
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a ring-shaped sliding cap 20 is used instead of the upper curved portion 2a of the second housing 2 and that the lower curved portion 8b is used instead of the lower curved portion 8b of the upper case 8. The other configuration is basically the same because the outer extension 16a of the holder 16 is used. The sliding cap 20 has a ring-shaped sliding cap 20 tightly interposed between the outer peripheral edge of the upper end of the second housing 2 and the center hole 10 of the upper case 8. Reference numeral 20a faces the upper end of the inner winding portion of the flexible cable 4. The sliding cap 20 is formed of a synthetic resin different from those of the housings 1 and 2, and
A predetermined gap G is formed between Oa and the top plate 6. The outer extending portion 16a is formed integrally with the outer peripheral edge of the lower holder 16, and the outer extending portion 16a
Protrudes outward beyond the rollers 17 and the fixed cylinder 18,
It faces the lower end of the outer winding part of the flexible cable 4.

As described above, when the sliding cap 20 is interposed between the rotary sliding portions of the two housings 1 and 2, the sliding noise when the second housing 2 is rotated can be greatly reduced. Further, since the flange portion 20a of the sliding cap 20 is opposed to the upper end in the width direction of the inner winding portion of the flexible cable 4, the flexible cable 4 is prevented from directly colliding with the top plate 6. , Collision noise can be reduced. In particular, when there is a predetermined gap G between the flange portion 20a and the top plate 6, the flange portion 20a bends using the gap G.
The effect of reducing the collision sound can be enhanced. Further, when both ends of the flexible cable 4 are elastically clamped by the flange portion 20a of the sliding cap 20 and the lower curved portion 2b, and the upper curved portion 8a and the outer extension portion 16a of the lower holder 16. In addition, since the position of the flexible cable 4 is regulated in the vertical direction in the storage section 3, the effect of reducing the collision sound can be enhanced from this point as well.

FIG. 4 is a half sectional view showing a third embodiment of the rotary connector according to the present invention, and portions corresponding to FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals. This embodiment is similar to the second embodiment described above.
This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that instead of the lower curved portion 2b of the second housing 2, the inner extending portion 16 of the lower holder 16 is used.
The other configuration is basically the same because b is used. The inner extending portion 16b is formed integrally with the inner peripheral edge of the lower holder 16, and the inner extending portion 16b protrudes inward from the roller 17 group and the fixed cylinder 18 to form the flexible cable 4. It faces the lower end of the inner winding part. In this case, the flange portion 20a of the sliding cap 20 and the lower holder 16 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the inner winding portion of the flexible cable 4.
The flexible cable 4 does not directly collide with the top plate 6 and the lower cover 9 of the upper case 8, and the lower holder 16 has an elastic arm 19 on its lower surface.
And is pressed in the axial direction of the second housing, so that even if the flexible cable 4 hits, it is elastically received by the lower holder 16 and the collision is relieved,
Collision noise can be reduced.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the first housing 1 is used as a fixed body and the second housing 2 is used as a movable body has been described.
It is also possible to use the housing 1 as a movable body and the second housing 2 as a fixed body.

In each of the above embodiments, the curved portions 2a, 2b, 8a, 8b and the flange portion 20a of the sliding cap 20 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the inner winding portion and the outer winding portion of the flexible cable 4, respectively. Alternatively, the extension portions 16a, 16b of the lower holder 16
In the present invention, one or more of these noise reduction means can be selectively used. For example, it is also possible to use only the curved portions 2a and 2b of the second housing 2. In this case, although the noise reduction effect is somewhat reduced, the collision generated from the inner winding portion of the flexible cable 4 Sound can be reduced.

[0021]

As described above, according to the rotary connector of the present invention, the movement of the flexible cable in the width direction is changed by the curved surface, and the end of the flexible cable is moved to the top of the storage section. Since it does not violently collide with the surface or the bottom surface, it is possible to reduce harsh noise leaking outside the two housings.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the rotary connector.

FIG. 3 is a half sectional view showing a second embodiment of the rotary connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a half sectional view showing a third embodiment of the rotary connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional rotary connector.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the rotary connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st housing 2 2nd housing 3 accommodating part 4 Flexible cable 5 Moving body 6 Top plate 7 Outer cylinder part 8 Upper case 8a Wall 9 Lower cover 10, 11 Center hole 14 Inner cylinder part 15 Upper holder 16 Lower holder 16a Outer extension 16b Inner extension 17 Roller 18 Fixed cylinder 20 Sliding cap 20a Flange

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Mitsunori Matsumoto 1-7 Yukitani Otsuka-cho, Ota-ku, Tokyo Alps Electric Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-7-69538 (JP, A) JP-A Heisei 6-275355 (JP, A) JP-A-6-275354 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 35/04 B60R 16/02

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A first housing and a second housing which are coaxially and relatively rotatably connected to each other;
Between the inner cylinder provided on one side and the outer cylinder provided on the other
A strip-shaped flexible cable wound in the opposite direction through an inversion portion in an annular storage portion defined therebetween, and both ends of which are fixed to the housings, and rotatably disposed in the storage portion; And a moving body having an opening through which a reversing part of the flexible cable passes, wherein a moving body having at least one of the inner cylindrical part and the outer cylindrical part in the axial direction
Rotary connector, characterized in that the formation of the curved portion facing the widthwise ends of the flexible cable to the end. 2. The rotary connector according to claim 1, wherein the curved portions are formed opposite to both ends in the width direction of the flexible cable. 3. A flexible cap according to claim 1, wherein a sliding cap having a flange is provided on a rotary sliding portion between said first and second housings, and said flange and said curved portion are connected to said flexible portion. A rotary connector characterized by being opposed to both ends in the width direction of a cable. 4. The moving body according to claim 1, wherein the movable body is provided with a holder having an extending portion, and the extending portion and the curved portion are respectively opposed to both ends in the width direction of the flexible cable. A rotary connector, characterized in that: