JP3709998B2 - Rotating connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention provides, for example, an electrical signal and an optical signal between an electrical component provided on the steering wheel (rotating body) side of an automobile and an electrical component provided on a column (fixed body) side fixed to the vehicle body side. Or it is related with the transmission apparatus between the rotary body used in order to transmit electric power etc. and a fixed body.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Some recent automobiles are equipped with an air bag system as an auxiliary device that reduces the impact on the face of the occupant in the event of a collision. In an airbag system for a driver's seat, an airbag module is housed in a steering wheel, and a control unit that detects a vehicle collision and activates the airbag module is fixed to the vehicle body side. There is also an automobile in which an operation switch for operating an acoustic device fixed on the vehicle body side is arranged on a steering wheel. In order to transmit an electrical signal or the like between the steering wheel rotated by the occupant and the control unit or the acoustic device fixed to the vehicle side, a rotary connector is used.
[0003]
Conventionally, a rotary connector has a flat conductor covered with an insulator, and a flat cable with a constant thickness is wound and stored in an annular space formed by a fixed body and a rotating body. These flat cables have one end fixed to the rotating body and the other end fixed to the fixed body.
[0004]
FIG. 2 shows a main part of a conventional rotary connector.
In FIG. 2, 20 'is a rotating body, 21' is a connection post, 25 'is a post cover, 30' is a flat cable, 60 'is an external harness, and 60a' and 60b 'are connector housings.
The flat cable 30 'and the external harness 60' are assembled to the connection post 21 'formed on the rotating body 20' as follows.
[0005]
First, the connection terminal 61 'of the external harness 60' is connected to the fixed end 31 'of the flat cable 30'. As a result, the flat cable 30 'and the external harness 60' are integrated.
Next, the tip of the external harness 60 ′ is passed through the connection post 21 ′ from below the connection post 21 ′, the external harness 60 ′ is pulled out from the connection post 21 ′, and the fixed end 31 ′ of the flat cable 30 ′ A connection portion of the harness 60 'with the connection terminal 61' is fixed to the connection post 21 '. This fixing is performed by attaching a post cover 25 'to the connection post 21'.
Next, the connector housings 60a 'and 60b' are fixed to the tip of the external harness 60 '.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as described above, the conventional rotary connector requires the work of passing the external harness through the connection post formed on the rotary body, and thus the work is troublesome. In addition, since the connector housing cannot be fixed to the tip of the external harness unless the external harness is pulled out from the connection post, there is a problem that workability is poor.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and does not require an operation of passing an external harness through a connection post of a rotating body, and uses an external harness with a connector in which a connector housing is fixed in advance to the distal end of the external harness. Thus, a rotating connector with improved workability is provided.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and includes an outer case (10) having a substantially cylindrical outer body (11) and an upper flange (12) having a ring plate shape, and a bottom plate (40). ) And a rotating body (20) which is disposed in the fixing body (100) so as to be rotatable relative to the fixing body and engages with the upper flange portion (12 ). The flat cable (30) is wound and accommodated in an annular space formed by the above, and one end of the flat cable is a rotating body (20) and the other end is a fixed body (100). The rotating body (20) is provided with a connecting post (21), and the connecting post (21) has a flange (22) extending from the mouth edge (21b). Continuous slit opening (23) over the circumference A rotary connector which is characterized by comprising.
[0009]
[Action]
According to the rotary connector of the present invention, since the continuous slit opening is provided from the edge of the connection post provided on the rotating body to the peripheral end of the flange, the external harness integrated with the flat cable is provided. By inserting through the continuous slit opening, the connection portion between the fixed end 31 ′ of the flat cable 30 ′ and the connection terminal 61 ′ of the external harness 60 ′ can be easily fixed to the connection post 21 ′. Further, as described above, since it is not necessary to pass the external harness through the connection post of the rotating body, the connector housing can be fixed in advance to the tip of the external harness. For this reason, a rotary connector with excellent workability can be obtained.
[0010]
【Example】
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a rotary connector used in the present invention.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary connector includes an outer case 10, a rotary body 20, a post cover 25, a flat cable 30, a bottom plate 40, an end support 50, an external harness 60 with a connector, and the like.
[0012]
The outer case 10 has a substantially cylindrical outer body part 11 and a ring plate-shaped upper flange part 12 that closes the upper opening of the outer body part 11. A housing chamber 13 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer trunk portion 11 to accommodate an outer end portion 32 of a flat cable 30 described later.
[0013]
The bottom plate body 40 has an inner body portion 42 and a lower flange portion 43. A center hole 44 that is in sliding contact with the rotating body 20 is formed in the inner body portion 42. A storage chamber 41 for storing an outer end portion 32 of the flat cable 30 described later is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner body portion 42. The lower flange portion 43 is formed integrally with the lower end of the inner body portion 42.
The bottom plate 40 and the outer case 10 constitute a fixed body 100.
[0014]
The rotating body 20 has an inner body portion 24 and a flange portion 22. A substantially cylindrical connection post 21 protrudes from the flange portion 22. The connection post 21 is formed with a slit opening 23 that opens continuously from the upper end edge 21 b of the connection post 21 to the outer peripheral end of the flange portion 22.
The connection post 21 has a gripping portion (not shown) that can fix the inner end of the flat cable 30 and the connection terminal portion 61 of the connector-attached external harness 60, and the connector-attached external harness 60 is bent to the side of the connection post 21. A cable pressing groove 21a for fixing and a locking hole (not shown) for locking the post cover 25 are provided.
[0015]
To assemble the rotary connector having the above-described configuration, the following is performed.
First, the connector housings 62 and 63 are connected to the external harness 64 to manufacture the external harness 60 with a connector.
[0016]
Next, the connection terminal 61 of the external harness 60 with a connector is connected to the fixed end 31 of the flat cable 30. Thereby, the flat cable 30 and the external harness 60 with a connector are integrated.
[0017]
Next, by passing the external harness 60 with a connector from the slit opening 23 provided in the connection post 21, the connection portion between the fixed end 31 of the flat cable 30 and the connection terminal 61 of the external harness 60 with a connector is turned into a rotating body. It fixes to the connection post 21 formed in 20.
Note that the post cover 25 is used to fix the connection portion between the fixed end 31 of the flat cable 30 and the connection terminal 61 of the connector-attached external harness 60 to the connection post 21 formed on the rotating body 20.
[0018]
Next, the outer peripheral side case 10 is covered from above the rotating body 20. As a result, the peripheral edge of the flange portion 22 of the rotating body 20 engages with the upper flange portion 12 of the outer case 10.
Further, a bottom plate body 40 is disposed below the rotating body 20. The bottom plate 40 is engaged with the lower end surface of the outer case 10 and fixed to the outer case 10 with screws or the like. Therefore, the outer case 10 and the bottom plate body 40 are fixed integrally, and both constitute a fixed body 100.
[0019]
A flat cable 30 is disposed in a space formed by the fixed body 100 and the rotating body 20, and an outer end 32 of the flat cable 30 includes a housing chamber 13 formed in the outer case 10, and a bottom plate body. It is stored in a space formed by a storage chamber 41 formed in 40. In the accommodating chambers 13 and 41, the outer end 32 of the flat cable 30 is connected to a lead wire (not shown) connected to the vehicle-side electrical component, and is electrically connected to the vehicle-side electrical component. The
[0020]
An end support is attached to the inner end side of the flat cable 30 in order to prevent the flat cable from buckling.
The outer case 10, the rotating body 20, the post cover 25, the bottom plate body 40, and the end support 50 are molded from a synthetic resin or the like.
[0021]
The rotary connector having the above configuration is used by being incorporated in, for example, an automobile, and a fixed body 100 including an outer case 10 and a bottom plate body 40 is fixed to the vehicle body side, and a steering shaft (not shown) is attached to the rotary body 20. ), The rotating body 20 rotates in response to the rotation of the steering shaft, and the flat cable is wound and tightened by this rotation, and the winding is repeated.
[0022]
In addition, the order of the assembly operation of the rotary connector of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the continuous slit opening is provided from the edge of the connection post provided on the rotating body to the peripheral end of the flange, the external harness integrated with the flat cable is provided. Can be inserted from the continuous slit opening, and the connection portion between the fixed end of the flat cable and the connection terminal of the external harness can be easily fixed to the connection post. Further, since it is not necessary to pass the external harness through the connection post of the rotating body, the connector housing can be fixed to the tip of the external harness in advance. For this reason, a rotary connector with excellent workability can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of a conventional rotary connector.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Outer case 20 Rotating body 21 Connection post 21b Mouth part 22 Flange part 23 Slit opening part 30 Flat cable 40 Bottom plate body 50 End support 60 External harness 100 with a connector Fixed body

Claims (1)

A fixed body (100) formed of an outer case (10) having a substantially cylindrical outer body (11), a ring plate-shaped upper flange (12), and a bottom plate (40), and the fixed body A flat cable (30) is formed in an annular space formed by a rotating body (20) that is disposed in (100) so as to be rotatable relative to the fixed body and engages with the upper flange portion (12). These flat cables are rotary connectors in which one end is fixed to the rotating body (20) and the other end is fixed to the fixed body (100). 20) is provided with a connection post (21) , and a continuous slit opening (23) is provided from the mouth edge (21b) of the connection post (21 ) to the peripheral end of the flange (22). Rotating connector featuring.

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