JPH0945447A - U-turn type steering roll connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent overrotation of a U-turn type steering roll connector used in an automotive steering mechanism for protecting a flat cable contained inside. SOLUTION: On an inner circumferential wall 5 of a rotor casing member on which one end part of a flat cable 7 is fixed and which is rotatably provided on a stator casing member 2 to which the other end part of the flat cable 7 is fixed, a plate spring lock member 12 is provided to be fixed to the inner circumferential wall 5 at one end part, of which the other end part is composed as a free end part having serration. In addition, a serrate teeth arc-shaped lock part 2d formed in such an arc shape of a specified length as to surround the inner circumferential wall 5, and having serrate teeth to be locked to the serrate teeth of the plate spring lock member 12 is provided on a bottom wall of the stator casing member 2 positioned around the inner circumferential wall 5. As the flat cable 7 on the inner circumferential wall side is unwound, energization pressure of the plate spring lock member 12 by the flat cable is released, and it protrudes outward by self-resiliency of it to be locked to the serrate teeth arc-shaped lock part 2d.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering roll connector for enabling electrical connection between two members that rotate in relation to each other, and more particularly to a steering wheel for an automobile and a steering shaft of the steering wheel. The present invention relates to a steering roll connector suitably used for enabling an electrical connection with a combination switch fixed to a steering column provided around a steering column, and more particularly, to a rotor casing member and a stator A flat cable is housed in a spiral shape in an annular space formed inside the casing member, and a U-turn type steering roll connector having a lock function for preventing over-rotation of the rotor casing member with respect to the stator casing member. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for enabling electrical connection between an automobile steering wheel and a combination switch fixed to a steering column located around a steering shaft of the steering wheel,
For example, the stator casing member and the stator
A rotor casing member that is rotatably provided on the casing member, and a flat cable is partially folded back in a U-shape in an annular space formed inside the casing members, A U-turn type steering roll connector housed in a spiral shape is known.

In this U-turn type steering roll connector, the flat cable forms a part of the rotor casing member when the rotor casing member is rotated in one direction with respect to the stator casing member. While being wound around the inner wall side of the annular space in multiple layers, when the rotor casing member is rotated in the other direction with respect to the stator casing member, the flat cable forms a part of the stator casing member. It is designed to be wound around the outer wall of the annular space in multiple layers.

On the other hand, the steering device for the steering wheel is provided with a locking device for preventing over-rotation, and the steering wheel, and hence the steering shaft, is usually clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the neutral position. In addition, they are configured so that they are locked when they are rotated about two or two and a half rotations, respectively, and are prevented from further rotation.

That is, the flat cable of the steering roll connector is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to its neutral position in accordance with the amount of rotation until the steering wheel is locked. As described above, the flat cable is wound around either the inner wall side or the outer wall side when it is rotated about two to two and a half times.

By the way, this U-turn type steering
In the roll connector, in the rotor casing member in the other direction, that is, in the direction in which the flat cable is wound around the outer wall of the annular space, the fixed position of the flat cable with respect to the inner wall is the U-shaped folded position. If the flat cable is excessively rotated beyond the range, the flat cable may be bent into a V shape at a sharp angle in the vicinity of the fixed position of the flat cable with respect to the inner wall.

Of course, as described above, the steering device is equipped with the lock device for preventing over-rotation.
Considering design errors etc., steering, roll,
It is desirable that the connector side also has an over-rotation prevention lock function.

[0008]

Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a U having an over-rotation preventing lock function.
It is to provide a turn type steering roll connector.

[0009]

Means, Actions, and Effects for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides the following U-turn type steering roll connector.

That is, this U-turn type steering
The roll connector comprises a stator casing member and a rotor casing member rotatable with respect to the stator casing member. A flat cable, a part of which is folded back in a U shape, is housed in a spiral shape in an annular space formed inside the both casing members.
Each end of the flat cable is fixed to a stator casing member forming the outer peripheral wall side of the annular space and a rotor casing member forming the inner peripheral wall side of the annular space. The inner peripheral wall has a retracted position in which when the flat cable is wound around the inner peripheral wall in multiple layers, the inner surface is pressed inward by the inner surface of the innermost winding of the multiple turns of the flat cable. , When the flat cable winding is unwound for a predetermined length from the inner peripheral wall and the pressing force by the inner surface of the innermost winding is released, the elasticity that allows the flat cable to project and retract radially outward is provided. And a locking member having. The stator casing member extends in a circular arc shape with a predetermined length around the inner peripheral wall and locks the locking member when the locking member jumps out from the retracted position to the protruding position. Equipped with saw-shaped teeth.

In the U-turn type steering roll connector of this structure, the stator casing member is fixed to a combination switch body provided in a steering column located around the steering shaft, while the rotor casing is fixed. A member is mounted on the steering shaft for rotation with the handle. Here, this U-turn type steering roll
The connector is, for example, a steering mechanism of an automobile so that the flat cable is wound from the inner wall side of the rotor casing member to the outer wall side of the stator casing member when the handle is rotated clockwise from the neutral position. Be incorporated into. This U-turn type steering roll connector is used, for example, when the steering mechanism rotates the steering shaft about its neutral position in the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction by about two to two and a half rotations, respectively. Is configured to be locked, the rotation allowance of the rotor casing member relative to the stator casing member is approximately clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to its neutral position in correspondence with the rotation amount. It is configured to have two rotations or two and a half rotations.

In this structure, when the steering shaft is rotated clockwise, for example, when the steering shaft is intended to rotate two or more than two and a half rotations due to manufacturing errors or the like, the steering shaft is integrated with the steering shaft. Of the rotor casing member, which rotates in a static manner, moves from the retracted position to the projecting position of the locking member provided on the inner peripheral wall, and as a result, the locking member is provided on the stator casing member side. The rotor casing member is prevented from over-rotating with respect to the stator casing member by being locked to the tooth profile,
The flat cable in the connector is protected.

In the above structure, the locking member is, for example, a plate whose one end is fixed to the inner peripheral wall and the other end is a free end which can be retracted between the retracted position and the protruding position. The spring may be formed of a leaf spring having an edge having saw-shaped teeth that engage with the saw-shaped teeth of the stator casing member.

As a result, the structure of the locking member is simplified and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

Alternatively, the locking member may be provided with, for example, a recess in the inner peripheral wall in the substantially radial direction, instead of the structure of the leaf spring, to fix one end of the resilient spring in the recess, and The other end may be provided with a protruding locking member configured to be retractable and retractable between the retracted position and the protruding position.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. The U-turn type steering roll connector according to the present embodiment is applied to a well-known U-turn type steering roll connector with its over-rotation preventing mechanism.

FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a U-turn type steering roll connector according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is III-III of FIG. It is a line sectional view. 4 and 5 are partially enlarged views of FIG. 3 showing respective operating states of the steering roll connector, and FIG. 6 is a view showing one operating state shown in FIG. 5 from an oblique direction. is there. As shown in FIGS.
Turn type steering roll connector stator
The casing member 1 includes a bottom wall 2a, an inner peripheral wall 2b and an outer peripheral wall 2
It is composed of a first stator member 2 made of c, an upper wall 3a, and a second stator member 3 made of an outer peripheral wall 3b fitted with an outer peripheral wall 2c of the first stator member 2. The rotor casing member 4 includes a substantially cylindrical first rotor member 5 that fits into the inner peripheral wall 2b of the first stator member 2, and a substantially annular second rotor member that fits into the first rotor member 5. 6 and 6. Then, the donut-shaped space formed between the stator casing member 1 and the rotor casing member 4 is flattened by using the operations of the flat cable 7, the planetary gear 9, and the planetary gear 9 that are spirally wound. Roller 8 for guiding cable 7 and roller 8
A carrier 11 as a holder for the planetary gears 9 is housed therein.

The carrier 11 is a ring-shaped plate portion 1.
1a, a first shaft portion 11b formed at one position on the upper surface side of the plate portion 11a, and a second shaft portion 11c formed at a position on the back surface thereof that divides the circumference into eight equal parts. . The planetary gear 9 is mounted on the first shaft portion 11b, and the eight rollers 8 are mounted on the second shaft portion 11c. Also, the plate portion 1
The inner peripheral edge of 1a has a first rotor member 5 and a second rotor member 6
, And the outer peripheral edge portion is rotatably sandwiched between the first stator member 2 and the second stator member 3.

The planetary gear 9 has teeth 9a and has a second
The rotor member 6 and the second stator member 3 are formed with an external gear 6a and an internal gear 3c that mesh with the teeth 9a of the planetary gear 9.

By the way, the rotor casing member 4 is
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a part of the outer peripheral wall of the first rotor member 5 has a substantially flat leaf spring engagement with one end fixed to the outer peripheral wall and the other end being a free end. A stop member 12 is provided in a direction substantially tangential to the first rotor member 5, while a bottom wall 2a of the first stator member 2 is provided in a circular arc shape at a predetermined position around the first rotor member 5. And a saw-toothed arcuate locking portion 2d having a saw-toothed upper surface. As shown in the drawing, the lower side of the leaf spring locking member 12, that is, the side of the saw-toothed arcuate locking portion 2d is locked to the saw-tooth of the sawtoothed arc-shaped locking portion 2d. Have saw-like teeth. FIG. 1 shows that the outer periphery of the first rotor member 5 provided with the sawtooth arcuate locking portion 2d is
The flat cable 7 is shown in a wound state.

As shown in FIG. 3, the flat cable 7 has one end fixed between the first rotor member 5 and the second rotor member 6, and the other end provided with eight rollers 8. 1 is wound around the rotor 4 in a direction opposite to the winding direction around the rotor 4 for a half turn, and then fixed to the convex portion 1a of the stator casing member 1. In the present embodiment, when the steering roll connector is shown from the upper wall 3a side, as shown in the figure, the flat cable 7
One end side of the flat cable 7, that is, the flat cable 7
The portion from the portion fixed between the rotor member 5 and the second rotor member 6 to the folding roller 8 of the flat cable 7 is wound clockwise with respect to the first rotor member 5. On the other hand, the other end side of the flat cable, that is, the portion from the folding roller 8 to the convex portion 1a of the stator casing member 1 is wound counterclockwise with respect to the pair-1 rotor member 5. There is. In this structure, the one end portion where the leaf spring locking member 12 is fixed to the outer peripheral wall of the first rotor member 5 is a flat portion fixed between the first rotor member 5 and the second rotor member 6. The cable 7 is located near the one end, while the free end of the leaf spring locking member 12 is located near the other end of the flat cable 7. In this configuration, since the flat cable 7 is guided by the plurality of rollers 8, the radial flatness of the flat cable 7 does not occur regardless of whether the rotor 4 is rotating.

In the U-turn type steering roll connector thus constructed, the first stator member 2 of the stator casing member 1 is positioned around the steering shaft by the mounting means (not shown). The steering wheel is fixed to the combination switch body provided on the steering column, and the rotor casing member 4 is disposed at the neutral position of the steering wheel and the steering wheel.
The roll connector is mounted on the steering shaft so as to rotate integrally with the steering wheel with the neutral position of the roll connector positioned relative to each other.

In this mounted state, first, when the steering wheel is rotated counterclockwise from the neutral position, the rotor 4 is integrated with the steering shaft of the steering wheel.
As shown in FIG. 3, it is rotated counterclockwise from the neutral position. At this time, the planetary gear 9 revolves in the counterclockwise direction around the rotor casing member 4 while rotating in the clockwise direction, and is driven by the planetary gear 9 so that the carrier 11 and thus the plurality of rollers 8 revolve in the counterclockwise direction. Be punished. At this time, the flat cable 7 wound around the outer peripheral wall 2c of the stator casing member 1 is folded back along the outer peripheral surface of one of the plurality of rollers 8, that is, the flat cable folding roller. While the rotor
It is wound around the first rotor member 5 of the casing member 4.

From the outer peripheral wall 2c of the stator casing member 1 to the first rotor member 5 of the rotor casing member 4.
In the winding operation of the flat cable 7 to the side,
The leaf spring locking member 12 provided on the first rotor member 5 is formed by the inner surface of the winding of the flat cable 7 as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the first rotor member 5 side is biased.

Next, when the handle is inverted and rotated clockwise, the rotor 4 is further rotated clockwise through the neutral position shown in FIG. Along with this operation, the planetary gears 9 are rotated around the rotor casing member 4 in the clockwise direction while rotating in the counterclockwise direction. At this time, the flat cable 7 wound around the first rotor member 5 side of the rotor casing member 4 is folded back along the outer peripheral surface of the flat cable folding roller 8 while the stator casing member 1 is being folded back. Is wound up toward the outer peripheral wall 2c side.

In the winding operation of the flat cable 7 from the first rotor member 5 of the rotor casing member 4 to the outer peripheral wall 2c side of the stator casing member 1, the flat cable 7 is directly wound around the first rotor member 5. When the innermost flat cable 7 is unwound and the pressing force of the flat cable 7 against the leaf spring locking member 12 is released, the leaf spring locking member 12 is moved as shown in FIGS. Due to its own elasticity, the free end side of the leaf spring locking member 12 projects substantially in the tangential direction of the first rotor member 5. At this time, the saw-like teeth of the leaf spring locking member 12 are
The rotor casing member 4 is locked to the stator casing member 1 as a result of being engaged with the saw-toothed arcuate engagement portion provided on the bottom wall 2a of the casing member 1.

This U-turn type rotor casing locking mechanism allows the stator casing of the rotor casing member 4 to be
Excessive rotation of the casing member 1 is prevented,
The flat cable contained in the casing is protected.

In the above embodiment, the rotor
The leaf spring is fixed to the casing member 4 to realize the above-mentioned locking function. However, instead of this structure, for example, a roughly radial recess is formed in the rotor casing member 4 and the elastic force is generated in the recess. While fixing one end of the spring
At the other end of the spring, a protruding locking member that can be locked at the sawtooth arc-shaped locking portion is provided, and when the other end moves from the retracted position to the projected position, the rotor
It is also possible to arrange that the casing member is locked to the stator casing member.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a U-turn type steering roll connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3, showing a state in which the leaf spring locking member is pressed against the first rotor member side of the rotor casing member by the inner surface of the winding of the flat cable.

FIG. 5 is a saw-toothed arcuate locking portion in which the flat cable is unwound from the first rotor member of the rotor casing member, and the leaf spring locking member is provided on the bottom wall of the stator casing member. FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing a state of being locked to.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a locked state of the plate spring locking member and the saw-toothed arc-shaped locking portion shown in FIG. 5 from an oblique direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 stator casing member 1a convex part 2 1st stator member 2a bottom wall 2b inner peripheral wall 2c outer peripheral wall 2d saw tooth arcuate locking part 3 second stator member 3a upper wall 3b outer peripheral wall 3c internal gear 3d slot 4 rotor Casing member 5 First rotor member 6 Second rotor member 6a External gear 7 Flat cable 8 Roller 9 Planetary gear 9a Teeth 11 Carrier 11a Plate portion 11b First shaft portion 11c Second shaft portion 12 Leaf spring locking member

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A flat cable (7) comprising a stator casing member (1-3) and a rotor casing member (4-6) rotatable with respect to the stator casing member (1-3). Are both casing members (1-6)
A part of it is folded back into a U-shape in an annular space formed inside the room and is housed in a spiral shape and is flat.
A U-turn in which each end of the cable (7) is fixed to a stator casing member (2, 3) forming the outer peripheral wall side of the annular space and a rotor casing member (5, 6) forming the inner peripheral wall side of the annular space. In the type steering roll connector, the inner peripheral wall (5) is located inside a winding of the flat cable (7) when the flat cable (7) is wound around the inner peripheral wall (5). When the flat cable (7) is unwound by a predetermined length from the retracted position where it is pressed inward by the cable surface and the inner peripheral wall (5) is released and the pressing force by the cable surface is released, it pops out radially outward. An elastic locking member (1 that can be retracted from the protruding position)
2), the stator casing member (2a) extends in an arc shape with a predetermined length around the inner peripheral wall (5), and the locking member (12) moves from the retracted position to the protruding position. A U-turn type steering roll connector, which is provided with saw-like teeth for locking the locking member (12) when popping out. 2. The plate of the locking member (12), wherein one end is fixed to the inner peripheral wall and the other end is a free end that can be retracted between the retracted position and the protruding position. A U-turn type steering roll connector, comprising a leaf spring having an edge having saw-like teeth that engage with the saw-like teeth of the stator casing member (2a).