JPH11339917A - Roll connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roll connector with a tentative pin without requiring a seal in order to ensure a neutral position. SOLUTION: In a roll connector with an immovable stator to a vehicle; a rotor relatively rotatably connected to the stator; and a tentative pin 30 ensuring a neutral position of the rotor, a first retaining portion attachably/ detachably retaining the pin 30 and a second retaining portion 12 irremovably fixing the pin 30 are radially provided on a cylindrical wall 10a of the stator at a predetermined interval. A first engaging portion is provided on a position neighboring to the first retaining portion and a second engaging portion 22 is provided on a position neighboring to the second retaining portion 120 on an upper surface of a roof 20a of the rotor, respectively in the case where the rotor is positioned at the neutral position. The pin 30 is provided with a piece 31 to be retained inserted to the second retaining portion 120 of the stator; and an engaging piece 34 engaged with an engaging portion 22 of the rotor. A thin wall portion 38 is provided between the piece 31 to be retained and the engaging piece 34.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a roll connector, and more particularly, to a roll connector having a temporary fixing pin for ensuring that a rotor is in a neutral position until assembled in a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A roll connector used in an automobile or the like includes a stator fixed to a steering column of a vehicle and a rotor fixed to a steering wheel. The stator is immovably fixed to the vehicle, and the rotor rotates relative to the stator with rotation of the handle. Then, the flat cable is spirally wound and accommodated in a donut-shaped space between the rotor and the stator, and one end of the flat cable is connected to the rotor side, and the other end is connected to the stator side, and relatively rotated. The rotor and the stator are electrically connected. In this way, the steering wheel side and the vehicle body side of the vehicle are always electrically connected, and the corresponding electrical components such as the horn are operated by the operating unit such as the horn switch attached to the steering wheel, and the airbag module is operated. And the power supply can be connected.

In such a roll connector, the length of the flat cable is an economical length in consideration of the total rotation of the handle to the left and right. The relative position of the rotor with respect to the stator when the handle is located exactly at the center of the entire rotation region (when the handle is at a position corresponding to the straight traveling of the vehicle) is referred to as a neutral position.

When the roll connector is mounted on a vehicle, it is necessary to fix the rotor and the handle in a state where the neutral position of the rotor and the handle position corresponding to the straight traveling of the vehicle coincide. By doing so, in the entire rotation region of the handle, an unnecessary load is not applied to the cable, and the rotation of the handle becomes smooth.

On the other hand, when the roll connector is mounted on a column switch and shipped as a column switch unit, the operation of the column switch is checked after the roll connector is mounted on the column switch. In this case, after the roll connector is manufactured and before it is assembled to the column switch, the neutral position is held by the temporary fixing pin, and when the operation of the column switch is inspected, the temporary fixing pin is once pulled out to rotate the roll connector. After the inspection, the temporary fixing pins are fixed again and a sealing seal is affixed to complete the column switch unit.

[0006] This seal seal ensures that the rotor is not rotating relative to the stator before the column switch unit is mounted on the vehicle, ie, that the rotor is in a neutral position with respect to the stator. Guaranteed. Then, when the column switch unit is finally attached to the vehicle, the roll connector can be freely rotated by removing the sealing seal and removing the temporary fixing pin.

In the conventional roll connector using the temporary fixing pins, it is necessary to attach a sealing seal after the operation inspection before the completion of the column switch unit, that is, take out the sealing seal and peel off the release paper. And a complicated process such as sticking it.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a roll connector with a temporary fixing pin which does not require a sealing seal to guarantee a neutral position.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to effectively solve the above problems, and provides a roll connector having the following features.

That is, the roll connector of the present invention comprises:
"A stator having a cylindrical wall and immovable with respect to the vehicle" and "a rotor having a top plate rotatable along the cylindrical wall of the stator and rotatably connected to the stator"
And a "temporary fixing pin for holding a relative position of the rotor to the stator at a neutral position". On the cylindrical wall of the stator, a “first holding portion for detachably holding the temporary fixing pin” and a “second holding portion for fixing the temporary fixing pin so that they cannot be removed” are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. Is provided. Also, on the top surface of the rotor top plate, the first
And a second locking portion. The first locking portion is located near the first holding portion when the rotor is at the neutral position,
The second locking portion is located near the second holding portion when the rotor is in the neutral position. Further, the temporary fixing pin includes a “piece to be inserted into the first or second holding part of the stator” and an “engaging piece that engages with the first or second locking part of the rotor”. A breakable thin portion is provided between the held piece and the engagement piece.

[0011] In the roll connector of the present invention having the above structure, when the manufacture of the roll connector is completed,
By arbitrarily selecting one of the first and second holding portions and inserting the temporary fixing pin therein, the neutral position of the rotor can be guaranteed, that is, the relative rotation of the rotor with respect to the stator can be prohibited.

When the first holding portion is selected, the relative rotation of the rotor can be permitted again by removing the temporary fixing pin, but when the second holding portion is selected,
Since the temporary fixing pin cannot be removed, relative rotation of the rotor cannot be permitted again unless the temporary fixing pin is broken at the thin portion for breaking. Further, when the second holding portion is selected, since the rotation of the rotor is prohibited unless the temporary fixing pin is broken, the neutral position of the rotor is guaranteed only by the fact that the temporary fixing pin is not broken. The Rukoto. That is, the temporary fixing pin itself also has the function of the conventional sealing seal. That is, in the roll connector of the present invention, the conventional sealing seal becomes unnecessary.

Therefore, for example, when the roll connector is assembled to a column switch and shipped as a column switch unit, the temporary fixing pin is inserted into the first holding portion immediately after the manufacture of the roll connector to guarantee the neutral position of the rotor. Keep it. When the roll connector is assembled to the column switch to perform an operation test, the temporary fixing pin is pulled out to allow the rotation of the roll connector, and after the inspection is completed, the temporary fixing pin previously pulled out from the first holding unit is removed. This time, if the rotor is inserted into the second holding portion to ensure the neutral position of the rotor, the rotor can be shipped as a column switch unit in this state.

In the case where the roll connector is to be shipped as a single product after the roll connector is manufactured, the temporary fixing pin may be inserted into the second holding portion from the beginning without using the first holding portion. Needless to say, no seal is required.

In the roll connector according to the present invention, instead of the above configuration, the first and second holding portions are formed on the upper surface of the top plate of the rotor, and the first and second locking portions are provided on the stator. The same effect can be obtained even if it is provided on the cylindrical wall side.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a top view of a roll connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view partially showing the roll connector of FIG.

The roll connector 1 includes a stator 10 fixed to a steering column (not shown) of a vehicle, and a steering wheel.
(Not shown). That is, the stator 10 is immovably fixed to the vehicle, and the rotor 20 is fixed to the stator 10 together with a handle (not shown).
Rotate relative to.

Such a structure of the stator and the rotor itself is conventionally known, and therefore will not be described in detail. However, a donut-shaped space is formed between the stator 10 and the rotor 20, and a space there between is formed. A flat cable is spirally housed. And one end of the flat cable is connected to the rotor side, the other end is connected to the stator side,
Thus, the relatively rotating rotor and stator are electrically connected.

The stator 10 has a cylindrical wall 10a that defines the outer peripheral surface of the roll connector. The cylindrical wall 10a is provided on the first and second two holding portions 110 and 120 at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction (in FIG. 2,
Only the second holding unit 120 appears). These holding portions are used as holding pieces 31 of temporary fixing pins 30 (see FIGS. 3 and 5) described later.
Hold.

FIG. 3 shows the first holding portion 110 located on the upper side in FIG. 1 from the side. The first holding portion 110 has two side walls 111 and 113 projecting from the outer surface of the cylindrical wall 10a of the stator in a direction substantially perpendicular to the wall surface and parallel to each other.
And connecting the protruding edges of these two side walls to form a cylindrical wall 10a.
And a front wall 112 extending substantially in parallel,
The first holding portion 110 and the cylindrical wall 10a of the stator form a quadrangular prism-shaped space. Then, the held piece 31 of the temporary fixing pin 30 is inserted into the first holding portion through the opening 114.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the temporary fixing pin 30 is provided with a held piece 31 inserted into the first holding portion 110,
A knob extending upward from the held piece 31 in an arch shape
36, and an engaging piece 34 extending substantially perpendicularly to the held piece 31 toward the center of the roll connector.

The tip of the held piece 31 has two slits 37.
It is divided into two legs 32 and 33, and protruding portions 32a and 33a protruding in the lateral direction are formed near the tip of each leg. FIG. 4 shows a state where the held piece 31 of the temporary fixing pin 30 is held in the first holding portion. Held piece 31
Is in a free state (a state before being inserted into the first holding portion), the maximum width of the held piece at the positions of the both protrusions 32a, 33a is between the side walls 111, 113 of the first holding portion. Greater than the width of. Therefore, when the held piece 31 is inserted into the first holding portion 110, both side walls of the first holding portion are connected to the respective projections 32a, 33a.
Is pressed inward, and as a result, the two legs 32 and 33 bend inward in a direction approaching each other. Then, the respective protruding portions 32a and 33a are pressed against the both side walls of the first holding portion by the reaction force, and as a result, the held piece 31 (ie, the temporary fixing pin 30) is pressed.
) Is detachably held in the first holding portion 110.

When the rotor 20 is in the neutral position, the projection 21 as a first locking portion formed on the peripheral portion of the top plate 20a of the rotor is the first holding portion formed on the cylindrical wall 10a of the stator. The closest to you. When the temporary fixing pin 30 is inserted into the first holding portion 110 in this state, the engaging piece 34 of the pin 30 comes into contact with the upper surface of the top plate 20a of the rotor. At this time, the protrusion 21 protruding from the top plate of the rotor is
Positioned within 35, relative rotation between stator 10 and rotor 20 is prohibited, and thus rotor 20 can be fixed at the neutral position.

The temporary fixing pin 30 has an arched knob 36
, The first holding portion 110 is released from the first holding portion 110 by releasing the engagement between the first holding portion 110 and each of the projections 32a and 33a due to the pressing force. Relative rotation becomes possible.

Next, the second holding part of the two holding parts formed on the stator 10, that is, the second holding part 120 will be described. As described above, the first holding unit 110
Holds the temporary fixing pin 30 detachably. On the other hand, once the temporary fixing pin 30 is inserted therein, the second holding unit 120 cannot remove the temporary fixing pin 30 unless the temporary fixing pin 30 is broken. This will be described in detail below. In addition,
The temporary fixing pin 30 shown in FIG. 5 is the temporary fixing pin 30 shown in FIG.

The second holding part 120 shown in FIG. 5 has, like the first holding part 110, two opposing side walls 121 and 123,
And a front wall 122. Ward, both side walls 121, 123
Is different from the first holding portion 110 in that the locking walls 125 and 126 are provided on the inner surfaces of the first holding portion 110, respectively.

FIG. 6 shows the holding piece 31 of the temporary fixing pin 30
The state held in the holding unit is shown. As described later, the temporary fixing pin 30 held in the second holding portion 120
Is finally broken at the thin portion 38, and FIG. 6 shows a state after the break.

Locking walls 125 and 126 are formed on the inner surfaces of both side walls of the second holding portion 120 so as to project substantially perpendicularly to the side walls. The held piece 31 of the temporary fixing pin 30 is
When inserted into 120, the two legs 32, 33 of the held piece 31 bend in the direction approaching each other by the slit 37 therebetween, so that the protrusions 32a and 33a formed near the ends of the two legs.
Gets over each locking wall 125, 126. And each locking wall 12
By engaging the lower surface of 5, 126 with the upper surface of each projection 32a, 33a, the held piece 31 (that is, the temporary fixing pin 30)
It is held in the second holding unit 120. Therefore, even if the arched knob 36 of the temporary fixing pin 30 is pulled,
Cannot be pulled out of the second holding unit 120 entirely.

When the rotor 20 is in the neutral position, a projection 22 as a second locking portion formed on the periphery of the top plate 20a of the rotor is provided on the second holding portion formed on the cylindrical wall 10a of the stator. The closest approach. Therefore, when the temporary fixing pin 30 is inserted into the second holding portion 120 while the rotor 20 is held at the neutral position, the relative rotation between the stator 10 and the rotor 20 is prohibited by the same mechanism as that of the first holding portion 110. And therefore
The rotor 20 can be fixed at the neutral position. As described above, the temporary fixing pin 30 cannot be pulled out from the second holding portion 120, but if the temporary fixing pin 30 is broken at the breaking thin portion 38, the relative rotation between the stator 10 and the rotor 20 becomes possible. . This thin portion for breaking 38 is provided in a region between the held piece 31 and the engaging piece 34 in the temporary fixing pin 30,
Therefore, when the temporary fixing pin 30 is broken by the thin portion 38, the held piece 31 and the engaging piece 34 are separated. Then, the held piece 31 remains in the second holding portion 120 (see FIG. 6), and the engaging piece 34 is detached from the entire roll connector together with the arched knob 36.

In the illustrated example, the thin portion 38 is formed on one side only on the temporary fixing pin 30. However, a similar thin portion may be added to the back side of the thin portion 38 in the drawing.
Breaking of the temporary fixing pin 30 can be performed relatively easily by pulling down the arch-shaped knob 36 toward the user.
Further, the bending direction of the arched knob 36 may be opposite to the illustrated direction, that is, the direction toward the center of the roll connector.

Further, in the illustrated example, the rotor top plate 20a
Projections 21 and 22 as first and second locking portions
And an opening 35 is provided in the engaging piece 34 on the side of the temporary fixing pin that engages with these. Contrary to such an embodiment, it is also possible to provide an opening on the top plate side of the rotor and to provide a projection for engaging with the opening on the engaging piece on the temporary fixing pin side.

Further, in the illustrated example, the temporary fixing pin 30
Although the holding portion for holding the held piece 31 is provided on the stator side, it is of course possible to provide such a holding portion on the rotor side and, accordingly, provide a projection (or opening) on the stator side. .

In the above-described roll connector according to the present invention, when the rotor is at the neutral position with respect to the stator, the first holding portion 110 and the first holding portion serve as holding portions into which temporary fixing pins can be inserted so as to prohibit relative rotation between the two. 2 of holding unit 120
One is provided. The first holding portion 110 can detachably hold the temporary fixing pin 30, and the second holding portion fixes the temporary fixing pin 30 so that it cannot be removed. That is, when the manufacture of the roll connector is completed, it is possible to arbitrarily select one of the first and second holding portions to guarantee the neutral position of the rotor, that is, to prohibit the relative rotation of the rotor with respect to the stator. it can.

When the first holding portion 110 is selected, the temporary fixing pin 30 can be removed without breaking, which is convenient when re-inspection is required before shipping. For example, when a roll connector is assembled into a column switch and shipped as a column switch unit, the temporary fixing pin 30 is inserted into the first holding portion 110 immediately after the manufacture of the roll connector to ensure the neutral position of the rotor. . Then, when the roll connector is assembled to the column switch and the operation test is performed, the temporary fixing pin 30 is pulled out to allow the roll connector to rotate, and after the inspection is completed, the temporary fixing pin previously pulled out of the first holding portion 110 is removed. Pin 30 is now in the second holding part 1
Insert into 20 to ensure the neutral position of the rotor. Then, in this state, it is shipped as a column switch unit.

When the temporary fixing pin 30 is inserted into the second holding portion 120, as described above, the rotation of the rotor is prohibited unless the temporary fixing pin 30 is broken. Therefore,
The fact that the temporary fixing pins 30 are not broken alone guarantees the neutral position of the rotor. That is, the temporary fixing pin 30 itself has the function of the conventional sealing seal. When this column switch unit is finally fixed to the vehicle, the temporary fixing pin 30 is broken, so that the relative rotation between the rotor and the stator is allowed.

When the roll connector is to be shipped as a single product after the roll connector is manufactured, the temporary fixing pins are removed from the beginning without using the first holding portion 110.
What is necessary is just to insert in the holding part 120. In this case, it is needless to say that the sealing seal is unnecessary.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view of a roll connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the roll connector of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating engagement of a temporary fixing pin with a first holding portion of the roll connector of FIG. 1;

4 is a cross-sectional view showing an engagement state of a temporary fixing pin with a first holding portion of the roll connector of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating engagement of a temporary fixing pin with a second holding portion of the roll connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an engagement state of a temporary fixing pin with a second holding portion of the roll connector of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Roll connector 10 Stator 10a Stator cylindrical wall 20 Rotor 20a Rotor top plate 21 Projection (first locking portion) 22 Projection (second locking portion) 30 Temporary fixing pin 31 Held pieces 32, 33 Leg 32a, 33a Projection 34 Engagement piece 35 Opening 36 Arched knob 37 Slit 38 Thin part for break 110 First holding part 111 Side wall 112 Front wall 113 Side wall 114 Opening 120 Second holding part 121 Side wall 122 Front wall 123 Side wall 125, 126 Locking wall

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A stator (10) having a cylindrical wall (10a) and immovable with respect to a vehicle, and a top plate (20a) rotatable along the cylindrical wall of the stator and having a relative position with respect to the stator. In a roll connector comprising a rotatably connected rotor (20) and a temporary fixing pin (30) for maintaining a relative position of the rotor to the stator at a neutral position, a cylindrical wall (10a) of the stator includes: A first holding portion (110) for detachably holding the temporary fixing pin (30) and a second holding portion (120) for detachably fixing the temporary fixing pin are provided at predetermined circumferential intervals. The first surface of the top plate (20a) of the rotor is located at a position near the first holding portion when the rotor (20) is in the neutral position.
The locking portion (21) is located at a position near the second holding portion.
An engaging portion (22) is provided, respectively. The temporary fixing pin (30) includes a held piece (31) inserted into the first or second holding portion (110, 120) of the stator, and a rotor. And an engagement piece (34) that engages with the first or second locking portion (21, 22). The thin portion for breaking is provided between the held piece (31) and the engagement piece (34). (38) A roll connector characterized by being provided. 2. A stator (10) having a cylindrical wall (10a) and immovable with respect to a vehicle, and a top plate (20a) rotatable along the cylindrical wall of the stator and having a relative position with respect to the stator. In a roll connector comprising a rotatably connected rotor (20) and a temporary fixing pin (30) for maintaining a relative position of the rotor to the stator at a neutral position, a top surface of the rotor top plate (20a) A first holding portion for detachably holding the temporary fixing pin, and a second holding portion for fixing the temporary fixing pin so as not to be detachable, are provided at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction, and the cylindrical wall of the stator (10a ), When the rotor is in the neutral position, a first locking portion is provided at a location located near the first holding portion, and a second locking portion is provided at a location located near the second holding portion. And the temporary fixing pin is provided on the first or second holding portion of the rotor. It has an inserted piece to be inserted and an engaging piece that engages with the first or second locking portion of the stator, and a thin portion for breaking is provided between the held piece and the engaging piece. A roll connector, characterized in that: