JPS6063886A - Rotary electric connecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for electrically connecting two members such as a rotating body and a fixed body that rotate relative to each other, and particularly relates to a device for electrically connecting two members such as a rotating body and a stationary body. An electrically conductive outer ring fixed to one of the two members, an electrically conductive inner ring fixed to the other member and rotatably provided within the outer ring, and these artists are arranged so that they can roll and come into contact with each other. The present invention relates to a novel rotary electrical connection device having a structure similar to a rolling bearing, which uses a conductive ring to establish an electrical connection between two members.

Conventional devices of this type include, for example, a slip ring that is coaxially fixed to the rotation shaft of a rotating body and rotates together with the rotation shaft;
Electrical connection between the rotating body and the stationary body is established by the combination of a long belt-shaped brush made of an elastic metal plate, one end of which is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the slip ring, and the other end of which is fixed to the stationary body. What you do is well known. However, this type of device provides sliding contact between the slip ring and the brush. For this reason, the contact surfaces of both the slip ring and the brush are easily worn and damaged due to friction, which causes electrical noise and has short service life. Further, the contact of the brush with the slip ring depends on the elastic force of the brush itself. Therefore, in order to maintain the appropriate contact pressure with the slip ring for electrical connection, it is necessary to increase the length of the brush due to its strength and spring characteristics, and also to ensure the contact area with the slip ring. In order to do this, the width of the brush must be made wider,
This has the drawback that the entire device becomes larger and occupies a larger space. This is particularly true when it is necessary to arrange a large number of such devices side by side and to make a large number of independent electrical connections between the rotating body and the stationary body.

This invention was made based on a completely new technical idea in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and although it has a simple structure, it can be made compact, and stable electrical connection can be obtained. The purpose is to provide a long-life rotary electrical connection device. In order to achieve this object, the present invention has an electrically conductive outer ring, an electrically conductive inner ring that is provided within the outer ring so as to be relatively rotatable, and rollers that can make multiple contacts between the inner ring and the outer ring. A plurality of elastic annular conductive rings are arranged, and the conductive rings are compressed into a slightly elliptical shape against the elasticity so that the conductive rings are always in elastic contact with the outer ring and the inner ring due to their elastic restoring force. It is configured to be provided in a deformed state and has a structure similar to a rolling bearing.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Reference numeral 1 indicates an outer ring formed from a conductive material into an annular shape with a rectangular cross section, and 2 indicates an outer ring formed from an electrically conductive material into an annular shape with a rectangular cross section. The inner ring 2 is rotatably provided in a circular hole le of the outer ring 1. The outer diameter of the inner ring 2 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the hole 1a of the outer ring 1.
When these are arranged coaxially, an annular gap A of considerable width is created between the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 (see Fig. 3).

Within this gap A, a plurality of annular conductive rings 3 (three in this example) are arranged at regular intervals. The conductive ring 3 is arranged so that its central axis faces the rotational axis of the inner ring 2, and the rollers make multi-contact movements within the gap A as the inner ring 2 rotates. Further, the conductive ring 3 is formed in an annular shape from an elastic conductive material, and its outer diameter is made to be slightly larger than the radial width of the gap A. It is housed in the gap A in a state of being compressed and deformed (see Fig. 4). Therefore, the conductive ring 3 is operated by the outer ring 1 due to the action of its elastic restoring force.
The inner circumferential wall 1b of the inner ring 2 and the outer circumferential wall 2c of the inner ring 2 are always elastically pressed.

Further, the inner ring 2 is positioned substantially coaxially with the outer ring 1 due to the interaction of the elastic restoring forces of the plurality of conductive rings 3 arranged at equal intervals. In this assembled state, outer ring 1
When the inner ring 2 is rotated, the conductive ring 3 is connected to the inner circumferential wall 1b of the outer ring 1 and the outer circumferential wall 2c of the inner ring 2.
The rollers continue their multi-contact motion within the gap A while maintaining the elastic pressure contact state. A retainer 4 is fitted into the plurality of conductive rings 3 to maintain their mutual spacing and hold them together. The retainer 4 is made of an insulating material, and has a conductive ring 3 rotatably inserted between two thin annular plates 4a and 4e arranged so as to substantially cover both open surfaces of the annular gap A. A plurality of (three in this example) shafts 4b are suspended, and two annular plates 4a, 4a and each shaft 4b,
...and are fixed together by adhesive or the like. The retainer 4 serves to allow the plurality of conductive rings 3 to perform smooth multi-contact motion without contacting each other. Annular strips 5 made of thin plate insulators are adhesively fixed to both side walls 1d and le of the outer ring 1, and the inner circumference of the strips 5 extends radially inward from the inner circumferential wall 1b of the outer ring 1. Annular guide walls 5a, 5a are formed so as to slightly protrude in the direction. On the other hand, annular spacers 6 made of thin plate insulators are fixed to both side walls 2d and 2e of the inner ring 2 by adhesive, respectively, and the outer peripheral portions of the spacers 6 extend radially outward from the outer peripheral wall 2c of the inner ring 2. Annular guide walls 6a, 6a are formed by slightly protruding from the sides. S4-
The conductive rings 5 and 6 form the guide walls 5a and 6a and
It serves to guide the members so that they do not protrude outside the gap A during the rolling contact movement, and to provide electrical insulation from adjacent members. In addition, the guide wall 5a.

The grooves 6a may be formed integrally with the inner circumferential wall 1b of the outer ring 1 and the outer circumferential wall 2c of the inner ring 2 by carving grooves over the entire circumference. Lead wires 7 and 8 are connected to the outer circumferential wall Ic of the outer ring 1 and the inner circumferential wall 2b of the inner ring 2 by soldering, respectively. An annular mounting plate 9 is fixed to one side wall 1d of the outer ring 1 by adhesive via a spacer 5, and a cylindrical mounting shaft 10 is also attached to the negative side wall 2d of the one-way shaft 2, coaxially with a circular hole 24. are fixed by adhesive via wavers 6.

In this device configured as described above, the outer ring 1 is fixed to one of two members (not shown) that rotate relative to each other, for example, a fixed body, coaxially with the rotation axis thereof by the protrusions 9a, 9a of the mounting plate 9. At the same time, the lead wire 7 is also electrically connected. Further, the inner ring 2 is coaxially fixed to the other of the two members, for example, the rotating shaft of a rotating body, by the mounting shaft 10, and the lead wire 8 led out from the hollow portion 10a of the mounting shaft 10.
are also electrically connected. Now, when the rotating body is rotated with respect to the fixed body, the inner ring 2 rotates together with the rotating body, and the plurality of conductive rings 3 which are in an elliptical compressed state between the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 are rotated. Due to the action of the elastic restoring force, the rollers continue their contact movement within the gap A while maintaining the pressure contact state with the inner circumferential wall 1b of the outer ring 1 and the outer circumferential wall 2c of the inner ring 2. Therefore, a continuous electrical connection is maintained between the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 via the conductive ring 3 not only in a stationary state but also in a rotating state. 1. Power can be continuously supplied via the conductive ring 3 and lead wire 8.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the invention, which is applied to a device that makes a number of independent electrical connections between two members that rotate relative to each other. In this case, after stacking and fixing the outer ring 11 inner ring 2, conductive ring 3 assembly and spacers 5, 6 in five stages in substantially the same manner as in the above embodiment, each conductive ring 3 is attached to the retainer 4'. In addition, a mounting plate 9 and a mounting shaft 10 are fixed to the outer ring l and inner ring 2 at one end through the screws 5 and 6, respectively, resulting in a device having five independent contacts. , five independent electrical connections can be made between two relatively rotating members. Each contact is electrically insulated by spacers 5 and 6.

As explained in detail above, in this invention, the electrical connection between the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2, which rotate relative to each other, is made through a plurality of elastic conductive rings 3 with nine rollers in contact therebetween. Unlike the Slizzo ring and brush, there is no friction in the contact part, and the wear resistance of the contact surface can be greatly improved, the life of the device can be extended, and the rotational torque can be reduced. Furthermore, by increasing the number of conductive rings 3, the contact area with the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 can be increased, so the reliability of contact can be improved and the electric capacity can also be increased. Furthermore, since the contact directions of the plurality of conductive rings 3 with respect to the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 are different, it is difficult to be affected by vibrations, and a stable electrical connection can be maintained. Furthermore, since the component structure is simple and efficiently arranged around the rotation axis, the device can be downsized and the space it occupies can be reduced. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a rotary electrical connection device that has a simple configuration, can be downsized, can provide stable electrical connection, and has a long life.

The above-mentioned embodiment shows an example of the present invention, and it goes without saying that it includes various design changes based on this technical idea.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the rotary electrical connection device according to the present invention, in which Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view, Figure 2 is a perspective view, and Figure 3 is Figure 2. It is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the invention. 1... Outer ring, 2... Inner ring, 3... Conductive ring. Agent Patent Attorney Ogawa Inujibe 3+1 District 3rd Group #5 [21

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A conductive outer ring, a conductive inner ring that is relatively rotatable within the outer ring, and a plurality of elastic annular rings arranged so as to be in rolling contact between the inner ring and the outer ring. and a conductive ring, and the conductive ring is compressed into a slightly elliptical shape against the elasticity of the conductive ring so as to be in constant elastic contact with the outer ring and the inner ring due to its elastic restoring force. Rotary electrical connection device.