JP4330018B2 - Rotating connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary connector, and more particularly to a rotary connector for transmitting an electric signal, an optical signal, electric power, or the like between a rotator (rotary body) and a stator (fixed body).

  This type of rotary connector is used to transmit an electric signal, an optical signal, electric power, or the like between the rotary body and the fixed body. The rotary connector can transmit signals between the steering shaft and the column, for example, with the steering shaft side of the automobile as the rotator side and the column side as the stator side.

In the rotary connector, a flat cable for transmission and a dummy cable are arranged between the rotator and the stator. Each of the flat cable and the dummy cable has a winding direction reversing portion at each intermediate portion, and suppresses the occurrence of slack in the flat cable when the rotator or the stator is reciprocally rotated. The end portion of the dummy cable is fixed to the hook portion of the rotator and the stator (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-234651

  However, since the rotary connector is hermetically sealed, the rotary connector must be disassembled once in order to confirm the hooked state of the dummy cable inside the rotary connector in order to ensure reliability. For this reason, there is a problem that it is impossible to confirm whether the dummy cable is attached at the proper position after the rotary connector is assembled. That is, since the timing for checking the hooked state of the dummy cable at the time of production is limited at the time of assembling the rotary connector, the productivity and reliability of the rotary connector cannot be increased.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary connector that can increase the degree of freedom in the timing for checking the hooked state of a dummy cable, and can improve productivity and reliability.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the rotary connector of the present invention is arranged such that the rotator is reciprocally rotatable with respect to the stator, and a transmission flat cable and a dummy cable are arranged between the rotator and the stator. A rotating connector,
It has a window for confirming the hook state of the dummy cable with respect to the rotator and the stator from the outside.

  In the rotary connector according to the present invention, it is preferable that the window is provided in the vicinity of the fixed portion of the dummy cable of the rotator to confirm the fixed portion of the dummy cable.

  In the rotary connector of the present invention, preferably, the stator has a sub-stator, and the window is provided in the vicinity of the fixing portion of the dummy cable of the sub-stator to confirm the fixing portion of the dummy cable. It is characterized by that.

  The rotary connector of the present invention is preferably characterized in that the stator has a hole for inserting a sensor for confirming the position of the dummy cable.

  In the rotary connector according to the present invention, preferably, when the fixing portion of the dummy cable of the sub-stator can be confirmed from the outside of the rotary connector by the window of the sub-stator, no hole is formed in the stator. Features.

  According to the rotary connector of the first aspect of the present invention, even after the rotary connector is completed, the handler can check the hooked state of the dummy cable, and has a degree of freedom in the timing for checking the hooked state of the dummy cable. , Improve productivity and reliability.

  According to the rotary connector of claim 2 of the present invention, the handler can confirm the fixing portion of the rotator dummy cable through the window even after the rotary connector is completed.

  According to the rotary connector of the third aspect of the present invention, the handler can confirm the fixing portion of the sub-stator dummy cable through the window even after the rotary connector is completed.

  According to the rotary connector of claim 4 of the present invention, the sensor can be inserted into the hole of the stator, and the position of the dummy cable can be confirmed.

  According to the rotary connector of claim 5 of the present invention, when the fixing portion of the sub-stator dummy cable can be confirmed from the outside of the rotary connector by the window of the sub-stator, no hole is formed in the stator. Can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing a preferred embodiment of the rotary connector of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rotary connector of FIG. 1 viewed from another angle. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the inside of the rotary connector.

  The rotary connector 1 shown in FIG. 1 can also be called a rotary transmission device, and has a rotator 10 and a stator 60. The rotator 10 can also be called a rotating body or a rotating case, and the stator 60 can also be called a fixed body or a fixed case.

  The rotator 10 can reciprocate around the rotation center L with respect to the stator 60. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rotator 10 includes a sleeve 12, an inner cylinder portion 90, a rotator window 33, and a rotator dummy cable hooking portion 32.

  The stator 60 includes the sub-stator 11 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the neutral fixing pin 15, the first mold holder 13, and the second mold holder 14. The neutral fixing pin 15 is a part for fixing the stator 60 to the attachment target part.

  The sub-stator 11 is formed with a sub-stator window 31 and a sub-stator dummy cable hook 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the first mold holder 13 has a connector 13H for electrical connection. As shown in FIG. 3, the second mold holder 14 is provided with a plurality of terminals 14R for electrical connection.

  The sub-stator 11 is a substantially circular member. The sleeve 12 is a cylindrical member and protrudes at the center position of the sub-stator 11. The rotator 10 can reciprocate in the space between the sub-stator 11 and the sleeve 12 along the R1 direction and the R2 direction opposite to the R1 direction with respect to the stator 60.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rotary connector 1 in the illustrated example has a first flat cable 21, a second flat cable 22, a third flat cable 23, and a dummy cable 24. The first flat cable 21, the second flat cable 22, the third flat cable 23, and the dummy cable 24 are, for example, the same size and may use polyester tape or polyimide tape having the same elasticity. it can.

  The first flat cable 21, the second flat cable 22, and the third flat cable 23 perform, for example, signal transmission between the rotator 10 and the stator 60. However, the dummy cable 24 does not transmit a signal.

  The first flat cable 21, the second flat cable 22, the third flat cable 23, and the dummy cable 24 are arranged at approximately the same angle between the rotator 10 and the stator 60 with the rotation center L as the center. They are arranged at almost the same interval.

  The outer ends of the first flat cable 21, the second flat cable 22, the third flat cable 23, and the dummy cable 24 are fixed so as to overlap each other on the inner peripheral surface of the sub-stator 11. The inner ends of the first flat cable 21, the second flat cable 22, the third flat cable 23, and the dummy cable 24 are fixed to the inner cylindrical portion 90 of the rotator 10.

  In the middle of the first flat cable 21, the second flat cable 22, the third flat cable 23, and the dummy cable 24, there are winding direction inversion portions 21 T, 22 T, 23 T, and 24 T, respectively. Each winding direction inversion part 21T, 22T, 23T, 24T has the curved shape, and is arrange | positioned at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction.

  As described above, the winding direction inversion portions 21T, 22T, 23T, and 24T having elastic repulsion are disposed at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction, so that the rotator 10 is reciprocally rotated with respect to the stator 60. In this case, the slack of the first flat cable 21, the second flat cable 22, the third flat cable 23, and the dummy cable 24 can be suppressed, and troubles due to the slack of the flat cable can be prevented.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner end portion of the dummy cable 24 is a dummy cable hooking portion (an example of a dummy cable fixing portion) disposed in the inner cylindrical portion 90 of the rotator 10. It is attached to 32. The outer end portion of the dummy cable 24 is hooked and attached to a dummy cable hooking portion (an example of a dummy cable fixing portion) 30 of the sub-stator 11.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, it has a window for allowing the operator to visually check the hooked state of the dummy cable 24 from the outside of the rotary connector 1 as shown in FIG. It is that. The visual confirmation windows are a rotator window 33 provided in the rotator 10 and a sub-stator window 31 provided in the sub-stator 11.

  By providing the rotator window 33, the operator can directly visually confirm the dummy cable hooking portion 32 of the rotator 10 from the outside of the assembled rotary connector 1.

  Similarly, by providing the sub-stator window 31, the operator can directly visually confirm the dummy cable hooking portion 30 of the sub-stator 11 from the outside of the assembled rotary connector 1.

  The sizes of the rotator window 33 and the sub-stator window 31 can be arbitrarily set. However, the operator can directly visually observe the dummy cable hooking portion 30 of the sub-stator 11 from the outside of the assembled rotary connector 1 only by the sub-stator window 31. If it can be confirmed, the stator 60 of FIG. 1 may or may not be provided with a hole for confirming the dummy cable hooking portion 30 of the sub-stator 11. The holes of the stator 60 are stator holes provided corresponding to the sub-stator windows 31. Thereby, the structure of the rotation connector 1 can be simplified.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the stator 60 has a sensor insertion hole 40 as shown in FIG. 2 and 3, the sensor insertion hole 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the sub-stator window 31. For example, a sensor for confirming the position where the dummy cable 24 is arranged can be inserted into the sensor insertion hole 40.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the hooked state of the dummy cable 24 arranged in the rotary connector 1 is such that the rotator window 33 provided in the rotator 10 is not disassembled without disassembling the rotator 10 and the stator 60 of the rotary connector 1. This can be confirmed by the sub-stator window 31 provided in the sub-stator 11.

  For this reason, it is possible to confirm whether the dummy cable 24 is attached at a proper position even after the rotary connector 1 is assembled. When the rotary connector 1 is produced, the confirmation timing of the hooked state of the dummy cable 24 is not limited to before the assembly of the rotary connector 1, so that the productivity of the rotary connector 1 can be increased and the reliability of the rotary connector 1 can be improved. Can be raised.

  By the way, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various modified example is employable.

  For example, the number of flat cables is not limited to three, but may be one, two, or four or more. The number of dummy cables is not limited to one and may be two or more.

  The shapes of the rotator window 33 provided in the rotator 10 and the sub-stator window 31 provided in the sub-stator 11 are not particularly limited, and may be square or round.

It is a perspective view which shows preferable embodiment of the rotation connector of this invention. It is the perspective view seen from another angle of the rotation connector of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the inside of a rotation connector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotation connector 10 Rotator 11 Substator 12 Sleeve 13 1st mold holder 14 2nd mold holder 15 Neutral fixed pin 21 1st flat cable 22 2nd flat cable 23 3rd flat cable 24 Dummy cable 30 Dummy cable hooking part (dummy) Example of cable fixing part)
31 Substator window 32 Dummy cable hooking part of rotator (an example of dummy cable fixing part)
33 Rotator window 40 Sensor insertion hole 60 Stator

Claims (5)

A rotator is disposed so as to be capable of reciprocating with respect to a stator, and a transmission flat cable and a dummy cable are disposed between the rotator and the stator.
A rotary connector having a window for confirming a hooked state of the dummy cable with respect to the rotator and the stator from the outside. 2. The rotary connector according to claim 1, wherein the window is provided in the vicinity of a fixed portion of the dummy cable of the rotator to confirm the fixed portion of the dummy cable. 2. The stator according to claim 1, wherein the stator includes a sub-stator, and the window is provided in the vicinity of the fixing portion of the dummy cable of the sub-stator to confirm the fixing portion of the dummy cable. The rotary connector according to claim 2. The rotary connector according to claim 3, wherein the stator has a hole for inserting a sensor for confirming a position of the dummy cable. The hole is not formed in the stator when the fixing portion of the dummy cable of the sub-stator can be confirmed from the outside of the rotary connector by the window of the sub-stator. Rotating connector.

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