JP6985963B2 - Rotating connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rotary connector.

In the steering column of an automobile, it is necessary to supply power to operate an airbag between a stator (fixed part) and a rotor (rotating part), and to transmit a switching signal from a horn switch or various control switches. Therefore, a rotating connector is used.

The stator and rotor are rotatably arranged coaxially, and the flat cable is stored and wound in the storage space defined between the outer cylinder that constitutes these stators and the inner cylinder that constitutes the rotor. It is used as an electrical connection means such as an airbag / inflator mounted on a steering wheel having a finite number of revolutions such as a steering device of an automobile.

In the conventional rotary connector, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a roller holder for holding the guide roller is provided in the storage space, and the flat cable is curved in a U shape and hung on the guide roller. There is.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-327470 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-274981

However, conventional rotary connectors may make a small noise. This abnormal noise is small compared to the noise produced by the engines and tires of automobiles that are currently in widespread use, but the noise emitted by the rotating connector may become relatively loud when the noise of automobiles is reduced. ..

An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary connector that can contribute to the noise reduction of an automobile.

One aspect of the rotary connector is between a stator having an outer cylinder portion, a rotor having an inner cylinder portion which is arranged so as to be able to rotate relative to the stator, and the outer cylinder portion and the inner cylinder portion. A flexible cable housed in the annular space, one end connected to the stator and the other end connected to the rotor, and a plurality of flexible cables housed in the annular space along the circumferential direction of the annular space. A roller holder for holding a guide roller is provided, and the flexible cable is wound around each of the outer cylinder portion and the inner cylinder portion via an inversion portion provided around one of the guide rollers. The roller holder has an outer guide member that elastically presses the flexible cable toward the outer cylinder portion and an inner guide member that elastically presses the flexible cable toward the inner cylinder portion. The movable guide mechanism has a holding lever for holding the outer guide member and the inner guide member, and the holding lever is parallel to the first rotation axis of the rotor. a second rotation shaft provided between the inner guide member and the outer guide member is biased in the rotational direction about the second axis of rotation, characterized in Rukoto.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to contribute to the noise reduction of automobiles.

It is a schematic diagram (the 1) which shows the operation of the flat cable which does not have a winding habit. It is a schematic diagram (No. 2) which shows the operation of the flat cable which has not caused the winding habit. It is a schematic diagram (No. 3) which shows the operation of the flat cable which has not caused the winding habit. It is a schematic diagram (the 1) which shows the operation of the flat cable which has a winding habit. It is a schematic diagram (No. 2) which shows the operation of the flat cable which caused the winding habit. It is an external perspective view which shows the rotary connector which concerns on embodiment of this disclosure. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flat cable and a roller holder included in a rotary connector. It is a perspective view which shows the roller holder. It is a perspective view which shows the back side of a holding lever. It is a perspective view which shows a support.

When the present inventors observed the behavior of the rotating connector using a high-speed camera in order to clarify the mechanism by which the rotating connector emits an abnormal noise, the flat cable may not move to lubrication in such a case. It became clear that there was a sound in the camera. In addition, the present inventors have conducted further diligent studies to clarify the reason why the lubrication does not move. As a result, if the flat cable is held at a high temperature while being wound around the roller during transportation of the rotary connector, the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) constituting the flat cable is softened and hardened, and winding habits occur. It became clear that it was doing.

Here, the winding habit of the flat cable will be described. 1A to 1C are schematic views showing the operation of a flat cable without a winding habit, and FIGS. 2A to 2B are schematic views showing the operation of a flat cable with a winding habit.

As shown in FIG. 1A, in the rotary connector, an annular space is formed between the inner cylinder portion 901 of the rotor and the outer cylinder portion 902 of the stator, and the flat cable 903 is housed in this space. One end of the flat cable 903 is connected to the stator and the other end is connected to the rotor. In the above annular space, a roller holder 910 that holds a plurality of guide rollers 911, 912, 913, 914, 915, and 916 along the circumferential direction of the annular space is also housed. The guide rollers 911 to 916 are arranged in an annular shape in this order. The flat cable 903 is curved in a U shape and is hung on the guide roller 911 from the guide roller 912 side. A reversing portion 921 is provided on the guide roller 916 side of the guide roller 911, that is, on the side opposite to the guide roller 912, and the flat cable 903 is wound around the inner cylinder portion 901 and the outer cylinder portion 902 via the reversing portion 921. Has been done.

In such a rotary connector, the rotor provided with the inner cylinder portion 901 rotates relative to the stator provided with the outer cylinder portion 902. For example, when the rotor rotates counterclockwise (CCW), the flat cable 903 is unwound from the rotor and the flat cable 903 pushes the reversing section 921 in the CCW direction, as shown in FIG. 1B. As a result, the roller holder 910 also rotates in the CCW direction, and the flat cable 903 is wound around the stator along the outer cylinder portion 902.

Further, when the rotor is viewed in the clockwise direction (clockwise: CW), as shown in FIG. 1C, the rotor winds the flat cable 903 along the inner cylinder portion 901, and the flat cable 903 winds the guide roller 911 in the CW direction. pull. As a result, the roller holder 910 also rotates in the CW direction, and the flat cable 903 is unwound from the stator.

In FIGS. 1A to 1C, the flat cable 903 is shown linearly, but the flat cable 903 also has a thickness, and is between the guide rollers 911-916 and the inner cylinder portion 901 and the outer cylinder portion 902. Is provided with a gap for accommodating the flat cable 903. For example, the inner cylinder portion 901 side has a gap that can accommodate about four flat cables 903, and the outer cylinder portion 902 side has a gap that can accommodate about two flat cables 903.

In the rotary connector, such flat cable 903 is wound and unwound. Since the flat cable 903 has flexibility, the flat cable 903 can be smoothly wound and unwound while bending.

However, if the flat cable 903 is bent in a U shape and held at a high temperature in a state of being hung on the guide roller 911 during transportation of the rotary connector or the like, the flat cable 903 may have a habit of winding. This is because the PET constituting the flat cable 903 softens at a high temperature and then retains its shape at a high temperature when cooled to about room temperature and cured. Such a curl occurs, for example, in the state shown in FIG. 1A.

Then, when the rotor rotates in the CCW direction in a state where the winding habit is generated, the flat cable 903 is unwound from the rotor and the flat cable 903 pushes the reversing portion 921 in the CCW direction as shown in FIG. 2A. As a result, the roller holder 910 also rotates in the CCW direction, and the flat cable 903 is wound around the stator. At this time, if the flat cable 903 has a winding habit, the flat cable 903 cannot bend along the outer cylinder portion 902 because the flexibility of the portion is low. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2A, the flat cable 903 has a portion 903a separated from the outer cylinder portion 902 from the portion where the winding habit is generated to the guide roller 912. At this time, the portion 903a may vibrate and generate an abnormal noise. Further, when the rotation of the rotor is continued, the portion 903a may collide with the portion wound around the outer cylinder portion 902 of the flat cable 903 to generate an abnormal noise. Depending on the degree of winding habit, not only the portion 903a between the guide roller 911 and the guide roller 912 but also the portion 903b separated from the outer cylinder portion 902 is formed between the guide roller 912 and the guide roller 913, and the portion 903b. Abnormal noise may occur due to.

Further, when the rotor is viewed in the CW direction, as shown in FIG. 2B, the rotor winds up the flat cable 903, and the flat cable 903 pulls the guide roller 911 in the CW direction. As a result, the roller holder 910 also rotates in the CW direction, and the flat cable 903 is unwound from the stator. At this time, if the flat cable 903 has a winding habit, the flat cable 903 cannot bend along the inner cylinder portion 901 because the flexibility of the portion is low. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2B, the flat cable 903 has a portion 903c separated from the inner cylinder portion 901 from the portion where the winding habit is generated to the guide roller 912. At this time, the portion 903c may vibrate and generate an abnormal noise. Further, when the rotation of the rotor is continued, the portion 903c may collide with the portion wound around the inner cylinder portion 901 of the flat cable 903 to generate an abnormal noise. Depending on the degree of winding habit, not only the inner cylinder portion 901 side but also the portion 903d separated from the outer cylinder portion 902 may be generated, and an abnormal noise caused by the portion 903d may be generated.

Based on such findings, the present inventors have come up with the following embodiments.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a rotary connector according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows the rotation axis I of the rotation connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, and also shows the Z axis parallel to the rotation axis I. In the following, for the sake of explanation, the Z1 side in the Z direction is referred to as the "upper side", the Z2 side in the Z direction is referred to as the "lower side", and the axial direction, the radial direction, and the circumferential direction are referred to the rotation axis I. Specifically, the axial direction refers to the direction of the rotation axis I. The radial inner side refers to the side closer to the rotation axis I, and the radial outer side refers to the side farther from the rotation axis I. Further, the circumferential direction refers to the circumferential direction around the rotation axis I. Further, the Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC) board is simply referred to as FPC below.

The rotary connector 1 is a connecting device for transmitting an electric signal between a vehicle steering column (not shown) and an electronic component (not shown) that rotates integrally with the steering shaft (not shown). ..

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotary connector 1 includes a rotor 200 and a stator 300.

In the rotor 200, a steering shaft contained in a steering column is inserted in the axial direction. The rotor 200 is an annular member that defines the inner cylinder portion 201 in the radial direction. The rotor 200 is formed of, for example, a resin material. A steering shaft is inserted in the axial direction in the space inside the radial direction defined by the inner cylinder portion 201 of the rotor 200. The rotor 200 is rotatably supported with respect to the stator 300 with the rotation axis I (an example of the first rotation axis) as the rotation center.

The stator 300 is fixed to the vehicle. The stator 300 is attached to the steering column. A rotor 200 is rotatably assembled to the stator 300. The stator 300 is an annular member that defines the outer cylinder portion 301 on the outer side in the radial direction.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a flat cable and a roller holder included in the rotary connector 1, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a roller holder.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the rotary connector 1, an annular space is formed between the inner cylinder portion 201 of the rotor 200 and the outer cylinder portion 301 of the stator 300, and the flat cable 601 is housed in this space. .. One end of the flat cable 601 is connected to the stator 300 and the other end is connected to the rotor 200. A roller holder 400 that holds a plurality of guide rollers 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, and 406 along the circumferential direction of the annular space is also housed in the annular space. The guide rollers 401 to 406 are arranged in an annular shape in this order. The flat cable 601 is curved in a U shape and is hung on the guide roller 401 from the guide roller 402 side. A reversing portion 411 is provided on the guide roller 406 side of the guide roller 401, that is, on the side opposite to the guide roller 402, and the flat cable 601 is wound around the inner cylinder portion 201 and the outer cylinder portion 301 via the reversing portion 411. Has been done.

The roller holder 400 has a movable guide mechanism 420 between the guide roller 401 and the guide roller 402, and a movable guide mechanism 430 between the guide roller 403 and the guide roller 404. The movable guide mechanism 420 has a support column 428 extending upward from the roller holder 400 and a holding lever 423 rotatably attached to the support column 428. The outer auxiliary roller 421 (an example of an outer guide member) is rotatably held at one end of the holding lever 423, and the inner auxiliary roller 422 (an example of an inner guide member) is rotatably held at the other end of the holding lever 423. ing. The rotation axes of the outer auxiliary roller 421 and the inner auxiliary roller 422 are parallel to the rotation axis of the rotor 200.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the back side of the holding levers 423 and 433, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the columns 428 and 438.

An opening 423a is formed at one end of the holding lever 423, and an opening 423b is formed at the other end. The outer auxiliary roller 421 has a locking piece 421a inside thereof, and the locking piece 421a is inserted into the opening 423a and rotatably locked to the holding lever 423 in the opening 423a. Similarly, the inner auxiliary roller 422 has a locking piece 422a inside thereof, and the locking piece 422a is inserted into the opening 423b and rotatably locked to the holding lever 423 in the opening 423b. ing. The holding lever 423 has a cylindrical portion 424 (an example of a second rotating shaft) as a rotation center between the opening 423a and the opening 423b, and the support column 428 has elasticity and has a hook-like shape at the tip. The tip of the column 428 is rotatably locked to the tip of the cylindrical portion 424. Further, a protrusion 425 is formed on the back surface of the holding lever 423, and one end of a torsion spring (torsion coil spring) 429 is fixed to the protrusion 425. It is urged in the direction of rotation around it. The strut 428 penetrates the coil portion of the torsion spring 429, and the other end of the torsion spring 429 has an elastic force in the rotational direction around the cylindrical portion 424 due to the restraint portion 427 provided around the strut 428. Is fixed to the roller holder 400.

Similar to the movable guide mechanism 420, the movable guide mechanism 430 includes an outer auxiliary roller 431 (an example of an outer guide member), an inner auxiliary roller 432 (an example of an inner guide member), a holding lever 433, and a cylindrical portion 434 (second rotation). An example of a shaft), a protrusion 435, a restraint portion 437, a support column 438, a torsion spring 439, and the like.

In the movable guide mechanism 420, the torsion spring 429 is a holding lever centered on the support column 428 so that the outer auxiliary roller 421 moves away from the rotation axis I of the rotor 200 and the inner auxiliary roller 422 approaches the rotation axis I of the rotor 200. Rotate the 423 around the cylindrical portion 424. Therefore, with the elastic force of the torsion spring 429, the outer auxiliary roller 421 presses the flat cable 601 toward the outer cylinder portion 301, and the inner auxiliary roller 422 presses the flat cable 601 toward the inner cylinder portion 201.

Similarly, in the movable guide mechanism 430, the torsion spring uses the support column 438 as the rotation axis so that the outer auxiliary roller 431 moves away from the rotation axis I of the rotor 200 and the inner auxiliary roller 432 approaches the rotation axis I of the rotor 200. Rotate the holding lever 433 around the cylindrical portion 434. Therefore, with the elastic force of the torsion spring 439, the outer auxiliary roller 431 presses the flat cable 601 toward the outer cylinder portion 301, and the inner auxiliary roller 432 presses the flat cable 601 toward the inner cylinder portion 201.

In the rotary connector 1 configured in this way, the flat cable 601 is pressed toward both the outer cylinder portion 301 and the inner cylinder portion 201 by the movable guide mechanism 420 between the guide roller 401 and the guide roller 402. Ru. Therefore, even if the flat cable 601 has a winding habit while being hung on the guide roller 401, the flat cable 601 is unlikely to swell in the annular space and is held in the vicinity of the outer cylinder portion 301 and the inner cylinder portion 201. .. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the sound caused by the vibration of the flat cable 601 and the sound caused by the collision between the flat cables 601 on the outer cylinder portion 301 or the inner cylinder portion 201.

Further, since the outer auxiliary roller 421 and the inner auxiliary roller 422 can rotate about the rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis I of the rotor 200, the flat cable 601 comes into contact with the outer auxiliary roller 421 and the inner auxiliary roller 422. The accompanying sliding load can be reduced. Therefore, the flat cable 601 can be more stably pressed against the outer cylinder portion 301 or the inner cylinder portion 201.

Further, since the outer auxiliary roller 421 and the inner auxiliary roller 422 are attached to one holding lever 423, both the abnormal noise generated when rotating in the CCW direction and the abnormal noise generated when rotating in the CW direction are suppressed with a simple configuration. be able to.

Further, since the movable guide mechanism 430 similar to the movable guide mechanism 420 is provided between the guide roller 403 and the guide roller 404 separated from the guide roller 401, the generation of sound in or near this region is also suppressed. can do. That is, since the movable guide mechanism 420 does not eliminate the winding habit, there is a possibility that the flat cable 601 may swell due to the winding habit in a region separated from the movable guide mechanism 420. Such swelling may occur in the movable guide mechanism. It is suppressed by 430, and the generation of sound is also suppressed.

The number of movable guide mechanisms is not limited and may be 3 or more. When a plurality of movable guide mechanisms are provided, it is preferable that they are arranged in a dispersed manner. This is to obtain the action and effect of the movable guide mechanism without bias. Further, it is preferable that one of them is provided between the guide roller provided with the reversing portion and the guide roller adjacent to the guide roller on the opposite side of the reversing portion. This is because the swelling of the flat cable due to the winding habit is most likely to be noticeable in this part.

The elastic force for pressing the flat cable 601 by the outer auxiliary roller 421 and the inner auxiliary roller 422 may be generated by using an elastic member other than the torsion spring 429. However, the torsion spring 429 is preferable in that it can generate a sufficient elastic force in a small space.

A flexible printed circuit board (FPC) board may be used instead of the flat cable. Flat cables and FPC boards are examples of flexible cables.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above. However, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Various modifications and substitutions may be applied to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the present invention. Further, each of the features described with reference to the above-described embodiments may be appropriately combined as long as there is no technical conflict.

1 Rotating connector 200 Rotor 201 Inner cylinder 300 Stator 301 Outer cylinder 400 Roller holder 401-406 Guide roller 411 Inversion part 420, 430 Movable guide mechanism 421, 431 Outer auxiliary roller 422, 432 Inner auxiliary roller 423, 433 Holding lever 424 434 Cylindrical part 425, 435 Protrusion 427, 437 Restraint part 428, 438 Strut 429, 439 Torsion spring 601 Flat cable

Claims (6)

A stator with an outer cylinder and
A rotor that is arranged so that it can rotate relative to the stator and has an inner cylinder portion,
A flexible cable housed in an annular space between the outer cylinder portion and the inner cylinder portion, one end connected to the stator and the other end connected to the rotor.
A roller holder housed in the annular space and holding a plurality of guide rollers along the circumferential direction of the annular space.
Equipped with
The flexible cable is wound around each of the outer cylinder portion and the inner cylinder portion via an inversion portion provided around one of the guide rollers.
The roller holder is
An outer guide member that elastically presses the flexible cable toward the outer cylinder portion,
An inner guide member that elastically presses the flexible cable toward the inner cylinder portion, and
A movable guide mechanism having,
The movable guide mechanism has a holding lever for holding the outer guide member and the inner guide member.
The holding lever is provided with a second rotation axis parallel to the first rotation axis of the rotor between the outer guide member and the inner guide member, and is urged in the rotation direction around the second rotation axis. rotary connector, characterized in that that Ru is. The movable guide mechanism is provided between the guide roller provided with the reversing portion and the guide roller adjacent to the guide roller on the opposite side of the reversing portion among the plurality of guide rollers. The rotary connector according to claim 1. The rotary connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the roller holder has a plurality of the movable guide mechanisms. The rotary connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holding lever is urged by a torsion spring. The outer guide member has an outer auxiliary roller rotatably held at one end of the holding lever.
The rotary connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the inner guide member has an inner auxiliary roller rotatably held at the other end of the holding lever. The rotary connector according to claim 5 , wherein the outer auxiliary roller and the rotation axis of the inner auxiliary roller are parallel to the first rotation axis.

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