JPS5931196B2 - connector device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a connector device used for electrical connection of an air bag device or the like of a vehicle.

In the event of a vehicle collision, if the collision causes damage to the occupants, the airbag stored in the steerer 9 fern wheel, etc. is inflated and deployed to alleviate the impact of the occupants in the front of the vehicle. The device is known. Such an airbag device includes a collision sensor that detects whether a vehicle collision is necessary to deploy the airbag, transmits a detection signal from the sensor to an activation device of the airbag device, ignites a detonator, and Release gas pressure or generate gas pressure,
The airbag is inflated and deployed by the generated gas pressure and air. By the way, on the driver's side, the airbag device is housed in the center of the steering wheel, and the detonator, gas generator, etc. are also attached around this area.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned sensor is placed in a part far away from here, and it is necessary to electrically connect the sensor to the airbag device of the steering wheel. is fixed, so electrical connection means at rotating parts must be used. As a means of connecting such rotating parts, a sliding method using a conventional slip-and-slip mechanism is known, and such a slip-and-slip mechanism causes wear and tear on the contacts of brushes and rings due to long-term use. It is difficult to ensure long-term stability as there is a risk of contact failure occurring, and it is difficult to say that this is the best way to connect the airbag device, so if it is used, double , Ξ requires similar connection means.

In addition, there is a possibility of short circuits due to metal particles generated during long-term sliding, and if a pulse signal is used as a supply signal,
There are disadvantages such as noise generated between the spring 9 fern and the brush mixing with the signal, which may cause malfunction, and sparks occurring between the spring 9 and the brush. In this way, the spring mechanism that has been commonly used in the past is the most important safety device, and it is best to use it as an electrical connection means for airbag devices that require absolute reliability and stability of hN operation. That's hard to say.

Therefore, the present applicant stores a cord-shaped electrical conductor wound between upper and lower rotatable cases, and connects one of the cases to a rotating member such as a steering wheel and the other to a fixed member such as a steering column. In addition, the present invention provides a connector device in which the electric conductor is wound and unwound as the rotating portion reciprocates, thereby eliminating the disadvantages of the spun-nine-ferder type connector.

With such a connector device, there is a winding and unwinding operation of the electric conductor due to the reciprocating rotation of the rotating member, and the length of one electric conductor is also limited due to the space of the case and the surrounding space. It is necessary to assemble accurately at the neutral position for rewinding, and if the assembly is not done accurately at the neutral position when rewinding, the length of one electrical conductor will become shorter when the steering wheel rotates from side to side. As a result, there is a risk that the electric conductor will be strained and the operating load of the steering wheel will become heavier.

Therefore, the assembly work of the connector device is troublesome and complicated, such as strict checking of the neutral position, and there is a problem in terms of workability. Even if one or more steps are performed, it is difficult to completely eliminate assembly errors, and incorrect assembly may occur. There is a risk that it will be attached. The present inventors have devised the present invention in order to improve the above-mentioned disadvantages, and the purpose thereof is to interpose an intermediate case between the upper case on the rotating member side and the lower case on the fixed member side, An electric conductor is wound and stored between the intermediate case and the lower case, and the intermediate case and the upper case are relatively rotatable, and the intermediate case and the upper case are pressed together by a slip ring mechanism to form an integrated structure. Connect the electrical conductor between the slip ring mechanism and the terminal led out of the upper case, and if this becomes tense due to an error in the assembly of the electrical conductor, the soil case and the middle case may become loose at the slip ring mechanism. It is designed to correct slips and assembly errors, improve rough assembly work efficiency while adopting a connection device that stores the electrical conductor by winding it, and automatically corrects incorrect assembly and corrects it to the neutral position. To provide a connector device which can connect rotating parts reliably by a cord type while maintaining a high degree of reliability and stability.

Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the periphery of a steering wheel, which is a main part of an airbag device used in a connector device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the connector device.

Reference numeral 1 designates a steering wheel, which is connected to a center portion 3 through spoke portions 2 provided on the inner diameter portion of the wheel portion 1a. A gas generator 6 has a nozzle 6a in the center of the base 5, which is supported on the bottom of the third space S in the center part.
It is attached with...

A driver 7 is provided below this to release the pressure of cylinders and the like that constitute the gas generator 6, and when a signal is input to the driver 7 by a collision sensor (not shown), the drive mechanism of the gas generator 6 is ignited, etc. to release gas pressure or generate gas pressure. An airbag 8 is folded and stored on the gas generator 6 so as to surround it, and the airbag 8 is inflated and deployed as follows.
Place the steering wheel center pad 4 in the bag 8.
The airbag inflates and deploys in front of the driver to cushion the impact. A boss portion 9 is attached to the bottom of the center portion 3 of the steering wheel 1,
At the center of this is the tip 10 of the steering shaft 10.
a is fixed, the rotation of the wheel 1 is transmitted to the shaft 10, and a steering operation is performed.

The shaft 10 is located below the boss portion 9 of the shaft 10.
A steering column 11 is provided so as to surround the steering column 11, and the steering column 11 is on the fixed side (immovable side), and the circumference b of the steering column 11 is covered with a cover 12 up to a portion close to the center portion 3. In addition, 13 in the drawing is a horn (alarm) switch provided in a part of the spoke part 2. 20 shown in FIG.
is a connector device, and the connector device 20 includes an upper case 21 on the rotating side, a lower case 22 on the stationary side, and upper and lower cases 21.
, 22, and the intermediate case 23 is rotatable relative to the housings 21 and 22. The upper case 21 has a cylindrical wall 2 in the center.
1a, a disk portion 21b extending radially outward from the earth end thereof, and an annular outer wall 21c bent and hanging below the outer end, and is entirely made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. It is molded into. The lower case 22 includes a bottom disk portion 22b and an annular outer wall 22c bent upward at the outer end, and is made of the same material and is rotatably attached to the lower part of the cylindrical wall 21a of the upper case 21. Once fitted, a space S, . . An electric conductor 24 is wound and stored in this space S2, S, and the conductor 24 has a tape shape, for example, as shown in FIG. 24b is buried, and a round conductor may be used instead of the square conductor. There are two conductors at the top and bottom 24-1, 24-2
are stored in each space, and at the neutral position in the rotational direction, one side has slack to the left, and the other side has slack to the right. It is assembled and stored with enough length to allow for easy movement. The intermediate case 23 is composed of a cylindrical wall portion 23a on the inner diameter side, a disk portion 23b extending radially outward from its upper end, and an annular outer wall 23c bent downward from its outer end.

The lower surface of the disc part 23b covers the upper space S2, and the cylindrical wall part 23
a is inserted between the outer side of the cylindrical wall portion 21a of the upper case 21 and the inner side of the inner wall 22a of the lower case 22, and the outer wall 23c is located inside the outer walls 21c and 22c of the upper and lower cases 21 and 22, and the upper and lower spaces Sl, Cover the outer edge of S2. The intermediate case 23 is located between the upper and lower cases 21 and 22 and is rotatable. A terminal 25 is buried in the lower part of the inner diameter side of the lower case 22, and its bottom outer extending end 25a is connected to the cord 26, and the part of the terminal 25 buried in the lower part of the case is connected to the inner end of the lower conductor 24-2. Connecting.

The outer end of the conductor 24-2 is connected to the lower part of the terminal 27 embedded in the outer wall 23c of the intermediate case 23, and is connected to a slip ring plate terminal 28 protruding above the outer protrusion b of the disk portion 23b of the intermediate case 23. Connection is made via the terminal board 29. A slip ring 30 is attached to the disk portion 21b of the upper case 21 above the blade terminal 28 so as to match the rotation locus of the slip ring 30, and the slip ring 30 and the blade terminal 28 are pressed together and connected under a high load. Upper case 21 and middle case 23
and are configured so that they rotate together. A terminal 31 is buried in the other part of the lower case 22, and a cord 32
The terminal 31 is connected to the inner end of the upper conductor 24-1, and the outer end of the conductor 24-1 is connected to a terminal buried in a part of the outer wall 23c of the intermediate case 23 apart from the above. 33, and a terminal plate 35 connects the terminal 33 and a slip ring blade terminal 34 protruding from the inner circumference of the disk portion 23b of the intermediate case 23.

The blade terminal 34 is connected to the disk portion 21b of the upper case 21.
The slip ring 36 is press-connected to the slip ring 36 provided spaced apart on the inner diameter side of the slip ring 30 in the same manner as described above. A connector part 37 is protruded from a part of the locus of the slip rings 30, 36 of the disc part 21b of the upper case 21, and a guide protrusion 21d is protruded from the center of the connector part 37. The terminal pieces 38, 39 are attached insulated from each other, and the terminal pieces 38, 39
are individually connected to each of the slip rings 30 and 36, and connected to the circuit of the airbag device of the steering wheel 1.

In addition, 40 in the drawing is a holder ring for assembling the upper and lower cases 21, 22, and 23, and 41, 42 are the upper and lower cases 21, 2.
These are slip rings and terminals that constitute the circuit of the horn 13 provided on the outer walls 21c and 22c of 2. The device 20 described above has an inner diameter part of the holder ring 40 fitted into the boss part 9 of the steering wheel 1, and a locking pin 43 protruding from the upper case 21 provided on the flange part 9a of the boss part 9. The lower case 22 is engaged with the hole 14, and a locking pin 44 protruding from the bottom of the lower case 22 is connected to a boss portion 15 attached to the steering column 11. Thus, the earth case 21 rotates integrally with the steering wheel 1, and the lower case 22 is on the fixed side. Next, to explain its function and effect, the upper case 21 and the middle case 23 are connected by pressure contact between the terminals 28 and 34 and the rings 30 and 36, and the steering operation of the steering wheel 1 is performed by the lower case. 21, and the upper case 21 rotates to the right or left in unison with the steering.

The intermediate case 23 rotates integrally with the upper case 21 in the rotational direction of the upper case 21, and conducts electrical conductors 24-1, 24-1,
24-2 has one side slackened and the other side rolled up. The airbag device includes a cord 26, a terminal 25, a conductor 24-2, a terminal 27, a terminal plate 29, a terminal 28, a ring 30, a terminal 38,
And the terminal 39, the ring 36, the terminal 34, the terminal plate 35,
The terminal 33, the conductor 24-1, the terminal 31, and the cord 32 constitute an electric circuit of the drive device, and the terminals 28, 34 and the ring 3
0 and 36 do not slide and constitute fixed contacts. Therefore, an action in which the contacts with a slip ring mechanism or the like constantly slide against each other is not performed. The connector is a cord type connection,
Part of the connection part uses a terminal and a ring, which is a fixed contact, and the connection is made by a cord, so there are no inconveniences associated with constant sliding of the one-slip ring mechanism. By the way, the electric conductors 24-1 and 24-2 are provided exclusively for clockwise rotation and counterclockwise rotation, respectively, and must be assembled accurately at a neutral position during assembly.

Each conductor sag when rotated in the opposite direction, so there is no problem, but if the neutral position shifts during assembly and is incorrectly assembled, one of the conductors will not be long enough for its specific rotation direction. . Therefore, when rotating in this direction, tension occurs near the rotation limit, and as a result, the operational load on the steering wheel increases, and tension in the cord-type electrical conductor is undesirable in relation to the terminals. Under such conditions, the tension in the electrical conductor,
If the tensile load of this is more than an unfavorable level in relation to the terminal, the intermediate case 23 on the conductor side will slide between the blade terminals 28, 34 and the rings 30, 36 with respect to the rotation of the upper case 21, Due to this sliding, the intermediate case 23 rotates by a predetermined angle toward the neutral position relative to the upper case 21, and one tensile load is applied to the terminals 28, 34 and the rings 30, 3.
When the pressure becomes smaller than 6, at this point the upper case 21
The intermediate case 23 is fixed and returns to its original state. That is, as described above, the assembly error b is automatically corrected, corrected, and set at the neutral position. The sliding movement between the terminals 28, 34 and the rings 30, 36 is performed only by the above-mentioned correction movement, and after correction, the b1 cord type connection is made again to the fixed contact. In this way, even if there is an incorrect assembly, the corded connector can be automatically corrected to the neutral position by operating the steering wheel, making it possible to accurately detect the neutral position during assembly and ensure strict assembly. There is no need to pursue this, and the workability of one assembly is improved, and even in the case of incorrect assembly, there is no need for reassembly, and the steering operation is not affected.

Since it is a cord type, the connection of rotating parts is accurate, reliable, and stable, making it suitable for use as a connector for airbag devices.In addition, it can be configured by simply installing a case in the middle and attaching a terminal and a ring. Therefore, it can be provided with a simple structure and at low cost. Although the embodiment has been described as a connector on the circumference b of the steering wheel of an airbag device, it should be noted that the connector can be applied to various types of devices that rotate reciprocatingly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the steering wheel circumference D, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a connector device, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of an electric conductor. . In addition, in the drawing, 21 is a rotating side case, 22 is a rotating side case, 2
3 is an intermediate case, 24-1, 24-2 are electrical conductors, 28
, 30, 34, and 36 are slip ring mechanisms.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 An intermediate case is interposed in the space between the rotating side case and the stationary side case, and an electric conductor is wound and stored between the intermediate case and the stationary side case, and the intermediate case is connected to the rotating side case and the stationary side case. A connector device characterized in that the intermediate case and the rotating case are press-connected by a slip ring mechanism so that they rotate integrally.