JPH0441590Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an electrical connection device for electrically connecting a fixed body and a movable body using a flat cable.

[Conventional technology]

An electrical connection device that electrically connects a fixed body and a movable body is used, for example, in the steering of a car. It must be installed so that it can be If this movable body is assembled with rotation in one direction, there will be a difference in the amount of rotation in both directions, and excessive tension will be applied to the flat cable, causing it to buckle or be damaged. Not only does this cause inconvenience, but when used for steering a car, it is extremely dangerous when driving.

Therefore, when incorporating the electrical connection device described above into various types of equipment, in order to make it possible to incorporate it in an appropriate state, alignment is performed as a guideline for alignment between the fixed body and the movable body. Those equipped with a mechanism have been used in the past. Such a positioning mechanism is such that one of the fixed body and the movable body is provided with a rotation member equipped with a gear, and the other is provided with an engagement member that engages with the gear of the rotation member, and the movable body is rotated once. When the movable body is provided with a gear, the gear is engaged with the engagement member so that the gear follows the rotation of the movable body and is rotated by a predetermined angle. A mark is provided between the fixed body and, when a gear is provided on the fixed body, between the gear and the movable body to indicate the proper assembly position.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

By the way, the above-mentioned gear is usually formed from a molded product of synthetic resin, and if a soft resin material is used as the material of the gear, the frictional resistance when the gear engages with the engagement member is reduced. Due to the large size, not only is the gear not operated smoothly, but the gear may be deformed during operation, resulting in a loss of its function as a guide for proper positioning.

For this reason, hard synthetic resin is generally used as the material for the gear, but when the gear is made of a hard material like this, the movable body rotates and the gear becomes the engaging member. It has the disadvantage that it generates noise every time it engages with the

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connection device that solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, has excellent durability, and can reduce noise.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an electrical connection between a fixed body and a movable body rotatably attached to the fixed body via a flat cable. A rotary member equipped with a gear for positioning is provided on either the fixed body or the movable body, and when the movable body rotates once, the other
An engaging member is provided that engages with a gear in the rotating member to rotate it, and a display provided on the rotating member allows proper positioning between the fixed body and the movable body. In the electrical connection device, the engaging member includes an engaging groove and a pair of engaging projecting walls facing each other with the engaging groove interposed therebetween, and the rotating member is arranged at an outer end of the engaging projecting wall. and a second gear that can engage with the inner end of the engaging projecting wall, and the surface of the first gear is formed of a soft material, and the surface of the first gear is made of a soft material. The second gear is characterized in that its surface is made of a hard material.

[Effect]

When the movable body rotates once, during this rotation, one tooth of the first gear comes into contact with the outer end of the protruding wall and rotates it by a predetermined angle, and then one tooth of the second gear contacts the outer end of the protrusion. It comes into contact with the inner end of the wall (end of the engagement groove) and rotates it by a predetermined angle. In this case, since the first gear is made of a soft material, the noise generated when the first gear collides with the engagement protrusion is reduced, and the second gear is made of a hard material. Therefore, the frictional resistance between the first gear and the engaging projecting wall is reduced, and a good positioning function can be exhibited over a long period of time.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

First, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates a movable body, and the movable body 1 has a large-diameter portion 1a at the top and a small-diameter portion 1b vertically disposed on the bottom surface of the large-diameter portion 1a.
A partition wall 2 is continuously provided in such a manner that it faces the outer circumferential surface of the small diameter portion 1b with a predetermined distance, and the partition wall 2
One end of a flexible thin plate-like flat cable 3 with conductor foil embedded therein is fixed between the small diameter portion 1b and the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 1b. The large diameter portion 1a has through holes 4 and 5 formed therethrough, and the various terminals 6a and 6b provided at one end of the flat cable 3 pass through the through holes 4 and 5. It is designed to be led out to the outside via. Further, at the other end of the flat cable 3, the conductor foil is exposed to form a connection part 8 to be joined to the lead wire 7, and a rubber attachment plate 9 is provided in the middle of the lead wire 7. It is inserted.

The movable body 1 is assembled in a space formed at the center of a fixed body 10 whose small diameter portion 1b is formed into a cylindrical shape, so that the inner peripheral surface of the fixed body 10 and the movable body 1 A housing portion 11 for the flat cable 3 is formed between the small diameter portion 1b and the outer circumferential surface of the small diameter portion 1b. A vertical notch 10a is formed in a part of the side wall of the fixed body 10, and a frame 12 with openings at the top and bottom is attached to the part where the notch 10a is formed. body 1
2 and the outer periphery of the fixed body 10 define an arcuate space 13. An engaging protrusion 12a is formed on the frame 12, and the engaging protrusion 12a is accommodated in the space 13 while being engaged with a groove 9a formed on the mounting plate 9. It is configured so that it can be Also,
A block body 14 made of rubber and having a substantially triangular cross section is fixed to a position close to the connecting portion of the flat cable 3 to the mounting plate 9, and the block body 14 is attached to a portion provided with a notch 10a. It is becoming more and more common. With the mounting plate 9 and the block body 14 attached to the fixed body 10, they can be fixed using an epoxy resin adhesive or the like.

In this way, both ends of the flat cable 3 are fixed to the movable body 1 and the fixed body 10, respectively, and the intermediate portion thereof is housed in the storage part 11 so as to be wound around the movable body 1. Terminals 6a and 6b provided at one end of the flat cable 3
are inserted into through holes 4 and 5 formed in the large diameter portion 1a of the movable body 1, respectively, and are connected to an appropriate means via an insulating tube 16 and a lead wire 15 connected to an electric component (not shown). It is designed so that it can be connected to the terminal 6a in the through hole 4, and a similar member can be connected to the terminal 6b in the through hole 4. On the other hand, a lead wire 7 provided at the other end of the flat cable 3 is led out to the outside so that it can be electrically connected to a control section, a power supply section, and other members.

Electrical connection device 2 formed as described above
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, 0 is designed to be assembled in a state where it is connected to a steering wheel 21 and a steering shaft 22 of an automobile. When rotated to the side, each must be able to rotate approximately the same amount.

In order to enable the movable body 1 constituting the electrical connection device 20 to be assembled to the fixed body 10 in an appropriate state, the large diameter portion 1a of the movable body 1 is provided with a groove. As shown in Figure 3, four teeth 30a are placed at positions that are out of phase by 90 degrees.
A state in which the first gear 30 having an angle of 45 degrees and the second gear 31 having four teeth 31a at an angle of 90 degrees like the first gear 30 have an angle of 45 degrees to each other. A rotating member 32 formed by fixing the rotary member 32 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 33 fixed to the movable body 1.

On the other hand, the fixed body 10 is provided with an engaging member corresponding to the rotating member 32. This engaging member is composed of a pair of engaging protruding walls 34, 34 protruding from the upper end of the fixed body 10, and an engaging groove 37 located between these engaging protruding walls 34, 34. The width of the engagement groove 37 is formed to be slightly larger than the width of the tooth portions 30a, 31a of the first and second gears 30, 31. The vertical positional relationship between the rotating member 32 and the engaging member is such that the approximate center of the tooth portion 31a of the second gear 31 coincides with the upper end of the fixed body 10, as shown in FIG. When the movable body 1 is rotated one rotation relative to the fixed body 10, the rotating member 32 is rotated 90 degrees by the action of the engaging projecting wall 34 and the engaging groove 37. (This rotational movement will be described later). This rotating member 32 is provided with a mark 35 on the movable body 1 side as a guide for proper positioning.
Further, the fixed body 10 is formed with an extending portion 10b extending to the outside at a position where the aforementioned rotating member 32 is protruded, and a mark 36 on the side of the fixed body 10 is provided on this extending portion 10b. . Further, when alignment is performed between the mark 36 on the fixed body 10 side and the mark 35 on the movable body 1 side, the assembly is made such that proper positioning is achieved.

As the first gear 30, a relatively soft synthetic resin material such as polyester blockamide having a hardness of about 40D on the Shore hardness D scale is used, and as the second gear 31, for example, A relatively hard synthetic resin material such as 66 nylon, ultraviolet curing resin, or urethane resin having a hardness of about 119 on the Rockwell hardness R scale is used, and the first and second gears 3 having different hardnesses are used.
The rotating member 32 is formed by integrating the members 0 and 31 using appropriate fixing means such as adhesive.

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation will be explained next.

One end of the flat cable 3 is fixed to the movable body 1, the other end is fixed to the fixed body 10, and the flat cable 3 is stored in the storage part 11 formed between the movable body 1 and the fixed body 10. Assemble it in the
An electrical connection device 20 is configured. When installing this electrical connection device 20 between the steering wheel 21 and the steering shaft 22 of the automobile shown in FIG. To assemble the movable body 1 as shown in Figure 5a,
This can be done by matching the mark 35 on the side and the mark 36 on the fixed body 10 side as guidelines.

At the time of assembly, if the positions of the marks 35 and 36 are shifted to the left and right as shown in FIG. 5b or c, the movable body 1 is rotated.
All you have to do is align them. Furthermore, when the movable body 1 is displaced by one rotation or more, the movable body 1 is rotated one rotation in the opposite direction. As a result, first, the tooth portion 30a of the first gear 30 in the rotating member 32 is connected to one of the engaging projection walls 3.
The rotating member 32 is rotated by 45 degrees by colliding with the outer end of the second gear 31 and riding over it, and then the tooth portion 31a of the second gear 31 enters into the engagement groove 37 by the above rotation. collides with the end of the engagement groove 37 (that is, the inner end of the other engagement projecting wall 34) and climbs over it, thereby further rotating the rotating member 32.
It is to be rotated by 45 degrees, and when the movable body 1 rotates once, the rotating member 32 can be rotated by 90 degrees. After that, the mark 35 provided on the rotating member 32 by rotating the movable body 1
mark 36 provided on the extending portion 10b of the fixed body 10
When the alignment is achieved, the movable body 1 and the fixed body 10 can be properly aligned. Note that once the rotating member 32 passes over the engaging projecting walls 34, 34, during subsequent rotation, the first gear 30 moves slightly above the upper end surface of the fixed body 10, but the second gear 31 moves slightly above the upper end surface of the fixed body 10. The two toothed portions 31a move to face the inner circumferential surface of the fixed body 10, thereby preventing the rotating member 32 from idling.

Therefore, as mentioned above, the movable body 1 and the fixed body 10
A rotating member 32 consisting of first and second gears 30 and 31 provided for positioning between
Both of the engaging projecting walls 34 that engage with the teeth 30a and 31a of the first and second gears 30 and 31 can be used even after being assembled once and after being removed for maintenance, inspection, etc. It must be maintained in a state where it can accurately function as a guide for proper positioning between the movable body 1 and the fixed body 10 during reassembly and the like.

However, while the automobile is running, the movable body 1 is frequently rotated, and the teeth 30a and 31a of the first and second gears 30 and 31 are rotated frequently.
collides with the engaging projecting wall 34, climbs over it, and is rotated. However, since the second gear 31 is made of a hard material, the gear 31a will not be damaged or deformed.
When the tooth portion 31a of the adjacent second gear 31 is rotated in the direction of the engagement groove 37 by colliding with the engagement protrusion wall 34, the tooth portion 31a rubs against the engagement protrusion wall 34, resulting in undesirable damage. The pointer function for aligning the movable body 1 and the fixed body 10 can be maintained over a long period of time.
In addition, when the tooth portions 30a and 31a of the rotating member 32 collide with and overcome the outer and inner ends of the engaging projecting wall 34, the entire rotating member 32 is made of a hard material. However, in this embodiment, since the first gear 30 is made of a soft material, the generation of noise can be reduced.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a structure was shown in which the rotating member consisting of a gear was provided on the movable body side and the engaging member was provided on the fixed body side.
As shown in the figure, the first and second gears 50, 51
The rotating member 52 having the following structure may be provided on the fixed body 53 side, and the engaging projecting wall 54 and the engaging groove 56 that engage with the rotating member 52 may be provided on the movable body 55 side.
In this case, the first and second gears 50, 51
It goes without saying that the teeth 50a, 51a are made of a soft material and the latter made of a hard material, as described above. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the entire rotating member 52 may be made of a soft material and the hard coating 51b may be formed only on the surface side of the second gear 51, or conversely, The entire member 52 may be formed of a hard material, and the soft coating may be formed only on the surface side of the first gear 50. Furthermore, the seventh
As shown in the figure, an elastic member 5 such as a bending washer
When the rotating member 52 is supported on the support shaft 58 via the support shaft 7 or when high viscosity grease (not shown) is applied between the rotating member 52 and the support shaft 58, the rotational torque of the rotating member 52 is reduced. becomes larger, so that the aforementioned undesired rotation of the second gear 51 is further prevented.

[Effect of idea]

As detailed above, according to the present invention, among the gears constituting the rotating member, the first gear that abuts against the outer end of the engaging projecting wall is made of a soft material, and the inner end of the engaging projecting wall is made of a soft material. Since the second gears that collide with the engagement grooves (ends of the engagement grooves) are made of a hard material, when the rotating member and the engagement member engage, the second gears collide with the engagement grooves. It is possible to prevent undesired rotation due to friction with the wall, and also to suppress the occurrence of impact noise on the first gear side. It is possible to provide an electrical connection device that can accurately perform a pointer function in positioning and is also suitable for reducing noise.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electrical connection device, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the electrical connection device is assembled to a device. Fig. 3 is a configuration explanatory diagram showing the positioning mechanism between the movable body and the fixed body, Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the rotating member and the engaging member, and Figs. 5 a and b. , and c are diagrams illustrating the operation of the positioning mechanism, respectively showing different operating states; FIG. Figure 7 is the third part of this invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of a rotating member showing an example of the present invention. 1, 55... Movable body, 3... Flat cable, 10, 53... Fixed body, 20... Electrical connection device, 30, 50... First gear, 31, 51...
...Second gear, 30a, 31a, 50a, 51a
... Tooth portion, 32, 52 ... Rotating member, 34, 54
...Engagement projecting wall, 37, 56...Engagement groove, 35, 3
6...Mark.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The fixed body and the movable body rotatably attached to the fixed body are electrically connected via a flat cable, and a positioning device is provided for either the fixed body or the movable body. A rotating member is provided with a gear, and the other is provided with an engaging member that engages with the gear in the rotating member to rotate it when the movable body rotates once, and the rotating member In the electrical connection device, the engaging member is connected to an engaging groove and a pair of the movable bodies facing each other via the engaging groove. an engaging protruding wall, a first gear capable of engaging the rotating member with an outer end of the engaging protruding wall, and a second gear capable of engaging with an inner end of the engaging protruding wall. 1. An electrical connection device comprising a gear, the surface of the first gear being made of a soft material, and the surface of the second gear being made of a hard material.