JPH07320835A - Rotary connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide such a rotary connector that is used as a connection means for a lot of circuits including an air bag circuit and is made thinner in its shape. CONSTITUTION:The first flexible cable 17a having conductors 11a, 11b for an air bag and the second flexible cable 17b having other conductors 11c-11f are stacked and wound around each other in a ring space partitioned between the first housing 1 and the second housing 5. One-side ends of these conductors 11a-11f are connected to corresponding terminals 14a-14f in a direct connector 10 and at the same time a diaphragm 13a for separating the terminals 14a, 14b for the air bag from the other terminals 14c-14f is provided in the jetty 13 of the direct connector 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary connector for electrically connecting a pair of relatively rotatably connected housings via a flexible cable, and more particularly to an air bag circuit. Other than that, the present invention relates to a rotary connector used for connecting a plurality of circuits such as a horn circuit and an auto cruise circuit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rotary connector of this type includes a pair of housings that are relatively rotatably connected to each other, and a strip-shaped flexible cable housed in an annular space defined between the housings. And the both ends of the flexible cable are electrically led out to the outside of the housing while being fixed to both housings. This flexible cable has a plurality of conductors parallel to each other, and a connector is connected to the tip of the portion led out from the housing. As this connector, one in which a part of a flexible cable is extended from a housing by a predetermined length and a dedicated connector is connected to the tip thereof is generally used.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 82, a direct coupling type connector in which a housing itself is provided with a plurality of terminals and each conductor of a flexible cable is connected to these terminals is also known.

The rotary connector thus constructed is incorporated in a steering device of an automobile and used as an electrical connecting means for various circuits such as an air bag circuit and a horn circuit. In this case, one housing of the rotary connector is mounted on the steering column (stator) side, and the other housing is mounted on the handle (rotor) side.
External connectors on the mating side attached to an air bag / inflator, a horn switch or the like are connected to a dedicated connector or a direct connector connected to both ends of the flexible cable.

In use, when the handle is rotated either forward or backward, the housing attached to the handle rotates in the same direction. Therefore, depending on the direction of rotation,
The flexible cable is wound or unwound in the space, and in any state, the electrical connection between the rotor and the stator is maintained by the flexible cable of the rotary connector.

[0005]

By the way, in recent years, the number of circuit parts attached to the steering wheel side of an automobile tends to increase, and in addition to the above-mentioned airbag / inflator and horn switch, an auto cruise circuit, an air conditioner circuit, etc. There is an increasing demand for arranging the control switches on the handle pad. When the number of circuits connected by the rotary connector increases in this way, the number of conductors of the flexible cable also inevitably increases, but in practice there is a certain limit on the space around the steering device. The width dimension of a sex cable cannot be made too large. For this reason, the insulation distance between each conductor is shortened, and in particular,
A larger current flows through the air bag conductor that causes the air bag / inflator to detonate, compared to other conductors.
Insulation of the conductor for the air bag from other conductors becomes an important issue.

However, when the above-mentioned direct connector is used, since each terminal and each conductor are directly connected by using spot welding or soldering inside the connector provided in the housing itself, it is flexible. When the number of conductors of the flexible cable is increased and the pitch between the conductors is narrowed, these connecting portions are close to each other and the insulation distance is shortened, which makes it difficult to cope with multiple circuits.

The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation and demands of the prior art, and its purpose is to:
It is to provide a rotary connector suitable for multiple circuits.

[0008]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned object of the present invention is to provide a pair of housings that are connected to each other so as to be rotatable relative to each other, and to be wound in an annular space defined between these housings, A strip-shaped flexible cable having parallel airbag conductors and other conductors is provided, and both ends of each conductor of the flexible cable are electrically led out to the outside of the housing, and these lead-out portions are also provided. At least one of which is connected to a corresponding terminal of a direct connector provided in the housing, wherein the direct connector is connected to the airbag conductor and the other conductor is connected to a terminal. This is achieved by providing a dividing wall.

Further, the above-described object of the present invention is to provide a pair of housings which are relatively rotatably connected to each other, and an airbag which is wound in an annular space defined between the housings and is parallel to each other. A strip-shaped flexible cable having a conductor and a plurality of other conductors, and both ends of each conductor of the flexible cable are electrically led out to the outside of the housing, and these lead-out portions are also provided. At least one of which is connected to a corresponding terminal of a direct connector provided in the housing, a terminal to which the airbag conductor is connected to the direct connector, and a terminal to which another conductor group is connected. This is achieved by providing a gap that suspends the gaps and setting the gap interval to be larger than the arrangement pitch of the terminal groups to which the other conductor groups are connected. It is.

[0010]

In the flexible cable, the air bag conductor and the other conductors are respectively connected to the corresponding terminals of the direct connector provided in the housing itself, but the air bag conductor is connected to the other terminals and the other conductors. An insulating state is secured to the terminal connected to the terminal by a partition wall for division or a gap for suspension.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a rotary connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a flexible cable included in the rotary connector of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a direct view of a rotary connector of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a connection state between a connector and a flexible cable.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a first housing made of synthetic resin, and the first housing 1 has a disc-shaped bottom plate 2 and an outer cylindrical portion 3 provided upright on the outer peripheral edge thereof. And
A center hole 4 is formed in the center of the bottom plate 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes a second housing made of synthetic resin, and the second housing 5 has a disk-shaped top plate 6 and an inner cylindrical portion 7 hung in the central portion thereof. A shaft insertion hole 8 is provided in the shaft 7. In the first housing 1 and the second housing 5, the outer peripheral edge of the top plate 6 is guided to the upper edge of the outer tubular portion 3, and the lower edge of the inner tubular portion 7 is guided to the center hole 4 of the bottom plate 2. By doing so, they are relatively rotatably connected. Reference numeral 9 denotes a flexible cable, and the flexible cable 9
Are accommodated in an annular space defined between the bottom plate 2 and the outer cylinder portion 3 on the first housing 1 side and the top plate 6 and the inner cylinder portion 7 on the second housing 5 side. The flexible cable 9 is spirally wound in the space,
One end thereof is led out to the outside of the first housing 1 while being fixed to the outer cylinder portion 3, and a dedicated connector is connected to the tip of this lead-out portion although not shown. The other end of the flexible cable 9 is led out of the second housing 5 via a direct connector 10 provided upright on the top surface of the top plate 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flexible cable 9
Is a strip-shaped flat cable in which a plurality of parallel conductive wires 11a to 11f are laminated with a pair of insulating films 12, the conductors 11a and 11b are for connecting an airbag circuit, and the other conductive wires 11c to 11f are They are used for connecting horn circuits, auto-cruise circuits, air-conditioner circuits, etc., respectively. Since the current flowing in the airbag circuit is the largest of these circuits, the arrangement pitch of the airbag conductors 11a and 11b is larger than that of the other conductors 11c to 11f, and is particularly high in the airbag circuit. Because connection reliability is required,
Airbag conductor 11 exposed from the insulating film 12
Noble metal plating such as gold plating is applied only to the surfaces of a and 11b. On the other hand, since the horn circuit has the largest current flowing except for the airbag circuit, the conductor 11 located farthest from the airbag conductors 11a and 11b.
f is used for connecting the horn circuit. Further, a cut 9a is formed at one end of the flexible cable 9,
The airbag conductors 11a and 11b and the other conductor 11c
11 f are divided into two by the notch 9 a, and are folded back along the fold lines A and B of 45 degrees, so that the direction is changed toward the connection portion with the direct connector 10.

As shown in FIG. 3, the direct connector 10 is provided with a synthetic resin jetty 13 standing on the top surface of the top plate 6 and a plurality of terminals 14a arranged inside the jetty 13. ˜14f and connecting plates 15 and 16 for connecting the terminals 14a to 14f and the conductors 11a to 11f, and the terminals 14a and 14b are provided at the center of the jetty 13.
A partition wall 13a that divides the terminals and the terminals 14c to 14f is integrally formed. The terminals 14a and 14b are also plated with a noble metal such as gold.
4b and the airbag conductors 11a and 11b are connected to each other inside the one connecting plate 15 by using solder or spot welding. Similarly, the other terminals 14c to 14f and the conductors 11c to 11f are connected to each other. The connecting plates 16 and 16 are connected to each other using solder, spot welding or the like, and these connecting plates 15 and 16 are fixed to the inside of the jetty 13 by appropriate means such as press fitting or snap fastening.

Next, the operation of the rotary connector according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the case where the first housing 1 is used as a fixed body and the second housing 5 is used as a movable body. In this case, first, the first of the rotary connector
The housing 1 is fixed to the steering column side, the steering shaft is projected from the shaft insertion hole 8 of the second housing 5, and then the steering hub is press-fitted into the steering shaft and integrated with the steering hub. The handle is fixed to the second housing 5.
After that, the external connector on the vehicle body side is attached to the first housing 1
By connecting the external connector on the handle side to the direct connector 10 provided on the second housing 5 to the dedicated connector led to the outside from the inflator, the horn switch or the auto cruise for the airbag mounted on the handle. Control switches such as circuits and air conditioner circuits are connected to corresponding circuits on the vehicle body side through a rotary connector.

In use, when the handle is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise, the rotational force is transmitted to the second housing 5 and the second housing 5 rotates in the same direction. For example, when the handle is rotated counterclockwise from the rotational neutral position, the second housing 5 also rotates counterclockwise in conjunction with this, and the flexible cable 9 is wound around the inner cylinder portion 7 side. On the contrary, when the handle is rotated in the clockwise direction, the second housing 5 is also rotated in the clockwise direction in conjunction with the rotation of the handle, and the flexible cable 9 is rewound to the outer tube portion 3 side.
In either state, the electrical connection between the housings 1 and 5 is maintained via the flexible cable 9.

In the above-described first embodiment, at the connecting portion between the flexible cable 9 and the direct connector 10, the conductors 11a to 11f of the flexible cable 9 are connected to the airbag conductors 11a and 11b. Other than lead wires 11c-1
1f and the conductor wires 11a-11
Each terminal 14a of the direct connector 10 connected to f
14f, the airbag terminals 14a and 14b and the other terminals 14c to 14f are divided by the insulating partition wall 13a. Therefore, the airbag circuit that requires high reliability of connection can be used as another circuit. Can be surely insulated. Then, when the insulation between the conductors and terminals for the airbag circuit and the conductors and terminals of the other circuits is ensured in this way, the current of the airbag circuit may flow into the other circuits and short-circuit the other circuits. Disappear. Therefore, the arrangement pitch of the conductors 11c to 11f used for connection other than the airbag circuit can be narrowed, and even if the number of the conductors 11c to 11f increases, the width dimension of the flexible cable 9 remarkably increases. Can be suppressed. Further, the air bag conductor 11a,
Since the conductive wire 11f farthest from 11b is used for connecting the horn circuit, the insulation distance between the airbag circuit having the largest flowing current and the second largest horn circuit becomes large. Can also enhance the insulation of the airbag circuit. Furthermore, since the conductors 11a and 11b for airbag and the other conductors 11c to 11f are divided into two at the end of the flexible cable, only the exposed end of the conductors 11a and 11b for airbag is used as a plating tank. Other wires 11c-11f by dipping
For expensive precious metal plating can be omitted,
The cost can be reduced.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main portion showing a connection state between the direct connector and the flexible cable provided in the rotary connector according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and a portion corresponding to FIGS. Are given the same reference numerals. The present embodiment is different from the above-described first embodiment in that the first flexible cable 17a and the second flexible cable 17b which are separated from each other and stacked are used, and the first flexible cable 17a is used. This is because the conductors 11a and 11b for the airbag are provided on the cable 17a and the other conductors 11c to 11f are provided on the second flexible cable 17b, and the other configurations are basically the same.
That is, the both flexible cables 17a and 17b are wound in the annular space in a state of being piled in the thickness direction over the entire length, and each of the conductive wires 11a to 11f has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. At least one of the ends is connected to the corresponding terminals 14a to 14f of the direct connector 10.

In the second embodiment described above, the air bag conductors 11a and 11b and the other conductors 11c to 11f are used.
Are distributed to the first flexible cable 17a and the second flexible cable 17b, which are stacked in the thickness direction over the entire length thereof, so that the airbag conductors 11a, 1
The insulation between 1b and the other conductors 11c to 11f is enhanced by the insulating films of the two flexible cables 17a and 17b, and at the same time, the flexible cables 17a and 17b, respectively.
The width dimension of b can be narrowed. Therefore, the first
In addition to the effect of the embodiment, it is suitable for making the rotary connector thinner.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main portion showing a connected state of the direct connector and the flexible cable provided in the rotary connector according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and the portions corresponding to those in FIG. 4 are the same. It is attached with a code. This embodiment differs from the second embodiment described above in that the airbag terminals 14a and 14b of the direct connector 10 and the other terminals 14c are different.
To 14f and the flexible cable 1 via the partition wall 13a.
It is divided in the thickness direction of 7a, 17b,
Other configurations are basically the same.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main portion showing a connection state between a direct connector and a flexible cable provided in a rotary connector according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and portions corresponding to FIG. 4 are the same. It is attached with a code. This embodiment differs from the second embodiment described above in that the airbag terminals 14a and 14b of the direct connector 10 and the other terminals 14c are different.
.About.14f are suspended by the gap 18, and other configurations are basically the same. The gap 18 is set sufficiently larger than the pitch between the airbag terminals 14a and 14b and the pitch between the other terminals 14c to 14f, and the partition wall 13a described in the first to third embodiments described above. Demonstrate the same function as.

The shape of the partition wall 13a described in the first to third embodiments is limited as long as it has a structure in which the extension surface distance between the airbag terminals 14a and 14b and the other terminals 14c to 14f is increased. It is not something that will be done.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the first housing 1 is used as a fixed body and the second housing 5 is used as a movable body has been described.
It is also possible to use the housing 5 as a fixed body and the first housing 1 as a movable body.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the direct coupling type direct connector 10 is provided only in the second housing 5, and the first housing 1 is provided with a dedicated connector which is led to the outside. However, conversely, a direct connector may be provided only in the first housing 1 and a dedicated connector may be provided in the second housing 5, or both housings 1, 5
Both connectors may be direct coupling type.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if the number of flexible cable conductors and terminals of direct connectors connected to each conductor increases, the airbag conductor and the terminals connected to it will be in a highly insulated state with respect to other conductors and terminals. Since this is ensured, it is possible to provide a rotary connector suitable for multiple circuits.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a rotary connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a flexible cable included in the rotary connector.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a connected state of a flexible cable and a direct connector provided in the rotary connector of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of essential parts showing a connected state of a direct connector and a flexible cable provided in a rotary connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of essential parts showing a connection state between a direct connector and a flexible cable provided in a rotary connector according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part showing a connected state of a direct connector and a flexible cable provided in a rotary connector according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st housing 3 Outer cylinder part 5 2nd housing 6 Top plate 7 Inner cylinder part 9 Flexible cable 9a Notch 10 Direct connector 11a, 11b Lead wire for airbag 11c-11f Other conductors 12 Insulating film 13 Jetty 13a Partition walls 14a to 14f Terminals 15 and 16 Connecting plate 17a First flexible cable 17b Second flexible cable 18 Gap

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pair of housings rotatably connected to each other, and an air bag conductor and other conductors wound in an annular space defined between the housings and parallel to each other. A direct connector in which both ends of each conductor of the flexible cable are electrically led out to the outside of the housing, and at least one of these lead portions is provided in the housing. In the rotary connector connected to the corresponding terminals of the above, the direct connector is provided with a partition wall that divides the terminal to which the conductor for the airbag is connected and the terminal to which the other conductor is connected. connector. 2. A pair of housings that are relatively rotatably connected to each other, an air bag conductor wound in an annular space defined between the housings and parallel to each other, and a plurality of other wires. And a strip-shaped flexible cable having conductors, and both ends of each conductor of the flexible cable are electrically led out to the outside of the housing, and at least one of these lead portions is provided in the housing. In the rotary connector connected to the corresponding terminal of the direct connector, a gap is provided to suspend the terminal to which the airbag conductor is connected and the terminal to which the other conductor group is connected to the direct connector, A rotary connector, wherein a gap interval is set to be larger than an arrangement pitch of a terminal group to which the other conductor group is connected. 3. The flexible cable according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flexible cable is separated into an extending portion of the airbag conductor and an extending portion of other conductors over the entire length thereof.
A rotary connector characterized in that these extending portions are wound in the annular space in a state of being stacked in the thickness direction.