JP2004193070A - Rotary connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-cost rotary connector having a shorting function. <P>SOLUTION: A movable-side connector 40 has a plurality of erected connector terminals 5 that connect to both ends of a flexible cable. An insert hole 11 is inserted with a connector terminal 5, to electrically connect the connector terminal 5. A shorting plate 10 shorts the plurality of connector terminals 5. The shorting plate 10 comprises the insert holes 11 which allows the plurality of connector terminals 5 to be inserted while electrically contacting, with the shorting plate 10 formed movable in the direction of erecting of the plurality of connector terminals 5. The plurality of connector terminals 5 comprise an insulating part 41 that releases shorting between the plurality of connector terminals 5 at a position which is the destination of movement of the shorting plate 10 when an external connector 80 is inserted in the movable-side connector 40 for electrical connection. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary connector for making an electrical connection between a pair of rotatably connected housings using a flexible cable, and more particularly to a shorting for maintaining the same potential between conductors of the flexible cable. It relates to a rotary connector with a function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, a rotary connector is generally composed of a first housing having an inner cylinder, a second housing having an outer cylinder, and a flexible cable wound between the two cylinders. It is used as an electrical connection means between a rotor side and a stator side in a device having a finite number of revolutions, such as a steering device of an automobile. The flexible cable is called a flat cable in which a plurality of conductors parallel to each other are laminated with a pair of insulating films, and both ends of the flexible cable are respectively fixed to an inner tube portion and an outer tube portion. 2 is led out of the housing. Further, main body side connectors are provided at both ends of these flexible cables, and the rotary connector is incorporated in the steering device.
[0003]
Since the rotary connector thus configured is subjected to several inspections before being assembled to the steering device, for example, a static electricity charged on a human body or the like touches a terminal exposed in the main body side connector during an inspection process. In some cases, a long conductor embedded in a flexible cable may be charged with static electricity. At that time, when a potential difference occurred between the conductors, particularly when a large potential difference occurred between a pair of conductors used for connection of the airbag circuit, the main body side connector of the rotary connector was connected to the external connector of the steering device. At this time, there is a concern that an IC provided in the control unit of the airbag circuit may be electrostatically damaged. Therefore, in recent years, a shorting member that short-circuits a pair of terminals connected to the airbag conductor is provided on the main body side connector, and the shorting member keeps the above terminals at the same potential until the rotary connector is assembled to the steering device. A rotating connector with a shorting function has been proposed in which the shorting member is separated from the terminal by a release projection provided on the external connector when the rotating connector is assembled to the steering device.
[0004]
As such a conventional rotary connector, there is an invention described in Patent Document 1.
[0005]
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional rotary connector, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of a main body side connector and an external connector provided in the conventional rotary connector.
[0006]
As shown in FIG. 7, the rotary connector is wound around a first housing 1 having an inner cylindrical portion 1a, a second housing 2 having an outer cylindrical portion 2a, and these two cylindrical portions 1a, 2a. The housing 1 and the housing 2 are rotatably connected to each other. The flexible cable 3 is called a flat cable in which a plurality of conductors parallel to each other are laminated with a pair of insulating films, and the number of these conductors is determined by an airbag circuit, a cruise control circuit, and a horn circuit attached to a steering device. And so on. A movable connector 4 is integrally formed on a top plate of the first housing 1, and a plurality of connector terminals 5 are erected inside the movable connector 4. The conductors on the inner end side of the flexible cable 3 and the connector terminals 5 are connected to each other by soldering or spot welding inside the first housing 1. After the end is fixed to the outer cylindrical portion 2a, the end is led out of the second housing 2. A fixed connector 6 is connected to each conductor on the outer end side of the flexible cable 3. I have. As shown in FIG. 8, a U-shaped shorting bar 7 is provided inside the movable side connector 4, and a free end of the shorting bar 7 is an airbag circuit of the connector terminals 5. And a short-circuiting (shortening) between the connector terminals 5 by a shorting bar 7.
[0007]
As shown in FIG. 8, each connector terminal 5 has a bifurcated distal end portion of a pair of connector terminals 5 provided inside the movable connector 4 and used for connection of an airbag circuit. One of the bifurcated portions is a first contact portion 5a with which the clip terminal 9 of the external connector 8 contacts, and the other is a second contact portion 5b with which the shorting bar contacts. That is, the tip portions of the pair of connector terminals 5 are branched into a first contact portion 5a extending in the vertical direction and a second contact portion 5b bent in an L shape, and the second contact portion 5b is separated by the partition wall 4a. It is isolated from the first contact portion 5a and other connector terminals 5. The shorting bar 7 is provided inside the partition wall 4a, and the free end of the shorting bar 7 contacts the second contact portions 5b of the connector terminals 5.
[0008]
The rotating connector thus configured is mechanically connected to a steering device by mounting the first housing 1 on the steering wheel side and mounting the second housing 2 on the vehicle body side. Also, by connecting an external connector 8 provided on the steering wheel side to the movable connector 4 and connecting an external connector (not shown) provided on the vehicle body side to the fixed connector 6, the steering device is electrically connected. Connected. Here, a plurality of clip terminals 9 corresponding to the connector terminals 5 are provided inside the external connector 8, and the shorting bar 7 is driven on a part of an outer wall of the external connector 8. A release projection 8a is provided. Therefore, when the external connector 8 is fitted into the movable connector 4, the release projection 8 a is inserted between the contact portion between the connector terminal 5 and the shorting bar 7. It is bent so as to be separated from the connector terminal 5, and the shorting is released. Then, in a state where the external connector 8 is completely fitted into the movable side connector 4, each clip terminal 9 sandwiches the corresponding connector terminal 5, so that the two terminals 5 and 9 are securely connected.
[0009]
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part of a main body side connector and an external connector provided in another conventional rotary connector.
[0010]
In another conventional example shown in FIG. 9, instead of forming the tip portions of a pair of connector terminals 5 used for connection of an airbag circuit in a bifurcated manner, these connector terminals 5 are moved in the insertion direction of the external connector 8. The width of the wide portion is defined as a first contact portion 5a with which the clip terminal 9 contacts, and the inside of the wide portion is defined as a second contact portion 5b with which the U-shaped shorting bar 7 contacts. is there. Also in this case, since the first contact portion 5a and the second contact portion 5b are formed in the connector terminal 5 so as to be displaced from each other in the horizontal direction, only the release projection 8a is provided only in the second contact portion 5b of the connector terminal 5. If the shorting bar 7 is inserted between the shorting bar 7 and the shorting bar 7, the shorting bar 7 is bent so as to separate from the second contact portion 5b, and the shorting is released.
[0011]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-8-969143 (paragraph numbers 0013 to 0020, FIGS. 1, 2, and 3)
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, as shown in FIG. 9, the shorting bar 7 in the conventional rotary connector is formed so as to elastically contact the first contact portion 5a and the second contact portion 5b of the connector terminal 5, so In addition, the component cost is increased due to the complexity of the connector terminal 5, and the connector terminal 5 has a bifurcated first contact portion 5a and a second contact portion 5b as in the movable connector 4 shown in FIG. However, there is a problem that the cost of the rotary connector increases due to the complexity of the rotary connector. More recently, airbags have been mounted on the driver's seat and the passenger's seat, and if a large number of contact portions had to be provided, there was a problem that the cost of the rotary connector was further increased.
[0013]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an inexpensive rotary connector having a shorting function.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object of the present invention, the present invention provides a movable housing and a fixed housing which are relatively rotatably connected, an annular space formed between these two housings, A flexible cable to be wound, a connector part in which a plurality of connector terminals respectively connected to both ends of the flexible cable are erected, and the plurality of connector terminals are short-circuited to at least one of these two connector parts. A shorting plate, which is formed so that the plurality of connector terminals can be inserted while being in electrical contact with each other, and the shorting plate can be moved in the direction in which the plurality of connector terminals are erected. A plurality of connector terminals, wherein the plurality of connector terminals are located at positions to which the shorting plate is moved when an external connector is inserted into the connector portion and electrically connected thereto. It is characterized in that an insulating portion for releasing a short circuit between the plurality of connector terminals.
[0015]
With such a configuration, the shorting plate and the external connector can be formed in a simple shape, and the cost can be reduced.
[0016]
Further, the invention is characterized in that the insertion hole has a contact piece for elastically holding each of the plurality of connector terminals.
[0017]
With this configuration, electrical contact with the plurality of connector terminals can be stabilized, and the connector terminals can be reliably short-circuited.
[0018]
Further, in the invention, it is preferable that the contact piece has an arc-shaped cross section at a tip end.
[0019]
With this configuration, the vertical movement of the shorting plate can be performed more smoothly.
[0020]
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the insulating portion is formed at a root portion of the plurality of connector terminals, and at least a surface in contact with the contact piece is tapered toward a tip of the connector terminal.
[0021]
With this configuration, the shorting plate can be smoothly and reversibly moved between the short-circuit state and the short-circuit release state.
[0022]
Further, according to the present invention, on one of a surface of the shorting plate facing the external connector and a surface of the external connector facing the shorting plate, the projection protrudes toward the other surface. It is characterized by having a projection.
[0023]
With this configuration, the shorting plate can be reliably moved to the position where the short circuit is released, so that when the external connector is electrically connected to the connector section, the short circuit state can be reliably released.
[0024]
Further, the invention is characterized in that the protruding portions are formed on both sides of the plurality of insertion holes.
[0025]
With this configuration, the shorting plate can be stably moved, and the short-circuit state can be released more reliably than the above.
[0026]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a connection state between a main body side connector and an external connector of the rotary connector according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a shorting state of the rotary connector shown in FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of the main body side connector shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a plan view and a cross sectional view of a main part of the shorting plate provided in the rotary connector shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part taken along line 5-5, and FIG. 6 is a view showing a modification of the shorting plate shown in FIG. 4, and the same parts corresponding to FIGS. is there.
[0027]
This embodiment is different from the above-described conventional example in that the shorting plate 10 is fitted to each connector terminal 5 provided inside the movable connector 40 as a main body side connector, instead of the conventional shorting bar 7. It is being equipped.
[0028]
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the shorting plate 10 is formed by punching and bending a rectangular plate made of a highly springable metal such as phosphor bronze. The shorting plate 10 has a plurality of H-shaped insertion holes 11 through which the respective connector terminals 5 are respectively inserted, and a pair of contact pieces 12 bent and formed so as to be in contact with and sandwich the both side surfaces of the inserted connector terminals 5. , 12 and projecting portions 13, 13 protruding in a substantially arc-shaped cross section on both sides of the plurality of insertion holes 11. The protrusion 13 protrudes from the root of the connector terminal 5 toward the tip.
[0029]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, an insulating portion having inclined surfaces 41 a, 41 a formed at a root portion of the connector terminal 5 of the movable connector 40 so as to taper from a lower end portion to an upper end portion of the connector terminal 5. 41 are provided. Therefore, the side surface of the connector terminal 5 and the inclined surface 41a are formed continuously. In FIG. 1, each connector terminal 5 is sandwiched between a pair of contact pieces 12 of a shorting plate 10 and is in a shorting state.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 2, when the shorting plate 10 sandwiched between the connector terminals 5 is pushed down by the external connector 80 by inserting the external connector 80 into the movable side connector 40, the shorting plate 10 is The pair of contact pieces 12, 12 are pushed up and spread to be elastically deformed, and a force (return force) for moving the shorting plate 10 upward is stored in the pair of contact pieces 12, 12, and the connector terminals 5 and Shorting between the connector terminals 5 and 5 is released by separating the contact pieces 12.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of contact pieces 12, 12 provided in each of the insertion holes 11 of the shorting plate 10 are inclined upward from both sides toward the center, and the tip 12a has an arc-shaped cross section. Radius R). Therefore, in FIG. 1, the arc-shaped tips 12 a, 12 a sandwich the connector terminal 5 from both sides and make electrical contact with the connector terminal 5. Further, the distance between the two distal ends 12a, 12a is made smaller than the thickness of the connector terminal 5, so that when the connector terminal 5 is inserted between the two distal ends 12a, 12a, the contact is surely made and the state can be maintained. Further, since the distal end portion 12a is formed in an arc-shaped cross section, when each connector terminal 5 is inserted into each insertion hole 11 of the shorting plate 10, it can be smoothly inserted due to the circumferential surface shape of the distal end portion 12a. Also, when the shorting plate 10 is pushed down by the inclined surfaces 41a of the insulating portion 41 of the movable connector 40 as shown in FIG. When the external connector 80 is pulled out from the movable connector 40, the shorting plate 10 moves upward by the force accumulated in the pair of contact pieces 12, 12. , 12a smoothly return to the original shorting state, that is, the state of FIG. 1 without fear of being caught on the inclined surface 41a of the insulating portion 41 or the side surface of the connector terminal 5.
[0032]
Next, the relationship between the inclination angle (θ) formed by the inclined surface 41a of the insulating portion 41 with respect to the upright direction of the connector terminal 5 and the arc-shaped radius (R) of the tip 12a of the contact piece 12 is shown in FIG. A description will be given based on FIG.
[0033]
In consideration of the contact stability between the distal end portion 12a of the shorting plate 10 and the connector terminal 5 and the insertion stability of the connector terminal 5 between the distal end portions 12a of the shorting plate 10, the distal end of the shorting plate 10 is considered. It is desirable that the portion 12a be formed in an arc shape. If the value of R is less than 0.2 mm, contact stability is impaired or the connector terminal 5 becomes difficult to be inserted between the tip portions 12a, 12a. Required.
[0034]
When the external connector 80 is pulled out from the movable side connector 40, the returning operation of moving the shorting plate 10 upward by the force accumulated in the pair of contact pieces 12, 12 is performed smoothly, and the inclined surface 41a Is desirably an angle of 45 ° or more. If the angle θ is less than 45 °, the shorting plate 10 does not easily return smoothly. In this case, in order to surely move the shorting plate 10 upward by the return force, the tip portion 12a of the shorting plate 10 has an R shape as described above, and the value of R needs to be 0.3 mm or more. It becomes. Since the maximum R shape changes depending on the thickness of the connector terminal 5, it cannot be set unconditionally, but the maximum R is considered to be about 0.8 mm as the limit. When the maximum value R is larger than the maximum R, the arc-shaped end of the distal end portion 12a remains in contact with the root of the connector terminal 5 even if the shorting plate 10 is pushed down as shown in FIG. There is.
[0035]
Thus, based on the inclination angle θ> 45 ° of the inclined surface 41a of the insulating portion 41, R is preferably 0.2 mm ≦ R, more preferably 0.3 mm ≦ R ≦ 0.8 mm.
[0036]
Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.
[0037]
In the shorting state shown in FIG. 1, the connector terminals 5 are inserted into the shorting plate 10 so as to push and spread the distal ends 12a, 12a of the insertion holes 11, respectively. The pair of contact pieces 12, 12 of the insertion hole 11 are sandwiched and contacted by the tip portions 12a, 12a of the contact pieces 12, 12, respectively. Thus, each connector terminal 5 is shorted in the same manner as in the conventional example. The shorting plate 10 is held so that the connector terminals 5 are not slipped off from the respective connector terminals 5 by sandwiching the respective connector terminals 5 between the distal ends 12a, 12a.
[0038]
In order to connect the external connector 80 to the movable connector 40 from the state shown in FIG. 1, when the external connector 80 is inserted into the movable connector 40 and pressed down, the lower surface of the external connector 80 becomes protruding portions 13, 13 of the shorting plate 10. , The external connector 80 moves downward, and the shorting plate 10 also moves downward while the leading ends 12 a, 12 a slide on both side surfaces of the connector terminal 5.
[0039]
Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portions 12 a of the shorting plate 10 abut on the top of the inclined surface 41 a of the insulating portion 41 (the root portion of the connector terminal 5). It should be noted that the shorting state may be already in this state. Furthermore, when the external connector 80 is moved downward, the shorting plate 10 is pushed down by pushing the protruding portions 13, 13 by the lower surface of the external connector 80, and the front end portions 12 a, 12 a are formed by the two inclined surfaces 41 a, 41 a of the insulating portion 41. While being pushed up, it is spread and elastically deformed (return force is accumulated), and the space between the connector terminals 5 is in a non-shorting state as shown in FIG.
[0040]
In the state of FIG. 2, the connector terminal 5 of the movable connector 40 is connected to a connection terminal (not shown in FIG. 2) in the external connector 80. On the other hand, the front end 12a of the contact piece 12 of the shorting plate 10 is pushed and spread while sliding on the two inclined surfaces 41a, 41a of the insulating portion 41, separated from the side surface of the connector terminal 5, and released from the shorting. Is performed reliably.
[0041]
When the external connector 80 is pulled out of the state shown in FIG. 2, the return force stored in the contact pieces 12, 12 of the shorting plate 10 in FIG. 1, that is, the force for the contact piece 12 to return to the state shown in FIG. As a result, the tips 12a, 12a slide upward on the inclined surfaces 41a, 41a, and the tips 12a, 12a come into contact with both side surfaces of the connector terminal 5, respectively, and return to the state of FIG. 5 is brought into a shorting state by the shorting plate 10.
[0042]
The other configurations and operations are basically the same as those of the above-described conventional example, and thus the duplicate description will be omitted.
[0043]
The rotary connector thus configured includes a movable housing and a fixed housing that are rotatably connected to each other, an annular space formed between the two housings, and a flexible winding wound around the annular space. Cable 3, a connector 40 in which a plurality of connector terminals 5 respectively connected to both ends of the flexible cable 3 are provided, and a shorting for short-circuiting the plurality of connector terminals 5 to at least one of the two connectors 40. The shorting plate 10 is formed so that the plurality of connector terminals 5 can be inserted while being in electrical contact with each other, and the shorting plate 10 can be moved in the upright direction of the plurality of connector terminals 5. The connector terminal 5 has an insertion hole 11, and the plurality of connector terminals 5 are used as a destination of the shorting plate 10 when the external connector 80 is inserted into the connector 40 and electrically connected thereto. Since the insulating portion 41 for releasing the short-circuit between the plurality of connector terminals 5 at the position is used, the connector terminal does not have a complicated shape as in the related art, and the shorting plate and the external connector can be simplified. There is no need to fix the toting member, so that the shorting function can be realized with a simple configuration and the cost can be reduced.
[0044]
Further, since each of the insertion holes 11 has the contact piece 12 for elastically holding each of the plurality of connector terminals 5, the electrical contact with the plurality of connector terminals 5 can be stabilized, and the space between the connector terminals 5 can be reliably ensured. Can be short-circuited.
[0045]
Moreover, since the contact piece 12 has an arc-shaped cross section at the tip, the vertical movement of the shorting plate 10 can be performed more smoothly.
[0046]
Further, the insulating portion 41 is formed at a root portion of the plurality of connector terminals 5, and at least a surface in contact with the contact piece 12 tapers toward the tip of the connector terminal 5. Can be smoothly and reversibly moved.
[0047]
Further, since the shorting plate 10 has the protruding portion 13 protruding toward the surface of the external connector 80 on the surface facing the external connector 80, it is possible to surely move the shorting plate 10 to the position where the short circuit is released. Since the shorting plate 10 can be reliably moved to the position where the short circuit is released, the short circuit state can be reliably released when the external connector 80 is electrically connected to the movable connector 40.
[0048]
Further, since the protruding portions 13, 13 are formed on both sides with respect to the insertion hole 11 of the shorting plate 10, the shorting plate 10 can be stably moved, and the short-circuit state can be more reliably released than the above.
[0049]
Next, a modified example of the shorting plate will be described with reference to FIG.
[0050]
This modification differs from the above embodiment in that the insertion hole 111 is not an H-shaped notch but has round holes on both sides. The other points are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and the connector terminal 5 may be inserted between the contact pieces 12, 12 of the shorting plate 10, and the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.
[0051]
In the above embodiment, the case where the projecting portion 13 is provided on the shorting plate 10 has been described. However, the projecting portion may be provided on the lower surface of the external connector 80 without being provided on the shorting plate 10.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
A rotating connector according to the present invention includes a movable housing and a fixed housing that are rotatably connected to each other, an annular space formed between the two housings, and a flexible cable wound around the annular space. A connector section in which a plurality of connector terminals respectively connected to both ends of the flexible cable are provided, and a shorting plate for short-circuiting the plurality of connector terminals in at least one of the two connector sections, The shorting plate has an insertion hole formed so that the plurality of connector terminals can be inserted while being in electrical contact with each other, and the shorting plate can be moved in a direction in which the plurality of connector terminals are erected. The connector terminal of the plurality of connectors at a position to which the shorting plate is moved when an external connector is inserted into the connector portion and electrically connected thereto. Since an insulating portion to release the short circuit between the child, the cost can be reduced can the shorting plate and the external connectors to a simple shape.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part showing a connection state between a main body side connector and an external connector of a rotary connector according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part showing a shorting state of the rotary connector shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of the main body side connector shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a main part of a shorting plate provided in the rotary connector shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a principal part of the shorting plate of FIG. 4 taken along line 5-5.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification of the shorting plate shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional rotary connector.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of a main body side connector and an external connector provided in the conventional rotary connector.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of main parts of a main body side connector and an external connector provided in another conventional rotary connector.
[Explanation of symbols]
5 Connector Terminal 10 Shorting Plate 11, 111 Insertion Hole 12 Contact Piece 12a Tip 40 Movable Connector 41 Insulating Part 41a Inclined Surface 80 External Connector

Claims (6)

A movable housing and a fixed housing that are relatively rotatably connected,
An annular space formed between these two housings,
A flexible cable wound around the annular space,
A connector portion in which a plurality of connector terminals respectively connected to both ends of the flexible cable are erected,
A shorting plate for short-circuiting the plurality of connector terminals on at least one of these two connector portions,
The shorting plate has an insertion hole formed so that the plurality of connector terminals can be inserted while being in electrical contact with each other, and the shorting plate can be moved in a direction in which the plurality of connector terminals are erected,
The plurality of connector terminals have an insulating portion that releases a short circuit between the plurality of connector terminals at a position to which the shorting plate moves when an external connector is inserted into the connector portion and electrically connected thereto. Rotating connector. The rotary connector according to claim 1, wherein the insertion hole has a contact piece that elastically sandwiches each of the plurality of connector terminals. The rotary connector according to claim 2, wherein the contact piece has an arc-shaped cross section at a tip end. The said insulating part is formed in the root part of the said several connector terminal, and at least the surface which contacts the said contact piece becomes tapered toward the front-end | tip of the said connector terminal, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The rotary connector according to claim 1. One of the surface of the shorting plate facing the external connector or the surface of the external connector facing the shorting plate has a protrusion protruding toward the other surface. The rotary connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The rotary connector according to claim 5, wherein the protrusion is formed on both sides of the plurality of insertion holes.

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