JPH04357689A - Cable reel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent buckling of a flexible cable, and to reduce noise. CONSTITUTION:A flexible cable 3 is wound in a reverse way in an annular space 10 formed between an external cylindrical part 7 and an internal cylindrical part 8, through a U-shaped reversal part 3a, while a plurality of rollers 4, the movement of which is inhibited in the radial direction, are arranged in the circumferential direction so that the roller can be moved. Since the movement of each roller in the radial direction is regulated, it is prevented that the roller be inserted in the vicinity of the reversal part, or that rollers be entangled with each other, and a noise generated when rollers are collided with each other, is thus reduced.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cable reel that is applied to automobile steering devices and the like, and which makes electrical connection between a fixed body and a movable body using a flexible cable.

0002

[Prior Art] A cable reel is a device in which a fixed body and a movable body rotatably attached to the fixed body are connected by a flexible cable. It is used as an electrical connection means between a movable body and a fixed body whose rotational speed is limited.

[0003] In this type of cable reel, the proportion of the flexible cable in the total cost is high, and the cable reel is designed to reduce the cost by shortening the length of the required flexible cable. is U.S. Patent No. 3,763,
It is proposed in the specification of No. 455.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the cable reel disclosed in the above patent specification. As shown in the figure, a movable body 101 is connected to a cylindrical fixed body 100.
is rotatably mounted, and flexible cables 103 and 104 are housed in a ring-shaped space 102 defined between the fixed body 100 and the movable body 101. These flexible cables 103 and 104 are led out of the space 102 while being fixed to the fixed body 100 and the movable body 101, respectively.
The winding direction is reversed between the outer cylinder part of the movable body 101 and the inner cylinder part of the movable body 101, and a U-shaped reversal part is formed at the position where the winding direction is reversed. Furthermore, the space 102 includes a plurality of rollers 105 along its circumferential direction.
106 groups are arranged, and the flexible cable 103
The reversing portion of is looped around one of the rollers 105 group on one side,
The inverted portion of flexible cable 104 is looped around one of the other group of rollers 106.

In the cable reel configured in this way, for example, when the movable body 101 is rotated clockwise in FIG.
2, the flexible cables 103 and 104 are wound in an unwound state in which the outer cylindrical portion of the fixed body 100 is more wound. Conversely, when the movable body 101 is rotated counterclockwise, the reversed portions of the flexible cables 103 and 104 also move in the same direction, and the flexible cables 103 and 104 are moved toward the inner cylinder part of the movable body 101. It is in a tightened state with many wraps. Note that during such tightening and unwinding, the rollers 105 and 106 move in the same direction by receiving force from the reversed portions of the flexible cables 103 and 104.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] According to the cable reel according to the conventional proposal described above, since the winding direction of the flexible cable is reversed between the inner cylindrical part and the outer cylindrical part, the flexible cable Compared to a cable reel in which the inner and outer cylinders are wound in the same direction (wound spirally), the required length of flexible cable can be significantly shortened, reducing costs. can be reduced. In addition, since multiple rollers are arranged between the part of the flexible cable wound around the inner cylinder and the part wound around the outer cylinder, the flexible cable can be wrapped around almost the entire circumference of the ring-shaped space. can be radially regulated over
Tightening or unwinding operations can be performed smoothly.

However, the radial dimension of the space defined by the flexible cable wound around the inner cylindrical part and the flexible cable wound around the outer cylindrical part (indicated by the symbol L in FIG. dimension) varies depending on the winding condition of the flexible cable, and when all of the flexible cable is wound back into the outer cylinder part on the large diameter side, the L dimension is maximum, and all of the flexible cable is The L dimension becomes the minimum when it is tightly wound around the inner cylinder portion on the small diameter side. On the other hand, the circumferential dimension of the space (dimension indicated by symbol M in FIG. 7) also varies depending on the winding state of the flexible cable,
When all of the flexible cable is wound back into the outer tube on the large diameter side, the M dimension is minimum, and when all the flexible cable is wrapped around the inner tube on the small diameter side, the M dimension is the minimum. becomes maximum.

For this reason, in the cable reel according to the above-mentioned conventional proposal, the diameter of each roller is set to be less than or equal to the minimum L dimension, and the total circumferential dimension of these rollers is less than or equal to the minimum M dimension. Therefore, under normal use conditions, each roller moves freely within the space and hits each other, causing an abnormal noise. In addition, since each roller needs to be placed in a space so that it can move freely, when the movable body is rotated, the rollers are connected to the flexible cable wound around the inner or outer cylinder. There are problems such as getting between the reversing part and crushing the reversing part,
There is also a problem in that the plurality of rollers fit tightly inside the reversing section and impede rotation of the movable body.

The present invention has been made in view of the actual state of the prior art, and its object is to provide a cable reel that is highly reliable and can reduce noise.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fixed body having a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion rotatable with respect to the fixed body. a flexible cable housed in a ring-shaped space defined between the first and second cylindrical parts, the flexible cable having an inverted U-shape; In the cable reel, the cable reel is configured to be wound in opposite directions on the first and second cylindrical portions through the space, and a roller guided in the space so as to be movable only in the circumferential direction is moved along the circumferential direction. A plurality of rollers are arranged, and the reversing portion is located between two adjacent rollers.

[0011]

[Operation] When the movable body is rotated in one direction, the U-shaped inverted portion of the flexible cable moves in the same direction, so that the flexible cable is wound tightly around the inner cylinder or wound back into the outer cylinder. In this case, a plurality of rollers are interposed between the flexible cable wound around the inner cylinder and the flexible cable wound around the outer cylinder, and each roller restricts movement in the radial direction. Since the rollers are guided so as to be movable only in the circumferential direction, each roller smoothly follows the movement of the reversing portion in the circumferential direction, and noise caused by collisions between the rollers is also reduced.

0012

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a partially broken cable reel according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the upper case of the cable reel with a part of the upper case omitted, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG.

As shown in these figures, the cable reel according to this embodiment includes a lower case 1, an upper case 2 rotatably attached to the lower case 1, both cases 1,
The flexible cable 3 is housed between two flexible cables 3, and a plurality of rollers 4 are arranged between the flexible cables 3.

The lower case 1 includes a bottom plate 6 having a center hole 5 in the center, and an outer cylindrical portion 7 standing upright on the outer periphery of the bottom plate 6.
It has a cylindrical shape with a bottom as a whole. On the other hand, the upper case 2 has a top plate 9 with an inner cylindrical part 8 hanging vertically in the center, the inner cylindrical part 8 is guided to the center hole 5, and the outer edge of the top plate 9 is guided to the outer cylindrical part 7. As a result, it is rotatably connected to the lower case 1, and the bottom plate 6 of the lower case 1
The outer cylinder part 7, the top plate 9 of the upper case 2, and the inner cylinder part 8 define a ring-shaped space 10 in plan view. Also,
In the bottom plate 6 and top plate 9 in this space 10, grooves 11 and 12 which are ring-shaped in plan view are provided so as to face each other.

The flexible cable 3 is composed of what is called a flat cable, which is made by laminating mutually parallel conducting wires with a pair of insulating films, and in the case of this embodiment, a flat cable in which five conducting wires are buried is used. . As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the flexible cable 3 is connected to a first connector 13 fixed to the outer cylinder part 7, and led out to the outside of the lower case 1 via the first connector 13. ing. On the other hand, the other end of the flexible cable 3 is connected to a second connector 14 fixed to the inner cylindrical portion 8, and led out to the outside of the upper case 2 via the second connector 14. Further, the flexible cable 3 is wound counterclockwise from the first connector 13 to the inner wall of the outer cylindrical part 7, and is then reversed into a U-shape (hereinafter referred to as the reversed part 3a), and further It is housed in the space 10 so as to be wound clockwise around the outer wall of the inner cylindrical portion 8 and to reach the second connector 14 .

The roller 4 has small diameter portions 4a at both upper and lower ends,
Both small diameter portions 4a are inserted into the grooves 11 and 12. A plurality of rollers 4 are arranged along the circumferential direction in the space 10 (for simplicity, FIG. 1 shows only some of the rollers 4), and the grooves 11 and 12 Movement in the radial direction of the space 10 is restricted, and movement is guided only in the circumferential direction of the space 10. Note that the above-mentioned inverted portion 3a of the flexible cable 3 is located between two adjacent rollers of these rollers 4 (for convenience of explanation, these are denoted by reference numerals 4A and 4B).

Next, the operation of the cable reel according to the above embodiment will be explained, taking as an example the case where the lower case 1 is used as a fixed body and the upper case 2 is used as a movable body. First, when the upper case 2 is rotated clockwise from the state shown in FIG.
The flexible cable 3 having a length equal to the amount of rotation is let out from the outer cylindrical portion 7 side and wound around the inner cylindrical portion 8 side. In this case, since the reversing portion 3a of the flexible cable 3 presses and moves the rollers 4A clockwise, all the rollers 4 move clockwise within the space 10 while being guided by the grooves 11 and 12. Therefore, by each roller 4 moving in this way, the outer cylinder part 7
The flexible cable 3 wound around the outer cylinder part 7 is prevented from bulging inward in the radial direction, and the flexible cable 3 on the outer cylinder part 7 side is smoothly drawn out in the direction of the inverted part 3a and connected to the inner cylinder part 8. It is wrapped around the side.

Contrary to the above, when the upper case 2 is rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. and a flexible cable 3 with a length equal to the amount of movement.
is fed out from the inner cylinder part 8 side and rewound to the outer cylinder part 7 side. In this case, since the reversing portion 3a of the flexible cable 3 presses and moves the roller 4B in the counterclockwise direction, all the rollers 4
5 moves counterclockwise within the space 10 while being guided by the grooves 11 and 12. Therefore, by each roller 4 moving in this way, the flexible cable 3 wound around the inner cylinder part 8 is prevented from bulging outward in the radial direction, and the flexible cable on the side of the inner cylinder part 8 is prevented. 3 is smoothly unwound toward the reversing section 3a and rewound toward the outer cylindrical section 7 side.

In the cable reel according to the above embodiment, since the flexible cable 3 is wound in opposite directions around the outer cylindrical part 7 and the inner cylindrical part 8 via the reversing part 3a, The length of the flexible cable 3 can be shortened, and as a result, the total cost can be reduced and it is advantageous for downsizing. Further, a plurality of groups of rollers 4 are disposed between the portion of the flexible cable 3 wound around the outer cylindrical portion 7 and the portion wound around the inner cylindrical portion 8, and these rollers 4 are connected to the reversing portion 3a. The rotational force of the upper case 2 is reliably transmitted to the inverted part 3a of the flexible cable 3 during the tightening or unwinding operation, and the inverted part 3
It is possible to prevent the problem that the flexible cable 3 bulges in the radial direction and buckles on the way to point a. In addition, each roller 4 is guided by the grooves 11 and 12 so that it can move only in the circumferential direction of the space 10 and is restricted from moving in the radial direction. If it gets into the gap on the inner cylinder part 8 side of the reversing part 3a, or as shown in FIG.
The roller 4 does not enter the gap on the outer cylinder part 7 side of the reversing part 3a, and the flexible cable 3 can be prevented from buckling at the reversing part 3a. Furthermore, since each roller 4 is restricted from moving in the radial direction in this way, as shown in FIG. The portion 3a can be moved smoothly, and winding and unwinding operations can be performed smoothly.

In the above embodiment, the small diameter portion 4a of each roller 4 is formed in the groove 11 provided in the lower case 1 and the upper case 2.
12 has been described, it is also possible to use a cylindrical roller without a small diameter portion, and the roller may be guided by a groove in either the lower case 1 or the upper case 2. Further, the roller guide means has a relationship opposite to that of the above embodiment, that is, a convex portion having a ring shape in plan view is provided on at least one of the lower case 1 and the upper case 2, and a concave groove that engages with the convex portion is provided on the roller. It may be provided.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the flexible cable 3
Although a flat cable was used as an example, it is also possible to use a flexible cable called a round wire cable in which the conductor is covered with an insulating tube. Accordingly, a plurality of round wire cables may be integrated into a band shape.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the lower case 1 is used as a fixed body and the upper case 2 is used as a movable body. However, on the contrary, the upper case 2 is used as a fixed body and the lower case 1 It is also possible to use it as a movable body.

[0023]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention,
By guiding the multiple roller groups so that they can move only in the circumferential direction and preventing them from moving in the radial direction, the rollers can smoothly follow the reversed portion of the flexible cable and the flexible cable can be seated in the radial direction. It is possible to prevent bending and deformation, and also to reduce the noise caused by the rollers colliding with each other, thus making it possible to provide a cable reel that is highly reliable and can reduce noise.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view, partially cut away, of a cable reel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view with a part of the upper case of the cable reel shown in FIG. 1 omitted;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a problem.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a problem.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a problem.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a cable reel according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Lower case (fixed body) 2 Upper case (movable body) 3 Flexible cable 3a Inversion part 4 Roller 6 Bottom plate 7 Outer cylinder part (first cylinder part) 8 Inner cylinder part (second cylinder part) 9 Top plate 10 Space 11, 12 Concave groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fixed body having a first cylindrical portion, a movable body having a second cylindrical portion and rotatably attached to the fixed body, and the first and second cylindrical portions. a flexible cable housed in a ring-shaped space defined between them, the flexible cable facing oppositely to the first and second cylindrical parts via a U-shaped reversal part. In the cable reel, a plurality of rollers guided so as to be movable only in the circumferential direction are arranged in the space along the circumferential direction, and the rollers are arranged between two adjacent rollers. A cable reel characterized by having a reversible part positioned.