JPH05326093A - Cable reel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a cable reel of high reliability with quietness by preventing a flexible cable from generating its colliding noise and buckling. CONSTITUTION:A reversing part 3a of a flexible cable 3 is looped by a reversing roller 16A provided in a retainer 4. A flexible cable 3 in the outside is elastically energized to the outer side in the radial direction by tension rollers 18, to drive the retainer 4 rotated by planet gears 17.

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 used by being incorporated in an in-vehicle airbag system or the like and electrically connects a stator member and a rotor member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A cable reel is formed by connecting a pair of relatively rotatable housings with a flexible cable, and has a rotor (steering wheel) and a stator that have a finite number of rotations like a steering device of an automobile. It is used as an electrical connection means with the (steering column).

In this type of cable reel, the ratio of the flexible cable to the total cost is high, and the length of the required flexible cable is shortened to reduce the cost. Is a real public sho 63-3990
It is proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of the cable reel disclosed in the above publication. As shown in the figure,
A movable body 101 is rotatably attached to a cylindrical fixed body 100. The fixed body 100 and the movable body 1 are attached to each other.
In the ring-shaped space 102 defined between 01 and 01, a flexible cable 103 having a substantially band shape is housed. The flexible cable 103 includes a fixed body 100 and a movable body 101.
And is guided to the outside of the space 102 in a state of being fixed respectively to and, and in a state in which the outer cylinder portion of the fixed body 100 and the inner cylinder portion of the movable body 101 are reversed in the winding direction in the space 102. A U-shaped reversal portion 103a is formed at a position where the U-shaped reversal portion is housed and the winding direction thereof is changed. In addition, the space 10
2, an auxiliary roller 104 is arranged, and the inverting portion 103a of the flexible cable 103 is an auxiliary roller 104.
Is looped to. Although not shown, the auxiliary roller 104 is mounted on a planetary gear, and the planetary gear is meshed with a gear provided on the inner circumference of the fixed body 101,
By meshing with external teeth provided on the outer circumference of the movable body 101, the movable body 101 revolves around its axis while rotating on its axis.

In the cable reel thus constructed, for example, when the movable body 101 is rotated in the clockwise direction of FIG.
When the flexible cable 103 is wound in the clockwise direction in 2, the winding state of the flexible cable 103 becomes the unwinding state in which the outer cylinder portion side of the fixed body 100 is increased. On the contrary, when the movable body 101 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the reversing portion 103a of the flexible cable 103 also moves in the same direction, and the flexible cable 103 moves the movable body 101.
A lot of windings are wound on the inner cylinder side, which results in a tightened state. In addition,
At the time of such tightening and rewinding, the auxiliary roller 104 revolves along with the rotation of the movable body 101, and follows the movement of the reversing portion 103a in the circumferential direction.

[0006]

According to the above-mentioned conventional cable reel, the flexible cable is wound in the opposite directions of the inner tubular portion and the outer tubular portion. Compared to a cable reel in which is wound in the same direction on the inner and outer cylinders (wound in a spiral shape), the required length of the flexible cable can be significantly shortened, and the cost can be reduced. Can be reduced. Further, since the reversing part of the flexible cable is looped to the auxiliary roller that revolves around itself as the movable body rotates, the reversing part can be moved by using the driving force of the auxiliary roller. Alternatively, the flexible cable wound around the inner tubular portion is smoothly fed to the inner tubular portion or the outer tubular portion side through the reversing portion.

However, even if the auxiliary roller revolves so as to follow the rotational movement of the reversing unit, the speed ratio between the movable body and the reversing unit slightly changes depending on the winding state of the flexible cable, and Since the fluctuation is not linear, the reversing part may separate from the auxiliary roller, in which case the driving force of the auxiliary roller is not transmitted to the reversing part, and the flexible cable wound around the outer cylinder part or the inner cylinder part. Had a problem that it buckled on its way to the inversion part. There is also a problem that the flexible cable collides with a top plate surface or a bottom plate surface of a member that forms a space apart from the auxiliary roller, and causes abnormal noise.

The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances of the prior art as described above, and an object thereof is not only to suppress the generation of abnormal noise, but also to make a flexible cable into a U-shape. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a quiet and highly reliable cable reel that can be reliably fed out through the reversing unit.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a first housing having an outer tubular portion and an inner tubular portion which is rotatable relative to the first housing. A second housing having a moving body housed in a space defined between the outer tubular portion and the inner tubular portion; and a flexible cable connecting the first and second housings. , The flexible cable is wound in the opposite direction to the outer cylinder portion side and the inner cylinder portion side via a U-shaped reversing portion, and the reversing portion is looped to a reversing guide provided on the moving body. In the cable reel configured as described above, the movable body is provided with planetary members that roll on the inner peripheral wall of the outer cylindrical portion and the outer peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical portion, respectively, and the flexibility wound around the outer cylindrical portion is provided. A tension member for elastically urging the cable radially outward is provided. It is intended.

[0010]

For example, when the second housing is rotated in one direction, the flexible cable is changed in direction by the U-shaped reversing portion that moves in the same direction as the second housing, and then is wound around the inner cylindrical portion. Alternatively, the movable body is rewound to the outer cylinder portion and moves in the same direction as the reversing portion by the planet member that revolves around the inner cylinder portion. In this case, the speed ratio between the reversing portion and the moving body slightly changes according to the winding state of the flexible cable, but since the flexible cable is always elastically urged radially outward by the tension member, The error caused by the fluctuation is absorbed by the tension member, and the reversing unit moves while being looped by the reversing guide of the moving body with an appropriate tension. Therefore, even when the second housing is rotated in either the unwinding direction or the winding tightening direction, the flexible cable is surely fed out to the outer cylinder part or the inner cylinder part through the reversing part, and the reversing part. The flexible cable does not buckle on the way to or after passing through the inversion part.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cable reel according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen from below, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower case included in the cable reel as seen from above, and FIG. 3 is an upper case of the cable reel. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a part thereof omitted, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of a tension roller provided in the cable reel.

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,
A flexible cable 3 housed between two and a pair of retainers 4 are roughly configured.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the lower case 1 is
It has a bottom plate 6 having a center hole 5 in the center and an outer cylinder portion 7 provided upright on the outer periphery of the bottom plate 6, and is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape as a whole. Further, ring-shaped outer teeth 8 are provided inside the outer cylindrical portion 7.

On the other hand, the upper case 2 has a top plate 10 having an inner cylindrical portion 9 suspended in the center thereof, and ring-shaped inner teeth 11 are provided on the lower portion of the inner cylindrical portion 9. The upper case 2 is rotatably connected to the lower case 1 by the inner cylinder 9 being guided by the center hole 5 and the outer edge of the top plate 10 being guided by the outer cylinder 7. The bottom plate 6 and the outer cylinder portion 7 of the lower case 1 and the top plate 10 and the inner cylinder portion 9 of the upper case 2 define a space 12 having a ring shape in plan view.

The flexible cable 3 comprises a so-called flat cable in which parallel conductors are laminated with a pair of insulating films. In the present embodiment, a flat cable having five conductors embedded therein is used. .. As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the flexible cable 3 is connected to a first connector 13 fixed to the outer tubular portion 7, and is led out 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 tubular portion 9, and is led out of the upper case 2 via the second connector 14.
The flexible cable 3 is wound in a counterclockwise direction from a roller group and a tension roller group, which will be described later, from the first connector 13 and is inverted in a U-shape from there (hereinafter, this is referred to as an inverted portion 3a). Further, the space 1 is wound around the outer wall of the inner tubular portion 9 in the clockwise direction to reach the second connector 14.
It is stored in 2.

As is clear from FIGS. 1 and 3, the pair of retainers 4 are both disc-shaped, and are rotatably arranged in the space 12. Both retainers 4 are connected by three support shafts 15 arranged at equal intervals of about 120 degrees, and each support shaft 15 has a roller 16 respectively.
Is rotatably supported. Each of the support shafts 15 projects from the lower surface of the lower retainer 4, and planetary gears 17 meshing with both the outer teeth 8 and the inner teeth 9 are fixed to these protruding portions. Further, three tension rollers 18 are arranged between the retainers 4 at equal intervals of about 120 degrees, and the tension rollers 18 and the respective rollers 16 are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction. The guide holes 1 extending from the outer peripheral edge toward the center are formed in both the retainers 4.
9 are formed, and the rotary shaft 20 of each tension roller 18 is inserted through these guide holes 19. Further, both ends of a wire spring 21 are fixed near the guide holes 19 of the retainers 4, and the rotary shaft 20 and the tension roller 18 are outside the retainer 4 by these wire springs 21, that is, the outer cylindrical portion. It is elastically biased in 7 directions. And
As described above, the flexible cable 3 is wound around the rollers 16 and the tension rollers 18 from the first connector 13 in the counterclockwise direction, and then the single roller 16 (hereinafter referred to as a reversing roller). , 16A) and is inverted in a U shape and is further wound clockwise around the outer wall of the inner tubular portion 9 to reach the second connector 14, but is flexed outside. The flexible cable 3 is elastically urged in the direction of the outer cylinder portion 7 by each tension roller 18, so that the flexible cable 3 is moved from the first connector 13 to the second connector 1.
Loosening is prevented in all parts up to 4.

Next, 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, the operation of the cable reel according to the above-described embodiment is mainly based on FIGS. 3 and 5. Explain. First, when the upper case 2 is rotated clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 3, the reversing portion 3a of the flexible cable 3 moves clockwise by a smaller rotation amount than the upper case 2 and has a length equal to the movement amount. The flexible cable 3 is unwound from the outside and wound around the inner cylinder portion 9 side. On the other hand, when the inner teeth 11 rotate clockwise with the rotation of the upper case 2, the planetary gears 17 meshing with the outer teeth 8 and the inner teeth 11 rotate around the inner teeth 11 together with the retainers 4 while rotating in the counterclockwise direction. Reversing roller 1
All the rollers 16 and the tension roller 18 including 6A also move clockwise. Here, the moving speed of the retainer 4 that supports the reversing roller 16A and the like is proportional to the rotating speed of the upper case 2, but the moving speed of the reversing portion 3a is the flexible cable 3.
Since it varies depending on the amount of winding around the inner tube portion 9, the speed ratio between the reversing portion 3a and the reversing roller 16A in which the reversing portion 3a loops slightly varies depending on the winding state of the flexible cable 3. However, in this embodiment, since the tension roller 18 constantly applies an appropriate tension to the flexible cable 3 so as to spread it outward, the reversing roller 16A moves faster than the reversing portion 3a. When the two are separated from each other, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the rotating shaft 20 moves outward in the guide hole 19 and the tension roller 18 pushes the flexible cable 3 outward, thereby reversing the flexible cable 3. The portion 3a is brought into contact with the reversing roller 16A with an appropriate pressure contact force.
When the pressure contact force between the two is too high and the pressure contact force between them becomes too high, the rotating shaft 20 moves inward in the guide hole 19 and the tension roller 18 moves, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. By retracting the flexible cable 3 inward so as to be loosened, the pressure contact force of the reversing portion 3a with respect to the reversing roller 16A is reduced. Therefore, the reversing unit 3a always rolls on the peripheral edge of the reversing roller 16A with an appropriate pressure contact force.
The outer flexible cable 3 is smoothly wound around the inner tubular portion 9 side through the reversing portion 3a.

On the contrary, when the upper case 2 is rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 3, the reversing portion 3a of the flexible cable 3 is moved counterclockwise by a smaller rotation amount than the upper case 2. The flexible cable 3 having a length equal to the moving amount.
Is unwound from the inner tubular portion 9 side and rewound to the outer tubular portion 7 side. In this case, the retainer 4 revolves counterclockwise by the planetary gear 17, and the speed ratio between the reversing portion 3a and the reversing roller 16A slightly changes depending on the winding state of the flexible cable 3, but similar to the above. This variation is the tension roller 18
Is absorbed by moving in the radial direction along the guide hole 19, and the flexible cable 3 on the inner cylinder portion 9 side is smoothly rewound to the outside through the reversing portion 3a.

The cable reel according to the above embodiment is required because the flexible cable 3 is wound around the outer cylinder portion 7 and the inner cylinder portion 9 in opposite directions via the reversing portion 3a. The length of the flexible cable 3 can be shortened, and as a result, the total cost can be reduced and the size can be reduced. Further, since the retainer 4 is forcibly revolved by the planetary gear 17 and the reversing portion 3a of the flexible cable 3 which is always tensioned by the tension roller 18 is looped to the reversing roller 16A of the retainer 4, The difference in speed of the reversing roller 16A can be absorbed by the tension roller 18 moving in the radial direction, and buckling of the flexible cable 3 can be reliably prevented. Moreover, since the flexible cable 3 is constantly tensioned, both ends in the width direction of the flexible cable 3 are in the lower case 1.
It is possible to prevent abnormal noise from being generated by hitting the bottom plate 6 or the top plate 10 of the upper case 2, and there is a noise reduction effect.

In the above embodiment, the three planetary gears 17 are used as the driving means for revolving the retainer 4,
The number is not limited, and rollers can be used instead of gears as long as slip does not occur.

In the above embodiment, the flexible cable 3 is used.
As a means to apply tension to the tension roller 1
Although 8 has been elastically biased by the wire spring 21,
It is also possible to use other elastic materials such as coil springs and leaf springs.

In the above embodiment, the flexible cable 3 is used.
Although the reversing roller 16A is mentioned as the reversing guide in which the reversing part 3a of FIG. 1 is looped, the roller need not be a roller as long as it has a small friction coefficient, and a cylindrical or semi-cylindrical reversing guide member is fixed to the retainer 4. It is also possible to do so.

Further, in the above embodiment, the pair of retainers 4 was mentioned as an example of the moving body which is rotationally driven by the planetary gear 17, but the shape and the number of these moving bodies can be changed appropriately.

In the above embodiment, the flexible cable 3 is used.
Although a flat cable is given as an example, a flexible cable called a round wire cable in which the conductor wire is covered with an insulating tube can be used instead, and in this case, depending on the number of circuits required. Accordingly, a plurality of round wire cables may be integrated into a strip shape.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the lower case 1 is used as the fixed body and the upper case 2 is used as the movable body has been described. On the contrary, the upper case 2 is used as the fixed body and the lower case 1 is used. It is also possible to use as a movable body.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The moving member is rotationally driven by the planetary member, and since the reversing portion of the flexible cable is looped with the reversing guide provided on the moving member being always applied with a proper tension, the flexible cable is stored in the storage space. Not only can you prevent the top plate surface and bottom plate surface from colliding, but you can also smoothly feed the flexible cable through the reversing part without buckling the flexible cable midway, providing a quiet and reliable cable reel it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cable reel according to an embodiment of the present invention seen from below.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower case provided in the cable reel of FIG. 1 viewed from above.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the cable reel of FIG. 1 with a part of the upper case omitted.

4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

5 is an operation explanatory view of a tension roller provided in the cable reel of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a cable reel according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lower case (first housing) 2 Upper case (second housing) 3 Flexible cable 3a Reversing part 4 Retainer (moving body) 7 Outer cylinder part 8 Outer teeth 9 Inner cylinder part 11 Inner teeth 12 Space 15 Support Shaft 16 Roller 16A Reverse roller (Reverse guide) 17 Planetary gear (Planetary member) 18 Tension roller 19 Guide hole 20 Rotating shaft 21 Wire spring

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first housing having an outer tubular portion, a second housing rotatable relative to the first housing and having an inner tubular portion, and the outer tubular portion and the inner tubular portion. A moving body housed in a space defined between the first and second moving bodies;
And a flexible cable for connecting the housings of the flexible cable, the flexible cable being wound in the opposite direction to the outer cylinder part side and the inner cylinder part side via a U-shaped reversing part, and the reversing part. In a cable reel formed by looping an inversion guide provided on the moving body, the moving body is provided with a planetary member that is in rolling contact with an inner peripheral wall of the outer cylindrical portion and an outer peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical portion, respectively. A cable reel comprising a tension member that elastically biases the flexible cable wound around the tubular portion outward in the radial direction.