JPH08227782A - Grease basin structure in rotary connector device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent an abnormal sound from being generated by an attachment in a rotary connector device having a structure in which a stator housing and a rotor housing is mutually connected by the attachment. CONSTITUTION: An attachment 3 is fitted to a rotor housing 2 to rotatably nip a stator housing 1. The attachment 3 has a grease basin 33 provided on the sliding side with the stator housing 1 along the rotating direction of both the housings 1, 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a rotary connector device for supplying power to an airbag or the like provided on a pad portion of a steering wheel of an automobile, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a technique for deploying an airbag to protect an occupant from an impact in the event of a car accident has been put into practical use. In this airbag, particularly in the airbag provided on the pad portion of the steering handle, it is necessary to supply power from the vehicle body side to the inflator of the airbag of the pad portion via the rotating portion of the steering handle. As means for supplying power, there are mainly one using a slip ring and one using a flexible cable wound in a spiral shape like the rotary connector device of the present invention. Conventionally, various types of rotary connector devices of this type have been proposed. For example, in a rotary connector device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-54714, a stator housing, a rotor housing rotatably mounted on the stator housing, and a flexible cable housed in a spiral shape in a space formed by the both housings. And a guide (peripheral wall) for guiding the end of the flexible cable into the space, and an attachment (rotating ring) for connecting the stator housing and the rotor housing. The steering unit where this type of rotary connector device is mounted is adjacent to the driver's seat, and it is necessary to design so that no abnormal noise is generated from the rotary connector device. The housing and the housing are rotatably connected to each other, and the connecting portions of both housings slide when rotating.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the stator housing and the rotor housing are connected by an attachment, and since the attachment slides, it is different due to the precision of the attachment or abrasion due to use. There was a problem that sound was generated.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in a rotary connector device having a structure in which a stator housing and a rotor housing are connected by an attachment, prevent abnormal noise from being generated by the attachment. An object of the present invention is to provide a grease reservoir structure in the rotary connector device.

The present invention provides the following means in order to achieve the above object. That is, in a rotary connector device including a stator housing, a rotor housing rotatably mounted on the stator housing, and a flexible cable housed in a spiral shape in a space formed by the two housings, the stator housing and the rotor A grease reservoir structure in a rotary connector device, characterized in that it has an attachment that fits into one of the housings and rotatably holds the other, and that a grease reservoir is provided on the sliding contact side of the attachment with the housing. I will provide a.

Further, as an embodiment of the above invention, there is provided a grease reservoir structure in a rotary connector device, wherein the grease reservoir is provided along a rotation direction of the housing.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The accompanying drawings show preferred embodiments according to the present invention. However, the flexible cable 4 is not shown in the drawings other than FIG. In the figure,
1 is a stator housing, 2 is a rotor housing, 3 is an attachment, 4 is a flexible cable, 5 and 6 are terminals, and 7 is a sliding sheet, which will be described below.

First, the stator housing 1 is a portion fixed to a combination switch (not shown) of an automobile, for example. The stator housing 1 is configured by combining a side housing 11 and a bottom housing 12. More specifically, the side housing 11 has a fitting hole 111.
The bottom housing 12 has fitting claws 121, and the side housing 11 and the bottom housing 12 are joined by fitting the fitting claws 121 into the fitting holes 111. The side housing 11 and the bottom housing 12
The stator housing 1 may be formed by integrally molding and.

Side housing 11 and bottom housing 1
2 is dimensioned so that the respective base ends 112 and 122 are flush with each other, and when the stator housing 1 is fixed to the combination switch, the respective base ends 112 and 122 abut on the combination switch. Therefore, even if an external force is applied to the bottom housing 12 from the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. 1A, the bottom housing 12 is prevented from being deformed in the direction of arrow A by the contact of the base end 122 with the combination switch. As a result, the fitting claw 121 of the bottom housing 12 is prevented from falling out of the fitting hole 111 of the side housing 11.

The stator housing 1 has a first gap 13 extending in the radial direction at a portion where the side housing 11 and the bottom housing 12 are joined, and the first gap 13 has a first side of the sliding seat 7 in the first gap 13. 71 is plugged in.

The bottom housing 12 also has a guide 15 for supporting the end of the flexible cable 4 and for guiding the flexible cable 4 in the space defined by the two housings 1, 2. The guide 15 has a space-side first surface 151 that houses the flexible cable 4 in a spiral shape, and a second surface 152 that is a back surface with respect to the first surface 151. Is provided so as to penetrate between the first surface 151 and the second surface 152. Then, the second side 72 of the sliding sheet 7 is inserted into the second gap 14.

The rotor housing 2 is a portion which is rotatably mounted on the stator housing 1 and is connected to a steering handle (not shown) by a connecting pin 21. The rotor housing 2 has, on its inner circumference 22, a claw 23 that fits with a fitting portion 31 provided on the attachment 3 and a step portion 24 that comes into contact with a protrusion 32 provided on the attachment 3. Also rotor housing 2
Is provided with a lead-out portion 25 for leading the cord 61 of the terminal 6 to the outside, and a caution label 26 on which a cautionary note regarding handling of the rotary connector device is attached. The lead-out portion 25 is provided with a plurality of irregularities 251 to 254 therein, and the cord 61 is sandwiched by the irregularities 251 to 254. As a result, the cord 61 is firmly fixed to the rotor housing 2. Further, the rotor housing 2 has a contact portion 27 on the side facing the upper end 113 of the side housing 11, that is, on the lower side, and the contact portion 27 is formed with respect to the surface formed by the upper end 113 of the side housing 11. As shown in (a), the contact portion 17 is tilted outward by an angle θ.
The height on the outer peripheral side of C is higher than that on the central axis side by, for example, C = about 1 to 2 mm.

Next, the attachment 3 connects the two housings 1 and 2, and has a fitting portion 31 that elastically fits into the claw 23 of the rotor housing 2 and a protrusion that abuts against the step portion 24 of the rotor housing 2. And a piece 32. Further, the attachment 3 has a groove-shaped grease reservoir 33 formed over the entire circumference of the joint surface with the bottom housing 12 in the stator housing 1. By filling the grease reservoir 33 with grease, the attachment 3 and the bottom housing Rotational resistance generated between 12 and 12 is reduced.

As the flexible cable 4, for example, a so-called flat cable having a structure in which a conductive wire is sandwiched between resin films is used. The flexible cable 4 is housed in a doughnut-shaped space formed by the stator housing 1 and the rotor housing 2. One end of the flexible cable 4 is the terminal 5 of the stator housing 1 and the other end is the rotor housing 2.
Are electrically connected to the respective terminals 6.

The sliding sheet 7 reduces the sliding resistance of the flexible cable 4 when the flexible cable 4 slides in the doughnut-shaped space formed by the housings 1 and 2 so that no abnormal noise is generated. The sheet is made of, for example, tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE) having excellent lubricity and formed into a substantially donut shape. For example, about 80% or more of the outer circumference of the sliding sheet 7 is a first side 71, the remaining part of the outer circumference is a second side 72, and the inner circumference is a third side 73. By the way, the first side 71 and the third side 73 form an arc shape,
The second side 72 has an uneven shape adapted to be inserted into the second gap 14 provided in the guide 16.

The rotary connector device having the above structure operates as follows. In the rotary connector device having the above configuration, the terminal 6 is connected to, for example, an airbag device (not shown) on the steering handle side, and the other terminal 5 is connected to, for example, an airbag controller (not shown) on the vehicle body side. As a result, for example, when a vehicle has a collision accident, an electric signal from the airbag controller is transmitted to, for example, the airbag device of the steering pad through the flexible cable 4 of the rotary connector device to ignite the inflator and ignite the airbag. Will be inflated.

[0017]

Since the present invention has the above-described function, it has the following effects. (1) That is, the housing has an attachment that fits into one of the stator housing and the rotor housing and rotatably sandwiches the other, and since the grease reservoir is provided on the sliding contact side of the attachment with the housing, both housings are Abnormal noise does not occur from the attachment when rotating relatively, and the grease can be prevented from flowing out by the grease reservoir, and the abnormal noise can be prevented for a long period of time. (2) Since the grease reservoir is provided along the rotation direction of the housing, there is an effect that the grease spreads over the entire sliding surface with the housing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is sectional drawing, (b) is a perspective view.

2 is an exploded view of what is shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a drawing showing the bottom housing shown in FIG. 2, in which (a) is a plan view of the bottom housing seen from the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 2, and (b) is a guide part of the bottom housing. It is a principal part detailed perspective view which shows the state which inserts the 2nd side of a sliding sheet.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the rotor housing and the stator housing shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the space side for housing the flexible cable, in which (a) shows the rotor housing and (b) shows the stator housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Stator Housing 2 Rotor Housing 3 Attachment 4 Flexible Cable 5, 6 Terminal 7 Sliding Seat 11 Side Housing 12 Bottom Housing 13 First Gap 14 Second Gap 15 Guide 25 Drawout 27 Contact Part 33 Gris Reservoir

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A stator housing (1), a rotor housing (2) rotatably mounted on the stator housing (1), and a spiral housing in a space formed by the both housings (1, 2). And a flexible cable (4), which has an attachment (3) that fits into one of the stator housing (1) and the rotor housing (2) and rotatably holds the other, and A grease reservoir structure in a rotary connector device, wherein a grease reservoir (33) is provided on a side of the attachment (3) that is in sliding contact with the housings (1, 2). 2. The grease reservoir structure according to claim 1, wherein the grease reservoir (33) is provided along a rotation direction of the housings (1, 2). .