JPH085184Y2 - Cable reel - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a cable reel for electrically connecting a fixed body and a movable body by using a flexible cable such as a flat cable. In particular, the present invention relates to a cable reel suitable for use in a steering device of an automobile.

[Conventional technology]

The cable reel is configured such that one end of a flat cable wound a plurality of turns is fixed to a fixed body and the other end is fixed to a movable body and is led out to the outside, and when the movable body is rotated, the flat cable is moved to the movable body side. The movable body can be rotated by a predetermined amount by being wound in or unwound from the, and is used in a steering device of an automobile or the like.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

By the way, since the flat cable described above changes the winding diameter in accordance with the rotation of the movable body, if a flexible cable with low bending rigidity and so-called weakness is used, the rotational force of the movable body will be increased during rewinding. There is an inconvenience that the flat cable is not reliably transmitted from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side and is bent and buckled in the middle. Therefore, usually, a flat cable in which a plurality of conductors are laminated with a pair of relatively strong flexible films is used, but in this case, the flat cable in the middle of winding or unwinding is Since it can move freely in any direction, if an external force such as vibration or centrifugal force is applied to the cable reel in such a state, the flat cables will collide with each other,
Alternatively, there has been a problem that the flat cable hits the wall surface of the fixed body or the movable body and produces an unpleasant noise. In particular, when the cable reel is used in an environment where vibration and centrifugal force are likely to be applied, such as an automobile, the above problem becomes remarkable.

The present invention has been made in view of the practical use of such a conventional technique, and an object thereof is to provide a cable reel capable of reducing noise.

[Means for solving the problem]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fixed body having an outer ring wall, a movable body having an inner ring wall rotatably attached to the fixed body, and a movable body between the outer ring wall and the inner ring wall. A flexible cable is provided, which is wound around the space portion for a plurality of turns and has both ends fixed to the fixed body and the movable body and led out to the outside. In a cable reel adapted to make an electrical connection between the elastic tongue and the bifurcated elastic tongue in the vicinity of the outer ring wall, the bifurcated elastic tongue is fixed at its bifurcated ends. The outer winding part of the flexible cable is elastically sandwiched.

[Action]

When the flexible cable is in the process of being wound or unwound, the flexible cable is elastically biased toward the inner ring wall by the bifurcated elastic tongue, so that its radial movement is suppressed. Therefore, the noise generated by the collision of the flexible cables or the collision of the flexible cables with the wall surface of the fixed body or the movable body is reduced. When the movable body is rotated, the flexible cable is wound around the inner ring wall side while being biased by the elastic force of the elastic tongue, or is wound around the outer ring wall side against the elastic force of the elastic tongue. Returned,
In any state, the rotation of the movable body is not impaired.

〔Example〕

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view of a cable reel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an elastic tongue included in the cable reel. In these figures, 1 is a movable body having a cylindrical inner ring wall 1a in the center, and 2 is a fixed body that rotatably supports the movable body 1. In these assembled states, the inner ring wall 1a of the movable body 1 is shown. A space portion 3 is formed between the outer ring wall 2a and the outer ring wall 2a that is erected on the outer peripheral edge of the fixed body 2. A publicly known flat cable 4 in which a plurality of conductors are laminated with two flexible films having a relatively high rigidity is housed in the space 3 in a wound state of a plurality of turns. One end of the flat cable 4 on the inner peripheral side is led out of the movable body 1 via a connector or the like (not shown), and the other end on the outer peripheral side of the flat cable 4 is also connected to the connector or the like (not shown). It is led out of the fixed body 2 via the.

Reference numeral 5 is an elastic tongue made of a highly elastic material such as a synthetic resin molded product, a synthetic resin film, or a metal plate. The elastic tongue 5 branches the first pressing piece 5a and the second pressing piece 5b. Department
It is formed in a bilaterally symmetrical shape by folding it in 5c. The branch portion 5c of the elastic tongue piece 5 is fixed to the fixed body 2 in the outer ring wall 2a or in the vicinity thereof, while the free ends of the first and second pressing pieces 5a and 5b are flat cables 4 respectively. The flat cable 4 is urged toward the inner ring wall 1a (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1) by the elastic force of the pressing pieces 5a and 5b.

The cable reel according to the present embodiment is generally configured as described above, and the movable body 1 is attached to various devices, for example, a steering wheel side of a steering device of an automobile, and the fixed body 2 is attached to a fixed shaft side of a vehicle body. used. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the flat cable 4 is being wound or unwound, and in this case, the wound portion of the flat cable 4 is moved from the outside to the inside by both pressing pieces 5a and 5b of the elastic tongue piece 5. And is held elastically. Therefore, in this state, even if the flat cable 4 is subjected to, for example, centrifugal force during corner linking or vibration during traveling, the flat cable 4 is moved in the radial direction by both pressing pieces 5a of the elastic tongues 5. , 5b, the flat cables 4 collide with each other, and the flat cables 4 almost never collide with the inner ring wall 1a or the outer ring wall 2a under normal use conditions. The noise generated is significantly reduced.

Further, when the steering wheel (movable body 1) is rotated to one side from the state shown in FIG. 1, the flat cable 4 is wound around the peripheral surface of the inner ring wall 1a, and both pressing pieces 5a, 5b of the elastic tongue piece 5 are wound. Follows the flat cable 4 and the inner ring wall 1
Move in the a direction. On the contrary, when the steering wheel (movable body 1) is rotated to the other side, the flat cable 4 is rewound around the outer ring wall 2a against the elastic force of the pressing pieces 5a, 5b, whichever state Also in, the electrical connection between the movable body 1 and the fixed body 2 is maintained via the flat cable 4.

In the above embodiment, the elastic tongue 5 is formed by folding one elastic plate in two. However, when the mounting space etc. has a margin, the two pressing pieces 5a, 5b are used.
It is also possible to fix these to the fixed body 2 by means of a cantilever.

[Effect of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, even when the flexible cable is being wound or unwound,
Since the bifurcated elastic tongue can prevent the flexible cables from colliding with each other and the flexible cable from colliding with the inner ring wall or the outer ring wall, a cable reel with less noise can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a cable reel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an elastic tongue included in the cable reel. 1 ... Movable body, 1a ... Inner ring wall, 2 ... Fixed body, 2a ... Outer ring wall, 3 ... Space part, 4 ... Flat cable, (flexible cable), 5 ... Elastic tongue piece , 5a ... the first pressing piece,
5b …… Second pressing piece, 5c …… Branch part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A fixed body having an outer ring wall, a movable body having an inner ring wall rotatably mounted on the fixed body, and a plurality of turns wound around a space between the outer ring wall and the inner ring wall. A flexible cable that is rotated and has both ends fixed to the fixed body and the movable body and led out to the outside is provided, and the flexible cable electrically connects between the fixed body and the movable body. In a cable reel adapted to be connected, a bifurcated elastic tongue branch is fixed near the outer ring wall, and both free ends of the elastic tongue are wound outside the flexible cable. A cable reel in which a portion is elastically clamped.