Electrical connectors – With relatively guided members and intermediate pliable... – Relatively movable about axis
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-21
2001-07-17
Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With relatively guided members and intermediate pliable...
Relatively movable about axis
C439S015000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06261112
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for electrical connection between a rotor and a stator. More particularly, it relates to an electrical connecting device between a steering wheel (handle) and a steering column in a steering apparatus for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent progress of automotive electronics, the automotive steering wheel has been provided with a variety of switches for electronic controls, which are required to be connected to various elements on the steering column's side through electrical wiring. Since the automotive steering wheel is adapted so as to rotate in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions at plural revolutions, there is generally used an electrical connecting device between the steering wheel and the steering column, in which a flexible flat cable (FFC) having a plurality of lead wires (or conductors) is whirled between a rotor fixed to a handle shaft and a housing fixed on the steering column's side, in spiral or “halfway-reversed” spiral condition.
As the conventional electrical connecting device of halfway-reversed type, there is known an electrical connecting device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-78125.
FIGS. 1
to
4
show the structure of the electrical connecting device. In the device, a housing
1
consists of an under cover
1
a
and an upper cover
1
b
between which a rotor
2
is rotatably arranged. The rotor
2
comprises a lower rotor body
2
a
, an intermediate rotor body
2
b
and an upper rotor body
2
c
which are all integrated into one body through some screws
3
. The resultant rotor
2
is fixed to a not-shown shaft on a steering wheel's side, while the housing
1
is fixed to a not-shown member on a steering column's side.
A ring-shaped cable accommodating chamber (annular space)
4
is defined between the housing
1
and the rotor
2
. The cable accommodating chamber
4
has an inner peripheral face
4
a
and an inside lower face both constituted by the rotor
2
. While, an outer peripheral face
4
b
, an upper face
4
c
and an outside lower face of the chamber
4
are constituted by the housing
1
. A flexible flat cable (FFC)
5
is accommodated in the cable accommodating chamber
4
. The flexible flat cable
5
has one end connected to a connector
6
on the rotor's side and the other end connected to a connector
7
on the housing's side. The end portion of the flexible flat cable
5
is wound around the inner peripheral face
4
a
in one winding direction. While, the other end portion of the cable
5
is wound along the outer peripheral face
4
b
in another direction opposite to the above winding direction. Thus, the cable's winding direction on the inner peripheral face's (
4
a
) side is reversed to the cable's winding direction on the outer peripheral face's (
4
b
) side, forming a turn-over part
5
a
as a boundary.
In the cable accommodating chamber
4
, there are provided a carrier
9
for rotatably supporting a number of guide rollers
8
through pins
9
a
, and a movable internal gear
10
. The carrier
9
is arranged between a winding part
5
b
of the cable
5
on the side of an inner peripheral face
4
a
and another winding part
5
c
on the side of an outer peripheral face
4
b
. The above turn-over part
5
a
of the cable
5
is disposed about the designated guide roller
8
on the carrier
9
. Below the carrier
9
, a planetary gear
11
is rotatably supported by the carrier
9
. The planetary gear
11
meshes with both outer teeth
12
formed on the intermediate rotor body
2
b
and inner teeth
13
formed on the internal gear
10
.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, the upper cover
1
b
is provided, on the upper face
4
c
of the chamber
4
, with an inside projection
14
a
and an outside projection
14
b
which both project downward on the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the chamber
4
, respectively. In the circumferential direction of the upper cover
1
b
, the inside projection
14
a
is formed on a level with the outside projection
14
b.
In the above-mentioned arrangement, when the rotor
2
rotates in the clockwise direction (i.e. the direction of
a
of FIG.
2
), then the winding part
5
b
about the inner peripheral face
4
a
is continuously fed out to be the turn-over part
5
a
about the designated guide roller
8
on the carrier
9
and finally rolled into the outer peripheral face
4
b.
With this feeding and rolling operation of the flexible flat cable
5
, the turn-over part
5
a
of the cable
5
gradually moves in the clockwise direction. During this movement, the planetary gear
11
is rotated by the rotation of the rotor
2
. Further, due to the transmission of rotating force, the carrier
9
is also moved to the clockwise direction in the chamber
4
. In this way, the electrical connecting device can perform the cable feeding and rolling operations while the flexible flat cable
5
is subjected to no external force from the carrier
9
.
On the contrary, when the rotor
2
rotates in the counter-clockwise direction (i.e. the direction of
b
of FIG.
2
), then the winding part
5
c
about the outer peripheral face
4
b
is continuously fed out to be the turn-over part
5
a
about the designated guide roller
8
on the carrier
9
and finally rolled into the inner peripheral face
4
a
. The carrier
9
is moved to the counter-clockwise direction in the chamber
4
for the above-mentioned reason. In this way, also in this case, the electrical connecting device can perform the cable feeding and rolling operations while the flexible flat cable
5
is subjected to no external force from the carrier
9
.
Meanwhile, if the turn-over part
5
a
of the flexible flat cable
5
slides on the upper face
4
c
of the chamber
4
in process of clockwise or counter-clockwise movement of the part
5
a
, then a great noise may be produced since the turn-over part
5
a
is arranged relatively free in vibration. It should be understood that, in the conventional device, the provision of the projections
14
a
and
14
b
on the upper face
4
c
is based on such an apprehension of noise.
That is, even if the upward force is applied on the flexible flat cable
5
, the turn-over part
5
a
of the flexible flat cable
5
is prevented from the contact with the upper face
4
c
, owing to the initiative contact of the winding parts
5
b
and
5
c
with the projections
14
a
and
14
b.
However, it is also noted that, in the conventional electrical connecting device between the steering wheel and the steering column, the winding part
5
b
of the cable
5
(on the side of the inner peripheral face
4
a
) rotates together with the rotation of the rotor
2
. Consequently, the sliding of the top edge of the cable part
5
b
on the inside projection
14
a
would cause the occurrence of noise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connecting device which is capable of preventing the occurrence of noise due to the slide of the turn-over part of the flexible flat cable on the housing and noise due to the inside winding part of the cable on the housing thereby to further reduce the sliding noise while saving the manufacturing cost.
The object of the present invention described above can be accomplished by an electrical connecting device between a steering wheel and a steering column for a vehicle, comprising:
a housing fixed on the interior of the steering column;
a rotor rotatably arranged in the housing so as to define an annular cable accommodating chamber between the rotor and the housing, the rotor constituting the inner peripheral face of the cable accommodating chamber while at least the housing constitutes the outer peripheral face and the upper face of the cable accommodating chamber;
a flexible flat cable accommodated in the cable accommodating chamber, the flexible flat cable having its one end fixed on the rotor and the other end fixed on the housing, the end portion
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Hammond Briggitte
Luebke Renee
Yazaki -Corporation
LandOfFree
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