WO2018008375A1 - Rotary connector - Google Patents

Abstract

A rotary connector (1) is provided with relay parts (19) disposed between a fixed body (7) and a rotating body (8) rotatable with respect to the fixed body. The relay parts (19) maintain an electrical connection between a fixed section and the rotating body while permitting rotation of the rotating body. The relay parts (19) each form a tubular columnar body in which two opposing planes are congruent or non-congruent, such that one end section out of both axial end sections of each relay part functions as a rolling section, and the other end section functions as a sliding section.

Description

Rotating connector

The present invention relates to a rotating connector that improves communication between a fixed body and a rotating body.

Conventionally, a steering roll connector is widely known as a rotary connector that maintains electrical conduction between two parts that rotate with respect to the other. As this type of steering roll connector, for example, one using a sphere for a relay portion between a fixed body and a rotating body is well known (Patent Document 1, etc.).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-321336

However, Patent Document 1 has a structure in which the sphere of the relay portion is in point contact with the conductor. For this reason, when a foreign object exists between the sphere and the conductor, when the rotating body rotates, the sphere moves up the foreign object, and the foreign object remains in place. Therefore, there was a problem in terms of reliability.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary connector capable of improving the foreign matter removal performance and improving the reliability.

The rotary connector according to one aspect is configured such that an electrical connection between a rotating body rotatable with respect to the fixed body and the fixed body is provided by a relay unit disposed between the fixed body and the rotating body. In the configuration in which the rotation of the rotating body is allowed and maintained, the relay portion is formed as a cylindrical column body in which two opposing planes are congruent or non-congruent. One end of both ends of the direction functions as a rolling part, and the other end functions as a sliding part.

According to this configuration, the relay portion that is the energization point between the fixed body and the rotating body has a shape having a rolling portion and a sliding portion. For this reason, it is possible to improve the foreign matter removal property by the sliding portion while maintaining the wear resistance at the rolling portion as before. Therefore, it is possible to improve the reliability of the rotary connector.

In the rotary connector, it is preferable that the relay portion is arranged in a direction in which its own axis is along the radial direction of the rotating body. According to this configuration, since the relay portion is arranged in an optimum direction for rolling, it is advantageous for obtaining a smooth rotation of the rotating body.

In the rotary connector, it is preferable that the relay unit is one of a plurality of relay units arranged along a rotating direction of the rotating body. According to this configuration, it is possible to increase the number of energization points by the relay unit, which is more advantageous for increasing the energization current.

In the rotary connector, the relay portion is preferably formed in a cylindrical shape or a tapered shape. According to this configuration, it is possible to make the relay portion easy to roll, which is further advantageous in obtaining smooth rotation of the rotating body.

In the rotary connector, it is preferable that the fixed body includes a foreign matter inflow portion into which the foreign matter removed by the relay portion enters. According to this configuration, the foreign matter removed by the relay portion can be collected in the foreign matter inflow portion, which is advantageous for maintaining good energization.

The relay unit may be one of a plurality of relay units arranged along the rotation direction of the rotating body such that the axis of each relay unit coincides with the radial direction of the rotating body. it can. In this case, it is preferable that the fixed body includes a plurality of storage units that individually store the plurality of relay units. According to this structure, the function of a rolling part and a sliding part can be suitably provided to each relay part in each storage part.

According to the present invention, the foreign matter removal performance can be improved and the reliability can be enhanced.

Sectional drawing of the rotation connector of one Embodiment. The top view of the fixed body in the state where the relay part was attached. The perspective view of the relay part which made the support point of rotation A point. Explanatory drawing which shows the difference of the distance of rolling of a relay part, and sliding. (A) is a schematic diagram when a relay part rolls over a foreign substance, (b) is a schematic diagram when a relay part slips and removes a foreign substance. The perspective view of the relay part which made the support point of rotation B point. (A), (b) is a perspective view which shows the relay part of another shape. Schematic which shows the foreign material inflow part of another example. The schematic diagram which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the other relay part of another example.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a rotary connector will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, a rotary connector 1 for a vehicle is attached between a vehicle body 2 on a fixed side and a steering shaft 3 on a rotating side, and an electrical connection between the vehicle body 2 and the steering shaft 3. Is maintained even when the steering shaft 3 is rotated. The rotary connector 1 sends the output signal Sout of the detection unit 4 provided on the steering wheel (not shown) to the controller 5 on the vehicle body 2 side. The controller 5 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that manages the operation of the rotary connector 1 and determines the detection state of the detection unit 4 based on the acquired output signal Sout.

The detection unit 4 includes, for example, a switch and a sensor disposed on the steering wheel. The output signal Sout is not limited to an on / off signal detected by, for example, a switch or a sensor, but may be a data signal detected by sensors such as an image sensor. Note that the output signal Sout may be a multiplexed signal in which signals output from the plurality of detection units 4 are collected in a time division manner and transmitted to the other party.

The rotary connector 1 includes a fixed body 7 that is attached and fixed to the vehicle body 2 and a rotating body 8 that rotates with respect to the fixed body 7. Both the fixed body 7 and the rotating body 8 have a substantially disk shape and are disposed on the same axis (axis L1). The axis L1 is the rotational axis of the steering shaft 3.

The stationary body 7 has a steering shaft 3 rotatably inserted through an insertion hole 11 formed at the center. The fixed body 7 includes a base material 12 made of a structure such as a resin and a conductive layer 13 that conducts electricity on the fixed body 7 side. The rotating body 8 includes a base material 15 made of a structure such as a resin and a conductive layer 16 that conducts electricity on the rotating body 8 side. The rotating body 8 has an insertion hole 14 formed in the center of the base material 15, and the steering shaft 3 is attached and fixed inside the insertion hole 14. When the steering shaft 3 is rotated, the rotating body 8 is supported by the fixed body 7 and rotates integrally with the steering shaft 3 around the axis L1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a relay unit 19 is provided between the fixed body 7 and the rotating body 8 to conduct electricity between the fixed body 7 and the rotating body 8. In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, the relay portion 19 of this example is formed in a cylindrical shape. That is, the relay unit 19 forms a cylindrical column whose two planes facing each other are congruent or non-congruent, so that the axial direction of the relay unit 19 (the length of the axis L2 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3). Direction), one end (point A in FIG. 3) is a rolling part to maintain wear resistance, and the other end (point B in FIG. 3) is a sliding part to improve foreign matter removal. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 2, the relay unit 19 is arranged so that its own axis L <b> 2 is along the radial direction of the rotating body 8, and in the rotating direction of the rotating body 8 (in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 1). A plurality of them are arranged at equal intervals along. In this way, the plurality of relay portions 19 are arranged radially with the center P of the rotary connector 1 as the center. The relay part 19 is individually accommodated in the accommodating part 20 provided in the base material 12 so that rotation and sliding are possible. The conductive layer 13 on the fixed body 7 side is arranged in a ring shape along the relay portion 19 arranged along the rotating direction of the rotating body 8. Further, in the rotary connector 1, one signal channel is constructed by a plurality of relay units 19 arranged on the same circumference around the center P.

Next, the operation and effect of the rotary connector 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the steering shaft 3 (steering wheel) is operated, the rotating body 8 also rotates synchronously, and the relay portion 19 rotates between the fixed body 7 and the rotating body 8. And slide. In the case of this example, it is assumed that the relay portion 19 turns with the radially inner end 19a (hereinafter referred to as point A) as a support point.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the rotating body 8 rotates, the relay portion 19 has a point A that is the radially inner end 19 a and a radially outer end due to the difference in distance from the center P of the rotary connector 1. The circumferential distance required at the time of rotation differs between the portion 19b (hereinafter referred to as point B). For example, when the point A of the relay unit 19 is used as a support point, when the point A of the relay unit 19 rotates three times, the point B of the relay unit 19 requires six rotations due to the difference in the circumferential distance of rotation. Actually, only three rotations that are the same as the number of rotations of the point A, which is the support point, can be performed. Thus, when the rotary connector 1 is rotated, the relay portion 19 is slid while the radially inner end 19a (point A) is rotated and the radially outer end 19b (point B) is rotated. To do.

As shown in FIG. 5A, when the relay portion 19 rotates, if foreign matter is attached to the conductive layer 13, the rolling rides on the foreign matter on the conductive layer 13 and turns to be resistant to wear. On the other hand, since the relay part 19 gets on a foreign material, the performance which removes a foreign material is low. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), when the relay portion 19 slides, the slip is weak against abrasion with the conductive layer 13, but it is possible to firmly remove foreign matter adhering to the conductive layer 13. is there.

As described above, in the case of this example, since the relay portion 19 has a cylindrical shape, the relay portion 19 can have a rolling portion and a sliding portion when the rotary connector 1 is rotated. For this reason, while maintaining abrasion resistance in the rolling part as before, foreign matter removal property is improved by the sliding part. Therefore, reliability in the rotary connector 1 can be improved. In addition, since the relay unit 19 makes line contact with the conductive layers 13 and 16 instead of point contact, the energization current can be increased. If the energization current of the relay unit 19 can be increased, this also leads to a reduction in the size of the rotary connector 1.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, it is good also considering the radial direction outer side edge part 19b (B point) of the relay part 19 as a supporting point. In this case, since the rotation distance of the point A when the rotary connector 1 rotates is insufficient, the relay portion 19 slides at multiple rotations at the point A. Thus, the relay part 19 may be slid at the point A, and by sliding the relay part 19 at the point A and rotating at the point B, the wear resistance with the conductive layer 13 and the removal of foreign matters. Both sexes can be achieved.

Moreover, as shown to Fig.7 (a), (b), the relay part 19 is not limited to a column shape, It is also as a taper shape (cylindrical column body from which two opposing planes became noncongruent). Good. The example of FIGS. 7A and 7B has a shape without the tip of the cone. FIG. 7A shows an example in which the smaller cone diameter side is used as a support point for rotation, and FIG. 7B shows an example in which the larger cone diameter side is used as a support point for rotation. is there. In any case, it is possible to achieve both wear resistance and foreign matter removability.

The relay unit 19 is arranged in a direction that causes its own axis L <b> 2 to run along the radial direction of the rotating body 8. Therefore, since the relay unit 19 is arranged in an optimum direction for rolling, it is advantageous to obtain a smooth rotation of the rotating body 8.

A plurality of relaying sections 19 are arranged along the rotating direction of the rotating body 8 (the direction of the arrow R in FIG. 1). Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of energization points by the relay unit 19, which is more advantageous for increasing the energization current.

The relay portion 19 is formed in a cylindrical shape or a tapered shape. Therefore, since it becomes possible to make the relay part 19 into the shape which is easy to roll, it becomes still more advantageous to obtain the smooth rotation of the rotary body 8. FIG.

Note that the embodiment is not limited to the configuration described so far, and may be modified as follows.
-As shown in FIG. 8, you may provide the foreign material inflow part 31 for the foreign material removed by the relay part 19 to enter into the inner wall of the accommodating part 20. As shown in FIG. In this case, the foreign matter removed by the relaying portion 19 can be collected in the foreign matter inflow portion 31, which is advantageous for maintaining good energization.

As shown in FIG. 9, the relay unit 19 is not limited to constructing only one channel, but may construct a plurality of channels. The figure is an example of two channels, and a group of relaying portions 19r arranged on the same circumference inside the rotary connector 1 on the same circumference forms the same channel, and on the same circumference outside the rotary connector 1 in the radial direction. The relay section 19s lined up in (1) constructs another channel. In this case, the rotary connector 1 can transmit signals of a plurality of channels.

The wiring constructed by the relay unit 19 is not limited to the signal line for data transfer, but may be a control line for controlling the device or a power supply line for supplying power to the device.
-The relay part 19 provided with two or more is not limited to the same shape altogether, The thing of a different shape may be included.

The number of relay units 19 is not limited to a plurality and may be only one.
-The shape of the relay part 19 may be either bottomed or bottomless.
-The rotation connector 1 is not limited to being applied to a vehicle, You may use it for another apparatus and apparatus.

Claims (6)

An electrical connection between a rotating body that can rotate with respect to the fixed body and the fixed body is rotated by the relay portion arranged between the fixed body and the rotating body. In rotating connectors that allow and maintain,
The relay part is formed as a cylindrical column body in which two opposing planes are congruent or non-congruent, so that one end part of both end parts in the axial direction of the relay part functions as a rolling part, A rotary connector characterized in that the other end functions as a sliding portion. 2. The rotary connector according to claim 1, wherein the relay unit is arranged in a direction in which its own axis is arranged along a radial direction of the rotating body. The rotary connector according to claim 1, wherein the relay unit is one of a plurality of relay units arranged along a rotation direction of the rotating body. The rotary connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the relay portion is formed in a cylindrical shape or a tapered shape. The rotary connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fixed body includes a foreign matter inflow portion into which the foreign matter removed by the relay portion enters. The relay unit is one of a plurality of relay units arranged along the rotation direction of the rotating body in a direction in which the axis of each relay unit coincides with the radial direction of the rotating body,
The fixed body includes a plurality of storage units that individually store the plurality of relay units.
The rotary connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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