The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.

Furukawa Automotive Systems Inc.

Ryoichi Adachi

Kazutaka Kamiya

Masatoshi Ushiyama

Yoshimi Noro

In an accommodation space formed by a rotator and a stator, a flat cable and a dummy cable are accommodated. A retainer placed in a bottom part of the accommodation space is provided with a press guide for allowing a reversed part of the dummy cable, at which a winding direction thereof is reversed, to be pressed thereon.

Rotatable connector device

A rotatable connector device includes a steering roll connector that accommodates a flat cable in an accommodation space in the state where the flat cable can be wound and unwound. Also, a plurality of rotatable rollers are located on a top surface of a retainer concentrically with the retainer at an equal interval in a circumferential direction of the retainer. A regulation section on which a reversed part is allowed to be pressed is provided on the top surface of the retainer at a position away from one of the plurality of rotatable rollers, namely, a rotatable roller, on the side of a part of the rotatable roller along which the reversed part can be wound. The regulation section is away from the part of the rotatable roller by a gap which allows the reversed part to contact or detached from the rotatable roller.

A rotary connector device includes a stator and a rotator which rotates with respect to the stator concentrically with a steering; an accommodating space having a ring shape in a plan view, which is formed inside the stator and the rotator, and which accommodates a cable for electrically connecting the rotator and the stator in a wound state; and a retainer which is located on a bottom surface of the accommodating space so as to be able to guide the cable to rotate concentrically circle with the steering. The rotator includes an inner peripheral tube portion which forms an inner peripheral surface of the accommodating space. A rotator side abutting portion which abuts an upper surface inner peripheral portion of the retainer in a slidable manner is formed on a lower portion of the inner peripheral tube portion.

Rotary connector device

A rotary connector device includes a stator, a rotator rotatable relative to the stator, a base ring arranged between the stator and the rotator, a flexible flat cable (), and a rotating roller. The flexible flat cable () has a conductor part (), and is configured to electrically connect the stator side and the rotator side to each other. The rotating roller is rotatably supported on the base ring, and brings an outer circumferential surface thereof into contact with the flexible flat cable (), thereby guiding it. The rotating roller is molded by using a die. When a plane including a parting line that is formed at the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller at a time of the molding is defined as an imaginary plane (), the imaginary plane () is perpendicular to an axis of the rotating roller and does not overlap the conductor part () of the flexible flat cable ().

Rotating connector device

A rotating connectorcomprising a rotating caseand a stationary caseconnected together in a manner that the rotating casecan rotate relative to the stationary caseand that an annular space S is formed inside, and a plurality of flat cablesheld in the annular space S. In the annular space S, the flat cablesare wound like a swirl, being U-turned at about the middle thereof with the help of a rollerarranged in the space S, and fixed to the rotating caseat one end and the stationary caseat the other end. The rotating casecan rotate relative to the stationary casea plurality of times, with the winding of flat cablesbeing tightened or loosened. The flat cableis smaller in thickness than the flat cablewhich is U-turned by being directly guided by a U-turn rollerThus, the flap noise which tends to be produced when the winding is tightened is reduced or prevented.

Rotating connector

The rotating connector contains a first case and a second case, which are combined to be rotatable relative to each other and define an annular space inside; a ring member having a plurality of rollers arranged in the circumferential direction within the annular space, the ring member being capable of moving in the circumferential direction within the annular space; and a spirally wound belt-shaped transmission line having an inverting section at an intermediate portion thereof, where the winding direction of the transmission line is inverted by one of the rollers, one end and the other end of the spirally wound transmission line being connected to the first case and to the second case respectively. The second case has a bottom plate; the ring member contains, among the plurality of rollers, regulating rollers each having an abutting shaft to be abutted against the bottom plate, the abutting shaft controlling the face of the regulating roller opposing the bottom plate not to contact with the bottom plate.

Reduced noise rotating connector

A flat cable connection terminal giving stable connection terminal giving stable connection with a conductor (2) in a flat cable (1). The connection terminal (30) has a fork (31). The fork (31) has flat prongs (34) of a thickness equal to or somewhat smaller than the width of the conductor (2) and thick portions (32) projecting partially out from the flat prongs and of a thickness for fitting in the groove (14) of the terminal holder. The thick portions (32) are disposed to closely fit between partitions (12) to laterally stabilize the connections. The prongs (34) are formed thinner toward the frontmost ends. Further, the frontmost ends (33) of the prongs (34) facing each other across the (c) comprising the fork (31) have inclinations (33a) at the sides facing each other across the slot (c) so as to facilitate insertion over the bent back conductor (2). The front ends (33) of the prongs (34) facing each other across the slot (c) comprising the fork are formed in wedge shapes so as to partially press against the conductor.

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Shiga, Japan

Ryoichi Adachi