Yazaki Corporation

Takeshi Sakakibara

Satoshi Ishikawa

Hiraku Tanaka

Hidehiro Ichikawa

Nobuhiko Suzuki

Hiroyuki Okamoto

Masakazu Umemura

Hiroaki Iizuka

Kazuhito Sakai

Kazuya Arai

A relay device includes a first rotor having an inner cylinder, a second rotor having an outer cylinder, a flexible flat cable wound spirally in an annular space defined between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder and a C-shaped moving member arranged so as to move along the annular space. The C-shaped moving member consists of an inner horizontal rib, an outer horizontal rib, an upper vertical rib and a lower vertical rib. When the flexible flat cable is rewound from the inner cylinder by the relative rotation between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, the contact area of the moving member with the cable can be reduced because the inner horizontal rib is in the form of a plate material projecting from the inner peripheral face of the moving member horizontally. Thus, it is possible to reduce the frictional force of the moving member on the cable and to prevent the cable from buckling.

Relay device for rotating members

A relay apparatus for relatively rotating members includes a first member (rotating member) having an internal cylindrical portion, a second member (fixed member) having an external cylindrical portion which surrounds the internal cylindrical portion with a predetermined gap and is relatively rotated with respect to the internal cylindrical portion, a flexible flat cable which is stored along an annular space between the internal cylindrical portion and the external cylindrical portion to be spirally wound and which has an inner peripheral portion held by the internal cylindrical portion and an outer peripheral portion held by the external cylindrical portion, and a C-shaped moving member, movably arranged along the space, for inverting the flexible flat cable 13 in an opening portion 21c. One member of the first member 11 and the second member as rotatably driven and, has a flange formed on the cylindrical portion, and the moving member is arranged on the flange.

Relay apparatus for relative rotating members

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for electrically interconnecting parts on the steering wheel and column, respectively, of a motor vehicle by interconnecting an under cover, which is fixed to the column, and a rotator, which is fixed to the wheel so as to rotate relatively to the under cover as the wheel rotates, through a long flexible flat cable with its intermediate portion housed between the under cover and the rotator. The under cover has a junction. Fixed to the under cover is an internal gear having a positioner integral with it. The positioner is inserted into the junction so as to position the internal gear relatively to the under cover.

Apparatus for electrically interconnecting parts on the steering wheel

Growing community of inventors

Shizuoka-ken, Japan

Takeshi Sakakibara