Clock spring and automobile

Abstract

The utility model discloses a clock spring and an automobile, and relates to the technical field of automobile accessories, the clock spring comprises a stator and a rotor, the rotor is rotatably arranged in the stator, a containing cavity is formed between the rotor and the stator, the clock spring further comprises at least two signal wire harnesses and an adjusting wire belt arranged between the at least two signal wire harnesses, the two ends of each signal wire harness are connected with the stator and the rotor respectively to achieve signal transmission between the stator and the rotor, each signal wire harness comprises a signal wire set and grounding wires arranged on the two sides of the signal wire set, the adjusting wire belt and the at least two signal wire harnesses are wound in the containing cavity in a U shape, and the two ends of the adjusting wire belt are connected with the stator and the rotor respectively. And the adjusting wire belt is used for reliably and stably transmitting signals of the signal wire harnesses and adjusting the balance of the movement of the at least two signal wire harnesses. According to the clock spring, the problem that reliable and stable transmission cannot be ensured when a signal with a preset high transmission rate passes through the clock spring is solved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application relates to the technical field of automobile accessories, in particular to a clock spring and an automobile. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of intelligentization and networking of automobiles, the communication interaction speed between the related electronic components of the automobile is also increasingly high.

[0003] In the related art, a rotatable steering wheel of an automobile needs a rotatable electrical connection with a stationary wiring for the functions such as airbag, control switch, hand-off detection, steering wheel heating, screen display and the like on the steering wheel of the automobile to interact with other electronic components on the vehicle body, and for this purpose, a corresponding clock spring is used to establish the function of rotation interaction. However, the clock spring of the automobile on the market can only meet the reliable transmission of signals at a lower transmission rate, and if a higher signal transmission rate is required, the clock spring cannot guarantee the reliable transmission of signals.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary for those skilled in the art to provide a clock spring capable of reliably transmitting signals at a high transmission rate and an automobile having the clock spring. CONTENT OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The application aims to provide a clock spring and an automobile, and solve the problem that signals at a high transmission rate cannot be reliably transmitted through the clock spring.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the application provides a clock spring, which comprises a rotor and a stator, the rotor is rotatably arranged in the stator, and a containing chamber is formed between the rotor and the stator, and the clock spring further comprises:

[0007] At least two signal wire bundles, two ends of the signal wire bundle are connected to the stator and the rotor respectively to realize signal transmission between the stator and the rotor, and the signal wire bundle comprises a signal line group and a grounding wire arranged on both sides of the signal line group;

[0008] An adjusting wire belt is arranged between the at least two signal wire bundles, and the at least two signal wire bundles are arranged in the containing chamber in a U-shaped winding manner, two ends of the adjusting wire belt are connected to the stator and the rotor respectively, the adjusting wire belt is used for reliably and stably transmitting signals of the signal wire bundle, and is used for adjusting the balance of movement of the at least two signal wire bundles.

[0009] In some embodiments, the adjusting wire belt is a metal wire belt or a plastic wire belt, the adjusting wire belt is in a flat shape or a belt shape, and the adjusting wire belt is used for adjusting the characteristic impedance of the signal wire bundle to reliably and stably transmit signals of the signal wire bundle.

[0010] In some embodiments, the metal wire belt is arranged in a grounded manner.

[0011] In some embodiments, the adjusting wire belt comprises a flexible body and a metal layer attached to the outside of the flexible body.

[0012] In some embodiments, the number of adjusting wire belts is at least two, and the at least two adjusting wire belts are arranged adjacent to each other between the at least two signal wire bundles.

[0013] In some embodiments, all the adjusting wire belts and all the signal wire bundles comprise U-shaped bending portions, and all the U-shaped bending portions are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction.

[0014] In some embodiments, the ground wire is a single-ended ground wire.

[0015] In some embodiments, the ground wire is a double-ended ground wire.

[0016] In some embodiments, one end of any signal wire bundle is mechanically connected to the rotor and electrically connected to a first socket positioned on the rotor, and the other end of any signal wire bundle is mechanically connected to the stator and electrically connected to a second socket positioned on the stator.

[0017] The application also provides an automobile comprising a steering wheel and a steering column, comprising the clock spring of any one of the above, the stator of the clock spring is fixed to the steering column, and the rotor of the clock spring is used to follow the rotation of the steering wheel.

[0018] With respect to the above background, the clock spring provided by the embodiments of the application comprises a stator and a rotor, the rotor is rotatably arranged in the stator, a containing chamber is formed between the rotor and the stator, the clock spring further comprises at least two signal wire bundles and an adjusting wire belt arranged between the at least two signal wire bundles, wherein the two ends of the signal wire bundle are respectively connected to the stator and the rotor to achieve signal transmission between the stator and the rotor, the signal wire bundle comprises a signal wire group and a ground wire arranged on both sides of the signal wire group, the adjusting wire belt and the at least two signal wire bundles are arranged in the containing chamber in a U-shaped winding manner, the two ends of the adjusting wire belt are respectively connected to the stator and the rotor, the adjusting wire belt is used to reliably and stably transmit the signal of the signal wire bundle and adjust the balance of the movement of the at least two signal wire bundles.

[0019] The clock spring thus arranged has the following beneficial effects:

[0020] Firstly, the application arranges at least one adjusting wire belt between the at least two signal wire bundles, which can adjust the characteristic impedance required for the signal transmission of the signal wire bundle, so that the signal can be reliably and stably transmitted through the signal wire bundle, and the adjusting wire belt is also used to ensure that each wire bundle wound on the rotor in the containing chamber cooperatively winds up or unwinds along with the rotor during the rotation of the rotor relative to the stator, thereby ensuring the movement balance of each wire bundle in the containing chamber.

[0021] Secondly, the signal lines on both sides of the signal line group in the signal line bundle are grounded, the ground lines on both sides of the signal line group are used to play a shielding role to reduce the influence of external electromagnetic interference, and at the same time, are used to adjust the characteristic impedance required by the signal transmission of the signal line bundle itself, and further improve the reliability and stability of the signal transmission.

[0022] To sum up, the clock spring provided by the embodiment of the present application can adjust the characteristic impedance required by the signal transmission of the signal line bundle itself, can also play a shielding role, and can improve the anti-interference capability of the signal line bundle, so as to ensure that the signal can be reliably and stably transmitted under the premise of meeting the preset high transmission rate, and solve the problem that the preset high transmission rate signal cannot be reliably and stably transmitted when passing through the clock spring. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the related technical solutions, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiment or related technical solution description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can also be obtained according to the provided drawings without creative labor for those skilled in the art.

[0024] Figure 1 is a disassembled schematic view of the clock spring in the embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of the clock spring shown;

[0026] Figure 3 is Figure 1 is a first kind of line bundle distribution schematic view in the clock spring shown;

[0027] Figure 4 is Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the line bundle shown;

[0028] Figure 5 is Figure 1 is a second kind of line bundle distribution schematic view in the clock spring shown;

[0029] Figure 6 is Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the line bundle shown.

[0030] Wherein:

[0031] 10-rotor;

[0032] 20-line bundle structure, 21-signal line bundle, 211-signal line group, 212-ground line, 22-adjusting line belt, 221-U-shaped bending part.

[0033] 30-stator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all the other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0035] In order for those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the present application, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0036] It should be noted that the "upper end, lower end, left side, right side" and the like described below are defined based on the drawings of the specification.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The clock spring provided by the embodiments of the present application includes a rotor 10 and a stator 30, the rotor 10 is rotatably arranged in the stator 30, and a containing chamber is formed between the rotor 10 and the stator 30. The clock spring further includes a wire harness structure 20, both ends of the wire harness structure 20 are connected with the rotor 10 and the stator 30 respectively.

[0038] It should be noted that the clock spring in the present application is used to establish an electrical connection relationship between a rotatable steering wheel of an automobile and a stationary wiring, and the rotor 10 and the stator 30 cooperatively define a containing chamber for accommodating the wire harness structure 20. One end of the wire harness structure 20 is connected with the rotor 10, and the other end is connected with the stationary wiring of the automobile. The wire harness structure 20 is wound on the rotor 10, and when the rotor 10 rotates together with the steering wheel, the wire harness structure 20 is unwound or wound tightly. In addition, the wire harness structure 20 is long enough to allow the steering wheel to rotate within a predetermined range of travel.

[0039] Please refer to Figures 3 to 6 In the present application, the wire harness structure 20 includes at least two signal wire harnesses 21 and an adjusting wire belt 22 arranged between the at least two signal wire harnesses 21. The two ends of the signal wire harness 21 are connected with the stator 30 and the rotor 10 respectively to achieve signal transmission between the stator 30 and the rotor 10. The signal wire harness 21 includes a signal wire group 211 and a ground wire 212 arranged on both sides of the signal wire group 211. The adjusting wire belt 22 and the at least two signal wire harnesses 21 are both U-shaped and wound in the containing chamber. The two ends of the adjusting wire belt 22 are connected with the stator 30 and the rotor 10 respectively. The adjusting wire belt 22 is used to reliably and stably transmit the signal of the signal wire harness 21, and to adjust the balance of the movement of the at least two signal wire harnesses 21.

[0040] It needs to be emphasized that in order to meet the fast response of signal interaction between parts on the intelligent and networked car, some parts will use high-speed CAN-FD (English full name: CAN with Flexible Data-Rate, a serial communication protocol), FlexRay (a high-speed, real-time, distributed automotive network communication system) or internet bus for communication, and the rate will reach 10 Mbit / s or even higher. Similarly, some functions on the steering wheel will also use such signals for communication. Therefore, in order to realize reliable and stable transmission of signals through the clock spring signal wire harness 21, the application sets at least one adjusting wire harness 22 between at least two signal wire harnesses 21, and grounds the wires on both sides of the signal wire group 211 in the signal wire harness 21.

[0041] In this way, the application sets at least one adjusting wire harness 22 between at least two signal wire harnesses 21. On the one hand, at least one adjusting wire harness 22 is set between at least two signal wire harnesses 21 to adjust the characteristic impedance required for signal transmission of the signal wire harness 21, so that the signal can be reliably and stably transmitted through the signal wire harness 21. On the other hand, the adjusting wire harness 22 is also used to ensure that each wire harness wound on the rotor 10 in the accommodation chamber cooperates with the rotor 10 to tighten or unwind during the rotation of the rotor 10 relative to the stator 30, thereby ensuring the movement balance of each wire harness in the accommodation chamber.

[0042] At the same time, the application grounds the wires on both sides of the signal wire group 211 in the signal wire harness 21. The ground wires 212 on both sides of the signal wire group 211 are used to shield and reduce the influence of external electromagnetic interference. At the same time, they are also used to adjust the characteristic impedance required for signal transmission of the signal wire harness 21, further improving the reliability and stability of signal transmission.

[0043] In summary, compared with the traditional clock spring which can only meet the reliable transmission of signals with a rate lower than 500 kbit / s, the clock spring provided by the application can adjust the characteristic impedance required for signal transmission of the signal wire harness 21, and also has a shielding effect to improve the anti-interference ability of the signal wire harness 21, thereby ensuring reliable and stable transmission of signals under the premise of meeting the preset high transmission rate (generally greater than 500 kbit / s and less than 2 Mbit / s). The problem of not being able to guarantee reliable and stable transmission of signals with a preset high transmission rate through the clock spring is solved.

[0044] In some embodiments, the adjusting wire belt 22 is a metal wire belt or a plastic wire belt, which is flat or strip-shaped. The metal wire belt refers to a wire belt with a metal material throughout, which can be integrally formed with a metal material, such as copper or aluminum. The plastic wire belt refers to a wire belt with a plastic material throughout, which can be integrally formed with a plastic material, such as nylon or polyvinyl chloride. The metal wire belt or the plastic wire belt is used to adjust the characteristic impedance of the signal wire harness 21, so that the signal of the signal wire harness 21 can be reliably and stably transmitted.

[0045] It should be noted that the characteristic impedance refers to the inherent impedance of the signal wire harness 21, which is usually a constant value, and is related to factors such as the geometric shape of the signal wire harness 21, the medium characteristics, and the signal propagation speed. In signal integrity, the characteristic impedance determines the reflection and impedance matching of the signal on the signal wire harness 21. In the present application, by increasing the characteristic impedance, the reflection and transmission loss can be reduced, thereby improving the transmission rate and efficiency of the signal.

[0046] In the present embodiment, by increasing the metal wire belt between the signal wire harnesses 21, the electromagnetic field distribution of the signal wire harnesses 21 can be controlled, thereby affecting the characteristic impedance. This is particularly important for high-speed signal transmission applicable to the present application, which can reduce the reflection and attenuation of the signal and improve the reliability and stability of the signal transmission at a predetermined high transmission rate. By increasing the plastic wire belt between the signal wire harnesses 21, the spacing between the two signal wire harnesses 21 is increased, thereby affecting the characteristic impedance.

[0047] Further, the metal wire belt used in the above is provided with a ground.

[0048] In this way, the metal wire belt is configured as a ground or a shielding wire. On the basis of improving the characteristic impedance of the signal wire harness 21 to reliably and stably transmit the signal of the signal wire harness 21, the metal wire belt can also provide a reference ground for the signal and play a shielding role to reduce the interference between signals, especially the influence of external signals on the signal transmission of the signal wire harness 21.

[0049] In some embodiments, the adjusting wire belt 22 includes a flexible body and a metal layer attached to the outside of the flexible body.

[0050] In the present embodiment, the flexible body can be a plastic body. The flexibility of the body is to ensure that the wire harnesses wound on the rotor 10 in the accommodation chamber follow the rotor 10 to cooperatively wind or unwind during the rotation of the rotor 10 relative to the stator 30, thereby ensuring the movement balance of the wire harnesses in the accommodation chamber.

[0051] It should be noted that if the signal line bundle 21 transmits signals at a rate that is greatly affected by the surrounding environment, the adjusting wire belt 22 can be made of a metal material with good electrical conductivity, such as copper wire, in addition to being made of a non-metallic material (mainly plastic). A layer of metal material can also be attached to the plastic material through different processes.

[0052] The above arrangement mainly plays a shielding role (both external influences and influences on the outside can be shielded), reduces the influence of electromagnetic interference, improves the anti-interference ability of the signal line bundle 21, and ensures reliable and stable transmission of signals at a rate of less than 2 Mbit / s.

[0053] In some embodiments, the number of adjusting wire belts 22 is at least two, and the at least two adjusting wire belts 22 are arranged adjacent to each other between the at least two signal line bundles 21.

[0054] Taking the example of arranging two adjusting wire belts 22 between two signal line bundles 21, the two signal line bundles 21 serve as a channel for signal transmission between the rotating rotor 10 and the fixed stator 30, and the two adjusting wire belts 22 are arranged adjacent to each other between the two signal line bundles 21. Compared to arranging one adjusting wire belt 22 between the two signal line bundles 21, arranging two adjusting wire belts 22 between the two signal line bundles 21 can further increase the characteristic impedance required for signal transmission of the signal line bundle 21 itself, so that the signal can be transmitted more reliably and stably at a rate of less than 2 Mbit / s.

[0055] In some embodiments, all adjusting wire belts 22 and all signal line bundles 21 include U-shaped bending portions 221, and all U-shaped bending portions 221 are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction.

[0056] For example, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the number of signal line bundles 21 and adjusting wire belts 22 is two, and the four U-shaped bending portions 221 are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction, that is, the distance between adjacent two U-shaped bending portions 221 in the circumferential direction is equal. In this way, during the rotation of the rotor 10 relative to the stator 30, the four wire bundles wound on the rotor 10 cooperatively tighten or unwind with the rotor 10, thereby ensuring the balance and stability of the tightening or unwinding movement of the rotor 10 and the wire bundles.

[0057] For example, referring to Figure 5 and Figure 6The number of signal wire bundles 21 is set to two, and the number of adjusting wire bands 22 is set to three, wherein two adjacent adjusting wire bands 22 are arranged between the two signal wire bundles 21, and five U-shaped bending portions 221 are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction, that is, the spacing of the adjacent two U-shaped bending portions 221 in the circumferential direction is equal. In this way, during the rotation of the rotor 10 relative to the stator 30, the five wire bundles wound on the rotor 10 cooperatively tighten or unwind along with the rotor 10, thereby ensuring the balance and stability of the tightening or unwinding movement of the rotor 10 and the wire bundles.

[0058] In some embodiments, the ground wire 212 is a single-ended ground wire.

[0059] In this embodiment, the metal shielding layer (i.e., the ground wire 212) of the signal wire bundle 21 is directly grounded at one end and not grounded at the other end or grounded through protection. There is an induced voltage between the metal shielding layer of the non-grounded end and the ground, and the induced voltage is proportional to the length of the signal wire bundle 21. However, there is no potential circulating through the shielding layer. Single-ended grounding uses potential difference suppression to achieve the purpose of eliminating electromagnetic interference, and is suitable for shorter signal wire bundles 21.

[0060] In some embodiments, the ground wire 212 is a double-ended ground wire.

[0061] In this embodiment, the ground wire 212 of the signal wire bundle 21 is connected to the ground at both ends. The ground wire 212 does not generate an induced voltage, but will generate a shielding circulating current under the influence of the interference magnetic flux. Double-ended grounding is suitable for digital signals or differential signals. However, excessive ground current can also affect the signal, and double-ended grounding can provide better shielding effect.

[0062] In summary, since the single-ended ground wire 212 can reduce potential circulating current and ground interference, the single-ended signal wire bundle 21 is suitable for shorter signal wire bundles 21 and analog signals. The double-ended ground wire 212 can provide better shielding effect and is suitable for digital signals or differential signals.

[0063] The actual selection of the grounding method needs to be determined according to the specific application scenario and interference situation.

[0064] In addition, the signal wire harness 21 comprises a plurality of metal wires arranged in parallel and clamped in the middle by two plastic films, the metal wires are provided with a wire width according to functions, the metal wires can be copper, aluminum or other conductive materials, the plurality of metal wires are used for transmitting signals (a signal wire group 211) or connecting power supply (power lines), grounding (ground lines 212), etc. The signal wire group 211 is a CAN_H and CAN_L signal line, wherein the CAN_H and CAN_L signal line is a group of signal lines in a controller area network (CAN) bus, and the CAN_H and CAN_L (CAN Low) together constitute two differential signal lines of the CAN bus.

[0065] In some embodiments, the two ends of any signal wire harness 21 are connected with a terminal, one end of any signal wire harness 21 is mechanically connected with the rotor 10 and electrically connected with a first socket positioned on the rotor 10, and the other end of any signal wire harness 21 is mechanically connected with the stator 30 and electrically connected with a second socket positioned on the stator 30, so as to establish a reliable electrical connection relationship between the rotatable rotor 10 and the stationary stator 30, to facilitate reliable and stable interaction between various functions on the rotating steering wheel and other electronic components on the vehicle body.

[0066] In some embodiments, a limiting shell can also be arranged in the accommodating chamber, the limiting shell is configured to be adapted to the configuration of the corresponding wire harness in the accommodating chamber, and correspondingly, each wire harness is arranged in the limiting shell in a one-to-one correspondence, or in other words, the limiting shell divides the accommodating chamber into a plurality of limiting cavities. On the one hand, the limiting shell can limit the corresponding wire harness, ensure that the wire harness rotates within a predetermined stroke when the rotor 10 rotates, and ensure the stability of the movement of each wire harness. On the other hand, the limiting shell can also play a shielding role to avoid signal / electrical interference between the signal wire harnesses 21, isolate and protect the electrical connection of each wire harness, and improve safety.

[0067] In summary, by using the above-mentioned clock spring, at least one adjusting wire harness 22 is arranged between at least two signal wire harnesses 21, which adjusts the characteristic impedance of the signal wire group 211 in the signal wire harness 21, meets the stable transmission of related speed signals, grounds the wires on both sides of the signal wire group 211 in the signal wire harness 21, plays a certain shielding role, so that the transmitted signal does not affect the outside, and at the same time, is also affected as little as possible by the outside. In this way, some functional parts on the steering wheel can use a higher speed signal transmission protocol, some more advanced functions can be used on the steering wheel, the response time of the function is shortened, thereby improving the safety characteristics of the whole vehicle and improving the experience of the end user.

[0068] The automobile provided by the application comprises a steering wheel and a steering column, and comprises the clock spring described in the above specific embodiments. The stator 30 of the clock spring is fixed to the steering column, and the rotor 10 of the clock spring is used to follow the rotation of the steering wheel.

[0069] It should be noted that the relational terms herein such as first and second and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity from another entity, without necessarily requiring or implying any actual relationship or order between such entities.

[0070] The clock spring and the automobile provided by the application are described in detail above. The principles and implementation manners of the application are described by applying specific examples in this paper. The above description of the examples is only used to help understand the scheme of the application and its core idea. It should be pointed out that, for those skilled in the art, some improvements and modifications can be made to the application without departing from the principles of the application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the application.

Claims

1. A clock spring comprising a rotor and a stator, said rotor being rotatably provided in said stator, a housing chamber being formed between said rotor and said stator, characterized in that, The clock spring further comprises: at least two signal wire bundles, two ends of the signal wire bundles being connected to the stator and the rotor respectively to realize signal transmission between the stator and the rotor, the signal wire bundles comprising a signal wire group and ground wires arranged on both sides of the signal wire group; adjusting wire bands arranged between the at least two signal wire bundles, and the at least two signal wire bundles being arranged in the accommodating chamber in a U-shaped winding manner, two ends of the adjusting wire bands being connected to the stator and the rotor respectively, the adjusting wire bands being used for reliably and stably transmitting signals of the signal wire bundles and adjusting balance of movements of the at least two signal wire bundles.

2. The clock spring of claim 1, wherein, The adjusting wire bands are metal wire bands or plastic wire bands, the adjusting wire bands being flat or strip-shaped, and the adjusting wire bands being used for adjusting characteristic impedances of the signal wire bundles to reliably and stably transmit signals of the signal wire bundles.

3. The clock spring of claim 2, wherein, The metal wire bands are arranged in a ground manner.

4. The clock spring of claim 1, wherein, The adjusting wire bands comprise flexible bodies and metal layers attached to outer portions of the flexible bodies.

5. The clock spring of claim 1, wherein, The number of the adjusting wire bands is at least two, and the at least two adjusting wire bands are arranged adjacent to each other between the at least two signal wire bundles.

6. The clock spring of claim 5, wherein, All the adjusting wire bands and all the signal wire bundles comprise U-shaped bending portions, and the U-shaped bending portions are uniformly distributed in a circumferential direction.

7. The clock spring of claim 1, wherein, The ground wires are single-end grounded ground wires.

8. The clock spring of claim 1, wherein, The ground wires are double-end grounded ground wires.

9. The clock spring of claim 1, wherein, One end of any signal wire bundle is mechanically connected to the rotor and electrically connected to a first socket positioned on the rotor, and the other end of the signal wire bundle is mechanically connected to the stator and electrically connected to a second socket positioned on the stator.

10. An automobile comprising a steering wheel and a steering column, characterized in that The clock spring is fixed to the steering column, and the rotor of the clock spring is used for following rotation of the steering wheel.

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