Device for providing an electrically conductive connection between two contact points which can be moved linearly relative to each other

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for providing an electrically conductive connection between two contact points which can be moved linearly relative to each other. According to the invention, the device is designed with an elongated housing with two distal ends, wherein a first contact point is arranged on one housing longitudinal face in a stationary manner, and a second contact point is arranged on the housing longitudinal face lying opposite thereto in a moveable manner in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the housing. The interior of the housing is equipped with at least two flat-ribbon cables, the respective ends of which are rigidly connected to the first contact point and to the second contact point. A first flat-ribbon cable has a first U-shaped turning section facing in the direction of the first distal end of the housing, a second flat-ribbon cable has a second U-shaped turning section facing in the direction of the second distal end of the housing, and a spacer is provided between the two U-shaped turning sections, said spacer specifying a minimum spacing between the sections.

Description

[0001] Device for providing an electrically conductive connection between two contact points that are linearly movable relative to one another

[0002] The invention relates to a device for providing an electrically conductive connection between two contact points that are linearly movable relative to one another.

[0003] Such devices are used in applications where two elements that can move relative to each other are electrically connected. This is the case, for example, with the seats of a motor vehicle, which can be moved a certain distance in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, but are nevertheless equipped with electrical loads such as adjustment motors or heaters. Electrical contact is currently usually established via cable harnesses located beneath the seat, which are dragged along the travel path. The use of sliding contact rails would also be conceivable here, but this is not practical due to possible contact problems, for example, caused by contamination or damage.

[0004] While the aforementioned contacting via a looped cable harness is acceptable for conventional vehicle seats, this will not necessarily be the case in the future. Seats in future vehicles will have significantly expanded movement capabilities. This will include, in particular, longitudinal adjustment that extends far beyond the length of the seat itself and may well exceed one meter. This would result in exposed cable harnesses for long travel distances, which is neither visually nor safety-wise acceptable. Therefore, there is a need for a robust and visually appealing electrical contact for both power and data applications with particularly long travel distances. Such a contact is provided by the device according to the invention, which comprises an elongated housing with two distal ends, with a first contact point being arranged stationary on one long side of the housing.and a second contact point is arranged on the opposite longitudinal side of the housing so as to be movable in the direction of its longitudinal extension, wherein at least two ribbon cables are accommodated in the interior of the housing, which are firmly connected by their respective ends to the first contact point on the one hand and to the second contact point on the other hand, wherein a first ribbon cable has a first U-shaped turning section pointing in the direction of the first distal end of the housing and a second ribbon cable has a second U-shaped turning section pointing in the direction of the second distal end of the housing, wherein a spacer is provided between the two U-shaped turning sections, which spacer specifies a minimum distance between them.

[0005] In an advantageous embodiment, the spacer has rollers at its ends, the radii of which are slightly smaller than the radii of the U-shaped turning sections, and along which the ribbon cables roll during their movement.

[0006] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the spacer is guided by pins received in longitudinal grooves of the housing.

[0007] To ensure that the ends of the spacer are securely positioned on the inside of the U-shaped turning sections of the ribbon cables, the spacer can be provided with a spring element that causes it to spread in its longitudinal direction.

[0008] Further advantageous embodiments of the subject matter according to the invention are specified in the further subclaims and are explained in more detail with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings. The single figure shows a longitudinal section through a device designed according to the invention with the movable contact point a) in a central position b) in a position deflected to the maximum in one direction.

[0009] As shown in the drawing, a device designed according to the invention comprises an elongated housing 3 with two distal ends 3a, 3b. A first contact point 1 is arranged in a stationary manner on the lower longitudinal side of the housing 3 in the illustration. This contact point 1 is preferably designed as a plug-in connector to which a matching mating connector, which is for example part of a vehicle wiring harness, can be connected. A second contact point 2 is arranged on the opposite longitudinal side of the housing 3, which is the upper longitudinal side in the illustration. This second contact point 2 is also preferably designed as a plug-in connector, to which in this case a mating connector, which is for example part of a seat wiring harness, is connected. This second contact point 2 is arranged so as to be movable in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the housing 3. For this purpose, the corresponding plug-in connector is guided along the longitudinal extent of the housing 3, for example by a sliding bearing.The opening required for this purpose in the housing 3 is covered on both sides of the movable connector, for example by a blind or closed by a “broom strip”.

[0010] At least two ribbon cables 4, 5 are accommodated inside the housing 3, which are firmly connected by their respective ends to the first contact point 1 on the one hand and to the second contact point 2 on the other. For better differentiation, the first ribbon cable 4 is shown in dashed lines and the second ribbon cable 5 is shown in dash-dotted lines. At least one first ribbon cable 4 has at least one electrical conductor track, which forms a galvanic connection between two contacts of the respective first contact point 1 and the second contact point 2. As a rule, however, several parallel conductor tracks will be present, each connecting two contacts to one another. The second ribbon cable 5 can also have one or more conductor tracks for connecting contacts. If only a smaller number of conductor tracks is required, the second ribbon cable 5 can also be used as a so-called dummy cable, i.e.be designed without electrical conductors.

[0011] The two ribbon cables 4, 5 are arranged in the housing 3 such that they each have a U-shaped turning section 4a, 5a, wherein a first ribbon cable 4 has a first U-shaped turning section 4a pointing in the direction of the first distal end 3a of the housing 3 and a second ribbon cable 5 has a second U-shaped turning section 5a pointing in the direction of the second distal end 3b of the housing 3. The lengths of the two ribbon cables 4, 5 are preferably equal and each slightly greater than half the length of the housing 3. In the configuration described and apparent from the drawing, this means that the distance between the two U-shaped turning sections 4a, 5a from one another also corresponds approximately to half the length of the housing 3.

[0012] This design ensures that when the movable contact point 2 is moved, one of the two ribbon cables 4, 5 is always pulled, while the other is "pushed." While the ribbon cable 4, 5 subject to the pulling movement follows this without any problems while maintaining its U-shaped turning section 4a, 5a, the ribbon cable 4, 5 subject to the pushing movement may, particularly if its rigidity is insufficient, undesired folding of the ribbon cable 4, 5, resulting in uncontrolled behavior that may damage the ribbon cable 4, 5. For this reason, the device according to the invention includes a spacer 6 arranged between the two U-shaped turning sections 4a, 5a of the ribbon cables 4, 5 and defining a minimum distance between them.This spacer 6 can be designed as a simple, elongated plastic part whose length is slightly smaller than the distance between the two U-shaped turning sections 4a, 5a, i.e., in the described embodiment, approximately half the length of the housing 3. At its ends, the spacer 6 has rounded portions with a radius that is slightly smaller than the radii of the U-shaped turning sections 4a, 5a, and along which the ribbon cables 4, 5 slide during their movement. Preferably, however, rollers 7, 8 with such a radius are provided at the ends of the spacer, along which the ribbon cables 4, 5 roll during their movement.

[0013] In a simple embodiment, the spacer 6 can be loosely received in the housing 3. However, it is preferred that it be guided by pins that extend in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and are mounted in longitudinal grooves of the housing 3. If the spacer 6 is designed with rollers 7, 8, these pins can be formed, for example, by extensions of the axes of these rollers 7, 8.

[0014] The spacer 6 can also be provided with one or more spring elements 9, which cause it to expand in its longitudinal direction. This ensures that the ends of the spacer 6 always rest securely against the inner sides of the U-shaped turning sections 4a, 5a of the ribbon cables 4, 5.

Claims

Claims: Device for providing an electrically conductive connection between two contact points (1, 2) that are linearly movable relative to each other, comprising an elongated housing (3) with two distal ends (3a, 3b), wherein a first contact point (1) is fixedly arranged on one longitudinal side of the housing (3), and a second contact point (2) is movably arranged on the opposite longitudinal side of the housing (3) in the direction of its longitudinal extent, wherein at least two ribbon cables (4, 5) are accommodated inside the housing (3), the ends of which are fixedly connected on one side to the first contact point (1) and on the other side to the second contact point (2).wherein a first ribbon cable (4) has a first U-shaped turning section (4a) pointing towards the first distal end (3a) of the housing (3) and a second ribbon cable (5) has a second U-shaped turning section (5a) pointing towards the second distal end (3b) of the housing (3), wherein a spacer (6) is provided between the two U-shaped turning sections (4a, 5a) which defines a minimum distance between them. Device according to claim 1, wherein the lengths of the two ribbon cables (4, 5) are approximately equal and each is slightly greater than half the length of the housing (3). Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacer (6) has rollers (7, 8) at its ends, the radii of which are slightly smaller than the radii of the U-shaped turning sections (4a, 5a), and along which the ribbon cables (4, 5) roll during their movement. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the spacer (6) is guided by pins received in longitudinal grooves of the housing (3). Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the spacer (6) is provided with at least one spring element (9) which causes it to spread in its longitudinal direction. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein one of the at least two ribbon cables (4, 5) is designed as a dummy cable without electrical conductors.

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