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

Abstract

According to the invention, a device for providing an electrically conductive connection between two contact points which can be moved linearly relative to one another is designed such that a first contact point is electrically connected to a first end of a first cable and a second contact point is electrically connected to a first end of a second cable, wherein the respective second ends of the first and second cable are electrically connected to one another at a cable connection point, wherein the first cable can be unwound from a drum counter to the force of a return apparatus, said drum forming a rotor part of a coil spring arrangement, which rotor part is arranged to rotate about its longitudinal axis coaxially with a fixed cylindrical stator part of said coil spring arrangement, wherein the second cable is formed by at least one flat-strip cable which is arranged in a winding gap delimited by the outer lateral face of the stator part and the inner lateral face of the rotor part in such a manner that its first end is fastened to the stator part and its second end is fastened to the rotor part.

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 options. This will include, in particular, longitudinal adjustment that extends far beyond the length of the seat itself and can easily exceed one meter. With long travel distances, this would result in exposed cable harnesses, which is neither visually nor safety-wise acceptable. Therefore, there is a need for robust and visually appealing electrical contacting for both power and data applications with particularly long travel distances.Such a device is provided by the device according to the invention, wherein a first contact point is electrically connected to a first end of a first cable, and a second contact point is electrically connected to a first end of a second cable, wherein the respective second ends of the first and second cables are electrically connected to one another at a cable connection point, wherein the first cable can be unwound from a drum against the force of a restoring device, which drum forms a rotor part of a coil spring arrangement which is arranged coaxially to a stationary cylindrical stator part thereof so as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis, wherein the second cable is formed by at least one ribbon cable which is arranged in a winding gap delimited by the outer circumferential surface of the stator part and the inner circumferential surface of the rotor part such that its first end is fastened to the stator part and its second end is fastened to the rotor part.

[0005] Different requirements for the electrical and mechanical properties of the device can be met, among other things, by different designs of the second cable. In an advantageous embodiment, it is therefore provided that the second cable is formed by a plurality of ribbon cables, which are preferably arranged in the winding gap such that they are wound in opposite directions with a first section of their length against the outer circumferential surface of the stator part and with a second section of their length against the inner circumferential surface of the rotor part, so that a U-shaped turning section reversing the winding direction is formed between the two sections of the ribbon cables.

[0006] At least one of the several ribbon cables can also be designed as a dummy cable without electrical conductors. 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.

[0007] The single figure shows a schematic representation of a device designed according to the invention in a side view.

[0008] The device according to the invention comprises a first contact point 1, which, in the embodiment shown, is linearly movable along a direction indicated by the arrows. This first contact point 1 is electrically connected to a first end 3' of a first cable 3 and is preferably designed as a plug connector, to which, in this case, a mating connector, which is part of, for example, a seat wiring harness, is connected.

[0009] A second contact point 2 of the device according to the invention is electrically connected to a first end 4' of a second cable 4. This contact point 2 is arranged in a fixed position and is also preferably designed as a connector to which a matching mating connector, which is, for example, part of a vehicle wiring harness, can be connected.

[0010] Of course, in contrast to the design shown here, it is also possible for the first contact point 1 to be stationary and the second contact point 2 to be movable relative to it.

[0011] The respective second ends 3", 4" of the first and second cables 3, 4 are electrically connected to one another at a cable connection point 7, so that an overall electrically conductive connection is established between the two contact points which are linearly movable relative to one another.

[0012] To enable the linear mobility of the first contact point 1, the first cable 3 can be unwound from a drum against the force of a reset device. The reset device, not shown in the drawing, can be designed, for example, as a spring in the manner of a clock spring, which is in its relaxed position when the cable 3 is completely wound up. Unwinding the cable 3 tensions the spring, which winds the cable 3 back onto the drum when the unwinding force ceases. An alternative design of the reset device could, however, also be realized by a gear coupling to the relative movement of the two mutually movable elements, which are electrically connected to one another by the device. The drum forms a rotor part 5 of a coil spring arrangement and, as such, is arranged coaxially to a stationary cylindrical stator part 6 of this coil spring arrangement so as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis.The second cable 4 is formed by at least one ribbon cable arranged in a winding gap defined by the outer surface of the stator part 6 and the inner surface of the rotor part 5. The first end 4' of this second cable 4, which is electrically connected to the second contact point 2, which is stationary in this case, is consequently attached to the stator part 6 of the coil spring arrangement. The second end 4" of the second cable 4 is attached to the rotor part 5 of the coil spring arrangement and is electrically connected there at the cable connection point 7 to the second end 3" of the first cable 3.

[0013] In the embodiment shown, the second cable 4 is formed by four individual ribbon cables which are arranged in the winding gap in such a way that they are wound in opposite directions with a first section of their length against the outer surface of the stator part 6 and with a second section of their length against the inner surface of the rotor part 5, so that a U-shaped turning section reversing the winding direction is formed between the two sections of the ribbon cables.

[0014] At least one of the four ribbon cables has at least one electrical conductor track that forms a galvanic connection between two contacts of the respective first contact point 1 and the second contact point 2. Typically, however, there will be several parallel conductor tracks, each connecting two contacts to each other. Typically, other ribbon cables will also have one or more conductor tracks for connecting contacts. However, if only a small number of conductor tracks is required, one or more of the ribbon cables can also be designed as so-called dummy cables, i.e., without electrical conductor tracks.

Claims

Patent claims 1. A device for providing an electrically conductive connection between two contact points (1, 2) that are linearly movable relative to one another, wherein a first contact point (1) is electrically connected to a first end (3') of a first cable (3), and a second contact point (2) is electrically connected to a first end (4') of a second cable (4), wherein the respective second ends (3", 4") of the first and second cables (3, 4) are electrically connected to one another at a cable connection point (7), wherein the first cable (3) can be unwound from a drum against the force of a restoring device, which drum forms a rotor part (5) of a coil spring arrangement that is arranged coaxially to a stationary cylindrical stator part (6) thereof so as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis, and wherein the second cable (4) is formed by at least one ribbon cable,which is arranged in a winding gap delimited by the outer surface of the stator part (6) and the inner surface of the rotor part (5) such that its first end (4') is attached to the stator part (6) and its second end (4") is attached to the rotor part (5).

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the second cable (4) is formed by a plurality of ribbon cables.

3. Device according to claim 2, wherein the ribbon cables forming the second cable (4) are arranged in the winding gap such that they are wound in opposite directions with a first section of their length against the outer surface of the stator part (6) and with a second section of their length against the inner surface of the rotor part (5), so that a U-shaped turning section reversing the winding direction is formed between the two sections of the ribbon cables.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the plurality of ribbon cables is designed as a dummy cable without electrical conductor tracks.

5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the return device is designed as a spring in the manner of a clock spring.

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the return device is realized by a gear coupling to the relative movement of two mutually movable elements which are electrically connected to one another by the device.

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