The rotary connector is used as electrical connection means of, for example, an air bag system. The rotary connector includes a rotator fixed to a steering wheel mounted with an air bag, and a stator rotatably supporting the rotator, and accommodates a flexible flat cable in a wound state in an internal space formed by the rotator and the stator. With this configuration, even when the rotator rotates with the rotation of the steering wheel, the electrical connection state can be maintained.
In a fixing structure for fixing the rotary connector to the combination switch, locking is used so that fixing work can be performed more easily as compared to the case of using a screw. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, projecting pieces 103 are formed on a stator 102 of a rotary connector 101, and as shown in FIG. 18, a locked portion 104 to which the projecting piece 103 is locked is formed in a bracket of a combination switch.
The projecting piece 103 has a rod shape rectangular in cross section, and at the tip portion of the projecting piece 103, a locking claw 105 is formed which protrudes laterally, relatively moves with respect to the locked portion 104, and is locked to the locked portion 104 when passing over the locked portion 104.
At the time of the fixing, the projecting piece 103 is elastically deformed in a stage before the locking claw 105 is locked to the locked portion 104, and after the locking claw 105 has passed over the locked portion 104, the projecting piece 103 elastically returns to the normal state, whereby the locking claw 105 is locked to the opposing side of the locked portion 104.
However, in such a locking structure, in order to return the elastically deformed projecting piece 103 to the original shape, a certain clearance needs to be provided between the locking claw 105 and the locked portion 104 facing the locking claw 105. Hence there is a drawback that looseness occurs in a direction in which the projecting piece 103 is inserted.
When such looseness occurs, an abnormal sound tends to occur. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 19, the rotary connector 101 is provided between a steering wheel 106 and a combination switch 107, and since a harness for electrical connection is provided in the rotary connector 101 on each of the steering wheel side and the steering column side, the harness may push up the rotary connector 101 depending on a wiring state of the harness (not shown) as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 19. In this case, the pushed-up rotary connector 101 may contact the steering wheel 106 to cause generation of the abnormal sound and other inconveniences.
For preventing the looseness of the rotary connector, a technique such as Patent Document 1 described below has been disclosed. A mounting structure of this technique includes a displacement absorbing member for preventing looseness, and an elastic piece or a cushioning material elastically striking the combination switch is provided on a stator.
With such a configuration, the displacement absorbing member brings the rotary connector into a pushed-up state, so that the rotary connector can be prevented from being lifted unexpectedly. However, a space is required between the rotary connector and the combination switch, and furthermore, extra materials and members are required. This makes it impossible to reduce the size and cost. Especially, when the cushioning material is provided, deterioration in the material and dropout of the cushioning material are considered, and it is difficult to maintain the effect.