![]() And the outer conductor 40 is in the form of a cylindrical ring concentrically disposed with respect to the inner conductor 38 such that it extends into the outer well 32 of female portion 18 when the male portion 20 is nested into the female portion 18. ![]() ![]() The inner conductor 38 is in the shape of a central post that extends into the inner well 30 of female portion 18 when the male portion 20 is nested into the female portion 18. 2B, the male portion 20 houses inner and outer conductors 38 and 40 electrically coupled to the male portion terminals 28 a and 28 b, respectively. The terminal 26 a extends into the closed end of inner well 30, the terminal 26 b extends into the closed end of outer well 32, and a quantity of conductive liquid metal is dispensed into each of the wells 30 and 32. ![]() The inner well 30 is defined by the space within ring 34, and the outer well 32 is defined by the space between rings 34 and 36. 2A, the female portion 18 has inner and outer cylindrical wells 30, 32 defined by a pair of differential-diameter insulative rings 34, 36 concentrically mounted in the closed end of the female portion 18. 2A and 2B respectively depict interior views of the female and male portions 18 and 20 of the rotary connector mechanism 16. A first set of terminals 26 a, 26 b protruding from the female portion 18 of the rotary connector mechanism 16 are coupled to the column electronic module 22, and a second set of terminals 28 a, 28 b protruding from the male portion 20 of rotary connector mechanism 16 are coupled to the wheel electronic module 24.įIGS. The steering mechanism 10 additionally includes two electronic modules: a column electronic module 22 mounted in column 12, and a wheel electronic module 24 mounted in steering wheel 14. Thus, the male portion 20 rotates with respect to the female portion 18 as the steering wheel 14 is rotated with respect to the column 12. The rotary connector mechanism 16 includes a female portion 18 mechanically coupled to the column 12, and a male portion 20 nested within the female portion 18 and mechanically coupled to steering wheel 14 for rotation therewith. For convenience, the “keepout” opening in rotary connector mechanism 16 for accommodating the steering shaft has also been omitted. 1, the reference numeral 10 generally designates a vehicle steering mechanism according to this invention, including a fixed steering column 12, a rotatable steering wheel 14 that is mechanically coupled to a steering shaft (not shown) within column 12, and a rotary connector mechanism 16. The rotary connector apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:Ī first receiver in said first electronic module for receiving the data transmitted by said second transmitter by de-modulating the current modulation of said power line and a second receiver in said second electronic module for receiving the data transmitted by said first transmitter by de-modulating the voltage modulation of said power line. A rotary connector apparatus comprising:įirst and second electronic modules rotatable with respect to each other a rotary connector mechanism having a first portion with a first pair of terminals that are electrically coupled to said first electronic module, a second portion nested within said first portion and having a second pair of terminals that are electrically coupled to said second electronic module, and a captured liquid metal for electrically coupling said first pair of terminals to said second pair of terminals so as to establish a common ground potential between said first and second electronic modules and a power line through which power is supplied from one of said first and second electronic modules to the other, where said liquid metal is an alloy comprising the elements Gallium, indium, Tin, and Zinc in a concentration range of 2% to 10% a first transmitter in said first electronic module for transmitting data to said second electronic module by modulating a voltage of said power line with respect to said common ground and a second transmitter in said second electronic module for transmitting data to said first electronic module by modulating a current in said power line.Ģ.
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