A liquid metal rotary connector (16) for a vehicle steering mechanism (10) utilizes a conductive alloy comprising Gallium, Indium, Tin and Zinc to electrically couple stationary and rotary terminals (26a, 26b; 28a, 28b) of the connector (16). The alloy is a liquid at ambient temperatures, and has a melting point of -36°C, though testing has shown that it operates satisfactorily at temperatures as low as -40°C. In a preferred arrangement, the rotary connector (16) provides a two-wire connection through which power is supplied from the steering column (12) to the steering wheel (14), and electronic modules (22, 24) located in the steering column (12) and the steering wheel (14) support bi-directional data communication through voltage and current modulation of the supplied power.
Liquid metal rotary connector apparatus for a vehicle steering wheel and column
Drehbare Verbindungsvorrichtung mit Flüssigmetall für ein Lenkrad und eine Lenkradsäule eines Fahrzeugs
Appareil de connecteur rotatif avec du métal liquide pour volant et colonne de direction de véhicule
2017-04-26
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
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