Conventionally, various types of rotary connectors are known for electrically connecting a rotating side and a fixed side, such as a steering side and a vehicle body side of a vehicle, to each other. Patent Document 1 discloses this type of rotary connector.
A rotary connector device of the Patent Document 1 includes a first casing configured to be rotated integrally with a steering, and a second casing configured not to follow rotation of the steering. In these casings, a steering shaft (insert) can be inserted. These casings have an annular space formed therein. In the annular space, a flexible flat cable that electrically connects a steering side member and a vehicle body side member to each other is arranged. Hereinafter, configurations of the first casing and the second casing will be described with reference to FIG. 5.
The first casing includes a rotator and a sleeve. The rotator is fixed to the steering shaft such that the rotator is rotatable integrally with the steering. The sleeve is fixed to the rotator by snap-fitting. In this configuration, when the steering shaft rotates, a force is transmitted from the steering shaft so that the rotator is rotated and accordingly the sleeve is also rotated.
The second casing includes a stator and a sub stator. The stator is fixed to a steering column such that the stator does not follow rotation of the steering. The sub stator is fixed to the stator by snap-fitting. In this configuration, even when the steering shaft rotates, the stator and the sub stator are not rotated.
In this configuration, the sleeve is in contact with the stator, and the rotator is in contact with the sub stator.