Abstract: A breather structure of an actuator includes: a breathing hole that extends through a rear housing between an inside and an outside of the rear housing; a filter that is configured to permit a flow of gas through the breathing hole via the filter while limiting a flow of liquid and a flow of solid through the breathing hole between the inside and the outside of the housing; and a blocker. The blocker is configured to block a portion of a path extending from an outer opening, which is an opening of the breathing hole opened to an outside space, to the filter to limit arrival of the liquid and the solid from the outside space to the filter.

Abstract: A rotary actuator is used in a shift-by-wire system for a vehicle. A speed reducer includes a ring gear and a sun gear and reduces a rotational speed of the motor. An output shaft outputs rotation of the motor at a reduced rotational speed by the speed reducer. A regulating pin is disposed in a fixing member and allows the sun gear to revolve around a rotational axis of the motor and to rotate about an eccentric axis. The regulating pin is a separate member from the fixing member. The regulating pin has a strength equal to or greater than a maximum torque reaction force received from the sun gear. A first difference in hardness between an engaging portion and the sun gear is set to be less than a second difference in hardness between the fixing member and the sun gear.

Abstract: A breather structure of an actuator includes: a breathing hole that extends through a rear housing between an inside and an outside of the rear housing; a filter that is configured to permit a flow of gas through the breathing hole via the filter while limiting a flow of liquid and a flow of solid through the breathing hole between the inside and the outside of the housing; and a blocker. The blocker is configured to block a portion of a path extending from an outer opening, which is an opening of the breathing hole opened to an outside space, to the filter to limit arrival of the liquid and the solid from the outside space to the filter.

Abstract: A rotary actuator is used in a shift-by-wire system for a vehicle. A speed reducer includes a ring gear and a sun gear and reduces a rotational speed of the motor. An output shaft outputs rotation of the motor at a reduced rotational speed by the speed reducer. A regulating pin is disposed in a fixing member and allows the sun gear to revolve around a rotational axis of the motor and to rotate about an eccentric axis. The regulating pin is a separate member from the fixing member. The regulating pin has a strength equal to or greater than a maximum torque reaction force received from the sun gear. A first difference in hardness between an engaging portion and the sun gear is set to be less than a second difference in hardness between the fixing member and the sun gear.

Abstract: Disclosed is a rubber connector for electrically connecting two arrays of electrode terminals on electronic circuit boards, liquid crystal display panels and the like with improved stability and reliability of electrical conduction therebetween. The connector is a silicone rubber sheet of a striped appearance prepared by slicing an alternate stratification of layers of an insulating silicone rubber and layers of an conductive silicone rubber. The most characteristic feature of the inventive connector consists in the use of a conductive silicone rubber composition comprising, instead of conventional silver particles, a specified weight or volume fraction of conductive particles of which each particle has a composite structure consisting of a core particles of an electrically non-conductive material such as silica and a metallic plating layer thereon having, preferably, a bilayered structure formed from an underplating layer of nickel and a top plating layer of gold.

Abstract: Disclosed is a novel low-resistance interconnector used for electrically connecting two opposite arrays of electrode terminals on the respective electronic devices. The interconnector is an elongated integral body with three parts bonded together side-by-side consisting of two side parts made from an insulating rubber and a center layer sandwiched therebetween, which has a composite structure consisting of an insulating adhesive as the matrix and conductive elements embedded in the matrix in an array or in two opposite arrays aligned at a regular pitch in a running direction perpendicular to the flat surface formed by the three parts, each of the conductive elements in one of the two arrays just facing one of the conductive elements in the other array. The conductive elements are made from a conductive polymeric composition containing silver particles to have a specified volume resistivity.