ITMI950381U1 - COMPLEX OF EMBLEM HOLDER PLATE AND COUNTERPLATE FOR THE SECURITY APPLICATION OF EMBLEMS AND SIMILAR TO A WALL - Google Patents

Description

"COMPLEX OF EMBLEM HOLDER PLATE AND COUNTER PLATE FOR THE SECURITY APPLICATION OF EMBLEMS AND SIMILAR TO A WALL OF THE HOUSING OF" AIR BAG "DEVICES ON CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES."

It is well known the use of applying to the center of the steering wheel of cars and other vehicles an emblem or similar (usually the emblem of the manufacturer or a trademark relating to the type of car) shown on a plate or door plate. -emblem.

This application has never given rise to problems of any kind in the past and has been carried out in the most varied ways, however, always making use of very simple and modest means.

Things have come to change with the ever more frequent introduction in cars of so-called "air bag" safety devices, devices which are usually arranged in a housing associated with the steering wheel of cars.

As is known, the central part of the front wall of this housing - usually in reinforced plastic material - is expected to break and open violently when the "air bag" device is activated: for this purpose an invitation to the breaking on three sides of a flap of said wall, flap which separates from said three sides and rises, remaining anchored with its fourth side to the housing, to allow the air bag to escape.

At the moment of breakage, said flap and the parts connected to it or applied to it - such as the plaque or emblem holder usually provided in the center of the steering wheel - are subjected to very considerable stresses, especially deriving from the strong accelerations of opposing signs that develop. It is therefore very easy that, due to these stresses, the emblem holder plate detaches from the edge of the wall which opens and transforms, even if light and small, into a dangerous projectile.

To avoid such risks, the use of emblem plates in the center of steering wheels of cars equipped with "air bag" devices is now only allowed if their application is carried out in such a way as to pass suitable tests. to ensure that, upon activation of said device, the plates themselves remain anchored to the wall of the housing of the device itself and to exclude their detachment from said wall.

we are therefore looking for effective and convenient means for the application of emblems to the steering wheel of cars equipped with "air bag" devices, having to exclude that the light plates or emblem holder plates adopted in the past, provided with modest protruding peripheral ears, to be folded into slits in the plastic covering of the steering wheel. In fact, it is necessary to apply the emblem to the steering wheel, ensuring that it remains firmly anchored to the opening flap of the wall of the "air bag" device housing in the most severe operating conditions of the device itself.

The problem is not simple, as it might appear to a superficial evaluation, because its solution must combine the absolute safety of the application with the reasonableness of the cost and with indispensable aesthetic requirements.

The present model now brilliantly solves this problem with a complex of emblem holder plate and counter plate which is characterized by the fact that the plate is obtained by coining, starting from a metal sheet, in a single piece with an extruded central protruding pin. having a conical cavity at its end, hence that the counterplate has a central hole corresponding to said pin, and hence that the counterplate is stably associated with the emblem holder plate, after having interposed the wall of the housing of the "air bag" device, pressing the end of the pin of the plate on the edge of the hole in the counter plate with a caulking.

The invention is now illustrated in greater detail with reference to the attached drawings which represent a preferred embodiment thereof and in which:

fig. 1 is a partial view, in section and on an enlarged scale, of an emblem plate of the assembly according to the model;

fig. 2 is a partial view, in section and on an enlarged scale, of a counter plate which can be associated with the plate of fig. 1 of the complex according to the model;

fig. 3 shows how the application of the plate of fig. 1 and of the counterplate of fig. 2 on the wall of a housing for "air bag" devices in passenger cars; And

fig. 4 represents the whole of the model applied to said wall.

The set of emblem-holder and counter-plate according to the model comprises a plate 1, carrying on one of its faces 2 - usually slightly convex, as shown - an emblem 3, and a counter-plate 4.

The emblem holder plate 1 is obtained by coining, starting from a metal sheet, in a single piece with a central pin 5 protruding from its face 6 opposite to that 2 carrying the emblem 3. The pin 5 is extruded with a cavity conical 8 at its free end 7.

The emblem 3 can be obtained by enamelling directly on the face 2 of the plate 1, or it can be performed on a suitable support which is glued to said face 2. In both cases, the face 2 of the plate 1 can conveniently comprising a protruding peripheral edge 9 for finishing. The plate 1 can also conveniently comprise one or more grains 10, protruding from the face 6, intended to facilitate the orientation and fixing in the correct position of the emblem on the steering wheel of the car, for engagement with the application wall of the assembly. .

The counterplate 4, preferably in the shape of a disc, is obtained by stamping a metal sheet with a section that has stiffening and reinforcing corrugations 11 and involves a central hole 12 with a larger diameter than that of the pin 5 of the platelet 1.

The assembly according to the model is associated within a specially provided seat S of the flap L of the front wall P of the housing for the "air bag" device installed on the car, associated with the steering wheel, the flap which is arranged in a substantially central position with respect to the steering wheel itself.

As is known, the flap L is defined on three sides by weakening grooves (not shown) along which, when the "air bag" device is activated, the breakage and therefore the opening of the housing wall occurs, for allow the device to escape.

As shown in fig. 3, the flap L has in the center a hole F into which the pin 5 of the plate 1 is inserted - to apply the emblem-holder complex - placing face 2 of the plate that carries the emblem 3 outside the wall P.

The counterplate 4 is then applied inside the same wall P, by investing it with its hole 12 on the pin 5 of the platelet. The end 7 of the pin 5 of the plate 1 is then pressed onto the edge of the hole 12 of the counter-plate 4, making a caulking with a suitable tool, so as to clamp the area of the flap L between them between these two parts of the assembly 1,4. included and to be anchored in an extremely stable manner the assembly 1,4 to the flap L of the wall P of the housing of the "air bag" device of the car. The complete and applied complex is clearly shown in fig. 4 of the attached drawings.

The set of emblem-holder and counter-plate according to the model and its method of application allow to apply with absolute safety to the walls - particularly to the front wall in correspondence with the central area of the steering wheel - of "air bag" devices of cars. desired emblem, with excellent aesthetic result and at reasonable costs, avoiding any possible risk when activating the devices themselves.

It is understood that the shapes of the emblem-holder plate and of the counter-plate can be chosen as desired and that the manufacturing details of the model could be different from those illustrated, always remaining within the scope of protection of the model itself.

Claims (7)

CLAIMS 1) Set of emblem holder and counterplate for the safety application of emblems and the like to a wall of the housing of "air bag" devices in cars and other vehicles, particularly at the edge of said wall which opens to the 'activation of said device, in correspondence with the center of the car steering wheel, characterized in that the plate is formed by coining, starting from a metal sheet, in a single piece with an extruded central protruding pin having a conical cavity at its end; hence, the counterplate has a central hole corresponding to said pin; and from this, that the counter-plate is stably associated with the emblem-holder plate, after having interposed the wall of the "air bag" device housing between them, pressing the end of the pin of the plate on the edge of the hole with a caulking. counterplate. 2) Complex as in claim 1) in which the counterplate is obtained by stamping a metal sheet with a section that has stiffening undulations. 3) Assembly as in claim 1) in which the emblem is executed by enamelling directly on the face of the emblem holder plate opposite to that from which said extruded pin protrudes. 4) Assembly as in claim 1) in which the emblem is placed on a support which is glued to the face of the emblem holder plate opposite to that from which said extruded pin protrudes. 5) Assembly as in claims 1) to 4) in which said emblem holder plate has one or more grains for engaging the wall flap for a secure orientation of the emblem at the time of assembly of the assembly. 6) Assembly as in claims 1) to 5) in which said emblem holder plate has a peripheral border for containing the emblem. 7) Complex as in claims 1) to 6) in which the counterplate has the shape of a circular disk and said undulations are circumferential.