JP2000168390A - Steering wheel provided with shift switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering wheel provided with a shift switch improved in operability. SOLUTION: A steering wheel W is formed by arranging a shift switch 10 operated by swiveling an operating button 11 in a longitudinal direction in a location near a ring part R in an upper surface side of a spoke part Sf arranged so as to extend almost in the right/left direction. In the steering wheel W, a recessed groove 50 hollowed downward almost along a forming direction of the spoke part Sf is formed from an upper surface side in an upper side of the swivel center of the operating button 11 over to an upper surface side of a coating layer 5 in at least the spoke part Sf.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shift switch, which is operated by swinging an operation button in the front-rear direction, at a position near a ring on the upper surface of a spoke arranged to extend substantially in the left-right direction. The present invention relates to a steering wheel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a steering wheel has been provided with a shift switch capable of changing the number of gears of an automobile transmission (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-145544).
Reference).

This shift switch is of a seesaw type, and has operation buttons disposed near the ring on the upper surface of the spokes arranged to extend substantially in the left-right direction. The operation buttons are arranged to be swingable in the front-back direction.

The shift switch is operated, for example, by swinging the operation button downward so as to shift up the transmission, and swinging the operation button backward so as to swing down the transmission. Was configured to shift down.

However, in the conventional shift switch, the operation button is formed in a convex shape along the outer surface of the spoke so that the upper surface thereof is simply flush with the covering layer of the spoke. . That is, in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the spoke portion, the upper surface side of the operation button is formed in a substantially half-cylindrical shape.

Therefore, when operating the operation button with the thumb while the steering wheel is being operated, if sweat or the like is on the thumb, the thumb may slide on the upper surface of the operation button, making it difficult to operate the shift switch. There was room for improvement in the operability of the shift switch.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel having a shift switch with improved operability.

[0008]

In the steering wheel according to the present invention, the operation button is swung in the front-rear direction at a portion near the ring portion on the upper surface side of the spoke portion arranged to extend substantially in the left-right direction. A steering wheel provided with a shift switch in which a shift switch to be operated is arranged, wherein the spoke portion extends from an upper surface side above an oscillation center of the operation button to at least an upper surface side of a covering layer of the spoke portion. Characterized in that a concave groove which is depressed downward substantially along the forming direction is formed.

In this specification, the relationship in the front-back direction is as follows:
The relationship in the front-rear direction of the vehicle at the time of steering in the straight-ahead state of the vehicle is the same as the relationship in the left-right direction of the vehicle at that time. The vertical relationship in this specification is the same as the vertical relationship along the steering shaft when the steering wheel is mounted on an automobile. Furthermore, the horizontal direction in this specification refers to a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the steering shaft.

[0010]

In the steering wheel according to the present invention, even when the ring portion is held by the four fingers of the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger, the concave groove is depressed downward substantially along the direction in which the spoke portion is formed. Since the thumb extends to the position of the operation button, if the thumb is arranged so as to fit along the concave groove on the upper surface side of the spoke portion covering layer, the tip side of the thumb can be easily placed at the position of the operation button, Can be placed.

[0011] At the position of the operation button, a concave groove for accommodating the thumb is formed so as to be depressed downward substantially along the direction in which the spoke is formed on the upper surface side above the swing center of the operation button. Therefore, if the tip side of the thumb is simply moved forward, the tip side of the thumb presses the vicinity of the front edge of the peripheral edge of the concave groove, and the operation button can be smoothly swung forward. If the tip of the thumb is simply moved rearward, the tip of the thumb presses the vicinity of the rear edge of the peripheral edge of the concave groove, and the operation button can be smoothly swung rearward.

Therefore, in the steering wheel according to the present invention, when operating the operation button with the thumb during steering, even if sweat or the like is on the thumb, the front and rear edges of the peripheral edge of the groove of the operation button are easily pressed. Therefore, the shift switch can be operated reliably, and the operability of the shift switch can be improved.

Further, the concave groove is formed so as to be depressed long in a substantially right and left direction substantially along the direction in which the spoke portion is formed from the upper surface side above the swing center of the operation button to at least the upper surface side of the spoke portion coating layer. It is easy to store the thumb even during steering.

If the thumb is housed in the groove, the standby position before the operation of the thumb becomes constant, so that the operability of the shift switch can be stabilized.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. The boss portion B is provided at the center, and four spoke portions S connecting the boss portion B and the ring portion R are provided.

Further, the steering wheel W includes
-The steering wheel core 1 is arranged so as to connect B and S. Steering wheel core 1
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, a substantially cylindrical boss 2a connected to a steering shaft (not shown) of the core 2 of the boss portion B is made of steel, and the boss surrounding the boss 2a of the boss portion core 2 is made of steel. The plate 2b, the metal core 3 of each spoke portion S, and the metal core 4 of the ring portion R are formed of an aluminum alloy or the like formed by die casting.

Further, a coating layer 5 is coated on the ring core 4 and the ring R side of each spoke core 3. The coating layer 5 is composed of a main body 6 such as urethane formed by injection molding on the side of the metal cores 3 and 4, and leather 7 covering the outer surface of the main body 6.

Reference numeral 8 shown in FIG. 1 denotes a horn switch mechanism attached to the spoke core 3.
These horn switch mechanisms 8 are connected to the lower side of the pad 9 in which the airbag device is built, and support the pad 9.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, two spoke portions Sf extending substantially in the left-right direction on the front side of the spoke portion S are provided with shift switches 10.
0 is arranged. Each shift switch 10 has a storage recess 5a formed on the boss B side on the upper surface side of the covering layer 5 provided on the ring portion R side of each spoke portion Sf, and is provided on the bottom surface 5b of the storage recess 5a. Are located. In FIG. 1, the shift switch 10 on the left side is
Although only a part is shown, the right side shift switch 1
It is merely a symmetrical shape with 0. Therefore, hereinafter, the shift switch 10 on the right side will be described, and the description of the shift switch 10 on the left side will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the shift switch 10 includes an operation button 11 disposed on the upper surface side, a case 20 for swingably supporting the operation button 11, a contact plate 30, a base plate 39, , Mounting bracket 43
And is provided.

The operation button 11 is made of a hard synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and includes a cover portion 12 on the upper surface side and a base portion 13 fixed to the back surface side of the cover portion 12. Legs 14 are formed on the base 13 near the left and right edges substantially at the center in the front-rear direction on the lower surface side and extend downward facing each other.
Shaft holes 14 penetrating concentrically in the horizontal direction in the left-right direction
a is penetrated. A support shaft 21a, which will be described later, of the case 20 is inserted into each shaft hole 14a.
Are arranged to be swingable in the front-rear direction with the shaft holes 14a and 14a as the swing center O.

On the lower surface of the base 13 of the operation button 11, a pressing portion 15 protruding downward in a bar shape is provided near the front and rear edges.
・ 16 are formed. Around each of them, a coil spring 2 for urging the operation button 11 upward is provided.
A substantially cylindrical spring seat 17 for receiving the upper end of the spring 5 is formed.

The case 20 is formed of a hard synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and has a substantially box shape so as to cover the space between the covering layer 5 of the spoke portion Sf and the operation button 11.
In the case 20, support walls 21 are formed on the upper surface on the inner side so as to oppose each other in the left-right direction at a predetermined interval and extend upward. The support shaft 21a protruding in the horizontal direction of the control button 11 and inserted into the respective shaft holes 14a of the legs 14 of the operation button 11.
Are formed. Also, on the upper surface on the inner side of the case 20, near the front and rear edges, a pressing portion 15.1 of the operation button 11 is provided.
The bosses 22 and 23 are formed in a substantially cylindrical shape into which the boss 6 is inserted. Flange-shaped seats 22a and 23a are formed at lower portions of inner peripheral surfaces of the assembly bosses 22 and 23. The lower ends of the coil springs 25 are supported by the receiving seats 22a and 23a with a cylindrical portion 27a of an elastic plate 27 described later interposed therebetween.

The elastic plate 27 is formed of an insulating silicon rubber or the like, and is formed in a substantially disk shape that can be inserted into each of the assembly bosses 22 and 23 of the case 20. The elastic plate 27 is disposed on the outer peripheral edge, and is
It comprises a cylindrical portion 27a that is supported in contact with the 2 · 23 receiving seats 22a and 23a, and a thin portion 27b that is arranged to close the inner peripheral side of the cylindrical portion 27a. And
A disc-shaped conductor 28 made of a metal plate having good electric conductivity is fixed to the lower surface of the thin portion 27b. Conductor 28
In the state in which the elastic plate 27 is supported by the seats 22a and 23a of the assembly bosses 22 and 23, the seats 22a and 23
It is arranged so as not to interfere with a.

The contact plate 30 is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the case 20 and the base plate 39. On the upper surface of the contact plate 30 below the conductor 28 fixed to the front elastic plate 27, three contacts 31, 32, 31 are arranged. On the upper surface side below the fixed conductor 28, three contacts 33
32 and 33 are arranged. Each of the contacts 32 has a lead wire 35 (see FIG. 2) and a terminal 37 (see FIG. 1).
And the like, is electrically connected to the negative electrode side of a control circuit that shifts up and down the number of stages of the transmission,
Each contact 31 is electrically connected to a positive electrode side of a control circuit for shifting up the number of gears of the transmission via a lead wire 34 (see FIG. 2), a terminal 37 and the like. , A lead wire 36 (see FIG. 2), a terminal 37, and the like, and are electrically connected to the positive electrode side of a control circuit that shifts down the number of gears of the transmission. Therefore, the operation button 1 is pressed against the urging force of the coil spring 25F on the front side.
When the conductor 1 is caused to swing forward and the pressing portion 15 causes the thin portion 27b of the elastic plate 27 to bend downward, and the conductor 28 is brought into contact with the contacts 31, 32, 31, the contacts 31, 32 mutually conduct. Therefore, the control circuit that shifts up the number of gears of the transmission operates to shift up the number of gears of the transmission. Also, the operation button 11 is swung rearward against the urging force of the rear coil spring 25B, the thin portion 27b of the elastic plate 27 is bent by the pressing portion 16, and the conductor 28 is brought into contact with the contacts 33 and 32. When contact is made with the contact 33, the contacts 33 and 32 are electrically connected to each other, so that the control circuit for shifting down the number of gears of the transmission operates and the number of gears of the transmission can be shifted down.

The base plate 39 is formed of a hard synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and is disposed on the lower surface of the case 20.
And a rod-shaped positioning leg 41 are protruded downward. The locking leg 40 is inserted and locked into a locking hole 5c provided on the bottom surface 5b of the storage recess 5a of the coating layer 5, and the positioning leg 41 is inserted into a insertion hole 5d provided on the storage recess bottom surface 5b.
Has been inserted. The locking leg 40 is provided with the shift switch 10.
Are temporarily fixed to the storage recess 5a, and the positioning legs 41 are for preventing rotation of the shift switch 10 during the temporary fixing.

The mounting bracket 43 is made of sheet metal, and as shown in FIG.
0, an upper plate portion 44 for supporting the case 20 and the like, a lower plate portion 46 for connecting the spoke portion core 3 with screws 48, and a connecting plate portion 45 for connecting the upper and lower plate portions 44. It is provided with. The lower plate portion 46 has a screw hole 3 of the cored bar 3.
mounting hole 4 for inserting a screw 48 to be screwed into a.
6a are formed.

The upper plate 44, the base plate 39,
The contact plate 30 and the case 20 are integrated by a plurality of screws (not shown) which are inserted into the base plate 39 and the contact plate 30 from the lower surface of the upper plate portion 44 and screwed to the case 20.

To assemble the shift switch 10, first,
Receiving seats 22a and 2 for each of the assembly bosses 22 and 23 of the case 20
3a, an elastic plate 27 to which a conductor 28 is fixed and a coil spring 25 are arranged, and the legs 14 of the operation button 11 are connected to the support wall 21 of the case 20.
Insert the operation buttons 11 into the case 20 by inserting the support shafts 21a into the shaft holes 14a by inserting the support shafts 21a into the shaft holes 14a by bending the legs 41, 41 into the inside of the case 21 from above. Thereafter, the lead wires 34.3 are placed at predetermined positions on the lower surface of the case 20.
The contact plate 30 connecting the 5 and 36 is disposed, and a base plate 39 is provided on the lower surface of the contact plate 30.
And a mounting bracket 43 on its lower surface.
The upper plate portion 44 is arranged, and a plurality of screws (not shown) are
If the upper plate portion 44, the base plate 39, and the contact plate 30 are inserted from below and screwed into the case 20, the shift switch 10 can be assembled as an assembly.

After assembling the shift switch 10, the locking leg 40 is inserted and locked into the locking hole 5c, and the positioning leg 41 is inserted into the insertion hole 5d.
The upper plate portion 44 is brought into contact with the bottom surface 5b of the storage recess 5a, the lower plate portion 46 of the mounting bracket 43 is brought into contact with the spoke core 3, and the mounting hole 46a of the lower plate portion 46 is inserted. If the screw 48 is screwed into the screw hole 3a, the shift switch 10 can be attached to the steering wheel W.

In the steering wheel W of the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a groove recess 11 a is formed on the upper surface of the operation button 11, and the cover layer 5 at the spoke portion Sf is formed. On the upper surface side near the operation button 11, the groove recess 5 is connected so as to be continuous with the groove recess 11a.
e is formed, and a groove recess 5f is formed on the upper surface side of the coating layer 5 in the ring portion R near the spoke portion Sf so as to be continuous with the groove recess 5e.
A concave groove 50 that is recessed downward substantially along the forming direction of f is formed. In the case of the embodiment, the end of the groove recess 5f remote from the spoke portion Sf slightly extends forward.

The groove concave portion 11a of the concave groove 50 is formed so as to be depressed downward above the swing center O of the operation button 11, leaving an edge of the upper surface of the operation button 11 on the boss portion B side. .

The concave groove 50 has an arc-shaped section with a gentle curved surface from the periphery so that the thumb P can be easily stored. And in the case of the embodiment, the concave groove 50
Has a width dimension D (see FIG. 1) of about 17 mm and a depth dimension d.
(See FIG. 4) is about 3 mm. Note that the depth dimension d of the concave groove 50 is set so as to reach the groove concave portion 5f side of the ring portion R.
It is set to gradually become shallower.

In the steering wheel W of this embodiment, when the shift switch 10 is operated, even if the ring portion R near the spoke portion Sf is gripped by the four fingers of the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger, the recess 50 is As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the thumb P is recessed downward substantially along the forming direction of the portion Sf and extends to the position of the operation button 11.
Are arranged along the groove recesses 5f and 5e on the upper surface side of the coating layer 5 so that the tip side Pt of the thumb P can be easily formed.
Can be arranged at the position of the operation button 11.

At the position of the operation button 11, the groove recess 11a for accommodating the thumb P is located on the upper surface above the swing center O of the operation button 11 and substantially downward along the direction in which the spoke portion Pf is formed. Since the thumb tip Pt is simply moved forward, as shown in FIG. 3, the thumb tip Pt is formed on the front edge 1 of the groove recess 11a.
1b, the operation button 11 can be smoothly swung to the front side. Conversely, if the thumb tip side Pt is simply moved rearward, the thumb tip side Pt becomes the groove recess 11a.
By pressing the vicinity of the rear edge 11c, the operation button 11 can be smoothly swung rearward.

At this time, if the operation button 11 is swung forward, the pressing portion 15 on the front side is lowered, and the conductor 28 is connected via the elastic plate 27 to the contact 31.
Since the contact points 32 and 31 are brought into contact with each other and the contact points 31 and 32 are made conductive, a control circuit for shifting up the number of gears of the transmission operates, and the number of gears of the transmission can be increased. Conversely, if the operation button 11 is swung rearward,
As described above, the pressing portion 16 on the rear side descends, and the conductor 28 is connected to the contacts 33, 32, 33 via the elastic plate 27.
, And the contact points 33 and 32 are electrically connected to each other, so that the control circuit for shifting down the number of gears of the transmission operates, and the number of gears of the transmission can be shifted down.

Therefore, in the steering wheel W of the embodiment, when the operation button 11 is to be operated with the thumb P during steering, even if sweat or the like is attached to the thumb P, the operation of the operation button 11 before and after the periphery of the concave groove 50 of the operation button 11 is performed. Since the edges 11b and 11c can be easily pressed, the shift switch 10 can be reliably operated, and the operability of the shift switch 10 can be improved.

Further, the concave groove 50 is formed in the spoke portion Sf from the upper surface side above the swing center O of the operation button 11.
It is formed so as to be long and depressed in the left-right direction substantially along the direction in which the spoke portion Sf is formed, on the upper surface side of the coating layer 5 of the ring portion R and the thumb P, even during steering.

When the thumb P is housed in the groove 50, the standby position before the operation of the thumb P becomes constant, so that the operability of the shift switch 10 can be stabilized.

In the embodiment, the case where the concave portion 5f for the groove is provided in the coating layer 5 in the ring portion R and the concave groove 50 extends to the portion of the ring portion R of the coating layer 5 is shown. The concave groove 50 may not be provided at the portion R.

In the embodiment, the shift switch 10
When the steering wheel W is attached to the main body X (see FIG. 1) side, the locking leg 40 of the shift switch 10 as an assembly is inserted and locked into the locking hole 5c of the coating layer 5 on the main body X side. In this configuration, the positioning legs 41 are inserted into the insertion holes 5d of the X-side coating layer 5 and are temporarily fixed. Therefore, at the time of the temporary fixing, the locking leg 40 is inserted and locked in the locking hole 5c, so that the shift switch 10 is prevented from being pulled out upward, and the positioning leg 41 is further inserted into the insertion hole 5c.
d, so that the rotation of the shift switch 10 in the horizontal direction is prevented.
The work of fixing the screw 48 can be performed smoothly. In addition,
The steering wheel body X refers to a portion of the steering wheel W excluding the shift switch 10.

Further, in the embodiment, the shift switch 1
0 makes the lower surface of the lower plate portion 46 of the mounting bracket 43 contact and support the spoke core 3 of the steering wheel body X, and the upper plate portion 44, the base plate 39, and the lower surface side of the case 20 of the mounting bracket 43. , Bottom surface 5b of storage recess 5a in coating layer 5 of steering wheel body X
, And is supported on the steering wheel body X side in two upper and lower stages, so that it is stably supported. Furthermore, in the upper stage, the shift switch 10
The locking leg 40 and the positioning leg 41 extending downward are inserted into the coating layer 5, and are fixed to the screw 48 that is screwed to the spoke core 3 in the vertical direction in the lower stage to prevent horizontal blur. It is arranged. Therefore, when the steering wheel W is steered, even if a strong force acts on the case 20 or the like of the shift switch 10 from up and down, front and back, and left and right, the displacement of the shift switch 10 is suppressed, and the shift switch 10 is stably operated for a long period of time. Can be operated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shift switch of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a line VV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 5: coating layer, 5e, 5f, 11a: recess for groove, 10: shift switch, 11: operation button, 50: groove, R: ring, S / Sf: spoke, W: steering wheel.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor, Kichiichi Kawabata 1 Ochiai, Nagahata, Kasuga-machi, Nishi-Kasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Address Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Satoshi Takahashi 1-7-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Fuji Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Heavy industry Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3D030 DA25 DA26 DA34 DA64 DA65 DA66 DA70 DB13 DB77 3D040 AA13 AC02 AC36 AD15 AE19 AF07 3J052 AA08 FB32 GA21 LA01

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A shift switch comprising a shift switch, which is operated by swinging an operation button in a front-rear direction, at a position near a ring portion on an upper surface side of a spoke portion arranged to extend substantially in the left-right direction. A steering wheel, comprising: a recess that is recessed downward substantially along a direction in which the spoke portion is formed, from an upper surface side above an oscillation center of the operation button to at least an upper surface side of a covering layer of the spoke portion. A steering wheel provided with a shift switch, wherein a groove is formed.