JP2020125092A - Vehicular steering wheel structure - Google Patents

Abstract

To obtain a vehicular steering wheel structure that is able to reduce burden on a driver operating a switch.SOLUTION: A rim portion 16 is provided with a side portion 16B and a thumb rest portion 32. The side portion 16B of the rim portion 16 is a portion that can be gripped by a driver, and the thumb rest portion 32 is a portion on which a thumb of the driver gripping the side portion 16B of the rim portion 16 can be placed. This thumb rest portion 32 is provided with a projection 34 and a switch 14, and the projection 34 has a projecting form with respect to the switch 14 and hence the thumb rest portion 32, provided around the projection 34. Therefore, the driver can place his or her thumb on the projection 34 when not operating the switch 14 and can operate the switch 14 with a minimum amount of movement of the thumb from the projection 34 when operating the switch 14. This makes it possible to reduce burden on the driver operating the switch.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle steering wheel structure.

Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle steering switch. The vehicle steering switch is provided on the spoke portion of the steering wheel, and the driver operates the vehicle steering switch while holding the rim portion.

JP, 2005-067194, A

However, in the invention according to the above-mentioned patent document, when operating the vehicle steering switch, it is necessary to greatly move the finger while holding the rim portion, so that the load on the driver when operating the vehicle steering switch is reduced. From that perspective, there is room for improvement.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and an object thereof is to obtain a vehicle steering wheel structure capable of reducing the load on the driver when the switch is operated.

A vehicle steering wheel structure according to a first aspect of the invention is a boss portion fixed to a tip end portion of a steering shaft, and a rim portion provided radially outside the boss portion via a spoke portion, Provided in the rim portion in the vicinity of a grip portion that can be gripped by the driver, and a thumb rest portion on which the thumb of the driver can be placed when gripping the grip portion, and the thumb rest portion. In addition, the projection includes a protruding portion that is formed in a convex shape with respect to the rim portion, and a switch that is provided around the protruding portion in the thumb rest portion.

According to the invention described in claim 1, the rim portion is attached to the boss portion fixed to the tip portion of the steering shaft via the spoke portion, and the rim portion is provided with the grip portion and the thumb rest portion. Has been. The grip part is a part that can be gripped by the driver, and the thumb rest part is a part that the thumb of the driver when the grip part is gripped can be placed. The driver can steer the vehicle by gripping the grip and rotating the grip. The thumb rest portion is provided with a protrusion and a switch, and the protrusion is formed in a convex shape with respect to the switch provided around the protrusion and further to the thumb rest portion. Therefore, the driver can operate the switch by slightly moving the thumb placed on the thumb rest portion when gripping the grip portion, and by placing the thumb on the protrusion when the operation of the switch is unnecessary, It is possible to suppress erroneous operation of the switch. In other words, when the switch is not operated, the thumb can be placed on the protrusion, and when operating the switch, the switch can be operated with a minimum amount of thumb movement from the protrusion.

The vehicle steering wheel structure according to the first aspect of the present invention has an excellent effect that the load on the driver at the time of operating the switch can be reduced.

It is the front view which looked at the steering wheel structure for vehicles concerning one embodiment from the direction of an axis of a steering shaft. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the state cut|disconnected along the AA line in FIG. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the state cut|disconnected along the BB line in FIG. It is a front view showing a state where a driver grips a steering wheel having a vehicle steering wheel structure according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, the vehicle steering wheel structure 10 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In addition, arrow UP and arrow OUT, which are appropriately described in the respective drawings, indicate the vehicle upper direction and the vehicle width direction outer side, respectively. In the following description, when only the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction are used, the front-rear direction in the vehicle front-rear direction, the left-right direction in the vehicle left-right direction (vehicle width direction), and the up-down direction in the vehicle up-down direction are indicated unless otherwise specified. To do.

(Steering wheel)
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle steering wheel structure 10 includes a steering wheel 12 and a switch 14. The steering wheel 12 includes a rim portion 16 that covers the core metal with urethane and a skin (neither of which is shown), and a boss portion 18 that is arranged at the center of the steering wheel 12 and fixed to a tip portion of a steering shaft (not shown). , A plurality of (three in this embodiment as an example) spokes 20, 22, 24 that connect the rim 16 and the boss 18 to each other. The spokes 20 and 22 project substantially horizontally from the pair of left and right sides of the boss 18 toward the outside in the radial direction of the boss 18, and the spokes 24 extend downward from the lower end of the boss 18 toward the vehicle. It is projected to the side. Most of the inside of the spoke portion 24 on the vehicle interior side is covered with a cover member 26 provided so as to cover the boss portion 18.

The rim portion 16 of the steering wheel 12 is partially notched and is formed in a substantially semi-annular shape centered on the boss portion 18. Specifically, the rim portion 16 is formed in a substantially U shape in which the vehicle upper side is opened in a front view of the steering wheel 12, and the lower side portion 16A of the rim portion 16 is formed in a substantially linear shape. The side portions 16B of the rim portion 16 extend from both ends of the lower side portion 16A in the longitudinal direction substantially to the vehicle upper side.

The tip portions of the spoke portions 20 or the tip portions of the spoke portions 22 are joined to the side portions 16B of the pair of left and right rim portions 16, respectively. Similarly, the leading end of the spoke portion 24 is joined to the lower side portion 16A of the rim portion 16. That is, the tip end portion of the spoke portion 24 is joined to the lower side portion 16A of the rim portion 16 at a substantially central portion in the vehicle width direction. On the other hand, the tip end portion of the spoke portion 20 or the tip end portion of the spoke portion 22 is joined to the upper end portion 28 side of the side portions 16B of the pair of left and right rim portions 16 in the substantially vertical center of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 4, the driver D has a space formed by the side portions 16B of the rim portion 16, the spoke portions 20 or the spoke portions 22, the lower side portion 16A of the rim portion 16, and the boss portion 18. By inserting the forefinger F1, the middle finger F2, the ring finger F3, and the little finger F4 into S from the front side of the vehicle and placing the thumb F5 on the side portion 16B of the rim portion 16 from the rear side of the vehicle, the side portion 16B of the rim portion 16 is moved to the hand H. The steering wheel 12 can be rotated in the left-right direction with the steering wheel 12 as the center of the steering shaft. The side portion 16B of the rim portion 16 corresponds to the "holding portion" according to claim 1.

(Thumbrest part)
Further, when the driver D grips the side portion 16B, the thumb F5 of the hand H of the driver D is attached to the thumb rest portion 32 protruding toward the vehicle upper side from the spoke portions 20 and 22 of the pair of left and right side portions 16B. Can be placed. The thumb rest portion 32 is provided with the protrusion 34 and the above-described switch 14.

(protrusion)
As shown in FIG. 1, the projecting portion 34 is provided in a substantially central portion of the thumb rest portion 32 in a front view, and is formed in a substantially elliptical shape having a vehicle vertical direction as a longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the protrusion 34 has a convex shape protruding toward the vehicle rear side with respect to the thumb rest 32. Further, the outer peripheral portion of the protrusion 34 is configured by an inclined surface that is inclined toward the vehicle rear side toward the center of the protrusion 34 in front view. Further, the apex of the protrusion 34 is formed by a substantially flat surface extending in a substantially vertical direction, and the substantially flat surface of the apex and the inclined surface of the outer peripheral portion are smoothly connected by an R shape. ..

(switch)
As shown in FIG. 1, the switch 14 is provided around the protruding portion 34 of the thumb rest portion 32. Specifically, the switch 14 is formed in an inverted U shape in which the vehicle lower side is opened in a front view, and is provided so as to surround a portion other than the lower end portion of the protrusion 34. The lower end of the switch 14 and the lower end of the protrusion 34 are arranged at substantially the same position in the vehicle vertical direction.

The switch 14 is composed of, for example, a capacitance type touch sensor, and is communicably connected to an in-vehicle device (not shown). As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, when the thumb F5 of the driver D touches the switch 14, the in-vehicle device can be operated. Although not shown, the switch 14 has an operation area divided so that different in-vehicle devices can be operated depending on the position on the switch 14.

(Operation and effect of the embodiment)
Next, the operation and effect of the embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the rim portion 16 is attached to the boss portion 18 fixed to the tip end portion of the steering shaft via the spoke portions 20, 22, and 24, and the rim portion 16 is attached to the rim portion 16. Is provided with a side portion 16B and a thumb rest portion 32. The side portion 16B of the rim portion 16 is a portion that can be gripped by the driver D, and the thumb rest portion 32 can be placed with the thumb F5 of the driver D when the side portion 16B of the rim portion 16 is gripped. It is supposed to be a part. When the driver D grips the side portion 16B of the rim portion 16 and rotates the side portion 16B, the vehicle can be steered. The thumb rest portion 32 is provided with a protruding portion 34 and a switch 14, and the protruding portion 34 is formed in a convex shape with respect to the switch 14 provided around the protruding portion 34 and further to the thumb rest portion 32. Therefore, the driver D can operate the switch 14 by slightly moving the thumb placed on the thumb rest portion 32 when gripping the side portion 16B of the rim portion 16, and when the operation of the switch 14 is not necessary, the protrusion portion can be operated. By placing the thumb on the switch 34, it is possible to suppress erroneous operation of the switch 14. In other words, when the switch 14 is not operated, the thumb is placed on the protrusion 34, and when the switch 14 is operated, the switch 14 can be operated with a minimum amount of thumb movement from the protrusion 34. As a result, the load on the driver D when operating the switch can be reduced.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the switch 14 is configured by a capacitance type touch sensor, but the configuration is not limited to this, and other configurations such as a mechanical system may be used.

Further, although the switch 14 is provided around the protrusion 34 in the thumb rest portion 32 and so as to surround the protrusion 34, the switch 14 is not limited to this, and may be provided only in a partial range of the thumb rest portion 32. Good.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that other than the above-described embodiment, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

10 Vehicle Steering Wheel Structure 14 Switch 16 Rim 16B Side (Grip)
18 Boss 20 Spoke 22 Spoke 24 Spoke 32 Thumbrest 34 Protrusion D Driver F5 Thumb

Claims (1)

A boss fixed to the tip of the steering shaft,
A rim portion attached to the radially outer side of the boss portion via a spoke portion,
A thumb rest portion, which is provided in the vicinity of the grip portion that can be gripped by the driver in the rim portion, and on which the thumb of the driver when gripping the grip portion can be placed,
While being provided in the thumb rest portion, a protrusion formed in a convex shape with respect to the thumb rest portion,
A switch provided around the protrusion in the thumb rest,
A steering wheel structure for a vehicle having.