JP2512912Y2 - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a steering wheel of an automobile or the like, and more particularly to a steering wheel body having a pad provided on an upper portion thereof.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-36868, a steering wheel in which a pad is mounted via a clamp spring on a pad mounting plate provided on the upper part of the steering wheel body. It has been known. In this steering wheel, a notch is formed in the up-down direction, leaving an edge at the lower end, on a substantially dog-legged locking portion provided at the bottom of a pair of leg pieces of a clamp spring.
It has a structure in which an engaging projection to be inserted into the cutout portion is provided in a projecting manner in the insertion hole of the pad mounting plate. In this structure, even when the impact is applied to the pad and the engaging portion, which is the primary engaging portion of the clamp spring, is disengaged from the insertion hole of the pad mounting plate, the edge of the engaging portion causes the secondary engaging portion. As a result, the pad is prevented from being disengaged from the mounting plate by being engaged with the engaging protrusion of the pad mounting plate.

By the way, with this conventional steering wheel,
The structure is such that the engaging portion which is the secondary engaging portion and the end edge portion which is the secondary engaging portion are provided on the same leg piece of the clamp spring, and when the pad is attached to the pad attaching plate. In this case, the end pieces of the clamp spring must be engaged with the engaging projections while the leg pieces of the clamp spring are forcibly deformed in the proximity direction to the position where the locking portion faces the insertion hole. Therefore, during the work of attaching the pad to the pad attaching plate, an unreasonable force is applied to the leg pieces of the clamp spring, and a part of the end edge portion integrated with the primary engaging portion is plastically deformed and damaged. There is a problem that it is difficult to improve work efficiency because the mounting work must be performed so that it is not present.

Further, for example, a steering wheel described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Sho 19-19570 is known. This steering wheel has a pad bracket provided on the pad side with a hook engagement part, and a pad mounting plate provided on the steering wheel body side has a hook engagement hole, which prevents the pad from coming off. The elastic body is screwed against the biasing force.

In this steering wheel, when the pad is pushed into the steering wheel main body side, the hook engaging portion and the pad disengagement preventing hook elastic body come into contact with each other, and the pad disengaging preventing hook is pressed by the hook engaging portion. The elastic body elastically deforms outward. Then, when the pad is further pushed in, the pad detachment preventing hook elastic body is restored and deformed inward, and the hook engaging portion and the hook engaging hole are engaged with each other to prevent the pad from falling off. . In addition, when removing the pad with this steering wheel, loosen the screw that secures the pad detachment prevention hook elastic body with a tool to cause the pad detachment prevention hook elastic body to return and deform to the outside to prevent hooking. The engagement between the engaging portion and the pad disengagement preventing hook elastic body is released.

However, in the steering wheel disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Sho 19-19570, when removing the pad, it is necessary to loosen the screw fixing the pad detachment prevention hook elastic body by an appropriate dimension using a tool. However, there is a problem that the removal work is complicated. Also, when the pad is attached to the steering wheel body, the pad disengagement prevention hook stopper elastic body is always deformed against the biasing force, so it is difficult to remove the pad when the pad disengagement prevention hook stopper elastic body is plastically deformed. I have a problem with.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) As described above, in the configuration described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-36868, when the pad is attached to the pad attaching plate,
The mounting work must be performed so that an unreasonable force is applied to the leg pieces of the clamp spring so that a part of the end edge portion integrated with the primary engagement portion is not plastically deformed or damaged, and thus the work efficiency is improved. There is a problem that it is difficult to improve.

Further, in the configuration described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Sho 64-19570, when removing the pad, it is necessary to loosen the screw fixing the pad detachment prevention hook stopper elastic body by an appropriate dimension using a tool. The work is complicated, and when the pad is attached to the steering wheel body, the pad detachment prevention hook elastic body is always deformed against the biasing force. Then, there is a problem that it becomes difficult to remove the pad.

The present invention is intended to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel capable of reliably preventing the pad from being detached and attaching and removing the pad to and from the pad attaching plate with good workability. Is.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a steering wheel body 11 having a pad mounting plate 22 provided on an upper portion thereof,
Pads mounted on the pad mounting plate 22 of the steering wheel body 11 via clamp springs 27, 28, 61.
15, the pad mounting plate 22 has an insertion hole 41,
Also, the clamp springs 27, 28, 61 are
Mounting pieces 43, 49, 62 attached to the bottom of 15 and this mounting piece
A plurality of leg pieces 44, 65 bent from 43, 49, 62 and extending downward are inserted into the insertion hole 41 of the pad mounting plate 22 and pressed in the separating direction by the peripheral wall portion of the insertion hole 41. A locking portion 45 which is provided at the bottom of each of the leg pieces 44, 65 and which is inserted through the insertion hole 41 of the pad mounting plate 22 from the upper side to the lower side while deforming the leg pieces 44, 65 in the proximity direction. In the steering wheel having 63 and holding the pad 15 on the pad mounting plate 22 by the engagement of the locking portions 45, 63 and the insertion hole 41, on the outer peripheral wall surface of the pad mounting plate 22,
A protrusion 42 is provided, while one of the leg pieces 44, 65 is attached to the mounting pieces 43, 49, 62 of the clamp springs 27, 28, 61.
Locking piece 50 that is located on the outer side of the pad mounting plate 22 and extends downward along the leg pieces 44 and 65 to a lower side than the leg pieces 44 and 65, and an intermediate portion is located on the outer peripheral wall surface of the pad mounting plate 22. , 67 are provided, and the protrusions 42 of the pad mounting plate 22 are inserted into the locking pieces 50, 67 to separate the locking portions 45, 63 from the insertion hole 41 in the upward direction. Insertion holes 52, 66 for preventing the above are provided, and at the lower end of the insertion holes 52, 66, the locking portions 45, 63 of the leg pieces 44, 65 are located above the insertion hole 41. Is positioned so as to come into contact with the protrusion 42 in a state where the engagement is released.

(Operation) In the steering wheel of the present invention, when the pad 15 is mounted on the pad mounting plate 22 of the steering wheel body 11, first the pad 15 is moved horizontally, for example, and the mounting pieces 43, 49, Without deforming the locking pieces 50, 67 of the clamp springs 27, 28, 61 to which 62 is attached, insert the projections 42 on the outer peripheral wall surface of the pad mounting plate 22 into the insertion holes 52, 66 of the locking pieces 50, 67. Insert, then lower the pad 15 to remove the clamp springs 27, 28, 61 from the legs 44, 65.
While elastically deforming in the proximity direction, the lower engaging portions 45, 63 of the leg pieces 44, 65 are inserted into the insertion holes 41 of the pad mounting plate 22 from the upper side to the lower side. In this state, the leg pieces 44, 65 are pressed against the peripheral wall portion of the insertion hole 41 in the separating direction, and the locking portions 4 thereof are
The pad 15 is held on the pad mounting plate 22 by the engagement of the 5, 63 and the insertion hole 41, and the middle portion of the locking pieces 50, 67 is located on the outer peripheral wall surface of the pad mounting plate 22. , 67 and leg pieces
The pad mounting plate 22 is sandwiched between 44 and 65. Then, a strong shock is applied when using the pad 15
When the locking portions 45 and 63 are flipped up and the locking portions 45 and 63 are about to come out of the insertion hole 41 in the upward direction, the locking portions 45 and 63 of the leg pieces 44 and 65 are inserted into the insertion holes.
When it is located on the upper side of 41 and disengaged,
The lower ends of the insertion holes 52, 66 of the 0, 67 are brought into contact with the protrusions 42, so that the engaging portions 45, 63 are prevented from separating from the insertion holes 41 in the upward direction, and the pad mounting plate of the pad 15 is attached. The departure from 22 is prevented. Further, when removing the pad 15 from the pad mounting plate 22, first, while elastically deforming the plurality of leg pieces 44, 65 in the proximity direction, the engaging portions 45, 63 are partially removed from the insertion hole 41 and engaged. Release it. Then, while deforming the leg pieces 44 and 65 relatively away from the locking pieces 50 and 67, the protrusion 4
2 is pulled out from the insertion holes 52 and 66.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the steering wheel of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

Reference numeral 11 is a steering wheel body, and this steering wheel body 11 has an annular rim portion as shown in FIG.
12, the boss portion 13 located at the center thereof, and these rim portions 12
And a plurality of, for example, three spoke portions 14 connecting the boss portions 13. A pad 15 is mounted on the boss portion 13 and the spoke portion 14 of the steering wheel body 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, the steering wheel main body 11 includes a metal boss 16 of a boss portion 13 fitted to a steering shaft (not shown), a spoke core metal 17 of each spoke portion 14, and a rim. The rim core metal 18 of the portion 12 is welded to each other, and the lower cover 19 made of synthetic resin is attached to the lower part of the boss 16 to cover the lower surface and the side surface on the inner end side of the boss 16, the spoke core metal 17, The lower cover 19 and the pad
The outer end side of each spoke core bar 17 exposed from 15 and the rim core bar 18 are covered with a cover 20 made of a soft synthetic resin. A slip ring 21 is provided on the lower surface of the lower cover 19. A metal boss plate 22 as a pad mounting plate is welded to the upper surface of the boss 16. The boss plate 22 is substantially T
A horizontal end piece 24 is formed at each end corresponding to each of the spoke portions 14 via a step portion 23 that is bent upward.

The pad 15 is mounted on the boss plate 22 via a first clamp spring 27 and a second clamp spring 28 fixed to an insert pad 26. A horn plate 29 is supported above the insert pad 26 so as to be vertically movable. That is, a plurality of tubular portions 30 integrally provided on the lower surface of the horn plate 29 are vertically pierced through the insert pad 26, and screws 31 screwed to the tubular portion 30 from below. Thus, the tubular portion 30 is prevented from coming off from the insert pad 26. Further, the horn plate 29 is constantly urged upward by a horn spring 32 wound around the tubular portion 30 and mounted between the insert pad 26 and the horn plate 29. Furthermore, this horn plate
A flexible covering 33 made of a soft synthetic resin is integrally provided to cover the upper surface of 29 and the side surface of the insert pad 26.

A terminal portion 35 at one end of a horn cord 34 is electrically connected to at least one of the screws 31, and a terminal portion at the other end of the horn cord 34 is connected to the slip ring 21.
Is electrically connected to On the other hand, at least one of the clamp springs 27, 28 has a conduct plate 3
6 is jointly fastened, and a contact protrusion 37 is provided at an end of the conduct plate 36, with which a screw 31 electrically connected to the slip ring 21 comes into contact with and separates from above. The conduct plate 36 is electrically connected to the boss 16 via the clamp spring 27 and the boss plate 22.

Next, the clamp springs 27 and 28 will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9.

As shown in FIG. 6, each end piece of the boss plate 22.
In the 24, rectangular insertion holes 41 opened in the vertical direction are formed, respectively. A projection 42 is formed on the outer peripheral wall surface of each end piece 24 in the left-right direction of the vehicle body.

The first clamp spring 27 is made of an elastic metal plate, and has a horizontal mounting piece 43 and a pair of leg pieces vertically bent from both side edges of the mounting piece 43 and extending downward.
It consists of 44. Further, substantially doglegged locking portions 45 protruding in directions away from each other are bent and formed at the lower portions of the leg pieces 44, respectively. Further, notches 46 are formed on both side edges of each leg piece 44 above the engaging portions 45. Further, the mounting piece
A large-diameter through hole 47 is formed in the central portion of 43, and small-diameter through holes 48 are formed on both sides of the through hole 47.

The length of the first clamp spring 27 is slightly smaller than the length of the insertion hole 41. The distance between the leg pieces 44 is slightly larger than the width of the insertion hole 41.

On the other hand, the second clamp spring 28 is also made of an elastic metal plate, and has a substantially T-shaped horizontal mounting piece 49 joined to the first clamping spring 27 in a plan view, and a vertical mounting piece 49. The first portion is bent downward.
The clamp spring 27 includes a locking piece 50 that extends below the locking portion 45 of the leg piece 44, and a lower portion of the locking piece 50 is formed with an inclined portion 51 bent downward. ing.
An insertion hole 52 into which the protrusion 42 of the boss plate 22 is inserted is formed from the upper portion of the locking piece 50 to the middle portion of the inclined portion 51. Further, the attachment piece 49 has a large-diameter through hole 53.
Is formed in the central portion, and small-diameter through holes 54 are formed on both sides of this through hole 53.

The distance from the leg piece 44 of the first clamp spring 27 to the locking piece 50 of the second clamp spring 28 is the distance from the outer peripheral wall surface of the end piece 24 of the boss plate 22 to the peripheral wall surface of the insertion hole 41. Is almost equal to. Further, the length of the inclined portion 51 is larger than the protrusion amount of the protrusion 42. Further, the dimension of the insertion hole 52 is such that when the lower portion of the locking portion 45 is pressed against the peripheral wall edge portion of the insertion hole 41, that is, the locking portion 45 is located above the insertion hole 41 and the engagement is released. In this state, the lower end of the insertion hole 42 is set to abut the protrusion 42.

The conduct plate 36 also has a large-diameter through hole 55.
And a small-diameter through hole 56 is formed on both sides of this through hole 55.

Then, when assembling the pad 15, insert pad
Horn plate on top of 26 via horn spring 22
29 is positioned, and the screw 31 is screwed from the lower side of the insert pad 26 to the tubular portion 30 of the horn plate 29 via the terminal portion 35 of the horn cord 34 which has penetrated the insert pad 26 in advance, and is tightened.

Next, the second clamp spring 28 is positioned on the first clamp spring 27, and the screw 57 inserted through the through holes 47 and 53 from the lower side is screwed to the insert pad 26 from the lower side, and the clamp spring 27 The mounting pieces 43 and 49 of 28 and 28 are tightened on the lower surface of the insert pad 26, and the clamp springs 27 and 28 at the two positions are mounted on the pad 15 in parallel with each other.
The first clamp spring 27 is attached to the pad 15 without the second clamp spring 28. In this state, the engaging portions 45 of the pair of leg pieces 44 of the first clamp spring 27 are positioned side by side in the vehicle front-rear direction at the two locations, and the engaging pieces 50 of the second clamp spring 28 are attached to the leg pieces 44. Are parallel to each other. In the first clamp spring 27 on the rear side, both leg pieces 44 are located side by side in the left-right direction of the vehicle body.

At this time, in at least one place, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, sandwich the conduct plate 36 between both clamp springs 27 and 28, and
The upper part of 29 and the insert pad 26 is covered with the cover 33.

When attaching the pad 15 to the steering wheel body 11, after connecting the terminal portion of the horn cord 34 to the slip ring 21, the clamp spring 2 of the pad 15 is connected.
7, 28 are engaged with the insertion hole 41 and the protrusion 42 of the boss plate 22, respectively. To this end, first, the lower portion of the locking portion 45 of the clamp spring 27 on the rear side is inserted into the insertion hole 41 on the rear side of the boss plate 22 from above, and the pad 15 is rotated forward and downward to move the front side downward. Each 1st clamp spring
While pressing the lower part of the locking portion 45 of 27 into each insertion hole 41 on the front side from above, each projection 42 of the boss plate 22 is inserted into the insertion hole 52 of each second clamp spring 28 from the front side. Let Next, when the pad 15 is lowered, the lower portions of the pair of locking portions 45 are elastically bent and deformed in the direction in which the pair of leg pieces 44 approach each other, and the locking portions 45 are inserted into the insertion holes 41.
Is inserted from the upper side to the lower side. In this state, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pair of leg pieces 44 inserted into the insertion hole 41 are pressed against the peripheral wall portion of the insertion hole 41 while being biased in the separating direction. Further, the middle portion of the locking piece 50 is located on the outer peripheral wall surface of the boss plate 22.

In this way, the leg piece 44 is inserted into the insertion hole 41, and the upper portion of the locking portion 45 is engaged with the peripheral wall edge portion of the insertion hole 41 from below, so that the pad 15 is held by the boss plate 22. .

When mounting the pad 15 described above, the protrusion is formed in the insertion hole 52 without deforming the second clamp spring 28.
42 can be inserted. Therefore, since an unreasonable force is not applied to the second clamp spring 28, it is possible to prevent the second clamp spring 28 from being plastically deformed or damaged.

When the horn plate 29 is pushed downward through the covering body 33 of the pad 15 at the time of use, the horn plate 29
The screw 31 integrated with 29 comes into contact with the contact protrusion 37 of the conduct plate 36 integrated with the clamp springs 27 and 28, and the horn blows.

When a shock load is applied due to a collision such as an automobile accident and a force that pushes up the pad 15 side is applied by the reaction force, as shown in FIG. 7, the locking portion 45 of the first clamp spring 27 is used. Even if is slipped upward from the insertion hole 41 of the boss plate 22, the lower end of the insertion hole 52 of the locking piece 50 of the second clamp spring 28 serves as a secondary engagement portion and the projection 42 of the boss plate 22. Is engaged from below. At this time, the boss plate 22 is sandwiched between the locking piece 50 and the leg piece 44, and the lower portion of the locking portion 45 is inserted into the insertion hole while the protrusion 42 is in contact with the lower end of the insertion hole 52. Since it is pressed against the peripheral wall edge of 41, the pad 15 is prevented from coming off the boss plate 22 of the steering wheel body 11, and the safety is improved. Moreover, as described above, when the pad 15 is attached, the locking piece 50 is not plastically deformed or damaged, so that the locking piece 50 reliably acts to prevent the pad 15 from coming off.

When a strong force is applied in the left-right direction, as shown in FIG. 8, the notch 46 of the first clamp spring 27 is slid until it engages with the wall edge of the insertion hole 41. At this time,
The insertion hole 52 of the second clamp spring 28 is a boss plate.
It is deformed by the protrusions 42 of 22.

Further, when the pad 15 is normally removed from the boss plate 22 for replacement or repair, the pad 15 is first pulled upward as shown by an arrow a in FIG. Then, due to the inclination of the upper portions of the pair of locking portions 45 of the first clamp spring 27, the pair of leg pieces 44 are elastically deformed in the approaching direction, and the locking portions 45 are pulled out halfway upward from the insertion hole 41. In this state, since the projection 22 of the boss plate 22 is in contact with the lower end of the insertion hole 52 of the second clamp spring 28 as described above, the pad 15 is then projected as shown by the arrow b. Apply pressure by pushing in the protruding direction of 42. Then, one leg piece 44 elastically deforms, and it projects from the insertion hole 52.
42 is removed, the lock is released, and the pad 15 is separated from the steering wheel body 11. Also at this time, the locking piece 50
Does not need to be deformed.

As a result, the pad 15 can be easily attached and detached by a series of operations for moving the pad 15.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the protrusion 42 of the boss plate 22 has a substantially L-shape with its tip side bent downward. According to this structure, when the engaging portion 45 comes out from the insertion hole 41 due to an impact, the protrusion
The engagement by 42 works more reliably, and the pad 15 is more reliably prevented from coming off.

FIG. 11 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. The clamp spring 61 of this embodiment is a combination of the first clamp spring 27 and the second clamp spring 28 of the previous embodiment. Is. That is, one clamp spring 61 is integrally formed with a mounting piece 62, a plurality of leg pieces 65 having a locking portion 63 and a cutout 64, and a locking piece 67 having an insertion hole 66. . The conduct plate 68 may also be formed integrally with the clamp spring 61, as indicated by the chain line. With this configuration, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced.

Further, FIG. 12 shows a further embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the width of the insertion hole 52 of the second clamp spring 28 is widened so that the clamp springs 27, 28 are displaced in the left-right direction. It is the one that forms an escape.
As a result, the notch portion 46 is smoothly engaged with the peripheral wall portion of the insertion hole 41.

Incidentally, the notch portion 46 of the leg piece 44, 65 in each of the above-mentioned embodiments,
64 is not always necessary.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, in the state where the pad mounting plate is sandwiched between the locking piece and the one leg piece, the protrusion protruding from the outer peripheral wall surface of the pad mounting plate and the clamp spring on the pad side. Since it engages with the insertion hole provided in the locking piece of, when a strong impact is applied and the locking part comes out of the insertion hole in the upward direction,
The protrusion comes into contact with the lower end of the insertion hole, so that the pad can be reliably prevented from coming off. Also, when removing this pad, pull up this pad to the upper side, disengage the engagement by positioning the locking portion of the clamp spring above the insertion hole, and then move this pad in the protruding direction of the protrusion. This allows the pad to be easily removed. In this way, the pad can be easily attached and detached only by moving the pad. Further, since it is not necessary to deform the locking piece in order to insert the protrusion into the insertion hole when the pad is attached or detached, it is possible to prevent plastic deformation or breakage of the locking piece, and more reliably prevent the pad from coming off. it can. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to use a tool or the like when attaching or detaching the pad, work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the steering wheel of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III of FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the same clamp spring portion, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the same clamp spring portion, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the same pad mounting plate portion, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the clamp spring is horizontally displaced, FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the removal of the same pad, and FIG. 10 is a through-hole portion showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a clamp spring portion showing another embodiment of the present invention. 11 …… Steering wheel body, 15 …… Pad, 22…
… Boss plate as a pad mounting plate, 27, 28 …… Clamp spring, 41 …… Insertion hole, 42 …… Projection, 43 …… Mounting piece, 44 …… Leg piece, 45 …… Locking part, 49 …… Mounting piece, 50 ...
… Locking piece, 52 …… Insertion hole, 61 …… Clamp spring,
62 …… Mounting piece, 63 …… Locking part, 65 …… Leg piece, 66 …… Insertion hole, 67 …… Locking piece.

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A steering wheel main body having a pad mounting plate provided on an upper portion thereof, and a pad mounted on the pad mounting plate of the steering wheel main body via a clamp spring, wherein the pad mounting plate has an insertion hole. The clamp spring has an attachment piece attached to a lower portion of the pad, and the clamp spring is bent from the attachment piece and extends downward to be inserted into an insertion hole of the pad attachment plate. A plurality of leg pieces pressed in the direction of separation to the peripheral wall portion, and inserted into the insertion holes of the pad mounting plate from the upper side to the lower side while deforming these leg pieces in the lower direction of the leg pieces, respectively. A steering wheel having a locking portion, wherein the pad mounting plate holds the pad by engagement between the locking portion and the insertion hole. A protrusion is provided on the outer peripheral wall surface, and the clamp spring mounting piece is located outside the one leg piece and extends downwardly along the leg piece to a position below the leg piece. A locking piece having an intermediate portion is provided on an outer peripheral wall surface of the pad mounting plate, and a projection of the pad mounting plate is inserted into the locking piece so as to move the locking portion upward from the insertion hole. An insertion hole for preventing separation is provided, and the lower end of the insertion hole is attached to the protrusion with the engaging portion of the leg piece positioned above the insertion hole and disengaged. A steering wheel characterized by being in a contact position.