JP2572081B2 - Steering wheel structure - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a current-carrying structure of a steering wheel mounted on a vehicle-side mounting portion using a clockwise connector.

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, for example, in a vehicle such as an automobile, a steering wheel that is rotatably mounted on a vehicle body is generally provided with a switch such as a horn that requires electric wiring. In order to electrically connect the rotating steering wheel to the vehicle body, sliding contacts including a slider (brush) and a plate are generally provided.

By the way, in a vehicle equipped with an airbag device for protecting an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision, the airbag device is generally housed in a central pad portion of a steering wheel and fixed to the vehicle body side to detect a collision. It is electrically connected to a sensor unit or a power supply unit.

In the vehicle equipped with the airbag device, since extremely high reliability is required for the operation of the device, extremely high reliability is required also for a current-carrying portion between the steering wheel on which the airbag device is mounted and the vehicle body. .

However, when the steering wheel is electrically connected to the vehicle body by the sliding contact, the brush and the plate are disengaged at the time of a vehicle collision or the like, so that electricity cannot be supplied. There is a problem that it may not be possible.

For this reason, the steering wheel and the vehicle body side are connected with a spiral wire harness directly to provide a highly reliable current supply, as a means for providing higher reliability of the power supply section between the steering wheel and the vehicle body side. A so-called clockwise connector that absorbs the rotation of a steering wheel is well known (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-185657).

The clockwise connector includes a fixed portion attached to the vehicle body side, and a movable portion rotatably provided to the fixed portion and attached to the steering wheel, and the movable portion and the fixed portion are formed in a spiral shape. By connecting with a wire harness, the steering wheel and the vehicle body are energized. Therefore, in order to obtain a predetermined number of rotations (for example, three rotations in the clockwise direction and three rotations in the counterclockwise direction) in each of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction in the rotation operation of the steering wheel, In order to prevent the rotation of the steering wheel from being hindered due to the insufficient number of turns in any of the above rotation directions, or to prevent the wire harness from being cut by the rotation of the steering wheel, the spiral of the wire harness It is necessary to determine a neutral position where the state is appropriate, and attach the fixed part and the movable part to the vehicle body side and the steering wheel side in a state where they are aligned with the neutral position.

For this reason, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, the alignment marks 52a, 52a,
53a is attached, and the mutual rotation of the fixed part 52 and the movable part 53 is prevented by, for example, an adhesive tape 54 or the like.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-described conventional method, when assembling the clockwise connector 51, it takes time to remove the adhesive tape 54, and after the adhesive tape 54 is removed, the fixing portion When the movable part 53 and the movable part 53 rotate from each other and deviate from the neutral position, the angle is simply deviated, or
For example, since it is not possible to determine whether the alignment marks 52a and 53a are deviated by rotating more than one rotation, the workability at the time of assembling the clockwise connector 51 decreases as the neutral position must be searched again. there were.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the present invention has been made by assembling without removing a locking member for locking a fixed portion and a movable portion of a clockwise connector. It is an object of the present invention to provide a current-carrying portion structure of a steering wheel capable of improving workability at the time of attachment.

[Means for Solving the Problems] For this reason, the present invention provides a steering system in which a mounting portion fixed to a vehicle body and a steering wheel rotating with respect to the mounting portion are energized via a clockwise connector. In the current-carrying portion structure of the wheel, the fixed portion of the clockwise connector attached to the attachment portion and the movable portion of the clockwise connector attached to the fixed portion so as to be rotatable and attached to the steering wheel are not rotatable. A locking member for freely locking is provided, the locking member includes a pivot portion provided on one of the fixed portion and the movable portion, and a latch rotatably supported by the pivot portion. With a board,
An engaging portion is formed at one end of the locking plate to be engaged with the other of the fixed portion and the movable portion, while the engaging portion is formed at the other end of the locking plate. Is provided integrally with the locking plate, and when assembling the steering wheel and the movable portion, the assembling force acts on the spring portion. The engagement between the engaging portion and the other side is released, and the locked state between the fixed portion and the movable portion is released.

According to the present invention, the fixed portion and the movable portion of the clockwise connector for energizing the steering wheel and the vehicle body are non-rotatably locked by the locking member, and the locking member is It has the shaft support portion and the locking plate, and the engaging portion and the spring portion are provided at both ends of the locking plate, respectively. When assembling the steering wheel and the movable portion, the assembling is performed. When the attachment force acts on the spring portion, the locked state between the fixed portion and the movable portion is released, so when assembling the clockwise connector between the steering wheel and the vehicle body side, There is no need to remove the locking member, so that the fixed part and the movable part do not deviate from each other from the state where they are positioned at the neutral position.

In this case, since the spring portion is provided integrally with the locking plate, the number of components does not increase, and the engaging portion and the spring portion are provided at both ends of the locking plate. Therefore, even with a relatively small spring force, the moment generated in the engagement portion increases, and the fixed portion and the movable portion can be more reliably locked in the aligned state.

As a result, workability in mounting the clockwise connector between the steering wheel and the vehicle body can be improved.

Further, the locking member makes the fixed portion and the movable portion of the clockwise connector non-rotatable and rotatable at the time of assembling the steering wheel. Even when there is, the fixed part and the movable part do not inadvertently rotate, the operation of searching for a neutral position can be omitted, and the workability can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle 1 including the steering wheel 3 according to the present embodiment includes an airbag device 11 at the center of the steering wheel 3.

The airbag device 11 is mounted at various places in the front part of the vehicle body 2 and detects crash sensors 12,.
An igniter 13 which is activated by a signal from the igniter 12, an inflator 14 which explodes by the operation of the igniter 13, an airbag 15 which inflates instantaneously when the inflator 14 explodes, and a steering wheel 3
A mounting plate 16 and a ling ring 17 for mounting the airbag, a liner 18 that covers the airbag 15 at normal times, and a cover 19 that covers the entire airbag device 11 are provided.

The steering wheel 3 is rotatably mounted on a combination switch 5a of a steering column 5 fixed to the vehicle body 2 via a clockwise connector 4 described in detail later.

As shown in FIG. 3, the clockwise connector 4 is provided on a fixed portion 21 attached to the combination switch portion 5a of the steering comb 5 and provided rotatably with respect to the fixed portion 21. A movable portion 22 attached to the steering wheel 3 which can rotate with respect to the steering wheel 3;
And a spiral wire harness 23 fixed to each of them.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wire harness 23 includes, for example, three conductors 23a, 23b, and 23c, and these conductors are connected to a horn switch (not shown) attached to the steering wheel 3 via a lead 24. (Illustration), the inflator 14 of the airbag device 11, and a ground wire (not shown) of the inflator 14.
It is connected to the. The wire harness 23 is in a state where the clockwise connector 4 is assembled (see FIG. 2).
The connector 4 is spirally housed in an annular space 25 defined by the fixed part 21 and the movable part 22 of the connector 4.

In the rotation operation of the steering wheel 3, the clockwise connector 4 has a predetermined number of rotations (for example, three rotations in each of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction) in each of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction. Therefore, the rotation of the steering wheel 3 is not hindered or the wiring harness 23 is not cut by the rotation of the steering wheel 3 because the number of turns of the wire harness 23 is insufficient in any one of the rotation directions. Next, a neutral position where the spiral state of the wire harness 23 is appropriate is determined, and the fixed part 21 and the movable part 22 are mounted on the steering column 5 and the steering wheel 3, respectively, in a state where they are aligned with the neutral position.

By the way, the clockwise connector 4 according to the present embodiment
In order to fix the fixed part 21 and the movable part 22 to the neutral position before the fixed part 21 and the movable part 22 are attached to the steering column 5 and the steering wheel 3, respectively, Is provided with a locking member.

 Hereinafter, this locking member will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a locking member 31 for locking the fixed portion 21 and the movable portion 22 of the clockwise connector 4 so as to be non-rotatable.
Is the movable part on the side attached to the steering wheel 3
The pivot portions 34, 34 fixed to the end surface of the 22, the pivot shaft 33 rotatably supported by the pivot portions 34, 34, and the pivot shaft 33 is fixed and integrated with the pivot shaft 33. And a locking plate 32 that rotates.

At the outer peripheral end of the locking plate 32, there is provided an engaging portion 32a having a distal end portion bent downward to engage with an engaging hole 21a provided on the end surface of the fixed portion 21. At the same time, at the inner peripheral end, the engaging portion 32a is
A spring portion 32b formed by being bent in a substantially rectangular shape is provided in order to urge in the depth direction of the engagement hole 21a.

The locking member 31 configured as described above, the fixed portion 21 and the movable portion 22 are aligned with the neutral position in a state where the fixed portion
In order to lock the movable part 22 with the movable part 22, the movable part 22 is attached to the end face of the movable part 22 on the side attached to the steering wheel 3,
By engaging the engaging portion 32a with the engaging hole 21a of the fixed portion 21, the fixed portion 21 and the movable portion 22 are locked so as not to rotate in the circumferential direction. At this time, since the engagement portion 32a is pressed in the depth direction of the engagement hole 21a by the spring action of the spring portion 32b provided at the circumferential end of the locking plate 32, the engagement hole 32a can be easily formed. Never get out of 21a.

Then, with the fixed portion 21 and the movable portion 22 locked as described above, first, the fixed portion 21 is moved to the steering column 5.
Then, the movable part 22 is attached to the steering wheel 3.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the spring portion 32b provided at the inner peripheral end of the locking plate 32 is pressed between the end surface of the movable portion 22 and the end surface of the center pad 3a of the steering wheel 3. Compressed. As a result, the engaging portion 32 a provided at the outer peripheral end of the locking plate 32 receives the force in the direction of pulling out from the engaging hole 21 a of the fixed portion 21 and rotates about the rotating shaft 33 as a fulcrum. Then, it is withdrawn from the engagement hole 21a. That is, due to the assembling force when assembling the steering wheel 3 and the clockwise connector 4, the clockwise connector 4
The locked state between the fixed part 21 and the movable part 22 is released,
1, 22 can be made rotatable with respect to each other.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the fixed portion 21 and the movable portion 22 of the clockwise connector 4 for energizing the steering wheel 3 and the steering column 5 fixed to the vehicle body 2 are connected to the movable portion 22. Locking member 31 provided on
And the steering wheel 3 and the movable part 22 are assembled with each other.
Since the engaging portion 32a of the locking member 31 is withdrawn from the engaging hole 21a provided in the fixed portion 21 so that the locked state between the movable portion 22 and the fixed portion 21 is released, the clock width is reduced. When assembling the connector 4 between the steering wheel 3 and the steering column 5, it is not necessary to remove the locking member 31, and therefore, the fixed part 21 and the movable part 22 are mutually moved from the state where they are aligned at the neutral position. There is no shift.

In this case, since the spring portion 32b is provided integrally with the locking plate 32 of the locking member 31, the number of components does not increase, and the engaging portions 32b are engaged with both ends of the locking plate 32. Since the portion 32a and the spring portion 32b are provided, the moment generated in the engaging portion 32a increases even with a relatively small spring force, and the fixed portion 21 and the movable portion 22 are more securely locked in the aligned state. can do.

As a result, workability when assembling the clockwise connector 4 between the steering wheel 3 and the steering column 5 can be improved.

The locking member 31 makes the fixed part 21 and the movable part 22 of the clockwise connector 4 unrotatable and rotatable when the steering wheel 3 is assembled. For example, even when the clock-wise connector 4 exists alone, the fixed portion 21 and the movable portion 22 do not rotate carelessly, and the operation of searching for a neutral position can be omitted, thereby improving workability. Can be achieved.

In the above-described embodiment, the spring portion 32b of the locking member 31 is pressed and flattened by assembling the steering wheel 3 and the movable portion 22 of the clockwise connector 4. The spring portion is formed by compressing a spring member, for example, a compression coil spring, between the inner peripheral portion of the locking plate and the end surface of the movable portion 22 of the clockwise connector 4 so that the clockwise connector 4 can be used for maintenance or the like. And when disassembling the steering wheel,
Again, the spring action is restored, and the engagement portion can be urged in the depth direction of the engagement hole.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a locking member according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a clockwise connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting structure of the clockwise connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a general perspective view of a clockwise connector according to a conventional example, and FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a vehicle provided with the airbag device. 2 ... body, 3 ... steering wheel, 4 ... clock-wise connector, 5 ... steering column, 21 ...
... fixed part, 22 ... movable part, 31 ... locking member, 32 ... locking plate, 32b ... spring part.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A power supply structure of a steering wheel in which a mounting portion fixed to a vehicle body and a steering wheel rotating with respect to the mounting portion are energized via a clockwise connector, wherein the mounting portion is mounted on the mounting portion. A locking portion for locking the clockwise connector and a movable portion of the clockwise connector attached to the steering wheel so as to be rotatable with respect to the fixing portion, The locking member has a pivot portion provided on one of the fixed portion and the movable portion, a locking plate rotatably supported by the pivot portion, and one end of the locking plate. On the other hand, an engaging portion to be engaged with either the other of the fixed portion and the movable portion is formed, while the other end of the locking plate is provided with the engaging portion in the engaging direction. Inspire A spring portion is provided integrally with the locking plate, and when assembling the steering wheel and the movable portion, the assembling force acts on the spring portion, so that the engagement portion has A current-carrying portion structure for a steering wheel, wherein the engagement with the other side is released, and the locked state between the fixed portion and the movable portion is released.