JP5342316B2 - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering wheel whose design component can be easily exchanged and which has high mounting reliability. <P>SOLUTION: The steering wheel includes a steering core 2 composed of a rim part 21 constituting a grip, a boss part 22 disposed inside the rim part 21 and rotatably journaled by a vehicle body, and a spoke part 23 interconnecting the rim part 21 and the boss part 22 to each other. The rim part 21 of the steering core 2 is covered by a cover shell 5, and the cover shell 5 is prevented from coming off from the steering core 2 by mounting a garnish cover 6 that covers at least any of the boss part 22 and the spoke part 23 to the steering core 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering wheel that steers a vehicle such as an automobile.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a steering wheel used for steering a vehicle such as an automobile is, as described in Patent Document 1, an annular rim portion that constitutes a grip portion of a user, and a steering shaft that is positioned inside the rim portion. A boss portion fixed to the rim portion, and a plurality of spoke portions connecting the rim portion and the boss portion to constitute a steering core metal, and a part of the rim portion of the steering core metal and the rim portion side of the spoke portion is present. The upper and lower cover shells cover one part and the other parts existing on the upper and lower sides of the boss part and the boss part side of the rim part are covered by the center pad and body cover (lower cover) installed on the boss part. The surface of the cover shell body is formed by two-color molding or is formed by wrapping natural or synthetic leather or the like It is more covered.

JP 2002-326575 A

  By the way, in recent automobiles, in accordance with the diversification of user's preferences, diversification of colors, patterns, and textures has been performed on various mounting parts installed indoors. For example, a special specification car with small parts with designer brand accessories and character designs on standard specification cars, a finisher panel with a carbon-like film attached to a sporty grade, or a high-grade car Various methods that appeal to the user's sensibility have been used, such as applying a grain or leather with dimples and a back skin to produce a high-quality appearance and touch.

  These are all in the category of variations provided by the manufacturer and rarely change throughout the life of the vehicle. Users enjoy making cute, cool cars that look like no other's car, such as putting fur (fake fur) on the instrument panel or arranging small stuffed animals.

  The range that can be changed by making these cars is limited to relatively uncomplicated functions, and there is a tendency to hesitate to modify the steering wheel for driving the car. In particular, when an air bag module is installed at the center of the steering wheel, it is difficult to replace it with a sports brand or designer brand steering wheel. In other words, the detailed specifications of the airbag module are determined for each vehicle according to the impact absorption characteristics at the time of collision of the vehicle body, and a steering wheel equipped with or capable of mounting an airbag module that matches the vehicle is Since it is difficult to establish as a business, it does not exist at all in the aftermarket. Therefore, giving up the safety of collision by the airbag module or attaching a rim cover to the existing steering wheel was a viable option.

  Also in the configuration of the conventional steering wheel, the spoke portion of the steering core is covered with the center pad and the body cover together with the upper and lower cover shell pieces, so that the upper and lower cover shell pieces, the center pad portion and the body cover Everything needs to be changed. Furthermore, when the surface of the upper and lower cover shell pieces is covered with a covering portion formed by wrapping natural or synthetic leather or the like, the entire steering wheel must be replaced.

  In short, the above-described conventional steering wheel discloses a structure in which the upper and lower cover shell pieces are attached to the steering core, but it can be easily removed once or repeatedly after the attachment, and the user can select a desired color tone. It is not designed to be replaced with a textured part.

  In addition, if the appearance is degraded due to wear, etc., the entire steering wheel will be replaced, requiring specialist skills and dedicated tools, and cannot be freely and easily replaced by ordinary users. . Therefore, a considerable cost burden is involved.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel in which design components can be easily exchanged and the mounting reliability is high.

A steering wheel according to the present invention includes a rim portion that constitutes a grip portion, a boss portion that is disposed inside the rim portion and pivotally supported by a vehicle body, and connects the rim portion and the boss portion to each other. A steering core comprising a spoke portion, the rim portion of the steering core is covered with a cover shell body, and a garnish cover covering at least one of the boss portion and the spoke portion is provided on the steering core. The cover shell body is configured to be prevented from coming off from the steering mandrel by being attached to gold, and further, an engagement protrusion is formed on the garnish cover, and an engagement receiving portion is provided on the cover shell body. The cover shell body is removed from the steering mandrel by engaging the engagement protrusion with the engagement receiving portion. Characterized in that it has been configured to stop.

  According to the present invention, since the upper surface side of the spoke portion of the steering metal core is covered with the cover shell body or the garnish cover, the appearance design of the entire steering wheel can be obtained by replacing the cover shell body or the garnish cover. Can be greatly different. Since the garnish cover prevents the cover shell body from coming off from the steering core, the mounting reliability can be improved.

Further, with this configuration, the garnish cover attached to the steering core can engage with the engagement receiving portion on the cover shell body side to prevent the cover shell body from coming off from the steering core, The cover shell body can be easily detached from the steering core.

  In the present invention, a locking claw is formed on the back surface side of the cover shell body, and a long hole-shaped engaging portion with which the locking claw is engaged is formed in the rim portion. The cover claw body may be installed on the rim portion by slidingly rotating on the rim portion to engage the locking claw with the elongated hole-shaped engaging portion.

  With this configuration, the cover shell body can be engaged with or detached from the elongated hole-shaped engagement portion by moving the rim portion, thereby facilitating attachment / detachment to the steering core. Can do.

  Furthermore, the cover shell body according to the present invention includes an upper cover shell piece portion that covers the upper side of the rim portion of the steering core metal, and a lower cover shell piece portion that covers the lower side of the rim portion of the steering core metal. The lower cover shell piece may be divided into two parts.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to easily avoid various operation parts and functional parts on the vehicle body side and to smoothly replace the lower cover shell piece portion while the steering core is attached to the vehicle body.

  Since the present invention is configured to prevent the cover shell body covering the rim portion of the steering core metal from being removed by the garnish cover, the cover shell body as a design component of the entire steering wheel can be easily replaced, and Since it can be easily removed when used, the appearance specifications can be changed regardless of the expert's advanced skills, the user can change parts and the steering wheel can be changed, and the appearance can be changed in various ways according to the user's customization preference In addition to providing a design steering wheel, it has the outstanding effect of opening up the possibility of supplying various custom parts that meet the mounting structure requirements of certain specifications.

1 is a perspective view depicting an overall configuration of a steering wheel that employs an embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. It is the perspective view which decomposed | disassembled and drawn each component in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a steering core bar in FIG. 2. It is the expansion perspective view which drawn the front side divided shell from the back side among the lower side cover shell bodies which comprise the cover shell body in FIG. It is the expansion perspective view which drawn the back side divided shell from the back surface side among the lower side cover shell bodies which comprise the cover shell body in FIG. It is the expansion perspective view which drawn the upper side cover shell body which comprises the cover shell body in FIG. 3 from the back surface side. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower cover in FIG. 2 drawn from the back side. It is the expansion perspective view which drawn the garnish cover in FIG. 2 from the back surface side.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a steering wheel of an automobile will be described with reference to the drawings.

  A steering wheel 1 of an automobile steers the wheel by rotating a steering shaft (not shown) and steers the automobile. As shown in FIGS. The center pad 3, the lower cover 4, the cover shell body 5, or the garnish cover 6, which is configured by incorporating an airbag (not shown), various switches, and the like, is configured.

  The steering core 2 is integrally formed by, for example, pressing, punching, and bending a steel plate such as an SPCD steel plate. In this embodiment, the rim portion 21 having an annular shape is formed to form a grip portion of the user. A boss portion 22 disposed inside the rim portion 21 and fixed to a steering shaft (not shown), and a plurality of, in this embodiment, three spoke portions 23 that connect the rim portion 21 and the boss portion 22 to each other. It has and is constituted.

  Since the steering shaft 1 is mounted on the vehicle body in a state in which the steering shaft is normally inclined, the vicinity of the position F shown in FIG. The center pad 3 side is the occupant side, that is, the front side, the upper side, the opposite side of the occupant side, that is, the vehicle body that is the steering shaft side, that is, the rear side, the lower side, and the front side of the vehicle, that is, the windshield side above the front side, is the front side. The rear side of the vehicle, that is, the rear lower side is defined as the rear side, both the left and right directions of the vehicle are defined as the left and right sides, and the axis of the steering shaft is described as the operation axis O (see FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the spoke portion 23 is configured by arranging central spoke portions 23a, 23b and a rear spoke portion 23c extending in the left and right sides together with a boss portion 22 described later in a substantially T-shape. The central spoke portions 23a, 23b and the rear spoke portion 23c are connected to the inner side of the rim portion 21 while the other end side is connected to the boss portion 22 so that the rim portion 21 and the boss portion 22 are connected to each other. doing.

  The center spoke parts 23a and 23b are plate-shaped, and step parts 23d are formed in the middle part so as to face the upper and lower sides, respectively, and the first garnish cover mounting hole 23e is formed in the step part 23d. Is drilled.

  The rear spoke portion 23c is formed in a bifurcated shape with the rear end and the midway portion being bridged by the cross pieces 23c-1 and 23c-2, respectively.

  A steering shaft mounting portion 22a for mounting the other end side of the steering shaft having one end provided on the vehicle body side is formed at a substantially central portion of the boss portion 22 of the steering metal core 2, and both ends sandwiching the steering shaft mounting portion 22a. A first center pad mounting portion 22b is formed on each upper side surface, and a protruding piece portion 22c is formed at the front end portion of the boss portion 22 so as to face each other. A front lower cover mounting boss 22d that protrudes in a projecting manner is formed, and the front lower cover mounting boss 22d is formed with a screw hole (not shown) that opens to the lower surface side thereof.

  The rear side of the boss portion 22 is formed in a bifurcated shape, and a boss portion bridging piece 22f is formed in the middle portion of the bifurcated portion 22e, and a rear lower cover is provided at each of the left and right ends of the boss portion bridging piece 22f. A mounting boss 22g is formed, and a second garnish cover mounting hole 22h is formed at a substantially central position between the rear lower cover mounting bosses 22g.

  Further, second center pad attachment portions 22 i are formed at both ends of the bifurcated portion 22 e of the boss portion 22.

  In this embodiment, the rim portion 21 is formed in an annular plate shape, and cover shell body attachment holes 21a and 21b are formed in one end side connecting peripheral portions of the center spoke portions 23a and 23b, respectively. In addition, a pair of cover shell body mounting holes 21a are similarly formed in the upper side of the rim part 21 in a state of being separated from each other, and the lower side of the rim part 21 is also in the state of being separated from each other. A pair of cover shell body mounting holes 1b are formed in the first and second cover shell body mounting holes 1b.

  In this embodiment, a plurality of long hole-like engaging portions 54 are formed in the rim portion 21 so as to exist between the cover shell body mounting holes 21a and 21b. One end side in the circumferential direction of the rim portion 21 in the joint portion 54 is formed in the enlarged diameter portion 54a.

  The cover shell body 5 is beautifully decorated by painting the surface, giving a pattern to be exposed on the surface, or forming two colors of natural leather or synthetic leather. As shown in FIG. The upper cover shell piece portion 51 covers the upper side facing the passenger side of the portion 21 and the lower cover shell piece portion 52 covers the lower surface side facing the vehicle body side of the rim portion 21.

  On the inner peripheral edge of the upper cover shell piece 51, as shown in FIG. 4, three sets of elongated protrusions 51a and small protrusions arranged in a plate shape facing the occupant side and arranged on the circumference. 51b are formed in a staggered manner so as to protrude inward, and the elongated protrusions 51a and the small protrusions 51b are disposed around the one end side connection portions of the center spoke parts 23a and 23b and the rear spoke part 23c, respectively. The elongated protrusion 51a is provided with a long hole garnish cover engagement hole 51a-1, and the small protrusion 51b is provided with a round hole garnish cover engagement hole 51b-1. Yes.

  Further, a plurality of engaging claws 53 are formed on the front and rear back side wall surfaces of the upper cover shell piece 51 so as to be bent in a hook shape in the same direction on the circumference and exhibit a substantially L shape. In the example, a total of four are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lower cover shell piece 52 is composed of a pair of divided shells 52a and 52b divided in a substantially semicircular shape in the vicinity of the portions facing the one end sides of the central spoke portions 23a and 23b. ing.

  Of the pair of split shells 52a and 52b, on the back surface of the front split shell 52a, there are four cylindrical rim portion mounting bosses 52a-1 arranged concentrically with the operation axis O as the center. It protrudes (see FIG. 5).

  In addition, insertion projecting pieces 52a-2 that extend inward and are inserted between the central spoke portion 23a and the lower cover 4 are formed at both ends of the front divided shell 52a.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the rear divided shell 52 b extends inwardly at the opposite ends of the lower cover 4 and the center of the rear lower end of the lower cover 4, and extends toward the center spoke portion 23 a, the rear spoke portion 23 c and the lower cover. 4, the insertion protrusions 52b-2 and 52b-3 are formed so as to be sandwiched between them, and the distal end of the insertion protrusion 52b-2 is formed at the distal end of the insertion protrusion 52a-2. As a result, the front divided shell 52a and the rear divided shell 52b are combined with each other corresponding to the annular rim portion 21. As a result, an annular shape is formed, and the joints are continuous with each other.

  Further, four cylindrical rim portion mounting bosses 52b-1 are provided on the rear surface of the rear divided shell 52b so as to be spaced apart from each other concentrically around the operation axis O.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the lower cover 4 is attached to the lower surface side of the boss portion 22, and around the steering shaft insertion hole 41 a in the bottom wall portion 41, a front lower cover mounting boss 22 d and a rear lower cover mounting boss 22 g are provided. Correspondingly, a front-side mounted boss 41b and a rear-side mounted boss 41c are projected, and a screw mounting hole 41d is formed in the front-side mounted boss 41b and the rear-side mounted boss 41c.

  The lower cover 4 extends in three directions along the lower surface side of the central spoke portions 23a and 23b and the rear spoke portion 23c of the steering core 2 at the front left and right sides and the rear substantially central portion of the bottom wall portion 41. The inclined side surface portions 42 are configured to cover the spoke portions 23 of the steering core 2 from the lower surface side. Each inclined side surface portion 42 is formed with a hollow boss-like screw insertion hole 43.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the center pad 3 is configured as a hollow body having a substantially triangular shape with rounded corners. An air bag (not shown) or various switches are built in the center pad 3. The emblem is provided, and the first center pad mounting portion 22b and the second center pad mounting portion 22i are mounted on the lower surface side (not shown), thereby mounting on the upper side of the boss portion 22. It will be configured to be.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the garnish cover 6 has a center pad fitting portion 61 that opens on the front side so as to be fitted around the outer periphery of the center pad 3, and the center pad fitting portion 61 as a center. The spoke portion cover piece 62 extends in three directions along the central spoke portions 23a and 23b and the rear side spoke portion 23c constituting the portion 23.

  Each spoke part cover piece 62 corresponds to the first garnish cover attachment hole 23e and the second garnish cover attachment hole 22h on the side of the steering core 2 near the root part connected to the center pad fitting part 61, Cylindrical garnish cover mounting bosses 63 are respectively formed.

  Further, a substantially strip-like fitting protrusion 64 and a round hole garnish that engage with the long hole garnish cover engagement hole 51a-1 on the upper cover shell piece part 51 side are provided at the tip of each spoke part cover piece 62. Columnar engagement bosses 65 that engage with the cover engagement holes 51b-1 are respectively formed.

  Next, the assembly work process to the steering wheel 1 will be described with the constituent elements configured as described above assembled.

  First, the front mounted boss 41b and the rear mounted boss of the lower cover 4 with the inclined side surface portions 42 of the lower cover 4 correspondingly attached to the center spoke portions 23a, 23b and the rear spoke portion 23c of the steering metal core 2, respectively. 41c is made to correspond to the front lower cover mounting boss 22d and the rear lower cover mounting boss 22g, respectively, and the front mounted boss 41b, the rear mounted boss 41c, the front lower cover mounting boss 22d, and the rear lower cover using screws 44 or the like. The lower cover 4 is mounted on the lower surface side of the steering core 2 by attaching the mounting bosses 22g. At this time, the inclined side surface portion 42 of the lower cover 4 is connected to the center spoke portions 23a, 23b of the steering core 2. Cover the lower surface of the rear spoke 23c It becomes Rukoto.

  Further, the center pad 3 is addressed from the upper side of the boss portion 22 of the steering metal core 2, an attachment portion (not shown) formed on the lower surface side of the center pad 3, the first center pad attachment portion 22 b of the boss portion 22, and The center pad 3 is attached to the boss portion 22 in a state of covering the upper side of the boss portion 22 by attaching the second center pad attachment portion 22i with a screw or the like (not shown).

  Next, the steering metal core 2 is attached to the steering shaft mounting portion 22a of the boss portion 22 on the other end side of the steering shaft (not shown) through which the steering shaft insertion hole 41a formed in the bottom wall portion 41 of the lower cover 4 is inserted. Thus, it is installed on the vehicle body.

  After assembling in this state, an operation of covering the rim portion 21 of the steering core 2 with the cover shell body 5 is performed.

  That is, first, of the lower cover shell piece portion 52 of the cover shell body 5, the front divided shell 52 a is addressed to the front lower surface of the rim portion 21, and on the front side of the rim portion mounting boss 52 a-1 and the rim portion 21. The front cover shell 52a is attached to the rim portion 21 by facing the existing cover shell attachment hole 21a and fastened to the cover shell body attachment hole 21a from the upper surface side of the rim portion 21 using screws 55 or the like. At this time, the insertion protrusion 52a-2 of the front divided shell 52a is inserted and sandwiched so that there is no gap between the inclined side surface portion 42 and the rim portion 21 of the lower cover 4.

  Further, the rear divided shell 52b is addressed to the rear lower surface of the rim portion 21, and the distal end portion of the insertion projection piece 52b-2 is connected to the V-shaped fitting portion 52a-3 at the distal end portion of the insertion projection piece 52a-2. The rim part mounting boss 52b-1 and the cover shell body mounting hole 21b existing on the rear side of the rim part 21 are made to face each other, and a cover shell is used from the upper surface side of the rim part 21 using a screw 56 or the like. The rear divided shell 52b is attached to the rim portion 21 by being fastened to the body attachment hole 21b. At this time, the insertion protrusion 52b-2 of the rear divided shell 52b is inserted and sandwiched so that there is no gap between the inclined side surface portion 42 and the rim portion 21 of the lower cover 4 as well. At the same time, the insertion protrusion 52b-2 is fitted into the V-shaped fitting portion 52a-3 of the insertion protrusion 52a-2.

  Next, the upper cover shell piece portion 51 is directed to the upper surface side of the rim portion 21, and the engaging claws 53 of the upper cover shell piece portion 51 are moved from the enlarged diameter portions 54 a of the long hole-like engaging portions 54. After the insertion, the upper cover shell piece portion 51 is moved on the rim portion 21 about the operation axis O, whereby the engagement claw 53 is engaged with the elongated hole-like engagement portion 54, and the upper cover shell piece portion 51 is engaged. Is attached to the rim portion 21.

  As a result, the upper cover shell piece 51 and the lower cover shell piece 52 cooperate to cover the upper and lower surfaces of the rim portion 21.

  Next, the center pad fitting portion 61 of the garnish cover 6 is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the center pad 3, and the spoke portion cover pieces 62 are respectively connected to the center spoke portions 23 a and 23 b and the rear portion of the spoke portion 23 of the steering core 2. The side protrusions 23c are addressed to engage the fitting protrusions 64 with the long hole garnish cover engagement holes 51a-1 of the upper cover shell piece 51 and the engagement bosses 65 of the upper cover shell piece 51. Engage with the round hole garnish cover engagement hole 51b-1.

  Thereafter, the screws 66 (or clip bodies) inserted through the screw insertion holes 43 formed in the inclined side surface portion 42 of the lower cover 4 are inserted into the first garnish cover attachment hole 23e and the second garnish cover attachment hole 22h on the spoke portion 23 side. The garnish cover 6 is attached to the garnish cover mounting boss 63 through the boss 63 so that each spoke part cover piece 62 covers the upper side of the center spoke parts 23a, 23b and the rear spoke part 23c. 2 will be attached.

  At this time, the upper cover shell piece 51 is fixed to the rim portion 21 of the steering core 2 by the garnish cover 6 and is prevented from rotating with the lower cover shell piece 52 together with the rim portion 21. Here, the assembly work of the steering wheel 1 is completed.

  In such a state, the front divided shell 52a and the rear divided shell 52b overlap each other so as to be flush with the upper cover shell piece portion 51, and the rim portion 21 does not appear to the outside.

  In the present embodiment configured as described above, the upper surface side of the spoke portion 23 of the steering metal core 2 is covered with the cover shell body 5 or the garnish cover 6, so that the garnish cover 6 is replaced. Thus, the appearance design of the entire steering wheel 1 can be greatly varied. Since the garnish cover 6 prevents the cover shell body 5 from coming off the steering core 2, the mounting reliability can be improved.

  Further, in this embodiment, the garnish cover 6 attached to the steering core 2 has an engagement protrusion 64 and an engagement boss 65 as the engagement protrusions on the cover shell body 5 side. The cover shell body 5 can be prevented from being detached from the steering core metal 2 by being engaged with the elongated projections 51a and the small piece projections 52b, so that the cover shell body 5 can be easily detached from the steering core metal 2. .

  In the present embodiment, the cover shell body 5 can be engaged with or removed from the elongated hole-like engagement portion 54 of the engagement claw 53 by moving on the rim portion 21. 2 can be easily attached and detached.

  Further, in this embodiment, while the steering mandrel 2 is attached to the vehicle body, various operation parts and functional parts on the vehicle body side can be easily avoided, and the lower cover shell piece portion 52 can be smoothly replaced. .

  In the above embodiment, the cover shell body 5 is beautifully painted by coating the surface, applying a pattern that appears on the surface, or forming two colors of natural leather or synthetic leather. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in order to meet the demand for diversity, it may be beautifully dressed by winding natural leather or synthetic leather.

  As described above, the present invention is suitable for a steering wheel that steers a vehicle such as an automobile because it can provide a steering wheel with easy replacement of design components and high mounting reliability.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering wheel 2 Steering core 21 Rim part 22 Boss part 23 Spoke part 3 Center pad 4 Lower cover 5 Cover shell body 51 Upper cover shell piece part 51a-1 Elongated garnish cover engagement hole (engagement receiving part)
51b-1 Round hole garnish cover engagement hole (engagement receiving portion)
52 Lower cover shell piece 52a Front divided shell 52b Rear divided shell 53 Engaging claw 54 Long hole engaging part 6 Garnish cover 64 Fitting protrusion (engaging protrusion)
65 Engagement boss (engagement protrusion)

Claims (3)

Steering core formed by a rim portion that constitutes a grip portion, a boss portion that is disposed inside the rim portion and is pivotally supported by the vehicle body, and a spoke portion that connects the rim portion and the boss portion to each other A cover shell body that covers the rim portion of the steering core metal, and a garnish cover that covers at least one of the boss portion and the spoke portion is attached to the steering core metal. The shell body is configured to be prevented from coming off from the steering mandrel , and further, an engagement protrusion is formed on the garnish cover, and an engagement receiving portion is formed on the cover shell body, the engagement receiving portion by engaging the engaging protrusion, and characterized by being configured the cover shell body to retained relative to the steering core metal Steering wheel that. A locking claw is formed on the back surface side of the cover shell body, and a long hole-like engaging portion with which the locking claw is engaged is formed in the rim portion, and the cover shell body slides on the rim portion. by moving the rotation, a steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the locking claw to be engaged with the elongated hole-shaped engaging portion, characterized in that the cover shell member was mounted on the rim. The cover shell body includes an upper cover shell piece portion that covers the upper side of the rim portion of the steering core, and a lower cover shell portion that covers the lower side of the rim portion of the steering core, and the lower cover The steering wheel according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the shell portion is divided into two parts.