JPH0142899Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field The present invention relates to a horn switch for an automobile steering wheel, and more specifically, the invention relates to a horn switch for an automobile steering wheel. Regarding the mounting structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known, an automobile horn switch is generally installed in the center of a steering wheel, that is, in a portion connected to a steering shaft. Figure 1 shows the principle of this horn switch. In FIG. 1, 1 is a base, 3 is a fixed plate fixed on the base 1, and 2 is a movable plate attached to the fixed plate 3 and the base 1 above the fixed plate 3 and at a constant distance. be. The movable plate 2 is attached to the fixed plate 3 and the base 1 at a plurality of locations, for example, four attachment locations A ₁ to _{A 4} . The fixed plate 3 and the movable plate 2 are respectively provided with contacts 4 and 5 corresponding to each other, and when the movable plate 2 is tilted in an arbitrary direction via an upper cover (not shown), the contacts 4 of either set , 5 comrades can touch each other to close the horn switch circuit and sound the horn.

By the way, in the configuration shown in Figure 1, each mounting location
The detailed structures of A ₁ to _{A 4} have conventionally generally been as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, 6 is an insulated spring seat, 7 is a movable plate holding member, 8 is a coil spring, and 9 is a screw. That is, the fixed plate 3 is arranged on the base 1, the insulated spring seat 6 is arranged on the fixed plate 3, and the movable spring seat 6 is passed through the through hole 2a of the movable plate 2 and the collar 7b is placed on the insulated spring seat. A movable plate holding member 7 that engages with the outer surface of the wall surrounding the through hole of the plate 2 is disposed, and one end thereof is arranged on the outer periphery of the movable plate holding member 7, and the other end is connected to the inner surface of the wall surrounding the through hole 2a of the movable plate 2. Coil springs 8 are arranged such that they are brought into contact with the insulating spring seats 6, respectively. Then, the screw 9 is inserted from the side of the movable plate 2 through the center through holes 6a, 7a of the movable plate holding member 7 and the insulated spring seat 6, and the through hole 3a formed in the fixed plate 3, and through the screw hole 1a formed in the base 3. By screwing into the
The movable plate 3 is always held at a constant distance from the fixed plate 3 and the base 1. That is, when there is no pressing force on the movable plate 2, the movable plate 2 is always pushed upward in the figure by the spring force of the coil spring 8, while the collar 7b of the movable plate holding member 7 prevents it from coming off. This is what is being planned. When the movable plate 2 is pressed from above against the spring force of the coil spring 8, the movable plate 2 can be easily tilted, thereby causing the movable contact 4 to come into contact with the fixed contact 5. It is becoming possible to do so.

However, the conventional movable plate mounting structure described above has a problem in that the mounting work is not easy. That is, the movable plate 2 is attached at four attachment points A ₁ to _{A 4} almost simultaneously, but when the screws 9 are screwed in, the spring force of the coil spring 8 acts on the movable plate 2 at each attachment point. It is necessary to tighten the screws while holding down the movable plate 2, which makes the screw tightening work difficult.

Purpose of the present invention Therefore, the present invention is to facilitate the work of screwing in the screws 9 at each mounting location, that is, to make it possible to tighten the screws without exerting the spring force of the coil spring 8 during the screw tightening work. It is to do so.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention forms a soft protrusion that engages with the outer peripheral thread of the screw in the center through hole of the insulating spring seat, so that the spring seat can be temporarily fixed to the screw. Configured.

According to the above configuration, after the movable plate holding member is inserted into the through hole of the movable plate, the coil spring is arranged around the outer periphery of the holding member, and the screw is inserted into the center through hole of the holding member 7 from the movable plate side. , then
The lower end of the screw, that is, the part that protrudes from the center through-hole of the holding member, is forcibly pressed into the center through-hole of the insulated spring seat against the spring force of the coil spring, and a protrusion is formed in the center through-hole. By meshing with the outer peripheral thread of the screw, these can be integrally assembled with the coil spring being compressed. Next, the assembled screws are inserted into the through holes of the fixing plate and screwed into the screw holes of the base 1. In this case, the spring force of the coil spring does not work at all, and therefore the screw tightening operation becomes very easy and the intended purpose of the present invention can be achieved.

Embodiments The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the basic structure for mounting the movable plate 2 to the fixed plate 3 and the base 1 is completely the same as the conventional mounting structure explained in FIG. The only difference is the structure of a part of the insulating spring seat 6. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the same members having the same functions as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, the insulating spring seat 6 has a center through hole 6a.
Two protrusions B are formed on the inner surface.
This protrusion B is made of plastic molded integrally with the main body of the spring seat 6, is made of soft material, and has a screw 9.
can be bent when it is forcibly press-fitted, and on the other hand, can be engaged with the outer circumferential thread of the screw 9 in the attached state shown in FIG.

In the above configuration, the fixing plate 2 is attached in the following manner.

That is, first, the movable plate holding member 7 is fitted into the through hole 2a of the movable plate 2 from above, and the collar 7b of the holding member 7 is engaged with the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the through hole 2a. Next, insert the screw 9 into the center through hole 2a of the holding member 7 from the side of the movable plate 2, and tighten the head 9a.
is brought into contact with the upper surface of the holding member 7. Next, the coil spring 8 is fitted onto the outer periphery of the holding member 7, and the lower portion of the screw 9 that protrudes from the holding member 7, that is, the screw portion, is forcibly inserted into the center through hole 6a of the insulating spring seat 6. By doing so, the coil spring 8 is compressed by the insulating spring seat 6, and each of the projections B engages with the outer circumferential thread of the screw 9. Therefore,
The screw 9, the holding member 7, the insulating spring seat 6, and the coil spring 8 are integrally fixed to the movable plate 2. Therefore, when tightening the screw 9 into the screw hole 1a of the base 1, simply place the lower end of the screw 9 into the through hole 3a of the fixing plate 3 on the base 1, and simply turn the screw 9. Only screw hole 1
It can be screwed into the a. In this case, at least the insulating spring seat 6 rotates integrally with the screw 9, hardly moving in the axial direction of the screw 9, and as soon as the bottom surface of the insulating spring seat 6 comes into contact with the top surface of the fixed plate 3. The work of screwing in the screw 9 is now completed. Therefore, during the work of screwing in the screws 9, the influence of the spring force of the coil spring 8 can be completely prevented, and the fixed plate 3 of the movable plate 2 and the base 1
This makes the installation work easier, and the intended purpose of the present invention can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of a horn switch for an automobile steering wheel.
A cross-sectional view showing details of each mounting structure at the mounting points _A1 to _A4 in the figure, FIGS. 3 to 5 show embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-section showing the same mounting structure as FIG. 2. 4 is an enlarged half-sectional view of the insulating spring seat 6 in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a bottom view of FIG. 4. 1...Base, 1a...Screw hole, 2...Movable plate, 2a...Through hole, 3...Fixed plate, 3a...Through hole, 4...Movable contact, 5...Fixed contact, 6... Insulated spring seat, 6a...center through hole,
7...Movable plate holding member, 7a...Center through hole, 7
b...Brim, 8...Coil spring, 9...Screw, 9a...Head, _A1 to _A4 ...Mounting location, B...
…protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A fixed plate with a fixed contact is arranged on the base, an insulating spring seat with a center through hole is arranged on the fixed plate, and the insulating spring seat is penetrated by the through hole of the movable plate on the insulating spring seat. A movable plate holding member is disposed that engages the outer surface of the wall surrounding the through hole of the movable plate with a collar and has a center through hole, and on the outer periphery of the movable plate holding member,
A coil spring is arranged so that one end of the coil spring contacts the inner surface of the wall surrounding the through hole of the movable plate and the other end contacts the insulating spring seat, and a screw is inserted from the movable plate side into the movable plate holding member and the insulating spring seat. In the horn switch, which is screwed into a screw hole formed in the base through each center through hole formed in the fixing plate and through each center through hole formed in the fixing plate, a soft protrusion that engages with the outer circumferential thread of the above screw is formed in the center through hole of the insulated spring seat. A horn switch for an automobile steering wheel.