JPH042465B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a shock absorbing handle for a vehicle used in an automobile or the like.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

The steering wheel of an automobile is located in front of the occupant, and the occupant may collide with the steering wheel during a head-on collision. As an example is shown in FIG. 16, a horn switch 2 is generally built in the center of the handle 1, and a center pad 3 is placed on the driver's side. 4 is a steering shaft. The center pad 3 mentioned above can buffer the impact to some extent during a collision, but because it is not thick enough, it is also used as a cushioning material.
As seen in Japanese Patent No. 10453, a steering wheel incorporating an hourglass-shaped energy absorber has also been proposed. However, the energy absorption performance of this prior art mainly depends on the load characteristics of one energy absorber, so it is not easy to design it to exhibit the best energy absorption performance. Moreover, this prior art energy absorber
During a collision, the axially intermediate portion of the energy absorber buckles inward, so even if a second energy absorber is housed inside this energy absorber, the outer energy absorber will buckle during a collision. As a result, they interfere with the inner energy absorber, making it impossible to obtain the desired energy absorbing performance.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a shock absorbing handle for a vehicle that can sufficiently buffer a collision between the handle and an occupant.

[Summary of the invention]

The gist of the present invention is to provide a shaft-side member fixed to the steering shaft side, a driver-side member disposed at a position away from the shaft side and the member, and a driver-side member fixed to the shaft side and the driver-side member. A metal deformable frame is provided on the periphery between the side member and can be plastically deformed in response to a load applied in the direction of the steering shaft; a nonmetallic energy absorbing material mainly made of a polymeric material that absorbs energy with deformation or elastic deformation; The metal deformable frame has a curved part provided at the end located on the steering shaft side and an undeformed part along the axis of the steering shaft, and the curved part is It is pre-bent into a U-shape that protrudes in a direction parallel to the axis of the steering shaft so as not to interfere with the non-metallic energy absorbing material at times, and has a second load characteristic different from the first load characteristic, The present invention is characterized in that an energy absorption system is constructed by a combination of the first load characteristic and the second load specification. Note that the driver side member may be integrally molded with the deformable frame.

According to the above configuration, when the center pad is pushed forward during a collision, the curved portion of the deformable frame plastically deforms to absorb the impact, and the energy absorbing material arranged inside the deformable frame It can be compressed to absorb energy and effectively cushion occupants from collisions. The curved portion is pre-bent into a U-shape that protrudes in a direction parallel to the axis of the steering shaft, and in the event of a collision, this curved portion is encouraged to deform in a direction that does not interfere with the non-metallic energy absorbing material. That is, deformation behavior such as when the deformable frame bulges outward or buckles inward is suppressed, and problems such as damage caused to the non-metallic energy absorbing material by the metal deformable frame are also avoided. Therefore, the deformable frame and the energy absorbing material can each exhibit predetermined energy absorbing characteristics, and by using these two members in combination, predetermined energy absorbing characteristics can also be obtained. Additionally, since energy absorbing materials are placed inside the deformable frame, less space is required to install them. Furthermore, it is also possible to adopt a structure in which, for example, a center pad, a horn switch, etc. are supported by the driver side member connected to the deformable frame or formed integrally with the deformable frame.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, numeral 10 indicates a steering shaft. A boss 11 is fixed to the tip end 10a of the steering shaft 10, and a shaft-side member 12 constituting a base frame is integrally fixed to the boss 11.
The boss 11 is located at the center of a ring portion (not shown), and is prevented from rotating by a serration 13. 14 is a fixing nut.

Further, a disc-shaped member 15 on the driver's side is disposed so as to be spaced apart from and opposite to the shaft-side member 12. This member 15 is provided with one contact 16a of a horn switch. Furthermore, the above member 15
A pad frame 20 is disposed on the driver's side of the vehicle, and a center pad 21 made of a relatively flexible material is attached to the pad frame 20. 16
b is the other contact point of the horn switch. The pad frame 20 is supported by a support mechanism 22 so as to be movable toward and away from the member 15, so that the contacts 16a and 16b can be turned on and off. 23 is a return spring.

A deformable frame 25 is provided around the space formed between the shaft-side member 12 and the driver-side member 15, and the shaft-side member 12
and the driver side member 15 are connected to each other. However, the deformable frame 25 and the member 15 may be formed integrally. These deformed frames 25
... is a ferrous metal, similar to the above-mentioned members 12 and 15,
Alternatively, they are made of a metal material such as aluminum alloy, and are arranged at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction of both members 12 and 15. Further, on one end side of each deformable frame 25, that is, the end portion located on the steering shaft 10 side, there is a U-shaped structure that can be plastically deformed when receiving a load applied in the direction of the axis C of the steering shaft 10.
A curved portion 26 is provided which is pre-bent into a letter shape. This curved portion 26 is bent into a U-shape that protrudes in a direction parallel to the axis C of the steering shaft 10.

Further, an L-shaped mounting portion 27 is provided at the end of the deformable frame 25, and is fixed to the member 15 by riveting, welding, or the like. Moreover, between the curved part 26 and the attachment part 27, there is a substantially straight undeformed part 28.
As shown in FIG. 1, the undeformed portion 28 is along the axis C of the steering shaft 10. As shown in FIG.

Various shapes can be adopted as the specific shape of the deformable frame 25. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, the plate width W is the same over the entire length, or as shown in Fig. 3, the plate width on the curved portion 26 side gradually decreases in a tapered shape, or As shown in the figure, there is a shape in which the plate width on the curved portion 26 side gradually decreases in a tapered shape, and the undeformed portion 28 is slightly curved in the plate width direction. If the deformable frame 25 in FIGS. 3 and 4 has a tapered shape, the curved portion 2 will bend when compressive load is applied.
The plastic deformation can be made to progress sequentially from the narrow part on the 6th side. 29 indicates a mounting hole. Alternatively, holes 25a may be provided as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7. This makes it possible to increase the shock absorption capacity when, for example, the plate thickness is increased in order to increase the rigidity of the frame.

The energy absorbing material 30 is housed inside the space surrounded by the deformable frames 25. The energy absorbing material 30 is made of a polymer material with relatively large elastic deformation, such as rubber or soft urethane, or a polymer material with relatively large plastic deformation, such as a hard or semi-rigid foam of urethane, polyethylene, or polystyrene. materials, or composite materials such as FRP (fiber-reinforced synthetic resin). The shape of the energy absorbing material 30 may be a cylinder, a truncated cone, a truncated pyramid, or a combination thereof, and may be hollow or solid. Since the energy absorbing material 30 is arranged inside the space surrounded by the deformable frames 25, the space required for installing them is relatively small.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the energy absorbing material 30.
The one using FRP is shown. This FRP energy absorbing material 30 is made by hardening reinforcing fibers with a well-known matrix resin, and the reinforcing fibers 3
1... are oriented in a direction crossing the compression direction o-o. According to research conducted by the present inventors, good results as an energy absorbing material have been obtained when these reinforcing fibers 31 are oriented at an angle of 45° or more with respect to the compression direction o-o. That is, in Figure 10,
For the line segment x-x in the direction perpendicular to the compression direction, -
By orienting the reinforcing fibers in the range of 45°≦θ≦+45°, the FRP material is crushed with large deformation.
Great energy absorption effect can be obtained. θ is 45°
When approaching the compression direction o-o beyond , the load increases and it becomes difficult to obtain large deformation. When the energy absorbing material 30 is made of FRP as described above, it is desirable that it be hollow.

As shown in FIG. 8, when a load is applied in the direction of the steering shaft due to a collision and the center pad 21 is pushed in the P direction, the shock absorbing handle constructed as described above causes the curved portion of the frame to deform in the direction in which the load is applied. At the same time as the plastic deformation of 26 progresses, the energy absorbing material 30 is strongly compressed and absorbs energy with the deformation, and due to their interaction, energy at the time of a collision can be effectively absorbed. At the same time, the center pad 21, pad frame 20, etc. also deform to absorb a portion of the energy. This is extremely effective in protecting the occupant from collision with the steering wheel. Note that FIG. 11 schematically shows an example of the load characteristics of the synthetic resin energy absorbing material, that is, the first load characteristics, and FIG. 12 schematically shows an example of the load characteristics of the metal deformable frame, that is, the second load characteristics. There is. The load characteristics when these two members are used in combination are as shown in FIG. As can be seen from the above figures, since the peak values of the loads of both members are different from each other, the impact (deceleration) can be suppressed to a low level, and efficient energy absorption characteristics can be obtained. In addition, in drop tests using a weight imitating a human head from various heights, acceleration (deceleration) less than half that of conventional products was obtained.

FIG. 14 shows another embodiment of the invention.
In this case, the energy absorbing material 30 is fixed to the pad 21 and pad frame 20 side. Since the other basic configurations and effects are the same as those of the previous embodiment, corresponding parts will be given the same reference numerals and explanations will be omitted. Note that the member 15 is a deformable frame 25
A part of the flange may be integrally formed into a flange shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 15, a deformable frame 2 is attached to the outer wall of the rising portion of the shaft side member 12
5 may be fixed by spot welding 25b, etc.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, a structure is adopted in which the pad frame, etc. is supported by the deformable frame 25 for energy absorption, so if the strength of the deformable frame 25 is made too low in consideration of energy absorption characteristics, the frame rigidity will be insufficient. and bending occurs,
It is also conceivable that it constitutes a vibration system and causes various vibrations. As a countermeasure against this, it is preferable to provide a hard or semi-hard synthetic resin in close contact with the inner surface of the deformable frame 25 over the entire length of the deformable frame 25 or only on the inner surface of the curved portion 26. By doing this, the deformed frame 2
5 can be reinforced, the above-mentioned deflection or vibration can be prevented from occurring, and the deformation of the deformable frame 25 will not be impaired in the event of a collision. In view of vibration, it is desirable to fix the synthetic resin to the deformable frame 25 with a viscoelastic adhesive.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a large amount of energy can be absorbed by the deformable frame and the energy absorbing material, and the protection of the occupant is improved compared to the conventional one. Moreover, by combining the load characteristics of the metal deformable frame and the non-metallic energy absorbing material, which have different load characteristics, the present invention can exhibit the best energy absorption performance, and the metal deformable frame Even if the frame is deformed, the deformed frame does not interfere with the non-metallic energy absorbing material located inside the deformed frame, so it can exhibit the desired energy absorbing effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the handle showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 7 are perspective views showing different aspects of the deformable frame, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the state at the time of a collision. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of the energy absorbing material, and FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the direction of reinforcing fibers of the energy absorbing material.
Figure 11 is a diagram showing the load characteristics of the energy absorbing material, Figure 12 is a diagram showing the load characteristics of the deformable frame, Figure 13 is a diagram showing the load characteristics of the combined use of the energy absorbing material and the deformable frame, and Figure 14 is a diagram showing the load characteristics of the deformable frame. FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 15 is a side view showing another aspect of the fixed portion of the deformable frame, and FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional handle. 10... Steering shaft, 12... Shaft side member, 15... Driver side frame part,
21... Center pad, 25... Deformed frame, 26... Curved portion, 30... Energy absorbing material, 31... Reinforcing fiber.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A shaft-side member 12 fixed to the steering shaft 10 side, and this shaft-side member 1
driver side member 15 disposed at a position apart from 2;
and a metal deformable frame 2 that is provided around the periphery between the shaft-side member 12 and the driver-side member 15 and is plastically deformed by a load applied in the direction of the axis C of the steering shaft 10 during a collision.
5, and a non-metallic energy absorbing material 30 mainly made of a polymer material, which is disposed inside the deformable frame 25 and absorbs energy with plastic deformation or elastic deformation when subjected to compressive force during a collision. , the non-metallic energy absorbing material 30 has a first load characteristic in which deformation progresses according to the magnitude of the load during a collision, and the metal deformable frame 25 is provided at the end located on the steering shaft 10 side. The curved portion 26 has a curved portion 26 and an undeformed portion 28 along the axis C of the steering shaft 10.
The steering shaft 1 is arranged so as not to interfere with the non-metallic energy absorbing material 30 in the event of a collision.
It is pre-bent into a U-shape that protrudes in a direction parallel to the axis C of 0, and has a second load characteristic different from the first load characteristic, and these first load characteristics and second load characteristics are A shock absorbing handle for a vehicle, characterized in that it constitutes an energy absorbing system by a combination of the following. 2. The shock absorbing handle for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein urethane is used as the nonmetallic energy absorbing material.