JPH04300753A - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To appropriately hold strength of a shock absorber, insure safety of crew, and improve production efficiency with simple fitting construction, in a steering wheel provided with a horn switch on the shock absorber arranged on the lower part of the interior of a pad covering a boss part. CONSTITUTION:A shock absorber 14 having opening parts 18 right and left is formed with a switch fitting groove 24 on the upper face part 19, a grummet 33 is engaged with the switch fitting groove 24, the movable contact piece 35 of a horn switch 12 is fitted to the grummet 33, and hence the horn switch 12 is arranged. Because it is unnecessary to provide a hole part such as screw hole on the upper face part 19 of the shock absorber 14, strength of the shock absorber 14 is appropriately held, the manhour is reduced, and ability for general purpose can be improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Object of the invention]

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering wheel for an automobile or the like, and more particularly to a steering wheel that is provided with a shock absorber and a horn switch mechanism inside and below the pad of the steering wheel.

0003

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in this type of steering wheel, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-76574, a plurality of holes such as screw holes for attaching a horn switch etc. are provided on the upper surface of a shock absorber. had to be formed.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, according to the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is necessary to form a plurality of holes such as screw holes on the upper surface of the shock absorber, which makes it difficult to properly maintain the strength of the shock absorber. In addition, since drilling is required, the number of steps increases, causing a deterioration in work efficiency.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to maintain the strength of the shock absorber appropriately without forming holes such as screw holes on the upper surface of the shock absorber, and to have a simple structure. An object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel in which a horn switch can be disposed on the upper surface of a shock absorber.

[Configuration of the invention]

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a steering wheel equipped with a shock absorber, a pad, and a horn switch, wherein the shock absorber is disposed inside and below the pad that covers a boss portion. has openings on the left and right sides and a mounting groove formed on the top surface, and the movable contact piece of the horn switch is attached to a grommet that engages with the mounting groove formed on the top surface of the shock absorber. It is.

[0008]

[Function] In the present invention, a mounting groove is formed on the top surface of the shock absorber, and the movable contact piece of the horn switch is attached to the grommet that engages with this mounting groove. Without forming holes, the horn switch can be easily installed on the shock absorber while maintaining the appropriate strength of the shock absorber, and the horn switch mounting position can also be easily changed along the mounting groove. can.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of an embodiment of the steering wheel of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 1 denotes a steering wheel for an automobile or the like. A pad 6 is provided on the upper part of a steering wheel main body 5 consisting of a plurality of connected spoke parts 4, in this embodiment, on the upper part of a boss part 3.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. The shock absorber 14 is mounted on the boss plate 8 by fitting the clamp spring 15 engaged with the lower surface portion 20 of the absorber 14 into the insertion hole 11 of the boss plate 8. A lower cover 9 made of resin that covers the lower surface and lower side surface of the boss portion 3 is fitted to the lower portion of the metal boss 7 and is screwed onto this boss plate 8 with screws 10. A pad 6 made of soft resin, which has a core material 13 inside a part covering the upper surface, screws a mounting boss 53 protruding downward from the inner surface to the flange portion 22 of the shock absorber 14 with a screw 56. It is fixed by this.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shock absorber 14 is made of, for example, extruded or cast metal such as aluminum, or extruded synthetic resin.
Alternatively, it is integrally molded by injection, with one opening on the left and right.
8, the lower surface portion 20 having the upper surface portion 19 and the flange portion 22 is flat, and the front and rear side portions 21 are approximately cylindrical in shape. The side portion 21 is deformed to absorb impact. Additionally, a switch mounting groove 24 serving as a mounting groove spanning the entire length in the left and right direction for arranging the movable contact piece 35 of the horn switch 12 is simultaneously molded approximately at the center of the upper surface portion 19. A pair of contact mounting grooves 25 are simultaneously molded on both sides of the contact mounting grooves 25.

As shown in FIG. 3, the switch mounting groove 24 has a substantially hexagonal cross section with an outwardly bulging inner surface 26 and no sides, and the shock absorber 14 is inserted into the switch mounting groove 24. Rod-shaped insulating grommet 3 of approximately the same length
3 is inserted and fitted from the opening 18 side or above, and the contact mounting groove 25 has a planar shape with both sides 28 of the upper opening 27 protruding inward, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. A contact plate 34, which has a triangular protrusion 31 protruding from the center of the bottom part 30, has a rod shape approximately the same length as the shock absorber 14, and is made of a conductive material and has a substantially E-shaped cross section as a grounding terminal. is inserted and fitted from the opening 18 side of the shock absorber 14.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the grommet 33 is formed of an insulating material such as resin and faces a base plate 36 which is pressed against the movable contact piece 35 via a groove 37. It is comprised of a pair of front and rear legs 38 that are inserted into the switch mounting groove 24. The base plate portion 36 is formed into a rectangular plate shape, and a plurality of screw insertion holes 40 for fixing the movable contact piece 35 are formed in the upper surface 39 at predetermined intervals. A pair of legs 38 protruding from the center of the lower surface of the base plate 36 is formed to have a cross-sectional shape that matches the shape of the switch mounting groove 24, and the outer surface 41 of the leg 38 has a cross section that matches the shape of the switch mounting groove 24. inner surface 26 of
A bulging portion 42 is formed which comes into contact with the bulge. A plurality of movable contact pieces 35 and a horn cord 44 connected to the positive electrode side of the horn circuit via a slip ring (not shown) are fixed onto this substrate portion 36 with screws 46. This screw 46 is connected to a through hole 45 at the end of the horn cord 44, a through hole 48 at the center of the movable contact piece 35, and a screw insertion hole 40.
Insert the grommet 33 through the grommet while self-tapping.
The screw 46 is screwed into the groove 37 between the legs 38 of the grommet 33 to expand the groove 37 between the legs 38 of the grommet 33 and connect the inner surface 26 of the switch mounting groove 24 and the outer surface of the leg 38. 41 are pressed into engagement with each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, the movable contact piece 35 is made of an elastic and conductive rectangular metal plate, and includes a base 49 at the center in which a through hole 48 is formed, and a base 49 at the center in which a through hole 48 is formed. An arm portion 50 is formed by bending both sides of the arm portion 49 upwardly and laterally and is swingable up and down, and an end portion of the arm portion 50 is formed by bending downward and then outward. A contact portion 51 serves as a point of contact with the contact plate 34, and a recess 52 is provided on the upper surface of each arm portion 50.
is formed.

As shown in FIG. 1, a horn pad is supported on the upper surface of the pad 6 that covers the upper surface and the upper side surface of the boss portion 3 by an annular thin wall portion 54 formed from the back surface of the pad 6 so as to be freely pressable. A portion 55 is formed. On the back surface of this horn pad portion 55, a protrusion 57 is provided which abuts against the recess 52 of the arm portion 50 of the movable contact piece 35 when the pad 6 is attached to the flange portion 22 of the shock absorber 14 with the screw 56. There are multiple protrusions extending downward.

When the horn pad portion 55 is pressed, the arm portion 50 of the movable contact piece 35 pressed by the protrusion 57 on the back surface of the horn pad portion 55 swings downward, and the contact portion 51 is pressed against the contact plate. 34, the positive electrode side of the horn circuit and the ground side are electrically connected to form a horn circuit.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

A switch mounting groove 24 and a contact mounting groove 25 are formed on the top surface 19 of the shock absorber 14 at the same time as the main body of the shock absorber 14, and the horn switch 12 is attached to a grommet 33 that engages with the switch mounting groove 24. Since the movable contact piece 35 is attached with screws 46 and the contact plate 34 is engaged with the contact mounting groove 25, there is no need to form a hole such as a screw hole in the upper surface 19 of the shock absorber 14, and the shock absorber The strength of the impact absorber 14 can be properly maintained to ensure the safety of the occupants, and the process of making holes in the upper surface 19 of the impact absorber 14 is not required, and the impact absorber 14 is integrally molded to reduce the number of steps. , production efficiency can be improved.

By attaching the movable contact piece 35 of the horn switch 12 to the grommet 33 engaged in the switch mounting groove 24 with the screw 46, the horn switch 12 can be reliably and easily disposed on the shock absorber 14. Production efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, the screw insertion hole 40 of the grommet 33
By changing the position of the movable contact piece 35 of the horn switch 12, the mounting position of the movable contact piece 35 of the horn switch 12 can be easily changed along the switch mounting groove 24. 14 has high versatility and can realize cost reduction.

[0022] When fixing the grommet 33 to the shock absorber 14, the shape of the switch mounting groove 24 and the shape of the grommet 33 are not limited to those of this embodiment, and may be approximately U-shaped in cross section or approximately U-shaped in cross section. It is also possible to have a square shape or a substantially trapezoidal shape, and the shape of the grommet 33 and the shape of the switch mounting groove 24 do not necessarily have to match, and it is also possible to fix them with an adhesive.

Furthermore, when fixing the contact plate 34 to the shock absorber 14, as shown in FIG. 7, after the contact plate 34 is fitted into the contact mounting groove 25, By deforming the bottom portion 30 by applying an appropriate impact, the connection and fixation can be made more securely.Furthermore, fixation using an adhesive is also possible.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the grommet 33 and the contact plate 34 may have a rectangular shape with only the portion that contacts the movable contact piece 35 instead of being rod-shaped as in this embodiment. possible, and in this case these grommets 33a and contact plate 34a
can be more easily fixed by using rectangular plate-shaped positioning jigs 59 and 60 each having a positioning opening 58 formed therein.

[0025]

According to the present invention, a mounting groove is formed on the upper surface of the shock absorber, and the movable contact piece of the horn switch is attached to the grommet that engages with this mounting groove. There is no need to form holes such as screw holes, and the strength of the shock absorber can be maintained appropriately and the safety of the occupant can be ensured.

By engaging the grommet with the mounting groove and attaching the movable contact piece of the horn switch to the grommet, the horn switch can be easily disposed on the shock absorber, and production efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, the installation position of the horn switch is
It can be easily changed along the mounting groove, increasing the versatility of the shock absorber and reducing costs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 8, showing an embodiment of a steering wheel according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the shock absorber and horn switch.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the same grommet and switch mounting groove.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the grommet and the switch mounting groove.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the contact mounting groove same as above.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the contact mounting groove and the contact plate.

FIG. 7 is an end view of the contact mounting groove and the contact plate.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the steering wheel same as above.

FIG. 9 is an assembly process diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an assembly process diagram of the same as above.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Steering wheel 3 Boss part 6 Pad 12 Horn switch 14 Shock absorber 18 Opening part 19 Top part 24 Switch mounting groove 33 as a mounting groove
Grommet 35 Movable contact piece

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering wheel comprising a shock absorber, a pad, and a horn switch, wherein the shock absorber is disposed inside and below the pad that covers a boss portion.
It has an opening on the left and right sides and a mounting groove is formed on the top surface, and the movable contact piece of the horn switch is attached to a grommet that engages with the mounting groove formed on the top surface of the shock absorber. steering wheel.