JPH0459472A - Fitting structure to fixed contact plate for horn pad - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the number of parts and reduce the fitting man-hours and fitting cost by hooking the hook legs with a preset shape of a horn pad on peripheries of hook holes with a preset shape of a fixed contact plate. CONSTITUTION:A plate spring 16 is arranged on a plate 12 between the fixed contact plate 12 and a horn pad 8, and hook legs 29 of the pad 8 are inserted into insertion sections 22a of hook holes 22 of the plate 12. When shaft sections 30 of the legs 29 are slid to hook port sections 22b of the holes 22, collar sections 31 of the legs 29 are hooked on peripheries of the hook port sections 22b by springs 16. A spacer 23 is inserted into the fitting hole 12b of the plate 12 from below, the flange section 23b of the spacer 23 is brought into contact with the periphery of the fitting hole 12b, the spacer 23 is screwed to the back face of the pad 8 by utilizing an insertion hole 23a and a screw hole 20, then the pad 8 can be fitted to the plate 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a structure for attaching a horn pad of a steering wheel mounted on an automobile or the like to a fixed contact plate constituting a horn switch.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, as a structure for attaching a horn pad to a fixed contact plate, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 63-172774 is known.

In the structure described in the above publication, a horn switch mechanism consisting of a movable contact plate made of a leaf spring and a fixed contact plate made of a sheet metal is disposed on the back side of a horn pad. The movable contact plate made of the leaf spring, which is a member, is movable so as to approach the fixed contact plate, and is moved along a predetermined path I! from the fixed contact plate. lt! The contact plate is biased so as to be spaced apart from Ii and attached to the fixed contact plate.

The specific installation involves installing a roughly cylindrical synthetic resin spacer with a flange on one end, which is formed at multiple locations on the fixed contact plate so that the other end of the spacer faces toward the horn pad. The fixed contact plate was attached to the back surface of the horn pad by inserting the spacers into the respective holes, bringing each flange portion into contact with the periphery of the respective mounting hole, and screwing each spacer onto the back surface of the horn pad.

The movable contact plate is disposed between the fixed contact plate and the horn pad with its contact portion located on the back surface of the horn pad, and is biased to separate the horn pad from the fixed contact plate. .

The separation distance is regulated by the flange portion of the spacer screwed to the horn pad coming into contact with the periphery of the mounting hole of the fixed contact plate.

In addition, when operating the horn switch, by pressing the horn pad, the horn pad is supported by the contact part of the movable contact plate on the back side, so the contact part is pushed down and brought into contact with the fixed contact plate.
This will activate the horn. At this time, the horn pad moves toward the fixed contact plate using the spacer that slides on the inner peripheral surface of the mounting hole of the fixed contact plate as a guide member.

Note that this spacer is used primarily to prevent interference between the fixed contact plate and the mounting screws described above.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the conventional structure for attaching a horn pad to a fixed contact plate, a plurality of mounting screws are used, and a spacer is provided at each of the mounting locations. was.

For this reason, in the conventional mounting structure, the number of screws and spacers is large, which increases the number of parts used during mounting, increases the number of man-hours for mounting, and increases the mounting cost.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem nB, and provides a structure for attaching a horn pad to a fixed contact plate, which can reduce the number of parts used during attachment and reduce the number of installation steps and installation costs. With the goal.

Means for Solving the Problems> The mounting structure according to the present invention is movable so as to approach a fixed contact plate, and can be moved along a predetermined path from the fixed contact plate. ! When attaching a horn pad that is urged apart via an urging member to the fixed contact plate, a substantially cylindrical spacer having a flange portion at one end is attached to the fixed contact plate. The horn pad is attached to the fixed contact plate by inserting the horn pad into the hole, bringing the flange part into contact with the periphery of the attachment hole, and screwing the spacer onto the back surface of the horn pad. , a locking leg having a shaft and a flange at the tip of the shaft is disposed on the back surface of the horn pad, and the fixed contact plate has the mounting hole formed therein, and a locking leg corresponding to the locking leg. and a locking opening that is adjacent to the insertion portion and has a smaller opening area than the collar and that allows the shaft portion to be inserted. A locking hole is formed, and after the locking leg is inserted into the insertion portion, the locking leg is slid to the locking port, and the collar is locked to the periphery of the locking port. The horn pad is attached to the fixed contact plate using a spacer and the attachment hole.

<Operations and Effects of the Invention> In the mounting structure according to the present invention, first, a biasing member is interposed between the horn pad and the fixed contact plate, and the locking leg of the horn pad is pushed into the locking hole of the fixed contact plate. It is inserted into the insertion section, and then slid to the locking opening of the locking hole, and the collar of the locking leg is locked to the periphery of the locking opening.

After that, insert the spacer into the mounting hole of the fixed contact plate toward the horn pad, bring the flange of the spacer into contact with the periphery of the mounting hole, and screw the spacer to the back of the horn pad. The biasing member causes the collar of the locking leg to lock the periphery of the locking opening in the locking hole of the fixed contact plate. Furthermore, since the flange portion of the spacer engages the periphery of the attachment hole of the fixed contact plate, the horn pad can be attached to the fixed contact plate.

However, in the mounting structure according to the present invention, a spacer and a mounting screw are used because the locking leg of the horn pad has a predetermined shape and locks the periphery of the locking hole of the fixed contact plate with a predetermined shape. Since the number of attachment points can be reduced and the horn pad can be attached to the fixed contact plate, the number of parts used at the time of attachment can be reduced, and the number of installation steps and installation costs can be reduced.

<Example> Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 3, the steering wheel W of the embodiment has a horn pad 8 disposed on the upper part of the boss part B, and a movable contact plate 11 constituting a horn switch H on the lower surface side of the horn pad 8. and a fixed contact plate 12 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the horn pad 8 includes an insert 9 made of a hard synthetic resin such as polypropylene that has shape retention properties, and a covering layer 10 made of a soft synthetic resin such as soft vinyl chloride that covers the insert 9. It is configured.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, the insert 9 has a protrusion 9a for attaching the movable contact plate 11.
and a contact portion 11 of the movable contact plate 11, which will be described later.
A support seat 9b for supporting the spring 1a, and a flat portion 9c for supporting the distal end portion of the elastic portion 16b of the leaf spring 16 as a biasing member, which will be described later, are formed at predetermined positions, respectively.

The insert 9 also has a screw hole 20 near the center of the front part on the back side of the horn pad 8, as shown in Figures 1 and 4.
At the same time, shaft portions 30 are formed near both rear sides of the back side of the horn pad 8.
A locking leg 29 is formed having a collar portion 31 disposed at the tip of the detail 30. These screw holes 20 and locking legs 29 are used to attach the horn pad 8 to the fixed contact plate 12.

Two movable contact plates 11 are arranged on the back surface of the horn pad 8. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, these movable contact plates 11 are formed from sheet metal, and have contact portions 1 bent so as to protrude downward near both ends.
1B, and one mounting hole 11b.

These mounting holes 11b are provided for the movable contact plate 11.
To explain how to attach the movable contact plate 11, which is used when attaching the
The movable contact plate 11 is attached to the horn pad 8 by inserting the movable contact plate 11 into each attachment hole 11b of the movable contact plate 11 and crushing the tip of each protrusion 9a by heat. When each movable contact plate II is attached to the horn pad 8, each contact portion 11a is supported by the support seat 9b of the insert 9 of the horn pad 8. Each movable contact plate 11 is connected to a lead wire 21, and is configured to be connected to the positive electrode side of the horn switch operating circuit via the lead wire 21.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the fixed contact plate 12 is constituted by an earth wall portion of an impact energy absorber 13 made of sheet metal, and this impact energy absorber 13 has a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section. It is composed of a deformable portion 14 and a substantially rectangular frame-shaped base portion 15 fixed to the lower end of the deformable portion 14.

The impact energy absorber 13 is configured such that the fixed contact plate 12 holds the horn pad 8 and the horn pad 8 is placed above the boss plate 2 of the steering wheel W. Incidentally, when assembling the impact energy absorber 13 with the horn pad 8 attached to the steering wheel W, the three locking legs 4a provided on the lower cover 4 are inserted into the locking holes 15a formed in the base portion 15, respectively. This is done by locking the insertion and locking the locking pawl 15b fixed to the base portion 15 to the locking member 17 screwed to the boss plate 2 (see FIGS. 8 to 10).

Each of the locking legs 4a can be elastically contracted in diameter by a head (not shown) at the tip, and each head returns to its original state after passing through each locking hole 158 after contracting in diameter. It is configured so that the peripheral edge of the locking hole 15a can be locked.

Further, after being assembled to the steering wheel W, the fixed contact plate 12 includes the deformed portion 14 of the impact energy absorber 13, the base portion 15, the locking claw 15b, the locking member 17,
The boss plate 2 and the post 1 are light and configured to be connected to the negative electrode side of the horn switch operating circuit.

The fixed contact plate 12 has first, third and third contact plates.
As shown in FIG. 5, one mounting hole 12a into which a spacer 23 is inserted is formed at the center of the front part, and locking holes 22 are formed near both sides of the rear part.

The spacer 23 inserted into the mounting hole 12a is made of synthetic resin such as polyacetal, has a flange portion 23b at one end, and has a substantially cylindrical shape with an insertion hole 23a in the center, and is inserted into the mounting hole 12b of the fixed contact plate 12. The flange portion 23b is formed so as to come into contact with the periphery of the mounting hole 12b when the mounting hole 12b is opened.

In addition, the left and right locking holes 22 are symmetrical to each other,
Each includes an insertion portion 22a and a locking opening portion 22b adjacent to the insertion portion 22a and extending rearward. The insertion portion 22a is inserted into the collar portion 3 of the locking leg 29 of the horn pad 8.
1 is opened in a shape that allows insertion, and a locking opening 22
b has an opening area smaller than the area of the outer shape of the flange 30, and has an opening shape into which the shaft 30 of the locking leg 29 can be inserted. The arrangement position and shape of each locking hole 22 are such that when the flange 31 of each locking leg 29 of the horn pad 8 is locked to the periphery of each locking opening 22b, the screw of the horn pad 8 is The use hole 20 is formed to match the mounting hole 12b of the fixed contact plate 12.

Furthermore, the fixed contact plate 12 has third, fifth and third contact plates.
As shown in Figure 6, horn pads 8 are attached to the front and rear edges.
A leaf spring 16 is provided for biasing the contact plate 12 away from the fixed contact plate 12.

These leaf springs 16 include a fixed part 16a and a fixed part 16a.
An elastic part 16 extends diagonally upward from both sides of the horn pad 8 and has its tip abutted against the flat part 9c of the insert 9 in the horn pad 8.
Equipped with b.16b.

Further, each elastic portion 16b has a through hole 16c formed near the fixed portion 16a. These leaf springs 16 are constructed by inserting and bending a plurality of caulking protrusions 12a cut and raised from a predetermined position of the fixed contact plate 12 into each through-hole 16c. The peripheral edge of 16a is locked and fixed to fixed contact plate 12.

To explain how the horn pad 8 is attached to the fixed contact plate 12 of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. , insert each locking leg 29 of the horn pad 8 into the insertion portion 22a of each locking hole 22 of the fixed contact plate 12, and then insert the shaft portion 30 of each locking leg 29 into each locking hole. When the locking opening portions 22b of 22 are rotated, the flanges 31 of each locking leg 29 are locked to the periphery of each locking opening portion 22b by the leaf spring 16 described above.

Thereafter, the spacer 23 is inserted into the mounting hole 12b of the fixed contact plate 12 from below toward the horn pad 8 side, and the spacer 23 is inserted into the periphery of the mounting hole 12b.
When the spacer 23 is fixed to the back surface of the horn pad 8 with the screws 24 using the insertion hole 23a and the screw hole 20, the flange portion 31 of each locking leg 29 is fixed to the fixed contact plate. The horn pad 8 can be attached to the fixed contact plate 12.

Therefore, in the embodiment, the horn pad 8 can be attached to the fixed contact plate 12 with one spacer 23 and one screw 24, and the same effects as described in the section of the operation and effect of the invention described above can be achieved. .

In addition, in the entire assembly of the steering wheel W of the embodiment, the leaf springs 16 and 1 are attached to the fixed contact plate 12.
6, and the horn pad 8 to which the movable contact plates 11 and 11 are fixed is attached to the fixed contact plate 12, and then the impact energy absorber 13 to which the horn pad 8 is attached is assembled to the steering wheel W. .

Moreover, after the steering wheel W of the embodiment is mounted on a car, by pressing the horn pad 8 downward, the inner circumferential surface of the mounting hole 12 and the inner circumferential surface of the locking opening 22b of the locking hole 22 are connected. The spacer 23 and the shaft portion 30 of the locking leg 29 slide, and the horn pad 8 descends against the urging force of the leaf springs 16, 16, and each movable contact plate 11 fixed to the horn pad 8 However, since the contact portion 11a is brought into contact with the fixed contact plate 12, the horn is activated.

Further, in the embodiment, two locking legs 29 are formed on the side of the horn pad, but if the fixed contact plate 12 can be attached with good balance,
The locking legs 29 may be made into one.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view of the mounting mode showing an embodiment of the present invention, with the section II in FIG. 3 omitted; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the mounting mode of the same embodiment in order Fig. 3 is a plan view of the steering wheel of the same embodiment, Fig. 4 is a back view of the horn pad used in the same embodiment, and Fig. 5 is a view of the impact energy absorber used in the same embodiment. A plan view, FIG. 6 is a partially omitted sectional view showing the Vl-V1 section in FIG. 3, FIG. 347 is a partially omitted sectional view showing the section ■-■ in FIG. 3, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the steering wheel with the horn pad and impact energy absorber removed; FIG.
FIG. 0 is a sectional view showing the section XX in FIG. 8. 8... Horn pad, 12... Fixed contact plate, 12b... Mounting hole, 16... Leaf spring, 20... Screw hole, 22... Locking hole, 22a... Insertion 22b...Latching mouth part, 23...Spacer, 23b...Flange part, 29...Latching leg, 30...Shaft part,...Flame part, W...Steering wheel. Patent applicant: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A horn pad is provided on the fixed contact plate, the horn pad being movable toward the fixed contact plate and urged via a biasing member so as to be separated from the fixed contact plate by a predetermined distance. When installing, a substantially cylindrical spacer with a flange at one end is inserted into the mounting hole formed in the fixed contact plate, the flange is brought into contact with the periphery of the mounting hole, and the spacer is inserted into the mounting hole. The horn pad is attached to the fixed contact plate by screwing to the back surface of the horn pad, and the back surface of the horn pad includes a locking leg having a shaft portion and a flange portion at the tip of the shaft portion. The mounting hole is formed in the fixed contact plate, and an insertion part opening into which the collar can be inserted corresponds to the locking leg, and the collar is adjacent to the insertion part. A locking hole is formed with a locking opening having a smaller opening area than the other portion and into which the shaft portion can be inserted, and the biasing member is disposed between the horn pad and the fixed contact plate. After the locking leg is inserted into the insertion portion, the locking leg is slid to the locking port, and the spacer and the A structure for attaching a horn pad to a fixed contact plate, characterized in that the horn pad is attached to the fixed contact plate using an attachment hole.