JPH0568774U - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a steering wheel that can always grip a grip portion at an optimum wrist angle regardless of the position of the grip portion and does not need to re-grip the grip portion during steering. [Structure] A steering wheel 1 includes a pad portion 2, a ring portion 3 located around the pad portion 2, and a spoke portion 4 connecting the pad portion 2 and the ring portion 3. The ring portion 3 is divided into an upper ring portion main body 5, a lower ring portion main body 6, and a pair of left and right grip portions 7 and 8. The grips 7 and 8 are the steering wheel 1.
It is a part that is gripped by the driver during steering, and has a non-circular cross section and a long shape. And both grip parts 7, 8
Is located between the upper and lower ring portion bodies 5 and 6, and is connected to the upper and lower ring portion bodies 5 and 6 so that the grip portions 7 and 8 can rotate in the circumferential direction.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a steering wheel steered by a driver for steering operation of a vehicle or the like.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there is a steering wheel for a vehicle in which a pair of grip portions are provided on both left and right sides of the ring portion. Both grip portions are configured by forming a part of the ring portion into an irregular cross-sectional shape other than a circular shape, for example, an elliptical shape. Then, if the driver grips these grips, he / she can surely grip the ring, and it is possible to prevent slipping when steering the steering wheel.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when the steering wheel is in the neutral position for straight traveling of the vehicle, even if the angle of the wrist holding the grip is optimal, the steering wheel can be moved in either direction from the neutral position. When the steering wheel is steered, the optimum wrist angle changes, making it difficult to grip the grip. Therefore, in this case, the driver has to re-grip the grip portion every time the steering wheel ring is steered so that the wrist angle is optimized.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to always grip the grip portion at an optimum wrist angle regardless of the position of the grip portion. The purpose is to provide a steering wheel that does not require the user to re-grip the grip during steering.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a ring portion is formed from a ring portion main body and a grip portion provided separately from the ring portion main body and having a non-circular cross section which is gripped by a driver during steering. The grip part is connected to the ring part body so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction.

[0006]

[Action]

 When the steering wheel of the present invention is applied to, for example, a vehicle, when the vehicle is in operation, the driver grips the grip portion of the ring portion and steers the steering wheel. At this time, the position of the grip portion is different when the steering wheel is in the neutral position when the vehicle is traveling straight ahead and when the steering wheel is steered in either the left or right direction from the neutral position. Along with this, the optimum wrist angle of the driver holding the grip changes. At this time, if the grip portion is integral with the ring body, the actual angle of the wrist will deviate from the optimum angle as the ring portion is steered. Therefore, in order to match the actual angle to the optimum angle, the driver has to re-grip the grip. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the grip portion is rotatable in the circumferential direction, the hand holding the grip portion follows the optimum wrist angle change.

[0007]

[Effect of the device]

 According to the present invention, the driver can always grip the grip portion at an optimum wrist angle regardless of the position of the grip portion, so that the driver does not have to re-grasp the grip portion each time the steering wheel is steered, and the steering feeling is improved. The effect that is improved.

[0008]

【Example】

 An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a vehicle steering wheel will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows the steering wheel 1 in a neutral position when the vehicle is traveling straight ahead. The steering wheel 1 includes a pad portion 2 integrally rotatably attached to a tip of a steering shaft (not shown), a ring portion 3 arranged around the pad portion 2, and the pad portion 2 and the ring portion 3. The spokes 4 are connected to each other.

The ring portion 3 is divided into an upper ring portion main body 5, a lower ring portion main body 6, and a pair of left and right grip portions 7 and 8. Of these, the upper ring portion main body 5 covers the upper portion of the ring-shaped core metal 9 having a substantially annular shape, and the lower ring portion main body 6 covers the lower portion of the same ring portion core metal 9. The upper and lower ring portion bodies 5 and 6 form a ring portion body 11.

The left and right grip portions 7, 8 are elongated and are attached to the outer circumference of the ring core metal 9 between the upper and lower ring body bodies 5, 6. Each of the grip portions 7 and 8 is a portion to be gripped when the driver D steers the steering wheel 1, and the cross-sectional shape thereof has a substantially elliptical shape which is one of the non-circular shapes as shown in FIG. There is. This is to securely grip the grip portions 7 and 8 to prevent slipping during steering. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the grip portions 7 and 8 is not particularly limited as long as it is a non-circular shape other than an elliptical shape. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the left and right sides of the ring core metal 9 are covered by both grip portions 7 and 8, and both ends of the upper ring body 5 and the lower ring body 6 are connected to each other. The grip parts 7 and 8 are connected.

The left and right grip parts 7, 8 are rotatable in the circumferential direction of the grip parts 7, 8 as shown by arrows A, B in FIG. 1. Therefore, in this embodiment, The composition is adopted. Since this configuration is basically the same for both the left and right grip portions 7, 8, the right grip portion 8 will be described here, and the description for the left grip portion 7 will be omitted.

First, the grip portion 8 is composed of two parts as shown in FIG. 4, and both parts are bonded to each other with the ring core metal 9 being sandwiched therebetween. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower half of the insert 12 is embedded in the upper end of the grip portion 8. The insert 12 is made up of two parts and is formed by adhering the two together. The insert 12 has a through hole 13 through which the end of the upper ring body 5 is inserted, and the insert 12 has a spring accommodating spring having a diameter larger than that of the through hole 13 in the middle part thereof. A chamber 14 is provided.

On the other hand, an annular protrusion 15 is formed on the outer periphery of the right end of the upper ring body 5. The right end of the upper ring body 5 is inserted into the through hole 13, and the annular protrusion 15 is inserted into the spring accommodating chamber 14. A spiral spring 16 is arranged in the spring accommodating chamber 14, the inner end of which is locked by the annular projection 15 and the outer end of which is locked by the insert 12. The spiral spring 16 is for returning the rotated grip portion 8 to the original position.

A protrusion 5 a and a recess 12 a are formed on the outer periphery of the end of the upper ring portion body 5 and the inner periphery of the lower portion of the insert 12, which engage with each other when the grip portion 8 is in the original position where it is not rotated. Therefore, when the grip portion 8 is pivotally returned by the spiral spring 16, the grip portion 8 stops at the original position.

Further, the connecting portion between the upper ring body 5 and the grip portion 8 is covered with a bellows-shaped rubber boot 17. Both ends of the rubber boot 17 are locked in the annular recesses 5b, 8b of the upper ring body 5 and the grip portion 8, respectively. The rubber boot 17 bends when the grip portion 8 rotates and prevents the rotation from being transmitted to the upper and lower ring portion bodies 5 and 6.

Since the connecting portion between the lower ring body 6 and the lower end of the grip portion 8 is basically the same as the structure using the insert 12, the spiral spring 16, the rubber boot 17, etc. described above, Then, the description is omitted.

In the present embodiment configured as described above, when driving the vehicle, the driver D grips both left and right grip portions 7 and 8 of the ring portion 3 and steers the steering wheel 1. At this time, when the steering wheel 1 is in the neutral position when the vehicle is traveling straight as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 and when the steering wheel 1 is steered from the neutral position in the direction of arrow C as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. The positions of the grip parts 7 and 8 differ between and. With the displacement of this position, the optimum wrist angle of the driver D holding the grip portions 7 and 8 changes. At this time, in the conventional technique in which the grip portion is integrated with the ring body, the actual angle of the wrist deviates from the optimum angle as the ring portion is steered. Therefore, in order to match the actual angle with the optimum angle, the driver has to re-grip the grip.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the grip portions 7 and 8 can be rotated in the circumferential direction (directions of arrows A and B), the hand holding the grip portions 7 and 8 is the optimum wrist. Follow the angle change of. Therefore, the driver D can always grip the grip portions 7 and 8 at an optimum wrist angle regardless of the positions of the grip portions 7 and 8. Therefore, the driver D does not have to re-grip the grip portions 7 and 8 every time the steering wheel 1 is steered, and as a result, the steering feeling is improved.

When the steering wheel 1 is steered as described above, the spiral spring 16 is wound or pulled by the rotation of the grip portions 7 and 8, and spring force is accumulated. Therefore, when returning the steering wheel 1 from this steering position to the neutral position, if the hands are released from the grip portions 7 and 8, the grip portions 7 and 8 are biased by the spring force of the spiral spring 16, and the original portions are automatically moved. Rotate back to the position. At the time of this rotation return, the recess 12a of the insert 12 and the projection 5a of the upper ring body 5 are engaged with each other, so that the grip portions 7 and 8 reliably stop at their original positions.

In addition, in order to return the rotated grip portions 7 and 8 to the original positions, the grip portions 7 and 8 may be changed as shown in FIG. That is, the protrusion 18 is provided in the insert 12, the outer peripheral portion of the upper ring body 5 is notched, and both ends of the notch 5c and the protrusion 18 are connected by the pair of coil springs 19 and 20. If the spring forces of the coil springs 19 and 20 are equalized when the grip portions 7 and 8 are not rotated, one coil spring 19 is compressed when the grip portions 7 and 8 are rotated. At the same time, the other coil spring 20 is pulled, so that if the hands are released from the grip portions 7 and 8, the grip portions 7 and 8 can be automatically returned to their original positions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion between a grip portion and an upper ring portion main body.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a connecting portion between a grip portion and an upper ring portion main body.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view of another example in which a coil spring is used instead of the spiral spring of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Ring part, 7, 8 ... Grip part, 11 ... Ring part body

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A grip part (7, 8) having a non-circular cross section, which is provided separately from the ring part body (11) and which is gripped by a driver during steering. A steering wheel comprising: a ring portion (3) and a grip portion (7, 8) rotatably connected to the ring portion main body (11) in the circumferential direction.