JPH06107097A - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a steering wheel provided with an impact absorbing body without a hole part such as a screw hole formed on the impact absorbing body, having necessary strength and function as the impact absorbing body and simple structure for general purpose usability. CONSTITUTION:A fixture 20 for fixing an impact absorbing body 10 to a pad body or a mounting plate is inserted and fixed into a mounting groove 18 integrally formed in molding of the impact absorbing body. Thus, it is not necessary to form a hole part such as a screw hole on the impact absorbing body 10 any longer, and since strength of the impact absorbing body 10 is properly maintained and collapse of the hole part is eliminated, the impact absorbing body can be firmly mounted on the pad body or the mounting plate. Also, as the fixture 20 is only inserted and fixed into the mounting groove 18, positioning and mounting of the fixture 20 onto the impact absorbing body 10 is facilitated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering wheel for an automobile, and more particularly to a shock absorber disposed on a mounting plate of a pad body of a boss portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of steering wheel, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-130876, a clamp for mounting the shock absorber on a lower surface of the shock absorber to a mounting plate, for example, a boss plate. Holes such as screw holes for spring attachment had to be formed.

[0003]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is difficult to maintain the strength of the shock absorber appropriately due to the plurality of holes formed in the shock absorber.

Further, according to the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is necessary to perforate the shock absorber at a predetermined position.
The number of processes is increasing, resulting in a decrease in work efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and has the strength and function required for a shock absorber without forming a hole such as a screw hole in the shock absorber. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a steering wheel provided with a shock absorber having a simple structure and versatility.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, in the steering wheel of the present invention, a fixture for fixing the shock absorber to the pad body or the mounting plate,
When the shock absorber is formed, it is fixed by inserting it into the integrally formed mounting groove.

[0007]

In the present invention, since the mounting groove is integrally formed at the time of molding the shock absorber, it is no longer necessary to form a hole portion such as a screw hole in the shock absorber, and the strength of the shock absorber is appropriate. Since the holes are not crushed at the same time when the shock absorber is held, the shock absorber can be firmly attached to the pad body or the attachment plate.

Further, since the fixture for fixing the shock absorber to the pad body or the mounting plate is simply inserted and fixed in the mounting groove, the positioning of the fixture and the mounting of the shock absorber can be easily performed. .

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a steering wheel 1 of an automobile or the like in which a shock absorber is arranged. The steering wheel 1 has a steering wheel body 5 including an annular rim portion 2, a boss portion 3 located at the center thereof, and a plurality of spoke portions 4 connecting the rim portion 2 and the boss portion 3. The pad body 6 is provided on the boss portion 3.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. In this case, the lower cover 7 of the boss portion 3 is screwed to a boss plate 8 as a mounting plate fixed to a steering shaft (not shown) with a screw 9, and the shock absorber 10 is mounted on the boss plate 8. It is fixed. A pad body 6 made of a soft resin, in which a core material 11 is provided in a part covering the upper surface and the upper side surface of the boss portion 3, is provided with a mounting boss 12 projecting downward from the inner surface and a flange portion of the shock absorber 10. 1
It is fixed by being screwed to the screw 3 with the screw 14.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shock absorber 10 integrally formed by extruding or casting a metal such as aluminum or extruding or injecting a synthetic resin has openings on the left and right sides. It has a substantially cylindrical shape and has a planar upper surface portion 15 and a lower surface portion 16, and arcuate front and rear side surface portions 17. Shock absorber 10
On the basis of this configuration, when the impact is applied from above, the side surface portion 17 is mainly deformed to absorb the impact.

On the lower side surface of the lower surface 16 of the shock absorber 10, a pair of mounting grooves 18 extending in the left-right direction and opened at both ends are integrally formed at the same time as the shock absorber 10 is formed. ing. Further, in the case of this embodiment, a pair of screw grooves 19 extending in the left-right direction over the entire length and released at both ends are provided on the upper side surface of the lower surface 16 of the shock absorber 10 corresponding to the mounting grooves 18. After all, it is integrally molded at the same time as the shock absorber 10 is molded. The mounting groove 18 and the thread groove 19 are provided with openings 22 and 23 for accommodating a clamp spring 20 as a fixing tool and a screw 21 as an additional fixing tool. However, the screw 21 and the thread groove 19 are
It is not always necessary to attach the clamp spring 20, and may be omitted in some cases.

The clamp spring 20 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular plate-shaped mounting piece 24 and the mounting piece 2
4 and a leg piece 25 bent from one end thereof are formed into a substantially L shape. A locking portion 26 bent in a dogleg shape is formed at the tip of the leg piece 25, and a rectangular plate-shaped fixing piece having a screw insertion hole 27 from the central portion of the leg piece 25 to the mounting piece 24. 28 is cut and raised in the opposite direction to the leg piece 25.

At the time of assembly, the clamp spring 20
Is inserted into the opening 22 of the mounting groove 18 with the mounting piece 24. After that, the screw 2 is inserted into the screw insertion hole 27 of the fixing piece 28.
1 and insert the screw 21 into the opening 23 of the screw groove 19.
If it is screwed in while self-tapping, the attachment of the clamp spring 20 to the shock absorber 10 is completed.
Next, the engaging portion 26 of the clamp spring 20 is inserted into the insertion hole 29 formed in the boss plate 8 serving as a mounting plate and elastically engaged, so that the shock absorber 10 interposes the clamp spring 20. Will be fixed to the upper part of the boss plate 8.

The upper surface portion 15 of the shock absorber 10 has a
A switch mounting groove 32 for mounting the movable contact piece 31 of the horn switch 30 is formed. Movable contact piece 31
The shock absorber 10 has an insulating grommet 33 fitted in the switch mounting groove 32 and a screw 34 screwed into the grommet 33 through the movable contact piece 31.
Is attached to. In addition, a ground terminal 35 is attached to the upper surface portion 15 of the shock absorber 10.

The movable contact piece 31 is formed of an elastic conductive rectangular plate-like metal plate, and is formed by a base portion 36 fixed to the grommet 33, and inclined and bent upward on both sides of the base portion 36. The arm portion 37 is capable of swinging up and down and the contact portion 38 is bent downward at an end portion of the arm portion 37 and then bent outward. A recess 39 is formed on the upper surface of each arm 37.

On the upper surface of the resin pad body 6 covering the upper surface and the upper side surface of the boss portion 3, there is formed a horn pad portion 41 supported by an annular thin portion 40 so as to be capable of being pressed and deformed. Further, on the back surface of the horn pad portion 41, a plurality of protrusions 42 that abut the recess 39 of the arm portion 37 of the movable contact piece 31 are provided so as to protrude downward.

When the horn pad portion 41 is pressed in this state, the arm portion 37 of the movable contact piece 31 pressed by the protrusion 42 on the back surface of the horn pad portion 41 swings downward to contact the contact portion 3
8 contacts the terminal 35, thereby forming a horn circuit.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

A mounting groove 18 is formed in the lower surface 16 of the shock absorber 10.
And the screw groove 19 are integrally formed, the clamp spring 20 is inserted into the mounting groove 18, and the screw 21 is screwed into the screw groove 19 through the screw insertion hole 27 of the clamp spring 20.
Is attached to the shock absorber 10, the shock absorber 1
It is not necessary to form a hole such as a screw hole in 0, and the strength of the shock absorber 10 is appropriately maintained, and at the same time, the collapse of the hole is eliminated, so that the shock absorber 10 is firmly attached to the boss plate 8 as a mounting plate. Can be attached to.

Since the mounting groove 18 and the screw groove 19 are formed over the entire length in the left and right, when the shock absorber 10 is integrally formed by extruding a metal such as aluminum, the mounting groove 18 and the screw groove 19 are formed. The groove 19 is particularly easily formed at the same time, and the production process of the shock absorber 10 can be further enhanced in combination with the fact that the work step of forming a hole such as a screw hole is unnecessary.

Further, since the shock absorber 10 can be easily attached to the boss plate 8 by the elastic engagement of the clamp spring 20, the assembling work is simplified.

Further, the shock absorber 10 is attached to the boss plate 8
Since the fixture 20 for fixing to is simply inserted and fixed in the attachment groove 18, positioning of the fixture 20 and attachment of the shock absorber 10 are easily performed.

The structure of the fixture and the mounting groove of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope obvious to those skilled in the art, for example, as shown below.

In the case of the fixture 20 shown in FIG. 5, the fixing piece 28 having the screw insertion hole 27 extends in the direction perpendicular to the mounting piece 24 and the leg piece 25, and correspondingly, the thread groove. 19 is also formed in the shock absorber 10 adjacent to the mounting groove 18. Further, in this embodiment, the attachment piece 24 is provided with a locking claw 50. When the mounting piece 24 is inserted into the mounting groove 18, the locking claws 50 are
Engages with the inner wall of the fixture, ie the clamp spring 2
Prevent the dropping of 0.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a screw insertion hole 27 is directly formed in the leg piece 25, and the leg piece 25 also serves as a fixing piece. In this case, the positional relationship between the mounting groove 18 and the screw groove 19 is opposite to that in the example of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a fixing tool 20 and a mounting groove 18 for fixing the upper surface portion 15 of the shock absorber 10 to the pad body. In this case, the fixture 20 integrally includes a stopper portion 51 extending in a right angle direction between the mounting piece 24 and the leg piece 25 which are located in parallel with each other. The mounting piece 24 is simply inserted into the mounting groove 18 integrally formed on the lower surface side of the upper surface portion 15 until the stopper portion 51 abuts the end surface of the shock absorber 10. Fixture 20
The pad and the pad body are coupled to each other by inserting a screw into the screw insertion hole 52 provided in the leg piece 25 and screwing the screw into the pad body.

Another embodiment is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The clamp spring 20 as a fixture is provided with a U-shaped curved portion 53 instead of the mounting piece 24 of the above-described embodiment. A locking claw 50 is cut and raised on a leg portion of the curved portion 53 on the leg piece 25 side, and the locking claw 50 passes through a hole 54 formed in the leg portion on the opposite side.
It projects to the outside. When the curved portion 53 of the clamp spring 20 is inserted into the mounting groove 18 provided in the lower surface portion 16 of the shock absorber as shown in FIG. 9, the locking claw 50 is locked to the inner wall of the mounting groove 18. Then, clamp spring 20
To prevent the falling off. Further, in this embodiment, the leg piece 25 has a support piece 55 bent like a dogleg like the locking portion 26.
Are integrally molded. When the clamp spring 20 is engaged with the insertion hole 29 of the boss plate 8, the leg piece 2
5, the locking portion 26 and the support piece 55 work together to support the boss plate 8.
Is elastically clamped from both sides.

In FIG. 10, as a modification of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the mounting groove 18 has a lower surface portion 16 of the shock absorber.
An integrally molded example is shown on the underside.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the clamp spring 20 as a fixture has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the mounting pieces 56 are horizontally provided from both U-shaped legs. It is cut and raised, and the clamp spring 20 is inserted and engaged in the mounting groove 18 with the mounting piece 56. A support piece 55 bent in a dogleg shape is integrally formed at one end of the clamp spring 20, as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. The stopper 50 that abuts the side edge of the absorber 10 is cut and raised.

In another embodiment shown in FIG. 12, mounting grooves 18 are provided on both sides of the lower surface portion 16 of the shock absorber 10.
Are integrally molded. Then, the clamp spring 20 corresponds to the first attachment piece 57 on the end side.
And a second attachment piece 58 on the side of the locking portion 26 cut and raised from the leg piece 25. A stopper 50 can be cut and raised on both the mounting pieces 57 and 58 as in the other embodiments.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the mounting groove is integrally formed when the shock absorber is formed.
Since it is no longer necessary to form a hole such as a screw hole in the shock absorber, the strength of the shock absorber can be appropriately maintained, and at the same time, the collapse of the hole is eliminated, so that the shock absorber can be used as a pad or a mounting plate. It is possible to firmly attach the occupant, and thus to ensure the safety of the occupant.

Further, since the fixture for fixing the shock absorber to the pad body or the mounting plate is simply inserted and fixed in the mounting groove, the positioning of the fixture and the mounting of the shock absorber can be easily performed. Therefore, the production efficiency can be increased.

[0035]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of a steering wheel of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the steering wheel of FIG. 1 taken along the line AA.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shock absorber according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the fitting shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a mounting tool and a mounting groove according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fitting and a fitting groove according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a shock absorber according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a mounting tool and a mounting groove according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of a fixture and a mounting groove according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a fixture and a mounting groove according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an attachment tool and an attachment groove according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an attachment tool and an attachment groove according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Steering Wheel 2 Rim Part 3 Boss Part 4 Spoke Part 5 Steering Wheel Main Body 6 Pad Body 7 Lower Cover 8 Boss Plate (Mounting Plate) 9 Screw 10 Impact Absorber 11 Core Material 12 Mounting Boss 13 Flange Part 14 Screw 15 Top Surface 16 Lower part 17 Side part 18 Mounting groove 19 Screw groove 20 Clamp spring (fixing tool) 21 Screw 22 Opening part 23 Opening part 24 Mounting piece 25 Leg piece 26 Locking part 27 Screw insertion hole 28 Fixing piece 29 Insertion hole 30 Horn switch 31 Movable contact piece 32 Switch mounting groove 33 Grommet 34 Screw 35 Terminal 36 Base portion 37 Arm portion 38 Contact portion 39 Recessed portion 40 Thin wall portion 41 Horn pad portion 42 Projection portion 50 Stopper 51 Stopper portion 52 Screw insertion hole 53 Curved portion 54 hole 55 Support piece 56 mounting piece 57 first
Mounting piece 58 Second mounting piece

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a steering wheel having a shock absorber disposed on a mounting plate of a pad body of a boss portion, a fixture for fixing the shock absorbing body to the pad body or the mounting plate is provided when the shock absorber is formed. A steering wheel characterized by being inserted and fixed in a mounting groove that is integrally molded.