JPH0621810Y2 - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a steering wheel in which spokes are formed in a V shape.

(Prior Art) In a steering wheel in which the spokes are formed in a V shape, for example, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-44053, the portion of the spokes that is joined to the rim is located on the driver side. It is pulled inward toward the front side and is formed in a V shape so that the meters can be easily seen through the inside of the rim portion. In addition, in this steering wheel, only a part of the rim part on the driver side where the spoke part is coupled is made of a solid rim core metal and the other part is made of a hollow pipe to reduce the weight. .
However, the weight is biased to the driver side, the weight balance between the front and rear is deteriorated, and the strength of the rim portion of the rear pipe portion is insufficient.

Further, as a steering wheel with a lighter weight in the rim portion, as shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 49-106029, the entire rim core metal is made of pipe or sheet metal, and The weight is reduced compared to the case where a pipe is used for the part. However, since the end of the spoke core is abutted against the rim core and fixed by welding, the strength of the joint is weak, and when a pipe is used for the rim core, the thickness of the pipe is thin. When welding, a hole was opened in the pipe, and spatter entered the inside of the pipe, which could cause abnormal noise. If the wall thickness of the pipe is increased, it is possible to secure the strength of the joint portion and prevent the pipe from being pierced, but the weight of the rim core metal increases.

Therefore, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-104368, a bottomed groove is provided along the inner circumference of a pipe-shaped rim core, and the end of the spoke core is provided in this bottomed groove. There is a type in which the rim cored bar and the spoke cored bar are firmly connected by being fitted and fixed by welding. However, since the narrow end of the spoke core metal is connected to the bottomed groove of the rim core metal, the bond strength is not reliable, and holes are opened in the pipe during welding and spatter enters inside the pipe. The problem of noise generation is still unsolved.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) As described above, it is desirable to form the spoke portion in a V shape for easy viewing of the meters, but insufficient strength of the rim portion and deterioration of weight balance between the front and the rear occur. Also, if a pipe is used to reduce the weight of the rim part, spatter during welding will enter the pipe and produce abnormal noise, so it is difficult to use the pipe as a core metal, and the spoke core metal The bond strength of was not reliable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the spokes are formed in a V shape so that the meters can be easily seen, the weight is reduced, and the joint strength between the rim and the spokes and the rim are It is an object of the present invention to provide a steering wheel that can ensure strength.

[Constitution of device]

(Means for Solving Problems) The present invention relates to a steering wheel 1 having a boss portion 2, a spoke portion 4, and a rim portion 3, and the spoke portion 4 is formed in a V shape. 4, the connecting portions 11a, 12a at both ends of the spoke cores 11, 12 are formed in an arc shape along the rim portion 3, and the end portions of the connecting portion 12a are positioned at least corresponding to the longitudinal center of the rim portion 3. Of the spoke cores 11 and 12 extending to the vicinity of
A rim core metal 13 formed in an annular shape with a cross-sectional shape opening to the inner peripheral side is fixed to the outer circumferences of a and 12a.

(Operation) In the steering wheel of the present invention, the spokes 4 are formed in a V shape so that, for example, the meters viewed through the rim 3 can be easily seen, and the rim core bar 13 having a cross-sectional shape opening to the inner peripheral side reduces the weight and the rim. Spoke cores 11, 12 inside core 13
The joints 11a and 12a of are fixed to strengthen the joint, and
By extending the end portion of the connecting portion 12a of the spoke core metal 12 at least to a position corresponding to the center of the rim portion 3 in the front-rear direction, the strength of the rim portion 3 can be secured and the weight balance between the front and rear is also improved. It is a thing.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a steering wheel, which includes a boss portion 2, an annular rim portion 3 located on the outer periphery of the boss portion 2, the rim portion 3 and the boss portion. 2 and a spoke portion 4 connecting the two.

The boss portion 2 is provided with a metal boss 6 having a flange portion 5 formed on the outer periphery of the upper end thereof. As shown in FIG.
The steering shaft 7 is fitted and fixed to the steering shaft 7 with a nut 8.

The spoke portion 4 is provided with a pair of front and rear (lower side and upper side in FIG. 1) spoke cores 11 and 12, and each of the spoke cores 11 and 12 has a center portion at the front and rear outer flange portions of the boss 6. It is fixed to the lower part of 5 by welding, and both end portions between the boss 6 and the rim portion 3 are drawn to the driver side to form a C-shape, and further, the joint portions 11 at both ends which are joined to the rim portion 3 are formed.
A and 12a are bent along the rim portion 3 in the front-rear directions opposite to each other in an arc shape. The terminal portion of the connecting portion 12a of the spoke core metal 12 extends to a position slightly ahead of the center position of the rim portion 3 in the front-rear direction.

The rim portion 3 includes a ring-shaped rim core bar 13 having a semicircular cross section that opens to the inner peripheral side. The rim core bar 13 is a combination of the spoke core bars 11 and 12 in a state where the entire diameter is widened. The both ends 13a, 13a are fitted to the outer peripheries of the parts 11a, 12a and are located outside the coupling part 12a. Then, the portions of the rim cored bar 13 located on the outer circumferences of the coupling portions 11a and 12a are resistance-welded from above and below to form the coupling portions 11a and 12a.
The a and 12a and the rim core 13 are fixed, and at this time, both ends 13a and 13a of the rim core 13 are simultaneously fixed to the joint 12a by resistance welding as shown in FIG.

The rim cored bar 13 and the spoke cored bars 11, 12 are partially covered at their outer peripheries with a cover 14 formed by injection molding with a soft synthetic resin.

The lower surface of the boss portion 2 and the spoke portion 4 is covered with a back cover body.
15 integrally covers the boss portion 2 and the spoke portion 4
A cover body 16 integrally covers the upper surface of the.

Then, in the steering wheel 1, the spokes 4 are drawn toward the driver side and are formed in a V shape, so that the meters can be easily seen through the inside of the rim portion 3.

Also, an annular rim core bar with a semicircular cross section that opens to the inner peripheral side
Since 13 is used, the weight can be further reduced as compared with the case where a pipe is used, spatter does not enter inside the pipe, and no abnormal noise is generated. Moreover, since the cross-sectional outer shape is not circular, it covers the rim core bar 13. There is no idling of the body 14 and the bond is strong. The same effect can be obtained even if the rim core bar 13 has a U-shaped cross section.

In addition, inside the rim core bar 13, the connection part of the spoke core bars 11 and 12 is joined.
Since the outer peripheral portions of 11a and 12a enter and are welded and fixed, the connection between the rim core metal 13 and the connecting portions 11a and 12a is strong, and the welding can be resistance welding. can do. It is also possible to join the rim core metal 13 to the joints 11a and 12a by caulking, and it is possible to joint quickly and inexpensively like resistance welding, but in the case of caulking, the joint 11a , 12a are formed with caulking grooves.

In addition, the end portion of the coupling portion 12a of the spoke core metal 12 is connected to the rim portion 3
Since it was extended to a position slightly forward of the front-back center of
The strength of the rear side of the rim portion 3 can be ensured and the weight balance between the front and rear can be improved, and the strength of the rim portion 3 can be improved by extending the end portion from the center of the rim portion 3 in the front-rear direction to the rear side. Further, the weight balance between the front and the rear can be further improved.

Further, by locating the both ends 13a, 13a of the rim core bar 13 at the joint part 12a, both ends 13a, 13a of the rim core bar 13 and the joint parts 11a, 12a can be joined at the same time, Moreover, the rim accuracy can be adjusted during this fixing, the productivity is greatly improved, and the strength of the both end portions 13a, 13a is increased, and effective core metal strength can be secured.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, by providing a plurality of through holes 17 along the outer peripheral portion of the rim core bar 13, the degree of coupling of the covering body 14 covering the rim core bar 13 is further improved. It is improved, and it is possible to eliminate the need for cleaning and forming an adhesive after the core is formed.

[Effect of device]

According to the present invention, the spokes can be made into a V shape so that, for example, the meters viewed through the inside of the rim can be easily seen, and the weight can be reduced and the rim core can be reduced by the rim core bar having a cross-sectional shape opening to the inner peripheral side. By fixing the connection part of the spoke core metal to the inside of the gold and strengthening the connection, further, by extending the terminal part of the connection part of the spoke core metal at least to the position corresponding to the front-back direction center of the rim part In addition, the strength of the rim portion can be secured and the weight balance between the front and rear can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention in a cored bar state, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a cross section of a rim portion thereof. 5 and 5 are overall plan views, FIG. 6 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 7 is a side view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a rim portion thereof. 1 ... Steering wheel, 2 ... Boss part, 3 ... Rim part, 4 ... Spoke part, 11, 12 ... Spoke core metal, 11
a, 12a …… Coupling part, 13 …… Rim core metal.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A boss portion, a spoke portion and a rim portion,
In a steering wheel in which the spokes are formed in a V shape, the connecting portions at both ends of the spoke core metal of the spokes are formed in an arc shape along the rim portion, and the terminal portions of the connecting portions are at least the rim. The rim cored bar, which is extended to the vicinity of the position corresponding to the center of the front-rear direction and is fixed to the outer periphery of the joint part of the spoke cored bar, has an annular cross-sectional shape that opens to the inner peripheral side. The characteristic steering wheel.