JPH06270816A - Steering wheel with various kinds of switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a steering wheel ensuring a switch operation without any operation mistake between horn switch operation and another switch operation. CONSTITUTION:A horn plate 9 having a movable contact part of a horn switch is supported at four portions set apart on almost the same circle of whole steering wheel having a fixed contact part so as to be brought into contact or detached, and a horn switch is provided in which the horn plate 9 supports a pad disposed at the center of the wheel. A multifunction switch unit 6 is mounted which has various kinds of switch operation parts on its surface and is arranged in an abutting manner on the pad at the main body of the wheel near the two support points before the wheel while it is supported semifixedly at the two points, and of which movable contact points and fixed contact points are supported resiliently with a gap having a specified size by other two points support parts.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering wheel provided with a horn switch operating portion in the center of an automobile or the like, and more particularly to a steering wheel provided with various switches suitable for incorporating an airbag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A steering wheel incorporating a conventional air bag and a horn switch is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-63-207754 and JP-A-4-35307.
The structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2 is known.

Of these, the steering wheel disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-353072 will be briefly described. In the horn switch mechanism, a movable contact portion that comes into contact with and separates from a fixed contact portion of the steering wheel body is longitudinally moved forward and backward. A pair of left and right horn plates at the ends, and a movable contact portion of four points which is arranged between the steering wheel body and the horn plate via an insulator, and which urges the horn plate and is arranged in the front, rear, left, and right directions. And a box-shaped pad body formed of a soft synthetic resin in which a reinforcing net-like body attached to the horn plate is embedded, and the pad body. Press to bring the movable contact point of the horn plate into contact with the fixed contact point consisting of four points on the front, rear, left and right of the steering wheel body. It closes the switch, thereby blowing the horn.

In one of the airbag structures, a gas generator is attached to the bottom of a base plate, and the bottom of the base plate around the gas generator is attached to the opening edge of the airbag by a holding ring and a plurality of rivets. Mounted. The airbag module is constructed by covering the airbag and the gas generator with the pad body fitted and fixed to the peripheral portion of the base plate in a state in which the airbag is folded around and above the gas generator. . This airbag module is attached to the horn plate via the pad body as described above, and the gas generator generates gas due to the impact at the time of a collision of the automobile, etc. The gas rapidly expands and deploys the airbag. Then, due to the inflation pressure of the airbag, the pad body is broken into a predetermined shape, and the airbag projects from the pad body toward the driver to protect the driver from impact.

Further, around the boss portion of the steering wheel configured as described above, a switch for operating a direction indicator, a switch for flashing a light, a switch for operating a washer, etc. are further arranged.

[0006]

Even in the conventional steering wheel of the prior art, the horn switch is the only operation section for the switches arranged in front of the steering wheel, and the switch provided around the boss is the operation lever. It is arranged behind the steering wheel through the same type. This is because the operation of the horn switch is basically an emergency operation in many cases, so not only partial fingertip operation but also operation over a wide area is required, and the operation of the horn switch This is because if various switches are provided side by side, a malfunction may easily occur between the horn switch and other switches.

Therefore, as for the arrangement of the other switch operating parts, most of the operating parts are arranged on the surface of the front grill, which is difficult for the driver to reach, which makes it extremely difficult for the driver to operate. It also had various bad influences.

In recent years, the need for safe driving has been particularly emphasized, and as a part of ensuring the operability of safe driving, the driver can easily see as many switch operations as possible, that is, the front surface. Expectations are growing that we can concentrate on the central part of the steering wheel.

However, for the above-mentioned reason, it is difficult to attach another switch operating section to the pad body which is the horn switch operating section even in a general steering wheel, but especially as disclosed in the above publication. In a steering wheel incorporating an air bag, an air bag module including a pad body forming an operation part of a horn switch is fixed to a horn plate supported by a steering wheel body via four compression springs. There is no extra space between the steering wheel body and the airbag module support for incorporating other members, and it is rather complicated to make various wirings in an airbag module that is heavy and easily vibrates. Various structures are required, and various switches can be installed in the current structure. Nearly impossible.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the horn switch operation and other switches are provided in spite of the fact that the operation parts of other switches are provided close to the horn switch operation part on the surface of the steering wheel. (EN) Provided is a horn switch device for a steering wheel, which ensures a switch operation without an operation error between the operation and the operation.

[0011]

In the steering wheel of the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a movable member having a movable contact portion of a horn switch is separated substantially on a concentric circle of a steering wheel main body having a fixed contact portion. A steering wheel provided with a horn switch, which is supported by at least three set supporting portions so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from each other, and the movable member supports a pad body arranged in the center of the steering wheel. Is rotatably and semi-fixedly supported by a straight line connecting two adjacent support parts of the three or more support parts as an axis line, and the movable contact part and the fixed contact part are supported by another support part. Is elastically supported with a gap of a predetermined size, and is positioned at two adjacent support portions of the rotatably supported movable member. Installed in de body portion, a multifunction switch unit having a variety of switch operation portion on the surface it is attached.

[0012]

In the steering wheel of the present invention, the switch unit is fixed to the mounting portion of the pad body forming the horn operating portion with bolts and nuts. At this time, a part of the switch unit is placed on the front left and right spokes of the steering wheel main body, and a part of the switch unit is close to the front side surface of the pad body.

When the switch unit is attached to the horn switch operating portion in this manner, the switch unit and the horn switch operating portion work together, but nevertheless, the horn switch operation is a half near the switch unit. Since it is fixedly supported, only the tip of the elastically supported movable contact portion moves down against the elastic force, and the horn switch is closed at the contact portion. Similarly, when operating the various switches of the switch unit installed near the front of the pad body, even if the front side of the pad body is accidentally pressed at the same time as the switch operation of the switch unit, As shown in the figure, the front side of the horn switch is regulated in the descending amount, and the horn switch is not closed so that the malfunction is surely prevented.

Further, when the horn switch operating portion is incorporated in a heavy weight airbag module, when the horn switch operating portion is elastically supported by all of the supporting portions of the airbag module as in the conventional case, vibration in an actual vehicle is severe, and In order to reduce vibration, the elastic force of the support portion must be increased, and the pad body must be pressed strongly when operating the horn switch, which deteriorates the operability of the switch. For example, since at least two points of the supporting part are semi-fixed supporting points, even if the elastic force is weakened, the vibration itself of the airbag module is reduced and the operability of the horn switch is improved. There is no malfunction even if the horn switch operation part and various switch operation parts are provided side by side in the center of the steering wheel body.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a steering wheel main body. In the steering wheel main body 1, an annular rim portion 2 and a boss portion 3 are connected by a plurality of spoke portions 4, and an upper portion of the boss portion 3 is shown in FIG. As shown, the airbag module 5 and the switch unit 6 having various types of switch operating parts are assembled.

The boss portion 3 of the steering wheel body 1 is formed integrally with the boss 3a, which is a cylindrical metal molded product attached to a steering shaft of an automobile (not shown), and the boss 3a. Fixing portions 7 are provided at four locations on substantially concentric circles.

The pair of left and right horn switch mechanisms 8 shown in FIG. 2 includes a pair of left and right horn plates 9 as shown in an enlarged exploded view of FIG. 3 and an enlarged sectional view of FIG. At the front and rear positions of each horn plate 9, a mounting hole 11 for inserting a height positioning support member fixed to the fixed portion 7, for example, a screw member 10, is formed, and faces the outside of each mounting hole 11. The regulation hole 12 is formed. Also, this horn plate 9
A movable contact portion 14 is formed on and fixed to the fixed contact portion 13 attached to the fixed portion 7.
The movable contact portion 14 constitutes a horn switch.

The fixed contact portion 13 is made of a press-formed material having a pair of left and right lateral U-shapes having substantially the same dimensions as the horn plate 9, and the tips of both leg portions 13a thereof are bent in the same direction and project at right angles. With the protruding piece 13b,
A contact mounting piece 13c and a position restricting member mounting piece 13d, which are raised by a step, are formed at the tip of the protruding piece 13b via a step. Then, the conductive contact points 20 are fixed to the contact mounting pieces 13c, respectively, and the position regulating member mounting pieces 13c are attached.
A position regulating member 27 made of hard rubber is fixed to d.

The position regulating member 27 has a pin shape as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, and has a flange portion 27 at one end.
While having a, a ring-shaped continuous engaging groove 27b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the flange portion 27a, and the tip of the same position regulating member 27 is formed on the position regulating member mounting piece 13d of the fixed contact portion 13. It is inserted into the fitted fitting hole 13e, the peripheral portion of the fitting hole 13e is fitted in the fitting groove 27b, and the flange portion 27a is fixedly fitted in the fitting hole 13e. The height of the flange portion 27a when the peripheral portion of the fitting hole 13e is fitted in the fitting groove 27b is set to a height at which the upper end of the flange portion 27a abuts the lower surface of the horn plate 9. Therefore, in this portion, the horn plate 9 almost never descends.

A first insulator 15 molded of synthetic resin that insulates the horn plate 9 and the fixed contact portion 13 from each other.
Is the substrate portion 1 that is brought into contact with the upper surface of the horn plate 9.
6, a positioning protrusion 18 protruding upward from one end of the base plate portion 16, and a cylindrical fitting protrusion 19 having a split groove protruding downward from the other end of the base plate portion 16. is doing.
The positioning projection 18 has its upper surface abutting on the lower surface of the base plate 33 attached to the pad body 17, and holds the height position of the pad body 17, and the fitting projection 19 serves as the horn plate 9. Mounting hole 11 formed in
Is fitted to. The ring-shaped second insulator 21 formed of synthetic resin that contacts the lower surface of the horn plate 9 has a fitting hole 22 in which the fitting protrusion 1 of the first insulator 15 is fitted.
9 is fitted.

Reference numeral 23 is a compression spring, and the compression spring 23 is externally fitted to the fitting projection 19 of the first insulator 15 projecting from the mounting hole 11 of the horn plate 9 to the lower surface, and one end thereof is The other end is supported by the lower surface of the second insulator 21, and the other end is provided with the protruding piece 13b of the fixed contact portion 13.
It is supported by the fixed portion 7 of the steering wheel body 1 via. Therefore, the compression spring 23 urges the horn plate 9 upward, and the movable contact portion 14 is always provided.
A predetermined distance is maintained between the fixed contact portion 13 and the fixed contact portion 13.

A through hole 24 formed in the central portion of the fitting projection 19 of the first insulator 15 and a fitting hole 2 of the second insulator 21.
2, the compression spring 23, and the screw insertion hole formed in the protruding piece 13b of the fixed contact portion 13, for example, the screw member 10 having the small diameter screw portion 25 at the tip of the large diameter portion is inserted, and the small diameter screw portion When 25 is screwed and fixed to the screw hole 26 formed in the fixing portion 7 of the steering wheel body 1, the horn plate 9 urged by the compression spring 23 contacts the position regulating member 27 made of an elastic material such as rubber. When the horn plate 9 is pressed by a pressing force against the spring 23, the horn plate 9 can be moved up and down in a portion other than the contact position and is always held at a height position regulated by the head of the screw member 10. The plate 9 rotates downward with the contact position of the position regulating member 27 as a fulcrum, and the movable contact portion 14 contacts the fixed contact portion 13.

A pad body supporting portion 30 is provided vertically downward in the central portion of the outer edge of each of the left and right horn plates 9, and a mounting hole 31 is formed in the middle portion of the supporting portion 30. A nut (not shown) is located inside the mounting hole 31 and is fixed by welding or caulking.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the airbag module 5 is formed into a flat box shape having a circular hole 33a in the center by pressing a metal plate such as iron or aluminum. Base plate 33
A gas generator (not shown) is attached to the hole 33a, and a holding ring 35 and a holding ring 35 are provided on the back surface of the bottom of the base plate 33 around the gas generator in a state of being folded around and above the gas generator. The opening edge portion of the airbag 36 is attached by a plurality of rivets, and the box-shaped pad body 17 formed of a thermoplastic elastomer is covered on the airbag 36 and the gas generator and fitted to the peripheral edge portion of the base plate 33. It is configured by sticking together.

The airbag module 5 is assembled to the boss portion 3 of the steering wheel as shown in FIG. 1, and the pad body 17 is formed by a shock such as a collision of an automobile.
The gas generator generates gas inside the air bag, and the gas causes the air bag 36 to rapidly inflate and deploy.
The pad body 17 is ruptured along a predetermined shape by the inflation pressure, and the airbag 36 bulges from the pad body 17 toward the driver to protect the driver from impact.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of left and right mounting pieces 38 project downward from both sides of the lower surface of the base plate 33 of the airbag module 5, and mounting holes into which screw members are inserted are attached to the mounting pieces 38. 39 is formed. Then, the screw member is attached through the washer to the mounting hole 3 of the mounting piece 38.
9 and is screwed into a nut (not shown) fixed to the back surface of the mounting hole 31 of the pad body supporting portion 30 of the horn plate 9. In this way, the airbag module 5 is fixed to the horn plate 9, and the pad body 17 of the airbag module 5 serves as an operation unit for opening and closing the horn switch of the horn switch mechanism 8.

Next, an assembling procedure of the horn plate 9 and the air module 5 having the above-mentioned configuration to the steering wheel body 1 in the illustrated example will be described.
The fitting protrusions 19 of the pair of first insulators 15 that are in contact with the front and rear upper surfaces of the horn plate 9 are inserted into the mounting holes 11 of the same horn plate 9, and the horn plate 9 is also attached.
The fitting hole 22 of the second insulator 21 is fitted into the fitting protrusion 19 projecting from the lower surface of the horn plate 9 to be brought into close contact with the lower surface of the horn plate 9. Further, the upper ends of the compression springs 23 are fitted to the front and rear fitting protrusions 19 from below, and the lower ends of the compression springs 23 are supported by the pair of front and rear projecting pieces 13b.

In this state, the horn plate 9 is first
And the second insulators 15 and 21 and the spring 23 are attached and held. That is, the through hole 24 formed in the central portion of the fitting protrusion 20 of the first insulator 15, the fitting hole 22 of the second insulator 21, the compression spring 23, the contact attachment piece 13c, and the contact attachment piece 13c. The position regulating member attachment piece 13d and the screw member 1
0 is inserted, the small-diameter screw portion 25 of the screw member 10 is screwed and fixed to the screw hole 26 formed in the fixing portion 7 of the steering wheel body 1, and the horn plate 9 is attached to the steering wheel body 1.

The attachment piece 38 of the airbag module 5 is brought into contact with the support portion 30 of the horn plate 9, and the screw member 40 having a washer is inserted into the attachment hole 30 of the attachment piece 38 to support the horn plate 9. The airbag module 5 is fixed to the horn plate 9 by being screwed into a nut (not shown) fixed to the back surface of 30.

Another feature of the present invention is that, in addition to the above-mentioned configuration, a switch unit 6 in which various types of switch operating portions are arranged on the surface is incorporated in the fixed portion 7 of the steering wheel body 1. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mounting portion 17a of the switch unit 6 is lowered by one step from the front surface (front side) of the pad body 17 of the airbag module 5 and the base plate 33 of the base plate 33 is protruded. Two left and right mounting brackets 33b are projected forward from the front side wall. A screw insertion hole 33c is formed in the center of each bracket 33b.

On the other hand, the switch unit 6 has a rectangular plate formed of a hard synthetic resin and having a long side outwardly curved in an arcuate shape as shown in FIGS. A cover body 41 made of a synthetic resin molded product having an inverted L-shaped cross section is formed, and a plurality of windows 42 arranged in a row are formed in the bent portion forming the upper surface of the cover body 41. ing. Further, the switch unit 6 has a switch assembly in which various multifunctional switches such as an automatic speed control switch, an audio switch, and an air conditioner switch are integrally incorporated in a case 43. A push button 45 for operating each of the switches is projected on the upper surface of 43 at a position corresponding to the plurality of windows 42, and a mounting member 46 made of a metal plate elongated in the left-right direction is provided on the lower surface of the case 43. Are erected integrally. The mounting member 46 corresponding to the screw insertion hole 33c of the mounting bracket 33b protruding forward from the base plate 33.
A screw insertion hole 46a is formed at the position.

Then, the operation push button 45 of each switch is fitted into the window portion 42 formed on the upper surface of the cover body 41, and the case 43 and the cover 4 are inserted.
The switch unit 6 is constructed by fixing 2 and 2 with screws or the like not shown. In the switch unit 6 assembled in this manner, the mounting member 46 of the switch unit 6 is brought into contact with the front surface of the mounting bracket 33b protruding from the base plate 33 of the airbag module 5 as shown in FIGS. 47 into the screw insertion holes 33c and 46a, and the nut 48 into the bolt 4
Screw 7 and tighten to fix. At this time, the left and right end portions of the front bent portion of the cover 42 of the switch unit 41 are placed on the upper surfaces of the left and right spoke portions 4 on the front side of the steering wheel body 1, and the leading edge of the upper bent portion is the above-mentioned. The pad body 17 is placed close to the front side surface of the pad body 17 and is placed on the placement portion 17a.

When the switch unit 6 is attached to the air bag module 5 as described above, the switch unit 6 and the air bag module 5 work together, but the horn switch operation is nevertheless left and right horn plates 9. Since the front end of the horn plate 9 is fixedly supported by the position restricting member 27, only the tips of the horn plates 9 elastically supported by the compression spring 23 descend against the elastic force of the spring 23. The contact part
Close the horn switch at. Similarly, when operating the various switches of the switch unit 6 installed near the front of the pad body 17, the front side of the pad body 17 is mistakenly pressed at the same time as the switch operation of the switch unit 6 is performed. Also, as described above, the lowering amount is regulated by the position regulating member 27 where the front end portion of the horn plate 9 is hardly deformed, so that the horn switch is not closed and malfunction is surely prevented.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention,
According to the embodiment, for example, the bracket 3b is raised from an appropriate position of the boss portion 3 of the steering wheel body 1, a rubber bush 27 'is attached to the tip of the bracket 3b, and the upper surface of the rubber bush 27' is attached to the base plate 3 '.
3 is in contact with the lower end surface of the flange portion 33d formed on the front surface of No. 3, and other configurations except that the position regulating member 27 made of hard rubber is removed and the support portion of the member 27 is also removed. It is substantially the same as the embodiment.

In this embodiment, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained. The bracket 3b and the rubber bush 27 'correspond to the position regulating member 27, but the bracket 3b is not installed. Other than the boss portion 3 of the steering wheel body 1, it is also possible to use an appropriate fixed portion.

In both of the above embodiments, the horn plate 9
Is fixed to the fixed portion 7 of the steering wheel body 1 by the screw member 11, but it can be attached to a fixed plate fixed to the steering wheel body 1. Further, in the above embodiment, the structure in which the airbag module 5 is attached has been described, but the present invention can be applied to a normal steering wheel that does not include the airbag module 5. In the figure, reference numeral 49 indicates a base cover.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the steering wheel having various kinds of switches of the present invention, the horn switch operating portion and other various switch operating portions are centrally arranged in the central portion of the steering wheel. Since the driver can always easily operate various switches by visual inspection, mistakes in driving can be eliminated, and safer driving can be performed. Moreover,
Since the horn switch does not operate even when the horn operation part and other various switch operation parts are separated and the horn switch part near the various switch operation parts is operated at the same time, an error occurs in the switch operation. Will disappear.

Further, when the horn switch operating portion is incorporated in the airbag module, when it is elastically supported by all the supporting portions of the airbag module as in the conventional case, the vibration in the actual vehicle is violent, and the vibration is generated. In order to reduce the amount, the elastic force of the support portion must be increased, and the pad body must be pressed strongly when operating the horn switch, which deteriorates the operability of the switch. Since at least two points of the portion are semi-fixed supporting points, even if the elastic force is weakened, the vibration itself of the airbag module is reduced to improve the operability of the horn switch, and further, as described above, the steering wheel. No malfunction occurs even if the horn switch operation part and various switch operation parts are installed side by side in the center of the main body.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a typical embodiment of a steering wheel equipped with various switches of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main body of the steering wheel.

FIG. 3 is an assembly exploded view of the body of the steering wheel.

FIG. 4 is an assembly exploded view of an airbag module and a switch unit applied to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2, showing an example after the air bag module and the switch unit are assembled.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2, showing another example after the air bag module and the switch unit are assembled.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Steering wheel body 2 Rim part 3 Boss part 3a Boss 4 Spoke part 5 Airbag module 6 Switch unit 7 Fixing part 8 Horn switch mechanism 9 Horn plate 10 Screw member 11 Mounting hole 12 Orientation regulating hole 13 Fixed contact part 13a Leg part 13b Projecting piece 13c Contact mounting piece 13d Position regulating member mounting piece 13e Fitting hole 14 Movable contact part 15 First insulator 16 Board part 17 Pad body 17a Mounting part 17b Metal holding frame 18 Positioning projection 19 Fitting projection 20 Contact point 21 Second insulator 22 Fitting hole 23 Compression spring 24 Through hole 25 Small diameter screw part 26 Screw hole 27 Position control member 27 'Rubber bush 27a Flange part 27b Engaging groove 30 Pad body supporting part 31 Mounting hole 33 Base plate 33a Circular Hole 33b Mounting bracket 33c Flip insertion hole 33d flange 35 retaining ring 36 airbag 38 pushes the mounting piece 39 mounting holes 41 cover 42 window 43 case 45 for the operating button 46 attachment member 46a screw insertion hole 47 bolt 48 nut 49 base cover

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuki Mochizuki 218 Aoshima-cho, Fuji-shi, Shizuoka Nihon Plast Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A movable member having a movable contact portion of a horn switch is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from each other at least at three or more supporting portions which are set apart from each other on a substantially concentric circle of a steering wheel main body having a fixed contact portion. In the steering wheel including a horn switch in which the movable member supports a pad body arranged in the center of the steering wheel, the movable member supports two adjacent adjoining portions of the three or more supporting portions. The movable contact portion and the fixed contact portion are elastically supported by another supporting portion with a gap of a predetermined dimension between the movable contact portion and the fixed contact portion while being rotatably and semi-fixedly supported by a straight line connecting the portions. A multifunctional switch which is installed on the pad body portion located at two adjacent support portions of a movable member that is movably supported, and has multiple types of switch operation portions on its surface. Tchiyunitto made is attached, a steering wheel provided with various switches, characterized in that.