JPH06312664A - Steering wheel pad - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a steering wheel pad which permits only a switch to be replaced easily at the time of replacing the switch, and can prevent parts other than the switch from being discarded wastefully. CONSTITUTION:This pad is provided with an inner cover 10, an outer cover 20, and a surface-shaped switch 30 disposed between the inner cover 10 and the outer cover 20. The switch 30 is mounted with a screw 36 which can be attached and removed to/from the top surface of the inner cover 10. The inner cover 10 is fixed onto a steering wheel body 6. The outer cover 20, onto where a side wall 25 is fixed to the inner cover 10 or the steering wheel body 6, and locking legs 22, 23 positioned at the parts other than the fixed part are engaged so as to be attached and removed to/from the inner cover 10, is disposed so as to open the fixed part as the rotating center by the engagement release of the engaged part and to cover the inner cover 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering wheel pad for a vehicle, and more specifically, it includes an inner cover, an outer cover, and a planar switch arranged between the inner cover and the outer cover. About the pad that becomes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a steering wheel pad including an inner cover, an outer cover, and a planar switch arranged between the inner cover and the outer cover, a pad for a steering wheel is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-5171. What is described in Japanese Patent Publication is known.

However, in this type of conventional pad, the inner cover and the outer cover are fixed together on the steering wheel body by rivets on the four sides of the outer peripheral edge.

Therefore, when it becomes necessary to replace the switch of the pad after the steering wheel is mounted on the vehicle, if only the switch of the conventional pad is to be replaced, the rivet is removed and the outer cover and the inner cover are separated. It will be separated and replaced, and after that, both covers need to be riveted again, which is a very troublesome work.

Therefore, in the conventional pad, even if it is necessary to replace the switch, it is not necessary to replace only the switch. Instead, each pad, and further, a part of the steering wheel main body to which the pad is fixed, The parts were replaced as a whole, and parts other than the switch were wastefully discarded.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and provides a steering wheel pad in which only the switch can be easily replaced when the switch is replaced and wasteful disposal of parts other than the switch can be prevented. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

A pad according to the present invention is a pad for a steering wheel comprising an inner cover, an outer cover, and a planar switch arranged between the inner cover and the outer cover. The switch is attached to the upper surface of the inner cover by a detachable attachment means, the inner cover is fixed to the steering wheel body, and the outer cover is attached to the inner cover or the steering wheel body. In addition to being partially fixed, the portion other than the fixed portion is detachably engaged with the inner cover, and by releasing the engagement of the engaged portion, the fixed portion can be opened around the rotation center. It is characterized in that it is arranged so as to cover the cover.

[0008]

In the pad according to the present invention, even if the pad is fixed to the steering wheel main body, the outer cover is fixed to the inner cover or the steering wheel main body if the engagement of the engagement portion of the outer cover to the inner cover is released. The outer cover can be opened with the part as the center of rotation.

When the outer cover is opened, the switch mounted by the detachable mounting means is exposed on the upper surface of the inner cover. Therefore, the switch can be easily replaced by removing the mounting means.
After the replacement, the replacement work can be completed by engaging the outer cover with the inner cover.

Therefore, in the pad according to the present invention,
When replacing the switch, it is possible to easily replace only the switch and prevent wasteful disposal of parts other than the switch.

When the switch is replaced, it is only necessary to release the engagement of the outer cover with the inner cover, so that the switch can be easily replaced even after the steering wheel is mounted on the vehicle.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pad 9 of the embodiment is arranged above the central boss portion B of the steering wheel W, and as shown in FIGS. It plays a role as.

The airbag device M will be described. The airbag device M includes a bag-shaped airbag 1 that is folded and stored and inflates at a predetermined time, and an inflator 2 that supplies a predetermined gas to the airbag 1. , Airbag 1
And a bag holder 3 for holding the pad 1, the inflator 2, and the pad 9.

Further, 4 is provided with a plurality of bolt portions (not shown) extending downward, and these bolt portions are made to penetrate the opening 1a peripheral portion of the lower portion of the airbag 1, the bag holder 3, and the flange portion 2a of the inflator 2. It is an annular retainer for tightening nuts and fastening each member.

The side wall 3a extending vertically from the four outer peripheral edges of the bag holder 3 is provided with a nut or the like (not shown), which is bolted to a part of the steering wheel core Wc. The Rukoto. And
In the embodiment, the four side walls 3a of the bag holder 3 are
The rivet 8 inserted into the through hole 3b formed in each side wall 3a is utilized to form the steering wheel body 6 for fixing the pad 9.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pad 9 of the embodiment includes an inner cover 10, an outer cover 20, and a planar membrane switch 30 arranged between the inner cover 10 and the outer cover 20. It is equipped with.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the inner cover 10 is made of a synthetic resin material such as a thermoplastic polyester elastomer and has a substantially square plate-like upper wall 11,
Four side walls 12.1 extending downward from the outer peripheral edge of the upper wall 11.
3.14.15, and is comprised.

The upper wall 11 has five claws 11a for locking the outer peripheral edge of the switch 30, a projection 11b for position-regulating the rear edge of the switch 30, and a vertical edge on the rear edge side.
And three through holes 11c formed along the rear edge of the first.

The front-rear direction in this specification is based on the front-rear direction of the vehicle when the steering wheel W is mounted on the vehicle, and the upper edge side of the paper surface of FIGS. The lower edge side of the paper surface of 4 is the rear side.

On the rear side of the left and right edges of the upper wall 11,
Mounting holes 11d and 11d for mounting the switch 30
Are formed. These mounting holes 11d and 11d are
It serves as a portion to which the screws 36, 36 serving as mounting means for mounting the switch 30 are screwed (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 11).

Further, on both left and right edges of the upper wall 11, recesses 11e and 11e are formed along the respective edges. These recesses 11e and 11e are portions through which the lead wires 41 and 42 that are fastened to the switch 30 are passed.

The side wall 12 on the front side is provided with two through holes 12a penetrating in a substantially horizontal direction at the lower part thereof, and on both left and right edges,
The rib 12b for reinforcement is provided. The side wall 12 becomes a part fixed to the side wall 3a on the front side of the bag holder 3 as the steering wheel body 6 together with the side wall 25 of the outer cover 20 described later. At the time of fixing, the rivet 8 serving as a fixing means is used by using the contact plate 7 through the through hole 7a of the contact plate 7, the through hole 25a of the side wall 25, the through hole 12a of the side wall 12, and the bag holder 3. The through hole 3b formed in the side wall 3a is inserted and fastened.

The rear side wall 13 is provided at its lower portion with three through holes 13a penetrating substantially horizontally, and at its upper portion, a locking hole 13c is formed below each through hole 11c of the upper wall 11. Has been done. The side wall 13 is also a part fixed to the side wall 3a of the bag holder 3 as the steering wheel main body 6 by the rivet 8 as the fixing means inserted into each through hole 3a. Further, the three locking holes 13c are portions to which locking legs 22 as locking means of the outer cover 20 described later are locked. In addition, each locking leg 22
Will be inserted through the through hole 11c of the upper wall 11 at the time of engagement.

Similarly, the left and right side walls 14 and 15 each have two through holes 14a and 15a into which the rivets 8 as fixing means are inserted, and locking legs 23 and 23 as engaging means in the outer cover 20 which will be described later. Two engaging holes 14c and 15c for engaging 24 are formed.

The side walls 13 and 14, except the side wall 12 which is fastened together with the side wall 25 of the outer cover 20 to the steering wheel body 6 by the rivets 8.
The thin portion 15b, 14b, 1 which is to be broken is connected to the locking holes 13c, 14c, 15c in a substantially horizontal direction.
5b is formed.

These breakable portions 13b, 14b, 15
b is a through hole 13a, 14a that is broken when the airbag 1 is inflated after the pad 9 is attached to the steering wheel W and is fixed to the side walls 3a on the rear side and the left and right sides of the bag holder 3. The upper wall 11 of the inner cover 10 of the pad 9 and the upper wall 21 of the outer cover 20 of the pad 9 are opened with the peripheral portion of the 15a left, and the airbag 1 is greatly expanded.

When the upper wall 11 of the inner cover 10 and the upper wall 21 of the outer cover 20 of the pad 9 are opened, the side wall 12 of the inner cover 10 and the side wall 25 of the outer cover 20 are in front of the bag holder 3. It functions as a hinge while being fixed to the side wall 3a on the part side.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the outer cover 20 is made of a synthetic resin material such as styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer and has a substantially square plate-like upper wall 21 and a front portion of the upper wall 21. And a side wall 25 extending downward from the edge.

The upper wall 21 has three locking legs 22 arranged at the rear edge of the lower surface and two left and right edges on the lower surface.
The locking legs 23, 24 are provided for each of them, and these locking legs 22, 23, 24 serve as a fastening means to the inner cover 10 as described above. Then, each locking leg 22, 23, 24 has a corresponding shaft portion 22b, 2
Corresponding locking holes 13c formed at the lower ends of 3b and 24b
.Hooks 22a and 23 locked to the peripheral edges of 14c and 15c
a. 24a. 22c / 2
3c and 24c are ribs for reinforcement, respectively.

On the lower surface of the upper wall 21, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, there are formed a plurality of ribs 21a which are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction at regular intervals and are formed in the front-rear direction. There is. These ribs 21a will form a pressing portion when the switch 30 is operated.

The inner cover 10 is provided at the bottom of the side wall 25.
Corresponding to the through hole 12a of the side wall 12, two through holes 25a penetrating in a substantially horizontal direction are formed. As described above, these through holes 25a connect the side wall 25 to the side wall 12.
At the same time, the rivet 8 for fixing to the side wall 3a on the front side of the bag holder 3 as the steering wheel body 6 is inserted.

The membrane switch 30 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in 1, the upper plate 3 made of phosphor bronze or the like
1, a lower plate 32 made of stainless steel or the like, and a plurality of insulating spacers 33 made of a flexible insulating material arranged between the plates 31 and 32. Is the terminal 31a
32a is projected.

The spacer 33 is composed of both plates 31.
32 are regularly arranged at equal intervals, and the pad 9
The ribs 21a of the outer cover upper wall 21 are arranged above the upper plate 31 between the spacers 33 when the switch 30 is attached to. As a result, when the upper surface of the pad 9 within the outer shape range of the switch 30 is pushed down, the ribs 21a push down between the spacers 33 no matter which area is pushed down, so that the load during operation of the switch 30 is made uniform. Can be secured.

In the embodiment, the switch 30 is a horn switch for operating the horn, and the terminal 3
1a and 32a will be connected to the positive electrode side and the negative electrode side of the horn operation circuit of the vehicle through the lead wires 41 and 42.

Next, the assembly of the pad 9 of the embodiment will be described. First, the front edge and both the left and right edges of the switch 30 are locked to the claws 11a of the inner cover upper wall 11, and the rear edge of the switch 30 is fixed. The terminals 31a and 32a while restricting the protrusions 11b of the upper wall 11 to the mounting holes 1 of the upper wall 11.
The switch 30 is placed on the upper surface of the inner cover upper wall 11 so as to match 1d and 11d.

After that, each terminal 31a.3 of the switch 30
The terminals 40, 40 are arranged on the terminal 2a, and the screws 36 as mounting means are attached from above from the terminals 31a, 32a.
And the terminals 40, 40, and are screwed into the respective mounting holes 11d of the upper wall 11, and predetermined lead wires 41, 42 are connected to the respective terminals 31a, 32a.

Then, the lead wires 41 and 42 are connected to the recess 11
Each locking leg 2 is inserted through each through hole 11c while being arranged along the left and right sides of the side wall 12 via e · 11e.
The second hook portion 22a is locked to the peripheral edge of each locking hole 13c, and the hook portions 23a and 24a of the locking legs 23 and 24 are locked to the peripheral edges of the locking holes 14c and 15c, respectively. Attach the outer cover 20 to the pad 9
Assemble.

After that, the side wall 3 on the front side of the bag holder 3
The side walls 12 and 25 of the inner cover 10 and the outer cover 20 are arranged on the front surface side in a, and the contact plate 7 is disposed on the peripheral edge of the through hole 25a.
The rivets 8 are inserted through the through holes 7a, 25a, 12a, 3b of the bag holder 3 and the side walls 12 and 25 are used as the steering wheel body 6 by the rivets 8.
Fix to a.

Similarly, the contact plate 7 and the through holes 3b, 7a,
By using the rivet 8 that is inserted through 13a, 14a, and 15a, the side walls 13, 14, and 15 of the inner cover 10 are utilized.
The steering wheel body 6 is fixed to the side wall 3a of the bag holder 3 to assemble the airbag device M.

When the pad 9 is fixed to the bag holder 3, the folded airbag 1 and the inflator 2 are assembled to the bag holder 3 in advance.

Thereafter, the airbag device M is fixed to a part of the steering wheel core metal Wc by using a nut or the like (not shown) of the bag holder 3, and the lead wire 4 is used.
Assemble the steering wheel W by connecting the ends of 1.42 to a predetermined part.

When the switch 30 is replaced after the steering wheel W is mounted on the vehicle, first, the rear edge side of the outer cover 20 of the pad 9 is strongly lifted upward.

Then, each locking leg 22 of the outer cover 20
The hook portions 22a, 23a, 24a of 23, 24 are disengaged from the respective locking holes 13c, 14c, 15c of the inner cover 10, and the outer cover 20 is disengaged from the inner cover 10.

After that, when the rear edge side of the outer cover 20 is further lifted up, the outer cover 20 is moved to the steering wheel body 6 as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
The periphery of the through hole 25a of the side wall 25 fixed to the side wall is opened as the center of rotation.

Then, when the outer cover 20 is opened, the switch 30 fixed by the screw 36 is exposed on the upper surface of the inner cover upper wall 11, so that the screw 36 can be removed by removing the screw 36.
The switch 30 can be easily replaced.

After that, if the switch 30 is replaced,
As the outer cover 20 is closed, each locking leg 22.
The hook portions 22a, 23a, and 24a of 23 and 24 are attached to the respective locking holes 1
If the outer cover 20 can be engaged with the inner cover 10 by engaging with the peripheral edges of 3c, 14c, and 15c, the replacement work can be completed. The same effect as described above is obtained.

In the embodiment, the screw 36 for attaching the switch 30 to the upper surface of the inner cover upper wall 11 is separated from the side where the outer cover 20 is wide open, that is, after the side wall 25 fixed to the steering wheel body 6 is removed. Since the switch 30 is arranged on the edge side, the work of removing and attaching the switch 30 can be further facilitated.

Further, in the embodiment, the screw 36 is used as the mounting means for mounting the switch 30 on the upper surface of the inner cover upper wall 11, but the switch 30 and the upper wall 11 are connected to the claw 11a and the locking leg. A member such as 22 that can connect the switch 30 and the upper wall 11 to each other may be provided, and these may be used as the attachment means.

Further, in the embodiment, in order to attach the outer cover 20 to the inner cover 10, the outer cover 2
The inner cover 10 is provided with locking legs 22, 23 and 24
Locking holes 13c / 1 corresponding to locking legs 22,23 / 24
Although the case where 4c and 15c are provided is shown, the inner cover 1
The locking leg may be provided on the 0 side and the locking hole may be provided on the outer cover 20 side. And furthermore, the inner cover 1
As a means for engaging the outer cover 20 with respect to 0, a locking leg or a locking hole may be used, or a surface fastener or the like may be used.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the outer cover 2
Although the side wall 25 of 0 is fixed to the side wall 3a of the bag holder 3 as the steering wheel body 6 together with the side wall 13 of the inner cover 10, the side wall 25 is independently used for the steering wheel body 6 and the inner cover 10.
It may be fixed to. As the fixing means for fixing the side wall 25, bolts, nuts or the like may be used instead of rivets.

Further, although the pad 9 of the embodiment is exemplified as the pad of the airbag apparatus M, it is needless to say that the present invention may be applied to a normal pad which is not the airbag apparatus M.

Further, in the embodiment, as the switch 30,
Although the one that operates the horn is shown as an example, of course, the present invention may be applied to a switch for other purposes, and as the structure of the switch 30, if it is a planar switch, the upper part as in the embodiment is used. The switch is not limited to the two-layer type switch including the plate 31 and the lower plate 32, and a three-layer type switch may be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pad showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the same example, showing a II-II portion in FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the same example, showing a III-III portion of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an inner cover used in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the inner cover.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the inner cover.

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the inner cover.

FIG. 8 is a right side view of the outer cover used in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the outer cover.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the outer cover.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the switch of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 ... Steering wheel main body, 8 ... (fixing means) rivets, 9 ... Pads, 10 ... Inner cover, 13c, 14c, 15c ... Locking hole, 20 ... Outer cover, 22, 23, 24 ... (locking means) Locking Legs, 30 ... Switch, 36 ... (Mounting means) screw, W ... Steering wheel.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Takanori Kamigami, Inventor Takanori Kamigami, Ochiai, Nagasaki, Kasuga-cho, Nishikasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Address: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Nao Yamamoto 1 Ochiai, Ochiai, Kasuga-cho, Nishikasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture Address: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Synthetic Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kimio Muramatsu No. 1 Nagahata, Ochiai, Kasuga-cho, Nishikasugai-gun, Aichi Toyota Gosei Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering wheel pad comprising an inner cover, an outer cover, and a planar switch arranged between the inner cover and the outer cover, wherein the switch is an upper surface of the inner cover. The inner cover is fixed to the steering wheel main body, the outer cover is partially fixed to the inner cover or the steering wheel main body, and the fixed portion is attached to the inner cover or the steering wheel main body. Except for the inner cover,
A pad of a steering wheel, which is detachably engaged and is arranged so as to be capable of opening around the fixed part as a center of rotation by releasing the engagement of the engaged part so as to cover the inner cover.