JPH0642923Y2 - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a steering wheel of an automobile or the like, and more particularly to a steering wheel body having a pad provided on an upper portion thereof.

(Prior Art) As a conventional steering wheel of this type
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 9570.

In this steering wheel, in order to easily attach and detach the pad to and from the steering wheel body, a plurality of metal clamp springs (elastic engagement members) provided in the pad are provided in the steering wheel body. Through the mounting holes of the pad mounting plate, and by elastically engaging the V-shaped engaging portions of the clamp springs with the lower part of the pad mounting plate, the pad is mounted on the steering wheel body. At the time of mounting, to the metal pad removal prevention hook stopper elastic body provided on the pad mounting plate,
By locking the pad bracket on the pad side,
Secondly, it prevents the pad from coming off.

That is, in this steering wheel, the pad is attached to and detached from the steering wheel body at the time of assembling to the steering shaft and at the time of maintenance. The force required for attaching and detaching the pad is for the purpose of reducing the burden on the operator.
Since the pad is relatively small, for example, 10 kgf or less, the pad may come off only with the clamp spring (elastic engaging member) when an excessive impact is applied due to an accident, etc. In addition, the pad detachment prevention hook is used to prevent the pad from detaching in the event of an accident, etc., and when detaching the pad, loosen the detachment preventing flexible fastener (screw) provided on the pad mounting plate. Then, the pad detachment preventing hook-like elastic body is removed from the pad bracket, thereby enabling the removal of the pad.

(Problem to be solved or solved) In the conventional steering wheel described above, in addition to the clamp spring (elastic engaging member), the pad detachment preventing hook elastic body is required, so that the number of parts is large and the structure is complicated. And assembly is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and in a steering wheel in which a pad is attached to a steering wheel main body by using a clamp spring, a pad detachment preventing hook elastic body or the like, which is a separate component, is used to prevent an accident or the like. The purpose of this is to prevent the pad from coming off when it is removed.

[Constitution of device]

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to the present invention, a pad mounting plate 8 having a plurality of mounting holes 9 is provided on an upper portion of a steering wheel main body 4, and mounting pieces for the pad 5 are provided at a plurality of lower portions of the pad 5. 33 to leg pieces
Clamp springs 28, 29, 50 formed by bending 34 and forming a dogleg-shaped engaging portion 35 on the leg piece 34 are provided, and the leg pieces 34 of the plurality of clamp springs 28, 29, 50 are described above. A steering wheel in which the pad 5 is attached to the upper portion of the steering wheel main body 4 by inserting the engaging portion 35 into the corresponding attaching hole 9 of the pad attaching plate 8 and elastically engaging the engaging portion 35 with the lower portion of the pad attaching plate 8. At least one of the clamp springs 28, 29, 50 has a mounting piece 33, and the locking pieces 38, 51 which are inserted into the mounting holes 9 of the pad mounting plate 8 together with the leg pieces 34 are bent. The engaging portions 39, 52 are formed at the intermediate portions of the engaging pieces 38, 51, and the guide portions 40, 53 are formed at the tips of the engaging pieces 38, 51. When the stoppers 38, 51 are inserted into the mounting holes 9 of the pad mounting plate 8, the stoppers 38, 51 are elastically engaged with the guides 40, 53. And to deform those provided movably disengagement working body 11 to hermetically sealing engagement omission at the bottom of the pad mounting plate 8 the locking part 39, 52.

(Operation) The steering wheel of the present invention is provided with a plurality of metal clamp springs 28, 29, 50 provided on the pad 5 with the leg pieces 34.
Inserting through the plurality of mounting holes 9 of the pad mounting plate 8 provided on the steering wheel main body 4 and elastically engaging the V-shaped engaging portion 35 formed on the leg piece 34 with the lower portion of the pad mounting plate 8. Then, the pad 5 is attached to the steering wheel body 4, and at the time of this attachment, the locking pieces 38, 51 of the clamp springs 29, 50 are inserted into the attachment holes 9 of the pad attachment plate 8.
The engagement between the guide portions 40 and 53 provided on the locking pieces 38 and 51 and the engagement and disengagement body 11 provided on the pad mounting plate 8 causes the locking pieces 38 and 51 to be elastically deformed and the locking piece 38 By locking the locking parts 39, 52 provided on the and 51, on the lower part of the pad mounting plate 8 to prevent the pad 5 from coming off in the event of an accident, etc. By moving the action body 11, the locking pieces 38, 51
Elastically restore the locking parts 39, 52 to the pad mounting plate 8
Is removed from the lower part of the pad, thereby enabling the pad 5 to be removed.

Embodiment An embodiment of the steering wheel of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 shows a steering wheel, which comprises an annular rim portion 1, a boss portion 2 located at the center thereof, and a plurality of spoke portions 3 connecting the rim portion 1 and the boss portion 2. The steering wheel body 4 is integrally formed, and the pad 5 is provided on the boss portion 2 of the steering wheel body 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the boss portion 2 of the steering wheel body 4 has a metal boss plate 8 as a pad mounting plate, and the boss plate 8 is arranged at a plurality of positions here as shown in FIG. Rectangular mounting holes 9 are formed at three locations, and one of the three mounting holes 9 is located on the lower side in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the piece 10 is formed in a bent shape, and as shown in FIG.
11 is screwed from the outside.

A lower cover 14 made of synthetic resin is attached to the lower portion of the boss plate 8 of the boss portion 2, and an operation hole 15 for the engagement screw 11 is formed in the lower cover 14.

Although not shown, a cylindrical metal boss is fixed to the boss plate 8, and the metal boss is fitted to a steering shaft of an automobile and fixed by a nut.
The steering wheel body 4 is attached to the steering shaft.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pad 5 has a structure in which a soft synthetic resin cover 19 is covered on a hard synthetic resin base 18, and a fixed contact 20 is provided on the upper surface of the base 18.
By providing the movable contact 21 on the lower surface of the cover 19, a horn switch 22 is provided between the base 18 and the cover 19, and when the cover 19 is pressed, the movable contact 21 is fixedly set.
When the switch 22 is turned on by contacting the switch 20 and the pressing is stopped, the movable contact 21 is separated from the fixed contact 20 and the switch 22 is turned off.

Then, tubular bosses 25 are provided at a plurality of locations below the base 18 of the pad 5, and the metal support frames 26 are provided on the plurality of bosses 25.
Are attached with screws 27, and the same arrangement as the mounting holes 9 of the boss plate 8 (fifth position) on the lower surface of the support frame 26
Clamp springs 28 and 29 have screws 30
It is installed in.

Each of the three clamp springs 28, 29 is made of a metal leaf spring material. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the leg pieces 34 are in the same direction from both ends of the attachment piece 33 with respect to the pad 5. This pair of leg pieces are bent in parallel to
A dogleg-shaped engaging portion 35 protruding outward from each intermediate portion of 34 is formed by bending.

Then, the leg pieces 34 of the three clamp springs 28 and 29 are inserted into the corresponding mounting holes 9 of the boss plate 8 from above, and the leg-shaped engaging portions 35 of the leg pieces 34 are inserted.
By elastically engaging the lower part of the boss plate 8, the pad 5 is attached to the upper part of the steering wheel body 4, and in this state, the peripheral part of the pad 5 contacts the spoke part 3 and the lower cover 14. Touching.

Further, among the three clamp springs 28 and 29, the clamp spring 29 located on the lower side in FIG. 5 has a locking piece 38 from one side of the mounting piece 33 as shown in FIG. The locking piece 38 is formed by bending in the same direction as the leg piece 34.
A locking claw 39 as a locking portion is formed by cutting and raising from the both sides of the intermediate portion of the locking member 38 toward the outside obliquely upward, and a guide portion inclined toward the outside obliquely downward at the tip of this locking piece 38.
40 is bent and formed.

Then, the locking piece 38 of the clamp spring 29 is normally in the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
At the time of mounting, the guide piece 40 at the tip of the locking piece 38 is inserted into the mounting hole 9 of the boss plate 8 together with the leg pieces 34, and at the time of this insertion, the guide portion 40 at the tip end of the locking piece 38 of the engagement screw 11 on the boss plate 8 side is inserted. The engagement piece 38 is engaged with the tip portion, and by this engagement, the locking piece 38 is elastically deformed to the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, and the locking claw 39 in the middle portion of the locking piece 38 of the boss plate 8. Lock the bottom to prevent it from coming off.

Therefore, the pad 5 is attached to the steering wheel body 4 by using the clamp springs 2 on the pad 5 side.
This can be done by simply pressing the pad 5 against the boss plate 8 in a state where the 8, 29 are aligned with the respective mounting holes 9 of the boss plate 8 on the steering wheel body 4 side.

In this mounted state, the locking claw 39 of the locking piece 38 of the clamp spring 29 locks the lower portion of the boss plate 8 so that it does not come off. Therefore, when an excessive shock is applied due to an accident or the like. Further, even if the dogleg-shaped engaging portion 35 of the other clamp spring 28 is disengaged from the mounting hole 9 of the boss plate 8, the clamp spring 29 having the locking piece 38 is disengaged from the mounting hole 9 of the boss plate 8. Since this prevents the pad 5 from falling off, the safety of the occupant can be ensured.

Further, when removing the pad 5 from the steering wheel body 4, through the operation hole 15 of the lower cover 14, the engaging / disengaging screw
When the driver 45 is engaged with the head of 11 and the engaging / disengaging screw 11 is retracted from the locking piece 38 of the clamp spring 29, this locking piece
38 elastically restores to the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
Since the locking claw 39 of the locking piece 38 is disengaged from the lower portion of the boss plate 8, in this state, the pad 5 is strongly pulled away from the steering wheel main body 4 so that the clamp springs 28 and 29 on the pad 5 side have a square shape. It is possible to remove the engagement portions 35 in the shape of holes from the respective mounting holes 9 of the boss plate 8 on the side of the steering wheel body 4 and remove the pad 5 from the steering wheel body 4.

Then, when attaching the removed pad 5 to the steering wheel body 4 again, if the engaging / disengaging screw 11 is screwed back to the original position, the locking claw 39 of the locking piece 38 of the clamp spring 29 is bossed. Since it is possible to lock the lower part of the plate 8 to prevent it from coming off, it is possible to prevent the pad 5 from falling off.

6 and 7 show a modified example of the clamp spring, and the clamp spring 50 of this modified example is
The clamp spring 29 of the above-mentioned embodiment is a pair of leg pieces.
In addition to the structure in which a locking piece 38 is provided in addition to 34, it is a structure in which one of the pair of leg pieces 34 is replaced by a locking piece 51, and is used instead of the clamp spring 29 of the above-described embodiment. be able to.

That is, in the clamp spring 50 of this modified example, the leg piece 34 having the dogleg-shaped engaging portion 35 is folded from one end of the attachment piece 33 to the pad 5, like the clamp springs 28 and 29. Although it is bent, the locking piece 51 is bent from the other end of the mounting piece 33 in the same direction as the leg piece 34, and protrudes outward at the middle portion of the locking piece 51. The locking stepped portion 52 as a fold-shaped locking portion is bent and formed, and the guide portion 53 inclined obliquely downward to the outside is bent and formed at the tip of the locking piece 50. There is.

Then, this clamp spring 50 is used in place of the clamp spring 29 of the above-described embodiment by attaching it to the support frame 26 with the screw 30 in a state of rotating the direction by 90 degrees, and in this state, The locking piece 51 is normally in the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6, and when the pad 5 is mounted, it is inserted into the mounting hole 9 of the boss plate 8 together with the leg piece 34. Further, the guide portion 53 at the tip of the locking piece 51 engages with the tip of the engaging / disengaging screw 11 on the boss plate 8 side, and by this engagement, the locking piece 51 is brought into the state shown by the solid line in FIG. The elastically deformed locking step portion 52 at the middle of the locking piece 51
Locks on the bottom of the boss plate 8 to prevent it from coming off.

Here, the bending angle a of the locking step portion 52 is 90 degrees or less, and the bending angle b of the engaging portion 35 is 90 degrees or more.

Therefore, the pad 5 is attached to the steering wheel body 4 by using the clamp springs 2 on the pad 5 side.
This can be done by simply pressing the pad 5 strongly against the boss plate 8 in a state where the 8, 50 are aligned with the respective mounting holes 9 of the boss plate 8 on the steering wheel body 4 side.

Further, in the state of being mounted in this way, the locking step portion 52 of the locking piece 51 of the clamp spring 50 is locked to the lower portion of the boss plate 8 so as not to come off, so that an excessive impact is applied due to an accident or the like. At this time, even when the dogleg-shaped engaging portion 35 of the other clamp spring 28 is disengaged from the mounting hole 9 of the boss plate 8, the clamp spring 50 provided with the locking piece 51 can be removed from the mounting hole 9 of the boss plate 8. It does not come off, and this prevents the pad 5 from falling off, thus ensuring the safety of the occupant.

Further, when removing the pad 5 from the steering wheel body 4, through the operation hole 15 of the lower cover 14, the engaging / disengaging screw
When the driver 45 is engaged with the head of 11 and the engaging / disengaging screw 11 is retracted from the locking piece 51 of the clamp spring 50, this locking piece
51 is elastically restored to the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6,
Since the locking step portion 52 of the locking piece 51 is disengaged from the lower portion of the boss plate 8, in this state, the pad 5 is strongly pulled away from the steering wheel main body 4 so that the clamp springs 28, 50 on the pad 5 side can be closed. The character-shaped engaging portion 35 can be removed from each mounting hole 9 of the boss plate 8 on the steering wheel body 4 side, and the pad 5 can be removed from the steering wheel body 4.

Then, when the once removed pad 5 is attached to the steering wheel body 4 again, if the engaging / disengaging screw 11 is screwed back to the original position, the locking stepped portion 52 of the locking piece 51 of the clamp spring 50 is removed. It is possible to prevent the pad 5 from falling off because it can be locked to the lower portion of the boss plate 8 so as not to come off.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a steering wheel in which a pad is attached to a steering wheel body using a plurality of clamp springs, one or more clamps can be provided without using separate parts such as a pad detachment preventing hook elastic body. The locking piece formed on the spring can prevent the pad from coming off in the event of an accident, etc. Therefore, the number of parts does not increase, the structure is not particularly complicated, and the assembly can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a boss portion of an embodiment of a steering wheel of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential portion thereof, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a clamp spring provided with its locking piece.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the clamp spring without the locking piece, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the whole, FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a modified example, and FIG. 7 is the locking piece. It is a perspective view of the clamp spring which provided. 4 ... Steering wheel body, 5 ... Pad, 8 ...
... Boss plate as pad mounting plate, 9 ... Mounting hole,
11 …… Unlocking screw as engaging / disengaging body, 28,29,50 …… Clamp spring, 33 …… Mounting piece, 34 …… Leg piece, 35 …… Engaging part, 38 …… Clamp spring 29 Locking pieces, 39 ... locking claws as locking parts, 40 ... guide parts, 51
...... Locking piece provided on the clamp spring 50, 52 ……
Locking step part as locking part, 53 ... Guide part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A pad mounting plate having a plurality of mounting holes is provided on an upper portion of a steering wheel main body, and a leg piece is bent from a mounting piece for the pad and is attached to the leg piece at a plurality of lower portions of the pad. A clamp spring formed by forming a V-shaped engaging portion is provided, and the leg pieces of the plurality of clamp springs are inserted into the corresponding mounting holes of the pad mounting plate so that the engaging portion is elastically attached to the lower portion of the pad mounting plate. In the steering wheel body with the pad attached to the upper portion of the steering wheel body, the at least one attachment piece of the plurality of clamp springs is inserted into the attachment hole of the pad attachment plate together with the leg piece. The stopper piece is bent to form an engaging portion at an intermediate portion of the engaging piece, and a guide portion is formed at a tip portion of the engaging piece. When the stopper is inserted into the mounting hole of the pad mounting plate, it engages with the guide portion and elastically deforms the locking piece to lock the locking portion to the lower part of the pad mounting plate. A steering wheel characterized in that the body can be moved.