JPH0653324U - Steering wheel with airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Floating type that does not easily transmit to the module cover even when there is vibration such as when driving on rough roads or idling, and preventing abnormal noise, horn squeaking, and rattling of the module cover. Providing a steering wheel equipped with an airbag device having a horn mechanism. In a steering wheel equipped with an airbag device, a module cover 4 is disposed with a bag 1 and a space K in between, and a movable contact 44 of a horn is formed. A fixed contact 45 is provided at a portion facing the movable contact 44. The bent portion 33 of the retainer 3 toward the boss portion 5 side is connected to the end portion side of the vertical wall 42 of the module cover 4.
The vertical wall 42 has a deformed portion 46 formed at a position higher than the position where the vertical wall 42 is connected to the retainer 3. When the upper surface of the module cover 4 is pressed, the deformed portion 46 is deformed and the module cover 4 slides downward, and the movable contact 44 And the fixed contact 45 contact.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a steering wheel having an airbag device, and more particularly to a steering wheel having an airbag device having a floating type horn mechanism.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 A steering wheel equipped with an airbag device has been known as a steering wheel that employs a horn button.However, since the horn pressing range is narrow, it is difficult to press the horn button when the steering wheel is rotating. There is. For this reason, there is known a steering wheel having a so-called floating type horn mechanism, which adopts a configuration in which the horn is blown by the entire module cover.

For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of this kind of technique, in which a movable plate 53 is arranged on a cored bar 51 via a spring 52, and a fixed plate formed on the cored bar 51. The contact point 54 (see FIG. 6) and the movable contact 55 formed on the movable plate 53 are in contact with each other so that the horn can be blown.

The movable plate 53 is connected to a retainer 56, and the retainer 56 is formed by attaching an inflator 58, a bag 59, a module cover 50, etc. (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-169357). .

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the technique shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the module cover 50, the bag 59, and the like are attached to the retainer 56, the retainer 56 is connected to the movable plate 53, and the movable contact 55 of the movable plate 53 and the core metal. A fixed contact 54 on 51 forms a horn mechanism. As a result, the weight of the inflator 58 or the like may expose the module cover 50 on a bad road or the like, and actuate the movable plate 53 to cause the horn to blow.

In order to prevent this, it is sufficient to increase the set load value (spring constant) of the spring. However, if the spring is made rigid in this way, the horn blowing load also increases, which is a disadvantage.

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the horn mechanism is present in the lower portion of the assembly of the airbag device, and the inflator and other weight members constituting the airbag device are disposed on the spring. Since the weight of various components arranged on the spring is large as described above, if the spring is made stronger, the operability of horn blowing is poor. In addition, the weight on the spring makes the vibration property worse.

Further, since it is heavy, the connecting portion of the constituent members needs to have rigidity, which further increases the weight. Therefore, it was necessary to make the set load of the horn higher than that of a normal steering wheel without an airbag device, which resulted in a higher (heavy) horn blowing load.

The object of the present invention is to prevent vibration from being transmitted to the module cover even when there is vibration such as when driving on a rough road or idling, and preventing abnormal noise, horn squeaking, rattling of the module cover, etc. It is to provide a steering wheel equipped with an airbag device having a horn mechanism of a type.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 A steering wheel equipped with an air bag device according to the present invention is a steering wheel equipped with an air bag device having a bag, a retainer to which an inflator is attached, and a module cover, wherein the module cover is separated from the bag. And a fixed contact capable of contacting the movable contact is provided at a portion facing the movable contact.The retainer is bent at its outer peripheral end toward the boss. A bent portion is formed, and the bent portion and the end portion of the vertical wall of the module cover are connected with the vertical wall facing outward, and the vertical wall is located above the connecting position with the retainer. A deformable portion that is deformed at a position is formed, and when the upper surface of the module cover is pressed, the deformable portion is deformed and the module cover slides downward. To, a structure in which the movable contact and the fixed contact is in contact.

[0011]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The parts, arrangements, etc. described below do not limit the present invention and can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention.

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a steering wheel, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view for explaining the deformed state of the vertical wall.

As shown in FIG. 1, the steering wheel S of this example includes an annular grip portion 10a and four extended grip portions 10b extending inward from the annular grip portion 10a. The airbag device E is disposed inside the extended grip portion 10b. As shown in FIG. 2, the airbag device E of this example has a bag 1, an inflator 2, a retainer 3, and a module cover 4 as main components.

A central hole 32 for mounting the inflator 2 is formed in the center of the retainer 3 of this example, and the periphery of this hole 32 is connected to the back ring 35, the inflator 2, and the opening peripheral edge 11 of the bag 1. A large number of connection holes (not shown) are formed.

Then, the opening peripheral edge 11 of the bag 1 is clamped by the retainer 3 and the back ring 35, and is fixed together with the inflator 2 and the retainer 3 by the connecting hole with a fastener such as a screw, and the retainer 3, the inflator 2 and the bag are attached. 1 and 1 are assembled together. The bag 1 of this example is stored and held by a known means.

Further, a bent portion 33 that is bent toward the boss portion 5 side is formed on the end portion side of the retainer 3 of this example, and the bent portion 33 will be described below at predetermined intervals as shown in FIG. The end of the vertical wall 42 of the module cover 4 is connected to the boss plate 7 and the boss plate 7 attached to the boss 5 at a predetermined position as shown in FIG. , Etc. are integrally fixed by a fixing tool 8 of a mounting screw.

The module cover 4 of this example is provided with an upper surface portion 41 and a vertical wall 42 extending downward from the upper surface portion 41, and is arranged so as to cover the bag 1, the inflator 2 and the like. A space K is formed between the upper surface 1 a of the first module 1 and the back surface 41 a of the upper surface 41 of the module cover. The symbol H in FIG. 1 is an H-shaped breaking line formed on the module cover 4.

A supporting portion 43 protruding downward is formed at a lower end portion of the module cover 4 on the side of the extending grip 10b, and a movable contact 44 is arranged on the supporting portion 43. A fixed contact 45 that comes into contact with the movable contact 44 is formed separately at a portion 10c that faces the movable contact 44 on the upper surface of the extension grip 10b.

The end portion of the vertical wall 42 of the module cover 4 is fixed to the bent portion 33 of the retainer 3, and the vertical wall 42 has a deformed portion 46 at a position above the portion fixed to the retainer 3. Are formed. The deforming portion 46 of this example is formed by bending on the side opposite to the retainer 3, and as shown in FIG. 4, when the module cover 4 is pressed in the X direction, the bending is deformed to a greater extent. The module cover 4 is formed so as to be movable downward.

Next, the operation of the embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described. Since the module cover 4 is always connected to the vertical wall 42 and the retainer 3, the steering provided with a general air bag device. It is fixed like the wheel S.

When the horn blows, the upper surface 41 of the module cover 4 is pressed, but as described above, the space K is formed between the module cover 4 and the bag 1, and the vertical direction that supports the module cover 4 is formed. Since the deformed portion 46 is formed above the connection position between the wall 42 and the retainer 3, when the module cover 4 is pressed from the upper surface 41 side, the deformed portion 46 bends deeper as shown in FIG. It is deformed and only the module cover 4 slides downward (to the boss plate 7 side).

When the module cover 4 moves downward, the movable contact 44 formed on the module cover 4 and the fixed contact 45 formed on the portion 10c of the extended grip portion 10b come into contact with each other to blow the horn. be able to.

With the above structure, when the upper surface 41 of the module cover 4 is pressed to blow the horn, only the module cover 4 slides, and the airbag device E is The loads of the inflator 2, the bag 1 and the like constituting the boss plate 7 are fixedly received.

Therefore, since a horn mechanism having a spring or the like is not provided in the lower portion of the airbag device E as in the conventional case, the horn operability is as good as that of a steering wheel having no airbag device. Become.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the deformed portion 46 of the vertical wall 42 of the module cover 4 is formed as a bent portion is shown, but the deformed portion 46 is not limited to this, and means other than the bent portion is used. Alternatively, a flexible material such as a spring may be formed integrally with the vertical wall 42 as a deformable portion.

[0026]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, in the steering wheel provided with the air bag device having the floating type horn mechanism, only the module cover provided with the movable contact is slid, so that the vehicle is driven on a bad road or idling. Even if there is vibration due to time, it is difficult to be transmitted to the module cover, and it is possible to prevent abnormal noise, erroneous horn sounds, and rattling of the module cover.

Further, the operation feeling of blowing the horn can be made to be a light operation feeling as in the case of the steering wheel without the airbag.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a steering wheel including an airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a deformed state of a vertical wall.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of Codes] 10a Annular Grip Part 10b Extended Grip Part 10c Portion facing movable contact 1 Bag 1a Upper surface of bag 11 Bag opening peripheral edge 2 Inflator 3 Retainer 33 Bent part 35 Back ring 5 Boss part 6, 8 Fixing Tool 7 Boss plate 4 Module cover 41 Upper surface portion 41a Rear surface of upper surface portion of module cover 42 Vertical wall 43 Supporting portion 44 Movable contact 45 Fixed contact 46 Deformation portion E Air bag device K Gap (space portion) S Steering wheel

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 9, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 4]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 5]

[Figure 6]

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A steering wheel provided with an airbag device having a bag, a retainer to which an inflator is attached, and a module cover, wherein the module cover is disposed with a gap from the bag and the horn is movable. A contact is formed, and a fixed contact that can come into contact with the movable contact is provided at a portion facing the movable contact, and a bent portion whose outer peripheral end side is bent toward the boss is formed in the retainer. The bending portion and the end portion side of the vertical wall of the module cover are connected to each other with the vertical wall facing outward, and the vertical wall is formed with a deformable portion that is deformed at a position higher than a connection position with the retainer. By pressing the upper surface of the cover, the deformable portion is deformed, the module cover is slid downward, and the movable contact and the fixed contact are brought into contact with each other. A steering wheel equipped with a characteristic airbag device.