JPH0717408A - Horn switch structure of steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent defective operations of a pin member at the time of mounting a center pad and improve mounting property of the center pad. CONSTITUTION:The ends of pin members 5, 6 are enclosed inside by an insulator 9 covering the pin members 5, 6 for supporting a horn plate 7 and a support seat 17 for receiving a center pad 22 is molded as a unit and further, a guide protrusion 21 is molded as a unit at the top face of the support seat 17. Moreover, a locating hole 24 to be engaged with this guide protrusion 21 is provided on the bottom of the center pad 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a steering wheel,
In particular, the present invention relates to a horn switch section structure of a steering wheel of a movable center pad type in which a center pad is movably assembled and a horn is operated by pushing the center pad.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among steering wheels of a movable center pad type, there is, for example, Shoukai 63-192158.
As shown in the publication, a plurality of pin members are screwed and fixed on a boss plate which is a core material at the center of the steering wheel, and the horn plate is slid back and forth across these pin members. A center pad with a horn switch that is freely attached and has a spring that biases the horn plate backward, and that has contact points provided on the horn plate and the boss plate side to form a horn switch, and an air bag unit is attached to the horn plate It is known that the center pad is movably assembled to the boss plate by attaching the.

[0003]

Since the horn plate serves as a conductive plate for conducting the contacts, the horn plate is slidably mounted on the pin member via an insulator, but the pin member is exposed and arranged. Because
If the pin member is touched when the center pad is mounted and the dimension between the contacts of the horn switch changes, an appropriate horn operating force cannot be obtained.

When the center pad is attached to the horn plate, the horn plate is elastically held by the pin member by the spring, so that the center pad is apt to swing, and the position is not fixed, and the mounting work becomes unstable. there were.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the center pad is mounted, it is possible to avoid the pin member mounted with the horn plate from being touched by the edge, and the horn operation force is not affected, and the center pad is properly positioned. A horn switch part structure of a steering wheel that can be stably installed.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems A plurality of pin members erected on a core member at the center of a steering wheel are covered with an insulator made of an elastic material, and a horn plate is slid back and forth across these pin members. In addition to freely mounting, a spring for urging the horn plate backward is attached to these pin members, and a movable contact is provided at the end of the horn plate, while maintaining a required distance from the movable contact on the core side. In the structure in which a fixed contact is provided to form a horn switch, and a center pad is elastically brought into contact with the horn plate to be movably assembled to the core member, an end portion of the pin member is attached to an insulator covering the pin member. And a support seat for receiving the center pad is formed, and a guide projection is integrally formed on the top surface of the support seat, while the center pad is formed. The bottom is provided with a locator hole for engaging with the guide protrusion.

[0007]

[Function] When the center pad is mounted, the center pad can be fixedly positioned on the support seat by engaging the locate hole at the bottom of the center pad with the guide protrusion on the top surface of the support seat. Can be done stably. At this time, since the pin member is enclosed by the insulator and the support seat additionally formed therewith, the pin member is not unintentionally moved by the tool,
It is possible to prevent the dimensional deviation between the movable contact and the fixed contact from occurring.

[0008]

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

1 to 3, a steering wheel 1 is provided with a boss plate 2 connected to a steering shaft (not shown) at the center thereof, and the boss plate 2 has an upper spoke 3 and two lower spokes. 4 and are combined to form a core material in the center of the wheel.

A pair of upper and lower pins are provided on the core material of the central portion, specifically, on the upper portion of the boss plate 2 and on the vicinity of the connecting portion of the lower spokes 4 and 4 with the boss plate 2. The members 5 and 6 are symmetrically screwed and fixed upright.

Horn plates 7 and 7 are attached to the upper and lower pin members 5 and 6 so as to be slidable back and forth.

A mounting portion for the upper pin member 5 of the boss plate 2,
Also, conductor plates 8 are fixed together on the mounting portion of the lower pin member 6 of the lower spoke 4 respectively.

Insulators 9 and 10 made of resin material are mounted on the upper and lower pin members 5 and 6 of the horn plates 7 and 7, respectively.

A spring 11 is mounted on each of the upper and lower pin members 5 and 6 so as to extend over the dish-shaped insulator 10 on the front side of the horn plate 7 and the conductor plate 8 so that the horn plate 7 is rearward. Is urged toward.

Each horn plate 7, upper pin member 5, 7
The movable contact 15 is provided at the end portion on the 5 side, and the end of the conductor plate 8 is bent and arranged so as to be close to and face the movable contact 15 at a required interval to form a fixed contact 16. The movable contact 15 and the fixed contact 16 form a horn switch 14.

Here, the insulator 9 is formed in a cylindrical shape through which the pin members 5 and 6 are inserted, and the end portions of the insulator 9 include the end portions of the pin members 5 and 6 and the center pad 22. A support seat 17 for receiving is formed.

The support seat 17 includes the head portions 5a of the pin members 5 and 6,
6a is formed in the shape of a rectangular box, and in the present embodiment, it is configured as an open / close type in which a thin hinge portion 18 is provided on one side, and the free end portion is provided with a hook portion 19 and a locking hole 2.
It is engaged with and disengaged from 0 so that it can be freely opened and closed as needed.

A guide projection 21 is integrally formed on the top surface of the support seat 17, while a bracket 23 is provided at the bottom of the center pad 22 and a locate hole for engaging the guide projection 21 with the bracket 23. 24 is formed.

In this embodiment, the guide protrusion 21 is formed as a snap portion that is engaged with the locate hole 24.

In this embodiment, the center pad 22 is an airbag module incorporating an inflator, a bag body and the like. As described above, the bracket 23 is provided on the bottom of the center pad 22, and the locate hole 24 of the center pad 22 is used as a guide projection. 21 is inserted and engaged and temporarily assembled, and is movably attached to the boss plate 2 in the front-rear direction by engaging means (not shown). In the figure, 25 indicates an undercover.

According to the structure of the above embodiment, when the airbag module 22 is mounted on the steering wheel 1, the locate hole 24 of the bracket 23 at the bottom of the airbag module 22 is guided to the top surface of the support seat 17. By inserting and engaging the protrusions 21, the airbag module 22 can be fixedly positioned on the support seat 17 and positioned, so that the airbag module 22 wanders and shifts due to the elasticity of the spring 11 during work. And stable installation work can be performed.

Further, as described above, the head portions 5a, 6a of the pin members 5, 6 are enclosed by the support seat 17 and are not exposed. Therefore, when the airbag module 22 is mounted, these pin members 5, 6 are mounted. Since it is not excessively moved by a tool, it is possible to prevent the dimension between the movable contact 15 and the fixed contact 16 from being misaligned and prevent the horn operability from being impaired.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the end portion of the pin member that supports the horn plate is enclosed by the support seat integrally formed with the insulator, the pin member is not visible when the center pad is attached. It can be prevented from being moved, and the dimension between the movable contact on the side of the horn plate and the fixed contact on the side of the core material is not disturbed, so that the operability of the horn is not impaired.

Further, the center pad can be fixedly placed and positioned on the support seat by engaging the guide projection provided on the top surface of the support seat with the locate hole provided on the bottom portion of the center pad. It is possible to prevent the sliding movement, facilitate the mounting work, and further improve the workability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

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

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

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Steering wheel 2 ... Boss plate (core material) 4 ... Lower spoke (core material) 5, 6 ... Pin member 7 ... Horn plate 9 ... Insulator 11 ... Spring 14 ... Horn switch 15 ... Movable contact 16 ... Fixed contact 17 ... Support seat 21 ... Guide protrusion 22 ... Air bag module (center pad) 24 ... Locate hole

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of pin members erected on a core material at the center of a steering wheel are covered with an insulator made of an elastic material, and a horn plate is attached to the pin members so as to be slidable back and forth. , A spring for urging the horn plate backward is attached to these pin members, and a movable contact is provided at the end of the horn plate, while a fixed contact is provided on the core side with a predetermined distance from the movable contact. In the structure in which a horn switch is provided, the center pad is elastically contacted on the horn plate and is movably assembled to the core member, the insulator covering the pin member includes the end portion of the pin member, A support seat for receiving the center pad is formed, and a guide projection is integrally formed on the top surface of the support seat, while the guide is formed on the bottom of the center pad. A horn switch structure for a steering wheel, characterized in that a locate hole that engages with the projection is formed.