JPH075011Y2 - Buffer structure for steering wheel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a shock absorbing structure for a steering wheel, which is designed to reduce the impact on the driver when a vehicle collides.

(Prior Art) Steering wheels installed in vehicles such as automobiles are
Some kind of structure is required to protect the driver when the vehicle causes a collision accident or the like. FIGS. 3 and 4 show a shock absorbing structure for a steering wheel that has been conventionally implemented for this purpose. To explain this, first
In the figure, a center pad 5 having a shock absorbing member 4 made of sheet metal is provided at the center of a steering wheel 3 in which the outer periphery of a mandrel 1 is covered with a resin material 2. 4 uses a shock absorbing member 6 made of hard urethane instead of the shock absorbing member 4 made of sheet metal in FIG. In addition to this, as a conventional technology,
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 8596.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the two prior arts shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, since the shock absorbing member 4 (6) is separate from the center pad 5, the number of parts is small. There is a problem in that the cost increases as well as the number of assembling steps increases as well. Further, the one shown in FIG. 3 maintains the impact absorbing ability with respect to the load in the direction of arrow A,
There is a problem that a sufficient shock absorbing capacity cannot be obtained for a load in the direction of arrow B. There is also a problem that the weight becomes large. On the other hand, the one shown in FIG. 4 has a problem that it is difficult to attach the shock absorbing member 6 made of hard urethane. The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving these problems.

(Means for Solving Problems) As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention has a plurality of ribs 7 vertically and horizontally at the center of the surface of the steering wheel 3 for absorbing shock in the shock direction. A square center pad 9 made of resin is provided integrally in a matrix and is provided in the front portion of the rib 7 with a plate body 8 built in a direction intersecting with the extending direction of the rib 7 (longitudinal direction of the rib 7). It is configured to be attached.

(Operation) With this configuration, at the time of a vehicle collision, the impact force is transmitted from the portion of the center pad 9 in which the plate body 8 is incorporated to the portion of the matrix-shaped rib 7, and is flexed and absorbed. Will be done. Since the ribs 7 are formed in a matrix, the load is dispersed over a wide area in the process of being transmitted from the portion containing the plate body 8 and the ribs 7 are uniformly bent. Since the center pad 9 has a rectangular shape, when a shock is applied, the load can be dispersed over a wide area, and all the ribs 7 can be uniformly bent.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
The center pad 9 is made of a resin integrally-molded product that is made of a material such that the portion of the rib 7 formed in a matrix at the time of a vehicle collision is deflected by the instantaneous load,
Attached to the steering wheel 3, a plurality of (many) ribs 7 are provided in a matrix (see FIG. 2) in a direction in which the vehicle receives a shock when an accident such as a collision occurs. A metal plate body 8 is built in on the side (front portion) close to the direction toward the direction intersecting the direction in which the rib 7 extends (longitudinal direction of the rib 7). This center pad 9
It has a rectangular shape and is attached to the steering wheel 3 with the tip of the rib 7 facing the mandrel 1. 10 is a contact point of the horn.

The cushioning structure thus configured is received by the center pad 9 located in the center of the steering wheel 3 when the vehicle to which the steering wheel 3 is attached causes a collision and the driver falls forward. It will be. In this way, if the driver hits the center pad 9,
The impact is uniformly applied to the plurality of (many) ribs 7 by the plate body 8 and is absorbed by the deflection of the ribs 7.
The plate body 8 also acts to prevent the center pad 9 from cracking when the center pad 9 receives an impact.

In the embodiment described above, the contact 10 of the horn is provided between the mandrel 1 and the center pad 9, but the contact 10 can also be made to function as the part of the mandrel 8.

(Effect of the Invention) Since the present invention has the buffer structure for the steering wheel configured as described above, it has the following effects.

Since the center pad has a rectangular shape, the plate body incorporated in the center pad disperses the load at the time of collision in a wide area and transmits it to the rib portion as described above.
Since the ribs are formed in a matrix shape vertically and horizontally,
It is possible to bend all the ribs substantially evenly without being subject to a load and falling like the ones formed in parallel. Further, although this bending prevents the center pad from cracking, it also has an effect of preventing molding unevenness when molding the center pad.

The direction and amount of shock absorption can be finely adjusted by the number and shape of ribs, and the thickness, and is excellent for shock loads in either direction of arrows A and B in FIG. You can gain the ability.

Since the center pad is integrally molded of resin, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional one, so that the weight and cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a part of the center pad portion of FIG. 1 seen from below in the drawing, and FIGS. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of a technique. 1 ... Mandrel 3 ... Steering wheel 7 ... Rib 8 ... Plate 9 ... Center pad

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A plurality of ribs for shock-absorbing a shock in the shock direction are provided in a matrix form vertically and horizontally in the center of the surface of a steering wheel, and the front portion of the rib intersects with the extending direction of the rib. A cushioning structure for the steering wheel, in which a rectangular center pad is attached by integral molding made of resin with a built-in direction plate.