JPH08230685A - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a steering wheel which is improved in the design ability on an upper face side, and can be connected to a steering shaft as one part through one process, and is easy to provide a functional part such as an air bag device. CONSTITUTION: A steering wheel has a steering wheel body 10 which has a ring part R, a spoke part S and a boss part B and is composed of a core bar part 11 and a covering part 20; and an air bag device 30 in the boss part B. The core bar part 11 is provided with a boss core bar having a connection part which mutually connect a ring core bar 12, a spoke core bar 13 and a core bar 13 for connecting the upper end of a steering shaft 1 from a lower side. The covering part 20 has a core bar covering layer 21 to cover the core bars 12, 13 and an upper covering layer 22 which has a recess for receiving the device 30 and an opening for inserting the device 30 and covers the upper part of the boss part. The device is attached to the core bar 13 by a rivet or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering wheel for a vehicle, more specifically, there is no parting line on the upper surface side,
The present invention relates to a steering wheel with improved design.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A steering wheel for a vehicle has an annular ring portion, a boss portion arranged at the center of the ring portion for connecting a lower portion to an upper end of a steering shaft, and a spoke for connecting the ring portion and the boss portion. And a part.

In a conventional steering wheel, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-305427, a pad portion disposed on the upper side of a boss portion and containing functional parts such as an airbag device, and a ring. A steering wheel main body that holds the pad portion by configuring the portion, the spoke portion, and the lower side of the boss portion.

The steering wheel main body is composed of a cored bar and a covering part, and the cored bar is a ring cored bar arranged in the ring part and a spoke cored arranged in the spoke part and connected to the ring cored bar. It is composed of gold and a boss mandrel that is arranged below the boss and connects the spoke mandrel. The boss core has a structure in which the steering shaft is inserted from below and the upper end of the steering shaft is fixed with a nut so that the boss is connected to the steering shaft.

The coating portion covers the ring core metal and also covers the spoke core metal from the ring core metal side to the vicinity of the pad portion.

The pad portion has a functional component such as an air bag device built therein and is screwed to a spoke core metal or a boss core metal of the steering wheel body.

[0007]

However, in the conventional steering wheel, the pad portion is attached to the steering wheel main body by arranging it from the upper side of the boss portion using a fixing means such as a screw. Because there is
Inevitably, a parting line as a boundary line between the steering wheel body and the pad portion appears on the upper surface side of the steering wheel, which deteriorates the design of the steering wheel.

Further, since it is necessary to assemble the parting lines with high accuracy so that the parting line is uniform at the peripheral edge of the pad portion, strict control is required for the dimensional accuracy and assembly accuracy of each part. It was

Further, when the steering wheel is mounted on the vehicle, the steering shaft is nut-fastened to the boss core metal, but the nut-fastening is performed with the pad portion removed. Therefore, when installing the steering wheel on the vehicle, nut the steering wheel body to the steering shaft, and then
Since the pad portion is attached to the steering wheel main body, two steps of fastening the nut and attaching the pad portion are required, and it is troublesome to attach the steering wheel to the vehicle.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-16267,
It is conceivable that the covering portion extends from the spoke portion to the upper portion of the boss portion, and further, the boss core is provided with a connecting portion capable of connecting the upper end of the steering shaft from the lower side. That is, if the covering portion is extended from the spoke portion to the upper portion of the boss portion, the parting line is eliminated on the upper surface side of the steering wheel. In addition, if the boss core is provided with a connecting portion that can connect the upper end of the steering shaft from the lower side, it can be attached to the steering shaft only on the lower surface side of the steering wheel. The steering wheel itself can be connected to.

However, in the case of the above-mentioned configuration, the steering wheel of the above publication does not have a structure in which functional parts such as an airbag device are arranged inside, but the functional parts can be easily attached to the boss portion. Cannot be installed in.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, improves the design on the upper surface side, and can be connected to the steering shaft as a single component in a single operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel in which functional parts such as a device can be easily arranged.

[0013]

A steering wheel according to the present invention includes a ring portion, a boss portion arranged in the center of the ring portion and connecting a lower portion to an upper end of a steering shaft, the ring portion and the boss portion. A steering wheel configured to have a spoke portion that connects with a steering wheel body, the steering wheel body including a functional component disposed inside the boss portion, and a steering wheel body. A core metal part and a covering part, wherein the core metal part is a ring core metal arranged in the ring part, and a spoke core metal arranged in the spoke part and connected to the ring core metal, A boss core for connecting the spoke cores, and a connecting portion for connecting the upper end of the steering shaft from below is provided at a lower portion of the boss core. The coating portion is connected to the core metal coating layer that coats the ring core metal and the spoke core metal, and the core metal coating layer, and between the boss core metal, the functional component A storage recess for storing and an opening for inserting the functional component into the storage recess, and an upper coating layer for covering the upper part of the boss portion, and the functional component in the storage recess. Is attached to the spoke core bar or the boss core bar by a fixing means.

The functional component such as an airbag device may be configured to be connected by a fixing means to a connecting member embedded in the upper cover layer and connected to the ring core metal.

In this specification, the vertical direction means the direction along the axial direction of the steering shaft, and does not mean the actual vertical direction when the steering wheel is mounted on the vehicle.

[0016]

In the steering wheel according to the present invention, in addition to the core metal coating layer that covers the ring core metal and the spoke core metal, the coating portion is connected to the core metal coating layer and is the upper portion of the boss portion. Since the upper covering layer for covering the steering wheel is provided, the parting line is eliminated on the upper surface side of the steering wheel, and the design on the upper surface side can be improved.

Further, in the steering wheel according to the present invention, since the boss core has the connecting portion at the lower portion, which is capable of connecting the upper end of the steering shaft from below, the steering shaft can be attached to the steering shaft only on the lower surface side of the steering wheel. It can be mounted and connected to the steering shaft in one step.

Further, the functional parts such as the airbag device are
Through the opening of the upper coating layer, stored in the storage recess between the upper coating layer and the boss core, and easily attached by fixing means to the spoke core or the boss core,
It can be mounted on the steering wheel.

Therefore, in the steering wheel according to the present invention, the design on the upper surface side can be improved and
The steering shaft can be connected as a single component in a single operation, and functional components such as an airbag device can be easily arranged.

Further, if the functional component such as the airbag device is configured to be coupled by the fixing means to the coupling member embedded in the upper coating layer and coupled to the ring core metal, the functional component is stably supported. Can be arranged.

[0021]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Steering wheel W1 of the first embodiment
1 to 4, an annular ring portion R, a boss portion B arranged in the center of the ring portion R and connecting a lower portion to the upper end of the steering shaft 1, a ring portion R and a boss portion B. Four spokes S, two left and two right, connecting to
(S1, S2, S3, S4). In the case of the embodiment, the rear spoke portion S2
In S3, the spokes are not apparently directly connected to the boss core 15 but the connection member 14 that is not directly connected to the boss core 15 is provided inside the S3, so that S3 is an apparent spoke. .

Further, the steering wheel W1 includes a steering wheel main body 10 which constitutes a ring portion R, a spoke portion S and a boss portion B, and an airbag device as a functional component disposed inside the boss portion B. 30 is provided.

The steering wheel body 10 is composed of a core metal portion 11 and a covering portion 20.

The cored bar portion 11 includes a ring cored bar 12 arranged in the ring portion R and left and right spoke portions S1 and S4 on the front side.
And a spoke core 13 connected to the ring core 12 and spoke cores 13.1 of the spokes S1 and S4.
And a boss core 15 for connecting the three to each other.

In the case of the embodiment, the ring core metal 12 is formed of a steel pipe, and the spoke core metal 13 and the boss core metal 15 are integrally formed of a lightweight die casting metal such as an aluminum alloy. Then, during die casting of the cored bars 13 and 15, the spoke cored bar 13 is wrapped around the ring cored bar 12 and is connected to the ring cored bar 12. The connecting member 14 is formed of a die-cast metal similar to the core metal 13, and is wrapped around the ring core metal 12 and connected to the ring core metal 12 when the core metals 13 and 15 are cast.

Each spoke core bar 13 is formed so as to extend obliquely downward from the ring core bar 12 side, and has a mounting hole 13a penetrating in the vertical direction at the lower end. Further, each connecting member 14 also extends obliquely downward from the ring core metal 12 side, and has a mounting hole 14a at the lower end, in which a female screw is threaded.

The boss core 15 has a locking plate portion 1 on the rear side.
5a is projectingly provided, and the locking plate portion 15a is provided with mounting holes 15b and 15b for fixing the frame 34 of the airbag device 30 described later with the rivets 26.

Further, on the lower surface of the boss core metal 15, a connecting portion 16 is provided which can connect the steering shaft 1 from below. This connecting portion 16 is a split sleeve portion 1.
7 and a lock pin 18.

The lock pin 18 includes a head 18a and a head 1
And a shaft portion 18b extending from 8a, and a male screw portion 18c formed by engraving a male screw is formed at the tip of the shaft portion 18b.

The cracked sleeve portion 17 is provided with a serration 17b corresponding to the serration 2 formed on the upper end of the steering shaft 1 on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and an opening portion 17c axially split into a part of the peripheral wall thereof. 17a
And the flange portions 17d and 17f that project outward from the periphery of the opening 17c in the radial direction of the main body 17a and face each other.
It consists of and. The flange portion 17d is formed with an insertion hole 17e through which the shaft portion 18b of the lock pin 18 can be inserted, and the flange portion 17f is formed with a screw hole 17g into which the male screw portion 18c of the lock pin 18 can be screwed. .

The steering shaft 1 is connected to the connecting portion 16 by inserting the upper end of the steering shaft 1 into the main body 17a of the split sleeve portion 17 with the lock pin 18 removed, and inserting the lock pin through the insertion hole 17e. By screwing the male screw portion 18c of 18 into the screw hole 17g, the diameter of the main body 17a is reduced, and the shaft portion 18b of the lock pin 18 is fitted into the groove 3 at the upper end of the steering shaft 1 to form the connecting portion. 16 will be connected to the upper end of the steering shaft 1.

The covering portion 20 is made of soft urethane or thermoplastic elastomer, and is provided with a cored bar coating layer 21 for covering the ring cored bar 12 and each spoke cored bar 13, and connected to the cored bar coating layer 21. The boss B while covering the connecting member 14.
And an upper coating layer 22 that covers the upper portion of the.

The upper coating layer 22 does not reduce the height of the upper surface side even at the portion where the cored bar coating layer 21 which covers the ring cored bar 12 and each spoke cored bar 13 covers each spoke cored bar 13. It is formed so as to be flat with its upper surface. On the lower surface side of the upper coating layer 22, a cylindrical storage recess 24 for storing the airbag device 30 is provided between the upper cover layer 22 and the boss core metal 15, and an airbag device 30 is inserted into the storage recess 24. The opening 22d is formed.

The upper cover layer 22 has a rectangular plate-like door portion 22a which is opened and greatly expanded when the airbag 31 of the airbag device 30 to be described later is inflated. A thin portion 22b to be broken is formed on the peripheral edge so as to easily break. This to-be-broken part 22b
Is formed in a U shape when viewed from above,
The part where b is not formed is the hinge part 2 of the door part 22a.
2c.

Further, a horn switch 40 composed of a membrane switch is embedded above the portion of the cored bar coating layer 21 which covers the spoke cores 13 and 13. These horn switches 40 are
When the covering portion 20 is formed by injection molding using as an insert, the covering portion 20 is set in the mold of the covering portion 20 together with the cored bar portion 11 and is embedded in the cored bar coating layer 21 at the time of molding. The horn switch 40 includes a storage recess 24.
A lead wire (not shown) protruding to the side is connected, and the end of the lead wire is connected to a predetermined horn operation circuit.

The airbag device 30 utilizes a folded bag-shaped airbag 31, an inflator 33 for supplying inflation gas to the airbag 31, a retainer 32 and a nut 38, and the airbag 31 and the inflator 33. And a frame 34 for holding the spoke core bars 13 and 14 and connected to the spoke core bars 13 and 14 and the boss core bar 15. The retainer 32 is formed in a substantially annular shape, and includes four bolts 32 a that project downward and are screwed into the nut 38.

The airbag 31 has an opening 31a at the bottom thereof for allowing the gas of the inflator 33 to flow in,
Each bolt 32a of the retainer 32 is provided around the opening 31a.
An insertion hole (not shown) is formed so as to insert the.

The inflator 33 is provided with a cylindrical main body 33a having a gas discharge port 33b in the upper portion thereof.
A substantially annular flange portion 33c is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the retainer 32, and the bolt 32 of the retainer 32 is attached to the flange portion 33c.
An insertion hole 33d for inserting a is formed.

The frame 34 is integrally formed of a lightweight die-cast metal such as aluminum alloy, and has a substantially rectangular bottom plate portion 35, leg portions 36 extending upward from the four corners of the bottom plate portion 35, and each leg portion 36. And a substantially square annular connecting plate portion 37 which is connected.

A step portion 35b is formed on the bottom plate portion 35 by displacing the front edge side of the main body portion 35a upward. An attachment hole 35c corresponding to the attachment hole 15b of the boss core 15 is formed in the step portion 35b. This step portion 35b is
When the airbag device 30 is housed in the housing recess 24 of the steering wheel body 10, it is arranged on the locking plate portion 15a, and at that time, the rear end surface of the locking plate portion 15a has the body portion 35a. The airbag device 3 comes into contact with the bent portion 35d at the boundary between the step portion 35b and the step portion 35b.
It will play the role of positioning 0. Also, the main body 3
A screw hole 35 for fixing a lower cover 28 made of a synthetic resin covering the lower side of the boss portion B with a screw 29 at a predetermined position of 5a.
e is formed.

The connecting plate portion 37 is provided with mounting holes 37a corresponding to the mounting holes 13a, 14a of the spoke core bars 13 and the connecting members 14, respectively, and in the vicinity of the leg portions 36,
Insertion hole 37 for inserting each bolt 32a of the retainer 32
b is formed.

In the airbag device 30, the retainer 32 is arranged in the airbag 31, and each bolt 32a is
However, it is assembled by inserting an insertion hole (not shown) of the airbag 31, an insertion hole 33d of the inflator flange portion 33c, and an insertion hole 37b of the frame 34, and fixing the nut 38.

The steering wheel W of the first embodiment
The manufacturing process of No. 1 is as follows.
1. The horn switch 40 is used as an insert to cover 20
Is formed by injection molding, and the steering wheel body 10 is manufactured. In addition, the airbag device 30 is assembled by using the retainer 32 and the nut 38 as described above. The folding of the airbag 31 is performed when the retainer 32 at the time of assembly is placed inside the airbag 31.

Then, the airbag device 30 is housed in the housing recess 24 from the opening 22d between the boss core 15 on the rear side of the steering wheel body 10 and the upper coating layer 22. At this time, the stepped portion 3 of the frame bottom plate portion 35
When 5b is placed on the upper surface of the locking plate portion 15a of the boss core 15, the outer peripheral surface of the locking plate portion 15a abuts on the bent portion 35d of the bottom plate portion 35, and the frame 34 is attached to the steering wheel body 10. Since they are positioned with respect to each other, the mounting holes 13a and 14a of the spoke core bar 13 and the connecting member 14 and the mounting hole 37a of the frame 34 are aligned with each other, and the mounting hole 15b of the boss core bar 15 and the mounting hole 35c of the frame 34 are aligned. It will be a match.

Therefore, the rivets 26 as fixing means are inserted into the mounting holes 13a / 37a and the mounting holes 15b / 35c to fasten the spoke core bars 13/13 and the frame 34, and the predetermined mounting holes 37a. If a bolt 27 as a fixing means is inserted from the above and screwed into the mounting hole 14a,
The frame 34 can be connected to the connecting member 14,
The airbag device 30 can be attached to the steering wheel body 10.

By disposing the lower cover 28 using the screw 29, the steering wheel W1 can be manufactured.

After that, when the steering wheel W1 is connected to the steering shaft 1, the upper end of the steering shaft 1 is inserted into the main body 17a of the split sleeve portion 17 with the lock pin 18 removed, and the insertion hole 1 is inserted.
7e, the male screw portion 18c of the lock pin 18 is screwed into the screw hole 1
The main body 17a is reduced in diameter by being screwed into 7g, and the shaft portion 18b of the lock pin 18 is fitted into the concave groove 3 at the upper end of the steering shaft 1.

The steering wheel W of the first embodiment.
In No. 1, in addition to the core metal coating layer 21 that covers the ring core metal 12 and the spoke core metal 13, the coating portion 20 includes the core metal coating layer 2
An upper coating layer 2 which is connected to the first boss B and covers the upper portion of the boss B
2 is provided, the parting line is eliminated on the upper surface side of the steering wheel W1, and the designability on the upper surface side can be improved.

Further, in this steering wheel W1, since the boss core 15 has the connecting portion 16 which can connect the upper end of the steering shaft 1 from the lower side to the lower part, only the lower surface side of the steering wheel W1 It can be attached to the steering shaft 1 and can be connected to the steering shaft 1 in a single step.

Further, the airbag device 30 as a functional component is housed in the housing recess 24 between the upper covering layer 22 and the boss core 15 through the opening 22d of the upper covering layer 22, and serves as a fixing means. If you attach it to the spoke core bar 13 and boss core bar 15 with rivets 26 and bolts 27,
It can be easily arranged on the steering wheel W1, and the same effects as those described in the section of the operation and effect of the invention described above can be obtained.

In the steering wheel W1 of the first embodiment, the ring core metal 12 is embedded in the upper coating layer 22.
The airbag device 30 is configured to be coupled to the coupling member 14 that is coupled to the vehicle by a bolt 27 as a fixing means. That is, the airbag device 3
0 is connected to not only the integrated metal boss core 15 / spoke core 13/13 but also to the connecting members 14 and 14 which are connected to the ring core 12 and have a relatively high rigidity. Therefore, the airbag device 30 can be stably supported by the steering wheel body 10.

Further, in the case of the embodiment, the frame 34 for holding the airbag 31 and the inflator 33 of the airbag device 30 is made of a rigid metal and is not connected to the boss core 15 by a connecting member. 14.1
Since the 4 can be connected to the boss core 15 via the frame 34, the rigidity of the connecting members 14 and 14 itself can be increased.

In the first embodiment, the four-spoke steering wheel W1 is exemplified, but the left and right two spoke portions S1 and S4 are provided, and the apparent spoke portion S2.
Even in the case of a three-spoke steering wheel in which S3 is integrated on the rear side of the steering wheel, the core metal portion of the rear spoke portion is provided on the rear side of the airbag device 30 as in the first embodiment. The above effect can be obtained by using a connecting member that is connected to the frame 34. By the way, although the above effect can not be obtained, left and right 2
A steering wheel having only one spoke portion S1 and S4, and a steering wheel having only one spoke portion in which a spoke core metal for connecting a ring core metal and a boss core metal is embedded in the rear side. However, it goes without saying that the effects of the present invention can be obtained.

In the steering wheel W1 of the first embodiment, the lower cover 28 is provided in the lower portion, but like the steering wheel W2 of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. A cover portion 21a extending downward is provided on the lower peripheral edges of the layer 21 and the upper coating layer 22, and the boss portion B
It may be configured to improve the design of the lower side surface of the.

Further, in the steering wheel W1 of the first embodiment, the inflator 33 of the airbag device 30 is used.
Although the disk type is illustrated as the above, a cylinder type inflator 43 whose gas discharge amount can be easily adjusted like the steering wheel W2 of the second embodiment may be used. By the way, in this case, the frame 34 of the airbag device 30 is provided with a peripheral wall portion 46 which is formed by continuously connecting the leg portions 36 of the first embodiment in the circumferential direction. Insertion holes 46a and 46b for mounting the inflator 43 are formed in the peripheral wall portion 46. On the other hand, the inflator 46 has a columnar main body 4 having a gas discharge port 43b.
A flange portion 43c and a male screw portion 43d are formed on both ends of 3a. Assembling of the inflator 43 of the airbag device 30 to the frame 34 is performed by the inflator 4
3 is inserted into the insertion holes 46a and 46b, the flange portion 43c of the inflator 43 is brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole 46a, and the nut 44 is screwed into the male screw portion 43d.

Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments, the lock pin 18 fitted in the groove 3 of the steering shaft 1 is used as the connecting portion 16 connected to the steering shaft 1. The portion 16 may have any structure as long as it can connect the upper end of the steering shaft 1 from the lower side.
No. 8 official gazette, actual fair 2-24691, official gazette, actual fair 5-2
As described in Japanese Patent No. 388 or the like, a structure may be employed in which a mounting plate, a screw member, or the like is provided on the steering shaft side and bolted or screwed to them.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a steering wheel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the same embodiment, taken along line III-III in FIG.
Indicates the part.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a steering wheel according to a second embodiment.

6 is a vertical sectional view of the embodiment, which is a vertical sectional view taken along a plane orthogonal to the state shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering shaft, 10 ... Steering wheel main body, 11 ... Core metal part, 12 ... Ring core metal, 13 ... Spoke core metal, 14 ... Connection member, 15 ... Boss core metal, 16 ... Connection part, 20 ... Cover part, 21 ... Core metal coating layer, 22 ... Upper coating layer, 22d ... Opening, 24 ... Storage recess, 26 ... (Fixing means) Rivets, 27 ... (Fixing means) Bolts, 30 ... (Functional parts) Air bag device, 31 ... Airbag 33, 43 ... Inflator, 34 ... Frame, R ... Ring part, B ... Boss part, S ... Spoke part, W1, W2 ... Steering wheel.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A ring portion, a boss portion disposed in the center of the ring portion and connecting a lower portion to an upper end of a steering shaft, and a spoke portion connecting the ring portion and the boss portion. A steering wheel configured, comprising a functional component arranged inside the boss portion, and a steering wheel body, wherein the steering wheel body is composed of a core metal portion and a covering portion, The core metal part, a ring core metal arranged in the ring part, a spoke core metal arranged in the spoke part and connected to the ring core metal, and a boss core metal connecting the spoke core metal, A connecting portion that can connect the upper end of the steering shaft from below is disposed below the boss core, and the covering portion includes the ring core and the spokes. A core metal coating layer that covers gold, and a storage recess for storing the functional component and the functional component insertion into the storage recess between the core metal coating layer and the boss core metal. And an upper coating layer coating layer that covers an upper portion of the boss portion, and the functional component is provided in the storage recess by a fixing means.
A steering wheel mounted on the spoke core bar or the boss core bar. 2. The connecting member, wherein the functional component is embedded in the upper coating layer and coupled to the ring core metal,
The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the steering wheel is connected by fixing means. 3. The functional component includes a folded bag-shaped airbag, an inflator for supplying inflation gas to the airbag, and the spoke core metal or boss holding the airbag and the inflator. The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the steering wheel is an airbag device including a frame connected to the cored bar.