JPH10287193A - Steering wheel supporting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering wheel supporting structure which enables the energy of an occupant to be well absorbed by letting the angle of a steering wheel be tilted so as to be adjusted, in which an air bag has been expanded, whether the occupant wears a seat belt or not. SOLUTION: The end of each spoke extended out of the wheel rim part 28 of a steering wheel device to which an air bag device 42 is mounted, is fixed to an annular seat part 34, a deformation supporting means 32 is interposed between the seat part 34 and a boss 22 fixed to a steering shaft 14, and a supporting part 38 is disposed at a place which is at least corresponding to the apex of the seat part 34, and also adjacent to the bottom of the seat part 34, in the member of a car body stationary side. When pressing force is applied to a steering wheel part 12, the supporting part 38 restrains the apex of the seat part 34, and the steering wheel 12 is displaced to the direction where there exists no supporting part 38 with respect to the boss part 22, while the deformation supporting means 32 is being deformed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a steering wheel support structure with an airbag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some steering wheels used in vehicles have an airbag device mounted inside a wheel rim. In such an airbag device, for example, when a large acceleration that suddenly stops the advance of the vehicle is applied, the airbag expands and deploys and is positioned within the occupant's inertial movement trajectory to absorb the occupant's kinetic energy.

[0003]

The steering wheel equipped with the above-described conventional airbag is designed on the assumption that the occupant operates while wearing a seat belt. For this reason, when the occupant does not wear a seat belt, a large-sized airbag is required in order to reliably position the airbag within the trajectory of the occupant that moves inertia along the traveling direction of the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, the present invention provides an airbag which is inflated and deployed without requiring a specially large airbag, regardless of whether or not the occupant wears a seat belt. It is another object of the present invention to provide a steering wheel support structure that can perform the above-described operations.

[0005]

A steering wheel support structure according to a first aspect of the present invention is a steering wheel support structure equipped with an airbag device in which an airbag is inflated and deployed. An annular seat to which the ends of the spokes extending from the part are fixed,
Deformation support means provided between the seat and a boss fixed to a steering shaft, and provided on a member on the vehicle body fixed side, at least corresponding to a top portion of the seat, and a bottom surface of the seat. And a support portion provided at a position adjacent to the steering wheel, wherein when a force for pressing the steering wheel from a direction opposite to a deployment direction of the airbag is applied, the support portion is at least a portion of the seat portion. By stopping the top, the steering wheel
The deformation support means is displaced toward the side without the support portion with respect to the boss portion while deforming the deformation support means.

With the above-described structure, when a pressing load is applied to the steering wheel from the direction in which the airbag is deployed to the direction opposite to the direction in which the airbag is inflated and deployed, the load is applied from the wheel rim to the spokes, It is transmitted to the boss via the seat and the deformation support means. At this time, since the boss is supported by the steering shaft, if the load is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the deformation support means starts to deform. When the seat portion hits the support portion and is stopped by the deforming operation, the operation of the steering wheel is restricted by the support portion supporting the top portion of the seat portion and the steering shaft. Therefore,
The steering wheel is displaced in a direction in which the support and the steering shaft that limit these operations are not present. Thus, the steering wheel in which the airbag is inflated and deployed is adjusted to be tilted in a required direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the steering wheel support structure according to the first aspect, the support portion includes:
The bracket of the steering column provided on the steering shaft side is formed in an arc shape at a position on the top side from the center of the seat.

With the above-described structure, the seat of the steering wheel abuts on the arc-shaped surface by the support of the bracket adjacent to the bottom of the seat, and stably receives the load applied to the steering wheel. Will be. For this reason, the steering wheel is stably tilted with respect to the boss portion in the direction opposite to the top portion without wobbling.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A steering wheel support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, in the steering device,
The steering column 10 includes a steering wheel 1
2 is supported on the vehicle.

The steering column 10 includes a steering shaft 14 in a steering device for steering.
The bracket 16 is attached so as to cover a portion near the tip of the bracket 16. The distal end portion of the steering shaft 14 has a fitting shaft portion 18 formed in a conical slope.
And a serration shaft portion 20 are formed.

In the steering wheel 12, a fitting shaft 18 of the steering shaft 14 is fitted into a fitting hole 23 of a boss 22 provided at the center thereof, and a serration shaft 20 is engaged with a serration hole 24. By screwing the retaining nut 26 to the tip of the steering shaft 14, the steering wheel 12 is integrally rotated around the axis with the steering shaft 14 and fastened so as not to come off.

In the steering wheel 12, the boss portion 22 and the wheel rim portion 28 are connected via a plurality of (for example, four) spokes 30, deformation supporting means 32, and a seat portion 34. ing. This deformation support means 32
Is an annular member, which has a double structure in which one ends in the axial direction are connected to each other, whereby a longitudinal section along the axial direction is formed in a U-shape. A side portion 32A corresponding to the inner periphery of the center hole of the deformation supporting means 32 is integrally fixed to the outer peripheral side surface of the boss portion 22 by means such as welding. In addition, the deforming support means 32 is integrally formed with an annular flat plate-like flange-like seat portion 34 which is bent radially from the free end peripheral portion of the outer portion 32B corresponding to the outer cylindrical portion and continues. I have. Each spoke 30 is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the seat portion 34.
Are integrally fixed to each other.

[0013] The deformation supporting means 32 is a wheel rim portion 2 of the steering wheel 12 in an initial state before deformation.
8 is perpendicular to the axis of the steering shaft 14, and the plane of the seat 34 is also perpendicular to the axis of the steering shaft 14. At the same time, when a load equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the steering wheel 12 attached to the steering shaft 14, the deformation supporting means 32 plastically deforms, and the steering wheel 12
It is configured such that its mounting state can be changed, such as by inclining the steering shaft 14 with respect to the steering shaft 14.

The deformation supporting means 32 is not limited to the above-described structure. For example, the deformation supporting means 32 is divided into a plurality of members having a U-shaped cross section along the axial direction thereof. Various types of deformation means capable of tilting the steering wheel by being deformed when a predetermined load is applied can be applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, a support end surface portion 36 of the bracket 16 faces the base end side of the steering shaft 14 of the seat portion 34 of the steering wheel 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support portion 38 forming a part of the support end surface portion 36 is provided on the bottom surface 3 of the seat portion 34.
4A is formed as a member having a semicircular surface centered on the steering shaft 14 disposed at an adjacent position corresponding to 4A, and a semicircular portion corresponding to the head side of the occupant of a circle centered on the steering shaft 14 (Circumferential portion of the upper half of the ceiling side in the vehicle cabin).

The support end surface 36 is formed by integrally forming a support portion 38 and a cover portion 40 which is bent and formed in a U-shaped cross section. The cover part 40 is formed so as to cover the curved part of the deformation support means 32.

By arranging the support portion 38 on the bracket 16 which is a member on the vehicle body fixed side, when the steering wheel 12 is subjected to a load of a predetermined value or more in various directions, the seat portion 34 becomes the support portion 38. , And the steering shaft 14 stops the boss portion 22. Therefore, the steering wheel 12 tilts as shown by an arrow A in FIG. 1 toward the side opposite to the occupant's head with respect to the steering shaft 14 having no support structure (the floor side in the vehicle compartment).

Since the support portion 38 is for urging the steering wheel 12 to turn in the direction of the arrow A as described above, at least the support end portion 36 on the circumference around the steering shaft 14 at the center of the steering shaft 14 is provided. A support projection may be provided at one point on the top (point close to the ceiling side in the vehicle interior), which is a position closer to the occupant's head. In this way, when a load equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the steering wheel 12, the steering wheel 12 is supported by the above-described support projections at the top and the steering shaft 14, and the steering wheel 12 shown in FIG.
In the direction of arrow A.

Further, in the case where a plurality of support projection-like support portions are provided at positions distributed left and right from the top position corresponding to the semicircular support portion 38 on the support end surface portion 36, FIGS. When a load equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the steering wheel 12 similarly to the support portion 38 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 2, an arrow shown in FIG. 1 in a vertical plane including its apex point and the axis of the steering shaft 14. It can be encouraged to tilt along the A direction (so-called vertical direction), and it is possible to suppress the tilt in the direction (so-called horizontal direction) tilted with respect to the vertical plane.

The supporting portion may have various configurations as long as it can support the steering wheel 12 so as to tilt the steering wheel 12 to the side opposite to the head of the occupant. May be provided on the various members on the side.

As shown in FIG. 1, an airbag device 42 is disposed on the steering wheel 12 in a space between the wheel rim portion 28 and the boss portion 22.
The air bag device 42 generates gas from the inflator 44 or guides gas from the storage portion when an acceleration equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied, and the gas is used to generate an air bag 46.
Is configured to expand. The airbag device 42 has the same configuration as the covering of the wheel rim portion 28, and is covered with a cover 48 that breaks when the airbag 46 is inflated. A switch 50 such as a lever control and a key cylinder 52 are mounted on the steering shaft 14.

Next, the operation and operation of the steering wheel supporting structure according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4. FIG.

In a normal use state of the steering wheel device, as shown in FIG.
The axis 4 and the plane including the wheel rim 28 are orthogonal to each other.

Next, when a driver who is not wearing a seat belt is driving and a large acceleration is applied to stop the vehicle in progress rapidly, first, the airbag device 42 of the steering wheel 12 is used. Operates to inflate and deploy the airbag 46. In this state, when the driver moves in the traveling direction of the vehicle (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1), a load is applied to the steering wheel 12 via the inflating and deploying airbag 46. Then, the steering wheel 12 having received the load in the direction of the arrow B has a steering shaft 14 that supports the boss portion 22 and a steering head side direction (upward toward FIG. 1) from the steering shaft 14. Since the movement in the direction of arrow B is partially restrained by a part of the seat portion 34, the steering wheel 12 rotates in the direction of arrow A where the steering wheel 12 can rotate, and the state shown in FIG. 3 is obtained.

In the state shown in FIG. 3, when the steering wheel 12 is tilted with respect to the steering shaft 14, the wheel rim portion 28 becomes substantially parallel to the upper body of the driver, and the airbag 46 is averaged between them. Wheel rim part 28 and spoke 30
This has the effect of damping while absorbing energy such as inertial movement on the driver side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, when the driver wears the seat belt and drives, and a large acceleration is applied in the direction to stop the vehicle, the airbag 48 of the steering wheel 46 is turned off. The driver's head part hits the place where it is inflated and deployed. At this time, since the driver is supported by the seat belt, the upper body of the driver tilts forward around the waist, and the head moves along the axis of the steering shaft 14, and the load due to this head is reduced. It is received by the steering wheel 12 via the airbag 48. At this time, since the load applied by the driver's head acts in the axial direction of the steering shaft 14, the steering wheel 12 does not tilt, and the load applied by the head via the airbag 48 is averaged as it is, and The kinetic energy can be well absorbed and the kinetic energy can be absorbed well.

[0028]

According to the steering wheel support structure of the present invention, regardless of whether or not the occupant wears the seat belt, the angle of the steering wheel in which the airbag is inflated and deployed is adjusted by tilting to make the airbag particularly large. This has an excellent effect that the energy of the occupant can be satisfactorily absorbed without having to perform the following.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a main part of a steering wheel support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention in a partial cross section.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a steering column bracket in the steering wheel support structure according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a main part of the bracket.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an operation state when a passenger does not wear a seat belt in the steering wheel support structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing an operation state when an occupant wears a seat belt in the steering wheel support structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Steering column 12 Steering wheel 14 Steering shaft 16 Bracket 22 Boss part 28 Wheel rim part 30 Spoke 32 Deformation support means 32A Side part 32B Outside part 34 Seat part 36 Support end face part 38 Support part 42 Airbag device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A steering wheel support structure equipped with an airbag device in which an airbag is inflated and deployed, wherein an annular seat portion to which an end of a spoke extending from a wheel rim portion is fixed. A deformation supporting means provided between the seat portion and a boss portion fixed to a steering shaft; and a seat portion provided on a member on the vehicle body fixed side and corresponding to at least a top portion of the seat portion. A support portion provided at a position adjacent to the bottom surface, wherein, when a force is applied to the steering wheel in a direction opposite to a deployment direction of the airbag, the support portion is at least the seat portion. The steering wheel is displaced while deforming the deformable support means toward the boss without the support. Steering wheel support structure, wherein Rukoto. 2. The steering column according to claim 1, wherein said support portion is formed in an arc shape at a position on a top side of a center of said seat portion in a bracket of a steering column provided on said steering shaft side. Steering wheel support structure.