JPH10321334A - Integral-type automatic docking clock spring/steering wheel shroud - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering control system easily assembled in which an alignment structure of a spindle and docking members are assembled and a module is installed in the prescribed direction. SOLUTION: A steering control system 10 comprises a steering wheel 18, a steering hub 28, a rear cover assembly 30 and a steering wheel module. The rear cover assembly 30 contains electric contacts and a spindle 38, and has electric contacts built in an alignment structure and inside. A conductor 4 is wrapped around the spindle 38 and has one end connected to the electric contacts of the spindle and the other end connected to an electric apparatus of the steering wheel module. The spindle 38 is combined with a docking member 14 connected to a steering column housing, and has a coupling alignment structure and comparable electric contacts inside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to vehicle steering systems and, more particularly, to a steering wheel to steering shaft interface having electrical connections between them.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Most, if not most, vehicles produced today require one or more electrical devices mounted on the steering wheel portion of the steering column. Have. Devices normally installed on the steering wheel, in particular on the hub portion of the steering wheel, include, for example, driver side airbags, horn contact switches, switches for automatic speed controllers, and audio selection controllers. Each of these electrical devices, whether safety-related or for the convenience of the occupant, needs to transfer current from a fixed steering column to a rotating steering wheel.

Considering that the steering wheel of most passenger vehicles makes at least two and a half to three turns from the fully locked left to the fully locked state of the steering system, the electric wire is simply steered from the electrical device. Obviously, connecting to a column is not practical. In doing so, there must be sufficient slack in the wiring to allow the wires to wrap around the steering shaft without pulling the connection to the electrical device. Even if such slack is provided in the wiring, the connection will weaken during the life of the vehicle, as the steering wheel will rotate from right to left and left to right, thereby breaking the wires and breaking down the electrical system. Would be.
This condition does not specifically apply to safety-related electrical equipment.

At present, to solve this problem, an electric wire is provided which is wrapped around the spindle much more times than the steering wheel rotates from a fully locked left position to a fully locked right position. Have been. One end of the wire is connected to an electrical device, and the other end of the wire is fed through a central portion of the spindle and is connected to electrical contacts located near the end of the steering column. As the steering wheel rotates, wires are wound and unwrapped around the spindle. Very often, a ribbon-like set of wires is utilized that behaves like a torsion clock spring when wound around a spindle. Like a clock spring, the ribbon-like wire itself wraps or loosens tightly, providing space between each winding of the wire as the steering wheel rotates relative to the spindle. Although this method of providing an electrical connection between a fixed steering column and a rotating steering wheel is believed to work satisfactorily, the work of the assembly line when attaching the steering wheel and clock spring system to the vehicle There are a number of disadvantages for personnel.

[0005] Clock springs are currently offered as independent units with electrical contacts at each end of the wire. The operator first connects the radial inner end of the wire to the contact near the steering column, installs the spindle on the steering column, connects the radial outer electrical contact to the steering wheel electrical contact, and connects the steering wheel hub to the steering shaft. Must be exactly aligned with the spline ends of the When these tasks are combined, it takes a great deal of time, and the task of accurately attaching the steering wheel to the spline steering shaft is
It is difficult for the operator, especially considering that the steering wheel must be adjusted in the correct orientation so that the wheel is in a straight position when the wheel is in a straight driving position. Assembly line workers not only experience fatigue due to many of these tasks that must be accurately accomplished in a short period of time, but also are commonly known to occur when workers perform repetitive exercises during the assembly process. Physical difficulties may occur.

The present invention has the advantage of reducing or eliminating many or all of the above difficulties encountered during assembly.
By overcoming these difficulties, the present invention facilitates assembly and manufacturing, reduces the time required for assembly, provides the cost and weight associated with consolidation of parts, and reduces the cost of final assembly line workers. Provide a system for reducing fatigue.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a vehicle steering control system in which an electrical device is incorporated into a steering wheel. The system includes pre-assembled steering wheels, steering hubs,
A steering wheel module that provides the rear cover, electrical conductors and electrical equipment is included. The rear cover assembly includes a spindle secured to the rest of the steering wheel module before mounting the module on the vehicle. The spindle includes an alignment structure and electrical contacts, each of which is complementary to an alignment structure and equivalent electrical contacts located on a docking member mounted on the steering column housing of the vehicle. Since the spindle is locked and the steering wheel is held in a predetermined direction, the alignment structures are combined with each other, so that the predetermined steering wheel direction matches the position of the wheels of the vehicle during assembly. When the steering wheel module is aligned with the docking member and an insertion force acts thereon, the electrical device creates an interface that provides electrical current to and from the steering wheel electrical device. Further, the steering hub is aligned with the steering shaft in the correct direction. When the electrical and mechanical connections are aligned, the locking device holding the spindle fixed with respect to the rest of the steering wheel module is released and during operation of the vehicle, the spindle is fixed to the docking member and the steering wheel The rest of the module is free to rotate with respect to the fixed spindle.

The continuity of the electrical connection between the steering wheel module electrical device and the spindle electrical device is such that the conductor wound around the spindle much more times than the steering wheel rotates from a locked position to a locked position. (Or electric wires). As the steering wheel and the electrical devices incorporated therein rotate, the wires wind or loosen themselves in a manner similar to a torsion clock spring to maintain electrical contact.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the following drawings. The following description of the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the invention or its application or use in any way.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a steering control system 10 made in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. System 10 generally includes a steering wheel module 12, a docking member 14, and a steering column assembly 16. The steering wheel module 12 includes a steering wheel 18, an electrical device 20 shown here as an airbag inflation device 22, a fastener 24, a steering hub 28 shown here incorporated into a reaction plate 28 and a rear cover assembly 30.
Is included.

Still referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a steering wheel rear cover 32, a rear cover assembly 30 including a conductor 34, here shown as an electrical wire 36, a spindle 38, a locking device 40 and a lid member 42. Spindle 38 of rear cover assembly 30
Has an alignment structure 44 that is paired with the alignment structure 46 of the docking member 14. The spindle 38 also has an associated electrical contact 50 on the docking member 14.
And accepts electrical contacts 48 that match.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the steering wheel rear cover 32 provides a generally cylindrical recess 56 having a coaxial opening 58 in the front plate portion 60 of the recess 56. The spindle 38 has a recess 56
And the annular wall 62 of the spindle 38 has an opening 58
Overlaps with the edge 64 and is guided to it. Flange 66
And 68 project radially from the annular wall 62 and are located near the front and rear walls 62 of the annular wall 62. The flange 66 prevents the spindle 38 from passing through the opening 58 and provides a sliding interface between the rear cover 32 and the spindle 38. After the wire 36 is wrapped around the spindle 38 and one end of the wire 36 is attached to an electrical contact 48 (shown in broken lines), the spindle 38
And the lid member 42 is fixed to the rear cover 32, usually by heat staking or sonic welding. The lid member 42 is generally disk-shaped, passes over the annular wall 62, and
8 and includes an opening 70 forming a second sliding surface.

The locking device 40 shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 includes a pawl 72, a biasing member 74 and a pivot pin 76. The pawl 72 is pivotally attached to the spindle 38 by a pin 76. Pawl 7
2 has a lock bar portion 78 that fits into a stop member 80 on the rear surface of the lid member 42. The locking device 40 locks the rotational position of the spindle 38 before it is attached to the docking member 14 so that the spindle 38 is fixed with respect to other members of the steering wheel module 12 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). The purpose is to do. This embodiment utilizes a spring biased pawl member having an interface with the lid member, but with a docking member 1.
It should be understood that any locking device that secures the relative position of the spindle 38 with respect to the other members of the steering wheel module 12 before mounting on 4 is envisioned and is within the scope of the present disclosure. .

When the alignment structure 44 of the spindle 38 couples with the mating alignment structure 46 and the electrical contacts 48 and 50 of the docking member 14 and the steering hub 46 and steering shaft 54 are aligned, FIGS. The lock device 40 shown in FIG. As best shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the locking device 40 is released when the lower portion 84 of the pawl 72 contacts the release structure 86 of the docking member 14. This contact causes pawl 72 to rotate about pin 76 to overcome biasing member 74 and release locking bar portion 78 from stop member 80. At this point, the spindle 38 is secured to the docking member 14 and thus to the steering column assembly 16 to which the docking member 14 is attached, while the steering wheel
The rest of the module 12 is free to rotate with respect to the spindle 38. Steering wheel module 1
As the rest of 2 rotates about spindle 38, the first and second sliding interfaces generally provide the least surface and the surface is controlled during manufacture, so there is generally little resistance.

[0015] The steering control system 1 of the present embodiment.
O is generally assembled by attaching the docking member 14 to a steering column housing 52 which generally provides rotational support for the steering shaft 54. The steering wheel module 12 is then oriented so that the alignment structure 44 of the module 12 is aligned with the alignment structure 46 of the docking member 14. Paired alignment structures 44 and 46
Is designed so that the steering wheel module 12 can be installed in only one predetermined direction. The predetermined direction is typically the direction in which the steering wheel is at 12:00 or a straight driving position that coincides with the wheels of a vehicle that is conventionally in a straight-ahead position during vehicle assembly. Particular shapes of the alignment structures 44 and 46 of the present invention are shown as asymmetric pentagonal shapes. However, many other geometries are available. Also, hole and pin configurations, offset coupling teeth between the spindle 38 and the docking member 14, or other suitable adjustment methods that allow for a single predetermined orientation are utilized. The adjustment method of the present invention takes into account both the necessary electrical and mechanical connections between the steering wheel module 12 and the vehicle. In particular, this adjustment aligns electrical contacts 48 with mating electrical contacts 50 located on docking member 14 and also aligns steering hub 26 with steering shaft 54, thereby providing steering wheel 18 and the steering mechanism of the vehicle. Provides an interface to the rest.

When the steering wheel module 12 is aligned with the docking member 14, the operator applies a low insertion force. Thereafter, fasteners 24, commonly known as column nuts, are fixed to steering shaft 54. This is best illustrated in FIG. 2, where the driver 90 is shown in dashed lines and is not included as part of the present invention.

The present invention is not strictly limited to the structure illustrated and described above, and various changes and modifications depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. Understand what can be done without.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle steering control system incorporating an integrated automatic docking watch spring / steering wheel shroud made according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a vehicle steering control system incorporating an integrated automatic docking watch spring / steering wheel shroud made according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of an integrated self-docking watch spring / steering wheel shroud made in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

5 shows the locking device in the combined position before the integrated automatic docking watch spring / steering wheel shroud of the present invention is attached to the steering column assembly having the associated docking contacts, line 5-5 in FIG. It is sectional drawing seen along.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5 after being mounted on a steering column assembly having attached docking contacts, with the locking device in an open position.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A steering control system for a vehicle having a steering column having a steering shaft therein, the steering control system comprising: a steering wheel; a steering hub fixed to the steering wheel; A steering wheel module having an assembly and an electrical device, wherein the rear cover assembly includes a conductor and a spindle generally coaxial with the steering hub, the spindle having a first alignment structure and a first electrical contact therein. The conductor is wound around the spindle and has a first end connected to the first electrical contact and a second end connected to the electrical device of the steering wheel module. Steering wheel module And a docking member connected to the steering column housing, the docking member having a second alignment structure that pairs with the first alignment structure and a second electrical contact therein. The steering wheel module is mounted on the vehicle. When mounting, the first alignment structure of the spindle is aligned with the second alignment structure of the docking member, the steering wheel module aligns the first and second electrical contacts, and the steering hub is aligned with the steering shaft. A system that is combined to be installed in only one predetermined orientation that is aligned in a predetermined orientation. 2. The steering control system according to claim 1, wherein said rear cover assembly further comprises: a steering wheel rear cover having a recess for receiving said spindle; and wherein said spindle is rotatable within said recess. A lid member fixed to the rear cover so as to be retained, and a fixing member for fixing the spindle in a predetermined rotational direction with respect to the steering wheel before attaching the steering wheel module to the vehicle. A locking device for mating with a spindle, wherein after the spindle has been mated with the docking device, the locking device is released, whereby the remainder of the steering wheel module rotates relative to the docking member. Fixed so that you can Will be able to rotate relative to the spindle, by the remaining portion of the steering wheel is loose or wound during rotation relative to said spindle,
A system wherein the electrical contacts maintain electrical contact with the first electrical contacts of the electrical device. 3. The steering control system according to claim 2, wherein the locking device includes a pawl, a biasing member, and a pin, the pawl being pivotally attached to the spindle by the pin, and a lock bar portion. The pawl having the following structure fixes the rotation position of the spindle with respect to the lid member by fitting the stopper member with the stopper member by the bias member, and a part of the pawl contacts the opening structure of the docking member. A system that overcomes the biasing member and is pivotally secured around the pin to release the lock bar portion from the stop member. 4. The steering control system according to claim 1, wherein the electric device of the steering wheel module includes an airbag, an airbag inflation device for inflating the airbag, and the inflation device. An airbag module having a reaction plate for connecting the inflator to the first electrical contact by the electrical contact. 5. The steering control system according to claim 4, wherein said steering hub is fixed to said reaction plate.