JPS604463A - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the functioning property and decorating property by a method wherein at least one part of a rim section, connected to a boss section through spokes and gripped by a driver, is provided with the part of resin hav- ing protruded and recessed surface in order to provide the rim section with a surface property similar to natural leather. CONSTITUTION:In the steering wheel consisting of the boss section, the rim section gripped by the driver and the spokes connecting these both sections, at least one part of the rim section is provided with the part 2 of resin having mechanically roughened protruded and recessed surface. The core metal 1 of the rim section is arranged in a molding metallic tool and the resin part 2 is formed by urethane resin material containing expandable material around the core metal 1 by means of insert forming. Sand is blasted against the surface of the resin part 2 to break the surface thereof and form the protruded and recessed surface. According to this method, the steering wheel having the surface property similar to the natural leather may be obtained and the functioning and decorating properties may be improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a steering wheel for a vehicle or the like.

A steering wheel is one of the most important parts that a driver touches when operating a vehicle such as an automobile. Therefore, the steering wheel plays an important role both functionally and decoratively.

Conventionally, as a more preferable steering wheel, a steering wheel in which a natural leather lining is wrapped around a resin rim portion formed by insert molding a resin into a core metal has been used. This is based on the excellent feel, frictional properties and decorative effect of natural leather. However, in steering wheels that use natural leather, it takes a lot of man-hours to attach the natural leather to the rim, and the cost is high, and the amount of natural leather is limited. Due to limited availability, we are currently unable to provide many steering wheels with covers made of natural leather.

An object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel with surface properties similar to natural leather.

That is, the steering wheel of the present invention includes a boss portion, a rim portion that is only accessible to the driver, and spoke portions that connect the boss portion and the rim portion, and at least a portion of the rim portion is mechanically roughened. It is characterized by being composed of a resin part having an uneven surface.

In the steering wheel of the present invention, the boss portion refers to the portion at the center of rotation that is engaged with the steering shirt 1. Furthermore, the rim portion refers to the portion that the driver grips to rotate the steering wheel while driving. The spoke portion refers to a portion that connects the boss portion and the rim portion.

In the steering wheel of the present invention, the rim portion is not limited to a circular steering wheel ring. It also includes a pair of arc-shaped rings with the front and rear arcs of a circular ring missing, and square-shaped ones. At least a portion of the rim portion has a resin portion extending along a mechanically roughened uneven surface. Note that the entire rim portion may be made of resin. Alternatively, a core metal or the like may be used and a resin portion may be formed on the surface thereof. The roughened uneven surface may be formed on the entire surface of the resin portion or may be formed on a portion of the surface. It is preferable that the surface of the steering wheel, which frequently comes into contact with the driver's hands in order to rotate the steering wheel, be made of a resin portion having a roughened, uneven surface. The unevenness of the roughened surface of the resin part is
The average height of the surface roughness from the bottom of the four parts to the top of the convex part is preferably in the range of 0.01 to 1.0 mm as determined by microscopic observation. This surface unevenness causes abrasive grains to collide with the surface,
It can be formed by scraping off the surface of the resin. It is also possible to blow an abrasive material such as sand or grid onto the resin surface, or destroy the surface of the resin part by rotating the abrasive material and steering wheel together in a barrel using a method such as barrel polishing. Roughen the surface and form unevenness -1 = hard. Further, even if puff polishing is performed, the surface may be roughened manually by an operator using sandpaper. The compressive modulus of the resin portion is preferably in the range of 10 to 5000 kg/am'. By setting the compressive elastic modulus within the above range, a tactile sensation similar to that obtained using a cover made of natural leather can be obtained. Moreover, it is preferable that the resin part is made of foam. The foaming ratio is preferably in the range of 1.1 to 5.0. By making the resin part a foam, the feel is even better.

In addition, when the bubbles of the foam are exposed on the surface where f=I, an even more excellent feel and aesthetic appearance are provided.

When the resin part is a foam, it is preferable to form an integral skin layer on the surface and to make the surface uneven by scraping off a part of this skin layer.

As the resin, a known thermoplastic resin can be used. Examples of resins that can provide the above compression modulus include soft polyvinyl chloride resins and foamed urethane resins.

The method for manufacturing the steering wheel of the present invention is to fix the boss and spoke parts to a molding mold -5- in the same way as conventional steering wheels, inject resin into the cavity of the molding mold, and mold the rim (reaction cutting). Then, the resin is filled with resin by casting or the like, and the resin is allowed to cool or harden to form the resin part of the steering wheel. Thereafter, at least a portion of the surface of the resin portion is subjected to Sand Plus 1 or the like to mechanically destroy and roughen the surface, thereby forming irregularities on the surface.

The steering wheel of the present invention has an aesthetic appearance and a tactile sensation similar to a buckskin because at least a portion of the surface of the resin portion constituting the rim portion is roughened by mechanical destruction. In particular, the compressive elastic modulus of the resin part is 10~
Those in the range of 500 kg/am2 have particularly excellent tactile sensation. In addition, if the resin part is made of foam and the bubbles are exposed on the surface of the resin part, especially if the integral skin layer is mechanically destroyed and unevenness is formed on the surface, the backskin will be even worse. Gives a sense of closeness.

Examples will be described below.

Embodiment 1-6- Boss portion 6-3. ．． The core metal of the steering wheel with the circular spokes welded is arranged around the molded metal rim, the rim is molded from urethane resin raw material containing foam material, and the resin is molded into the insert 1 with urethane resin on the outer peripheral surface of the circular core metal. The division was formed. Next, the surface of this resin part was sprayed with sand ζ having a diameter of 0.3 mm or less using a sand brass 1 to break the surface and form irregularities. An overall view of this steering wheel is shown in FIG. 1, and an enlarged sectional view of the main part is shown in FIG. 2.

In the figure, numeral 1 indicates a core metal, and 2 indicates a resin portion. The resulting surface roughness had an average Q of 5 mm.

In addition, the resin part has a foaming ratio of 2 and a compression elastic modulus of 40k (]
/ For C? Met.

This steering wheel had a similar aesthetic and tactile feel to buckskin.

Example 2 The same core bar as in Example 1 was placed in the mold, and a vinyl chloride paste sol containing a foaming material was injected into the cracker.
It is heated to ℃ to gel, and a resin part is formed on the surface of the core metal.
.

-7- Next, the surface of this resin part was roughened by barrel polishing to form irregularities. 1! ′? The average surface roughness of the resin portion on the surface was 0.6 mm. In addition, the compressive elastic modulus of the resin part is 55 kg/cm2, and the foaming id X rate (J2.5
Met.

The steering wheel of this example also had an appearance and a tactile sensation similar to that of the Pax 1, as in Example 1.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a steering wheel shown in Embodiment 1, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of FIG. 1. 1...Core 2...Resin Department Patent Applicant Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Hirodo Okawa Patent Attorney Review Shudo Patent Attorney Akio Maruyama-8-

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) In a steering wheel consisting of a boss, a rim that is accessible to the driver, and spokes that connect the boss and the rim, at least a portion of the rim has an uneven surface that is mechanically roughened. A steering wheel comprising a resin portion having: (2) The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the rim portion includes a core metal and a resin portion integrally insert-molded on the outer peripheral surface of the core metal. (3) The resin part has a compression modulus of 10 to 5000 kg/cm
2. A steering wheel according to claim 1, which falls within the scope of claim 2. (4) The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the unevenness on the surface of the resin portion is in the range of 0.01 to 1.0 mm. -1- (5) The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the resin portion is made of a foam having an expansion ratio in the range of 1.1 to 5.0. (6) The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the resin portion is made of soft vinyl chloride resin or urethane resin.