JPH0130291Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to a steering device for automobiles, etc., and particularly relates to a steering device in which a pad portion in the center of a steering wheel maintains a non-rotating state. .

(Prior Art) Conventionally, the operating parts of various operating mechanisms are arranged in the pad part in the center of the steering wheel, and the pad part is held in a non-rotating state when the steering wheel is rotated. 58−
The one disclosed in Publication No. 80361 is known.

Such a conventional device will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a steering wheel body, which includes an annular rim portion 4 in which the outside of a rim core metal 2 is covered with a covering material 3, and an outside of a spoke core metal 5 welded and connected to the rim core metal 2. It has a plate-shaped spoke part 7 covered with a covering material 6 and a boss 8 welded and fixed to the center part of the spoke core metal 5. This boss 8 is provided with an annular flange 10 on the upper part of a lower end base 9 welded to the spoke core metal 5, and a cylindrical part 11 on the upper part of the flange 10.
A ring groove 12 is formed on the outer circumference of the upper end of the cylindrical portion 11 . Then, the center portion of the boss 8 is fitted into the upper end portion of the steering shaft 13 and secured by a nut 14.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a cylindrical upper cylindrical member integrally formed of synthetic resin. An internal gear 18 is formed inside. Then, the inner fitting cylinder portion 16 is connected to the boss 8.
The fitting cylinder part 16 is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the cylindrical part 11 of
Snap spring 1 that comes into contact with the top surface of the
9 is fitted.

20 is a cylindrical lower cylindrical member integrally formed of synthetic resin, and this lower cylindrical member 20 includes a cylindrical mounting portion 20 at the inner lower portion and an annular portion 22 at the outer periphery.
An internal gear 23 is formed inside this annular portion 22 . The inner mounting portion 21 is fitted onto the outer side of the steering column 24 through which the steering shaft 13 is inserted, and is fixed with a screw 25.

A substantially U-shaped support frame 26 is fixed near the center of the spoke core metal 5 with a screw 28 via a mounting piece 27, and the upper cylindrical member 15 is attached to this support frame 26.
A gear 29 meshed with the internal gears 18 and 23 of the lower cylindrical member 20 is rotatably mounted on a support shaft 30.

An electric unit 30 is mounted on the upper cylindrical member 15 with screws 33 via a mounting piece 32, and a plurality of operation buttons 3 are mounted on the upper surface of the electric unit 31.
4 are arranged in parallel. A pad 35 is fitted over the electric unit 31 with each operation button 34 protruding.

Then, when the steering wheel body 1 is rotated, the gear 29 is rotated to the internal gear 2 of the lower cylindrical member 20.
The upper cylindrical member 15 rotates and revolves around its axis through engagement with the gear 29 and the internal gear 18 of the upper cylindrical member 15, and rotates the upper cylindrical member 15 in a relatively opposite direction through the engagement between the gear 29 and the internal gear 18 of the upper cylindrical member 15. Together with the upper cylindrical member 15, the electric unit 31 and the pad 35 are held stationary.

In the above device, the gear 29 is connected to the support frame 26.
The support frame 26 is fixed to the spoke core metal 5 with screws 28. Therefore, the support frame 26 is required separately, and deformation may occur when it is attached, which prevents smooth relative rotation between the upper cylindrical member 15 and the lower cylindrical member 20. Something that never happened happens.

Further, in the above device, the upper cylindrical member 1
5 is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 11 of the boss 8, and the lower cylindrical member 20 is fitted to the steering column 24.
It is fixed with screw 25.

Therefore, when assembling, first, the lower cylindrical member 20 is fixed to the steering column 24, the boss 8 is welded and fixed to the spoke core metal 5, and the gear 29 is attached to the spoke core metal 5 as a shaft. After fixing the suspended support frame 26 with screws 28, the upper cylindrical member 15 is rotatably fitted to the boss 8, and the boss 8 is fitted to the steering shaft 13 and fastened with a nut 14.

In this case, the upper cylindrical member 15 and the lower cylindrical member 2
0, the internal gears 18 and 23 are perfectly engaged with the gear 29, and by rotating the steering wheel body 1, the upper cylindrical member 15 is moved relative to each other. The electric unit 31 and the pad 35 are apparently held in a stopped state together with the upper cylindrical member 15.

However, the upper cylindrical member 15 fits into the boss 8,
Since the lower cylindrical member 20 is fixed to the steering column 24, if variations occur in the attachment of the lower cylindrical member 20 and the steering column 24 and the fixation of the boss 8 and the steering shaft 15,
The above-mentioned centers of rotation may not coincide with each other, and rotation may not be performed smoothly. Therefore, the dimensional accuracy and mounting accuracy of each component must be strictly checked, which poses a problem in that manufacturing and assembly are time-consuming. Since the lower cylindrical member 20 is fixed to the steering column 24, the rotational state cannot be checked until after the steering boiler main body 1 is fixed to the steering shaft 13, and reassembly is required. There are also cases where this occurs.

Furthermore, as previously disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-80949, in the above-mentioned steering device, a support body is integrally formed with the boss, and an intermediate gear is mounted on this support body. has been proposed, but the lower cylindrical member is fixed to the steering column, and there are still problems in manufacturing and assembly as described above.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) As mentioned above, in the conventional device,
There are manufacturing and assembly problems, and there are difficulties in assembling.

The purpose of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned points, to prevent deformation caused by assembly, and to improve assembly efficiency by preventing rotational failures due to assembly variations. .

[Structure of the idea]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a steering wheel body 1 which has a rim portion 4, spoke portions 7 and bosses 8 and is fixed to a steering shaft 13 by the bosses 8.
an upper cylindrical member 15 that is rotatably fitted around the outer periphery of the boss 8 and has an internal gear 18 on the inside of the outer periphery and a pad 35 on the upper part; The lower cylindrical member 20 is fixed in a rotational state and has an internal gear 23 on the inside of the outer periphery, and is meshed with the internal gears 18 and 23 of the upper cylindrical member 15 and the lower cylindrical member 20, and moves together with the boss 8. In the steering device equipped with a gear 29, a support 43 is integrally provided on the boss 8, and the support 43 meshes with the internal gears 18, 23 of the upper cylindrical member 15 and the lower cylindrical member 20. The gear 29 is mounted on a shaft, and the upper cylindrical member 15 is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the upper part of the boss 8, and the lower cylindrical member 20 is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the lower part of the boss 8. A fixing mechanism 47 is provided which fits into the lower cylindrical member 20 and substantially fixes it to the steering column 24 side.

(Function) In the present invention, when the steering wheel body 1 is rotated, the boss 8 and the steering shaft 1 are rotated.
3 rotates, but the lower cylindrical member 20 is fixed by the fixing mechanism 4.
7 and does not rotate.

Therefore, the support body 43 rotates together with the spoke core metal 5, the gear 29 rotates and revolves through engagement with the internal gear 23 of the lower cylindrical member 20, and the gear 29 and the upper cylindrical member Through engagement with the internal gear 18 of 15, the upper cylindrical member 15 rotates in a relatively opposite direction, and the pad 35 is apparently held stationary together with the upper cylindrical member 15.

Further, since all the components are assembled to the steering wheel body 1, the rotational state can be checked before the steering wheel body 1 is fitted to the steering shaft 13.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

Note that parts corresponding to those of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 above are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A flange portion 10 having an annular shape as a whole with both side portions removed is integrally provided in the middle portion of the boss 8, a cylindrical portion 11 is provided on the upper part of the flange portion 10, and a ring groove 12 is provided on the outer circumference of the upper end of the cylindrical portion 11. At the same time, a cylindrical portion 11 is also provided at the lower part of the flange portion 10 of the boss 8, and a ring groove 42 is formed on the outer circumference of the lower end of this cylindrical portion 41. Further, supports 43 are integrally provided at the upper and lower parts of both sides of the boss 8, and the gear 29 is rotatably supported between the upper and lower supports 43 on both sides by a support shaft 30 made of upper and lower screws. , the conventional support frame 26 is not used. Furthermore, the spoke core metal 5 is abutted on the flange portion 10 and fixed with screws 44. In addition, boss 8 is
The flange portion 10 and each support body 43 are integrally formed by die casting an alloy such as aluminum or magnesium.

Then, the fitting cylindrical portion 1 inside the upper cylindrical member 15
6 is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the upper cylindrical portion 11 of the boss 8, and the ring groove 12 of the boss 8 is
A snap spring 19 for preventing slipping off, which is in contact with the upper surface of the fitting cylinder part 16, is fitted into the fitting cylinder part 16.

Further, the lower cylindrical member 20 is not provided with a cylindrical mounting portion 21 at the inner lower portion for attaching to the steering column 24 with screws 25 as in the conventional case, but is provided with a fitting cylindrical portion 45 at the inner upper portion.

Then, the fitting cylindrical portion 4 inside the lower cylindrical member 20
5 is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the lower cylindrical portion 41 of the boss 8, and the ring groove 42 of the boss 8 is
A snap spring 46 for preventing slipping off that is in contact with the lower surface of the fitting cylinder portion 45 is fitted into the fitting cylinder portion 45 .

Further, a fixing mechanism 4 is provided which substantially fixes the lower cylindrical member 20 to the steering column 24 side.
7 will be provided. This fixing mechanism 47 includes a plurality of protrusions 48 for preventing rotation integrally provided on the lower surface of the lower cylindrical member 20, and
Combination switch case 4 fixed to
9 is formed with an engagement hole 50 corresponding to each protrusion 48,
Each projection 48 is engaged in each engagement hole 50 to prevent the lower cylindrical member 20 from rotating.

The other configurations are the same as those in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Then, when the steering wheel body 1 is rotated, the boss 8 and the steering shaft 13 are rotated.
rotates, but the upper cylindrical member 20 is attached to the fixed combination switch case 49 by the protrusion 4.
8 is engaged, so it does not rotate.

Therefore, in the same manner as described above, the support body 43 rotates together with the spoke core metal 5, the gear 29 rotates and revolves through engagement with the internal gear 23 of the lower cylindrical member 20, and the gear 29 The upper cylindrical member 15 rotates in a relatively opposite direction through meshing with the internal gear 18 of the upper cylindrical member 15, and apparently the electric unit 31 and the pad 3 are rotated together with the upper cylindrical member 15.
5 is held stationary.

By doing this, all the components are assembled on the steering wheel body 1, so you can check the rotation state of the steering wheel body 1.
This can be done before fitting to the steering shaft 13, and there is no rotation failure due to assembly variations.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, when manufacturing the boss 8, the plate-shaped spoke core metal 5 is embedded and fixed as one piece, and the attachment using the screws 44 as described above is not performed. Good too.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a semi-circular bearing recess 51 is formed at the end of the support 43, and
Shaft portions 52 may be integrally protruded from the upper and lower portions of the gear 29, and the shaft portions 52 may be fitted and held in the bearing recesses 51, thereby eliminating the use of the threaded support shaft 30 as described above.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, supports 43 having bearing recesses 53 are integrally formed on both sides of the flange portion 10, and a shaft portion 54 is formed in the middle of the gear 29. The gear 29 may be supported at the intermediate portion by fitting the portion 54 into the bearing recess 53. In this way, the boss 8 does not require the use of a slide piece or the like when manufacturing the boss 8, making manufacturing easy.

Further, although not shown, in the fixing mechanism 47, a protrusion 48 for preventing rotation is provided to protrude from the combination switch case 49, and the lower cylindrical member 2
0 may be provided with an engagement hole 50, and the lower cylindrical member 20 may be prevented from rotating by coupling these holes.

Further, in addition to being fixed to the combination switch case 49, the lower cylindrical member 20 may be fixed to the steering column 24 or another fixed part on the steering column 24 side.

Further, the upper cylindrical member 15 and the lower cylindrical member 20 may be formed in the same shape and used in common.

[Effect of idea]

According to the present invention, a gear support is integrally formed with the boss, and a gear that meshes with the internal gears of the upper cylindrical member and the lower cylindrical member is mounted on the support, thereby forming a separate support. There is no deformation due to assembly, and relative rotation between the upper cylindrical member and the upper cylindrical member and the gear can be performed smoothly.

Furthermore, by fitting the upper cylindrical member and the lower cylindrical member into the respective bosses and placing the lower cylindrical member in a non-rotating state, the operating state can be achieved before attaching the steering wheel body to the steering shaft. In addition, there is no rotational failure due to assembly variations, and assembly can be easily performed and assembly efficiency can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional device, FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a part thereof, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the device of the present invention, and FIG. The figure is an enlarged sectional view of a part thereof, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the boss portion thereof, FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a another embodiment of the gear support portion. FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment, and FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a portion thereof. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Steering wheel body, 4... Rim part, 7... Spoke part, 8... Boss, 13... Steering shaft, 15... Upper cylindrical member, 1
8... Internal gear, 20... Lower cylindrical member, 23...
Internal gear, 24... Steering column, 29...
Gear, 35... Pad, 43... Support, 47...
...Fixing mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A steering wheel body that has a rim part, spoke parts, and a boss and is fixed to a steering shaft by the boss, and an internal gear that is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the boss and has an internal gear inside the outer periphery. an upper cylindrical member having a pad on the upper part; a lower cylindrical member fixed in a substantially non-rotating state below the upper cylindrical member and having an internal gear on the inside of its outer periphery; a gear that meshes with internal teeth of a side cylindrical member and moves together with the boss; a support body is integrally provided with the boss, and the support body includes the upper cylindrical member and the lower cylindrical member. The gear meshed with an internal gear is mounted on a shaft, the upper cylindrical member is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the upper part of the boss, and the lower cylindrical member is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the lower part of the boss. What is claimed is: 1. A steering device comprising: a fixing mechanism that fits into the lower cylindrical member and substantially fixes the lower cylindrical member to a steering column side.