JPH0332445Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial application field The present invention is a steering device with an operation pad for a moving object such as a car, and in particular, a steering device with an operation pad installed on the upper surface of the central part of the steering wheel. In a steering device that has a mechanism that holds the steering wheel stationary, and in which the arm of the steering wheel rotates within the stationary holding mechanism so as to partially block the operation pad side and the column side of the vehicle body, electrical connection between the two is provided. Concerning mechanisms for contact.

2. Description of the Related Art Methods for transmitting signals between a stationary pad attached to the steering wheel of a moving object such as an automobile and the main body of the moving object, that is, a chassis, can be roughly divided into contact methods and non-contact methods.

A typical example of the contact method is one using a combination of a slip ring and a brush as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-120546 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-32540. Also, as a non-contact method, JP-A-59-
This method uses light, electromagnetic waves, or sound waves as disclosed in Publication No. 32542.

Problems that the invention aims to solve In the contact method, the slip ring and brush come into sliding contact, which generates noise and causes problems such as erroneous signal transmission. On the other hand, non-contact methods that use light, electromagnetic waves, or sound waves require transducers, modulators, and demodulators to convert signals into a form that can be transmitted over space, resulting in a complex and expensive structure.

Furthermore, since it is non-contact, the reliability of transmission is relatively low.

The object of the present invention is to provide a steering device with an operating pad that has an electric contact mechanism that improves the above conventional problems.

Means for Solving the Problems In the steering device of the present invention, an operation pad is installed on the upper surface of the center part of the steering wheel.
A mechanism is provided between the operating pad and the column to hold the operating pad stationary relative to the column.

Additionally, an electrical connection is provided between the operating pad and the column to allow the arm of the steering wheel to rotate freely within the stationary holding mechanism.

The electrical connection mechanism has a plurality of contacts provided on the operating pad and a plurality of contacts provided on the column side corresponding to the contacts. Since the operating pad is in a fixed position relative to the column by the stationary holding mechanism, the contacts therebetween form a contact pair.

A plurality of corresponding connecting members are interposed to electrically connect these contact pairs. One contact attached to one end of the connection member is elastically pressed so as to be able to come into contact with the other contact of the pair.

Preferably, the connecting member is vertically slidingly mounted inside or outside the stationary holding mechanism. Further, a blocking member is provided for blocking the contact between the pair of contacts. This blocking member is preferably a tongue attached to the arm of the steering wheel. This tongue piece rotates together with the arm of the steering wheel, comes into contact with one end of the connecting member that is elastically pressed, and pushes up the connecting member against the elastic force. As a result, one contact attached to one end of the connecting member is separated from the other contact of the pair, and the arm of the steering wheel can freely rotate without being hindered. After the tongue has passed, one contact attached to one end of the connecting member is pressed by the elastic force and comes into contact with the other pair of contacts again.

Effect: Therefore, the contact pair is electrically disconnected when the arm of the steering wheel is present, and is connected when the arm is not present. Therefore, by devising the arrangement of the contact pairs and the wiring between the contacts on the operation pad side and the column side, it is possible to always keep at least one contact pair connected regardless of the position of the arm.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show a mechanism using two external gears 1, 2 and one satellite gear 3 as a mechanism for holding the operating pad stationary. External gear 1 is fixed to column 4. The column 4 is fixed to the chassis of the automobile and rotatably supports the steering shaft 5. External gear 2
is rotatably supported by the steering shaft 5. An operating pad 6 (see FIG. 5) is attached to the upper surface of the external gear 2. The operating pad 6 is installed on the upper surface of the center portion of the steering wheel 7, as shown in FIG. An arm 8 of the steering wheel 7 is fixed to the steering shaft 5 via a boss 9.

The satellite gear 3 is connected to the arm 8 by the gear support 10.
It is rotatably supported by the external gears 1 and 2 by a spring 11, and is constantly engaged with both gears.

The external gear 1 and the external gear 2 are spaced apart from each other so as to form a gap 12 between which the arm 8 can rotate. A tongue piece 13 is attached to the arm 8, and this tongue piece 13 acts as a roller guide as described later. A plurality of connecting members 14 are provided at the peripheral edge of the external gear 1 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The connecting member 14 is made of a cylindrical conductive material, and rotatably supports a roller 15 at its lower end, as shown in FIG. That is, this cylindrical body is the roller holder 16
It acts as.

A contact holder 17 is fixed to the outer surface of the lower end of the roller holder 16. This contact holder 17 is also made of a conductive material, and a contact 18 is provided at the center of its lower end surface. A coil spring 19 is built inside the cylindrical roller holder 16.
The lower end of the contact holder 9 is held down by a portion inserted from the upper end of the contact holder 17 through the roller holder 16 at right angles.

A slit 20 is provided in the upper end of the roller holder 16 in the axial direction, and one end of a spring presser 21 is inserted into the slit 20 and acts to press the upper end of the coil spring 19. The spring retainer 21 is attached to the upper peripheral edge of the external gear 2, so that the connecting member 14 can slide vertically within the external gear 2 due to the spring elasticity of the coil spring 19.

A connecting member 14 is provided at the periphery of the upper surface of the external gear 1.
A plurality of contact holders 22 are provided so as to correspond to the contacts 18 attached to the contact points 18 . This contact holder 2
The lower end of 2 extends into the column 4 and is connected to a signal terminal (not shown) on the column side. The connecting member 14 is pressed downward by a coil spring 19 so that its contacts 18 come into contact with the contact pedestal 22 . On the other hand, the upper end of the connecting member 14 is connected to a signal terminal (not shown) on the operation pad side.

The tongue piece 13 attached to the arm 8 is an arc-shaped band piece that completely covers the upper surface of the arm 8 in the gap 12 formed between the external gear 1 and the external gear 2. Since it is attached to the arm 8 so as to have a gentle slope at both ends, the roller 15 provided on the connecting member 14 moves smoothly on the tongue piece 13.

When the driver rotates the steering wheel 7, the tongue piece 13 moves within the gap 12 together with the arm 8.

As a result, the roller 15 is guided by the tongue piece 13, rotates, and is pushed upward.
Therefore, the connecting member 14 also slides upward, and the contact 1
8 is separated from the contact holder 22. When the arm 8 passes, the contact 18 of the connecting member 14 is pressed downward by the spring elasticity of the coil spring 19 and comes into contact with the contact holder 22 .

In this way, the connection between the contact 18 of the connecting member 14 and the contact holder 22 is interrupted by the tongue piece 13. As the arm 8 rotates, the upper tip of the roller holder 16 traces a trajectory similar to a wave surface.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, only the connecting member 14 in a range corresponding to the arc length of the tongue piece 13 protrudes upward. Therefore, when the operating pad 6
connected to the same signal terminal on both sides. Similarly, on the column side, contact holders separated by a distance equal to or longer than the arc length of the tongue piece 13 are connected to the same signal terminal.

In this way, regardless of the position of arm 8,
The signal terminals on the operation pad side and the column side are always connected.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment has a structure in which the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are turned upside down, and the contact holder 22
is connected to the signal terminal on the operation pad side, and the connecting member 14 is connected to the signal terminal on the column side. However, in this embodiment, a soundproof cushion 23 is attached to the inner surface of the contact holder 22 so as to absorb the sound generated when it comes into contact with the connecting member 14.

In the above-described embodiment, gears were used as the mechanism for holding the operating pad stationary, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to systems that use pulleys instead of gears.

Effects of the invention According to the invention, at least one pair of contacts can be kept connected regardless of the position of the arm, so a contact method using a combination of a slip ring and a brush can be used. Generates less noise compared to In addition, since the operation pad side and the column side are in direct contact with each other, a large amount of power can be transmitted, and signals with a wider frequency band can be transmitted than non-contact methods using light, electromagnetic waves, or sound waves. Can be transmitted. Therefore, not only the amount of information transmitted increases, but also electrical reliability improves because the number of electrical parts is reduced. moreover,
The structure is simpler and more economically advantageous than the non-contact method.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the steering device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is an external view of the steering device of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the connecting member used in the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1, 2... External gear, 3... Satellite gear, 4...
Column, 5... Steering shaft, 6... Operation pad, 8... Arm, 13... Tongue piece, 14...
... Connection member, 15 ... Roller, 18 ... Contact,
22...Contact holder, 23...Soundproof cushion.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) An operating pad installed on the upper surface of the central portion of the steering wheel, a column rotatably supporting the steering shaft, and an operating pad disposed between the operating pad and the column. A mechanism that holds the steering wheel stationary relative to the column, an electrical connection between the steering wheel arm, which is attached to the steering shaft so that it can rotate through a gap provided inside the stationary holding mechanism, and the operating pad and the column. In a steering device with an operation pad, the steering device has a mechanism that connects the
The electrical connection mechanism includes a plurality of contact pairs provided on the operation pad and the column, a connection member interposed between these contact pairs, and a blocking member that interrupts between the contact pairs, and one end of the connection member One contact attached to the is pressed against the other pair of contacts so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the other contact, and the blocking member rotates together with the arm of the steering wheel and comes into contact with one end of the connecting member, causing the connecting member to pushing up against the force to separate one contact attached to one end of the connecting member from the other pair of contacts, and furthermore, at least one of the plurality of contact pairs is connected regardless of the position of the arm. A steering device with an operation pad, characterized in that the steering device is arranged so as to be in a state in which: (2) The blocking member comprises a tongue piece attached to the arm of the steering wheel, and the connecting member is provided with a roller that rotates while being guided by the tongue piece. A steering device with an operation pad as described in (1). (3) The stationary holding mechanism includes a first external gear fixed to the column, a second external gear rotatably supported by the steering shaft and an operating pad fixed to the upper surface of the second external gear, and a second external gear fixed to the steering shaft. A satellite gear rotatably supported by an arm of a wheel and pressed against the two external gears so as to constantly mesh with the two external gears. Steering device with operation pad.