JPH0359873B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a steering wheel, and specifically relates to an improvement of a pad to further enhance the impact absorption effect of an impact energy absorbing member (hereinafter referred to as an E/A member). be.

[Prior art] In addition, conventionally, a member for absorbing impact energy in the steering wheel, so-called E/A
It has been proposed to attach a member. For example, the steering wheel disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-135363 has an electric shock absorber that absorbs impact energy by buckling the hub portion, as shown in FIG.
E/
It is known that the A member 100 is covered.

In recent years, from a design standpoint, there has been a demand for large pads that cover not only the hub but also the spokes, and these large pads are applied to steering wheels to which the above E/A components are attached. The result will be as shown in Figure 7. That is, as in the past, the E/A member 100 that absorbs impact energy by buckling is arranged in the hub part, and the pads 200 that cover the hub part and spoke parts are the E/A member 100.
The configuration is such that it is attached via a sheet metal 101 attached to.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, with the above-mentioned steering wheel,
Although the pad had excellent shape retention, there was a problem that the insert was too rigid. And even if the impact is applied directly above the E/A member,
A reaction force is generated due to the rigidity of the pad itself, and the impact energy may be received by the spokes of the insert, which may cause problems such as the impact energy being difficult to transmit to the E/A components and the impact energy absorption effect being reduced accordingly. . For this reason E/
In order to design the strength of member A, the rigidity of the pad must also be taken into consideration, which requires a large number of man-hours.

The present invention has been made in view of this problem, and provides a steering wheel in which the strength of the E/A member can be set almost independently of the stiffness of the pad, and the pad has excellent shape retention. The purpose is to

[Means for solving the problems] The steering wheel of the present invention includes an operation section,
a hub portion that is continuous with the operating portion and transmits the movement of the operating portion to the steering shaft; an impact energy absorbing member disposed on the hub portion that absorbs impact energy; and covering at least the impact energy absorbing member and the spoke portion; A steering wheel composed of a hard insert and a pad made of a soft skin body integrally covered with the insert, the insert being composed of a plurality of divided bodies, and the divided bodies are partitioned. It is characterized by being bent or separated at the dividing part.

The steering wheel of the present invention includes an operating section, a hub section, an E/A member, and a pad. Here, the operating section is a part operated by a person to change the traveling direction of the vehicle, and is generally a ring-shaped member called a rim or a ring section. The shape can be selected from various shapes such as a perfect circle or an ellipse, and the same shape as conventional ones can be used. Moreover, the same material as conventional ones, such as synthetic resin, can be used.

The hub part is a part that transmits the movement of the operating part to the steering shaft, and is generally located at the center of the operating part. The operating portion and the hub portion are connected to each other by spoke portions extending radially from the hub portion. Note that a horn switch can also be provided in this hub portion.

The E/A member is a member for absorbing impact energy, and for example, a member that absorbs impact energy by buckling a sheet metal can be used.

The pad consists of an insert and a skin body.
Covers the E/A member and spoke parts. The insert here maintains the shape of the pad,
As in the past, it is made of hard resin, sheet metal, etc.

The greatest feature of the present invention is that this insert is composed of a plurality of divided bodies. That is, it is bent or separated at the dividing portions that partition the divided body.

In the case where the insert is first attached to an E/A member or the like and then covered with a skin body, a gap may be provided between adjacent divided bodies divided by the divided portions. However, when placing the insert in the mold and insert molding the skin,
It is desirable that adjacent divided bodies are in contact with each other. This is because if there is a gap, the smoothness of the skin body may be impaired in that area. It is also preferable to provide the divided bodies with engaging portions that mechanically engage with each other. The engaging portions can be selected from various types, such as a comb-like shape that meshes with each other, or a convex portion that fits into one hole. In this way, the smoothness of the pad surface can be maintained without increasing the rigidity of the pad as a whole, and the positioning is accurate due to the engagement of the engaging parts, and the horizontal direction of each divided body is It is also possible to prevent relative movement of

Further, it is desirable that these divided bodies be respectively attached to the E/A member or a metal plate attached to the E/A member. In this way, even if the pad is distorted by the split portion, the distortion is corrected by the E/A member, so that the shape retention of the pad is further improved.

The insert is generally covered with a skin over its entire surface. This skin body can be formed from a soft resin such as soft polyvinyl chloride resin or polyurethane resin as in the past, and can be coated by insert molding integrally with the insert or by covering the insert afterwards. can.

[Operations and Effects of the Invention] In the steering wheel of the present invention, the insert of the pad is composed of a plurality of divided bodies.
As a result, the pad can be bent or separated at the divided portion, and the rigidity of the pad can be significantly reduced compared to other portions. Therefore, by forming the split part, the impact energy is reliably transmitted to the E/A member without being received by the spokes of the insert, and the energy absorption effect of the E/A member (in the case of sheet metal, buckling deformation) ) absorbs impact energy. Further, there is almost no need to set the energy absorption setting value of the E/A member in consideration of the rigidity of the pad, and the number of man-hours required for design can be reduced.

[Example] This will be explained in detail below using Examples.

1 to 4 show a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention. This steering wheel has a hub portion 1 connected to a steering shaft.
It is mainly composed of a spoke part 2 extending in a substantially T-shape with the hub part 1 as the center, and an annular ring part 3 serving as an operation part connecting the tips of the spoke part 2. As shown in FIG. 2, an E/A member 4 formed of a sheet metal and absorbing impact energy by buckling, and a sheet metal 41 extending to the base end of the spoke portion 2 are attached to the hub portion 1, as shown in FIG. There is. A hub portion 1 is provided on the upper surface of the E/A member 4 and the sheet metal 41.
And a pad 5 covering the spoke portion 2 is attached.

Pad 5 is polypropylene resin insert 6
and a soft polyvinyl chloride resin skin body 7 that covers the insert 6 and is integrally shaped with the insert 6.

As schematically shown in FIG. 3, the insert 6 is divided into four parts: a main part 61 that covers the hub part 1, and a wing part 62 that covers the three spoke parts 2. A concave portion 63 and a convex portion 64 are formed as shown in the figure, and are in contact with each other due to their engagement. Further, each divided body is attached to the E/A member 4 and the metal plate 41 with screws 8.

In the steering wheel of this embodiment configured as described above, when an impact force is applied to the main portion 61, the insert 6 bends or separates at the divided portion, so that it is not affected by the rigidity of the wing portion 62. The impact energy is reliably transmitted to the E/A member 4. The energy of the impact is absorbed by the buckling of the E/A member 4.

Furthermore, since the divided inserts 6 are respectively attached to the E/A member 4 and the sheet metal 41, the shape of the pad 5 is reliably maintained. Furthermore, since the divided inserts 6 are in contact with each other through the engagement of the concave portions 63 and the convex portions 64, positioning of the pad during skin body molding is easy, and since the surface is a continuous surface, the skin body can be easily positioned during skin body molding. It is possible to prevent cripples that impair smoothness.

In addition to the above-mentioned example, the engagement of the divided bodies may be performed in various ways, such as a configuration in which a hole 65 provided on one of the divided bodies of the insert fits into a convex portion 66 provided on the other divided body, as shown in FIG. It can be configured as follows.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 relate to a steering wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view of the main part thereof, and FIG. 2 is a main part shown in cross section taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1. A sectional view, FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the pad,
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main parts of the insert. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of main parts showing another aspect of the divided portion of the insert. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional steering wheel, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional steering wheel corresponding to FIG. 1...Hub part, 2...Spoke part, 3...Ring part (operation part), 4...E/A member (shock absorption member), 5...Pad, 6...Insert, 7...
Skin body, 8... Screw, 41... Sheet metal, 63, 64
...Divided part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An operating section, a hub section that is continuous with the operating section and transmits the movement of the operating section to the steering shaft, and an impact energy absorbing member disposed on the hub section that absorbs impact energy; A steering wheel comprising a pad that covers the impact energy absorbing member and the spoke portion and is made of a hard insert and a soft skin body integrally covered with the insert, the insert comprising a plurality of pads. 1. A steering wheel comprising a segmented body, the segmented body being bent or separated at a divided section. 2. The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein each of the divided bodies has engaging portions that mechanically engage with each other, and are brought into contact with each other by engagement of the engaging portions. 3. The steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein each of the divided bodies is attached to an impact energy absorbing member.