JPH0511748Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a horn pad mounting structure for an automobile, and more particularly to a pad mounting structure for a center pad horn type steering wheel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A horn pad for an automobile, particularly a horn pad of a center pad horn type steering wheel, is generally supported at four support points so as to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the steering wheel.
A spring is disposed at each support point to constantly urge the horn pad toward the side opposite to the steering wheel.

By the way, large horn pads, specifically horn pads with built-in airbags,
Its own weight is quite large compared to that of a general horn pad. Therefore, the horn pad, which has a structure that is elastically supported at four support points and is relatively heavy, may be susceptible to vibration or rattling under the influence of the vibrations of the automobile. The cause of this rattling is mainly due to the mounting structure of the horn pad. That is, the dimensional structure of the engaging portion between the support member and the horn pad holding member at the support point is determined in consideration of the manufacturing error of each component and the movement along the vertical direction, so that the engaging portion has the following characteristics: There is a considerable allowance involved.

In order to prevent such lateral wobbling caused by the mounting structure, various measures have been taken in the past. For example, the horn pad mounting structure shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is one of the conventional examples.

In this conventional example, as shown in the figure, two V-shaped leaf springs 23 are used to prevent the horn pad 22 from wobbling in the lateral direction. More specifically, the two contact plates 24 are each supported by the steering wheel body 21 by two support parts. As shown in FIG. 7, each support part is threaded into the steering wheel body 21 by passing through an insulator bush 28 which is attached to the end of the contact plate 24 and passing through the plate 24. A bolt 25 and a coil spring 27 attached around the bolt 25 and urging the contact plate 24 toward the side opposite to the steering wheel.
It is made up of. One end of the coil spring 27 is connected to the end surface of the insulator bush 28, and
The other end is supported by the steering wheel body 21. In this way, the horn pad 22 is fixed with bolts 30 to the two contact plates 24 held on the steering wheel body 21 via the coil springs 27. Further, each V-shaped leaf spring 23 has its apex disposed between the washer 31 and the back surface of the contact plate 24, and is fastened together to the horn pad 22 with the bolt 30, and its both ends are attached to the steering wheel 24. The steering wheel body 21 is bent and fixed to the steering wheel body 21 with a rivet 29.

According to the above configuration, the horn pad 22 can be elastically pushed toward the steering wheel body 21 side. Furthermore, even if there is a lateral gap between the insulator bushing 28 and the bolt 25 at the four supporting parts, the V-shaped leaf spring 23 prevents the contact plate 24 from moving in the lateral direction. prevent. In other words, the horn pad 22 is only allowed to move in the vertical direction. Therefore, according to the above structure, horizontal rattling of the horn pad 22 due to vibrations of the automobile is effectively prevented.

However, such a configuration requires a V-shaped leaf spring. In other words, there is a problem in that new parts and man-hours for assembling the parts are required.

Technical Problem of the Present Invention Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a horn pad that effectively prevents lateral rattling and vibration of the horn pad without incurring any cost by improving the mounting structure of the horn pad. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a mounting structure for this purpose.

Summary (Structure) of the Present Invention In order to achieve the above technical problem, the present invention was constructed as follows.

That is, the mounting structure of the horn pad of the present invention includes a pair of contact plates that are removably mounted on the back surface of the horn pad and each have a pair of holes, and a contact plate that is inserted into each hole of each of the contact plates so as to be movable in the axial direction. and a support member erected on the steering wheel body whose one end prevents the contact plate from coming off, and a support member interposed around the support member to bias each contact plate in the axial direction of the support member. and a biasing member.

Moreover, the four holes of the pair of contact plates have substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of the support member, and the first hole prevents movement in any direction orthogonal to the axial direction with respect to the support member. and an elongated hole whose width in the short axis direction is approximately the same as the outer diameter of the support member, and whose width in the long axis direction is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the support member, and While allowing movement in the long axis direction,
a second hole that prevents movement in the minor axis direction; and a second hole that has a diameter sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the support member and that allows movement in any direction perpendicular to the axial direction with respect to the support member. 3rd hole and 4th hole
It consists of a hole.

The horn pad is held by each of the contact plates.

(Function) According to the above configuration, the horn pad is held on the steering wheel body by attaching it to a pair of contact plates supported by the steering wheel body by screwing or the like. In other words, the order in which the parts are installed is
First, a pair of contact plates are attached to the steering wheel body via a support member, and then a horn pad is attached to the contact plates. When the horn pad is attached, the horn pad and the pair of contact plates are integrated. The pair of integrated contact plates are held on the steering wheel body by the four supporting members.

By the way, the horn pad held on the steering wheel body can move in the axial direction of the support member, but cannot move in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction, that is, in the lateral direction. This is because the first hole of the contact plate is dimensioned so that it cannot be moved in a direction perpendicular to the support member. Furthermore, since the second hole of the contact plate is sized so that it can only move in one direction perpendicular to the axial direction, the horn pad is also restricted from rotating on the steering wheel body. will be done. That is, rotation about the first hole becomes almost impossible.

Note that it is possible to attach the pair of contact plates to the steering wheel body without any particular difficulty. This is because the machining error and pitch error of the two holes and the outer diameter machining error and pitch error of the two support members can be sufficiently secured with normal machining accuracy. . Furthermore, the attachment work of attaching the horn pad to the pair of contact plates can be easily performed.
This is because the one contact plate that does not have the first hole has a margin between the support member and the hole that allows it to move relative to the support member.
Moreover, there is no problem in any combination of the first hole, the second hole, and the third and fourth holes, but considering the workability of attaching the contact plate, A combination of two holes, a third hole, and a fourth hole is preferred.

(Effects) In the above structure, since the holes formed in the pair of contact plates have the above-mentioned dimensional structure, vibration and rattling of the horn pad can be effectively prevented. Therefore, it is not necessary to use special parts to prevent the vibration and rattling.

In other words, the present invention is a pad mounting structure that effectively prevents the horn pad from vibrating and rattling at a low cost without using any extra parts or man-hours for installing the parts.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 shows the steering wheel with the horn pad seen through. In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a steering wheel body, and a horn pad 2 is attached to the center of the steering wheel body 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 and 3, the horn pad 2 is held on the steering wheel body 1 via a pair of contact plates 3 and 4.
That is, the horn pad 2 is supported by four support members screwed together and erected on the steering wheel body 1.
A pair of contact plates 3 and 4 which are located on the back side of the pad 2 and hold the pad 2 are supported.

To explain each part in more detail, four support members for supporting each of the contact plates 3 and 4 are screwed together and erected at the center of the steering wheel body 1. The support member includes a bolt-like member 6 whose one end is threaded and whose other end is formed into a hexagonal head shape, and which is further inserted into the body of the bolt-like member 6. It consists of a cylindrical insulator bush 8 with a flange on the hexagonal head side. The outer diameter of the bolt-like member 6 and the inner diameter of the bush 8 are approximately the same. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the pair of contact plates 3 and 4 supported by the support member have a horizontally elongated rectangular shape with a U-shaped cross section, each having two holes at both ends thereof, and Ear-shaped horn pad attachment parts 3c and 4c are provided on opposite sides along the longitudinal direction. The support members 6 and 8 are inserted through each of the holes. 1 of one contact plate 3
The two holes 3a are configured as first holes having substantially the same diameter as the body diameter of the support member, specifically, the outer diameter of the insulator bush 8. Also the other hole 3
The second hole b is an elongated hole whose width in the short axis direction is approximately the same as the body diameter, and whose width in the long axis direction is sufficiently larger than the body diameter.
Also, a pair of holes 4 in the other contact plate 4
a, 4b are third and fourth holes 4a, 4 having a hole diameter sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the support members 6, 8 by a predetermined dimension;
b. Further, bolt holes for attaching a horn pad are formed in each of the above-mentioned attachment portions 3c, 4c. The contact plates 3 and 4 are provided with movable contacts 10 at predetermined positions, and the steering wheel body 1 facing the contacts 10 is provided with a fixed contact member 11.

By the way, each of the above contact plates 3, 4
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, two supporting members 6 are inserted into each hole 3a, 3b; 4 of the contact plate, respectively.
a, 4b are inserted from top to bottom in the figure and screwed onto the steering wheel body 1, thereby being supported by the steering wheel body 1. That is, each contact plate 3, 4 is biased in the axial direction by a coil spring 7 interposed between the steering wheel body 1 and the contact plates 3, 4, and is biased through the collar of the insulator bush 8. The hexagonal head of the bolt-like member 6 is secured to the steering wheel body 1 side. Above coil spring 7
are disposed around the support members 6 and 8, one end of which is supported by the back surface of the contact plates 3 and 4, and the other end of which is supported by the steering wheel body 1 via an insulator member 9. A total of four horn pads 2 are attached to the pair of contact plates 3 and 4 supported in this way.
It is attached with real bolt 5. Note that 12 in the figure indicates a lead wire for the horn.

According to the above configuration, the pair of contact plates 3 and 4 supported by the steering wheel body 1 via the support members 6 and 8 are movable in the axial direction of the support members 6 and 8. Furthermore, one contact plate 4 is movable in any direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the support members 6 and 8. That is, in FIG. 5, the third and fourth holes 4a and 4b of one contact plate 4 (left side in the figure) are round holes larger than the diameter of the support member, specifically, the insulator bush 8. Therefore, the contact plate 4 moves laterally by the amount of play that exists,
Or it can rotate. On the other hand, in the other contact plate 3 (on the right side in the figure), one first hole 3a is a round hole with approximately the same diameter as the supporting members 6, 8, and the other second hole 3a is a round hole with approximately the same diameter as the support members 6, 8.
Since the hole 3b is a horizontally long elongated hole whose width in the short axis direction is approximately the same as that of the supporting members 6 and 8, the first hole 3
It is impossible to move or rotate in any direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the support members 6, 8 about a. Note that the outer diameter of the bolt-like member 6 and the inner diameter of the insulator bush 8 are configured to be substantially the same. Therefore, with respect to the support members 6 and 8 inserted into the third and fourth holes 4a and 4b, the bolt-like member 6 and the insulator bush 8 are usually moved integrally relative to the holes in the axial direction. (Actually, the contact plate 4 is the one that moves.) On the other hand, the supporting members 6 and 8 inserted into the first and second holes 3a and 3b are usually connected to the outer periphery of the insulator bush 8 and each hole 3a, Since friction occurs between the inner circumference of 3b,
While the insulator bushing 8 remains in each hole 3a, 3b, the bolt-like member 6 moves relative to the insulator bushing 8 in the axial direction (actually, the contact plate 3 moves more). ).

Therefore, when attaching the horn pad 2 to the pair of contact plates 3 and 4, the allowance due to the backlash of one of the contact plates 4 works effectively, making it possible to attach the horn pad 2 without difficulty. However, when the horn pad 2 is attached to the pair of contact plates 3, 4, the pair of contact plates 3, 4 are integrated via the horn pad 2. The integrated contact plates 3 and 4 are no longer able to operate independently, but each influences the other. That is, the first hole 3a allows the other holes 3b,
Movement due to looseness between 4a and 4b is restricted. In other words, the horizontal wobbling is caused by the first hole 3a.
Rotation with respect to the steering wheel body 1 is regulated by the cooperation of the first and second holes 3a and 3b. In other words, Horn Pad 2 is
This means that the steering wheel body 1 is prevented from wobbling in all directions. Note that the four holes 3a, 3b; 4a, 4b for the pair of contact plates 3, 4 may be combined in any manner. That is, the first and second holes 3
There is no problem even if contact plates a and 3b are formed on different contact plates 3 and 4. However, from the viewpoint of ease of installation of the horn pad 2, the combination of this embodiment can be said to be suitable.

Therefore, if the horn pad is prevented from wobbling relative to the steering wheel body, the vibration or wobbling of the horn pad 2 due to vibrations of the automobile can also be effectively prevented. Moreover, this method of prevention does not require the use of any parts to prevent vibration and rattling, and merely improves a part of the mounting structure of the horn pad 2. In other words, the problem of preventing rattling of the horn pad has been solved in an inexpensive manner. In other words, the horn pad mounting structure of this embodiment is suitable for preventing vibration and rattling of the horn pad.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 show a mounting structure of a horn pad according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a front view of the main part as seen through the horn pad, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1. , FIG. 3 is a partially omitted half-sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pair of contact plates in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 and 7 show the mounting structure of the horn pad according to the conventional example, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the main part when the horn pad is seen through,
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 6. 1... Steering wheel body, 2... Horn pad, 3, 4... Contact plate, 3a
...First hole, 3b...Second hole, 4a...Third hole,
4b... Fourth hole, 5... Bolt, 6... Bolt-shaped member, 7... Biasing member (coil spring), 8... Insulator bush, 9... Insulator member, 10... Movable contact, 11... fixed contact member,
12... Lead wire.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A pair of contact plates 3, 4 that are removably attached to the back of the horn pad 2 and each have a pair of holes 3a, 3b; 4a, 4b, and each of the contact plates 3, 4 mentioned above. holes 3a, 3b; 4
Support members 6 and 8 are installed upright on the steering wheel body 1, and the support members 6 and 8 are inserted into the steering wheel body 1 so as to be movable in the axial direction through the contact plates 3 and 4, respectively, and which prevent the contact plates 3 and 4 from coming off at one end thereof. 4 in the axial direction of the support members 6, 8, and a biasing member 7 interposed around the support members 6, 8. The four holes 3a, 3b; 4a, 4b of the pair of contact plates 3, 4 have approximately the same diameter as the outer diameter of the supporting members 6, 8, and The first hole 3a prevents movement in any direction perpendicular to the axial direction, and the width dimension in the short axis direction is approximately the same as the outer diameter of the support members 6 and 8, while the width dimension in the long axis direction is the same as the width dimension in the long axis direction. a second hole 3b, which is an elongated hole that is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the members 6, 8, and allows movement of the support members 6, 8 in the long axis direction, while preventing movement in the short axis direction; , a third hole 4a and a fourth hole, each having a hole diameter sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the supporting members 6, 8, and allowing movement in any direction orthogonal to the axial direction relative to the supporting members 6, 8, respectively; A pad mounting structure for a center pad horn type steering wheel characterized by comprising: 4b.