JPS6030135Y2 - steering wheel - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a support mechanism for a horn pad of a steering wheel.

The cross-sectional structure of spokes of a conventional steering wheel will be explained with reference to FIG.

A is a spoke part with a boss part in the center and rim parts C at both ends
is connected to.

Reference numeral d denotes a horn pad, and a mounting boss e that is fitted onto the upper surface of the spoke portion a and protrudes from the lower surface is fixed to the mounting portion g of the hub core f buried in the spoke portion a with screws h.

The horn button i fitted into the window hole of the horn pad d has one end fixed to a support boss j on the lower surface of the horn pad d together with a conductor, and the other end attached to a support protruding from the lower surface of the horn button i. It is supported and biased upward by a horn plate n made of a leaf spring fixed to the boss 1 with screws m.

The other end of the contact plate p, which has one end facing a screw on the lower surface of the horn button i, is held between the mounting boss e of the horn pad d and the mounting portion 2 of the hub core f.

In such a configuration, if an impact is applied to the rim portion C from above, the spoke portion a will bend through the notch q formed in the middle, and the mounting boss e will be damaged, as shown in Fig. 2. The horn pad d attached to the spoke part a jumps up only by the boss e, which is very dangerous.

Also, sometimes the horn pad d falls off and the spoke part a is exposed, creating a very dangerous situation.

In order to prevent such a risk, there is a structure in which a shock absorbing bracket is separately attached to connect the spoke part a and the horn pad d, but the structure is complicated and assembly is troublesome.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention connects the spoke part and the horn pad through a contact plate that constitutes a part of the horn mechanism, and allows the contact plate to also function as a shock absorber. This is for safety purposes.

Next, the structure of an embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a steering wheel body, which is composed of a rim portion 2 and spoke portions 4 which are constructed between the rim portions 2 and have a boss portion 3 at the center.

A core metal 5 is embedded in the spoke part 4, one end of the core metal 5 is connected to the core metal 6 of the rim part 2, and the other end is connected to a hub core 7 extending from the boss part 3.

Further, the upper surfaces of the boss portion 3 and spoke portions 4 are covered with a horn pad 8, and a mounting boss 9 protruding from the lower surface of the horn pad 8 is attached to a mounting body 10 protruding from the hub core 7 with screws 11.
It is fastened and fixed.

Further, two support bosses 12, 13, and 14 are provided protruding from the back surface of the horn pad 8, two near the boss portion 3 and one near the rim portion 2.
One end of the horn plate 17 is fixed to one of the support bosses 12 near the boss portion 3 with a screw 15, and the other end of the horn plate 17 is made of a leaf spring to which a conducting wire 16 is connected.
8 and has its lower edge 19 engaged with the lower edge of the window hole 18.
The horn button 20 is fixed to a support boss 21 protruding from the lower surface thereof with a screw 22, and urges the horn button 20 upward.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a contact plate, which is formed from an elongated plate-shaped metal member that can be plastically deformed and electrically conductive. The support parts 31 and 32 at both ends are fixed together with screws 11, and screws 2 are attached to the support boss 13 near the boss part 3 of the horn pad 8 and the support boss 14 near the rim part 2, respectively.
4 and 25, and the middle part is bent to form a shock absorbing part 26.
．． 27 is formed.

28 is a notch formed in the spoke portion 4 to determine the bending position at the time of impact, and 29 is a slip ring connected to the horn plate 17 via the conducting wire 16.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

Normally, the horn button 20 is pushed up by the elasticity of the horn plate 17 and is engaged with the window hole 18 of the horn pad 8.

Next, when the horn button 20 is operated, the slip ring 29
- Conductive wire 16 - Horn plate 17 - Contact plate 23 - Mounting body 10 - Hub core 7 are electrically connected to close the horn circuit.

Further, when an impact is applied to the rim portion 2, referring to FIG. 5, the spoke portions 4 bend downward from the notches 28, stress is concentrated near the mounting body 10 of the hub core 7, and the horn pad 8 is not attached. The boss 9 is broken, and the central attachment part 30 of the contact plate 23 is separated from the horn pad 8 and remains on the spoke part 4 side, but the support parts 31 and 32 at both ends of the contact plate 23 are attached to the support bosses 13 and 14 of the horn pad 8. Shock absorbing portions 26 and 27, which are fixedly attached and bent in the middle, expand due to the impact and absorb the impact force through their plastic deformation.

Therefore, the horn pad 8 is connected to the contact plate 23,
It is connected to the steering wheel body 1 via the spoke part 4, and also covers the spoke part 4 by bending the spoke part 4.

Next, FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the contact plate 23, in which the screw hole 33 of the mounting portion 30 is made into an elongated hole so that the screw 11 moves through the screw hole 33 to further improve the impact absorption effect.

According to the present invention, the center attachment portion of the contact plate, which is a plastically deformable and conductive elongated plate interposed between the spoke portion and the horn pad covering the spoke portion, is connected to the spoke portion and the horn pad. The contact plate is fixed between the mounting body of the spoke part and the boss of the horn pad, the support parts at both ends are connected to the tip and the center side of the horn pad, and the middle part between the center mounting part and the support part of the contact plate is connected. Because it is bent to form a shock absorbing part, if the steering wheel body receives an impact and the horn pad mounting boss breaks and the spoke part deforms downward, the center mounting part can be attached to the spoke part, and one end support part can be attached to the horn pad. The contact plate connected to the tip of the pad prevents the tip of the horn pad from jumping up, and at the same time, the shock-absorbing section formed by bending in the middle deforms and absorbs the shock, so the horn pad separates from the spoke. It is safe because it does not jump up and the spokes are not exposed, and since the shock absorbing part is formed by bending a part of the contact plate, there is no need to attach a separate part. It is easy to assemble and can be manufactured at low cost without increasing the number.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the spoke portion of a conventional steering wheel, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing the damaged state of the same as above, Fig. 3 is a front view of a steering wheel showing an example of implementation of the present invention, and Fig. 4. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the damaged state of the above, FIG. 6 is a back view of the horn button part of the above, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the contact plate of the above. be. 2...Rim part, 3...Boss part, 4...
...spoke part, 8 ... horn pad, 9
......Mounting boss, 10...Mounting body, 23...Contact plate, 6゜27...Shock absorption part, 30...Mounting Part, 1゜32...Support part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A rim part, a spoke part with a boss part interposed in the center, a horn pad covering the spoke part, and a plastically deformable and electrically conductive part interposed between the spoke part and the horn pad and forming part of the horn mechanism. In a steering wheel equipped with a long and thin plate-like contact plate, the central mounting part of the contact plate is mounted between the mounting boss of the horn pad and the mounting body of the spoke part, which are connected to each other, and both ends are supported. A steering wheel characterized in that a shock absorbing portion is formed by connecting a portion to a tip portion and a center side of the horn pad and bending a portion halfway between the central mounting portion and the supporting portion.