JPS6330171B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a direction indicating device for an automobile having a so-called auto-cancel function.

Recently, in automobiles, the number of supporting spokes on the steering wheel has been reduced to one or two, and the supporting spokes have been positioned at the bottom of the steering wheel, so that the visibility of the meter panel has been obstructed by the supporting spokes. Care is taken to ensure that this does not occur. However, even with such a configuration, the operating lever for direction indication, for example, still protrudes from the vicinity of the steering shaft, and the holding mechanism and operating lever that hold the operating lever in the operating position do not change. A switch unit that integrates a cancel mechanism, etc. that automatically cancels the operating state of operated switches and operating levers in relation to rotational operation of the steering wheel, can be attached to the steering shaft even when covered by a housing. There is no change in the fact that the configuration is arranged around the device. Therefore, when the number of support spokes of the steering wheel is reduced as described above, the operating lever and housing portion, which were hidden by the support spokes and were not visible from the driver, become exposed. Therefore, in this case, the presence of the operating lever and the shape and size of the housing place significant restrictions on the design around the dash board including the meter panel. However, in the past, the holding mechanism and the canceling mechanism of the operating lever were integrally constructed and inseparable, so the shape and size of the housing could be arbitrarily set, or the mounting position of the operating lever could be changed. It was difficult to make changes, and the design around the dash board was restricted, impairing the freedom of design selection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a structure in which a switch operating member and a cancel mechanism for canceling the operating state of the operating member can be provided in separate parts, thereby making the mounting position of the operating member relatively free. To provide a direction indicating device for a motor vehicle which can be set, prevents a cancel mechanism etc. provided around a steering shaft from becoming an obstacle to design, and improves flexibility in design selection as a whole.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 denotes a slide switch, for example, for turning on a direction indicator lamp of a car, and an operation knob 2, which is the switch operation member, is located in a switch case 3 at a neutral position N shown by a solid line and a right turn instruction position shown by a two-dot chain line, respectively. It is reciprocated between TR (first position) and left turn instruction position TL (second position). The slide switch 1 is located at a location where its operation knob 2 can be operated in conjunction with the operation of the steering wheel. In addition, 4
and 5 are compression springs serving as biasing means, and are configured to always bias the operation knob 2 to the neutral position N by the spring force thereof. Reference numeral 6 denotes an actuating member, which is an actuating plate, which is shaped like an "F" and is rotatably provided around a support shaft 7, and is always supported by compression springs 8 and 9 as shown in Fig. 1. It is elastically held at the position shown by the solid line. This operating plate 6
has a pair of arm parts 10 and 11 that project from both sides of the support shaft 7 at a predetermined distance from each other, and each arm part 10,
Moderation ridges 12 and 13 attached to the tips of 11, respectively
is a notch 3a formed in the switch case 3.
It is positioned so as to face the operation knob 2 through the. On the other hand, the operating knob 2 has a hemispherical moderation projection 2a.
is provided in a protruding manner, and this moderation protrusion 2a is connected to the moderation ridge portions 12, 1 when the operation knob 2 is in the neutral position N.
It is located so that it fits into the valley between 3 and 3.
Therefore, when the operating knob 2 is displaced from the neutral position N toward the right turn instruction position TR, for example, the moderation protrusion 2a
crosses over one slope 12a of the moderation ridge 12 and comes into contact with the other slope 12b, and this contact causes the operation knob 2 to be pressed against the compression spring 4.
The right turn indication position TR is held against the spring force of . In this way, when the moderation protrusion 2a climbs over the slope 12a of the moderation crest 12, the actuation plate 6
is temporarily rotated clockwise from its original position. Further, when the operation knob 2 is displaced from the neutral position N toward the left turn instruction position TL, the moderation protrusion 2a comes into contact with the slope 13b of the moderation crest 13, as described above, and the operation knob 2 is moved from the spring of the compression spring 5. The moderation protrusion 2a is held at the left turn instruction position TL against the force, and the moderation protrusion 2a moves toward the slope 13 of the moderation ridge portion 13.
When passing over a, the actuating plate 6 is temporarily rotated counterclockwise from its original position. Reference numeral 14 denotes a long cancel rod serving as a cancel member, the proximal end of which is connected to the free end of the actuating plate 6, so that as the actuating plate 6 rotates, it moves in the axial direction, that is, arrow A in FIG. It is designed to be reciprocated in the direction of arrow A and in the opposite direction of arrow A. Further, the cancel rod 14 is connected to the arrow B in FIG. 1 by a compression spring 15.
It is constantly urged in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2 by the tension spring 16.

On the other hand, reference numeral 17 denotes a steering shaft to which a steering wheel (not shown) is connected and fixed to the upper end, and this is a base 18 of a housing 18 positioned so as to cover the upper part of the steering shaft 17.
It is provided to penetrate through a. Reference numeral 19 denotes a cylindrical cancel cam portion located within the housing 18 and mounted around the outer periphery of the steering shaft 17 so as to rotate therewith. The two cam protrusions 19a, 19a that were present are integrally formed to protrude. Therefore, the cancel cam portion 19 has a cancel mechanism 2 for canceling the operation state of the operation knob 2 and returning it to the neutral position N.
This cancel mechanism 20 will be described below. That is, 21 is a guide groove portion which is a guide means carved on the base 18,
A pin 22 protruding from the tip of the cancel rod 14 is recessed into this by the spring force of the tension spring 16. The guide groove portion 21 is
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the heart-shaped protrusion 23 is symmetrical and located in the center.
a linear second groove 21b whose central part is continuous with the upper part of the first groove 21a in FIG.
The center part of the other part, which is continuous with both ends of 1b and has a substantially U-shape that is widened at the top, is constituted by a third groove part 21c which is continuous with the lower part in FIG. 4 of the first groove part 21a. As can be understood from FIG. 5, the second groove part 21b is formed so that the bottom becomes gradually shallower as it goes from the center toward both ends, and there is a step between the second groove part 21b and the third groove part 21c. The structure is such that there are several sections. Here, the pin 22 always receives a biasing force in the direction of arrow B due to the spring force of the compression spring 15, but when the operating knob 2 is in the neutral position N, As shown by the solid line, it is held in a position where it abuts against the protrusion 23. On the other hand, reference numeral 24 denotes a cam receiving member that is moved and displaced by contact with the cam protrusion 19a of the cancel cam portion 19, and is formed into a plate shape of an elastic material, for example, and is attached to the distal end of the cancel rod 14. 14, and is mounted and fixed in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of 14. Incidentally, this cam receiving member 24 deviates from the rotation locus of the cam protrusion 19a when the pin 22 is in the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, in other words, when the operating knob 2 is in the neutral position N. When the pin 22 is in the standby position and moved to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. There is.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. When the operating knob 2 is now in the neutral position N, it is in the standby position where the pin 22 is in contact with the protrusion 23 shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, as described above. When the operating knob 2 is positioned at the right turn instruction position TR from this state, the actuating plate 6 is temporarily rotated clockwise while the moderation protrusion 2a climbs over the moderation crest 12.
The cancel rod 14 is moved and displaced in the direction of arrow A, and at this time, the pin 22 is also moved in the direction of arrow A and the contact state with the protrusion 23 is released. Therefore, due to the spring force of the compression spring 15, the pin 22 moves through the first groove 21a along the path indicated by arrow a in FIG. The receiving member 24 is located at an operating position where it enters the rotation locus of the cam protrusion 19a. When the steering wheel is rotated to the right in order to make a right turn with the operation knob 2 positioned at the right turn instruction position TR in this manner, the cam protrusion 19a contacts the cam receiving member 24, causing the cancel rod 14 to move in the direction opposite to arrow A.
In this state, the rotation of the actuating plate 6 in the counterclockwise direction is caused by the moderation peak 12.
Since the cancel rod 14 is restrained by the contact between the lever and the moderating projection 2a, the cancel rod 14 does not move in the opposite direction of the arrow A. Therefore, the cam protrusion 19a is rotated clockwise while elastically deforming the cam receiving member 24. When the right turn operation is completed and the steering wheel is rotated to the left, the cam protrusion 19a abuts on the cam receiving member 24 from a specific direction of left rotation to move the cancel rod 14 in the direction of arrow A. Then, the pin 22 moves inside the second groove 21b into the fourth
It is guided into the third groove portion 21c along the path indicated by arrow b in the figure. At this time, in response to the movement of the cancel rod 14 in the direction of arrow A, the actuating plate 6 is largely rotated clockwise as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
b is released, and the operating knob 2 is automatically returned from the right turn instruction position TR to the neutral position N by the spring force of the compression spring 4. At the same time, the cancel rod 14 is moved back in the direction opposite to the arrow A, but at this time the pin 22 is inserted into the second groove 21.
The inside of the third groove part 21c having a step between
It is moved along the path shown by arrow C in the figure to a point continuous with the first groove 21a, and then enters the first groove 21a by the spring force of the compression spring 15, and finally hits the protrusion 23. It is moved to the standby position where it touches. As described above, the operating state of the operating knob 2 is automatically canceled in relation to the rotation of the steering wheel. Further, when the operating knob 2 is moved from the neutral position N to the left turn instruction position TL, the operating state of the operating knob 2 is automatically canceled in the same manner as described above, and in this case, the pin 22 is moved to the left turn instruction position TL. It is moved along the routes indicated by d, e, and f in Figure 4.

According to the above embodiment, the slide switch 1 including the operating knob 2 and the cancel mechanism 20 for canceling the operating state of the operating knob 2 are connected by one cancel rod 14, and the slide switch 1 includes the operating knob 2. Since the knob 2 and the cancel mechanism 20 can be provided in separate parts, the housing 18 provided around the steering shaft and housing the cancel mechanism 20 can be made relatively small and have an arbitrary shape. Further, the mounting position of the operation knob 2 can be set relatively freely. Moreover, since the cancel rod is configured to be moved in the axial direction, the accommodation space thereof can be made extremely small, and the cover for covering it can also be made small. Therefore, according to the above embodiment,
The freedom to choose the design around the dash board has been dramatically improved compared to the past, and even when trying to improve the visibility of the meter panel by reducing the number of steering wheel support spokes, there are restrictions on the design around the dash board. It is something that cannot be received.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the cancel rod 1
If 4 is made of a rigid and flexible wire, the mounting position of the operation knob 2 can be set arbitrarily, and the flexibility in design selection can be further enhanced. Furthermore, instead of the cancel rod 14, a cancel member configured to be rotationally displaced may be provided.

As is clear from the above description, the present invention enables a switch operating member and a cancel mechanism for canceling the operating state of this operating member to be provided in separate parts, and also provides a single unit for connecting the operating member and the cancel mechanism. It is characterized by a structure in which communication is made by a cancel member, and as a result, the mounting position of the operating member can be set relatively freely, and the presence of the cancel mechanism and cancel member can be prevented from becoming an obstacle to the design. Therefore, it is possible to provide a direction indicating device for an automobile that can dramatically improve the flexibility of design selection as a whole.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings relate to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a plan view showing the overall arrangement; Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the main parts including the cancel mechanism; Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the cancel mechanism; Figure 4 is a guide groove that forms part of the cancel mechanism. The plan view, FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views taken along lines - and - in FIG. 4, respectively. In the figure, 2 is an operation knob (switch operation member), 4,
5 is a compression spring (biasing means), 6 is an actuating plate (actuating member), 14 is a cancel rod (cancel member), 17 is a steering shaft, 19 is a cancel cam portion, 20 is a cancel mechanism, 21
24 is a guide groove portion (guiding means), and 24 is a cam receiving member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A switch operating member disposed near the steering wheel and operationally displaced between a neutral position and first and second positions; urging means for constantly urging the switch operating member toward the neutral position; The switch operating member is provided to be moved and displaced in accordance with the displacement of the switch operating member, and when the switch operating member is displaced to the first and second positions, the displaced state is controlled against the urging force of the urging means. an actuating member that holds the holding state and can release the holding state according to displacement of the actuating member; a cancell cam portion that rotates together with the steering shaft; a cam receiving member that is displaced by contact with the cancel cam portion; a cancel mechanism comprising a guide means for guiding the cam receiving member to move between an operating position in which the cam receiving member enters a rotation locus of the cancel cam portion and a standby position out of the rotation locus; The actuating member is connected to the cam receiving member, and when the actuating member is in each state holding the switch operating member in the first and second positions, the displacement of the actuating member is controlled by the cam receiving member. a cancel member that transmits the displacement to the actuating member to move it to the operating position, and transmits the displacement to the actuating member to displace it when the cam receiving member is moved from the operating position to the standby position. A direction indicating device for automobiles consisting of: