JPS642859Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a steering wheel used in a steering device such as an automobile.

The steering wheel has an annular rim, and the rim is gripped to operate the steering wheel.A part of the rim is provided with a protruding so-called finger rest so that you can rest your fingers on it while driving. things are provided. (For example, Utsukai 53-63126
No.) To form the finger rest, for example, a projection is provided on a part of the rim core metal, and a synthetic resin exterior material is applied to the outside of the projection, thereby forming the finger rest integrally with the rim. However, in this case, if a part of the core metal is plastically deformed by pressing etc. to create a protrusion, or if a separate part for the protrusion is attached to the core metal by welding, screwing, etc. It is relatively time-consuming to manufacture as it requires additional processing.

Therefore, in order to more easily obtain protrusions, the inventors of the present invention have devised a method in which, in the case of a pipe-made core metal, a part of the pipe is cut up to obtain tongue-shaped protrusions. However, in this case, since there is a hole in the cut and raised part, there is a problem that when applying the foamed synthetic resin exterior material to the outside of the core metal, some of the resin will flow into the pipe. .

The present invention was developed based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a steering wheel in which projections for finger rests can be easily obtained and resin can be prevented from flowing into the pipes. It is in.

In other words, the present invention provides a steering wheel in which a plurality of metal pipes are connected to form an annular rim core metal, in which the end of one pipe is inserted into the end of the other pipe for a predetermined length. These ends are fixed to each other, and a part of the end of one of the pipes, which is the outer side at this insertion site, is cut and raised to form a protrusion, and this protrusion is covered with the exterior material. This steering wheel is made by covering the entire outer periphery of these pipes with an exterior material.

According to the above configuration, the hole formed in the cut-out portion of the protrusion is closed by the end of the other pipe inserted inside, so that resin can be prevented from flowing into the pipe.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates a rim core metal, and spokes 2, 2 are fixed to this rim core metal 1. Further, a boss 3 for connecting to a steering shaft is fixed to the other end side of the spokes 2, 2.

The rim core metal 1 is formed by connecting a plurality of metal pipes 5 and 6 to form an annular shape. As shown in FIG. 2, the connection structure of each pipe is to insert the end 6a of one pipe into the end 5a of the other pipe,
It is fixed by welding. That is, the pipe end 6a extends over a predetermined length,
The diameter is reduced so that it can be inserted and fitted into the inner surface of the other pipe end 5a, and this length becomes the insertion site 7 of the pipe.

A tongue-shaped protrusion 8 is formed by cutting and raising a portion of the outer end 5a of the one pipe at the insertion site 7. In the illustrated example, the projection 8 is cut and raised on the inner peripheral side of the rim core metal 1, that is, on the boss 3 side.

An exterior material 10 made of a semi-rigid foamed synthetic resin such as urethane foam is attached to the outside of the projections 8, 8 and the pipes 5, 6. That is, the rim core metal 1 is housed in a foaming mold (not shown), and the stock solution of the foamed synthetic resin, such as foamed urethane, foamed vinyl chloride, foamed polyethylene, etc., is poured into the foamed mold and foamed and hardened to form a predetermined shape. It is molded into a shape.

The steering wheel formed as described above has an exterior material 10 at the portions of the protrusions 8, 8.
A part of the rim protrudes inside the rim, creating a shape on which you can hang your fingers. In other words, this protruding portion can be used as a finger rest.

According to the above embodiment, since the protrusions 8, 8 are provided at the insertion portions 7, 7 of the pipe, the through holes 12, 12 created by cutting and raising can be formed by the inner pipe ends 6a, 6a. It can be closed off. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the foamed synthetic resin on the outside from entering the pipe without providing a special hole-closing member.

Moreover, since the protrusions 8, 8 can be formed by simply cutting and raising a portion of the pipe, machining is extremely easy and can be carried out at low cost.

Note that in the above embodiment, the rim core metal is formed by the two pipes 5 and 6, but the rim core metal may be formed by connecting three or more pipes. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the position of the protrusions, the shape of the protrusions, etc. can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the protrusion for the finger rest can be easily obtained by cutting and raising a part of the pipe, and furthermore, this cut and raised protrusion is formed on the part of the pipe located on the outside. Since the pipe is formed in the pipe, the hole created by the cut-and-raised pipe can be closed from the inside, and the foamed synthetic resin used as the exterior material is prevented from entering the pipe.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a front view of a cored metal, FIG. 2 is a front view of a pipe connecting portion in a concentric metal, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same portion. 1... Rim core metal, 5, 6... Pipe, 5a, 6
a...Pipe end, 7...Insertion site, 8...Protrusion, 10...Exterior material.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a steering wheel in which a plurality of metal pipes are connected to form an annular rim core metal, and an exterior material made of foamed synthetic resin is applied to the outside of the core metal, the rim core metal is configured as described above. The end of one pipe is inserted into the end of the other pipe for a predetermined length to fix these ends to each other, and the part of the end of the one pipe that is outside at this insertion site is A steering wheel characterized in that the pipes are cut and raised to form projections, and the projections are covered with the exterior material, and the exterior material is applied to the entire outer periphery of these pipes.