JPH10157548A - Air bag module for driver's seat, and steering wheel provided with the module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To blow a horn by interposing a horn switch between a retainer on a back side of an upper part and the back side of the upper part, and pressing a bag cover from a surface side to close the horn switch. SOLUTION: Upper and lower, and right and left leg parts extending from a back side of a bag cover are oscillatingly fitted to upper and lower, and right and left longitudinal wall parts of a retainer 8 on each outer side. In a part where a horn switch 31 is supported at the center part of the upper longitudinal wall part of the retainer 8 in the center part of the upper longitudinal wall part, a part of the upper longitudinal wall part to support the horn switch 31 is projected outside to form a horn switch supporting part 62. The upper leg part of the bag cover 17 is on the inner side of the horn supporting part which is a part of the upper longitudinal wall part, and fitted thereto with the prescribed gap. An air bag to be folded and stored in the longitudinal wall part of the retainer 8 can surely be operated without being hooked by the horn switch part when the air bag is developed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag module mounted on a steering wheel in order to secure a driver's safety from an impact caused by a collision of an automobile, and more particularly, to an airbag module having only one horn switch. The present invention relates to an airbag module that can reliably blow a horn.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As the occupant protection philosophy has increased in recent years, the mounting rate of an airbag device for a driver's seat mounted on a steering wheel has increased, and accordingly, an airbag device for a driver's seat. Has also been substantially unchanged. FIG. 1 shows a general configuration of an airbag device mounted on the steering wheel.
0 and as shown in FIG.

That is, a steering shaft (not shown)
A retainer 70 is fixed to the steering wheel 69 fixed to the tip of the gasket, a gas generator 71 is fixed to the retainer 70, and an airbag that inflates by receiving gas from the gas generator is housed therein. In addition, the bag cover 72 covering this is fixed or supported by the retainer. A thin portion is provided on the front side or the back side of the bag cover, and when a vehicle collides, gas from a gas generator is jetted into the air bag, and the thin portion 78 of the bag cover is torn by the deployment force due to the expansion of the air bag. A bag cover is deployed between the driver and the steering wheel to protect the driver.

In such an airbag, horn switches 73 and 74 for horns are disposed so as to be exposed at both right and left ends of the bag cover 72, and both horn switches are provided in parallel in a horn operation circuit. A ground wire 76 is connected to a wiring 75 connecting both horn switches and each of the horn switches 73 and 74, and a wiring 77 to the horn operation circuit is routed to the back side of the bag cover 72. The horn switches 73 and 74 may be installed on the spoke side of the steering wheel.

[0005]

In an airbag module provided with such a horn switch, the airbag module is used as a pair of left and right as described above so that the horn can be blown immediately when the driver feels danger. Particularly, in the case where the horn switch is provided on the bag cover as described above, in many cases, a part of the horn button is exposed from the bag cover so that the driver can visually recognize the position of the horn switch.

The horn button attached to the bag cover is not only a functional part but also a design part,
Fine adjustment of color, luster, and aperture is necessary for the quality of appearance.
Further, in order to assemble the horn button into the opening of the bag cover, uniformity of the gap between the two is also a problem. These adjustments require considerable consideration in terms of design and molding, and in some cases, increase in cost due to mold modification and the like. Furthermore, the provision of a plurality of horn buttons is itself a factor in increasing costs.

Further, the conventional horn switch requires a pair of right and left horn switches. However, in general, when the horn is sounded, the state of the vehicle changes rapidly, and there are many situations where the steering wheel is being turned. In this case, the driver is facing forward and cannot afford to look at the steering wheel, so that the driver cannot find the position of the horn switch by fumbling or make the horn sound properly. On the other hand, like a conventional horn switch structure without an airbag, the driver operates the steering wheel by pressing the surface of the steering wheel approximately at the center position so that the horn sounds. It is conceivable to ensure that the horn can sound even when the vehicle is in operation, but the structure of the steering wheel equipped with an airbag must be complicated, the number of parts increases, and There were drawbacks.

On the other hand, as a horn switch, it has been proposed to provide a planar switch using a copper plate electrode on the back surface of the bag cover in addition to the above-mentioned switch. May be plastically deformed and the electrodes may not come apart while in contact with each other.Especially in the case of switches operated in an emergency such as a horn switch, the driver often presses roughly, and in such a case, the electrode In some cases, the horns remain ringing because they are plastically deformed and remain in contact with each other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag module having a simple structure and an inexpensive horn operating structure and capable of operating the horn reliably.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a driver seat air which is fixed to a steering wheel by attaching a bag cover to a retainer which fixes a gas generator and an air bag. In the bag module, a lower back surface of the bag cover at a neutral position of a steering wheel is fixed to the retainer, and a horn switch is interposed between the retainer on an upper rear surface side and the upper rear surface. Is pressed from the surface to close the horn switch and blow the horn.

According to the present invention, as described above, when the driver wants to blow the horn, the bag cover is supported by the lower portion fixed to the retainer, regardless of which part of the bag cover is pushed except the lower portion. And the horn switch operates reliably. Since only one horn switch is required, the horn switch has a simple structure and is inexpensive.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. A base of a steering wheel 2 is fixed to a tip of the steering shaft 1 with bolts.
In this embodiment, however, four steering wheels extend radially and a steering wheel grip 5 having a circular shape is provided at the end to constitute the steering wheel 2. A plurality of brackets 56 supporting the airbag module 6 are fixed to the spokes 4, and support the retainer 8 of the airbag module 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, a gas generator 12 is fixed to a central opening 11 of the retainer 8, and a gas discharge portion 14 projecting into the retainer discharges gas into the airbag 13. Many openings 15 are provided. Retainer 8
The opening of the airbag 13 is held and fixed by a retainer ring 16 in the central opening 11. The airbag 13 is folded to retain the retainer 8 and the bag cover 17.
The bag cover 17 is fixed to the lower vertical wall portion 22 of the retainer 8 by a rivet 21 at the lower leg portion 20 protruding from the lower back surface 18 thereof. The bag cover 17 is curved rearward on the outer periphery thereof, and the curved cover end 24 in front of the rear cover 23 fixed to the tip of the steering shaft and the bag cover slide as described later. An appropriate gap is formed between the two so as not to interfere with each other.
Also, the connection end 26 of the bag cover 17 with the spoke 4
Are formed so as to be smoothly connected to the surface design portion 25 of the spoke 4, and a gap is formed between them so as not to interfere when the bag cover 17 swings.

When the steering wheel is regarded as a clock at the neutral position where the steering wheel is not operated, a horn formed of a plurality of projections is provided on the upper back surface 29 of the bag cover 17 corresponding to the 12 o'clock position of the steering wheel. Forming a switch pressing portion 27,
A horn switch 31 is fixed to a horn switch support 30 extending from the retainer 8 so as to face the horn switch pressing portion 27.

The horn switch 31 is, as shown in FIG.
A fixed electrode 35 fixed to the horn switch support 30 of the retainer 8 is disposed at the center of a casing 34 having an inner cylinder having a flange 32 at the bottom and an outer cylinder 33. A receiving plate 37 that is guided by an inner peripheral surface 36 of the inner cylinder 36 and slides in the vertical direction. An elastic body 38 is contracted between the receiving plate 37 and the flange portion 32 of the inner cylinder. 38, the casing 34
Is locked by a stopper 39 formed inside the distal end of the outer cylinder 33. As shown in FIG. 2, the receiving plate 37 is installed to face the horn switch pressing portion 27. A movable contact 40 protrudes from the receiving plate 37 so as to approach the fixed contact 35.
Is connected. On the other hand, the fixed contact 35 is
Since it is fixed by rivets or the like to form a body ground structure, no special wiring is required. In addition, the casing 34 is provided with a claw 42 formed at a lower portion thereof by the retainer 8.
The horn switch support portion 30 is inserted and fixed in an opening formed in the horn switch support portion 30.

On the back surface of the bag cover 17, left and right legs 61 are slidably projected outside the left and right vertical wall portions 60 of the retainer. That is, an opening 44 having a predetermined width and a predetermined length is formed in the left and right leg portions 61, and a projection 46 formed by bending the left and right vertical wall portions 60 of the retainer at the ends of the opening 44.
Are slidably engaged. Further, the upper leg 43 protrudes on both sides of the horn switch pressing portion 27,
The upper leg 43 also has an opening 4 having a predetermined width and a predetermined length.
A projection 46 formed by bending at the end of an upper vertical wall 45 extending from the retainer to the bag cover side is engaged with the opening 44.

The lower leg portion 20 is fixed to the lower vertical wall portion 22 of the retainer 8 by a rivet 21. For ease of assembling, the lower leg portion 20 is provided with a similar opening and an engaging portion by a projection 46. I have. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, eight engaging portions formed by the openings and the projections are provided. still,
Rivets may be used in place of the above-described engaging portion formed by the opening and the projection in the lower vertical wall portion. However, if the engaging method as in this example is adopted, in addition to the improvement in assemblability, a lower cost can be achieved. Things.

The upper, lower, left and right legs extending from the back surface of the bag cover are fitted to the upper, lower, left and right vertical wall portions of the retainer so as to be swingable outside thereof. In a portion supporting the horn switch 31 at the center of the vertical wall portion, a part of the upper vertical wall portion supporting the horn switch 31 protrudes outward to form the horn switch support portion 62, so that the bag cover is formed. The upper leg portion 17 is fitted inside the horn support portion, which is a part of the upper vertical wall portion, with a predetermined gap. This allows
The airbag folded and stored in the vertical wall portion of the retainer can be reliably operated without being caught by the horn switch portion when deployed.

With the above structure, when the driver presses the surface of the bag cover 17, the bag cover 17 projects forward and backward with the lower leg portion 20 projecting from the lower back surface of the bag cover and fixed to the retainer 8 with the rivet 21 as a fulcrum. The horn switch pressing portion 27 pushes the receiving plate 37 of the horn switch 31 against the elastic body 38 so that the movable contact 4
0 is brought into contact with the fixed contact 35 so that the lead wire 4
The horn operation circuit is closed via 1 to blow the horn. At this time, the swing of the bag cover 17 is caused by the protrusion 46 of the upper vertical wall 45 of the retainer and the upper leg 4 of the bag cover 17.
Guided by engagement with 3. When the pressing of the bag cover 17 is released, the horn switch 31 is pushed back by the elastic force of the elastic body 38 and returns to the original state.

In particular, in the above device, only the lower leg portion on the back surface of the bag cover and the lower vertical wall portion of the retainer are fixed by rivets, and the other vertical wall portions can slide freely. When it is desired to press the part other than the lower part of the bag cover, it can be easily blown, especially when the horn is supposed to be blown in an emergency, the airbag is unconsciously hit at 12 o'clock in the neutral position, that is, the upper part. Since it is the place where the horn operation is performed most smoothly, for example, it is necessary to fix the two at the upper part and perform the horn operation more reliably than when the lower part is the sliding part There are advantages that can be.

Next, as a support structure for the retainer, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the retainer may be fixed to the spoke portion 3 of the steering wheel by a "L" -shaped support member 55.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a configuration in which the bottom portion 54 of the retainer 8 is supported by a boss 59 protruding from the base 3 of the steering wheel may be adopted, or as shown in FIG. A retainer support member 58 made of another member fixed to the base 3 of the steering wheel may be provided. Also, these support structures can be used in any combination.

As a method of fixing the retainer 8 to the steering wheel, as shown in FIG. 8, the vertical wall 63 of the retainer 8 is fixed to the bracket 56 by bolts 57 or the like, and the bracket 56 is fixed to a proper position of the steering wheel. Is preferable. The brackets 56 are arranged at least at two places on the left and right.

Further, as a method of deploying the airbag module, a substantially H-shaped or substantially U-shaped break line may be provided on the front side or the back side, which is the design surface of the bag cover, and various deployment modes are possible. However, in the case of single-sided deployment, the steering wheel is deployed centered on the riveted portion on the 6 o'clock side at the neutral position.
The switch portion present on the hour side may jump out to the occupant side due to the expansion of the bag cover, which is not preferable. As described above, at the center of the upper vertical wall portion of the retainer, the upper leg portion of the bag cover 17 has a predetermined gap inside the horn support portion, which is a part of the upper vertical wall portion of the retainer. When the airbag folded and stored in the vertical wall portion of the retainer is deployed, the airbag can be reliably operated without being caught by the horn switch portion. This also prevents the horn switch from scattering when the bag cover is deployed. Furthermore, this structure prevents the folded portion of the bag from interfering with the horn switch portion during normal horn operation, thereby preventing operation failure and deteriorating operation feeling.

[0024]

According to the present invention, as described above, when the driver blows the horn, the bag cover is fixed to the retainer even if the driver presses any part other than the lower part of the bag cover. The horn switch operates reliably. In particular, the horn switch is arranged so that the upper part, which has the highest probability of operating the horn switch, is slidable, so that the horn switch is operated more reliably than when the upper part is fixed and the lower part is slidable. You can do it. Also, since only one horn switch is required, the structure is simple and the cost is low.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the retainer support of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part showing another embodiment of the retainer supporting portion according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing another embodiment of the retainer support.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing still another embodiment of the retainer support.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part showing a fixing means of a retainer for a steering wheel of a retainer according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a main part of a horn switch used in the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of a main part of a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 steering wheel 4 spoke 6 airbag module 8 retainer 11 central opening 12 gas generator 13 airbag 14 gas discharge portion 16 retainer ring 17 bag cover 20 lower leg portion of bag cover 21 rivet 22 lower vertical wall portion of retainer 30 horn Switch support 31 Horn switch 35 Fixed contact 38 Elastic body 40 Movable contact 43 Upper leg of bag cover 44 Opening of bag cover 46 Retainer projection 60 Left and right vertical wall of retainer 61 Left and right leg of bag cover

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A gas generator (12) and an airbag (1).
3) A driver seat airbag module in which a bag cover (17) is attached to a retainer (8) fixed to the steering wheel and is fixed to a steering wheel. The lower back surface at the neutral position is fixed to the retainer (8), and a horn switch (31) is interposed between the retainer (8) on the upper back surface side and the upper back surface, and the bag cover (17) is provided. An airbag module for a driver's seat characterized in that the horn switch (31) is closed by pressing the horn from the surface to blow the horn. 2. The lower back surface of the bag cover (17) is fixed to a retainer (8) with rivets (21), and the left and right back surfaces of the bag cover (17) are retainers (8).
The airbag module for a driver's seat according to claim 1, wherein the airbag module is locked to allow the bag cover to swing back and forth. 3. A lower back surface of the bag cover (17) is fixed to a retainer (8) with a rivet (21), and an upper back surface of the bag cover is sandwiched by the horn switch (31). The airbag module for a driver's seat according to claim 1, wherein both sides are locked so as to allow the bag cover to swing back and forth. 4. An opening (44) is formed in left and right legs (61) integrally formed on the right and left back sides of the bag cover (17).
And left and right vertical wall portions (6) formed at positions of the retainer (8) corresponding to the left and right legs (61) of the bag cover.
The airbag module for a driver's seat according to claim 2, wherein the projection (46) provided on the (0) is loosely fitted into the opening (44) to allow the bag cover to swing back and forth in the front-rear direction. . 5. An opening (44) is formed in a pair of upper leg portions (43) integrally formed on both sides of the horn switch portion on the upper back side of the bag cover (17), Upper vertical wall portion (45) formed at a position corresponding to the upper leg portion (43) of the bag cover of the retainer (8).
The airbag module for a driver's seat according to claim 3, wherein a projection (46) provided on the driver seat is loosely fitted in the opening so as to allow swinging of the bag cover in the front-rear direction. 6. A lower leg (20) integrally formed on a lower back surface of the bag cover (17), and a lower portion of the retainer (8) formed at a position corresponding to the lower leg of the bag cover. The airbag module for a driver's seat according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the vertical wall portion (22) is fixed with a rivet (21). 7. The horn switch (31) includes a fixed contact (35) fixed to a retainer (8) side and a movable contact (40) supported on an upper portion thereof via an elastic body (38).
7. The driver airbag module according to claim 1, wherein the horn switch pressing portion (27) of the bag cover (17) is held by the elastic body (38). 8. 8. The driver airbag module according to claim 7, wherein the fixed contact (35) of the horn switch (31) is electrically connected to a retainer (8) to form a body ground structure. 9. A gas generator (12) and an airbag (1).
3) In a steering wheel with an airbag module, an airbag module in which a bag cover (17) is attached to a retainer (8) fixed to the steering wheel is fixed to the center of the steering wheel. A lower rear surface of the steering wheel (2) in a neutral position is fixed to the retainer (8), and a horn switch (31) is interposed between the upper rear surface and the retainer (8) on the upper rear surface. By pressing the bag cover (17) from the surface, the horn switch (31) is closed to blow the horn, and a plurality of support members ( At 55), the bottom surface of the retainer (8) is held, and the side wall (63) of the retainer is attached to a plurality of brackets (56). A steering wheel with an airbag module for a driver's seat, wherein the steering wheel is fixed to the steering wheel via a steering wheel.