JPS6124667A - Method of manufacturing steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the mass productivity of rims, by using a rectilinear lightweight shape holding material as a core material, by bending the core material into a ring shape to form a rim after a reinforcing plastic layer is formed around the periphery of the core material and by subjecting the rim to a design mold upon joining of the rim and sporks. CONSTITUTION:Upon manufacturing of a steerling wheel or a steering wheel rim in particular, unidirectionally reinforcing fibers 1b are applied around a rectilinear lightweight shape holding material as a core material 1a having a length corresponding to a necessary diameter of the rim 1. Then the core material 1a is bent into a ring shape with both end abutting parts 1d being fitted together. Then the fibers 1b are impregnated with thermo-hardened resin to be hardened so that a reinforced plastic layer 1c is formed. Further, a design mold is applied to the rim with the use of rubber and resin before or arter the joning of the rim 1 and sporks. With this arrangement, since a rectilinear lightweight shape holding material is used as a core material 1a, the mass production of rims 1 may be made with a high degree of efficiency.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a steering wheel, particularly a rim, using reinforced plastic.

[Prior art]

In general, a steering wheel for an automobile has a structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a side view of the steering wheel fixed to a steering shift, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. In the figure, (1) is a ring-shaped rim that becomes a grip, (2) is a spoke fixed inside the rim (1), (31i'Jl).

At the boss that is fixed to the spoke in the center of the rim.

This is the attachment part to the steering shaft (4). In the above configuration. A conventional steering wheel includes a rim (1), spokes (2), and a boss (3).
Both are made of carbon steel, the core metal of the rim (1) and the spokes (2), and the spokes (2) and the bosses (3) are welded, and the rim (1) is molded with the above-mentioned metal rubber or resin. I'm under your protection. In this way, since it was mainly constructed of steel, even the lightest one had a weight of 2 kg. This has the disadvantage of causing vibrations in the steering wheel, especially when driving at high speeds, reducing operational stability and causing discomfort to the driver.
Another drawback was that fuel consumption increased. Therefore, the applicant invented a steering wheel using reinforced plastic and filed a patent application in Japanese Patent Application No. 57-231448. The reinforced plastic steering wheel was created to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional technology.It is lightweight and has sufficient strength, does not generate vibrations when driving, and has excellent operability.
It also has the effect of reducing fuel consumption.

Incidentally, the configuration of the rim of the steering wheel, which is also the gist of the present invention, will be briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. In the figure, (1) and (2) are the rim and spokes described above. (1a) is the core material of the rim (1), which is a lightweight foam member made of plastic, rubber, etc., such as a foam material.

(1b) is a unidirectional reinforcing fiber made of carbon fiber or alumina fiber wrapped around the core material (1a), (IC)
(1d) is a reinforced plastic layer made by impregnating the unidirectional reinforcing fibers with a resin or the like, and (1d) is a groove provided for attaching a coupling fitting, which will be described later, and is a comb that is thinner than the other diameters. (5) is a coupling fitting that is fixed by being engaged with the groove (1d) of the rim, and (6) is a fixing screw that is also provided on the side of the spoke (2), although not shown.

As shown in Figure 5, the rim (1) and spokes (2) are fixedly installed. In order to reduce the weight of the steering wheel, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the spokes (2) are also made of core material (2).
In a), a lightweight foam member is used and a reinforced glass layer (2C) made of unidirectional reinforcing fibers is provided thereon, but the material of the spokes is not limited to this.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a steering wheel having the above-mentioned configuration, and is particularly characterized in the case of mass-producing rims. In other words, a linear lightweight shape-retaining material with a length equivalent to the required diameter of the rim is used as a core material, unidirectional reinforcing fibers are arranged around it, and the core material around which the unidirectional reinforcing fibers are wound is used as a ring. A steering wheel that has a process of bending it into a shape, fixing the abutting parts at both ends, impregnating it with plastic to form a reinforced plastic layer, joining the rim and spokes to it, and performing design molding before and after that. A manufacturing method is provided.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The method for manufacturing a steering wheel according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. First, as shown in Fig. 6, a straight piece made of a solid foam material or a thin pipe material made of plastic or rubber such as urethane, polyethylene, or polypropylene is used.
It is made of a lightweight sectioned material that has enough strength and elasticity to not break even when bent into a coil shape, and has a length that corresponds to the required diameter of the rim. Although the core material (1a) is processed to have a groove (1d) for attaching the spokes (2) at any position, it is possible to connect the rim (1) and spokes (2) by other methods. If this is done, it is not necessary to form the grooves in advance.

Next, continuous unidirectional reinforcing fibers (Ib) made of carbon fiber, glass fiber or alumina fiber are placed around the core material (1a) of the rim in the circumferential direction using a braiding machine or Wrap it in a criss-cross manner using a winding machine. In this case, consider two points of strength.

The cast can be chosen freely.

Next, a core material (1a) in which unidirectional reinforcing fibers are braided or wound
When both ends are butted, they are machined so that they mesh with each other.

Next, the core material (1a) is bent into a ring shape, and both ends thereof are butted and fixed as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

Next, the unidirectional reinforcing fiber portion (1b) is impregnated with plastic and heated and cured to form a second reinforcing glass layer. Finally, after or before joining the rim (1) and spokes (2), a rubber or resin molding is performed. In this way, a steering wheel having the shape shown in FIG. 2 can be manufactured.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention relates to manufacturing the rim of a steering wheel.2 Instead of starting with manufacturing individual ring-shaped core materials, the present invention uses a linear lightweight shape-retaining material as the core material of the rim. A unidirectional reinforcing fiber is placed around the core material, cut to an arbitrary length to match the required diameter of the ring, and the two ends are butted together to form a ring shape, and the connection with the spokes (2) is made by joining, for example. Steering wheels are manufactured by fixing the material using metal fittings (5), etc., impregnating it with plastic and curing it by heating to form a reinforced plastic layer, and then molding it into a rubber or resin design.As a core material. Made using linear lightweight shape-retaining material.

It is very easy to handle, and is very effective when mass producing rims.It has a great effect on cost reduction and produces products with stable quality. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show conceptual diagrams of the steering, with FIG. 1 being a side view when the steering wheel is fixed to the steering shaft, and FIG. 2 being a front view thereof. Third
~Figure 5 shows the configuration of the rim of the invention previously applied for, Figure 3 is a state diagram with unidirectional reinforcing fibers arranged in the core material, and Figure 4 is a diagram with the spoke joint fittings attached. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the concept when the rim and spokes are joined. 6 to 8 show one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 shows the state in which unidirectional reinforcing fibers are wound around a long coiled rim core material, Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram when bent into a ring shape, and Figure 8 is an enlarged view of the joint. It is. In the figure, (1) is the rim, (1a) is the core material,
(1b) is a unidirectional reinforced fiber, (1c) is a reinforced plastic layer, (2) is a spoke, (3) is a boss, and (4) is a steering shaft. Note that the same reference numerals in each figure indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a method for manufacturing a steering wheel consisting of a ring-shaped rim that serves as a grip, a boss that is an attachment part to the steering shaft, and spokes that integrally connect the rim and boss, the diameter corresponds to the required diameter of the rim. A process of arranging unidirectional reinforcing fibers around a long linear lightweight shape-retaining material as a core material, and a process of bending the core material into a ring shape and engaging the abutting parts of both ends, A method for manufacturing a steering wheel comprising the steps of impregnating and curing unidirectional reinforcing fibers with a thermosetting resin to form a reinforced plastic layer, and performing design molding before or after joining a rim and spokes. (2) The method for manufacturing a steering wheel according to claim (1), wherein a thin cylinder made of plastic material is used as the core material. (3) The method for manufacturing a steering wheel according to claim (1), characterized in that a lightweight foam member is used as the core material. (4) Claims (1) to (3) characterized in that rubber or resin is used as the design mold.
) The method for manufacturing a steering wheel according to any of the above items.