JP2000272458A - Ornament attaching structure of air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the impairing of the attaching strength of an ornament by attaching a plate to a rear surface of a cover, and holding a leg part of the ornament between the plate and the cover. SOLUTION: A circular recessed part 6 accomodating an ornament 4 is formed on a central part of a cover 1. A disc-shaped plate 16 made of hard resin is attached to a rear surface of the recessed part 6. The ornament 4 is placed in the recessed part 6 of the cover 1 before attached to a steering wheel, and its leg part 5 is inserted from a slit 10 to a rear side. Then the leg part 5 inserted from the slit 10 to the rear side is bent into an inside stepped part 15. The tips of a center pin 11 and a location pin projecting to the rear surface side of the plate 16 are thermall crimped by thermal welding. By this thermal crimping, the bent leg part 5 of the ornament 4 is surely held between the cover 1 and the plate 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ornament mounting structure for an airbag device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An airbag and an inflator are provided at the center of a steering wheel of an automobile, and the inside of the vehicle is covered with a soft resin cover (for a similar technique, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-100833). . The cover is torn from the tear line when the airbag is inflated, deploying the airbag to the occupant side, and receiving and protecting the occupant.

[0003] A hard plate is attached to the surface of the cover, and decorative ornaments are attached to the plate. A plurality of legs are integrally formed on an outer peripheral portion of the ornament, and the ornament is attached by bending the legs and sandwiching the legs between a plate and a cover. In addition, a plurality of ribs are formed on the plate to abut and support the back surface of the ornament. This is to prevent the ornament from being deformed even if the ornament is hit hard in the case of a structure in which the horn is sounded by pressing the ornament. Depending on the model,
If the ornament is exchanged for another shape, the plate is also exchanged for it. Otherwise, the rear ends of the ornaments cannot be securely contacted and supported by the tips of the ribs of the plate.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional technique, since the ornament is attached to the surface of the soft cover via the hard plate, the cover is attached to the steering wheel. When the cover is mounted, the surface of the cover rises due to the reaction of pushing up the airbag or the like, and a gap may be generated between the cover and the end of the plate. If a gap is formed between the end of the plate and the cover, the force holding the leg of the ornament is weakened, and the mounting strength of the ornament may be reduced.

Further, since the mounting strength of the ornament is determined by the mounting strength of the plate to the cover, it is necessary to firmly mount the plate to the cover, which makes the mounting of the plate complicated.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional technique, and the mounting strength of the ornament does not decrease even when a reaction force is exerted on the cover, and the mounting of the plate is facilitated. An ornament mounting structure for an airbag device is provided.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A decorative ornament made of a metal plate is attached to the surface of a soft cover that covers the inside of the vehicle of the airbag provided on the steering wheel, and the cover has a plurality of ribs that support the back of the ornament in contact with the cover. An ornament mounting structure for an airbag device comprising a plate, wherein a leg portion inserted into a slit of the cover and bent toward the rear surface is integrally formed on an outer peripheral portion of the ornament, and the plate is attached to a rear surface of the cover. The cover is formed so that the leg portion is sandwiched between the cover and the cover, and a through hole is formed in the cover to allow the rib of the plate to pass through to the surface of the cover.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plate is attached to the back surface of the cover, and the leg of the ornament is sandwiched between the plate and the cover. However, the push-up reaction force acts in a direction to increase the holding force of the leg portions of the ornament, so that the mounting strength of the ornament does not decrease. Further, since the reaction force of pushing up the airbag also acts in the direction in which the plate is attached to the cover, it is not necessary to attach the plate firmly to the cover, and the attachment of the plate becomes easy.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a center pin is provided on the rear surface of the cover, which protrudes rearward from a center hole formed at the center of the circular plate and whose tip is thermally caulked.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the plate has a circular shape and a center hole is formed at the center thereof. Then, when the center pin formed on the cover is passed through the center hole of the plate, the plate is rotated to align the ribs of the plate with the through holes of the cover. After the alignment is completed and the ribs are passed through the through holes to the front side, if the tip of the center pin is thermally caulked by welding or the like, the plate is attached to the cover.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a locating pin inserted into the locating hole of the plate is formed at a position other than the center pin on the back surface of the cover.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the plate can be positioned with respect to the cover by inserting the locate pin formed at a position other than the center of the plate into the locate hole of the cover. Therefore, simply insert the locating pin into the locating hole, and then it will be performed,
The operation of passing the rib through the through hole is facilitated.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the locating pin has a length protruding from the locating hole to the back side of the plate.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the locate pin has a length protruding from the locate hole to the back side of the cover, the tip of the locate pin is caulked by heat.
It can be used for mounting plates.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an engaging claw for temporary fixing is formed on the plate to engage with the engaging hole of the cover.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the engaging claw for temporary fixing to be engaged with the engaging hole of the cover is formed on the plate, the plate can be temporarily fixed to the cover. This makes it easier to carry out the work of attaching the plate thereafter.

In the invention according to claim 6, a step portion having a depth corresponding to the thickness of the leg portion is formed at a portion of the back surface of the cover where the leg portion of the ornament is bent.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the bent leg portion of the ornament is housed in the step on the back surface of the cover, the portion other than the pins on the back surface of the cover becomes flat, and the attached plate is attached. State becomes stable.

[0019]

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 1 denotes a cover provided at a central portion of a steering wheel (not shown), in which a folded airbag 2 and an inflator 3 for injecting gas are stored. It is in a state of covering the inside. The cover 1 is made of a soft resin, and when the airbag 2 is inflated, the airbag 2 is torn from the tear line L formed on the back surface so that the airbag 2 is deployed inside the vehicle and receives and protects an occupant falling forward. It has become.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an ornament for decoration, which is formed by press-forming an aluminum alloy plate, and has three legs 5 integrally formed on the outer periphery thereof in the mounting direction.

At the approximate center of the cover 1, an ornament 4
Is formed in a circular concave portion 6 which is accommodated and attached. A support pin 7 is formed at the center of the surface of the circular recess 6, and a plurality of arc-shaped through holes 8 are formed around the support pin 7. In addition, an arc-shaped 3
One engaging hole 9 is formed, and three arc-shaped slits 10 are formed at positions adjacent to the engaging hole 9.

As shown in FIG. 4, a center pin 11 is formed at the center of the back surface of the recess 6, and three locate pins 12 are formed around the center pin. Further, an outer peripheral flange 13 is formed around the back surface of the concave portion 6. On the inner surface of the outer peripheral flange 13, three projecting portions 14 facing the center side are formed. Further, a step 15 having a depth corresponding to the thickness of the leg 5 of the ornament 4 is formed on the back surface of the recess 6 from the slit 10 toward the center.

On the back surface of the concave portion 6, a plate 16 made of a hard disk which is basically formed in a disk shape is attached. A center hole 17 is formed at the center of the surface of the plate 16,
Around the periphery, a plurality of arc-shaped ribs 18 corresponding to the through holes 8 are formed. An engagement claw 19 corresponding to the engagement hole 9 is formed at a position slightly displaced from the outer edge of the plate 16 toward the center. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, three locate holes 20 corresponding to the locate pins 12 are formed around the center hole 17. The locate pin 12 and the center pin 11 are formed to be longer than the thickness of the plate 16 as shown in FIGS.

Next, a procedure for mounting the ornament 4 will be described. First, the ornament 4 is inserted into the concave portion 6 of the cover 1 before being attached to the steering wheel, and the leg 5 is passed through the slit 10 to the back side. And
The leg 5 passed through the slit 10 to the back side is bent into the step 15 inside. Since the step portion 15 has the same depth as the thickness of the leg portion 5, the bent leg portion 5 and the back surface of the concave portion 6 become flat. Since the support pin 7 is formed at the center of the surface of the recess 6, the ornament 4 is suspended from the surface of the recess 6 by the height of the support pin 7.

Then, the plate 16 is set from the back side of the concave portion 6, and the plate 16 is pushed into the concave portion 6 by aligning the center hole 17 with the center pin 11 and the locate hole 20 with the locate pin 12. Then, guided by the center pin 11 and the locate pin 12, the rib 18 passes through the through hole 8 and protrudes to the surface side, the engaging claw 19 engages with the engaging hole 9, and the plate 16 Is temporarily stopped.
In the temporarily fixed state, the tips of the center pin 11 and the locate pin 12 project toward the rear surface of the plate 16. Further, the tip of the rib 18 protruding toward the front surface side of the concave portion 6 abuts on the back surface of the ornament 4 together with the support pin 7. Further, the rotation of the plate 16 is prevented by the engagement between the locate pin 12 and the locate hole 20 and the engagement between the projection 14 of the outer peripheral flange 13 and the recessed portion of the engagement claw 19.

In the temporarily fixed state, the center pin 11 and the locate pin 12 projecting to the back side of the plate 16 are provided.
Are heat caulked by heat welding. Due to this heat caulking, the plate 16 is completely attached, and the bent leg 5 of the ornament 4 is also securely held between the cover 1 and the plate 16. Further, since the bent leg 5 of the ornament 4 is stored in the step portion 15 and the leg 5 and the back surface of the concave portion 6 have the same flat surface, the state of the attached plate 16 is stable. I have.

Then, the cover 1 to which the ornament 4 and the plate 16 are attached is assembled to a steering wheel (not shown) to cover and hide the airbag 2 and the like from the inside of the vehicle. When the cover 1 is attached, the cover 1 is raised by a reaction force that pushes up the cover 1 from the airbag 2. When the ornament 4 and other surfaces of the cover 1 are pushed, the pushing force acts on a horn switch (not shown), and the horn sounds.

According to this embodiment, since the plate 16 is attached to the back surface of the cover 1 and the leg 5 of the ornament 4 is sandwiched between the plate 16 and the cover 1, it is pushed up from the built-in airbag 2. Even when a force is applied, the pushing-up force acts in a direction to increase the holding force of the leg 5 of the ornament 4, so that the mounting strength of the ornament 4 does not decrease. Further, since the pushing force of the airbag 2 also acts in the direction in which the plate 16 is attached to the cover 1, it is not necessary to attach the plate 16 to the cover 1 firmly, and heat caulking of the center pin 11, the locate pin 12, etc. Is sufficient, and mounting of the plate 16 becomes easy.

Further, since the ribs 18 formed on the plate 16 pass through the through holes 8 to abut and support the back surface of the ornament 4, even if the ornament 4 is pressed strongly to sound the horn, the ornament 4 is not pressed. There is no deformation. Further, since the ribs 18 are formed on the plate 16, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, even when the shape of the ornament 4 'is changed to another raised shape, the plate on which the rib 18' is formed is formed. It can be dealt with simply by replacing the cover 16 ', and there is no need to change the shape of the cover 1 at all.

Also, the funnel 12 itself may be omitted altogether. In this case, when the center pin 11 is inserted into the center hole 17, the plate 16 is rotated to align the rib 18 with the through hole 8 and the like. Even without the locate pin 12 or the like, the center pin 1
Since the center is determined by 1 and the center hole 17,
The alignment of the plate 16 is easy.

Further, in this embodiment, the shape of the rib 18 and the shape of the through hole 8 are matched, but it is not always necessary to match the shape, and the shape of the through hole 8 is such that the rib 18 can pass through to the surface side of the cover 1. -Any size is acceptable. Also, the width of the slit 10 does not need to be reduced, and may be any width as long as the leg 5 of the ornament 4 can be inserted and bent inward.

[0032]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plate is attached to the back surface of the cover, and the leg of the ornament is sandwiched between the plate and the cover. Is applied, the push-up reaction force acts in the direction of increasing the holding force of the leg of the ornament, so that the mounting strength of the ornament does not decrease. Also,
The upward reaction force of the airbag also acts in the direction in which the plate is attached to the cover, so that the plate does not need to be firmly attached to the cover, and the plate can be easily attached.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the plate is circular, and the center hole is formed at the center. Then, when the center pin formed on the cover is passed through the center hole of the plate, the plate is rotated to align the ribs of the plate with the through holes of the cover. After the alignment is completed and the ribs are passed through the through holes to the front side, if the tip of the center pin is thermally caulked by welding or the like, the plate is attached to the cover.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the plate can be positioned with respect to the cover by inserting the locate pin formed at a position other than the center of the plate into the locate hole of the cover. Therefore, simply insert the locating pin into the locating hole, and then it will be performed,
The operation of passing the rib through the through hole is facilitated.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the locating pin has a length protruding from the locating hole to the back side of the cover, the tip of the locating pin is caulked by heat.
It can be used for mounting plates.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the engaging claw for temporary fixing is formed on the plate to engage with the engaging hole of the cover, the plate can be temporarily fixed to the cover. The work of mounting the plate at the same time becomes easier.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the bent leg portion of the ornament is housed in the step on the back surface of the cover, so that the portion other than the pins on the back surface of the cover becomes flat, and the attached plate is attached. State becomes stable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a cover according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line SA-SA shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an ornament, a cover, and a plate.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the cover as viewed from a direction indicated by an arrow DA in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the plate as viewed from a direction indicated by an arrow DB in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an exploded cross-sectional view showing the structure along the line SB-SB shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an assembled sectional view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of only the cover taken along line SC-SC in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is an assembled sectional view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the plate as viewed from a DC direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an example in which an ornament and a plate are replaced with another one.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cover 2 Airbag 4 Ornament 5 Leg 8 Through Hole 9 Engagement Hole 10 Slit 11 Center Pin 12 Locate Pin 15 Step 16 Plate 17 Center Hole 18 Rib 19 Engagement Claw 20 Locate Hole L Tear Line

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A decorative cover made of a metal plate is attached to a surface of a soft cover for covering an inside of an airbag provided on a steering wheel, and a back surface of the ornament is abutted on the cover. An ornament mounting structure for an airbag device, comprising a rigid plate having a plurality of ribs, wherein a leg portion inserted into a slit of the cover and bent toward a back surface is integrally formed on an outer peripheral portion of the ornament. An airbag, wherein the plate is attached to a back surface of the cover, the leg portion is sandwiched between the cover and the cover, and a through hole is formed in the cover to allow a rib of the plate to pass through to the front surface side of the cover. Ornament mounting structure of the device. 2. The ornament mounting structure for an airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a center pin is formed on a back surface of the cover and protrudes rearward from a center hole formed in the center of a circular plate, and a tip of the center pin is thermally caulked. An ornament mounting structure for an airbag device, characterized by being protruded. 3. The ornament mounting structure for an airbag device according to claim 2, wherein a locating pin inserted into a locating hole of the plate is formed at a position other than the center pin on the back surface of the cover. Ornament mounting structure of the airbag device. 4. The ornament mounting structure for an airbag device according to claim 3, wherein the locating pin has a length protruding from the locating hole to the back side of the plate. Ornament mounting structure. 5. The ornament mounting structure for an airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the plate is temporarily engaged with an engagement hole of the cover. An ornament mounting structure for an airbag device, wherein a nail is formed. 6. The ornament mounting structure for an airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the back surface of the cover, at which a leg portion of the ornament is bent, corresponds to a thickness of the leg portion. An ornament mounting structure for an airbag device, wherein a step portion having a depth to be formed is formed.