JPH08318806A - Air-bag module for driver's seat - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable the automatic assemble of a horn switch mechanism with an air-bag module by providing the horn switch mechanism between a supporting member attached to the air-bag module and a mounting member supported movably to the supporting member through an elastically energizing means. CONSTITUTION: A supporting plate 5 is provided integrally with an air-bag module 1 incorporating a inflator 2 which expands an air-bag. And the supporting plate 5 movably supports a mounting plate 8 through a compression coil spring 15. Moreover, a horn switch mechanism 21 is provided between the supporting plate 5 and the mounting plate 8. When an upper part of the air-bag module 1 is pressed, the supporting plate 5 is moved by the energizing force of the compression coil spring 15. Then, a movable contact 11 is held between a fixed contact 13 of the supporting plate 5 and a fixed contact 16 of the mounting plate 8 so that the horn switch mechanism 21 is closed to operate warning sounds.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a driver airbag module mounted on a steering wheel,
In particular, the present invention relates to an improvement of a driver airbag module having a horn switch mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a cushioning system for supporting a seat belt device for safely holding an occupant of a vehicle in a seat, a balloon-shaped airbag receives the occupant's body, especially the head and chest, at the time of a collision. After that, the air bag device is put into practical use by gradually releasing the gas inside, thereby gaining a cushioning stroke and suppressing the impact force applied to the human body.

In such an airbag device, a folded airbag and an inflator (gas generator) are housed inside an airbag module fixed to a mounting hub of a steering wheel, for example, to prevent a vehicle collision. The inflator is ignited by an electric signal from the sensor that detects the air, and the air bag is instantly inflated by the gas burned rapidly.

On the other hand, a horn switch mechanism of a horn is provided on the steering wheel. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-
There is a floating type horn switch mechanism that operates a horn through a pressing motion of an airbag module, such as the horn switch mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 41263 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-98916. Such a horn switch mechanism is movably supported on the steering wheel body by an elastic supporting portion via a spring, and is movable supported by a movable contact plate that is displaceable against the spring and the movable contact plate. The movable contact plate is provided with an airbag module capable of pressingly interlocking the plate with the steering wheel body, and horn contacts formed of a fixed contact and a movable contact respectively provided on the steering wheel body and the movable contact plate. A horn switch mechanism is provided between the steering wheel body and the airbag module by connecting and supporting the airbag module to the.

When the airbag module is pushed toward the mounting hub of the steering wheel, the movable contact provided on the movable contact plate comes into contact with the fixed contact provided on the steering wheel body, and the horn operates. To do.

[0006]

By the way, since the floating type horn switch mechanism as described above is provided between the steering wheel body and the airbag module, the respective constituent members constituting the horn switch mechanism are different from each other. The steering wheel body and the airbag module are engaged with each other, and the function as a horn switch mechanism cannot be obtained until the airbag module is attached to the steering wheel body.

Therefore, the conventional steering wheel in which the airbag module and the steering wheel body are separately assembled and then integrally assembled has a floating type horn switch mechanism, which complicates the assembling work. There is a problem that man-hours increase. Of course, the cost is further increased when trying to automate the assembly of the steering wheel.

[0008] That is, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide an inexpensive and highly reliable driver airbag module including a floating type horn switch mechanism.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a support member integrally provided with an airbag module containing an inflator for inflating an airbag, and an elastic biasing means for the support member. A mounting member that is movably supported via the elastic biasing means, is displaceable against the elastic biasing means, and is fixed to the steering wheel body, and these supporting members for actuating the horn by the pressing movement of the airbag module. And a horn switch mechanism provided between the mounting member and the mounting member.

[0010]

According to the above structure, since the airbag module and the horn switch mechanism are integrally formed in advance, the horn switch mechanism can be automatically assembled together with the airbag module. Further, by simply fixing the mounting member of the driver airbag module to the steering wheel body, the steering wheel having the floating type horn switch mechanism can be assembled.

Further, the supporting member and the mounting member can be used individually, and even when it is necessary to change the respective shapes and the positional relations of assembling in accordance with the change of the vehicle type and the destination,
It is possible to easily cope with the problem by replacing only the changed portion or correcting the assembling positional relationship with each other.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 are a partial cross-sectional view and an exploded side view of a driver airbag module according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the driver airbag module shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view taken along the line III.

The driver airbag module includes an airbag module 1 containing an inflator 2 for inflating an airbag (not shown), and a support plate 5 which is a support member integrally provided with the airbag module 1. And a mounting plate 8 that is a mounting member that is movably supported on the support plate 5 via a compression coil spring 15 that is an elastic biasing means and that is displaceable against the compression coil spring 15. A horn switch mechanism 21 to be described later is provided between the support plate 5 and the mounting plate 8.

The airbag module 1 has a base plate 3 to which an inflator 2 is attached, and a module cover 4 for covering an airbag (not shown) attached to the base plate 3 together with the inflator 2 in a folded state. are doing. An inflator mounting hole is formed at the center of the base portion of the base plate 3 of the airbag module 1 formed by pressing from a metal plate, and the cylindrical inflator 2 inserted into the inflator mounting hole has an opening end of the airbag. It is fastened together with the edge portion and attached to the base plate 3. Then, the support plate 5 made of a metal plate having a substantially U-shaped cross-section whose both side edges are bent and formed on the side opposite to the occupant side is fastened together with the inflator 2 to the base portion of the base plate 3 so that the air The side walls 6 and 6 of the support plate 5, which are integrally fixed to the base plate 3 of the bag module 1 and are formed by bending both side edges,
A pair of elongated holes 7, 7 are formed respectively.

The mounting plate 8 formed by pressing from a metal plate has a circular hole 8a opened at the center of the base so that the inflator 2 can be inserted, and the support plate 5
And a pair of side walls 9, 9 formed by bending both side edges on the side opposite to the occupant side so as to overlap the side walls 6, 6. A pair of circular holes 17 corresponding to the pair of long holes 7 and 7 formed in the side walls 6 and 6 are formed in the side walls 9 and 9, respectively, and inside the side walls of the circular holes 17, respectively. A fixed nut 18 to which a stepped bolt 19 can be screwed is fixed. Also, the leg portion 9 extending in the central portion of these side walls 9, 9.
A mounting hole 20 is provided in a, and the mounting plate 8 is fixed to a mounting hub of a steering wheel (not shown) with bolts and nuts or the like.

The horn switch mechanism 21 is interposed between the support plate 5 and the mounting plate 8 and urges the support plate 5 and the mounting plate 8 in a direction in which they are separated from each other; Four pairs of fixed contacts 13 and fixed contacts 16 respectively provided on the opposing surfaces of the support plate 5 and the mounting plate 8, and the movable contacts 11 are arranged between these fixed contacts 13 and 16 respectively. The flexible contact terminal 10 is shaped like a leaf spring, and the insulating plate 12 is made of resin for electrically insulating the flexible contact terminal 10 and the mounting plate 8.

The flexible contact terminal 10 is provided with a screw 22.
A cylindrical spring holding portion 14 is appropriately integrally formed with the insulating plate 12 fixed to the upper surface of the mounting plate 8 together, and the compression coil spring 15 loaded in the spring holding portion 14 includes the mounting plate 8 Positioned and held relative to. In addition, the insulating plate 12 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), after inserting the pre-cracked boss portion 12a into the fitting hole of the mounting plate 8, the through hole of the flexible contact terminal 10 was inserted as shown in FIG. 4 (b). The screw 22 is screwed into the cracked boss portion 12a,
It is fixed to the mounting plate 8 by inflating the lower end of a to the outside.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the four flexible pieces 10a each having the movable contact 11 provided at the tip of the appropriately bent portion and the electric connection terminal 23 are integrally formed to form the flexible contact. The terminal 10 is fixed to the mounting plate 8 while being insulated by the insulating plate 12. Incidentally, in the flexible contact terminal 10, when a connection terminal (not shown) is connected to the electric connection terminal 23 when the steering wheel is attached to make the flexible contact terminal conductive with the horn, the movable contact 11 causes the fixed contact 13 of the support plate 5 to move. Alternatively, it is set so that the horn switch mechanism 21 forms a closed circuit by contacting the fixed contact 16 of the mounting plate 8 to operate the horn.

Next, the support plate 5 and the mounting plate 8 are put together, and stepped bolts 19 inserted into the elongated holes 7 of the side wall 6 are respectively screwed to fixing nuts 18 fixed to the side wall 9. The mounting plate 8 is movably supported by the support plate 5 via a compression coil spring 15 and is displaceable against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 15. The support plate 5 and the mounting plate 8 are The stepped portion of the stepped bolt 19 is relatively movable within a range in which the stepped portion contacts the lower end edge or the upper end edge of the elongated hole 7.

The stepped portion of the stepped bolt 19 has a long hole 7
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the mounting plate 8 whose position is regulated by abutting on the lower end edge of the supporting plate 5 is supported by the urging force of the compression coil spring 15 so as to maintain a predetermined distance from the supporting plate 5. In this state, the movable contact 11 of the flexible contact terminal 10 has the support plate 5
Neither the fixed contact 13 nor the fixed contact 16 of the mounting plate 8 are in contact with each other.

Next, when the upper portion of the airbag module 1 is pressed with the leg portions 9a of the mounting plate 8 fixed to the mounting hub of the steering wheel (not shown), the airbag module 1 is integrated with the airbag module 1. The fixed support plate 5 moves in the direction of the mounting hub of the steering wheel against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 15. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the flexible piece portion 10a is
By sandwiching the movable contact 11 provided at the tip of the fixed contact 13 of the support plate 5 and the fixed contact 16 of the mounting plate 8, the horn switch mechanism 21 becomes a closed circuit and the horn operates.

That is, the airbag module 1 as described above.
The driver airbag module in which the horn switch mechanism 21 and the horn switch mechanism 21 are integrally formed in advance has a function as a horn switch mechanism before being attached to the steering wheel body, and includes a floating type horn switch mechanism. However, the steering wheel can be assembled by simply fixing the leg portions 9a of the mounting plate 8 to the mounting hub of the steering wheel. Further, the driver-side airbag module in which the horn switch mechanism 21 is integrated can be automatically assembled by slightly changing the existing automatic assembly line of the airbag module, and has a horn switch mechanism. However, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and a highly reliable product can be manufactured.

Further, the support plate 5 and the mounting plate 8 can be used separately, and even if the shape and the mounting positional relationship of each of them need to be changed according to the change of the vehicle type or the destination, the change can be made. It is possible to easily deal with the problem by only replacing the generated portion or by correcting the assembling positional relationship with each other. 7 and 8 are a sectional view and an exploded perspective view of a main portion of a driver airbag module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The driver's seat airbag module has an airbag module 3 having an airbag 50 mounted in a folded state together with the inflator 32 on a base plate 33 to which the inflator 32 is mounted.
0, a stepped bolt 38 that is a support member fixed to the base of the base plate 33 and integrally provided with the airbag module 30, and an elastic biasing means for the bolt head 38a of the stepped bolt 38. The compression coil spring 3 is movably supported by the compression coil spring 35.
5, a mounting stay 36 that is a mounting member that can be displaced against 5 is provided, and a horn switch mechanism 31 to be described later is provided between the mounting plate 36 and the base plate 33 to which the stepped bolt 38 is fixed. Has been.

The stepped bolt 38 is integrally fixed to the airbag module 30 by being screwed into a fixing nut 34 fixed to the base plate 33. A pair of the mounting stays 36 formed by pressing from a metal plate are fixed to the mounting hub of a steering wheel (not shown) with bolts and nuts, etc., and a through hole 42 inserted into the stepped bolt 38 via an insulating rubber 40. And a movable contact 43a provided on the upper surface of the tip end portion 43 that is bent in a direction approaching the base plate 33.

The horn switch mechanism 31 is interposed between the base portion of the base plate 33 and the mounting state 36, and a compression coil spring 35 for urging the base plate 33 and the mounting stay 36 in a direction separating from each other, The movable contact 43a provided on the mounting stay 36, the stepped bolt 38, and the mounting stay 3
6 and an insulating rubber 40 for electrically insulating them from each other.

Then, the bolt head 38 of the stepped bolt 38
The mounting stay 36 whose position is regulated by a is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the compression coil spring 35 is supported by the biasing force of the compression coil spring 35 so as to maintain a predetermined distance from the base plate 33. In this state, the movable contact 43a does not contact the base plate 33. Next, with the attachment state 36 fixed to the attachment hub of the steering wheel (not shown), the airbag module 30 is
When the upper part of is pressed, the base plate 33 of the airbag module 30 moves toward the mounting hub of the steering wheel against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 35. Then, the movable contact 43a of the mounting stay 36 comes into contact with the base plate 33, so that the horn switch mechanism 31 becomes a closed circuit and the horn operates.

That is, the airbag module 3 as described above.
0 and the horn switch mechanism 31 are integrally formed in advance in the driver seat airbag module of the second embodiment, like the driver seat airbag module of the first embodiment,
An inexpensive and highly reliable product can be made while having a floating type horn switch mechanism. The driver airbag module of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the shape and number of the supporting member, the elastic biasing means, the mounting member and the like are based on the gist of the present invention. Of course, it can be changed appropriately, for example,
Instead of the compression coil spring, other elastic biasing means such as a leaf spring or a rubber member can be used.

[0029]

According to the above-described driver airbag module of the present invention, since the airbag module and the horn switch mechanism are integrated in advance, the horn switch mechanism can be automatically assembled with the airbag module. Becomes Also, just fix the mounting member of the driver airbag module to the steering wheel body,
The steering wheel equipped with the floating type horn switch mechanism can be assembled, and the assembly work of the steering wheel does not become complicated and the number of assembling steps does not increase.

Further, the supporting member and the mounting member can be used individually, and even when it is necessary to change the shape and the mounting positional relationship according to the change of the vehicle type or the destination,
It is possible to easily cope with the problem by replacing only the changed portion or correcting the assembling positional relationship with each other. Therefore, it is possible to provide an inexpensive and highly reliable driver-side airbag module while having the floating type horn switch mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a driver airbag module according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of the driver airbag module shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view of the driver airbag module shown in FIG.
It is a top view which followed the III-III line.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining a fixing structure of an insulating plate and a flexible contact terminal with respect to a mounting plate.

5 is a front view showing a non-operating state of the horn switch mechanism of the driver-seat airbag module shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

6 is a front view showing an operating state of the horn switch mechanism of the driver airbag module shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a driver-seat airbag module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

8 is an exploded perspective view of main parts of the driver airbag module shown in FIG. 7. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Airbag Module 2 Inflator 3 Base Plate 4 Module Cover 5 Support Plate 8 Mounting Plate 10 Flexible Contact Terminal 11 Moving Contact 12 Insulating Plate 13 Fixed Contact 15 Compressed Coil Spring 16 Fixed Contact 21 Horn Switch Mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A support member integrally disposed with an air bag module in which an inflator for inflating an air bag is housed, and the support member is movably supported by elastic urging means and the elastic urging. Mounting member which is displaceable against the means and is fixed to the steering wheel body, and a horn provided between the supporting member and the mounting member for actuating the horn by pressing movement of the airbag module. An airbag module for the driver's seat equipped with a switch mechanism.