JP5338735B2 - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering wheel used in a steering apparatus such as a vehicle.

  In a steering wheel used in a steering apparatus such as a vehicle, a boss portion is provided at the center of a core metal that forms a skeleton, and the boss portion is detachably fitted to a rear end portion of a steering shaft. When the nut is screwed onto the steering shaft in this state, the steering wheel is fastened and fixed to the steering shaft.

  When the steering wheel is removed for replacement or maintenance, the steering wheel is pulled manually with the nut removed from the steering shaft. However, the boss portion may be crimped to or fixed to the steering shaft, and the boss portion may not be detached from the steering shaft during manual pulling.

  In this case, a dedicated extraction tool is used. The extraction tool includes a substrate, one push bolt, and a pair of support bolts. The push bolt is screwed into the substrate so as to advance and retreat. Both support bolts are inserted in the substrate so as to be movable in the same direction as the push bolts at positions facing each other across the push bolt.

  On the other hand, in the core metal, screw holes are formed at two locations facing each other across the boss portion in the core metal portion around the boss portion. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an example in which a screw hole is formed in a flange portion surrounded by a boss portion and a spoke core metal connected to the boss portion. Moreover, in the case of a core metal to be die-cast, generally, a screw hole is formed in a core metal part (boss part core metal or spoke part core metal) around the boss part.

  Then, when the steering wheel is removed using the pulling tool, the push bolt is rotated in a state where each support bolt is screwed into the corresponding screw hole to be pressed against the steering shaft. When the push bolt is further rotated, the substrate is moved in the removal direction, which is a direction away from the steering shaft. Along with the movement of the substrate, the boss portion is moved in the removal direction via the support bolt, and the steering wheel is removed from the steering shaft.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-118775

  However, in the conventional steering wheel having a screw hole in the cored bar portion around the boss part, including the above-described Patent Document 1, in the manufacturing process, a drilling process and a screwing process are performed separately from the process of forming the cored bar. Process to be performed. This causes a cost increase in terms of manufacturing process (cycle time), manufacturing equipment, and the like, and hinders cost reduction of the cored bar. For example, in the case of a steering wheel in which the core metal is formed by die casting, a process / equipment for die-casting the core metal and a process / equipment for drilling and screwing are required. This is because screw holes cannot be formed by die casting.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a steering wheel capable of reducing the cost of the core metal without affecting the removal work from the steering shaft. It is in.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the cored bar formed by die-casting has a boss part fitted to the steering shaft, and when the cored bar is removed from the steering shaft, And a push bolt screwed into the board in a direction along the rotation axis of the steering shaft, and a plurality of support bolts inserted through the board so as to be movable in the same direction as the push bolt. The pulling tool is used, and in a state where the support bolt is fixed to the core part around the boss part, the push bolt is pressed against the steering shaft from the rear side, and the core bar is rearward from the steering shaft. The steering wheel is pulled out to the core metal part around the boss part when the core metal is die-cast. Together is made, a through hole to allow insertion of the respective support bolts to be screwed into a nut which is held on the front side of the core metal portion is provided, wherein a front side near the core metal portion A nut holding auxiliary portion for assisting holding of the nut at the same location is provided at a location corresponding to each through hole, and the nut holding auxiliary portion is along a plane orthogonal to the central axis of the through hole. The plate portion which extends at the same time and intersects the same central axis is clamped from both sides in the surface direction of the plate portion, and the nut on the fastening position of the plate portion is clamped from both sides The gist is to include a pair of clamping parts .

  According to the above configuration, when the steering wheel fitted to the steering shaft at the boss portion of the metal core is pulled out rearward from the steering shaft using the pulling tool, the nut that can be screwed into the support bolt is Hold it on the front side of the cored bar part.

  Subsequently, the support bolt of the extraction tool is inserted into a through hole provided in the cored bar portion around the boss portion and screwed into the nut. The nuts restrict the support bolts from moving backward with respect to the metal core part (the support bolts are fixed to the metal core part in the rear). Then, the push bolt is rotated and pressed against the steering shaft from behind. Subsequently, by rotating the push bolt, the substrate moves in the removal direction (backward), which is the direction away from the steering shaft. Along with the movement of the substrate, the mandrel is moved backward via the support bolt, and the steering wheel is removed from the steering shaft.

  Here, the cored bar portion around the boss portion is merely provided with a through hole for inserting the support bolt, and is not provided with a screw hole. Since the through holes are formed together when the cored bar is die-cast, a step (time) and equipment for drilling and screwing the die-casted cored bar become unnecessary. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the cored bar is reduced by the amount that the process and equipment for drilling and screwing are not required.

Further, the nut holding assisting part assists the holding of the nut in the vicinity of the front side of the cored bar part and at a position corresponding to each through hole. Therefore, the operation of holding the nut at the above location becomes easier than in the case without such assistance.
Furthermore, if a nut is arrange | positioned in the space enclosed by the plate part and both clamping parts, the movement of the nut will be controlled. In this way, the holding of the nut is assisted in the vicinity of the front side of the cored bar portion and corresponding to each through hole.

The gist of the invention according to claim 2 is that, in the invention according to claim 1 , the nut holding auxiliary part is provided in a lower cover that covers at least the boss part from the front side.
According to said structure, a lower cover functions as a location (attachment part) to which a nut holding auxiliary part is attached. This lower cover is an existing component of a steering wheel provided to cover at least the boss portion from the front side. Therefore, it is not necessary to newly provide a member for attaching the nut holding auxiliary part.

Further, if the nut holding auxiliary part is a part of the lower cover, the nut holding auxiliary part can be formed together when the lower cover is formed.
The invention of claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the nut is summarized in that it is intended to be prepared at the time of removal with the withdrawal device.

  According to said structure, a nut is prepared when performing the operation | work which removes a steering wheel from a steering shaft using a drawing tool. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce waste as compared with a case in which a nut is previously incorporated in the steering wheel in preparation for the infrequent operation of removing the steering wheel.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the through hole is provided in the vicinity of the boss part of the cored bar part, One is constituted by the boss portion, and the other is that the other of the sandwiching portions is provided at a location separated from the boss portion.

  According to said structure, the boss | hub part located in the vicinity of a through-hole functions as one of a pair of clamping parts. A nut is pinched | interposed by the boss | hub part and the clamping part of the location spaced apart from the boss | hub part. As described above, since the boss portion is used as the sandwiching portion, the manufacturing cost is reduced as compared with the case where both the sandwiching portions are newly provided.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the nut is constituted by a hexagonal nut, and an interval between the both clamping portions is between the opposing surfaces of the nut. The gist of the present invention is that it is set to be larger than the interval between the nuts and smaller than the interval between the opposite corners of the nut.

  By satisfy | filling said space | interval of a pair of clamping part, both clamping parts control that a nut rotates between them. Therefore, the nut is prevented from rotating with the rotation of the support bolt, and the support bolt is reliably screwed into the nut.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the nut holding auxiliary portion is arranged in the plate portion from the cored bar portion in the surface direction of the plate portion. The gist of the present invention is to further include a nut insertion portion provided at a distant place and a guide portion for guiding the nut introduced into the nut insertion portion between the both clamping portions.

  According to said structure, a guide part guide | induces the nut thrown into the nut insertion part between both clamping parts. Therefore, between the plate part and the cored bar part, the nut thrown into the nut throwing part at the place deviated from the fastening position is moved along the guide part, so that the nut is fastened between the both clamping parts. It is possible to easily approach the position.

The gist of the invention according to claim 7 is that, in the invention according to claim 6 , the guide portion has a pair of guide surfaces extending in parallel to each other from the nut insertion portion toward the fastening position.

  According to said structure, both guide surfaces restrict | limit the movement of the nut to directions other than the direction which connects a nut insertion part and a fastening position. Therefore, it is possible to reliably bring the nut close to the fastening position only by moving the nut thrown into the nut throwing portion along both guide surfaces.

The invention according to claim 8 is the gist of the invention according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the nut holding auxiliary part has a receiving part for receiving the nut introduced into the nut inserting part from below. To do.

  According to said structure, the nut thrown into the nut insertion part is received from the lower side by the receiving part. This catching prevents the nut from falling off from the nut insertion portion.

  According to the steering wheel of the present invention, the cost of the metal core can be reduced without affecting the removal work from the steering shaft.

1 is a front view of a steering wheel in an embodiment embodying the present invention. The side view of a steering wheel. The front view which shows the state which removed the pad part etc. from the steering wheel. Sectional drawing which shows the cross-section of the steering wheel along the AA line of FIG. The partial front view which expands and shows the nut holding | maintenance auxiliary part in FIG. 3, and its peripheral part. The partial front view which shows the lower cover in FIG. 5, a nut holding auxiliary | assistant part, and a nut. (A) is a partial front view which shows the relationship between a nut holding auxiliary | assistant part and a nut, (B) is a front view of a nut. The cross-sectional view which shows the structure of a drawing tool. FIG. 6 is a partial front view corresponding to FIG. 5 and showing a state in which the steering wheel is removed from the steering shaft using a pulling tool. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4 and showing a state before a steering wheel is removed from a steering shaft using a pulling tool. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4 and showing a state when a steering wheel is removed from a steering shaft using a pulling tool.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in at least one of FIGS. 1 and 2, a steering shaft (steering shaft) 11 that rotates about the rotation axis L1 is tilted so as to be higher toward the driver's seat in front of the driver's seat of the vehicle. It is arranged in a state. A steering wheel 12 of the present embodiment is attached to the rear end portion of the steering shaft 11 so as to be integrally rotatable. The steering wheel 12 includes a rim portion (sometimes referred to as a handle portion or a ring portion) 13, a pad portion 14, a spoke portion 15, and a lower cover (see FIG. 2) 16.

  The rim portion 13 has a substantially annular shape centering on the steering shaft 11 (see FIG. 1). The pad portion 14 is disposed in a space surrounded by the rim portion 13. A plurality of (three in this case) spoke portions 15 are provided between the rim portion 13 and the pad portion 14. The lower cover 16 is disposed on the front side of the pad portion 14 and the spoke portion 15.

  In the present embodiment, when describing each part of the steering wheel 12, the rotation axis L1 of the steering shaft 11 is used as a reference. The direction along the rotational axis L1 is referred to as the “front-rear direction” of the steering wheel 12, and the direction in which the steering wheel 12 stands up is referred to as the “vertical direction” among the directions along the plane orthogonal to the rotational axis L1. Therefore, the front-rear direction and the vertical direction of the steering wheel 12 are slightly inclined with respect to the front-rear direction (horizontal direction) and the vertical direction (vertical direction) of the vehicle.

  Further, in order to specify the position of the steering wheel 12 to be rotated, in this embodiment, “up”, “down” based on the state of the steering wheel 12 when the vehicle is traveling straight, that is, the neutral state. , “Left” and “Right” shall be defined. Therefore, the left-right direction of the steering wheel 12 is the same as the vehicle width direction (vehicle width direction).

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 3 and 4, the rim portion 13 of the steering wheel 12, the spoke portion 15, and the space surrounded by the pad portion 14 and the lower cover 16 are formed by die casting. An aluminum cored bar 20 is disposed. The core metal 20 forms a skeleton part of the steering wheel 12, and includes a substantially annular ring core metal 21, a boss core metal 22 positioned slightly forward of the center of the ring core metal 21, and a ring A spoke core metal 23 that connects the core metal 21 and the boss core metal 22 is provided.

The core metal 20 having the above-described configuration is attached to the rear end portion of the steering shaft 11 in the boss core metal 22 so as to be integrally rotatable as follows.
As shown in FIG. 10, a male screw portion 24 is formed at the rear end portion of the steering shaft 11. A serration 25 having a predetermined number of teeth is formed on the front side of the male screw portion 24 of the steering shaft 11. On the front side of the serration 25 of the steering shaft 11, a tapered surface 26 that is reduced in diameter as it approaches the serration 25 is formed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the boss core metal 22 has a cylindrical boss 27 at the center thereof. A cylindrical member 28 formed in a cylindrical shape with steel is embedded in the boss portion 27 as an insert. On the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 28, there are formed a serration 29 and a tapered surface 31 whose diameter is reduced toward the front side.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 4 and 10, when the steering shaft 11 is inserted into the cylindrical member 28, the serration 29 of the cylindrical member 28 and the serration 25 of the steering shaft 11 are engaged with each other. The tapered surface 31 of the tubular member 28 and the tapered surface 26 of the steering shaft 11 abut. In this contact state, the male screw portion 24 at the rear end of the steering shaft 11 is exposed rearward from the boss portion 27. Further, the nut 32 is screwed onto the male screw portion 24, whereby the steering wheel 12 is firmly fastened to the steering shaft 11 at the boss portion 27.

  In the cored bar 20, the ring part cored bar 21 and the portion of each spoke part cored bar 23 near the ring part cored bar 21 are covered with a covering portion (see FIG. 2) 33 made of a soft resin or the like. . Furthermore, a skin made of leather or the like may be put on the outside of the covering portion 33.

  In the core metal 20, the entire boss core metal 22 and the portions of the spoke cores 23 near the boss core 22 are covered from the front side by the lower cover 16. A hole 34 is formed in the bottom of the lower cover 16 for passing the boss 27 of the core bar 20 and the like (see FIG. 3). The lower cover 16 is formed in a plate shape with a hard resin or the like, and is fixed to the cored bar 20.

  In addition, in the interior of the steering wheel 12 (between the pad portion 14 and the core metal 20), when an impact from the front is applied to the vehicle due to a frontal collision or the like, the airbag is inflated by gas to impact the occupant. An air bag device is provided for protection from the above, but illustration of this is omitted.

Further, the steering wheel 12 has a structure for mounting the pulling tool 40 when the steering wheel 12 is detached from the steering shaft 11.
As shown in at least one of FIGS. 8 and 10, the extraction tool 40 is a dedicated tool (jig) also called a puller, and includes a substrate 41, a push bolt 46, and a plurality (two in this embodiment). A support bolt 51 is provided. The substrate 41 has a substantially quadrangular prism shape. A screw penetrating in the short direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 8, the vertical direction in FIG. 10) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is provided at the center of the longitudinal direction (each horizontal direction in FIGS. 8 and 10) of the substrate 41. A hole 42 is formed. Cutouts 43 are formed on both side portions of the substrate 41 in the longitudinal direction from both end surfaces 41 </ b> A toward the screw holes 42. In the substrate 41, assuming that portions located on both sides in the width direction of the notches 43 are the arm portions 44, shafts 45 are provided between the arm portions 44 facing each other. In the present embodiment, both the arm portions 44 are connected, and the shaft 45 is constituted by a bolt screwed into at least one arm portion 44.

  The push bolt 46 includes a shaft portion 47 in which a male screw 47 </ b> A is formed over substantially the entire length, and a head portion 48 provided at the base end of the shaft portion 47. The push bolt 46 is screwed into the screw hole 42 of the substrate 41 so as to advance and retreat.

  Each support bolt 51 includes at least a shaft portion 52 having a male screw 52 </ b> A formed at the distal end portion, and a head portion 53 provided at the proximal end of the shaft portion 52. Each support bolt 51 is inserted into each notch 43 at a position closer to the screw hole 42 than the shaft 45 so as to be movable in the same direction as the push bolt 46. In each of the support bolts 51, a retaining ring 54 is locked at a position opposite to the head 53 with the notch 43 interposed therebetween. This is for preventing the support bolts 51 from coming out of the notch 43.

  By the way, as shown in at least one of FIGS. 4 and 5, in the steering wheel 12, the boss core metal 22 constituting the core metal portion around the boss 27 is provided with a pair of through holes penetrating in the front-rear direction. 55 is provided. Both through-holes 55 are located at locations that face each other across the boss portion 27, here, at both the left and right sides and in the vicinity of the boss portion 27. Both through-holes 55 are cylindrical holes having a constant diameter over substantially the entire length, and no internal thread is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. Both through-holes 55 are formed together when the core metal 20 is die-cast, and are formed to have a slightly larger diameter than the shaft portion 52 of the support bolt 51 described above, so that the coaxial portion 52 can be inserted. It is said.

  In the vicinity of the front side of the boss core 22 and corresponding to each through hole 55, a nut 56 that can be screwed into the male screw 52 </ b> A of the support bolt 51 inserted through the through hole 55 is disposed. Here, it is assumed that a hexagon nut, which is the most common standard product, is used as the nut 56.

  The nut 56 is basically held at the above-mentioned place by a person who performs removal work, but in order to assist this holding, a nut holding auxiliary portion 60 is provided at the above-mentioned place. Both nut holding auxiliary portions 60 are integrally formed with the lower cover 16 that covers the boss core metal 22 and the spoke core metal 23 from the front side. That is, in the present embodiment, the lower cover 16 which is an existing component of the steering wheel 12 provided to cover at least the boss portion 27 from the front side is used as a location where the nut holding auxiliary portion 60 is attached.

Each nut holding auxiliary portion 60 includes a plate portion 61, a pair of clamping portions, a nut insertion portion 64, a pair of guide portions, and a receiving portion.
The plate portion 61 for each nut holding auxiliary portion 60 extends along a plane orthogonal to the central axis L <b> 2 of the through hole 55. The lower end of the plate part 61 extends at least below the lower end of the boss cored bar 22. In the present embodiment, the lower end of the plate portion 61 is connected to the lower end edge of the hole 34 of the lower cover 16.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 7A, 7B, 9 and 10, the portion of the through hole 55 that intersects the central axis L2 in the vicinity of the rear side of each plate portion 61 is the support of the nut 56. It is a fastening position P with respect to the bolt 51.

  Both clamping parts clamp the nut 56 on the fastening position P of the plate part 61 from both sides (here, both left and right sides) in the surface direction of the plate part 61. One of the both clamping parts is constituted by a boss part 27. The other of the sandwiching portions is formed by a vertical rib 62 that is provided at a location spaced from the boss portion 27 and extends linearly in the vertical direction. An interval (interval at the narrowest portion) D1 between the outer wall surface 27A of the boss portion 27 and the vertical rib 62 is larger than an interval D2 between the opposing surfaces 56A of the nut 56 and between the opposing corner portions 56B. It is set smaller than the interval D3.

  A lateral rib 63 that extends linearly in the left-right direction is provided on the rear surface 61R of the plate portion 61 and above the nut 56 on the fastening position P. The end of the horizontal rib 63 on the side far from the boss portion 27 is connected to the upper end of the vertical rib 62.

  The nut insertion portion 64 is set on the rear surface 61 </ b> R of the plate portion 61 at a location away from the boss core metal 22 downward, which is one of the surface directions of the plate portion 61. The nut insertion portion 64 set in this way is located below the fastening position P.

  The guide portion is for guiding the nut 56 put in the nut throwing portion 64 to between both the sandwiching portions (between the boss portion 27 and the vertical rib 62). The guide portion includes a pair of vertical ribs 65 and 66 extending linearly upward from both sides of the nut insertion portion 64 in the vehicle width direction. The longitudinal rib 66 on the side far from the boss portion 27 is located on the same line as the longitudinal rib 62 constituting a part of the clamping portion (one clamping portion) and is connected to the longitudinal rib 62. The upper end portion of the vertical rib 65 on the side close to the boss portion 27 is located near the outer wall surface 27 </ b> A of the boss portion 27. In the two vertical ribs 65, 66, if the surfaces on the opposite vertical ribs 66, 65 side are inner surfaces, these inner surfaces are a pair of guide surfaces 65A, 66A extending parallel to each other from the nut insertion portion 64 toward the fastening position P. Is configured.

  The catching portion is for catching the nut 56 put into the nut throwing portion 64 from below. The receiving portion is configured by an inclined rib 67 that extends straight from the lower end of the vertical rib 65 in a direction approaching the opposing vertical rib 66 toward the lower side.

  The steering wheel 12 of the present embodiment is configured as described above. When the steering wheel 12 is pulled out of the steering shaft 11 for replacement, maintenance, etc. at a repair shop, car dealer, etc., firstly, a nut (hexagon) that can be screwed into the puller 40 and the male screw 52A of the support bolt 51. Nuts) 56 are prepared. This is because it is more wasteful to prepare the nut 56 when necessary (when performing the removal operation) than to incorporate the nut 56 in the steering wheel 12 in advance in preparation for the operation of removing the steering wheel 12 that is infrequent. Because there are few. As the nut (hex nut) 56, it is desirable to use a commercially available general standard product. This is because such nuts are widely distributed as inexpensive parts.

  Next, the nut 56 is held in the vicinity of the front side of the boss cored bar 22 at a position corresponding to each through hole 55. At this time, as shown in at least one of FIGS. 5 and 7A and 7B, the nut 56 is first picked by a finger, and the angle is set so that the pair of opposing surfaces 56A are in a vertical state. It is mounted (input) on the nut input part 64 of the nut holding auxiliary part 60 while adjusting. Here, since the rotation axis L1 of the steering shaft 11 is inclined, the plate portion 61 is inclined so as to be further away from the driver's seat as the upper side is increased. An inclined rib 67 is located directly below the nut insertion portion 64 on the rear surface 61R of the plate portion 61. For this reason, even if the finger is released from the nut 56 placed (input) on the nut insertion portion 64, the nut 56 is received from the lower side and the front side by the plate portion 61, the vertical ribs 65 and 66 and the inclined rib 67. It is done.

  Subsequently, the nut 56 placed on the nut insertion portion 64 is pushed upward along the guide surfaces 65A and 66A of the both longitudinal ribs 65 and 66 with a finger. The guide surfaces 65A and 66A for each of the vertical ribs 65 and 66 extend upward in parallel with each other from the nut insertion portion 64 toward the fastening position P. Both guide surfaces 65A and 66A restrict the movement of the nut 56 in a direction other than the direction connecting the nut insertion portion 64 and the fastening position. Therefore, the nut 56 approaches the fastening position P only by moving the nut 56 placed (input) on the nut insertion portion 64 upward along the guide surfaces 65A and 66A. When the nut 56 is pushed up to the vicinity of the fastening position P, the nut 56 is sandwiched between the boss portion 27 and the vertical rib 62 instead of the pair of vertical ribs 65 and 66 described above. As described above, the distance D1 between the boss portion 27 and the vertical rib 62 is larger than the distance D2 and smaller than the distance D3, so that the nut 56 has an angle at the time of initial input to the nut input portion 64 or an angle close thereto. While maintaining, it enters between the boss portion 27 and the vertical rib 62.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 7A and 9, the nut 56 near the fastening position P that has entered the above portion is sandwiched from the left and right sides by the boss portion 27 and the vertical rib 62 and moved in the left-right direction. , And the rotation is restricted. Further, the nut 56 near the fastening position P is restricted from moving upward by the lateral rib 63 provided immediately above the nut 56.

  Then, the nut 56 moved to the vicinity of the fastening position P is supported at that position with a finger. The nut 56 is disposed in a space surrounded by the plate portion 61, the boss portion 27, and the vertical rib 62 and is supported by a finger, so that the nut 56 is in the vicinity of the front side of the boss core metal 22. In a portion corresponding to the through hole 55, the state is held incapable of movement and rotation.

  At substantially the same time as the pushing-up operation of the nut 56, as shown in at least one of FIGS. 9 and 10, the support bolts 51 of the extraction tool 40 are inserted into the corresponding through holes 55. Since the through hole 55 is formed to have a slightly larger diameter than the shaft portion 52 of the support bolt 51, the support bolt 51 can be easily inserted.

Then, the support bolt 51 is rotated while the nut 56 held at the fastening position P as described above is pressed against the plate portion 61 by each support bolt 51. At this time, the boss portion 27 and the vertical rib 62 that satisfy the above-described condition (D2 <D1 <D3) for the distances D1, D2, and D3 restrict the rotation of the nut 56 at the fastening position P. Accordingly, the male screw 52 </ b> A of the support bolt 51 is screwed into the nut 56 without rotating the nut 56 with the rotation of the support bolt 51. This screwing is performed until the tip of the male screw 52A protrudes from the nut 56. When the male screw 52A is screwed into the nut 56,
The nuts 56 restrict the support bolts 51 from moving backward with respect to the boss core metal 22 (the support bolts 51 are fixed to the boss core metal 22 in the rear).

  After both the support bolts 51 are screwed into the nut 56, the push bolt 46 is rotated and pressed against the rear end surface of the male thread portion 24 of the steering shaft 11. Further, in the process of continuing the rotation of the push bolt 46, as shown in FIG. 11, both nuts 56 come into contact with the boss cored bar 22, and the head 53 of each support bolt 51 comes into contact with the substrate 41. After that, by continuing the rotation of the push bolt 46, the substrate 41 is moved backward, which is a direction away from the steering shaft 11. Even if the tubular member 28 made of steel bites into the tapered surface 31 of the steering shaft 11 while being pressed against the tapered surface 26, or the tapered surfaces 26, 31 are fixed due to deterioration over time, the above movement As a result, the cored bar 20 is moved in the same direction via the support bolt 51 and the nut 56, and the steering wheel 12 is removed from the steering shaft 11.

  As the push bolt 46 rotates, a force pulling backward acts on the nut 56, and the boss core metal 22 receives this force and has sufficient strength. Therefore, the boss core metal 22 is removed from the steering shaft 11 without causing deformation or the like.

  Here, the boss core metal 22 is only provided with a through hole 55 through which the support bolt 51 is inserted, and is not provided with a screw hole. Since this through hole 55 is formed together when the core metal 20 is die-cast, a process (time) and equipment for performing screw processing as well as drilling processing on the die-cast core metal 20. Is unnecessary. A commercially available nut 56 is used. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the cored bar 20 and thus the steering wheel 12 is reduced by the amount that the process and equipment for drilling and screwing are not required.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When die-casting the core metal 20, the boss core metal 22 is screwed into the nut 56 held on the front side of the boss core metal 22 at two positions opposite to each other with the boss 27 interposed therebetween. A through-hole 55 that allows each support bolt 51 to be inserted is provided (FIGS. 5 and 10). By doing so, the process (time) and equipment for drilling and screwing the die-cast cored bar 20 are not required without impairing the function of fixing the both support bolts 51 to the boss cored bar 22. . Therefore, the cost of the cored bar 20 can be reduced without affecting the removal operation of the steering wheel 12 from the steering shaft 11.

  (2) In the recent steering wheel 12, in addition to the screw holes for the support bolts 51 of the extraction tool 40, for example, various screw holes such as screw holes for attaching switches to the cored bar 20 are abolished. It has been studied to attach switches or the like to the metal core by means. This is because the process (time) and equipment required for drilling and threading are not required, and the cost is reduced. However, even if other various screw holes can be eliminated, the screw holes for the support bolts 51 cannot be eliminated. Therefore, the reality is that all screw holes have not been abolished. The above-mentioned effect of eliminating the process (time) and equipment required for drilling and screwing can be obtained only when the screw holes are completely abolished.

  Therefore, by adopting the configuration of this embodiment, when it becomes possible to eliminate the screw holes for the support bolts 51, all the screw holes in the cored bar 20 are abolished, and the steps required for drilling and screw machining ( Time) and equipment are not required, and the cost can be reduced.

  (3) In the vicinity of the front side of the boss core metal 22 and corresponding to each through hole 55, a nut holding assisting portion 60 for assisting the holding of the nut 56 at the same location is provided (FIGS. 5 and 10). ). For this reason, the operation | work which hold | maintains the nut 56 in the said location becomes easy compared with the case where there is no such assistance.

  (4) The lower cover 16 which is an existing component of the steering wheel 12 provided to cover at least the boss portion 27 from the front side is used as a location for attaching the nut holding auxiliary portion 60 (FIGS. 4 and 5). . Therefore, it is not necessary to newly provide a portion to be attached (attached portion) of the nut holding auxiliary portion 60.

  (5) The nut holding auxiliary portion 60 is a part of the lower cover 16 (FIG. 4). For this reason, the nut holding auxiliary portion 60 can be formed together during resin molding of the lower cover 16. After the nut holding auxiliary portion 60 is formed separately from the lower cover 16, the step of fixing the nut holding auxiliary portion 60 to the lower cover 16 is unnecessary.

  (6) At the time of removing the steering wheel 12 using the extraction tool 40, the operator prepares the nut 56. Therefore, it is possible to reduce waste as compared with a case in which a nut is previously incorporated in the steering wheel 12 in preparation for an operation for removing the steering wheel 12 that is infrequent (which may not be performed once).

  (7) As the nut holding auxiliary portion 60, a plate portion 61 that extends along a plane orthogonal to the central axis L2 of the through hole 55 and that intersects the central axis L2 is a fastening position P, and fastening of the plate portion 61 The nut 56 on the position P is provided with a pair of sandwiching portions that sandwich the nut 56 from both sides (left and right sides) in the surface direction of the plate portion 61 (FIG. 7A).

  Therefore, the nut 56 is disposed in a space surrounded by the plate portion 61 and both sandwiching portions, so that the nut 56 is held at a location near the front side of the boss core metal 22 and corresponding to each through hole 55. Can assist.

  (8) In the steering wheel 12 of the present embodiment in which both through holes 55 are located in the vicinity of both the left and right sides of the boss portion 27, one of the clamping portions is constituted by the boss portion 27 and the other is separated from the boss portion 27. It is comprised by the vertical rib 62 (FIG. 7 (A)). Thus, since the boss portion 27 is used as one of the pair of sandwiching portions, the manufacturing cost of the steering wheel 12 can be reduced as compared with the case where both sandwiching portions are newly provided.

(9) A lateral rib 63 is provided above the fastening position P (FIG. 6). Therefore, it is possible to suppress the nut 56 from being pushed upwardly beyond the fastening position P.
(10) In the present embodiment in which a hexagonal nut is used as the nut 56, the distance D1 between the boss portion 27 and the vertical rib 62 is larger than the distance D2 between the opposing surfaces 56A of the nut 56, and the relative It is set to be smaller than the interval D3 between the facing corner portions 56B (FIGS. 7A and 7B). For this reason, when the support bolt 51 is screwed into the nut 56, the nut 56 can be prevented from rotating with the rotation of the support bolt 51, and the support bolt 51 can be securely screwed into the nut 56.

  (11) In the plate portion 61, the nut insertion portion 64 is provided at a location away from the boss core metal 22 in the surface direction (downward) of the plate portion 61, and the nut 56 that has been input to the nut insertion portion 64 is provided. A guide portion is provided to guide between both the sandwiching portions (see FIG. 6). Therefore, the nut 56 put between the plate portion 61 and the boss portion cored bar 22 and moved to the nut throwing portion 64 deviated from the fastening position P is moved along both the longitudinal ribs 65 and 66, so It is possible to easily approach the fastening position P between the parts (the boss part 27 and the vertical rib 62).

  (12) The guide portion is constituted by a pair of vertical ribs 65, 66, and is parallel to each other from the nut insertion portion 64 toward the fastening position P on the inner side (opposite vertical ribs 66, 65 side) of both the vertical ribs 65, 66. One guide surface 65A, 66A is formed extending in the direction (FIG. 7A). For this reason, the nut 56 can be reliably brought close to the fastening position P only by moving the nut 56 thrown into the nut throwing portion 64 along the both guide surfaces 65A and 66A.

  (13) An inclined rib 67 is provided on the lower side of the vertical rib 65 as a receiving part for receiving the nut 56 placed on the nut insertion part 64 from the lower side (FIG. 6). Therefore, the inclined rib 67 can suppress the nut 56 from dropping (falling) from the nut insertion portion 64.

Note that the present invention can be embodied in another embodiment described below.
<About the core 20>
The core metal 20 may be die-cast using magnesium instead of aluminum.

In place of the boss cored bar 22, the spoke cored bar 23 may be a cored bar around the bossed part 27, and the through hole 55 may be provided in the spoked cored bar 23.
<About the extraction tool 40>
-As the extraction tool 40, you may use the board | substrate 41 by which the three or more support bolts 51 were penetrated. In this case, the same number of through holes 55 as the support bolts 51 are provided in the boss cored bar 22.

The puller 40 may be one in which long holes are provided on both sides of the central screw hole 42 in the substrate 41 instead of the notch 43. In this case, the support bolt 51 is
The shaft 45 is not necessary because the long hole is inserted.

<Nut holding auxiliary part 60>
In the range satisfying the condition “near the front side of the core part around the boss part 27 and corresponding to each through hole 55”, the place where each nut holding auxiliary part 60 is provided is connected to the lower cover 16. May be changed to different places. For example, you may provide the nut holding | maintenance auxiliary | assistance part 60 in the location which satisfy | fills the said conditions as it is a member by the side of a vehicle.

Each nut holding auxiliary portion 60 may be formed as a separate member from the lower cover 16 and fixed to the lower cover 16 after the formation.
-Unlike the said embodiment, the inclination rib 67 which comprises a receiving part may be provided in the vertical rib 66, and may be provided in each of the vertical ribs 65 and 66. FIG. In the latter case, the lower ends of both inclined ribs 67 may be connected to each other or may be separated from each other.

-When the through-hole 55 is provided in the location comparatively distant from the boss | hub part 27, you may provide the clamping part instead of the boss | hub part 27 separately.
-You may change the shape of a clamping part in the range which satisfy | fills the conditions that "the nut 56 on the fastening position P of the plate part 61 is clamped".

-You may change the shape of a guide part in the range which satisfy | fills the conditions that "the nut 56 thrown into the nut insertion part 64 is guide | induced to the fastening position P".
-A guide part may be comprised only by one of the longitudinal ribs 65 and 66. FIG. Even in this case, it is possible to guide the nut 56 to the fastening position P by moving it along the guide surface. In this case, it is desirable to change the receiving portion into a shape that prevents the nut 56 from dropping.

The shape of the receiving portion may be changed within a range that satisfies the condition that the nut 56 placed on the nut insertion portion 64 is received from the lower side.
-You may abbreviate | omit a part of component part (The plate part 61, the vertical ribs 62, 65, 66, the horizontal rib 63, the nut insertion part 64, the inclination rib 67) of the nut holding | maintenance auxiliary | assistant part 60. In an extreme case, for example, if the nut 56 can be held by hand only on the front side of the boss cored bar 22 and corresponding to each through hole 55, the entire nut holding auxiliary portion 60 is omitted. Is also possible.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Steering shaft, 12 ... Steering wheel, 16 ... Lower cover, 20 ... Core metal, 22 ... Boss core metal (comprising a core metal part around the boss part), 23 ... Spoke core metal (around the boss part) 27 ... Boss part (also serves as a clamping part on one side), 40 ... Puller, 41 ... Substrate, 46 ... Push bolt, 51 ... Support bolt, 55 ... Through hole, 56 ... Nut, 56A ... Surface, 56B ... Corner, 60 ... Nut holding auxiliary part, 61 ... Plate part, 62 ... Vertical rib (constitutes one side clamping part), 64 ... Nut insertion part, 65, 66 ... Vertical rib (constitutes guide part) , 65A, 66A ... guide surface, 67 ... inclined rib (constituting the receiving portion), L1 ... rotation axis, L2 ... central axis, P ... fastening position, D1, D2, D3 ... spacing.

Claims (8)

The cored bar formed by die casting has a boss part fitted to the steering shaft,
When removed from the steering shaft, the board, a push bolt screwed into the board in a direction along the axis of rotation of the steering shaft, and the board are movably inserted in the same direction as the push bolt. A plurality of support bolts are used, and with the support bolt fixed to a core metal part around the boss portion, the push bolt is pressed against the steering shaft from behind, A steering wheel in which the core metal is pulled backward from the steering shaft;
The core metal part around the boss part is formed at the time of die casting of the core metal, and the support bolts screwed into the nuts held on the front side of the core metal part can be inserted. A through hole is provided ,
In the vicinity of the front side of the cored bar portion and corresponding to each through hole, a nut holding auxiliary portion is provided to assist holding at the same location of the nut,
The nut holding auxiliary part is
A plate portion that extends along a plane orthogonal to the central axis of the through-hole and intersects with the central axis, and a position where the nut is fastened to the support bolt;
A pair of clamping parts for clamping the nut on the fastening position of the plate part from both sides in the surface direction of the plate part;
Steering wheel, characterized in that it comprises a. The steering wheel according to claim 1 , wherein the nut holding auxiliary portion is provided on a lower cover that covers at least the boss portion from the front side. The steering wheel according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the nut is prepared at the time of removal using the extraction tool. The through hole is provided in the vicinity of the boss part of the cored bar part,
One of the both clamping parts is constituted by the boss part,
The other of the said clamping parts is a steering wheel as described in any one of Claims 1-3 provided in the location spaced apart from the said boss | hub part. The nut is composed of a hex nut,
The distance between the clamping section is larger than the distance between the surfaces facing each of the nut, and any one of claims 1 to 4 is set smaller than the spacing between the corner portions facing each of the nut 1 Steering wheel described in one . The nut holding auxiliary part is
In the plate portion, a nut insertion portion provided at a location away from the core metal portion in the surface direction of the plate portion, and
The steering wheel according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , further comprising a guide portion that guides the nut input to the nut input portion between the both clamping portions. The steering wheel according to claim 6 , wherein the guide portion includes a pair of guide surfaces extending in parallel with each other from the nut insertion portion toward the fastening position. The steering wheel according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the nut holding auxiliary portion includes a receiving portion that receives the nut that has been input to the nut input portion from below.

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