JP6548267B2 - Steering wheel, method of manufacturing the same and leather-covered member - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a leather-coated steering wheel, and more particularly to a steering wheel provided with a leather coating by a relatively simple operation, a method of manufacturing the same, and a leather-coated member.

  A steering wheel of a conventional automobile or the like is formed of a ring portion continuously formed in a circle, a boss portion located at the center of the ring portion, and a plurality of spoke portions radially connected from the boss portion. At least the ring portion is covered with leather for the purpose of anti-slip, touch feeling improvement, and high-class feeling.

  Conventionally, such coating with leather has been performed by hand-sewing. In the hand-sewing method, after the cut leather is wound around a covering object such as a steering wheel or a shift knob, the leather ends are abutted and sewn together manually. However, the hand-sewing work requires a large amount of work and labor, and the production amount is limited. Therefore, a leather-coated steering wheel and a shift knob are expensive.

  In addition, in the hand-sewing method, since it is necessary to sew the ends of the leather, the leather of the ring part and the leather of the spoke part are cut together to cut the leather. For this reason, the yield at the time of leather cutting had become very bad. Then, the shape of the spoke portion has been determined in order to give priority to improving the yield at the time of cutting the leather. Therefore, in particular, the degree of freedom in the design of the spokes and the shift knobs is small, and for example, even the design of the shapes of the spokes and the shift knobs to be easy to grip is restricted.

  Furthermore, there is a problem that a shape defect due to a float of the leather or the like occurs in a portion where the shape change is significant. Although the manufacturing method which eliminates such a problem is also proposed (refer patent document 1), the problem of taking time and the like is not eliminated.

On the other hand, in particular, in order to reduce the number of operation steps, an adhesion method has recently been proposed. The bonding method can reduce the number of operation steps, and has been widely adopted to reduce the cost. However, in the bonding method, it has been pointed out that the leather shrinks and peels off due to aging and environmental changes.
In addition, such a problem exists similarly in various members which want to provide a leather covering for the purpose of anti-slip, touch feeling improvement, high-class feeling etc., for example, various members such as a stroller, a wheelchair handle, handrails, etc. .

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2003-89357

  An object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel capable of providing a covering of leather by a relatively simple operation, a method of manufacturing the same, and a leather covering member.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention for solving the problem, a boss fixed to a steering shaft, a ring concentrically arranged on the boss, and a spoke radially extending from the boss to the ring A steering wheel including a ring portion, the ring portion comprising a ring portion body which is a base body and a leather coating coated thereon, the ring portion body has a discontinuous portion at at least one location, The leather coating is formed in a cylindrical shape in advance, and the ring body is connected to the discontinuities in a state of being inserted into the leather coating. .

  In the first aspect, since the leather covering can be provided on the ring body by covering the leather formed on the ring body by sewing leather with a sewing machine or the like, manufacturing at low cost is possible. A steering wheel can be provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the steering wheel of the first aspect, at least one location around the axis along the ring shape of the ring body extends in the axial direction along the axis A steering wheel is characterized in that an extending groove is formed and a part of the leather covering is inserted.

  In the second aspect, by inserting an extra portion of the leather coating into the axially extending groove, it is possible to realize a steering wheel provided with the leather coating having an excellent appearance without wrinkles and lifting.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the steering wheel according to the second aspect, the leather covering is formed in a cylindrical shape by sewing, and a sewn sewing portion is inserted in the groove. On the steering wheel.

  In the third aspect, by inserting the sewn portion or the extra portion into the axially extending groove, it is possible to realize a steering wheel provided with a leather covering which is excellent in appearance without wrinkles and lifting.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the steering wheel according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a plurality of the grooves are provided in the direction around the axis.

  In this aspect, it is possible to divide the part into which the sewn part is inserted and the part into which the extra part is inserted, and it is possible to remove wrinkles and lift more reliably.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the steering wheel according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a relatively deep portion in the axial direction of the groove is intermittently in the axial direction. The steering wheel is characterized in that it is provided.

  In the fifth aspect, it is possible to insert many extra portions of the leather coating in the deep part of the groove, to make it possible to more reliably lift the wrinkles, and to prevent axial displacement of the leather coating. Can.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the steering wheel according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the ring body is a resin molded product.

  In the sixth aspect, the ring body can be manufactured relatively easily by resin molding.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is the steering wheel according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the spokes are fixed to the ring body covered with the leather coating. On the steering wheel.

  In the seventh aspect, the spokes can be fixed to the leather-coated ring body to provide a steering wheel.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering system comprising: a boss fixed to a steering shaft; a ring concentrically arranged on the boss; and spokes radially extending from the boss to the ring A method of manufacturing a wheel, wherein a ring covering body formed in a cylindrical shape in advance is divided into cylindrical parts in a state in which a ring part body which is a base of the ring part is divided by at least one discontinuous part. In the method of manufacturing a steering wheel according to the present invention, the discontinuities are connected after insertion into the ring, and then the spokes are fixed to the ring.

  In the eighth aspect, the leather covering can be provided on the ring body by covering the ring body with a cylindrical shape by sewing with a sewing machine or the like, so that the steering wheel can be manufactured at low cost.

  A ninth aspect of the present invention comprises a rod-like substrate and a leather coating coated on the surface of the substrate, wherein the leather coating is formed in a cylindrical shape in advance, and the shaft axis of the substrate is A leather covering member characterized in that a groove extending in an axial direction along the axis is formed in at least one place in a direction of rotation, and a part of the leather covering is inserted in the groove. .

  In the ninth aspect, for example, a member such as a handle portion of a wheelchair or a sleeve can be used as a leather covering member, and a leather covering member capable of being manufactured at low cost can be provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the leather covering can be provided on the ring body by inserting the leather formed into a cylindrical shape by sewing leather with a sewing machine or the like, so that the cost can be reduced. A steering wheel that can be manufactured can be provided. Also, for example, members such as the handle of the wheelchair and the sleeves can be made into a leather covering member at low cost.

It is a perspective view of a steering wheel concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is AA 'line sectional drawing of FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the groove | channel of leather coating. FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the manufacturing process of the leather covering of Embodiment 1. It is a figure which shows the modification of the edge part of the sewing part of leather coating. It is the top view which shows the ring part body of Embodiment 1, and its CC 'line sectional drawing. It is sectional drawing which shows the connection structure of the discontinuous part of a ring part body. FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a steering wheel of Embodiment 1; It is the top view of the leather covering member of Embodiment 2, and its DD 'sectional view.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a steering wheel according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA 'of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view showing the manufacturing process of the leather covering, FIG. 5 is a view showing a modification of the end of the sewn part of the leather covering, FIG. 6 is a plan view and a sectional view of the ring body, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a connecting structure of the parts, and FIG. 8 is an assembled perspective view of a steering wheel. Hereinafter, the configuration of the steering wheel 1 will be described while explaining a manufacturing method.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the steering wheel 1 according to the present embodiment is a steering for a vehicle such as a car, and is a holding for connecting the ring portion 10, the ring portion 10 and a steering shaft not shown. It consists of the member 30. The holding member 30 includes a boss 31 located at the center of the ring 10, a spoke 32 extending radially from the boss 31, three in the present embodiment, and a connecting part for connecting the spoke 32 and the ring 10. 33, and the coupling portion 33 is provided with a fastening portion 34 (see FIG. 8) screwed to the ring portion 10 with a screw 17.

  The ring portion 10 includes a ring portion body 11 and a leather covering 20 covering the ring portion body 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ring body 11 is formed into a ring shape, and two ring-shaped members having a semi-cylindrical shape with a longitudinal cross section are formed into a shape that fits each other, and they are combined. Here, the direction along the ring shape of the ring body 11 is referred to as the ring direction or the axial direction, and the circumferential direction of the substantially circular longitudinal cross section is referred to as the direction around the axis. A plurality of, in this embodiment, three grooves 13a, 13b and 13b are extended around the longitudinal cross section in the ring direction (axial direction) around the longitudinal cross section. The grooves 13a are provided on the back surface side of the ring body 11, and the grooves 13b are provided one on each of the left and right sides of the vertical cross section.

  As described above, the ring body 11 may be formed by joining two parts in the axial direction, or may be integrally formed by various manufacturing methods. The method for producing the hollow article is also not particularly limited, and examples of the method for producing the hollow article include extrusion molding, press bending, free forming, and the like. In addition, the ring body 11 may be a solid product, or may be an integrally molded product in two parts.

  Such a ring body 11 may be made of a material having rigidity and strength for steering, but fiber reinforced plastics, fiber reinforced thermoplastics, carbon fiber reinforced plastics, fillers such as high strength polyamide, and fiber reinforced engineers Plastic can be mentioned. The ring body 11 may be made of a material other than resin, and, for example, iron, aluminum, magnesium, other metal materials, etc. can be used.

  A plurality of grooves 13a and 13b are provided around the axis, but may be one. Although the depths of the grooves 13a and 13b are the same along the axial direction, at least one of the grooves 13a and 13b may have portions with different depths along the axial direction. For example, it may be intermittently deep along the axial direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the groove 13e may have a relatively shallow shallow groove 13c and a relatively deep deep groove 13d. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the deep groove portion 13d may be a hollow member or a groove 13f having a deep groove portion 13d penetrating therethrough. In this case, the C-shaped member may be partially connected, and the connection portion may be a shallow groove portion 13c, and the unconnected portion may be a deep groove portion 13d including a penetration portion.

  The leather coating 20 is obtained by sewing a natural leather or a synthetic leather into a bag and inverting it, and inserting it from the discontinuous portion 14 of the ring body 11 and covering it. Specifically, leather 21 which is natural leather or synthetic leather cut into a straight shape expanded as shown in FIG. 4A is folded in half and sewn to obtain a bag-like leather 22 (FIG. 4B), This is turned over to form a bag-like leather covering 23 (FIG. 4 (c)), which is covered from one end of the discontinuous portion 14 of the ring body 11. The leather coating 20 may be provided in a cylindrical shape with both ends opened instead of a bag. The end of the bag-like leather covering 23 can be treated when connecting the discontinuous portion 14 to maintain the appearance of the surface.

  At this time, there is a sewn portion on the inside of the bag-like leather coating 23, which is inserted into the groove 13a of the ring portion body 11. As a result, no floating or unevenness is formed on the surface of the leather coating 20. Further, in the present embodiment, since the straight bag-like leather covering 23 is placed on the ring-shaped ring body 11, slack or the like occurs in the circumferential direction of the longitudinal cross section of the ring body 11, but as shown in FIG. By sagging and bonding the sagging leather in the groove 13b provided at two places in the circumferential direction, it is possible to eliminate the sagging or unevenness of the leather and to maintain the aesthetic appearance of the appearance.

In FIG. 2, the sewn portion 20a is held in the groove 13a, and the grained portion 20b is held in the two grooves 13b. Here, when the leather is to be tightened, insert recesses may be inserted between the recesses 20b, which are nested or extended at discrete intervals at intervals extending over the grooves 13b.
The bag-like leather covering 23 may not be a straight shape, and may be a bag-like leather covering 23A which is cut and sewn into a ring shape as shown in FIG. 4 (e).

  In addition, the sewn portion 20a may be provided with a notch at its end to impart flexibility and be easily accommodated in the groove 13a. The shape of the incision is not particularly limited. For example, in the sewn portion 24A, the outer end 26A of the sewing line 25 is cut in a zigzag, and a V-shaped cut 27A is continuously provided (FIG. 5A). The sewing portion 24B has a V-shaped cut 27B intermittently provided at the outer end 26B of the sewing line 25 (FIG. 5 (b)). In the sewing portion 24C, a thin V-shaped notch 27C is intermittently provided at the outer end 26C of the sewing line 25 (FIG. 5 (c)). Further, the sewing portion 24D has a linear notch 27D intermittently provided at an end portion 26D outside the sewing line 25 (FIG. 5 (d)).

Furthermore, the ring body 11 does not have to be the same material as a whole, and two or more kinds of materials may be combined.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the ring body 11 is formed in a ring shape, and as shown in FIG. 6 (b), a longitudinal cross section (a cross section taken along line C-C 'in FIG. 6 (a) It may be a two-layer structure of a circular hollow hard resin portion 11a and a soft resin portion 11b covering the outside of the hard resin portion 11a. The hard resin portion 11a and the soft resin portion 11b are formed by fitting two ring-shaped members having a semicircular longitudinal cross section into shapes that fit each other. A plurality of, in this embodiment, three grooves 13a, 13b and 13b are extended around the longitudinal cross section in the ring direction (axial direction) around the longitudinal cross section. The grooves 13a are provided on the back surface side of the ring body 11, and the grooves 13b are provided one on each of the left and right sides of the vertical cross section. Further, the ring body 11 is provided with a screw hole 11 c into which the fastening portion 34 of the holding member 30 is screwed. Furthermore, as for the ring part body 11, the discontinuous part 14 is provided in one place of the ring direction (axial direction). By providing the soft resin portion 11 b as described above, the feel when holding the steering can be improved.

  The hard resin portion 11 a of the ring portion body 11 may be made of a material having rigidity and strength as a steering, and the above-mentioned materials can be used. The soft resin portion 11b may be formed by two-color molding together with the hard resin portion 11a, or a sponge sheet separately molded from chloroprene rubber, natural rubber, polyurethane resin or the like may be joined. And polyurethane foam rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, soft vinyl chloride and the like.

  An example of a connection structure for connecting the discontinuities 14 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 7A, the fitting convex portion 15A is provided at one end of the discontinuous portion 14 and is fitted to the other hollow hole. Moreover, FIG.7 (b) provides the fitting member 15B fitted to the hollow hole of the edge part of the discontinuous part 14, and connects both. In any case, the end of the leather coating 20 is held by, for example, sandwiching the end of the leather covering 20 at the time of fitting.

  As described above, the ring-shaped body 10 is covered with the sack-like leather coating 23, the grained portion 20b is embedded in the groove 13b, and the discontinuous portion 14 is connected, whereby the ring portion 10 is manufactured.

  On the other hand, the holding member 30 can be separately manufactured, for example, by insert molding a resin on a metal skeleton.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, by fastening the fastening portion 34 of the holding member 30 with the screw 17 in the screw hole 11 c of the ring portion 10, the steering wheel 1 can be obtained.

  As described above, in the steering wheel 1 of the present invention, when the leather covering 20 is provided, the leather is sewn by a sewing machine or the like in advance without forming the leather on the ring body 11 and sewing. Since the leather covering 20 can be provided on the ring body 11 by covering the above-mentioned one on the ring body 11, manufacturing at low cost is possible.

Second Embodiment
The embodiment described above shows an example in which the present invention is applied to steering, but can be applied to various applications. For example, the present invention can be applied to various members to be provided with a leather covering for the purpose of anti-slip, touch improvement, high-class feeling, etc., such as strollers, wheelchairs, handrails for care, various care products.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to, for example, a stroller and a handle portion of a wheelchair. As shown in FIG. 9, a leather covering member 50 is provided in the middle of the metal pipe member 40. The leather covering member 50 is obtained by providing a leather covering 60 on a base 51 made of a metal pipe, as in the embodiment described above. The base 51 is provided with a groove 53a and two grooves 53b in the periaxial direction, and the leather covering 60 has a sewn portion 60a by sewing leather in a tubular shape. Then, the tubular leather coating 60 is inserted into the base body 51, the sewn portion 60a of the leather coating 60 is inserted into the groove 53a, and an extra portion is inserted into the groove 53b to form a recessed portion 60b. The both ends of the leather covering member 50 may be connected to the metal pipe member 40 as in the case of the discontinuous portion in the above-described embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 steering wheel 10 ring part 11 ring part body 11a hard resin part 11b soft resin part 13a, 13b groove 20 leather coating 20a, 60a sewing part 20b, 60b fitting part 30 holding member 31 boss part 32 spoke part 33 connecting part 34 fastening part 50 leather covering member 53a, 53b groove 60 leather covering

Claims (7)

A steering wheel comprising a boss fixed to a steering shaft, a ring concentrically arranged on the boss, and a spoke extending radially from the boss to the ring, the ring being a ring A ring body which is a base body and a leather coating coated thereon, the ring body has a discontinuous portion at at least one place, while the leather coating is formed in a cylindrical shape in advance And at least one location around the axis of the axis along the ring shape of the ring body is formed with a groove extending along the axis along the axis, and a portion of the leather covering is inserted and it has the ring portion body, a steering wheel, wherein the discontinuity in a state of being inserted into the leather cover is connected. The steering wheel according to claim 1 , wherein the leather covering is formed in a cylindrical shape by sewing, and a sewn sewing portion is inserted in the groove. The steering wheel according to claim 1 or 2, a steering wheel, wherein said groove is more provided in the axial direction about. The steering wheel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the groove has a portion which is relatively deep in the axial direction and is intermittently provided in the axial direction. Steering wheel. The steering wheel according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the ring body is a resin molded product. The steering wheel according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the spokes are fixed to the ring body covered with the leather covering. A method of manufacturing a steering wheel, comprising: a boss fixed to a steering shaft; a ring concentrically arranged on the boss; and spokes radially extending from the boss to the ring. The ring body, which is the base body of the ring, is divided by at least one discontinuous portion, and at least one position around the axis of the axis along the ring shape of the ring body. A groove extending in the axial direction along the axis is formed, and after inserting a cylindrically formed leather coating into the ring body, a part of the leather coating is inserted into the groove; A method of manufacturing a steering wheel, comprising connecting the discontinuities and then fixing the spokes to the ring.

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