Steering wheel horn plate

Abstract

The embodiment of the present specification provides a steering wheel horn plate, comprising a plate-shaped main body, a damper and a metal contact, the horn plate is manufactured by a two-component injection molding process and has a first component formed by a first plastic component and a second component formed by a second plastic component, the first plastic component comprises a material harder than the second plastic component, the first component comprises the plate-shaped main body, the second component comprises the damper, and the metal contact is integrally formed with the plate-shaped main body by an insert injection molding process. The present scheme integrates the plate-shaped main body, the damper and the metal contact by combining the insert injection molding and the two-component injection molding process, compared with the existing technology of adopting a punched iron plate body and assembling a metal contact scheme, the material cost and the labor cost are reduced, the efficiency is improved, and the packaging, transportation and assembly costs are saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This manual relates to the field of vehicle safety steering wheel technology, specifically to the steering wheel horn. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the connection between the car steering wheel and the driver's side airbag is often achieved by pressing the horn in the middle. The current horn assembly includes: the horn body, several damper units, horn copper contacts, shock absorber support columns, and fixing steel wires. Among these parts, iron parts need to be stamped first and then covered to form the horn body before the other parts are assembled to complete the sub-assembly.

[0003] Existing speaker panel designs consist of stamped sheet metal parts and plastic-coated parts in the manufacturing process, requiring both continuous stamping dies and plastic molds. This makes the production process complex and costly. In the subsequent assembly of dampers, copper contacts, and shock-absorbing support columns, not only are a large number of molds required in the early stages, but the subsequent transportation and assembly are also cumbersome, wasting manpower and resources. For damping systems with complex structures, such as soft ones with multiple petal-like structures, it is difficult to achieve automated equipment installation and to achieve time-saving and high-efficiency results. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the embodiments of this specification provide an integrated steering wheel horn bracket, which uses insert injection molding and two-color injection molding processes to directly injection mold the damper, shock absorption support column and horn contact points together with the horn plate body. This effectively solves the problems of traditional horn plates having many parts, complicated assembly steps, and cumbersome packaging and transportation. At the same time, it saves the production and assembly time of parts and greatly reduces the overall cost.

[0005] The embodiments in this specification provide the following technical solutions:

[0006] A steering wheel horn includes a plate-shaped body, a damper, and metal contacts. The plate-shaped body includes a through hole through which a fastener passes to secure the horn to the steering wheel. The damper is disposed at the through hole and located between the fastener and the plate-shaped body. The metal contacts are used to connect and conduct with peripheral components to activate or deactivate the horn function. The horn is manufactured using a two-component injection molding process and has a first component formed of a first plastic component and a second component formed of a second plastic component. The first plastic component comprises a material that is harder than the second plastic component. The first component includes the plate-shaped body, the second component includes the damper, and the metal contacts are integrally formed with the plate-shaped body using an insert injection molding process.

[0007] The above solution uses a first plastic component made of a harder material for injection molding. Before injection molding, the metal contacts are placed in the mold and injection molded together as inserts. Compared with the existing technology that uses stamped iron plates and assembled metal contacts, this reduces material and labor costs. In addition, the damper is integrally molded onto the plate body through a second injection molding process. This allows for fully automated production using the same mold as the plate body, reducing packaging and transportation costs, improving efficiency, and saving on packaging, transportation, and assembly expenses.

[0008] Preferably, the plate-shaped body includes at least two through holes, and a first connecting groove connecting the two through holes is provided on one side surface of the plate-shaped body. The second component includes at least two dampers and a first connecting adhesive channel, with the first connecting adhesive channel placed in the first connecting groove.

[0009] The plate-shaped main body typically has at least two through holes. To address this, a first connecting groove is formed on the surface of the plate-shaped main body on the first component formed during the first injection molding. During the second injection molding, only one inlet is needed to allow the second plastic to flow through the first connecting groove to the two through holes, forming a fitted first connecting runner and two dampers on the molded second component. This solution simplifies the mold structure and reduces the amount of plastic used.

[0010] Preferably, the plate-shaped body further includes a pin hole, and a second connecting groove is formed on the surface of the plate-shaped body to connect the pin hole and the through hole. The second component includes a shock-absorbing support column and a second connecting adhesive channel. The shock-absorbing support column is embedded in the pin hole and protrudes to one side, and the second connecting adhesive channel is placed in the second connecting groove and connected to the damper.

[0011] The vibration damping support column is used to reduce vibration between the speaker panel and surrounding components, thereby reducing abnormal noise. The above design allows the vibration damping support column and speaker panel to be integrally molded, eliminating the need for subsequent installation steps. Furthermore, the design of the second connecting groove and the second connecting glue channel allows the injection molding of the vibration damping support column and the damper to share a single feed port, further simplifying the mold structure.

[0012] Preferably, the first component includes a columnar protrusion surrounding the pin hole and extending toward one side of the horn plate, the shock-absorbing support column passing through the pin hole and protruding outward from the columnar protrusion, the end of the columnar protrusion being embedded in the shock-absorbing support column.

[0013] Preferably, the first connecting groove and the second connecting groove are located on the two side surfaces of the plate-shaped body, respectively.

[0014] With the above scheme, the second connecting groove and the first connecting groove are placed on opposite sides of the plate-shaped main body, making the interlocking connection between the first component and the second component stronger; the columnar protrusions surround the shock-absorbing support column, which on the one hand facilitates the formation of a stable injection molding shape, and on the other hand assists the shock-absorbing support column in its damping effect.

[0015] Preferably, the metal contact includes a filament, and the first member includes a strip-shaped protrusion located on one side of the plate-shaped body and extending along the edge, the filament being embedded in the strip-shaped protrusion.

[0016] The above solution uses filament-shaped metal contacts, which are mostly injection molded at the edge of the plate-shaped main body. This further reduces the space required for the metal contacts to be arranged on the plate-shaped main body while ensuring the connection strength between the metal contacts and the speaker plate.

[0017] Preferably, the plate-shaped body has a through hole around the position of the through hole, and the damper is embedded in the through hole.

[0018] The above scheme, by embedding the second component into the through hole to form a damper, can further improve the connection strength of the damper in the through hole, as well as the connection strength between the second component and the first component.

[0019] Preferably, the damper includes flanges clamped on both sides of the plate-shaped body. The flanges have a petal structure, and the petal structure of one flange, the through hole, and the petal structure of the other flange are located on the same axial position.

[0020] The flange is used for contact with the head of the fastener. The shape and size of the petal-like structure can be adjusted to achieve damping frequency, such as damping low-frequency vibration. The petal structure is axially aligned with the through hole, thus achieving both connection strength and damping frequency adjustment.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the technical effects that can be achieved by the above-mentioned at least one technical solution adopted in the embodiments of the present invention include at least the following: 1. The horn plate has strip-shaped protrusions including filaments, which not only help to wrap the horn steel wire, but also strengthen the horn plate and effectively improve its resistance to deformation. 2. The damper core can be set as an insert, which not only facilitates the replacement of different structured cores to achieve different structured damper forms, but also allows the same damper core to be used for the production of dampers with different shaped horn brackets, thus realizing a standardized mold structure. 3. Using the damper and shock absorber support mold core as standard inserts not only enables quick and effective model changeover and obtains a wider damper frequency range, but also allows it to be used in steering wheels with different horn brackets. It can also effectively prevent noise generation, is easy to produce on a platform, and reduces the cost of developing a single damper. 4. The speaker panel assembly in this solution is a one-piece component when it leaves the factory, which does not require subsequent assembly and avoids the transportation problems of multiple parts. Attached Figure Description

[0022] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional view of the structure of one side surface of the steering wheel horn provided in this application; Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional view of the structure of the other side surface of the steering wheel horn provided in this application; Figure 3 This is a front view of the structure of one side surface of the steering wheel horn provided in this application; Figure 4 yes Figure 3 Cross-sectional view along section line BB; Figure 5 This is a front view of the second component of the steering wheel horn plate provided in this application; Figure 6 This is a rear view of the second component of the steering wheel horn plate provided in this application; Figure 7 This is a partial sectional view of the steering wheel horn plate mounted on the frame, as provided in this application; Figure 8 The vibration curve is obtained from the steering wheel resonance experiment using the horn plate provided in this application.

[0024] In the diagram, 1. Horn plate; 2. First component; 21. Plate-shaped main body; 22. Through hole; 23. First connecting groove; 24. Second connecting groove; 25. Pin hole; 26. Columnar protrusion; 27. Strip-shaped protrusion; 28. Through hole; 29. ​​Mounting hole; 3. Second component; 31. Damper; 32. First connecting adhesive channel; 33. Vibration damping support column; 34. Second connecting adhesive channel; 4. Metal contact; 5. Fixing wire; 6. Fastener; 7. Guide component; 8. Biasing component; 9. Frame. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of this application. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this application from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. This application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of this application. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0027] It should be noted that various aspects of embodiments within the scope of the appended claims are described below. It will be apparent that the aspects described herein can be embodied in a wide variety of forms, and any particular structure and / or function described herein is merely illustrative. Based on this application, those skilled in the art will understand that one aspect described herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number and aspects set forth herein can be used to implement the device and / or practice the method. Additionally, this device and / or method can be implemented using structures and / or functionalities other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein.

[0028] It should also be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic representations of the basic concept of this application. The drawings only show the components related to this application and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape and size of the components in the actual implementation. In the actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the layout of the components may also be more complex.

[0029] Furthermore, specific details are provided in the following description to facilitate a thorough understanding of the examples. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the described aspects can be practiced without these specific details.

[0030] like Figure 1 and Figure 7 As shown, the steering wheel horn plate 1 includes a plate-shaped body 21 with several through holes 22. The fastener 6 passes through the through holes 22 and its end is fixed to the frame 9. A biasing spring 8 is also provided between the plate-shaped body 21 and the frame 9. The biasing spring 8 causes the horn plate 1 to move away from the frame 9 until it contacts the head of the fastener 6 and stops.

[0031] The plate-shaped main body 21 is provided with a fixing wire 5 and a mounting hole 29. The airbag module (not shown) is inserted into the mounting hole 29 by a pin and engaged with the fixing wire 5 to fix the airbag module on the horn plate 1.

[0032] When the metal contact 4 on the plate-shaped main body 21 is pressed, the airbag module (not shown) will overcome the biasing effect of the bias spring 8, causing the horn plate 1 and the metal contact 4 to move downward. Then, the metal contact 4 will contact the stationary contact on the surrounding components to conduct the circuit for starting and stopping the horn function. After the pressing is canceled, the plate-shaped main body 21 will be pushed back to its original position by the bias spring 8 and will stop after contacting the fastener 6. At this time, the horn function circuit is disconnected.

[0033] The plate-shaped body 21 is provided with a damper 31 at the through hole 22. The damper 31 includes a cylindrical part extending into the through hole and a flange located at both ends and clamped on the two surfaces of the plate-shaped body 21. The fastener 6 passes through the cylindrical part in the through hole 22. Therefore, the cylindrical part and the flange are located between the fastener 6 and the plate-shaped body 21 to reduce the vibration or abnormal noise caused by the relative movement of the fastener 6 and the plate-shaped body 21.

[0034] In existing technologies, the plate-shaped main body, damper, fixing wire and metal contacts all need to be assembled separately, which not only requires a large number of molds in the early stage, but also makes the later transportation and assembly more complicated.

[0035] To solve the above problems, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the steering wheel horn 1 provided according to the present invention is manufactured by a two-component injection molding process and has a first component 2 formed of a first plastic component and a second component 3 formed of a second plastic component, wherein the first plastic component comprises a material that is harder than the second plastic component.

[0036] The first component is an integrated structure formed by injection molding. Based on the first component, another integrated structure is formed by injection molding, namely the second component. The entire injection molding process is a two-component injection molding process well known to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in detail here.

[0037] By selecting injection-molded horn plates made from plastics with different hardness, components for different purposes can be integrally injection molded into a single part. For example, if a plate-shaped main body needs to maintain high strength, high-strength nylon with glass fiber is selected; if dampers need to dampen vibrations, liquid silicone is selected. Integrating multiple parts into one injection mold reduces the number of parts and subsequent assembly steps.

[0038] It should be noted that the injection molding area and hardness difference in other parts of the speaker plate can also be adjusted according to actual needs to achieve a secondary damping effect in local areas.

[0039] like Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, the first component 2 includes a plate-shaped body 21 and metal contacts 4. The metal contacts 4 are integrally formed with the plate-shaped body 21 by an insert injection molding process. The plate-shaped body 21 is U-shaped and includes several through holes 22, mounting holes 29, and pin holes 25. A first connecting groove 23 and a second connecting groove 24 are formed on the surface of the plate-shaped component 21. The first connecting groove 23 connects at least two through holes 22, and the second connecting groove 24 connects the through holes 22 and the pin holes 25.

[0040] It should be noted that the through hole 22, mounting hole 29 and pin hole 25 all penetrate the two sides of the plate-shaped main body 21, and the first connecting groove 23 and the second connecting groove 24 are recessed groove designs with a closed bottom structure.

[0041] like Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, the second component 3 includes several dampers 31, a first connecting channel 32, a second connecting channel 34, and a damping support column 33. The first connecting channel 32 connects at least two dampers 31, and the second connecting channel 34 connects the damping support column 33 and the dampers 31. In the injection-molded speaker plate 1 structure, the first connecting channel 32 and the second connecting channel 34 are respectively embedded in or placed in the first connecting groove 23 and the second connecting groove 24, and the dampers 31 and the damping support column 33 are respectively embedded in or placed in the through hole 22 and the pin hole 25.

[0042] Among them, the shock-absorbing support column 33 is a solid column structure that protrudes towards the side of the horn plate 1 near the airbag module (not shown), and its end abuts against the bottom of the airbag module, thus playing a shock-absorbing support role.

[0043] The integrated component injection molded using the above solution effectively solves many of the shortcomings of traditional speaker brackets, such as numerous parts, complex assembly steps, and cumbersome packaging and transportation. At the same time, it saves production and assembly time and greatly reduces costs.

[0044] like Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the first component 2 includes a columnar protrusion 26 extending around the pin hole 25 toward one side of the horn plate 1, and a shock-absorbing support column 33 passing through the pin hole 25 and protruding outward from the columnar protrusion 26, with the end of the columnar protrusion 26 embedded in the shock-absorbing support column 33.

[0045] The columnar protrusions 26 are arranged around the outer periphery of the shock-absorbing support column 33, which helps to maintain the shape stability of the shock-absorbing support column and facilitates injection molding; at the same time, the design of embedding the end into the shock-absorbing support column 33 can increase the connection strength between the two and prevent them from separating during the shock absorption process.

[0046] Preferably, the first connecting groove 23 and the second connecting groove 24 are located on the two side surfaces of the plate-shaped body 21, respectively.

[0047] In practice, the first connecting groove 23 is located on the lower surface of the plate-shaped main body 21, and the first connecting adhesive channel 32 is embedded in the lower surface; the second connecting groove 24 is located on the upper surface of the plate-shaped main body 21, and the second connecting adhesive channel 34 is embedded in the upper surface. By opening connecting grooves on both surfaces of the plate-shaped main body and then fitting them with connecting adhesive channels, the connection strength can be further increased.

[0048] It should be noted that the first connecting groove 23 can also be located on the upper surface of the plate-shaped body 21, and the second connecting groove 24 can be located on the lower surface of the plate-shaped body 21. Regardless of how the connecting grooves are located, the columnar protrusion 26 should be on the same side of the surface as the first connecting groove 23, that is, opposite to the plane where the second connecting groove 34 is located. This design ensures the structural integrity of the columnar protrusion 26, and the nested structure enhances the connection strength.

[0049] like Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the metal contact 4 includes a filament, and the first member 2 includes a strip-shaped protrusion 27 located on one side of the plate-shaped body 21 and extending along the edge, the filament being embedded in the strip-shaped protrusion 27.

[0050] The filament is integrally formed with the first component 2 by insert injection molding. The resulting strip protrusion 27 extends along the edge of the plate-shaped main body 21 to minimize the surface space occupied by the plate-shaped main body 21. Most of the filament is embedded in the strip protrusion 27 for higher bonding strength, while the other part extends to the outside of the speaker plate 1. As a moving contact, it contacts or separates from the stationary contact with the reciprocating motion of the speaker plate 1 to activate the speaker function.

[0051] like Figure 4 and Figure 7 As shown, in some embodiments, the plate-shaped body 21 has a through hole 28 around the position of the through hole 22, and the damper 31 is embedded in the through hole.

[0052] The damper 21 has flanges that clamp onto both surfaces of the plate-shaped body 21, but the bonding force formed solely by the clamping surfaces can easily cause it to detach during the damping process. Therefore, a through hole 28 is provided that penetrates both surfaces of the plate-shaped body, so that during the injection molding of the second component, the injection plastic enters the through hole 28 and forms the damper 31, further increasing the connection strength at this point.

[0053] Each flange of the damper 21 has several petal structures, and each petal is independent of the others. Preferably, the petal structures and through holes of one flange and the petal structures of the other flange are located on the same axial position to facilitate the decoupling of the Z and Y directions of the vehicle in motion and improve the NVH damping performance.

[0054] It should be noted that the top of the damper 21 of the speaker plate 1 is directly interference-fitted with the head of the fastener 6, which serves both as a damping and isolating function. The shape and number of the petals on the top of the damper 21 can be adjusted according to the stiffness of the damping system, thereby achieving the dual purpose of frequency adjustment and noise prevention.

[0055] like Figure 3 and Figure 5 As shown, in some embodiments, the plate-shaped main body 21 of the steering wheel horn plate 1 is U-shaped, including two arms and a connecting part. There are three through holes 22 on the arms and the connecting part, and three dampers 21 are respectively disposed in the through holes. The dampers 21 on the arms are provided with shock-absorbing support columns 33 near the inner edge of the arms, and the dampers on the connecting part are provided with two shock-absorbing support columns 33 near the two arms respectively. The three dampers 21 are connected through a connecting groove on one side of the horn plate 1, and the dampers 21 and the shock-absorbing support columns 33 are connected through a connecting groove on the other side of the horn plate 1.

[0056] The one-piece steering wheel horn plate manufactured according to the two-component injection molding process of the present invention provides superior shock absorption while ensuring reliable connection strength, especially enabling the adjustment of low-frequency vibrations. Figure 8 In the steering wheel vibration test using this horn plate, the Z-axis and Y-axis resonant frequencies reached 27.17 Hz and 27.05 Hz, respectively, indicating that the damper has excellent structural performance and can meet the 27 Hz requirement in both the Y and Z directions.

[0057] The same or similar parts between the various embodiments in this specification can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the method embodiments described later are relatively simple in description since they correspond to the system, and relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions in the system embodiments.

[0058] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A steering wheel horn plate, comprising a plate-shaped body, a damper, and metal contacts, wherein the plate-shaped body includes a through hole through which a fastener passes to fix the horn plate in a steering wheel, the damper is disposed at the through hole and located between the fastener and the plate-shaped body, and the metal contacts are used to connect and conduct with peripheral components to activate or deactivate the horn function, characterized in that... The speaker plate is manufactured using a two-component injection molding process and has a first component formed from a first plastic component and a second component formed from a second plastic component. The first plastic component comprises a material that is harder than the second plastic component. The first component includes the plate-shaped body, and the second component includes the damper. The metal contacts are integrally formed with the plate-shaped body by an insert injection molding process.

2. The steering wheel horn plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plate-shaped body includes at least two through holes, and a first connecting groove connecting the two through holes is provided on one side surface of the plate-shaped body. The second component includes at least two dampers and a first connecting adhesive channel, with the first connecting adhesive channel placed in the first connecting groove.

3. The steering wheel horn plate according to claim 2, characterized in that, The plate-shaped body also includes a pin hole, and a second connecting groove is formed on the surface of the plate-shaped body to connect the pin hole and the through hole. The second component includes a shock-absorbing support column and a second connecting adhesive channel. The shock-absorbing support column is embedded in the pin hole and protrudes to one side. The second connecting adhesive channel is placed in the second connecting groove and connected to the damper.

4. The steering wheel horn plate according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first component includes a columnar protrusion that surrounds the pin hole and extends toward the side of the horn plate, the shock-absorbing support column passing through the pin hole and protruding outward from the columnar protrusion, and the end of the columnar protrusion being embedded in the shock-absorbing support column.

5. The steering wheel horn plate according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first connecting groove and the second connecting groove are located on the two side surfaces of the plate-shaped body, respectively.

6. The steering wheel horn plate according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The metal contact includes a filament, and the first component includes a strip-shaped protrusion located on one side of the plate-shaped body and extending along the edge, the filament being embedded in the strip-shaped protrusion.

7. The steering wheel horn plate according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The plate-shaped body has a through hole around the position of the through hole, and the damper is embedded in the through hole.

8. The steering wheel horn plate according to claim 7, characterized in that, The damper includes flanges clamped on both sides of the plate-shaped body. The flanges are in the form of petals, and the petal structure of one flange, the through hole, and the petal structure of the other flange are located on the same axial side.

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