Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Satoshi Ohno

Tetsushi Hiramitsu

Tadashi Yamamoto

Michio Inoue

Atsuo Hirano

Yutaka Kondo

A pad for an air bag comprises an outer covering including an upper wall part, hinge portions disposed at a periphery of the upper wall part, and side wall parts extending from the hinge portions. The side wall parts together with the upper wall part and the hinge portions of the outer covering are adapted to substantially confine the air bag when the air bag is in an uninflated condition. The upper wall part is conditionable to permit the airbag to escape the confines of the outer covering in response to an inflation of the air bag. The pad also includes a synthetic resin insert having a base part, collar parts, and lid parts respectively embedded in the side wall parts, the hinge portions, and the upper wall part of the outer covering. The collar part couples the base part with the lid parts. The hinge portions and the respective collar parts embedded therein are bendable to permit the air bag to escape the confines of the pad when the upper wall part is conditioned to permit the airbag to escape the confines of said outer covering in response to the inflation of the air bag. At least one of the collar parts has a smoothly curved configuration and joins the base part at an inwardly cut portion thereof.

Pad for air bag

Disclosed is a steering wheel equipped with an air bag system. The steering wheel has a controller having a processor which outputs a trigger signal for actuating an air bag in accordance with the strength of an impact arising from a collision of a car, upon sensing the impact, and a memory which stores a process by this processor; an inflator which generates a gas in accordance with a signal outputted from the controller; and an air bag which is inflated with the gas supplied from the inflator. Between the opposite surfaces of a controller case and an inflator case, there is provided a heat-insulating layer. This heat-insulating layer serves to reduce heat passing from the inflator to the controller when the air bag is inflated. Consequently, contents stored in the memory mounted in the controller will never be destroyed by heat, and it is possible to analyze the process of operation of the processor after a collision of a car body.

Steering wheel equipped with an air bag system

An air bag device is provided on upper side of a boss portion. The air bag device comprises an air bag, an inflater supplying gas to the air bag, a backup plate holding the air bag and the inflater, and a pad in box shape for covering the air bag. A thin breaking portion is formed on an upper wall of the pad so as to break the upper wall in state of connecting the upper wall to the side wall when the air bag is expanded, and a plurality of membrane switches comprising a pair of electrodes in thin film shape are arranged at portions of the upper wall of the pad except for the breaking portion. A connector connected to a prescribed electric circuit at lower side of the boss portion and the membrane switches are electrically connected by lead wires arranged along a pad side wall portion in state of connecting the pad upper wall when the pad upper wall is broken.

Steering wheel

The present invention relates to horn switches provided on steering wheels of automobiles, having a base plate in a pad portion, a horn contact protrusion extending through the upper surface of a housing disposed on the base plate and operating in correspondence with the movement of a horn button on a pad portion, a contact member of the horn contact protruding from the base plate, a biasing member disposed between the base plate and the horn contact to urge the horn contact to be spaced apart from the base plate and being electrically connected to the contact member, one electrode portion disposed on the base plate and being electrically connected to the biasing member and the other electrode disposed on the base plate at a lower position than the electrode portion described above electrically connectible to the contact member by pressing the horn contact with a horn button.

Horn switch

The present invention relates to printed wiring units to be used for horn switches and others, comprising an insulative base made of resin strong in corrosion resistance against an etching reagent to be used in pre-treatment for plating, a pattern base being shaped in substantially the same with the printed wiring pattern disposed on said insulative base and being made of resin weak in corrosion resistance against said etching reagent and a conductive plating layer formed on said pattern base. The present invention also relates to horn switches provided on steering wheels of automobiles, comprising a base plate in a pad portion a protruding horn contact extending through the upper surface of a housing disposed on said base plate and operating in correspondence with the movement of a horn button on a pad portion, a contact member of said horn contact protruded on the side of said base plate, a biasing member disposed between said base plate and said horn contact to urge said horn contact to be spaced apart from the base plate and being conductable to said contact member, one electrode portion disposed on said base plate and being conductive to said biasing member and the other electrode disposed on said base plate at a lower position than the electrode portion described above to be conductive upon contact with said contact member while not in constant contact with said biasing member.

Printed wiring unit for horn switch

A steering wheel equipped with an electrical relay means is disclosed. The steering wheel includes a pad side unrotatable member and a column side unrotatable member. A boss extends centrally and at least one pad side slip ring is disposed concentrically with the boss and electrically insulated from an outer surface thereof. The slip ring is positioned below the pad side unrotatable member. Further, at least one column side slip ring is disposed concentrically with the boss, and positioned above the column side unrotatable member. A boss plate is disposed around the boss and at least one holder is fixed to the boss plate. Pad and column side contact pins are supported by the holder, and biased toward opposite direction to each other by a spring positioned inside the holder. A lubricant is filled in the holder, and is applied to the slip rings through axial bores formed in the pins. In another embodiment of the invention, two pins are in sliding contact with a single slip ring. The pins having sliding contact portions in contact with the ring in which sliding loci of the pins are different from each other in radial direction of the ring.

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Inazawa, Japan

Satoshi Ohno