JP2002321546A - Instrument panel support structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an instrument panel support structure capable of satisfying the requirements for support rigidity and vibration characteristics of a steering column in a simple structure, as well as performing a tightening work of connecting members for connecting a car body to a steering support member, even in case of adopting a method of assembling the instrument panel to the car body after panel being modularized. SOLUTION: The instrument panel 10 is fixed to the car body side by way of the steering support member 12 for supporting the steering column in the instrument panel support structure. The support structure is constituted by being equipped with the connecting member 14 for connecting the steering support member 12 to a car body side fixing portion 13 in the longitudinal direction of the car.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument panel support structure, and more particularly, to an instrument panel support structure in which an instrument panel is fixed to a vehicle body via a steering support member for supporting a steering column. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an instrument panel is generally fixed to a vehicle body via a steering support member for supporting a steering column.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional instrument panel support structure as described above, in order to improve the rigidity of the support of the steering column by the steering support member and the vibration characteristics thereof, the diameter of the pipe of the steering support member is reduced. By increasing the wall thickness or adding a reinforcing plate or the like in advance to increase the rigidity of the steering support member, the requirements for the support rigidity and vibration characteristics of the steering column are satisfied.

[0004] However, as described above, increasing the pipe diameter or wall thickness of the steering support member, or adding a reinforcing plate or the like, increases the weight of the vehicle, increases the number of parts, and reduces the number of assembly steps of the vehicle. There is a drawback that this results in an increase in the number of vehicles and, as a result, an increase in vehicle manufacturing costs.

On the other hand, in order to improve the support rigidity of the steering column by the steering support member and its vibration characteristics, it is conceivable to additionally provide a connecting member between the vehicle body and the steering support member. If a method is adopted in which the instrument panel is partially assembled and modularized, and then the modularized instrument panel is collectively mounted on the vehicle body and assembled, the steering support member and the vehicle body are installed inside the instrument panel. It was difficult to connect all of them with a connecting member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can satisfy the requirements of the support rigidity and the vibration characteristics of a steering column with a simple structure, and can also be applied to a vehicle body after modularizing an instrument panel. An object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel support structure capable of fastening a connecting member that connects a vehicle body and a steering support member even when an assembling method is adopted.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, there is provided an instrument panel supporting structure in which an instrument panel is fixed to a vehicle body via a steering support member for supporting a steering column. And a connecting member for connecting the steering support member and the vehicle body in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an instrument panel support structure according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 11 show an embodiment of an instrument panel support structure according to the present invention. In the structure of the embodiment, the instrument panel 10 is fixed to the vehicle-body-side fixing portion 13 via a steering support member 12 that supports a steering column (not shown), and the steering support member is fixed to the vehicle-body side. The portion 13 is connected in the vehicle front-rear direction by a connecting member 14 (see FIG. 1).

Here, the instrument panel 10
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the front end 10 a has a recess 15 at the center of the front end 10 a. A slit 16 into which the upper end portion 14a of the connecting member 14 is inserted is formed on the back side (front side of the vehicle) of the bottom portion 15a of the concave portion 15. A bolt insertion hole 17 is formed in the vertical wall portion 15b of the concave portion 15 (see FIGS. 1, 3 and 4).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the steering support member 12 has a central portion in the vehicle width direction.
The bracket 18 includes a bracket 18 extending substantially vertically. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the bracket 18 has a central portion 18a formed in an arc shape along the outer peripheral side surface of the steering support member, and is fixed to the steering support member 12 at this portion. Further, the bracket 18 has an end 18b, 1
8c are respectively extended (see FIGS. 1 and 5). In particular, the upper end portion 18b has a substantially U-shaped horizontal cross section, and has a screw insertion hole 19 and a slit 20.
Are formed (see FIGS. 1, 6 to 8).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the connecting member 14 is a strip-shaped stay having a longitudinal direction in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Also, a bent portion 14b is formed by bending the tip of the upper end portion 14a of the connecting member 14 toward the rear of the vehicle (see FIG. 6). In particular, this bent portion 14b
The slit 16 is formed so as to be inclined with respect to the slit 16 (or the bottom 15 a) provided in the concave portion 15 of the instrument panel 10, more specifically, at an angle A (see FIG. 9) with respect to the slit 16. 6, 8 and 9, a bolt insertion hole 21 is formed at the upper end portion 14a of the connecting member 14, and a screw insertion hole 2 is formed at a lower portion 14c thereof.
2, and at the lower end thereof, a cut-and-raised portion 14d curved toward the rear of the vehicle is formed.

In the present embodiment, when mounting the instrument panel 10 on a vehicle body, first, the instrument panel is partially assembled and modularized in a sub-line of an assembly plant. That is, after the ducts have been assembled inside the instrument panel 10, the upper end 14 a of the connecting member 14 is inserted into the slit 16 of the front end 10 a of the instrument panel, while the lower part 1
4c is inserted into a slit 20 formed in the upper end 18b of the bracket 18 of the steering support member 12, and further, a hole 19 in the lower portion 14 of the connecting member 14 and a hole 22 in the end 18b of the bracket 18 are formed. Then, the connecting member 14 and the bracket 18 are integrated by fastening the screw 23 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

As a result, the rotation of the lower portion 14c of the connecting member 14 on the steering support member 12 side is restricted, so that the hole 22 of the connecting member 14 and the hole 19 of the bracket 18 are aligned, and the screw 23 can be easily inserted. Become. In addition, about the connecting member 14, the upper end part 14a of the connecting member
If the bent portion 14b is inserted into the slit 16 at an angle A with respect to the slit 16, the bent portion 14b can be smoothly inserted into the slit 16, and after the insertion, the bent portion 14b is easily detached from the slit 16 by the angle A. Can be prevented.

Next, the instrument panel 10 thus modularized is mounted on the vehicle body, and as shown in FIG. 1, bolts 24 are provided in the bolt insertion holes 17 of the recess 15 and the fixing portion 13 on the vehicle body side. It is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 25 and fastened to the nut 26. As a result, the instrument panel 10 is fixed to the vehicle body, and at the same time, the connecting member 14 is also fixed to the vehicle body.

In this embodiment, the following operation can be obtained by adopting the above configuration. That is,
In the present embodiment, since the upper end portion 14a of the connecting member 14 is inserted into the slit 16 of the instrument panel 10 and fastened together by the bolt 24, the lower portion 14c of the connecting member 14 is attached to the steering support member 1.
The second bracket 18 can be temporarily held. Thus, even in the method of modularizing the instrument panel 10 and mounting it on the vehicle body at a time, the steering support member 12 and the vehicle body side can be easily connected by the connecting member 14. Therefore, the workability of assembling the instrument panel 10 to the vehicle body can be improved.

Further, the connecting member 14 employed in the present embodiment
Is formed in a strip shape, so that when it receives an impact from the front of the vehicle, it functions to absorb the impact energy by deformation and not transmit as much as possible to the steering support member 12. It is possible to prevent an impact from being transmitted to the steering (not shown).

Further, in this embodiment, since the connecting member 14 is formed separately from the steering support member 12, when the instrument panel 10 is partially assembled in a sub-line of an assembly plant, the connecting member 14 is removed. Since the assembling operation can be performed, the assembling property is not impaired, and the restriction on the connecting position between the steering support member 12 and the connecting member 14 can be eliminated.
As a result, the steering support member 12 and the fixed portion 13 on the vehicle body side can be connected linearly and at the shortest distance. By connecting the steering support member 12 and the vehicle body by the connecting member 14, the instrument panel 1 by the steering support member is connected.
Since the support stiffness of the steering support member 12 is increased, and the connecting member 14 also has the function of preventing the vibration of the steering support member 12, the vibration characteristics of the steering support member are also improved.

Further, the upper end 14a of the connecting member 14 is inserted into the slit 16 of the instrument panel 10,
Since the lower portion 14c of the connecting member is fixed to the bracket 18, it is possible to prevent the connecting member from rotating freely and coming off the slit 16 of the instrument panel 10. Moreover, in the present embodiment, since the bending portion 14b is provided at the upper end portion 14a of the connecting member 14, when the instrument panel 10 is mounted on the vehicle body, the instrument panel is suspended. Is the steering support member 1
Even if it is lifted with respect to 2, the connecting member is prevented from coming off the slit 16 of the instrument panel 10.

Further, in this embodiment, the front end 10a of the instrument panel 10 and the steering support member 12 are connected by a connecting member 14, and the connecting member 14 and the bracket of the steering support member 12 are connected. In the temporary holding portion between the bracket 18 and the bracket 18, the cut-and-raised portion 14d is inserted into the slit 20 of the bracket 18 so that the rotation of the connecting member and the movement of the connecting member along the contact surfaces are regulated. Instrument panel 10 that is prone to deformation such as hanging down from steering support member 12
Of the front panel 10a can be corrected to a regular-sized shape, whereby the operation of mounting the instrument panel 10 on the vehicle body and the operation of fastening the same to the vehicle body can be easily performed.

In this embodiment, the upper end 14a of the connecting member 14 is inserted into the slit 16 of the instrument panel 10.
And the instrument panel 10 are not fastened by screws, so that the number of parts can be reduced, the man-hour for assembling the instrument panel 10 can be reduced, and the workability can be improved.

In the above-described embodiment, the temporary holding portion is configured by the cut-and-raised portion 14d of the connecting member 14 and the slit 20 of the bracket 18 fixed to the steering support member 12, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The invention is not limited to this, and it is only necessary to provide a cut-and-raised portion 14d at one of the upper end 18b of the bracket 18 fixed to the connecting member 14 and the steering support member 12, and to provide the slit 20 at the other end.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bent portion 14b is formed by forming an angle A at the upper end portion 14a of the connecting member 14. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the angle A may not be necessarily formed. When the instrument panel 10 is deformed, the bent portion 14b may be formed so as not to come out with respect to the slit 16 of the instrument panel. At this time, if necessary, an angle A may be appropriately provided. Good. In addition, when an appropriate angle A is provided to the bent portion 14b, a more favorable retaining effect on the instrument panel 10 can be exhibited as compared with a case where the angle is not provided.

[0023]

As described above, according to the instrument panel support structure of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, in the invention according to the first aspect, in the instrument panel support structure in which the instrument panel is fixed to the vehicle body via the steering support member that supports the steering column, Because it was configured with a connecting member that connects in the direction,
It is possible to improve the support rigidity and vibration characteristics of the steering column. In particular, when the vehicle body is connected to the center of the steering support member having the maximum amplitude by the connecting member, the support rigidity and vibration characteristics of the steering column can be further improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the connecting member is disposed substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction, the supporting rigidity and vibration characteristics of the steering column can be more effectively improved with a small number of connecting members. It is possible to do.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the connecting member is a strip-shaped stay having a longitudinal direction in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and easily deformable, thereby absorbing deformation of the front portion of the vehicle body in the event of a vehicle collision. However, transmission to the steering column can be prevented.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the connecting member is fastened to the front end of the instrument panel and the fixed portion of the vehicle body, so that the instrument panel is mounted on the vehicle body at one time. The connecting member can also be assembled by the following construction method. Moreover, since the assembled connecting member also serves as a reinforcing plate for a fixing portion of the instrument panel to the vehicle body, the number of parts and the number of steps for tightening the components can be reduced because the reinforcing member is not required.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the connecting member is configured to be detachable from the steering support member and the instrument panel, the arrangement of the ducts when the instrument panel is assembled is provided. It is possible to reduce restrictions on the assembling order of the above and the connecting position of the connecting member and a decrease in their assemblability.

In the invention according to claim 6, between the connecting member and the bracket fixed to the steering support member, a temporary holding portion for temporarily holding the connecting member to the bracket of the steering support member is provided. Since the configuration is provided, it is possible to improve the workability by forcing deformation of the instrument panel and bending due to its own weight and facilitating the alignment of the fastening holes.

[0029] In the invention described in claim 7, the temporary holding portion is cut and raised on one side of the connecting member and the end of the bracket fixed to the steering support member, and the other side. The slits are provided and the cut-and-raised portions are engaged with each other, so it is possible to add a temporary holding function by simple processing. Moreover, temporary holding is possible only by inserting the cut-and-raised portions into the slits. Therefore, the workability of assembling the instrument panel can be improved.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the cut-and-raised shape and the hole have a configuration in which rotation and movement of each other are regulated, deformation of the instrument panel can be corrected. The effect of positioning the tightening position can improve the ease of assembling the instrument panel.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the slit for inserting the tip of the connecting member is provided at the front end of the instrument panel, the temporary insertion of the connecting member can be performed by a simple inserting operation. Holding is possible, and furthermore, it is not necessary to fasten the instrument panel and the connecting member, so that the number of parts and the number of working steps can be reduced.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the connecting member has a structure in which the distal end is bent to provide a bent portion, the instrument panel can be lifted when the instrument panel is mounted on a vehicle. The connecting member can be prevented from falling out of the slit.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, since the bent portion is provided obliquely with respect to the slit, the effect of preventing the connection member from coming off from the slit of the instrument panel is further improved. It is possible. Further, when assembling the connecting member, the connecting member can be inserted into the slit of the instrument panel while rotating, so that it is possible to prevent a decrease in workability at the time of insertion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an instrument panel employed in an embodiment of the instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment of the instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of the instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a steering support member employed in an embodiment of the instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of the instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a main part of an embodiment of the instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment of the instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of a connecting member employed in an embodiment of the instrument panel support structure according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Instrument panel 10a Front end part 12 Steering support member 13 Fixed part 14 Connecting member 14a Upper end part 14b Bend part 14c Lower part 14d Cut-and-raised 15 Depression 15a Bottom part 16 Slit 17 Bolt insertion hole 18 Bracket 18a Central part 18b, 18c End part 19 Screw insertion hole 20 Slit 21 Bolt insertion hole 22 Screw insertion hole 23 Screw 24 Bolt 25 Bolt insertion hole 26 Nut

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An instrument panel support structure in which an instrument panel is fixed to a vehicle body via a steering support member that supports a steering column, wherein a connecting member that connects the steering support member and the vehicle body in a vehicle longitudinal direction is provided. An instrument panel support structure provided with: 2. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is disposed substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction. 3. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is a strip-shaped stay whose longitudinal direction is the vehicle longitudinal direction. 4. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is fastened to a front end of the instrument panel and a fixing portion of the vehicle body. . 5. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is detachable from the steering support member and the instrument panel. 6. A temporary holding structure for temporarily holding the connecting member to the bracket of the steering support member between the connecting member and a bracket fixed to the steering support member. Item 6. An instrument panel support structure according to item 5. 7. The cut-and-raised structure provided on one of the connecting member and an end of a bracket fixed to the steering support member, and the cut-and-raised structure is provided on the other side. 7. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 6, wherein said instrument panel support structure comprises a hole to be engaged. 8. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 7, wherein the cut-and-raised shape and the hole are shaped so that mutual rotation and movement are restricted. 9. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 5, wherein a slit for inserting a tip of the connecting member is provided at a front end of the instrument panel. 10. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 9, wherein a bent portion is provided by bending a distal end portion of the connecting member. 11. The instrument panel support structure according to claim 10, wherein the bent portion is provided obliquely with respect to the slit.