JP2005088845A - Steering member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering member facilitating work for establishing a body ground by changing an energizing structure itself. <P>SOLUTION: The steering member 3 is formed in a close cross-section structure by a metallic member main body 7 having a open cross-section shape and a metallic base plate 8 provided with a base plate portion 15 on inner surface 14a side of a metallic plate 14. Therefore, since necessary stiffness is ensured, the metallic base plate 8 itself functions as a harness, so that necessary energizing function can be obtained even if a harness is arranged inside thereof. Furthermore, a ground portion 16 to a base plate portion 15 is formed at a part of the metallic plate 14 of the metallic base plate 8, so that by conducting the ground portion 16 to the member main body 7 and conducting the member main body 7 to a vehicle body, the body earth can be established without a conventional earth cable. Consequently, advantageous workability can be ensured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering member that can be body grounded without using a dedicated ground wire.

  Inside the instrument panel of the automobile, a steering member with both ends coupled to the side wall of the vehicle body is disposed along the vehicle width direction. The steering member is used to support a steering column, an air conditioning unit, an airbag, and the like. Therefore, the steering member is required to have rigidity and generally has a metal closed cross-sectional structure.

Further, the steering member is also required to have a function of supporting a harness routed inside the instrument panel. A harness is a bundle of many wires to various electrical equipment. The harness is routed in the vehicle width direction using the internal space of the steering member, and the sub-harness branched from the notch formed at the required location is taken out. Yes. Further, the harness is provided with the required number of ground wires for the connected components, and the ground wires are taken out of the steering member and screwed to the vehicle body to secure the body ground ( For example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-18841 A

  However, in such a conventional technique, it is necessary to take out the ground wire from the harness routed inside the steering member and screw it to the vehicle body, so the work for grounding the body is troublesome. there were.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a conventional technique, and provides a steering member that facilitates the work for body grounding by changing the energization structure itself.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering member disposed in the vehicle width direction in a state in which both end portions are coupled to the vehicle body side wall inside the instrument panel, and the opening of the member body made of metal and having an open cross-sectional shape In addition, a metal substrate provided with a plurality of different current-carrying substrate portions on the inner surface side of the metal plate is joined to form a closed cross-sectional structure, and a ground portion for the substrate portion formed on a part of the metal plate of the metal substrate is provided. The member main body is made conductive, and at least a part of the member main body is made conductive with respect to the vehicle body.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the ground portion is both front and rear edges formed of only a metal plate of a metal substrate, and the front and rear edges are joined to the opening of the member body by caulking. To do.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, both ends of the member body (7) in the vehicle width direction are coupled to the vehicle body side wall (2) in a conductive state, and the vehicle body front wall (7) is connected to the member body (7) via the stay (5). 6) is characterized by being coupled in a conductive state.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the steering member having the closed cross-sectional structure is formed from the member main body made of metal and having the open cross-sectional shape, and the metal substrate having the substrate portion provided on the inner surface side of the metal plate. Rigidity is ensured. Moreover, since the metal substrate itself functions as a harness, a necessary energization function can be obtained without wiring the harness inside. Further, since a ground portion for the substrate portion is formed on a part of the metal plate of the metal substrate, the ground portion is made conductive to the member main body, and the member main body is made conductive to the vehicle body. A body ground can be taken without a simple ground wire, which is advantageous in terms of workability.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since both the front and rear edges formed only of the metal plate of the metal substrate are grounded and coupled to the opening of the member body by caulking, the member body A reliable conduction state is obtained.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the connecting portion of the member main body in the vehicle width direction and the side wall of the member main body, the central portion of the member main body in the vehicle width direction of the member main body and the front wall of the vehicle body are brought into conduction. This ensures a reliable body grounding.

  Metal that has a metal plate with an opening in the member body that has an open cross-sectional shape and a substrate that can be energized with a plurality of different currents on the inner surface side of the metal plate for the purpose of facilitating the work for body grounding The substrates are joined to form a closed cross-sectional structure, and the ground portion with respect to the substrate portion formed on a part of the metal plate of the metal substrate is made conductive with respect to the member main body, and the member main body is made conductive with respect to the vehicle body. That was realized.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. An instrument panel 1 is attached in front of the passenger compartment. Inside the instrument panel 1, a steering member 3 is installed between the vehicle body side walls 2 on both sides in the vehicle width direction along the vehicle width direction. A steering support 4 for supporting a steering column (not shown) is fixed to the driver side of the steering member 3 by welding. Further, a pair of stays 5 are fixed to the center of the steering member 3 by welding, and are coupled to a floor tunnel 6 that is a “vehicle body front wall”. The stay 5 and the floor tunnel 6 are coupled with no intervening insulator therebetween, and both are in a conductive state by a metal contact.

  The steering member 3 includes a member main body 7 and a metal substrate 8. The member main body 7 is a press-molded product, and has an open cross-sectional shape with an upward cross-sectional U shape having an opening 9 in the upper part. The metal substrate 8 has a rectangular plate shape. Both ends of the member main body 7 in the vehicle width direction are welded while being inserted into the through holes 11 of the mounting bracket 10, and are coupled to the vehicle body side wall 2 via the mounting bracket 10. The coupling between the mounting bracket 10 and the vehicle body side wall 2 is also a coupling that does not interpose an insulator, and both are in a conductive state by a metal contact.

  Further, at both ends of the member main body 7 in the vehicle width direction, one notch 12 is formed on the front side. Further, flanges 13 are formed from front and rear ends of the opening 9 of the member main body 7.

  The metal substrate 8 is formed of a rectangular metal plate 14 and a substrate portion 15 provided on the lower surface (inner surface) 14a thereof. The substrate portion 15 is formed by forming an energization circuit on the lower surface 14a of the metal plate 14 through an insulating coating, and can be energized with a plurality of different currents, similar to a harness in which a plurality of wires are bundled. For the metal plate 14 of the metal substrate 8, it is desirable to select a metal that is the same as the metal material of the member body 7 or has a lower potential difference than the metal material of the member body 7.

  The substrate portion 15 is narrower than the metal plate 14, and the front and rear edges 16 of the metal substrate 8 are formed of only the metal plate 14, and the metal surface is exposed. The width of the metal substrate 8 is set to be larger than the opening 9 but smaller than the flange 13.

  The front and rear edge portions 16 of the metal plate 14 function as “ground portions” of the substrate portion 15, and a necessary number of ground connections are made between the substrate portion 15 and the components to be connected.

  Harnesses 17 are directly formed at both ends of the metal substrate 8 in the vehicle width direction of the substrate portion 15 at positions corresponding to the notches 12 of the member main body 7. Further, connectors 18 are set at three positions on the upper surface 14b of the metal plate 14. A connector 20 for the sub-harness 19 can be connected to each connector 18.

The metal substrate 8 is mounted so that both the front and rear edges 16 formed only of the metal plate 14 are placed on the flange 13 of the member body 7 and the remaining part of the flange 13 is folded back to wrap the front and rear edges 16. By tightening, the metal substrate 8 and the member main body 7 are coupled to form a closed cross-sectional structure. The harness 17 is taken out of the steering member 3 from the notch 12. Since the steering member 3 has a closed cross-sectional structure, the rigidity required for the steering member 3 is ensured. The substrate portion 15 of the metal substrate 8 is located on the inner space side of the steering member 3 and is protected because there is nothing to interfere with. The board portion 15 of the metal board 8 provides a necessary energizing function without wiring a conventional harness inside the steering member 3, because a mechanical coupling means called “clamping” is used. In this case, there is no thermal shock and the influence on the substrate portion 15 of the metal substrate 8 is small. Furthermore, since the metal substrate 8 is merely provided with the connector 18 and a notch that significantly reduces the rigidity is not formed, this point also contributes to the overall rigidity securing surface of the steering member 3.

  Further, by caulking, the front and rear edge portions 16 which are “earth portions” are brought into conduction with the member main body 7 via the flange 13, and the entire member main body 7 becomes the ground potential. The member main body 7 itself is in a conductive state with the vehicle body at the joint portion with the vehicle body side wall 2 and the joint portion with the floor tunnel 6 by the stay 5, and as a result, a reliable body grounding can be obtained and It is advantageous in terms of sex.

  As the member main body 7, an open cross-sectional shape with an upward cross-sectional U-shape is taken as an example, but it may be laterally or downwardly, and may be a U-shape or the like instead of the U-shaped cross-section. Further, the member body 7 having an open cross-sectional shape itself has a structure having a hollow portion in the thickness, and may be a cross-sectional shape having a substantially closed cross-sectional structure while having an open cross-sectional shape as a whole. As the member main body 7, a press-molded product is taken as an example and the steering support 4 and the stay 5 are attached by welding. However, the member main body 7 may be integrally formed by die casting.

  Both the front and rear edges 16 function as “grounding portions”, but either the front or rear may be sufficient, and if a reliable electrical connection with the member body 7 is obtained, even a part in the longitudinal direction may be used. good.

  Although the floor tunnel 6 has been described as the “vehicle body front wall”, a dash upper panel may be used.

The perspective view which shows the attachment state of the steering member inside the instrument panel concerning 1st Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the steering member of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the SA-SA line shown by the arrow in FIG. The disassembled perspective view which shows the steering member of FIG. The back view which shows the metal substrate of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument panel 2 Car body side wall 3 Steering member 4 Steering support 5 Stay 6 Floor tunnel 7 Member main body 8 Metal substrate 9 Opening 10 Mounting bracket 11 Through-hole 12 Notch 13 Flange 14 Metal plate 14a Lower surface (inner surface)
14b Upper surface 15 Substrate part 16 Front and rear both edges (ground part)
17 Harness 18 Connector 19 Sub Harness 20 Sub Harness Connector

Claims (3)

A steering member (3) arranged in the vehicle width direction with both ends coupled to the vehicle body side wall (2) inside the instrument panel (1),
A substrate portion (15) capable of supplying a plurality of different currents is provided on the inner surface (14a) side of the metal plate (14) in the opening (9) of the member body (7) made of metal and having an open cross-sectional shape. Combine metal substrates (8) to make a closed cross-section structure,
The ground portion (16) with respect to the substrate portion (15) formed on a part of the metal plate (14) of the metal substrate (8) is brought into conduction with the member main body (7), and the member main body (7) A steering member, wherein at least a part of the steering member is connected to a vehicle body. The steering member according to claim 1,
The ground portion is the front and rear edges (16) formed only of the metal plate (14) of the metal substrate (8), and the front and rear edges (16) are added to the opening (9) of the member body (7). A steering member characterized by being coupled by tightening. A steering member according to claim 1 or claim 2,
Both ends of the member main body (7) in the vehicle width direction are connected to the vehicle body side wall (2) in a conductive state, and are connected to the member main body (7) through the stay (5) in a conductive state to the vehicle body front wall (6). A steering member characterized by that.

Images