JP2008087718A - Steering joint cover - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a degree of freedom of mounting work of a steering joint cover and thus improve work efficiency and sound insulation by increasing the thickness of the cover. <P>SOLUTION: In the steering joint cover 5 having a cover main body 8 and a bush 20, the cover main body 8 is formed of an elastic material of which shape is easily deformed/restored such as a relatively thick rubber material, and a cut openable/closable in a halved state is provided as a division part 9 in the axial one side. The bush 20 is formed to be openable/closable in a halved state as a hinge using the elasticity of a resin material, corresponding to expansion and opening of the cover main body 8. Thus, the steering joint cover 5 is fitted to a steering joint shaft from the lateral direction and sound insulation with respect to noise from outside of the vehicle can be improved without deteriorating ease of assembling work even when the cover main body 8 is formed to be relatively thick. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering joint cover that covers, on the vehicle interior side, a joint shaft that connects a steering column in a vehicle interior and a steering gear box outside the vehicle interior.

  In general, the joint shaft that connects the steering column in the passenger compartment and the steering gear box outside the passenger compartment is a steering joint for the purpose of preventing foreign objects from falling into the steering gear box and preventing noise from entering the passenger compartment from outside the passenger compartment. Covered with a cover.

As such a steering joint cover, for example, in Patent Document 1, a joint cover fixed to a dashboard of a vehicle body from the outside of the vehicle interior and inserted from the outside of the vehicle interior to the interior of the vehicle interior is slidably mounted on the joint cover. A steering joint cover is disclosed which includes a cylindrical slide cover that is bridged between a joint cover and an outdoor steering gear box by sliding.
JP 7-257403 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the steering joint cover is all installed from outside the vehicle compartment, but after the steering column is inserted from the upper opening of the joint cover in the vehicle interior, a clip is attached to the narrowed portion. Work such as sealing with the steering column is required.

  For this reason, there is a restriction on the process of attaching the steering joint cover, and it is difficult to improve the work efficiency by considering the work process in total. Furthermore, since it is necessary to insert the steering column from the upper opening of the joint cover and make it closely contact with the steering column by the clip, the thickness of the joint cover is also limited, and there is a limit in improving the sound insulation performance. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and enhances the degree of freedom in the operation of mounting the steering joint cover, thereby improving the work efficiency and improving the sound insulation performance by increasing the thickness of the cover. The purpose is to provide a cover.

  In order to achieve the above object, a steering joint cover according to the present invention is a steering joint cover that covers a joint shaft that connects a steering column in a vehicle interior and a steering gear box outside the vehicle interior on the vehicle interior side. In a steering joint cover that covers a joint shaft that connects a steering gear box outside the vehicle compartment on the vehicle interior side, a base portion that is attached to the toe board side, and a projection that projects from the base portion toward the vehicle interior side to cover the joint shaft A split part that can be opened and closed in half is provided in the cover body consisting of a part in the axial direction, and is opened and closed in half in correspondence with the divided part on the tip side of the protruding part, and the joint shaft is rotated. A bearing member for supporting freely is provided.

  The steering joint cover according to the present invention can be mounted with a high degree of freedom, thereby improving work efficiency and improving sound insulation performance by increasing the thickness of the cover.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an external view showing a steering joint shaft and a steering joint cover, FIG. 2 is a view taken along an arrow A in FIG. 1, and FIG. B line sectional drawing, FIG. 4 is a perspective view which shows the division | segmentation part of a steering joint cover, FIG. 5 is explanatory drawing of a bush.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 connects a steering column connected to a steering handle in a vehicle interior via a toe board that separates the vehicle interior from the exterior of the vehicle interior, and a steering gear box installed in the engine compartment. It is a steering joint shaft, and each end 2 at both ends is formed as a universal joint. The steering joint shaft 1 is a steering joint mounted on the toe board on the vehicle interior side for the purpose of preventing foreign matter from falling into the steering gear box, preventing interference with the rotating part, and preventing noise from entering the vehicle interior from the outside of the vehicle interior. Covered by a cover 5.

  The steering joint cover 5 includes a cover body 8 including a plate-like base portion 6 and a bellows-like protruding portion 7 protruding from the base portion 6, and a bush 20 that is detachably attached to the tip of the protruding portion 7. The base portion 6 is attached to the toe board via a stud bolt or the like. The bush 20 attached to the protruding portion 7 of the cover body 8 has a function as a bearing member that rotatably supports the steering joint shaft 1 and is formed of an oil-containing resin or the like.

  The steering joint cover 5 including the cover body 8 and the bush 20 can be divided in half in the axial direction, and can be attached to the steering joint shaft 1 from the lateral direction. That is, the cover main body 8 is formed of a material having elasticity such as a relatively thick rubber material and having a shape that can be easily deformed and restored. As shown in FIG. An opening that can be opened and closed is provided as the dividing portion 9. Corresponding to the expansion of the cover body 8, the bush 20 is also formed as a hinge utilizing the elasticity of the resin material so that it can be opened and closed in half.

  In detail, as shown in FIG. 5, the bush 20 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and can be opened and closed in half, and a claw portion 22 erected on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder of the main body 21. And two flange portions 23 projecting sideways from the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 21 in a plate shape. The main body portion 21 is provided with a groove 24 having a predetermined depth along the axial direction on the inner peripheral surface side of the cylindrical shape, and forms a divided portion 25 in which the opposite side of the groove 24 is cut in the axial direction.

  The nail | claw part 22 is a hook-shaped member which straddles the division | segmentation part 25 of the main-body part 21, and engages with a cylindrical outer peripheral surface, and is formed integrally with the main-body part 21 in this form. Further, the flange portion 23 protrudes from the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 21 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the groove 24 and the divided portion 25.

  Two substantially rectangular window portions 10 through which the flange portion 23 is inserted are opened substantially orthogonally to the divided portion 9 at the distal end side of the projecting portion 7 of the cover body 8, and the flange portion 23 extends from the window portion 10. Protrudes and is exposed. Thereby, the mounting of the bush 20 on the cover body 8 can be visually confirmed, and after the cover body 8 is opened in half and mounted on the steering joint shaft 1, the two flange portions 23 are pressed. Thus, the claw portion 22 can be engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 21.

  In the steering joint cover 5 having the above configuration, the divided portion 9 of the cover main body 8 is closed in a normal state, and when the cover main body 8 is attached to the steering joint shaft 1, the divided portion 9 is expanded. The steering joint shaft 1 can be mounted from the lateral direction. After the cover body 8 is expanded and attached to the steering joint shaft 1, the claw portion 22 is engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 21 by pressing the flange portion 23 of the bush 20 exposed from the cover body 8 with a finger. By doing so, the dividing portion 9 is closed by the restoring force of the cover body 8 itself, and noise can be prevented from entering the vehicle interior from outside the vehicle interior.

  In order to close the cover body 8 more securely, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 4, a fastening portion for fastening both sides of the divided portion 9 is integrally provided on the outer surface of the base portion of the protruding portion 7. May be. For example, a protrusion 11 and a band-shaped band 12 having a fitting hole that fits into the protrusion 11 are disposed across the divided portion 9 on the base side of the protrusion 7, and the protrusion 11 has a front end side of the band 12. The cover main body 8 can be reliably closed by fitting and using as a fastening band.

  That is, the steering joint cover 5 is elastically deformable and can be expanded in the axial direction, and can be closed by covering the steering joint shaft 1 from the lateral direction, so that the cover body 8 can be formed relatively thick. The sound insulation performance against noise from outside the vehicle compartment can be greatly improved without sacrificing assembly workability.

  In addition, the steering joint shaft 1 can be attached to the rotary shaft by covering the steering joint shaft 1 from the lateral direction and closing the bush 20 provided in the cover main body 8. It is not necessary to fix with a fastening band or the like of another part after being inserted through the upper end opening, and it is possible to improve the assembling workability and the degree of freedom with respect to the work process order, and to improve the work efficiency.

  Further, since the rotating portion of the steering joint shaft 1 is supported via the bush 20 incorporated in the cover body 8, the length of the protruding portion 7 covering the joint shaft is minimized while ensuring the sound insulation performance and the supporting performance of the rotating shaft. It is possible to suppress the vehicle to a limit, to secure a wide space for the driver's feet, and to realize a vehicle that is easy to drive and has excellent indoor living performance.

External view showing steering joint shaft and steering joint cover 1 arrow view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. The perspective view which shows the division | segmentation part of a steering joint cover Illustration of bush

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering joint axis | shaft 5 Steering joint cover 6 Base part 7 Protrusion part 8 Cover main body 9 Dividing part 20 Bush (bearing member)

Claims (3)

In the steering joint cover that covers the joint shaft that connects the steering column in the vehicle interior and the steering gear box outside the vehicle interior on the vehicle interior side,
A cover body comprising a base part attached to the toe board side, and a projecting part that projects from the base part toward the vehicle interior side and covers the joint shaft, is provided with a split part that can be opened and closed in a split shape in the axial direction,
A steering joint cover characterized in that a bearing member is provided on the front end side of the projecting portion so as to open and close in a split shape corresponding to the divided portion and to rotatably support the joint shaft.   The steering joint cover according to claim 1, wherein the bearing member is formed of an oil-containing resin material.   The steering joint cover according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a fastening portion for fastening both sides of the divided portion is formed integrally with the protruding portion.

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