JP2012107673A - Seal structure of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure satisfactory sealing properties even when only one seal lip is used by preventing rolling up of the seal lip caused by a splash.SOLUTION: In a seal structure of a vehicle so constituted that an opening part 10 provided in a panel 9 which constitutes the vehicle is sealed by a sealing member 11 made of an elastic material, the sealing member includes an annular seal lip 31 abutting on a seal surface 23 provided on the periphery of the opening part and a guard lip 32 provided so as to cover an outer circumferential side of the seal lip and so as not to abut on the seal surface. The guard lip is especially formed so as to be elastically deformed by collision of water droplets of splash to abut on the seal surface.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle seal structure in which an opening provided in a panel constituting a vehicle body is sealed with a seal member made of an elastic material.

  In a vehicle, an opening through which a steering shaft is inserted is provided in a panel (dashboard) that partitions the engine room and the vehicle compartment, and rainwater, dust, noise, and the like are passed from the engine room through the opening. In order to prevent entry into the room, a sealing structure is adopted in which the opening of the panel is sealed with a sealing member (grommet).

  In such a vehicle seal structure, a sealing member is provided with a plurality of annular seal lips in a seal portion that comes into contact with a seal surface provided around the opening of the panel to ensure sealing performance. Is known (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-143367 A

  Now, in such a vehicle seal structure, as shown in FIG. 6, the sealing portion 52 is brought into close contact with the sealing surface 54 of the panel 53 by the elastic force generated by the bending of the sealing member 51 in the assembled state. The structure for obtaining the pressing force is simple.

  On the other hand, when a labyrinth structure is provided by providing a large number of seal lips 55, it is considered that the sealing performance can be improved. However, due to the shape of the seal member 51 and the seal surface 54, the pressing force due to the elastic deformation of the seal member is reduced. Since it is difficult to uniformly act on all the seal lips 55 and to apply the pressing force uniformly on the entire circumference of each seal lip 55, even if a large number of seal lips 55 are provided, most of the seal lips 55 are sealed. There may be a case where the effect of providing a large number of sealing lips 55 cannot be expected only by partially contacting the surface 54.

  In such a case, if only one seal lip is used and the pressing force due to the elastic deformation of the seal member acts intensively on one seal lip, the sealing performance can be secured and the manufacturing can be ensured. This is advantageous because the cost can be reduced.

  However, if the splash of high-pressure washing water hits the seal member during car washing, or if splash due to water splashing on the road surface during rainy weather hits the seal member, the seal lip may be dripped by the pressure of the splash. If only one lip is used, there is a problem that water cannot be reliably prevented from entering the passenger compartment.

  The present invention has been devised in order to solve such problems of the prior art, and its main purpose is to prevent the seal lip from swollen due to splash, and it is sufficient to use only one seal lip. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle seal structure configured to ensure a good sealing performance.

  A first invention made to solve the above problems is a vehicle in which an opening (10) provided in a panel (9) constituting a vehicle body is sealed with a sealing member (11) made of an elastic material. The seal member includes an annular seal lip (31) that abuts against a seal surface (23) provided around the opening, and a seal lip that does not abut against the seal surface. It is set as the structure provided with the guard lip (32) provided so that the outer peripheral side might be covered.

  According to this, foreign matters such as water caused by car washing or water splashing on the road surface are blocked by the guard lip, so that the seal lip can be prevented from curling due to the foreign matter directly colliding with the seal lip. Even if only one is used, sufficient sealing properties can be secured.

  In this case, since the guard lip does not come into contact with the seal surface, the pressing force due to the elastic deformation of the seal member can be concentratedly applied to the seal lip, resulting in incomplete contact between the seal lip and the seal surface. Can be avoided. Moreover, in the labyrinth structure in which a large number of seal lips are provided in the seal portion, the seal portion is thick and large. However, in the present invention, it is sufficient to provide one seal lip and one guard lip. Compared to the above, since the seal portion can be made thin and small, the seal member can be reduced in size and weight, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the guard lip has a flexibility that can be elastically deformed by a collision of a foreign object and abut against the seal surface.

  According to this, it is possible to reliably prevent foreign matters such as water from car washing or water splashing on the road surface from directly hitting the seal lip. In this case, the guard lip is formed to be thin as a whole, so that it is possible to obtain soft flexibility that is elastically deformed by the collision of the foreign matter. In addition to this, a similar function can be obtained even in a configuration in which a partial thin portion is formed on the guard lip.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the guard lip is formed with a notch (41) for discharging foreign matter that has entered between the guard lip and the seal lip. The configuration.

  According to this, it is possible to avoid accumulation of foreign matters such as water due to car washing or water splashing on the road surface between the guard lip and the seal lip.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the invention, the panel partitions the engine room and the vehicle compartment, and the opening is inserted with a steering shaft. The seal member is arranged between the steering gear box and the panel.

  According to this, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as water due to car washing or water splashing on the road surface from entering the vehicle interior.

  As described above, according to the present invention, foreign matters such as water caused by car washing and water splashing on the road surface are blocked by the guard lip. Thereby, sufficient sealing property can be ensured even if only one seal lip is used.

1 is a side view showing a vehicle steering apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which shows the seal structure by this invention, and shows the initial state before the assembly | attachment of the seal part 24 with a dashed-two dotted line. It is sectional drawing which shows the seal | sticker part 24 in detail, and shows the initial state before the assembly | attachment of the seal | sticker part 24 with a dashed-two dotted line. It is sectional drawing which shows the deformation | transformation state of the guard lip 32 by splash. 3 is a front view of the seal member 11 as viewed from the open surface side of the seal portion 24. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the seal structure by a conventional structure, and shows the initial state before the assembly | attachment of the seal part 52 with a dashed-two dotted line.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle steering apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied has a steering wheel 2, a rack and pinion type steering gear box 3, and first to third steering shafts 4 to 6. The third steering shaft 6 is inserted into an opening 10 provided in a panel (dashboard) 9 that partitions the engine room 7 and the vehicle compartment 8, and between the panel 9 and the steering gear box 3. A sealing member (grommet) 11 for sealing the opening 10 of the panel 9 is provided.

  The first to third steering shafts 4 to 6 are connected to each other through universal joints 13 and 14. The front end of the third steering shaft 6 is connected to a pinion 15 in the steering gear box 3. The pinion 15 meshes with a rack shaft 16 provided so as to be capable of reciprocating in the vehicle width direction, and both ends of the rack shaft 16 are connected to the knuckle arms of the left and right front wheels via tie rods. The left and right front wheels are steered according to the rotation operation.

  In the steering device 1, an electric motor 18 that generates an auxiliary steering force for reducing the manual steering force applied by the driver to the steering wheel 2 is provided in the steering gear box 3. The driving force of the electric motor 18 is input to the steering shaft 6 via a worm gear mechanism 19 accommodated in the steering gear box 3 together with the pinion 15.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the seal member 11 is made of a rubber material, and includes a cylindrical tubular portion 21 that covers the periphery of the steering shaft 6, a mounting portion 22 for the steering gear box 3, and an opening 10 of the panel 9. And a seal portion 24 that abuts a seal surface 23 formed around the periphery. The seal member 11 blocks the internal space of the seal member 11 communicated with the space on the vehicle compartment 8 side through the opening 10 and the engine room 7, and rainwater from the engine room 7 side to the vehicle compartment 8 side. Dust and noise are prevented from entering.

  The attachment portion 22 has a cylindrical shape and is fitted to the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 25 of the steering gear box 3 to fix the seal member 11 to the steering gear box 3. The inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 22 has a saw-toothed cross-sectional shape (labyrinth shape) in order to improve the sealing performance.

  On the panel 9 side of the cylindrical portion 21, a step portion 26 having an L-shaped cross section is provided. The step portion 26 is formed along the seal surface 23 of the panel 9, in other words, the center line is substantially orthogonal to the seal surface 23, and the seal portion 24 extends in a truncated cone shape from the outer peripheral surface of the step portion 26. Has been issued. The cylindrical portion 21 has a circular cross section cut along a plane perpendicular to the center line, whereas the stepped portion 26 has an elliptical cross section cut along a plane perpendicular to the center line. (See FIG. 5), the seal portion 24 has an elliptical truncated cone shape.

  The seal part 24 and the step part 26 are connected via a thin part 27. In the assembled state, the seal part 24 is regulated by the seal surface 23 of the panel 9, so that the thin part 27 is bent and sealed at the same time. The portion 24 is deformed so as to be spread, and a pressing force for bringing the seal portion 24 into close contact with the seal surface 23 of the panel 9 is obtained by an elastic force generated thereby.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the seal portion 24 of the seal member 11 covers an annular seal lip 31 that contacts the seal surface 23 of the panel 9 and covers the outer peripheral side of the seal lip 31 in a manner that does not contact the seal surface 23. And a guard lip 32 provided on the head.

  The seal lip 31 protrudes from the base portion 33 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the seal surface 23, and the tip has an arc-shaped cross section. As described above, the thin portion 27 is bent and the seal portion at the same time as assembled. The seal lip 31 is brought into close contact with the seal surface 23 by the pressing force generated by the deformation so that 24 is expanded.

  The guard lip 32 protrudes from the base 33 in an eave-like manner in an obliquely inclined manner with respect to the protruding direction of the seal lip 31, and covers the outer peripheral side of the seal lip 31 over the entire circumference. As a result, splash due to car washing or water splashing on the road surface is blocked by the guard lip 31, so that it is possible to prevent the seal lip 31 from dripping when the splash water droplets directly collide with the seal lip 31.

  Further, the guard lip 32 does not contact the seal surface 23, and a gap is formed between the guard lip 32 and the seal surface 23, and the pressing force due to elastic deformation acts on the seal lip 31 in a concentrated manner. Incomplete adhesion between the seal lip 31 and the seal surface 23 can be avoided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the labyrinth structure in which the seal portion 52 is provided with a large number of seal lips 55, the seal portion 52 in which the seal lip 55 is formed becomes thick and large. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, in the sealing member 11 according to the present invention, only one sealing lip 31 and one guard lip 32 may be provided. Compared to the labyrinth structure shown in FIG. Since the sealing member 11 can be reduced in size and weight, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the guard lip 32 is formed so as to be elastically deformed by a collision of water droplets caused by a car wash or water splashing on the road surface and to come into contact with the seal surface 23. In particular, here, the guard lip 32 is formed to be thin as a whole so that the guard lip 32 is easily bent and deformed. Is deformed to the panel 9 side and comes into contact with the seal surface 23, and the gap between the guard lip 32 and the seal surface 23 is closed. Thereby, it can prevent reliably that the water by a car wash or the water splash of a road surface hits the seal lip 31 directly.

  The guard lip 32 is formed to be thin as a whole as shown in the drawing, so that it is possible to obtain a flexible flexibility that is elastically deformed by the collision of splash water droplets. A similar function can be obtained even in the configuration in which

  As described above, the guard lip 32 covers the outer peripheral side of the seal lip 31 and is deformed so as to come into contact with the seal surface 23 when splash is applied to the guard lip 32. However, water cannot enter the inside of the guard lip 32. It cannot be said that there is nothing.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the guard lip 32 is formed with a notch 41 for discharging water that has entered between the guard lip 32 and the seal lip 31. As a result, water can be prevented from accumulating between the guard lip 32 and the seal lip 31.

  The notch 41 is preferably provided at a position where it is blocked by the components in the engine room and splash is not easily applied, thereby preventing water from entering the guard lip 32 from the notch 41. Can do. Further, it is desirable to provide a notch 41 in the lowermost part of the guard lip 32 in order to promote discharge by gravity.

  As described above, the example of the seal structure that seals the opening 10 through which the steering shaft 6 is inserted has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The panel constituting the vehicle body is provided with an opening through which various parts such as a cable harness are inserted, and the present invention can be widely applied to a seal structure for sealing such an opening.

  In addition, in the seal structure that seals the opening 10 through which the steering shaft 6 is inserted, water intrusion due to splash caused by car washing or water splashing on the road surface is particularly problematic. Therefore, the function of the guard lip 32 against the splash has been described. However, the guard lip 32 functions effectively against foreign substances such as pebbles and dust in addition to the water caused by the splash.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering device 2 Steering wheel 3 Steering gear box 4-6 Steering shaft 7 Engine room 8 Car compartment 9 Panel 10 Opening part 11 Seal member 23 Seal surface 24 Seal part 31 Seal lip 32 Guard lip 41 Notch

Claims (4)

A vehicle seal structure in which an opening provided in a panel constituting a vehicle body is sealed with a seal member made of an elastic material,
The seal member includes an annular seal lip that abuts on a seal surface provided around the opening, and a guard lip that is provided so as to cover the outer peripheral side of the seal lip in a manner that does not abut on the seal surface. A vehicle seal structure comprising:   2. The vehicle seal structure according to claim 1, wherein the guard lip is flexible so that the guard lip can be elastically deformed by a collision of a foreign object and come into contact with the seal surface.   3. The vehicle seal structure according to claim 1, wherein the guard lip is formed with a notch for discharging foreign matter that has entered between the guard lip and the seal lip. 4. The panel partitions the engine room and the vehicle compartment,
The opening is for inserting a steering shaft,
4. The vehicle seal structure according to claim 1, wherein the seal member is disposed between a steering gear box and the panel. 5.

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