JP2016203907A - Steering support member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering support member facilitating mounting peripheral members such as a steering support bracket.SOLUTION: A steering support member 1A is bridged between left and right A-pillars of a vehicle so as to support a steering wheel. The steering support member 1A includes a pipe 10 having a triangular cross-sectional shape and a flat surface of three surfaces on the outer peripheral surface. The pipe 10 has a parallel face 11 constituting one surface of the three surfaces, and a mounting face formed on at least one surface of the three surfaces. The parallel face 11 is arranged along a shaft of a steering shaft connected to the steering wheel. The mounting face is mounted with at least one of a steering support bracket 21 mounted with a steering column including the steering shaft, a floor brace 31 supported from a floor panel, and a cowl brace 41 connected to a cowl panel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering support member that supports a steering wheel. In particular, the present invention relates to a steering support member to which a peripheral member such as a steering support bracket can be easily attached.

  A steering support member that spans between A pillars (dash side panels) and supports a steering wheel is provided in an instrument panel (dashboard panel) of an automobile.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a steering support member is configured by arranging first and second support members made of two circular pipes in parallel in the vehicle front-rear direction in an instrument panel. The first and second support members include a steering bracket (steering support bracket) for mounting a steering wheel, and a first brace (floor) that suppresses deformation of the support member itself and suppresses vibration of the steering wheel. Peripheral members such as a brace and a second brace (a cowl brace) are connected. The first brace extends from the floor panel in the vertical direction of the vehicle body to support the support member, and the second brace extends from the cowl panel in the vehicle longitudinal direction to connect the support member.

JP 2012-46001 A

  There is a demand for a steering support member to which a peripheral member such as a steering support bracket can be easily attached. When the steering support member is formed of a circular pipe as described above, it is difficult to attach a peripheral member to the steering support member, and it is very troublesome to attach. The attachment position of the peripheral member with the steering support member needs to be formed in an arc (curved surface) along the outer peripheral surface of the pipe. However, it is difficult to form the attachment location of the peripheral member on the curved surface along the outer peripheral surface of the pipe with good shape accuracy. In addition, when both are welded, it is necessary to weld them in a curved shape, and it is difficult to weld the mounting portions uniformly. When both are attached with a fastening member such as a bolt, a drilling process is performed on the curved surface. This is necessary, and it is difficult to accurately form the positions of the holes.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of its purposes is to provide a steering support member that allows easy attachment of peripheral members such as a steering support bracket.

  A steering support member according to an aspect of the present invention is bridged between left and right A pillars of a vehicle and supports a steering wheel. The steering support member includes a pipe having a triangular cross-sectional shape and three planes on the outer peripheral surface. This pipe has a parallel surface constituting any one of the three surfaces and a mounting surface formed on at least one of the three surfaces. The parallel plane is disposed along the axis of the steering shaft connected to the steering wheel. At least one of a steering support bracket to which a steering column including a steering shaft is attached, a floor brace supported from the floor panel, and a cowl brace connected to the cowl panel is attached to the mounting surface.

  Since the steering support member includes a pipe having a flat mounting surface, the steering support member and the peripheral member are attached with the flat surfaces being attached to each other. Therefore, it is easy to attach the peripheral member as compared with the case where the conventional circular pipe is attached with the curved surfaces attached to each other. In addition, by providing a pipe having a parallel surface along the axis of the steering shaft, vibration in a direction perpendicular to both the axis of the steering shaft and the axis of the pipe can be received in a plane, so that the steering wheel in that direction It is easy to suppress vibration.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an outline of a steering support member according to the first embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the state cut | disconnected by the (II)-(II) cutting line of the steering support member shown in FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a steering support member according to Embodiment 2. FIG.

  Embodiments of the steering support member of the present invention will be described below.

Embodiment 1
A steering support member 1A according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The steering support member 1A is spanned between the left and right A pillars 51 (FIG. 2) of the vehicle and supports the steering wheel 22 (FIG. 2). The main features of the steering support member 1A are as follows: (1) the cross-sectional shape is triangular, and the outer peripheral surface includes a pipe 10 having three planes; (2) any one of the three surfaces is specified and specified. And a mounting surface to which at least one of the peripheral members of the steering support member 1A is attached, which is formed on at least one of the three surfaces. Hereinafter, after describing the steering support member 1A, peripheral members attached to the steering support member 1A will be described. In FIG. 1, “FR” indicates the front of the vehicle, “RR” indicates the rear, “LH” indicates the left side, “RH” indicates the right side, “UP” indicates the upper side, and “LWR” indicates the lower side. In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, only the steering support member 1A and main peripheral members attached thereto are shown, and the vehicle body side to which these members are attached (A pillar 51, floor panel 52, cowl panel 53 (all in FIG. 2)). In addition, the steering wheel 22, the steering shaft 23, and the steering column 24 (all of which are shown in FIG. 2) are omitted. In FIG. 2, the vehicle body side and the like are shown in a simplified manner for convenience of explanation (the same applies to FIG. 3 described later). In the following description, the front / rear, left / right, and up / down directions correspond to the directions of the vehicle.

[Steering support member]
The steering support member 1A supports the steering wheel 22 (FIG. 2) as described above. Thereby, vibration of the steering wheel 22 is suppressed. The steering support member 1 </ b> A is provided in the instrument panel (not shown) along the left and right above the steering shaft 23, and is provided at both ends of the pipe 10 to fix the pipe 10 to the A pillar 51. And a flange 15. The steering shaft 23 is connected to the steering wheel 22 and transmits the rotation of the steering wheel 22 to a steering gear box (not shown).

  The number of pipes 10 may be singular or plural. If the number of the pipes 10 is singular, it is easy to reduce the weight, and if the number of the pipes 10 is plural, it is easy to suppress the vibration of the steering wheel 22. Here, the number of pipes 10 is one.

  The shape of the pipe 10 is linear, and its cross-sectional shape is triangular. A triangle has a higher strength (bending rigidity) when it has an equivalent cross-sectional area than a circle. Therefore, when the cross-sectional area of the pipe 10 is equivalent to that of a conventional circular pipe, the strength of the pipe 10 can be increased, and when the strength of the pipe 10 is equivalent to that of a conventional circular pipe, the cross-sectional area of the pipe 10 can be reduced. Contributes to weight reduction. Here, the cross-sectional shape of the pipe 10 is an equilateral triangle.

  The outer peripheral surface of the pipe 10 has three flat surfaces, and includes a parallel surface 11 constituting any one of the three surfaces and a mounting surface formed on at least one of the three surfaces.

[Parallel plane]
The parallel surface 11 is disposed along the axis of the steering shaft 23 (FIG. 2). Since the parallel surface 11 is along the axis of the steering shaft 23, it is received in a plane with respect to the vibration in the direction orthogonal to the axis of the steering shaft 23 in FIG. 2, and the vibration of the steering wheel 22 in that direction can be easily suppressed.

  The arrangement position of the parallel surface 11 may be on the close side (downward side) with the steering shaft 23 or on the separation side (upper side) with the steering shaft 23. In the former case, the apex side of the triangle having one side constituting the parallel plane 11 in the cross section of the pipe 10 is arranged on the side away from the steering shaft 23. In the latter case, the apex side is close to the steering shaft 23. Place on the side. Here, the parallel surface 11 is arranged on the proximity side of the steering shaft 23. Of the three surfaces, one of the two surfaces excluding the parallel surface 11 constitutes a front surface disposed on the front side, and the other surface constitutes an upper surface disposed on the upper side.

[Mounting surface]
At least one of the peripheral members of the steering support member 1A is attached to the attachment surface. Only one peripheral member may be attached to one attachment surface, or a plurality of peripheral members may be attached. The peripheral members typically include the steering bracket 21, the floor brace 31, the cowl brace 41, and the like. Although these peripheral members will be described later, the steering support member 1A is firmly supported by the vehicle by the peripheral members, which is effective for suppressing deformation of the steering support member 1A and suppressing vibration of the steering wheel 22.

  The mounting surface is formed on at least one of the three surfaces of the pipe 10 as described above. You may provide both the parallel surface 11 and an attachment surface in one plane among three planes. Here, all three surfaces are provided with attachment surfaces. That is, the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 10 includes a front mounting surface 12f, a parallel surface 11 and a lower mounting surface 12d, and an upper mounting surface 12u. Here, the front mounting surface 12f is along the vertical direction.

  The kind of peripheral member attached to each of the attachment surfaces 12f, 12d, and 12u can be selected as appropriate. Here, one end side of the floor brace 31 and one end side of the front bracket 21f of the steering support bracket 21 are attached to the front mounting surface 12f. One end side of the front bracket 21f and one end side of the rear bracket 21r of the steering support bracket 21 are attached to the lower mounting surface 12d (parallel surface 11). One end side of the rear bracket 21r and one end of the cowl brace 41 are attached to the upper attachment surface 12u. The kind of the peripheral member attached to each attachment surface 12f, 12d, 12u is an example, and can be changed as appropriate.

  The peripheral members can be attached to the attachment surfaces 12f, 12d, and 12u by welding the attachment surfaces 12f, 12d, and 12u to the peripheral members or using fastening members such as bolts. When using a fastening member, it is preferable to form a through hole through which the fastening member is inserted into the mounting surface by drilling. In any case, since the mounting surfaces are flat, the flat surfaces can be welded to each other, so that uniform welding can be easily performed, and since the drilling process can be performed on the flat surface, the positions and orientations of the holes can be easily formed with high accuracy.

[Peripheral members]
[Steering support bracket]
A steering column 24 that includes a steering shaft 23 is attached to the steering support bracket 21. That is, the steering shaft 23 and the steering wheel 22 are attached to the steering support member 1 </ b> A via the steering support bracket 21 and the steering column 24.

  The steering support bracket 21 includes a pair of front brackets 21f arranged on the left and right on the front side of the steering support member 1A, and a pair of rear brackets 21r arranged on the left and right on the rear side. A pair of left and right front and rear brackets 21 f and 21 r are disposed on the left and right of the steering shaft 23.

  Here, the front and rear brackets 21f and 21r have a U-shaped cross section. Attachment positions of the front and rear brackets 21f and 21r with the steering support member 1A are formed along the attachment surfaces 12f, 12d, and 12u. Specifically, both the front mounting surface 12f and the lower mounting surface 12d of the front bracket 21f are mounted on a flat surface, and the angle formed by the flat surface is 60 °. The same applies to the mounting locations of the lower mounting surface 12d and the upper mounting surface 12u in the rear bracket 21r. The mounting surface of the steering support column 24 in the front and rear brackets 21f and 21r is formed by a plane along the axis of the steering shaft 23.

  The steering support bracket 21 may be provided with a connecting portion that connects the left and right front (rear) brackets 21f (21r). The front and rear brackets 21f and 21r may be formed in series. For the front and rear brackets 21f and 21r, the same triangular pipe as the pipe 10 of the steering support member 1A may be used. In this case, in the process of manufacturing the pipe 10, a triangular pipe used for the steering support bracket 21 together with the pipe 10 can be manufactured, and the productivity is excellent.

[Floor brace]
The floor brace 31 supports the steering support member 1A from the floor panel 52. Thus, vibration in the vertical direction of the steering support member 1A is suppressed. The floor brace 31 is disposed along the vertical direction at a position shifted in the axial direction of the pipe 10 with respect to the steering support bracket 21 (substantially the center of the pipe 10), and is parallel to the front mounting surface 12f here. One end of the floor brace 31 is attached to the floor panel 52, and the other end is attached to the steering support member 1A (front attachment surface 12f). The shape of the floor brace 31 is a rectangular bar shape here.

[Cowl brace]
The cowl brace 41 is connected to a cowl (top) panel 53. Thus, vibrations before and after the steering support member 1A are suppressed. The cowl panel 53 connects the left and right A pillars. The cowl brace 41 is disposed along the front-rear direction between the pair of rear brackets 21r, and is parallel to the upper mounting surface 12u here. One end of the cowl brace 41 is attached to the cowl panel 53, and the other end is attached to the steering support member 1A (upper attachment surface 12u). The shape of the cowl brace 41 is a rectangular bar shape here.

[Function and effect]
The steering support member 1A described above has the following effects.

  (1) Since the steering support member 1A includes the flat mounting surfaces 12f, 12d, and 12u, the steering support member 1A and the peripheral member can be attached with the flat surfaces attached to each other, so that the peripheral member can be easily attached. For example, when both are attached by welding, welding can be performed in a flat surface (straight shape), so that uniform welding is easier than in the case where welding is performed on a curved surface (curved shape). Moreover, when both are attached with a fastening member, since the drilling process can be performed on a flat surface instead of a curved surface, the positions of the holes can be formed with higher accuracy than in the case of drilling a curved surface. Accordingly, it is difficult to attach a peripheral member to the steering support member 1A.

  (2) Since the steering support member 1A includes the parallel surface 11 along the axis of the steering shaft 23, it is easy to suppress vibration of the steering wheel 22 in a direction orthogonal to both the axis of the steering shaft 23 and the axis of the pipe 10. Further, since the planes of the steering support member 1A and the floor brace 31 and the planes of the steering support member 1A and the cowl brace 41 are attached, vibrations of the steering wheel 22 in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction can be easily suppressed. Further, since the peripheral members are attached to all three surfaces of the pipe 10, the steering support bracket 1A can be firmly fixed to the vehicle body, which is more effective in suppressing the vibration of the steering wheel 22.

  (3) Since the peripheral members are attached to all three surfaces of the pipe 10, the steering support bracket 1A can be firmly fixed to the vehicle body, so that deformation of the steering support member 1A can be easily suppressed. Further, it can be expected that the cross-sectional area of the pipe 10 can be made smaller than that of the conventional circular pipe, and the weight of the steering support member 1A can be reduced. Specifically, the triangular pipe 10 having a size inscribed in the circular pipe can be used. In this case, since the constituent material of the pipe 10 can be reduced, cost can be reduced.

  (4) Since it is only necessary to form the mounting portion of the peripheral member with the steering support member 1A on a flat surface, it is easy to form the mounting portion of the peripheral member with high accuracy as compared with the case of forming the curved surface. Thus, since it is easy to form the said attachment location of a peripheral member with a shape precision, it is easy to reduce the cost concerning formation of the said attachment location of a peripheral member. Moreover, since welding can be performed linearly as described above and drilling can be performed on a flat surface, it is easy to reduce the cost for welding and the cost for drilling.

<< Embodiment 2 >>
With reference to FIG. 3, the steering support member 1B which concerns on Embodiment 2 is demonstrated. The steering support member 1B is mainly different from the first embodiment in that it includes a plurality of pipes. Hereinafter, the difference from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  The steering support member 1B includes two pipes. Specifically, as with the pipe 10 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of the first embodiment, the main pipe 10m spanned between the left and right A pillars 51 and the right (the side where the steering wheel 22 is located in the vehicle width direction). And a sub-pipe 10s that is disposed from the A pillar 51 to the approximate center of the vehicle width and reinforces the main pipe 10m. By providing the sub pipe 10s, the main pipe 10m is more effectively deformed and vibration of the steering wheel 22 is suppressed.

  The cross-sectional shapes of both pipes 10m and 10s are equilateral triangles. The arrangement form of both pipes 10m and 10s is such that the upper surface of the main pipe 10m and the lower surface of the sub pipe 10s are in contact with each other. The sub pipe 10s may be fixed to the main pipe 10m at least at the vehicle center side by welding or the like. Of course, the sub pipe 10s may be welded to the main pipe 10m over its entire length. The contour shape formed by both pipes 10m and 10s is a rhombus shape, and the outer peripheral surface forming the contour is substantially four planes of the front surface and the lower surface of the main pipe 10m and the rear surface and the upper surface of the sub pipe 10s. It is configured. That is, there are four surfaces on which the mounting surface can be formed.

  A front mounting surface 12f to which one end side of the floor brace 31 and one end side of the front bracket 21f are attached is formed on the front surface of the main pipe 10m, and the lower surface is a parallel surface 11, and the lower surface is one end of the front bracket 21f. A lower mounting surface 12d to which the side and one end side of the rear bracket 21r are mounted is formed. A rear mounting surface 12r to which one end side of the rear bracket 21r is attached is formed on the rear surface of the sub pipe 10s, and an upper surface is the parallel surface 11, and an upper mounting surface 12u to which one end side of the cowl brace 41 is attached is formed on the upper surface. doing. The cowl brace 41 is disposed along the front-rear direction, and is parallel to the upper mounting surface 12u of the sub pipe 10s here. The parallel surfaces 11 of the pipes 10m and 10s overlap each other in half, and the length of the parallel surfaces 11 in the direction along the axis of the steering shaft 23 is 1.5 times that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the vibration of the steering wheel 22 in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the steering shaft 23 in FIG.

[Function and effect]
According to the steering support member 1B described above, the steering support member 1A can be more firmly fixed to the vehicle body by including the sub pipe 10s that reinforces the main pipe 10m. Therefore, it is easier to further suppress the deformation of the steering support member 1 </ b> A and to further suppress the vibration of the steering wheel 22.

  The present invention is not limited to these exemplifications, but is defined by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims. For example, in the second embodiment, the planes of the two pipes are brought into contact with each other, but the two pipes may be shifted along the axis of the steering shaft so that a space is provided between the two pipes.

  The steering support member of the present invention can be suitably used for supporting a steering wheel. Further, the steering support member of the present invention can be suitably used for a steering support member fixing structure including a steering support member and a peripheral member, a steering wheel support structure including a steering wheel, and the like.

1A, 1B Steering support member 10 Pipe 10m Main pipe 10s Sub pipe 11 Parallel surface 12f Front mounting surface 12r Rear mounting surface 12u Upper mounting surface 12d Lower mounting surface 15 Flange 21 Steering support bracket 21f Front bracket 21r Rear bracket 22 Steering wheel 23 Steering shaft 24 Steering column 31 Floor brace 41 Cowl brace 51 A pillar 52 Floor panel 53 Cowl panel

Claims (1)

A steering support member that spans between the left and right A-pillars of the vehicle and supports the steering wheel;
The cross-sectional shape is triangular, with a pipe having three planes on the outer peripheral surface,
The pipe is
A parallel surface arranged along an axis of a steering shaft connected to the steering wheel, and constituting any one of the three surfaces;
A steering support bracket formed on at least one of the three surfaces, to which a steering column including the steering shaft is mounted, a floor brace supported from the floor panel, and a mounting surface to which at least one of the cowl braces connected to the cowl panel is mounted; A steering support member having.

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