JP2523120Y2 - Car steering support structure - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Technical field to which the invention belongs) In the invention, for example, a lower portion of a steering column is supported by a support member extending from a dash panel side such as a master cylinder bracket via a special separation mechanism. The present invention relates to an automobile steering support structure.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, when the upper portion of the steering column is supported by a bracket extending from the dash upper panel, and the lower portion of the steering column is supported by a bracket extending from the dash lower panel, the above-described dash upper panel and the dash lower panel during a vehicle collision. There is a problem that the steering column moves backward due to the backward movement (primary impact) and the backward movement amount of the steering wheel becomes large.

In order to solve such a problem, there is a conventional steering support structure for a vehicle as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Sho 62-117169.

That is, the upper portion of the steering column is supported by the steering support members whose both ends are supported by the cowl side panel, and the lower portion of the steering column is disengaged from the dash panel side through a disconnecting mechanism that releases the column support in the event of a collision. An extended member, for example, a steering support structure supported by a master cylinder bracket.

In this conventional structure, the above-described separation mechanism acts at the time of a vehicle collision to separate the master cylinder bracket and the lower part of the steering column, so that there is an advantage that the backward movement amount of the steering wheel can be reduced,
After the master cylinder bracket is separated from the lower part of the column due to the collision described above, the steering column may behave around the steering support member due to the interference between the occupant's knee and the steering column.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) This invention is intended to reliably prevent the behavior of the steering column due to the interference between the occupant's knee and the steering column after the dash panel-side support member and the lower portion of the steering column are separated by a collision. It is possible to improve the occupant protection performance, and it has a simple structure that separates only the lower part of the steering column without incurring the problems of layout, cost, weight, etc. Not only can be reduced,
It is possible to prevent the vertical swing by the restricting means, and furthermore, the separating means and the restricting means are arranged on the same supporting member, and the above-mentioned restricting means is separated from the vinegar steering column while the mechanism is made compact. At the same time, the restricting means is arranged at least on the steering wheel side so that the most effective response to the primary impact (during dash retreat) and the subsequent vertical rotation of the steering column can be simplified without any hindrance to the separating operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a steering support structure for an automobile that can be regulated with a simple configuration.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is designed to allow only the rotation of the upper part of the steering column provided with the steering wheel at one end to the steering support member whose both ends are supported by the cowl side panel around the axis. A steering support structure for an automobile, wherein the lower portion of the steering column is detachably supported by a support member extending from the dash panel side through a disconnecting means for releasing the column support in the event of a collision. When the lower portion of the steering column is cut off by the operation of the means, the steering column is covered so as to restrict the behavior of the steering column about the steering support member, and the upper end of the steering column is disposed at a predetermined distance. The regulating means is provided by fixing the open end to the support member, The restricting means is arranged in a state separated from the steering column under a normal state, and near the separating means,
And at least arranged on the steering wheel side,
It is a car steering support structure.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the invention, when only the lower portion of the steering column is separated by the action of the above-described separation means at the time of a vehicle collision and the occupant's knee and the steering column interfere with each other, this steering column Tends to move vertically with the steering support member as the center, but the behavior of the steering column can be reliably prevented by the above-described restricting means, and as a result, the effect of improving the occupant protection performance can be obtained. is there.

In addition, the simple structure that separates only the lower portion of the steering column does not cause problems such as layout, cost, and weight, and can not only reduce the amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel, but also reduce the amount of movement. In addition, there is an effect that even the vertical movement of the steering column can be prevented by the above-described regulating means.

Moreover, since the separating means and the restricting means are arranged on the same support member, the mechanism can be made compact, and the restricting means described above is arranged separately from the vinegar steering column, and the restricting means is placed at least on the steering wheel side. Since it is arranged, without hindering the detaching operation at all,
There is an effect that the vertical rotation behavior of the steering column at the time of responding to the primary impact (during dash retreat) and the subsequent steering column can be most effectively regulated by the arrangement position of the regulating means with a simple configuration.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The drawing shows a steering support structure of an automobile, and in FIG.
On the other hand, a dash lower panel 3 located at the rear end of the engine room 1 is provided, and a dash upper panel 4 is joined to an upper end of the dash lower panel 3.

The upper end of the dash upper panel 4 and the rear ends of the cowl upper panels 5 and 6 are joined together, and the lower front end of the cowl upper panel 5 and the dash upper are formed so as to correspond to the upper end extension of the dash lower panel 3. Panel 4
The cowl front panel 7 is joined between the upper front end and
A cowl box 9 having a cowl closed cross section 8 extending in the vehicle width direction is formed.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned cowl upper panels 5 and 6 are bent and joined to form two closed sections 10 and 11 extending in the vehicle width direction above the cowl closed section 8, and each of these closed sections A front window glass 13 is supported by a glass holding member 12 having 10 and 11.

A master cylinder bracket 14 serving as a dash panel-side support member is provided on the vehicle interior side of the dash lower panel 3.
And a brake pedal (not shown) is swingably attached to the master cylinder bracket 14 via a shaft, while a brake pedal is depressed near the master cylinder bracket 14 on the engine room 1 side. Master cylinder for braking with reservoir tank 16 via master back (booster) 15 that doubles the power
A master cylinder 17 is provided, and one end of the master cylinder 17 extends into the master cylinder bracket 14 and is connected to a brake pedal.

By the way, a steering support member 19 extending in the vehicle width direction is provided at a predetermined portion in the crash pad portion 18, and both ends of the steering support member 19 are supported by the cowl side panel.

Also, the dash upper panel 4 and the steering column
Stretch the steering support bracket 21 extending diagonally downward between the steering column 20 and the upper part of the steering column 20 described above,
The steering support member 19 described above is
In addition, the lower end portion of the steering support bracket 21 is fixedly supported to allow only rotation about the axis.

A steering shaft 23 is rotatably inserted into the above-described steering column 20. A steering wheel 24 is mounted on an upper end of the steering shaft 23, and an intermediate joint is mounted on a lower end of the steering shaft 23 via a universal joint 25. Shaft 26
, And a steering gear is linked to a lower end of the intermediate shaft 26 via a flexible steering joint 27.

The lower part of the steering column 20 described above is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, it is detachably supported on the master cylinder bracket 14 via a separation mechanism 28.

The disconnecting mechanism 28 includes a substantially gate-shaped engaging member 29 fixed to the lower end of the steering column 20 and the engaging member 29.
And a dash-side fixing member 32 attached to the master cylinder bracket 14. The column-side fixing member 31 is connected to both of the legs 29 a, 29 a via engagement pins 30.

The above-described column-side fixing member 31 includes a dash-side fixing member 32.
An inverted L-shaped main plate 35 having a mounting portion 33 to be attached to the lower surface of the main plate 35 and a continuous portion 34 substantially perpendicular to the mounting portion 33 is provided. In addition to forming an opening 36 through which the
It is a member in which protruding pieces 37, 37 are integrally formed by bending from the edge of 36 toward the above-mentioned leg portions 29a, 29a.

Further, the mounting portion 33 of the column-side fixing member 31 described above includes:
Two separating grooves 38, 38, which are open on the steering wheel 24 side, are formed in parallel.

The column-side fixing member 31 is connected to the lower end of the engaging member 29 via the engaging pin 30, and the mounting portion 33 of the column-side fixing member 31 is located in the two grooves 38, 38. The above-mentioned dash side fixing member 32 is
To form a separating mechanism 28.

When the master cylinder bracket 14 moves rearward due to the retreat of the dash lower panel 3 at the time of a vehicle collision, the disconnection mechanism 28 retracts along the two disconnection grooves 38 when the bolt 39 described above retreats. By disengaging from these grooves 38, the support of the steering column 20 is released.

By the way, on the lower surface of the slant portion of the above-mentioned dash-side fixing member 32, a substantially C-shaped regulating bracket 42 as a regulating means is bolted up using a set bolt 41,
This restricting bracket 42 covers the steering column 20 and prevents the steering column 20 from moving up and down around the steering support member 19 after the lower portion of the steering column 20 is disconnected in the event of a vehicle collision (during a primary impact). It is configured to

The above-mentioned regulating bracket 42 is a bracket having an upper end open structure in which fastening pieces 42c, 42c are integrally formed at the tips of vertical walls 42b, 42b rising from both ends of the bottom wall 42a as shown in FIGS. Under the state, the above-mentioned fastening pieces 42c, 42c as open ends are bolted up to the dash side fixing member 32 in a state of being separated from the above-mentioned engaging member 29 and the steering column 20, so that the regulating bracket 42 is Master cylinder bracket via dash side fixing member 32
It is attached to 14.

In other words, the above-described separation mechanism 28 arranges the regulating bracket 42 as the regulating means on the master cylinder bracket 14 which is the same support member, and
42 is arranged in the vicinity of the separating means 28 and at least on the steering wheel 24 side.

The illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation will be described below.

When the vehicle collides, the master cylinder bracket 14 attached to the dash lower panel 3 retreats from the state shown in FIG. 2 as shown in FIG. Bolt of
The column 39 and the nut 40 pass backward from the two separation grooves 38 of the column-side fixing member 31, and the column-side fixing member 31 is separated from the dash-side fixing member 32 described above.

Since the above-mentioned steering column 20 is supported at its upper part by a steering support member 19 having strong body rigidity,
This separation prevents the steering column 20 from retreating, so that the amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel 24 can be reduced.

After only the lower portion of the steering column 20 has been separated by the action of the separating mechanism 28, the steering column 20 is supported at only one point at the upper portion by the steering support member 19, and after the separation, the occupant of the occupant is provided. When the knee and the steering column 20 interfere with each other, the steering column 20 tends to move in the vertical direction together with the steering shaft 23 and the steering wheel 24. Can be prevented,
There is an effect that stable occupant protection performance can be secured.

In addition, the simple structure that separates only the lower portion of the steering column 20 does not cause problems such as layout, cost, and weight, and can not only reduce the amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel 24 but also reduce the amount of movement. However, there is an effect that the vertical movement of the steering column 20 can be prevented by the above-described restricting means (see the restricting bracket 42).

Moreover, the same support member (master cylinder bracket
14) Since the separating means (see the separating mechanism 28) and the regulating means (see the regulating bracket 42) are arranged, the mechanism can be made compact, and the above-mentioned regulating means (see the regulating bracket 42) can be replaced by the vinegar steering column. 20 and the restricting means (refer to the restricting bracket 42) is disposed at least on the steering wheel 24 side, so that the most effective effect can be obtained by the disposing position of the restricting means (the restricting bracket 42) without any hindrance to the separating operation. There is an effect that the vertical rotation behavior of the steering column 20 during the primary impact response (during dash retreat) and thereafter can be regulated with a simple configuration.

In the correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment, the separating means of the present invention corresponds to the separating mechanism 28 of the embodiment, and similarly, the support member extending from the dash panel side is attached to the master cylinder bracket 14. Correspondingly, the regulating means corresponds to the regulating bracket 42, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a steering support structure for an automobile of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a waist portion of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a support structure of a lower portion of a steering column, FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the lower part of the column is separated by the separating means, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the column behavior is prevented by the restricting means. 14: Master cylinder bracket (support member) 19: Steering support member 20: Steering column 24: Steering wheel 28: Separation mechanism (separation means) 42: Bracket (restriction means)

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An upper portion of a steering column (20) provided with a steering wheel (24) at one end is allowed only to rotate around an axis by a steering support member (19) whose both ends are supported by a cowl side panel. And the lower portion of the steering column (20) is detachably supported by a support member (14) extending from the dash panel side via a separating means (28) for releasing the column support in the event of a collision. And the behavior of the steering column (20) centered on the steering support member (19) when the lower part of the steering column (20) is separated by the operation of the separating means (28). The restricting means (42) which covers the steering column (20) so as to restrict and which is disposed at a predetermined distance and is open at the upper end is connected to the support member ( 14) is provided by fixing the open end. The restricting means (42) is arranged in a state separated from the steering column (20) in a normal state,
A steering support structure for an automobile, which is arranged near the separating means (28) and at least on the steering wheel (24) side.