JP3409513B2 - Shock absorbing steering device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention A shock absorbing steering column device according to the present invention has a structure capable of absorbing a shock at the time of a collision, thereby providing a driver's body at the time of a collision. This is for protection. 2. Description of the Related Art When a vehicle collides, a so-called secondary collision occurs in which a driver collides with a steering wheel, following a so-called primary collision in which the vehicle collides with another vehicle or the like. In order to reduce the impact received by the driver in the event of this secondary collision and to protect the driver, the supporting part of the steering column that supports the steering shaft that fixes the steering wheel at one end is shock absorbing type It is generally done. [0003] Various types of shock absorbing steering devices have been known for such purposes. FIGS. 6 to 10 show an example of a conventionally known shock absorbing steering column as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-4682.
No. 8 is disclosed. A steering shaft 2 is provided inside a cylindrical steering column 1.
Is freely rotatable only. A steering wheel 3 is fixed to a portion of the steering shaft 2 which projects from the rear end opening of the steering column 1 at the rear end (the right end in FIG. 6). A universal joint 4 is provided at the front end (left end in FIG. 6) of the steering shaft 2 protruding from the front end opening of the steering column 1.
Is connected to one end of the transmission shaft 5. The other end of the transmission shaft 5 is connected to an input shaft 7 of a steering gear via another universal joint 6. The front end of the steering column 1 is supported on a vehicle body 9 by a front support bracket 8.
The front support bracket 8 supports the steering column 1 so as to be freely displaceable in the axial direction (front-back direction). On the other hand, a rearward portion of the steering column 1 at the intermediate portion is supported by the vehicle body 9 by a rear support bracket 10. The rear support bracket 10 firmly supports the steering column 1 with respect to the vehicle body in a normal state in which no collision accident has occurred, but loses the supporting force on the vehicle body 9 in the case of a secondary collision. Is displaced forward (to the left in FIG. 6). At this time, the energy absorbing member 11 formed integrally with the rear support bracket 10 is plastically deformed, thereby absorbing the impact energy accompanying the secondary collision and reducing the impact applied to the driver's body hitting the steering wheel 3. ease. [0005] The rear support bracket 10 is formed by bending a metal plate such as a steel plate.
Is fixed to the rear part of the middle part by welding or the like. The rear support bracket 10 is mounted on the steering column 1.
A pair of left and right mounting plate parts 12 and 1
2 And, in each of these mounting plate parts 12, 12,
Rear edge of each mounting plate 12, 12 (right edge in FIGS. 8 to 10)
A notch 13 is formed to open at the bottom. The energy absorbing member 11 is formed continuously from the front edge (the left edge in FIGS. 8 to 10) of each of the mounting plate portions 12, 12, and forms a U-shaped folded portion 14 in the middle. I have. A through hole 15 is formed in a portion of the energy absorbing member 11 at a position matching the notch 13 at the tip.
Although not shown in the drawings, a structure in which the rearward portion of the steering column in the middle portion is supported and fixed to the rear support bracket so as to be able to move up and down via a tilt mechanism is generally implemented. The rear support bracket 10 integrally provided with the energy absorbing member 11 as described above, together with the sliding plate 16,
The bolt 17 supports the vehicle body 9. This sliding plate 16
Are made in a long U-shape by a slippery resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene or a polyamide resin, or by a metal plate having a slip layer made of these slippery resins formed on the surface.
The notch 13 and the through hole 1 are formed in the sliding plate 16.
5, a pair of through holes 18, 18 are formed.
To support the rear support bracket 10 on the vehicle body 9,
Bolts 17 having these through holes 15 and 18 and notch 13 inserted from below are screwed into screw holes (vehicle 9
(Including a screw hole of a nut fixed to the nut) and tightened with a predetermined torque. [0007] Due to the secondary collision accompanying the collision accident, the rear support bracket 10
When a strong impact directed forward is applied to the
The rear support bracket 10 is displaced forward in such a manner that the bolt 17 is pulled out. At this time, the sliding plate 16
By the action of the slippery resin existing between the contact surface of the rear support bracket 10 and the mounting plate portion 12, the displacement of the rear support bracket 10 is smoothly started. Further, as the rear support bracket 10 is displaced forward, the energy absorbing member 11
Plastically deforms and absorbs the energy of the impact. As a result, the impact applied to the driver's body that hits the steering wheel 3 can be reduced, and the driver can be protected. [0008] In the case of the conventional shock absorbing steering apparatus constructed and operated as described above, the manufacturing cost of the rear support bracket 10 and the energy absorbing member 11 is increased, and the shock absorbing steering apparatus is required. It was inevitable that the price of the device would be high. That is, the operation of bending and forming the rear support bracket 10 in which the energy absorbing member 11 is integrally formed is troublesome, the mold for bending is complicated, and the manufacturing cost is increased in terms of processing. Further, when the rear support bracket 10 in which the energy absorbing member 11 is integrally formed from a metal plate is processed, the yield of the material is poor and a large amount of waste material is generated, so that the manufacturing cost is increased in terms of material cost. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 59-4682 mentioned above
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8 (1996) also discloses a structure in which an energy absorbing member formed separately and a rear support bracket are welded later. In the case of such a structure, the production cost does not increase due to the above-mentioned processing problems and material yield. However, since the number of parts increases and parts management and assembling work become troublesome, manufacturing costs increase in terms of these parts management and assembling work. The shock-absorbing steering apparatus of the present invention is designed to solve all of these problems and to reduce the manufacturing cost. A shock absorbing type steering apparatus according to the present invention comprises a steering column for rotatably supporting a steering shaft inserted therein and a support bracket for fixing an intermediate portion of the steering column. A pair of left and right mounting plate portions provided on the support bracket and protruding from both left and right sides of the steering column;
Each of these mounting plate portions has a pair of cutouts formed to open at the rear end edge of each mounting plate portion, a rear folded portion at a rear end portion of a plastically deformable plate material, and a front side portion at a front end portion. Folded part
The front half is folded to the front side by forming
A pair of left and right independent energy absorbing members , each of which has a shape capable of extending the entire length by plastic deformation in the extension direction of the return portion, is provided. [0011] Then, the mutual parts constituting the rear folded portion are formed.
The same bolt can be inserted through a pair of plate parts
Each energy absorbing member should be aligned with each other
The pair of mounting plates are supported by the vehicle body by a pair of bolts inserted through the through holes formed independently of each other and the respective notches, and the energy absorption is performed. The rear end of the member is connected to the vehicle body. Further, the front end of the pair of energy absorbing members is formed by the front side folding provided at the front end.
The front edge of the return part formed on each of the mounting plate parts is open
It is connected to the support bracket by locking in the locking groove . Further, a sliding layer made of a low-friction material is formed on a portion of the inner peripheral side surface of the rear folded portion that comes into contact with the mounting plate. In the case of the shock absorbing type steering apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, a sliding plate is not required, and parts management and assembly work can be simplified by that much. Also, 1
Since forming the energy absorbing member and the support bracket pairs separately, machining or become troublesome of these members, or have never yield material is deteriorated. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the shock absorbing steering device can be reduced. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention.
The feature of the present invention resides in the structure of a portion for supporting the rear portion of the steering column 1 on the vehicle body 9. The structure of the portion for supporting the front end portion of the steering column 1 on the vehicle body 9 and the like are the same as those of the above-described conventional structure, and therefore illustration and description are omitted. A steering shaft 2 is rotatably supported inside a cylindrical steering column 1 only for rotation. A steering wheel 3 is fixed to a portion of the steering shaft 2 that projects from the rear end opening of the steering column 1 at the rear end (the right end in FIG. 1). A rear support bracket 10a, which corresponds to the support bracket described in the claims, is fixed to the rear portion of the steering column 1 by welding or the like. However, the rear support bracket 10a and the steering column 1 may be supported and fixed by freely adjusting the vertical position of the steering column 1 via a tilt mechanism (not shown). The rear support bracket 10a has left and right
The pair of mounting plate portions 12a are formed so as to protrude from both left and right sides of the steering column 1, respectively. Particularly, in the case of the illustrated embodiment, a step 19 is formed at an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of each mounting plate 12a, and the upper surface of the front half 20 is lower than the upper surface of the rear half 21. A locking piece 22 having an L-shaped cross section is formed by folding up in a part of the front half portion 20 of this, and a locking groove 23 having an open front is formed. The locking piece 22 is formed by pressing the inside of the U-shaped cut upward by press working. or,
Notch 13 in the latter half 21 (see FIGS. 7 to 10)
Are formed so as to open to the rear end edge of each mounting plate portion 12a. An energy absorbing member 24 extends between the front half 20 and the rear half 21. The energy absorbing member 24 is formed by bending a band-shaped plate made of a plastically deformable plate such as a mild steel plate. That is, the front and rear end portions 26 and 26 are formed by folding the front and rear end portions of the band-shaped plate downward in a U-shape or a U-shape, respectively . or,
Due to the presence of the front folded portion 25, the front half (the left half in FIGS. 1 to 5) of the energy absorbing member 24 can extend the entire length by plastic deformation. The front edge of the front folded portion 25 is locked in the locking groove 23.
Therefore, when the rear support bracket 10a is displaced forward, the leading edge of the front folded portion 25 is pushed forward. The U-shaped rear folded portion 26 formed at the rear end of the energy absorbing member 24 is mutually connected.
The same bolt can be inserted through a pair of plate parts facing
The hole 27, 27 of the pair to have been formed in a state of matching each other. A sliding layer made of a low-friction material such as polytetrafluoroethylene or a polyamide resin is formed on a portion of the inner peripheral side surface of the rear folded portion 26 that comes into contact with the mounting plate portion 12a. That is, the sliding layer is formed by coating the portion of the inner peripheral side surface of the rear folded portion 26 that abuts on the mounting plate portion 12a with the low friction material. The operation of supporting the rear support bracket 10a fixed to the steering column 1 together with the energy absorbing member 24 on the vehicle body 9 is performed as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear folded portion 26 is externally fitted to the rear half portion 21 of the mounting plate portion 12a, so that the notch 13 and the through holes 27 are aligned, and the front folded portion 26 is aligned. The leading edge of the portion 25 is locked in the locking groove 23. Then, a pair of bolts 17 inserted through the pair of through holes 27, 27 and the notch 13 from below are screwed into screw holes provided in the vehicle body 9 and tightened with a predetermined torque. By this fastening operation, the pair of mounting plate portions 12a formed on the rear support bracket 10a are supported on the vehicle body 9 and the rear end of the energy absorbing member 24 is connected to the vehicle body 9. Due to the secondary collision accompanying the collision accident, the rear support bracket 10
When a strong impact directed forward is applied to a, the notch 1
The rear support bracket 10a is displaced forward so as to pull out the bolt 17 from the third bracket 3. At this time, the rear folded portion 26 formed at the rear end of the energy absorbing member 24
The sliding between the sliding layer formed on the inner peripheral side surface and the upper and lower surfaces of the rear half portion 21 of the mounting plate portion 12a smoothly starts the displacement of the rear support bracket 10a. Further, as the rear support bracket 10a is displaced forward, the energy absorbing member 24 is plastically deformed in a state where the curved portion of the front folded portion 25 moves toward the leading edge of the front folded portion 25, Absorb the energy of the impact. As a result, the impact applied to the driver's body that hits the steering wheel 3 can be reduced, and the driver can be protected. In the case of the shock-absorbing steering apparatus of the present invention constructed and operated as described above, the sliding plate 16 (FIGS. 6 to 10) incorporated in the conventional structure is not required, and the parts are accordingly reduced. Management and assembly work can be simplified. Also, since the pair of left and right energy absorbing members 24 and the rear support bracket 10a are formed separately, processing of these members 24, 10a becomes troublesome, or the yield of the material is deteriorated. There is no. Thus, the manufacturing cost of the shock absorbing steering device of the present invention can be reduced. Incidentally, the rear folded portion 26 of the energy absorbing member 24 constituting the shock absorbing type steering device of the present invention.
May be any shape as long as the rear support bracket 10a can be displaced forward in the event of a collision and the rear end of the energy absorbing member 24 can be supported and coupled to the vehicle body by the bolt 17. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the width of the intermediate portion of the rear folded portion 26 is reduced, and the width of the rear folded portion 2 is reduced.
6 can be reduced in rigidity. If the rigidity is reduced, the tightening work of the bolt 17 becomes easier. The shock absorbing steering apparatus of the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, so that the original performance such as protection of the driver is not impaired at all and the production cost is reduced. And contribute to the cost reduction of automobiles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention before a secondary collision.
The principal part side view. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an energy absorbing member. FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing a state after a secondary collision. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another shape of the energy absorbing member. FIG. 6 is a partial longitudinal side view showing one example of a conventional structure. FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a view as seen from an arrow D in FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 8, showing a state after a secondary collision. [Description of Signs] 1 Steering column 2 Steering shaft 3 Steering wheel 4 Universal joint 5 Transmission shaft 6 Universal joint 7 Input shaft 8 Front support bracket 9 Body 10, 10a Rear support bracket 11 Energy absorbing members 12, 12a Mounting plate 13 Notch 14 Folded portion 15 Through hole 16 Sliding plate 17 Bolt 18 Through hole 19 Step 20 Front half 21 Rear half 22 Locking piece 23 Locking groove 24 Energy absorbing member 25 Front folded portion 26 Rear folded portion 27 Through hole

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A 6-63474 (JP, U) JP-A 3-22968 (JP, U) JP-A 58-86764 (JP, U) JP-A 60- 127285 (JP, U) JP-A-2-132576 (JP, U) JP-A-3-60156 (JP, U) JP-B-59-46828 (JP, B1) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62D 1/00-1/28

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] A steering column for rotatably supporting a steering shaft inserted inside, a support bracket for fixing an intermediate portion of the steering column, and a support bracket provided on the support bracket. A pair of left and right mounting plates protruding from the left and right sides of the steering column;
Each of these mounting plate portions has a pair of cutouts formed to open at the rear end edge of each mounting plate portion, a rear folded portion at a rear end portion of a plastically deformable plate material, and a front side portion at a front end portion. Folded part
The front half is folded to the front side by forming
The overall length by extension direction of the plastic deformation of the barbs is the extensible shape, and a energy absorbing member independent of each other pair of left and right, facing each other constituting the rear folded portion
A pair of plate portions for each energy absorbing member in a state where they are aligned with each other so that the same bolts can be inserted freely .
By a pair of bolts inserted through the separate-out hole and the respective cut formed together by, coupled to the vehicle body to the rear end of the energy absorbing member to support the mounting plate portion of the pair to the vehicle body The front end of the pair of energy absorbing members is provided at the front end of the front folded portion provided at the front end.
An edge is formed in the locking groove with the front side opened on each of the mounting plate parts.
It is connected to the support bracket by locking, and a sliding layer made of a low-friction material is formed on the inner peripheral side surface of the rear folded portion in contact with the mounting plate portion. Steering device.