JP4075386B2 - Column cover - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a column cover attached to a steering column.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a vehicle is provided with a steering column 110 and a column cover 120 that covers the steering column 110 and is attached between the steering wheel 101 and the instrument panel 102.
[0003]
A combination switch 111 in which switches such as a wiper and a headlamp are integrated is attached to the upper part of the steering column 110 via a combination switch unit 112, and a key cylinder 114 is attached to the lower part via a bracket 113. Is attached with the tip on the right side.
[0004]
The key cylinder 114 is covered with a transparent illumination ring 115 on the outer periphery of the tip, and a lamp housing 116 in which a lamp is incorporated is attached to the upper portion of the illumination ring 115. The lamp is connected to a power source (not shown) via a harness 117 and a connector 118, and is lit for a predetermined time when the door is opened.
[0005]
On the other hand, the column cover 120 includes a column cover upper 121 that covers the upper side of the steering column 110, and a column cover lower 122 that is combined with the column cover upper 121 and covers the lower side of the steering column 110. A hole 123 through which the combination switch 111 passes to the outside is formed.
[0006]
Further, the column cover lower 122 is formed with a recess 125 that is recessed inward toward the key cylinder 114 on the right side surface 124. The recess 125 is provided with a hole 127 in the bottom wall 126 that opens a gap with the tip of the key cylinder 114 and exposes the tip surface 119 into the recess 125, and a ring-shaped escutcheon (decorative member) is provided in the gap. 128 is inserted.
[0007]
When the door on the driver's seat is opened, the lamp of the lamp housing 116 is turned on for a predetermined time, so that the entire illumination ring 115 of the key cylinder 114 shines, and a key insertion hole 119a formed in the front end surface 119 of the key cylinder 114. Are easily recognized.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in a vehicle equipped with a system that can release the lock of the key cylinder without inserting a key into the key cylinder insertion hole, as shown in FIG. 202 is attached and has a long tip as compared with the key cylinder 114 of FIG.
[0009]
Therefore, when attaching the column cover lower 122 from the lower side when attaching the column cover 120 to the steering column to which the key cylinder 201 is attached, the side wall 125a (see FIG. It could not be mounted by interfering with the knob 202 and lacked versatility.
[0010]
Therefore, since the column cover lower has to be manufactured separately in accordance with the key cylinder 201, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the column cover is excessive.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a column cover that can enhance versatility.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the column cover according to claim 1 of the present invention, a steering wheel provided between a steering wheel and an instrument panel and having a key cylinder having a knob for starting the engine at the tip is attached. A column cover upper that covers the upper side of the column, and a column cover lower that covers the lower side of the steering column together with the column cover upper, are recessed inwardly toward the key cylinder. A recess is formed, and the recess is formed by a bottom wall and a side wall excluding the bottom of the bottom wall. The recess has a hole that exposes the knob of the key cylinder in the recess, and a hole formed in the recess. A notch that extends from the upper edge to the upper part of the side wall of the recess to expose the knob above the recess. And a cover member that covers the cutout portion from above is attached, and an illumination device that illuminates when the door on the driver's seat is opened and illuminates the lower portion of the cutout portion is provided on the cover member. It is assumed that it was provided.
[0013]
In such a configuration, when the column cover lower is attached to the steering column having a key cylinder having a knob at the tip from the lower side, the key cylinder is inserted through the hole continuously provided in the recess and the notch. Since the knob is passed through the recess, the column cover lower can be prevented from interfering with the knob.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a right side view of an essential part including the periphery of a column cover 1 showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. The column cover 1 is attached so as to cover a steering column 110 provided between a steering wheel 101 and an instrument panel 102 (see FIG. 5).
[0016]
A combination switch unit 110a is attached to the steering column 110 at an upper portion thereof, and a combination switch 111 in which switches such as a wiper and a headlamp are integrated is provided on the left and right sides of the combination switch unit 110a.
[0017]
A key cylinder 90 is attached to the lower part of the steering column 110 with a tip on the right side via a bracket 113.
[0018]
This key cylinder 90 is used in a vehicle equipped with a system that can release the lock of the key cylinder without inserting a key by a battery-operated portable lock release device. A knob 91 for starting the engine is attached.
[0019]
In addition, the key cylinder 90 is provided with a key insertion hole 92 in the knob 91 and a key inserted into the insertion hole 92 in order to cope with the case where the lock release device cannot be used due to a battery exhaustion. An immobilizer 93 for identifying correctness is provided.
[0020]
On the other hand, the column cover 1 includes the combination switch unit 110a and the key cylinder 90, and the column cover upper 2 that covers the upper side of the steering column 110 and the column cover that covers the lower side of the steering column 110 together with the column cover upper 2. The lower 3 is formed, and a hole 1a through which the combination switch 111 is passed to the outside is formed across the covers 2 and 3.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 2, the column cover lower 3 is attached by sandwiching the steering column 110 from the lower side by a clamping portion 31 provided on the column cover lower 3, and is attached to the inner bottom surface 32 of the column cover lower 3. A boss 33 for attaching to the column cover upper 2 is provided.
[0022]
A cylindrical recess 4 that is recessed inward toward the key cylinder 90 is formed on the right side surface 34 of the column cover lower 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the recess 4 includes a bottom wall 41 and side walls 42 formed outward from the bottom wall 41 except for the bottom of the bottom wall 41.
[0023]
The recess 4 includes a hole 43 that exposes the knob 91 of the key cylinder 90 into the recess 4 at the center of the bottom wall 41, and the center of the upper portion 45 of the side wall 42 of the recess 4 from the upper edge 44 of the hole 43. A notch 46 is provided which is notched over the part and exposes the knob 91 above the recess 4.
[0024]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the hole 43 of the bottom wall 41 is provided with a gap S between the knob 91 of the key cylinder 90, and characters such as LOCK and START are engraved on the surface of the gap S. A ring-shaped escalation (decorative member) 10 is fitted from the outside.
[0025]
The upper portion 45 of the side wall 42 is provided with locking claws 48, 48 bent in a hook shape in opposite directions on the bottom wall 41 side at the left and right edges 47, 47 of the notch 46.
[0026]
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a cover member 5 that covers the notch 46 from above is attached to the recess 4. The cover member 5 includes a cover member main body 6 and a lighting device 7 attached to the cover member main body 6.
[0027]
The cover member main body 6 includes a placement portion 61 that is placed when the cover member main body 6 is attached to the recess 4, and a bent portion 62 that is bent downward at the rear end of the placement portion 61. The mounting portion 61 is provided with an illumination window 63 (see FIG. 1) corresponding to the notch portion 46, and locking holes 64 and 64 for locking the locking claws 48 and 48 of the recess 4. Is provided.
[0028]
On the other hand, the illuminating device 7 includes a lamp housing 71 attached so as to surround the illumination window 63 of the mounting portion 61, and a lamp 72 inserted into the lamp housing 71, and the lamp 72 is connected via a harness 73. Connected to a power source not shown.
[0029]
As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, when the door 82 on the driver's seat 81 side of the vehicle 8 is opened, the lamp 72 is lit for a predetermined time, and the lighting device 7 is cut through the notch 46 through the illumination window 63 of the cover member body 6. It is comprised so that the lower part of may be illuminated.
[0030]
In this configuration, since the hole 43 and the notch 46 are continuously provided in the recess 4 of the column cover lower 3, the column cover is attached to the steering column 110 to which the key cylinder 90 having the knob 91 is attached at the tip. When the lower 3 is attached from the lower side, the knob 91 of the key cylinder 90 is passed through the recess 4 through the hole 43 and the notch 46 of the recess 4, so that the column cover lower 3 interferes with the knob 91. Can be prevented.
[0031]
Therefore, in the column cover 1 of the present embodiment, in addition to the steering column provided with a key cylinder used by inserting a key, the steering column 110 provided with a key cylinder 90 having a knob 91 at the tip is provided. Can be attached, so versatility can be improved.
[0032]
Therefore, the column cover lower need not be manufactured in accordance with the presence or absence of the key cylinder knob 91 attached to the steering column 110, so that the cost of the column cover can be reduced.
[0033]
In addition, since the lamp 72 of the illumination device 7 illuminates the illumination window 63 of the cover member body 6 from below the notch 46 of the recess 4, the knob 91 of the key cylinder 90 positioned below the notch 46 is provided on the lamp 72. Therefore, the position of the knob 91 can be easily recognized even at night. In addition, it is possible to easily recognize a key insertion hole even in a key cylinder used by inserting a key.
[0034]
Further, the lamp 72 of the illumination device 7 is illuminated downward, and since there is no side wall underneath the bottom wall 41 that obstructs illumination, the knob 91 of the key cylinder 90 is further indicated by the oblique lines in FIG. Since it is possible to illuminate the feet 83 of the driver's seat 81, the boarding / exiting ability can be improved.
[0035]
Further, since the illumination window 63 and the illumination device 7 are provided in the cover member 5, it is not necessary to provide illumination means for illuminating the key cylinder such as the illumination device or the illumination ring in the key cylinder, and the vicinity of the tip portion of the key cylinder 90. The degree of freedom of modeling can be improved.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the column cover according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the column cover lower is attached from the lower side to the steering column to which the key cylinder having the knob at the tip is attached, the column cover lower is continuously provided in the recess. Since the knob of the key cylinder is passed through the recess through the hole and the notch, the column cover lower can be prevented from interfering with the knob.
[0037]
Therefore, in addition to a steering column provided with a key cylinder to be used by inserting a key, it can be attached to a steering column provided with a key cylinder having a knob at the tip, so that versatility can be improved. .
[0038]
Therefore, the column cover lower need not be manufactured in accordance with the presence or absence of the knob of the key cylinder attached to the steering column, so that the cost of the column cover can be reduced.
[0039]
In addition, since the lighting device illuminates the lower part of the notch in the recess, the key cylinder knob located below the notch is directly illuminated by the lighting device, so that the knob position can be easily recognized even at night. it can. In addition, it is possible to easily recognize a key insertion hole even in a key cylinder used by inserting a key.
[0040]
In addition, since the lighting device illuminates downward, and since there is no side wall that interferes with illumination under the bottom wall of the recess, it is possible to illuminate from the knob of the key cylinder to the feet of the driver's seat. The boarding / exiting ability can be improved.
[0041]
In addition, since the illumination device is provided on the cover member, it is not necessary to provide illumination means for illuminating the key cylinder on the key cylinder, and the degree of freedom of modeling near the tip of the key cylinder can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a right side view of a main part including a periphery of a column cover showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a column cover lower.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inside of the vehicle when the door is open.
FIG. 5 is a right side view of a main part including the periphery of a conventional column cover.
6 is a perspective view showing a front end portion of the key cylinder of FIG. 5. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a key cylinder having a knob for starting the engine.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Column cover 2 Column cover upper 3 Column cover lower 4 Recessed part 5 Cover member 7 Illuminating device 41 Bottom wall 42 Side wall 43 Hole 44 Upper edge 45 Upper part 81 Driver's seat 82 Door 90 Key cylinder 91 Knob 101 Steering wheel 102 Instrument panel 110 Steering column

Claims (1)

A column cover upper that is provided between the steering wheel and the instrument panel and has a key cylinder having a knob for starting the engine at the tip and covering the upper side of the steering column, and the steering wheel that is combined with the column cover upper It consists of a column cover lower that covers the underside of the column,
The column cover lower is formed with a recess recessed inwardly toward the key cylinder. The recess is formed by a bottom wall and a side wall excluding the lower portion of the bottom wall. A hole that exposes the knob in the recess, and a notch that is cut from the upper edge of the hole to the top of the side wall of the recess to expose the knob above the recess. And a cover member that covers the cutout portion from above is attached, and the cover member is provided with an illumination device that lights up when the door on the driver's seat is opened and illuminates the lower portion of the cutout portion. Column cover to do.

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