JP4171101B2 - Steering support - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a steering support that is mounted on a reinforcement that is mounted on a vehicle and holds various members and supports a steering column.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a vehicle steering support disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-183462 has been known. That is, the steering support 101 is composed of one upper member 102, two lower members 103 and 104, and a reinforcing member 105 as shown in FIG. 4. The upper member 102 has a body attachment portion 121 and an arc-shaped upper concave portion 122. The first lower member 103 has a bottom surface portion 131 and both side surface portions 132, 133. The both side surface portions 132, 133 are provided with flange portions 132a, 133a extending in the longitudinal direction, and the flange portions 132a, 133a have an arc shape. The lower recessed part is formed. This configuration is the same for the second lower member 104. The first lower member 103 is welded in surface contact with the upper member 102, and the entire circumference of the reinforcement 106 is fixed by the lower concave portion and the upper concave portion 122 of the upper member 102.
[0003]
Since the said structure takes the aspect divided | segmented into the upper member and the lower member, the freedom degree of the assembly | attachment order of another member and a steering support is not restrict | limited. As a result, it was possible to adopt an assembling order with high productivity. In addition, when the steering support is assembled, it is sufficient to weld the lower member and the upper member at a predetermined position, so that quick assembly can be achieved.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in recent vehicles, an air bag function is installed in the steering for improving the safety of the driver, and various instruments and the like due to high performance are mounted in the steering system. For this reason, the shape of the reinforcement must be a partially bent shape in consideration of these mounting regions. That is, in the conventional example in FIG. 4, the reinforcement is conceptually shown and the shape is shown as being straight, but in reality it is locally bent and the steering support is more than the case where the shape is straight. Torsional stress is easily applied between the reinforcement and the reinforcement. For this reason, there arises a problem in terms of strength that each of the two divided lower members is easily displaced or deformed by this torsional stress.
[0005]
Further, in order to avoid the vibration of the vehicle body from causing resonance in accordance with the natural frequency of the steering system, it is generally necessary to set the steering support rigidity to be high to some extent. However, when the reinforcement and the lower member are joined in a surface contact state as in the conventional example, the rigidity of the reinforcement in the steering support structure is reduced. It becomes difficult to set high. This is because, when the section modulus of the entire steering support structure is considered, the distance from the centroid to the cross section of the reinforcement is small, so that the section modulus of the reinforcement is small. As a result, there is a problem from the vibration surface that it is difficult to set the natural frequency of the steering system high. As a countermeasure against this, the rigidity of the reinforcement is increased by setting the diameter of the reinforcement itself to a certain extent, but this means that bending during the reinforcement molding becomes difficult. The problem and the problem that material cost increased were caused.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a steering support that has stable strength and can improve productivity.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the steering support according to claim 1 is assembled to a reinforcement that is mounted on a vehicle and holds various members, and the steering support that supports a steering column is assembled to the reinforcement. A lower member, and an upper member attached to the lower member so as to sandwich the reinforcement, and attachable to a body of the vehicle, wherein the lower member is a main body portion to which the upper member is attached. And a U-shaped extending body extending in the lateral direction from the main body, the inner peripheral surface of the extending body being partially engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement and welded. A first engaging portion that extends in a direction opposite to the first engaging portion from the main body portion, and an inner peripheral surface of the extending body is the reinho A second engagement portion that is partially engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement and welded thereto, and the main body portion, the first engagement portion, and the second engagement portion are integrally formed, and the main body portion A reinforcing flange is provided in an outer peripheral region from the first engaging portion to the second engaging portion, and the reinforcement is formed on the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion. It is welded in a line contact state on the opening side of the U-shaped part .
[0008]
In the above configuration, the main body portion, the first engagement portion, and the second engagement portion constituting the lower member are integrally formed by press working or the like. For this reason, the effect that reduction of work cost can be aimed at in mass production is acquired. In addition, a reinforcing flange is provided in the outer peripheral region of the boundary portion between the main body portion and both engaging portions where stress is particularly likely to concentrate, so that the generated stress can be effectively dispersed. As a result, even when a bent reinforcement that easily generates torsional stress is used, local damage to the steering support due to stress concentration is not caused.
[0009]
In addition, as described in claim 2, the lower member is a main body portion to which the upper member is mounted, and an extending body having a U-shaped cross section that extends laterally from the main body portion, A first engaging portion in which an edge of an inner peripheral surface of the extension body is engaged with and welded to an outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement, and extends from the main body portion in a direction opposite to the first engaging portion. A second engagement portion which is an extended body having a U-shaped cross section, the inner peripheral surface of the extended body being engaged with and welded to the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement. The third engagement is provided with a curved surface projecting substantially at the center of the bottom surface of the reinforcement and capable of engaging with the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement, and the curved surface is partially engaged with and welded to the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement. And the body portion, the first engagement portion, the second engagement portion, and the third engagement portion are integrally formed, and the first engagement portion and the first engagement portion are formed from the body portion. Reinforcing flange is provided on the outer peripheral region of the over the second engaging portions, further, the reinforcement is on the opening side of the first engaging portion and the formed U-shaped portion with the second engaging portion or characterized in that it is welded in a line contact state.
[0010]
In the above configuration, the joint between the steering support and the reinforcement is the inner peripheral surface of the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion provided on the lower member of the steering support with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement. Is engaged with the curved surface of the third engaging portion, and welding is performed along the engaging portion in a substantially line contact state. Thus, the steering support rigidity is increased by performing the joining of the reinforcement and the respective engaging portions in the line contact state instead of the surface contact state as in the prior art. That is, by making the line contact state, the position of the reinforcement relative to the lower member is increased, and the section modulus of the reinforcement in the steering support structure is increased, thereby increasing the rigidity of the steering support structure as a whole. As a result, the natural frequency of the steering system can be set higher than that of the joining type in the surface contact state as in the conventional example, which is convenient for avoiding resonance with the vibration of the vehicle body. Moreover, since the rigidity of the steering support itself is increased to some extent by providing the first engaging portion, the second engaging portion, and the third engaging portion, the rigidity of the reinforcement can be set to each engaging portion of the steering support. It can be covered by the rigidity of the. For this reason, the rigidity of the reinforcement itself can be set small. This leads to a reduction in the diameter of the reinforcement tube diameter, and material costs can be reduced.
[0011]
Furthermore, as described in claim 3, an L-shaped bent portion may be provided at the tip of the reinforcing flange.
That is, by providing a bent portion bent downward or upward at the tip of each of the reinforcing flanges extending horizontally, the section modulus of the reinforcing flange is increased. 2 The strength of the engaging portion is further increased. As a result, there is no problem that the joint portion between the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion with the reinforcement is deformed by a torsional moment generated between the first engagement portion and the reinforcement.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a use state of the steering support, FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the steering support, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
[0013]
As is well known, the steering support 1 of the present embodiment is attached to a reinforcement 4 that is horizontally mounted on a vehicle and supports a steering column (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the steering support 1 is particularly suitable for a case where the reinforcement 4 has a bent portion 4 a in the longitudinal direction and a torsional stress is likely to occur at the joint portion with the steering support 1. Have The configuration will be described in detail below.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 2, the steering support 1 includes a lower member 3 suspended from the reinforcement 4, and an upper member 2 that connects the vehicle body and the lower member 3 and reinforces support of the lower member 3. The
The upper member 2 is formed with an arcuate engagement recess 22 that coincides with the outer peripheral upper portion of the reinforcement 4 at the lower center of the upright plate-like body, and a body for connecting to the vehicle body on the upper side edge thereof. The mounting flange 21 extends at a right angle. The body mounting flange 21 has a through hole for inserting a bolt, and is bolted to the vehicle body through the through hole.
[0015]
The lower member 3 is formed by pressing a mild steel plate, and includes a first engaging portion 31 and a first engaging portion 31 that form a longitudinal joint portion between the main body portion 30 on which the upper member 2 is mounted and the reinforcement 4. The second engaging portion 32 and the third engaging portion 33 are configured. The first engaging portion 31 and the second engaging portion 32 are provided to extend in opposite directions from the main body portion 30, and the third engaging portion is provided to protrude upward in the center of the main body portion 30. . Reinforcing flanges 51, 53 and 52, 54 connected to the upper end of the main body 30 are provided at the upper ends of the first engaging portion 31 and the second engaging portion 32, respectively. The stress generated at the boundary between each of the first and second engaging portions 32 and the main body 30 can be dispersed. In addition, plate-like front flanges 35 and 36 are erected on the front side of the main body 30 to maintain strength.
[0016]
The first engagement portion 31 and the second engagement portion 32 are configured to be shifted in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction so as to match the shape of the reinforcement 4.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first engagement portion 31 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the bottom surface 31 a is provided in a form that is lowered by one step from the bottom surface 30 a of the main body portion 30. Reinforcing flanges 51 and 53 extend horizontally from the upper end of the first engaging portion 31, and the former is connected to the side wall 30 b of the main body 30 and the latter is connected to the front flange 35. The reinforcing flanges 51 and 53 are located at positions where stress tends to concentrate when the lower member 3 receives torsional stress from the reinforcement 4, that is, at the boundary between the main body 30 and the first engaging portion 31. The wall thickness is particularly large. For this reason, even if it receives torsional stress from the reinforcement 4, it does not lead to damage from the said boundary part.
[0017]
In addition, bent portions 51a and 53a bent downward are provided at the tips of the reinforcing flanges 51 and 53, respectively. By providing the bent portions 51a and 53a, the section modulus at the upper end of the first engaging portion 31 is increased and the rigidity is increased, so that the proof strength against the torsional moment generated between the reinforcement 4 and the reinforcement 4 is further increased.
[0018]
The second engagement portion 32 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, similar to the first engagement portion 31, and the bottom surface 32 a is provided in a manner that is lowered by one step from the bottom surface 30 a of the main body portion 30. . Reinforcing flanges 52 and 54 extend horizontally from the upper end of the second engaging portion 32, and the former is connected to the side wall 30 b of the main body 30 and the latter is connected to the front flange 36. The reinforcing flanges 52 and 54 are located at positions where stress tends to concentrate when the lower member 3 receives torsional stress from the reinforcement 4, that is, at the boundary between the main body 30 and the second engaging portion 32. The wall thickness is particularly large. For this reason, even if it receives torsional stress from the reinforcement 4, it does not lead to damage from the said boundary part.
[0019]
In addition, a bent portion bent downward is provided at the tip of each of the reinforcing flanges 52 and 54, similar to the reinforcing flanges 51 and 53. By providing the bent portion, the section modulus at the upper end of the second engaging portion 32 is increased and the rigidity is increased, and thus the proof strength against the torsional moment generated between the reinforcement 4 and the reinforcement 4 is further increased.
[0020]
The third engaging portion 33 is provided at the front center portion of the main body portion 30 so as to protrude upward, and has a joining surface 33a that joins the reinforcement 4 and an insertion portion 33b through which a steering shaft can be inserted. . The joint surface 33a is a curved surface having a curvature equal to or somewhat larger than the outer diameter of the reinforcement 4, and can flexibly cope with the attachment of the reinforcement 4 to the outer peripheral surface. Yes.
[0021]
Next, the joining aspect of the steering support 1 and the reinforcement 4 according to the present embodiment will be described by taking the joining aspect of the first engagement portion 31 and the reinforcement 4 as an example.
The steering support 1 and the reinforcement 4 are joined to the inner edges 31b and 31c of the first engaging portion 31, the inner edges 32b and 32c of the second engaging portion 32, and the third This is done by welding the joint between the upper end edge 33 c of the engaging portion 33 and the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement 4.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 3, the first engagement portion 31 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is formed such that the width of the upper end thereof is substantially equal to or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the reinforcement 4. The first engaging portion 31 is attached such that the edges 31b and 31c of the inner peripheral surface thereof are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement 4, and welding W is applied along the contact portion in a substantially line contact state. Is done. At this time, the reinforcement 4 is in a state of floating from the bottom surface 31 a of the first engaging portion 31. This joining mode is the same in joining the second engagement portion 32 and the reinforcement 4.
[0023]
The reinforcement 4 and the third engagement portion 33 are joined together with the upper end edge 33c of the third engagement portion 33 in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement 4 in a substantially line contact state. It is performed by performing welding W along the contact part.
Thus, joining each engagement part and the reinforcement 4 in a line contact state increases the section modulus of the reinforcement in the steering support structure by increasing the position of the reinforcement relative to the lower member. This is to increase the rigidity of the steering support structure as a whole. As a result, the natural frequency of the steering system can be set higher than that of the conventional contact type joining method, which is convenient for avoiding resonance with the vibration of the vehicle body.
[0024]
According to the steering support 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the production cost can be effectively reduced by reducing the number of parts by integrally forming the lower member 3 and simplifying the machining process. In addition, the strength and rigidity of the steering support 1 are effectively increased by the reinforcing flange provided on the lower member 3 and the bent portion provided at the tip of the reinforcing flange, so that various stresses generated in the steering system can be prevented. It can respond stably.
[0025]
Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the technical scope of the present invention.
For example, the detailed shape of the lower member 3 is not limited to the above-described one, but is an integrated type, and various types are possible as long as a flange is provided in a portion where stress is concentrated and a bent portion is provided in the flange portion. Of course, the shape can be selected.
[0026]
In the above embodiment, the reinforcement 4 and the third engagement portion 33 are joined along the upper edge 33c of the third engagement portion 33. You may join in the state made to contact | abut.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a use state of a steering support.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a steering support.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... steering support, 2 ... upper member, 3 ... lower member,
4 ... Reinforcement, 4a ... Bending part,
30 ... Main body, 31 ... First engaging part, 31b ... Edge of inner peripheral surface,
32 ... 2nd engaging part, 32b ... edge of inner peripheral surface,
33: third engaging portion, 33c: upper edge,
51, 53 ... reinforcing flanges, 51a, 53a ... bent parts,
52, 54 ... reinforcing flange, 52a, 54a ... bent part,
W ... Welding

Claims (3)

In a steering support that supports a steering column that is mounted on a reinforcement mounted on a vehicle and that holds various members.
A lower member assembled to the reinforcement,
An upper member attached to the lower member so as to sandwich the reinforcement, and attachable to the body of the vehicle,
The lower member is
A main body to which the upper member is attached;
An extension body having a U-shaped cross section extending in a lateral direction from the main body, wherein an inner peripheral surface of the extension body is partially engaged with and welded to an outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement. 1 engaging portion;
An extension body having a U-shaped cross section extending from the main body portion in a direction opposite to the first engagement portion, wherein an inner peripheral surface of the extension body is partially on an outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement A second engagement portion to be engaged and welded,
It said body portion, first engagement portion and the second engagement portion is formed integrally, is provided with a reinforcing flange on the outer peripheral region of toward the first engaging portion and second engaging portion from the body portion ,
Furthermore, the reinforcement is welded in a line contact state to an opening side of a U-shaped portion formed in the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion . In a steering support that supports a steering column that is mounted on a reinforcement mounted on a vehicle and that holds various members.
A lower member assembled to the reinforcement,
An upper member attached to the lower member so as to sandwich the reinforcement, and attachable to the body of the vehicle,
The lower member is
A main body to which the upper member is attached;
An extension body having a U-shaped cross section extending in a lateral direction from the main body, wherein an edge of an inner peripheral surface of the extension body is engaged with and welded to an outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement. 1 engaging portion;
An extension body having a U-shaped cross section extending from the main body portion in a direction opposite to the first engagement portion, and an edge of an inner peripheral surface of the extension body is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement A second engaging portion that is engaged and welded;
The main body has a curved surface projecting substantially at the center of the bottom surface and engageable with the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement, and the curved surface is partially engaged with and welded to the outer peripheral surface of the reinforcement. 3 engaging portions,
The main body portion, the first engagement portion, the second engagement portion, and the third engagement portion are integrally formed, and the outer peripheral region from the main body portion to the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion is reinforced. A flange is provided ,
Furthermore, the reinforcement is welded in a line contact state to an opening side of a U-shaped portion formed in the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion .   The steering support according to claim 1, wherein an L-shaped bent portion is provided at a tip of the reinforcing flange.

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