JP4300307B2 - Vehicle steering member mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a steering member mounting structure that supports a steering shaft for a vehicle such as an automobile.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a steering shaft of a vehicle such as an automobile is generally supported by a steering member disposed in the vehicle width direction in front of a driver's seat, and the steering member mounting structure is a steering member. There is known a structure in which the bracket is fixed to the cowl side panel or the like from the inner side in the vehicle width direction through a bracket or the like.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
On the other hand, recently, in order to reduce assembly man-hours and the number of parts to reduce costs, subassemblies heater units, air-conditioning parts such as blower units, harnesses, and various electronic units to the steering member. As an instrument module, an instrument module system has been developed in which the steering member is integrally assembled to the vehicle body when the steering member is attached.
[0004]
However, according to the conventional structure, when the instrument module system using such a sub-assembly is adopted, it is impossible to fix the steering member to the cowl side panel or the like from the inner side in the vehicle width direction.
[0005]
Further, as disclosed in JP-A-63-176775, mounting members such as brackets and stays are provided on a cowl side panel or the like in front of the opening of the front door, and both ends of the steering member are mounted on mounting seats of these mounting members. There is also a structure that makes it possible to adopt the instrument module system by sub-assembly by attaching it so that it is sandwiched by a fixing member such as a fixing plate provided separately from the rear, but in this case, the steering member faces the rear of the vehicle Since it is supported by mounting members provided on the body panel, it is necessary to provide additional reinforcing members to compensate for insufficient rigidity against bending and torsion in the front-rear direction, which is the direction outside the mounting surface, increasing the number of parts and assembly steps The fuel consumption performance and driving performance increase due to the problem of increased There is a problem in that working against to a reduction in the weight of the vehicle weight is a condition of the improvement request of performance.
[0006]
Accordingly, the present invention enables the steering member to be mounted from the rear of the vehicle, enables the adoption of an instrument module system using a subassembly, and reduces the number of assembly steps and parts while ensuring the mounting rigidity of the steering member. The present invention provides a vehicle steering member mounting structure that can be used.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, both ends of the steering member having a closed cross section extending in the vehicle width direction and sub-assembled with various electronic units for supporting the steering shaft are located at the rear of the vehicle. A bracket mounted on the vehicle body panel facing the vehicle from the rear side of the vehicle , wherein at least the bracket on the driver's seat side is attached to the vehicle body panel surface from the vehicle rear side, and an outer peripheral edge of the mounting surface portion Is bent toward the rear of the vehicle and is formed so as to surround the mounting surface portion by a plurality of continuous planes, and at least one of the bent surface portions that faces the vehicle width direction. It is characterized by having a pair of joint portions formed by extending the plane of the set to the rear of the vehicle and to which the steering member is joined.
[0008]
In the invention of claim 2, one of the pair of joint portions according to claim 1 is extended to the front side surface of the steering member along the shape of the steering member and joined to the front side surface. In addition, the other is extended to the rear side surface of the steering member and is joined to at least the rear side surface.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the one joint portion according to claim 2 is a joint portion closer to the vehicle center among the pair of joint portions.
[0010]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the other joint portion according to the second and third aspects is a joint portion closer to the vehicle side of the pair of joint portions, and the end portion of the steering member is connected to the other joint portion. It is characterized by being attached to the joint.
[0011]
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that a bead is provided across the mounting surface portion according to claims 1 to 4 and the bent surface portion where the joint portion is formed.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, both ends of the steering member that supports the steering shaft are attached from the rear of the vehicle to the vehicle body panel facing the rear of the vehicle located at the front of the vehicle compartment via the bracket. Therefore, it is possible to adopt an instrument module system in which air-conditioning parts, harnesses, various electronic units, etc. are sub-assembled to the steering member and are integrated into the vehicle body, reducing assembly man-hours and the number of parts. And at least the bracket on the driver's seat is formed by bending the mounting surface portion superimposed on the vehicle body panel surface and the outer peripheral edge of the mounting surface portion toward the rear of the vehicle. A folded curved surface portion formed so as to surround the mounting surface portion with a plurality of continuous planes, And at least one set of planes facing in the direction extending toward the rear of the vehicle, and having a pair of joints to which the steering member is joined, and attaching the steering member as one part Therefore, weight reduction can be promoted, and also here, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the cost can be advantageously obtained.
[0013]
Further, since the bent curved surface portion of the bracket is formed so as to surround the outer peripheral edge of the mounting surface portion with a plurality of continuous planes, it is possible to ensure rigidity against bending and twisting in the front-rear direction. As a result, the support rigidity of the steering shaft can be increased.
[0014]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, one of the pair of joints extends to the front side surface of the steering member along the shape of the steering member, Since the other side extends to the rear side surface of the steering member and is joined to at least the rear side surface, the front side surface and the rear side surface of the steering member are securely joined, The steering member can be reliably supported.
[0015]
According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, since the one joint is a joint near the vehicle center among the pair of joints, the molding of the bracket is simple. In addition, it is easy to perform a joining operation between one joining portion of the bracket and the front side surface of the steering member, thereby improving workability.
[0016]
According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effects of claims 2 and 3, since the other joint is a joint near the vehicle side of the pair of joints, the bracket is molded. It is simple and the joining work of the other joint part of the bracket and the rear side surface of the steering member can be easily performed, and the workability can be improved.
[0017]
Further, since the end portion of the steering member is brought into contact with the other joint portion, the steering member can be supported also in the vehicle width direction, so that the support rigidity in the vehicle width direction can be increased. it can.
[0018]
According to invention of Claim 5, in addition to the effect of Claims 1-4, since the bead was provided over the said mounting surface part and the bending surface part in which a junction part is formed, these mounting surface parts and The rigidity of the bent portion with the bent surface portion can be increased to increase the rigidity of the bracket itself, and consequently the support rigidity of the steering member can be increased.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a steering member to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a steering shaft arrangement portion.
[0021]
Reference numeral 1 denotes a steering member having a closed cross section extending in the vehicle width direction and supporting a steering shaft 2 to be described later. The steering member 1 has its both end portions 1A and 1A facing the rear of the vehicle located at the front portion of the passenger compartment. The vehicle body panel 3 is attached from the rear of the vehicle via brackets 4 and 5.
[0022]
In particular, in this embodiment, the steering member 1 is formed by connecting pipe-like members, and has a closed cross section depending on the required strength on the driver's seat side (right side) and the passenger seat side (left side) in the figure. Are formed in different sizes.
[0023]
6 is an instrument stay for connecting the steering member 1 to a vehicle body floor (not shown), and 7 is for connecting the steering member 1 to a dash upper panel 8 in front of the passenger compartment. The steering shaft 2 and the steering column 9 are connected to the lower ends of the steering member 1. Indicates the post bracket to be fixed.
[0024]
In addition, recently, in order to reduce assembly man-hours, there is an instrument module system in which air-conditioning parts, various harnesses, and various electronic units are sub-assembled to the steering member 1 and integrally attached to the vehicle body from the rear of the vehicle. For this reason, air conditioning components such as heater units and blower units (not shown), various harnesses, and various electronic devices such as flasher units and door lock relays that incorporate control circuits for turn signal devices, etc. The unit is sub-assembled to the steering member 1.
[0025]
In FIG. 2, W · S denotes a windshield glass.
[0026]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the bracket described above, and here shows the bracket 4 on the driver's seat side (right side).
[0027]
The bracket 4 is formed by bending the mounting surface portion 4a superimposed on the vehicle body panel surface 3 and the outer peripheral edge of the mounting surface portion 4a toward the rear of the vehicle, and the mounting surface portion 4a is formed by a plurality of continuous planes. A folded curved surface portion 4b formed so as to surround, and at least one set of planes facing substantially the vehicle width direction of the folded curved surface portion 4b is formed to extend rearward of the vehicle, and is joined to the steering member 1 And a pair of joint portions 4c and 4d.
[0028]
In particular, in the present embodiment, the joint 4c closer to the vehicle center of the pair of joints 4c and 4d extends to the front side of the steering member 1 along the shape of the steering member 1, and the front side And a joint 4d near the vehicle side is extended to the rear side surface of the steering member 1 and joined to the rear side surface by welding or the like. 1A is applied to the joint 4d.
[0029]
In addition, a bead 4e is provided across the mounting surface portion 4a and the bent surface portion 4b where the joint portions 4c and 4d are formed.
[0030]
FIG. 4 is a view of the connection portion of the end 1A of the steering member 1 from above the vehicle, and is a closure formed by a body side outer 10 and a dash side panel 11 positioned at a pillar portion in front of the vehicle side door opening. The cross section shows a state in which the bracket 4 is connected to the pillar inner bracket 3 as the vehicle body panel 3 connected to the dash side panel 11 from the rear of the vehicle with a bolt or the like not shown.
[0031]
Reference numeral 12 denotes a reinforcing brace which is provided in a closed cross section formed by the body side outer 10 and the dash side panel 11 and increases the rigidity of the closed cross section.
[0032]
Heretofore, the structure of the bracket 4 on the driver's seat side (right side) and the right end side of the steering member 1 has been described, but in the present embodiment, the bracket 5 on the passenger seat side (left side) is also the driver seat side described above. It is formed in the same manner as the bracket 4 on the (right side) and is similarly attached to the vehicle body panel.
[0033]
According to the structure of the above embodiment, the both ends 1A, 1A of the steering member 1 that supports the steering shaft 2 are vehicle body panels that face the rear of the vehicle located in the front part of the vehicle compartment via the brackets 4, 5. Since it is attached to the pillar inner bracket 3 from the rear of the vehicle, the air-conditioning parts, harnesses, various electronic units, etc., which have been widely used recently as described above, are sub-assembled to the steering member 1 and integrated. It is possible to adopt an instrument module system that is assembled to the vehicle body, and it is possible to reduce the number of assembling steps and the number of parts, which can be advantageously obtained in terms of cost.
[0034]
Also, the bracket 4 on the driver's seat side is bent and formed with the mounting surface portion 4a superposed on the pillar inner bracket 3 as the body panel surface and the outer peripheral edge of the mounting surface portion 4a facing the rear of the vehicle. A folding surface portion 4b formed so as to surround the mounting surface portion 4a with a plurality of flat surfaces, and at least one set of the opposing surfaces in the vehicle width direction of the folding surface portion 4b extending rearward of the vehicle. The steering member 1 is formed so as to have a pair of joint portions 4c and 4d to which the steering member 1 is joined, and the steering member 1 is attached to the pillar inner bracket 3 which is a vehicle body panel as one part. Thus, the weight reduction can be promoted, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the cost can be advantageously obtained.
[0035]
In addition, since the bent curved surface portion 4b of the bracket 4 is formed so as to surround the outer peripheral edge of the mounting surface portion 4a with a plurality of continuous planes, this ensures rigidity against bending and twisting in the front-rear direction. As a result, the support rigidity of the steering shaft can be increased.
[0036]
In particular, according to the present embodiment, the joint 4c closer to the vehicle center of the pair of joints 4c and 4d extends to the front side surface of the steering member 1 along the shape of the steering member 1, The joint 4d near the vehicle side, which is the other side, extends to the rear side of the steering member 1 and is joined to the rear side. It is possible to reliably support the steering member by joining with the side surface.
[0037]
In the present embodiment, as described above, an example in which the joint portion 4d near the vehicle side extending to the rear side surface of the steering member 1 is joined to the rear side surface is shown. However, the end portion 1A of the steering member 1 is shown. Of course, it may be joined over the entire circumference. However, since the necessary strength can be obtained if at least the rear side is joined, considering the workability at the time of joining such as welding, the required strength is obtained by joining only the rear side as in this embodiment. The workability may be improved.
[0038]
In the present embodiment, the joint 4c near the vehicle center of the pair of joints 4c and 4d is joined to the front side surface of the steering member 1, and the joint 4d near the vehicle side is connected to the end of the steering member 1. Since it is designed to be joined to the rear side surface, it is not necessary to provide a hole through which the steering member 1 penetrates in the joint 4c near the vehicle center, the molding of the bracket 4 is simple, and the joint 4c of the bracket 4 is provided. , 4d and the steering member 1 can be easily joined and workability can be improved.
[0039]
In addition, since the end of the steering member 1 is brought into contact with the joint 4d from the vehicle side, the steering member 1 can be supported in the vehicle width direction. Support rigidity can be increased.
[0040]
Moreover, since the bead 4e is provided across the mounting surface portion 4a and the bent surface portion 4b where the joint portions 4c and 4d are formed, the rigidity of the bent portions of the mounting surface portion 4a and the bent surface portion 4b can be increased. Further, the rigidity of the bracket 4 itself can be increased, and as a result, the support rigidity of the steering member can be increased. In the above-described embodiment, the bracket 5 on the passenger seat side (left side) is also provided on the driver seat side (right side). Since the structure is the same as that of the bracket 4, the same effect as that of the bracket 4 on the driver's seat side (right side) can be obtained.
[0041]
However, since the load applied to the bracket 3 on the passenger seat side (left side) is smaller than that on the bracket 4 on the driver seat side (right side) where the load on the steering shaft 2 or the like is applied, the plate is simply installed from the rear as in the conventional structure. You may make it fix | tighten by pinching | pinching with a member.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a steering member according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, showing a main part of a steering shaft arrangement portion in the same embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bracket (driver's seat side) in the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main mounting portion of the steering member end portion as viewed from above in the same embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Steering member 2 Steering shaft 3 Pillar inner bracket (vehicle body panel)
4 Bracket (Driver side)
4a Mounting surface portion 4b Folding curved surface portion 4c Joint portion (close to vehicle center)
4d joint (near the vehicle side)
4e bead

Claims (5)

Both ends of the steering member having a closed cross section extending in the vehicle width direction and sub-assembled with various electronic units supporting the steering shaft are connected to the vehicle body panel facing the rear of the vehicle located in the front of the vehicle compartment via brackets. The structure is mounted from the rear of the vehicle,
At least the bracket on the driver's seat side is mounted on the body panel surface from the rear of the vehicle ,
A bent surface portion formed by bending the outer peripheral edge of the mounting surface portion toward the rear of the vehicle and surrounding the mounting surface portion with a plurality of continuous planes;
A vehicle comprising: a pair of joint portions that are formed by extending at least one set of planes facing substantially the vehicle width direction of the folded curved surface portions to the rear of the vehicle and joined to the steering member. Steering member mounting structure.   One of the pair of joints extends to the front side of the steering member along the shape of the steering member, and joins to the front side, and the other extends to the rear side of the steering member. The vehicle steering member mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle steering member mounting structure is joined to at least the rear side surface.   3. The vehicle steering member mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein the one joint is a joint closer to the vehicle center among the pair of joints.   The other joint is a joint closer to the vehicle side of the pair of joints, and an end of the steering member is applied to the other joint. The vehicle steering member mounting structure according to any one of claims 3 to 4.   The vehicle steering member mounting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a bead is provided across the mounting surface portion and the bent surface portion where the joint portion is formed.

Images