JP5055891B2 - Steering rack mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering rack mounting structure, and more particularly to a steering rack mounting structure disposed between a radiator, an engine, and a transmission.

  In a mechanically driven steering rack, the steering rack is disposed behind the engine, that is, between the engine and the dash panel.

In recent years, a by-wire type steering device has been adopted, and in such a steering device, a steering rack is often disposed in front of the engine, that is, between the engine and the radiator (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). In this case, a steering unit for steering the front wheels is mounted on the steering rack.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-48994

  However, the conventional by-wire type steering device has a problem that a crushing space for absorbing collision energy at the time of a front collision cannot be secured sufficiently. That is, in a by-wire type steering device, the steering unit mounted on the steering rack is sandwiched between the engine and the radiator at the time of a front collision, but the steering unit is made of a highly rigid member and is not easily crushed. A lot of crushing residue occurs. A large amount of remaining crushing means that the collision energy is not sufficiently absorbed, that is, the crushing space is not sufficiently secured.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a steering rack mounting structure capable of sufficiently securing a crushing space for absorbing collision energy at the time of a front collision.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a radiator and steering rack between the vehicle transverse engine and transformer transmission disposed laterally of said engine is disposed, with the steering rack and the engine The space between the steering rack and the transmission is set small, the steering rack has a steering unit for steering the front wheels, and the steering rack is a vehicle. A steering rack mounting structure in which two left and right mounting portions in the width direction are mounted to a cross member by bolts and nuts, wherein the steering unit is provided on a side of the steering rack facing the front of the engine, and the steering Of the two mounting parts on the left and right of the rack, the front of the engine A long hole in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed in the mounting portion on the opposite side, a bolt hole is formed in the mounting portion on the side facing the transmission front surface, or the cross member on the side facing the engine front surface is formed. A long hole in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed at a position, and a bolt hole is formed at a position on the side facing the front surface of the transmission, and the bolt is inserted into the long hole and the bolt hole so that the radiator is When an impact force is applied to the steering rack via the steering rack, the mounting portion side attached to the elongated hole rotates rearward of the vehicle around the mounting portion side attached to the bolt hole. It is characterized by that.

  According to the above configuration, the steering rack is attached to the cross member via the bolt in which the attachment portion on the side facing the engine front is inserted into the long hole, and the attachment portion on the side facing the engine front is the vehicle. It is easier to move backwards. Therefore, when the radiator is pushed to the rear of the vehicle during a front collision and a large impact force from the radiator to the steering rack is applied to the rear of the vehicle, the mounting portion on the side facing the front of the transmission in the steering rack is against the cross member. Although it does not move much to the rear of the vehicle, the mounting portion on the side facing the front of the engine easily moves to the rear of the vehicle, and the entire steering rack rotates.

  Normally, in the front-wheel drive vehicle, the space before and after the steering rack is small on the side facing the front surface of the transmission and large on the side facing the front surface of the engine. According to the above configuration, since the steering unit is provided on the side of the steering rack that faces the front of the engine, the steering unit is turned when the radiator moves to the rear of the vehicle and the steering rack rotates during a frontal collision. Is located in a large space on the side facing the front of the engine, and therefore, there is little crushing residue, thereby ensuring a sufficient crushing space.

  According to the present invention, the steering unit is provided on the side of the steering rack that faces the front of the engine, and the steering rack is crossed via the bolt in which the mounting portion on the side facing the front of the engine is inserted into the long hole. Since it is attached to the member, it is possible to secure a sufficient crushing space for absorbing the collision energy at the time of the front collision.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 and 2 show an engine room of an FF vehicle employing the steering rack structure according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view in a normal state, and FIG. 2 is a plan view in a frontal collision. 1 and 2, the left side is the vehicle front side, and the right side is the passenger compartment side.

  In the present steering rack structure, the steering rack 1 is disposed between the radiator 2 and the engine 3 that is placed horizontally on the vehicle and the transmission 4 that is disposed on the side of the engine 3 and protrudes forward of the vehicle. Reference numeral 1 denotes two attachment portions (also referred to as mount portions) 1A and 1B in the vehicle width direction, which are attached to a cross member 7 by bolts 5 (see FIG. 3) and nuts 6. Here, the mounting portion 1A side is referred to as a side facing the front surface of the engine 3, and the mounting portion 1B side is referred to as a side facing the front surface of the transmission 4.

  In the FF vehicle of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the space before and after the steering rack 1 is small on the side facing the front surface of the transmission 4 and large on the side facing the front surface of the engine 3. That is, the space between the transmission 4 and the radiator 2 is small, but the space between the engine 3 and the radiator 2 is set large.

  The steering rack 1 is provided with a steering unit 8 for steering left and right front wheels (not shown). The steered unit 8 includes a motor (including a power feeding cable) 8A, a rotation sensor 8B, and the like, and is provided on the attachment portion 1A side. The steering unit 8 is provided on the front side of the steering rack 1 and is positioned between the steering rack 1 and the radiator 2. The steering unit 8 or the like is not provided on the mounting portion 1B side.

  Mounting portions 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B of the steering rack 1 are provided on the rear side of the steering rack 1 and are positioned between the steering rack 1, the engine 3, and the transmission 4. In addition, a long hole 9 that is long in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed at a location of the cross member 7 that faces the mounting portion 1A.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the steering rack 1 and the cross member 7 cut along a plane including the central axis of the long hole 9. As shown in FIG. 3, a bolt hole 10 is formed in the mounting portion 1 </ b> A of the steering rack 1, and the bolt 5 passed through the long hole 9 is inserted into the bolt hole 10. A nut 6 is screwed onto the tip of the bolt 5 and tightened. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a washer.

  As described above, the mounting portion 1B of the steering rack 1 is also attached to the cross member by the bolt 5 and the nut 6. However, the cross member 7 is not provided with the long hole as described above on the mounting portion 1B side ( (See FIG. 1).

  As the shape of the long hole 9, the one shown in FIG. The long hole 9 shown in FIG. 5A is formed by connecting an arc hole 9A along the outer periphery of the bolt 5 and a narrow slot having a width smaller than the outer diameter of the bolt 5 (the outer diameter of the neck). 9B. In the long hole 9 shown in FIG. 5B, the inner peripheral edge of the narrow long hole 9B is formed in a concavo-convex shape (wave shape). Further, in the long hole 9 shown in FIG. 9C, the narrow long hole is a slit hole 9C. Further, in the long hole 9 shown in FIG. 4D, protrusions 9D are provided on both sides of the connecting portion between the arc hole 9A and the narrow long hole 9B. Further, in the long hole 9 shown in FIG. 9 (e), the narrow long hole is a tapered hole 9E whose width becomes narrower as the distance from the arc hole 9A increases. In FIGS. 4A to 4E, the left side is the vehicle front side, and the right side is the passenger compartment side.

  Next, the operation of the steering rack structure in the present embodiment will be described.

  The steering rack 1 has an attachment portion 1A on the side facing the front surface of the engine 3 attached to the cross member 7 via a bolt 5 inserted into the long hole 9 of the cross member 7, and the attachment portion 1A side is located on the rear side of the vehicle. It is easy to move to. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when the radiator 2 is pushed to the rear of the vehicle at the time of a front collision and a large impact force is applied from the radiator 2 to the steering rack 1 toward the rear of the vehicle, Although it does not move so much toward the rear of the vehicle with respect to the cross member 7, the mounting portion 1A side moves greatly toward the rear of the vehicle, and the entire steering rack 1 rotates clockwise around the mounting portion 1B.

  Further, although the space between the transmission 4 and the radiator 2 is small, the space between the engine 3 and the radiator 2 is set large, and the steering unit 8 is provided on the side of the steering rack 1 facing the front of the engine 3. Since the steering unit 1 is located in a large space between the engine 3 and the radiator 2 when the radiator 2 moves to the rear of the vehicle and the steering rack 1 rotates during the front collision, The crushing residue is reduced, and thereby a sufficient crushing space can be secured.

  5 and 6 show a modification of the present embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a normal state and FIG. 6 shows a front collision state. In this modification, a bracket 12 is provided on the cross member 7, and a long hole 9 is formed in the bracket 12. 7 and 8 show a steering rack structure according to the prior art. FIG. 7 shows a state in a normal state, and FIG. 8 shows a state in a front collision.

  In the steering rack structure according to the prior art, as shown in FIG. 8, the crushing residue at the time of the front collision is large, and a sufficient crushing space cannot be secured. However, in the steering rack structure according to this modification, it is shown in FIG. Thus, the crushing residue at the time of a front collision is small, and sufficient crushing space can be ensured.

  9 and 10 show an engine room according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a plan view in a normal state, and FIG. 10 is a plan view in a front collision. When the engine mount 13 is installed on the front side of the engine 3, the rubber portion 13 </ b> A (see FIG. 11) of the engine mount 13 is arranged at the same height as the steering rack 1.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the engine mount 13 has a rubber portion 13A, and the upper portion of the rubber portion 13A is covered with a cap-shaped upper bracket 13B. The leg 3A of the engine 3 is placed and fixed on the upper bracket 13B. The upper bracket 13B has a notch 13C (see FIG. 13) on the front side (the side facing the steering rack 1).

  In the above configuration, when the engine mount 13 is installed on the front side of the engine 3, as shown in FIG. 10, the center side of the steering rack 1 hits the engine mount 13 during the front collision, and the steering rack 1. However, in this embodiment, the notch 13C is formed in the upper bracket 13B of the engine mount 13. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. It enters the notch 13C and presses the upper part of the rubber part 13A. As a result, the steering rack 1 can be smoothly rotated in the clockwise direction, the remaining crushing can be reduced, and a sufficient crushing space can be secured.

  FIG. 15 shows a third embodiment. In the present embodiment, a mounting portion 1A is provided on the front side of the steering rack 1, and a groove portion 14 along the vehicle width direction is formed at the base of the mounting portion 1A. In this embodiment, normal bolt holes are formed in the attachment portion 1A and the cross member 7, and no long holes as shown in FIG. 4 are formed.

  In the above configuration, when a large impact force to the rear of the vehicle is applied to the steering rack 1 at the time of a front collision, the steering rack 1 is broken by the groove portion 14 at the mounting portion 1A and moves to the rear of the vehicle, so that the entire steering rack 1 is easy To turn. As a result, the steering rack 1 can be smoothly rotated in the clockwise direction, the remaining crushing can be reduced, and a sufficient crushing space can be secured.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, each of the above embodiments is only an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited only to the configuration of each of the above embodiments. . Needless to say, changes in design and the like within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention.

  For example, in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, the long hole 9 is formed on the cross member 7 side, but the long hole 9 may be formed on the mounting portion 1A side of the steering rack 1. In this case, the direction of the long hole 9 is opposite to those in the first and second embodiments. That is, in FIG. 4, the narrow hole 9B is disposed on the vehicle front side, and the arc hole 9A is disposed on the vehicle compartment side.

1 is a plan view of a normal engine room in which a steering rack structure according to a first embodiment is employed. It is a top view at the time of the front collision of the engine room shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing when a steering rack and a cross member are cut | disconnected by the surface containing the central axis of a long hole. (A)-(e) is a top view which shows the various shapes of a long hole. It is a figure which shows the modification of Example 1 and shows the state in the normal time in an engine room. It is a figure which shows the state at the time of the front collision in the engine room of FIG. It is a figure which shows the prior art and shows the state in the normal time in an engine room. It is a figure which shows the state at the time of the front collision in the engine room of FIG. It is a top view in the normal time of the engine room by which the steering rack structure by Example 2 was employ | adopted. It is a top view at the time of the front collision of the engine room shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the steering rack and engine mount vicinity in the normal time. It is a figure which shows the steering rack and engine mount vicinity at the time of front collision. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the steering rack and engine mount in the normal time. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the steering rack and engine mount at the time of front collision. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the vicinity of a steering rack mounting portion according to a third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering rack 1A, 1B Mounting part 2 Radiator 3 Engine 4 Transmission 5 Bolt 6 Nut 7 Cross member 8 Steering unit 9 Long hole 9A Arc hole 9B Narrow hole 13 Engine mount 13A Rubber part 13B Upper bracket 13C Notch 14 Groove part

Claims (7)

Is steering rack disposed between the radiator and the vehicle transverse engine and transformer mission disposed beside the engine, the space between the engine and the steering rack is set large and the steering rack And the space between the transmission and the transmission is set small,
The steering rack has a steering unit for steering front wheels, and the steering rack has a steering rack mounting structure in which two mounting portions on the left and right sides in the vehicle width direction are mounted on a cross member by bolts and nuts. And
The steering unit is provided on the side of the steering rack facing the front of the engine,
Of the two left and right mounting portions of the steering rack, a long hole in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed in the mounting portion on the side facing the front surface of the engine, and a bolt hole is formed in the mounting portion on the side facing the front surface of the transmission. Or, in the cross member, a long hole in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed at a position on the side facing the engine front surface, and a bolt hole is formed at a position on the side facing the transmission front surface, respectively.
By inserting the bolt into the elongated hole and the bolt hole, when an impact force is applied to the steering rack from the front of the vehicle via the radiator, the steering rack is attached to the mounting portion side attached to the bolt hole. A steering rack mounting structure, characterized in that the mounting portion side mounted in the elongated hole pivots toward the rear of the vehicle with respect to the center .   When the mounting portion is provided on the rear side of the steering rack and the long hole is formed in the cross member, the bolt is normally positioned on the front side of the long hole, 2. The steering rack mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the bolt enters the rear side of the long hole when the steering rack is pressed rearward of the vehicle.   When the mounting portion is provided on the rear side of the steering rack and the long hole is formed in the mounting portion, the bolt is normally positioned on the rear side of the long hole, and the steering wheel is in a front collision. 2. The steering rack mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein when the rack is pressed rearward of the vehicle, the bolt enters the front side of the elongated hole. The said long hole has the circular arc hole along the outer periphery of the said volt | bolt, and the narrow long hole which is formed in connection with the said circular arc hole and is narrower than the outer diameter of the said bolt. The described steering rack mounting structure.   The steering rack mounting structure according to claim 4, wherein the inner edge of the narrow hole is provided with irregularities.   The steering rack mounting structure according to claim 4, wherein the narrow hole has a slit shape.   When the engine mount is installed on the front side of the engine, the rubber part of the engine mount is disposed at the same height as the steering rack, and on the front side of the upper bracket that covers the upper part of the rubber part. The steering rack mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein a notch is formed, and the steering rack enters the notch and presses an upper portion of the rubber portion at the time of a front collision.

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