JPH03176251A - Air bag mounting type steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To expand an air bag along the center line of a steering shaft to securely restrain and protect the breast of a driver by connecting a second steering member to a first steering member with tilt-adjustably, and providing a nutral position returning mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A second steering member 3r having a steering wheel 2 is connected with a first steering member 3f held to a vehicle body at a constant inclining angle, with relatively tilting-adjustable. Moreover, a nutral position returning mechanism 40 is provided which automatically returns the second steering member 3r from a tilting position to a nutral position upon a vehicle collision. Due to this constitution, upon the vehicle collision, an air bag 8 disposed in the steering wheel 2 is expanded in an expanding direction in the nutral position of the steering wheel 2, i.e. in the direction along the center line of the steering shaft 3, to restrain the breast of an driver securely for the display of a shock absorbing effect.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a steering wheel alignment device that is equipped with a tilt adjustment mechanism and has an airbag module mounted inside the steering wheel.[Prior Art] As a steering device for automobiles, the so-called tilt adjustment mechanism allows the steering wheel to be adjusted to the optimal posture according to the driver's physique by adjusting the position of the steering shirt I in the tilt direction. Those equipped with this are generally well known. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-157962, a steering shaft is provided with a lower main shaft that is supported at a constant inclination angle with respect to the vehicle body, and a steering shaft that is provided so as to be tiltable relative to the lower main shaft and is provided on the rear end side. The steering wheel is attached to an upper main shaft, and by adjusting the inclination angle of the upper main shaft with an electric tilt adjustment mechanism, the tilt attitude of the steering wheel relative to the driver can be adjusted. What has been done is disclosed.

By the way, when installing an airbag device in the steering system of a car, generally, at least one airbag,
In addition, main components such as the inflator (gas generator) and igniter (ignition device) are housed in the case to form one assembly unit (airbag module), and this airbag module is attached to the steering shaft. It is installed inside the steering wheel fixed at the rear end.

In the event of a vehicle collision, the airbag's inflation pressure opens the case portion that covers the passenger side of the airbag module, and the airbag deploys toward the passenger, causing damage to the front windshield or steering wheel. It is designed to protect occupants from collisions.

In this case, the airbag is deployed when the steering wheel is pushed into a neutral position, that is,
If it is deployed in the direction along the center line of the steering shaft in the neutral position, it will most certainly open toward the occupant's chest, and it will have a sufficient impact absorption effect against the occupant's single impact. able to demonstrate.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in a steering device equipped with the above-mentioned tilt adjustment mechanism, the airbag module is normally fixed integrally with the steering wheel, so it is difficult to tilt the steering wheel from the neutral position. If the vehicle crashes in this state, the airbag module will be deployed from the neutral deployment direction to the tilted direction, which will prevent the occupant from colliding with the occupants. It is conceivable that there may be cases where the shock absorbing effect cannot be fully exerted.

This invention was made in view of the above problems, and is an airbag that can maintain the steering wheel in a tilted position under normal conditions, but can automatically return the steering wheel to a neutral position in the event of a vehicle collision. An object of the present invention is to provide a wearable steering device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, the present invention provides a steering device in which an airbag module is disposed in a steering wheel, in which the steering device includes an airbag module supported at a constant inclination angle with respect to the vehicle body. a second steering member connected to the first steering member so as to be tilt adjustable relative to the first steering member and having the steering wheel attached to the rear end side;
A neutral position return mechanism is provided for automatically returning the steering member from the tilt position to the neutral position.

; ] Effect of the invention] According to the present invention, the second steering mK is connected to the first steering member so as to be tilt adjustable relative to the first steering member, and the neutral position return mechanism is provided, so that the second steering mK Even if the vehicle collides in the tilted state, the second steering member is automatically returned to the neutral position, and the steering wheel is placed in the neutral position.

Therefore, at the time of a vehicle collision, the airbag...Ige is deployed in the neutral position of the steering wheel;
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It is deployed in the direction along the QI, and can reliably restrain the occupant's chest, thereby fully exhibiting a shock absorbing effect against a collision of the occupant.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the automobile steering device 1 according to the present embodiment, the steering shaft 3 is formed by being divided into two parts, front and rear, and the front end side of the first steering shaft 3r disposed on the front side is a steering gear. A steering wheel 2 is fixed to a rear end portion of a second steering shaft 3r that is connected to a rear end of the first steering shaft 3f (not shown) and located on the rear side.

The steering device 1 also includes a cylindrical inch vibe 4 that rotatably supports the shaft 3r around a central axis, and a cylindrical aperture that covers the rear part of the inner vibe 4 on the first steering shaft 3f side. Column bracket 6 fixed by Yuma Pep Q Obama I Bita
and is supported by a box-shaped pedal bracket 11 disposed at the front end side or at the lower part of the front side of the vehicle compartment, while the rear part is supported by a pipe-shaped steering support member 12 extending in the vehicle width direction. It is supported at two places in the front and back, and is attached to the deaf in a downwardly tilted manner. That is, the first steering shaft 3f is attached to the pedal bracket 11 via the front end side of the inner pipe 4 or the lower mount bracket 13, while the upper side of the column bracket 6 is attached to the steering support member via the upper mount bracket 14. 12, it is supported at a constant angle of inclination with respect to the vehicle body.

Although not specifically shown, the inner pipe 4
is provided to be slidable in the axial direction with respect to the outer vibe 5, and the first steering shaft 3f is configured to be retractable in the axial direction. When the lower mount bracket 13 retreats with the retreat of the first steering shaft 3r, the first steering shaft 3r is retracted, and
By sliding the inner pipe 1 rearward inside the outer vibe 5, the steering wheel 2 is prevented from retreating at least at the initial stage of the NR crash. The sliding mechanism of the inner pipe 4 and the outer vibe 5 and the contraction mechanism of the first steering saw shaft 3f are both the same as those conventionally well known, so detailed explanations and illustrations thereof will be omitted. Further, a shock absorbing mechanism (not shown) is provided at the joint between the column bracket 6 and the upper mount bracket 14 to absorb the shock when an occupant collides with the steering device l in the event of a vehicle collision. There is.

As shown in FIG. 6, the steering support member 12 has both ends attached to left and right cowl side panels 16 (only the right side is shown in FIG. 6) extending forward from the front door opening edge 15 via brackets 17 and 17. The substantially intermediate portion thereof is connected to and reinforced by a tunnel portion 19a of the vehicle interior floor 19 via a stay 1818.

Furthermore, an airbag module 7 containing an airbag 8 (see FIG. 5) that inflates and deploys toward the passenger side when the vehicle is in a head-on collision is mounted approximately in the center of the steering wheel 2. This airbag module 7
Although not specifically shown, at least the airbag 8, more preferably, in addition to the airbag 8, main components such as an inflator and an igniter are housed in a case 9 (bag cover). It is configured as one assembly unit, and when the airbag stem is activated in the event of a vehicle collision, gas is supplied from the inflator into the airbag 8, and the airbag 8 is inflated by the gas pressure, causing the bag cover to close. The airbag 9 is opened vertically while being broken along, for example, an H-shaped groove 9a (see FIG. 6) formed on the front side or the back side, so that the airbag 8 is deployed toward the passenger side. It has become. Note that the airbag module 7 and its respective constituent parts are secondary, and illustrations and detailed explanations of their internal structures will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the steering device I is provided with a tilt adjustment mechanism 20 for adjusting the position of the steering wheel 2 in the tilt direction depending on the physique of the occupant. This tilt adjustment mechanism 20 will be explained below.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second steering shaft 3
The front end of r is connected to the rear end of the first steering shaft 3f via a pin joint 21, and is supported so as to be movable up and down about a joint pin 21a arranged in the vehicle width direction. . Further, a hub portion 2a (see FIG. 5) of the steering wheel 2 is fastened and fixed to the rear end of the second steering shaft 3r, and the airbag module 7 is fastened and fixed to the hub portion 2a, for example. It is integrally attached to the steering wheel 2.

I↓ on the outer periphery of the second steering shaft 3 mentioned above.
An outer support member 23 is disposed to freely support 1';l; I. The outer support member 23 includes a thin cylindrical support vibe 24 that covers the outer periphery of the rear portion of the second steering shaft 3r from the connecting portion of the surface end thereof, and a support vibe 24 that is fixed to the front end side of the support vibe 24 and extends forward. It is composed of two left and right mounting plates 25 and 26, and these mounting plates 2526 are
Left and right side plates 6a, 6b of the column bracket 6
is fitted inside the pivot pins 27a, 27b.
It is supported by the column bracket 6 so as to be able to swing up and down. It should be noted that the pivot pins 27a, 27b are more preferably connected to the longitudinal center line (
It is arranged coaxially with the horizontal line H).

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, on the left side plate 6a of the column bracket 6, for example, a portion located in front of the pivot pin 27a is provided along an arc centered on the axis of the pivot pin 27a. An arcuate elongated hole 6c having a predetermined length is provided. On the other hand, the mounting plate 25.2 of the outer support member 23
A guide pin 28 is fixed near the tip of the left mounting plate 25, which is longer than the right side mounting plate 6, and extends through the elongated hole 6 and projects outward to the left.

Therefore, the second steering shaft 3r and the outer support member 23 can swing up and down about the horizontal line H within the range in which the guide bin 28 can move up and down within the elongated hole 6c. . That is, the tilt adjustment is performed by vertically swinging the second steering shaft 3r (that is, the steering wheel 2) relative to the first steering shaft 3f that is supported at a constant inclination angle. steering shaft 3r,
The position can be adjusted from a neutral position as shown in FIG. 3 to a tilt position as shown in FIG. 4, for example.

Further, a sector gear 31 having ratchet teeth 31a formed in an arc-shaped portion is attached to the lower part of the column bracket 6, while a locking pawl 32a that meshes with the ratchet teeth 31a is attached to the lower part of the outer support member 23. A locking lever 32 having a locking lever 32 is supported so as to be movable up and down.

Furthermore, on the side of the column bracket 6, there is an operating lever 35.
A lock lever 36 is provided that can be rotated, for example, around a pivot shaft 36a integrally formed with the pivot pin 27a by operating the lock lever 3 up and down.
A lock bin 37 that protrudes toward the locking lever 32 is provided near the lower end of the locking lever 6 .

Although not specifically shown, the lock lever 3
6 is provided with a spring that biases the lock lever 36 in the locking direction (counterclockwise in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4). Under normal conditions, the biasing force of this spring causes the above-mentioned The lock lever 36 is maintained in the locked position.

When adjusting the tilt of the steering wheel 2, from the neutral state shown in FIG. 3, push the operating lever 35 downward and rotate the lock lever 36 in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG. , the locking state of the locking lever 32 by the locking pin 37 is released. By releasing the lock, the locking lever 32 is rotated downward, and the outer support member 23 becomes free with respect to the column bracket 6, so that the tilt adjustment of the steering wheel 2 becomes possible. After adjusting the steering wheel 2 to the optimum position, the tilt adjustment mechanism 20 is locked by pulling the operating lever 35 upward, so that a tilt state as shown in FIG. 4, for example, can be obtained. It has become.

Further, in this embodiment, a neutral position return mechanism 40 is provided that automatically returns the second steering shaft 3r in a tilted state to the neutral position in the event of a vehicle collision.

That is, the steering device l is provided with a rod member 41 (bushing rod) extending parallel to the first steering shaft 3f on the left side of the outer vibe 5, and the front end of the bushing rod 41 is connected to the lower mount bracket 13 (see FIG. 5). (see). still,
The above push rod can be guided.

On the other hand, the rear end side of the bushing rod 41 is bifurcated into upper and lower parts, and includes a protruding part 42 located on the upper side and extending rearward, and a guide part located on the lower side and extending partway through the protruding part 42. 13 are arranged substantially parallel to each other, and the guide wI43 and the protruding portion 42 guide the guide pin 28 in the longitudinal axis direction of the bushing rod 41 (that is, the first steering shaft 3r). is formed. The guide groove 44 opens while widening toward the rear, and the maximum vertical width of the opening is set so as to cover the vertical movement range of the guide pin 28. Further, the protruding portion 42 is positioned such that its tip portion faces the receiving portion 36b provided above the center of rotation of the lock lever 36 of the tilt adjustment mechanism 20.

When the vehicle has a head-on collision, the lower mount bracket 13 moves backward as the pedal bracket 11 moves backward, and is pushed rearward parallel to the center line of the bushing rod 42 or the first steering shaft 3''. At this time, the column bracket 6 is attached to the steering support member 12.
Since the cowl side panel 16° 16 is supported through the cowl side panel 16, which has high rigidity in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, immediate backward movement does not occur at least at the initial stage of the collision.

Therefore, as the inner vibe 4 slides within the outer pipe 5, the bushing rod 41 moves backward relative to the column bracket 6.

As a result, the portion 36b of the lock lever 36 is pushed by the protruding portion 42 of the bushing rod 41, and the lock lever 36 is rotated in the lock release direction against the urging force of a spring (not shown). The locked state of the tilt adjustment mechanism 20 is released. Although not specifically shown, the tip of the guide portion 43 of the bushing rod 41 is configured to be located outward (leftward) from the protruding portion 42 by at least the thickness of the lock lever 36. When the bushing rod 41 is retracted, the guide portion 43 is prevented from interfering with the lock lever 36.

Therefore, even when the second steering shaft 3r is tilted in any direction from the neutral position, for example, upward as shown in FIG. As the guide '7R4 moves backward, the guide '7R4 is guided by the opening slope of the guide groove 44.
4, and is relatively moved in the axial direction within this guide groove 44. That is, the second steering wheel 3r is automatically returned to the neutral position, and accordingly, the steering wheel 2 is also returned to the neutral position.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the second steering shaft 3r is replaced with the first steering shaft 3r.
Since the neutral position return mechanism 40 is provided and the second steering shaft 3r is connected in a tilt-adjustable manner relative to the second steering shaft 3r, even if the vehicle collides with the second steering shaft 3r tilted, 3r is automatically returned to the neutral position, and the steering wheel 2 is returned to the neutral position.

Therefore, in the event of a vehicle collision, the airbag 8 is deployed in the direction of deployment when the steering wheel 2 is in the neutral position, that is, in the direction along the center line of the steering shaft 3 in the neutral position, and securely restrains the occupant's chest. This makes it possible to fully exhibit the effect of absorbing the impact of collisions on the occupants.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

All drawings are for detailed explanation of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an enlarged side view of the tilt adjustment mechanism of the steering device and the neutral position return mechanism when returning to the neutral position;
Fig. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side view of the tilt adjustment mechanism and neutral position return mechanism of the steering device in the neutral state, and Fig. 4 is the tilt of the steering device in the tilted state. FIG. 5 is a side view of the adjustment mechanism and neutral position return mechanism, FIG. 5 is an explanatory side view of the steering device, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the front portion of the vehicle according to the above-mentioned practical example. l... Steering device, 2... Steering wheel, 3... Steering shaft, 3f... First steering shaft, 3r... Second steering shaft, 7... Air bag module, - Airbag, 20... Tilt adjustment mechanism, 40... Neutral position return mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a steering device in which an airbag module is disposed in a steering wheel, the steering device includes a first steering member supported at a constant inclination angle with respect to the vehicle body, and a a second steering member that is connected in a relatively tilt-adjustable manner and has the steering wheel attached to the rear end side; and a neutral position that automatically returns the second steering member from the tilt position to the neutral position in the event of a vehicle collision. An airbag-mounted steering device characterized by being provided with a return mechanism.