JPH03193555A - Steering structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the extent of safety at a car crash by installing a circuit control means setting a rear drive circuit to the OFF state, which drives an actuator for making a steering wheel move backward irrespective of switching at time of detecting the car crash. CONSTITUTION:When a car crash is detected, a motor drive circuit 20 comes to an OFF state irrespective on-off of adjusting switches 18A, 18B. Consequently, if such a case that pressing operation on these adjusting switches 18A, 18B is carried out by mistake at the car crash has occurred, a steering wheel 10 is no longer slid at all. Accordingly, such a possibility that a seating space for a driver might be narrowed by slide motion of this steering wheel 10 is brought to nothing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a steering wheel structure for an automobile configured to electrically adjust the position of a steering wheel.

(Prior technology) In order to adjust the position of the steering wheel according to the driver's driving posture, etc., a tilt steering mechanism that rotates the steering wheel up and down, and a tilt steering mechanism that rotates the steering wheel in the direction of the axis of the steering shaft are used. A sliding telescopic steering mechanism, etc. has been used conventionally. Furthermore, in recent years, steering structures have been proposed in which the position of the steering wheel can be adjusted electrically. For example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-201873 discloses a steering structure equipped with an electric telescopic steering mechanism.

The steering structure in which the position of the steering wheel can be electrically adjusted as described above includes an actuator that moves the steering wheel and a drive circuit that drives the actuator when a predetermined switch operation (for example, a switch operation by the driver) is performed. However, the movement of the steering wheel by the actuator generally includes a movement component in the front and rear directions.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, if the switch is operated carelessly during a vehicle collision, the following problems may occur depending on the manner in which the actuator is driven by this switch operation. That is,
If the movement of the steering wheel caused by the drive of the actuator includes a backward movement component, this movement narrows the seating space for the driver.

Considering that the seating space for the driver is also narrowed by the deformation of the vehicle body in the event of a vehicle collision, narrowing the seating space due to careless switch operation should be avoided as much as possible for safety reasons.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a steering structure for an automobile that can improve safety in the event of a vehicle collision.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The steering structure for an automobile according to the present invention is configured to prohibit rearward movement of the steering wheel in the event of a vehicle collision, regardless of the operation of the above-mentioned switch. By configuring the seat to move forward actively, a sufficient seating space for the driver can be ensured, thereby achieving the above objective.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 provides a steering structure for an automobile that includes an actuator that moves a steering wheel back and forth, and a drive circuit that drives the actuator when a predetermined switch operation is performed. detection means; and when a vehicle collision is detected by the collision detection means, regardless of the operation of the switch, at least a rear drive of the drive circuit drives the actuator to move the steering wheel rearward. The present invention is characterized by comprising circuit control means for turning off the circuit.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 provides a steering structure for an automobile that includes an actuator that moves a steering wheel back and forth, and a drive circuit that drives the actuator when a predetermined switch operation is performed. detection means; and a forward drive circuit of the drive circuit that drives the actuator to move the steering wheel forward, regardless of the switch operation, when a vehicle collision is detected by the collision detection means. , and circuit control means for turning on the device.

(Operations and effects of the invention) As shown in the above configuration, according to the invention of claim 1,
When a vehicle collision is detected by the collision detection means, the circuit control means turns off at least the rear drive circuit of the drive circuits, regardless of the switch operation, so that the rearward movement of the steering wheel is prevented. This prevents the driver's seating space from becoming narrower and improves safety in the event of a vehicle collision.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when a vehicle collision is detected by the collision detection means, the circuit control means turns on the front drive circuit of the drive circuits, regardless of the switch operation. Therefore,
The steering wheel is actively moved forward, thereby expanding the pressure space for the driver and further improving safety in the event of a vehicle collision.

(Examples) Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a steering structure for an automobile according to claim 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an automobile equipped with the above-mentioned steering structure. FIG.

As shown in these figures, the steering structure according to this embodiment has the steering wheel lO aligned in the axial direction of the steering shaft 12 (directions A and B in FIG. 2).
A motor 14 is an actuator for sliding the motor 14, and adjustment switches 18A and 18A provided on the steering column 16.
A so-called telescopic steering mechanism is employed, which includes a motor drive circuit 20 that drives the motor 14 when the suppression operation 8B is performed.

The motor drive circuit 20 is composed of a battery 22, an ignition key switch 24, a control relay 26 as a circuit control means to be described later, and the pair of adjustment switches +8A and 18B connected to the motor 14. When the adjustment switch 18A is turned on while the switch 24 is on, the motor 14 is driven to slide the steering wheel 10 in the direction A in the figure, while when the adjustment switch 18B is turned on, the motor 14 is driven to slide the steering wheel IO. It is driven to slide in the direction B in the figure. However, when the control relay 26 interposed between the adjustment switches 18A, 18B and the ignition key switch 24 is turned on and its contact piece 2 [ia] is open, the adjustment switch 18A.

The motor drive circuit 20 is in an off state regardless of whether 18B is on or off.

The control relay 26 is connected to a heater operating circuit 32 that operates an inflator heater 30 of an airbag unit 28 provided in the center of the steering wheel 10. The heater operating circuit 32 includes a battery 22, a cowl sensor 34, an inflator heater 30, and a front sensor 36 connected to the control relay 22.
6 is connected to the battery 22 in series with these.

The cowl sensor 34 is installed on the left and right sides of the cowl at the front of the single room.
A pair of left and right front sensors 36 are provided at the front end of the vehicle body. Each pair of cowl sensor 34 and front sensor 36 is an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and these sensors are used to detect a vehicle collision. In addition,
Since the acceleration at the time of a vehicle collision is greater at the front end of the vehicle body, the sensitivity of the front sensor 36 is set to be slightly lower than that of the cowl sensor 34. In the heater operating circuit 32, at least one of the pair of cowl sensors 34 and the pair of front sensors 36
When at least one of these is turned on at the same time, the inflator heater 30 is supplied with power, thereby causing the airbag to deploy.

When the heater operating circuit 32 is turned on (that is, when a vehicle collision is detected), the coil 2 of the control relay 26
Since power is also supplied to the steering wheel 6b at the same time, its contact piece 26a opens, and accordingly, the motor drive circuit 20 is turned off, making it impossible for the steering wheel IO to slide.

Note that the control relay 26 is provided with a diode 26c for preventing generation of back electromotive force.

As described in detail above, according to this embodiment, when a vehicle collision is detected, the control relay 26 controls the adjustment switch 18
Regardless of whether switches A and 18B are turned on or off, the motor drive circuit 20 is turned off, so even if the adjustment switches 18A and 18B are suppressed by mistake during a vehicle collision, the steering wheel 10 will not slide. Therefore, steering wheel I
There is no risk that the seating space for the driver will be narrowed due to the sliding of the O, and it is possible to improve safety in the event of a vehicle collision.

FIG. 3 is a circuit configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the steering structure for an automobile according to the invention set forth in claim 1.

This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except that the control relay 26 is connected only to the rear drive circuit of the motor drive circuit 20 that drives the motor 14 when the adjustment switch 1.8B is on. The structure is as follows.

In this embodiment, a problem caused by careless sliding of the steering wheel 10 during a vehicle collision occurs when the steering wheel 10 slides in a direction that narrows the seating space for the driver (i.e., when the steering wheel 10 moves rearward). Therefore, with the above configuration, only the rear drive circuit that drives the motor 14 to cause the steering wheel 10 to slide in the B direction is turned off in the event of a vehicle collision. It was designed to do so.

With this configuration, after a vehicle collision, it becomes possible to turn on the adjustment switch 18A by suppressing it and slide the steering wheel IO in the direction A, thereby expanding the seating space as necessary. be able to. Thereby, it is possible to facilitate the escape of the driver to the outside of the vehicle after a vehicle collision.

FIG. 4 is a circuit configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a steering structure for an automobile according to the invention as claimed in claim 2.

In this embodiment, the contact piece 26a of the control relay 26 also serves as the contact piece of the adjustment switch 18A, and when power is supplied to the coil 26b of the control relay 2B, the adjustment switch 18A is turned on. This is different from the first embodiment described above.

That is, in this embodiment, at the time of a vehicle collision, regardless of the suppression operation of the adjustment switches 18A and 18B,
A motor 14 is driven to slide the steering wheel 10 in six directions.

According to this embodiment, the steering wheel 10 automatically slides in six directions at the time of a vehicle collision.
A sufficient seating space for the driver can be secured, and safety in the event of a vehicle collision can be further improved.

In each of the above embodiments, the cowl sensor 34 and the front sensor 36 arranged in series are used as collision detection means for detecting a vehicle collision, but it goes without saying that other means may be used. Yes, and furthermore,
A laser or the like may be used to detect that the vehicle is in a state immediately before a collision.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the sliding movement of the steering wheel IO during normal operation is controlled by the adjustment switches 18A and 18.
It may be configured such that the steering wheel 10 is operated by a suppressing operation of B, or the steering wheel 1O may be configured to slide in normal conditions by automatically performing a switch operation under predetermined conditions. .

Furthermore, although each of the above embodiments relates to a steering structure that employs a telescopic steering mechanism, it is also possible to employ a tilt steering mechanism or other mechanism that includes a longitudinal movement component in the movement of the steering wheel for adjusting the steering position. It goes without saying that the present invention is applicable to any steering structure that has the following structure.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a steering structure for an automobile according to the invention as claimed in claim 1, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an automobile incorporating the steering structure of the above embodiment. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a second embodiment of the steering structure for an automobile, and FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the steering structure for an automobile according to the invention. 10... Steering wheel 14... Motor (actuator) 18A, 11N3... Adjustment switch 20... Motor drive circuit (drive circuit) 2G... Control relay (circuit control means) 30... Inflake Heater 32... Heater operating circuit 34... Cowl sensor (collision detection means) 36... Front sensor (collision detection means) Fig.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a steering structure for an automobile that includes an actuator that moves a steering wheel back and forth and a drive circuit that drives the actuator when a predetermined switch operation is performed, a collision detection means that detects a vehicle collision; When a vehicle collision is detected by the means, regardless of the switch operation, at least a rearward drive circuit of the drive circuits that drives the actuator to move the steering wheel rearward is turned off. A steering structure for an automobile, comprising circuit control means. (2) In a steering structure for an automobile including an actuator that moves a steering wheel back and forth, and a drive circuit that drives the actuator when a predetermined switch operation is performed, a collision detection means that detects a vehicle collision; circuit control for turning on, when a vehicle collision is detected by the means, a forward drive circuit among the drive circuits that drives the actuator to move the steering wheel forward, regardless of the switch operation; A steering structure for an automobile, comprising: means.