JPH0319469Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention is a cover that is installed below the instrument panel on the driver's seat side so as to cover both sides and the bottom of the steering post (hereinafter referred to as the "instrument panel lower cover"). Regarding the mounting structure, in particular, in automobiles that have a so-called telescopic steering column, which is configured to allow adjustment of the axial position of the steering wheel (so-called telescopic adjustment) according to the physique of the driver, the telescopic adjustment is necessary. This invention relates to a mounting structure for an instrument panel lower cover that can improve serviceability.

The instrument panel lower cover covers the steering post to hide internal wiring and switches, and also to prevent the driver's knees from directly hitting the steering post. Conventionally, this instrument panel lower cover has been constructed by attaching a plurality of screws to the instrument panel or Only a type that is completely fixed to an integral bracket has been proposed.

By the way, most steering posts that allow the axial position of the steering wheel to be adjusted are provided with screw holes and oblong holes in the corresponding attachment parts of the instrument panel reinforcing member and the steering column bracket. A bracket for the steering post is fixed to the instrument panel reinforcing member by screws inserted through the threaded holes and the elongated holes,
The steering post is configured so that the axial position of the steering post relative to the instrument panel can be changed within a range permitted by the elongated hole. Since such a telescopic adjustment section is provided in a narrow area between the upper part of the steering post and the instrument panel, it is actually impossible to adjust the telescopic adjustment without removing the instrument panel lower cover that covers the steering post. In this case, the conventional instrument panel lower cover, which is completely fixed with multiple screws, requires a lot of effort to remove.
There was a problem that telescopic adjustment was very troublesome.

The present invention was devised under the above circumstances, and its purpose is to easily adjust the telescopic adjustment part of the telescopic steering post without completely removing it from the bracket that holds the middle part of the steering post. Or the steering post bracket can be exposed to improve the serviceability of telescopic adjustment.
Or the wiring attached to the steering post,
An object of the present invention is to provide a new mounting structure for an instrument panel/lower cover that can dramatically improve the serviceability of repairing switches.

In order to achieve this purpose, in this invention,
We have taken the following technical measures:

That is, in the present invention, the tip of the steering post, which is divided into the tip to which the steering wheel is attached and the base that passes through the floor panel or dash panel, is slidable in the axial direction with respect to the base, but cannot rotate relative to the base. In a steering device in which a bracket that rotatably supports the tip of the steering post is attached to the reinforcing member fixed to the vehicle body so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the steering post. , formed separately from the instrument panel,
The instrument panel lower cover that covers the lower part of the bracket is attached to the bracket by supporting the front part of the instrument panel lower cover so as to be rotatable with respect to the bracket, and screwing the rear part to the bracket. It is characterized by:

In this way, the instrument panel lower cover can be rotated about its front rotation support portion by simply removing the screws, and the steering post bracket or its telescopic adjustment portion can be exposed. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to completely remove the instrument panel lower cover when adjusting the telescope or repairing devices attached to the steering post, improving serviceability. It is also extremely easy to fix the instrument panel lower cover back to its original position after adjusting the telescope.

Moreover, the instrument panel lower cover in this invention is attached to the bracket that moves telescopically along with the tip of the steering post, so even after the telescopic adjustment, the instrument panel lower cover and turn signal switch etc. can be installed. I have never experienced an unnatural change in the distance between the steering column cover and the appearance of the area around the steering device.

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

In addition to a so-called telescopic mechanism 1 that can adjust the axial position of the steering post, the drawing also shows a so-called tilt mechanism 2 that can adjust the inclination angle of the steering post near the steering wheel, that is, the steering column, to a desired angle. An example is shown in which the mounting structure of the instrument panel lower cover 3 of the present invention is applied to a steering post provided with the steering post.

The steering post 4 is divided into a base that passes through a floor panel or dash panel (not shown) and a tip to which a steering wheel is attached, and the tip can be slid relative to the base in the axial direction by spline fitting. They are connected so that they cannot rotate relative to each other, and the overall length can be adjusted. The tip of the steering post 4 is rotatably supported by a bracket 6 fixed to a support piece 5 integral with the instrument panel reinforcing member.
Further, a tilt mechanism 2 is incorporated inside the bracket 6, so that when the tilt lever 7 shown in FIG. 1 is operated, the steering column 8 can be rotated about a pin 9. Of course, as shown in Figure 2, the steering post 4
is the base 4a and tip 4 at the position of the pin 9.
b, that is, the steering column 8 is connected to the steering column 8 by a universal joint 10, so that even if the steering column 8 is tilted as described above, its axial torque can be transmitted to the steering post 4 without any problem.

The bracket 6 is fixed by tightening the support pieces 11 formed on the left and right sides of the upper part and the support pieces 5, which are extensions of the instrument panel reinforcing member, with screws 12. In this example, the telescopic mechanism 1 is configured in this fixed part. That is, the hole to be drilled in the support piece 5 in order to insert the screw 12 is formed into a long hole 13 that is elongated in the direction of the axis of the base 4a of the steering post 4, as shown in FIG. When the screw 12 is loosened,
The above-mentioned bracket 6 is
The entire steering post 4 can be moved in the axial direction of the steering post 4.

On the other hand, the instrument panel lower cover 3 in the illustrated example is made of resin so as to cover both left and right sides and the lower part of the bracket 6, in addition to the steering column cover 14 that covers the key cylinder, turn signal switch, etc. at the tip of the steering column. This is a cover formed by the above-mentioned bracket 6, and is attached to the bracket 6. Although not shown in the drawings, it goes without saying that a hole is formed in the lower part of the cover 3 for allowing the tilt lever 7 to protrude to the outside.

This cover 3 is rotatably supported at its front part relative to the front part at the upper part of the bracket 6,
Moreover, it is configured to be fixed to a screw hole 15 formed in the lower part of the bracket 6 with a screw 16. Details of the pivot support of the cover 3 are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

That is, a pair of left and right ear pieces 17 extend substantially in the direction toward which the steering column 4 faces and in a vertical direction.
is formed integrally with the bracket 6, and a hole 1 formed in the cover 13 is attached to a horizontal shaft 18 fixed thereto.
9 is rotatably fitted. In order to fix the shaft 18 to the ear piece 17, it is convenient to use a stepped screw 20 as shown in the figure. That is, the lug 17 is sandwiched between the end 23a of the large-diameter cylindrical shaft portion 23 formed between the head 22 of the threaded portion 21 and the nut 24 screwed into the threaded portion 21. This stepped screw 20 is fixed to the ear piece 17, and the hole 1 of the cover 3 is inserted into the cylinder shaft portion 23.
9 is fitted in a rotatable manner. The thickness of the cover 3 at the portion where the hole 19 is made is shorter than the axial length of the cylinder shaft portion 23.

On the other hand, in the appropriate part on the lower surface of this cover 3,
A screw hole 25 is made, and the screw 16 passed through the hole is screwed into the screw hole 15 formed in the bracket 6.

As described above, the instrument panel lower cover 3 of the present invention has its front part rotatably supported with respect to the shaft 18 formed in the bracket 6, and its lower part is attached to the bracket 6 with a screw 1.
6, it is firmly fixed to the bracket 6. On the other hand, when adjusting the telescopic adjustment, simply remove the screw 16 at the bottom of the cover 3, rotate the cover 3 downward about the shaft 18 as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. Since the telescopic adjustment section at the top of the 6 can be exposed, there is no need for the conventional troublesome work of loosening several screws and completely removing the instrument panel lower cover in order to adjust the telescopic adjustment. This dramatically improves work efficiency.

As explained above, the mounting structure of the instrument panel lower cover of the present invention is such that the instrument panel lower cover is mounted to the bracket by combining the rotation support part and the fixing part with screws. By simply loosening a few screws, this cover can be rotated downward to expose the telescopic adjustment part formed on the bracket, which dramatically improves the serviceability of telescopic adjustment or steering post repair. be able to.

Moreover, the instrument panel lower cover in this invention is attached to the bracket that moves telescopically along with the tip of the steering post, so even after the telescopic adjustment, the instrument panel lower cover and turn signal switch etc. can be installed. I have never experienced an unnatural change in the distance between the steering column cover and the appearance of the area around the steering device.

It goes without saying that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

In other words, although stepped screws are used in the illustrated example as means for rotatably supporting the cover with respect to the bracket, the fitting relationship between the shaft and the hole allows the cover to be supported rotatably relative to the shaft. Any means may be used as long as the hole or the shaft can be rotated relative to the hole.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partially sectional side view, FIG. 2 is a direction arrow diagram of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the portion indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2. 3...Instrument panel lower cover,
4...Steering post, 6...Bracket.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] The tip of the steering post is divided into a tip to which a steering wheel is attached and a base that passes through a floor panel or dash panel, and the tip is slidable in the axial direction with respect to the base and does not rotate relative to the axis. A steering wheel in which a bracket is attached to a reinforcing member fixed to a vehicle body so as to be slidable in an axial direction of the steering post, and a bracket that rotatably supports the tip of the steering post. In the device, it is formed separately from the instrument panel,
The instrument panel lower cover that covers the lower part of the bracket is attached to the bracket by supporting the front part of the instrument panel lower cover so as to be rotatable with respect to the bracket, and screwing the rear part to the bracket. The instrument panel lower cover mounting structure is characterized by: