JPH0510269B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a steering support structure for attaching a steering device in a vehicle to a vehicle body.

(Prior Art) A steering device for a vehicle is provided with a steering column into which a steering shaft is rotatably inserted, and the steering column is fixed to a vehicle body, and a portion including a steering shaft and a steering wheel attached thereto is provided with a steering column. It is attached to the vehicle body. The steering support structure for attaching the part including the steering shaft and the steering wheel to the vehicle body in such a steering mechanism is usually such that the steering column is The intermediate portion and the lower end portion thereof are respectively attached to two brackets provided on an upper dashboard panel forming a cowl box located at the front of the vehicle interior, and are fixed to the vehicle body, or The steering column is fixed to the vehicle body by being attached to a bracket extending from an upper dash panel that forms a cowl box located at the front of the vehicle interior and a bracket extending from a lower dash panel that partitions the vehicle interior and engine room. It is assumed that it was done. In the latter case,
For example, a configuration as shown by a solid line in FIG. 5 is adopted, and in such a configuration, a steering column 70 is provided, into which a steering shaft 74 to which a steering wheel 72 is attached is rotatably inserted. The intermediate portion is attached to an upper bracket 60 extending from the upper dash panel 62 toward the rear of the vehicle compartment,
Further, the lower end portion thereof is attached to a bracket 64 extending from a lower dash panel 68 toward the vehicle interior through a lower bracket 66 further provided thereon, thereby fixing the steering column 70 to the vehicle body.

In addition, in adopting a steering support structure that is supposed to have these mechanisms, support members are provided that extend in the vehicle width direction and have both ends fixed to the cowl side panels arranged on both sides of the front part of the passenger compartment. The supporting member supports a bracket provided on the upper dash panel and to which the intermediate portion of the steering column is attached;
It has also been proposed to more firmly fix the steering column to the vehicle body.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) By the way, various standards have been established for vehicles, and one of them is the amount of movement of the steering wheel toward the rear of the vehicle interior during a collision (the amount of movement of the steering wheel toward the rear of the vehicle). There is a regulation that specifies the amount of movement. The amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel is the amount of movement of the steering wheel toward the rear of the vehicle interior, which occurs when the engine, etc. located at the front of the vehicle retreats toward the vehicle interior in the event of a collision from the front of the vehicle. It corresponds to the horizontal movement distance, and different allowable values are set depending on the country, for example. Each vehicle is required to comply with the standard regarding the amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel, as well as other standards required for each vehicle.

However, in the conventional steering support structure configured as described above, the brackets to which the middle and lower ends of the steering column are attached are firmly attached to the upper dash panel and the lower dash panel. As a result, in the event of a head-on collision, the entire steering column will move parallel to the rear of the passenger compartment as the engine, etc. located at the front of the vehicle moves backward toward the passenger compartment. Therefore, the amount of backward movement of the steering wheel may become relatively large. For example, when the configuration shown in FIG. 5 is adopted, in the event of a head-on collision of the vehicle, the lower dash panel 68 is moved toward the passenger compartment side as shown by the dashed line in FIG. As the steering column 70 moves, the entire steering column 70 moves in parallel toward the rear of the vehicle interior together with the steering wheel 72, and the horizontal movement distance L of the steering wheel 72 toward the rear of the vehicle interior becomes relatively large. There is a possibility.

For this reason, for vehicles that have adopted the conventional steering support structure that is configured as described above, the allowable value for the amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel set by the standard is relatively small. In this case, there is a possibility that the steering wheel does not comply with the standards regarding the amount of backward movement of the steering wheel.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a steering column through which a steering shaft is rotatably inserted, the steering column is fixed to a vehicle body, and a portion including the steering shaft and a steering wheel attached thereto is attached to the vehicle body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a steering support structure for a vehicle, which is capable of making the amount of movement of the steering wheel toward the rear of the vehicle cabin relatively small when the vehicle collides.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a steering support structure for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a steering column into which a steering shaft to which a steering wheel is attached is rotatably inserted, and a steering support structure for a vehicle according to the present invention. A steering bracket has one end fixed to the top of a darts panel arranged in the front part of the vehicle, and a steering column is attached to the other end that protrudes from the top of the darts panel toward the interior of the vehicle, and a steering bracket is fixed to the vehicle body and extends in the width direction of the vehicle. A steering column support member that supports a steering column attached to the other end of the steering bracket as a member that can rotate to move the steering wheel up and down; The lower bracket is equipped with a lower bracket that connects to a fixed member, and a link member that connects the steering bracket and the steering column so that they can move relative to each other within a predetermined range. When the lower part of the steering column is moved toward the interior of the vehicle, the lower part of the steering column is moved inward to the vehicle interior, using the steering column support member of the steering column as a substantial pivot to allow the steering wheel to move up and down. When the lower part of the steering column is detached from the lower part of the dash panel or the member fixed thereto, the link member may be detached from the lower part of the steering column or the member fixed thereto. The steering column supporting member is used as a substantial support shaft, and the vertical movement of the steering wheel is restricted to a predetermined rotation range.

(Function) In the vehicle steering support structure according to the present invention configured as described above, the steering column is attached to the other end of the steering bracket, one end of which is fixed to the upper part of the dash panel, and the steering column is attached to the other end of the steering bracket. The steering column attached to the other end is supported by a steering column support member fixed to the vehicle body, and the lower part of the steering column is connected to the steering bracket via a link member. Further, the lower portion is connected to the lower portion of the dash panel or a member fixed thereto via the lower bracket, thereby fixing the steering column to the vehicle body. The link member supports the steering column in a movable state within a predetermined range relative to the steering bracket, and the lower bracket supports the lower part of the dash panel when the vehicle body receives an impact load exceeding a predetermined value. When the steering column is displaced toward the indoor side, for example, it is separated, and the steering column is allowed to rotate to move the steering wheel up and down using the steering column support member as a substantial support shaft.

Therefore, in the event of a vehicle collision, the steering column rotates to move the steering wheel up and down using the steering column support member as a substantial pivot, and the rotation is restricted to a predetermined rotation range. As a result, the amount of movement of the steering wheel toward the rear of the vehicle compartment is reduced. Therefore, the vehicle steering support structure according to the present invention is adopted. A vehicle that has achieved this will also be able to comply with standards regarding the amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel, in which the allowable value is set to a relatively small value.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of a steering support structure for a vehicle according to the present invention, together with a part of a vehicle body to which the structure is applied. In FIG. 1, a cowl panel 8 extending in the vehicle width direction is disposed between the bonnet 2 and the lower end of the front window 4. As shown in FIG. An upper dash panel 10 is disposed from the lower end of the cowl panel 8 and extends inward from the front of the vehicle interior.
Cowl box 12 that extends in the vehicle width direction due to zero etc.
is formed. Cowl side panels (not shown) are arranged on both sides of the vehicle where both ends of the cowl box 12 are located. A steering column support bar 14 is provided that extends in the vehicle width direction and has both ends fixed to cowl side panels arranged on both sides.

Cowl panel 8 and top dash panel 10
A lower dash panel 16, which partitions the engine room 7 and the passenger compartment 9 and forms the front end of the passenger compartment, extends downward from the connecting portion. A dash panel bracket 18 is fixed to the surface of the lower dash panel 16 on the side of the vehicle interior 9, and a brake pedal 20 that is swingable via a shaft 19 is attached to the dash panel bracket 18. It is being Further, in the vicinity of the lower dash panel 16 in the engine room 7, a doubling device 2 for doubling the depression force of the brake pedal 20 is provided.
4 and a brake master cylinder 22 are arranged, one end of the brake master cylinder 22 is supported by the dash panel bracket 18, extends into the vehicle interior 9, and is connected to a brake pedal 20.

One end of an upper steering bracket 26 that protrudes toward the interior of the vehicle is fixed to the upper dash panel 10, and an intermediate portion of a steering column 30 is attached to the other end of the upper steering bracket 26. There is. A steering shaft 28 having a steering wheel 32 attached to one end thereof is rotatably inserted through the interior of the steering column 30. The steering shaft 28 transmits the rotation of the steering wheel 32 to a steering gear (not shown) via an intermediate shaft 36. The steering shaft 28 and the intermediate shaft 36 are connected via a cross joint or the like, and the intermediate shaft 36 is curved with a predetermined curvature.

And upper steering bracket 26
The other end to which the middle part of the steering column 30 is attached is attached to the steering column support bar 1.
4 via a bracket 34 and supported by the steering column support bar 14. Therefore, the middle portion of the steering column 30 is fixed to the upper dash panel 10 via the upper steering bracket 26 and is further supported by the steering column support bar 14. Note that the steering column support bar 14 is attached to the steering column 30.
The steering column support bar 14 and the bracket 34
This means that the bracket 34 can rotate relative to the steering column support bar 14 when a force greater than a predetermined value is applied.

As clearly shown in FIG. 2, which shows a cross section taken along the - line in FIG. A holding member 42 provided with an engagement hole is attached to the lower portion of the holding member 30 . The plate-shaped member 40 and the holding member 42 are connected to a plate-shaped coupling member 44 having a through hole bored at both ends, and a long hole 40a of the plate-shaped member 40 and one of the through holes of the plate-shaped coupling member 44. They are connected by a bolt 43 that is inserted therethrough, and a bolt 45 that is inserted through the other of the engagement hole of the holding member 42 and the through hole of the plate-like coupling member 44 . These plate-like member 40, holding member 42, plate-like coupling member 44, and bolts 43 and 45 constitute a link member 46 that connects the steering column 30 to the upper steering bracket 26 as a whole. 30 and the upper steering bracket 26 are connected to the link member 4.
The bolt 43 in 6 is the elongated hole 40 of the plate member 40.
It is assumed that relative movement is possible within the range of movement within a.

In addition, at the lower end of the steering column 30,
An engaging member 38 is attached, and an end portion of the engaging member 38 is coupled via a caulking portion 39 to a lower bracket 48 fixed to the dash panel bracket 18 extending from the lower dash panel 16. There is. This steering column 30
The lower bracket 48, which connects the lower end of the steering column 30 and the lower dash panel bracket 18, and thus connects the lower end of the steering column 30 and the lower dash panel 16, The lower end of the steering column 30 is separated from the lower dash panel 16.
It is said that it is released from the connected state.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower bracket 48 includes a dash panel side fixing part 50 whose both ends are fixed to the inner surface of the dash panel bracket 18, and an engagement member fixed to the lower end of the steering column 30. Steering column side fixing part 5 connected to the end of 38 via caulking part 39
2, and a connecting plate 54 having a predetermined bending angle, which is interposed between the dash panel side fixing part 50 and the steering column side fixing part 52, The portion 50 is fastened to one bent surface portion of the connecting plate 54 with a bolt 51. Two long grooves 54 are provided on the other bent surface of the connecting plate 54 that comes into contact with the steering column side fixing portion 52.
a are formed parallel to each other, and these long grooves 5
A pair of rectangular plate-like members 56 each having a through hole in its center are arranged with each of the members 4a in between. Connection plate 54 of these rectangular plate members 56
The two placed on the surface are four shear pins 58.
It is fixed to the connecting plate 54 by. and,
Connecting plate 54 and steering column side fixing part 52
is fastened by a bolt 53 inserted through a through hole drilled in the center of the rectangular plate member 56. Therefore, the connecting plate 54 and the steering column side fixing part 52 are connected to the shear pin 5.
The connecting state is released by shearing the dash panel bracket 18 and the steering panel bracket 18 to which the dash panel side fixing portion 50 fixed to the connecting plate 54 is fixed. The lower end portion of the steering column 30, which is connected to the column-side fixing portion 52 via the engagement member 38, can be separated from the lower end portion of the steering column 30.

If a frontal collision occurs in a vehicle to which the steering support structure according to the present invention configured as described above is applied, for example, an engine (not shown) may be moved from the engine room 7 to the passenger compartment 9. Along with this, the lower dash panel 16 is moved toward the rear of the vehicle compartment 9, for example, from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4 to the position shown by the dashed-dotted line. Also,
Following the movement of the lower dash panel 16, the dash panel bracket 18 moves, for example,
It is displaced from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG.

Due to the displacement of the dash panel bracket 18 during such a vehicle collision, an impact load acts on the lower bracket 48 that connects the dash panel bracket 18 and the lower end of the steering column 30. If the impact load is greater than a predetermined value, the impact load causes the rectangular plate member 5 to be attached to the connecting plate 54 of the lower bracket 48.
6 is sheared, thereby separating the steering column side fixing portion 52 and the connecting plate 54, and as a result, the lower end of the steering column 30 is attached to the dash panel bracket 18.
Therefore, it is removed from the lower dash panel 16.

At this time, the steering column 30 is supported at its intermediate portion by the steering column support bar 14 via the other end of the upper steering bracket 26 and the bracket 34, and is also supported by the steering column support bar 14. At a position below the middle part, the link member 4
Upper steering bracket 26 through 6
However, as described above, the link member 46 has the bolt 43 connected to the elongated hole 40a of the plate member 40.
This allows the steering column 30 to be displaced with respect to the upper steering bracket 26 within a range within which the upper steering bracket 26 moves.

Then, the lower end of the steering column 30 that has been separated from the dash panel bracket 18 is pressed by, for example, the lower dash panel 16 and moved to the rear side of the vehicle interior 9, so that the steering column 30 is moved toward the rear of the vehicle interior 9. The steering column support bar 1 supports the upper steering bracket 26 through the other end of the upper steering bracket 26.
4 as a support shaft, the link member 46 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow S in FIG. 4 within a range permitted by the link member 46. Therefore, the rotation of the steering column 30 about the steering column support bar 14 is restricted to a predetermined rotation range by the link member 46, and a situation where the rotation is unnecessarily large-scale is avoided. As the steering column 30 rotates, the steering wheel 32 is rotated upward from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4 to the position shown by the dashed line. The moving distance of the vehicle compartment 9 toward the rear side is significantly reduced. In this way, for example, if a vehicle is involved in a collision from the front side, and
Even when the impact load received by the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value, the horizontal movement distance of the steering wheel 32 toward the rear of the vehicle interior 9, that is, the amount of backward movement is effectively reduced.

The lower end of the steering column 30 is connected to the vehicle body via the lower bracket 48 not only to the dash panel bracket 18 as in the above example, but also to the lower dash panel 16.
It may also be done directly.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the vehicle steering support structure according to the present invention, the steering column into which the steering shaft is rotatably inserted is fixed to the steering bracket extending from the upper part of the dash panel and the vehicle body. Support by a steering column support member that is
By fixing it to the vehicle body under the support of the link member and the lower bracket at the lower part, the part including the steering shaft and the steering wheel attached thereto can be securely attached to the vehicle body, and moreover, it is possible to securely attach the steering shaft and the steering wheel attached to the steering shaft to the vehicle body. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce the amount of backward movement of the steering wheel when the vehicle is moving. Therefore, a vehicle to which the vehicle steering support structure according to the present invention is applied can satisfactorily comply with standards regarding the amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel, in which the permissible amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel is set to be relatively small. Become what you can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a vehicle steering support structure according to the present invention together with a part of the vehicle body to which the structure is applied; FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 1; The figure is a perspective view showing an example of the main components used in the example shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 provides an explanation of the displacement of the steering wheel during a collision of a vehicle to which the example shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram used to explain a conventional vehicle steering support structure. In the figure, 10 is an upper dash panel, 12 is a cowl box, 14 is a steering column support bar, 16 is a lower dash panel, 18 is a dash panel bracket, 26 is an upper steering bracket, 28 is a steering shaft,
30 is a steering column, 32 is a steering wheel, 38 is an engaging member, 46 is a link member,
48 is a lower bracket.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A steering column into which a steering shaft to which a steering wheel is attached is rotatably inserted, and one end of which is fixed to the upper part of a darts panel arranged in the front part of the passenger compartment, and the upper part of the darts panel is fixed to the upper part of the darts panel. a steering bracket to which the steering column is attached to the other end protruding toward the interior of the vehicle; and a portion fixed to the vehicle body and extending in the width direction of the vehicle to attach the steering column attached to the other end of the steering bracket to the vehicle interior. A steering column support member that supports the steering wheel as a member that can be rotated to move the steering wheel up and down; a lower part of the steering column is connected to a lower part of the dash panel or a member fixed thereto; When the lower portion of the dash panel is displaced toward the interior of the vehicle, the steering column is rotated to move the steering wheel up and down using the steering column support member as a substantial pivot axis. a lower bracket for separating the lower part of the steering column from the lower part of the dash panel or a member fixed thereto; and a lower bracket for connecting the steering bracket and the steering column so as to be relatively movable within a predetermined range; When the steering column and the lower part are separated from the lower part of the dash panel or the member fixed thereto, the steering wheel of the steering column is moved up and down, with the steering column support member as a substantial pivot axis. A steering support structure for a vehicle, comprising: a link member that restricts rotation to a rotation range corresponding to the predetermined range.