JPH0710998Y2 - Steering column device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a steering column device, and more particularly to a column body mounting structure.

[Prior Art] Generally, in a steering column in a vehicle, an upper clamp and a lower clamp that support a column jacket are attached to a vehicle body, and in particular, the upper clamp is attached to the vehicle body via a slide block with a bolt. In the case of a so-called secondary collision in which an occupant collides with the steering column, the occupant is detached from the vehicle body to contract the column jacket and the steering shaft in the axially downward direction, while the lower clamp is fixed to the vehicle body with a bolt and is not detached. It supports the lower end of the jacket and takes reaction force. The upper clamp is attached to the lower part of the instrument panel, and the lower clamp is attached to the dash panel near the floor.

On the other hand, the steering column may adopt a so-called tilt type configuration so as to ensure an optimal driving posture of the occupant. In this case, the entire steering column is configured to be vertically rotatable around the lower clamp. There is a so-called foot tilt type steering column. In the case of a foot tilt steering column, since the lower clamp must have a hinge function, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the column jacket 1 has U-shaped brackets 2 that are diametrically opposed to each other. , 2 are fixed by welding or the like, and a concave fixed bracket 3 fixed to the vehicle body is rotatably caulkedly coupled to the brackets 2, 2 with pins 4, 4. That is, the brackets 2, 2 and the fixed bracket 3 are configured to form a lower clamp, and the bolts are inserted through the bolt insertion holes 3a, 3a to be fixedly attached to the vehicle body.

However, according to the above-described conventional foot tilt type steering column, when the tilt is set, the angle at which the lower end of the column jacket rotates is only a minute angle of at most 1 to 2 degrees. Forming a slab is costly, and
Since the pin, the bracket, and the fixed bracket are rotatably connected to each other by forming a clearance, they may resonate when the vehicle is running or idling, which may cause abnormal noise. May cause discomfort or impair operability. Further, the repair is not preferable because the entire steering column must be removed from the vehicle body.

Therefore, the applicant of the present application, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, enables the column jacket 1 having the steering shaft penetrating therethrough to rotate in the vertical direction around the lower clamp 7 fixed to the vehicle body. In the steering device configured, the lower clamp 7 includes a vehicle body mounting surface 13,
A jacket mounting surface 14 that is substantially orthogonal to the vehicle body mounting surface 13, an opening 15 formed in the jacket mounting surface 14 for penetrating the vicinity of the lower end of the column jacket 1, and the column jacket 1 on both sides of the opening 15 It is composed of a pair of right and left equal beam portions 17 sandwiching it, the column jacket 1 is connected to the lower inner peripheral edge portion of the opening portion 15 at a substantially orthogonal position, and the deflection of the equal beam portions 17 is utilized to rotate the column jacket 1. Applied for a steering column device that allowed the
issue).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, according to the invention of the above application, the column jacket 1 is connected to the lower inner peripheral edge of the opening 15 by utilizing the bending of the flat beam portion 17 to connect the column. Since the jacket is allowed to rotate, as shown in FIG. 8, the column jacket 1 is provided with an axial elongated hole 1a as means for forming a reaction force against the contraction of the column jacket 1 in the case of a secondary collision. The lower clamp 7 is provided with a standing bending protrusion 7a that engages with the elongated hole 1a at the cutout portion 7b.
In the case of 7a, the impact force at the time of the secondary collision is superior, the standing bending protrusion 7a is deformed, and the desired reaction force may not be obtained in some cases.

Therefore, the present invention has been made for the purpose of improving a steering column device adopting the lower clamp according to the above application.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured such that a column jacket having a steering shaft penetrating is vertically rotatable about a lower clamp fixed to a vehicle body. A steering column apparatus in which a column jacket and a steering shaft contract axially downward in a secondary collision, the vehicle body mounting surface, a jacket mounting surface substantially orthogonal to the vehicle body mounting surface, and the jacket mounting surface. It consists of an opening penetrating the vicinity of the lower end of the column jacket and a pair of left and right equal beam parts sandwiching the column jacket on both sides of the opening. The column jacket is connected to the lower inner peripheral edge of the opening at a substantially orthogonal position. The lower clamp has a lower clamp that allows the column jacket to rotate by utilizing the bending of the flat beam portion. A stopper for preventing the column jacket from moving downward in the axial direction by abutting against the other of the column jacket and the lower clamp at the time of a secondary collision is fixed to either one of the jacket and the lower clamp.
The stopper has a gap between the stopper and the other of the column jacket and the lower clamp to allow the rotation of the column jacket when the tilt is set.

[Operation] According to the present invention having the above configuration, since the column jacket is directly fixed to the jacket mounting surface of the lower clamp in a substantially orthogonal position, the rigidity in the vertical and horizontal directions is high, the resonance point is improved, and rattling occurs. No noise is generated because it does not resonate when the vehicle is running or idling.

In addition, when the column jacket moves axially downward during a secondary collision, the stopper prevents the column jacket axially downward, forming a strong reaction force on the column jacket, and contracting the column jacket and steering shaft. Make it work well.

In addition, when the tilt is set, the stopper does not come into contact with the column jacket or the lower clamp with a gap, allowing the column jacket to rotate and the equal beam part interlocking with the movement of the column jacket. Since it can be bent, the lower clamp can cope with the tilting of the column jacket and does not impair the operability when setting the tilt.

[Embodiment] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First
The figure shows a partial cross-sectional side view of the entire steering column.
FIG. 2 is a side view of a semi-sectional view of the main part, and FIG. 3 is FIG.
It is a line sectional view.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a column jacket, 5 is a steering shaft, 5a is a steering wheel, 6 is an upper clamp, 7 is a lower clamp, and 8 is an intermediate shaft, which is connected to a steering gear box (not shown). The column jacket 1 and the steering shaft 5 are configured to be contractible in the axial direction. Vertical holes 9 are formed in both side walls of the upper clamp 6, and a tightening bolt 10 is inserted along the long hole 9 so as to be vertically movable. A tilt lever 11 is axially attached to the tightening bolt 10. In addition, the tightening bolt 10 penetrates to provide a distance bracket 12 that can move up and down in the upper clamp 6, and the column jacket 1 is fixed to the distance bracket 12.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the lower clamp 7
Is a thin plate (2 mm or less) made of high-strength material (high-tensile material, high-carbon material), for example, pressed, and the cross section is L
It is formed in a letter shape and has bolt insertion holes 13a, 13a
And a vehicle body mounting surface 13 fixed to the vehicle body via bolts 20, and a triangular jacket mounting surface 14 that is orthogonal to the vehicle body mounting surface 13 and has a wide vehicle body mounting side and a narrow jacket side. The jacket mounting surface 14 has a substantially triangular opening 15 penetrating the column jacket 1. A lower inner peripheral edge portion 16 of the opening portion 15 has a substantially semicircular shape, and is matched with the outer diameter of the column jacket 1. Therefore, the equal beam portions 17, 17 having the same shape and a substantially triangular shape are formed on both sides of the opening portion 15, and the arcuate band portion 18 integrally formed between the equal beam portions 17, 17 is formed in the opening portion 1.
Formed at the bottom of the 5. A flange portion 19 protruding in a direction parallel to the column jacket 1 is bent and formed on the arcuate band portion 18 for reinforcement. Therefore, the arcuate band portion 18
The flange portion does not necessarily have to be formed if the strength is sufficient. The column jacket 1 is connected to the lower inner peripheral edge portion 16 of the opening 15 by welding or the like at an orthogonal position. In addition,
Although the vehicle body mounting surface 13 is formed by bending, it may be formed flat, and is fitted to the shape of the mounting portion of the vehicle body.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a stopper 21 is fixed to the coupling end of the column jacket 1 so as to be separated from the opening 15 at a constant distance. The stopper 21 is connected to the upper part of the arc of the column jacket 1 in the left-right symmetric shape and fixed by welding or the like, and extends from the connection parts 22 and 22, respectively, and contacts the side edges of the opening 15. A band formed by bending abutting contact portions 23 and 23 and a U-shaped contact portion 24 that connects the connecting portions 22 and 22 and that is separated from the column jacket 1 and is in contact with the upper edge of the opening 15. It consists of boards. The stopper 21 is fixed to the column jacket 1 with a certain clearance C from the lower clamp 7 so that the stopper 21 does not come into contact with the lower clamp 7 when the column jacket 1 swings by a tilt operation.

As another example of the stopper 21, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a bolt insertion hole 25 is formed in the vehicle body mounting portion 13 of the lower clamp 7, and a nut 26 is fixed in the bolt insertion hole 25. Screw the bolt 27 onto the nut 26,
Is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 28 formed in the column jacket 1. The bolt insertion hole 28 is made slightly larger than the diameter of the bolt 27 so as to cope with the swing of the column jacket 1.

The operation of the above embodiment will be described. When setting the tilt, the tilt lever 11 is rotated in FIG. 1 to release the tightening bolt 10 from tightening the upper clamp 6 to the distance bracket 12 from both sides, and the distance bracket 12 is shown. When the column jacket 1 is freed and the column jacket 1 is tilted up or down at any desired angle, the column jacket 1 rotates about the lower clamp 7. The rotation angle of the column jacket 1 at this time is at most 1 to 2 degrees, and the column jacket 1 is integrated with the arcuate band portion 18 reinforced by the flange portion 19, and the flat beam portion of the lower clamp 7 is formed.
Bending 17 allows its rotation. Since the column jacket 1 is not connected to the lower clamp 7 in the upper half of the opening portion 15, the opening portion
Can move within 15.

In addition, in the event of a vehicle collision, if there is a secondary collision in which an occupant collides with the steering wheel 5a, the upper clamp 6
When the steering shaft 5 and the column jacket 1 contract as a unit, the reaction force of the column jacket 1 acts as a stopper at the lower end of the column jacket 1.
21 abuts the opening 15 of the lower clamp 7, or
The bolt insertion hole 28 of the column jacket 1 abuts on the bolt 27, and the column jacket 1 and the lower clamp 7 are connected to each other.

[Advantage of Invention] According to the invention described above, the column jacket is
Since it is directly fixed to the jacket mounting surface of the lower clamp in a substantially orthogonal position, the rigidity in the vertical and horizontal directions is high, the resonance point is improved, there is no rattling, and there is no resonance when the vehicle is running or idling Does not occur. Moreover, an inexpensive lower clamp can be obtained with a simple structure.

Also, when the column jacket moves axially downward during a secondary collision, the stopper blocks the axial movement of the column jacket downwards, forming a strong reaction force on the column jacket, so that the column jacket and the steering shaft contract. And the stopper does not come into contact with the column jacket or the lower clamp with a gap when setting the tilt, allowing the column jacket to rotate. Operability is not impaired.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the entire steering column, FIG. 2 is a half cross-sectional side view of an essential part, and FIG. 3 is FIG.
A sectional view taken along line III, FIGS. 4 and 5 show another example of a half sectional side view similar to FIG. 2 and a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a lower clamp of a conventional example, Fig. 7 (A)
FIG. 8B is a perspective view of a lower clamp improved by the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view of the lower clamp. 1 ... Column jacket, 5 ... Steering shaft, 6 ... Upper clamp, 7 ... Lower clamp,
11 …… Tilt lever, 13 …… Vehicle mounting surface, 14 …… Jacket mounting surface, 15 …… Opening part, 16 …… Lower inner peripheral edge part, 17…
… Equal beam, 18 …… Arc band, 19 …… Flange, 21
……stopper.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A column jacket having a steering shaft penetrating therethrough is configured to be vertically rotatable about a lower clamp fixed to a vehicle body, and the column jacket and the steering shaft are axially downward when a secondary collision occurs. A retractable steering column device comprising a vehicle body mounting surface, a jacket mounting surface substantially orthogonal to the vehicle body mounting surface, an opening formed in the jacket mounting surface and penetrating a vicinity of a lower end portion of a column jacket, It consists of a pair of left and right equal beam parts that sandwich the column jacket on both sides of the opening part.The column jacket is connected to the inner peripheral edge of the lower part of the opening part at a substantially orthogonal position. It has a lower clamp that allows the rotation of the A stopper for preventing the column jacket from moving downward in the axial direction by contacting either the column jacket or the lower clamp at the time of a secondary collision is fixed, and the stopper is either the column jacket or the lower clamp. A steering column device having a gap between the other and which allows rotation of a column jacket when tilt is set.