JPH07215222A - Shock absorbing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a stable shock absorbing effect by fitting a pair of insertedly holding pieces constituting a capsule to each other, and by engaging the engaging projection of the insertedly holding piece on one side with the engaging part of a bracket. CONSTITUTION:A capsule 20 and a bracket 10 can be integrated only by fitting a pair of insertedly holding pieces 21, 22 constituting the capsule 20 to each other, in such a state that the fitting seat 12 of the bracket 10 has been held therebetween, and the engaging projected part 22d projected on the projectedly holding surface of the holding piece 22 on one side has been engaged with the engaging part (small hole) 14 of the fitting seat 12 of the bracket 10. When a shock is added, the engaging projected part 22d is sheared for absorbing a part of the shock, and at the same time the capsule 20 is separated from the cutout part 13 formed on the fitting seat 12, so that the upper part of a steering-column 3 can be removed from a dash panel P. Thus, a stable shock absorbing effect can be produced, and the shock to be applied to a driver can effectively be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shock absorbing device applied to a vehicle steering system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a driver collides with a steering wheel due to a vehicle collision or the like, the impact applied to the driver is mitigated as much as possible to reduce the damage given to the driver. An absorption steering device is provided. This type of steering device has a steering column that rotatably supports the steering shaft.
There is used a shock absorbing device which is fixed to a vehicle body and absorbs a part of the shock at the same time when the shock acts, and at the same time, separates the shock from the vehicle body.

This shock absorbing device is, for example, an actual flat plate 4-7.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 255-255, a bracket made of a steel plate having a pair of mounting seats extending in the horizontal direction formed at the upper end of a U-shaped holding portion for holding a steering column, and an aluminum for attaching the bracket to a vehicle body. Etc. and a metal capsule. The capsule is inserted into a notch formed in the mounting seat of the bracket, and is attached to the vehicle body by a bolt that penetrates the mounting seat while sandwiching the mounting seat. It is integrated by filling the small holes formed by the synthetic resin. According to this shock absorbing device, when a shock is applied, the pin made of the synthetic resin filled in the small hole is sheared to absorb a part of the shock and at the same time, the capsule is separated from the notch of the mounting seat. Then, the steering column can be detached from the vehicle body.

[0004]

According to the shock absorbing device having the above-described structure, in order to integrate the bracket and the capsule with each other, it is necessary to fill the small hole communicating with the bracket with the synthetic resin. However, there is a problem in that the number of assembling steps is increased and the manufacturing cost is high.

When the resin is filled, the resin may enter between the holding surface of the capsule and the mounting seat.
In this case, there is a problem in that the shock absorbing effect becomes unstable as a result of fluctuation of the frictional resistance when the capsule is separated from the notch of the mounting seat. Furthermore, since the bracket is made of steel plate and the capsule is made of metal, there is a large frictional resistance when separating the capsule from the notch of the mounting seat, and there is a limit to more effectively alleviate the impact on the driver. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a shock absorbing device capable of reducing the manufacturing cost and exhibiting a stable shock absorbing action. To do. Another object of the present invention is to provide a shock absorbing device that can more effectively reduce the shock applied to the driver.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, a shock absorbing device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a bracket having a holding portion for holding a steering column and a mounting seat having a notch, and A shock absorbing device comprising: a capsule that is inserted into a notch in a mounting seat and is mounted on a vehicle body while sandwiching the mounting seat.
The mounting seat is composed of a pair of sandwiching pieces for sandwiching from above and below, and the sandwiching pieces are fitted to each other to be integrated, and at least one of the sandwiching pieces has an engaging projection portion projecting from the sandwiching surface.
It is characterized in that it is engaged with an engaged portion formed on a mounting seat of the bracket.

The impact absorbing device according to a second aspect is the impact absorbing device according to the first aspect, in which the upper clamping piece of the pair of clamping pieces is made of synthetic resin and the lower clamping piece is made of metal. Is characterized in that.

[0009]

According to the shock absorbing device of the first aspect of the invention, the mounting seat of the bracket is clamped and the clamping surface of at least one of the clamping pieces is held only by fitting the pair of clamping pieces constituting the capsule together. The capsule and the bracket can be integrated with each other in a state where the protruding engaging protrusion is engaged with the engaged portion of the mounting seat. Therefore, an injection device for integrating the capsule and the mounting seat becomes unnecessary. Further, at the time of impact, the bracket can be detached from the capsule by shearing the engaging protrusion.

According to the shock absorbing device of the second aspect, the lower metal sandwiching piece secures the necessary strength as a capsule, and the upper synthetic resin sandwiching piece prevents the mounting seat from being cut out. Friction resistance when separating the capsules can be reduced.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a use state of the shock absorbing device A of the present invention. The shock absorbing device A mounts the upper part of the shock absorbing steering device B on the dash panel P on the vehicle body side, absorbs a part of the shock when the steering device B is shocked, and at the same time, the steering device concerned. Device B to dash panel P
To get rid of.

In the steering device B, a steering shaft 2 having an upper end portion connected to a steering wheel 1 is rotatably supported by a steering column 3. The lower part of the steering column 3 absorbs a second shock. It is attached to the dash panel P via the device 4. As shown in detail in FIG. 1, the percussion absorber A of the present invention includes a bracket 10 for holding a steering column 3 and a bracket 10 for holding the bracket 10.
And a capsule 20 attached to the.

The bracket 10 is made of sheet metal, and has a U-shaped holding portion 11 that encloses the lower half of the steering column 3 and a flat pair extending laterally from the upper end of the holding portion 11. And the mounting seat 12 of. A notch 13 extending in the axial direction of the steering column 3 is formed in each of the pair of mounting seats 12, and both edges of the notch 13 are engaged with the engaging projections 22 d of the capsule 20. Small holes 14 as engaging portions are formed at two locations in the figure, respectively.

The capsule 20 is composed of a pair of holding pieces 21 and 22 for sandwiching the mounting seat 12 of the bracket 10 from above and below. The capsule 20 is fitted and integrated with each other while the notch 13 of the mounting seat 12 is inserted. Has been done. The upper sandwiching piece 21 of the capsule 20 has a rectangular shape wider than the notch 13 of the bracket 10, and a columnar fitting portion 21a is formed so as to hang down in the central portion on the lower surface side thereof (FIG. 3). Further, the holding piece 21 is formed with an elongated hole 21b for inserting the bolt C so as to penetrate the inside of the fitting portion 21a.

The lower sandwiching piece 22 has a step portion 22a on the upper surface side.
And a fitting hole 2 for fitting the fitting portion 21a of the upper sandwiching piece 21 in the center thereof.
2b is formed. The step portion 22a is introduced into the notch 13 of the bracket 10, and its upper surface is flush with the mounting seat 12 of the bracket 10. Engaging projections 22d that engage with the small holes 14 formed in the mounting seat 12 are formed on both sides of the sandwiching surface 22c sandwiching the step 22a of the sandwiching piece 22. This engaging protrusion 22d
Is a hemispherical shape and is engaged with the small hole 14 in a state of being introduced into the small hole 14.

The capsule 20 is fixed to the dash panel P by a mounting bolt C inserted through the inside of the capsule 20 while the mounting seat 12 of the bracket 10 is clamped by the pair of clamping pieces 21 and 22. The pair of sandwiching pieces 21, 22 are made of aluminum.
According to the impact absorbing device A having the above-described configuration, for example, the step portion 22a of the sandwiching piece 22 below the capsule 20 can be provided in
The capsule 20 and the bracket 10 can be integrated by simply inserting the fitting portion 21a of the upper holding piece 21 into the fitting hole 22b of the lower holding piece 22 in the state of being introduced into the notch 13 of 0. , In this integrated state, the bracket 1
The small hole 14 on the 0 side and the engagement projection 22d on the capsule 20 side can be engaged with each other to restrict the relative movement of the both in the axial direction of the steering column 3. Then, at the time of impact, the engagement protrusion 22d of the sandwiching piece 22 is sheared to absorb a part of the impact, and at the same time, the capsule 20 is separated from the notch 13 and the upper portion of the steering column 3 is attached to the dash panel P. Can leave.

As described above, in the impact absorbing device A, the capsule 20 and the bracket 10 can be integrated by simply fitting the pair of sandwiching pieces 21, 22 of the capsule 20 to each other. In addition, as compared with the case where the synthetic resin is filled and integrated, the assembling work of both can be simplified and the injection device is not required. Further, the filling resin is used for holding the capsule 20 on the holding surface and the mounting seat 1.
Since there is no possibility of invading between the two, a stable shock absorbing effect can be exerted.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the capsule 20. In this embodiment, the upper sandwiching piece 21 is formed into a flat plate shape, and the engaging protrusion 22d of the lower sandwiching piece 22 is formed into a pin shape through which the small hole 14 of the bracket 10 is inserted. is doing. In addition, the engaging protrusion 2
The upper end of 2d is fitted into a fitting hole 21c formed in the upper sandwiching piece 21 (see FIG. 5), and the sandwiching piece 2
An elongated hole 22e for inserting the bolt C is formed through the central portion of 2.

In this embodiment, the step portion 22a of the holding piece 22 of the capsule 20 is introduced into the notch 13 of the bracket 10, and is inserted into the fitting hole 21c of the upper holding piece 21.
Just by inserting the engaging projection 22d of the lower sandwiching piece 22,
The capsule 20 and the bracket 10 can be integrated, and in this integrated state, the small hole 1 on the bracket 10 side
The engaging protrusion 22d that passes through the connector 4 can prevent the both from moving relatively in the axial direction of the steering column 3. When the impact is applied, the engagement protrusion 22d is sheared to absorb a part of the impact, and at the same time, the capsule 20 is separated from the notch 13 to separate the upper portion of the steering column 3 from the dash panel P. be able to. Also for this example,
The assembly work of the bracket 10 and the capsule 20 can be simplified, and an injection device is unnecessary. Moreover, since there is no possibility that the filled resin will enter between the holding surface of the capsule 20 and the mounting seat 12, a stable shock absorbing effect can be exhibited.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the engaging projection 22d may be formed in the same pin shape as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and in this case, the engaging projection 22d. The upper end of is not necessarily fitted to the upper sandwiching piece 21. Further, in any of the above-described embodiments, the upper sandwiching piece 21 may be formed of a synthetic resin and the lower sandwiching piece 22 may be formed of a metal such as aluminum. In this case, the upper sandwiching piece 21 is used. Since the frictional resistance when separating the capsule 20 from the notch 13 of the bracket 10 at the time of impact can be reduced, the impact applied to the driver can be more effectively alleviated. Moreover, the required strength of the capsule 20 can be ensured by the lower metal sandwiching piece 22.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the engaged portion is replaced by the small hole 14 and is formed by a recess, and the engaging projection 22d is formed on the side of the sandwiching piece 21 or sandwiched with the sandwiching piece 21. Various design changes can be made, such as forming on both sides of the piece 22 and forming the engaging projection 22d on the side of the sandwiching piece 21 in the embodiment shown in FIG.

[0022]

As described above, according to the shock absorbing device of the first aspect, the capsule and the bracket can be integrated by simply fitting the pair of clamping pieces constituting the capsule together. Therefore, as compared with the conventional case of integrating by resin filling, the number of assembling steps can be reduced, an injection device is not necessary, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, since there is no possibility that the filling resin will enter the holding surface, it is possible to exert a stable impact absorbing effect.

Further, according to the shock absorbing device of the second aspect, while the desired strength is ensured by the metal holding piece,
The unique effect that the frictional resistance between the bracket and the capsule at the time of impact is reduced and the impact applied to the driver can be more effectively mitigated is achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a shock absorbing device of the present invention,
(A) is a partially exploded plan view, (b) is an XX line expanded sectional view of (a).

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a use state of the impact absorbing device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway exploded perspective view of a capsule.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the capsule.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an assembled state of the embodiment of the previous figure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Steering column 11 Holding part 12 Mounting seat 13 Notch 20 Capsule 21 Clamping piece 22 Clamping piece 22d Engagement projection 14 Small hole as engaged part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A holding portion for holding a steering column,
A shock absorbing device comprising: a bracket having a mounting seat having a notch formed therein; and a capsule that is inserted into the notch of the mounting seat and is mounted on a vehicle body with the mounting seat sandwiched therebetween. It is composed of a pair of clamping pieces that clamps each other from above and below, and each clamping piece is fitted and integrated with each other, and at least one of the engaging projections protruding from the clamping surface of the clamping piece is attached to the bracket. An impact absorbing device, characterized in that it is engaged with an engaged portion formed on a seat. 2. The shock absorbing device according to claim 1, wherein the upper sandwiching piece of the pair of sandwiching pieces is made of synthetic resin, and the lower sandwiching piece is made of metal.