JPH0747962A - Lid in a column hole cover for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep the sealability excellent by improving the followability of a sealing projection to displacement of a steering shaft without lowering any noise insulating effect in a closed part, and making the sealing projection come into contact with the steering shaft at all times irrespective of the amount of displacement. CONSTITUTION:A lid 13 of a column hole cover 6 consists of an outer cylinder part 14 to be engaged with an owing end of a cover body 7, an inner cylinder part 15 to be externally fitted in a steering shaft 5, and a closing part 16 elastically connecting an interval between both these outer and inner cylinder parts 14 and 16 and closing the opening end of the cover body 7. In this constitution, the inner cylinder part 15 has a ring sealing projection 21 to be pressed to a peripheral surface of the steering shaft 5. In order to make displacement of the steering shaft 5 in the radial direction of the outer cylinder part 14 allowable, the closing part 16 is formed to be bent in the longitudinal direction of the steering shaft 5 extending over the whole circumference. In addition, a tip 16c of the closing part 16 and a sectional area of at least one side base end 16a is made to be smaller than the peripheral part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cover for a column hole cover used in a steering system for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vehicle steering system including a tilt mechanism, as shown in FIG. 5, a dash panel 33 for partitioning an engine room 31 and a vehicle room 32 is provided.
The steering shaft 34 is inserted therethrough. A rubber column hole cover 35 is attached to the insertion portion in order to reduce transmitted sound propagating from the engine room 31 side to the vehicle compartment 32 and prevent intrusion of muddy water.

The column hole cover 35 is a cover body 3
6 and the lid 37. Both ends of the cover body 36 are open, the engine room side open end is fixed to the dash panel 33, and the lid 37 is attached to the vehicle room side open end.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lid 37 includes a cover body 3
6, an outer tubular portion 38 fitted into the vehicle compartment side open end, an inner tubular portion 39 externally fitted to the steering shaft 34, and both tubular portions 3
And a closing portion 40 that connects the connecting portions 8 and 39 to close the open end on the vehicle compartment side. On the inner circumference of the inner tubular portion 39, a ring-shaped seal projection 41 is elastically pressed against the steering shaft 34.
Are formed. The closing portion 40 is formed to be bent toward the engine room 31 so as to allow the displacement of the steering shaft 34, and the wall thicknesses t1 and t2 of the closing portion 40 are the base end 40a,
It is gradually reduced from 40b toward the tip 40c. When the steering wheel is adjusted to the preset reference position, the axis C1 of the steering shaft 34 matches the axis C2 of the cover body 36.

According to the conventional column hole cover 35, the vertical position of the steering wheel is adjusted by the tilt mechanism, and the steering shaft 3 is accordingly adjusted.
When the axis C1 of 4 is displaced (eccentric) from the axis C2 of the cover body 36, the closed portion 40 elastically deforms at the annular tip 40c. Then, the pair of base ends 40a, 40
The interval of b is narrowed or expanded. Therefore, when the steering shaft 34 is displaced, stress is applied to the column hole cover 35, but most of the stress is applied to the column portion cover 4.
It is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the tip 40c of 0. That much
The stress applied to the inner tubular portion 39 and the outer tubular portion 38 is reduced.

Therefore, when the amount of displacement of the steering shaft 34 is relatively small, only the elastic deformation of the tip 40c keeps the followability of the seal projection 41 with respect to the displacement of the steering shaft 34, and prevents the deterioration of the sealing property. it can.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when the displacement amount of the steering shaft 34 increases (becomes about several mm), the elastic deformation of the tip 40c alone cannot absorb the stress. The stress applied to the seal protrusion 41 increases. Then, the followability of the seal protrusion 41 with respect to the displacement of the steering shaft 34 decreases. Therefore, for example, as shown by the arrow B in FIG. 6, when the steering shaft 34 is largely displaced upward, the seal projection 41 is deformed into a vertically elongated elliptical shape,
The lower portion of the seal protrusion 41 is the steering shaft 34.
May cause a seal failure.

Further, as described above, since the wall thicknesses t1 and t2 of the closing portion 40 are gradually reduced from the base ends 40a and 40b toward the tip end 40c, the sound insulation effect of this portion is impaired. There are also problems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve the followability of the seal projection with respect to the displacement of the steering shaft without deteriorating the sound insulation effect of the closed portion and to reduce the displacement amount. Regardless of this, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lid for a vehicle column hole cover that can keep a good sealing property by always bringing the sealing projection into contact with the steering shaft.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an outer cylinder portion which is locked to an open end of a cylindrical cover body attached to a dash panel while covering a steering shaft, An inner cylindrical portion externally fitted to the steering shaft and having an annular seal projection that press-contacts the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft, and the outer cylindrical portion and the inner cylindrical portion are elastically connected to each other so that the open end of the cover main body is formed. A cover in a vehicle column hole cover that includes a closing portion that closes and that forms a column hole cover by forming a pair with the cover body, and is capable of allowing the steering shaft to be displaced in the radial direction of the outer tubular portion. As described above, the closed portion is bent over the entire circumference in the length direction of the steering shaft, and the cross-sectional area of the distal end and at least one base end of the closed portion is surrounded. It is smaller than the minute.

[0011]

[Operation] When the column hole cover is attached, the steering shaft is covered by the cover body. The outer tubular portion of the lid is locked to the open end of the cover body, and the inner tubular portion is externally fitted to the steering shaft. Then, the outer tubular portion and the inner tubular portion are connected by the closing portion of the lid, and the open end of the cover body is closed. In this state, the annular seal protrusion of the inner tubular portion is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft.

When the steering shaft is displaced in the radial direction of the outer cylindrical portion by the operation of the tilt mechanism or the like, the closed portion formed by bending the steering shaft in the lengthwise direction of the steering shaft is elastically deformed. This elastic deformation absorbs the displacement of the steering shaft. The elastic deformation at this time is
It tends to occur where the cross-sectional area is smaller than the surrounding area. That is, in the present invention, elastic deformation occurs at a plurality of positions of the base end and the tip in the bent portion. Therefore, due to the elastic deformation at the plurality of points, the stress applied to the lid when the steering shaft is displaced is dispersed at the plurality of points, and the stress applied to the seal projection of the inner tubular portion is accordingly reduced. As a result, compared with the case where the stress at the time of displacement of the steering shaft is applied to one position of the closed portion, even if the displacement amount is large, the seal projection is displaced while being in pressure contact with the steering shaft.

Further, the location where the cross-sectional area is reduced due to elastic deformation is limited to the base end or the tip of the closed portion. That is, the cross-sectional area is reduced only at the portion where elastic deformation is required, and the cross-sectional area is increased at other portions. Therefore, as compared with the case where the wall thickness of the closed portion is gradually reduced from the base end to the tip, the sound insulation effect of the lid is improved.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment embodying the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a part of a vehicle steering system including a tilt mechanism. A dash panel 3 that separates an engine room 1 and a vehicle room 2 of the vehicle has a through hole 4 through which a steering shaft 5 extending in an oblique direction is inserted. A column hole cover 6 including a cover body 7 and a lid 13 is provided around the through hole 4 on the side wall surface of the vehicle interior of the dash panel 3. The entire cover body 7 and lid 13 are made of rubber and have elasticity. The main function of the column hole cover 6 is to block transmitted sound propagating from the engine room 1 side into the vehicle interior 2 through the through hole 4 and prevent intrusion of muddy water.

The cover body 7 has a substantially cylindrical shape with both ends open and is arranged outside the steering shaft 5 in a non-contact state. A mounting flange 8 is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the open end of the cover body 7 on the engine room side.
The mounting flange 8 and the metal ring member 10 stacked on it are tightened and fixed around the through hole 4 of the dash panel 3 using a plurality of pairs (only one pair is shown in FIG. 2) of bolts 11 and nuts 12. Has been done. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, when the steering wheel is adjusted to the preset reference position by the tilt mechanism, the axis C1 of the steering shaft 5 coincides with the axis C2 of the cover body 7. .

A lid 13 is attached between the vehicle body-side open end of the cover body 7 and the steering shaft 5.
The lid 13 is composed of an outer tubular portion 14, an inner tubular portion 15 and a closing portion 16. The outer cylinder portion 14 has a cylindrical shape, and an annular locking flange 17 is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the vehicle compartment side end portion thereof. The outer cylinder portion 14 is fitted into the cover body 7 from the passenger compartment side. The locking flange 17 contacts the locking flange 9 on the outer periphery of the open end of the cover body 7, whereby the outer cylinder portion 14 is prevented from falling into the cover body 7. The cover body 7 and the outer cylinder portion 14 fitted into the cover body 7 are fastened by a wire clamp 18 from the outer periphery of the cover body 7. A metal insert 19 is embedded in the outer cylinder portion 14 to ensure rigidity, and the wire clamp 1
The outer cylinder portion 14 is prevented from being deformed by tightening with 8.

The inner cylinder portion 15 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is fitted onto the steering shaft 5. A pair of ring-shaped seal projections 21 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the inner tubular portion 15. The tip portions of both seal projections 21 are sharp, and elastically come into line contact with the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft 5 to exert a sealing function.

The closing portion 16 connects the outer cylinder portion 14 and the inner cylinder portion 15 to close the open end of the cover body 7 on the vehicle compartment side. The closed portion 16 is formed to be bent toward the engine room 1 over the entire circumference thereof so that the steering shaft 5 can be displaced in the radial direction of the outer tubular portion 14.

Here, the connecting portions of the closing portion 16 with the outer tubular portion 14 and the connecting portions with the inner tubular portion 15 are defined as base ends 16a and 16b of the closing portion 16, respectively, and bent ends (most on the engine room side). Is defined as the tip 16c of the closed portion 16. In this embodiment, between the base end 16b and the tip end 16c of the closed portion 16 and between the base end 16a and the tip end 16c, the wall thicknesses t1 and t2 are substantially the same at any part. In addition, the proximal end 16 of the closing portion 16 on the outer cylinder portion 14 side
The a and the tip 16c are formed to be thinner than the peripheral portion. In other words, the cross-sectional areas of the base end 16a and the tip 16c are smaller than the cross-sectional area of the peripheral portion. Therefore, the closed portion 16 is easily elastically deformed at the base end 16a and the distal end 16c.

According to the present embodiment configured as described above, when the steering wheel is adjusted to the reference position by the tilt mechanism, the axis C1 of the steering shaft 5 and the axis C2 of the cover body 7 are aligned. And
The steering shaft 5 is closed by the cover body 7 and the lid 13. In particular, both seal projections 21 of the inner tubular portion 15 of the lid 13 elastically press against the entire circumference of the steering shaft 5. At this time, no gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft 5 and both seal projections 21.

When the steering wheel is adjusted to a position displaced, for example, upward from the reference position by the tilt mechanism, the steering shaft 5 is also moved in the radial direction of the cover body 7 as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. Displaces upward. That is, the steering shaft 5
The axis C1 of (1) is shifted upward (eccentric) from the axis C2 of the cover body 7. Then, in the lid 13, the closed portion 1 formed by bending the steering shaft 5 in an annular shape in the length direction of the steering shaft 5.
6 is elastically deformed. This elastic deformation absorbs the displacement of the steering shaft 5. The elastic deformation at this time is likely to occur at a portion where the cross-sectional area is smaller than that of the peripheral portion. That is, in this embodiment, the base end 16 of the closing portion 16 is
Elastic deformation will occur at two points, a and the tip 16c.

Therefore, the stress applied to the lid 13 when the steering shaft 5 is displaced is such that the base end 16a and the front end 16 are stressed.
It is dispersed by the elastic deformation of c, and accordingly the inner cylindrical portion 1
The stress applied to the seal protrusion 21 of No. 5 becomes small. As a result, compared with the prior art in which the stress at the time of displacement of the steering shaft 34 is applied to one location of the closed portion 40, even if the displacement amount is large, the seal projection 21 is displaced while being in pressure contact with the steering shaft 5. .

As described above, in this embodiment, both seal projections 2
The followability to the displacement of the steering shaft 5 of No. 1 is improved. Therefore, irrespective of the amount of displacement of the steering shaft 5, both seal projections 21 can always be pressed into contact with the outer periphery of the steering shaft 5 to maintain good sealability of the same portion.

Further, in the present embodiment, the locations where the cross-sectional area is reduced due to elastic deformation are limited to two locations, the base end 16a and the tip 16c of the closing portion 16. That is, the cross-sectional area is reduced only at the portion where elastic deformation is required, and the cross-sectional area is increased at other portions. Moreover, the wall thicknesses t1 and t2 are made substantially the same at any part. Therefore, the wall thicknesses t1 and t2 of the closed portion 40 are equal to the base ends 40a and 40.
In this embodiment, the sound insulation effect of the lid 13 is improved as compared with the conventional technique in which the width is gradually reduced from b to the tip 40c.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be arbitrarily modified within the scope not departing from the spirit of the invention, for example, as follows. (1) Instead of the base end 16a and the tip 16c of the closed portion 16, the cross-sectional areas of the base end 16b and the tip 16c may be smaller than the peripheral portions. Further, the cross-sectional areas of the three base ends 16a, 16b and the front end 16c may be smaller than the peripheral parts.

(2) The closing portion 16 may be bent in the direction opposite to that of the above embodiment, that is, toward the passenger compartment 2 side. (3) The number of the seal projections 21 of the inner tubular portion 15 may be changed to one or three or more.

[0027]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the followability of the seal projection with respect to the displacement of the steering shaft is improved without lowering the sound insulation effect of the closed portion, so that the seal projection is always performed regardless of the displacement amount. The sealing projection is brought into contact with the steering shaft, and the excellent effect of being able to maintain good sealing performance is achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a lid of a column hole cover in an embodiment embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a column hole cover is attached to a dash panel in one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a correspondence relationship between a cross section and a plane of the lid of the column hole cover in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a lid of a column hole cover according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a column hole cover is attached to a dash panel in the conventional technique.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a correspondence relationship between a cross section and a plane of a lid of a column hole cover in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Dash panel, 5 ... Steering shaft, 7 ...
Cover main body, 14 ... Outer cylinder portion, 15 ... Inner cylinder portion, 16 ... Closure portion, 16a ... Base end, 16c ... Tip end, 21 ... Seal projection

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An outer cylinder part (14) locked to an open end of a cylindrical cover body (7) attached to a dash panel (3) while covering the steering shaft (5), and the steering shaft. An inner cylinder part (15) externally fitted to (5) and having an annular seal projection (21) that is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft (5), the outer cylinder part (14) and the inner cylinder part ( 15) A closing part (1) that elastically connects the two and closes the open end of the cover body (7).
6), which is a lid in a vehicle column hole cover that forms a column hole cover (6) by forming a pair with the cover body (7), and steering the outer cylinder part (14) in the radial direction. In order to allow the displacement of the shaft (5), the closing part (1
6) is bent over the entire circumference in the longitudinal direction of the steering shaft (5), and the cross-sectional area of the distal end (16c) and at least one base end (16a) of the closed portion (16) is smaller than that of the peripheral portion. A lid for a vehicle column hole cover, which is characterized in that