JPH08216896A - Steering supporter for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make a steering wheel shift in a direction where it turns to a driver in time of a vehicle crash. CONSTITUTION: A steering shaft 11 is supported on linkage 13. Each of ends 21A and 20A of both first and second link parts 21 and 20 are locked to the front side of a vehicle, the other ends are connected to both ends 18A and 18B of a third link part 18 locking the shaft 11. An instantaneous center of this third link part 18 is set to be more rearward than this link part 18. Even at each mode at an primary impact in time of a head-on collision of the car, the third link part 18 rotates with the instantaneous center as the center, so that the shaft 11 rotates clockwise, making a steering wheel 12 turn to a driver.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering support device which is considered to control the displacement of a steering wheel in the case of a frontal collision of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A steering support device in consideration of deformation in a vehicle collision is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-7178. In this support structure, as shown in FIG. 6, a steering column 32 that rotatably arranges a steering shaft 31 of a steering wheel 30 is
Fixed shaft 33 fixed to a cowl side panel (not shown)
And a fixed shaft 36 also fixed to the cowl side panel
Is supported by a swinging member 34 arranged on the front side of the vehicle. The swinging member 34 is arranged on the dash upper panel 35. The swinging member 34 is the fixed shaft 3
Rotate around 4.

In this structure, when the dash upper panel 35 is pushed upward and deformed, the swing member 34 rotates in the clockwise direction (arrow direction). This rotation causes the steering shaft 32 and the steering shaft 31 to rotate in the clockwise direction via the fixed shaft 33, so that the steering wheel 30 is displaced downward, and the steering wheel 30 is displaced upward due to the deformation of the front portion of the vehicle. , Steering wheel 30
Hold at the position before the collision.

However, when the dash upper panel 35 is pushed downward, or when the fixed shaft 36 or 33 is pushed downward than the upward deformation of the dash upper panel 35, on the contrary, the steering shaft 31 Turns counterclockwise and steering wheel 3
You will receive a force in the direction in which 0 rises. As described above, the mounting mechanism of the post supporting device does not consider displacing the steering shaft 31 downward even when various external forces are input.

On the other hand, in the layout of the steering post of a cab-over vehicle, the steering shaft is upright as compared with that of a passenger vehicle. Therefore, even if the above-mentioned conventional technique is applied to such a vehicle, the steering wheel is directed downward during a collision deformation. Is difficult. Further, in the rack-and-pinion type steering, the same can be said when the backlash of the gears and the like are taken into consideration because the steering shaft is inevitably raised, that is, it is arranged almost vertically.

In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a steering support device that moves a steering wheel in a direction toward a driver even when various kinds of loads are applied during a vehicle collision.

[0007]

According to the present invention, one end is fixed to a vehicle, and a first link portion arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction and one end is fixed to the vehicle are provided below the first link portion. A second link portion that is arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction apart from the first link portion, and a third link portion that connects the other end sides of the first and second link portions and supports the steering shaft. , And the instantaneous center of the third link portion is arranged on the vehicle rear side with respect to the third link portion.

[0008]

According to the above construction, when the vehicle front side (fixed side) of the first link portion and the second link portion is displaced by the primary impact, the third link portion rotates about the instantaneous center. To do. At this time, since the instantaneous center is located on the vehicle rear side of the third link portion, the steering shaft rotates to the driver side, and the steering wheel comes to a position facing the driver. That is, the link mechanism is deformed so that the steering shaft rotates toward the driver in the deformation modes of the vehicle assuming various modes at the time of the first impact. In addition, by adjusting the length of each link portion of the link mechanism and the connecting angle of each link portion depending on the vehicle type, the steering shaft, that is, the post angle of the steering post at the time of the first impact (the arrangement angle of the steering shaft with respect to the horizontal) )
Can be set arbitrarily. As a result, even in a vehicle having a large steering shaft attachment angle, the airbag can be arranged between the occupant and the steering wheel by attaching the airbag to the steering wheel.

[0009]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a cab-over vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a steering support device. The cab portion 22 is provided on a side member of the vehicle.
The shock absorbing portion 16 and the shock absorbing portion 1 on the rear side of the lower end of the front wall of the
General part 17 is connected to the rear of 6 (or connected as a separate body)
Have been. The shock absorbing portion 16 has lower rigidity in the vehicle front-rear direction (arrow FR, RE direction) than the general portion 17, and is easily deformed. The shock absorbing portion 16 may be provided with a low-rigidity member separately in front of the side member.
The front end of the side member may be thinned or thinned to form a low-rigidity portion.

The link mechanism 13 includes a first link portion 21, a second link portion 20, a third link portion 18 and a fourth link portion 19. One ends (fixed side) 21A, 20A of the first link portion 21 and the second link portion 20 are fixed to the front wall of the cab portion 22 and arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction, as shown in FIG. . In addition, the second link unit 20,
Below the first link portion 21, it is arranged at a lower portion of the front wall or the front end of the shock absorbing portion 16 at a distance from the first link portion 21. The other end of the first link part 21 is connected to one end (upper part) 18A of the third link part 18. Further, at the other end (lower part) 18B of the third link part 18,
The other end of the second link portion 20 is connected. Further, the steering shaft 11 described later is attached to the third link portion 18.

The mounting angle of the third link portion 18 is
It can be arbitrarily set according to the attachment angle of the first link portion 21 and the second link portion 20 and the length thereof.

One end 19A of the fourth link portion 19 is the second
Of the other end 19B.
Is fixed to the general portion 17 of the cab portion 22. That is, the one end portion 20A of the second link portion 20 and the other end portion 19B of the fourth link portion 19 are in a state of straddling the shock absorbing portion 16 of the frame as shown in FIG. Therefore, in the end portions 19A, 19B, 20A, the straight lines connecting them are arranged in a triangular shape, and the fourth link portion 19 and the second link portion 20 connect the lower end portion 18B of the first link portion 18 to each other. It constitutes a means for pushing up.

A link mechanism 1 centered on each of these ends.
In order that the respective link portions 18 to 21 of 3 can rotate easily, these ends can be attached via a shaft such as a pin connection, or fixed attachment which is low in rigidity and easily deformed. Therefore, as described in a second embodiment described later, adjacent link portions are integrally connected, and a cavity portion or a hole is formed in the connection portion to connect the link portions 18, 19, 20, 21. The part (end) may be easily deformable. The second
The link portion 20 has a rigidity such that the end portion 19A of the fourth link portion 19 does not bend.

An upper end of the steering shaft 11 is connected to the steering wheel 12, and a lower end of the steering shaft 11 is a rack and pinion type gear box as a steering device or a joint or link member of a link type steering device. Connected to. Further, the steering shaft 11, that is, the steering post, has an intermediate portion pivotally supported by a bearing member such as a column tube, and this bearing member is attached to the third link portion 18 which is the link mechanism 13. The portion of the bearing member of the steering shaft 11 that substantially corresponds to the third link portion 18 is formed of an axially compressible member such as a bellows tube (not shown). It is the third link portion 1 that the bellows tube or the like is interposed.
8 is designed not to hinder the deformation of the steering shaft 1 and the steering shaft 1 when the third link portion 18 is deformed.
This is to prevent omission of 1.

Also, the instantaneous center P of the third link portion 18
Is an intersection point on the extension line of the first link portion 21 and the second link portion 20, as shown in FIG. That is, the instantaneous center P of the third link portion 18 is
That is, it is set to be located closer to the driver (vehicle rear side) than the perpendicular line H passing through the end portion 18A. And the first
Ends 21A, 2 of the link portion 21 and the second link portion 20
When the 0A side is displaced by the primary impact, the third link portion 18 is displaced around the instantaneous center P. That is,
The steering shaft 11 rotates clockwise (in the direction of arrow A) around the instantaneous center P, and the steering wheel 12 rotates downward as shown in FIGS.

The lower end of the steering shaft 11 can be expanded or contracted or bent so that the rotation of the steering shaft 11 in the direction of arrow A is not hindered.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the steering wheel 12 is provided with a pad 25 for folding and accommodating the airbag 26 shown in the expanded state. The pad 25 is a so-called stationary pad that is supported by the steering shaft 11 via gears or the like so as not to rotate integrally with the steering wheel 12. Further, in the airbag 26, the shape of the vehicle front part and the shape of the rear part of the airbag 26 are not symmetrical in a side view at the time of deployment, and the flat portion 26A faces the vehicle rear side in the deployed shape. .

In the pad 25, a vehicle rapid deceleration detection sensor for deploying the airbag 26,
Combustion gas generating agent etc. which are operated by this sensor are built in. Although the pad 25 is described as a stationary pad in this embodiment, the pad 25 may be arranged as a pad that rotates integrally with the steering wheel 12, and the side surface portion of the airbag 26 is occupant. If the airbag is arranged so as to effectively abut, the deployed shape of the airbag can be similarly applied even if the shapes of the front portion and the rear portion of the vehicle are symmetrical.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), when the front portion of the cab portion 22 is translated in the horizontal direction due to a frontal collision of the vehicle, the third link portion 18 is displaced about the instantaneous center P, The broken line in FIG. 2A changes to a solid line. That is, the end portions 21A, 2 of the first and second link portions 21, 20
0A moves in parallel with the horizontal movement of the front surface of the cab portion 22. Therefore, the end portion 19A of the fourth link portion 19
Rotates to the driver side (clockwise), and the third link unit 1
The end portion 18B of No. 8 moves upward, and the third link portion 18 rotates inside the link mechanism 13, that is, clockwise. Therefore, the steering shaft 11 has the third link portion 18
The steering wheel 12 tilts toward the driver side as the steering wheel 12 rotates clockwise with the movement of the steering wheel 12.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the lower side of the cab portion 22 is largely deformed, the cab portion 22 moves counterclockwise around the upper portion. That is, in the link mechanism 13, the fourth link portion 19 rotates clockwise around the end portion 19B as the second link portion 20 moves, and the second link portion 20 rotates around the end portion 19A. Rotate counterclockwise. Therefore, the third link portion 18 is displaced around the instantaneous center P, the end portion 18A moves rearward, and the end portion 18B moves forward, so that the third link portion 18 moves.
Rotates clockwise and moves from the state of the broken line in FIG. 2B to the state of the solid line. Therefore, the steering shaft 1
1 rotates clockwise along with the movement of the third link portion 18, and the steering wheel 12 tilts toward the driver.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2C, when the upper side of the cab portion 22 is largely deformed, the cab portion 22 is
Moves clockwise around its lower part. That is, the third
The link portion 18 rotates clockwise around the instantaneous center P. Therefore, the steering shaft 11 rotates clockwise with the movement of the third link portion 18, and the steering wheel 12 tilts toward the driver.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the cab portion 2
Even when the external force (impact) of each pattern is applied to the steering wheel 2, the steering shaft 11 tilts clockwise and the steering wheel 12 faces the driver. That is,
In the vehicle deformation modes assuming various modes at the time of the first impact, the link mechanism is deformed so that the steering shaft 11 rotates to the driver side (clockwise direction), and the air bag 26 is directed more toward the occupant. Enhances shock absorption effect.

In this embodiment, the link portions 19, 2 are
0, since the shock absorbing portion 16 forms a triangle, the end portion 18B of the link portion 18 is moved upward during each deformation in FIGS. 2A and 2B and contributes to the clockwise rotation of the link portion 18. In addition to the above triangular configuration, the end portion 18B of the link 18
Modifications of various lifting means for moving up can be applied.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In addition, this embodiment is also an example in which the link mechanism is applied to a cab-over vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the steering support device. The side member of the vehicle is similar to the above-described embodiment in that the impact absorbing portion 16 is connected to the rear side of the cab portion 22 and the general portion 17 is connected to the rear side of the impact absorbing portion 16.

The link mechanism 13 is integrally molded, and a hole 14 is formed in the connecting portion of each link portion 18 to 21 or its end portion so as to have lower rigidity than other portions, Each link portion can be bent at this portion. However, the hole 14 at the connecting portion between the link portion 20 and the link portion 19 causes the link portion 19 to bend and swivel with respect to the link portion 20, so that the link portion 20 does not bend at this hole 14 portion than the link portion 20. It is formed at a position close to 19.

The link mechanism 13 includes the first link portion 21, the second link portion 20, the third link portion 18, and the fourth link portion 19, which is the same as the above-described embodiment. First
The link portion 21 and one end portions (fixed side) 21A, 20A of the second link portion 20 are, as shown in FIG.
The bolt 2 is fixed to the front surface of the vehicle 2 by a bolt 15 and is arranged at a position where the rear part is slightly raised in the vehicle front-rear direction. Further, the second link portion 20 is arranged below the first link portion 21 and separated from the first link portion 21.

One end portion (upper portion) 18 of the third link portion 18
The other end of the first link portion 21 is connected to A.
Further, the other end (lower part) 18B of the third link part 18 is connected to the other end of the second link part 20. Further, the steering shaft 1 is attached to the third link portion 18.
1 is attached.

The mounting angle of the third link portion 18 is
It can be arbitrarily set according to the attachment angle of the first link portion 21 and the second link portion 20 and the length thereof. Fourth
Similar to the first embodiment, the link portion 19 supports the second link portion 20 and keeps the displacement of the second link portion 20 within a certain range.

In this embodiment, the steering shaft 11 is fixed to the center of the third link portion 18 at a right angle, and is attached via a bearing member such as a column tube. The column tube and the like in this case can also be expanded and contracted in the axial direction at the time of impact similarly to the above-mentioned embodiment.

Also, the instantaneous center P of the third link portion 18
Is an intersection on the extension line of the first link portion 21 and the second link portion 20, as shown in FIG. That is, the instantaneous center P of the third link portion 18 is set to be located on the driver (vehicle rear) side with respect to the third link portion 18.
When the ends 21A, 20A of the first link portion 21 and the second link portion 20 are displaced by the primary impact, the third link portion 18 is displaced about the instantaneous center P. That is, the steering shaft 11 rotates clockwise, and the steering wheel 12 moves downward to face the occupant.

A pad accommodating the air bag 26 is arranged on the steering wheel 12 as in the above embodiment.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the front portion of the cab portion 22 is translated in the horizontal direction due to the frontal collision of the vehicle, the third link portion 18 is displaced about the instantaneous center P, From the broken line in FIG. That is, the end portions 21A, 2 of the first and second link portions 21, 20
0A moves in parallel with the horizontal movement of the front surface of the cab portion 22. Therefore, the end portion 19A of the fourth link portion 19
Rotates to the driver side (clockwise), and the third link unit 1
The end portion 18B of No. 8 moves upward and the third link portion 18 rotates clockwise. Therefore, the steering shaft 11
Rotates clockwise with the movement of the third link portion 18, and the steering wheel 12 tilts toward the driver.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, when a large external force is applied to the cab portion 22 only on the lower side, the cab portion 22 moves counterclockwise around the upper portion. That is, in the link mechanism 13, the fourth link portion 19 rotates clockwise around the end portion 19B as the second link portion 20 moves, and the second link portion 20 rotates around the end portion 19A. Rotate counterclockwise. Therefore, the third link portion 18 is displaced around the instantaneous center P, the end portion 18B moves rearward, and the end portion 18A moves forward. Therefore, the third link portion 18 rotates clockwise and moves from the broken line state in FIG. 5B to the solid line state. Therefore, the steering shaft 11 rotates clockwise with the movement of the third link portion 18, and the steering wheel 12 tilts toward the driver.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (C), when a large external force is applied only to the upper side of the cab portion 22, the cab portion 22 moves clockwise around the lower portion thereof. That is, the third link portion 18 is displaced about the instantaneous center P, and with the movement of the first link portion 21, the end portion 18A moves rearward and rotates clockwise. Therefore, the steering shaft 11 rotates clockwise with the movement of the third link portion 18, and the steering wheel 12 tilts toward the driver.

Therefore, according to this embodiment as well, even if the cab portion 22 receives the external force (impact) of each of the above patterns, the vehicle front side (fixed side) of the first link portion 21 and the second link portion 20 is fixed. ) Is displaced by the first impact, the third link portion 18 rotates about the instantaneous center P. At this time, since the instantaneous center P is located on the vehicle rear side with respect to the third link portion 18, the steering shaft (steering shaft) 11 is inclined clockwise, and the steering wheel 1
2 will face the driver. In other words, the link mechanism is deformed so that the steering shaft 11 rotates to the driver side (clockwise direction) in the deformation modes of the vehicle assuming various modes at the time of the first impact, and the same effect as the above embodiment is obtained. can get.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the vehicle front side (fixed side) of the first link portion and the second link portion is displaced by the primary impact, the third link is formed. Since the center of the part is located on the vehicle rear side of the third link part, the steering shaft can be rotated and the steering wheel can be directed to the driver.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a steering support device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation diagram showing a modification of the link mechanism in each mode at the time of the first impact of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an airbag according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a steering support device of a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an operation diagram showing a modification of the link mechanism of each mode at the time of the first impact of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a conventional steering support device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Steering Shaft 12 Steering Wheel 13 Link Mechanism 14 Hole 15 Bolt 16 Shock Absorbing Part 17 Vehicle General Part 18 Third Link Part 19 Fourth Link Part 20 Second Link Part 21 First Link Part 22 Cab Part P Instantaneous center of the third link

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first link portion having one end fixed to a vehicle and arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction, and one end fixed to the vehicle below the first link portion and separated from the first link portion. A second link portion arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a third link portion that connects the other end sides of the first and second link portions and supports a steering shaft, the third link portion The steering support device for a vehicle, wherein the instantaneous center of the link portion is arranged on the vehicle rear side with respect to the third link portion.