JPH09267774A - Supporting structure of steering column - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the retreating of a steering column at the time of front clashing and to increase the supporting rigidity of the steering column without increasing the number of part items. SOLUTION: A steering post bracket 13 includes, as shown in the drawing, an upper surface member 14 and a pair of side members 15 and 15 vertically provided in both sides of the upper surface member 14. The front end part of the upper surface member 14 is joined to a cowl top panel 6 via a cowl top bracket 12 and its rear end part is joined to a steering member 9. Thus, this steering post bracket 13 is laid between an air box 4 and the steering member 9, and both side members 15 are drooped from a dash panel 3 to a position shifted to a car body rear side. In weld bolts 16 provided in the lower end parts of both side members 15, the lower part of a steering column 17 is supported via a lower mount bracket 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a support structure for supporting a steering column.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional steering column support structure, a structure shown in FIG. 4 has been put into practical use. That is, a dash lower panel 53 for partitioning the engine room 51 and the passenger compartment 52 is provided in the front portion of the vehicle body, and the upper end portion of the dash lower panel 53 is connected to an air box 54 extending in the vehicle width direction. . Further, on the upper part of the dash lower panel 53, the steering post bracket 55
And the upper end of the rigid member 56 are joined together.
The rigid member 56 has an inverted T shape, a lower front end portion thereof is coupled to the dash lower panel 53, and a lower rear end portion thereof is coupled with a lower end portion of the steering post bracket 55 to a steering member 57 extending in the vehicle width direction. Has been done. An upper end of a steering column 58 is connected to the steering member 57. The steering column 58 is connected to the center of the lower end of the rigid member 56 at an intermediate portion and is supported by the dash lower panel 53 at the lower end.

In this structure, when the vehicle collides frontally and the engine disposed in the engine room 51 moves backward due to the impact, the engine comes into contact with the dash lower panel 53. As a result, the rigid member 56 rotates about the connecting point P with the dash lower panel 53 in the upper part, and the steering column 58 connected to this rigid member 56 also integrally rotates and is displaced in the standing direction. And retreat. Therefore, even if a frontal collision occurs, the steering column 58 does not recede linearly along its axis, and the occupant can be protected.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional steering column supporting structure,
By using an inverted T-shaped rigid member 56 separately from the steering post bracket 55, it is possible to prevent the steering column 58 from receding linearly in the event of a frontal collision. For this reason, although the occupant can be protected, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps increase, which causes a disadvantage that the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and it is possible to increase the number of parts without increasing the number of parts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a steering column support structure capable of preventing the steering column from retracting at the time of a frontal collision and also increasing the support rigidity of the steering column.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a dash lower panel for partitioning an engine room and a passenger compartment is provided, and an upper end portion of the dash lower panel has a closed cross-sectional shape. While an air box extending in the vehicle width direction is connected, a steering member having a closed cross-sectional shape and extending in the vehicle width direction is also installed in the passenger compartment, and the steering member has an upper portion of a steering column. In the supported structure, a steering post bracket including an upper surface member and both side members vertically provided on both sides of the upper surface member is provided, and a front end portion of the upper surface member is coupled to the air box and a rear end portion thereof is a steering member. And bridge the steering post bracket between the air box and the steering member, The serial sides members together is suspended by spaced apart from the dash lower panel, on a support a lower portion of the steering column to the lower end of the both side members.

In such a structure, the steering post brackets both have a closed cross-section and are bridged between the highly rigid air box and the steering member, so that they have a high support rigidity. Therefore, the steering column supported on both side members of the steering post bracket can be supported with high rigidity,
Vibration of the steering column can be prevented.

Further, when the engine retreats and comes into contact with the dash lower panel during a frontal collision, a state may occur in which the dash lower panel is deformed toward the interior of the vehicle. However, both side members of the steering post bracket that supports the steering column are provided separately from the dash lower panel. Therefore, even if the dash lower panel is deformed in the vehicle interior direction, it is less likely that the deformed dash lower panel will come into contact with both side members of the steering post bracket. The steering column whose lower part is supported by the member does not move backward in the axial direction.

Further, according to the present invention, a brake pedal bracket for supporting a brake pedal is arranged inside the steering post bracket, one end of the brake pedal bracket is fixed to the upper surface member, and the other end is Fixed to the dash lower panel.
Therefore, it is possible to reinforce the steering post bracket by using the existing brake pedal bracket without additionally providing a reinforcing component, and further, to support the steering column supported by both side members of the steering post bracket. The rigidity can be increased.

Further, according to the present invention, the other end of the brake pedal bracket is fastened and fixed together with the master back arranged in the engine compartment. Here, in the master back, it is an important safety component and is arranged at a portion where the engine does not contact even if the engine retreats due to a frontal collision. Therefore, if the other end of the brake pedal bracket is fastened together with the master back, the number of fastening parts cannot be simply reduced, and even if the engine retreats during a frontal collision, the retreated engine will not come into contact. The brake pedal bracket can be supported on the dash lower panel. Therefore, as described above, by fixing one end of the brake pedal bracket to the upper surface member of the steering post bracket and fixing the other end to the dash lower panel, the support rigidity of the steering post bracket is increased by using the brake pedal bracket. Even in the configuration, the transmission of the impact at the time of a frontal collision to the steering post bracket and the steering column via the brake pedal bracket is extremely small.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a dash lower panel 3 for partitioning the engine room 1 and the passenger compartment 2 is provided in the front part of the vehicle body. The dash lower panel 3 is composed of a sandwich panel, and an opening 8 corresponding to a steering column arrangement portion described later is provided in a lower portion of the dash lower panel 3. An upper end portion 3a of the dash upper panel 3 is bent forward of the vehicle body, and an air box 4 extending in the vehicle width direction is joined to the upper end portion 3a. The air box 4 has a closed cross-sectional shape formed by joining a lower dash upper panel 5 and an upper cowl top panel 6, and the cowl top panel 6 includes:
The lower end of the front window 7 is supported.

A cowl top bracket 12 is fixed to a portion of the cowl top panel 6 on the vehicle interior side. As shown in FIG. 2, the cowl top bracket 12 is a member that integrally has an upper surface, a front surface, and left and right side surfaces, and the end portions of each surface are spot-welded to the cowl top panel 6 to form a closed cross-sectional shape. Has been formed.

On the other hand, in the passenger compartment 2, a steering member 9 is provided laterally at a height position near the upper end of the dash lower panel 3 and at a position having a predetermined distance from the dash lower panel 3. The steering member 9
Is formed in a closed cross-sectional shape in which a hat-shaped cross-section lower panel 10 and a flat plate-shaped upper panel 11 are joined. An upper portion of a steering column 17 is supported by the steering member 9 via an upper mount bracket 18, and a lower end portion of the steering column 17 is attached to a peripheral portion of the opening 8 via a rubber boot 19. It is supported.

On the other hand, the steering post bracket 13
Is the upper surface member 14 and the upper surface member 1 as shown in FIG.
4 has a pair of both side members 15 and 15 vertically provided on both sides. The upper surface member 14 has a length capable of bridging between the cowl top bracket 12 and the steering member 9, and has flanges 14a, 1 on both sides.
4a. And these flanges 14a, 14
The upper ends of the both side members 15, 15 are spot-welded to a, and the weld bolts 16 are fixed to the lower ends of the both side members 15, 15. In addition, the reinforcing members 21 and 21 are respectively provided on the front part and the rear part at the upper part of the side members 15 and 15.
Are bridged, which prevents the side members 15 from expanding.

The upper surface member 14 has its front end portion mounted on the cowl top panel 6 via the cowl top bracket 12.
And the rear end of the steering member 9
Is joined to. As a result, the steering post bracket 13 is bridged between the air box 4 and the steering member 9, and the both side members 15 hang down from the dash lower panel 3 to a position separated from the rear of the vehicle body. The lower portion of the steering column 17 is supported by the weld bolt 16 provided on the lower ends of the side members 15 via the lower mount bracket 20.

Further, the steering post bracket 13
A brake pedal bracket 22 that supports the brake pedal 23 is disposed inside the. The brake pedal bracket 22 is a member whose lower side is bent forward of the vehicle body, and whose upper end is the steering post bracket 13.
Is bolted to the upper surface member 14. Further, the lower front surface is fastened together with the master back 24 arranged in the engine room 1 and fixed to the dash lower panel 3. The master back 24 is an important safety component and is arranged at a portion where the engine provided in the engine room 1 does not come into contact with the engine even if the engine is retracted due to a frontal collision.

In the present embodiment having the above-described structure, the steering post bracket 13 has a closed cross-sectional shape, and the air box 4 and the steering member 9 having high rigidity.
It has a high supporting rigidity by being cross-linked between and. Therefore, the steering column 17 supported on both side members 15 of the steering post bracket 13
Can be supported with high rigidity, and vibration of the steering column 15 can be prevented.

Further, the brake pedal bracket 22 is
It is an extremely high-rigidity component that can resist the pedaling force when the brake pedal 23 is depressed. The extremely high-rigidity brake pedal bracket 22 is disposed inside the steering post bracket 13 and has its upper end fixed to the upper surface member 14 of the steering post bracket 13 and also fixed to the lower front dash lower panel 3. There is. Therefore, it is possible to reinforce the steering post bracket 13 by using the existing brake pedal bracket 22 without providing a separate reinforcing component, and as a result, the steering post bracket 13 is supported by both side members 15 of the steering post bracket 13. The supporting rigidity of the steering column 17 can be increased.

When the vehicle collides with the front, a situation may occur in which the engine arranged in the engine room 1 moves backward and comes into contact with the dash lower panel 3. However, as described above, the master back 24 is provided at a portion where the engine does not contact even if the engine retreats. Therefore, in the portion where the master back 24 and the lower front side of the brake pedal bracket 22 are fastened together,
The retracted engine does not come into contact with the dash lower panel 3 and the dash lower panel 3 is not deformed at that portion.

Therefore, the brake pedal bracket 2
If the lower front surface of 2 is fastened together with the master back 24, the number of fastening parts can be simply reduced, and even if the engine retreats at the time of a frontal collision, the brake pedal does not come into contact with the retreated engine. The bracket 22 can be supported by the dash lower panel 3. Therefore, with the above-described configuration, even if the existing brake pedal bracket 22 is effectively used to reinforce the steering post bracket 13 to enhance the support rigidity of the steering column 17, the brake pedal bracket 22 in the event of a frontal collision. The transmission of the impact to the steering post bracket 13 and the steering column 17 via the steering wheel is extremely small. Therefore, the steering column 17 does not recede linearly along the axis.

On the other hand, below the master back 24 of the dash lower panel 3, the engine may retreat at the time of a frontal collision, and the engine may come into contact with the dash lower panel 3 to deform inside the passenger compartment 2. However, since the lower end of the steering column 17 is supported by the dash lower panel 3 via the rubber boot 19, the elastic deformation of the boot 19 absorbs the shock, and the shock to the steering column 17 is mitigated. Also,
Since both side members 15 of the steering post bracket 13 supporting the steering column 17 are provided apart from the dash lower panel 3, even if the dash lower panel 3 is deformed in the vehicle interior direction, the dash lower panel 3 is There is little possibility of contact with both side members 15, and even if they contact, the impact will be weak.
Moreover, as described above, since the steering column 17 is supported by the steering post bracket 13 having high supporting rigidity, even if a frontal collision occurs, the steering column 17 does not move backward in the axial direction. As a result, the occupant can be reliably protected.

In the embodiment, the front end portion of the upper surface member 14 of the steering post bracket 13 is connected to the cowl top panel 6 via the cowl top bracket 12, but the cowl top panel 6 is directly connected.
May be combined with.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the steering post bracket including the upper surface member and the both side members vertically provided on both sides of the upper surface member is provided, and the steering post bracket is provided between the air box and the steering member. A bridge is provided between the two members so that both side members are separated from the dash lower panel so as to hang down, and the lower ends of the both side members support the lower portion of the steering column. Therefore, the steering post bracket bridging between the air box and the steering member can support the steering column with high rigidity, and even if the dash lower panel is deformed in the vehicle interior direction due to the engine contact during a frontal collision. With this deformation of the dash lower panel, the backward displacement of the steering column in the axial direction can be prevented. Therefore, while increasing the support rigidity of the steering column, it is possible to protect the occupant without increasing the number of parts and the number of assembling steps and the cost due to the use of separate parts.

Further, a brake pedal bracket for supporting the brake pedal is arranged inside the steering post bracket, and one end of the brake pedal bracket is fixed to the upper surface member and the other end is fixed to the dash lower panel. I did it. Therefore, it is possible to reinforce the steering post bracket by using the existing brake pedal bracket without additionally providing a reinforcing component, and further, to support the steering column supported by both side members of the steering post bracket. The rigidity can be further enhanced.

Further, since the other end of the brake pedal bracket is fastened and fixed together with the master back arranged in the engine room, the number of fastening parts cannot be simply reduced, and at the time of a frontal collision. Even when the engine is retracted, the brake pedal bracket can be supported by the dash lower panel at a portion where the retracted engine does not contact. Therefore, as described above, even if the support rigidity of the steering post bracket is increased by using the brake pedal bracket, the transmission of the impact of the impact at the time of a frontal collision to the steering post bracket and the steering column via the brake pedal bracket is extremely suppressed. Can be few. as a result,
It is possible to prevent the backward displacement of the steering column in the axial direction and to effectively use the existing parts to further increase the supporting rigidity of the steering column.

[0026]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view corresponding to line AA of FIG. 2 showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view corresponding to line BB in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing a conventional structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Engine Room 2 Guest Room 3 Dash Lower Panel 4 Air Box 9 Steering Member 13 Steering Post Bracket 17 Steering Column 22 Brake Pedal Bracket 23 Brake Pedal 24 Masterback

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A dash lower panel for partitioning an engine room and a passenger compartment is provided, and an air box having a closed cross section and extending in a vehicle width direction is coupled to an upper end portion of the dash lower panel, while the inside of the passenger compartment is provided. Similarly, a steering member having a closed cross-sectional shape and extending in the vehicle width direction is erected, and in a supporting structure in which the upper portion of the steering column is supported by the steering member, an upper surface member and vertically extending on both sides of the upper surface member. And a steering post bracket formed of both side members, the front end portion of the upper surface member being connected to the air box and the rear end portion being connected to a steering member, and the steering post bracket being connected to the air box and the steering member. A bridge between the dash lower panels to separate them from the dash lower panel. Causes the support structure of the steering column, characterized in that the lower end of the both-side member supporting the lower portion of the steering column. 2. A brake pedal bracket for supporting a brake pedal is arranged inside the steering post bracket, one end of the brake pedal bracket is fixed to the upper surface member, and the other end is fixed to the dash lower panel. The support structure for a steering column according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The support structure for a steering column according to claim 2, wherein the other end of the brake pedal bracket is fastened and fixed together with a master back arranged in the engine compartment.