JPH09295583A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device with which a steering wheel can be prevented from dashing upward even when a dashpanel is deformed rearward by the primary collision of a vehicle and the sliding stroke of a rearside shaft relative to a frontside shaft in secondary collision in the front side of axial direction is sufficiently secured. SOLUTION: In this device, a steering shaft 1 is comprised of a rearside shaft 11, and a frontside shaft 12 which is connected to allow these shafts to move relatively to an axial direction relative to the shaft 11 by the action of predetermined load. The front end of the frontside shaft 12 is inserted into an engine room through a dashpanel to connect to a steering gear 50 via a shaft 5. In this case, a stopper 7 is provided in front of the front end of the steering column 2 so that the frontside shaft 12 is prevented from relatively moving rearward in relation to the rearside shaft 11 by abutting the shaft 12 with the column 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-26479, a steering device for an automobile has a steering shaft, a rear shaft provided with a steering wheel, and a predetermined shaft for the rear shaft. It is formed from a front side shaft connected so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction by the action of a load, and these both shafts are
It is rotatably inserted into and supported by the steering column assembled to the stationary member of the vehicle body, and the front end of the front shaft is inserted through the through hole formed in the dash panel into the engine room to connect the inserted end. The steering gear is interlockingly connected to the steering gear via a shaft, and the connecting shaft is provided with movement absorbing means for absorbing the relative movement of the steering gear rearward with respect to the steering shaft. At the time of the next collision, that is, when the occupant hits the steering wheel due to the front collision of the vehicle, the rear shaft is slid forward in the axial direction with respect to the front shaft, and the slide generated at the time of this sliding. The load absorbs the impact load when the occupant hits the steering wheel.

In the above steering device,
A stopper body that engages with the front end of the steering column is fitted to the front shaft, and, for example, when an impact load from the front to the rear is input to the front shaft due to a front collision of the vehicle, The front shaft is prevented from moving axially rearward with respect to the rear shaft via the stopper, and the rear shaft is axially relative to the front shaft at the time of the secondary collision of the vehicle. The sliding stroke to the front is ensured.

[0004]

By the way, with the frontal collision of the vehicle equipped with the above steering device, the engine unit moves rearward and comes into contact with the dash panel, and the dash panel is rearward, in other words, the vehicle interior side. When transformed into
The opening edge of the through hole formed in the dash panel may come into contact with the front shaft and push the front shaft rearward, and the entire steering wheel may move rearward via the stopper.

Such a problem is likely to occur particularly in a light vehicle with the engine vertically installed, in which it is difficult to secure a sufficient gap between the engine unit and the dash panel.

[0006] With respect to the above problems, the inner diameter of the through hole is increased so that the opening edge of the through hole does not contact the front side shaft when the dash panel is rearwardly deformed. Although there is a method, if the through hole is formed to be large, abnormal noise from the engine room, water, etc. easily enter the vehicle interior.

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned stopper is abolished and the front side shaft is pushed rearward at the opening edge of the through hole, the front side shaft is axially rearward relative to the rear side shaft. Although it is possible to move the steering wheel, in the above-mentioned method, the dash panel is deformed toward the passenger compartment side at the time of the primary collision due to the front collision of the vehicle, or the movement absorbing means provided on the connecting shaft does not work well, and the steering wheel is moved. When it moves to the rear of the gear, the front shaft relatively moves rearward in the axial direction with respect to the rear shaft, and in particular, a light vehicle in which the length from the steering wheel to the steering gear cannot be sufficiently obtained, in other words, the rear part In a light vehicle in which the front side shaft does not have a sufficient sliding stroke in the axial direction relative to the front side shaft, the front part of the rear side shaft at the time of the secondary collision described above. Problem that it is difficult to sufficiently secure the sliding stroke of the axially forward relative to the shaft may occur.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to move the dash panel to the rear of the steering wheel even if the dash panel is deformed rearward due to a primary collision accompanying a frontal collision of the vehicle. It is possible to prevent upward thrusting of the rear shaft, but at the time of a secondary collision, it is possible to secure a sufficient sliding stroke of the rear shaft in the axial front direction with respect to the front shaft. The present invention is to provide a steering device that can be operated.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a steering shaft 1 rotatably supported on a steering column 2, a rear shaft 11 provided with a steering wheel 13, and The front shaft 12 is formed so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction by the action of a predetermined load with respect to the rear shaft 11, and the front end of the front shaft 12 is formed in the dash panel 4 through It is inserted into the engine room through the hole 41, and the insertion end portion is interlockingly connected to the steering gear 6 via the connecting shaft 5, and the connecting shaft 5 is moved rearward with respect to the steering shaft 1 of the steering gear 6. In the steering apparatus provided with the movement absorbing means 50 for absorbing the relative movement of the front side shaft 1 It said in the steering column 2
The front side shaft 12 is allowed to move backward relative to the rear side shaft 11 by a predetermined distance at a position spaced apart from the front end by a predetermined distance, and the front portion is contacted with the steering column 2 to move the front portion. The stopper 7 for preventing the rearward relative movement of the side shaft 12 with respect to the rear side shaft 11 is provided.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
For example, in a primary collision accompanying a frontal collision of a vehicle, the dash panel 4 is pushed by the engine unit and deformed rearward,
When the opening edge of the through hole 41 is pressed against the front side shaft 12, the front side shaft 12 is pushed backward,
The front shaft 12 relatively moves axially rearward with respect to the rear shaft 11 to absorb the rearward stroke of the dash panel 4.

After the stopper 7 contacts the front end of the steering column 2, the front shaft 12
Does not move relative to the rear shaft 11 any more, and therefore, the function of allowing a predetermined sloak for the relative movement of the rear shaft 11 to the front shaft 12 in the axial direction is ensured. Moreover, due to the contact of the stopper 7 with the steering column 2,
The movement absorbing means 50 provided on the connecting shaft operates reliably, and the movement absorbing means 50 surely absorbs the rearward relative movement of the steering gear 6 with respect to the steering shaft 1.

Therefore, the occupant is required to operate the steering wheel 1
When an impact load is applied to the steering due to the secondary collision that hits 0, the rear side shaft 11 is moved to the front side shaft 11
On the other hand, by sliding axially forward, it is possible to efficiently absorb the impact load at the time of such a secondary collision.

Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, even if the dash panel is rearwardly deformed due to the primary collision associated with the frontal collision of the vehicle, the rearward thrust of the steering wheel can be prevented. At the time of a secondary collision, it is possible to secure a sufficient sliding stroke of the rear shaft in the axial front direction with respect to the front shaft, and moreover, the movement absorbing means 50 can be operated reliably. Since it is not necessary to increase the inner diameter of the through hole 41, it is possible to prevent abnormal noise, water, etc. from entering the vehicle compartment from the engine room.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a steering shaft which is divided into a rear shaft 11 made of a cylindrical pipe and a front shaft 12 made of a cylindrical rod. The steering wheel 13 is attached to the rear end of the front shaft 12, and the rear end of the front shaft 12 is fitted to the front end of the rear shaft 11 so as to be movable only in the axial direction. When the steering shaft 1 is telescopically coupled with the rear shaft 12 via a resin pin 14 and a predetermined impact load is applied to the steering shaft 1, the rear shaft 11 is moved relative to the front shaft 12 or the front shaft 12. 12 is slid on the rear side shaft 11 in a pressure contact state so that the impact load is absorbed by the slide load generated at the time of sliding. There.

The steering column 2 for rotatably supporting the steering shaft 1 is also divided into a cylindrical first column tube 21 and a second column tube 22 press-fitted into the front end opening of the first column tube 21. Then, the rear side shaft 11 is rotatably supported on the upper end of the first column tube 21 via a bearing 23, and the front side is supported on the lower end of the second column tube 22 via a bush 24. The shaft 12 is rotatably supported, and when a shock load is applied to the steering, the first column tube 21 is slid in a pressure contact state with the second column tube 22, and a slide load generated at the time of the sliding. Is designed to absorb the impact load.

It is preferable that a resin retainer is provided at the fitting portion between the first column tube 21 and the second column tube 22.

To support the steering column 2 on the vehicle body, a first support bracket 25 is fixed to the first column tube 21, and the first bracket 25 is attached to a pillar-to-pillar member 3 to form a support member 31. A second support bracket 26 is also fixed to the second column tube 22 while being detachably supported at the rear portion thereof, and the second support bracket 26 is bolted to the front portion of the support member 31.

On the other hand, the front end of the front shaft 12 protruding from the front end of the second column tube 22 is
It is inserted through the through hole 41 formed in the dash panel 4 into the engine room, and the insertion end portion is connected to the rear end portion of the connecting shaft 5 through the universal joint 51, and the length direction of the connecting shaft 5 etc. The end portion is connected to the steering gear 6 via the universal joint 52.

The connecting shaft 5 is provided with movement absorbing means 50 for absorbing the relative movement of the steering gear 6 to the steering shaft 1 in the rear direction.

Specifically, the connecting shaft 5 is a first rod formed of a cylindrical rod which constitutes the movement absorbing means 50.
The second connecting shaft 5b is formed from a connecting shaft 5a and a second connecting shaft 5b made of a cylindrical pipe.
Is connected to the steering gear 50 via the universal joint 52, and the rear end of the second connecting shaft 5b is splined to the front end of the second shaft 5a so as to be movable only in the axial direction. , This first
Connect the rear end of the connecting shaft to the universal joint 5
Is connected to the front end of the front shaft 12 via 1,
By the axial movement of the second shaft 5b with respect to the first shaft 5a, the relative movement of the steering gear 6 rearward with respect to the steering shaft 1 is absorbed.

In the steering apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, the steering column 2 in the front shaft 12, specifically, the second column tube 22.
An annular groove (not shown) is formed on the outer peripheral surface that is separated from the front end of the front end by a predetermined distance L, and a stopper body 7 made of a C ring is fitted in the annular groove to form the front side shaft 12
When a predetermined impact load toward the rear is input to the rear shaft, the front shaft 12 is moved by the predetermined distance L until the stopper 7 contacts the front end of the second column tube 22 in the steering column 2. 11 is slid rearward in the axial direction, and the stopper 7 is brought into contact with the front end of the second column tube 22 so that the front shaft 1
The rearward movement of the second shaft 2 with respect to the rear shaft 11 is prevented.

In the figure, 42 is a cover for closing the gap between the inner peripheral edge of the through hole and the outer circumference of the front shaft inserted through the through hole, and 8 is a vehicle at the upper end of the dash panel. It is a cowl arranged in the width direction.

Next, the operation of the steering device having the above structure will be described.

For example, with a primary collision associated with a vehicle front collision,
By the rearward movement of the engine unit, the dash panel 4 is pushed by the engine unit and deformed rearward, and the opening edge of the through hole 41 is changed to the front side shaft 12.
The front side shaft 12 is pressed rearwardly and is pushed rearward. With the rearward pressing of the front side shaft 12 by the dash panel 4, the resin pin 14 is sheared and the front side shaft 12 is The shaft 12 relatively moves rearward in the axial direction with respect to the rear shaft 11, and absorbs the rearward stroke of the dash panel 4.

After the stopper 7 comes into contact with the front end of the steering column 2, the front side shaft 12
Does not move relative to the rear side shaft 11 any more, and the function of allowing a predetermined sloak for the relative movement of the rear side shaft 11 to the front side shaft 12 in the axial direction is ensured. Therefore, especially in a light vehicle in which the sliding stroke of the rear shaft 11 with respect to the front shaft 12 in the axial direction cannot be sufficiently secured, the shaft of the rear shaft 11 with respect to the front shaft 12 at the time of the secondary collision is also described. It is possible to secure a sufficient sliding stroke in the forward direction.

When the steering gear 6 is pushed rearward due to the primary collision associated with the frontal collision of the vehicle, the second connecting shaft 5b of the connecting shaft 5 is moved to the first connecting shaft 5.
The rearward movement of the steering gear 6 with respect to the steering shaft 1 is absorbed by sliding axially rearward with respect to a, but after the stopper 7 comes into contact with the steering column 2, the second Sliding of the connecting shaft 5b rearward in the axial direction with respect to the first connecting shaft 5a is performed without any problem, and the rearward movement of the steering gear 6 with respect to the steering shaft 1 is also reliably absorbed.

Thus, the occupant operates the steering wheel 10
When an impact load is applied to the steering wheel, the rear side shaft 11 slides axially forward in a pressure contact state with the front side shaft 11, and the first support bracket 25 disengages from the support member 31. The first column tube 21 also slides forward against the second column tube 22 in a pressure contact state, and efficiently absorbs the impact load at the time of a secondary collision.

In the above embodiment, the steering gear 6
As the movement absorbing means 50 for absorbing the relative movement of the steering shaft 1 to the rear with respect to the steering shaft 1,
It is formed of a first connecting shaft 5a made of a cylindrical rod and a second connecting shaft 5b made of a cylindrical pipe, and a rear end portion of the second connecting shaft 5b is axially aligned with a front end portion of the second shaft 5a. Only the movable shaft is spline-coupled, but the connecting shaft 5 is formed of a single pipe material, and a weak portion is provided at the center of the connecting shaft in the longitudinal direction. 5
The movement absorbing means 50 may be configured by allowing the connecting shaft 5 to be bent in two from the fragile portion by inputting a predetermined load to the.

When the above construction is adopted, in order to bend the connecting shaft 5, it is necessary to apply a predetermined load to the connecting shaft 5, but in the above embodiments,
After the stopper 7 comes into contact with the front end of the steering column 2, the front shaft 12 is moved to the rear shaft 1.
Since there is no further relative movement to the rearward with respect to 1, the connecting shaft 5 is stretched with respect to the front shaft 12 thereafter, and a predetermined load is applied to the connecting shaft 5 so that the connecting shaft 5 is immediately bent into two folds. Therefore, even if such a structure is adopted, the relative movement of the steering gear 6 to the rear with respect to the steering shaft 1 can be absorbed by the bending of the connecting shaft 5.

Thus, in the above embodiment, the inner diameter of the through hole 41 does not have to be made large, in other words, the inner diameter of the through hole 41 is made slightly larger than the outer diameter of the front shaft 12. Therefore, it is possible to prevent abnormal noise and water from entering the vehicle compartment from the engine room.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the steering device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Steering Shaft 11 Rear Shaft 12 Front Shaft 13 Steering Wheel 2 Steering Column 4 Dash Panel 41 Through Hole 5 Connection Shaft 50 Movement Absorbing Means 6 Steering Gear 7 Stopper

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering shaft (1) rotatably supported on a steering column (2), a rear shaft (11) provided with a steering wheel (13),
The front side shaft (12) is formed from a front side shaft (12) connected to the rear side shaft (11) so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction by the action of a predetermined load, and the front end of the front side shaft (12) is Through hole (4) formed in the dash panel (4)
1) through the engine room, and the insertion end of the steering gear (6) through the connecting shaft (5).
In the steering device, the connection shaft (5) is provided with a movement absorbing means (50) for absorbing the relative movement of the steering gear (6) to the rear with respect to the steering shaft (1). The rear shaft (1) of the front shaft (12) is located at a position that is separated from the front end of the steering column (2) by a predetermined distance in the front shaft (12).
The rearward relative movement with respect to 1) is allowed by a predetermined distance, and the rearward relative movement with respect to the rear side shaft (11) of the front side shaft (12) is prevented by contact with the steering column (2). Steering device characterized in that a stop body (7) is provided.