JPS6037884Y2 - Automotive steering column cover - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention is a steering column cover for an automobile, especially when a steering column moves forward in the event of a collision, and the column cover fixed to the column collides or is pressed against an instrument panel installation. Regarding column covers that do not scatter.

Conventional steering column covers are made of low-impact and inexpensive synthetic resin plates such as acrylonitrile styrene (AS) resin or crushed stone mixed polypropylene resin, and have a shape in which the front part of the upper part protrudes to face the decorative panel of the instrument panel installation. It is.

If the car collides in this state and the steering column moves forward and downward, the column cover will also move at the same time, so the upper front side of the column cover will collide with the decorative plate,
The rear end of the column cover is pressed by the steering wheel.

Therefore, the column cover will first become distorted and deformed due to internal stress, and then it will fracture and fly off.

In view of such conventional examples, the present invention uses a synthetic resin plate that has a conventional low impact value and is inexpensive, and also actively utilizes the fragility of the material to provide a part that breaks easily. To provide a structure having the effect that the surfaces of a column cover that collide with a maintenance panel installation break one after another and enter the inside of a cover body in a telescopic shape, and the broken members are not scattered to the outside of the column cover.

In the figure, 1 is a steering column, 2 is a steering wheel, 3 is an instrument panel installation, and 4 is a steering column cover that is divided into upper and lower parts.

The instrument panel installation 3 includes a panel 5 fixed to the body of an automobile (not shown), a pad 6 covering the panel 5, and a speedometer, an engine tachometer, a clock, and a warning light fixed to the panel 5. It is composed of various parts 7 such as, decorative board 8, etc.

The decorative board 8 covers the various parts 7 and the panel 5, and has an inverted U-shaped recess 9 into which the steering column 1 is loosely fitted.

The steering column cover 4 is made of a synthetic resin plate having a low impact value and low cost, such as AS resin, by means of injection molding or the like, and its overall shape is formed so as to surround the steering column 1, and the decorative plate 8 A surface 10 of the upper cover 4a facing the upper cover 4a is formed in a substantially step-like shape.

This facing surface 10 is formed with a portion 11 that is easily broken from the column cover 4 body when the column cover 4 body collides with the decorative plate 8 or is pressed into contact with the steering wheel 2. It continues up to the contact surface with the cover 4b.

As shown in FIGS. 3A to 2 and 4, this easily broken portion 11 includes a deep groove 12 formed from the inside, R13, 14 formed from both the inside and outside, and bent portions 15 and 16.
There are embodiments such as a thinned part 19.20 with a chamfer 17.18 formed in the bending part 15 or a thinned part 22.22 which interrupts the through holes 21, 21 provided in the bent part 15.

The upper cover 4a and the lower cover 4b are fixed to the rear of the easily broken portion 11, and the steering column cover 4 is fixed to the steering column 1.

Since the present invention has such a configuration, the steering column 1 is moved forward and downward (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2) in the event of a car collision, etc.
, or press the steering wheel 2 forward and downward, the column cover 4 will move forward and downward.
The surface 10 of the upper cover 4a facing the decorative board 8 is the decorative board 8.
collide with.

For example, when the easily broken portion 11 of the opposing surface 10, which is made up of the grooves 12, 13, 14, the thin wall portions 19, 20, and the thin wall portion 22, breaks due to the load caused by the collision, it becomes a small piece, as shown in FIG. The member 4 broken against the upper cover 4a as shown in FIG.
b and 4c enter the inside of the main body of the cover 4 one after another in a telescopic manner, and are not scattered to the outside.

In addition, when the column cover 4 is divided into left and right parts, it goes without saying that a slit is provided from the front end of the cover 4 up to the easily broken part 11 so that when the part 11 breaks, it becomes a small piece.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the steering column moves forward and downward due to a car collision, or when the steering wheel provided at the end of the steering column is pressed, the column cover fixed to the steering column is Even if the instrument panel increments collide with or press against the column cover, the parts that easily break will break one after another, and the broken parts will enter into the column cover in a telescopic manner, so that the broken parts will not be scattered outside. It is very safe.

Moreover, this structure has the effect of having a low impact value, in other words, avoiding the need to replace inexpensive materials and increasing production costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory front view of the instrument panel incision of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 A to 2 are easily broken portions 11 and 4.
4 is an explanatory view of the arrow 2 in FIG. 3, FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view explaining the breaking operation. In the diagram, 1 is the steering column, 2 is the steering wheel, 3 is the instrument panel inlay, and 4
is steering column cover, 4a is upper cover, 4b
is a lower cover, 5 is a panel, 6 is a pad, 7 is various parts, 8 is a decorative board, 9 is a recess, 10 is an opposing surface, 11 is an easily broken part, 12, 13, 14 is a groove, 15, 16 is a bent part, 17 and 18 are chamfered parts, 19.20 is a thin part, 21
22 is a through hole, and 22 is a thin wall portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a steering column cover for an automobile that is shaped so as to surround a steering column, is fixedly attached to the steering column, and is arranged between an instrument panel installation and a steering wheel, the instrument panel of the steering column cover is The surface facing the instrument panel installation is formed into a substantially step-like shape.The surface facing the instrument panel installation is shaped so that when the surface collides with or presses against the instrument panel installation, the surface breaks and enters the inside of the cover main body. A steering column cover for an automobile, characterized in that a step-like portion is provided with an easily breakable portion.