KR20020078858A - Steering column having the shock-absorbing part - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A steering column having buffering structure is provided to reduce impact by sliding an inner tube into an outer tube at a collision, and to cut down manufacturing cost by assembling the inner tube and the outer tube conveniently. CONSTITUTION: A steering column(2) is combined with a steering wheel, and steering force of the steering wheel is transmitted by an inner steering shaft. An inner tube(10) including the inner steering shaft is combined with an outer tube(20) including an outer steering shaft. Plural ribs(20a) are formed axially in the outer tube, and the inner tube is assembled with the outer tube with sliding. Impact is buffered efficiently with sliding the inner tube in the outer tube at a collision.

Description

Steering column having the shock-absorbing part

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a column of a steering device of a vehicle, and more particularly to a buffer structure of a steering column to protect a driver from external shocks generated during a collision of a vehicle.

In general, a vehicle steering device is installed between the steering wheel 1 so as to transmit the rotational force generated from the steering wheel 1 to the steering wheel, as shown in FIG. It is interlocked with the universal joint (3) connected with (2), the rack pinion gear box (4) coupled with the universal joint, and the tie rod and end (5) coupled with ball joints on both sides of the gearbox. Therefore, when steering the steering wheel universal joint (3) is connected to the rack pinion gear box (3) and the rack is to steer the wheel by moving the tie rod end 5 to the left and right by sliding the rack bar in a linear motion.

However, if the vehicle body is severely damaged by an external impact during a collision of the vehicle, the external body may be injured due to the impact of the vehicle body being pushed into the driver's seat as the column (2) is also pushed into the driver's seat. It was required to buffer the impact in the connected column 2. In the related art, in order to buffer the impact applied to the column 2, the ball bush 10a is interposed between the inner tube 10 and the outer tube 20 of the column 2 to cushion the impact or As shown in Fig. 3, a buffer structure using a curling method (10b, curling) method in which the ends of the inner tube and the outer tube are rounded and connected to each other has been implemented. These structures are assembled in a state in which the column is fully extended at the time of assembly so that the inner tube 10 slides into the outer tube 20 when absorbing the impact when the vehicle is completed.

However, these structures have been difficult to control the cross-sectional area of the column, there is a problem in that assembly is inconvenient and the manufacturing cost of the column is high.

The present invention has been made in order to compensate for the problems caused when manufacturing the column as described above.

An object of the present invention is to provide an assembly structure of the inner tube and the outer tube that can simplify the assembly and to reduce the manufacturing cost in manufacturing the steering column of the vehicle.

1 is a perspective view illustrating main parts of a conventional vehicle steering apparatus.

2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a buffer structure of a column using a ball bush of a conventional steering column.

3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a buffer structure of a column using curling processing of a conventional steering column.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the main portion of the buffer structure of the steering column using the uneven rib in accordance with the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: steering wheel 2: column

3: Universal Joint 4: Rack Pinion Gearbox

5: tie rod end 10: inner tube

10a: Ball Bushing 10b Curling

20: Outer tube 20a: Uneven rib

The steering column having a shock absorbing structure according to the present invention is slidably coupled to an inner tube having an inner side steering shaft and an outer side steering shaft having an inner side steering shaft which is coupled to a steering wheel to transmit a steering force of the steering wheel. In the steering column of the combined vehicle, the outer tube is formed in the inner surface of the outer tube along the axial direction of the plurality of uneven ribs having a predetermined diameter so that the circumferential surface of the inner tube is connected to the uneven rib This can be achieved by inserting into the stomach.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail according to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Figure 4, Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing an enlarged example of the assembly of the column using the uneven rib according to the present invention, reference numeral 10 is an inner tube, 20 is an outer tube.

A plurality of uneven ribs 20a are formed on the surface of the outer tube 20 at regular angles, and the distance between the corresponding uneven ribs 20a facing each other is preferably larger than the circumferential diameter of the inner tube. The reason for this is that when the inner tube is inserted into the outer tube when the column is being squeezed, the coupling relationship is made by the interference fit, thereby strengthening the coupling force between the two elements, so that the inner tube 10 is formed by the outer tube (the outer tube). 20) to avoid being pushed into.

The uneven rib 20a is illustrated in the outer tube 20, but in another embodiment, the uneven rib 20a may protrude above the surface of the inner tube 10. In this case, the uneven rib 20a may have a distance between the uneven ribs 20a slightly larger than the inner diameter of the outer tube 20. The reason for this is to prevent the inner tube 10 from being pushed into the outer tube 20 by a slight force as described above.

The operation by the assembly of the above-described column will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, when the inner tube 10 is inserted into the outer tube 20, the outer surface of the inner tube 10 is inserted into the outer tube while being in contact with the ends of the plurality of uneven ribs. Lose. At this time, since the outer diameter of the inner tube 10 is larger than the distance between the uneven ribs, the inner tube 10 is not easily inserted into the outer tube 20, but when assembled by force fitting, the inner tube 10 is assembled to the outer tube 20 without play. It is done.

As described above, the assembled state of the inner tube 10 and the outer tube 20 is assembled in a somewhat stiff state, but when the external shock is applied to the vehicle, the inner tube is pushed into the outer tube to cushion the impact. will be.

Thus, it can be seen that the tightening force of the inner tube is increased according to the distance between the uneven tube corresponding to each other, and by adjusting the distance in consideration of this, the degree of sliding of the inner tube inserted into the assembly outer tube can be adjusted. When assembling the column, it can be assembled so as not to slide between the inner tube and the outer tube. However, when the vehicle collides, the inner tube is pushed into the outer tube to cushion the impact.

Accordingly, the buffer function required for the column can be sufficiently achieved by using the uneven rib 20a, and the inner tube 10 and the outer tube 20 are assembled to make the column 2 very easy and the manufacturing cost. This is an inexpensive advantage.

As described above, since the assembly of the inner tube and the outer tube according to the present invention can be easily and easily assembled, the manufacturing cost is low and the assembly performance is excellent.

Claims (1)

A steering column of a vehicle coupled to the steering wheel 1 and slidably coupled to an inner tube 10 having an inner side steering shaft for transmitting steering force of the steering wheel and an outer tube 20 having an outer side steering shaft. In (2), the inner surface of the outer tube 20 is formed with a plurality of uneven ribs 20a having a predetermined diameter along the axial direction and the inner tube 10 into the outer tube 20 By assembling so as to slide the inner tube 10 by the external impact slide column into the outer tube 20, the steering column having a buffer structure, characterized in that to cushion the impact.