JPH0121105Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field of the invention] This invention relates to a support structure for a steering wheel, and more specifically relates to an improvement of a support structure for a steering wheel that reduces vertical vibrations acting on the support portion of the steering wheel. .

[Prior art]

Conventionally, as a support structure for this type of steering, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 or as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 16915/1983,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an elastic member 4 such as rubber is interposed in the recess 3 formed in the gearbox body 2 of the tie rod 7, and a bracket 5 is fitted over the elastic member 4 to form a body (not shown). Or supported by palms.

By the way, the elastic member 4 fitted to the gearbox body 2 is aligned in the axial direction (X) of the tie rod 7.
The elastic member 4 is designed to be as soft as possible (spring constant) in order to transmit weak vibrations in the Y direction. In addition, in the X direction, it is better to have a certain degree of hardness (large spring constant) in terms of steering rigidity (handling performance).

That is, by independently selecting the spring constants of the elastic member 4 in the X direction and the Y direction, it is possible to achieve both optimal steering rigidity and vibration characteristics.

However, in the conventional steering support structure, as shown in FIG. 3, the elastic member 4 that supports the X direction and the Y direction is integrally formed.
In order to prevent the transmission of weak vibrations in the direction, the elastic member 4 was made as soft as possible (with a small spring constant), which effectively reduced the vertical vibration of the vehicle body. However, the rigidity of the steering in the X direction ( This method was not necessarily effective in terms of steering performance (handleability).

In the figure, 1 is a steering shaft, and 8 is a steering column.

[Purpose of invention]

This invention was devised by focusing on the conventional problems, and its purpose is to create a structure in which the elastic member in the axial direction of the tie rod and the elastic member in the direction perpendicular to this have different spring constants. By selecting the above, it is possible to provide a steering support structure that can achieve both optimum steering rigidity and vibration characteristics.

[Structure of the idea]

In order to achieve the above object, this invention supports a bracket to be attached to the vehicle body in a recessed part of a gearbox body provided in a tie rod via an elastic member.
The gist of the present invention is that the elastic members are interposed separately in the axial direction of the tie rod and in the direction orthogonal thereto, and that the spring constants of these elastic members are different from each other.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of this invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

Note that the same components as those of the conventional example explained in FIGS. 1 to 3 are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In Figures 4 and 5, 7 is a tie rod;
2 is a gearbox body, and 5 is a bracket fitted into the recess 3 of the gearbox body 2 via elastic members 4a and 4b, such as rubber, which are divided into two parts.

The bracket 5 has a substantially U-shaped cross section,
A bolt attachment hole 5b is formed in the skirt portion 5a. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the elastic members 4a and 4b are attached to both side edges of the bracket 5 and the inner wall surface 2a (contact surface) of the gearbox body 2, and between the inner wall surface of the bracket 5 and the bottom of the gearbox body 2. It is interposed between the wall surface 2b.

The elastic member 4a is made of rubber with a certain degree of hardness (large spring constant) in order to improve steering rigidity, and the elastic member 4b is made of soft rubber (with a large spring constant) in order to reduce vibration transmission. small). Also, regarding the thickness of the elastic members 4a and 4b, the elastic member 4a is thin and the elastic member 4b is thick.

By interposing the divided elastic members 4a and 4b having different spring constants between the gearbox body 2 and the bracket 5 in this way, the elastic member 4
This allows a and 4b to be nonlinear spring constants.

When assembling the tie rod 7 constructed as described above to a body or chassis (not shown), first insert the elastic member 4 into the recess 3 of the gearbox body 2.
Bracket 5 is fitted with a and 4b interposed therebetween. From this state, the bottom portion 5a of the bracket 5 is crimped to a predetermined position on the body or chassis, and a bolt is inserted into the bolt attachment hole 5b and tightened and fixed.

With the above configuration, vibrations in the left-right direction (X direction) when the vehicle is running are absorbed by the elastic member 4a having a large spring constant, thereby making it possible to maintain optimal steering rigidity.
Further, vibrations in the vertical direction (Y direction) can be absorbed by the elastic member 4b having a small spring constant, thereby improving vibration characteristics.

That is, the spring constants of the elastic members 4a and 4b are made non-linear to achieve both high steering rigidity in a high load range and low vibration in a low load range.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of this invention, in which both edges of the bracket 5 are coated with a synthetic resin material (polyacetal) 24a having a high spring constant to a predetermined length, and the bottom part is coated with a synthetic resin material (polyacetal) 24a having a high spring constant. An elastic member 24b such as rubber having a small spring constant is interposed therebetween.

In the case of this embodiment, the elastic member 24b and the synthetic resin material 24a are divided to absorb vibrations, and the spring constant is made non-linear as in the above embodiment, and as a result, in the high load region. This system is designed to achieve both high steering rigidity and low vibration absorption in low load ranges.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, the present invention supports a bracket to be attached to a vehicle body in a recessed part of a gearbox body provided in a tie rod via an elastic member, and supports the elastic member in the axial direction of the tie rod and in a direction orthogonal thereto. Since the elastic members are arranged separately and have different spring constants, the elastic members in the axial direction of the tie rod and the elastic members in the direction perpendicular thereto are selected to have different spring constants. As a result, it is possible to achieve both optimal steering rigidity and vibration characteristics, and in particular, it is possible to effectively reduce the vertical vibration of the vehicle.As a result, it is possible to ensure the steering performance of the steering wheel, and to reduce slight vibrations (shimmy) of the steering wheel. This has the effect of effectively reducing the

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the support part of a conventional steering wheel, Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of section A in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the support part of a conventional steering wheel, and Fig. 4 5 is a partially cutaway front view of a tie rod embodying this invention, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment. 2... Gearbox body, 4a, 4b... Elastic member, 5... Bracket, 7... Tie rod.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A bracket to be attached to the vehicle body is supported in a recessed portion of a gearbox body provided in the tie rod via an elastic member, and the elastic member is interposed in two directions, one in the axial direction of the tie rod and the other in a direction orthogonal thereto. A steering support structure in which each elastic member has a different spring constant.