JPH0424267B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a support device for a steering barrel that absorbs and alleviates the shock when a driver hits a steering wheel in a vehicle collision.

[Prior Art] As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,629, a steering tube or a steering shaft is configured with an axially retractable portion, and the axially retractable portion absorbs and alleviates the impact at the time of a collision. The support device for the steering barrel has the following problems.

First, it is difficult to apply this method to an instrument panel in which a steering tube is supported at two points. There is no problem if the steering shaft and the input shaft of the steering gear mechanism are arranged in a straight line, but in a cab-over type truck, the above-mentioned arrangement is difficult. Generally, the steering shaft and the input shaft of the steering gear mechanism are connected by two universal joints and one intermediate shaft.

Second, if the steering shaft is provided with an axially retractable portion, the steering barrel is required to have support rigidity in the axial direction that can withstand the reaction force when the steering shaft contracts, and the support structure for the steering barrel becomes complicated.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a steering device that is applicable to a type of steering device in which a steering shaft and an input shaft of a steering gear mechanism are connected by an intermediate shaft. To provide a support device for a steering barrel that has a simple configuration and can be manufactured at low cost.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to achieve the above object, the configuration of the present invention is such that each upper end of a U-shaped bracket connected to a steering tube is bent sideways to form a mounting piece, and Sliding plates with a low coefficient of friction are stacked on both sides, and the mounting piece is fastened to the lower wall of the instrument panel using bolts that pass through the longitudinal notches provided at the rear edge of the mounting piece. A cylindrical shock absorbing ring is sandwiched between a projecting wall and a projecting piece projecting upward from a portion rearward of the projecting wall of the steering barrel.

[Operation] When the driver hits his chest against the steering wheel during a vehicle collision, the steering shaft, steering tube, and bracket move forward as one. The bracket of the steering tube overcomes the frictional engagement force with the sliding plate and moves forward, and at the same time, the protruding piece connected to the steering tube presses and crushes the shock absorbing ring against the projecting wall of the instrument panel.

The impact applied to the steering shaft during a collision is absorbed and alleviated by the deformation of the impact absorbing ring, protecting the driver from excessive impact.

[Embodiment of the Invention] As shown in FIG. 1, the steering device has a bracket 12 fixed to the lower wall of an instrument panel 19 with bolts 10, and a bracket 15 having a U-shaped cross section supported by bolts 16 so as to be slidable back and forth. and bracket 12,1
5 supports a steering barrel 13.

The steering shaft 9 that connects the handle 18 to the base end is
It is supported by the steering barrel 13 in a rotatable but immovable manner in the axial direction. A distal end of the steering shaft 9 is connected to one end of an intermediate shaft 7 through a universal joint 8, and the other end of the intermediate shaft 7 is connected to an input shaft 3 of the steering gear mechanism 2 through a universal joint 4. The rotation of the handle 18 is transmitted to the input shaft 3 of the steering gear mechanism 2, and in the case of a rack-and-pinion type, the rotation is transmitted to the steering wheels via the link mechanism and the rack rod 1 that meshes with the pinion of the input shaft 3. .

The intermediate shaft 7 changes the orientation of the steering shaft 9 and the input shaft 3 depending on the arrangement of the steering gear mechanism 2. intermediate shaft 7
is arranged to pass through the floor plate 6, and the penetrating portion of the intermediate shaft 7 is covered by the dustproof boot 5. The lower end of the steering tube 13 is firmly fitted into a hole provided in the bracket 12 and supported.

As shown in FIG. 3, according to the present invention, the bracket 15 supporting the upper end of the steering tube 13 is constructed by bending a band plate into a U-shape.
The bent portion is connected to the steering tube 13 by welding or the like. Each upper end of the bracket 15 is bent laterally to form a mounting piece 15a, and is slidably supported between sliding plates 23, which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the sliding plate 23 is made of a metal plate bent into a U-shape, and is fixed to the instrument panel 19 with bolts 16. As shown in Figure 4,
The mounting piece 15a of the bracket 15 has a notch 22 formed in the front-back direction at its rear edge, and is engaged with a bolt 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, a projecting wall 14 that projects downward is integrally formed on the lower wall of the instrument panel 19. Opposing the projecting wall 14 of the instrument panel 19, a projecting piece 17 made of an L-shaped thick plate is coupled to the upper circumferential wall of the steering cylinder 13 by welding or the like.

A cylindrical shock absorbing ring 20 is sandwiched between the projecting wall 14 and the projecting piece 17. In the illustrated example, the shock absorbing ring 2
0 is coupled to the projecting piece 17 by suitable means such as welding. However, the shock absorbing ring 20 may also be coupled to the protruding wall 14. The impact absorption capacity of the impact absorption ring 20 is determined by the material, width, and wall thickness.

With the above-described configuration, the present invention allows the steering shaft 9 and the steering barrel 13 to integrally move forward along the brackets 12 and 15 when the driver hits his chest against the steering wheel 18 due to inertia during a vehicle collision. .

At this time, the bracket 15 is removed together with the steering tube 13.
The shock absorption ring 20 overcomes the frictional engagement force with the sliding plate 23 and moves forward (in the direction of the arrow x in FIG. 4), and at the same time, the shock absorbing ring 20 is pushed by the protruding piece 17 of the steering tube 13 and pushes against the protruding wall 14 on the vehicle body side. collide with The shock absorbing ring 20 is made of metal or the like, and is sandwiched between the projecting piece 17 and the projecting wall 14 and crushed. The impact acting on the steering shaft 9 during a collision is absorbed and alleviated by the deformation of the impact absorbing ring 20.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention comprises bending each upper end of the U-shaped bracket that connects the steering tube sideways to form a mounting piece, and providing sliding plates with a low coefficient of friction on both sides of the mounting piece. The mounting pieces are overlapped and fastened to the lower wall of the instrument panel using bolts that pass through the longitudinal notches provided on the rear edges of the mounting pieces. Since the cylindrical shock-absorbing ring is sandwiched between the protruding piece that protrudes upward from the rear part of the protruding wall, it is suitable for a steering device in which the steering tube is supported at two points on the vehicle body side. However, it can be easily assembled without compromising the rigidity and strength of the steering tube, and the impact caused by a collision is absorbed and alleviated by the deformation of the impact absorbing ring, thereby protecting the driver.

The shock absorbing ring is sandwiched between the front and rear protruding walls on the vehicle body side and the protruding pieces on the steering cylinder side, so it has an extremely simple structure and is easy to process and assemble.
Can be provided at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a steering device including a support device for a steering barrel according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the support device, and FIG. 3 is a front sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the same plane. 9: Steering shaft, 13: Steering tube, 14: Projection wall, 1
5: bracket, 15a: mounting piece, 16: bolt, 17: projecting piece, 19: instrument panel, 20: shock absorption ring, 22: notch, 23: sliding plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Bend each upper end of the U-shaped bracket connected to the steering tube sideways to form a mounting piece, overlap sliding plates with a low coefficient of friction on both sides of the mounting piece, and attach the front and rear parts on the rear edge of the mounting piece. The mounting piece is fastened to the lower wall of the instrument panel by a bolt passing through the notch in the direction, and a protruding wall that protrudes downward from the lower wall of the instrument panel and a portion of the steering barrel that protrudes upward from a rear portion of the protruding wall. A support device for a steering barrel, characterized in that a cylindrical shock absorbing ring is sandwiched between a protruding piece.