JPH082428A - Automobile steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a steering device capable of mounting a transverse slant engine independent of the projecting direction of a transmission and the arranging position of a steering wheel. CONSTITUTION:In an automobile equipped with a transverse slant engine 1, a steering device 6 is formed in such a way that a steering arm 7 is protruded from the middle part in the vertical direction of a strut 5 supporting a wheel 3, a steering gear box 10 for moving a tie rod 9 coupled with the steering arm 7 is arranged in the upper part of the transverse slant engine 1, and the steering gear box 10 is capable of arranging in the optional position in the car lateral direction. The transverse slant engine 1 can be mounted independent of the projecting direction of a reduction gear 2 and the arranging position of a steering wheel 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a steering apparatus for an automobile, as shown in FIG. 3, a knuckle arm 22 connected to a wheel 21 is connected by a tie rod 23, and a steering gear box 24 for moving the tie rod 23 is provided. In general, the steering wheel 25 and the steering gear box 24 are connected by a steering shaft 26 having a cross joint 27 interposed therebetween. The steering gear box 24 is generally located in front of the steering handle 25 and drives the wheels 21. The steering shaft 26 is arranged rearward of the shaft 28, and the steering shaft 26 extends obliquely forward and downward while being bent by the cross joint 27.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-220932, as shown in FIG. 3, a horizontal installation in which the crankshaft is arranged along the vehicle width direction and the cylinder axis is oriented substantially horizontally in the front direction. The engine 30 is mounted and its engine body 31
By interlockingly connecting the transmission 32 directly connected to the crank shaft and the differential device 33 directly connected to the drive shaft 28, and disposing the shaft center of the differential device 33 below the shaft center of the crank shaft. There is disclosed a vehicle in which the height dimension of the engine 30 is reduced and the center of gravity of the engine 30 is arranged immediately above or in the vicinity of the drive shaft 28 so as to expand the passenger compartment and improve the steering stability. In such an engine arrangement configuration, the tie rod 23 is provided behind the drive shaft 28 and below the engine 30, and the steering gear box 24 is provided at the rear portion of the transmission 32.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-262218 discloses a transmission in which a steering gear box is arranged in front of a drive shaft and a steering shaft connecting a steering handle and a steering gear box is projected to one side of an engine body. Disposed through the top is disclosed.

Further, a conventional general horizontal engine 41 is used.
4, the transmission 43 is connected to one side of the upright engine body 42, and the differential device 44 is disposed on the rear side of the transmission 43. As shown in FIG. , 45 are arranged on both sides in the vehicle width direction so as not to interfere with such a horizontal engine 41 in a plan view. Therefore, while keeping the vehicle width within a certain range, a notch 47 is formed on the outside of the side member 45 for avoiding interference with struts supporting the wheels 46 and interference with the wheels 46 during steering, as shown in FIG. The same is true for a horizontal slant engine.

[0006]

However, in the structure shown in FIG. 3, the transmission 32 projects to the right of the engine main body 31, and the steering gear box 24 is arranged in the space below the rear portion of the transmission 32. But the engine body 3
In the case of an engine in which the transmission 32 protrudes to the left of 1, the engine body 31 is located in front of the steering handle 25 in an automobile with a right-hand drive, so there is no space for disposing the steering gear box 24, and Such a horizontal slant engine cannot be installed, and there is a problem that the horizontal slant engine cannot be installed regardless of which side the transmission protrudes from, or whether the transmission is the right or left steering wheel. It was

Further, in the case of JP-A-1-262218, there is a similar problem.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention has an object of providing a steering apparatus for an automobile capable of mounting a horizontally installed slant engine regardless of the protruding direction of the transmission and the position of the steering handle. And

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automobile equipped with a horizontally installed slant engine in which a crankshaft is inclined along a vehicle width direction and a cylinder axis is inclined obliquely upward and upward. A knuckle arm is projected from the vertical middle part of the strut that supports the wheels, and a steering gear box that moves the tie rod that connects the knuckle arm is placed above the engine, and the steering handle and steering gear box are connected by the steering shaft. It is characterized by having done.

[0010]

According to the present invention, since the horizontal slant engine is mounted, the height is low not only in the transmission but also in the engine main body, so that the steering gear box is arranged above the horizontal slant engine. As a result, the steering gear box can be arranged at any position in the vehicle width direction regardless of the direction in which the transmission protrudes. Therefore, regardless of the position of the steering handle, the steering gear box is arranged corresponding to the steering handle. The steering device can be installed by connecting the tie rods with the steering shaft.Also, even if the steering gear box is placed at the top of the engine, the knuckle arm projects from the vertical middle part of the strut and has almost the same height. The steering can be done smoothly via Thus mounting the transverse slant engine regardless position in the projecting direction or the steering wheel of the transmission is made possible.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a laterally mounted slant engine in which a crankshaft is inclined along a vehicle width direction and a cylinder axis is inclined obliquely upward and upward, and an engine body 1a has a right side in a vehicle body width direction. Is installed on the left side of the transmission 2
Is protruding. Reference numeral 3 denotes a wheel, which is connected to a differential device 4 via a drive shaft (not shown). The differential device 4 is disposed obliquely below and in front of the transmission 2 and is interlocked and connected to the transmission 2. There is.

The wheels 3 are rotatably supported by struts 5.

Reference numeral 6 is a steering device for the wheels 3. A knuckle arm 7 is projected forward from an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the strut 5, specifically, a lower position of the upper strut spring arrangement portion 5a. Reference numeral 8 denotes a steering rack arranged in the vehicle width direction on the upper portion of the horizontally mounted slant engine 1, and a central portion 8a thereof and a knuckle arm 7 are connected by a tie rod 9. The right side portion of the steering rack 8 is inserted into the steering gear box 10 and meshes with a pinion (not shown) arranged inside, and the left side portion of the steering rack 8 is a guide cylinder 11
It is slidably inserted inside. Steering rack 8
A bellows cover 12 is fitted between the central portion 8a of the steering wheel, the steering gear box 10 and the guide cylinder 11.
Reference numeral 13 denotes a steering handlebar disposed on the right side of the front part of the vehicle compartment. The steering handlebar 13 and the pinion of the steering gear box 10 have two cross joints 14 disposed in the middle thereof.
Connected at 5.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a front upper side member at the front of the vehicle body. Since the horizontal slant engine 1 has a low height, the horizontal slant engine 1 extends toward the front end of the vehicle body through the upper spaces on both sides in the vehicle width direction. It is set up. 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a lower frame that supports the horizontally mounted slant engine 1, and both front and rear ends thereof are connected to each other by front upper side members 16 by support members 18a and 18b arranged at the front and rear of the horizontally mounted slant engine 1.

In the above structure, since the slant engine 1 for horizontal installation is mounted, the height is low not only in the transmission 2 but also in the engine body 1a. Therefore, the steering gear box 10 and the steering rack 8 are installed horizontally. The steering gear box 10 can be arranged on the upper portion of the slant engine 1, and by doing so, the steering gear box 10 can be arranged at an arbitrary position in the vehicle width direction regardless of the protruding direction of the transmission 2. Therefore, in the illustrated example, the steering gear box 10 is arranged on the right side in correspondence with the steering handle 13 arranged on the right, but when the steering handle 13 is arranged on the left side, the steering gear box 10 is arranged correspondingly. The box 10 can be located on the left side. Therefore, whether the steering wheel is the right steering wheel or the left steering wheel, the steering gear box 10 is arranged so as to face the steering steering wheel 13 regardless of which side the transmission 2 protrudes from. A connected steering device can be installed.

Further, even if the steering gear box 10 is placed horizontally above the slant engine 1, since the knuckle arm 7 is projected from the vertically middle portion of the strut 5 and has substantially the same height, the tie rod 9 is used. Steering can be performed smoothly.

Thus, the horizontal slant engine can be mounted regardless of the protruding direction of the transmission 2 and the position of the steering handle 13. The horizontal slant engine 1 of this type can be compactly mounted in the engine compartment. The space can be enlarged.

Further, since the crank shaft center of the horizontally installed slant engine 1 is arranged rearward of the shaft center of the differential device 5 and the center of gravity of the horizontally installed slant engine 1 is positioned near or behind the drive shaft, Good stability and mobility of the vehicle.

Further, since the front upper side members 16 are extended in the upper spaces on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the horizontally placed slant engine 1, in order to avoid interference with the struts 5 and with the wheels 3 during steering. Since it is not necessary to provide a notch or the like in the front upper side member 16 and sufficient sectional performance is secured over the entire length thereof, the rigidity of the front portion of the vehicle body becomes low as in the case of the conventional example shown in FIG. The buffer performance at the time is low, and problems such as deterioration of safety do not occur.

In the above embodiment, the steering device 6
Although the rack and pinion type is exemplified as the above, the present invention can be applied to steering systems of other types.

[0022]

According to the vehicle steering system of the present invention, since the slant engine installed horizontally is mounted as described above, not only the transmission but also the engine body is low in height, and therefore the transmission is The steering gear box can be placed on the upper part of the slant engine horizontally regardless of the protruding direction of the steering gear box, which allows the steering gear box to be placed at any position in the vehicle width direction.
A steering device can be installed by connecting the steering handle and steering gear box with a steering shaft regardless of the position of the steering handle.Also, even if the steering gear box is placed on the upper part of the engine, the knuckle arm is the vertical middle part of the strut. It is possible to carry out steering smoothly through the tie rods because it is projected from the same height as the tie rod, and thus it is possible to install a horizontal slant engine regardless of the protruding direction of the transmission and the position of the steering handle. And so on.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an arrangement configuration of a steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an arrangement configuration of a conventional steering device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an arrangement configuration of another conventional engine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Horizontally mounted slant engine 3 Wheels 5 Struts 6 Steering device 7 Knuckle arm 9 Tie rod 10 Steering gear box 13 Steering handle 15 Steering shaft

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle equipped with a laterally mounted slant engine in which a crankshaft is inclined along a vehicle width direction and a cylinder axis is inclined obliquely upward and upward.
A knuckle arm is projected from the vertical middle part of the strut that supports the wheels, and a steering gear box that moves the tie rod that connects the knuckle arm is placed above the engine, and the steering handle and steering gear box are connected by the steering shaft. An automobile steering device characterized by the above.