JP5970356B2 - Automobile steering device mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device mounting structure for an automobile in which a steering device including a bevel gear mechanism connected to a lower end portion of a steering shaft and a steering gear disposed behind the bevel gear mechanism is mounted to a front portion of a vehicle body frame.

  As a steering device mounting structure of this type, there is a conventional one disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. This is because a support bracket is arranged on the lower surface of the front part of the body frame of a cab-over type automobile, and the bevel gear mechanism is attached to the support bracket, so that the front end part of the body frame buckles at the time of a vehicle front collision and absorbs the impact. Accordingly, the support bracket is displaced downward, so that the bevel gear mechanism is pulled downward.

JP 2003-231473 A

  By the way, in the body frame of a cab-over type automobile, a buckling structure such as a crash box is provided at the front ends of the left and right side members extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the left and right buckling structures are arranged in the vehicle width direction. In some cases, the left and right side members are connected by a cross member disposed behind the bridging member while being connected by an extending bridging member. In this body frame, the impact is absorbed by buckling the buckling structure portion at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle. However, in the case of an offset collision or the like, depending on the situation, the buckling structure part may fall inward in the vehicle width direction, or the bridging member may locally enter the vehicle interior side, and the impact may not be absorbed well. .

In a cab-over type automobile, the bevel gear mechanism of the steering device is often disposed near the connection portion between the side member and the cross member. However, the bevel gear mechanism can be held by the cross member at the time of a vehicle front collision. Therefore, there is a possibility that the buckling of the buckling structure portion is hindered.

In the support structure described in the above publication, the bevel gear mechanism is pulled downward by displacing the support bracket downward along with the buckling of the buckling structure portion. The mechanism may be caught by the cross member, and a sufficient effect may not be obtained. On the other hand, if it is attempted to secure a large amount of pull-in, there is a problem that the bevel gear mechanism becomes too close to the road surface, and the support bracket is enlarged, and there are concerns about problems such as an increase in weight, cost, productivity, and layout. The

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional situation, and can prevent the buckling structure portion from falling down in front of the vehicle, causing the bridge member to be prevented from invading locally, and preventing the buckling caused by the gripping of the bevel gear mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile steering device mounting structure that can prevent obstruction.

The present invention provides a buckling structure at the front ends of left and right side members extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, connecting the left and right buckling structures with a bridging member extending in the vehicle width direction, and the bridging member. A bevel gear mechanism connected to the lower end of the steering shaft, and a rear side of the bevel gear mechanism. In a steering device mounting structure for an automobile to which a steering device having a steering gear provided and connected to left and right steering wheels is mounted,
The bevel gear mechanism is attached to the front side of the cross member in the vicinity of the connection portion with the side member, and a recess that protrudes rearward of the vehicle is formed in the vicinity of the bevel gear mechanism attachment portion of the cross member. In some cases, at least a part of the bevel gear mechanism enters the recess.

According to the steering device mounting structure for an automobile according to the present invention, the bridging member disposed at the front end portion of the side member is retracted during a frontal collision of the vehicle, and the impact load is absorbed by the buckling structure buckling. In this case, since the bevel gear mechanism is located in the vicinity of the connecting portion of the cross member with the side member on the vehicle front side, that is, in the vicinity of the buckling structure, the bevel gear is prevented from falling inward. The use of the mechanism suppresses the use of the mechanism, and the use of the bevel gear mechanism also prevents the bridging member from entering the rear side locally.

Further, since at least a part of the bevel gear mechanism enters the depression as it is pushed by the bridging member, the bevel gear mechanism can be prevented from inhibiting the buckling of the buckling structure.

In this way, the bevel gear mechanism prevents the buckling structure from falling inward and the local back intrusion of the bridging member and does not hinder buckling of the buckling structure. It can be stably buckled and can absorb impacts reliably.

In addition, the above-described effects can be realized with a simple structure in which the mounting position of the bevel gear mechanism is appropriately set and the recess is provided in the cross member, resulting in problems of weight, cost increase, productivity, and layout deterioration. There is nothing.

It is a front perspective view for demonstrating the steering device attachment structure which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a bottom view of the attachment structure. It is a side view of the said attachment structure. It is a top view of the attachment structure. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view (cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 4) of the mounting structure. It is a perspective view of the bevel gear mechanism mounting bracket of the mounting structure. It is a top view at the time of vehicle front collision in order to demonstrate the effect of the said attachment structure. It is a bottom view at the time of the vehicle front collision for demonstrating the effect of the said attachment structure.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 8 are views for explaining a structure for mounting a steering apparatus for an automobile according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Means the left and right of

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle body frame. The vehicle body frame 1 is provided at left and right side members 2a and 2b extending in the vehicle front-rear direction and front ends of the left and right side members 2a and 2b. Crash boxes (buckling structures) 3a, 3b that buckle at the time of front impact and absorb impact force, and extend in the vehicle width direction, connect the front ends of the left and right crash boxes 3a, 3b to one side A bridging member 4 that distributes the load at the time of an offset collision to the member side to the other side member side, and is disposed behind the bridging member 4 in the vehicle, extends in the vehicle width direction, and extends to the left and right side members 2a and 2b. And a front cross member (cross member) 5 for connecting the crash box connecting portions 2a 'and 2b' to each other. In addition, 13 is a floor plate which comprises the bottom wall of a compartment, and 14 is a dashboard which comprises the front wall of a compartment.
The front cross member 5 has extensions 5a and 5a that protrude outward in the vehicle width direction from the left and right side members 2a and 2b. Further, the rear portions of the front cross member 5 of the left and right side members 2 a and 2 b are connected by an intermediate cross member 6.

The front cross member 5 is formed by bending the front and rear vertical walls 5c and 5c, the bottom wall 5d connecting the lower ends of the vertical walls 5c and 5c, and the upper ends of the vertical walls 5c and 5c. It has a cross-sectional hat shape having flange portions 5e, 5e, and the floor plate 13 is fixed on the flange portion 5e.

A steering device 7 is disposed on the front portion of the front front body frame 1 on the right side in the vehicle width direction. The steering device 7 includes a steering wheel (not shown), a steering shaft 8 connected to the steering wheel and extending downward, a bevel gear mechanism 9 connected to a lower end portion of the steering shaft 8 via a universal joint 8a, A steering gear 10 is provided behind the bevel gear mechanism 9 and attached to the intermediate cross member 6.

The steering gear 10 is connected to the bevel gear mechanism 9 by a transmission shaft 11 with universal joints 11a and 11a interposed therebetween, and transmits a steering force from the steering wheel to left and right steering wheels (not shown). .

Here, the output shaft 9c 'of the bevel gear mechanism 9 connected through the front universal joint 11a is disposed so as to be inclined so that the rear portion is located slightly inward in the vehicle width direction, and the transmission shaft 11 is disposed at the rear portion. Are arranged so as to be slightly inclined to the outside in the vehicle width direction, and the input shaft 10a of the steering gear 10 connected via the rear-side free mechanism 11a is positioned so that the rear portion is positioned slightly inward in the vehicle width direction. As a result, the output shaft 9c ', the transmission shaft 11, and the input shaft 10a are generally Z-shaped as a whole.

The bevel gear mechanism 9 is attached to the front side of the front cross member 5 via a mounting bracket 12 in the vicinity of the connecting portion 2b 'with the right side member 2b.

A recess 5f is formed in the vicinity of the bevel gear mechanism mounting portion of the front cross member 5 so as to protrude rearward of the vehicle. The recess 5f is obtained by deforming the front flange portion 5e, the vertical wall 5c, and the bottom wall 5d rearward so as to form a gentle arc shape in a plan view.

The mounting bracket 12 is formed by press-molding a metal plate, and includes a mounting seat surface 12a, a bottom wall mounting flange portion 12b that is bent rearwardly through a stepped portion 12d that steps downward from the mounting seat surface 12a, And a vertical wall mounting flange portion 12c bent inward in the vehicle width direction from the mounting seat surface 12a. The height of the paragraph 12d is higher toward the center of the recess 5f. The bottom wall mounting flange portion 12b is fixed to the bottom wall 5d of the front cross member 5 by bolts 13a, and the vertical wall mounting flange portion 12c is formed on the front wall 5c of the front cross member 5 by bolts 13b. It is fixed to the edge of the recess 5f.

The bevel gear mechanism 9 is housed in a casing 9a having a substantially L shape by engaging an input gear 9b and an output gear 9c so that their axes are orthogonal to each other. The upper surface on the output side of the casing 9a is fixed to the lower surface of the mounting seat surface 12a of the mounting bracket 12 with bolts 13c. Here, the bevel gear mechanism 9 is attached obliquely so as to be directed to the center of the recess 5f in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 4).

According to the structure of this embodiment, when the vehicle has an offset collision on the driver's seat side, the right side portion of the bridging member 4 disposed at the front ends of the left and right side members 2a and 2b is pushed by the offset load. And the right crash box 3b buckles to absorb the offset load.

In this case, the bevel gear mechanism 9 is located in the vicinity of the connecting portion 2b 'of the front cross member 5 with the right side member 2b on the vehicle front side, that is, in the vicinity of the right crash box 3b. The crash box 3b is prevented from falling inward by the bevel gear mechanism 9 being used, and the right portion of the bridging member 4 is also prevented from invading locally by the bevel gear mechanism 9 being used.

The bevel gear mechanism 9 is displaced so as to fall toward the recess 5f as it is pushed by the bridging member 4, and at least a part of the bevel gear mechanism 9 enters the recess 5f. Specifically, since the paragraph portion 12d is formed between the mounting seat surface 12a of the mounting bracket 12 and the bottom wall mounting flange portion 12b so as to increase toward the center of the recess 5f, the mounting bracket 12 is caused by the offset load. Is easy to bend at the ridgeline 12e between the mounting seat surface 12a and the paragraph portion 12d, whereby at least a part of the bevel gear mechanism 9 enters the recess 5f, and the reversible amount of the bevel gear mechanism 9 increases accordingly. As a result, it is possible to prevent the bevel gear mechanism 9 from inhibiting the buckling of the crash box 3b.

In the present embodiment, since the recess 5f is provided in the front cross member 5, the front cross member 5 can be bent with the recess 5f as a starting point when the collision load is larger, and a larger collision can be obtained. It can also handle loads.

Further, in this embodiment, the transmission shaft 11, the front output shaft 9c 'and the rear input shaft 10a are arranged so as to form a substantially Z shape, so that the transmission shaft 11 is easily bent during the front collision. And the like does not hinder the backward movement of the bevel gear mechanism 9.

In this way, the bevel gear mechanism 9 suppresses the crash of the crash box 3b and the local rear entry of the bridging member 4, and does not inhibit the buckling of the crash box 3b, and the transmission shaft 11 and the like are easily bent. Therefore, at the time of an offset collision of the vehicle, the crash box 3b at the front end portion of the side member can be stably buckled, and the impact load can be reliably absorbed. In particular, this is effective in the case of a cab-over type automobile in which the front of the vehicle interior faces the outside of the vehicle.

In addition, the operation and effect can be realized with a simple structure in which the mounting position of the bevel gear mechanism 9 is appropriately set and the front cross member 5 is simply provided with the recess 5f, and the weight, cost, productivity, and layout are deteriorated. The problem does not occur.

1 Body frame 2a, 2b Left and right side member 2b 'Connection part 3a, 3b with cross member side member Crash box (buckling structure)
4 Bridging member 5 Front cross member (cross member)
5f hollow 7 steering device 8 steering shaft 9 bevel gear mechanism 10 steering gear

Claims (1)

A buckling structure is provided at the front end portions of the left and right side members extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the left and right buckling structures are connected to each other by a bridge member extending in the vehicle width direction, and A bevel gear mechanism connected to the lower end portion of the steering shaft, a bevel gear mechanism connected to the lower end of the steering shaft on a vehicle body frame formed by connecting the left and right side members with a cross member extending in the vehicle width direction; , In a steering device mounting structure for an automobile to which a steering device having a steering gear connected to the right steering wheel is mounted,
The bevel gear mechanism is attached to the front side of the cross member in the vicinity of the connecting portion with the side member,
Forming a recess protruding rearward of the vehicle in the vicinity of the bevel gear mechanism mounting portion of the cross member,
A structure for mounting a steering apparatus for an automobile, wherein at least a part of the bevel gear mechanism enters the recess at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle.

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