JP2001163248A - Mounting structure of steering gear box - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To be applicable to a vehicle body in which a steering gear box is fixed to a front suspension member extending in a vehicle width direction, and to reduce interference between a steering device and an occupant during a front collision. A bearing portion is formed on a rear wall portion of a front suspension member extending in a vehicle width direction. The lower wall portion 32A of the bracket 32 that supports the steering gear box 30 is welded to the lower surface 16D of the front suspension member 16,
The connecting portion 36 of the bracket 32 and the bearing portion 26
Linked by 0. Convex part 2 of engine body 22
4 comes into contact with the upper part 32C of the bracket 32, and the upper part 32C
When an impact load equal to or greater than a predetermined value acts on the bracket 32, the connecting portion 36 is broken, and the bracket 32 rotates downward and rearward of the vehicle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a steering gear box, and more particularly to a mounting structure for a steering gear box applied to an automobile body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an example of a mounting structure of a steering gear box applied to the body of an automobile is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 5 (1993) -105.
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 185951 is known.

[0003] As shown in FIG.
The front and rear lower portions of a power unit (also referred to as a power plant) 100 including an engine body, a gear box, and the like are supported by a center member 106 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction via mount members 102 and 104. Mount members 108 on both sides in the vehicle width direction
Through the front side member 110.
Further, the rear mounting member 104 is provided with a detaching means 112, and the coupling between the rear mounting member 104 and the power unit 100 is released by the detaching means 112 at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle (front collision). The power unit 100 is rotatable about the upper mounting member 108 as shown by a two-dot chain line and a three-dot chain line in FIG.
In addition, the steering device 114 includes the rear mount member 1.
04 on the center member 106 behind the bracket 116.
It is fixed by. The center member 106 has front and rear bent portions 106A and 106B and bent portions 106C and 106D.
Are formed, and the central portion 106E is offset downward in a substantially horizontal state. In addition, each bent section 106A, 1
The bending strength in the front-rear direction of 06B, 106C and 106D is 1
06B>106A> 106C = 106D, which weakens the bent portions 106C and 106D at the rear. As a result, at the time of a vehicle front collision, the center member 106 is deformed downward as shown by the two-dot chain line and the three-dot chain line in FIG. 4, and the steering device 114 is pulled downward as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. In addition, the interference between the power unit 100 and the steering device 114 at the time of a vehicle front collision is avoided, and the interference between the steering device 114 and the occupant is reduced.

[0004]

However, in such a prior art, the center member 1 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is not provided.
06, but is not applicable to a vehicle body structure in which the center member 106 extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction is not provided, and a steering gear box in the steering device is fixed to a front suspension member extending in the vehicle width direction. .

In consideration of the above fact, the present invention can be applied to a vehicle body in which a steering gear box is fixed to a front suspension member extending in the vehicle width direction, and can reduce interference between a steering device and an occupant during a front collision. The purpose is to obtain a mounting structure for the steering gear box.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a front suspension member disposed at a front portion of a vehicle body along a vehicle width direction, and a steering for fixing a steering gear box to the front suspension member. And a gearbox support member, the steering gearbox support member being configured such that when an impact load of a predetermined value or more acts rearward from the power unit at the time of a frontal collision, the steering gearbox support member is positioned below the rear of the vehicle body. It is characterized by turning to.

Therefore, when the power unit moves rearward in the vehicle front collision and an impact load of a predetermined value or more acts on the steering gear box support member from the power unit toward the rear of the vehicle body, the steering gear box support member is displaced. Rotates downward on the rear side of the vehicle body. As a result, the steering gear box fixed to the steering gear box support member also rotates together with the steering gear box support member, and the steering column is retracted below the vehicle body.
Therefore, the steering wheel follows the movement of the steering column and moves downward of the vehicle body, so that interference between the steering wheel and the occupant can be reduced. Further, the present invention is applicable to a vehicle body in which a steering gear box is fixed to a front suspension member extending in the vehicle width direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the mounting structure for a steering gear box according to the first aspect, the connecting portion of the steering gear box support member with a front suspension member is connected to the steering gear box at the time of the rotation. Characterized in that a fragile portion for canceling is formed.

Therefore, in addition to the contents described in claim 1,
When an impact load of a predetermined value or more acts on the steering gear box support member from the power unit toward the rear,
The weak portion formed at the connecting portion of the steering gear box support member with the front suspension member is broken and the connection is released, and the steering gear box support member pivots downward on the rear side of the vehicle body. As a result, the predetermined value of the impact load can be easily adjusted by the breaking strength of the fragile portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the mounting structure for a steering gear box according to any one of the first and second aspects, the steering gear box supporting member has a hinge serving as the pivot center. A part is formed.

Therefore, in addition to the contents described in any one of the first and second aspects, the steering gear box supporting member can be surely rotated to the lower rear side of the vehicle body by the hinge portion.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A mounting structure of a steering gear box according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the drawings, an arrow FR indicates a forward direction of the vehicle, and an arrow UP indicates an upward direction of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, a pair of left and right side members 12 and 14 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body are disposed at portions on both sides of the front portion of the vehicle body. Reference numerals 14 each have a closed cross-sectional structure along the vehicle body front-rear direction.

A front suspension member 16 having a closed cross section extending along the width direction of the vehicle is installed on the side members 12 and 14. Both end portions 16A, 16B in the vehicle width direction of the front suspension member 16
Is a mounting portion to the side members 12 and 14,
A pair of front and rear mounting holes 18 are respectively formed. Bolts 20 are inserted into these mounting holes 18 from below, and these bolts 20 are
4 is fastened to a weld nut (not shown).

The front suspension member 16 includes:
A part of the engine main body 22 constituting a part of the power unit is fixed via a mounting member not shown, and the engine main body 22 is located above a central portion of the front suspension member 16 in the vehicle width direction. It is arranged along the vehicle front-back direction. The engine body 22
In the lower part of the left and right side surfaces 22A, the protrusions 2
4 are formed to protrude.

A pair of left and right bearings 26 project from the rear wall 16C of the front suspension member 16. These bearings 26 have a block shape extending in the vehicle width direction, and a through hole 28 is formed in the vehicle width direction.

On the other hand, the steering gear box 30
At a pair of left and right mounting portions 30A and 30B, the pair is fixed to a pair of left and right brackets 32 as steering gear box support members. Steering gear box 30
Are fixed to brackets 32 by fixing members 34 such as bolts, respectively, and these brackets 32 are formed in a box shape with an open front side of the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower wall 32A of the bracket 32 extends forward of the vehicle body.
Is located on the lower surface 1 of the front suspension member 16.
6D is fixed by welding or the like. In the left and right wall portions 32B of the bracket 32, connecting portions 36 are formed at the center in the vertical direction. These connecting portions 36 are substantially circular, and a notch 38 as a fragile portion is formed at the front portion. Is formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, connecting members such as bolts 40 are inserted into the connecting portion 36 of the bracket 32 and the bearing portion 26 of the front suspension member 16 from the outside in the vehicle width direction. A nut 42 is screwed to the tip of the shaft portion. Therefore, the connecting portion 36 of the bracket 32 is connected to the bearing 26 of the front suspension member 16 by the bolt 40 and the nut 42.

As shown in FIG. 1, an upper portion 32 C of the bracket 32 projects upward from the front suspension member 16, and has a convex portion 24 provided on the engine body 22.
At the rear of the vehicle body. Therefore,
When the engine body 22 moves rearward of the vehicle body (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1), the convex portion 24
C and is pressed rearward. When an impact load of a predetermined value or more acts on the upper portion 32C of the bracket 32, as shown in FIG. 3, the connecting portion 36 is broken at the notch 38, and the connecting portion 36 is detached from the bolt 40. A substantially central portion of the lower wall portion 32A in the front-rear direction is a hinge portion 32D, which is pivoted downward (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3) behind the vehicle body.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 50 and 51 indicate connecting shafts, reference numeral 52 indicates a steering column, and reference numeral 54 indicates a steering wheel.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, when the engine body 22 moves rearward of the vehicle body (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1) during a vehicle front collision,
The convex portion 24 of the engine body 22 is
2C and is pushed rearward of the vehicle body. At this time, when an impact load equal to or more than a predetermined value acts on the upper portion 32C of the bracket 32, the connecting portion 36 is broken at the notch 38 of the bracket 32, and the connecting portion 36 is detached from the bolt 40, as shown in FIG. The bracket 32 pivots toward the lower rear side of the vehicle body (in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 3) with a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the lower wall portion 32A as a hinge portion 32D.

As a result, the steering gear box 30 fixed to the bracket 32 also rotates together with the bracket 32, and by this rotation, the connecting shafts 50 and 51 are retracted below the vehicle, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Then, the steering column 52 and the steering wheel 54 are pulled downward on the front side of the vehicle. Therefore, interference between the steering wheel 54 and the occupant can be reduced.

Therefore, the mounting structure of the steering gear box according to the present embodiment can be applied to a vehicle body in which the steering gear box 30 is fixed to the front suspension member 16 extending in the vehicle width direction. Interference can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, when an impact load of a predetermined value or more acts on the bracket 32 rearward from the engine body 22, the connecting portion 36 is broken at the notch 38 of the bracket 32 and the connection is released. 32 rotates downward on the rear side of the vehicle body. As a result, the predetermined value of the impact load can be easily adjusted by the breaking strength of the notch 38.

Further, in the present embodiment, the bracket 32 can be reliably rotated to the lower rear side of the vehicle body (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3) by the hinge portion 32D.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to a specific embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various other embodiments are included within the scope of the present invention. It is clear to a person skilled in the art that is possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, two box-shaped brackets 32 each having an opening on the front side of the vehicle are used as the steering gear box support members. However, the steering gear box support members are not limited to the box-shaped brackets 32 and have other shapes. May be used. Also, the number used is not limited to two. For example, the number of the brackets 32 and the number of protrusions 24 of the engine body 22 may be one. In addition, the arrangement direction (vertical installation, horizontal installation) of the engine main body 22 is not limited. In addition, convex part 2
4 may be formed in another portion such as a gear buckle which constitutes a part of the power unit, instead of the engine body 22. Further, the configuration may be such that the engine body 22 directly abuts on the upper portion 32C of the bracket 32 without forming the convex portion 24.

Further, in the above embodiment, the notch 38 as a weak portion is formed in the connecting portion 36, but another weak portion such as a thin portion may be formed in the connecting portion 36 instead of the notch 38.

In the above embodiment, the bracket 32
Of the lower wall portion 32A in the front-rear direction in the hinge portion 3
Although it is configured to rotate as 2D, it may be configured to rotate other parts of the bracket 32 as hinge parts instead of the lower wall part 32A. Further, the hinge portion 32D may be configured to be easily deformed such as by reducing the plate thickness.

[0032]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a front suspension member disposed at a front portion of a vehicle body along a vehicle width direction, and a steering gear box support member for fixing a steering gear box to the front suspension member. In the mounting structure of the steering gear box provided with, the steering gear box support member, when a shock load of a predetermined value or more is applied rearward from the power unit at the time of a front collision, to rotate downward on the rear side of the vehicle body, The present invention is applicable to a vehicle body in which a steering gear box is fixed to a front suspension member extending in a vehicle width direction, and has an excellent effect of reducing interference between a steering device and an occupant during a front collision.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the mounting structure for a steering gear box according to the first aspect, the connecting portion of the steering gear box support member with the front suspension member is released when it is turned. Since the fragile portion is formed, in addition to the effect described in claim 1, there is an excellent effect that the predetermined value of the impact load can be easily adjusted by the breaking strength of the fragile portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the steering gear box mounting structure according to the first or second aspect, the steering gear box support member has a hinge portion serving as a center of rotation. Since it is formed, in addition to the effect described in either claim 1 or claim 2, there is an excellent effect that the steering gear box support member can be reliably rotated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a mounting structure of a steering gear box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the mounting structure of the steering gear box according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the rear of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of a mounting structure of a steering gear box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a mounting structure of a conventional steering gear box.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 12 side member 14 side member 16 front suspension member 22 engine body (power unit) 24 convex portion 26 bearing portion 30 steering gear box 32 bracket (steering gear box support member) 32C upper portion of bracket 32D hinge portion of bracket 36 connecting portion 38 Notch (fragile part) 40 Bolt 42 Nut

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A mounting of a steering gear box comprising: a front suspension member disposed at a front portion of a vehicle body along a vehicle width direction; and a steering gear box support member for fixing a steering gear box to the front suspension member. In the above structure, the steering gear box support member rotates downward when the impact load of a predetermined value or more acts rearward from the power unit during a front collision. Construction. 2. The steering device according to claim 1, wherein a weak portion for releasing the connection during the rotation is formed at a connection portion between the steering gear box support member and the front suspension member. Gear box mounting structure. 3. The steering gear box mounting according to claim 1, wherein the steering gear box support member has a hinge portion serving as the rotation center. Construction.