JP2009149166A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device which improves maneuverability and running stability of a vehicle by preventing generation of a first "play" at an initial stage of a steering wheel operation and a second "play" at the time when an external force larger than the time running on a flat road surface is applied on front wheels as a load. <P>SOLUTION: Mounting rigidity of respective mounts 7, 7 is increased by supporting a gear box 5 and a rack housing 6 by a pair of mounts 7, 7, supporting respective mounts 7, 7 by a sub frame 10 on a floor surface, by mounting to a strut tower bar 15 connecting front strut towers 14, 14 with each other through a first reinforcing member 19 composed of a brace having a projected front shape of X-shape, and by distributing to the right and left side members 11a, 11b of a main frame 11 mounting the sub frame 10 through a second reinforcing member 20 composed of a pair of right and left bar materials 20A, 20B having a projected planar shape of truncated chevron shape to be mounted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device, and more particularly to a steering device that improves the maneuverability and running stability of a vehicle.

  4 and 5 show an example of a rack-and-pinion type steering device 1. This steering device 1 is described in Patent Document 1, for example.

  The steering device 1 includes a gear box 5 that houses a pinion 4 that is coupled to the rack portion 2 a of the steering rack 2 and the tip of the steering shaft 3 and meshes with the rack portion 2 a, and one end portion is fitted and connected to the gear box 5. A rack housing 6 extending in the vehicle width direction and slidably covering the steering rack 2, and the gear box 5 and the rack housing 6 are elastic bodies 7a made of rubber bushes, and hold the elastic bodies 7a. A pair of mounts 7, 7 constituted by a stopper 7 b to be elastically supported, and each mount 7, 7 is fastened to a subframe 10 on the vehicle floor surface by a plurality of bolts 9 at both ends of the stopper 7 b. Are supported by the sub-frame 10, and the sub-frame 10 has left and right side members 11a in the main frame 11 of the vehicle. It is attached to 1b. 4 and 5, reference numeral 12 denotes a pair of left and right tie rods which are connected to both end portions of the steering rack 2 via ball joints (not shown), and each connecting portion and the vicinity thereof are bellows-like rubber boots. 13. The tie rod end of each tie rod 12 is coupled to a front wheel (not shown) via a knuckle arm (not shown).

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, the left and right strut towers provided on the front body of the vehicle are reinforced by connecting and reinforcing them with a strut tower bar extending in the vehicle width direction, thereby increasing the rigidity of the front body. A technique for preventing the vehicle from running and improving the running stability of the vehicle is described.

JP 2003-31490 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-98004

  By the way, in the steering device 1 described in Patent Document 1, when a steering wheel (not shown) is steered, a large inertia force is used as a load at the initial stage of steering as a load. 5 acts in the radial direction of the rack housing 6. This load acts on the rubber bush 7a of the mounts 7 and 7 to press the rubber bush 7a in the radial direction, compresses a part of the rubber bush 7a in the radial direction and elastically deforms it, and also via the stopper 7b. Thus, the subframe 10 is loaded. However, since the spring constant of the rubber bush 7a is relatively high and the strength of the subframe 10 is weak, the subframe 10 is distorted by the load, and the steering of the steering wheel at the initial stage is caused by the distortion of the subframe 10. Is absorbed. As a result, a phenomenon called “play” in which steering of the steering wheel is not transmitted to the front wheels occurs. This “play” does not occur any more when the limit point absorbed by the distortion of the subframe 10 is exceeded in the initial stage of steering of the steering wheel, and thereafter, steering of the steering wheel is transmitted to the front wheels and the direction of the front wheels changes. The distortion of the subframe 10 in the initial stage of steering the steering wheel is recovered by returning the steering wheel.

  That is, in the conventional steering device 1, a time lag occurs between the steering operation and the front wheel direction, that is, the steering operation and the behavior of the vehicle in the initial stage of the steering operation, and the traveling direction of the vehicle is controlled as the driver intends. The first “play” that is difficult to perform occurs, and the controllability of the vehicle is reduced.

  On the other hand, even when the vehicle travels on a general city road, due to the unevenness of the road surface, undulations or steps, a larger external force is applied to the front wheels as a load than when traveling on a flat road surface with no road surface unevenness, etc. Phenomena such as distortion occurs in the subframe 10 itself, which is structurally weaker than the main frame 11, or distortion occurs in the attachment portion between the main frame 11 and the subframe 10. When such a phenomenon occurs, the second “play” in which the direction of the front wheels fluctuates regardless of the direction of the handle, even if the direction of the handle is held constant in response to the vehicle traveling straight or turning. Therefore, even when the vehicle is traveling straight, it is necessary to correct the direction in which the steering wheel is turned to the left or right. This causes a problem that the traveling stability of the vehicle is lowered.

  The present invention solves such a problem, and the object of the present invention is to provide a front wheel with a large external force as a load in comparison with the first “play” in the initial stage of steering wheel operation and when traveling on a flat road surface. An object of the present invention is to provide a steering device that prevents the occurrence of the second “play” when it is loaded on the vehicle and improves the maneuverability and running stability of the vehicle.

In order to achieve the above object, a steering apparatus according to the present invention includes a front frame of a vehicle in which a subframe on a floor surface is attached to a main frame and a front strut tower is connected by a strut tower bar extending in the vehicle width direction. In the steering device equipped on the body,
A gear box and a rack housing of the steering device are supported by at least a pair of mounts, each mount is supported by the subframe, is attached to the strut tower bar via a first reinforcing member, and a second It is characterized by being attached to the main frame via a reinforcing member.

  According to this, each mount is attached to the front body stronger than the subframe via the first reinforcement member and the strut tower bar, and the mainframe stronger than the subframe via the second reinforcement member. Mounting rigidity is increased by being attached to. Therefore, even if a large inertial force acts as a load in the radial direction of the rack housing through the steering rack and the gear box in the initial stage of steering the steering wheel, distortion of the subframe due to the load is suppressed and the first “play” Can be prevented. Therefore, the responsiveness at the initial stage of the steering wheel operation is improved and the time lag between the steering wheel operation and the vehicle behavior is eliminated, so that the traveling direction of the vehicle can be controlled according to the driver's intention, and the driving performance of the vehicle is improved. To do.

  On the other hand, even when an external force larger than that when traveling on a flat road surface is applied to the front wheels as a load, the mounting rigidity of each mount is increased, so that the distortion of the subframe itself due to the load applied to the front wheels and the main The bending phenomenon of the subframe due to the distortion of the attachment portion between the frame and the subframe is suppressed, and the occurrence of the second “play” can be prevented. Therefore, an unintentional steering direction correction operation is not required, and the running stability of the vehicle is improved.

  Further, in the steering device according to the present invention, the first reinforcing member is formed of a staggered X-shaped projection front surface, two upper end portions are fastened to the strut tower bar, and two lower end portions are attached to the pair of mounts. The second reinforcing member is formed of a pair of left and right bars having a projected plane shape, and one end of each bar is fastened to the pair of mounts, and the other end of each bar is the main It is characterized by being distributed and fastened to the left and right side members of the frame.

  According to this, the first external force acting mainly on each mount in the two directions of the vertical direction and the vehicle width direction is responded by the first reinforcing member that exhibits the excellent reinforcing effect inherent in the difference in the projected front shape X-shape. The second external force that increases the mounting rigidity and that acts mainly on the mounts in the front-rear direction is a second plane made up of a pair of left and right rods in the shape of a projection plane that has an excellent reinforcing effect while having a simple structure. Since the mounting rigidity is correspondingly increased by the reinforcing member, the first and second “play” can be prevented from occurring by the combined reinforcing effect of the first and second reinforcing members.

  Furthermore, in the steering device according to the present invention, it is desirable that the first and second reinforcing members are made of a lightweight and highly rigid hollow steel material. According to this, a high reinforcement effect can be exhibited by the reduced first and second reinforcing members.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the first “play” at the initial stage of steering operation and the second “play” when a large external force is applied to the front wheels as a load than when traveling on a flat road surface. Thus, the running stability of the vehicle can be improved.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view seen from the front side of a vehicle equipped with an embodiment of a steering device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an embodiment of a front body of a vehicle equipped with a steering device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between one embodiment of the pair of left and right mounts and the subframe, the first reinforcing member and the second reinforcing member, and the relationship between the second reinforcing member and the main frame. It is explanatory drawing shown partially broken. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same as that of the prior art example demonstrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, or an equivalent part, and description of the overlapping structure is abbreviate | omitted.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the steering device 1 is supported on the upper surface of a sub-frame 10 on the vehicle floor attached to the main frame 11 via a pair of left and right mounts 7, 7, whereby Equipped to.

  A pair of left and right front strut towers 14 are provided in the front body 17 of the vehicle 16, and the front strut towers 14 are connected to each other at both ends of the strut tower bar 15 extending in the vehicle width direction. By connecting and reinforcing, the rigidity of the front body 17 is increased, the front strut towers 14 and 14 are prevented from falling, and the running stability of the vehicle 16 is improved.

  The pair of left and right mounts 7 and 7 is a so-called monoblock type in which the gear box 5 and the rack housing 6 are integrated, and includes a pair of seating portions 7c extending in the front-rear direction. A bolt insertion hole 18 in the vertical direction is inserted through the fastening bolt 9, and an elastic body 18 a made of a rubber bush is fitted to the inner periphery of each bolt insertion hole 18. Further, the sub-frame 10 has four bolt insertion holes 10a, 10b in the vertical direction corresponding to the four bolt insertion holes 18 formed through the respective seating portions 7c of the pair of left and right mounts 7, 7. 10c and 10d are formed through.

  The pair of left and right mounts 7 and 7 are attached to the strut tower bar 15 via the first reinforcing member 19 and attached to the main frame 11 via the second reinforcing member 20.

  The first reinforcing member 19 is composed of a projected front X-shaped streak formed of a hollow steel material such as a stainless steel pipe, and two upper end portions thereof are both end portions in the vehicle width direction of the strut tower bar 15. It is fastened by a bolt 21 to a mounting piece 15a extending downward in the vicinity, and a socket-like connecting portion 19a having a vertical axis is provided at two locations at the lower end.

  The second reinforcing member 20 is composed of a pair of left and right bars 20A and 20B having a projected planar shape and formed of a hollow steel material such as a stainless steel pipe, and one end of each of the bars 20A and 20B has a vertical axis. A socket-like connecting portion 20a is provided, and a socket-like connecting portion 20b having a vertical axis is provided at the other end.

  Here, in the four bolt insertion holes 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d penetratingly formed in the subframe 10, a pair of left and right mounts are provided above the two bolt insertion holes 10a, 10b on the right side (left side in FIG. 1). 7, 7 on the right side (left side in FIG. 1) with the two bolt insertion holes 18 penetratingly formed in each seating portion 7c of the mount 7 on the right side (left side in FIG. 1) concentrically facing each other. A pair of left and right mounts 7, mounted on the subframe 10, above the remaining two bolt insertion holes 10c, 10d on the left side (right side in FIG. 1) of the four bolt insertion holes 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d. 7, the two bolt insertion holes 18 formed so as to penetrate each seating portion 7 c of the left-side mount 7 on the left side (the right side in FIG. 1) are concentrically opposed to each other so that the right-side mount 7 is Placed on the over-time 10.

  Next, two bolt insertion holes formed so as to penetrate through the rear portions of the seating portions 7c of the pair of left and right mounts 7 and 7 through the socket-like connecting portions 19a provided at the two lower ends of the first reinforcing member 19 18 is concentrically opposed to the upper side 18 and each socket-like connecting portion 19a is placed on the rear side of each seating portion 7c, thereby penetrating the socket-like connecting portion 19a and the rear side of each seating portion 7c. After the two bolt insertion holes 18 formed and the two bolt insertion holes 10a and 10c of the subframe 10 communicate with each other in the vertical direction, the bolts 9 are inserted downward from the socket-like connecting portions 19a side. The front end of the first reinforcing member 19 is fastened to a pair of left and right mounts 7 and 7 by projecting the tip thereof to the lower side of the subframe 10 and screwing the nut 22 into the projecting portion. It is.

  On the other hand, a socket-like connecting portion 20a provided at one end of each bar 20A, 20B constituting the second reinforcing member 20 is formed through the front side of each seating portion 7c in the pair of left and right mounts 7,7. The socket-like connecting portions 20a are placed concentrically facing the two bolt insertion holes 18 from above, and the socket-like connecting portions 20a are placed on the front side of the seating portions 7c, so that the socket-like connecting portions 20a, After connecting the two bolt insertion holes 18 penetratingly formed on the front side of the seating portion 7c and the two bolt insertion holes 10b, 10d of the subframe 10 in the vertical direction, each socket-like connecting portion 20a side The bolt 9 is inserted downward from the front end, and the tip portion thereof protrudes to the lower side of the subframe 10, and the nut 22 is screwed onto the protruding portion, whereby each bar 20A constituting the second reinforcing member 20 is inserted. One end of 0B is fastened to the pair of left and right mounting 7,7.

  On the other hand, a socket-like connecting portion 20b provided at the other end of each bar 20A, 20B constituting the second reinforcing member 20 is inserted into the left and right side members 11a, 11b of the main frame 11 through a bolt. Each socket-like connecting portion 20b is brought into contact with the lower surface of the side members 11a and 11b so as to concentrically face the hole 23 from the lower side, so that each socket-like connecting portion 20b and the bolts of the side members 11a and 11b After allowing the insertion holes 23 to communicate with each other in the vertical direction, the bolts 9A are inserted upward from the socket-like connecting portions 20b side, and the tip portions thereof protrude above the side members 11a and 11b. By screwing the nut 22A to the portion, the other end of each bar member 20A, 20B constituting the second reinforcing member 20 becomes each side member. Chromatography 11a, are fastened by distributing the 11b.

  According to the above configuration, the mounts 7 and 7 are attached to the front body 17 of the vehicle stronger than the subframe 10 via the first reinforcing member 19 and the strut tower bar 19, and the second reinforcing member 20 is attached. By attaching to the main frame 11 having a strength stronger than that of the subframe 10, the mounting rigidity is increased. Therefore, even when a large inertial force acts as a load in the radial direction of the rack housing 6 via the steering rack 2 and the gear box 5 in the initial stage of steering the steering, the distortion of the subframe 10 due to the load is suppressed and the first Can prevent the occurrence of “play”. Accordingly, the responsiveness in the initial stage of the steering wheel operation is improved and the time lag between the steering wheel operation and the behavior of the vehicle 16 is eliminated, so that the traveling direction of the vehicle 16 can be controlled as the driver intends. Improves.

  On the other hand, even when an external force larger than that when traveling on a flat road surface is applied to the front wheels as a load, the mounting rigidity of the mounts 7 and 7 is increased, so that the subframe 10 itself due to the load applied to the front wheels is increased. And the bending phenomenon of the subframe 10 due to the distortion of the attachment portion between the main frame 11 and the subframe 10 is suppressed, and the occurrence of the second “play” can be prevented. Therefore, an unintentional steering direction correction operation is not required, and the running stability of the vehicle is improved.

  Further, the first external force acting on each mount 7.7 mainly in two directions, ie, the vertical direction and the vehicle width direction, is handled by the first reinforcing member 19 that exhibits the original excellent reinforcing effect of the projected front shape X-shaped streak. Therefore, the second external force acting mainly on the mounts 7 and 7 mainly in the front-rear direction has a simple planar structure and a pair of left and right bars 20A in the shape of a projected plane that exhibits an excellent reinforcing effect. . Since the mounting rigidity is correspondingly increased by the second reinforcing member 20 made of 20B, the composite reinforcing effect by the first and second reinforcing members 19 and 20 prevents the occurrence of the first and second “play”. can do. In addition, the first and second reinforcing members 19 and 20 made of a lightweight and high-rigidity hollow steel material such as a stainless steel pipe can be used to exert a high reinforcing effect.

1 is a perspective view seen from the front side of a vehicle equipped with an embodiment of a steering device according to the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a front body of a vehicle equipped with a steering device according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which partially fractures | ruptures and shows the relationship of one Embodiment with a pair of right and left mounts, a sub-frame, a 1st reinforcement member, and a 2nd reinforcement member, and the relationship of 2nd reinforcement member and a main frame. . It is a perspective view of a prior art example. It is a perspective view which shows the meshing structure of the rack part and pinion of a steering rack.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering device 5 Gear box 6 Rack housing 7 Mount 10 Sub frame 11 Main frame 11a, 11b Side member 14 Front strut tower 15 Strut tower bar 16 Vehicle 17 Front body 19 1st reinforcement member 20 2nd reinforcement member 20A, 20B A pair of right and left Bar material

Claims (3)

In the steering device mounted on the front body of the vehicle in which the subframe on the floor surface is attached to the main frame and the front strut tower is connected by the strut tower bar extending in the vehicle width direction,
A gear box and a rack housing of the steering device are supported by at least a pair of mounts, each mount is supported by the subframe, is attached to the strut tower bar via a first reinforcing member, and a second A steering apparatus, wherein the steering apparatus is attached to the main frame via a reinforcing member. The steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The first reinforcing member is made of a staggered X-shaped projected front shape, wherein two upper end portions are fastened to the strut tower bar, and two lower end portions are fastened to the pair of mounts. 2. The reinforcing member is composed of a pair of left and right bars having a projected planar shape, and one end of each bar is fastened to the pair of mounts, and the other end of each bar is the left and right side members of the main frame. A stearin apparatus characterized by being distributed and fastened. The steering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The first and second reinforcing members are made of a lightweight and highly rigid hollow steel material.

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