JPH06298101A - Steering column cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the number of part items and mounting manhours and absorb the impact energy at the time of a collision without impairing the appearance. CONSTITUTION:In a steering column cover 4 comprising an upper part 2 piled up on a lower part 3 and mounted on the bracket 5 provided in a steering column 1, a center side cylinder section 13 to be conformably inserted into the hole 12 formed in the bracket 5 is provided in the lower part 3, and a slit axially extending is formed in the head section 15 of the center side cylinder section 13, and a center side shaft section 20 to be fitted to the center side section 13 is provided in the upper part 2. The center side cylinder 13 is conformably inserted into the hole 12 of the bracket 5, and the center side shaft section 20 is fitted to the center side cylinder 13 and fixed to the steering column 1 through the bracket 5. For this reason, this fixing to the steering column 1 can be performed without screws. Therefore, the number of part items can be decreased by the number of eliminated screws, and part mounting manhours can be decreased by manhours for using screws.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering column cover used for automobiles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automobile uses a steering column cover for housing a combination switch, a steering lock, and the like. This steering column cover generally uses a screw for a bracket provided on the steering column. It is installed. An example of such a steering column cover is the steering column cover shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-15095. In this steering column cover, a pair of parallel ribs are vertically provided along the inner surface of the upper component, a locking piece is installed between the pair of parallel ribs, and the locking piece is engaged with the locking piece inside the lower component. The claws are formed to project, and the locking claws are engaged with the locking pieces to integrate the upper part and the lower part.

Further, as another example of the steering column cover, a bottomed lower component side tubular portion is provided inside a resin lower component fixed to a bracket by a screw, and inside the resin upper component. There is a type in which an upper component side tubular portion formed with a female screw is provided and a screw is used to integrate the upper component and the lower component.

[0004]

In the steering column cover described above, a screw is used to fix the steering column cover to the steering column, which requires a large number of parts and a large number of assembly steps.

Further, the above-mentioned steering column cover has the following problems. This problem will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows an actual vehicle mounting state of the steering column 1 and members in the vicinity thereof. In the figure, a steering column cover 4 composed of an upper component 2 and a lower component 3 is fixed to the steering column 1 via a bracket 5. The steering column 1 is attached by an upper attachment bracket (not shown) to a steering column support bracket 6 attached to the vehicle body using fastening members 7 such as bolts or nuts.

[0006] It should be noted that passenger cars are obliged to have a structure that absorbs the shock received from the steering wheel 8 of the driver at the time of a collision, and in order to deal with this obligation, a normal shock absorption type or collapsible type The steering column 1 referred to as is widely used. When the driver collides with the steering wheel 8, the collapsible steering column 1 absorbs energy while contracting in the column axial direction.

However, when the steering column 1 contracts, it moves axially together with the steering column cover 4 fixed to the steering column 1.
During the contraction process, the front end of the steering column cover 4 easily interferes with the steering column support bracket 6. Here, if the steering column cover 4 is fixed by a screw, a large force acts on both sides at the time of this interference, so that the energy absorption performance of the steering column 1 is significantly impaired.

As a countermeasure against this, a large notch 9 is provided at the front end of the steering column cover 4 as shown in FIG. 5, or a groove 10 is formed at the front end of the steering column cover 4 as shown in FIG. , It is performed so that it can be cut with a small force when interfering. However, since the notch 9 and the groove 10 are formed at the front end, there is a problem in that the appearance is impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a steering column cover 4 in which the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, and energy absorption at the time of collision can be achieved without spoiling the appearance. The purpose is to do.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is a steering column cover in which a lower part and an upper part are superposed, and the superposed parts are attached to a bracket provided on a steering column. In at least one of the lower component or the upper component, a tubular portion fitted into a hole formed in the bracket is provided,
A slit extending in the axial direction is formed at the tip of the tubular portion, and a shaft portion that fits into the tubular portion is provided on the other of the lower component and the upper component.

[0011]

With this structure, the tubular portion provided on one of the lower component or the upper component is fitted into the hole formed in the bracket, and the shaft portion provided on the other of the lower component or the upper component is inserted into the tubular portion. Since it is fitted, it is not necessary to use a screw to fix it to the steering column.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A steering column cover 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the figure, a bracket 5 provided on the steering column 1 includes a flange 11 extending in the axial direction of the steering column 1.
And a hole 12 is formed in the flange 11 by burring. Reference numeral 3 denotes a resin lower part that constitutes the steering column cover 4 together with the resin upper part 2. Two central side tube portions 13 are formed in the central portion on the inner side of the lower part 3, and two end side tube portions 14 are formed in the end side portions, respectively, extending toward the upper part 2 side. There is. The outer diameter of the central tube portion 13 is larger than the inner diameter of the hole 12 formed in the bracket 5.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the central cylinder portion
An annular groove 16 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the tip portion 15 of 13.
The outer diameter of the central tubular portion 13 of the annular groove 16 is smaller than the inner diameter of the hole 12 of the flange 11 by a tolerance, and the width of the annular groove 16 (the vertical length in FIG. 3) is Flange
The height H of the hole forming portion 17 of 11 (length in the vertical direction in FIG. 3) is longer by the tolerance, and the portion of the annular groove 16 is fitted into the hole 12 of the flange 11. There is.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tip portion of the central cylinder portion 13
Two slits 18 extending axially from the tip end are formed in the tip 15, and the tip end portion 15 has flexibility by the slits 18. The position of this slot 18 is oriented in the direction of contraction of the steering column 1 (direction of arrow A) as shown in FIG. A projecting portion 19 projecting inward is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the tip portion 15 of the center side tubular portion 13. Further, at the tip end portion of the end side tubular portion 14, a projection 19 and a slot (not shown) similar to those formed on the central side tubular portion 13 are formed.

The upper part 2 is formed with central and end-side shaft portions 20, 21 extending toward the central-side tubular portion 13 and the end-side tubular portion 14. A constricted portion 24 that fits into the protruding portion 19 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the tip end portions 22 and 23 of the center side and end side shaft portions 20 and 21, respectively.

Then, the tip end portion 15 of the central side tube portion 13 is inserted in the hole 12 of the flange 11 in a state of being contracted inward, and the hole forming portion 17 is positioned in the annular groove 16. Then, the tip portion returns to its original shape due to the elastic force of the resin, and the hole forming portion 17 fits into the annular groove 16. As a result, the lower part 3 is firmly fixed to the flange 11 in the axial direction. In this state, the tip end portion 15 of the central side tube portion 13 of the portion protruding from the hole 12 has flexibility due to the slit 18.

Next, the central side shaft portion 20 is pushed into the central side tubular portion 13, and the end side shaft portion 21 is pushed into the end side tubular portion 14. Then, as described above, the distal end portion 15 of the center-side tubular portion 13 having flexibility.
And the end side tube portion 14 is pushed out and the constricted portion 24 is a protruding portion.
The lower part 3 and the upper part 2 are integrated with each other by being fitted to each other.

In the steering column cover 4 constructed as described above, the central side tubular portion 13 of the lower part 3 is fitted into the hole 12 of the flange 11, and the central side tubular portion 20 of the upper part 2 is inserted into the central side tubular part 13. Is fixed to the steering column 1 via the bracket 5. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a screw for fixing the steering column 1, the number of parts can be reduced by the amount of the screw omitted, and the number of mounting steps can be reduced due to the omission of the screw.

In a steering column cover that has been fixed to a bracket using a conventional screw or integrated with an upper part and a lower part, the screw is directly screwed into a female threaded part made of resin on the other side. , The internal thread may be scraped off, which limits the number of times of repeated use such as disassembly and maintenance, impairs proper screwing of the screw, and may force replacement of the upper part. . On the other hand, in the steering column cover 4 of the present invention, the tightening,
The phenomenon that the screw does not work due to repeated loosening is eliminated, and the life of the component is extended.

Since the slits 18 are provided so as to be oriented in the contraction direction of the steering column 1 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 2), when a large force is applied in the direction (direction of arrow A), the center of the upper part 2 is provided. The side shaft portion 20 is easily disengaged from the central cylinder portion 13 of the lower component 3 so that the upper component 2 is free from the steering column 1 and the lower component 3. Therefore, at the time of a collision, the steering column 1 contracts, and the steering column cover 4 and the steering core ram interfere with each other to interfere with the upper part 2.
Easily disengages from the lower part 3 and the steering column 1
Does not deteriorate the energy absorption performance.

Further, since the good maintenance of the energy absorption performance of the steering column 1 is achieved without the shape of the external appearance, it is attractive.

In this embodiment, the end side shaft portion 21 of the upper part 2 is fitted into the end side cylinder part 14 of the lower part 3, but in this case, the end side cylinder part 14 is fitted. It is also possible to form an annular groove in the outer peripheral portion of the tip end portion of and to fit a ring in this annular groove to firmly fix the end side shaft portion 21 of the upper component 2. Also, instead of this ring, the bracket 5
May be extended and fitted into the annular groove.

[0023]

According to the present invention, the cylindrical portion provided on one of the lower part and the upper part is fitted into the hole formed in the bracket,
The shaft part provided on the other of the lower part or the upper part is fitted to the tubular part, and since it is not necessary to use a screw for fixing to the steering column, the number of parts can be reduced by the amount of the screw omitted, Moreover, the number of installation steps can be reduced by omitting the screw.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a steering column cover according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the steering column cover.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the steering column cover.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing a steering column and a mounting state thereof.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional steering column cover.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another conventional example of a steering column cover.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 Steering column 2 Upper part 3 Lower part 4 Steering column cover 5 Bracket 13 Center side cylinder part 20 Center side shaft part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering column cover constructed by stacking a lower part and an upper part and mounting the stacked part on a bracket provided on a steering column, wherein at least one of the lower part and the upper part is formed on the bracket. Provided with a tubular part that fits into the hole
A steering column cover, characterized in that a slot extending in the axial direction is formed at a tip end portion of the tubular portion, and a shaft portion fitted to the tubular portion is provided on the other of the lower component and the upper component.