JP3482343B2 - Damper for steering column - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a damper for a steering column, and relates to a structure of an intermediate shaft which elastically connects a lower end portion of a steering shaft of an automobile and a steering gear box, and in particular, has a short axial length and a small radius. The present invention relates to a damper that has a small number of parts, is lightweight, is easy to manufacture, can be obtained at low cost, and has a spring constant that is easy to set and stable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A steering column of an automobile is a part of a steering device for transmitting a rotating torque of a steering wheel to a steering gear box via a steering shaft and an intermediate shaft. A damper for the steering column to extend into the engine room and block unpleasant vibrations and sounds from the front wheels, chassis, and steering gear box, or to absorb the displacement between the chassis and body (in the axial direction of the intermediate shaft). Is provided on the intermediate shaft.

By the way, in this steering column damper, a thick rubber elastic disc is sandwiched between a pair of metal discs whose shafts are axially mounted, and collars are respectively inserted from one side and the other side of the elastic disc. These two bolts are fastened and fixed to the metal discs facing each other in the diametrical direction so as to face each other through nuts, and the bolts extending from the metal discs on the facing side and the bolts are fitted to the metal discs. The notch is formed to avoid the interference of the colors (Japanese Patent Publication No.
-75405 and Jikken 4-35259, etc.). The elastic disc may be integrally bonded by vulcanization adhesion to either one of the metal discs.

[0004]

However, according to the conventional damper for a steering column, the spring constant of the elastic disk is set in order to achieve both vibration / sound isolation and vehicle stability. In this case, there is a reinforcing cord inside the elastic disk, and the tension of this cord changes during rubber molding and assembly to the shaft, making it difficult to stabilize the spring constant. Moreover, since there are many components, the required length and radius in the axial direction become large, and there are disadvantages such that the vehicle layout may limit the layout.

Therefore, the present invention provides a compact damper for a steering column in which the spring constant can be easily set and the axial length and radius are short.

[0006]

The present invention is based on the above-mentioned conventional method.
It was devised in view of technical problems, and is described in claim 1.
The invention of claim 1 is composed of an annular body formed with a pair of substantially fan-shaped wing portions opposed to each other in the diametrical direction, and each radial side portion of the wing portions is bent to one side by 90 degrees to form a standing body with a predetermined height. A pair of stopper plates having bent portions are coaxially opposed to each other and rotated by 90 degrees so that the bent portions face each other in the circumferential direction, and the upright bent portion of one stopper plate and the other stopper. An elastic body is inserted and bonded between the plate and the vertical bending portion, and one stopper plate is connected to one shaft and the other stopper plate is connected to the other shaft, respectively, and the one shaft is connected to the shaft.
Is the other through the center holes of the pair of stopper plates
Is integrally connected to the end plate on the side of
Connect with one stopper plate via the end plate.
The other shaft is connected to the other stopper.
It is characterized by that.

[0007]

Further , in the invention described in claim 2,
Is a pair of diametrically opposed end plates.
Notch part is formed and one of the above
The hollow shaft to which the shafts of the
And that there is a screw hole in the part displaced 90 degrees.
It has a feature.

In the invention according to claim 3, the other shaft is a yoke portion of a universal joint connected to the steering gear box, and the yoke portion has a screw corresponding to the through hole of the wing portion. be characterized in that holes are formed
There is.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the hollow shaft has a serration portion formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and a solid shaft having a serration portion engaging with the serration portion formed on the outer peripheral surface is one side. It is characterized in that it is inserted so as to be movable in the axial direction as the axis of .

Thus, the elastic body is vulcanized and bonded between the pair of stopper plates which are assembled and face each other, so that the axial length and the radius can be suppressed small and the spring constant can be easily set. Become.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two stopper plates 3 and 4 and an end plate 5 are provided between yoke portions 1 and 2 of a universal joint that is connected to either one of a steering shaft and a steering gear box (not shown). The hollow shaft 6 penetrates through the center of the end plate 5 and is fixed thereto by welding or the like, and a serration portion 7 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the hollow shaft 6. The serrated portion 7 provided on the hollow shaft 6 is press-fitted with the serrated portion 8 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the solid shaft 9. The press-fitting portion is slidable immediately when an excessive input due to a secondary collision due to a vehicle collision occurs. The upper end of the solid shaft 9 is connected to the yoke portion 2 of the universal joint. The end plate 5 has a pair of notches 5 that are diametrically opposed to each other.
a and 5a are formed. Reference numeral 5b is a through hole formed for the purpose of stealing the meat in order to reduce the weight of the end plate 5.

The stopper plate 3 is formed by integrally molding a pair of fan-shaped blades 12, 12 opposed to each other in the diametrical direction on an annular portion 11 having a central hole 10 into which the hollow shaft 6 is loosely fitted and formed at the center. The radial side portion of the wing portion 12 is bent at a right angle to one surface side to form a vertical bending portion 13. The stopper plate 4 is the same as the stopper plate 3, both of which are coaxially opposed to each other, and the vertical bending portions 13 and 13 can face each other in the circumferential direction, and are arranged by being rotated by about 90 degrees with respect to the stopper plate 3. An elastic body 14 such as an anti-vibration rubber is inserted between the vertical bending portions 13 and 13 facing each other in the circumferential direction, and is joined by adhesion or the like. The fan-shaped size of the blade portion 12 and the size and material of the elastic body 14 are variable according to the spring constant to be set.

Further, a through hole 15 is formed in the center of the wing portion 12 of the stopper plate 3, and a bolt 16 is inserted into the through hole 15 to fit a collar 17 to form the end plate 5. The screw holes 18 are screwed together and fastened.
Further, a through hole 19 is formed in the central portion of the wing portion 12 of the stopper plate 4, and the bolt 2 is provided in the through hole 19.
0 is inserted, collar 21 and plastic bush 2
2 are fitted and screwed into the screw holes 23, 23 formed in the yoke portion 1 through the cutout portions 5a, 5a of the end plate 5 to be fastened. Like the stopper plates 3 and 4, the bolts 16 and 20 and the collars 17 and 21 are common parts having the same identity.

Therefore, the yoke portion 2 of the universal joint is rotated through the steering shaft by rotating the steering wheel.
The rotation torque input from the to the solid shaft 9 is transmitted to the hollow shaft 6 through the serrations 7 and 8, and when the end plate 5 integrated with the hollow shaft 6 rotates, the stopper plate via the bolts 16 and 16. 3 tries to rotate in the same direction, and the elastic body 14 coupled to the vertical bending portion 13 pushes the vertical bending portion 13 of the stopper plate 4 to rotate the stopper plate 4 in the same direction. Along with this, bolt 2
0, and is transmitted to the steering gear box via the yoke portion 1. On the other hand, sounds and vibrations from the front wheels, the chassis, and the steering gear box are transmitted from the yoke portion 1 of the universal joint to the stopper plate 4 via the bolts 20 and 20, but are blocked by the elastic body 14 to be stopped.
Not transmitted to the side. When the chassis, the steering gear box, and the vehicle body are displaced, the elastic body 14 is deformed to absorb the displacement amount.

Thus, the stopper plates 3, 4
Is a structure in which only one metal disk is bent at right angles to the left and right to form the wings 12 and 12, and the stoppers are easy to manufacture. The plates 3 and 4 are coaxially faced to each other and
Since it is a very simple structure, it is sufficient if the elastic body 14 is bonded by gluing or the like between the pair of stopper plates 3 and 4 facing each other in the circumferential direction between the pair of stopper plates 3 and 4 by displacing them once. The shaft length can be reduced. Further, when setting the spring constant, it is sufficient to consider only the tension and compression between the vertical bending portions of the elastic body, so that the spring constant can be easily set. Further, even if the elastic body 14 is damaged, the stopper plate and the end plate are not separated from each other, and the torque can be transmitted. Further, bolts 16, 20 connecting the stopper plate 3,4 in the end plate 5 and the yoke section 1, end plates 5
Also, since the structure is such that the nuts that are screwed into the screw holes 18 and 23 formed in the yoke portion 1 are not used, the number of parts can be reduced and the weight can be reduced, while the assembly process can be reduced.

[0017]

According to the present invention described above, since the elastic body is interposed between the input shaft and the output shaft, the vibration / sound transmitted from the output shaft side is blocked by the elastic body. Become. And, since the elastic body is held between the vertical bending portions, the reinforcing cord in the conventional damper becomes unnecessary,
The spring constant can be easily set, and a small damper having a small axial length and radius can be obtained. Moreover, even if the elastic body is damaged, the stopper plate and the end plate are not separated, and torque can be transmitted. Further, since the bolt is screwed into the screw hole and the nut is not used, the number of parts is small, the weight is reduced, the cost is reduced, and the assembly process can be reduced.
Further, since the hollow shaft penetrates the center hole of the stopper plate, it is possible to prevent the hollow shaft from falling down by appropriately adjusting the inner diameter of the center hole.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the entire assembly of FIG.

3 is a view on arrow A in FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,2 ... Yoke part of universal joint 3, 4 ... Stopper plate 5 ... End plate 5a ... Notch 6 ... Hollow shaft 7, 8 ... Serration part 9 ... Solid shaft 10 ... central hole 11 ... Ring part 12 ... Wing 13 ... Vertical bend 14 ... Elastic body 15, 19 ... Through hole 16, 20 ... bolts 17, 21 ... Color 18,23 ... Screw hole 22 ... Plastic bush

Front page continuation (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16D 3/12 F16D 3/68 F16F 15/136

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A ring-shaped body formed with a pair of substantially fan-shaped blade portions opposed to each other in the diametrical direction, and each radial side portion of each blade portion is bent 90 degrees toward one side to form a predetermined height. A pair of stopper plates forming vertical bending portions are coaxially opposed to each other and rotated by 90 degrees so that the bending portions face each other in the circumferential direction, and the vertical bending portion of one stopper plate and the other one An elastic body is inserted and bonded between the stopper plate and the vertical bending portion, and at the same time, one stopper plate is connected to one shaft and the other stopper plate is connected to the other shaft .
The shaft passes through the center holes of the pair of stopper plates
Is integrally connected to the end plate on one side and
One stopper plate through the end plate of
And the other shaft is connected to the other stopper.
The damper for the steering column, which is characterized by being 2. The end plates are diametrically opposed to each other.
A pair of notches facing each other is formed and the center
The through shaft is connected through the hollow shaft to which the one shaft is connected.
Note that screw holes are drilled in each notch and at a position displaced 90 degrees.
The damper for a steering column according to claim 1, wherein the damper is for a steering column. 3. The other shaft is a steering gear box.
The yoke portion of the universal joint connected to the box
Has a screw hole corresponding to the through hole of the wing
The damper for a steering column according to claim 1 or 2, wherein . 4. The serrated portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the hollow shaft.
Serrations that are formed and engage this serration
The solid shaft with the part formed on the outer peripheral surface moves in the axial direction as one axis.
4. The device according to claim 1, which is movably inserted.
The steering column for the damper of Zurekani described.