JP2001239943A - Vibration damper of steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vibration damper of a steering wheel capable of easily reducing a dispersion in mass production and capable of effectively damping steering vibration by a weight of relatively small mass. SOLUTION: This vibration damper of the steering wheel is composed of a housing 11 being a cylindrical body formed of a rigid material by having an inside space and being fixed to the steering wheel 1 by setting the axis almost parallel to a steering shaft, an elastic body 30 nonadhesively inserted into the inside space of the housing 11 by having clearance in the vibrating direction of the housing 11, and the weight 20 integrally supported by the elastic body 30 so as not to touch the housing 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vibration damping device for reducing steering vibration during running and idling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a vibration damping device of this type, there is known an example in which a dynamic damper is applied to a steering wheel (JP-A-8-127347). This is to reduce the vibration of the steering wheel by a resonance system having a spring and a rubber elastic body covering the weight and the weight.

[0003]

However, in the case of the dynamic damper, the vibration frequency to be damped is specified to some extent by the spring constant of the elastic body and the weight of the weight, and it is not easy to manage the mass production variation of the resonance frequency.

In order to sufficiently reduce the vibration of the steering wheel of a vehicle, a weight having a relatively large mass is required, and it has been difficult to actually apply the weight to the steering wheel.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a point,
An object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel vibration damping device that can easily reduce mass production variation and can effectively attenuate steering vibration with a weight having a relatively small mass.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cylindrical body having an internal space and formed of a rigid material, the axis of which is substantially parallel to a steering shaft. A housing fixed to the steering wheel, a resilient member inserted into the internal space of the housing in a non-adhesive manner with a gap in a vibration direction of the housing, and the resilient member so as not to touch the housing. And a weight supported integrally with the steering wheel.

The housing is fixed to the steering wheel with the axis of the cylindrical body substantially parallel to the steering shaft, and the elastic body is inserted into the internal space of the housing in a non-adhesive manner with a gap in the vibration direction of the housing. Due to the structure, the elastic body abuts against the inner surface of the housing against vibration in the direction perpendicular to the steering axis of the steering wheel, and damping is obtained based on sliding friction at that time and energy loss due to collision. A vibration damping effect can be obtained for a plurality of resonances.

[0007] Therefore, unlike the dynamic damper, it is not necessary to strictly set the resonance frequency, and it is possible to reduce variation in mass production. In addition, a weight having a relatively small mass can effectively obtain a vibration damping effect and can be easily applied to a steering wheel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vibration damping device for a steering wheel according to the first aspect, a plurality of the weights are provided.

Even if the mass of the entire weight is the same as that of a single weight, vibration is attenuated and the degree of freedom in the layout of the weight is improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vibration damping device for a steering wheel according to the first aspect, a plurality of elastic bodies for integrally supporting the weight are provided.

Each of the elastic bodies integrally supporting the weight is small, and the degree of freedom in the layout and the shape of the housing is high.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vibration damping device for a steering wheel according to any one of the first to third aspects, a dynamic damper is formed by the elastic body and the weight. Features.

[0013] A vibration damping effect can be generally obtained for a plurality of resonances having different frequencies, and a dynamic damper can attenuate vibration particularly at a specific frequency that requires vibration damping, and is more effective in a wide frequency range. It is possible to attenuate vibrations.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view of a steering wheel 1 of a vehicle, and shows an arrangement state of a vibration damping device 10 attached to the steering wheel 1.

A substantially elliptical housing 11 is fixed to the steering boss plate 2 at the substantially center of the steering wheel 1. In FIG. 1, when the steering wheel 1 is viewed from the front, the vehicle travels straight and the horizontal direction is the Y-axis direction, the vertical direction is the Z-axis direction,
The direction perpendicular to the paper surface (the steering axis direction) is defined as the X-axis direction.

The vibration damping device 10 is shown in FIGS. The housing 11 is formed of a rigid material, and has a substantially elliptical cylindrical body 12 as viewed from the front, in which two cylinders are arranged parallel to each other in the left-right direction (Y-axis direction) and joined. Bottom wall that integrally closes one opening of two left and right cylindrical internal spaces 12a, 12a
13 and a cylindrical internal space 12 covered on the other end surface of the cylindrical body.
a and a flat lid member 14 for closing the other opening of 12a.

A pair of left and right brackets 15, 15 extend in the same direction (Z-axis direction) from the left and right corners of the cylindrical body 12 of the housing 11, and are fixed to the brackets 15, 15 by bolts to the steering boss plate 2. Mounting holes 15a, 15a
Are drilled.

In the housing 11, left and right cylindrical internal spaces 12a, 12a are inserted, each of which has a weight 20, which is a cylindrical body, covered by an elastic body 30. The elastic body 30 covers the outer peripheral surface and both end surfaces of the cylindrical weight 20 except for a part of the center, and the weight 20 itself does not directly contact the cylindrical body 12. A gap d is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical internal space 12a and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body 30.

The weight 20 is made of steel, but the material is not limited to steel, and various materials having high density can be considered. Elastic body
30 is formed of rubber or resin or an elastic foam containing the same as a main component, and is suitably made of high specific gravity rubber or the like. The surface has a smooth flat or curved surface, but has an uneven shape. You may.

The vibration damping device 10 is mounted on the steering wheel 1 in the posture shown in FIG. The elastic body 30 inserted into the two cylindrical internal spaces 12a, 12a of the housing 11 fixed to the steering boss plate 2 has a gap d in a direction parallel to the YZ plane, that is, a vibration direction perpendicular to the steering axis (X axis). Having.

The above steering wheel 1 and vibration damping device
FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the ten vibration systems. In a main vibration system in which a steering wheel 1 serving as a vibration transmission member is attached to a vibration source A such as a body frame, the vibration damping device 10 is provided in the steering wheel 1 as a sub vibration system.

The housing 11 of the sub-vibration system is integrally fixed to the steering wheel 1 (mass M) of the main vibration system, and the space between the housing 11 and the elastic body 30 covering the weight 20 (mass m) in the sub-vibration system. The gap d is in the vibration direction shown by the arrow in FIG.

Therefore, the present vibration damping device 10 includes a housing 11
(Hereinafter referred to as "impact damper") in which an elastic body 30 is inserted in a non-adhesive manner with a gap d in the vibration direction in an internal space 12a thereof, and a dynamic damper in which a weight 20 having a mass m is embedded inside the elastic body 30 And coexist.

FIG. 5A shows a model of the main vibration system and the impact damper, and FIG. 5B shows a model of the main vibration system and the dynamic damper.

Referring to FIG. 5A, in the impact damper, an elastic body 30 inserted into the internal space 12a with a gap d in response to the vibration of the housing 11 integrated with the steering wheel 1 is provided. And collides with the inner peripheral surface of the internal space 12a.

The vibration damping effect can be obtained based on the sliding friction when the elastic body 30 collides with the inner peripheral surface of the internal space 12a and the energy loss due to the collision. FIG. 6 shows the vibration transmission characteristics of the steering wheel 1.

In FIG. 6, the broken line indicates the vibration transmission characteristics when no vibration damping device is provided, and prominent peaks appear at many resonance frequencies from the low frequency region to the high frequency region.

The dashed line indicates the vibration transmission characteristic when the impact damper is provided. Compared with the broken line, the prominent peak levels at a plurality of resonance frequencies are substantially suppressed.

This is because the vibration is attenuated based on the sliding friction of the elastic body 30 and the energy loss due to the collision, so that an effect of suppressing a prominent peak level at a plurality of resonance frequencies with a relatively small mass m is obtained. 1 Suitable for damping. As described above, the peak level is suppressed at many resonance frequencies from the low frequency region to the high frequency region, so that the variation in mass production can be easily reduced.

The impact damper can exert a vibration damping effect on vibrations of the steering wheel 1 in all directions (directions perpendicular to the steering axis) on the YZ plane such as the left and right directions and the up and down directions.

Since the impact damper reduces the plurality of resonance peak levels based on the energy loss due to sliding friction and collision, the impact damper is hardly affected by the temperature and the damping effect is not reduced by the temperature.

As shown in FIG. 6, the impact damper greatly reduces the resonance peak level particularly on the high frequency side. This is due to the fact that the impact damper is based on energy loss due to sliding friction and collision.
This is because the vibration damping effect increases as the collision speed of the elastic body 30 against the inner peripheral surface increases, and thus the vibration damping effect increases particularly in a resonance region where the vibration frequency is high.

On the other hand, the resonance peak level around 80 Hz of the low frequency is not reduced. Therefore, the vibration damper 10
Has a dynamic damper in addition to the impact damper.

As shown in FIG. 5B, a weight 20 having a mass m
Are connected to a housing 11 integral with the steering wheel 1 via an elastic body 30 having a spring constant k to form a dynamic damper.

The mass m of the weight 20 and the spring constant k of the elastic body 30
Is set to obtain a vibration damping effect particularly at about 80 Hz in the low frequency region. That is, the natural frequency of the sub-vibration system is set to match the natural frequency of the main vibration system.

Then, referring to FIG. 6, in the vibration transfer characteristics shown by the dashed line obtained by the impact damper, those having a particularly high resonance peak level prominently around 80 Hz as shown by the solid line. Has been reduced to Other frequencies are almost the same and have the same characteristics as shown by the dashed line.

As described above, the vibration is attenuated for a plurality of resonances by the impact damper, and then the resonance is reduced by the dynamic damper for a frequency exhibiting a still higher resonance peak level or a frequency at which further vibration attenuation is desired. Can be.

The vibration damping device 10 has a structure in which two elastic bodies 30 covering the weight 20 are inserted into the two internal spaces 12a, 12a of the housing 11, respectively. Even if the mass of the entire weight is the same, the vibration is further attenuated, and the degree of freedom of the layout of the weight and the shape of the housing is high.

FIG. 7 shows a case where two weights m1 and m2 covered with elastic bodies d1 and d2 are inserted into the inner space of the housing h (FIG. 7A). When one weight m3 covered with the body d3 is inserted (FIG. 7)
(2)) is schematically illustrated.

In both cases, the same vibration in the direction of the arrow is applied to the housing h, and as shown in FIG.
2 and m3 move, in the case of one weight m3 (FIG. 7 (2)), one weight m3 contacts the inner surface of the housing h at one or two places via the elastic body d3. On the other hand, in the case of two weights m1 and m2 (FIG. 7 (1)), the two weights m1 and m2 are respectively provided at one or two places on the inner surface of the housing h via the elastic members d1 and d2. As a result, the vibration modes are different, and the vibration damping effect is superior to the case of one weight m3.

Even if the elastic body covers a plurality of weights, the vibration damping effect and the degree of freedom of the layout can be improved. Further, a plurality of vibration damping devices in which an elastic body covering the weight is inserted non-adhesively in the internal space of the housing with a gap in the vibration direction may be provided on a plurality of steering wheels.

Next, a schematic diagram of a vibration damping device 50 according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. A pair of elastic bodies 52, 53 and a weight 54 supported by the elastic bodies 52, 53 are inserted without the cylindrical housing 51.

A pair of support portions in the housing 51 are formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the cylinder of the housing 51, and extend from opposing surfaces of the two elastic bodies 52 and 53 arranged coaxially with the center axis. The tips of 52a and 53a are baked on the center weight 54, and the weight 54 is integrally fixed and supported by the elastic bodies 52 and 53 on both sides.

The weight 54 has a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter much smaller than the outer diameter of the elastic bodies 52 and 53, and has a central axis coaxial with the elastic bodies 52 and 53, so that the weight 54 is inserted into the housing 51. Then, the weight 54 is elastically supported by the elastic bodies 52 and 53 on both sides without touching the housing 51.

The weight 54 elastically supported by the elastic members 52 and 53
A space is secured between the inner surface of the housing 51 and the weight 54 such that the housing 51 does not touch the housing 51 even if the housing 51 is relatively displaced.

The vibration damping device 50 has a cylindrical housing 51.
Is fixed to the steering wheel with its axis parallel to the steering axis. Then, the vibration direction perpendicular to the steering axis of the steering wheel is the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8, and the elastic bodies 52 and 53 are inserted into the housing 51 in a non-adhesive manner with a gap in the vibration direction. And the weight 54 is an elastic body 5
The dynamic damper is elastically supported by 2, 53.

Therefore, the impact damper attenuates vibrations for a plurality of resonances, and the dynamic damper attenuates vibrations for the resonances that could not be attenuated, thereby lowering a number of resonance peak levels in almost all frequency ranges from low frequencies to high frequencies. And the variation in mass production can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a steering wheel to which a vibration damping device according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the vibration damping device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a structure in which the vibration damping device is provided on a steering wheel.

FIG. 5 is a diagram modeling a main vibration system and a damper structure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a vibration transmission characteristic.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a difference in a vibration system depending on the number of weights.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a vibration damping device according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering wheel, 2 ... Steering boss plate, 10 ... Vibration suppression device, 11 ... Housing, 12 ... Cylindrical body, 13 ...
Bottom wall, 14 ... lid member, 15 ... bracket, 20 ... weight, 30 ... elastic body, 50 ... vibration damping device, 51 ... housing, 52, 53 ... elastic body, 54 ... weight.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Keiichi Suminami 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Prefecture Inside Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toru Nirei 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama No. Within Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) One-to-one inventor Mitsujichi 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Prefecture Within R & D center at Honda R & D Co., Ltd. Tokai Rubber Industries Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koichi Hasegawa 3-1, Higashi 3-chome, Komaki City, Aichi Prefecture F-term (reference) 3D030 DB08 3J048 AA02 BA02 BF09 EA22

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A housing having an internal space and formed of a rigid material and fixed to a steering wheel with its axis substantially parallel to a steering shaft, and a housing in the internal space of the housing. A steering wheel, comprising: an elastic body inserted in a non-adhesive manner with a gap in a vibration direction of the vibration member; and a weight integrally supported by the elastic body so as not to touch the housing. Wheel damping device. 2. The steering wheel vibration damping device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the weights are provided. 3. The vibration damping device for a steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of elastic bodies integrally supporting the weight are provided. 4. A vibration damping device for a steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein a dynamic damper is formed by said elastic body and said weight.