JP2014141183A - Vehicle steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle steering device capable of inhibiting abnormal noise of a steering gear from entering into a passenger compartment.SOLUTION: A sound insulation shield plate 25 is disposed at the joint cover 23 side of a lower end of a dust cover 17. An annular seal 24 which is fixed to the joint cover 23 and is made of rubber is held at an outer periphery of a pinion shaft 7. The sound insulation shield plate 25 is formed into an annular and circular disc shape by a metal material and is provided between an inner periphery of the dust cover 17 and an outer periphery of the seal 24. An outer peripheral end part of the sound insulation shield plate 25 is fitted into an annular groove provided at an inner periphery of the joint cover 23 of the dust cover 17. An inner peripheral end part of the sound insulation shield plate 25 is fitted into an annular groove provided at the outer periphery of the seal 24 to be fixed thereto.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle steering apparatus.

  A pinion shaft of the rack and pinion type steering gear extends through the column hole of the dashboard of the vehicle and extends into the vehicle interior. Conventionally, the lower end of a rubber column hole cover whose upper end is engaged with the column hole is engaged with the periphery of a dust cover that closes the upper end of the pinion shaft housing portion, thereby allowing foreign matter such as mud and water to enter the vehicle interior. And intrusion of noise such as engine sound (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-137707 A

  However, since only a dust cover is provided between the steering gear in the engine room of the vehicle and the passenger compartment side, abnormal noise generated by the engagement of the rack and pinion of the steering gear penetrates the column hole cover. May enter the passenger compartment.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle steering apparatus that can suppress the entry of abnormal noise of the steering gear into the vehicle interior.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 1 includes a pinion shaft rotatably supported by a housing, a rack that meshes with the pinion of the pinion shaft, and is installed in the housing. A rack shaft that is axially displaceable, a joint cover that is attached to an upper end of the housing in the pinion axial direction, covers the opening, and a dust cover that fits the joint cover and surrounds the outer periphery of the pinion shaft A ring-shaped and disk-shaped sound insulation member provided on the meshing side of the rack and the pinion of the dust cover, and a seal provided in the dust cover for sealing between the sound insulation member and the outer periphery of the pinion shaft And the sound insulation member is fitted into an annular groove having an outer peripheral end formed in the inner periphery of the dust cover, End is summarized in that fitted to the outer periphery formed in an annular groove of the seal member.

  According to the above configuration, an annular disk-shaped sound insulation member is provided on the meshing side of the dust cover rack and pinion, and the outer peripheral end thereof is fitted into the annular groove provided on the inner periphery of the dust cover. The end is fitted and held in an annular groove provided on the outer periphery of the seal member. Thereby, the noise generated from the meshing part of the rack and the pinion and propagating through the joint cover is insulated by the sound insulation member and the seal member. As a result, abnormal noise is prevented from passing through the dust cover and entering the passenger compartment, and the sound insulation of the vehicle can be improved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the steering apparatus for vehicles which can suppress the approach of the noise of the steering gear into a vehicle interior can be provided.

The schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the steering apparatus for vehicles which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The fragmentary sectional view which shows the principal part of the steering device for vehicles. The expanded sectional view of the dust cover fitting part of FIG.

Next, a steering device mounted on a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle steering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle steering apparatus 1 includes a steering shaft 3 connected to a steering member such as a steering wheel 2, an intermediate shaft 5 connected to the steering shaft 3 via a universal joint 4, and an intermediate shaft. 5, a pinion shaft 7 connected via a universal joint 6, and a rack shaft 8 as a steered shaft having a rack 8 a that meshes with a pinion 7 a provided near the end of the pinion shaft 7.

  The steering shaft 3 is rotatably supported by a steering column 11 fixed to the vehicle body 9 via a bracket 10 via a bearing (not shown). The pinion shaft 7 and the rack shaft 8 constitute a steering gear 12 composed of a rack and pinion mechanism. The pinion 7 a of the pinion shaft 7 is meshed with the rack 8 a of the rack shaft 8 in a steering gear box 14 fixed to the vehicle body 9 via a bracket 13.

  The steering gear box 14 has a cylindrical rack housing (rack shaft housing portion) 15 through which the rack shaft 8 is inserted, and a cylindrical pinion housing (branch from the rack housing 15 that intersects the pinion shaft 7). The pinion shaft housing portion 16 is integrally formed of a single material (for example, an aminium alloy).

  An upper end of the pinion housing 16 is provided with a dust cover 17 made of rubber, for example, which closes the opening. A part of the pinion shaft 7 passes through the dust cover 17 and protrudes upward from the dust cover 17, and further, a column hole 21 provided in the dashboard 20 that partitions the engine room and the passenger compartment (vehicle compartment) of the vehicle. It extends through the vehicle compartment and is connected to the intermediate shaft 5 via a universal joint 6. The column hole 21 is covered with, for example, a rubber column hole cover 22, and the pinion shaft 7 passes through the column hole cover 22.

  The rack shaft 8 extends in the axial direction along the left-right direction of the vehicle, and is supported in the rack housing 15 so as to be capable of linear reciprocation via a plurality of bearings (not shown). Both end portions of the rack shaft 8 protrude to both sides of the rack housing 15, and tie rods (not shown) are coupled to the respective end portions. Each tie rod is connected to a corresponding steered wheel (not shown) via a corresponding knuckle arm (not shown).

  When the steering wheel 2 is operated and the steering shaft 3 is rotated, this rotation is converted into a linear motion of the rack shaft 8 along the left-right direction of the vehicle by the pinion 7a and the rack 8a. Thereby, the turning of a steered wheel is achieved.

  The column hole cover 22 has a shape protruding downward. An insertion hole through which the pinion shaft 7 is inserted is formed at the bottom of the column hole cover 22. The insertion hole is provided with an annular seal portion in which the pinion shaft 7 comes into sliding contact with rotation.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a main part of the vehicle steering device according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle steering apparatus 1 includes a rack shaft 8 that extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The rack shaft 8 is supported at both ends by the rack housing 15 so as to be movable in the rack axis direction. In the vicinity of the rack shaft 8, a pinion 7 a of the pinion shaft 7 that is rotatably supported by the pinion housing 16 and meshes with the rack 8 a of the rack shaft 8 is disposed. A steering shaft 3 is connected to the pinion 7a (pinion shaft 7) via an intermediate shaft 5, and a steering wheel 2 is connected to the tip of the steering shaft 3 (see FIG. 1). Thereby, the pinion 7a is configured to rotate by steering by the steering wheel 2. With this configuration, a rack and pinion mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the pinion shaft 7 into the linear motion of the rack shaft 8 is configured.

  A support yoke 38 that guides movement in a direction substantially orthogonal to the rack shaft 8 (substantially left-right direction in the figure) is disposed at a position opposite to the pinion 7a with respect to the rack shaft 8. The rack shaft 8 is configured to contact one end surface of the support yoke 38. Further, a coil spring (elastic member) 29 is disposed in a recessed space provided on the other end face of the support yoke 38. The coil spring 29 is sandwiched between a plug (adjustment screw) 32 screwed into the rack housing 15 and the bottom surface of the recess on the plug 32 side of the support yoke 38, and is supported by the support spring 38 and the rack shaft 8 by the coil spring 29. The urging force toward the pinion shaft 7 is acting.

  In addition, O-rings (oil seals) 33 and 34 formed of rubber as a sealing material are mounted in a recessed space formed on the outer peripheral surface of the support yoke 38, A shaft is tightly sealed to the inner peripheral wall surface of the rack housing 15, and a support yoke 38 is slidably supported on the rack housing 15.

  The support yoke 38 is made of a metal material (for example, sintered material, carbon steel, aluminum alloy, etc.), and is assembled in the rack housing 15 to support the rack shaft 8 so as to be movable in the axial direction. . The support yoke 38 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is accommodated in the rack housing 15 and is made of an elastic material (for example, synthetic resin) that is slidably engaged with the back surface of the rack shaft 8 on the pinion 7a side. A sheet member 39 is provided. A predetermined amount of gap is provided in the radial direction between the outer periphery of the support yoke 38 and the rack housing 15.

  The coil spring 29 is elastically mounted between the support yoke 38 and the plug 32, and engages with the concave bottom surface of the support yoke 38 and the inner end surface of the plug 32. The coil spring 29 is formed of, for example, a compression coil spring, and urges the rack shaft 8 toward the right side in the drawing via a support yoke 38 in the axial direction of the coil spring 29.

  The plug 32 is for adjusting the urging force of the coil spring 29, is formed of the same metal material as the rack housing 15, and is screwed into the rack housing 15 so as to be able to advance and retract. A predetermined amount of gap is provided between the plug 32 and the support yoke 38 in the axial direction. When the force in the direction of retreating from the pinion shaft 7 becomes extremely large on the rack shaft 8, the plug 32 and the support yoke 38 abut against each other so that the rack shaft 8 does not retract from the pinion 7a any more. A lock nut 37 is used to prevent the plug 32 from loosening with respect to the rack housing 15.

  An opening is formed at the upper end of the pinion housing 16, and the joint cover 23 is attached to the upper end of the pinion housing 16 so as to cover the opening. Inside the joint cover 23, for example, a rubber-made annular dust seal 26 is held on the inner periphery of the pinion housing 16 to seal between the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the pinion shaft 7. . The joint cover 23 is made of an elastic material (for example, a rubber material) having a sealing property or a resin material, and is formed so as to surround the opening of the pinion housing 16 and reduce in a taper shape toward the upper end of the pinion shaft 7. Yes.

  Abnormal noise generated by the engagement of the rack 8a and the pinion 7a is transmitted through the dust seal 26 provided around the pinion shaft 7 and slightly attenuated, and then propagated to the space formed by the joint cover 23. The dust cover 17 is fixed to a joint cover 23 that covers the steering gear box 14 (pinion housing 16). A rubber dust cover 17 is fitted into the upper end portion of the joint cover 23, and the pinion shaft 7 is inserted through the upper end of the dust cover 17. The bottom of the column hole cover 22 protruding from the dashboard 20 presses the dust cover 17 on the upper end surface of the dust cover 17 and engages with the periphery.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the dust cover fitting portion of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a sound insulation shield plate 25 is disposed on the joint cover 23 side at the lower end of the dust cover 17. A rubber-made annular seal 24 fixed to the joint cover 23 is held on the outer periphery of the pinion shaft 7. The sound insulation shield plate 25 is formed in an annular and disk shape from a metal material (for example, SPHC material (hot rolled mild steel plate)), and is provided between the inner periphery of the dust cover 17 and the outer periphery of the seal 24. It has been.

  The outer peripheral end of the sound insulating shield plate 25 is fitted into an annular groove 40 provided on the inner periphery of the joint cover 23 of the dust cover 17, and the inner peripheral end of the sound insulating shield plate 25 is provided on the outer periphery of the seal 24. The annular groove 41 is fitted and fixed. Thereby, it can control that sound insulation shield board 25 falls out from the inside. Further, by arranging the sound insulation shield plate 25 and the seal 24, the fitting portion between the dust cover 17 and the joint cover 23 and the fitting portion between the dust cover 17, the sound insulation shield plate 25 and the seal 24 are disposed. An uneven space (labyrinth gap) is formed.

  Next, operations and effects of the vehicle steering apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

  According to the above configuration, the annular and disk-shaped sound insulation shield plate 25 is provided on the joint cover 23 side (the meshing side of the rack 8 a and the pinion 7 a) at the lower end of the dust cover 17, The inner peripheral end portion is fitted into and held by an annular groove 41 provided on the outer periphery of the seal 24. An uneven gap is formed between the fitting portion between the dust cover 17 and the joint cover 23 and the fitting portion between the dust cover 17, the sound insulation shield plate 25 and the seal 24.

  As a result, the abnormal noise generated and propagated from the meshing portion of the rack 8a and the pinion 7a in the steering gear box 14 is insulated by the sound insulation shield plate 25 and the seal 24 in the dust cover 17. Moreover, sound waves are reflected by the gaps between the fitting portions, and transmission is reduced. As a result, abnormal noise can be prevented from passing through the dust cover 17 and entering the passenger compartment, thereby improving the sound insulation of the vehicle.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle steering apparatus capable of suppressing the entry of abnormal noise of the steering gear into the vehicle interior.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which concerns on this invention was described, this invention can also be implemented with another form.

  In the above-described embodiment, a disk-shaped steel plate is used as the sound insulation shield plate 25. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another member that has a large mass and can reflect sound waves (for example, a member to which a sound insulation sheet material is attached) is used. May be.

  In the above embodiment, the sound insulation shield plate 25 is fixed by fitting between the dust cover 17 and the seal 24. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inner peripheral surface of the dust cover 17 and the outer peripheral surface of the seal 24 are fixed. For example, it is good also as a structure fixed by adhesion | attachment, adhesion, etc.

1: vehicle steering device, 2: steering wheel, 3: steering shaft, 4, 6: universal joint, 5: intermediate shaft, 7: pinion shaft, 7a: pinion, 8: rack shaft,
8a: rack, 9: vehicle body, 10, 13: bracket, 11: steering column, 12: steering gear, 14: steering gear box (housing), 15: rack housing, 16: pinion housing, 17: dust cover, 20: Dashboard,
21: Column hole, 22: Column hole cover, 23: Joint cover, 24: Seal (seal member), 25: Sound insulation shield plate (sound insulation member), 26: Dust seal, 29: Coil spring, 32: Plug, 33, 34 : O-ring, 37: Lock nut, 38: Support yoke, 39: Seat member, 40, 41: Annular groove

Claims (1)

A pinion shaft rotatably supported by the housing;
A rack shaft that meshes with a pinion of the pinion shaft, and a rack shaft that is installed in the housing and is displaceable in an axial direction;
A joint cover attached to an upper end of the housing in the pinion axial direction and covering an opening;
A dust cover that fits into the joint cover and surrounds the outer periphery of the pinion shaft;
An annular, disk-shaped sound insulation member provided on the meshing side of the rack and the pinion of the dust cover;
A seal member provided in the dust cover and sealing between the sound insulating member and the outer periphery of the pinion shaft;
The sound insulation member has an outer peripheral end fitted into an annular groove formed on the inner periphery of the dust cover, and an inner peripheral end fitted into an annular groove formed on the outer periphery of the seal member. A vehicle steering device.

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