JP4645230B2 - Vehicle steering device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle steering apparatus that transmits a steering torque of a steering wheel to a steering gear box via a cable, and more particularly to a cable routing structure.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known a vehicle steering device in which a driving pulley disposed on a steering wheel side and a driven pulley disposed on a steering gear box side are connected via a cable and steering torque of the steering wheel is transmitted to the steering gear box.

  In such a vehicle steering apparatus, a cable routing structure as shown in FIG. 14 is known in order to make the engine room common to right-hand drive specification vehicles and left-hand drive specification vehicles (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

  First, in terms of configuration, a drive pulley box 2 with a built-in drive pulley is installed on the steering wheel 1 side, and a driven pulley box 4 with a built-in driven pulley is installed on the steering gear box 3 side. The pulleys are connected via cables 8 and 8.

  The cables 8 and 8 are configured to be split into a front cable 8a and a rear cable 8b at split portions 17a, 17b, and 17c provided on the passenger compartment side near the dash lower panel 16.

  Next, the operation of the steering device having such a configuration will be described. The layout of a left-hand drive (LHD) specification vehicle is such that the front cable 8a and the rear cable 8b are connected at the dividing portion 17a as shown by the solid line. This is achieved by connecting the front cable 8 a and the rear cable 8 b at the dividing portion 17 b and connecting the drive pulley box 2 and the driven pulley box 4 with the cable 8.

Further, as shown by a two-dot chain line (partly solid line), the layout of a right-hand drive (RHD) specification vehicle connects the front cable 8a and the rear cable 8b at the dividing portion 17b, and the front cable at the dividing portion 17c. This is achieved by connecting 8a and the rear cable 8b and connecting the drive pulley box 2 and the driven pulley box 4 with the cable 8.
JP 2001-63586 A (FIG. 5, paragraphs 0045 to 0050)

  Thus, in the conventional vehicle steering apparatus, the divided portions 17a, 17b, and 17c of the cable 8 are provided, and the rear cable 8b is connected to the divided portions 17a, 17b, and 17c, so that The engine room is shared with the left-hand drive model.

  However, in the conventional vehicle steering apparatus, the front cable 8a is routed in an engine room in which a large number of parts are arranged.

  For this reason, it is difficult to route the front cable 8a with a sufficiently large radius of curvature, and the load applied to the cable may not be sufficiently reduced.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle steering device that can route cables with a sufficiently large radius of curvature.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a suspension member in which a cable for transmitting a steering torque of a steering wheel to a steering gear box is disposed at a lower part in an engine room, and both sides in a vehicle width direction in the engine room. The main feature is that it is arranged outside the space surrounded by the pair of side members arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction and along the suspension member or side member .

According to the present invention configured as described above, the cable for transmitting the steering torque of the steering wheel to the steering gear box is provided on the upper side of the suspension member disposed in the lower part in the engine room and in the vehicle longitudinal direction in the engine room. A space along the outside of the space surrounded by the pair of side members disposed in the space where the number of parts is small and there is a relatively sufficient space, or the vehicle is linearly disposed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in the engine room. It will be cabling along the suspension member or Saidomen server.

  For this reason, a cable can be arranged with a big curvature radius, and the load added to a cable can be reduced.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and demonstrated about the part thru | or equivalent to the said prior art example.
[Example 1]
FIG. 1 shows a vehicle steering apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  A drive pulley box 2 with a built-in drive pulley (not shown) is installed on the steering wheel 1 side, and a driven pulley box 4 with a driven pulley (not shown) is installed on the steering gear box 3 side. ing.

  The steering gear box 3 includes a pinion 5 and a rack 6. A tie rod 7 is connected to both ends of the rack 6, and the front wheels (not shown) of the vehicle are steered by the movement of the tie rod.

  The driving pulley built in the driving pulley box 2 and the driven pulley built in the driven pulley box 4 are connected via two cables 8A and 8A, and the steering torque of the steering wheel 1 is the cables 8A and 8A. Are sequentially transmitted to the pinion 5 and the rack 6 mounted on the steering gear box 3.

  The cables 8A and 8A are formed by inserting an inner cable slidably into the outer tube, but will be described as a cable for convenience.

  2 to 4 show the cable routing structure of the vehicle steering apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  In the case of a left-hand drive (LHD) specification vehicle, as shown by a solid line (and a broken line), a cable connecting a drive pulley built in the drive pulley box 2 and a driven pulley built in the driven pulley box 4 8A and 8A are routed in the vicinity of the fender 12 above the fender protector 11 provided above the tire house 9 that accommodates the tire 10 of the vehicle.

  In the case of a right-hand drive (RHD) specification vehicle, as shown by a two-dot chain line, the left-hand drive specification vehicle is arranged symmetrically.

  As described above, the cables 8A and 8A avoid the space between the side members 14 and 14 in which many parts such as the engine E and the transmission T are arranged, and tires in which almost no obstacle parts are arranged. It is arranged in the house 9.

  For this reason, the cable 8A, 8A can be arranged with a larger radius of curvature, and the load on the cables 8A, 8A can be reduced.

  Further, the cables 8A and 8A can be arranged with a large curvature radius regardless of the specifications of the handle 1, and the engine room layout can be shared between the right-hand drive specification car and the left-hand drive specification car.

  Further, by reducing the types of parts by sharing the specifications of the handle 1 and sharing parts, the space in the engine room can be used effectively, and the degree of freedom in layout is improved.

  Moreover, the cables 8A and 8A are less likely to interfere with other parts as the cable is arranged on the upper side in the tire house 9, and the curvature radius of the cables 8A and 8A can be increased more reliably.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the cables 8A and 8A are routed near the fender 12 above the fender protector 11 provided above the tire house 9, in addition to the effects described above, Assembling property (removability) of 8A and 8A is improved, and workability at the time of repair is also improved.

Furthermore, in the case of the right-hand drive specification of a front-wheel drive vehicle having an engine E mounted horizontally, the cable is routed to a portion that avoids the minimal space surrounded by the engine E, the strut housing, and the cowl top panel. And a sufficiently large radius of curvature can be ensured.
[Example 2]
In the vehicle steering apparatus according to the second embodiment, the same or equivalent parts as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the cable routing structure of the vehicle steering apparatus according to the second embodiment connects the drive pulley built in the drive pulley box 2 and the driven pulley built in the driven pulley box 4. The cables 8B and 8B are arranged in the fender 12.

  The routing structure of a left-hand drive (LHD) specification vehicle is indicated by a solid line (and a broken line), and the routing structure of a right-hand drive (RHD) specification vehicle is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  Since there are few parts in the fender 12 that obstruct the cables 8B and 8B, the cables 8B and 8B can be arranged with a large radius of curvature.

Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[Example 3]
In the vehicle steering apparatus according to the third embodiment, the same or equivalent parts as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (bottom view) to FIG. 10, the cable routing structure of the vehicle steering device according to the third embodiment has a driving pulley built in the driving pulley box 2 and a driven pulley built in the driven pulley box 4. Cables 8 </ b> C and 8 </ b> C connecting the pulleys are arranged along the upper surface of the suspension member 13.

  The routing structure of a left-hand drive (LHD) specification vehicle is indicated by a solid line (and a broken line), and the routing structure of a right-hand drive (RHD) specification vehicle is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  Thus, by arranging the cables 8C and 8C along the suspension members 13 arranged in the vehicle longitudinal direction in the engine room, the radii of curvature of the cables 8C and 8C can be increased.

  Further, when the impact load is input to the vehicle, the suspension member 13 receives the impact input, so that damage to the cables 8C and 8C can be reduced.

Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[Example 4]
In the vehicle steering apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, the same or equivalent parts as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the cable routing structure of the vehicle steering apparatus according to the fourth embodiment connects the drive pulley built in the drive pulley box 2 and the driven pulley built in the driven pulley box 4. The cables 8D and 8D are routed along the outer surface of the side member 14.

  In this case, if the concave portion 15 is formed on the outer surface of the side member 14 and the cables 8D and 8D are routed in the concave portion 15, it becomes difficult to be influenced by the peripheral members.

  The routing structure of a left-hand drive (LHD) specification vehicle is indicated by a solid line (and a broken line), and the routing structure of a right-hand drive (RHD) specification vehicle is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  Thus, by arranging the cables 8D, 8D along the side members 14 arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction in the engine room, the curvature radius of the cables 8D, 8D can be increased.

  Further, since the impact input is received by the side member 14 when the impact load of the vehicle is input, the damage received by the cables 8D and 8D can be minimized.

  Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Although the best embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes that do not depart from the gist of the present invention are possible. Are included in the present invention.

  For example, in the third embodiment, the cables 8C and 8C are arranged along the upper surface of the suspension member 13. However, the cables 8C and 8C may be arranged along the side surface of the suspension member 13.

  In the fourth embodiment, the cables 8D and 8D are arranged along the outer surface of the side member 14. However, the cables 8D and 8D may be arranged along the upper surface of the side member 14.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of a vehicle steering apparatus according to a first embodiment that is the best mode of the present invention. It is a top view explaining the cable routing structure in the steering device of the vehicle of Example 1. It is a side view explaining the cable routing structure in the steering apparatus of the vehicle of Example 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X1-X1 in FIG. 3 for explaining a cable routing structure in the vehicle steering apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a top view explaining the cable routing structure in the steering device of the vehicle of Example 2 which is the best mode for carrying out the present invention. It is a side view explaining the cable routing structure in the steering device of the vehicle of Example 2. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X2-X2 of FIG. It is a top view explaining the cable routing structure in the steering device of the vehicle of Example 3 which is the best mode of the present invention. It is a side view explaining the cable routing structure in the steering device of the vehicle of Example 3. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X3-X3 of FIG. It is a top view explaining the cable routing structure in the steering device of the vehicle of Example 4 which is the best mode for carrying out the present invention. FIG. 10 is a side view for explaining a cable routing structure in a vehicle steering apparatus according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X4-X4 of FIG. It is a top view explaining the structure of the steering apparatus of the vehicle of a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

1 Steering wheel 3 Steering gear box 8, 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D Cable 9 Tire house 11 Fender protector 12 Fender 13 Suspension member 14 Side member

Claims (2)

A cable for transmitting a steering torque of a steering wheel to a steering gear box is a vehicle steering device arranged between the steering wheel and the steering gear box,
The cable is outside a space surrounded by a suspension member disposed at a lower portion in the engine room and a pair of side members disposed in the vehicle front-rear direction on both sides in the vehicle width direction in the engine room , A steering apparatus for a vehicle, characterized by being arranged along a suspension member. A cable for transmitting a steering torque of a steering wheel to a steering gear box is a vehicle steering device arranged between the steering wheel and the steering gear box,
  The cable is outside a space surrounded by a suspension member disposed at a lower portion in the engine room and a pair of side members disposed in the vehicle front-rear direction on both sides in the vehicle width direction in the engine room, The vehicle steering device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle steering device is arranged along the side member.

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