Impact force relieving structure in steering device of car

In an automobile steering device comprising a steering shaft (23) disposed in the front of the car interior (4) and supported by the car body (2) for rotation around its own axis (21) extending rearwardly upward, and supporting a steering wheel (24) on the upper end thereof, a steering gear device (26) disposed rearwardly of the lower end of said steering shaft (23), supported by said car body (2) and operatively connected to right and left steering-purpose wheels, and an operative connection gear device (28) disposed forwardly of said steering gear device (26), supported by the car body (2) through a bracket (27) and adapted to operatively connect said steering gear device (26) to the lower end of said steering shaft (23),

• wherein said operative connection gear device (28) comprises a gear case (43) constituting the outer shell thereof and supported by said rear frame (38), an input gear (44) housed in the gear case (43) and operatively connected to the lower end of the steering shaft (23), and an output gear (45) housed in the gear case (43) and meshing with said input gear (44), a universal joint shaft (32) for operatively connecting said steering gear device (26) to said output gear (45) is provided;
• a shock mitigating structure for an automobile steering device, characterized in that said bracket (27) comprises a front frame (36) constituting the front of the bracket (27) and supported at the front end thereof by said car body (2), the rear side thereof extending downwardly rearward, and a rear frame (38) constituting the rear of said bracket (27) and rearwardly extending from the rear end of said front frame (36), the rear end thereof being supported by said car body (2), with said operative connection gear device (28) being supported by the rear frame (38);
• and
• further characterized in that the axes (47, 48) of said output gear (45) and universal joint shaft (32) cross each other in a V-shape manner as seen in a side view of the car body (2), and said universal joint shaft (32) is disposed to extend rearwardly upward.