JP2007223549A - Vehicle steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle steering device that can prevent a rotational displacement of a movable jacket at the time of locking and ensure high bending rigidity and vibration rigidity.
A steering shaft 5 having a steering system connected to an end thereof is provided, and a movable jacket 4 that rotatably supports the steering shaft 5 is fitted to a fixed jacket 3 so as to be movable in an axial direction. And a locking mechanism 15 that locks the axial movement of the movable jacket 4 by pressing a cam (telescopic cam) 21 that is rotated by rotating the operation lever 18 against the fixed jacket 3 (the movable jacket or). In the vehicle steering device 1, a plurality (two) of cams 21 of the lock mechanism 15 are provided, and the cams 21 are arranged apart from each other in the axial direction.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle steering apparatus having at least a telescopic function.

  A vehicle steering system is configured by rotatably inserting and supporting a steering shaft in a cylindrical column jacket, attaching a steering wheel to one end of the steering shaft, and connecting the other end of the steering shaft to a steering system. Yes.

  By the way, there is a vehicle steering apparatus having a telescopic function that can adjust the axial position of the steering wheel in order to ensure the optimum driving posture of the driver.

  A vehicle steering apparatus having a telescopic function includes a steering shaft composed of an upper shaft and a lower shaft that are slidably fitted in an axial direction, and the movable steering shaft rotatably supports the upper shaft of the steering shaft. The jacket is configured to be fitted to the fixed jacket so as to be movable in the axial direction.

  Thus, this type of steering device is provided with a telescopic lock mechanism for locking the expansion and contraction of the steering column jacket so that the steering wheel does not move in the axial direction during the steering operation. Various proposals for mechanisms have been made so far (for example, Patent Document 1).

In the telescopic lock mechanism proposed in Patent Document 1, the movable jacket is moved in the axial direction by pressing the support bracket fixed to the vehicle body side to the connection bracket to which the movable jacket is fixed by the cam mechanism rotated by the operation lever. In addition, the cam member assembled so as to rotate integrally with the bolt that can rotate together with the operation lever presses the fixed jacket against the movable jacket so that the lock and play between the two are removed.
JP 2001-322552 A

  However, in the telescopic lock mechanism described in Patent Document 1, the cam member that is rotated by the operation lever presses one point of the fixed jacket, so that the movable jacket can be rotationally displaced with the pressing point as a fulcrum. There is a risk of lowering the bending rigidity and vibration rigidity of the steering device.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle steering apparatus that can prevent the rotational displacement of the movable jacket when locked and ensure high bending rigidity and vibration rigidity.

  Further, some vehicle steering devices have a tilt function in addition to a telescopic function. In such a steering device, both the axial position and the height position of the steering wheel can be adjusted.

  However, some conventional steering devices are configured so that the telescopic lock mechanism that fixes the axial position of the steering wheel and the tilt lock mechanism that fixes the height position are operated separately, which complicates the structure. However, there is a problem that the size is increased and the telescopic adjustment and the tilt adjustment are troublesome.

  Therefore, the present invention also provides a vehicle steering apparatus that can simplify the structure, reduce the size, and simplify the operation by easily locking and unlocking the telescopic lock mechanism and the tilt lock mechanism with one operation lever. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is provided with a steering shaft having a steering system connected to an end portion thereof, and a movable jacket for rotatably supporting the steering shaft therein is pivoted with respect to a fixed jacket. Steering for a vehicle having a lock mechanism that locks the movement of the movable jacket in the axial direction by pressing the cam that rotates by the operation of turning the operation lever against the movable jacket or the fixed jacket. In the apparatus, a plurality of cams of the lock mechanism are provided, and the cams are arranged apart from each other in the axial direction.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, a steering shaft having a steering system connected to an end portion thereof is provided, and a movable jacket that rotatably supports the steering shaft is fitted to the fixed jacket so as to be movable in the axial direction. In the vehicular steering apparatus, the first cam that locks the movement of the movable jacket in the axial direction by pressing against the movable jacket or the fixed jacket, and the bracket that holds the movable jacket are pressed against the vehicle body side bracket. The second cam that locks the vertical movement and the axial movement of the movable jacket is simultaneously rotated by an operation lever.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of cams of the lock mechanism are provided and the cams are arranged apart from each other in the axial direction, the movement of the movable jacket is locked at at least two points in the axial direction. The rotational displacement of the jacket is reliably prevented, and high bending rigidity and vibration rigidity are ensured in the steering device.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the telescopic lock and the tilt lock and the release thereof can be simultaneously performed by one touch by the rotation operation of one operation lever, and the structure of the lock mechanism is simplified, the size is reduced, and the operation is simple. Can be achieved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a perspective view in which a part of a vehicle steering device according to the present invention is broken, FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of a lock mechanism portion of the vehicle steering device, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cam of the lock mechanism, and FIG. .

  A vehicle steering apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a tilt function that can adjust the vertical position of a steering wheel (not shown) and a telescopic function that can adjust the position of the steering wheel in the axial direction. A steering shaft 5 is rotatably inserted into the cylindrical column jacket 2. The steering device 1 is inclined obliquely at a predetermined angle toward the vehicle body with the right side (front of the vehicle body) in FIG. Is attached.

  By the way, the column jacket 2 includes a small-diameter fixed jacket (inner jacket) 3 fixed to the vehicle body side, and a large-diameter movable jacket (outer jacket) 4 inserted and fitted to the outside so as to be slidable from above. It consists of As shown in FIG. 3, a resin bush 8 having high slidability is interposed in the fitting portion between the fixed jacket 3 and the movable jacket 4.

  The steering shaft 5 includes a hollow upper shaft 6 divided into two in the axial direction and a solid lower shaft 7. Although not shown, the front end portion of the lower shaft 7 is the upper shaft 6. The rear shaft is spline-fitted, and the upper shaft 6 can transmit the rotation to the lower shaft 7 and can slide in the axial direction with respect to the lower shaft 7.

  The front end of the upper shaft 6 is rotatably supported by the movable jacket 4 via a bearing 9, and a steering wheel (not shown) is attached to the upper end of the upper shaft 6. The lower shaft 7 is rotatably supported at its lower end by a fixed jacket 3 via a bearing (not shown), and its lower end is connected to a steering system (not shown) such as a power steering device.

  Thus, when the driver rotates the steering wheel (not shown) to the left and right, the rotation is transmitted to the steering system (not shown) via the steering shaft 5 (upper shaft 6 and lower shaft 7), and the front wheels (not shown) The vehicle is steered left and right and cornered in either the left or right direction of the vehicle.

  By the way, a channel-shaped adjustment bracket 11 that opens downward is attached to a mounting bracket 10 for attaching the steering device 1 to the vehicle body side. As shown in FIG. 1, beam portions 11b are formed on both vertical wall portions of the adjustment bracket 11, and the rigidity of the adjustment bracket 11 is enhanced by these beam portions 11b. The adjustment bracket 11 is provided with a support bracket 12 having a U-shaped cross section that opens upward, so that it can be turned up and down and moved in the axial direction. Here, the support placket 12 is fixed to and holds the movable jacket 4, and therefore the movable jacket 4 and the upper shaft 6 swing up and down with respect to the vehicle body together with the support bracket 12. Tilt adjustment is possible, and telescopic adjustment is possible by moving in the axial direction.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, telescopic holes 12a that are long in the axial direction are formed on the left and right sides of the support bracket 12, respectively, and the arc-shaped tilt holes 11a are formed on the left and right sides of the adjustment bracket 11, as shown in FIG. (Only one is shown in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, a tilt nut 13 is inserted into each telescopic hole 12a of the support bracket 12 and each tilt hole 11a of the adjustment bracket 11, and each tilt nut 13 is screwed to this. It is fixed to the support bracket 12 and the adjustment bracket 11 by a tilt bolt 14.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 7, each tilt nut 13 is formed by integrally forming large and small two-stage prismatic portions 13b, 13c on a block-shaped cam receiving portion 13a, and these prismatic portions 13b, 13c. A screw hole 13d is formed at the center of. As shown in FIG. 2, the tilt nut 13 has a cam receiving portion 13a on the inside and the prismatic portions 13b and 13c are passed through the telescopic hole 12a of the support bracket 12 and the tilt hole 11a of the adjustment bracket 11, respectively. The tilt bolt 14 is attached to the support bracket 12 and the adjustment bracket 11 by screwing the tilt bolt 14 from the outside of the adjustment bracket 11 with a slight gap from the adjustment bracket 11. At this time, the cam receiving portions 13a of the left and right tilt nuts 13 are disposed to face each other in the support bracket 12 as shown in FIG.

  Thus, the steering device 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with the telescopic function as described above, and the column jacket 2 and the steering shaft 5 are expanded and contracted in the axial direction according to the physique and preference of the driver. The wheel can be moved in the axial direction. That is, the movable jacket 4 and the upper shaft 6 are arranged in the axial direction within a range in which the support bracket 12 can move with respect to the adjustment bracket 11 (a range in which each tilt nut 13 can relatively move within the telescopic hole 12a of the support bracket 12). Therefore, the axial position of the steering wheel can be arbitrarily adjusted within the range in which they can move.

  Further, as described above, the steering apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is also provided with a tilt function, and the entire steering apparatus 1 is vertically moved around the lower end (universal joint) according to the physique and preference of the driver. The position of the steering wheel in the vertical direction can be adjusted by tilting it. At this time, the pair of left and right tilt nuts 13 and the tilt bolt 14 move up and down along the tilt hole 11a of the adjustment bracket 11, but the entire steering apparatus 1 is moved up and down within a range in which they can move in the tilt hole 11a. The height position of the steering wheel can be arbitrarily adjusted by tilting.

  Incidentally, the axial position of the steering wheel (that is, the axial movement of the movable jacket 4 and the upper shaft 6) and the height position (that is, the vertical tilt position of the entire steering device 1) are locked by the lock mechanism 15. Hereinafter, details of the configuration of the lock mechanism 15 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, bearing portions 12b are fixed to the front and rear portions of the outer periphery of the movable jacket 4 by welding or the like, and a lever disposed in the axial direction is attached to the pair of front and rear bearing portions 12b. Both ends of the shaft 16 are rotatably supported by bearings 17.

  The front end portion of the lever shaft 16 protrudes forward from the front bearing portion 12 b of the support bracket 12, and an operation lever 18 is attached to the protruding end by a bolt 19. Further, a tilt cam 20 as a second cam and a telescopic cam 21 as two first cams arranged before and after the cam are integrally formed at an intermediate portion of the lever shaft 16 facing the support bracket 12. .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the tilt cam 20 has a major axis length of d1.
And the short shaft length is d2 (d1> d2), and is a cam having an oval cross section, and is disposed between a pair of cam receiving portions 13a disposed opposite to each other in the support bracket 12 of the tilt nut 13. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the telescopic cam 21 is an eccentric cam having a profile whose center is eccentric with respect to the center of the lever shaft 16 by ε as shown in the figure. It is arranged in two places separated by L. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, these two telescopic cams 21 are disposed opposite to the resin bush 8 through an axially long rectangular hole 4a formed in the movable jacket 4, and will be described later. When the lever shaft 16 is rotated by the operating lever 18, the lever shaft 16 rotates integrally with the resin bush 8.

  Here, the operation of the lock mechanism 15 having the above configuration will be described.

  Except when adjusting the height position and the axial position of the steering wheel, the lock mechanism 15 is in a locked state. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the two telescopic cams 21 have their top portions on the resin bush 8. In order to contact and press this against the fixed jacket 3, the axial movement of the movable jacket 4 and the upper shaft 6 is locked to fix the axial position of the steering wheel, and the backlash between the fixed jacket 3 and the movable jacket 4 is fixed. Is prevented.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, since the two telescopic cams 21 are arranged at positions separated by a distance L in the axial direction, the movement of the movable jacket 4 is locked at two points in the axial direction. Is reliably prevented, and the steering apparatus 1 is ensured to have high bending rigidity and vibration rigidity.

  In addition, when the lock mechanism 15 is in the locked state, the tilt cam 20 is horizontal on its long axis side and presses the cam receiving portions 13a of the left and right tilt nuts 13 outward. The vertical wall portion is in close contact with both side portions (both vertical wall portions) of the adjustment bracket 11 to lock the vertical rotation of the support bracket 12. For this reason, the vertical tilt of the entire steering apparatus 1 is locked, and the height position of the steering wheel is fixed. Further, in the above structure, since the axial rotation of the support bracket 12 is also locked, the axial position of the steering wheel is also fixed. Note that the rigidity of both side portions (both vertical wall portions) of the support bracket 12 is set to be lower than the rigidity of the adjustment bracket 11, and these both side portions (both vertical wall portions) are pressed outward by the tilt cam 20. As described above, it is in close contact with both side portions (both vertical wall portions) of the adjustment bracket 11, and the vertical rotation of the support bracket 12 is locked by the friction acting between them (tilt lock).

  Therefore, when the lock mechanism 15 is in the locked state, the axial position and the height position of the steering wheel are fixed simultaneously. That is, telescopic lock and tilt lock are performed simultaneously.

  Next, when adjusting the axial position or / and height position of the steering wheel according to the physique and preference of the driver, the lock mechanism 15 is moved by turning the operation lever 18 in the direction of arrow a from the state shown in FIG. It is unlocked. That is, when the lock mechanism 15 is unlocked, the tops of the two telescopic cams 21 are detached from the resin bushing 8 and the telescopic lock is released. In order to move away from the cam receiving portion 13a of the tilt nut 13, the tilt lock is released.

  Therefore, in the state where the lock mechanism 15 is unlocked as described above, the movable jacket 4 and the upper shaft 6 can be moved in the axial direction with respect to the fixed jacket 3 and the lower shaft 7, so that the axial direction of the steering wheel The position can be adjusted arbitrarily (telescopic adjustment). At the same time, since the entire steering apparatus 1 can be tilted up and down, the height position of the steering wheel can be arbitrarily adjusted (tilt adjustment). Since the tilt cam 20 moves in the front-rear direction together with the movable jacket 4 during telescopic adjustment, even if the tilt cam 20 moves back and forth, the tilt cam 20 can stably press the cam receiving portion 13a of the tilt nut 13. The tilt cam 20 is formed to be as wide as the width of the cam receiving portion 13a (see FIG. 2).

  Then, after adjusting the axial position or / and height position of the steering wheel as described above, when the operation lever 18 is turned in the reverse direction to return it to the original position shown in FIG. The steering wheel is locked again and is fixed at the adjusted axial position and height position.

  Therefore, in the steering device 1 according to the present embodiment, the telescopic lock, the tilt lock, and the release thereof can be easily performed simultaneously with one touch by the rotation operation of the single operation lever 18, and the structure of the lock mechanism 15 is simple. , Miniaturization and simplification of operation.

It is the perspective view which fractured | ruptured a part of vehicle steering device which concerns on this invention. It is a plane sectional view of the lock mechanism part of the steering device for vehicles concerning the present invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2. It is CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a perspective view of the cam which comprises the lock mechanism of the steering device for vehicles which concerns on this invention. 1 is a perspective view of a tilt nut and a tilt bolt of a vehicle steering apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle steering device 2 Column jacket 3 Fixed jacket 4 Movable jacket 5 Steering shaft 6 Upper shaft 7 Lower shaft 8 Resin bush 9 Bearing 10 Mounting bracket 11 Adjustment bracket 11a Tilt hole 12 Support bracket 12a Telescopic hole 13 Tilt nut 14 Tilt bolt 15 Lock mechanism 16 Lever shaft 17 Bearing 18 Operation lever 19 Bolt 20 Tilt cam (second cam)
21 Telescocam (first cam)

Claims (2)

A steering shaft having a steering system connected to the end is provided, and a movable jacket that rotatably supports the steering shaft is fitted to the fixed jacket so as to be movable in the axial direction, and the operation lever is rotated. In the vehicle steering apparatus provided with a lock mechanism that locks the axial movement of the movable jacket by pressing the cam that rotates by the movable jacket or the fixed jacket,
A vehicle steering apparatus comprising a plurality of cams of the lock mechanism, wherein the cams are arranged apart from each other in the axial direction. A vehicle steering apparatus comprising a steering shaft formed by connecting a steering system to an end portion, and a movable jacket that rotatably supports the steering shaft is fitted to a fixed jacket so as to be movable in an axial direction.
A first cam that locks the movement of the movable jacket in the axial direction by pressing against the movable jacket or the fixed jacket and a bracket that holds the movable jacket against the bracket on the vehicle body to move the movable jacket up and down and in the axial direction A vehicular steering apparatus characterized in that the second cam that locks the vehicle is simultaneously rotated by an operating lever.

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