JP2553368B2 - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle steering wheel capable of detecting a steering force during steering and reducing an operation delay of a power steering device.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, in a power steering device for a vehicle, a steering force sensor and a steering amount sensor are arranged in a steering shaft to detect the steering force and the steering amount, and the steering force and the steering amount are used to detect the steering force. We are trying to correct the cut-off delay.

However, the steering force sensor and the steering amount sensor are
Since it detects the distortion and displacement of the steering shaft,
Due to the inertia of the steering wheel itself, it was difficult to promptly detect an accurate steering force and steering amount.

Therefore, it has been proposed to dispose a steering force sensor on the steering wheel itself, as described in JP-A-62-105770. The configuration described in the publication is composed of a ring main body that is fixedly connected to the spokes in the ring portion of the steering wheel, and a sensor unit that is supported so as to be movable relative to the ring main body in the ring rotation direction. However, at the time of steering, the relative movement of the sensor unit with respect to the ring main body unit is detected.

With this configuration, since the relative movement between the ring body portion and the sensor portion in the ring portion of the steering wheel is detected, the steering force can be detected more accurately than when various sensors are arranged on the steering shaft itself. .

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the configuration described in the conventional publication, the sensor portion is supported by the ring main body portion by using a ball rotatably held between the two.

When assembling the ring body and the sensor, it is necessary to mount them accurately so that the gap between the two does not open beyond a predetermined level. That is, the sensor unit is assembled while being slightly pressed against the ring body. And, of course, the sensor portion itself receives not only gravity but also pressing force inward in the radial direction of the ring portion due to the steering force.

Therefore, since the sensor unit receives force from various directions, if the sensor unit is configured to be supported by the ring main body via the ball, the ball will slip without rotating during steering, and the sensor unit The movement with respect to the ring main body is not performed smoothly, and there is a possibility that a slight delay will occur in the detection of the steering force.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, and even when force is applied to the sensor unit from a plurality of directions in this type of steering wheel, the movement resistance of the sensor unit with respect to the ring main body unit can be reduced, and steering force detection An object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel that can reduce delay.

<Means for Solving Problems> A steering wheel according to the present invention is an annular ring main body portion which is disposed on an inner peripheral side of a ring portion and is fixedly connected to a spoke core metal bar connected to a boss. A ring-shaped sensor portion arranged on the outer peripheral side of the ring portion, and a plurality of sensor portions interposed at predetermined positions on the opposing surfaces of the ring body portion and the sensor portion. It is supported so as to be relatively movable along. A roller having a rotation axis substantially orthogonal to the ring surface, a roller having a rotation axis substantially parallel to the ring surface and directed in the direction of the boss, and a ring body of the sensor section arranged at a predetermined position during steering. The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a displacement detecting means for detecting a relative movement with respect to.

<Operations and Effects of the Invention> In the steering wheel according to the present invention, the sensor portion disposed on the outer peripheral side of the ring portion is provided with the ring portion surface with respect to the ring main body portion disposed on the inner peripheral side of the ring portion. It is supported by a roller having a rotating shaft that is substantially orthogonal to the roller and a roller having a rotating shaft that is substantially parallel to the ring surface and extends in the direction toward the boss.

That is, even if the sensor part is assembled while being pressed by the ring body part, or is pressed inward in the radial direction of the ring part during steering, the pressing force is mainly orthogonal to the ring part surface. One type of roller having a rotating shaft for receiving can be received. Further, the gravity of the sensor portion itself can be mainly received by the other type of roller parallel to the ring portion surface.

Even if the sensor unit receives force from multiple directions,
Since each type of roller can receive the corresponding force, the two types of rollers are different from each other even if the sensor unit moves relatively to the ring main body in the ring rotation direction. The rollers are not affected, and they rotate smoothly without slipping, and the sensor unit moves smoothly with respect to the ring body.

Therefore, the relative movement of the sensor portion with respect to the ring body portion can be detected by the displacement detecting means without delay.

Therefore, in the steering wheel according to the present invention, even when force is applied to the sensor unit from various directions, the movement resistance of the sensor unit with respect to the ring main body can be reduced, and the delay in steering force detection can be reduced. .

<Embodiment> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The steering wheel 1 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a boss 11 connected to the steering shaft S and a spoke portion.
Two metal cores 13 of 12 are connected. And
A metal ring main body 3 disposed on the inner peripheral side of the ring portion 2 is connected and fixed to the tip end side of these spoke cores 13 and these bosses 11 and spoke cores 13 The ring main body 3 and the ring main body 3 may be made of steel and may be connected by welding, or may be integrally formed by aluminum casting each part.

The ring body 3 includes a sensor unit 4, a cover body 7,
The ring portion 2 is configured with the coating layer 8 and the like.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the ring main body portion 3 has a cross-sectional shape that is substantially circular along with the sensor portion 4 arranged on the outer peripheral side of the ring portion 2. 1/4
Sensor part 4 which has a circular shape and a cross-sectional shape of approximately 3/4 circular shape
Is disposed at a lower portion on the inner peripheral side with a predetermined gap.
Then, four concave portions 3b are formed at predetermined positions on the upper surface 3a which is parallel to the ring portion surface which is the plane formed by the ring portion 2. A fitting hole 3c is formed in the recess 3b in a direction parallel to the ring surface from the inner peripheral side of the ring body 3 and toward the boss 11. These recesses 3b and fitting holes 3c
Is for providing a roller 5 described later. Also,
On the outer peripheral surface 3d of the ring main body 3 which is orthogonal to the ring surface, concave grooves 3e for contacting a roller 6 described later are formed at four predetermined positions, and further cut grooves are formed near each concave groove 3e. The notch 3f is formed (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Furthermore, in the ring main body 3, an insertion hole 3g for inserting a bending beam 21 constituting a displacement detecting means 20 described later is provided in the vicinity of a connection portion with one spoke core metal 13 and the spoke core metal 13. It penetrates in parallel (see FIG. 1).

The sensor portion 4 is an annular shape arranged on the outer peripheral side of the ring portion 2 and is made of a light alloy material such as aluminum die casting. As described above, the sensor section 4 has a substantially 3/4 circular cross section and is arranged so as to cover the upper side and the outer peripheral side of the ring body section 3. Further, a concave groove 4b is formed over substantially the entire circumference in a portion of the sensor portion 4 facing the outer peripheral surface 3d of the ring main body portion, and a convex portion for providing the roller 6 is provided at a predetermined position of the concave groove 4b. A fitting hole 4d is formed from the lower outer peripheral surface in a direction orthogonal to the ring portion surface at the portion where the 4c is formed and the convex portion 4c is formed. Further, a fitting hole 4f into which the tip of the bending beam 21 can be fitted is provided at a predetermined position of the concave groove 4b of the sensor portion 4.
Is formed (see FIG. 1).

The roller 5 is configured such that the roller body 5a is rotatable with respect to the shaft 5b. The roller body 5a is arranged in each recess 3b of the ring body 3, and the shaft 5b is fitted into the fitting hole 3c. It is assembled to the ring body 3 by fitting them together. And
Each roller 5 is configured to be rotatable by a rotating shaft in a direction parallel to the ring portion surface and toward the boss 11 by a shaft 5b, and is in contact with an inner peripheral side lower surface 4a of the sensor portion 4 parallel to the ring portion surface. It is touched.

The roller 6 is configured such that the roller body 6a is rotatable with respect to the shaft 6b, and the roller body 6a is provided in each convex portion 4c in the concave groove 4b in the sensor portion 4 and is fitted in the fitting hole 4d. It is assembled to the sensor unit 4 by fitting the shaft 6b. Then, each roller 6 is configured to be rotatable by a shaft 6b around a rotary shaft in a direction orthogonal to the ring surface, and is in contact with a groove 3e in the ring body.

Assembling of the sensor unit 4 to the ring main body 3 will be described. In addition to previously assembling the roller 5 to the ring main body 3 connected to the boss 11 and the spoke core 13,
The roller 6 is also attached to the sensor unit 4. Then, each roller 6 is arranged in the concave groove 3e through the notch 3f of the ring main body portion, and each roller 5 is arranged on the inner peripheral side lower surface 4a of the sensor portion.
The sensor unit 4 is exteriorly mounted on the ring main body unit 3 so as to abut. After that, the sensor part 4 can be assembled by rotating the sensor part 4 clockwise with respect to the ring body part 3 in FIG. The position where the sensor unit 4 is stopped is a position where the insertion hole 3g of the ring body 3 for disposing the bending beam 21 and the fitting hole 4f of the sensor unit 4 coincide with each other.

The cover body 7 is an annular shape that is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the ring body 3 with a predetermined distance, and is made of a light alloy material such as aluminum die casting. And this cover body 7 is
The cross-sectional shape is a substantially quartered cylindrical shape, and the upper and lower ends are in contact with the sensor unit 4. The cover body 7 is formed by bringing the upper and lower end portions into contact with the sensor portion 4 assembled to the ring main body portion 3 to form a coating layer 8 made of leather, synthetic leather, a synthetic resin sheet or the like. Is fixed integrally with the sensor unit 4. Even if the covering layer 8 is not used,
The cover body 7 may be fixed to the sensor unit 4 by using a screw means separately. Further, the cover body 7 is vertically divided into two parts at the two spoke core metal bars 13 and is arranged at a predetermined distance so as not to come into contact with the spoke core metal bars 13 (FIG. 4). reference).

The displacement detecting means 20 for detecting the relative movement of the sensor portion 4 with respect to the ring body portion 3 is composed of a bending beam 21 using a leaf spring similar to the conventional one, and is provided to one spoke portion core metal 13 with its original element. The part side is fixed with a screw 24 via a bracket 23. The bending beam 21 has its tip end fitted into the fitting hole 4f of the sensor portion 4 through the insertion hole 3g of the ring body portion 3. And bending beam
A strain gauge 22 is disposed on both side surfaces of the strain gauge 21, and the strain gauge 22 is electrically connected to a hydraulic controller of a power steering device (not shown). The ring body 3 through which the bending beam 21 is inserted
The insertion hole 3g of is, when the bending beam 21 is inserted,
On both sides of the beam 21 in the rotation direction of the ring portion 2 which is the moving direction of the sensor portion 4, predetermined uniform margins 25 are provided.

A biasing device 30 is fixed to the other spoke core bar 13 so that the bending beam 21 can be normally disposed in the insertion hole 3g of the ring main body in the center along the ring rotation direction. There is. In this urging device 30, the displacement detecting means 20 is illustrated so that the sensor portion 4 does not move relative to the ring body portion 3 except during steering, that is, the bending beam 21 is not bent. Not provided to prevent the hydraulic signal of the power steering device from outputting an output signal.

As shown in FIG. 5, the urging means 30 includes a substantially cylindrical cylinder 31 fixed to the spoke core 13 and a cylinder 31.
A compression coil spring 32 disposed inside 31 and a disc-shaped plate 33 disposed with the spring 32 interposed between the compression coil spring 32 and ribs 31a and 31b protruding from the inner circumference of both ends of the cylinder 31. 34
It consists of and.

Then, the urging means 30 is arranged with the axial direction of the cylinder 31 along the forming direction of the ring portion 2 and the projections 15 provided on the cover body 14 of the spoke portion 3 abutting the plates 33 and 34. Has been done.

This cover body 14 is made of a synthetic resin composed of two members that cover the spoke core metal bar 13 from above and below, and is not fixed to the spoke core metal bar 13 but integrated with the sensor unit 4. It is fixed to the body 7 by using screw means or the like (not shown).

 A pad 9 is provided above the boss 11.

 Next, the operation mode of this embodiment will be described.

First, when the ring portion 2 is gripped and a right-handed or left-handed steering force is applied to the ring portion 2, initially, the sensor portion 4 receives the steering force with respect to the ring body portion 3 in an attempt to rotate in a predetermined direction. Becomes

At that time, the sensor portion 4 has already been assembled by receiving a slight pressing force on the ring body portion 2 side from the time of being assembled to the ring body portion 2, and the downward gravity also acts. .
However, since the sensor portion 4 is supported between the sensor portion 4 and the ring body portion 3 so as to be movable relative to the ring body portion 3, the sensor portion 4 is parallel to the ring portion surface and is directed toward the boss 11. Four rollers 5 each having a rotating shaft and four rollers 6 each having a rotating shaft in a direction orthogonal to the ring surface are arranged.

That is, even if the sensor portion 4 is assembled in a state of being pressed toward the ring body portion 3 or is subjected to a pressing force acting inward in the radial direction of the ring portion at the time of steering, each roller 6 produces the force. Can receive. Further, each roller 5 can receive the gravity of the sensor unit 4 itself. In this way, even if the sensor unit 4 receives forces from various directions, the two types of rollers 5 and 6 can respond to and receive those forces respectively. , The other rollers do not affect each other and rotate smoothly without slipping together.

Therefore, when the sensor unit 4 tries to rotate in a predetermined direction, the sensor unit 4 smoothly moves relative to the ring body unit 3 as compared with the conventional steering wheel in which a ball is interposed.

Then, as the sensor unit 4 moves, the bending beam 21 is quickly bent in a predetermined direction, an electric signal from the strain gauge 22 is input to a hydraulic controller for a power steering (not shown), and the power steering device is started. .

Further, after the bending beam 21 bends and comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 3g in the ring main body 3, the ring main body 3 rotates in a predetermined direction together with the sensor unit 4 via the bending beam 21. The steering shaft S rotates in a predetermined direction, and the operation of the power steering device is adjusted as the steering shaft S rotates.

Therefore, in the steering wheel 1 of this embodiment, even if force is applied to the sensor unit 4 from various directions, the movement resistance of the sensor unit 4 with respect to the ring main body unit 3 can be reduced as compared with the conventional one. The delay in force detection can be reduced.

By the way, FIG. 6 shows a graph showing the relationship between the load during steering and the displacement of the sensor unit in the steering wheel 1 of the embodiment. What is shown by the solid line is that of the embodiment, which is a one-cycle process in which the product is rotated in a predetermined direction and then returned. Further, what is indicated by a chain double-dashed line is one in which a ball is interposed between the sensor portion and the ring main body portion (like a large ball is interposed in the concave groove 3e of the ring main body portion 3 of the embodiment). Is. As you can see from this graph,
It can be seen that in the steering wheel 1 of the embodiment, the sensor portion moves more quickly with respect to the load than the conventional steering wheel using a ball.

In the steering wheel 1 of the embodiment, the roller 5 provided with the rotating shaft in the direction parallel to the ring portion surface toward the boss 11 is provided in the ring body portion 3 and has the rotating shaft in the direction orthogonal to the ring portion surface. Although 6 is provided in the sensor portion 4, these rollers 5 and 6 may be provided on either side, and the number of the rollers 5 and 6 to be provided is not limited to four, but may be predetermined in the ring portion 2 forming direction. If there is an interval, it may be three at a time.

Further, although the strain gauge 22 is used as the displacement detecting means 20 in the embodiment, a hall element, a hall IC, a magnetoresistive element, a strained semiconductor element or the like may be used instead.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a partial plan view of a steering wheel showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a II-II portion in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a III-III portion in FIG. , FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the IV-IV portion of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is VV of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the portion, and FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the load during steering and the displacement of the sensor unit in the steering wheel of the same embodiment. 1 ... Steering wheel, 2 ... Ring part, 3 ... Ring body part, 4 ... Sensor part, 5 ... Roller, 5b ... Shaft, 6 ... Roller, 6b ... Shaft, 11 ... Boss, 13 …… Spoke core metal, 20 …… Displacement detection means.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 54-3735 (JP, A) JP 62-105770 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An annular ring main body portion, which is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the ring portion and is fixedly connected to a spoke core metal that is connected to a boss, and an annular ring which is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the ring portion. And a plurality of the sensor units are provided at predetermined positions on the facing surfaces of the ring main body unit and the sensor unit, respectively, so that the sensor units can be moved relative to the ring main body unit along the rotation direction of the ring unit. A supporting roller having a rotation shaft substantially orthogonal to the ring surface, and a roller having a rotation shaft in a direction substantially parallel to the ring surface and directed to the boss; A steering wheel comprising a displacement detecting means for detecting a relative movement of the sensor portion with respect to the ring body portion.