JP4835017B2 - Steering device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device capable of adjusting a tilt / telescopic amount of a steering device.

Conventionally, when the tilt / telescopic amount of the steering device is adjusted, it is manually performed. Therefore, in recent years, an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism that adjusts the tilt / telescopic amount of the steering device by the driving force of the motor has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-240492

  By the way, in recent years, although the number of steering devices including an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism has increased, a steering device including a manual tilt / telescopic mechanism is also used due to cost problems.

  However, this steering column has an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism integrated with the steering column main body, so that there is a problem that it is difficult to share components with the steering column provided with the manual tilt / telescopic mechanism. It was.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art, and provides a steering device that can commonly use a steering column regardless of the drive system of the tilt / telescopic mechanism. It is in.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is directed to a steering shaft to which a steering wheel is attached, a steering column that rotatably accommodates and supports the steering shaft, and a steering position adjusting mechanism in the steering column. In the steering apparatus including the bracket for attaching the steering wheel, the steering column is configured such that the bracket is detachable , and the steering shaft is a first shaft to which a steering wheel is attached, and an axis with respect to the first shaft. A steering shaft, wherein the steering column is capable of rotating the first shaft, and is capable of rotating in the axial direction. A cylindrical first tube that is pivotally supported so as not to move; A tube-like second tube in which one tube is inserted so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction, and the second shaft is rotatably supported so as not to move in the axial direction, and is inserted into the second tube. The bracket is a support bracket for mounting a manual tilt / telescopic mechanism or a base bracket for mounting an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism, and constitutes the steering column. The lower outer peripheral surface of the second tube is provided with a common screw hole as an attachment portion of the support bracket and an attachment portion of the base bracket, and the support bracket and the base bracket have attachment screws in the screw holes. The gist is that it is attached by screwing .

( Function)
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the bracket is configured to be detachable from the steering column. Therefore, the bracket can be attached to and detached from the steering column, and the steering column can be used in common regardless of the driving method of the steering position adjusting mechanism.

Further , by changing the bracket, a manual tilt / telescopic mechanism or an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism can be attached to a common steering column.

Furthermore , the structure of the steering column is simplified. Moreover, since the mounting position and mounting method of the bracket are the same, the bracket can be mounted on the steering column in the same manner regardless of the drive system, and the bracket can be easily mounted.

  As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a steering apparatus that can commonly use a steering column regardless of the drive system of the tilt / telescopic mechanism.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a steering device for manually adjusting the tilt / telescopic position will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the steering device 10 of this embodiment includes a steering shaft 12 to which a steering wheel 11 is attached, and a steering column 13 that rotatably accommodates and supports the steering shaft 12.

  One end of the steering shaft 12 is connected to the steering wheel 11, and the other end is connected to the steering gear box through an intermediate shaft. As shown in FIG. 2, the steering shaft 12 includes a first shaft 12a connected to the steering wheel 11, and a second shaft 12b slidably fitted to the first shaft 12a. Splines are formed in the fitting portions of the first shaft 12a and the second shaft 12b, and the splines formed on the inner peripheral surface of the first shaft 12a are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the second shaft 12b. Engage with the spline. For this reason, the first shaft 12a is slidable in the axial direction with respect to the second shaft 12b, and is securely fixed in the circumferential direction with respect to the first shaft 12a, and can be integrally rotated.

  The steering column 13 includes a cylindrical upper tube 14 that is rotatably supported by a bearing 14a in front of the steering shaft 12 (first shaft 12a) and that is not movable in the axial direction. The steering column 13 includes a cylindrical main tube 15 into which the upper tube 14 is fitted so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction. Thereby, the steering apparatus 10 becomes a structure which can adjust the telescopic amount.

  In addition, the steering column 13 includes a lower tube 16 that is supported by a bearing (not shown) at the rear (second shaft 12b) of the steering shaft 12 and that is axially immovable. The lower tube 16 is fitted into the main tube 15, and when a predetermined load acts on the steering column 13 toward the front of the vehicle, the main tube 15 slides in the axial direction with respect to the lower tube 16. It is like that. Thereby, at the time of a collision, the collision energy applied to the steering wheel 11 can be absorbed while the axial length of the steering column 13 is contracted.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the cylindrical upper tube 14 that supports the first shaft 12a so that the first shaft 12a can rotate and cannot move in the axial direction becomes the first tube. Further, the cylindrical main tube 15 into which the upper tube 14 is inserted is the second tube. The cylindrical lower tube 16 that supports the second shaft 12b so that it can rotate and cannot move in the axial direction and is fitted into the main tube 15 is the third tube.

  The steering column 13 is supported by a main body bracket 17 provided on the front side (main tube 15) of the steering column 13 and a lower bracket 18 provided on the rear side (lower tube 16) of the steering column 13. Specifically, the steering column 13 is supported by the main body bracket 17 and the lower bracket 18 so that the axial direction of the steering shaft 12 is inclined in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body so that the steering wheel 11 is on the upper side.

  The lower bracket 18 supports the steering column 13 in a tiltable manner with respect to the vehicle body around a fulcrum S that connects the lower bracket 18 and the vehicle body. Thereby, the steering apparatus 10 becomes a structure which can adjust the tilt amount.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the main body bracket 17 includes a fixing portion 17a fixed to the vehicle body and a detaching portion 17b that can be detached from the fixing portion 17a. The main body bracket 17 supports the steering column 13 with the detachable portion 17b being fixed to the fixing portion 17a in a normal state where no load is applied to the steering shaft 12 from the steering wheel 11 side. When a predetermined load is applied, the separating part 17b is detached and moved forward. That is, the main body bracket 17 supports the steering column 13 so as to be able to break forward.

  A support bracket 20 to which a manual tilt / telescopic mechanism is attached is fixed to the main body bracket 17, and the main body bracket 17 supports the main tube 15 via the support bracket 20.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the support bracket 20 includes a housing member 20 a having a U-shaped cross section in the axial direction and extending along the axial direction of the steering column 13, and a rectangular tube shape. It is comprised from the support member 20b formed in this. The bottom portion of the housing member 20a is fixed to the main body bracket 17 and opens toward the lower side of the vehicle body (downward in FIG. 2). The support member 20b is disposed from below the vehicle body so as to close the opening of the housing member 20a. The housing member 20a houses the main tube 15 therein, and the support member 20b screws the mounting screws 40 into a pair of screw holes 15a formed on the lower outer peripheral surface of the main tube 15, respectively. Thus, the main tube 15 is attached to be supported. That is, the support bracket 20 is detachably attached to the steering column 13, and the steering column 13 and the support bracket 20 are configured to be separable (separate configuration).

  A connecting shaft 22 extending along the left-right direction of the steering column 13 (left-right direction in FIG. 2) passes through the support member 20b. The connecting shaft 22 passes through guide holes 21a formed on both side surfaces of the housing member 20a, and ends thereof protrude outward in the left-right direction from both side surfaces of the housing member 20a.

  The guide hole 21a formed on the side surface of the housing member 20a is formed longer than the diameter of the connecting shaft 22 in the vertical direction of the steering column 13 (the vertical direction in FIGS. 1 and 2). For this reason, the support member 20b can be moved in the vertical direction together with the main tube 15 by moving the connecting shaft 22 in the vertical direction along the shape of the guide hole 21a.

  Further, sandwiching members 23 a and 23 b are provided at both ends of the connecting shaft 22 so as to come into contact with the side surface of the support bracket 20 (specifically, the side surface of the housing member 20 a). The clamping member 23a provided on one end side of the connecting shaft 22 is fixed to the connecting shaft 22 so that the connecting shaft 22 cannot move in the axial direction, and the holding member 23b provided on the other end side of the connecting shaft 22 is The connecting shaft 22 is mounted so that the connecting shaft 22 can move in the axial direction.

  A rotating body 25a that rotates integrally with the connecting shaft 22 is mounted on the other end side of the connecting shaft 22 and outside the holding member 23b in the left-right direction. The rotating body 25a is provided with a rotating lever 25b, and the connecting shaft 22 can be rotated via the rotating body 25a by operating the rotating lever 25b.

  Concavities and convexities are formed on the contact surface between the holding member 23b and the rotating body 25a. Specifically, by rotating the rotating body 25a in a predetermined direction with respect to the holding member 23b, the unevenness formed on the contact surface between the holding member 23b and the rotating body 25a is caused to interfere with each other to hold the holding member 23b. Is moved in the axial direction of the connecting shaft 22 so that the distance between the holding members 23a and 23b arranged at both ends of the connecting shaft 22 is shortened. When the distance between the holding members 23 a and 23 b arranged at both ends of the connecting shaft 22 becomes short, the holding members 23 a and 23 b hold the side surfaces of the support bracket 20. Thereby, the clamping members 23a and 23b are pressed against the side surface of the support bracket 20, and restrict the movement of the connecting shaft 22 in the vertical direction. That is, the supporting member 20b attached to the connecting shaft 22 and the main tube 15 fixed to the supporting member 20b do not move with respect to the housing member 20a.

  Accordingly, when the rotating lever 25b is operated to rotate the rotating body 25a in a predetermined direction and the distance between the holding members 23a and 23b is shortened, the steering column 13 is moved in the vertical direction with the fulcrum S as a center (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1). The position can be fixed so that it cannot be tilted (indicated by Y1). Hereinafter, a state where the position of the steering column 13 is fixed is referred to as a locked state.

  Conversely, when the rotating lever 25b is operated in the locked state to rotate the rotating body 25a in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction and the distance between the holding members 23a and 23b is increased, the steering column 13 with the fulcrum S as the center. Can be manually tilted up and down. That is, the tilt amount of the steering device 10 can be adjusted by manually moving the steering wheel 11 in the vertical direction.

  In addition, an eccentric cam 26 that rotates integrally with the connecting shaft 22 is attached to the support member 20b at the approximate center of the connecting shaft 22 (see FIG. 2). Further, a lock wedge 27 is disposed below the main tube 15 and is disposed so as to contact the eccentric cam 26. Further, on the lower outer peripheral surface of the main tube 15, a lock for allowing the lock wedge 27 to pass through the main tube 15 and come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the upper tube 14 in correspondence with the position where the lock wedge 27 is disposed. A hole 28 is formed.

  The eccentric cam 26 is pushed upward so as to press the lock wedge 27 against the outer peripheral surface of the upper tube 14 by operating the turning lever 25b to be in the locked state. As a result, the lock wedge 27 passes through the lock hole 28 and comes into pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the upper tube 14, so that the upper tube 14 can be fixed to the main tube 15 so as not to move. On the other hand, by operating the turning lever 25b to release the locked state, the upper tube 14 can move in the axial direction (indicated by an arrow Y2 in FIG. 1) with respect to the main tube 15. Accordingly, the telescopic amount of the steering device 10 can be adjusted by manually moving the steering wheel 11 in the axial direction.

  In the present embodiment, the support bracket 20, the connecting shaft 22, the clamping members 23a and 23b, the rotating body 25a, the rotating lever 25b, the eccentric cam 26, and the lock wedge 27 constitute a manual tilt / telescopic mechanism. . The manual tilt / telescopic mechanism is a mechanism having both a manual tilt mechanism and a manual telescopic mechanism.

  Next, the steering apparatus 10 provided with the electric tilt / telescopic mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. Each member configuration of the steering device 10 provided with the electric tilt / telescopic mechanism is basically the same as that of the steering device 10 provided with the manual tilt / telescopic mechanism. As a matter of course, the redundant description is omitted, and only the portions different from the steering device 10 having the manual tilt / telescopic mechanism are described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a base bracket 30 to which an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism is attached via a link mechanism 31 is fixed to the main body bracket 17, and the main body bracket 17 is connected to the main tube via the base bracket 30. 15 is supported.

  More specifically, the link mechanism 31 includes links L1 to L3 and pivots P1 to P5. As shown in FIG. 3, the main body bracket 17 connects the first link L1 to be pivotable by the pivot P1. is doing. The first link L1 is pivotally connected to the second link L2 by a pivot P2. The second link L2 is pivotally connected to the base bracket 30 by a pivot P3.

  Further, the second link L2 is connected to the tilt holder 32 by a pivot P4. The base bracket 30 is integrally formed with a third link L3, and the third link L3 is connected to the tilt slider 33 by a pivot P5. The tilt holder 32 is provided with a tilt control motor 34 and gears such as a worm gear, a wheel gear, and a tilt worm (not shown). When the tilt control motor 34 is driven, the rotational force of the tilt control motor 34 is increased. The torque is transmitted to the worm gear, and this rotational force is transmitted to the wheel gear meshing with the worm gear. Further, the rotational movement of the tilt worm that rotates integrally with the wheel gear is transmitted to the tilt slider 33.

  The base bracket 30 is attached so as to support the main tube 15 by screwing attachment screws 40 into a pair of screw holes 15 a provided on the lower outer peripheral surface of the main tube 15. That is, the base bracket 30 is detachable from the steering column 13, and the steering column 13 and the base bracket 30 are configured to be separable (separate configuration).

  The link mechanism 31 operates so that the distance between the main body bracket 17 and the steering column 13 is shortened by driving the tilt control motor 34 and sliding the tilt slider 33 in the direction of increasing the distance between the pivot P4 and the pivot P5. As a result, the steering column 13 can be tilted upward about the fulcrum S. On the other hand, a link mechanism is provided so that the distance between the main body bracket 17 and the steering column 13 is increased by driving the tilt control motor 34 and sliding the tilt slider 33 in the direction of narrowing the distance between the pivot P4 and the pivot P5. 31 works. As a result, the steering column 13 can be tilted downward about the fulcrum S. Therefore, by controlling the tilt control motor 34, the steering column 13 can be tilted in the vertical direction (indicated by the arrow Y3 in FIG. 3), and the tilt amount of the steering device 10 can be adjusted.

  A telescopic holder 35 is fixed to the upper tube 14. The telescopic holder 35 is provided with a telescopic control motor 36 and gears such as a worm gear, a wheel gear, and a telescopic worm (not shown). When the telescopic control motor 36 is driven, the rotational force of the telescopic control motor 36 is increased. The torque is transmitted to the worm gear, and this rotational force is transmitted to the wheel gear meshing with the worm gear. Furthermore, the rotational motion of the telescopic worm that rotates integrally with the wheel gear is transmitted to the telescopic slider 37 fixed to the base bracket 30.

  By driving the telescopic control motor 36 and sliding the telescopic slider 37 in a direction to increase the distance between the telescopic holder 35 and the telescopic slider 37, the upper tube 14 has a main tube so that the axial length of the steering column 13 becomes longer. Move relative to 15. On the other hand, by driving the telescopic control motor 36 and sliding the telescopic slider 37 in a direction to reduce the distance between the telescopic holder 35 and the telescopic slider 37, the axial length of the upper column 14 of the steering column 13 is shortened. , Move relative to the main tube 15. Therefore, by controlling the telescopic control motor 36, the steering column 13 can be moved in the axial direction (indicated by the arrow Y4 in FIG. 3), and the telescopic amount of the steering device 10 can be adjusted.

  In the present embodiment, the base bracket 30, the links L1 to L3, the pivots P1 to P5, the tilt slider 33, the tilt holder 32, the telescopic holder 35, and the telescopic slider 37 constitute an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism. The electric tilt / telescopic mechanism is a mechanism having both an electric tilt mechanism and an electric telescopic mechanism. In the present embodiment, the support bracket 20 and the base bracket 30 are separated from the steering column 13. Further, the screw holes 15 a provided in the steering column 13 serve as an attachment portion for the support bracket 20 and an attachment portion for the base bracket 30. The steering position adjusting mechanism is a tilt / telescopic mechanism.

As described above in detail, the present embodiment has the following effects.
(1) Since the support bracket 20 and the base bracket 30 are separated from the steering column 13, a manual tilt / telescopic mechanism or an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism can be selected for the same steering column 13 simply by changing the bracket. Can be attached. Therefore, the steering column 13 can be used in common regardless of the drive system of the tilt / telescopic mechanism.

  (2) The screw hole 15a to which the support bracket 20 and the base bracket 30 are attached is provided in the steering column 13. Therefore, a manual tilt / telescopic mechanism or an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism can be attached to a common steering column by changing the bracket.

  (3) The support bracket 20 and the base bracket 30 are fixed to the main tube 15 by screwing attachment screws 40 into common screw holes 15 a provided in the main tube 15. That is, the base bracket 30 can be attached to the screw hole 15a used when the support bracket 20 is attached. For this reason, it is not necessary to form attachment parts such as a plurality of screw holes 15a in accordance with the driving method, and the structure of the steering column 13 is simplified. In addition, since the mounting position and mounting method of the support bracket 20 and the base bracket 30 are the same, the support bracket 20 and the base bracket 30 can be mounted on the steering column 13 in the same manner regardless of the drive system, and mounting is easy. Become.

In addition, the said embodiment can be embodied in another embodiment (another example) as follows.
In the steering column 13 of the above embodiment, the screw hole 15a to which the support bracket 20 and the base bracket 30 can be attached in common is provided. However, an attachment portion for attaching the support bracket 20 and an attachment portion for attaching the base bracket 30 are provided. It may be provided individually.

  In the steering device 10 of the above-described embodiment, the tilt / telescopic mechanism is provided. However, at least one of the tilt mechanism and the telescopic mechanism may be provided.

  In the above embodiment, the steering position adjustment mechanism is a tilt / telescopic mechanism, but may be a tilt mechanism or a telescopic mechanism.

The side sectional view of a steering device provided with a manual tilt and telescopic mechanism. Longitudinal cross section of steering device with manual tilt / telescopic mechanism The side view of the steering device provided with the electric tilt and telescopic mechanism. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the steering device provided with the electric tilt and telescopic mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Steering device, 11 ... Steering wheel, 12 ... Steering shaft, 12a ... First shaft, 12b ... Second shaft, 13 ... Steering column, 14 ... Upper tube, 15 ... Main tube, 16 ... Lower tube, 17 ... Main body Bracket, 18 ... lower bracket, 20 ... support bracket, 30 ... base bracket.

Claims (1)

A steering shaft to which the steering wheel is attached;
A steering column that rotatably accommodates and supports the steering shaft;
In a steering apparatus including a bracket for attaching a steering position adjusting mechanism to the steering column,
The steering column is configured such that the bracket is detachable ,
The steering shaft is fitted into a first shaft to which a steering wheel is attached, and can be moved relative to the first shaft in the axial direction, and can be integrally rotated in the circumferential direction with the first shaft. A second shaft,
The steering column includes a cylindrical first tube that rotatably supports the first shaft and is not movable in the axial direction, and a cylinder into which the first tube is fitted so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction. A cylindrical second tube, and a cylindrical third tube that rotatably supports the second shaft and that cannot move in the axial direction, and is fitted into the second tube.
The bracket is a support bracket for mounting a manual tilt / telescopic mechanism or a base bracket for mounting an electric tilt / telescopic mechanism,
The lower outer peripheral surface of the second tube constituting the steering column is provided with a common screw hole as an attachment portion of the support bracket and an attachment portion of the base bracket, and the support bracket and the base bracket are The steering device is attached by screwing an attachment screw into the screw hole .

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