JPS6052024B2 - Steering handle tilt device for automobiles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a steering wheel tilt device for an automobile.

Various tilt devices have been proposed for the steering wheel of automobiles to enable each driver to take the most comfortable driving posture and to facilitate getting on and off the vehicle. Generally, they are heavy, have low strength and rigidity, and have a complicated structure, resulting in high costs.

In addition, due to its heavy weight and low strength and rigidity, the resonance frequency of the steering wheel when attached to the vehicle body is around 24 Hz, which causes resonance with the vehicle body vibration during high-speed driving, causing discomfort and anxiety to the driver. It gives a feeling. The present invention aims to make the above-mentioned tilt device lightweight, compact, and high in strength and rigidity. Increase the resonance frequency by reducing weight and improving strength and rigidity to prevent resonance during high-speed driving. To simplify the structure and reduce the number of columns. and to simplify the tilt operation, for example, to enable one-touch operation. The purpose is to This invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples below.

In Figures 1 to 6, 1 is an upper yoke fixed to the upper column 3 by welding or other means, and 2 is a lower yoke fixed to the lower column 4 by similar means. Both yokes 1 and 2 are configured such that the yoke fork portion and the vicinity thereof are formed into a spherical shape, and the pivot portion is located on the axis passing through the center of the spherical surface, and the yoke itself is made of, for example, a thin plate. The structure is designed to reduce its weight as much as possible. The left and right pivot parts of yokes 1 and 2 are
As shown in FIG. 3, a bush 19 is inserted through the fork of the yoke 1 and the frame 5A along the fork through the inner spherical washer 35, and a spherical shape is formed on the inner surface of the fork of the yoke 2. A spherical seat nut 2 with a seat seated and a part inserted into the fork part.
0, and a spherical seat nut 20 inserted through the bush 19.
It consists of a hinge bolt ″21 that is screwed into the bolt 2.
1. Tighten each member using the nut 20 with appropriate torque so that the yokes 1 and 2 swing smoothly around the pivot portion with the required torque.

In the case of the embodiment, the frame frame 5A has a structure that is fixed to the upper column 3 or the upper yoke 1 and moves together with the upper column 3 during the tilt operation described later to facilitate the operation of the operation handle 6. It is also possible to have a structure in which it is fixed to the lower column 4 or the like so that it is immovable. Brackets 12, 11 are fixed to the upper yoke 1 and lower yoke 2, respectively, and each end of a plurality of link-shaped friction plates 7, 8 is pivotally attached to each bracket 11, 12 via pins 9, 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the other ends are slidably overlapped and assembled.

In the friction plate 7 or the friction plates 7 and 8, an elongated hole 36 as shown in FIG. 5 is bored in the overlapping part thereof, and the hole 36 is pierced with an operating bolt 14A supported on the frame frame 5A. penetrate. Attach the operating bolt 14A to one or more locations in the elongated hole 36.
It is preferable to provide a recess 36a that engages with the recess 36a so that the normal fixed position or tilt position of the steering wheel can be defined by the recess 36a as described later. , 7a, 7b. 7c
3 pieces, 8 is 2 pieces 8a and 8b, and these are bolt 1
The pins 10 and 9 of each friction plate 7 and 8 are stacked at 4A.
In the pivot joint part, a distance piece and each friction plate 7, 8 that match the spacing created by combining the opposing friction plates are installed, and a recess 36a in the elongated hole 36 is inserted into the bolt 1.
A spring 13 is provided which urges the spring 4A in the direction of engagement.

The operating bolt 14A has a left-handed thread at one end and a right-handed thread at the other end, a left-handed threaded nut 15 on the left-handed threaded part, a right-handed threaded nut 16 on the right-handed threaded part, and each of the above. Each of the nuts 15 and 1 is installed on both sides of the overlapping portion of the friction plates 7 and 8.
6, the overlapping portion is clamped and fastened by rotating the bolt 14A to the left (FIG. 1), and the clamping pressure is released by rotating the bolt 14A to the right.

In the above, the left-hand threaded part, the right-hand threaded part, and the nuts 15 and 16 that are screwed thereto are either one or both of them multi-threaded, such as double threaded, or the lead of the thread is increased, etc. The rotation angle of the operating bolt 14A in the clamping force fastening and its releasing operations, which will be described later, may be made smaller. In addition, the left-hand threaded portion, the right-hand threaded portion, and the nuts 15 and 16 that are screwed thereto are arranged alternately to the left and right in FIG. It goes without saying that the fastening and releasing operations may be performed. The operation bolt 14A has a serration 18 formed on its head, and a boss 17 formed on the operation lever 6 is fitted with the serration, etc., so that both members 6 and 14A are attached so as to rotate integrally.

Note that instead of the serration fitting, spline fitting,
The connection may be made by square shaft fitting, keyway connection, welding, caulking, or the like. A tension spring 34 is actuated on the operating lever 6, which biases the friction plates 7, 8 in the direction of tightening them (rotated counterclockwise in the figure) by the operating bolt 14A and its nuts 15, 16.
The tightening by the spring force causes the friction plates 7 and 8 to be fastened together, thereby fixing the upper column 3 in the tilt position.

There is a hook 2 between the upper yoke 1 and the lower column 4.
7, upper column 3 and steering handle 3
2 is urged to rotate upward about the pivot portion.

The upper steering shaft 28, to which the steering handle 32 supported by the upper column 3 is attached, and the lower steering shaft 29, which is connected to a steering gear device (not shown), are connected by a universal joint 30, as shown in FIG. The columns 3 and 4 are configured to be tiltable.

The operating center of the universal joint 30 is made to coincide with the operating center of each of the yokes 1 and 2, that is, the axis of the pivot portion. Note that this is not the case if the shafts 28, 29 are allowed to slide somewhat in the axial direction in the joint (9). Reference numeral 33 designates an instrument panel of the vehicle body that supports the lower column 4 with suitable support means 31.

As explained above, since the operating lever 6 is biased by the spring 34, the operating bolt 14A and the nuts 15, 16 screwed thereto clamp and fasten the overlapping portion of the friction plates 7, 8.
The frictional force fixes the upper column 3 and the lower column 4, for example, as shown by the solid line in FIG.

If you want to tilt the steering wheel 32 to the position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1, first push and turn the operating lever 6 to the position shown by the imaginary line 6'' in FIG. 8 is released, the steering handle 32 is rotated by the balance spring 27 toward the imaginary line position in FIG.

Therefore, when the handle 32 reaches the imaginary line position, the operating handle 6 is brought to the imaginary line 6'' position in FIG. Returning to the ``'' position, the overlapping portions of the friction plates are clamped and fastened to fix the upper column 3. Note that when moving the steering handle 32 manually, the balance spring 27
In addition, when the operation handle 6 is returned manually, the urging force of the tension spring 34 may be reduced or may be omitted. In addition, as mentioned above, the operation bolt 1
If the screw 4A and the screws of the nuts 15 and 16 that are screwed thereto are double screws, screws with large leads, etc., it is convenient because the rotation angle of the operating handle 6 during the above operation can be reduced. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the tilt operation is performed by a foot pedal 25, and the same parts as in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals.

The operation bolt 14B and the nut 15 are screwed together with a right-hand thread, and the nut 16 is screwed with a left-hand thread, and a spiral spring 24 is provided at one end of the bolt 14B to bias the bolt 14B in the clockwise direction (FIG. 7). This biasing force can be used to fix the upper column 3 and steering handle 32 in any tilt position as described above.

A fan-shaped pulley 22 is fixed to one end of the bolt 14B, and one end of a remote control cable 26 is connected to the pulley 22.

The foot pedal 25 is pivotally attached to the pedal bracket 23 with a shaft 23a, and is biased in the counterclockwise direction (FIG. 10) by a spring 23b, so that the other end of the cable 26 is moved to the position 23c of the pedal 25. Connect to.

As described above, when the pedal 25 is depressed to the left, the fan-shaped pulley 22 is rotated to the left via the remote control cable 26, the operating bolt 14B is rotated in the same direction, and the friction plates 7 and 8 are clamped by the nuts 15 and 16. Release the pressure connection. Therefore, the upper column 3 and the steering handle 32 are rotated upward by the force of the balance spring 27. When the foot pedal 25 is released, the pedal 25 rotates clockwise due to the action of the springs 24 and 23b, and the operating bolt 14B clamps and fastens the friction plates 7 and 8 with the nuts 15 and 16. .

That is, it can be tilted to any position.

In each of the embodiments described above, it goes without saying that the nuts 15 and 16 are supported so as not to rotate even when the operation bolts 14A and 14B are rotated. The nut may be non-rotatably engaged with the U-shaped support frame 37 or the like, or the flat portions 15a, 16a of the outer periphery of the nut may be brought into sliding contact with the frames 5A, 5B. This invention has the above structure, and the upper yoke 1
, the lower yoke 2 is combined with a spherical structure near its pivot portion, and the pivot portion is located on the axis passing through the center of the spherical surface, so the pivot portion using the bush 19 is made into a spherical surface with a wide area, and the hinge bolt By tightening to the proper torque in step 21, the surface pressure on the spherical surface is low, and the center can be held simultaneously by the spherical surfaces of the bush and yoke, thus creating a durable structure with no play in the pivot part and high joint rigidity. be able to. In addition, the spherical yoke structure is advantageous in torsional strength applied from the pivot portion (key lock torsional strength of 10 kg-m or more, ECENO.18) and stress dispersion of front and rear loads, so the yoke plate thickness can be made thinner. Also, sufficient strength and rigidity can be obtained, and the weight of the tilt device can be reduced.

The spherical yoke structure occupies the smallest space compared to the general square yoke structure, so the tilt device can be small and
It is also useful for compactness, and the upper yoke and steering handle are fixed in the tilted position by stacking multiple friction plates, so it is possible to obtain fixing force with a small amount of tightening force. When using a sheet, its fixing force is
This is about 5 times that of a single friction surface, which increases depending on the number of friction surfaces, so for example, just biasing the operating handle with a spring can provide sufficient fixing force.
By simultaneously screwing together the left-hand threaded nuts to fasten the friction plates, tilting operations are made significantly easier.
Moreover, it can be operated with one touch and is easy to operate.

Furthermore, a foot pedal type has the same effect, and according to the present invention, the weight can be reduced to about 213 compared to the conventional one.
Hertz to around 28 hertz, which prevents resonance during high-speed driving and increases steering stability and a sense of security. For example, the weight of the conventional one is about 6.5 kg.
9. Assuming that the weight of this invention is 4.5 kg and other coefficients are the same, the general formula for the resonance frequency f is:
f=ml8′? Therefore, the resonant frequency of the conventional product is f1
, if the resonance frequency of this invention is F2, then f
If 1 = 24 Hz, then the resonance frequency increases by about 20%, which does not cause resonance with the vibration of the car body when driving at high speed.

In addition, the structure of this invention is simple as described above,
The cost can be greatly reduced, and if a recess that engages with the operating bolt is provided in the elongated hole of the friction plate, the tilt position, normal position, etc. can be defined by the recess. There is.

Note that when the tilt position is set steplessly, the recess is not necessary; for example, the recess that defines the normal position may be provided at only one location.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an overall view of the embodiment, Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the main parts, and Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the main parts.
Figures 4 and 4 are cross-sectional views taken along the lines ■-■ and ■-■ in Figure 2, respectively, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the friction plate, Figure 6 is a diagram showing the steering shaft connection part, and Figure 7 is a diagram showing the friction plate. 8 and 10 are enlarged views of the main parts, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 8. 1...Upper yoke, 2...Lower yoke, 3...Upper column, 4...Lower column,
5A, 5B... Frame frame, 6... Operation lever, 7, 8... Friction plate, 14A, 14B...
...Operating bolt, 15, 16...Nut, 19
... Bush, 20 ... Spherical seat nut, 21.
... Hinge bolt, 22 ... Fan-shaped pulley, 2
3... Pedal bracket, 24... Spiral spring, 25... Foot pedal, 26... Remote control cable, 27... Balance spring, 32... ... Steering handle, 34 ... Tension spring, 36
...Elongated hole, 36a...Concave.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A pair of yokes provided on each of the upper column and the lower column are formed into a spherical surface around a pivot portion that connects the yokes in a tiltable manner, and the pivot portion is formed on the spherical surface. A plurality of friction plates are arranged on an axis passing through the center, and have elongated holes formed in their ends, and are assembled by overlapping the ends so as to be able to slide along the elongated holes. An operation in which one end of the combination is pivotally connected to the lower yoke and the other end to the upper yoke, and the combination is supported by a frame fixed to one of the columns or one of the yokes, and operated by an operating member. A tilting device for a steering wheel in a motor vehicle, wherein a mechanism is provided, and the overlapping combination portion of the friction plate is clamped by the operating mechanism to fix the steering wheel at a tilted position. 2. A bushing in which the pair of yokes is formed into a thin plate structure so that the contact surface of the spherical portion thereof is formed as wide as possible, and the pivot portion is inserted through the frame frame and the forked portion of one of the pair of yokes; A tilting device for a steering wheel in an automobile according to claim 1, comprising a spherical seat nut seated on the inner surface of the forked portion of the other yoke, and a hinge bolt that penetrates the bush and is screwed into the spherical seat nut. . 3. The tilting device for a steering wheel in an automobile according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the elongated hole of the friction plate is provided with one or more recesses that engage with the operating mechanism at a required tilt position. 4 Claims 1 to 3 are provided with a spring that biases the upper column and the steering handle to move upward.
A steering wheel tilt device for an automobile according to any one of the above. 5. An operating mechanism for clamping and fastening the friction plate is rotatably supported by the frame and has an operating member fixed to one end;
An operating bolt that passes through a long hole in the overlapping combination portion of each of the friction plates, and a right-handed screw nut and a left-hand threaded nut that are non-rotatably disposed on both sides of the overlapping combination portion of the friction plates and are screwed into the operation bolt. Claim 1: The invention comprises a threaded nut, and is configured such that both nuts clamp the overlapping combination portion of the friction plate and release the same by rotation of an operating bolt.
4. A steering wheel tilt device for an automobile according to any one of 4 to 4. 6. A steering wheel tilting device for an automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the operating member of the operating mechanism is an operating lever fixed to one end of an operating bolt. 7. The steering wheel tilt device for an automobile according to claim 6, wherein the frame is fixed to an upper column. 8. Claim 6, further comprising a spring that biases the operating mechanism in a direction to clamp and fasten the overlapping combination portion of the friction plate.
Or the tilting device of the steering wheel in the motor vehicle according to 7. 9. The automobile according to claim 8, wherein the spring force of the spring that biases the operating mechanism is set to such a level that the upper column can be fixed when the overlapping combination parts of the friction plates are clamped together. A steering wheel tilt device. 10 The operating member of the operating mechanism is connected to a foot pedal that is pivoted at an appropriate position on the vehicle body and provides a return force, a fan-shaped pulley that is fixed to one end of the operating bolt, and the foot pedal and the fan-shaped pulley are interlocked. energizing the remote control cable and the operating mechanism in a direction to clamp and fasten the overlapping combination portion of the friction plate;
6. A tilting device for a steering wheel in an automobile according to claim 1, further comprising a spring having a spring force capable of fixing the upper column in a tilted position by its biasing force. 11. According to any one of claims 5 to 10, at least one of the right-hand thread or left-hand thread that screws the operating bolt and the right-hand threaded nut and the left-hand threaded nut, respectively, is a multi-ply thread or a thread with a large lead. A tilting device for a steering wheel in the vehicle described above.