JP2000072012A - Hydraulic control valve with torque transmission direction changing means - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a hydraulic control valve and a torque transmission direction changing means provided at a steering shaft system, through the common use of components with simple structure, to reduce occupied space when mounted on a vehicle and to increase the freedom of on-vehicle layout. SOLUTION: A steering shaft system is provided with a hydraulic control valve 1 for controlling driving of a power cylinder by the steering operation of a steering wheel, and a torque transmission direction changing means 12 provided at an intermediate part of the steering shaft system. The hydraulic control valve 11 is formed separately from a power steering body part, and a valve body 21 constituting the hydraulic control valve 11 is integrally connected to a gear body 41 constituting the torque transmission direction changing means 12. A transmission shaft 23 journalled to the valve body 21, and an output shaft 43 journalled to the gear body 41 are gear-connected through bevel gears 50, 51.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power steering apparatus for transmitting a steering wheel to a steering link mechanism by using a steering gear by a steering operation of a steering wheel to steer left and right steering wheels. The present invention relates to a hydraulic control valve for driving and controlling a power cylinder by an operation, the hydraulic control valve being provided with a torque transmission direction changing unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a rack-and-pinion type power steering device meshes with a rack shaft arranged along the width direction between left and right front wheels (steering wheels) of a vehicle (vehicle). A pinion shaft that has a pinion and is connected to the handle shaft side of the steering handle.
Further, a power cylinder is provided in a part of the steering link mechanism between the left and right steering wheels together with the steering gear including the rack and the pinion, so that a steering assist force is applied to the steering link mechanism.

[0003] Further, a hydraulic control valve having a rotary flow path switching valve structure is provided on the pinion shaft portion. The hydraulic control valve detects a steering operation state of a steering handle and detects a left or right cylinder of the power cylinder. The supply of the pressure oil to the chamber is controlled to be distributed.

In the power steering apparatus described above, the rotational displacement caused by the steering operation of the steering wheel is converted into a linear displacement in the axial direction of the rack shaft by the steering gear, and the linear displacement is transmitted through the steering link mechanism including the rack shaft. ,
The right steering wheel is steered in a desired direction, and the pressure oil distributed and controlled by the hydraulic control valve is supplied to the left and right cylinder chambers of the power cylinder, whereby the steering assist force in a required direction is provided. It is provided to a steering link mechanism to steer left and right steered wheels.

[0005]

However, when the above-described power steering device is mounted on a vehicle, there are the following problems, particularly in terms of occupied space.

One is that a valve mechanism having the hydraulic control valve is integrally connected to a part of a power steering main body having a rack constituting a steering link mechanism between steered wheels of a vehicle. Therefore, when assembled into a vehicle, there is a problem that the entire unit including the power steering main body and the valve mechanism becomes large, and there is a restriction in terms of space.

In particular, a hydraulic pipe is provided around the above-mentioned valve mechanism and the power steering main body, and a working space for a tool such as a wrench for tightening and removing bolts and nuts for mounting each member. Therefore, the occupied space as a whole becomes large, and it is necessary to arrange them so as not to interfere with the vehicle body frame and other in-vehicle devices.

[0008] Around the power steering body, frames constituting a vehicle body such as an engine, an exhaust pipe, a cross member, and other connecting members including other in-vehicle devices and hydraulic piping are mounted at high density. ing. In particular, securing such a mounting space is a major problem for small passenger cars. Therefore, it is desired to reduce the size of the main body of the power steering device so as to be easily mounted on a vehicle in consideration of the relationship with these various mechanisms.

Although it is conceivable that the above-mentioned valve mechanism is formed as a separate body, simply dividing the valve mechanism increases the number of components such as a valve body and a transmission shaft.
Also, incorporation into the steering shaft system may cause troubles such as complicated work and complicated structure. For this reason, it is desired to take some measures that can simplify the structure and assemblability of the valve mechanism in addition to the structure of the steering shaft system.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a hydraulic control valve provided on a steering shaft system is combined with another mechanism to share components and thereby simplify the structure and reduce the size. While promoting
Simplify the overall structure of the power steering device, reduce the size of each part, especially the space occupied by the power steering body as much as possible, and incorporate the power steering device into space-constrained vehicles such as small passenger cars. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic control valve with a torque transmission direction changing means capable of improving workability and giving a degree of freedom to a vehicle layout.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hydraulic control valve having a torque transmission direction changing means, which is provided with a steering link mechanism through a steering link mechanism. In a power steering apparatus including a power steering main body having a steering gear for turning a right steering wheel and a power cylinder for applying a steering assist force to a steering link mechanism by a steering operation, a power cylinder is provided by a steering operation of a steering wheel. And a torque transmission direction changing means provided in the middle of a steering shaft system for transmitting a steering operation state from a steering wheel to a steered wheel side. The valve body of the hydraulic control valve is connected to the power steering. The hydraulic control valve is formed separately from the main body. Characterized in that to connect the body to the gear body of the torque transmission direction changing means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hydraulic control valve with a torque transmission direction changing means, wherein a transmission shaft connected to an input shaft rotated by a steering operation via a rotary flow path switching valve is connected to the valve body. The gear shaft was penetrated and extended in the direction of the gear body. The shaft was substantially perpendicular to the output shaft rotatably supported by the gear body, and was gear-coupled to the output shaft in the internal space of the gear body. It is characterized by the following.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hydraulic control valve with a torque transmitting direction changing means, wherein an engaging portion engages with a back surface of the gear means and an end face of the valve body on a gear body side in an axial direction. Is provided.

According to the present invention, for example, a hydraulic control valve comprising a rotary flow path switching valve is separated from a power steering main body, and a valve body constituting a hydraulic control valve provided on a steering shaft system and torque transmission direction changing means are provided. The power steering body provided in the steering link mechanism and the like are miniaturized by connecting the gear body that constitutes the body integrally, and the occupied space is reduced as much as possible.

Further, according to the present invention, the valve body constituting the hydraulic control valve provided on the steering shaft system and the gear body constituting the torque transmitting direction changing means are integrally connected to close the mutual opening. It can be used as a lid member, and can use a common transmission shaft.

Further, according to the present invention, since the transmission shaft on the hydraulic control valve side and the output shaft on the transmission direction changing means are arranged in a T-shape, a gear housing space can be formed at the intersection of the shafts. Therefore, the entire structure can be made compact.

Further, according to the present invention, a back surface of a gear means having a diameter larger than a through hole provided at an extended end of a transmission shaft extending through the valve body so as to reach the inside of the gear body;
By engaging an engaging portion provided so as to be engaged in the axial direction of the transmission shaft with the end face of the valve body facing the gear body on the gear body side, the transmission shaft from the non-gear body side of the valve body is engaged. The gear means can be removed from the transmission shaft by pulling out when disassembling.

The steering gear portion is, for example, a rack and pinion type steering gear portion, but is not limited to this. The gear means includes, for example, one of a bevel gear and a zero roll gear, but is not limited thereto.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the entirety of a power steering apparatus using a hydraulic control valve with a torque transmitting direction changing means according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a torque transmitting direction according to the present invention. It is a longitudinal section showing one embodiment of a hydraulic control valve with conversion means.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main portion of FIG. 2 where a valve body and a gear body are joined.
3 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a side view showing the appearance of FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a power steering device, which is a power steering main body 4 constituting a steering link mechanism 3 between left and right steering wheels 2 and 2 (front wheels). It has. In the drawings, reference numerals 3a, 3a denote tie rods, and 3b, 3b denote tie rod arms, which are configured to transmit the movement of the steering link mechanism 3 to the left and right steering wheels 2, 2 to steer in a required direction. .

The power steering body 4 comprises a rack 7a and a pinion 8a for transmitting a steering operation transmitted from a steering handle 5 via a steering shaft system 6 to a rack shaft 7 constituting the steering link mechanism 3. A steering gear section 9 of a rack and pinion type and a power cylinder 10 for applying a steering assist force to the steering link mechanism by the steering operation are provided.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a hydraulic control valve. The hydraulic control valve 11 is adapted to control the left and right cylinder chambers (CL, CL) of the power cylinder 10 in accordance with the steering operation of the steering handle 5.
By controlling the distribution of the pressure oil by switching the oil path to CR), the power cylinder 10 is driven in a predetermined direction (steering operation direction) to generate the steering assist force. In addition,
As such a hydraulic control valve 11, for example, a rotary flow path switching valve may be used. In the figure, P is a hydraulic pump, and T is a tank.

The hydraulic control valve 11 is integrally provided with a torque transmitting direction changing means 12 (see FIG. 2) provided in the middle of a steering shaft system 6 for transmitting a steering operation torque from the steering handle 5 to the steering gear portion 9. It is provided in. The torque transmission direction changing means 12 is provided with a handle shaft 5 a on the steering handle 5 side and the steering gear 9.
In the transmission path of the steering operation force to and from the pinion shaft 8 having the pinion 8a, the transmission path is disposed at a portion where the transmission path is bent due to the mounting state on the vehicle, space, and other reasons. As the above-described torque transmission direction conversion means 12, a gear mechanism that changes the transmission direction, such as a bevel gear, is used.

According to the present invention, the above-described hydraulic control valve 11 is formed separately from the power steering main body 4 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the hydraulic control valve 11 is connected to the steering handle 5. It is disposed between the power steering main body 4 and the power steering main body 4. The valve body 21 of the hydraulic control valve 11 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in (1), the torque transmission direction changing means 12 is integrally connected to the gear body 41. In FIGS. 5 and 6, reference numeral 70 denotes both bodies 21, 41.
Are bolts for fastening and fixing in a state where they are integrally combined.

In the hydraulic control valve 11 with the torque transmitting direction changing means 12 described above, the hydraulic control valve section comprises:
As shown in FIG. 2, an input shaft 22 that is rotated by a steering operation of a steering handle in a valve body 21 and a transmission shaft 23 that is connected to the input shaft 22 so as to be relatively rotatable. It is constituted by a rotary flow path switching valve 26 comprising a rotor 24 and a sleeve 25 provided.

The input shaft 22 and the transmission shaft 23 are connected to each other by a torsion bar 27 so as to be relatively rotatable within a predetermined angle range. Is switched between the left and right chambers CL, CR, and the tank T. The transmission shaft 23 integrally having the sleeve 25 is
A pair of bearings 28,
It is rotatably supported by 29.

In the figure, 31 is a pump port, 32 is a tank port, 33 and 34 are output ports leading to the left and right chambers CL and CR of the cylinder, and these ports 31, 32, 33 and 33 are shown.
Is connected to a passage groove formed in the rotor 24 and the sleeve 25, and pressure oil is supplied with the passage switching,
Although it is discharged, its detailed structure and operation are widely known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
A bearing 35 supports the input shaft 22. The input shaft 22 is supported by a bearing 36 in the transmission shaft 23.
Reference numeral 37 denotes a plug member for closing an opening on the input shaft 22 side in the shaft hole 21a of the valve body 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, the torque transmission direction changing means 12 integrally connected to the hydraulic control valve 11
A gear body 41 is connected to the transmission shaft 23 of the valve body 21. The gear body 41 has an opening 41a with which the end 21b of the valve body 21 is engaged. An opening 41b is also formed in a direction orthogonal to the opening 41a, and a gear cover 42 for closing the opening 41b is provided. 5 and 6, reference numeral 75 denotes a bolt for fastening and fixing the gear cover 42 to the gear body 41.

In the gear body 41, an output shaft 43 for changing the direction of transmission of the rotation of the transmission shaft 23 on the hydraulic control valve 11 side is supported so that the transmission shaft 23 and the axis are substantially orthogonal to each other. . In the figure, reference numerals 44 and 45 denote output shafts 4.
3 is a bearing for supporting. Since the output shaft 43 is supported at both ends by such bearings 44 and 45, and a bevel gear 50 (described later) as a gear means is provided between the output shaft 43 and the output shaft 43.
Smooth, axial transmission of each axis is obtained.

The transmission shaft 23 is connected to the valve body 21
And extends toward the gear body 41 side, and faces the output shaft 43 rotatably supported in the gear body 41 from a direction in which the axis is substantially orthogonal to the output shaft 43. A bevel gear 50 gear-coupled to transmit rotation between the transmission shaft 43 and the output shaft 23;
51 are provided. Incidentally, such gear coupling means is not limited to the bevel gear 50, and a zero roll gear may be used. In short, any off-axis gear that does not generate a component force may be used.

Here, the transmission shaft 2 in the gear body 41
3. In the internal space provided with the bevel gears 50 and 51 for gear coupling the output shaft 43, a part of the return flow path to the tank T in the rotary flow path switching valve 26 of the valve body 21 is provided by the rotor 24 and the sleeve. 25, a radial groove 25a formed in the sleeve 25, and a clearance between the bearings 29.

When such a structure is adopted, the lubrication of the gear portion and the rotating portion in the gear body 41 is controlled by the hydraulic control valve 1.
1 and can be shared.

The output shaft 43 is rotatably supported in the gear body 41 in the axial direction.
An adjustment mechanism 46 capable of adjusting the amount of movement in the direction of the axis 3 is provided. The adjusting mechanism 46 is provided with the gear body 41.
Inside, the shaft end 43a of the output shaft 43 opposite to the meshing portion of the gear 51 with the gear 50 on the transmission shaft 23 side communicates with the internal space connected to the return flow path to the tank T. It is configured by providing a back pressure chamber 47.

The back pressure chamber 47 is formed by being narrowed by a clearance passage of a bearing 45 that supports the output shaft 43. According to the back pressure chamber 47, the output shaft 43 is connected to the bevel gear 50,
Since a force against the movement of the bevel gear 51 generated when the gears 51 mesh with each other can be applied in the direction of reducing the backlash, the backlash of the bevel gears 50 and 51 is absorbed to eliminate the backlash, and an appropriate Engagement transmission can be ensured.

That is, according to such an adjusting mechanism 46, rattling is automatically adjusted, and proper meshing is ensured. Further, according to such an adjusting mechanism 46, mounting errors of the bevel gears 50 and 51, the transmission shaft 23, the output shaft 43, and the like, and processing errors of the gears can be absorbed by using the back pressure that can always be obtained. It is practically advantageous. In the figure, reference numeral 48 denotes an adjusting screw for performing backlash adjustment at the time of initial setting of the gear 50 on the transmission shaft 23 side and the gear 51 on the output shaft 43 side. The adjusting screw 48 is connected to the gear cover 42.
And is fixed at a predetermined adjustment position by a nut 48a screwed to an outer end protruding therefrom. 2 and 3, reference numeral 48b denotes a sealing material such as rubber, and 48c denotes a metal ring, which constitutes a seal washer structure for sealing an assembly portion of the adjusting screw 48.

In this embodiment, in the hydraulic control valve 11 with the torque transmitting direction changing means 12 described above, the valve body 21 is integrally connected to the steering handle of the gear body 41 in the steering shaft system 6. ing. With such a configuration,
Although it is often advantageous from the viewpoint of the on-board layout configuration, the present invention is not limited to such a structure. A gear body 41 constituting the torque transmission direction changing means 12 is provided on the steering handle side of the valve body 21 constituting the hydraulic control valve 11. They can also be connected together.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hydraulic control valve 11 with the torque transmitting direction changing means 12 has the gear body 4 of the valve body 21 as described above.
The side 21b on one side is connected to the opening 41a of the gear body 41.
The two bodies 21 and 41 are integrally connected with each other in a state where the opening 41a is closed by engaging with the body. further,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a transmission shaft 23 integrally provided with a sleeve 25 constituting the rotary flow path switching valve 26 is inserted through the valve body 21 so that the gear body 4
In FIG. 1, the output shaft 43 extends so as to face the output shaft 43 from a direction in which the axis is substantially orthogonal to the output shaft 43.

The rear surface of the gear coupling bevel gear 50 constituting the torque transmission direction changing means provided at the extended end of the transmission shaft 23 and the end surface of the valve body 21 on the gear body 41 side are shown in FIG. And as shown in FIG.
Engaging portions 60 and 61 are provided to engage with each other in the axial direction. Note that the engaging portion 60 is a side surface on the side opposite to the meshing teeth of the bevel gear 50, and the engaging portion 61 is a bottom side surface of a recess formed in the end 21 b of the valve body 21.

According to the engagement portions 60 and 61, the bevel gear 5 can be easily pulled out of the hydraulic control valve 11 with the torque transmitting direction changing means 12 by disassembling the shaft.
0 can be removed. That is, the transmission shaft 23
The bevel gear 50, which is supported at the extended end thereof on the gear body 41 side of the valve body 21, has a large diameter.
It is necessary to assemble the valve assembly including the transmission shaft 23 and the like from the steering handle side and then from the opposite side. At this time, the bevel gear 50 needs to be supported on the transmission shaft 23 with no play in the rotational direction and the axial direction, and it is desired that the disassembling operation can be easily performed. 61 may be provided.

According to the above-described structure, when the power steering device 1 is mounted on a vehicle, the hydraulic control valve 11 is conventionally connected integrally with the power steering body 4 and thus has many restrictions in terms of space for the vehicle. Is formed as a separate member from the power steering main body 4, the space occupied around the steering link mechanism 3 between the left and right steering wheels 2, 2 can be reduced as much as possible.

Therefore, the power steering body 4 of the power steering apparatus 1 can be made much smaller than in the prior art, and can be relatively easily incorporated into a vehicle. Also, when installing the hydraulic control valve 11 in a vehicle, the hydraulic control valve 11 that is relatively small compared to other parts can be installed using an appropriate empty space, so that it is easy to secure an installation space. Can be done
Easy to assemble. Further, the degree of freedom of the layout when the steering shaft system 6 is mounted on the vehicle can be provided.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the structure described in the above embodiment, and the shape, structure, and the like of each part in the power steering device 1 can be appropriately modified or changed.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the hydraulic control valve 11 is
Although the torque transmission direction changing means 12 is connected to the steering handle 5 side, the present invention is not limited to this, and the hydraulic control valve 11 may be connected to the steering wheel side of the torque transmission direction changing means 12.

[0045]

As described above, according to the hydraulic control valve with the torque transmitting direction changing means according to the present invention, the valve constituting the hydraulic control valve and the torque transmitting direction changing means are integrally connected. The body and gear body can be used as a lid member to close the opening of each other, can also be used as a sealing part, and can share the transmission shaft between them, so that the number of overall components is reduced and compact Can be achieved.

According to the hydraulic control valve with the torque transmitting direction changing means of the present invention, the torque transmitting direction changing means using the bevel gear is connected, so that the rotation transmitting direction is almost perpendicular to the transmitting shaft. It is possible to select the mounting position of the hydraulic control valve and to install it in a place where there is enough space in spite of its simple structure. Is also advantageous. In particular, such an advantage is effective when this kind of power steering device is incorporated in a vehicle having a space restriction such as a small passenger car.

Further, according to the present invention, since the hydraulic control valve with the torque transmitting direction changing means is separated from the power steering main body having the steering gear and the power cylinder, the power steering main body can be downsized. Thus, the space occupied by the steering link mechanism between the left and right steering wheels can be made as small as possible, and the degree of freedom in the effective use of the mounting space in the vehicle and the layout configuration can be increased.

Further, according to the present invention, since the transmission shaft on the hydraulic control valve side and the output shaft on the transmission direction changing means are arranged substantially in a T-shape, the gear storage space is formed around the axis intersection. Can be formed, the entire apparatus can be efficiently arranged, and the entire apparatus can be made compact.

Further, according to the present invention, in the hydraulic control valve to which the torque transmitting direction changing means is connected, disassembly of the gear connecting means such as a bevel gear which is difficult to be disassembled from the transmission shaft is performed by using a part of the body and the gear connecting means. By using the engaging portion formed in the above, the operation can be performed by a simple operation of pulling out the transmission shaft.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a power steering apparatus using a hydraulic control valve with a torque transmission direction changing means according to the present invention, and schematically showing the entirety thereof.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a hydraulic control valve with a torque transmission direction changing means according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a hydraulic control valve with a torque transmission direction changing unit according to the present invention, in which a coupling portion between a valve body and a gear body is enlarged.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the appearance of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Power steering device, 2 ... Left and right steering wheels (front wheel), 3 ... Steering link mechanism, 4 ... Power steering main body part, 5 ... Steering handle, 6 ... Steering shaft system, 7 ... Rack shaft, 7a ... Rack, 8 ... pinion shaft,
8a: pinion, 9: rack and pinion type steering gear,
10 Power cylinder, 11 Hydraulic control valve, 12
Torque transmission direction changing means, 21 ... valve body, 22 ...
Input shaft, 23: transmission shaft, 24: rotor, 25: sleeve, 26: rotary flow switching valve, 27: torsion bar,
28, 29 ... bearing, 31 ... pump port, 32 ... tank port, 33, 34 ... output port, 35 ... bearing, 36 ...
Bearing, 37: plug member, 41: gear body, 42: gear cover, 43: output shaft, 44, 45: bearing, 46: adjusting mechanism, 47: back pressure chamber, 48: adjusting screw, 50, 51 ...
Bevel gears, 60, 61: engagement part, P: pump, T: tank, CL, CR: left and right cylinder chambers.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A steering gear section for turning left and right steering wheels via a steering link mechanism by a steering operation of a steering handle, and a power cylinder for applying a steering assist force to the steering link mechanism by the steering operation. A power steering device having a power steering body having a hydraulic control valve for driving and controlling the power cylinder by steering the steering wheel; and a steering shaft system for transmitting a steering operation state from the steering wheel to a steered wheel side. A torque transmission direction changing means provided on the way, wherein a valve body of the hydraulic control valve is formed separately from the power steering main body, and a valve body of the hydraulic control valve is formed as a gear body of the torque transmission direction changing means. Torque transmission direction characterized by connection Hydraulic control valve with conversion means. 2. The hydraulic control valve according to claim 1, wherein the transmission shaft connected to an input shaft that is rotated by a steering operation via a rotary flow path switching valve is connected to the valve body. The gear shaft is penetrated to extend in the direction of the gear body. The output shaft is rotatably supported by the gear body. The output shaft faces the direction substantially perpendicular to the output shaft. The output shaft is gear-coupled to the output shaft in the internal space of the gear body. A hydraulic control valve with torque transmission direction changing means, characterized in that: 3. The hydraulic control valve according to claim 2, wherein the engagement portion engages with the back surface of the gear device and the end surface of the valve body on the gear body side in the axial direction. A hydraulic control valve with torque transmission direction changing means, characterized in that: