JP2002249052A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems that a fitting bracket is welded to an outer circumference of a steering column of a car steering device, and welding distortion is easily generated, and the steering column is expensive. SOLUTION: In this steering device 1, the steering column 12 comprising a cylinder to rotatably support a steering shaft 11 by a bearing 13 is fitted to a vehicle body via fitting part 22 integrated therewith and a fitting shaft 15. The fitting part 22 is integrated with the steering column 12 with a part of an end part 21 of the steering column 12 in the circumferential direction swelled, and inexpensive and free from any welding distortion, and capable of ensuring smooth operation of the steering shaft 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a steering device for an automobile or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A steering apparatus has a tubular steering column that rotatably supports a steering shaft. A mounting bracket is fixed to the peripheral surface of the steering column by welding, and the steering column is mounted to a predetermined portion of the vehicle body via the mounting bracket.

[0003]

However, since the steering column and the mounting bracket are formed separately, the number of parts tends to increase. Moreover, it takes time to weld these members to each other,
Manufacturing costs increase. Further, when welding the steering column and the mounting bracket, welding distortion is likely to occur in the steering column, and as a result, the roundness of the cylinder of the steering column may be reduced, so that the steering shaft may not slide smoothly.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to provide a steering apparatus which is inexpensive and can ensure smooth operation of a steering shaft.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering column comprising a cylinder which rotatably supports a steering shaft, and a part of the end of the steering column in a circumferential direction. A steering device provided with a mounting portion that is swelled and formed integrally with the steering column, and the steering column is mounted on the vehicle body via the mounting portion.

According to the present invention, since a part of the steering column constitutes the mounting portion, the mounting bracket conventionally provided separately can be eliminated, and the cost of parts and assembly can be reduced. Further, since no welding distortion occurs in the steering column, the steering shaft can be operated smoothly. The invention described in claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1.
(4) The steering device according to (1), wherein the mounting portion has a downward groove-shaped cross-sectional shape. If it is groove-shaped, it is easy to bulge out of the cylinder, and it has structural strength.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the steering apparatus according to the second aspect, the steering column is attached to the vehicle body via a mounting shaft through which a mounting portion is inserted in a lateral direction. I will provide a. According to the present invention, as the structure of the mounting portion, it is only necessary to open a hole through which the mounting shaft passes, and the structure can be simplified. Moreover, since the mounting shaft is normally used, an increase in the number of parts can be prevented. The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 3.
(4) The steering device described in (1), wherein the mounting shaft is a tilt center shaft. According to the present invention, when the tilt center shaft is provided, the tilt center shaft can be used also as the mounting shaft, so that the number of parts can be further reduced.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional front view of the present steering device. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the steering device. The steering device 1 includes a steering shaft 11 having one end 17 connected to a steering wheel 6 and transmitting the rotation of the steering wheel 6, and a steering column 12 formed of a cylinder rotatably supporting the steering shaft 11 via a bearing 13. Have.
The bearing 13 is held at an end 21 of the steering column 12 and slidably supports the steering shaft 11 so as to be rotatable around its axis and slidable along the axis. When the steering wheel is turned, the rotation of the steering wheel is changed to a steering shaft 11 or an intermediate shaft (not shown), a pinion, which is connected to the other end 14 of the steering shaft 11.
The power is transmitted to the wheels via a rack shaft or the like, whereby the wheels can be steered.

Further, the steering apparatus 1 has a tilt center shaft 5 which supports the steering column 12 in a swingable manner. The tilt center axis 5 is arranged to extend in the left-right direction of the vehicle body. By adjusting the tilt of the steering column 12 around the tilt center axis 5, the position of the steering wheel in the height direction can be adjusted. The steering device 1 includes a steering shaft 1 having one end on an upper side and the other end 14 on a lower side.
They are arranged so that one axis extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The steering device 1 includes a front end 21 of a steering column 12 attached to a predetermined portion 2 of a vehicle body.
Attached by

Hereinafter, the directions will be described based on a state in which the steering device 1 is attached to the predetermined portion 2 of the vehicle body so as to be below. The state of attachment of the steering device 1 to the vehicle body is not limited to the above-described state, and for example, may be arranged such that the steering shaft 11 extends in the vertical direction. The mounting structure 3 includes a bracket 4 provided on a predetermined portion 2 of the vehicle body and a steering column 1.
It has a mounting portion 22 formed integrally with the second end portion 21 and a mounting shaft 15 connecting the mounting portion 22 and the bracket 4. The steering column 12 has its mounting portion 2
2. It is attached to the vehicle body via the attachment shaft 15 and the bracket 4. The mounting portion 22, the mounting shaft 15, and the bracket 4 are provided one by one.

The end portion 21 of the steering column 12 has a bearing holding portion 23 which has a substantially C-shaped arc-shaped cross section and holds the bearing 13, and has the above-mentioned mounting portion 22 connected to the bearing holding portion 23. are doing. The bearing 13 is the mounting part 22
The bearing holding portion 23 positions the outer peripheral surface of the bearing 13 so as not to be displaced inward. In particular, in the steering device 1 of the present invention, the mounting portion 22 is formed integrally with the steering column 12 by bulging a part of the end 21 of the steering column 12 in the circumferential direction.

As described above, since a part of the steering column 12 forms the mounting part 22, the mounting bracket conventionally provided separately can be eliminated. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced, and parts costs and assembly costs can be reduced.
In particular, since the welding step between the mounting bracket and the steering column, which was conventionally required, can be eliminated, it is preferable to reduce the manufacturing cost. Further, since welding distortion (particularly out of roundness) does not occur in the bearing holding portion 23 of the steering column 12, it is possible to prevent misalignment of the held bearing 13 as a result.
The steering shaft 11 can be smoothly operated without twisting. For example, the steering shaft 1
1 can be rotated smoothly, and when the tilt is adjusted, the steering shaft 11 can be slid smoothly.

Here, as a method of forming the mounting portion 22 by expanding the cylinder, the steering column 12
Is formed of a metal member such as steel, a known plastic working method such as a hydroform forming method can be used. Mounting part 22
Uses the bulged tube portion. Bearing holder 23
Uses the portion of the cylinder that remains without bulging. Mounting part 2
Numeral 2 is bulged in the radial direction of the cylinder, and has a downward groove-shaped cross-sectional shape when viewed from the direction in which the axis of the shaft 11 extends (hereinafter, also referred to as the axial direction; see arrow D1). (See arrow D2 along the vertical direction.) The groove is open toward the inside of the cylinder that is radially inward facing downward. The groove-shaped mounting portion 22 can easily bulge out of the cylinder and has structural strength. That is, since the end portion 21 of the steering column 12 has a cross-sectional shape continuously connected in the circumferential direction, it is difficult to deform.

The mounting portion 22 has a pair of side portions 24 facing each other, and a connecting portion 25 for connecting one end of each side portion 24 to each other. The other end of the side part 24 is connected to the circumferential end of the bearing holding part 23, respectively. On each side 24,
An insertion hole 26 through which the mounting shaft 15 is inserted is formed. The bracket 4 has a pair of opposed plate portions 41 facing the outer surfaces of the pair of side portions 24 of the mounting portion 22. Opposing plate portion 41
A mounting hole (not shown) through which the mounting shaft 15 is inserted is formed corresponding to the insertion hole 26 of the mounting portion 22.

The mounting shaft 15 is formed of a hexagonal bolt and functions as the tilt center shaft 5. A nut 16 for retaining is screwed into the male screw at the end of the hexagon bolt. The mounting shaft 15 is disposed so as to extend in the lateral direction (see arrow D3) that is the left-right direction of the vehicle body, and the bracket 4 and the above-described lateral direction perpendicular to the direction in which the mounting portion 22 bulges (see arrow D2). The mounting portion 22 is inserted. The structure of the mounting portion 22 via the mounting shaft 15 includes the mounting shaft 1
It is only necessary to open the insertion hole 26 through which the wire 5 passes, and the structure can be simplified. Moreover, since the mounting shaft 15 is normally used, an increase in the number of parts can be prevented.

Further, the mounting shaft 1 of the steering device 1 is provided.
Since the tilt center shaft 5 also serves as the tilt center shaft 5, the tilt center shaft 5 does not need to be provided separately from the mounting shaft 15, and the number of parts can be further reduced. As described above, according to the steering apparatus 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, the steering column, which has been conventionally a separate body, and the mounting bracket for the steering column are integrally formed as a single member. Prevention can realize the steering device 1 that can smoothly operate the steering shaft 11 without twisting.

Although the steering device 1 of the above-described embodiment has a tilt adjusting function, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a steering device in which the tilt adjusting function is omitted. Further, the present invention can be applied to a steering device having a telescopic adjustment function of adjusting the position of the steering column 12 in the axial direction in addition to the tilt adjustment function, and a steering device having a telescopic adjustment function without the tilt adjustment function.

In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional front view of a main part of a steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the steering device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering device 2 Predetermined part of vehicle body 5 Tilt center axis 11 Steering shaft 12 Steering column 15 Mounting shaft 21 End of steering column 22 Mounting part D3 Lateral direction

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A steering column comprising a cylinder for rotatably supporting a steering shaft, and a mounting portion integrally formed on the steering column by swelling a part of an end of the steering column in a circumferential direction, A steering device wherein a steering column is attached to a vehicle body via the attachment portion. 2. The steering device according to claim 1, wherein said mounting portion has a downwardly grooved cross-sectional shape. 3. The steering device according to claim 2, wherein the steering column is mounted on the vehicle body via a mounting shaft through which a mounting portion is inserted in a lateral direction. 4. The steering device according to claim 3, wherein the mounting shaft is a tilt center shaft.