JP2003118591A - Vehicular steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular steering device for preventing a steering operation part from being displaced upward when getting in and out of a vehicle. SOLUTION: A sliding rail 3 is formed in a circular shape, so that the slide of the sliding rail 3 to the direction of separating from a crew causes the steering operation part 9 to be moved forward to make a space to a driver's seat wider as well as the steering operation part 9 displaced down.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering device for a vehicle, which is easy to get on and off.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to make it easy for a driver to get in and out of a vehicle, a so-called tilt type steering device in which a steering column (steering operation portion) provided at an upper portion can be tilted forward and backward. Is known (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-8155).

This type of vehicle steering system is such that, when an occupant gets on and off, the steering column is pulled up and tilted forward to widen the distance between the driver's seat and the steering wheel so that the steering wheel gets on and off. I try not to get in the way. Then, when the occupant is seated in the driver's seat, the steering column can be tilted rearward to restore the distance between the steering wheel and the driver's seat to the optimum position for driving the steering wheel.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional technique, when the vehicle is getting on and off, the steering column can be tilted to the front side to secure a wide space between the driver's seat and the steering column. The position of the steering wheel provided at the upper part is located above the original state. Therefore, the position of the steering wheel may be close to the occupant's face that is bent forward to get on and off, which may give the occupant a feeling of pressure.

Also, since the steering wheel is located above, the instrument panel of the vehicle is hidden by the steering wheel, and it may not be possible to confirm the display of the instrument panel when getting on and off. There is a display in the instrument panel that one wants to check when getting on and off. For example, if the display that he / she wants to see cannot be confirmed when he / she gets off, it is troublesome to look into the instrument panel again after getting off.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional technique, and provides a vehicle steering system in which the position of the steering operation portion does not rise when getting on and off.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slide rail which is arranged obliquely in a front downward direction and which is curved in an arc shape in a vehicle front-rear direction, and a steering operation portion is relatively rotatable on an upper portion. A steering column supported by the vehicle body and a base portion that engages with the slide rail in a state of being fixed to the vehicle body and supports the slide rail together with the steering column so as to be slidable along the bending direction of the slide rail.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the slide rail curved in an arc shape slides along the bending direction with respect to the base portion, when the slide rail is slid in a direction away from the occupant, The steering operation part provided on the upper part of the steering column moves forward, not only widening the distance between the steering operation part and the driver's seat, but also lowering the position of the steering operation part,
The steering operation section does not give a feeling of pressure to an occupant getting on and off, and the instrument panel is not hidden by the steering operation section.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a pair of left and right slide rails are provided inside the steering column.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the pair of left and right slide rails are provided inside the steering column, the rigidity of the steering column is ensured, and the steering column is less likely to be deformed in the bending and twisting directions.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the bracket extends laterally from the base portion and is fixed to the vehicle body side portion.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the bracket extends laterally from the base portion and is fixed to the vehicle body side portion, a wide space for the feet of the occupant can be secured below the steering column. You can

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the slide rail slides by the driving means.

According to the invention described in claim 4, since the sliding operation of the slide rail can be performed by the driving means, the operability is better than that of the manual operation.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. This embodiment relates to a steering device installed in front of a driver's seat of an automobile. This steering device is composed of a steering column 1 and a base portion 2. The entire steering column 1 is arranged diagonally downward to the front, and a pair of left and right slide rails 3 curved in an arc shape (convex to the front) in the front-rear direction are provided inside. Both of the slide rails 3 are in a front-down diagonal state like the entire steering column 1, and their upper ends are connected by a U-shaped plate 4.

Each slide rail 3 has key grooves 5 formed on the front and rear surfaces near the inner end along the longitudinal direction. Further, of the pair of left and right slide rails 3, a rack gear 6 having the same curved state as the slide rail 3 is joined to the side surface on the right side in the vehicle traveling direction. The rear end of the rack gear 6 projects rearward from the slide rail 3, and rack teeth 7 are formed there.

The upper portion 8 of the steering column 1 is bent rearward, and the steering operation portion 9 is supported on the upper portion 8. The steering operation portion 9 is rotatable relative to the upper portion 8, and the amount of rotation is transmitted to a steering mechanism on the vehicle body side via a flexible wire (not shown). The amount of rotation of the steering operation section 9 may be transmitted to the steering mechanism by an electric signal.

The base portion 2 is combined with the rear side of the steering column 1. The base portion 2 has a smaller vertical size than the steering column 1, and the steering column 1 is combined with the base portion 2 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. One end of the bracket 10 is arranged inside the base portion 2.
One end of the bracket 10 extends toward the steering column 1 and supports a block 11 having a substantially U-shaped cross section that engages with inner ends of the slide rail 3 facing each other. The slide rail 3 is slidable along the bending direction of the slide rail 3 itself by engaging with the block 11. On the inner surface of the block 11, a key 12 that engages in the key groove 5 of the slide rail 3 is formed along the longitudinal direction to prevent the slide rail 3 from coming off the block 11.

The other end of the bracket 10 extends laterally and is located on the right side of the steering column 1 on the side portion 1 of the vehicle body.
It is fixed at 3. A motor 14 is supported in the middle of the bracket 10, and the motor 14 is provided with a pinion gear 15 extending toward the base portion 2. The pinion gear 15 is engaged with the rack teeth 7 of the rack gear 6 inside the base portion 2, and the slide rail 3 along with the steering column 1 is curved along the bending direction of the slide rail 3 depending on the rotation direction of the pinion gear 15. Can be slid up and down.

In this embodiment, the rack gears 6,
The pinion gear 15 and the motor 14 constitute "driving means" for sliding the steering column 1 up and down. The motor 14 is controlled by a switch means (not shown) provided near the driver's seat to obtain an upper usage state and a lower storage state, and to position the steering operation portion 9 in the usage state. It can also be adjusted according to the posture and physique of the driver.

In the use state in which the steering column 1 is slid upward (FIG. 1), the steering operation section 9 provided at the upper portion is in the front and rear positions and the vertical position suitable for driving, and the driver operates the steering operation section 9. You can steer the vehicle by holding it in your hand and rotating it to the left or right. Even if the steering operation section 9 is rotated, the steering column 1 does not move. Even if the steering operation section 9 is pushed and an external force is applied to the steering column 1 in a bending or twisting direction, the inside of the steering column 1 Since a pair of left and right slide rails 3 are provided in the steering column 1 to secure the rigidity of the entire steering column 1,
The steering column 1 is unlikely to deform in the bending and twisting directions.

Further, since the base portion 2 is fixed to the vehicle body side portion 13 by the bracket 10 extending in the lateral direction, a sufficient space S (see FIG. 1) can be secured below the steering column 1 for driving. It can be used widely around the person's feet.

When getting on and off, a switch (not shown) may be operated to rotate the pinion gear 15 of the motor 14 and the slide rail 3 may be slid downward to be in the storage state (FIG. 2). When the slide rail 3 curved in an arc shape is slid downward, the steering operation section 9 provided on the upper portion of the steering column 1
As shown in FIG. 3, not only does the front operation A move to widen the distance between the steering operation section 9 and the driver's seat, but the steering operation section 9 also moves downward B to change the position of the steering operation section 9. It will be lower than the usage condition. Therefore, the steering operation section 9 does not give a feeling of pressure to an occupant getting on and off, and the instrument panel is not hidden by the steering operation section 9.

In the above embodiment, the slide rail 3 is slid up and down by the driving means, but it can be manually slid so that it can be locked at a use position, a storage position, or an arbitrary position. You may do it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a usage state of a steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a stored state of the steering device.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a steering device.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line SA-SA shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Steering column 2 base 3 slide rails 4 plates 5 keyway 6 rack gear 7 rack teeth 8 upper part 9 Steering operation section 10 bracket 11 blocks 12 keys 13 Body side 14 motor 15 pinion gear A front B below S space

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A steering column, which has a slide rail that is arranged obliquely downward to the front and is curved in an arc shape in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a steering operation portion is supported on the upper portion so as to be relatively rotatable, and is fixed to a vehicle body. Engaged with the slide rail in the state of
A steering device for a vehicle, comprising: a base portion that slidably supports the slide rail together with a steering column along a bending direction of the slide rail. 2. The vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pair of left and right slide rails are provided inside the steering column. 3. The vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bracket extends laterally from the base portion and is fixed to a vehicle body side portion. . 4. The vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slide rail is slid by a drive means.