JP2008114732A - Steering column device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a steering column device that can be made compact with a simple configuration.
In the present embodiment, the meshing position of teeth 4b and 3b is set to a position with a sufficient margin in a relatively space apart from the shaft 5, thereby simplifying the periphery of the shaft 5 and simplifying the steering column device. And it can be made compact.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering column device that supports a steering shaft so as to be adjustable with respect to at least one of a tilt direction and a telescopic direction.

  The steering column device is an important safety and security component of the vehicle, and it is very important how to control the behavior at the time of the collision in order to ensure the safety of the passenger at the time of the collision. Normally, the steering column device itself is provided with an impact energy absorbing mechanism, and also plays an important role as a support member for an air bag accommodated in the steering wheel.

  On the other hand, in order to optimize the driver's driving posture, a general steering column device can adjust the tilt angle of the steering wheel according to the driver's physique and driving posture, and adjust the axial direction position of the steering wheel It can be done. Therefore, the steering column device needs to have a conflicting function that the position and posture of the column body (that is, the steering wheel) must be easily adjusted, and that a predetermined position and posture must be secured in the event of a collision. Become. In order to make such contradictory functions compatible, the conventional steering column device has been devised in various ways. However, further improvement is demanded due to the increasing demand for user operability.

Here, in Patent Document 1, after the tilt / telescopic adjustment, one of the spring-biased and movably held teeth can be smoothly engaged with the other tooth, thereby maintaining the position of the column body. A possible steering column device is disclosed.
US Patent Publication No. 2005 / 0016315A1

  By the way, in the steering column device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a gear shape is formed around the tilt adjustment long hole of the bracket fixed to the vehicle body side, and the shaft passing through the column main body moving in the tilt direction has the other gear. The cam-type rotary clamp mechanism works by engaging the gears by operating the handle lever, and the position is maintained.

  However, in the steering column device of Patent Document 1, since the bracket on which the gear is formed has the gear, its thickness has to be relatively large, and therefore a large space around the shaft must be secured. In other words, there is a problem of lowering the degree of freedom in vehicle body design. Moreover, since it is necessary to form a gear in a bracket, there exists a problem that the freedom degree of selection of a raw material also becomes low. Furthermore, since it is necessary to form a gear around the shaft, there is a problem that the space around the shaft must be kept large in consideration of the gear components to be combined.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a steering column device that can be made compact while having a simple configuration.

The steering column apparatus of the present invention is a steering column apparatus that supports the steering shaft so that the position of the steering shaft can be adjusted with respect to at least one of the tilt direction and the telescopic direction.
A first tooth positioned with respect to a bracket fixed to the vehicle body;
A column body that rotatably supports the steering shaft;
Second teeth that are integrally displaced with the column body;
A shaft rotatable with respect to the column body,
One of the first tooth and the second tooth rotates with the rotation of the shaft, and the other of the first tooth and the second tooth is generated according to the rotation of the shaft. It is formed on a fixing member that is fixed by being biased against at least one of the bracket and the column body using an axial force,
The first teeth and the second teeth mesh with each other, thereby positioning the column body with respect to the bracket, and disengaging the column body with respect to the bracket. It is characterized by being.

  In an actual vehicle, the space near the shaft that is rotated by an operation lever or the like is often limited. Therefore, in the present invention, one of the first tooth and the second tooth is rotated and moved together with the rotation of the shaft, and the other of the first tooth and the second tooth is moved to the shaft. Since it is formed on a fixing member that is fixed by being urged against the bracket using an axial force generated according to rotation, the teeth are positioned in a relatively space-separated position away from the shaft. This makes it possible to simplify the periphery of the shaft and to make the steering column device simple and compact. In addition, since the fixing member is formed as a separate body, the degree of freedom in selecting materials and processing is widened. On the other hand, the fixing member can be firmly fixed to the bracket by using the axial force generated in the shaft. It is possible to attach to the column body without using. In the present specification, the “telescopic direction” refers to the axial direction of the steering shaft, and the “tilt direction” refers to the direction (particularly the vertical direction) intersecting with it.

  Further, when the first teeth and the second teeth are formed on both surfaces of the tapered surfaces facing each other, a stronger holding force can be exerted by meshing of the teeth on both surfaces.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that at least one of the bracket and the column main body has an opening into which the shaft and the fixing member are inserted, and the fixing member forms a convex portion that engages with the opening.

  Hereinafter, a tilt / telescopic steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 are perspective views of the steering column device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a locked state, FIG. 2 shows a released state, and FIGS. Shown changed.

  A cylindrical column body 1 formed by a hydro method formed by applying an internal pressure to pipe steel is attached to a vehicle body (not shown) via a bracket 2. A steering shaft S that connects a steering wheel (not shown) and a steering mechanism is inserted into the column body 1 and is rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown). The bent wire-shaped spring member SPG is stretched between the end of the bracket 2 and the lower surface of the column main body 1 and urges the column main body 1 to a predetermined posture with respect to the bracket 2. Yes.

  In FIG. 4, a pair of side plates 2 a and 2 a extending downward are formed on the lower surface of the bracket 2, and can be brought into contact with both side surfaces of the column main body 1 (not shown). Each side plate 2a, 2a is formed with rectangular long holes 2b, 2b 'extending vertically. Although the center of the long holes 2b and 2b 'is the same, the width of the left long hole 2b' in FIG. 4 is substantially equal to the diameter of the shaft 5, whereas the right long hole 2b in FIG. The width is larger than that.

  FIG. 5 is a view showing the tilt gear base 4 in an unfolded state. In FIG. 5, the tilting gear base 4 as a fixing member has a rectangular plate shape, and forms a long hole 4 a through which the shaft 5 is inserted, and straight teeth 4 b (first teeth). By bending the portion indicated by the dotted line, the opposing linear teeth 4b face each other with a gap therebetween. A rectangular convex portion 4c (see FIG. 4) is formed around the elongated hole 4a on the back surface of the tilt gear base 4. The convex portion 4 c has the same shape as the long hole 2 b of the bracket 2. The tilt gear base 4 is separate from the bracket 2 and thus has a high degree of freedom in material and processing. Therefore, here, the tilt gear base 4 may be formed by die casting using an aluminum alloy as a material.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tilt gear member 3 has a plate-like arm shape formed from a steel plate, has an opening 3a on one end side, and straight teeth (second teeth) on both sides on the other end side. 3b is formed. The inner periphery of the opening 3a has a shape (referred to as a non-circular shape) in which two parallel straight lines are connected by an arc.

  The shaft 5 includes a disc-shaped head 5a formed at one end on the front side in FIG. 3, a non-circular cylindrical engaging portion 5b formed adjacent to the head 5a, and a rear side in FIG. And an external thread portion 5c formed on the outer periphery of the one end.

  At the time of assembly, as shown in FIG. 4, the shaft 5 passes through the opening 3a of the tilt gear member 3 and the long hole 4a of the tilt gear base 4, and further, the right long hole 2b in FIG. The through hole 1a formed in the column body 1 (see FIG. 3), the left long hole 2b ′ in FIG. 4, the hole formed in one end of the operation lever 6 (not shown), and the cam type rotary clamp mechanism 7 are passed through. Then, the male screw portion 5 c is screwed into the nut 9. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the cam type rotary clamp mechanism 7 includes a moving part 7 a attached to the shaft 5 and a fixing part 7 b fixed to the bracket 2 (not shown in FIG. 10). The moving part 7a and the fixed part 7b have a convex part and a concave part on the opposing surfaces, respectively. In the state shown to Fig.10 (a), it exists in the state which made the convex part and the recessed part engage. Here, when the shaft 5 is rotated, as shown in FIG. 10B, the convex portion of the moving portion 7 a rises on the convex portion of the fixed portion 7 b, thereby generating an axial force on the shaft 5. ing. Such a cam type rotary clamp mechanism 7 is described in, for example, JP-A-2006-213114.

  At this time, the opening 3a of the tilt gear member 3 engages with the engaging portion 5b of the shaft 5, but since both have the same non-circular shape, the tilt gear member 3 also rotates as the shaft 5 rotates. It will be. Further, the convex portion 4c of the tilt gear base 4 engages with the elongated hole 2b of the bracket 2, but when the shaft 5 is screwed into the nut 9, the tilt gear base 4 is firmly fixed to the side plate 2a of the bracket 2. It will be. Therefore, a fixing tool is not particularly required for attaching the tilt gear member 3 to the shaft 5, and a fixing tool is not particularly required for attaching the tilt gear base 4 to the bracket 2. Equipment can be provided.

  In the assembled state, the region A (see FIG. 5) where the linear teeth 4b of the tilt gear base 4 are provided has a length corresponding to the adjustment width in the tilt direction of the column body 1. Further, since the shaft 5 is movable in the long hole 4a of the tilt gear base 4, tilt adjustment is not hindered.

  The cam type rotary clamp mechanism 7 has an action of positioning in the tilt direction by generating a clamping force by a cam effect by operating the operation lever 6. Further, the cam type rotary clamp mechanism 7 can be provided with a stopper function of the operation lever 6 to control the gear meshing rate between the gear base and the gear member. it can.

  When the operation lever 6 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 1, the tilt gear member 3 is engaged with the tilt gear base 4, so that the column body 1 is fixed to a vehicle body (not shown). On the other hand, when the operation lever 6 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 2, the tilt gear member 3 is detached from the tilt gear base 4, so that the tilt direction of the column body 1 relative to the vehicle body (not shown) can be adjusted. Become.

  FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the tilt gear base 4 and the tilt gear member 3 from the disengaged state to the meshed state. As shown in FIG. 6, it is preferable that the linear teeth 3b and 4b are formed on both surfaces of the opposing tapered surfaces. The meshing operation of the tilt gear base 4 and the tilt gear member 3 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the disengaged state, the teeth 4b of the tilting gear base 4 and the teeth 3b of the tilting gear member 3 face each other in the direction of the tooth traces (FIG. 6 (a)).

  From this point, when the operation lever 6 is rotated to bring the tilt gear base 4 and the tilt gear member 3 relatively close to each other, if there is a center shift, the tooth 4b on one surface is the tooth of the tooth 3b. The tips (point C in FIG. 6 (b)) come into contact with each other, but they are engaged with each tooth trace along a direction other than the normal direction and the tangential direction. Since the tilt gear base 4 and the tilt gear member 3 can continue to move relative to each other in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 6B) even after they are in contact with each other. During the process, the teeth 4b and 3b can be easily engaged (point D in FIG. 6C).

  If the teeth 4b and 3b on one surface mesh with each other, it becomes a guide, and the teeth 4b and 3b on the other surface can be easily meshed (FIGS. 6D and 6E). As described above, in the meshing of the teeth 4b and 3b according to the present embodiment, it is less likely that the tooth tips are in contact with each other and the movement is prevented compared to the conventional gear meshing. There is an effect that feeling improves.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the tilt gear member 3 attached to and integrated with the operation lever 6 is engaged with the tilt gear base 4 fixed to the bracket 2. By transmitting the force applied to the lever 5 directly to the gear member 3 for tilting, reliable meshing can be performed. Further, since the rotation amount of the operation lever 6 becomes the meshing amount of the tilting gear base 4 and the tilting gear member 3 as it is, the column body 1 can be securely fixed with a simple configuration.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the meshing position of the teeth 4b and 3b is a position with a relatively large space away from the shaft 5, thereby simplifying the periphery of the shaft 5 and simplifying and compacting the steering column device. Can be.

  The meshing operation of the tilt gear base 4 and the tilt gear member 3 has been described above, but the meshing operation of the telescopic gear base 14 and the telescopic gear member 13 is basically the same as in the following embodiment. .

  7 and 8 are perspective views of a steering column device according to another embodiment, FIG. 7 shows an assembled state, FIG. 8 shows a state where parts are disassembled, and FIG. 9 shows a telescopic gear base. It is the figure seen from the other side. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 9, a telescopic gear base 14 as a fixing member is integrally formed by a die casting method using a zinc alloy as a raw material, and has a rectangular plate portion 14A and a receiving portion 14B extending elongated from the end portion in the longitudinal direction. And have. The rectangular plate portion 14A is formed with a long hole 14a through which a shaft (not shown) is inserted, and linear teeth (second not shown) are formed on the inner side surface of the slit 14d formed on the side surface of the receiving portion 14B. Are formed so as to be substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the slit 14c. On the surface of the telescopic gear base 14 facing the column body 1, a rectangular convex portion 14c (FIG. 9) is formed around the long hole 14a. The convex portion 14 c has a shape equal to the opening 1 b formed on the side surface of the column main body 1.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the telescopic gear member 13 has a plate-like arm shape, and has a rectangular opening 13a that engages with a shaft (not shown) in a non-rotating state on one end side, Linear teeth 13b (first teeth) are formed on both sides.

  At the time of assembly, the convex portion 14c of the telescopic gear base 14 is engaged with the opening 1b of the column main body 1, and the telescopic gear base 14 is firmly fixed to the column main body 1 by attaching a shaft (not shown). Become. Further, a rectangular tube portion formed on a shaft (not shown) engages with the rectangular opening 13a of the telescopic gear member 13 and rotates integrally. Therefore, in order to attach the telescopic gear member 13 to the shaft, a fixing tool is not particularly required, and in order to attach the telescopic gear base 14 to the column main body 1, no fixing tool is particularly required. Equipment can be provided.

  In the assembled state, the region A (see FIG. 9) where the linear teeth of the telescopic gear base 14 are provided has a length corresponding to the adjustment width in the telescopic direction in the column body 1. Further, since the shaft (not shown) is movable in the long hole 14a of the telescopic gear base 14, the telescopic adjustment is not hindered.

  In FIG. 7, when the operation lever 6 connected to a shaft (not shown) is rotated counterclockwise, the telescopic gear is placed on the straight teeth in the slit 14d of the telescopic gear base 14 as in the above-described embodiment. Since the linear teeth 13b of the member 13 are engaged, the column main body 1 is fixed to a vehicle body (not shown). On the other hand, when the operating lever 6 is rotated clockwise, the linear teeth 13b of the telescopic gear member 13 are detached from the linear teeth in the slit 14d of the telescopic gear base 14, so that the column main body 1 with respect to the vehicle body (not shown) is removed. The telescopic direction can be adjusted.

  As described above, the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed and improved without departing from the spirit thereof. Of course there is. For example, the gear base and the gear member may have opposite configurations and shapes, and the combination is arbitrary. In addition, it is possible to use a dissimilar material with good formability according to the shape, such as aluminum alloy, steel, zinc alloy, etc., thereby providing a steering column device with excellent assemblability.

It is a perspective view of the steering column apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment, and shows a locked state. It is a perspective view of the steering column device concerning this embodiment, and shows a release state. It is a perspective view of the steering column device concerning this embodiment, and shows the state where parts were disassembled. It is a perspective view of the steering column device concerning this embodiment, and shows the state where parts were disassembled. It is a figure shown in the state which developed gear base 4 for tilting. It is sectional drawing of the gear base 4 for a tilt and the gear member 3 for a tilt from a disengagement state to a meshing state. It is a perspective view of the steering column apparatus which concerns on another embodiment, and shows an assembly state. It is a perspective view of the steering column apparatus which concerns on another embodiment, and shows the state which decomposed | disassembled components. It is the figure which looked at the telescopic gear base from the opposite side to FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the cam type rotary clamp mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Column main body 1a Through-hole 1b Opening 2 Bracket 2a Side plate 2b Long hole 3 Tilt gear member 3a Opening 3b Straight tooth 4 Tilt gear base 4a Long hole 4b Straight tooth 4c Convex part 5 Shaft 5 Operation lever 5a Head part 5b Engagement part 5c Male thread portion 6 Operation lever 7 Cam type rotary clamp mechanism 9 Nut 13 Telescopic gear member 13a Rectangular opening 13b Linear tooth 14 Telescopic gear base 14A Rectangular plate portion 14B Receiving portion 14a Long hole 14c Protruding portion 14d Slit A Region S Steering shaft SPG Spring member

Claims (3)

In the steering column device that supports the steering shaft so that the position of the steering shaft can be adjusted with respect to at least one of the tilt direction and the telescopic direction.
A first tooth positioned with respect to a bracket fixed to the vehicle body;
A column body that rotatably supports the steering shaft;
Second teeth that are integrally displaced with the column body;
A shaft rotatable with respect to the column body,
One of the first tooth and the second tooth rotates with the rotation of the shaft, and the other of the first tooth and the second tooth is generated according to the rotation of the shaft. It is formed on a fixing member that is fixed by being biased against at least one of the bracket and the column body using an axial force,
The first teeth and the second teeth mesh with each other, thereby positioning the column body with respect to the bracket, and disengaging the column body with respect to the bracket. A steering column device characterized by comprising:   The steering column device according to claim 1, wherein the first teeth and the second teeth are formed on both surfaces of opposing tapered surfaces.   The at least one of the bracket and the column main body has an opening into which the shaft and the fixing member are inserted, and the fixing member forms a convex portion that engages with the opening. The steering column apparatus according to 1 or 2.

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