CN113335367A

CN113335367A - Steering column switching and locking mechanism of amphibious vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN113335367A
Application number: CN202110655320.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 范卫兵; 阮仁新; 敖政; 静大勇; 常涛
Original assignee: Dongfeng Off Road Vehicle Co Ltd
Current assignee: Dongfeng Off Road Vehicle Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-11
Filing date: 2021-06-11
Publication date: 2021-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-11
Also published as: CN113335367B

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of automobile steering columns, and particularly discloses a steering column switching and locking mechanism for an amphibious vehicle. The outer shell body, the lower shaft, the upper shaft, the combined separation sleeve and the switching locking module, the lower shaft and the upper shaft are arranged in a coaxial line separation mode, the combined separation sleeve is arranged on the periphery of the lower shaft and the periphery of the upper shaft, the axial movement of the lower shaft is carried out under the stirring of the switching locking module, the upper shaft and the lower shaft are combined or not combined, the switching locking module comprises a shifting fork ring, a shifting fork, a ball head rotating piece and a shifting fork cover plate, the ball head rotating piece and the shifting fork cover plate are arranged on the outer shell body, a shifting fork rod is arranged on the shifting fork, one end of the shifting fork is movably connected with the shifting fork rod, the other end of the shifting fork penetrates through the shifting fork cover plate, the middle of the shifting fork is fixedly arranged on the ball head rotating piece, the ball head rotating piece is used for providing a fulcrum in the shifting fork moving process, and a steering switching key is arranged on the shifting fork cover plate. The invention can realize the combination and separation of the steering wheel and the steering gear by fast operation and has the function of preventing the misoperation of a driver.

Description

Steering column switching and locking mechanism of amphibious vehicle

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of automobile steering columns, and particularly relates to a steering column switching and locking mechanism of an amphibious vehicle.

Background

When the amphibious vehicle runs on the land, the amphibious vehicle is the same as a common road vehicle: the steering wheel and the steering gear are mechanically connected (i.e., the steering wheel and the steering gear are combined) through a steering column and a steering transmission shaft, so that a driver can control the vehicle through the steering wheel to achieve the land steering intention. When navigating on water, in order to reduce navigation resistance, wheels are often lifted to be separated from the water surface, and the wheels are locked at a middle position so as to prevent the wheels from damaging a vehicle body. When the lock is locked, in order to achieve the purpose that the land and water shared steering wheel is convenient to drive, the steering wheel needs to be capable of rotating (namely the steering wheel is in a state of being separated from the steering gear), so that a driver can operate the steering wheel to control the direction of a nozzle of the water spray pump or the direction of the water steering rudder through a wire control or other devices, and the steering requirement during water navigation is met. When the steering is switched from the water steering to the land steering, the wheels are positioned at the middle position of the straight running of the vehicle when the steering wheel and the steering gear are combined, and the driving safety is guaranteed.

In the prior art, QC/T649-. In addition, when the steering on water is switched back to the land steering, the initial combination position of the steering wheel and the steering gear is judged by depending on 2 angle sensors of the upper shaft and the lower shaft of the steering column, and in order to ensure absolute reliability, the signal redundancy design of the angle sensors is required to be added. Meanwhile, after the upper shaft and the lower shaft of the steering column in the prior art are separated, the steering gear does not have a locking function.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a steering column switching and locking mechanism of an amphibious vehicle, aiming at the defects or the improvement requirements of the prior art, wherein the steering column switching and locking mechanism of the amphibious vehicle is correspondingly designed by combining the characteristics of the steering column of the vehicle and the switching and locking process characteristics of the steering column of the vehicle, the structure and the specific arrangement mode of key components of the steering column switching and locking mechanism, such as an outer shell, a lower shaft, an upper shaft, a combined separating sleeve and a switching and locking module, are researched and designed, the steering column switching and locking mechanism can be correspondingly and quickly operated to realize the combination and separation action of a steering wheel and a steering gear, has the function of preventing the misoperation of a driver, and can lock the steering gear at the straight-going position of the vehicle when the steering wheel is separated from the steering gear, prevent the steering wheel from steering from damaging a ball joint or a vehicle body, and the driver can freely rotate. Therefore, the device has the characteristics of compact structure, small occupied space, safety, reliability, simple and convenient operation, low cost and the like.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention provides a switching and locking mechanism of a steering column of an amphibious vehicle, which comprises an outer shell, a lower shaft, an upper shaft, a combined separation sleeve and a switching and locking module, wherein,

the lower shaft and the upper shaft are coaxially and separately arranged, one end of the outer shell is movably connected with the lower shaft through a first bearing piece, the other end of the outer shell is movably connected with the upper shaft through a second bearing piece, and a cavity for accommodating the combined separating sleeve is arranged in the outer shell;

the combined separation sleeve is sleeved on the periphery of the lower shaft and moves along the axial direction of the lower shaft under the stirring action of the switching locking module so as to fixedly connect the lower shaft and the upper shaft when a vehicle runs on land, and one end of the combined separation sleeve is fixedly connected with the lower shaft and the other end of the combined separation sleeve is rotatably connected with the upper shaft when the vehicle runs in water;

the switching locking module comprises a shifting fork ring, a shifting fork, a ball head rotating part and a shifting fork cover plate, the ball head rotating part and the shifting fork cover plate are fixedly arranged on the outer shell, the shifting fork ring is rotatably sleeved on the periphery of the combined separating sleeve, the axial two ends of the shifting fork ring are axially limited by a clamp spring fixedly arranged on the periphery of the combined separating sleeve, two shifting fork rods symmetrically arranged about the lower shaft axis are arranged on the shifting fork, one end of the shifting fork is movably connected with the shifting fork rods, the other end of the shifting fork penetrates through the shifting fork cover plate, the middle part of the shifting fork is fixedly arranged on the ball head rotating part, the ball head rotating part is used for providing a fulcrum in the shifting fork motion process, a steering switching key is arranged on the shifting fork cover plate, and the position of the combined separating sleeve is adjusted by the shifting fork ring by shifting the position of the shifting fork in the steering switching key, and when the bicycle runs on water, the combined separation sleeve is locked.

As further preferred, the fixed outer key that is equipped with on the combination separation cover lateral wall, be equipped with the keyway on the shell body inside wall, the keyway in outer key corresponding setting, and this outer key can be followed the axial motion of lower shaft, and with this mode, when going on land, outer key motion to with keyway separation position, the combination separation cover can rotate with the lower shaft with the relative outer casing of casing, when going on water, outer key motion to with keyway combination position and lock the lower shaft.

As a further preferred option, the combination separation sleeve is provided with an inner key, one end of the lower shaft close to the upper shaft is provided with a first key groove, one end of the upper shaft close to the lower shaft is provided with a second key groove, the first key groove and the second key groove are correspondingly arranged, the inner key sleeve is arranged on the periphery of the first key groove and can move along the axis of the lower shaft to connect the first key groove and the second key groove or not connect the second key groove.

Preferably, the inner walls of the two ends of the combined separating sleeve are provided with an upper shaft DU bearing and a lower shaft DU bearing in a press fit mode, the upper shaft DU bearing is movably connected with the upper shaft, the lower shaft DU bearing is movably connected with the lower shaft, the lower shaft DU bearing is fixedly connected with the combined separating sleeve, and the upper shaft DU bearing is fixedly connected with the combined separating sleeve.

Preferably, the lower shaft is provided with a spring seat, the periphery of the lower shaft is further sleeved with an inner spring and an outer spring, one end of the inner spring and one end of the outer spring are supported on the spring seat, the other end of the inner spring and the other end of the outer spring are supported on the combined separation sleeve, the diameter of the inner spring is smaller than that of the outer spring, and the spiral directions of the inner spring and the outer spring are opposite.

As a further preferred, the steering switch key includes a land combination position, a manual switching limit position and an above-water separation position, which are sequentially arranged, the land combination position is arranged in parallel with the above-water separation position and arranged in parallel with the axis of the lower shaft, the land combination position is separated from the above-water separation position by a lock tongue provided on the shift fork cover plate, the land combination position is close to the spring seat, the above-water separation position is far away from the spring seat, in this way, when the shift fork is at the land combination position, the inner spring and the outer spring press the combination separation sleeve on the upper shaft, so that the combination separation sleeve can rotate together with the lower shaft and the upper shaft simultaneously, when the shift fork is at the above-water separation position, the combination separation sleeve compresses the inner spring and the outer spring and moves to be separated from the upper shaft, when the shift fork moves to the above-water separation position, the lock tongue, and locking the shifting fork.

Preferably, the shifting fork is of a Y-shaped structure and comprises a shifting fork handle, a shifting fork connecting rod and two U-shaped shifting forks, wherein the shifting fork handle, the shifting fork connecting rod and the two U-shaped shifting forks are fixedly connected in sequence and symmetrically arranged on the shifting fork connecting rod, openings of the two U-shaped shifting forks are movably connected with the shifting fork rod, the middle of the shifting fork connecting rod is fixedly arranged on the ball head rotating key, and the shifting fork connecting rod penetrates through the steering switching key.

As further preferred, the bulb rotates the piece and includes bulb nut, bulb and ball seat, bulb nut will the bulb is fixed on the shell body, the mobilizable card of ball seat one end is established on the bulb, the other end pass through the ball seat nut with shift fork fixed connection, still offer on the shift fork and be used for the ball seat hole that the ball seat passed, the connection face of bulb and ball seat is the spherical surface structure that suits, with this mode, makes the ball seat can rotate around the bulb to make the shift fork can along turn to the shift key and move in order.

As a further preferred option, the outer shell comprises a lower shell, an upper shell and a steel pipe which are fixedly connected in sequence, a first ball bearing is arranged between the lower shell and the lower shaft, and a second ball bearing is arranged between the steel pipe and the upper shaft.

Preferably, a dust cover is further arranged on one side surface of the shifting fork cover plate facing the lower shaft, the dust cover is fixedly connected with the outer shell, and a connecting rod hole for penetrating a shifting fork connecting rod on the shifting fork is further formed in the dust cover;

preferably, the lower shaft is provided with a first spline, and the first spline is connected with an automobile steering transmission shaft; and a second spline is arranged on the upper shaft and is connected with an automobile steering wheel.

Generally, compared with the prior art, the above technical solution conceived by the present invention mainly has the following technical advantages:

1. the invention can quickly operate to realize the combination and separation actions of the steering wheel and the steering gear, has the function of preventing the misoperation of a driver, and simultaneously locks the steering gear at the straight-going position of the vehicle when the steering wheel is separated from the steering gear, thereby preventing the steering gear from being damaged by the steering of the wheels and enabling the driver to freely rotate the steering wheel to execute the water steering action. Therefore, the device has the characteristics of compact structure, small occupied space, safety, reliability, simple and convenient operation, low cost and the like.

2. The invention utilizes the sliding of the combined separating sleeve arranged in the steering column on the lower shaft and the upper shaft, and the inner key on the combined separating sleeve is simultaneously meshed with the lower shaft and the upper shaft during the combination, while the outer key of the combined separating sleeve is separated from the lower shell, thereby achieving the purpose of combining and simultaneously rotating the upper shaft and the lower shaft, and realizing the mechanical connection between a steering wheel and a steering gear during the land driving; when the steering wheel is separated, the inner key of the combined separation sleeve is always meshed with the lower shaft, the outer key is just meshed with the lower shell, and the inner key of the combined separation sleeve is separated from the upper shaft, so that the mechanical separation function between the steering wheel and the steering gear is realized when the steering wheel is turned on water, and the lower shaft is locked to achieve the purpose of locking the steering wheel. Compared with the prior scheme of adopting an electromagnetic clutch or an electromagnetic brake, when the static torque strength of 198N.m during combination is met, the arrangement space is reduced, the energy is saved, and the cost is reduced.

3. The invention utilizes two U-shaped shifting forks which are symmetrical at 180 degrees and can only slide along two shifting fork rods which are symmetrical at 180 degrees on the shifting fork ring, and the shifting fork rods are always limited in the shifting fork grooves, so that the two sides of the shifting fork ring are stressed in a balanced manner when being pulled or pressed, and torsion prying and clamping cannot be generated. The ball head fixed on the lower shell is utilized to realize two kinematic pairs of the shifting fork, one is up-and-down swinging around the ball head, and the other is left-and-right swinging around the ball head, so that the L-shaped anti-misoperation groove design on the shifting fork cover plate can be realized, and the wrong change of the combination or separation state caused by the fact that the legs of a driver touch the shifting fork handle by mistake in the driving process is avoided.

4. The invention solves the problem of over-positioning of 4 bearings on the upper shaft and the lower shaft simultaneously by adopting a floating centering principle by utilizing a mode that the lower shaft DU bearing and the upper shaft DU bearing which are pressed on the combined and separated combined sleeve and the ball bearings of the upper shaft and the lower shaft are in transition fit with corresponding shells.

5. The invention utilizes the design of double springs, namely an inner spring and an outer spring are simultaneously designed between the lower shell assembly and the combined separation sleeve, the problem of mutual occlusion of the ends of the double springs is solved by utilizing the string-stopping ring of the spring seat and the string-stopping ring of the combined separation sleeve, and the problem of mutual winding of the double springs is solved by utilizing the mutual reverse spiral of the inner spring and the outer spring, so that the safety is improved by utilizing the double springs, and accidents caused by the change of the combined state and the separated state due to the breakage of the springs are avoided. Compared with the scheme, the scheme of the electromagnetic brake and the electromagnetic clutch disclosed in the prior art is safe and reliable, and the whole vehicle loses either the land steering capability or the water steering capability under the condition of power failure.

6. The invention has pure mechanical design, low cost, small investment and quick effect.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the internal structure of the steering column when the switching and locking mechanism of the present invention is combined with the land;

FIG. 2 is a two-dimensional schematic diagram of the internal structure of the steering column when the switching and locking mechanism of the present invention is combined with the land;

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional schematic view of a lower shaft structure of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional schematic view of an upper shaft structure of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional schematic view of a partial structure of a bonded split sleeve according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional schematic view of a partial structure of a lower case according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional schematic view of a partial structure of a shifting fork cover plate according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional schematic view of a partial structure of the shifting fork according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the internal structure of the present invention when the shift fork lever is pulled to the left limit position for manual adjustment;

FIG. 10 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the internal structure of the present invention when the shift fork handle is pushed to the right limit position for manual adjustment;

fig. 11 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the internal structure of the invention in a water separating position.

In all the figures, the same reference numerals denote the same features, in particular: 1-outer spring, 2-inner spring, 3-housing bolt, 4-ball nut, 5-dust cover, 6-shift fork cover, 6.11-land joint position, 6.12-manual switching limit position, 6.13-water separation position, 6.14-tongue, 7-cover bolt, 11-lower shaft, 11.1-first key groove, 11.2-first spline, 12-snap spring, 13-first ball bearing, 14-spring seat, 14.1-first anti-serial ring, 15-lower housing, 15.1-key groove, 15.2-lever groove, 15.3-ball head hole, 15.4-mounting hole, 15.5-mounting hole, 16-shaft snap spring, 21-joint separation sleeve, 21.1-outer key, 21.2-inner key, 21.3-second anti-serial ring, 22-lower shaft DU bearing, 23-clamp spring, 24-shifting fork ring, 24.1-shifting fork rod, 25-clamp spring, 26-upper shaft DU bearing, 31-upper shell, 31.1-counter bore, 31.2-threaded hole, 32-steel pipe, 33-upper shaft, 33.1-second key groove, 33.2-thrust surface, 33.3-second spline, 34-clamp spring, 35-clamp spring, 36-second ball bearing, 37-shaft clamp spring, 41-shifting fork, 41.1-U-shaped shifting fork, 41.2-shifting fork handle, 41.3-ball seat hole, 42-ball seat nut, 43-ball head and 44-ball seat.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention. In addition, the technical features involved in the embodiments of the present invention described below may be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

As shown in fig. 1-11, the steering column switching and locking mechanism for an amphibious vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an outer housing, a lower shaft 11, an upper shaft 33, a coupling and separating sleeve 21, and a switching and locking module, where the lower shaft 11 and the upper shaft 33 are coaxially and separately arranged, one end of the outer housing is movably connected to the lower shaft 11 through a first bearing, and the other end of the outer housing is movably connected to the upper shaft 33 through a second bearing, and a cavity for accommodating the coupling and separating sleeve 21 is provided in the outer housing; the combined separation sleeve 21 is sleeved on the periphery of the lower shaft 11 and moves along the axial direction of the lower shaft 11 under the toggle action of the switching locking module so as to realize that the combined separation sleeve 21 fixedly connects the lower shaft 11 and the upper shaft 33 when a vehicle runs on land, one end of the combined separation sleeve 21 is fixedly connected with the lower shaft 11 and the other end is rotatably connected with the upper shaft 33 when the vehicle runs in water; the switching locking module comprises a shifting fork ring 24, a shifting fork 41, a ball head rotating part and a shifting fork cover plate 6, the ball head rotating part and the shifting fork cover plate 6 are fixedly arranged on the outer shell, the shifting fork ring 24 is rotatably sleeved on the periphery of the combination separating sleeve 21, the axial two ends of the shifting fork ring 24 are axially limited by a snap spring 23 and a snap spring 25 which are fixedly arranged on the periphery of the combination separating sleeve 21, two shifting fork rods 24.1 which are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the lower shaft 11 are arranged on the shifting fork 41, one end of the shifting fork 41 is movably connected with the shifting fork rods 24.1, the other end of the shifting fork passes through the shifting fork cover plate 6, the middle part of the shifting fork 41 is fixedly arranged on the ball head rotating part, the ball head rotating part is used for providing a fulcrum in the shifting fork movement process, a steering switching key is arranged on the shifting fork cover plate 6, and the position of the shifting fork 41 in the steering switching key is adjusted by the shifting fork ring 24 to realize the adjustment of the position of the combination separating sleeve 21, and the combined separation sleeve 21 is locked when the vehicle runs on water. More specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the vehicle travels on land, the coupling and decoupling sleeve 21 simultaneously couples the upper shaft 33 and the lower shaft 11, and at the same time, the coupling and decoupling sleeve 21 is rotatable with the outer housing, in such a manner that the upper shaft 33, the lower shaft 11, and the coupling and decoupling sleeve 21 are rotated with the rotation of the steering wheel, while the yoke 24 and the outer housing are kept stationary. When the vehicle runs on water, the combined separating sleeve 21 moves towards the lower shaft 11, one end of the combined separating sleeve, which is close to the lower shaft 11, is connected with the outer shell, the other end of the combined separating sleeve is separated from the upper shaft 33 and is rotatably sleeved on the periphery of the upper shaft 33, in this way, the upper shaft 33 rotates along with the steering wheel, and the lower shaft 11, the combined separating sleeve 21, the outer shell and the shifting fork ring 24 are all kept still.

As shown in fig. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, the outer housing of the steering column switching and locking mechanism of an amphibious vehicle according to the present invention includes a lower housing 15, an upper housing 31 and a steel pipe 32 fixedly connected in sequence. One end of the lower shell 15 is rotatably connected with the lower shaft 11, and one end of the steel tube 32 is rotatably connected with the upper shaft 33. A first ball bearing 13 is arranged between the lower shell 15 and the lower shaft 11, and a second ball bearing 36 is arranged between the steel pipe 32 and the upper shaft 33. More specifically, the lower shell 15 is fixed on the automobile beam through a mounting hole 15.5 and a mounting hole 15.4, and the upper shell 31 is fixedly connected with the lower shell 15 through a plurality of shell bolts 3; a lower shaft 11 is arranged in the lower shell 15, a first ball bearing 13 is arranged on the lower shaft 11, the axial movement of the lower shaft 11 is limited by a shaft clamp spring 12 (the axial direction of the invention is the central axis direction of the lower shaft 11), and the outer ring of the first ball bearing 13 is fixed on the lower shell 15 through the clamp spring 12, so that the lower shaft 11 can only rotate relative to the lower shell and can not move axially; the upper end of the upper shell 31 is provided with a steel pipe 32 and a counter bore 31.1, the excircle of the lower end of the steel pipe 32 is in interference fit with the counter bore 31.1 to realize fixed connection, and the upper end of the steel pipe 32 is provided with a clamp spring 34 and a clamp spring 35. An upper shaft 33 is provided in the upper housing 31, a second ball bearing 36 is provided at the upper end of the upper shaft 33 in an interference fit connection, the axial movement of the second ball bearing 36 is restricted by a shaft snap spring 37, and the outer race of the second ball bearing 36 is restricted between the snap spring 35 and the snap spring 34, so that the upper shaft 33 is only rotatable and not axially movable with respect to the upper housing 31. In order to realize that when the bicycle runs on water, the combined separation sleeve 21 is connected with the outer shell, the outer side wall of the combined separation sleeve 21 is fixedly provided with an outer key 21.1, the inner side wall of the outer shell is provided with a key groove 15.1, the key groove 15.1 and the outer key 21.1 are correspondingly arranged, and the outer key 21.1 can move along the axial direction of the lower shaft 11, so that the outer key 21.1 can slide into or out of the key groove 15.1 when in a straight-going neutral position, and the combined separation sleeve 21 is combined with and separated from the outer shell, in this way, when the bicycle runs on land, the outer key 21.1 moves to a position separated from the key groove 15.1, the combined separation sleeve can rotate together with the lower shaft relative to the outer shell, and when the bicycle runs on water, the outer key 21.1 moves to a position combined with the key groove 15.1 and locks the lower shaft.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the lower shaft 11 is supported by the lower shaft DU bearing 22 and the first ball bearing 13, and the upper shaft 21 is supported by the upper shaft DU bearing 26 and the second ball bearing 36, so that the lower shaft 11 and the upper shaft 33 are kept coaxial, in combination with the self-lubricating lower shaft DU bearing 22 and the upper shaft DU bearing 26 which are press-fitted at both ends of the separation sleeve 21, respectively. Preferably, the first ball bearing 13 is in transition fit with the lower housing 15, the second ball bearing 36 is in transition fit with the steel pipe 32, the lower shaft DU bearing 22 is in clearance fit with the lower shaft 11, and the upper shaft DU bearing 26 is in clearance fit with the upper shaft 33, so that the two DU bearings provided on the coupling separation sleeve 21 are floatingly supported relative to the upper and lower shafts. Be equipped with interior key 21.2 on the combination separation cover 21, the one end that the lower shaft 11 is close to upper shaft 33 is equipped with first keyway 11.1, and upper shaft 33 is close to the one end of lower shaft 11 is equipped with second keyway 33.1, and first keyway 11.1 corresponds the setting with second keyway 33.1, and interior key 21.2 cover is established first keyway 11.1 periphery to can follow the axis motion of lower shaft 11, with connect first keyway 11.1 and second keyway 33.1, or not connect second keyway 33.1. More specifically, two 180-degree symmetrical inner keys 21.2 and two 180-degree symmetrical outer keys 21.1 are arranged inside the combining and separating sleeve 21, two 180-degree symmetrical first key grooves 11.1 matched with the inner keys 21.2 are arranged at the upper end of the lower shaft 11, two 180-degree symmetrical second key grooves 33.1 matched with the inner keys 21.2 are arranged at the lower end of the upper shaft 33, two 180-degree symmetrical key grooves 15.1 matched with the outer keys 21.1 are arranged on the lower shell 15, and the inner keys 21.2 can slide in the first key grooves 11.1 and the second key grooves 33.1. In the land engaging position, the inner key 21.2 engages both the first keyway 11.1 and the second keyway 33.1 and the outer key 21.1 is disengaged from the keyway 15.1. The lower end of the lower shaft 11 is also provided with a first spline 11.2 connected with an automobile steering transmission shaft, the upper end of the upper shaft 33 is provided with a second spline 33.3 connected with an automobile steering wheel, and when the automobile steering wheel is in a land combination position, the rotation can be transmitted to the combination separation sleeve 21 through the upper shaft 33 and then transmitted to the lower shaft 11 and then transmitted to the steering transmission shaft and a steering gear, so that the mechanical connection and transmission of the steering wheel and the steering gear are realized.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the coupling and separating sleeve 21 is provided with a snap spring 23 and a snap spring 25, a shift fork ring 24 is provided between the two snap springs, the shift fork ring 24 is in clearance fit with the coupling and separating sleeve 21 and can rotate, two shift fork rods 24.1 with 180 degrees symmetry are provided at two sides of the shift fork ring, the lower housing 15 is provided with two shift fork grooves 15.2 with 180 degrees symmetry matching with the shift fork rods 24.1, the shift fork rods 24.1 can slide in the shift fork grooves 15.2, therefore, when the upper shaft 33 drives the coupling and separating sleeve 21 to rotate together, since the shift fork rods 24.1 are limited in the shift fork grooves 15.2, the shift fork ring 24 does not rotate along with the coupling and separating sleeve 21, and can not perform axial movement. In the invention, a spring seat 14 is arranged on a lower shaft 11, an inner spring 2 and an outer spring 1 are further sleeved on the periphery of the lower shaft 11, one end of each of the inner spring 2 and the outer spring 1 is supported on the spring seat 14, the other end of each of the inner spring 2 and the outer spring 1 is supported on a combined separation sleeve 21, the diameter of the inner spring 2 is smaller than that of the outer spring 1, and the spiral directions of the inner spring 2 and the outer spring 1 are opposite. The inner spring 2 and the outer spring 1 are in a compressed state during water travel, and the inner spring 2 and the outer spring 1 provide an elastic force for moving the upper shaft 33 in conjunction with the release sleeve 21 when the water travel is switched to land travel. One end of the outer key 21.1, which is far away from the upper shaft 33, supports one end of the inner spring 2 and one end of the outer spring 1, a first string stopping ring 14.1 is arranged on the spring seat 14, a second string stopping ring 21.3 is arranged on the outer key 21.1, and the first string stopping ring 14.1 and the second string stopping ring 21.3 are both used for separating the inner spring 2 and the outer spring 1. The lower end of the inner spring 2 is limited in a space formed by the first string stopping ring 14.1 and the lower shaft 11, the upper end of the inner spring 2 is limited in a space formed by the second string stopping ring 21.3 and the lower shaft 11, the lower end of the outer spring 1 is limited in a space formed by the first string stopping ring 14.1 and the lower shell 15, and the upper end of the outer spring 1 is limited in a space formed by the second string stopping ring 21.3 and the lower shell 15, so that the first string stopping ring 14.1 and the second string stopping ring 21.3 can prevent the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2 from being mutually engaged at the end of the springs, the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2 are oppositely rotated, and the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2 are prevented from being mutually wound in the working process.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the ball head rotation member includes a ball head nut 4, a ball head 43 and a ball seat 44, the ball head nut 4 fixes the ball head 43 on the outer housing, one end of the ball seat 44 is movably clamped on the ball head 43, the other end of the ball seat 44 is fixedly connected with the shift fork 41 through a ball seat nut 42, the shift fork 41 is further provided with a ball seat hole 41.3 for the ball seat 44 to pass through, and the connection surface of the ball head 43 and the ball seat 44 is a spherical structure, so that the ball seat 44 can rotate around the ball head 43, and the shift fork 41 can move sequentially along the steering switch key. In the present invention, the shift fork 41 can move in 2 directions by the engagement of the ball 43 and the ball seat 44, one is axial movement along the lower shaft 11, and the other is radial movement along the lower shaft 11. In this way, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation locking when the shift fork 41 is adjusted in the steering changeover key, and lock the coupling split sleeve 21.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the lower housing 15 is further provided with a ball hole 15.3, a ball 43 is installed through the ball hole 15.3 and fixedly connected with the lower housing 15 by a ball nut 4, and a ball seat 44 sleeved on the ball 43 passes through a ball seat hole 41.3 arranged on the shift fork 41 and fixedly connected with the shift fork 41 by a ball seat nut 42. The shifting fork 41 is of a Y-shaped structure, the shifting fork 41 comprises a shifting fork handle 41.2, a shifting fork connecting rod and two U-shaped shifting forks 41.1 and two shifting fork rods 24.1 which are fixedly connected in sequence, the shifting fork connecting rod is symmetrically arranged, an opening of the U-shaped shifting fork 41.1 is movably connected with the shifting fork rod, the middle of the shifting fork connecting rod is fixedly arranged on the ball head rotating part, and the shifting fork connecting rod penetrates through the steering switching key. One end of the shifting fork 41 is provided with two 180-degree symmetrical U-shaped shifting forks 41.1 matched with the shifting fork rod 24.1 and is used for always forking the shifting fork rod 24.1, the U-shaped shifting fork 41.1 can slide left and right on the shifting fork rod 24.1, and the other end of the shifting fork 41 is provided with a shifting fork handle 41.2 for manual switching of a driver. Still be equipped with a plurality of screw holes 31.2 on going up casing 31, still be equipped with dust cover 5 and shift fork apron 6 on last casing 31, link firmly with last casing 31 through a plurality of apron bolts 7. The dust cover 5 is fixedly connected with the outer shell, and a connecting rod hole used for penetrating a shifting fork connecting rod on the shifting fork 41 is further formed in the dust cover and used for matching a moving path of the shifting fork. The shifting fork cover plate 6 is provided with an L-shaped anti-misoperation groove 6.1, and the L-shaped anti-misoperation groove 6.1 comprises a land combination position 6.11, a manual switching limit position 6.12, an overwater separation position 6.13 and a lock tongue 6.14. That is, the steering switch key includes land combination position, manual switching extreme position and the separation position on water that arranges in order, and land combination position and separation position on water parallel arrangement, and with the axis parallel arrangement of lower shaft 11, land combination position and separation position on water are through locating the tongue 6.14 separation on the shift fork apron 6, and land combination position is close to spring seat 14 and sets up, and separation position on water is kept away from spring seat 14 sets up, and in this way, shift fork 41 is when separation position on water, combination separation sleeve 21 compresses inner spring 2 and outer spring 1, and move to with upper shaft 33 separation, tongue 6.14 when shift fork 41 moved to separation position on water, locking shift fork 41.

Furthermore, when the shifting fork 41 is located at the land combination position 6.11, the U-shaped shifting fork 41.1 is located at the right end of the shifting fork rod 24.1, when the shifting fork handle 41.2 is operated by a driver to lift upwards, the shifting fork 41 carries the ball seat 44 to use the ball center of the ball head 43 as a rotation center point, the shifting fork handle 41.2 moves upwards, at this time, the U-shaped shifting fork 41.1 at the other end of the shifting fork 41 presses the shifting fork rod 24.1 downwards, and the shifting fork rods 24.1 are symmetrically arranged, so that the shifting fork ring 24 is simultaneously pressed downwards by the U-shaped shifting fork 41.1 at two sides, and cannot generate a twist and block on the combination separation sleeve 21, and the shifting fork ring 24 drives the combination separation sleeve 21 to overcome the elastic forces of the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2 to move downwards together, so that the separation of the combination separation sleeve 21 and the upper shaft 33 and the combination with the lower; when the shifting fork 41 swings from the leftmost end to the rightmost end of the manual switching limit position 6.12, the shifting fork 41 carries the ball seat 44 to swing left and right along the ball head 43, at this time, the shifting fork 41 can only swing left and right along the manual switching limit position 6.12, at this time, the U-shaped shifting fork 41.1 just slides from the rightmost end to the leftmost end of the shifting fork rod 24.1, it can be understood that, due to space limitation, the larger the angle of left and right swing of the shifting fork 41 at the manual switching limit position 6.12 is, the larger the width of the lock tongue 6.14 is, and the stronger the strength is, in this embodiment, the shifting fork 41 just corresponds to the right end of the U-shaped shifting fork 41.1 at the shifting fork rod 24.1 when the left end of the manual switching limit position 6.12 is adopted, and the shifting fork 41 just corresponds to the left end of the U-shaped shifting fork 41.1 at the shifting fork rod 24.1 when the right end of the manual switching limit position 6.12 is adopted. As mentioned above, the invention provides for the ball 44 to obtain a movement of the fork 41 in two directions: only can move up and down around the ball head center point of the ball head 44 or can swing left and right around the ball head center point of the ball head 44, so that the L-shaped anti-misoperation groove 6.1 is matched, and a driver is forced to have two actions on hand if the driver wants to complete a complete switching process: upon pulling and pushing, the single leg knee miss does not cause the position of the shift fork 41 to change, thereby improving safety.

The handover procedure of the present invention is described in detail below: as shown in fig. 1 and 2, in the land-coupled state of the steering column of the amphibious vehicle, the lower shaft 11 provided in the lower hull 15 is rotatable but not axially movable relative to the lower hull 15, and the upper shaft 33 provided in the upper hull 31 is rotatable but not axially movable relative to the upper hull 31. Meanwhile, a certain gap exists between the upper end face of the lower shaft 11 and the lower end face of the upper shaft 33, the gap is set to be 3mm in the embodiment, the combined separating sleeve 21 is simultaneously meshed with the two first key grooves 11.1 of the lower shaft 11 and the two second key grooves 33.1 of the upper shaft 33 through the two inner keys 21.2 which are symmetrically arranged by 180 degrees, under the combined action of the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2, the upper end face of the combined separating sleeve 21 is pressed on the thrust face 33.2 of the upper shaft 33, at the moment, the outer key 21.1 of the combined separating sleeve 21 is not meshed with the key groove 15.1 on the lower shell 15 to be in a separated state, a driver rotates the steering wheel to drive the upper shaft 33 to rotate, the upper shaft 33 is meshed with the inner key 21.2 of the combined separating sleeve through the second key grooves 33.1 and simultaneously rotates, the combined separating sleeve 21 is also meshed with the inner key 21.2 and the lower shaft first key groove 11.1 of the lower shaft 11 simultaneously and rotates together, therefore, the rotation of the steering wheel can be transmitted to the combined separating sleeve 21 through the upper shaft 33, and then to the lower shaft 11 while rotating, thereby driving the vehicle to steer on the ground. During this transfer, the two fork levers 24.1 of the fork ring 24 are always constrained in the two fork grooves 15.2 of the lower housing 15, so that the fork ring 24 does not follow the rotation of the coupling release sleeve 21, while the fork 41 stops at the land coupling position 6.11.

As shown in fig. 9, when the vehicle needs to be switched from a land driving state to a water driving state, the driver needs to switch the steering column, and firstly, the driver needs to turn the steering wheel and slightly shake the steering wheel around the middle position of the steering wheel with the right hand; meanwhile, the left hand overcomes the spring force of the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2, the shifting fork handle 41.2 of the shifting fork 41 is lifted upwards, the shifting fork handle 41.2 is lifted from the land combination position 6.11 of the L-shaped anti-misoperation groove 6.1 to the manual switching limit position 6.12, the shifting fork 41 converts the upward movement of the driver shifting fork handle 41.2 into the downward movement of the two U-shaped forks 41.1 through the ball head 43, the two symmetrical and undeflected U-shaped forks 41.1 clamped on the shifting fork rod 24.1 at the left and right sides press the shifting fork ring 24 downwards along the two shifting fork grooves 15.2, the shifting fork ring 24 drives the combination separation sleeve 21 to simultaneously move downwards overcoming the spring force of the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2, so that the two outer keys 21.1 of the combination separation sleeve 21 can enter the two key grooves 15.1 of the lower shell 15 to be meshed, therefore, the rotation of the combination separation sleeve 21 is locked by the lower shell 15, and the two inner keys 21.2 of the combination separation sleeve 21 are still meshed with the two first key grooves 11.1 of the lower shaft 11, the lower shaft 11 is therefore also in the locked and non-rotating state; at the same time, the two inner keys 21.2 of the coupling separation sleeve 21 are not engaged with the two second keyways 33.1 of the upper shaft 33, and are in a separated state, because the upper shaft DU bearing 26 still keeps supporting fit with the upper shaft 33, the upper shaft 33 keeps coaxial with the lower shaft 11, the upper shaft 33 can rotate relative to the lower housing 15, but the rotation is not transmitted to the lower shaft 11, and at this time, the separation of the upper shaft 33 is realized, the steering wheel can be freely rotated, but the lower shaft 11 is locked to rotate. It will be appreciated that the coupling release sleeve 21 is now in a "transitional release" or "overshoot" state, and is not in a normal release state. As shown in fig. 10, after lifting the shift fork handle 41.2 to the manual shift limit position 6.12, the driver needs to push the shift fork handle 41.2 from the left side to the right side of the manual shift limit position 6.12, and the end of the shift fork handle 41.2 swings to the right along the ball 43, while the other two U-shaped forks 41.1 slide along the fork rod 24.1 from the right to the left. As shown in fig. 11, the driver can release his hand by pushing the fork handle 41.2 of the fork 41 to the right of the manual switching limit position 6.12. Under the combined action of the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2, the combined separating sleeve 21 moves upwards along the key groove 15.1 of the lower shell 15, the combined separating sleeve 21 drives the shifting fork ring 24 to also move upwards along the shifting fork groove 15.2 of the lower shell 15, the shifting fork rod 24.1 pushes the two U-shaped forks 41.1 at the end part of the shifting fork 41 to move upwards along the ball head 43, so that the end part of the shifting fork handle 41.2 of the shifting fork 41 slides downwards into the water separating position 6.13 of the L-shaped misoperation preventing groove 6.1, the downward movement is stopped when the shifting fork handle is contacted, the combined separating sleeve 21 also stops moving, and the shifting fork 41 is simultaneously blocked by the locking tongue 6.14 and cannot slide into the groove of the land combining position 6.11. Meanwhile, the inner key 21.2 of the combined separating sleeve 21 still keeps a separated state from the second key groove 33.1 of the upper shaft 33, the outer key 21.1 of the combined separating sleeve 21 still keeps meshed with the key groove 15.1 of the lower shell 15, so the lower shaft 11 is still locked, the upper shaft 33 is still in a separated state, in this embodiment, the upper end face of the inner key 21.2 of the combined separating sleeve 21 moves to the upper end face of the lower shaft 11 to stop, at this time, the embodiment completes the whole operation process of switching from the land combined state to the water separated state, when steering on water, the lower shaft 11 of the amphibious steering column of the invention is locked by the amphibious lower shell 15 and can not rotate, and the upper shaft 33 and the lower shaft 11 are completely separated and can freely rotate along with the steering wheel.

The mechanism of the invention is switched from the water separating state to the land combining state, and the process is just opposite to the above description.

The invention adopts double springs: that is, the purpose of the combination of the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2 is to improve the driving safety, it can be understood that if only one spring is used, when the spring is fatigue-broken and runs on the land, the coupling separation sleeve 21 loses the spring force and slides downwards, and the upper shaft 33 and the lower shaft 11 may be changed from the coupling position to the separation position, which may cause an accident that the driver cannot control the vehicle to turn when running on the land, and if the two springs are used, the accident can be avoided, and if one spring is broken and the other spring has a pre-tightening spring force, the driver may feel that the spring force is different before and after the spring force is changed, so that the fault can be identified and maintained. The same invention can also adopt elastic members with elasticity instead of the outer spring 1 and the inner spring 2.

Further, for weight reduction, aluminum alloy is preferably used for the lower case 15 and the upper case 31.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the invention, and that any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A switching and locking mechanism of a steering column of an amphibious vehicle is characterized by comprising an outer shell, a lower shaft (11), an upper shaft (33), a combined separation sleeve (21) and a switching and locking module, wherein,

the lower shaft (11) and the upper shaft (33) are coaxially and separately arranged, one end of the outer shell is movably connected with the lower shaft (11) through a first bearing piece, the other end of the outer shell is movably connected with the upper shaft (33) through a second bearing piece, and a cavity for accommodating the combined separating sleeve (21) is arranged in the outer shell;

the combined separation sleeve (21) is sleeved on the periphery of the lower shaft (11) and moves along the axial direction of the lower shaft (11) under the toggle action of the switching locking module so as to realize that the combined separation sleeve (21) fixedly connects the lower shaft (11) and the upper shaft (33) when a vehicle runs on land, one end of the combined separation sleeve (21) is fixedly connected with the lower shaft (11) and the other end of the combined separation sleeve (21) is rotatably connected with the upper shaft (33) when the vehicle runs in water;

the switching locking module comprises a shifting fork ring (24), a shifting fork (41), a ball head rotating part and a shifting fork cover plate (6), wherein the ball head rotating part and the shifting fork cover plate (6) are fixedly arranged on the outer shell, the shifting fork ring (24) is rotatably sleeved on the periphery of the combination separating sleeve (21), the axial two ends of the shifting fork ring (24) are axially limited by clamping springs (23 and 25) fixedly arranged on the periphery of the combination separating sleeve (21), two shifting fork rods (24.1) symmetrically arranged about the axis of the lower shaft (11) are arranged on the shifting fork (41), one end of the shifting fork (41) is movably connected with the shifting fork rods (24.1), the other end of the shifting fork cover plate (6) penetrates through, the middle part of the shifting fork (41) is fixedly arranged on the ball head rotating part, and the ball head is used for providing a fulcrum in the shifting fork movement process, the steering switch key is arranged on the shifting fork cover plate (6), the position of the shifting fork (41) in the steering switch key is adjusted to be the position of the combined separation sleeve (21) through the shifting fork ring (24) by shifting, and the combined separation sleeve (21) is locked when the water vehicle runs.

2. An amphibious vehicle steering column switching and locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterised in that an outer key (21.1) is fixedly arranged on the outer side wall of the coupling and decoupling sleeve (21), a key slot (15.1) is arranged on the inner side wall of the outer shell, the key slot (15.1) is arranged corresponding to the outer key (21.1), and the outer key (21.1) is movable in the axial direction of the lower shaft (11), in such a way that the outer key (21.1) is moved to a key slot (15.1) decoupling position during land driving, the coupling and decoupling sleeve (21) is rotatable together with the lower shaft (11) relative to the outer shell, and the outer key (21.1) is moved to a coupling position with the key slot (15.1) and locks the lower shaft (11) during water driving.

3. An amphibious vehicle steering column switching and locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterised in that the coupling and decoupling sleeve (21) is provided with an inner key (21.2), one end of the lower shaft (11) close to the upper shaft (33) is provided with a first key slot (11.1), one end of the upper shaft (33) close to the lower shaft (11) is provided with a second key slot (33.1), the first key slot (11.1) and the second key slot (33.1) are correspondingly arranged, and the inner key (21.2) is sleeved on the periphery of the first key slot (11.1) and can move along the axis of the lower shaft (11) to connect the first key slot (11.1) and the second key slot (33.1) or not connect the second key slot (33.1).

4. An amphibious vehicle steering column switching and locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterised in that the inner walls of both ends of the coupling and decoupling sleeve (21) are provided with an upper shaft DU bearing (26) and a lower shaft DU bearing (22) in a press-fit manner, the upper shaft DU bearing (26) is movably connected with the upper shaft (33), the lower shaft DU bearing (22) is movably connected with the lower shaft (11), the lower shaft DU bearing (22) is fixedly connected with the coupling and decoupling sleeve (21), and the upper shaft DU bearing (26) is fixedly connected with the coupling and decoupling sleeve (21).

5. An amphibious vehicle steering column switching and locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterised in that the lower shaft (11) is provided with a spring seat (14), the outer periphery of the lower shaft (11) is further sleeved with an inner spring (2) and an outer spring (1), one end of the inner spring (2) and one end of the outer spring (1) are supported on the spring seat (14), the other end of the inner spring (2) is supported on a combined separating sleeve (21), the diameter of the inner spring (2) is smaller than that of the outer spring (1), and the inner spring (2) and the outer spring (1) are oppositely coiled.

6. An amphibious vehicle steering column switch and lock mechanism according to claim 5, characterised in that the steering switch key comprises a land engaging position, a manual switch limit position and a water disengaging position arranged in sequence, the land engaging position being arranged parallel to the water disengaging position and being arranged parallel to the axis of the lower shaft (11), the land engaging position and the water disengaging position being disengaged by a latch (6.14) provided on the fork cover (6), the land engaging position being located close to the spring seat (14), the water disengaging position being located away from the spring seat (14), in such a way that when the fork (41) is in the land engaging position, the inner spring (2) and the outer spring (1) press the engaging disengaging sleeve (21) against the upper shaft (33), causing the engaging disengaging sleeve (21) to rotate simultaneously in engagement with the lower shaft (11) and the upper shaft (33), when shift fork (41) separation position on water, combine separation cover (21) compression inner spring (2) and outer spring (1) to move to with upper shaft (33) separation, spring bolt (6.14) when shift fork (41) move to separation position on water, locking shift fork (41).

7. An amphibious vehicle steering column switching and locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterised in that the shift fork (41) is of a Y-shaped structure, the shift fork (41) comprises a shift fork handle (41.2), a shift fork link and two U-shaped shift forks (41.1) symmetrically arranged about the shift fork link, the openings of the two U-shaped shift forks (41.1) are movably connected with the shift fork rod (24.1), the middle part of the shift fork link is fixedly arranged on the ball-end turning piece, and the shift fork link is arranged through the steering switching key.

8. An amphibious vehicle steering column switching and locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterised in that the ball head rotation member comprises a ball head nut (4), a ball head (43) and a ball seat (44), the ball head nut (4) fixes the ball head (43) on the outer shell, one end of the ball seat (44) is movably clamped on the ball head (43), the other end of the ball seat (44) is fixedly connected with the shifting fork (41) through a ball seat nut (42), the shifting fork (41) is further provided with a ball seat hole (41.3) for the ball seat (44) to pass through, and the connection surfaces of the ball head (43) and the ball seat (44) are adaptive spherical structures, in such a way, the ball seat (44) can rotate around the ball head (43), so that the shifting fork (41) can move along the steering switch key in sequence.

9. An amphibious vehicle steering column switching and locking mechanism according to any of claims 1-8, characterised in that the outer casing comprises a lower casing (15), an upper casing (31) and a steel pipe (32) fixedly connected in sequence, a first ball bearing (13) is arranged between the lower casing (15) and the lower shaft (11), and a second ball bearing (36) is arranged between the steel pipe (32) and the upper shaft (33).

10. An amphibious vehicle steering column switching and locking mechanism according to any of claims 1-8, characterised in that a dust cover (5) is further provided on a side of the fork cover plate (6) facing the lower shaft (11), the dust cover (5) is fixedly connected with the outer housing, and a link hole for passing a fork link on the fork (41) is further provided on the dust cover (5);

preferably, a first spline (11.2) is arranged on the lower shaft (11), and the first spline (11.2) is connected with an automobile steering transmission shaft; the upper shaft (33) is provided with a second spline (33.3), and the second spline (33.3) is connected with an automobile steering wheel.