JP2000108909A - Cable type steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To measure the tension of an inner cable easily without disassembling a pulley housing, in a cable type steering device. SOLUTION: Two inner cables 5i, 6i are wounded on the outer periphery of a pulley 11dr stored inside a pulley housing 2 and inserted inside outer tubes 5o, 6o fixed to the pulley housing 2 through a cable joint 13. An opening 21 for measuring tension closed by an attachable/detachable cap 15 is provided on the pulley housing 2 in order to measure the tension of the inner cables 5i, 6i. By inserting a tension measuring instrument 41 from the opening 21 for measuring tension and push-pressing to the inner cables 5i, 6i, the tension of the inner cables 5i, 6i can be measured without disassembling the pulley housing 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cable-type steering device in which a steering wheel and a steering gear box are connected by a cable such as a Bowden cable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There has been proposed a cable type steering apparatus employing a flexible transmission means such as a Bowden cable instead of a steering shaft connecting a steering wheel and a steering gear box (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-24).
No. 31). By employing such a cable-type steering device, not only can the position of the steering wheel relative to the position of the steering gear box be freely selected, but also the vibration of the steering gear box can be hardly transmitted to the steering wheel.

In such a cable-type steering apparatus, it is necessary to adjust the tension of the inner cable when assembling the Bowden cable so that the tension of the inner cable is equal to a preset reference value. It is necessary to readjust the tension of the inner cable every predetermined period in order to compensate for this. After adjusting the tension of the inner cable in this way, it is necessary to check whether the tension matches the target tension by measuring with a measuring instrument. Since it is necessary to measure the tension of the inner cable at a portion exposed from the outer tube, conventionally, the tension of the inner cable exposed from the outer tube is measured inside the pulley housing that houses the pulley.

[0004]

However, in order to measure the tension of the inner cable inside the pulley housing, it is necessary to disassemble the pulley housing to expose the inner cable and reassemble the pulley housing after the measurement is completed. Therefore, there is a problem that the work requires much labor and time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a cable-type steering device capable of easily measuring the tension of an inner cable without disassembling a pulley housing.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a driving pulley connected to a steering wheel and a steering gear box for turning wheels. A driven pulley that rotates, two inner cables having both ends wound around a pulley groove spirally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drive pulley and the driven pulley, a drive pulley housing that houses the drive pulley,
In a cable-type steering device including a driven pulley housing for accommodating a driven pulley and two outer tubes for slidably storing an inner cable therein, at least one of a driving pulley housing and a driven pulley housing includes an inner tube. And a tension measuring opening facing the two inner cables disposed in the inner cable.

According to the above construction, by inserting a tension measuring device from the tension measuring opening formed in at least one of the driving pulley housing and the driven pulley housing, the two inner cables can be connected without disassembling the pulley housing. The tension can be easily measured.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect, a driving pulley connected to a steering wheel and rotating, and a driven pulley connected to a steering gear box for steering wheels and rotated. And two inner cables, both ends of which are wrapped around a pulley groove spirally formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the driving pulley and the driven pulley, and two outer tubes inside which the inner cable is slidably housed. In the cable-type steering device provided with the above structure, a tension measurement opening is formed in a tension measurement housing provided at an intermediate portion of the outer tube, and the tension is applied to two inner cables exposed from the outer tube inside the tension measurement housing. It is characterized by having an opening for measurement.

According to the above construction, the two inner cables can be inserted without disassembling the pulley housing by inserting the tension measuring device from the tension measuring opening formed in the tension measuring housing provided at the intermediate portion of the outer tube. Can be easily measured. In addition, since the tension measuring housing can be provided at an arbitrary position in the middle of the outer tube, the workability in measuring the tension can be improved.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a cable-type steering device, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 of FIG.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1, FIG.
Is a perspective view of a drive pulley housing, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tension measuring device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the steering wheel 1
Drive pulley housing 2 provided in front, steering
Driven pulley housing 4 provided above gear box 3
Are connected by two Bowden cables 5 and 6.
You. From both ends of the steering gear box 3
Tie rod 7 extending in the direction_L, 7_RBut the left and right wheels
W _L, W_RIs connected to a knuckle (not shown)
You.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
A rotating shaft 10dr fixed to the boss portion 8 by a nut 9 is rotatably supported by the driving pulley housing 2, and the driving pulley 11dr is fixed to the rotating shaft 10dr.
Two Bowden cables 5 and 6 are outer tubes 5
o, 6o and inner cables 5i, 6i slidably housed therein. Drive pulley 11
The outer peripheral surface of the dr 1 present of the pulley groove 11 ₁ is formed in a spiral shape, also a spiral cable guide groove 11 _2, 11 ₂ connected to both ends of the pulley groove 11 ₁ on both end faces, the cable guide groove Pin holes 11 ₃ , 11 ₃ connected to 11 ₂ , 11 ₂
Is formed.

The inner cables 5i and 6i of each Bowden cable 5 and 6 have pins 12 and
After being pressed into the pin holes 11 ₃ , 11 ₃ of the drive pulley 11dr, the cable ₁₂ is wound around the pulley groove 111 from the cable guide grooves 11 ₂ , 11 ₂ and pulled out in substantially the same direction from both diametrical ends of the drive pulley 11dr. . In this case, two inner cables 5i, since 6i is wound so as to approach each other toward the inside in the axial direction outside the pulley groove 11 ₁ of the drive pulley 11dr, driving pulley 11d
r inner cables 5i, 6i
The pulley groove 11 ₁ between the inner cable 5i, the portion 6i is not wound occurs (see Fig. 5).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the driven pulley
On a rotating shaft 10dn rotatably supported by the housing 4
The driven pulley 11dn is fixed. Driven pulley 11dn
Winding structure of both inner cables 5i and 6i
And the fixing structure is the same as the drive pulley described with reference to FIGS.
The inner cable 5 is the same as that of
Pins 12 and 12 fixed to the other ends of i and 6i are driven pulleys.
11dn pin hole 11 _Three, 11_ThreePressed into the pin
Inner cables 5i, 6i connected to 12, 12 are driven
Spiral cable plan formed on the end face of pulley 11dn
Inner groove 11_Two, 11_TwoOn the outer peripheral surface of the driven pulley 11dn.
The formed spiral pulley groove 11₁And wrapped around.

A pinion 21 is provided at the tip of a rotary shaft 10dn projecting from the driven pulley housing 4 into the steering gear box 3, and the pinion 21 is supported inside the steering gear box 3 so as to be slidable left and right. Rack 23 formed on steering rod 22
Are engaged. A power steering motor 24 is supported by the driven pulley housing 4, and a worm 26 provided on the output shaft 25 inside the driven pulley housing 4.
Are engaged with the worm wheel 27 provided on the rotating shaft 10dn. Therefore, the power steering motor 24
Is transmitted to the rotating shaft 10dn via the worm 26 and the worm wheel 27.

As is apparent from FIG. 5, cable joints 13, 13 are fixed to one ends of the outer tubes 5o, 6o of the Bowden cables 5, 6, and a male screw 1 formed on the outer periphery of the cable joints 13, 13.
3 _1, 13 ₁ is locked against rotation by a lock nut 14, 14 screwed to penetrate the walls of the driving pulley housing 2. When the cable nuts 13, 13 are rotated by loosening the lock nuts 14, 14, the lengths of the outer tubes 5o, 6o extending from the drive pulley housing 2 change, and the tension of the inner cables 5i, 6i is adjusted. Specifically, when the length of the outer tubes 5o, 6o extending from the drive pulley housing 2 is increased, the tension of the inner cables 5i, 6i increases, and conversely, when the length of the outer tubes 5o, 6o is reduced, the inner cables 5o, 6o are reduced. The tension of 5i and 6i decreases. After adjusting the tension, lock nuts 14 and 14 are used to connect cable joint 1.
3 and 13 are non-rotatably locked to the drive pulley housing 2.

[0018] driving the sidewall of the pulley housing 2 has two is circular tension measurement opening 2 _1, 2 ₁ formation, for their tension measurement openings 2 _1, 2 ₁ internal driving pulley housing 2 2 It faces the inner cables 5i and 6i, respectively. Tension measurement opening 2 _1, 2 ₁ can be closed by a removable rubber caps 15 and 15.

As is clear from FIG. 6, the tension measuring device 41
The cylindrical casing 42, and front and rear end faces 42 _1, 42 ₂ rod 43 which is slidably supported through the casing 42, the flange 43 ₁ and the casing 42 which is provided in an intermediate portion of the rod 43 And a coil spring 44 disposed between the rear end faces 42 _2.
To the tip inner cable 5i, with engageable groove 43 ₂ is formed on 6i, the rear end of the rod 43 graduations 43 ₃ showing a tension is formed.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

When the rotating shaft 10dr is rotated by operating the handle 1 to turn the vehicle, the driving pulley 11dr
When one of the inner cables 5i and 6i wound around is pulled and the other is loosened, the drive pulley 11
The rotation of dr is transmitted to the driven pulley 11dn. As a result, the rotation shaft 10dn of the driven pulley 11dn shown in FIG.
1, the wheel W _L via the rack 23 and Su-ring rod 22, a steering torque is transmitted to the W _R.

At this time, both inner cables 5i, 6i
Since the deviation between the tension on the tension side and the tension on the slack side is proportional to the steering torque input to the steering wheel 1, the power steering motor 24 is controlled so that the deviation detected by a sensor (not shown) is kept constant. By generating torque in the vehicle, it is possible to appropriately assist the driver's steering operation.

[0023] After adjusting the tension of one of the inner cables 5i by the cable joint 13, to remove the one of the cap 15 from the driving pulley housing 2 to expose the tension measurement opening 2 _1, the tension from the tension measurement opening 2 ₁ Insert the rod 43 of the measuring instrument 41 and insert the groove 43 at the tip.
₂ is engaged with the inner cable 5i. When brought into contact with the front end surface 42 ₁ a outer surface of the drive pulley housing 2 of the casing 42 pushes the rod 43 in this state, the rod 43 pushed by the inner cable 5i is retracted to compress the coil spring 44, the coil The spring 44 stops at a position where the elastic force of the spring 44 balances the tension of the inner cable 5i (see FIG. 6). Therefore, it is possible to know the tension of the inner cable 5i by reading the scale 43 ₃ of the rod 43 which projects from the rear end face 42 ₃ of the casing 42.

Thus, the driving pulley housing 2
Since the tension of the inner cable 5i can be measured without disassembling, the time and labor can be saved, and the convenience is improved. The tension adjustment and the tension measurement of the inner cable 5i can be performed not only at the time of the initial assembly of the steering device, but also when the inner cable 5i is elongated due to a temporal change. The tension of the other inner cable 6i can be measured in the same manner.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0026] The second embodiment, the tension measurement opening 2 ₁ greater on the upper surface of the driving pulley housing 2 are those provided only one, the tension measurement opening 2 ₁ two inner cables 5i, to 6i I'm coming. Opening for tension measurement 2 ₁ is 4
It is covered with a removable cover 46 with the bolts 45.

The tension measuring device 41 of the second embodiment has a pivot 4
With two arms 48, 49 pivoted at 7,
Grooves are formed at the tips of both arms 48 and 49 facing each other.
48 ₁, 49₁Is formed, and its proximal end is
Urged in the direction to approach each other by the il spring 50
You. A scale 48 provided at the base end of one arm 48
_TwoFaces the base end of the other arm 49.

[0028] In Thus, the driving pulley housing 2 by removing the cover 46 to expose the tension measurement opening 2 _1, of the tension measuring device 41 two intervals of two shortens between the tips of the arms 48 and 49 When the grooves 48 ₁ and 49 ₁ are engaged with the two inner cables 5i and 6i,
The coil spring 44 is stretched in accordance with the tension of i, 6i, and the two arms 48, 49 stop at a position where the tension of the inner cables 5i, 6i and the resilience of the coil spring 44 are balanced. Therefore, it is possible to know the inner cable 5i, the tension of 6i by reading the graduation 48 ₂ indicated by the other arm 49. According to the present embodiment, the tension of the inner cables 5i and 6i can be measured without disassembling the drive pulley housing 2, so that time and labor can be saved, and convenience is improved.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the third embodiment, the driving pulley housing 2
A tension measuring housing 51 is disposed at an intermediate portion between Bowden cables 5 and 6 connecting the pulley housing 4 and the driven pulley housing 4. The outer tubes 5o, 6o are divided into two parts before and after the tension measuring housing 51, and are fixed to both end surfaces of the tension measuring housing 51 via the cable joints 13. Therefore, the tension of one inner cable 5i can be adjusted by rotating one of the two cable joints 13, 13 corresponding to one outer tube 5o, and the two cable joints 13 corresponding to the other outer tube 6o can be adjusted. By rotating one of the cable joints 13, 13, the tension of the other inner cable 6 i can be adjusted.

The interior of the tension measuring tensile force measurement opening 51 ₁ of the two circular on the side wall of the housing 51, 51 and ₁ is formed, for those tension measurement openings 51 _1, 51 ₁ tension measuring housing 51 Two inner cables 5i,
6i. Openings for tension measurement 51 ₁ ,
51 ₁ can be closed by a removable rubber caps 15 and 15.

The same tension measuring device 41 as that of the first embodiment is connected to the tension measuring opening 5 of the tension measuring housing 51.
By inserting the pulleys ₁₁ and 51 ₁ , the tension of the inner cables 5 i and 6 i can be measured without disassembling the drive pulley housing 2 and the tension measuring housing 51. The mounting position of the drive pulley housing 2 is restricted, whereas the housing 51 for tension measurement has a high degree of freedom in the mounting position. Therefore, the housing 51 for tension measurement is placed at a position where there is a space for operating the tension measuring device 41. Arrangement can enhance workability.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, in the embodiment, the steering device for assisting the driver's steering force with the power steering motor 24 has been described. However, the present invention does not use the power steering motor 24 but uses the Bowden cables 5 and 6.
The present invention can also be applied to a steering device that performs manual steering only with a load transmitted via the steering wheel.

Further in the first and second embodiment is provided with a tension measuring aperture 2 ₁ to the drive pulley housing 2, but it is also possible to provide it on the driven pulley housing 4.

[0036]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the pulley is inserted by inserting a tension measuring device from a tension measuring opening formed in at least one of the driving pulley housing and the driven pulley housing. The tension of the two inner cables can be easily measured without disassembling the housing.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
By inserting a tension measuring device through a tension measuring opening formed in a tension measuring housing provided in the middle part of the outer tube, the tension of the two inner cables can be easily measured without disassembling the pulley housing. it can. In addition, since the tension measuring housing can be provided at an arbitrary position in the middle of the outer tube, the workability in measuring the tension can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a cable steering device.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a drive pulley housing.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tension measuring device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a drive pulley housing according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a tension measuring device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a tension measuring housing according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 handle 2 drive pulley housing 2 ₁ tension measurement opening 3 steering gear box 4 driven pulley housing 5i inner cable 5o outer tube 6i inner cable 6o outer tube 11dr drive pulley 11dn driven pulley 11 ₁ pulley groove 51 tension measurement housing 51 ₁ tension Measuring opening W _L wheel W _R wheel

Claims (2)

[Claims] A driven pulley (11dr) connected to a handle (1) for rotation and a driven pulley (11dn) connected to a steering gear box (3) for turning wheels (W _L , W _R ) and rotating. )
And a driving pulley (11dr) and a driven pulley (11dn)
Inner cables (5i, 6) having both ends wound around a spirally formed pulley groove (11 ₁ ) on the outer peripheral surface of
i), a drive pulley housing (2) for housing the drive pulley (11dr), a driven pulley housing (4) for housing the driven pulley (11dn), and inner cables (5i, 6i) slidably inside. A cable-type steering device including two outer tubes (5o, 6o) to be housed therein, wherein at least one of a drive pulley housing (2) and a driven pulley housing (4) is disposed therein.
A cable-type steering device, wherein a tension measurement opening (2 ₁ ) facing the inner cable (5i, 6i) is formed. 2. A driven pulley (11dr) connected to a handle (1) and rotating, and a driven pulley (11dn) connected to and rotated by a steering gear box (3) for steering wheels (W _L , W _R ). )
And a driving pulley (11dr) and a driven pulley (11dn)
Inner cables (5i, 6) having both ends wound around a spirally formed pulley groove (11 ₁ ) on the outer peripheral surface of
i), and two outer tubes (5o, 6o) for slidably storing the inner cables (5i, 6i) inside, between the outer tubes (5o, 6o). tension measuring housing provided on the part (51) to the tension measurement opening (51 ₁₎
And the tension measurement opening (51 ₁ ) is exposed to the two inner cables (5i, 6i) exposed from the outer tubes (5o, 6o) inside the tension measurement housing (51). A cable type steering device characterized by the above-mentioned.