JP2001193750A - Joint structure for telescopic shaft - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a joint structure for a telescopic shaft, ensuring looseness prevention between a modified sleeve and the shaft. SOLUTION: An annular spacer 4 of elastic material is laid between the outer periphery of the sleeve 1 and a tightening member 3 so that the tightening force of the tightening member 3 can equally work on the whole periphery of the sleeve 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a joint structure between a sleeve and a shaft in a telescopic shaft in which an irregularly shaped sleeve and a shaft are elastically connected in an axial direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a steering apparatus of an automobile includes a column shaft connected to a steering wheel and a steering shaft connected to a steering gear.
A steering joint is interposed. In this steering joint, as shown in FIG. 5, cross shaft-shaped universal joints 102 and 103 are provided at both ends of an intermediate shaft 101, a column shaft 104 is connected to one universal joint 102, and a cylindrical joint is attached to the other universal joint 103. A steering shaft 106 is connected via a shaft coupling 105 in a shape of a circle.

When the entire intermediate shaft 101 is connected to a vehicle body with the steering shaft 106 and the column shaft 104 attached thereto, the intermediate shaft 101 is temporarily contracted in the axial direction, and then the cylindrical shaft joint 105 is steered. Again, the intermediate shaft 101 for introduction into the shaft 106
Must be extended. For this reason, the intermediate shaft 101 is constituted by a telescopic shaft into which the shaft 101b is fitted while allowing relative movement in the axial direction inside the sleeve 101a. Since the intermediate shaft 101 needs to transmit the torque of the column shaft 104 to the steering shaft 106, the sleeve 101a and the shaft 101b may be connected by serration, or the sleeve 101a and the shaft 101 may be connected.
For example, the cross section of b is formed into an irregular shape.

In the steering joint,
When rattling occurs between the sleeve 101a and the shaft 101b, the steering feeling may be impaired, and vibration or abnormal noise may be generated. So the sleeve 1
By forming a slit 101c extending in the axial direction at the end of 01a, the end can be elastically contracted in the radial direction, and a tightening ring 101d is wound around this end,
By elastically contracting the end, the shaft 101
Is tightened to prevent rattling between the sleeve 101a and the shaft 101b.

[0005]

However, of the intermediate shaft 101, the sleeve 101a and the shaft 10
As shown in FIG. 6, the outer periphery of the sleeve 101 a and the fastening ring 101
d, a large gap S is formed, so even if the sleeve 101 is tightened by the tightening ring 101d,
The tightening force does not sufficiently act on the sleeve 101, resulting in insufficient tightening.
There was a problem that it was not possible to reliably prevent rattling of b.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to reliably prevent rattling between a sleeve having an irregular shape and a shaft, and to generate vibration and abnormal noise. It is an object of the present invention to provide a joint structure of a telescopic shaft which can more effectively prevent the expansion and contraction.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a joint structure of a telescopic shaft according to the present invention. The shaft is fitted movably in the axial direction, and the end of the sleeve is elastically contractible by a slit extending in the axial direction, and this end is elastically contracted by being tightened by an annular tightening member. In the coupling structure of the telescopic shaft for tightening the shaft at the portion, between the outer circumference of the sleeve and the fastening member, with the inner circumference being matched to the outer circumference of the sleeve, and the outer circumference being matched to the inner circumference of the fastening member, respectively.
An annular spacer made of an elastic material is interposed (claim 1). According to the coupling structure of the telescopic shaft having the above configuration, the tightening force of the tightening member can be applied to the entire circumference of the sleeve by the annular spacer interposed between the outer periphery of the sleeve and the tightening member. Therefore, the shaft can be securely tightened by the end of the sleeve.

[0008] In the coupling structure of the telescopic shaft, a spacer may cover a slit of the sleeve and a gap between the inner periphery of the sleeve and the shaft at an end face of the sleeve (claim 2). Accordingly, it is possible to prevent foreign substances such as water, mud, dust and the like from entering the inside of the sleeve through the slits and gaps.

[0009]

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a steering joint in a vehicle steering system to which a telescopic shaft coupling structure according to the present invention is applied. This steering joint connects a steering shaft A and a column shaft B in a steering device of an automobile, and universal joints X are provided at both ends of a telescopic shaft C as an intermediate shaft. One end of the telescopic shaft C is provided with a first yoke Y1 and a second yoke Y2 which form a pair and support the cross shaft 4 of one of the universal joints X.
A third yoke Y3 and a fourth yoke Y4 which support the cross shaft 4 of the other universal joint X in pairs with each other.
Is provided.

The second yoke Y2 and the third yoke Y
3 is welded to one end and the other end of the telescopic shaft C, respectively. The first yoke Y1 is welded to a cylindrical joint 5, and one end of the steering shaft A is introduced into the joint 5 and clamped.
Further, the fourth yoke Y4 is welded to one end of the column shaft B.

The telescopic shaft C has a sleeve 1 having a deformed cross section with one end welded to a second yoke Y2, and a third yoke Y3 welded to one end, and is fitted into the inner periphery of the sleeve 1. 2, a tightening band 3 (a tightening member) for tightening and elastically shrinking the sleeve 1, and a cylindrical spacer 4 interposed between the tightening band 3 and the outer periphery of the sleeve 1. .

Referring also to FIGS. 1 and 3, the sleeve 1
Represent peaks 11 and valleys 1 at regular intervals along the circumferential direction.
2 are alternately formed, and each of the projections 11 at the end thereof is formed with a slit 13 extending in the axial direction. The slit 13 allows the end to extend radially. It can be elastically contracted. The sleeve 1 is formed by, for example, drawing a metal pipe material, and its inner peripheral cross-sectional shape is an irregular shape corresponding to the outer peripheral cross-sectional shape.

The outer periphery of the shaft 2 is the sleeve 1
The sleeve 1 is slidable in the axial direction when the end of the sleeve 1 is maintained in a free state. The tightening band 3 is formed of a metal belt, and is maintained in an annular shape by sandwiching the distal end portion between the locking claws 31 while being wound around the spacer 4 (see FIG. 4).

The spacer 4 is a cylindrical member made of an elastic material such as rubber or plastic, the inner periphery of which is formed in a shape corresponding to the irregular shape of the outer periphery of the sleeve 1, and the outer periphery is formed in a circular cross section. Have been. This spacer 4
An annular groove 41 for winding the tightening band 3 is formed on the outer periphery of. The spacer 4 is
In a state where the inner circumference is made to match the outer circumference of the end of the sleeve 1 and the outer circumference is made to match the inner circumference of the tightening band 3, there is no gap between the tightening band 3 and the sleeve 1. ing.

Further, the spacer 4 is disposed between the tightening band 3 and the sleeve 1 so that the spacer 1
, And a portion of the inner circumference covers the outer circumference of the shaft 2 to close a gap between the inner circumference of the sleeve 1 and the outer circumference of the shaft 2 at the end face of the sleeve 1. . For this reason, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as water, mud and dust from entering the inside of the sleeve 1 through the slit 13 and the gap. That is, the spacer 4 can also be used as a dust cover.

The sleeve 1 is elastically contracted in the radial direction by receiving the tightening force of the tightening band 3 via the spacer 4, whereby the shaft 2 is
Is fastened by the end of the. At this time, the tightening force of the tightening band 3 acts almost uniformly over the entire circumference of the end face of the sleeve 1 via the spacer 4. Therefore, the sleeve 1 can be elastically contracted uniformly over the entire circumference. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent rattling between the sleeve 1 and the shaft 2.

The connecting structure of the telescopic shaft according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
The cross-sectional shapes of the sleeve 1 and the shaft 2 are not limited to the cross-sectional shape shown in the drawing, but may be formed in other cross-sectional shapes. Further, the connecting structure of the telescopic shaft can be applied to various connecting structures of the telescopic shaft other than the steering joint in the steering device of the automobile.

[0018]

As described above, according to the joint structure of the telescopic shaft according to the first aspect, the fastening force of the fastening member is reduced by the spacer interposed between the outer periphery of the sleeve and the fastening member. And the sleeve can be shrunk almost uniformly in the radial direction, so that it is possible to effectively prevent rattling between the sleeve and the shaft. And noise can be effectively prevented.

According to the joint structure of the telescopic shaft according to the second aspect, the spacer can prevent water or dust from entering the inside of the sleeve, so that the inside of the sleeve may be rusted or the sleeve may be rusted. It is possible to prevent the relative movement in the axial direction with the shaft from being hindered.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a coupling structure of a telescopic shaft according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a steering joint to which the joint structure of a telescopic shaft according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a telescopic shaft.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a steering joint to which a conventional telescopic shaft is applied.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sleeve 13 Slit 2 Shaft 3 Tightening band (fastening member) 4 Spacer C Telescopic shaft

Claims (2)

[Claims] A shaft whose outer periphery matches the inner periphery of the sleeve is fitted into the inner periphery of an end of the sleeve having an irregular outer shape so as to be movable in the axial direction, and the end of the sleeve is moved in the axial direction. In the coupling structure of the telescopic shaft to tighten the shaft at the end by tightening the end portion by an annular tightening member to elastically contract by the slit extending to the outer end of the sleeve and the tightening member. An annular spacer made of an elastic material is interposed between the elastic shaft and the outer periphery thereof, the inner periphery of which is matched with the outer periphery of the sleeve, and the outer periphery of which is matched with the inner periphery of the fastening member. Construction. 2. A joint structure for an extendable shaft according to claim 1, wherein said spacer covers a slit between the sleeve and a gap between the inner periphery of the sleeve and the shaft at an end face of the sleeve.