JP2002046495A - Steering device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of a shift mechanism, even in the case that a steering column is of telescopic type. SOLUTION: By providing a shift mechanism 50 of a transmission in an inner column 3 in an upper side which is a telescopic movable part, in the case that a driver makes telescopic adjusting, when a position of a steering wheel is changed to be adjusted in an optimum position, by a follow up to this adjusting, a position of the shift mechanism 50 can be additionally changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telescopic vehicle steering system capable of adjusting an axial position of a steering wheel according to a driver's driving posture.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a vehicle steering device, there is a telescopic steering device capable of adjusting an axial position of a steering wheel in accordance with a driving posture of a driver.

For example, in a telescopic steering apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-278283,
The inner column on the upper side is slidably inserted into and fitted to the outer column on the lower side. A distance bracket having a telescopic adjustment groove is attached to the upper inner column, and the distance bracket is configured to be in sliding contact with the inside of the vehicle body side bracket. A tightening bolt is inserted into the telescopic adjustment groove, and an operation lever is attached to one end of the tightening bolt.

Thus, when the operating lever is swung, the sliding contact between the vehicle body side bracket and the distance bracket is released, and the axial position of the upper side inner column is changed to adjust the axial position of the steering wheel. it can. After the telescopic adjustment, when the operation lever is swung in the opposite direction, the vehicle body-side bracket slides against and presses the distance bracket, whereby the upper inner column can be tightened in a state after the telescopic adjustment.

As a shift mechanism for a vehicle transmission (including both a manual transmission type and an automatic transmission type, the same applies hereinafter), a column shift type shift mechanism is disclosed in, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-291784, a shift mechanism is provided on a steering column. Further, even when the steering column is a telescopic type, the shift mechanism is generally provided on a fixed side of the steering column (for example, in the above-described telescopic type, a lower outer column).

[0006]

However, in the telescopic steering apparatus disclosed in the above publication, when the driver performs telescopic adjustment, the position of the steering wheel can be changed and adjusted to the optimum position, while Since the mechanism is provided on the fixed side of the steering column, the position of the shift mechanism does not change. As a result, the operability of the shift mechanism may be impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides a vehicle steering apparatus in which the operability of a shift mechanism is improved even when a steering column is of a telescopic type. The purpose is to:

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a steering apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention adjusts an axial position of a steering wheel by sliding a telescopic movable portion of a steering column in an axial direction. In the telescopic vehicle steering apparatus described above, a transmission shift mechanism is provided in a telescopic movable portion of the steering column.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the transmission shift mechanism is provided in the telescopic movable portion of the steering column, when the driver performs telescopic adjustment, the position of the steering wheel is changed to the optimum position. When adjusted, the position of the shift mechanism can be changed accordingly. Therefore, the operability of the shift mechanism is not hindered, and the operability of the shift mechanism can be improved even when the steering column is of a telescopic type.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A tilt telescopic type vehicle steering system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tilt / telescopic type vehicle steering system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the steering device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the steering shaft comprises an upper shaft 1 which fixedly supports a steering wheel (not shown) at a rear end of the vehicle, and a lower shaft 2 which is spline-fitted to the upper shaft. The steering column includes an upper inner column 3 that rotatably supports an upper shaft 1 at an upper end thereof through a ball bearing (not shown), and a lower shaft 2 that is a ball bearing at a lower end. It is rotatably supported via a (not shown), and is slidable from the lower outer column 4 fitted to the upper inner column 3. The upper shaft 1 is provided with a C-ring (not shown) for preventing the upper shaft from falling out of the inner column 3, and the lower shaft 2 does not come out of the outer column 4 on the lower shaft 2. A C-ring (not shown) for this purpose is provided.

Around the outer column 4 on the lower side, as shown in FIGS.
Is provided. The bracket 6 has a flange portion 6a connected to the vehicle body on the rear side of the vehicle, and has a generally inverted U-shaped downward shape as a whole.
6c are integrally formed.

As shown in FIG. 4, a separate lower bracket 7 is provided on the lower side of the vehicle body side bracket 6 so as to surround the vehicle body side bracket 6. The lower bracket 7 is formed with downward facing side plate portions 7b and 7c for holding the upper plate portion 7a connected to the vehicle body and the facing side plate portions 6b and 6c of the bracket 6 in contact therewith. The cylindrical portion 8 is formed such that both ends slide in contact with the inside of the opposed side plate portions 6b and 6c of the bracket 6.
Are formed integrally with the front end of the outer column 4.
A tilt center bolt 10a is inserted into the opposed side plates 7b and 7c of the lower bracket 7, the opposed side plates 6b and 6c of the bracket 6, and the cylindrical portion 8 via a spacer tube 9, and the nut 10b is used. It is tightened. Thus, the lower outer column 4 can be tilted about the tilt center bolt 10a. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower bracket 7 is provided with
An opening slit 11 for detachment from which 0 is detached is formed.

The lower outer column 4 extends rearward to a position almost covering the fitting portion between the upper shaft 1 and the lower shaft 2, and further extends over a certain length range behind the fitting portion. It has a jacket portion 4a integrally. An axial slit 1 is formed in the center of the upper portion of the outer jacket portion 4a, and a pair of clamp members 12a and 12b for holding and clamping the inner column 3 on the upper side are formed. Each of the clamp members 12 a and 12 b has an inner peripheral surface having a shape adapted to the outer peripheral surface of the inner column 3, and an outer surface that is in sliding contact with the inside of the vehicle body-side bracket 6. It is preferable that the inner peripheral surfaces of the clamp members 12a and 12b slide on the outer peripheral surface of the inner column 3 over 180 degrees in the circumferential direction. Also, the sliding contact may be made from at least three directions in the circumferential direction. A tightening bolt 13 is inserted through the clamp members 12a and 12b. A tightening nut 14 and a lock nut 15 are screwed into a screw portion of the tightening bolt 13.

An operation lever 16 is mounted on the head side of the tightening bolt 13, and a cam lock mechanism is provided. The cam lock mechanism includes a first cam member 17 that rotates integrally with the operation lever 16, and a shaft that engages with a peak or a valley of the first cam member 17 with the rotation of the first cam member 17. And a non-rotating second cam member 18 that moves in the direction to lock or unlock. Since the projection 17a of the first cam member 17 is fitted to the operation lever, the first cam member 17 is configured to be able to rotate integrally with the operation lever 16, and the second cam member 18 Projection 18a is tilt adjustment groove 5.
, The second cam member 18 is always configured to be non-rotating. The detachable capsule 19 at the time of the collapse of the secondary collision is provided on the flange portion 6a of the bracket 6.
a and 19b are provided. That is, the bracket 6 is connected to the vehicle body via the detaching capsules 19a and 19b.

With the above structure, at the time of a vehicle collision, the steering shaft assembly including the outer column 4, the inner column 3, the lower shaft 2 and the upper shaft 1 is attached to the lower bracket 7 together with the bracket 6, Move forward.

When the operation lever 16 is swung in a predetermined direction to release the tilt / telescopic operation, the first cam member 1 is moved.
7 rotate simultaneously to engage the ridges and valleys of the second cam member 18, and the second cam member 18 moves to the left in FIG.
The fixing of the sliding contact of the vehicle body side bracket 6 to the outer column 4 is released.

As a result, in the case of tilt adjustment, the tightening bolt 13 is moved along the tilt adjusting groove 5, the outer column 4 and the inner column 3 are tilted about the tilt center bolt 10, and the steering wheel (Not shown) can be adjusted as desired.

In the case of telescopic adjustment, the upper inner column 3 is slid in the axial direction with respect to the lower outer column 4, and the axial position of the steering wheel (not shown) is adjusted as desired. Can be. In addition, a stopper bolt 43 is provided at a protruding portion on the lower side of the outer periphery of the outer column 4 so as to face inward in the radial direction. A long groove (not shown) having a predetermined length is formed in the inner column 3 so as to face the stopper bolt 43, and the inner end of the stopper bolt 43 is engaged with the long groove 3b. It is a stop member.

When the operation lever 16 is swung in the opposite direction during the tilt / telescopic tightening, the first cam member 17 is rotated.
Simultaneously rotate to engage the valley portion from the valley portion to the peak portion of the second cam member 18, the second cam member 18 moves rightward in FIG. 3, and the vehicle body side bracket 6 is Press column 4.

Thus, the pair of clamp members 1
2a and 12b are moved so as to be close to each other and clamped so as to hold the inner column 3 on the upper side. As described above, since the upper inner column 3 is directly clamped by the lower outer column 4, when a bending load is applied to a steering wheel (not shown) (that is, the steering wheel (Not shown), the upper side inner column 3 does not move so as to swing slightly, and the rigidity of both columns 3 and 4 can be significantly increased. it can.

In the first embodiment, a vehicle transmission (including both a manual transmission type and an automatic transmission type) is provided in the upper inner column 3 (telescopic movable portion). Is provided. From the shift mechanism 50, the shift lever 5
1 is extended. By operating the shift lever 51, the driver can switch the shift range.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the inner column 3 on the upper side, which is a telescopic movable portion, is provided.
In addition, since the shift mechanism 50 is provided, when the driver makes a telescopic adjustment, if the position of the steering wheel (not shown) is changed to the optimum position, the position of the shift mechanism 50 changes accordingly. Can be done. Therefore, the operability of the shift mechanism 50 is not hindered, and the operability of the shift mechanism 50 can be improved even when the steering column is a telescopic type. (Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tilt telescopic type vehicle steering system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment, an electric power steering device 27 is provided. In the present embodiment, the gear box 27a of the electric power steering device 27 is formed integrally with the outer column 4, and is swingably supported at the front end of the vehicle by a lower mounting bracket 28 on the vehicle body side by a tilt center pin 29. I have. Further, the first column is provided behind the outer column 4 integrated with the gear box 27a.
As in the embodiment, a pair of clamp members 12a and 12b (1
Outer jacket 4a forming only 2b) is integrally formed. Other configurations are the same as those of the above-described first to third embodiments.

Although the lower outer column 4 is formed integrally with the gear box of the electric power steering device 27, it may be formed separately.

Even in the second embodiment, the operation lever 1
6 is rotated in the tightening release direction, and the tightening of the clamp member to the inner column 3 is released, so that the telescopic adjustment and the tilt adjustment can be performed.

Now, also in the second embodiment, the inner column 3 (telescopic movable portion) on the upper side.
A shift mechanism 50 for a transmission (not shown) of the vehicle is provided, and a shift lever 51 extends from the shift mechanism 50.

Therefore, since the shift mechanism 50 is provided on the inner column 3 on the upper side, which is a telescopic movable portion, when the driver changes the position of the steering wheel (not shown) to adjust it to the optimum position, The position of the shift mechanism 50 can be changed accordingly. Therefore, the operability of the shift mechanism 50 is not hindered.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified. As the telescopic structure to which the present invention is applied, any structure can be used as long as the steering column can be extended and contracted.In addition to the telescopic structure, the tilting can be performed as in the above embodiment. -It can be applied to the telescopic type.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the transmission shift mechanism is provided in the telescopic movable part of the steering column, if the driver adjusts the telescopic adjustment by changing the position of the steering wheel to the optimal position, the position of the shift mechanism follows. Can also be changed. Therefore, the operability of the shift mechanism is not hindered, and the operability of the shift mechanism can be improved even when the steering column is of a telescopic type.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tilt-telescopic type vehicle steering device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the steering device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tilt-telescopic vehicle steering device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper shaft 2 Lower shaft 3 Upper side inner column 4 Lower side outer column 5 Tilt adjustment groove 6 Bracket 7 Lower bracket 8 Cylindrical part 9 Spacer 10 Tilt center pin 11 Release slit 12 Clamp member 13 Tightening bolt (Tightening means) 14 Tightening nut 15 Lock nut 16 Operation lever 17 First cam member 18 Second cam member 19 Capsule for detachment 27 Electric power steering device 28 Lower bracket 29 Tilt center pin 43 Stopper bolt 50 Shift mechanism 51 Shift lever

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A telescopic vehicle steering apparatus for adjusting a position of a steering wheel in an axial direction by sliding a telescopic movable portion of a steering column in an axial direction, wherein a transmission shift is provided to the telescopic movable portion of the steering column. A steering device for a vehicle, comprising a mechanism.