JP2002046622A - Steering device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device for vehicle allowing an incease of the contacting force between a body side bracket and a column side bracket and capable of facilitating comparatively the manufacture without bringing about a rise of the manufacturing costs. SOLUTION: When an operation lever 6 is turned in the direction of fastening, one 9b of a pair of energizing pieces 9a and 9b in engagement with a major diametric portion 8a of a cam 8 shifts to engagement with a minor diametric portion 8b of the cam 8. At this time, an energizing force in the direction counterclockwise is generated to act so as to fasten the operation lever 6. This force complements the contact retaining force between the two brackets 2 and 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tilt type, telescopic type, or tilt telescopic type vehicle steering apparatus for adjusting a tilt angle or an axial length of a steering column.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A steering apparatus for a vehicle includes a tilt type, a telescopic type, and a tilt telescopic type in which an inclination angle or an axial length of a steering column is adjusted according to a driving posture of a driver.

For example, in a tilt type steering device,
A steering column is configured to be tiltable, and a substantially U-shaped vehicle body-side bracket that surrounds the steering column from below is fixed to the vehicle body. A substantially U supporting the steering column is provided inside the body side bracket.
-Shaped column side bracket (distance bracket)
Are provided so as to be freely contactable.

Further, a tilt groove for tilt adjustment through which a tightening bolt is inserted is formed in the vehicle body side bracket, and an adjusting nut which is turned by an operation lever is provided on a tip screw shaft portion of the tightening bolt. Is screwed.

When the operating lever is rotated in the tightening direction, the adjusting nut is rotated, and the head of the tightening bolt and the adjusting nut move in a direction approaching each other. , And can be tilt-tightened.

On the other hand, when the operating lever is turned in the releasing direction, the adjusting nut is turned in the opposite direction, and the head of the tightening bolt and the adjusting nut are moved away from each other. The tilt on the steering column can be adjusted by releasing the pressing on the side bracket and tilting the steering column.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned tilt type steering apparatus, when the tilt is tightened, the driver sufficiently tightens the operation lever so that the vehicle body side bracket comes into contact with the column side bracket securely. Even in this case, the contact force (holding force) between the vehicle body-side bracket and the column-side bracket is not always sufficient, and may be insufficient.

For this reason, the contact force (holding force) between the two brackets is increased by changing the pitch of the tightening bolt and the adjusting nut, but the operating force of the operating lever applied by the driver is increased. May be increased.

In order to increase the contact force, attempts have been made to provide a friction plate between the bracket on the vehicle body and the bracket on the column side. However, this leads to an increase in the manufacturing cost or is difficult to manufacture. There is something like that.

Thus, the contact force (holding force) between the vehicle body-side bracket and the column-side bracket can be increased without increasing the operating force applied to the operating lever by the driver. There is a demand that the production should be easy without increasing the cost.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-80085,
The operating lever is divided into two parts, and when the tilt is tightened, the biasing force of the spring acts on one of the divided levers in the tightening direction. The holding force is complemented, and the contact force (holding force) is increased by the complement. Also, at this time, even if the contact force (holding force) increases by the amount complemented by the biasing force of the spring,
Since the driver does not need to apply an operating force corresponding to the complement of the biasing force to the operating lever, the driver does not increase the operating force of the operating lever. However, the operation lever is divided into two parts, and a large number of pins and long holes are provided to apply the urging force of the spring. There is something like that.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and increases the contact force (retention force) between a vehicle body-side bracket and a column-side bracket without increasing the operation force of an operation lever. It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle steering apparatus which can be manufactured, and does not cause a rise in manufacturing cost, and is relatively easy to manufacture.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a steering apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention is configured such that a steering lever is turned in a tightening direction to thereby attach a steering wheel to a vehicle body side bracket attached to the vehicle body. Pressing the column side bracket that supports the column and tightening the tilt or telescopic position, while rotating the operating lever in the release direction releases the pressing between both brackets and adjusts the tilt or the telescopic position. A steering device for a vehicle, comprising: a cam means having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion formed on an outer peripheral surface of a center rotation portion of a control lever; and a pair of biasing pieces biased so as to approach each other. And a biasing means for engaging one biasing piece of the pair of biasing pieces engaged with the large diameter portion of the cam means from the large diameter portion to the small diameter portion when rotating in the tightening direction. Characterized by including the.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the operating lever is rotated in the tightening direction, one of the pair of biasing pieces engaged with the large diameter portion of the cam means has a large diameter. From the part to the small diameter part. At this time, a biasing force in the rotational direction is generated from the biasing piece engaged with the large diameter portion toward the biasing piece engaged with the small diameter portion, and acts to tighten the operation lever.

Accordingly, the contact force (holding force) between the vehicle-side bracket and the column-side bracket is complemented by the biasing force, so that the contact force (holding force) can be increased by the complement.

At this time, even if the contact force (holding force) increases by the amount complemented by the urging force, the driver must
Since it is not necessary to apply an operating force corresponding to the complement of the biasing force to the operating lever, the operating force of the operating lever does not increase.

Further, since only the cam means and the urging means are provided in order to increase the contact force (holding force) without increasing the operating force, the production cost does not increase. Also, the manufacture is relatively easy.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a vehicle steering system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a tilt type vehicle steering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a side view of the operation lever showing the operation of the spring and the cam when the tilt is tightened, and FIG. 2C is a side view of the operation lever showing the release of the tilt. , FIG. 2 (d)
FIG. 8 is an operation diagram showing the action of the spring and the cam when the tilt is released.

In the tilt type steering apparatus according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the steering column 1 is configured to be tiltable, and the vehicle body has a substantially U-shape surrounding the steering column 1 from below. Is fixed to the vehicle body side bracket 2 (tilt bracket). for that reason,
The upper plate portion of the vehicle body-side bracket 2 is formed with a hole 2a for passing a mounting means to the vehicle body. A substantially U supporting the steering column 1 is provided inside the vehicle body side bracket 2.
A letter-shaped column-side bracket 3 (distance bracket) is slidably provided.

The vehicle body side bracket 2 is formed with tilt grooves 5a and 5b for adjusting the tilt through which the tightening bolts 4 are inserted. The head 4a of the tightening bolt 4 is non-rotatably engaged with the tilt groove 5b. An adjustment nut 7 that is rotated by an operation lever 6 is screwed into a tip screw shaft portion of the tightening bolt 4.

On the outer periphery of the adjusting nut 7, the inner peripheral portion of the center rotating portion of the operating lever 6 is directly and directly connected to the operating lever engaging bracket 6a.
When the operating lever 6 is turned in the tightening direction, the adjusting nut 7 is turned, and the head 4a of the tightening bolt 4 and the adjusting nut 7 move in a direction approaching each other, The vehicle body-side bracket 2 comes into contact with and presses the column-side bracket 3 so that tilt tightening can be performed.

On the other hand, when the operating lever 6 is turned in the releasing direction, the adjusting nut 7 is turned in the opposite direction, and the head 4a of the tightening bolt 4 and the adjusting nut 7 are moved in a direction away from each other, The tilt of the steering column 1 can be adjusted by tilting the steering column 1 by releasing the pressing of the vehicle body side bracket 2 against the column side bracket 3.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a cam 8 having an arc-shaped large-diameter portion 8a and a flat small-diameter portion 8b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the center rotating portion of the operation lever 6. I have. Further, a spring member 9 having a pair of biasing pieces 9a and 9b biased so as to approach each other is provided at a rotating portion of the operation lever 6.

As shown in FIG. 2C, when the operation lever 6 is turned in the releasing direction, as shown in FIG.
While the pair of biasing pieces 9a and 9b of the spring member 9 are engaged with the large diameter portion 8a of the cam 8, as shown in FIG.
When the operation lever 6 is rotated in the tightening direction, the operation lever 6 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, one of the urging pieces 9b of the pair of urging pieces 9a and 9b engaged with the large diameter part 8a of the cam 8 is formed of the large diameter part 8a and the small diameter part 8b (straight part) of the cam 8. To be engaged with the apex (A).

In the present embodiment configured as described above,
As shown in FIG. 2C, when the operation lever 6 is turned in the release direction, the pair of biasing pieces 9a and 9b of the spring member 9 are moved by the cam 8 as shown in FIG. Is engaged with the large-diameter portion 8a. In this state, the pair of biasing pieces 9a and 9b
Only pressing the large diameter portion 8a of the cam 8 toward the rotation center of the cam 8 does not generate any urging force for rotating the cam 8.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), when the operating lever 6 is rotated in the tightening direction, it engages with the large diameter portion 8a of the cam 8 as shown in FIG. 2 (b). Pair of biasing pieces 9
a, 9b is the large-diameter portion 8a of the cam 8
And the normal to the urging piece 9b passing through the vertex (A) (the direction in which the urging piece 9b presses the cam 8) is engaged with the cam 8 Deviates from the center of rotation.

At this time, a biasing force is generated in the cam 8 in the rotating direction, that is, in FIG. 2B, a biasing force is generated in the counterclockwise direction, and the biasing force is applied to the operating lever in the counterclockwise direction. 6
Acts to tighten.

Accordingly, the biasing force complements the contact force (holding force) between the vehicle body side bracket 2 and the column side bracket 3, so that the contact force (holding force) can be increased by the complement.

At this time, even if the contact force (holding force) increases by the amount complemented by the urging force, the driver must
Since there is no need to apply an operating force corresponding to the complement of the urging force to the operating lever 6, the operating force of the operating lever 6 does not increase.

Further, since only the cam 8 and the spring member 9 are provided to increase the contact force (holding force) without increasing the operating force, the production cost does not increase. Also, the manufacture is relatively easy. (Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a tilt type vehicle steering device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the column-side bracket 3
A thrust bearing 10 is interposed between the and the adjustment nut 7. Thereby, the friction in the axial direction is reduced, and the contact force (holding force) between the two brackets 2 and 3 is increased.

However, the provision of the thrust bearing 10, on the other hand, has a problem that the tightening bolt 4 and the adjusting nut 7 are easily loosened, and has a characteristic that the contact force rapidly rises. There is a problem of stopping on the way.

Also in the second embodiment, the arc-shaped large-diameter portion 8a and the flat small-diameter portion 8
A cam member 8 having a pair of biasing pieces 9a and 9b biased so as to approach each other is provided at a rotating portion of the operation lever 6. Thereby, similarly to the first embodiment, the contact force (holding force) can be increased by an amount complemented by the urging force of the spring member 9 without increasing the operation force of the operation lever 6. Such a problem caused by the thrust bearing 10 can be solved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the operating lever is rotated in the tightening direction, one of the pair of biasing pieces engaged with the large-diameter portion of the cam means engages from the large-diameter portion to the small-diameter portion. At this time, a biasing force in the rotational direction is generated from the biasing piece engaged with the large diameter portion toward the biasing piece engaged with the small diameter portion, and the biasing force acts in the tightening direction of the operation lever. .

Accordingly, the biasing force complements the contact force (holding force) between the vehicle body side bracket and the column side bracket, so that the contact force (holding force) can be increased by this complement.

At this time, even if the contact force (holding force) increases by the amount complemented by the urging force, the driver must
Since it is not necessary to apply an operating force corresponding to the complement of the biasing force to the operating lever, the operating force of the operating lever does not increase.

Further, since only the cam means and the urging means are provided in order to increase the contact force (holding force) without increasing the operation force, the production cost does not increase. Also, the manufacture is relatively easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2A is a side view of the operation lever showing a state in which the tilt is tightened, FIG. 2B is an operation view showing the action of the spring and the cam in the case of the tilt tightening, and FIG. FIG. 7B is a side view of the operation lever showing a state where the tilt is released, and FIG. 6D is an operation view showing the action of the spring and the cam when the tilt is released.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a tilt-type vehicle steering device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 steering column 2 body side bracket (tilt bracket) 3 column side bracket (distance bracket) 4 tightening bolt 5a, 5b tilt groove 6 operating lever 7 adjusting nut 8 cam (cam means) 8a large diameter section 8b small diameter section 9 spring member 9a, 9b biasing piece 10 thrust bearing 11 normal to biasing force 9b passing through vertex A

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takeo Sugiyama 1-8-1, Sojacho, Maebashi, Gunma Japan Inside Seiko Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinichi Fuchigami 1-8-1, Sojacho, Maebashi, Gunma Japan Seiko Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3D030 DD05 DD18 DD26

Claims (1)

[Claims] A tilting or telescopic tightening operation is achieved by rotating an operation lever in a tightening direction to bring a vehicle-side bracket attached to a vehicle body into contact with a column-side bracket supporting a steering column, thereby pressing the tilt or the telescopic. By rotating the operation lever in the release direction, the pressing contact between the two brackets is released to adjust the tilt or the telescopic position. It has a cam means having a diameter part and a small diameter part, and a pair of urging pieces urged so as to approach each other. When the operation lever is rotated in the tightening direction, it engages with the large diameter part of the cam means. A steering device for a vehicle, comprising: biasing means for engaging one biasing piece of the pair of biasing pieces from the large diameter portion to the small diameter portion.