JP2003212129A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device to secure a wide space, where parts are situated, around a steering shaft. <P>SOLUTION: A large gear 5 rotationally driven around a steering shaft 1 by the rotation force of a steering wheel 2 of a vehicle is provided, and a small gear 6 to drive the detecting part of a sensor 8 to contain the detecting part in a sensor housing 8a is engaged with the large gear 5. The central axis 6b of the small gear 6 is positioned at the side of a casing 7 for a combination switch, and the sensor 8 is attached to the side of the casing 7 for the combination switch. The rotation angle of the large gear 5 is measured by a rotation amount of the small gear 6, and the rotation angle of the steering shaft 1 is measured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering device having a rotation angle sensor, and more particularly to a steering device having a wide space around a steering shaft.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional steering device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view of a conventional steering device.

The steering shaft 51 is made of metal and has a rod-like shape.
1a.

The steering wheel 52 has a metal ring-shaped wheel portion 52a and a hub portion 52c, and a spoke portion 52b connecting the wheel portion 52a and the hub portion 52c.
have. The hub 52c has a hole 52 at the center and at the end.
d and 52e are provided. The small diameter portion 51a of the steering shaft 51 is inserted into the hole 52d, and the small diameter portion 51a
The nut 52f is fastened to the screw a to connect the steering shaft 51 and the steering wheel 52.

The rotary connector 53 is located under the steering wheel 52 and comprises a rotor and a stator (not shown). The rotor is a protrusion 53a provided on the rotor.
Is fitted into a hole 52e of the steering wheel 52 and connected to the steering wheel 52. The stator is fixed to a column part (not shown). A flat cable (not shown) is wound between the stator and the rotor to electrically connect the stator and the rotor.

The rotation angle sensor 54 is provided below the rotation connector 53 in the direction of the steering shaft 51, and comprises a rotor and a stator (not shown), and a code plate having holes on the periphery is attached to the rotor. The light emitting element and the light receiving element sandwiching the plate are formed by being attached to the stator. The rotor of the rotation angle sensor 54 is fixed to the rotor of the rotation connector 53 or the steering shaft 51, and the stator of the rotation angle sensor 54 is fixed to the stator or column portion of the rotation connector 53.

The combination switch housing 55, which is the housing of the combination switch, is made of an insulating resin and is oriented in the direction of the steering shaft 51.
Although not shown in the drawing, the combination switch is provided under both of them and is attached from both sides.

[0008]

In the above-mentioned conventional steering device, since all parts are provided around the steering shaft, there is no space around the steering shaft, and in recent years it has been mounted around the steering shaft. There are problems such as not being able to attach other parts such as the torque sensor, constraints on the design of the instrument panel, and constraints on the design of the column cover.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a steering device which allows a large space for arranging parts around the steering shaft.

[0010]

A steering device according to the present invention is provided with a large-diameter gear wheel which is rotationally driven around a steering shaft by a rotational force of a steering wheel of a vehicle.
A small-diameter gear that drives the detection part of the sensor housing the detection part in the sensor housing is meshed with the large-diameter gear,
The center axis of the small-diameter gear is located on the side surface of the housing of the combination switch, and the sensor is attached to the side surface of the housing of the combination switch, and the rotation angle of the large-diameter gear is measured by the rotation amount of the small-diameter gear. Then, the rotation angle of the steering shaft is measured. With this configuration, the rotation angle of the steering shaft is detected by the rotation of a small-diameter gear that is separated from the steering shaft. Therefore, the rotation angle sensor is not stacked on the steering shaft, and there is space for arranging parts around the steering shaft. Can be widely used. In addition, the steering wheel and the combination switch can be placed close to each other, increasing the degree of freedom in design.

A joint member is provided between the steering wheel and the large-diameter gear, and the Oldham joint is constituted by the joint member. With this configuration, even if the steering shaft is misaligned, the positional relationship between the large-diameter gear and the small-diameter gear does not change, and rotation can be accurately transmitted. Therefore, the rotation angle is
Accurate measurement is possible without being affected by the axial displacement of the steering shaft.

Further, a rotary connector is provided on the lower surface of the steering wheel, and the rotor of the rotary connector is rotatably engaged with the steering wheel, and the rotor is provided between the rotor of the rotary connector and the large-diameter gear. An Oldham joint was constructed by providing the joint member.
With this configuration, rotation can be accurately transmitted even if there is a deviation between the rotor of the rotary connector and the rotation shaft of the large-diameter gear.

A thread groove is provided on the center shaft of the small-diameter gear, and the large size is determined by the movement of the member meshing with the thread groove along the center axis and the rotation amount of each rotation of the center shaft. The rotation angle of the diameter gear was measured, and the rotation angle of the steering shaft was measured. With this configuration, the rotation angle of the steering shaft can be accurately measured.

The central axis of the small-diameter gear is arranged parallel to the steering shaft. With this configuration, the thickness of the meshing portion between the gears can be reduced, and it is not necessary to form a complicated gear shape.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a steering device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a steering device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the steering device of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of an embodiment of the steering device of the present invention, and FIG.
Is a partial front view of the embodiment of the steering device of the present invention,
FIG. 5 is a partial side view of an embodiment of the steering device of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of a rotation angle sensor of the embodiment of the steering device of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an embodiment of the steering device of the present invention. The figure which shows the output characteristic of a rotation angle sensor is shown, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the steering shaft 1 has a small diameter portion 1a which is made of metal, has a rod shape, has a thin tip and is threaded.

The steering wheel 2 has a metal ring-shaped wheel portion 2a and a hub portion 2c, and a spoke portion 2b connecting the wheel portion 2a and the hub portion 2c. The hub portion 2c is provided with holes 2d and 2e at the center and the end portion. The small diameter portion 1a of the steering shaft 1 is inserted into the hole 2d, and the nut 2f is fastened to the screw of the small diameter portion 1a to connect the steering shaft 1 and the steering wheel 2.

The rotary connector 3 is located under the steering wheel 2 and comprises a rotor and a stator (not shown). The rotor has a protrusion 3a provided on the upper surface of the rotor fitted into a hole 2e of the steering wheel 2. Is connected to the steering wheel 2, and when the steering wheel 2 rotates, the rotor of the rotary connector 3 is rotated. Two protrusions 3b are provided on the lower surface of the rotor at symmetrical positions with respect to the rotation center of the rotor. The stator is fixed to a column part (not shown). A flat cable (not shown) is wound around the stator and the rotor to electrically connect the stator and the rotor.

The joint member 4 is made of an insulating resin and has an annular plate shape. The opposing sides are parallel to each other and four wide holes 4a having a wide width are provided at 90 ° intervals in the circumferential direction. The narrow holes 4b having a narrow width are provided close to each other on both sides of each pair of long holes 4a.

The large gear 5 is made of an insulating resin and has an annular shape, and has teeth 5a on its periphery. Further, the large gear 5 is provided with a protrusion 5b on the upper surface at a position symmetrical with respect to the rotation center of the large gear 5. The two protrusions 5b are fitted in the two elongated holes 4a of the joint member 4 at symmetrical positions. Two protrusions 3b on the lower surface of the rotor of the rotary connector 3 are fitted into the remaining two elongated holes 4a at the symmetrical positions of the joint member 4. When the rotation center axis of the rotor of the rotary connector 3 and the rotation center axis of the large gear 5 are deviated from each other, in the long hole 4a in which the two protrusions 5b of the large gear 5 are fitted, Guided by opposite parallel sides to move, or
The two protrusions 3b of the rotor of the rotary connector 3 are guided by the parallel sides of the elongated hole 4a that face each other in the longitudinal direction and move within the elongated hole 4a into which the rotor 3 is fitted. In this way, the connection using members such as the above-mentioned joint member 4 so that the rotational force is transmitted even if the rotation center axes of the rotating bodies to be connected are deviated from each other is referred to as an Oldham joint. The pair of narrow slots 4b provided close to both sides of the wide slot 4a of the joint member 4 are fitted when the projection 3b or the projection 5b is fitted into the corresponding slot 4a. It is provided to alleviate tightening on the protrusions 3b, 5b. A projection 5c for canceling the winker is provided on the lower surface of the large gear 5.

The combination switch housing 7, which is the casing of the combination switch, is made of insulating resin and has a substantially U shape, and is provided under the large gear 5 in the direction of the steering shaft 1. The switch can be installed from both sides. The combination switch housing 7
It has a mounting portion 7a for the column portion, a recess 7b at the center, and a cylindrical portion 7c provided at the center of the recess.
A notch 7d is provided on the bottom surface of b. The large gear 5 is adapted to rotate on the bottom surface of the recess 7b using the cylindrical portion 7c as a guide.

The small gear 6 is made of insulating resin, has a smaller diameter than the large gear 5, has teeth 6a on the periphery, and has a central shaft 6b. The small gear 6 and the large gear 5 have teeth 6a and teeth 5a meshed with each other, and when the large gear 5 rotates, the small gear 6 rotates at a rotational speed higher than that of the large gear 5.

As shown in FIG. 6, the detecting portion of the rotation angle sensor 8 has a unit case 8b held by the mounting portions 8d and 8d with respect to the rotation angle sensor housing 8a.
The center shaft 6b of the small gear 6 is rotatably attached to the unit case 8b by a support portion 8f and two support members 8g. The center shaft 6b of the small gear 6 is inserted into the rotation angle sensor housing 8a through the hole 8e, and the center shaft 6b is provided with the screw groove 8c. A rail 8h is provided on a step in the unit case 8b, and an elastic support member 8i is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating on the rail 8h. A rectangular parallelepiped magnet M1 is attached to the elastic support member 8i, and a fitting member 8j having a female thread groove is attached on the elastic support member 8i. The female thread groove of the fitting member 8j is formed by the elastic force of the elastic support member 8i.
It is pressed against c and meshes with the thread groove 8c. The Hall element H1 is held opposite to the lower surface of the magnet M1,
The terminal of the hall element H1 is connected to the printed wiring board 8k that covers the lower end of the unit case 8b.

At the end of the center shaft 6b of the pinion gear 6 opposite to the end where the pinion gear 6 is attached, a shaft 8l whose diameter is reduced in three steps is fitted to the center shaft 6b and the speed nut 8
It is fixed by m. A ring-shaped magnet M2 is fitted to the thinnest portion of the shaft 8l. The Hall element H2 is held facing the magnet M2, and although not shown, another Hall element is held facing the magnet M2 at a position displaced by 90 ° in the circumferential direction with respect to the Hall element H2 and the magnet M2. . The hall element H2 and another hall element deviated in the circumferential direction by 90 ° are connected to the printed wiring board 8k.
The output of the printed wiring board 8k is sent to the outside by a lead wire 8n, and a connector 8o is connected to the end of the lead wire.

Next, the operation of the steering system of the present invention will be described. When the steering wheel 2 is rotated, the rotation of the steering wheel 2 is transmitted to the rotor of the rotary connector 3. The rotor of the rotary connector 3 rotates the joint member 4, and the joint member 4 rotates the large gear 5. The large gear 5 rotates the small gear 6 meshing with the large gear 5, and rotates the central shaft 6b of the small gear 6. When the central shaft 6b is rotated, the threaded portion 8c is rotated, and the fitting member 8j fitted into the threaded portion 8c moves in the axial direction of the central shaft 6b of the pinion gear 6 to move on the rail 8h over the fitting member 8j. The elastic support member 8i fixed to the above is slid, and the magnet M1 is slid in the same direction. Due to the movement of the magnet M1, the positions of the Hall element H1 and the magnet M1 which face each other are changed, the direction of the magnetic force lines applied to the Hall element H1 and the magnetic flux density are changed, and the Hall element H1 is changed.
Outputs the output 9 shown in FIG.

When the central shaft 6b of the pinion gear 6 rotates, the ring-shaped magnet M2 fitted to the central shaft 6 and attached to the shaft 8l that becomes thinner in three steps rotates. The Hall element H2 facing the magnet M2 and another Hall element offset by 90 ° in the circumferential direction correspond to each rotation of the magnet M2 and are shown in FIG.
The outputs 10 and 10 are output. Output 9 and output 10, 10
The rotation angle of the steering wheel 2 is derived by combining these values. In this way, the rotation angle of the steering wheel 2 of the steering device of the present invention is derived.

In the above embodiment of the steering device, the joint member 4 of the Oldham joint is used between the rotor of the rotary connector 3 and the large gear 5.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the joint member 4 may be used between the steering wheel 2 and the large gear 5 when the rotary connector 3 is not mounted. Further, in the above-described embodiment of the steering device, the hall elements H1, H2, etc. are used as the detection means for detecting the rotation angle, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a magnetic element is used instead of the hall element. A resistance element, a magnetic flux detection coil, or a resistor may be used. In the above embodiment, the small gear is a spur gear and the central shaft 6b and the steering shaft 1 are arranged in parallel, but the small gear may be a screw gear and arranged in a direction orthogonal to the steering shaft 1. .

[0028]

As described above, the steering device of the present invention is provided with a large-diameter gear that rotates around the steering shaft by the rotational force of the steering wheel of the vehicle, and the detecting portion is housed in the sensor housing. A small-diameter gear that drives the detection unit of the sensor is meshed with a large-diameter gear, the central axis of the small-diameter gear is located on the side surface of the combination switch housing, and the sensor is attached to the housing side surface of the combination switch. The rotation angle of the large diameter gear is measured by the rotation amount of the small diameter gear, and the rotation angle of the steering shaft is measured.

With this configuration, since the rotation angle of the steering shaft is detected by the rotation of the small-diameter gear that is separated from the steering shaft, the rotation angle sensor is not laminated on the steering shaft, and the components are arranged around the steering shaft. You can take a large space to do. In addition, the steering wheel and the combination switch can be placed close to each other, increasing the degree of freedom in design.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a steering device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the steering device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the embodiment of the steering device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the embodiment of the steering device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial side view of the embodiment of the steering device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of the rotation angle sensor of the embodiment of the steering device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an output characteristic of the rotation angle sensor of the embodiment of the steering device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional steering device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Steering shaft 2 steering wheel 3 rotating connector 4 joint members 5 Large diameter gear 6 Small diameter gear 6b Small shaft center axis 7 Combination switch housing 8c screw groove

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A large-diameter gear for rotating and driving a steering shaft around a steering shaft by a rotational force of a steering wheel of a vehicle, and a small-diameter gear for driving the detecting portion of a sensor having a detecting portion housed in a sensor housing, It meshes with a large-diameter gear, the central axis of the small-diameter gear is located on the side surface of the housing of the combination switch, and the sensor is attached to the side surface of the housing of the combination switch. A steering device characterized in that a rotation angle of a gear having a large diameter is measured and a rotation angle of the steering shaft is measured. 2. The steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a joint member is provided between the steering wheel and the large-diameter gear, and the Oldham joint is constituted by the joint member. 3. A rotary connector is provided on a lower surface of the steering wheel, and a rotor of the rotary connector is rotatably engaged with the steering wheel, and the rotor is provided between the rotor of the rotary connector and the large-diameter gear. The steering device according to claim 2, wherein the joint member is provided to configure an Oldham joint. 4. A center groove of the small diameter gear is provided with a thread groove, and the large size is determined by the movement of a member engaged with the thread groove along the center axis and the rotation amount of each rotation of the center axis. The steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation angle of the diameter gear is measured and the rotation angle of the steering shaft is measured. 5. The steering system according to claim 1, wherein a central axis of the small-diameter gear is arranged in parallel with the steering shaft.