JP2004338500A - Steering device of position adjustable type - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate trouble in which an operation force of an operation lever and a holding force in the tilt lock or the like are dispersed in a steering device of position adjustment type. <P>SOLUTION: A spindle 16 comprising bolts inserted in side plates 5, 6; 9, 10 of a column bracket 4 and a fixed bracket 8 has a screw part 17 with a nut 18 screwed thereto on one end 16a, and a head part 19 on the other end 16b. The nut 18 is screwed into the screw part 17 by turning an operation lever 21, and brackets 4 and 8 are held between the nut 18 and the head part 19 to achieve the tilt lock or the like. A corrugated leaf spring 28 as an elastic body is held by a holding member 27 to be fixed to the operation lever 21. An outer circumferential surface of the nut 18 is constantly and elastically pressed by the corrugated leaf spring 28 to regulate the relative turn of the nut 18 to the operation lever 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a position-adjustable steering device capable of tilting or telescopically adjusting the position of a steering wheel.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art There is a tilt steering device that can change the height of a steering wheel according to a physique, a driving posture, and the like of a driver. Further, in the above-mentioned tilt steering apparatus, there is a tilt steering apparatus to which a so-called telescopic adjustment function for adjusting a position of a steering wheel along an axial direction of a steering shaft is added.
Some of these position-adjustable steering devices achieve a tilt lock or the like by clamping a column-side bracket with a predetermined clamping force by a vehicle-body-side bracket (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
[0003]
As a method of obtaining the above-described clamping force, a cam type in which the above-described clamping force is obtained by using a cam displacement based on the rotation operation of the operation lever, and a method in which the screw is advanced by a screw based on the rotation operation of the operation lever, There is a screw type that obtains clamping force.
For example, a position adjusting type steering device that obtains a clamping force by the above-mentioned screw type usually has a lock bolt as a support shaft penetrating the side plate of the fixed bracket and the column bracket, and the operation lever is rotated around the lock bolt. By doing so, the nut screwed into the screw portion at the tip of the lock bolt is caused to rotate and screw forward, and a pair of side plates of the fixing bracket are sandwiched between the nut and the head of the lock bolt, thereby forming the pair of side plates. Is pressed against the corresponding side plate of the column bracket to achieve a tilt lock or the like.
[0004]
On the other hand, by rotating the operation lever in the direction opposite to the above-described locking, the nut is retracted on the lock bolt, the clamping force on the pair of side plates of the fixed bracket is released, and the tilt lock or the like is released.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-362377 [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2002-255041
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In order to reliably achieve the above-described locking and unlocking, it is important to set the tightening torque of the nut on the screw portion of the lock bolt.
For this reason, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, after a nut 81 is tightened to a screw portion 80 of a lock bolt with a specified torque, a stopper plate 83 having a corresponding hexagonal hole 82 of the outer peripheral shape of the nut 81 is attached to the nut 81. After loosely fitting on the outer periphery, a fixing screw 85 is screwed into the operation lever 86 through the arc groove 84 of the stopper plate 83, and the stopper plate 83 is fixed to the operation lever 86. Accordingly, the relative rotation between the operation lever 86 and the nut 81 is restricted, and the nut 81 is rotated together with the operation lever 86 when the operation lever 86 is rotated.
[0007]
When the tightening torque of the nut 81 is finely adjusted, the above-described arc groove 84 allows the minute rotation when the fixing screw 85 is slightly loosened and the stopper plate 83 is minutely rotated around the axis 87 of the nut 81. Used to
However, when the fixing screw 85 is tightened to fix the stopper plate 83 to the operation lever 86, the nut 81 is displaced by a minute amount, or the outer peripheral surface of the nut 81 and the inner peripheral surface of the hexagonal hole 82 surrounding the nut 81 are displaced. The gap between the nut 81 and the nut 81 tends to be displaced by a small amount.
[0008]
In this case, since the tightening torque of the nut 81 varies, the axial force of the lock bolt varies, and as a result, the operating force of the operating lever 86 varies, and the pinching force on the side plate (that is, the lock holding force) varies.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a position-adjustable steering device that can suppress variations in the operation force of an operation lever and the lock holding force.
[0009]
Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention
In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a support shaft that passes through a support shaft insertion hole of a pair of side plates of a fixed bracket fixed to a vehicle body and a pair of side plates of a column bracket fixed to a steering column. An operation lever that is rotated around the axis of the shaft, and a lock for achieving a tilt lock or a telescopic lock by applying a pressing force between the corresponding side plates of the fixed bracket and the column bracket with the rotation of the operation lever. A position adjusting type steering device including a mechanism, an annular screwing member which can be screwed into a screw portion at one end of the support shaft and can hold both brackets with a holding portion at the other end of the support shaft, and an operation lever. And an elastic body for elastically pressing the peripheral surface of the screw member to suppress relative rotation of the screw member with respect to the operation lever, and an elastic body fixed to the operation lever and holding the elastic body It is characterized in further comprising a retaining member that.
[0010]
In the present invention, since the relative rotation of the screwing member with respect to the operation lever can be reliably suppressed by always pressing the screwing member by the elastic body, the gap between the holding portion and the screwing member at the time of locking by the operation lever can be suppressed. The pinching force can be stabilized, and when the lock is released by the operation lever, the above-mentioned pinching force is released, so that the lock can be reliably released.
According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the screwing member includes a nut having a polygonal outer peripheral surface, and the elastic body includes a corrugated spring for making a plurality of tops elastically contact the outer peripheral surface of the nut. It is a feature. According to the present invention, at the time of tightening the nut, for example, the corners of the hexagonal nut go over sequentially while elastically deforming the tops of the corrugated springs. Can be held.
[0011]
A third invention is characterized in that in the first or second invention, a taper is provided on an outer peripheral edge of the screw member on the seat surface side. In the present invention, when the screwing member is rotated and mounted on the threaded portion of the spindle while the elastic body is held by the holding member, the taper becomes elastic as the screwing member advances in the axial direction of the spindle. Since the body is bent outward in the radial direction of the screwing member, the work of attaching the screwing member to the screw portion can be easily performed.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a steering column of a position-adjustable steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a position-adjustable steering device A (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a steering device A) rotatably supports a steering shaft 1 to which a steering wheel (not shown) is fixed at an upper end in an axial direction. The steering column 2 is provided.
[0013]
The steering column 2 includes an upper jacket 3 formed of a tube for rotatably supporting the steering shaft 1 and a column bracket 4 having a generally groove shape fixed to the upper jacket 3. The column bracket 4 includes a groove-shaped reinforcing plate 40 that is open upward, and a pair of side plates 5 and 6 that respectively extend along outer surfaces of a pair of side plates 41 of the reinforcing plate 40. Circular support shaft insertion holes 7 are formed in the pair of side plates 5 and 6 of the column bracket 4, respectively. A shaft insertion hole 42 is also formed in each side plate 41 of the reinforcing plate 40.
[0014]
The fixing bracket 8 is fixed to the vehicle and includes a pair of side plates 9 and 10 facing each other and an upper plate 11 connecting the upper ends of the side plates 9 and 10 to each other. No. Each of the side plates 9 and 10 is formed with a vertically long support shaft insertion hole 12 having an arc shape. Mounting stays 13 and 14 are formed by bending the upper edges of some of the side plates 9 and 10 outward, and the fixing bracket 8 is fixed to the vehicle by bolts 15 passing through the mounting stays 13 and 14. It has become so.
[0015]
Although not shown, a lower jacket made of a tube is fitted to the upper jacket 3, and the lower jacket is supported swingably around a pivot axis (tilt center axis) supported by the vehicle body. I have. Thus, the entire steering column 2 is swingably supported.
The shaft insertion hole 7 of the pair of side plates 5 and 6 of the column bracket 4 and the shaft insertion hole 42 of the pair of side plates 41 of the reinforcing plate 40 and the shaft insertion hole 12 of the pair of side plates 9 and 10 of the fixed bracket 8. , A support shaft 16 composed of a bolt is inserted.
[0016]
A screw portion 17 is provided at one end 16a of the support shaft 16, and a nut 18 as a screw member is screwed to the screw portion 17. The nut 18 can clamp the pair of side plates 9, 10 of the fixed bracket 8 between the nut 18 and a head 19 as a clamping portion provided at the other end 16 b of the support shaft 16.
A flat washer 20 is interposed between the head 19 and the outer surface 10a of the side plate 10 of the fixed bracket 8. Further, a portion 16 c of the support shaft 16 close to the head 19 is engaged with the vertically long support shaft insertion hole 12 of the side plate 10 of the fixed bracket 8, thereby restricting the rotation of the support shaft 16. The remaining portion 16d of the support shaft 16 is formed of a column.
[0017]
The support shaft 16 supports an operation lever 21 rotatable around an axis C of the support shaft 16, and the operation lever 21 is interposed between a seat surface 22 of the nut 18 and an outer surface 9 a of the side plate 9. I have.
The operation lever 21 has a support shaft insertion hole 23 through which the support shaft 16 is inserted at the base end thereof, a long lever body 24 along the side plate 9, and a bent extension from the distal end of the lever body 24. An extension portion 25 and a grip portion 26 provided on the extension portion 25 are provided.
[0018]
The nut 18 is elastically pressed on its peripheral surface by, for example, a corrugated spring 28 as an elastic body held by a holding member 27 fixed to the operation lever 21, so that the nut 18 rotates relative to the operation lever 21. Regulated.
For this reason, the nut 18 rotates together with the turning operation of the operation lever 21, and the nut 18 is screwed into the screw portion 17 or unscrewed. As a result, the axial distance between the nut 18 and the head 19 of the support shaft 16 increases and decreases, and the side plates 9 and 10 of the fixed bracket 8 are more strongly sandwiched by the side plates 5 and 6 of the column bracket 4 to realize a tilt lock. Or unlocking by releasing the pinching. The nut 18 and the screw portion 17 constitute a screw-type lock mechanism R.
[0019]
2, the holding member 27 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is fixed to the lever main body 24 of the operation lever 21 by, for example, welding as shown in FIG. The holding member 27 forms a spring accommodating portion 30 having an arc shape so as to surround, for example, a half circumference of a hexagonal outer peripheral surface 29 of the nut 18, and the corrugated spring 28 is accommodated in the spring accommodating portion 30. Thus, the plurality of tops 31 of the corrugated plate are brought into elastic contact with the plurality of flat surfaces 29 a of the outer peripheral surface 29 of the nut 18. Thus, the relative rotation of the nut 18 with respect to the operation lever 21 is restricted.
[0020]
A stopper 32 is provided at an end of the arc-shaped spring accommodating portion 30 for restricting the corrugated spring 28 from being pulled out of the spring accommodating portion 30 in the circumferential direction of the nut 18.
Referring to FIG. 3, holding member 28 partitions spring accommodating portion 30 between a pair of side walls 35. A taper 33 is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the nut 18 on the side of the bearing surface 22. The taper 33 advances the nut 18 in the axial direction X of the support shaft 16 when the nut 18 is mounted on the screw portion 17 of the support shaft 16 by rotating the nut 18 while holding the corrugated spring 28 on the holding member 27. Accordingly, the taper 33 deflects the corrugated spring 28 radially outward Y of the nut 18, so that the operation of mounting the nut 18 on the threaded portion 17 can be easily performed, and the assemblability of the steering device A is improved. good.
[0021]
According to the present embodiment described above, the relative rotation of the nut 18 with respect to the operation lever 21 can be reliably suppressed by always pressing the outer peripheral surface 29 of the nut 18 without play by the corrugated spring 28 as an elastic body. Therefore, the clamping force between the head 19 as the clamping portion and the nut 18 can be stabilized when locked by the operation lever 21, and the clamping force can be loosened or completely released when the lock by the operation lever 21 is released. Thus, unlocking can be reliably achieved.
[0022]
Also, when the nut 18 is tightened, the corners 34 of the outer peripheral surface 29 of the nut 18 sequentially climb over each of the tops 31 of the corrugated leaf spring 28 while elastically deforming them. The state can be reliably maintained.
In the above embodiment, the spring accommodating portion 30 has an arc shape, but is not limited thereto, and may have an annular shape surrounding the outer peripheral surface 29 of the nut 18.
[0023]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, a screw type is employed as the lock mechanism, but a cam type may be employed instead. Further, instead of the corrugated spring 28, an elastic rubber or an elastic resin having a corrugated undulating surface facing the outer peripheral surface 29 of the nut 18 can be used as the elastic body.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a holding member 27A that partitions the spring housing portion 30 between one side wall 35 of the spring housing portion 30 and the side plate 9 may be used.
[0024]
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, instead of the holding member 27, the edge of the side plate 9 may be formed by folding back and a U-shaped holding portion 36 may be provided to partition the spring accommodating portion 30. good.
Further, the present invention may be applied to a tilt steering device to which a telescopic adjustment function is added. In addition, various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a position-adjustable steering device as one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a mechanism for preventing a nut from rotating.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a step of incorporating a nut into a spindle.
FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a holding member in a position-adjustable steering device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a side plate of a fixed bracket and a holding portion formed integrally therewith in a position-adjustable steering device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a structure in which a nut is prevented from rotating around an operation lever in a conventional tilt steering device.
[Explanation of symbols]
S Position adjustment type steering device 1 Steering shaft 2 Steering column 3 Upper shank 4 Column brackets 5, 6 Side plate 7 Support shaft insertion hole 8 Fixed bracket 9, 10 Side plate 12 Support shaft insertion hole 16 Support shaft 16a One end 16b Other end 17 Screw Part 18 Nut (screw member)
19 Head (clamp)
21 Operating lever 22 Seat surface 24 Lever body 27, 27A Holding member 28 Corrugated plate spring (elastic body)
29 Outer peripheral surface 29a Flat surface 30 Spring receiving part 31 Top part 32 Stopper 33 Taper 34 Corner part 36 Holding part (holding member)
R lock mechanism

Claims (3)

A supporting shaft inserted through a supporting shaft insertion hole of the pair of side plates of the fixed bracket fixed to the vehicle body and the pair of side plates of the column bracket fixed to the steering column;
An operation lever that is rotated around the axis of the support shaft,
In a position-adjustable steering device including a lock mechanism for achieving a tilt lock or a telescopic lock by applying a pressing force between the corresponding side plates of the fixed bracket and the column bracket with the rotation of the operation lever,
An annular screw member that can screw both brackets between the screw portion at one end of the support shaft and the holding portion at the other end of the support shaft,
An elastic body provided on the operation lever to elastically press a peripheral surface of the screw member to suppress relative rotation of the screw member with respect to the operation lever;
And a holding member fixed to the operation lever to hold the elastic body. 2. The position adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the screwing member includes a nut having a polygonal outer peripheral surface, and the elastic body includes a corrugated spring for bringing a plurality of tops into elastic contact with the outer peripheral surface of the nut. Type steering device. The position-adjustable steering device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a taper is provided on an outer peripheral edge of the screw member on the seat surface side.

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