JP2005081945A - Apparatus for holding neutral position of cable type steering system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for holding a neutral position of a cable type steering system until the steering system has been completely mounted to a car body, which apparatus has a very simple structure, and can firmly hold the set neutral state of the steering system. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus for holding the neutral position of the cable type steering system comprises a driving pulley A, a steering shaft 5 which is connected to the driving pulley A at one side in the axial direction and has a key locking hole 5a formed at the other side, a steering column 6 into which the steering shaft 5 is inserted and in which a key inserting hole 6a is formed, two control cables 3, 3 which are wound on the driving pulley A, and a holding member B having an insertion fixing portion 8 to be dismountably inserted into the key inserting hole 6a and the key locking hole 5a. The position of the key locking hole 5a and the position of the key inserting hole 6a coincide in the neutral state of the driving pulley A. The insertion fixing portion 8 of the holding member B is inserted into the key locking hole 5a and the key inserting hole 6a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cable-type steering device that maintains a neutral setting state of a steering wheel until it is completely mounted on a vehicle body, and has a very simple structure. The present invention relates to a neutral position holding device for a cable-type steering device in which the neutral state is firmly held.

  In a steering device, there is a cable-type steering device configured by two pulleys and a cable. This cable-type steering device transmits the rotation of the handle to the steering side with a cable hung between the steering wheel side pulley (drive pulley) and the steering side pulley (driven pulley). Is what you do. By the way, in this cable type steering device, the neutral state of the steering wheel is set in advance at the factory. That is, it is set so that the balance of the steering angle between the left and right of the steering wheel is correct. The cable type steering device manufactured in this way is transported from the factory to the automobile assembly factory in a state where the neutral state of the handle is correctly set, and the cable type steering device is mounted on the vehicle body.

  As described above, in the manufactured cable type steering device, the neutral state of the handle is set, and there is a possibility that the neutral state of the handle may be deviated at the time of carrying work before mounting on the vehicle body or when mounting the vehicle body. . In addition, if the work is carefully performed so that the neutral state of the handle is not shifted between the completion of the neutral setting of the handle and the mounting work on the vehicle body, the work efficiency may be lowered.

Therefore, a neutral position holding structure of the handle in the cable type steering device is disclosed in the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-29059). That is, the structure is such that the wire driving means connected to the handle and the wire driven means connected to the gear box for steering the wheel are connected by a wire, and the neutral state of the wire is the spiral of the drum of the wire driving means. A disc-shaped moving body inserted into the groove, a gauge rod protruding from the center of the moving body, a groove serving as a mark near the upper end of the gauge rod, and a line of the hole of the case Grooves that also serve as marks are provided on both sides of the protrusion, and are provided in a state (neutral state) in which the groove of the gauge rod and the groove of the protrusion coincide. In the neutral state, a corrugated spring plate is inserted, the gauge rod and the moving body are fixed to the case, and the rotation of the drum is fixed.
JP-A-11-29059

  The cable-type steering device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and the like includes, in its wire driving means, a moving body fitted into the drum, a gauge bar provided in the moving body, a hole provided in the case, It is necessary to provide a mechanism by a special component called a protrusion provided on the edge. And in order to hold | maintain the neutral state of the handle | steering_wheel set by these, it is necessary to provide the spring board for fixing the special mechanism which consists of the protrusion of the said gauge rod and a case. As described above, since the fixing member is provided on the neutral position member, the steering apparatus is complicated as a whole, or the cost of the apparatus is increased.

  Further, the neutral position of the handle in this device is such that the gauge rod contacts the spiral groove of the drum or the inner cable and protrudes from the hole formed in the case, and the movement of the drum or cable is moved up and down of the gauge rod. It is converted to reciprocal movement, and the edge of the hole of the case or the mark of the protrusion protruding from the edge and the mark of the gauge bar are adjusted and aligned, so it is difficult to stably support the gauge bar. In case of falling or swinging, if the contact resistance of the gauge rod increases due to contact with the hole of the case through which the gauge rod is inserted, the vertical movement of the gauge rod may be hindered, which may affect the rotating operation of the cable. There is.

  As described above, in order to maintain the neutral state of the handle, the mounting operation to the vehicle body may be difficult and troublesome. The problem (technical problem or object) of the present invention is that, in a cable-type steering device, a device for maintaining the neutral setting state of the steering wheel (steering wheel) has a very simple structure, and the neutral state is ensured until the vehicle body is mounted. It is to be held and work is extremely simple.

  Therefore, as a result of intensive researches to solve the above problems, the inventor has devised the present invention as a driving pulley, the driving pulley is connected to one side in the axial direction, and a key lock hole is formed on the other side. Steering shaft, steering column through which the steering shaft is inserted and a key insertion hole is formed, a control cable wound around the drive pulley, and insertion for removably inserting into the key insertion hole and the key lock hole A holding member having a fixed portion, and in a neutral state of the drive pulley, the key lock hole of the steering shaft and the key insertion hole of the steering column are aligned and held in the key lock hole and the key insertion hole By providing a neutral position holding device for a cable-type steering device in which an insertion fixing portion of a member is inserted, the above problem can be solved. It is intended to attain.

  Further, the holding member may be a neutral position holding device in which a holding piece for holding the outer periphery of the steering column is formed from both sides of the insertion fixing portion, or in the configuration described above, A cable-type steering device neutral position holding device in which an imaging portion is formed in the insertion fixing portion, and further, in the above-described configuration, the cable-type steering device in which the holding member is formed of synthetic resin is held in a neutral position. By using the apparatus, the above-described problems are solved.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the neutral state of the cable can be easily maintained without providing a special structure in the steering device. In addition, since the holding member is attached to the outer periphery of the steering column, it is possible to easily confirm the neutral state when assembling to the vehicle body, and to perform removal and the like after assembling to the vehicle body. Furthermore, since the holding member is provided at the place where it is attached to the key cylinder device, it is possible to prevent forgetting to remove it. This can simplify the assembly work management. The burden of assembly work can be reduced. The holding member can be recycled after the steering device is assembled in a neutral state. By providing the holding member with the photographing part, it is possible to easily attach to and remove from the steering device. As a result, workability is improved. By using the synthetic resin as the holding member, it is possible to prevent scratches and the like when attaching to and detaching from the steering column product. Moreover, the weight at the time of recycling collection can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the holding member is formed with a holding piece, and the holding piece can hold the outer periphery of the steering column, so that the holding member can be mounted more reliably. Can be. Next, according to the invention of claim 3, since the photographing part is formed in the insertion fixing part of the holding member, the work of attaching and detaching the holding member to the steering column can be performed very efficiently. is there. Next, according to the invention of claim 4, since the holding member is formed of a synthetic resin, even if the holding member is mounted on the steering device, the holding member is a synthetic resin that is softer than metal. It can be made less likely to damage the steering shaft.

  The best mode of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the configuration of the present invention mainly includes a drive pulley A, a control cable 3, a steering shaft 5, a steering column 6, a holding member B, and the like. First, a driving pulley A is mounted on one side of the steering shaft 5 in the axial direction. The drive pulley A includes a pulley portion 1 and a boss portion 2, and the pulley portion 1 is formed of a synthetic resin or a metal material such as an aluminum alloy material. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, two control cables 3 and 3 are wound around the pulley.

  The drive pulley A is provided with a metal boss portion 2 to be coupled with the steering shaft 5 and is cast with the boss portion 2. The metal boss 2 is cast into the pulley 1 when the pulley 1 is cast. The pulley portion 1 has a spiral groove 1a formed on the outer periphery. The spiral groove 1a is a spiral guide groove that is continuous from one end side to the other end side in the axial direction, and has a groove width that adapts to the diameter of the control cable 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a driven pulley A 'having a substantially equivalent shape is also attached to the housing on the steering device 12 side. As shown in FIG. 1, a part of the boss portion 2 protrudes from the axial end portion of the pulley portion 1 and also serves as a rotation shaft that supports the rotation of the drive pulley A. In this case, the drive pulley A is rotatably supported by a bearing attached to the housing 11. Moreover, the boss | hub part 2 is metal, and is a steel material, an aluminum alloy material, etc.

  As shown in FIGS. 7, 8A, etc., the two control cables 3 and 3 are connected to both ends of the pulley portion 1 in the axial direction, that is, from the positions opposite to each other in the axial direction. Each one end side of the control cables 3 and 3 is fixed by fixing tools 4 such as bolts and screws. And as shown to FIG. 9 (A), (B), it winds around the spiral groove 1a so that it may become a mutually opposite direction with respect to the circumferential direction of the pulley part 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8 (A), the two control cables 3 and 3 are wound from an end portion in the axial direction of the pulley portion 1 toward a center (substantially including the center), and the pulley portion 1 Is removed from the spiral groove 1a of the pulley portion 1 at the axially central portion.

  Each control cable 3, 3 passes through the inside of the housing 11 and protrudes to the outside from an insertion hole (not shown) formed in the housing 11. In this way, one of the two control cables 3 and 3 has a pulling action in the right steering and the other has a pulling action in the left steering. The control cables 3 and 3 are shown in FIG. As shown, the rotational motion is transmitted to the steering mechanism on the steering device 12 side (mainly the front wheel side). The steering device 12 is also equipped with a driven pulley A ′ having the same structure as the driving pulley A. As shown in FIG. 8 (B), the driven pulley A ′ has substantially the same configuration as the driving pulley A, and includes a pulley portion 1 ′ and a boss portion 2 ′. The driving pulley A and the driven pulley Control cables 3 and 3 are stretched between A ′. Then, the rotation operation of the drive pulley A is transmitted through the both control cables 3 and 3.

  The steering shaft 5 is actually composed of a plurality of members and has a structure in which two shaft portions are connected via a torsion bar. A handle 7 is attached to one end of the steering shaft 5 in the axial direction (see FIG. 1). The driving pulley A is mounted on the other side of the steering shaft 5. A key lock formed on the other end side (the handle 7 side) of the steering shaft 5 when the two control cables 3 and 3 wound around the drive pulley A and the handle 7 constitute a neutral state. The holes 5a are provided so as to be securely fixed to each other at predetermined positions.

  Here, the neutral state means that when the right rotation and the left rotation are performed at the same angle when the handle 7 is operated, the drive pulley A also has the same right rotation and left rotation, and moves accordingly. The two control cables 3 and 3 have the same moving distance, and the right angle and the left angle of the steering are in the same state. In particular, when the drive pulley A and the two control cables 3 and 3 are in a neutral state based on FIG. 7, the two control cables 3 and 3 are symmetrically and equally wound around the drive pulley A. In this state, virtual control points m and m are provided on the two control cables 3 and 3 so that the tires in the steering portion are accurately directed in the forward direction in a state in which both the control points m and m coincide with each other. Is. When the two control cables 3 and 3 are symmetrically wound around the drive pulley A with the same number of turns, when the drive pulley A rotates right and left at the same angle, Steering is performed accurately.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the steering column 6 covers the outer periphery in the axial direction of the steering shaft 5, and the steering column 6 rotates the steering shaft 5 through a bearing or the like in a pipe. I support it. A key insertion hole 6 a is formed in the steering column 6. The key lock hole 5a of the steering shaft 5 and the key insertion hole 6a of the steering column 6 are formed in a long hole shape. The key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a preferably have the same dimensions in terms of length, width, etc., but the dimensions may be slightly different.

  When the circumferential positions of the key lock hole 5a of the steering shaft 5 and the key insertion hole 6a of the steering column 6 coincide with each other as shown in FIGS. The control cables 3 and 3 and the handle 7 are set so as to constitute a neutral state (see FIG. 7). That is, with respect to the neutral state of the drive pulley A and the control cables 3, 3, the key lock hole 5 a provided at a predetermined position of the steering shaft 5 and the key insertion hole 6 a of the steering column 6 coincide with each other. It is set to be.

  The key lock hole 5a of the steering shaft 5 and the key insertion hole 6a of the steering column 6 are aligned with each other in the range of the mounting hole of the key cylinder device attached to the steering column 6. Since the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a of the steering column 6 are also combined, the assembling work can be made easier.

  In this case, it is not necessary to change the mounting position of the key cylinder device or the key cylinder device, and the key cylinder device can be installed very easily only by setting the position of the key lock hole 5a of the steering shaft 5. This is convenient for work. The key lock hole 5a of the steering shaft 5 is set in the range of attachment of the key cylinder device, and the key insertion hole 6a of the steering column 6 is formed based on the position, or the range of the installation position of the key cylinder device. The key insertion hole 6a of the steering column 6 can be formed on the steering column 6, and the key lock hole 5a of the steering shaft 5 can be formed on the basis of the position.

  The holding member B is made of metal or synthetic resin. As shown in FIGS. 2 (A), 4 (B), etc., the holding member B is formed with an insertion fixing part 8, a holding part 9 including a holding piece 9a, 9a, and a photographing part 10. The insertion fixing portion 8 is formed in a shape that is inserted through the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a. Specifically, it is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 2B, 3 and 4A, when the insertion fixing portion 8 is inserted into the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a, the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole are inserted. The steering shaft 5 and the steering column 6 are fixed so as not to rotate with each other with the holes 6a aligned. Further, the length of the insertion fixing portion 8 corresponding to the axial direction of the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a is equal to the length of the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a as much as possible. This is preferable for fixing to the steering column 6.

  The holding member B is formed with a holding part 9 together with the insertion fixing part 8, and the holding part 9 has two holding pieces 9a and 9a as shown in FIGS. 2 (A) and 4 (B). It is composed of The both sandwiching pieces 9a and 9a have a symmetrical shape, are formed in a substantially arc shape, and both the sandwiching pieces 9a and 9a have elasticity. Both sandwiching pieces 9a, 9a can sandwich both sides in the diameter direction of the outer peripheral surface of the steering column 6 with an appropriate pressing force.

  By forming the sandwiching pieces 9a, 9a, the mounting state of the holding member B mounted on the steering column 6 is stabilized, so that it does not fall off the steering column 6. Further, both the holding pieces 9a, 9a are elastically expanded so that the holding member B can be attached to and detached from the steering column 6 very easily.

  Next, the photographing part 10 is formed in the insertion fixing part 8. The photographing unit 10 facilitates the work when the holding member B is removed from the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a. Specifically, the photographing part 10 is formed so as to protrude on both sides in the width direction of the handle protruding from the back side of the insertion fixing part 8, and when the holding member B is removed, Easy to pick and remove with your finger. In the case of a synthetic resin, the photographing unit 10 can be easily formed by integral molding. Note that the holding member B may be formed by only the insertion fixing portion 8 and the photographing portion 10 as shown in FIGS. 6 (A) and 6 (B).

  In the present invention, the holding member B attached to the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a is a steering member that maintains a neutral state such as the drive pulley A, the control cables 3, 3 and the handle 7 when assembled to the vehicle body. After being provided as a component of the device and assembled to the vehicle body, it can be removed and recycled.

  Further, when the holding member B is made of metal, it is press-formed with a thin plate material. In the case of a synthetic resin, it is injection molded by a mold. When the holding member B is made of synthetic resin, the steering column is lighter than the metal holding member B, and the synthetic resin holding member B is made of a softer material than that of metal. 6 and the steering column 6 and the steering shaft 5 can be prevented from being damaged.

  Since this holding member B is attached by inserting the insertion fixing portion 8 into the key insertion hole 6a and the internal key lock hole 5a from the outer peripheral side of the steering column 6, confirmation of the neutral state when assembled to the vehicle body, Work such as removal after assembly to the vehicle body can be facilitated. Further, since the holding member B is provided at the key lock hole 5a and the key insertion hole 6a of the steering shaft 5 where the key cylinder device is mounted, the holding member B is attached after the steering device is assembled to the vehicle body. Forgetting to remove can be prevented.

  As a result, the assembly work management can be simplified, and the burden of the assembly work can be reduced. Further, in the case where the photographing unit 10 is provided on the holding member B, attachment to and removal from the steering device can be facilitated, and workability is improved.

It is the side view made into the partial cross section which shows the structure of the neutral position holding | maintenance apparatus of the cable type steering apparatus in this invention. (A) is a perspective view of a main part in a state in which a holding member is attached to the key lock hole of the steering shaft and the key insertion hole of the steering column, and (B) is a holding member in the key lock hole of the steering shaft and the key insertion hole of the steering column. It is a principal part perspective view of the state with which was mounted | worn. (A) is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a main part in a state where a holding member is attached to a key lock and a key insertion hole, and (B) is a vertical side view of a main part in a state where the holding member is removed from the key lock and the key insertion hole. is there. (A) is X ₁ -X ₁ arrow sectional view of FIG. 3 (A), an X ₂ -X ₂ cross-sectional view along a line (B) FIG. 3 (B). (A) is a front view of a type in which a holding member is formed from a thin metal plate by pressing, and (B) is a perspective view of (A). (A) is a front view of a type in which a holding member is formed of an insertion fixing portion and a photographing portion, and (B) is a perspective view of (A). It is a schematic diagram which shows the neutral state of a drive pulley and a control cable. (A) is a perspective view of a drive pulley (driven pulley) and a control cable used in the present invention, and (B) is a sectional view of the drive pulley (driven pulley). (A) is a perspective view which shows the state of the control cable wound on the pulley part upper side, (B) is a perspective view which shows the state of the control cable wound on the pulley part lower side.

Explanation of symbols

A ... Drive pulley B ... Holding member 3 ... Control cable 5 ... Steering shaft 5a ... Key lock hole 6 ... Steering column 6a ... Key insertion hole 8 ... Insert fixing part 9a ... Nipping piece 10 ... Shooting part

Claims (4)

A driving pulley, a steering shaft having the driving pulley connected to one side in the axial direction and a key lock hole formed on the other side, a steering column through which the steering shaft is inserted, and a key insertion hole formed; The steering pulley includes two control cables wound around the drive pulley, and a holding member having an insertion fixing portion for removably inserting the key insertion hole and the key lock hole. A position of a key lock hole of a shaft and a key insertion hole of the steering column is matched, and an insertion fixing portion of a holding member is inserted into the key lock hole and the key insertion hole. Neutral position holding device. 2. The neutral position holding device according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is formed with a holding piece that holds the outer periphery of the steering column from both sides of the insertion fixing portion. The neutral position holding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a shooting portion is formed in the insertion fixing portion of the holding member. 4. The neutral position holding device according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is made of synthetic resin.

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