JP2009101781A - Position adjusting type steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position adjusting type steering device capable of maintaining a favorable slide-contact condition between members which slide at the time of tilting action and of tilting smoothly. <P>SOLUTION: The position adjusting type steering device is provided with an outer column 23 held by a vehicle body member 22 in a state in which one end of it can swing, a bracket 25 which is fixed to the vehicle body member 22, and nips the other end of the outer column 23 from both the right and left side in a state in which it can swing in a vertical direction, a slide-contact plate 27 mounted on the outer column 23 and coming into slide contact with a guide plate 25 of the bracket 25, and an elastic body 26 interposed between the slide-contact plate 27 and the outer column 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position-adjustable steering apparatus capable of adjusting a tilt position.

As the tilt structure, the steering column that can swing in the vertical direction is clamped by the vehicle body side bracket via the slide plate from both the left and right sides, and the pressing force of the slide plate is adjusted by the tightening screw. In some cases, the sliding resistance is set to be larger than the external input from the steering wheel and smaller than the tilt driving force, thereby loosening the tilt structure (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-199760 A

  When the steering column is sandwiched from the left and right sides by the vehicle body side bracket as in the conventional example described in Patent Document 1, if there is a deviation in parallelism between the steering column and the vehicle body side bracket, the steering column and the vehicle body side bracket Will compete with each other. If the tilt position is adjusted in this state, that is, if the steering column is slid with respect to the vehicle body side bracket, the sliding surface will be poorly lubricated, and abnormal noise due to stick-slip may occur or the electric actuator may be consumed. Power will increase.

  An object of the present invention is to maintain a good slidable contact state between members that slide during a tilt operation and to enable a smooth tilt operation.

  A position-adjustable steering apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a steering column that is pivotally supported by a vehicle body member in a state in which one end side thereof is swingable, and is fixed to the vehicle body member. A position-adjustable steering device comprising: a bracket that is slidable in the direction from both left and right sides; and a steering shaft that is rotatably held by the steering column, and is provided on the steering column. A position-adjustable steering device comprising: a sliding contact member that is in sliding contact with the bracket; and an elastic body that is interposed between the sliding contact member and the steering column.

  A position-adjustable steering apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a convex portion formed on one of the steering column and the sliding contact member, and the convex portion formed on the other of the steering column and the sliding contact member. And a recess that can be loosely fitted.

  According to the present invention, even if there is a deviation in the parallelism between the steering column and the bracket, the elastic member interposed between the steering column and the sliding contact member bends, so that the sliding contact member with respect to the steering column Is allowed, and a deviation in parallelism between the steering column and the bracket can be absorbed. Therefore, a favorable slidable contact state is maintained between the members that slide during the tilt operation, that is, between the slidable contact member and the bracket, and a smooth tilt operation becomes possible.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 is an overall configuration of the steering device, FIG. 2 is a side view of the steering column, FIG. 3 is an AA cross section of the steering column, FIG. 4 is an assembly structure of a sliding contact member, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of the steering column, FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of the electric tilt mechanism, FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the steering column, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line DD of the electric telescopic mechanism. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the steering device 1, a steering wheel 2 is connected to one end of a steering shaft 3, and the steering shaft 3 is rotatably held by a steering column 4. The other end of the steering shaft 3 is connected to the upper end of the intermediate shaft 6 via the universal joint 5, and the lower end of the intermediate shaft 6 is connected to the rack and pinion type steering gear 8 via the universal joint 7. Both ends of the rack are connected to the left and right tie rods 9, respectively, and the wheels 10 are steered by pushing and pulling the tie rods 9 according to the advance and retreat of the rack. Various switches 11 such as a combination switch and operation switches of an electric tilt mechanism 40 and an electric telescopic mechanism 70 described later are disposed in the vicinity of the steering wheel 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the steering column 4 includes a cylindrical outer column 23 that is pivotally supported by the vehicle body member 22 with one end side being swingable by a tilt pivot 21, and an inner sliding slidable on the outer column 23. It is comprised by the cylindrical inner column 24 fitted, and the steering shaft 3 which can be expanded-contracted inside this inner column 24 is rotatably hold | maintained. The other end side of the outer column 23 is clamped from both left and right sides by a substantially rectangular frame-shaped bracket 25 fixed to the vehicle body member 22 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction.

  The steering shaft 3 is composed of an input shaft 3a and an output shaft 3b fitted in the input shaft 3a, both of which are prevented from relative rotation by splines or serrations and are allowed to be displaced in the axial direction. (See FIG. 8). Therefore, when the inner column 24 slides with respect to the outer column 23, the input shaft 3a and the output shaft 3b are displaced relative to each other in the axial direction, whereby the steering shaft 3 expands and contracts.

With the above configuration, the tilt position (vertical position) of the steering wheel 2 is determined by the swing angle of the outer column 23 around the tilt pivot 21, and the sliding position of the inner column 24 with respect to the outer column 23 is The telescopic position (front / rear position) is determined.
As shown in FIG. 3, the bracket 25 is connected to the top plate 25a, a pair of guide plates 25b and 25c suspended from the left and right sides of the top plate 25a, and the lower ends of the guide plates 25b and 25c. A bottom plate 25d, and a flange 25e (25f) that projects from the upper portion of the guide plate 25b (25c) and engages and is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body member 22.

The outer column 23 is formed with an end surface 23b facing the guide plate 25b and an end surface 23c facing the guide plate 25c. The end surfaces 23b and 23c are each provided with an elastic body 26 such as flexible rubber. Thus, a sliding contact plate 27 as a sliding contact member is disposed.
As shown in FIG. 4, the sliding plate 27 is formed with a convex section 27a having a circular cross section projecting toward the end face 23b (23c), and the elastic body 26 has a round hole through which the convex section 27a can be inserted. 26a is formed, and a concave portion 23e (23f) that can be loosely fitted to the convex portion 27a is formed on the end surface 23b (23c). The elastic body 26 and the sliding contact plate 27 are assembled to the end surface 23b (23c) by loosely fitting the convex portion 27a into the concave portion 23e (23f) through the round hole 26a. Here, as shown in FIG. 5A, only one convex portion 27a having a circular cross section is formed. However, as shown in FIG. 5B, the convex portion 27a having a circular cross section is formed. The sliding contact plate 27 may be positioned by forming two or by making the cross section of the convex portion 27a into an oval shape as shown in FIG. The elastic body 26 does not need to be disposed on both sides (23b, 23c side) of the outer column 23, and may be on only one side.

With the above configuration, when a pressing force biased to the sliding contact plate 27 is input in a state where the elastic body 26 and the sliding contact plate 27 are assembled to the end surfaces 23b and 23c, that is, an uneven pressing force is generated in the surface direction. When the input is made, the elastic body 26 bends to allow the sliding contact plate 27 to be inclined with respect to the end faces 23b and 23c.
For the sliding contact plate 27, a member having a lower friction coefficient than the outer column 23 (aluminum material) such as a member having self-lubricating property, a member coated with a solid lubricant, or a member subjected to plating treatment is used.

A backlash plate 31 is interposed between the guide plate 25 b and the sliding contact plate 27, and a spacer 32 is interposed between the guide plate 25 c and the sliding contact plate 27.
In the guide plate 25b, adjustment bolts 33 are screwed into two upper and lower through holes 25g, and the tips of the adjustment bolts 33 are engaged (contacted) with the backlash plate 31 in a rotatable state. The adjustment bolt 33 is fastened to the guide plate 25b by a set nut 34. In addition, while forming a convex part in the front-end | tip of the adjustment bolt 33 and forming the recessed part engaged with this convex part in the backlash filling plate 31, the backlash filling plate 31 is positioned and an assembly | attachment becomes easy.

  With the above configuration, when the adjustment bolt 33 is screwed after loosening the locking nut 34, the back column 31 presses the outer column 23 toward the guide plate 25c, so that the outer column 23 with respect to the guide plate 25c is pressed. The backlash is suppressed. However, the adjustment bolt 33 is screwed so that the sliding resistance of the sliding contact plate 27 with respect to the backlash filling plate 31 and the sliding resistance of the sliding contact plate 27 with respect to the spacer 32 are smaller than the driving force of the electric tilt mechanism 40 described below. Adjust the amount and then fasten with a lock nut 34.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bracket 25 is provided with an electric tilt mechanism 40 that adjusts the tilt position by electric drive, and the outer column 23 is provided with an electric telescopic mechanism 70 that adjusts the telescopic position by electric drive.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the electric tilt mechanism 40 includes a screw shaft 41 disposed in the vertical direction along the guide plate 25 c, an electric motor 42 that rotationally drives the screw shaft 41, and a screw shaft 41. A nut 43 that is screwed and prevented from rotating and an engagement pin 44 that engages the nut 43 with the outer column 23 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the screw shaft 41 has a lower end pivotally supported by a bearing 52 in a gear housing 51 connected to the lower portion of the guide plate 25c, and an upper end fixed to a lower surface of the flange 25f. It is pivotally supported by. In the gear housing 51, a worm wheel 54 is coupled to the screw shaft 41, and a worm shaft 55 is engaged with the worm wheel 54.

As shown in FIG. 7, the worm shaft 55 is pivotally supported by bearings 56 and 57 in the gear housing 51, and is connected to the rotating shaft 42 a of the electric motor 42 through a coupling 58.
As shown in FIG. 6, the nut 43 is provided with a nut holder 61 that prevents relative displacement in the circumferential direction, and the nut holder 61 is prevented from rotating by engaging with the end face of the guide plate 25c. ing. An engaging pin 44 is projected from the nut holder 61, and its tip is engaged with an elongated hole 23 d formed in the outer wall surface of the outer column 23.

The lower side of the screw shaft 41 is covered with a cylindrical cover 62 fixed to the gear housing 51. The upper surface of the cylindrical cover 62 and the lower surface of the bearing 53 are each formed of a synthetic resin such as polyurethane. A damper member 63 slidably contacting the screw shaft 41 is disposed.
With the above configuration, when the screw shaft 41 rotates in accordance with the forward rotation (or reverse rotation) of the electric motor 42, the nut 43 that is prevented from rotating rises (or descends), and the vertical movement of the nut 43 causes the engagement pin to move upward and downward. It is transmitted to the outer column 23 via 44. At this time, the engagement pin 44 draws a linear trajectory in the vertical direction, whereas the outer column 23 draws a rotation trajectory centered on the tilt pivot 21, but the engagement pin 44 extends along the long hole 23 d. By sliding, the difference between both trajectories is absorbed. Thus, the swing angle of the outer column 23 is adjusted according to the vertical movement of the nut 43.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the electric telescopic mechanism 70 includes an advancing / retreating rod 71 that is offset in parallel with the outer column 23 and has a male threaded portion 71 a formed on one end side (tilt pivot 21 side), and the male threaded portion thereof. A nut member 72 that is screwed into 71a and is prevented from being displaced in the axial direction in a rotatable state, an electric motor 73 that rotationally drives the nut member 72, the other end side of the advance / retreat rod 71, and the inner column 24. And a connecting member 74 for connecting and preventing the advance / retreat rod 71 from rotating.

As shown in FIG. 8, the nut member 72 is pivotally supported by bearings 82 and 83 in a gear housing 81 fixed to the lower surface of the outer column 23, and a helical gear 72a is formed on the outer periphery thereof. The worm shaft 84 meshes with 72a.
As shown in FIG. 9, the worm shaft 84 is pivotally supported by bearings 85 and 86 in the gear housing 81, and is connected to the rotating shaft 73 a of the electric motor 73 through a coupling 87.

  With the above configuration, when the nut member 72 rotates according to the forward rotation (or reverse rotation) of the electric motor 73, the forward / backward rod 71 that is prevented from rotating moves forward (or reverse). Since the advance / retreat of the advance / retreat rod 71 is transmitted to the inner column 24 by the connecting member 74, the inner column 24 extends (or contracts) relative to the outer column 23. Thus, the sliding position of the inner column 24 relative to the outer column 23 is adjusted according to the advance / retreat of the advance / retreat rod 71.

Since the electric tilt mechanism 40 and the electric telescopic mechanism 70 employ a worm gear structure having irreversible characteristics, the tilt position and the telescopic position change even if a vertical load or a longitudinal load is input to the steering wheel 2. Never do.
Next, the operational effects of the one embodiment will be described.
There may be a deviation in the parallelism between the end surface 23b (23c) of the outer column 23 and the guide plate 25b (25c) due to product accuracy of each part, assembly error, and the like. In this case, the outer column 23 and the bracket 25 compete with each other, but when a biased pressing force is input to the sliding contact plate 27, the outer column 23 and the bracket 25 are interposed between the sliding contact plate 27 and the end surface 23b (23c). The elastic body 26 thus bent will bend. Thereby, since the inclination of the slidable contact plate 27 with respect to the end surface 23b (23c) is allowed, it is possible to absorb a shift in parallelism between the end surface 23b (23c) and the guide plate 25b (25c). Therefore, a good tilting state is maintained between the members that slide during the tilting operation, that is, between the loose packing plate 31 and the sliding contact plate 27, and between the spacer 32 and the sliding contact plate 27, and a smooth tilt is achieved. Operation becomes possible.

Moreover, since the simple assembling structure in which the convex portion 27a of the sliding contact plate 27 is merely loosely fitted into the concave portion 23e (23f) of the end face 23b (23c), it can be implemented at low cost and easy to assemble It is.
In the above embodiment, the protrusion 27a is formed on the sliding contact plate 27 and the recess 23e (23f) is formed on the end surface 23b (23c). Of course, the protrusion is formed on the end surface 23b (23c). Alternatively, the recess may be formed in the sliding contact plate 27.

Moreover, in said one Embodiment, although assembly | attachment is performed by the loose fitting of the convex part 27a and the recessed part 23e (23f), it is not limited to this, End surface 23b (23c) by adhesion | attachment or welding. ) And the sliding contact plate 27, an elastic body 26 may be interposed.
Further, although the electric tilt mechanism 40 is provided in the first embodiment, the present invention can be applied even to a steering device that does not include the electric tilt mechanism 40 and manually adjusts the tilt position.

It is the whole structure of a steering device. This is the side of the steering column. It is an AA cross section of a steering column. It is the assembly structure of a sliding contact member. It is an example of formation of a convex part. It is a BB cross section of a steering column. It is CC cross section of an electric tilt mechanism. It is a longitudinal section of a steering column. It is DD cross section of an electric telescopic mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering device, 2 ... Steering wheel, 3 ... Steering shaft, 3a ... Input shaft, 3b ... Output shaft, 21 ... Tilt pivot, 22 ... Body member, 23 ... Outer column, 23b ... End surface, 23c ... End surface, 23d ... Long hole, 23e ... recess, 23f ... recess, 24 ... inner column, 25 ... bracket, 25b ... guide plate, 25c ... guide plate, 25g ... through hole, 26 ... elastic body, 26a ... round hole, 27 ... sliding plate 27a ... convex portion, 31 ... loose plate, 32 ... spacer, 33 ... adjustment bolt, 34 ... set nut, 40 ... electric tilt mechanism, 41 ... screw shaft, 42 ... electric motor, 43 ... nut, 44 ... engagement Pin 70: Electric telescopic mechanism 71: Advance / retreat rod 72: Nut member 73 ... Electric motor 74: Connecting member

Claims (2)

A steering column that is pivotally supported by the vehicle body member with one end side being swingable, and a bracket that is fixed to the vehicle body member and that clamps the other end side of the steering column from the left and right sides while being slidable vertically A position-adjustable steering device comprising: a steering shaft that is rotatably held by the steering column;
A position-adjustable steering apparatus comprising: a sliding contact member that is provided on the steering column and that is in sliding contact with the bracket; and an elastic body that is interposed between the sliding contact member and the steering column.   A convex portion formed on one of the steering column and the sliding contact member, and a concave portion formed on the other of the steering column and the sliding contact member and capable of loosely fitting with the convex portion. The position-adjustable steering device according to claim 1.

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