JP2010116047A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device for reducing a space for a tilting motion and a telescopic motion. <P>SOLUTION: The steering device S performs, by transmission from a single motor 15, a telescopic motion for telescoping a steering column 1 in a shaft length direction, and a tilting motion for tilting the steering column 1. The steering device includes: a drive gear 16 connected to an output shaft 15a of the motor 15; a driven gear 17; a planetary gear mechanism 20 having a sun gear and a ring gear 31 with external teeth 19 engaged with rack teeth 18 formed on the circumferential surface of the steering column in the shaft length direction; a link mechanism 24 with one end coupled to a carrier 32 of the planetary gear mechanism 20 and the other end coupled to a vehicle body side to swing the one end around the other end as a fulcrum along with the rotation of the carrier; and a lock mechanism 25 for locking the rotation of the ring gear 31 or the carrier 32. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device. In more detail, in order to change the position of the steering member attached to the upper end of the steering column supported substantially up and down in the interior of the passenger compartment according to the posture of the driver, the telescopic operation for expanding and contracting the steering column and the The present invention relates to a steering apparatus that performs a tilting operation for tilting a steering column with a single motor.

  Steering of a vehicle is usually performed by transmitting a rotation operation of a steering wheel performed by a driver to a steering mechanism disposed outside the passenger compartment for steering a steering wheel. In a steering device used for performing such steering, an upper end portion of a steering shaft that supports a steering shaft inside a steering column that is inclined and supported substantially vertically in a passenger compartment and protrudes above the steering column. In addition, a steering wheel is attached to face the driver. Further, the lower end portion of the steering shaft that projects to the lower portion of the steering column is connected to the steering mechanism.

  In such a steering device, in order to change the position of the steering wheel, which is a steering member, according to the driving posture of the driver, a telescopic operation (adjustment) for extending and retracting the steering column in the axial direction and an inclination angle of the steering column are set. There is a device that enables a tilt operation (adjustment) to be changed. In recent years, there has been known an apparatus in which the telescopic and tilting operations are performed using the rotational force of an electric motor.

  However, the conventional apparatus performs the tilt operation and the telescopic operation with separate motors, and the mechanism for the tilt operation and the mechanism for the telescopic operation are provided separately. For this reason, the mechanism is complicated and a plurality of motors are required, which is a cause of cost increase. In addition, both mechanisms have a problem that a large installation space is required around the steering column.

In view of this, a steering apparatus that performs a tilt operation and a telescopic operation with a single motor has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The steering device described in Patent Document 1 uses a planetary gear mechanism to switch between a tilting operation and a telescopic operation. The planetary gear mechanism includes a rotatable first rotating body having a first shaft and the first rotating body. A rotatable second rotating body having a second axis coaxial with the shaft, a plurality of third rotating bodies meshing with both the first rotating body and the second rotating body, and rotating the third rotating body And a rotatable rotating support body that freely supports and has a third axis that is coaxial with the first axis and the second axis. Then, any one of the first to third axes is used as an input shaft, and the remaining two axes are used as a pair of output shafts connected to each of a tilt shaft and a telescopic shaft, and a lock for locking any one of the pair of output shafts. Means are provided.
According to the steering device described in Patent Document 1, the tilt shaft or the telescopic shaft can be selectively rotated by a single motor.

JP 2007-91171 A

  However, in the steering device described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to provide two output shafts (tilt shaft and telescopic shaft), and there is a problem that the structure for tilt telescopic is complicated. Further, since the planetary gear mechanism is arranged so that the surface of the rotating support is orthogonal to the output shaft, a large space is required for a mechanism for tilting or telescopically operating the steering column. .

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a steering device that can simplify the structure for tilt telescopic operation and reduce the space for the tilt operation and telescopic operation. It is aimed.

A steering device according to the present invention includes a steering column attached to an end portion of a steering shaft disposed in the steering column by extending and contracting a steering column supported in an up-and-down direction in the interior of a passenger compartment in the axial length direction. A telescopic operation for adjusting the position and a tilting operation for tilting the steering column and adjusting the position of the steering member by transmission from a single motor,
A driving gear connected to the output shaft of the motor, a driven gear meshing with the driving gear, a sun gear provided integrally with the driven gear, and a circumferential surface of the steering column are formed in the axial direction. A planetary gear mechanism having a ring gear formed with external teeth meshing with the rack teeth, one end of which is connected to the carrier of the planetary gear mechanism and the other end is connected to the vehicle body side, Along with the rotation, the other end portion as a fulcrum, and a rocking member in which one end portion can swing around the fulcrum, and a lock mechanism capable of locking the rotation of the ring gear or the carrier,
During the tilt operation, the planetary gear mechanism is moved in the tilt direction along with the swing of the swing member as the carrier rotates, and during the telescopic operation, the steering column is moved in the axial direction along with the rotation of the ring gear. The rotation is converted into the tilt operation and the telescopic operation.

  The steering device of the present invention performs a telescopic operation by meshing a ring gear of a planetary gear mechanism disposed close to the steering column and a rack tooth formed on the peripheral surface of the steering column, and has one end portion Is connected to the carrier of the planetary gear mechanism and the other end is connected to the vehicle body to perform the tilting operation. Therefore, the structure for tilt telescopic operation can be simplified, A mechanism necessary for the tilting operation and telescopic operation can be arranged in a small space, and space saving can be achieved.

  The carrier is a disc body having outer teeth formed on the outer periphery thereof, and the lock mechanism engages with the outer teeth of the ring gear during a tilt operation to restrict the rotation of the ring gear, and the circular mechanism during a telescopic operation. It is preferable to be configured so as to mesh with the external teeth of the plate body to restrict the rotation of the disk body. In this case, the planetary gear mechanism can perform motor rotation motion conversion for tilt operation or telescopic operation with a simple configuration in which the lock mechanism is engaged with the external teeth of the carrier or ring gear.

  Preferably, the drive gear is a worm and the driven gear is a worm wheel. According to this configuration, self-locking can be performed by the worm and the worm wheel, and tilt telescopic operation due to reverse input can be prevented.

  The carrier is disposed on one surface side of the ring gear, and an auxiliary carrier made of a disc body is disposed on the other surface side of the ring gear, and one end is connected to the auxiliary carrier. The other end is connected to the vehicle body side, and further includes an auxiliary member that can swing around the fulcrum with the other end as a fulcrum as the auxiliary carrier rotates. It is preferable. According to this configuration, by arranging the pair of carriers, the swinging member, and the auxiliary member so as to sandwich the steering column, it is possible to transmit force symmetrically to the steering column during the tilting operation, and to smoothly Tilt operation can be performed.

The locking mechanism is
A lever member having a first engagement portion that can engage with the external teeth of the ring gear at one end and a second engagement portion that can engage with the external teeth of the carrier at the other end;
A biasing means provided on one side with reference to the fulcrum of the lever member;
And a solenoid provided on the other side with respect to the fulcrum of the lever member. In this case, by controlling only the solenoid, the rotation of the ring gear or the carrier can be regulated by swinging the lever member having the engaging portions at both ends, and the tilt telescopic can be switched with an inexpensive configuration. Can do.

  According to the steering apparatus of the present invention, the structure for tilt telescopic operation can be simplified, and the space for tilt operation and telescopic operation can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a steering device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an overall configuration of a steering device S according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are perspective explanatory views of main parts of the steering device S. 5 is an explanatory view of the main part of the steering device S as viewed from below in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the steering wheel as viewed from the side, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the same as viewed from the side. is there.

  The steering device S includes a cylindrical steering column 1 that is inclined and supported substantially vertically inside a vehicle compartment, and a steering shaft 2 that is rotatably supported inside the steering column 1. The steering shaft 2 penetrates the steering column 1 in the axial direction, and a steering wheel 3 as a steering member is fixed to the upper end of the steering shaft 2 in the axial direction. In addition, the lower end portion of the steering shaft 2 protruding to the lower portion of the steering column 1 is provided with an intermediate shaft 6 having a universal joint 5 at both ends on the input shaft 4a of the steering mechanism 4 disposed outside the front of the passenger compartment. It is connected so that rotation can be transmitted through.

  The steering column 1 is of a two-part type in which a tubular outer jacket 11 as a movable jacket and a tubular inner jacket 12 as a fixed jacket are coaxially slidably fitted together. The steering shaft 2 is configured by fitting a tube-like upper shaft 21 and a solid lower shaft 22 so as to be slidable coaxially and to transmit the input steering force to the steering mechanism 4. ing. Both shafts 21 and 22 are coupled so as to be axially movable by, for example, spline fitting. Therefore, when the outer jacket 11 moves in the axial direction, the steering wheel 3 moves in the axial direction together with the upper shaft 21, and when the outer jacket 11 swings in the vertical direction (tilt direction), the steering wheel 3 swings in the vertical direction together with the steering shaft 2. Move.

  A lower end portion of the inner jacket 12 is supported by a fixed bracket 9 b fixed to the vehicle body 8 via a tilt center shaft 10. The tilt center shaft 10 is inserted into a support hole provided in the fixed bracket 9b so as to be orthogonal to the axial direction of the steering column 1 or the steering shaft 2. Thus, the lower end portion of the inner jacket 12 is supported by the vehicle body 8 so as to be swingable around the tilt center axis 10.

  In the steering device S having the above configuration, the steering torque applied by the driver to the steering wheel 3 for steering is transmitted to the input shaft 4a of the steering mechanism 4 via the steering shaft 2 and the intermediate shaft 6, and the steering Steering is performed by the operation of the take-off mechanism 4.

  In the steering device S according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a steering assist motor 13 is disposed near the lower end of the inner jacket 12, and the inner jacket above the motor 13 is disposed. 12 includes a torque sensor 14. The steering torque applied to the steering wheel 3 is detected by the torque sensor 14, and the rotational force of the motor 13 driven based on the detected torque is transmitted to the lower shaft 22 inside the inner jacket 12 to assist the steering. It is configured.

  Next, the mechanism for the tilting operation and telescopic operation of the steering device S will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7. In FIGS. Omitted for simplicity. Also, in FIGS. 3 to 7, illustration of boxes to be described later is omitted.

  The steering device of the present invention performs tilting operation and telescopic operation by transmission from a single motor, and the steering device S according to the present embodiment is a drive gear connected to the output shaft 15a of the motor 15. A worm 16, a worm wheel 17 that is a driven gear that meshes with the worm 16, a sun gear 30, and external teeth 19 that mesh with rack teeth 18 formed in the axial direction on the peripheral surface of the steering column 1 are formed. The planetary gear mechanism 20 having the ring gear 31 and one end of the planetary gear mechanism 20 are connected to the carrier 32 of the planetary gear mechanism 20 and the other end is connected to the vehicle body 8 side. A link bar 24 which is a swinging member having the other end as a fulcrum and one end can swing around the fulcrum; and the ring gear 31 or And a single lock mechanism 25 capable of locking the rotation of the serial carrier 32.

  The motor 15 is fixed to a box 23 fixed to an inner jacket 12 as a fixed jacket that is movable in the tilt direction but not movable in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the box 23 is fixed to the inner jacket 12 via a bracket 26 made of a U-shaped member fixed to one outer wall surface of the box 23. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 6, the motor 15 is arranged such that its output shaft 15 a is parallel to the axis of the steering column 1, and a worm 16 is connected to the output shaft 15 a. The worm 16 meshes with a worm wheel 17 whose axis is perpendicular to the axis of the steering column 1.

  The planetary gear mechanism 20 converts the rotation of the motor 15 into a motion for tilting operation or telescopic operation, and is disposed in the box 23 below the steering column 1 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the planetary gear mechanism 20 has a configuration in which three planetary gears 33 are arranged at equal intervals around a central sun gear 30. The sun gear 30 is provided integrally with the worm wheel 17 via the center pin 50 and rotates together with the worm wheel 17. Inner teeth that mesh with the planetary gear 33 are formed on the inner periphery of the ring gear 31 of the planetary gear mechanism 20, and the steering column 1, more specifically a movable jacket, as described above, is formed on the outer periphery. External teeth 19 that mesh with rack teeth 18 formed in the axial length direction are formed on the peripheral surface of the outer jacket 11. As the ring gear 31 rotates, the outer jacket 11 moves in the axial direction to perform a telescopic operation. The rack teeth 18 may be formed on the member constituting the outer jacket 11 itself, or may be formed by fixing a separate rack tooth in the form of a band plate to the peripheral surface of the outer jacket 11. In the present embodiment, three planetary gears 33 are used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration of the planetary gear mechanism can be changed as appropriate.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a carrier 32 is disposed between the ring gear 31 of the planetary gear mechanism 20 and the worm wheel 17. The carrier 32 is made of a disc having a slightly smaller diameter than the ring gear 31 and has a support shaft 34 that rotatably supports each planetary gear 33. On the peripheral surface of the carrier 32, external teeth 35 similar to the external teeth 19 formed on the peripheral surface of the ring gear 31 are formed.

  The link bar 24 is made of a long plate-like member, and is disposed between the worm wheel 17 and the carrier 32 as shown in FIG. One end portion (lower end portion in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6) 24a of the link bar 24 is one of the three support shafts 34, and is rotatable about a support shaft 34a extending in the axial direction. The other end 24b is connected to a support shaft 36a standing on a fixed bracket 9a fixed to the vehicle body side so as to be rotatable.

  In the present embodiment, an auxiliary carrier 40 is disposed concentrically with the ring gear 31 and the carrier 32 on one surface side of the ring gear 31 (the side opposite to the side where the carrier 32 is disposed). The auxiliary carrier 40 is also made of a disc having a slightly smaller diameter than the ring gear 31, and the three support shafts 34 are fixed to the auxiliary carrier 40. In other words, the support shaft 34 is provided so as to penetrate the ring gear 31 in the surface direction, and one end of each is fixed to the carrier 32 and the other end is fixed to the auxiliary carrier 40. Yes. Unlike the carrier 32, the auxiliary carrier 40 has no external teeth formed on the outer periphery thereof.

  An auxiliary link bar 41 as an auxiliary member is disposed outside the auxiliary carrier 40 with the ring gear 31 as a reference. The auxiliary link bar 41 is formed of a long plate-like member similar to the link bar 24, and one end portion (lower end portion in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6) 41a is a support extended in the axial direction. The other end 41b is also rotatably connected to a support shaft 36b provided upright on a fixed bracket 9a fixed to the vehicle body. Similarly to the link bar 24, the auxiliary link bar 41 can swing at one end with the other end serving as a fulcrum as the auxiliary carrier 40 rotates.

  As shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 8, the lock mechanism 25 is disposed below the ring gear 31 and the carrier 32 in the figure. The lock mechanism 25 includes a lever member 43 (see FIG. 9) disposed in a housing 42 formed of a box body whose upper surface is open, and the lever member 43 has an external tooth of the ring gear 31 at one end thereof. 19 has a first engaging portion 44 that can be engaged with 19, and a second engaging portion 45 that can be engaged with the external teeth 35 of the carrier 32 at the other end. A spring 46 as a biasing means is provided on one side with respect to the fulcrum 43a of the lever member 43, and a solenoid 47 is provided on the other side. In the present embodiment, at the initial stage (during de-energization, (a) in FIG. 9), the moving element 47a of the solenoid 47 protrudes and the first engagement portion 44 engages with the external teeth 19 of the ring gear 31, At the time of energization (FIG. 9B), the moving element 47a of the solenoid 47 moves backward so that the second engaging portion 45 engages with the external teeth 35 of the carrier 32. In this case, the spring 46 is in a compressed state, for example, at an initial time (when not energized), and the second engaging portion 45 can be pushed out in the engaging direction by the restoring force when energized. When power is not supplied, the slider 47a of the solenoid 47 protrudes and the spring 46 is compressed. Note that the state shown in FIG. 9B may be the initial position, and the state shown in FIG.

By using such a lock mechanism 25, it is possible to allow the rotation of only one of the ring gear 31 and the carrier 32 by controlling only the solenoid, and it is not necessary to perform complicated control, and the tilt telescope can be realized with an inexpensive configuration. Can be switched. In the present embodiment, a worm 16 is used as a drive gear connected to the output shaft 15 a of the motor 15, and a worm wheel 17 is used as a driven gear that meshes with the drive gear. Since self-locking can be performed, the rotation of either the ring gear 31 or the carrier 32 is locked by the locking mechanism 25, so that a tilt telescopic operation due to reverse input can be prevented without providing a separate locking mechanism. . That is, in this embodiment, the lock mechanism can be a single lock mechanism controlled only by the solenoid. The ring gear and the carrier lock may be individually controlled.
Next, the tilt operation and telescopic operation in the steering device S described above will be described. In the present embodiment, the first engagement portion 44 of the lock mechanism 25 is set to engage with the external teeth 19 of the ring gear 31 at the initial time (when no power is supplied).

[Tilt operation]
In this case, the engagement state is not switched by the lock mechanism 25. When the motor 15 is rotated, the rotation is transmitted to the worm 16 and further transmitted to the worm wheel 17 meshing with the worm 16. Since the worm wheel 17 is integrated with the sun gear 30 of the planetary gear mechanism 20 via the center pin 50, when the worm wheel 17 rotates, the sun gear 30 also rotates. When the sun gear 30 rotates, the three planetary gears 33 meshing with the sun gear 30 rotate around the respective support shafts 34. The planetary gear 33 meshes with the inner teeth of the ring gear 31. Since the rotation of the ring gear 31 is restricted by the lock mechanism 25, the planetary gear 33 rotates along the inner peripheral surface of the ring gear 31. Revolving, the carrier 32 rotates accordingly. FIG. 10 shows the movement of the planetary gear 33 and the link bar 24, and one of the three support shafts 34 is connected to one end of the link bar 24, and the link bar 24. The other end of the link bar 24 is connected to a fixed bracket 9a fixed to the vehicle body. Therefore, when the planetary gear 33 supported by the support shaft 34a revolves, the link bar 24 moves to the other end as the carrier 32 rotates. The end 24a (support shaft 34a) swings around the fulcrum with the portion 24b (support shaft 36b) as a fulcrum, and the planetary gear mechanism 20 itself moves in the tilt direction (vertical direction in FIG. 10). As a result, the outer jacket 11 engaged with the ring gear 31 while being placed on the ring gear 31 of the planetary gear mechanism 20 is also moved in the tilt direction to perform a tilt operation.

[Telescopic operation]
In this case, first, the solenoid 47 of the lock mechanism 25 is energized, and the engagement state is switched. Specifically, the energization causes the mover 47a of the solenoid 47 to retreat, releasing the engagement between the first engagement portion 44 of the lock mechanism 25 and the external teeth 19 of the ring gear 31, and the first of the lock mechanism 25. 2 The engaging portion 45 engages with the external teeth 35 of the carrier 32. When the motor 15 is rotated in this state, the rotation is transmitted to the worm 16 and further transmitted to the worm wheel 17 engaged with the worm 16. Since the worm wheel 17 is integrated with the sun gear 30 of the planetary gear mechanism 20 via the center pin 50, when the worm wheel 17 rotates, the sun gear 30 also rotates. When the sun gear 30 rotates, the three planetary gears 33 meshing with the sun gear 30 rotate around the respective support shafts 34. Since the rotation of the carrier 32 to which the support shaft 34 is fixed is restricted by the lock mechanism 25, the planetary gear 33 rotates without revolving and rotates the ring gear 31 with which the planetary gear 33 is engaged. . The rack teeth 18 formed in the axial direction on the outer circumferential surface of the outer jacket 11 mesh with the outer teeth 19 of the ring gear 31, so that when the ring gear 31 rotates, the outer jacket 11 moves along the axial direction. Then, a telescopic operation is performed.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of one Embodiment of the steering device of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective explanatory view of a main part of the steering device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective explanatory view of a main part of the steering device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective explanatory view of a main part of the steering device shown in FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the principal part of the steering device from the lower part in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the principal part of the steering device from the steering wheel side. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the principal part of the steering device from the side. It is a perspective explanatory view near the lock mechanism of the steering device. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a locking mechanism. It is explanatory drawing of the tilt operation in the steering apparatus shown by FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering column, 2 ... Steering shaft, 3 ... Steering wheel (steering member), 4 ... Steering mechanism, 5 ... Universal joint, 6 ... Intermediate shaft, 8 ... -Car body, 9a ... fixed bracket, 9b ... fixed bracket, 11 ... outer jacket, 12 ... inner jacket, 13 ... motor, 14 ... torque sensor, 15 ... motor, 16 ... Worm (drive gear), 17 ... Worm wheel (driven gear), 18 ... Rack teeth, 19 ... External teeth, 20 ... Planetary gear mechanism, 21 ... Upper shaft, 22 ... Lower shaft, 23 ... Box, 24 ... Link bar (oscillating member), 25 ... Lock mechanism, 30 ... Sun gear, 31 ... Ring gear, 32 ... Carrier, 33 ... Planetary gear, 34 ... support shaft, 35 ... external teeth, 40 ... auxiliary carrier, 41 ... auxiliary link bar (auxiliary member), 43 ... insulator member, 44 ... first engagement Joint part, 45 ... second engaging part, 46 ... spring (biasing means), 47 ... solenoid

Claims (5)

A telescopic operation for adjusting a position of a steering member attached to an end of a steering shaft disposed in the steering column by extending and contracting a steering column supported in an up-and-down direction in the interior of the passenger compartment in the axial length direction; A steering device that tilts the steering column and adjusts the position of the steering member by transmission from a single motor,
A driving gear connected to the output shaft of the motor, a driven gear meshing with the driving gear, a sun gear provided integrally with the driven gear, and a circumferential surface of the steering column are formed in the axial direction. A planetary gear mechanism having a ring gear in which external teeth meshing with rack teeth are formed, one end of which is connected to the carrier of the planetary gear mechanism and the other end is connected to the vehicle body; A rotation member capable of swinging around one fulcrum with the other end as a fulcrum, and a lock mechanism capable of locking the rotation of the ring gear or the carrier.
During the tilt operation, the planetary gear mechanism is moved in the tilt direction along with the swing of the swing member as the carrier rotates, and during the telescopic operation, the steering column is moved in the axial direction along with the rotation of the ring gear. A steering apparatus configured to convert rotation into the tilt operation and the telescopic operation.   The carrier is a disc body having outer teeth formed on the outer periphery thereof, and the lock mechanism engages with the outer teeth of the ring gear during a tilt operation to restrict the rotation of the ring gear, and the circular mechanism during a telescopic operation. The steering device according to claim 1, wherein the steering device is configured to be engaged with an external tooth of the plate body to restrict rotation of the disk body.   The steering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the drive gear is a worm and the driven gear is a worm wheel.   The carrier is disposed on one surface side of the ring gear, and an auxiliary carrier made of a disc body is disposed on the other surface side of the ring gear, and one end is connected to the auxiliary carrier. The other end is connected to the vehicle body side, and further includes an auxiliary member that can swing around the fulcrum with the other end as a fulcrum as the auxiliary carrier rotates. The steering device according to claim 1. The locking mechanism is
A lever member having a first engagement portion that can engage with the external teeth of the ring gear at one end and a second engagement portion that can engage with the external teeth of the carrier at the other end;
A biasing means provided on one side with reference to the fulcrum of the lever member;
The steering apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a solenoid provided on the other side with respect to a fulcrum of the lever member.

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