JP2014231235A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device capable of easily setting sliding torque acting between a key lock collar and a steering shaft to a predetermined value.SOLUTION: An inner peripheral surface 71 of a key lock collar 7 forms a noncontact part of noncontact between a diametrically contacting part 32 of a steering shaft 3 and itself. That is, only a range of the lengths L3 and L4 on both ends in the axial direction of the inner peripheral surface 71 of the key lock collar 7, constitutes an elastic contact surface of contacting by mutually elastically deforming with an outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3. Thus, even if there are bending of the outer peripheral surface 31 and the inner peripheral surface 71 of the steering shaft 3 and the key lock collar 7 and an error in a diameter dimension of the outer peripheral surface 31 and the inner peripheral surface 71, a variation in the sliding torque acting between the inner peripheral surface 71 of the key lock collar 7 and the outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3, is reduced, and stable predetermined sliding torque is easily acquired.

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device, and more particularly to a steering device having a steering lock device that locks a steering wheel so as not to turn in order to prevent theft of an automobile when an ignition key is turned to a lock position and pulled out from a keyhole.

  In a steering device having a steering lock device, when the ignition key is turned to the lock position and pulled out from the key hole, the lock key protrudes toward the axial center side of the steering shaft. As a result, the tip of the lock key is engaged with the key lock hole of the key lock collar press-fitted into the outer periphery of the steering shaft, so that the steering shaft is fixed to the outer column and the rotation of the steering shaft is prevented. I have to.

  However, if a strong person forcibly rotates the steering wheel while the steering shaft is locked, the lock key is destroyed, the function of the steering lock device is lost, and the function as an anti-theft device is impaired. there is a possibility.

  In order to maintain the function as an anti-theft device, when a large torque is applied to the steering shaft, the key lock collar should slide against the steering shaft to prevent the lock key from being destroyed. There is a need. In other words, the slip torque (frictional force) acting between the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar and the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft is insufficient to destroy the lock key, but the steering operation necessary for driving the car is performed. It is necessary to set the size so that it cannot be performed.

  In the steering device of Patent Document 1, the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft is made non-circular, and the diameter of the inscribed circle of the inner peripheral surface in the free state of the key lock collar is set as the steering shaft. It is formed smaller than the diameter of the outer peripheral surface in the free state and is press-fitted. Also, the steering shaft or both the steering shaft and the key lock collar are quenched. This stabilizes the sliding torque that acts between the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar and the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft.

  In the steering device of Patent Document 1, the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar is elastically deformed and brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft over the entire axial length of the fitting portion between the steering shaft and the key lock collar. . Therefore, in order to obtain a predetermined slip torque, the key lock collar and the steering shaft are accurately manufactured so that a predetermined allowance is provided over the entire axial length of the fitting portion between the steering shaft and the key lock collar. It is necessary to do.

  However, if there is a manufacturing error in the key lock collar and the steering shaft, and a uniform predetermined tightening allowance cannot be obtained over the entire axial length of the fitting part, the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar and the outer periphery of the steering shaft The slip torque acting between the surfaces fluctuates, making it difficult to obtain a predetermined slip torque. Further, in order to obtain a stable sliding torque, it is necessary to manufacture the key lock collar and the steering shaft with high accuracy, which may increase the manufacturing cost.

JP 2006-335165 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a steering device in which it is easy to set a slip torque acting between a key lock collar and a steering shaft to a predetermined value.

  The above problem is solved by the following means. That is, the present invention has a hollow cylindrical steering shaft that is rotatably supported by the column and can be fitted with a steering wheel on the rear side of the vehicle body, and has an inner peripheral surface that is externally fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft. A carbon steel pipe for machine structural use, which has a key-lock collar with a cylindrical cross-section with a key-lock hole formed in an elastic metal material, provided on the column, and its tip engages with the key-lock hole by operating an ignition key A lock key that can be used, and the diameter of the inner peripheral surface in the free state of the key lock collar is smaller than the diameter of the outer peripheral surface in the free state of the steering shaft so that the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar and the steering shaft In the steering apparatus having an elastic contact surface with which an outer peripheral surface comes into contact with elastic deformation, the steering shaft An escape portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface, and a spiral groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar, and a part of the inner surface of the key lock collar fitted to the steering shaft is provided on the inner surface of the key lock collar. The steering device is characterized in that a non-contact portion where the peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft are not in contact is formed.

  In the steering device of the present invention, the escape portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft or the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar, and the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar is formed on the fitting portion of the steering shaft and the key lock collar. The outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft forms a non-contact non-contact portion. Therefore, even if there is a manufacturing error of the steering shaft or key lock collar, the fluctuation of the slip torque acting between the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar and the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft is reduced, and a stable predetermined slip torque can be obtained. Easy to get. Further, even if there is a manufacturing error between the key lock collar and the steering shaft, a stable sliding torque can be obtained, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

1 is a side view showing an entire steering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a fitting portion between a steering shaft and a key lock collar according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is BB sectional drawing which shows the fitting part of the steering shaft and key lock collar of the Example of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a side view showing an entire steering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a fitting portion between the steering shaft and the key lock collar according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a steering shaft 3 having a steering wheel 2 mounted on the rear side of the vehicle body is rotatably supported on the column 1. An extendable intermediate shaft 42 is connected to the front side of the vehicle body of the steering shaft 3 via an upper universal joint 41.

  A steering gear (not shown) such as a rack and pinion type is connected to the lower end of the intermediate shaft 42 via a universal joint 43, and a wheel is connected to the steering gear via a tie rod. Thus, when the steering wheel 2 is operated by hand, the wheel can be steered.

  At a substantially intermediate position in the axial direction of the column 1, an upper bracket 5 fixed to a vehicle body (not shown) and a tilt adjusting mechanism 6 for adjusting the tilt of the column 1 with respect to the upper bracket 5 are attached.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle body rear side of the hollow cylindrical steering shaft 3 is rotatably supported by a bearing 11 on the inner periphery of the column 1. A key lock collar 7 is press-fitted and fixed to the outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3.

  A key lock hole 72 is formed in the key lock collar 7. When an ignition key (not shown) is turned to the lock position and pulled out from the key hole, the lock key 8 protrudes toward the axial center side of the steering shaft 3. As a result, the tip of the lock key 8 is engaged with the key lock hole 72 of the key lock collar 7 to fix the steering shaft 3 to the column 1 and prevent the steering shaft 3 from rotating. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the embodiment of the present invention, the key lock collar 7 is made of a metal material having elasticity, such as a carbon steel pipe for machine structure, and has a cylindrical cross section, and the spiral groove 9 is processed into an inner diameter. Grease is inserted. As shown in FIG. 3, a key lock hole 72 that is a long hole in the axial direction is formed at an intermediate position in the axial direction of the key lock collar 7. The inner peripheral surface 71 of the key lock collar 7 is smaller than the diameter (outer diameter) d1 of the outer peripheral surface 31 in the free state of the steering shaft 3 in the free state of the key lock collar 7.

With this configuration, the outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3 and the inner peripheral surface 71 of the key lock collar 7 constitute an elastic contact surface that comes into elastic contact with each other. The outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3 is formed with a reduced diameter portion 32 as a relief portion at a part of the outer peripheral surface 31 in the axial direction. The diameter (outer diameter) d2 of the reduced diameter portion 32 is smaller than the diameter (inner diameter) D1 of the inner peripheral surface 71 of the key lock collar 7 in the free state of the key lock collar 7.
The axial length L2 of the reduced diameter portion 32 is formed slightly shorter than the axial length L1 of the key lock collar 7.

  A taper 33 is formed between the left end of the reduced diameter portion 32 and the outer peripheral surface 31. The key lock collar 7 is press-fitted into the outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3 from the right side to the left side in FIG. The taper 33 gradually increases in diameter toward the press-fitting direction of the key lock collar. The taper 33 guides the key lock collar 7 even if there is a manufacturing error of the steering shaft 3 or the key lock collar 7, for example, bending of the outer peripheral surface 31 or the inner peripheral surface 71 or displacement of the key lock collar 7 in the press-fitting direction. Therefore, the key lock collar 7 can be smoothly press-fitted without being caught on the steering shaft 3.

  Further, since the reduced diameter portion 32 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3 and the diameter d2 of the reduced diameter portion 32 is formed smaller than the diameter D1 of the inner peripheral surface 71 of the key lock collar 7, the key The inner peripheral surface 71 of the lock collar 7 forms a non-contact non-contact portion with the reduced diameter portion 32 of the steering shaft 3. Further, since the spiral groove is provided in the range of the lengths L3 and L4 at both ends in the axial direction of the inner peripheral surface 71 of the key lock collar 7, the gap S is formed and lubricated with grease. It becomes easy to weaken the elastic force with the surface 31, and the width of the tightening margin can be increased. Moreover, it becomes easy to obtain a stable predetermined slip torque.

  Therefore, even if there is a manufacturing error of the steering shaft 3 or the key lock collar 7, for example, bending of the outer peripheral surface 31 or the inner peripheral surface 71 or an error in the diameter dimension of the outer peripheral surface 31 or the inner peripheral surface 71, Variations in the slip torque (friction force) acting between the inner peripheral surface 71 and the outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3 are reduced, and it becomes easy to obtain a stable predetermined slip torque.

  Even if there is a manufacturing error between the key lock collar 7 and the steering shaft 3, a stable slip torque can be obtained by changing the lengths L3 and L4. Therefore, the key lock collar 7 and the steering shaft 3 can be manufactured. It is easy and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Further, since the reduced diameter portion 32 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 31 of the steering shaft 3, the tip of the lock key 8 can be inserted deeply toward the axial center side of the steering shaft 3. Therefore, it is possible to make it difficult for the lock key 8 to be removed from the key lock hole 72.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Column 11 Bearing 2 Steering wheel 3 Steering shaft 31 Outer peripheral surface 32 Reduced diameter part 33 Taper 5 Upper bracket 6 Tilt adjustment mechanism 7 Key lock collar 71 Inner peripheral surface 72 Key lock hole 8 Lock key 81 Arrow 9 Spiral groove

Claims (1)

A hollow cylindrical steering shaft that is pivotally supported by the column and can be fitted with a steering wheel on the rear side of the vehicle body,
A key-lock collar having a cylindrical cross section in which a key-lock hole is formed in a metal material having elasticity on an outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft, and a carbon steel pipe for mechanical structure,
Provided with a lock key provided in the column, the tip of which can be engaged with the key lock hole by operation of an ignition key,
The diameter of the inner peripheral surface in the free state of the key lock collar is made smaller than the diameter of the outer peripheral surface in the free state of the steering shaft, and the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar and the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft are elastically deformed. In a steering device having an elastic contact surface that comes into contact,
A relief portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft, and a spiral groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar, and a key lock is formed on a part of the inner peripheral surface of the key lock collar to be fitted to the steering shaft. A steering device, wherein the inner peripheral surface of the collar and the outer peripheral surface of the steering shaft form a non-contact portion.

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