JP2016060337A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device that is configured to have a shear portion which is shorn at the time of vehicle collision and that enables suppression of decline in durability of the shear portion due to telescopic adjustment.SOLUTION: A steering device 1 includes an upper jacket 16, a lock plate 40, an engaging member 44, a shear portion 42, an abutted portion 43 and a second abutting portion 52. At the time of vehicle collision, the shear portion 42 supported by an upper bracket is shorn due to load transmitted from the lock plate 40 via an engagement tooth 68 of the engaging member 44 engaging with a partitioning portion 56 of the lock plate 40. The second abutting portion 52 abuts on the abutted portion 43 that is aligned in the right/left direction Y with the shear portion 42 while the upper jacket 16 is unlocked, so as to regulate predetermined amount or more of movement in the axial direction X of the upper jacket 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device.

In the steering column of the steering device described in Patent Document 1 below, the upper inner column supports the upper shaft that supports the steering wheel, and the lower outer column is fitted to the inner column.
The inner column is slidable in the axial direction with respect to the outer column. An axially elongated hole is formed in the inner column. The outer column is provided with a clamp portion for clamping the inner column from the outside. A holder is provided outside the clamp portion. The holder fastens and fixes the inner column and the outer column by reducing the diameter of the clamp portion.

  A stopper projection is formed at the bottom of the holder. The stopper protrusion is inserted into the axially long hole of the inner jacket through the slit of the clamp portion. At the time of telescopic adjustment for adjusting the axial position of the steering wheel as desired, the inner column moves in the axial direction with respect to the outer column. The stopper protrusion works as a stopper with respect to the axial direction of the inner column by contacting the end of the axially long hole of the inner column.

JP 2002-59849 A

  It is conceivable to use a stopper projection used as a stopper for telescopic adjustment (hereinafter referred to as “telescopic adjustment”) as a steering device of Patent Document 1 as a component that is sheared to absorb collision energy at the time of a vehicle collision. . In this case, when the telescopic adjustment is performed, the stopper projection repeatedly comes into contact with the end of the axially long hole of the inner column, so that the durability of the stopper projection may be reduced. The stopper protrusion with reduced durability may be sheared before absorbing the target collision energy at the time of a vehicle collision.

  The present invention has been made under such a background, and in a configuration having a shearing portion that is sheared at the time of a vehicle collision, a steering device that can suppress a decrease in durability of the shearing portion due to telescopic adjustment is provided. The purpose is to provide.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a steering member (8) is attached to one end (3A) and can be expanded and contracted in the axial direction (X), and an upper jacket (16) on the steering member side (X1). ) And the lower jacket (17) opposite to the steering member, rotatably supports the steering shaft, and moves the steering by relative movement of the upper jacket relative to the lower jacket in the axial direction. A column jacket (4) that can be expanded and contracted together with the shaft, a bracket (6) that is fixed to the vehicle body (2) and supports the column jacket, and a plurality of engaged teeth that are fixed to the upper jacket and aligned in the axial direction An engaged member (4) having (56) and an engaging member (4) having an engaging tooth (68) engageable with the engaged tooth And can be moved to lock the position of the upper jacket by engagement of the engagement teeth with the engaged teeth, or to unlock the upper jacket by releasing the engagement. The engagement member is supported by the lower jacket, and the engagement member is movably supported. When the vehicle collides, the engagement member engages with the engagement tooth from the engagement member. A shearing portion (42) sheared by a load transmitted to the engaging member, and a cover supported by the lower jacket and provided so as to be aligned with the shearing portion in a direction (Y) intersecting the axial direction. In contact with the contacted part (43) and the upper jacket, in a state where the upper jacket is unlocked, by contacting the contacted part, Abutment portion for restricting a serial predetermined further movement of the said longitudinal upper jacket (51, 52), characterized in that it comprises a a steering device (1).

The invention according to claim 2 includes a shaft member (46) extending in the intersecting direction and integrally formed with a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion, the large diameter portion being the abutted portion, and the small diameter The steering device according to claim 1, wherein the portion is the shearing portion.
The invention according to claim 3 further includes a receiving portion (50) fixed to the upper jacket, and a protruding portion (69) provided on the engaging member and protruding toward the receiving portion. When the engagement member moves to lock the position of the upper jacket in a state where the contact portion is in contact with the contacted portion, the protruding portion moves to the receiving portion while moving together with the engagement member. 3. The steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abutted portion and the abutting portion are brought into non-contact by abutting and moving the upper jacket. 4.

The invention according to claim 4 is the steering apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contact portion is formed integrally with the engaged member.
The invention according to claim 5 is the steering apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contact portion is separate from the engaged member.
In addition, in the above, the numbers in parentheses represent reference numerals of corresponding components in the embodiments described later, but the scope of the claims is not limited by these reference numerals.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the steering device, the column jacket has the upper jacket on the steering member side and the lower jacket on the opposite side to the steering member. As the upper jacket moves relative to the lower jacket, the column jacket expands and contracts together with the steering shaft.
The position of the upper jacket is locked by the engagement of the engaged teeth of the engaged member fixed to the upper jacket and the engaging teeth of the engaging member supported by the lower jacket via the shearing portion. At the time of a vehicle collision, the shearing portion is sheared by a load transmitted from the engaged member to the engaging member via the engaging tooth engaged with the engaged tooth. Collision energy at the time of vehicle collision is absorbed by the shearing of the shearing part and the engagement between the engaged tooth and the engaging tooth after the shearing part is sheared and the upper jacket slides with respect to the lower jacket. The

The upper jacket is unlocked by releasing the engagement between the engaged tooth of the engaged member and the engaging tooth of the engaging member, and adjustment of the position of the steering member in the axial direction of the steering shaft, that is, telescopic Adjustment is possible.
In the telescopic adjustment, the abutment portion supported by the upper jacket abuts on the abutted portion supported by the lower jacket, thereby restricting the upper jacket from moving in a predetermined direction in the axial direction.

Since the contacted part is provided separately from the shearing part so as to be aligned with the shearing part in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the steering shaft, the contacted part is brought into contact with the contacting part during telescopic adjustment. The load received by the contact portion is not transmitted to the shearing portion. Therefore, it can suppress that durability of a shearing part falls resulting from telescopic adjustment.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the abutted portion is a large-diameter portion of the shaft member extending in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the steering shaft, and the shearing portion is a small-diameter portion of the shaft member. The large diameter part and the small diameter part are integrally formed. As a result, the number of parts is reduced, so that the cost of the steering device and the number of assembly steps can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the engaging tooth of the engaging member is provided with the protruding portion that protrudes toward the receiving portion fixed to the upper jacket. When the engagement member moves in order to lock the position of the upper jacket in a state where the contact portion is in contact with the contacted portion, the protrusion comes into contact with the receiving portion while moving together with the engagement member. The jacket is moved so that the contacted part and the contact part are not in contact with each other. Therefore, the collision load at the time of the vehicle collision is transmitted to the shearing part via the engagement member without escaping from the contact part to the contacted part, so that the shearing part is reliably sheared.

According to the invention described in claim 4, since the contact portion is formed integrally with the engaged member, the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the contact portion is separate from the engaged member, the degree of freedom in designing the contact portion and the engaged member can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a steering device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the steering device 1. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V in FIG. 4 and shows a state where the engaging member is in the engaging position. FIG. 6 is a view showing a state where the engaging member is in the release position in FIG. FIG. 7 is a view showing a state where the engaging member is in the release position and the lock plate is in the contact position in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in the middle of moving the engagement member from the release position to the engagement position in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a diagram when the steering device 1 is in a locked state in FIG. 7. FIG. 10 is a diagram in which the first modification of the present invention is applied to FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a steering device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the left side of the drawing is the front side of the vehicle body 2 to which the steering device 1 is attached, the right side of the drawing is the rear side of the vehicle body 2, the upper side of the drawing is the upper side of the vehicle body 2, and the lower side of the drawing is the lower side of the vehicle body 2. It is.

Referring to FIG. 1, steering device 1 mainly includes a steering shaft 3, a column jacket 4, a lower bracket 5, an upper bracket 6 (bracket), and a lock mechanism 7.
A steering member 8 is attached to one end 3 </ b> A that is the rear end of the steering shaft 3. The other end 3B, which is the front end of the steering shaft 3, is connected to the pinion shaft 12 of the steering mechanism 13 through the universal joint 9, the intermediate shaft 10, and the universal joint 11 in this order. The steered mechanism 13 includes a rack and pinion mechanism. The steered mechanism 13 steers steered wheels such as tires (not shown) in response to the rotation of the steering shaft 3 being transmitted.

  The steering shaft 3 has a substantially cylindrical shape extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2 as a whole. Hereinafter, the direction in which the steering shaft 3 extends is referred to as an axial direction X. The axial direction X of this embodiment is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction so that the other end 3B of the steering shaft 3 is lower than the one end 3A. In the axial direction X, the rear side, which is the steering member 8 side, is denoted by reference numeral “X1”, and in the axial direction X, the front side opposite to the steering member 8 is denoted by reference numeral “X2”. The rear side X1 coincides with the rear side of the vehicle body 2, and the front side X2 coincides with the front side of the vehicle body 2.

  Of the intersecting directions perpendicular to the axial direction X, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1 is referred to as the left-right direction Y, and the direction extending substantially up and down in FIG. In the left-right direction Y, the back side of the paper surface of FIG. 1 is the right side Y1, and the near side of the paper surface is the left side Y2. On the upper side in the vertical direction Z, the symbol “Z1” is given, and on the lower side in the vertical direction Z, the symbol “Z2” is given.

In the drawings other than FIG. 1, the directions corresponding to the axial direction X, rear side X1, front side X2, left and right direction Y, right side Y1, left side Y2, vertical direction Z, upper side Z1 and lower side Z2 in FIG. Are given the same reference numerals as in FIG.
The steering shaft 3 includes a cylindrical upper shaft 14 and a cylindrical lower shaft 15. The upper shaft 14 is disposed on the rear side X1 with respect to the lower shaft 15. The upper shaft 14 and the lower shaft 15 are arranged coaxially.

A rear end 14A of the upper shaft 14 is one end 3A of the steering shaft 3, and the steering member 8 is connected to the end. The front end of the lower shaft 15 is the other end 3 </ b> B of the steering shaft 3. The rear end of the lower shaft 15 is inserted into the front end of the upper shaft 14 from the front side X2.
The upper shaft 14 and the lower shaft 15 are fitted by spline fitting or serration fitting. Therefore, the upper shaft 14 and the lower shaft 15 can rotate together and can move relative to each other along the axial direction X. Therefore, the steering shaft 3 can expand and contract in the axial direction X.

The column jacket 4 is a hollow body that extends in the axial direction X as a whole. A steering shaft 3 is accommodated in the column jacket 4. The column jacket 4 includes an upper jacket 16 and a lower jacket 17 that have a substantially cylindrical shape extending in the axial direction X.
The upper jacket 16 is located on the rear side X1 with respect to the lower jacket 17. The front end 16A of the upper jacket 16 is inserted from the rear side X1 with respect to the rear end 17A of the lower jacket 17. In this state, the upper jacket 16 can be moved relative to the lower jacket 17 in the axial direction X. By this relative movement, the column jacket 4 can expand and contract along the axial direction X.

Further, since the steering shaft 3 is connected to the column jacket 4 by the bearing 3C and the bearing 3D, the column jacket 4 supports the steering shaft 3 rotatably.
Specifically, the upper shaft 14 and the upper jacket 16 are connected via a bearing 3C. Further, the lower shaft 15 and the lower jacket 17 are connected via a bearing 3D. Therefore, the group of the upper shaft 14 and the upper jacket 16 can be moved relative to the group of the lower shaft 15 and the lower jacket 17 in the axial direction X. Thereby, the column jacket 4 can be expanded and contracted together with the steering shaft 3.

The expansion / contraction of the steering shaft 3 and the column jacket 4 here is called “telescopic”, and this expansion / contraction adjustment, that is, the position adjustment of the steering member 8 in the axial direction X by telescopic is called telescopic adjustment.
The lower bracket 5 supports a portion of the column jacket 4 on the front side X2 and connects the steering device 1 to the vehicle body 2. Specifically, the lower bracket 5 supports a portion of the front side X2 of the lower jacket 17.

The lower bracket 5 includes a movable bracket 18 fixed to the lower jacket 17, a fixed bracket 19 fixed to the vehicle body 2, and a central shaft 20 extending in the left-right direction Y.
The movable bracket 18 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the upper side Z <b> 1 of the front end portion 17 </ b> B of the lower jacket 17. The movable bracket 18 is rotatably supported by a fixed bracket 19 via a central shaft 20. Therefore, the entire column jacket 4 can be rotated up and down around the central axis 20 with the steering shaft 3. The rotation here is called “tilt”, and the direction adjustment of the steering member 8 by tilt is called tilt adjustment. Since the lower jacket 17 is connected to the fixed bracket 19 on the vehicle body 2 side via the center shaft 20, it can be tilted but cannot move in the axial direction X.

The upper bracket 6 supports a portion of the column jacket 4 on the rear side X1 from the movable bracket 18. Specifically, the upper bracket 6 supports a portion on the rear side X <b> 1 of the lower jacket 17.
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.
Referring to FIG. 2, the upper bracket 6 has a groove shape that opens downward, and is symmetrical with respect to the column jacket 4 so as to form a substantially U shape that is upside down when viewed in the axial direction X. Is formed. More specifically, the upper bracket 6 includes a pair of side plates 21 which are opposed to each other with the column jacket 4 being thin in the left-right direction Y, and a connecting plate 22 which is thinly connected in the vertical direction Z connected to the respective upper ends of the pair of side plates 21. Is integrated.

  In the pair of side plates 21, a long slot for tilt 23 is formed at the same position when viewed from the left-right direction Y. The tilt hole 23 extends in the up-down direction Z, strictly speaking, in the tilt direction, which is the circumferential direction around the central axis 20 (see FIG. 1). The connecting plate 22 has portions extending outward in the left-right direction Y from the pair of side plates 21, and the entire upper bracket 6 is fixed to the vehicle body 2 by bolts 22 </ b> A inserted through the portions.

  A rear end 17 </ b> A of the lower jacket 17 is a housing that accommodates the upper jacket 16. Specifically, in the lower jacket 17, a slit 24 extending in the axial direction X and notching the rear end 17 </ b> A is formed in the lower Z <b> 2 portion of the rear end 17 </ b> A. The slit 24 is exposed to both the rear side X1 and the lower side Z2 from the rear end 17A toward the outside of the lower jacket 17. Therefore, the rear end 17A of the lower jacket 17 has a substantially U-shaped cross section that is upside down.

A pair of support portions 25 that extend from the left-right direction Y to the lower side Z2 while defining the slit 24 are integrally provided at the rear end 17A of the lower jacket 17. The support portion 25 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped extending in the axial direction X and the vertical direction Z.
Each of the pair of support portions 25 is formed with a first through hole 26 that penetrates the support portion 25 in the left-right direction Y at the same position when viewed from the left-right direction Y.

The lock mechanism 7 is for locking the position of the upper bracket 6 after tilt adjustment and telescopic adjustment, or releasing the lock of the position of the upper bracket 6 to enable tilt adjustment and telescopic adjustment again.
The lock mechanism 7 includes a tightening shaft 27, an operation member 30, an annular cam 31, an annular cam follower 32, an interposition member 34, a needle roller bearing 35, and a thrust washer 36.

  The fastening shaft 27 has a substantially cylindrical shape that extends in the left-right direction Y. The tightening shaft 27 is inserted through a portion where the first through hole 26 and the tilt long hole 23 overlap when viewed in the left-right direction Y. Both ends of the fastening shaft 27 in the left-right direction Y protrude from the pair of side plates 21 of the upper bracket 6 to the outside in the left-right direction Y. A head 29 having a diameter larger than that of the fastening shaft 27 is formed at the left end portion of the fastening shaft 27.

The operation member 30 is a grippable lever that is operated for telescopic adjustment and tilt adjustment.
An operation member 30, a cam 31, and a cam follower 32 are arranged in this order from the left Y2 between the head 29 and the side plate 21 on the left Y2. The fastening shaft 27 is inserted into each of the base end portion 30 </ b> A, the cam 31, and the cam follower 32 on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the operation member 30.

  The operation member 30 and the cam 31 can rotate integrally with the fastening shaft 27, whereas the cam follower 32 can rotate relative to the fastening shaft 27 and move in the left-right direction Y. However, since the two-sided width is formed in the portion of the cam follower 32 that is inserted through the tilting long hole 23 of the left side Y2 side plate 21, the idling of the cam follower 32 is prevented by the tilting long hole 23.

A nut 38 is attached to the right end portion of the fastening shaft 27. Between the nut 38 and the side plate 21 on the right side Y1, an annular interposed member 34, a needle roller bearing 35 and a thrust washer 36 are arranged in this order from the left side Y2. The tightening shaft 27 is inserted through each of the interposed member 34, the needle roller bearing 35, and the thrust washer 36.
The tightening shaft 27 is movable in the tilt direction described above in each of the tilt long holes 23 of the upper bracket 6. When the driver moves the steering member 8 in the vertical direction Z for tilt adjustment, the entire column jacket 4 moves (tilts) relative to the upper bracket 6 as described above. The tilt adjustment of the steering member 8 is performed within a range in which the tightening shaft 27 can move within the long slot 23 for tilt.

  After a telescopic adjustment or a tilt adjustment is performed by a user such as a driver, when the operation member 30 is rotated about the fastening shaft 27 by grasping the distal end portion 30B on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the operation member 30, the cam 31 rotates. Then, cam protrusions 39 formed on the cam 31 and the cam follower 32 ride on each other. Accordingly, the cam follower 32 moves to the right side Y1 along the axial direction of the fastening shaft 27 and is pressed against the side plate 21 on the left side Y2. By pressing the cam follower 32, the pair of side plates 21 are fastened from both sides in the left-right direction Y between the cam follower 32 and the interposition member 34.

As a result, the pair of side plates 21 pinches the support portions 25 of the lower jacket 17 from both sides in the left-right direction Y, so that a frictional force is generated between the side plates 21 and the support portions 25. Due to the frictional force, the position of the column jacket 4 is locked, the steering member 8 is locked at the position after the tilt adjustment, and cannot move in the tilt direction.
Further, since the pair of support portions 25 of the lower jacket 17 is sandwiched between the side plates 21, the distance between the pair of support portions 25 is narrowed, so that the inner peripheral portion of the lower jacket 17 is narrowed, and the lower jacket 17 is The upper jacket 16 in the jacket 17 is pressed against the upper jacket 16.

As a result, a frictional force is generated between the upper jacket 16 and the lower jacket 17, whereby the position of the upper jacket 16 is locked, and the steering member 8 is locked at the position after the telescopic adjustment, and cannot move in the axial direction X. .
As described above, the state of the steering device 1 when the position of the steering member 8 is fixed in the tilt direction and the axial direction X is referred to as a “lock state”.

  In the steering apparatus 1 in the locked state, when the operating member 30 is rotated in the opposite direction to the previous direction, the cam 31 rotates with respect to the cam follower 32, and the cam follower 32 moves to the left side Y2 along the axial direction of the tightening shaft 27. Move to. Then, the tightening of the pair of side plates 21 between the cam follower 32 and the interposed member 34 is released. Therefore, since the frictional force between each side plate 21 and the support portion 25 and the frictional force between the lower jacket 17 and the upper jacket 16 are eliminated, the steering member 8 can move in the axial direction X and the tilt direction. . Thereby, telescopic adjustment and tilt adjustment of the steering member 8 can be performed again.

Thus, the state of the steering device 1 when the fixing of the position of the steering member 8 in the tilt direction and the axial direction X is released is referred to as a “released state”.
Next, the structure of the lock mechanism 7 will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the steering device 1. In FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, the upper jacket 16 is represented by a two-dot chain line. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V in FIG. 4 and shows a state in which the engaging member 44 is in the engaging position. In FIG. 5, the illustration of the steering shaft 3 is omitted for convenience of explanation. The same applies to FIGS. 6 to 9 described later.

Referring to FIG. 3, the lock mechanism 7 includes a lock plate 40 as an engaged member, a cam 41, a shearing portion 42, a pair of abutted portions 43, an engaging member 44, and a biasing member. 45.
The lock plate 40 is, for example, a member obtained by processing a single metal plate, and includes a main body portion 49, a receiving portion 50, a pair of first contact portions 51 as a contact portion, and a pair of second contact portions. The unit 52 is integrally included.

The main body 49 has a plate shape that is thin in the vertical direction Z and extends in the axial direction X. The main body 49 is curved along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface 16B of the upper jacket 16. Therefore, in the main body 49, the central portion in the left-right direction Y is located on the lower side Z <b> 2 from both ends in the left-right direction Y when viewed from the axial direction X.
The main body 49 is disposed in a portion exposed on the slit 24 of the lower jacket 17 in the lower Z2 portion of the outer peripheral surface 16B of the upper jacket 16 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The main body 49 is fixed to the upper jacket 16 by welding or the like. Therefore, the main body 49 can move relative to the lower jacket 17 in the axial direction X together with the upper jacket 16.

A plurality of holes 55 extending along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface 16 </ b> B of the upper jacket 16 are formed in the main body portion 49 side by side in the axial direction X. In the present embodiment, the number of holes 55 is five, but is not limited thereto. Each hole 55 passes through the main body 49 in the up-down direction Z, which is the thickness direction of the main body 49.
In the main body portion 49, partition portions 56 as engaged teeth are provided at positions adjacent to each of the plurality of holes 55 from the axial direction X. Therefore, the partition part 56 is provided one more than the some hole 55, and the number of the partition parts 56 is six in this embodiment. The plurality of partitioning portions 56 are arranged in the axial direction X. Each partition 56 other than the most rear X1 partition 56A and the most front X2 partition 56B forms a boundary portion between two holes 55 adjacent in the axial direction X. The partition portion 56A on the rearmost side X1 is the rear end portion 49A of the main body portion 49. The most front X2 partition 56B is the front end 49B of the main body 49.

  The receiving part 50 has, for example, a thin plate shape in the axial direction X, and protrudes from the rear end part of the main body part 49 to the lower side Z2. Referring to FIG. 5, the receiving portion 50 has a flat surface 50A on the lower side Z2 that is flat in the axial direction X, and a vertical surface 50B on the front side X2 that extends perpendicularly to the axial direction X. A ridge line connecting the front end portion of the flat surface 50A and the lower end portion of the vertical surface 50B is denoted by reference numeral “50C”. The receiving part 50 is fixed to the upper jacket 16 via the main body part 49 of the lock plate 40.

Referring to FIG. 3, each of the pair of first contact portions 51 has a thin plate shape in the left-right direction Y. The pair of first contact portions 51 protrudes from both ends in the left-right direction Y of the front end portion 49 </ b> B of the main body portion 49 toward the lower side Z <b> 2. Each of the pair of first contact portions 51 faces each other in the left-right direction Y.
Each of the pair of second contact portions 52 has a thin plate shape in the left-right direction Y. The pair of second contact portions 52 extends from both ends in the left-right direction Y of the rear end portion 49A of the main body portion 49 toward the lower side Z2. Each of the pair of second contact portions 52 faces each other in the left-right direction Y.

Thus, since the receiving part 50, the 1st contact part 51, and the 2nd contact part 52 are integrally formed with the lock plate 40, cost reduction can be aimed at.
The width of the pair of first contact portions 51 in the left-right direction Y is substantially equal to the width of the pair of second contact portions 52 in the left-right direction Y. A lower end portion 51A of the pair of first contact portions 51 and a lower end portion 52A of the pair of second contact portions 52 are located on the lower side Z2 with respect to the lower end portion 50D of the receiving portion 50. In the completed steering device 1, the lower end portions 52 </ b> A of the pair of second contact portions 52 are located on the upper side Z <b> 1 from the fastening shaft 27 (see FIG. 5). The pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52 are supported by the upper jacket 16 via the main body portion 49 of the lock plate 40 fixed to the upper jacket 16.

The cam 41 integrally includes a cylindrical boss portion 41A that extends in the left-right direction Y and a cam portion 41B that protrudes radially outward from the boss portion 41A from one place on the circumference of the boss portion 41A. The cam portion 41B has a substantially triangular shape that narrows outward in the radial direction of the boss portion 41A when viewed from the left-right direction Y.
In the cam portion 41B, the distal end portion on the radially outer side is denoted by reference numeral “41C”. The cam portion 41B has a pair of arcuate surfaces 41D that connect the tip portion 41C and the outer peripheral surface of the boss portion 41A and smoothly connect to the outer peripheral surface of the boss portion 41A.

  The cam 41 is disposed in the lower side Z <b> 2 of the main body 49 of the lock plate 40 in the slit 24 of the lower jacket 17. A portion of the fastening shaft 27 exposed in the slit 24 is inserted into the boss portion 41A of the cam 41 (see also FIG. 2). The boss 41A and the fastening shaft 27 are fitted by spline fitting or the like. Therefore, the cam 41 can rotate integrally with the tightening shaft 27 according to the operation of the operation member 30.

In the left-right direction Y, the cam 41 is positioned closer to the center in the left-right direction Y of the main body 49 of the lock plate 40 than the pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52 of the lock plate 40. (See FIG. 2).
The shearing portion 42 has a substantially cylindrical shape extending in the left-right direction Y, and is, for example, a resin pin. In the circumferential direction of the shearing portion 42, a reference sign “C” is given.

  The pair of abutted portions 43 has a substantially cylindrical shape extending in the left-right direction Y. The pair of contacted parts 43 has a larger diameter than the shearing part 42 and is made of resin or metal. Therefore, the strength of the pair of contacted parts 43 is higher than that of the shearing part 42. The pair of contacted portions 43 are provided so as to be aligned with the shearing portion 42 in the left-right direction Y. The pair of contacted portions 43 sandwich the shearing portion 42 from the left-right direction Y.

  When the pair of contacted portions 43 and the shearing portion 42 are made of different materials, they are separately provided and then integrated into one shaft member 46. Specifically, the pair of contacted portions 43 are fixed to the shearing portion 42 by bonding or the like before being used for assembling the steering device 1. As a result, the shaft member 46 is completed, and the abutted portion 43 is coaxially fixed to each of both end portions in the left-right direction Y of the shearing portion 42.

  When the shearing portion 42 and the pair of contacted portions 43 are made of the same resin material, the shaft member 46 extends in the left-right direction Y as a whole, and the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion are integrally formed. In this case, the shearing portion 42 is a small diameter portion of the shaft member 46, and the pair of contacted portions 43 is a large diameter portion of the shaft member 46 and has a larger diameter than the shearing portion 42. If such a shaft member 46 is used, the number of parts can be reduced, so that the cost of the steering device 1 and the number of assembly steps can be reduced.

With reference to FIG. 4, in relation to the pair of contacted portions 43, the support portions 25 are placed on the left and right sides of the support portions 25 of the lower jacket 17 at positions X2 and Z1 above the first through holes 26. One second through hole 62 penetrating in the direction Y is formed one by one.
A part of the contacted portion 43 is inserted through the second through hole 62 of each support portion 25. Specifically, the portion on the right side Y1 from the approximate center in the left-right direction Y of the contacted portion 43 on the right side Y1 is inserted into the second through hole 62 on the right side Y1. Further, a portion on the left side Y2 from the substantially center in the left-right direction Y of the contacted portion 43 on the left side Y2 is inserted into the second through hole 62 on the left side Y2. The shearing portion 42 is disposed in the slit 24 of the lower jacket 17 in a state of being laid between the pair of contacted portions 43.

  The pair of abutted portions 43 are supported by the support portion 25 of the lower jacket 17 by being partially inserted into the second through hole 62. Therefore, the shearing part 42 integrated with the contacted part 43 is also supported by the upper bracket 6. As described above, the upper bracket 6 is fixed to the vehicle body 2. Therefore, the shearing portion 42 and the pair of contacted portions 43 are positioned in the axial direction X. Note that the pair of contacted portions 43 and the shearing portion 42 are not rotatable in the circumferential direction C.

  The portions of the pair of contacted portions 43 that protrude from the second through holes 62 partially overlap the pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52 when viewed in the axial direction X. Yes. The contact portion 43 on the right side Y1 is opposed to the first contact portion 51 and the second contact portion 52 on the right side Y1 in the axial direction X, and the contact portion 43 on the left side Y2 is the first contact portion 43 on the left side Y2. The first contact portion 51 and the second contact portion 52 are opposed to each other in the axial direction X.

Referring to FIG. 5, the engagement member 44 has a substantially V shape that is inclined by approximately 90 ° toward the rear side X1 when viewed from the left-right direction Y. The engagement member 44 includes a base end portion 65, an engagement portion 66 that extends from the base end portion 65 to the rear side X <b> 1, and a contact portion 67.
The base end portion 65 is a connecting portion between the engaging portion 66 and the contact portion 67. The base end portion 65 is formed with an insertion hole 65A that penetrates the base end portion 65 in the left-right direction Y. On both side surfaces of the base end portion 65 in the left-right direction Y, cylindrical portions 65B are formed one by one so as to protrude outside the base end portion 65 in the left-right direction Y while surrounding the insertion hole 65A. The cylindrical portion 65 </ b> B is a part of the base end portion 65.

The engaging portion 66 has a shape extending from the base end portion 65 to the rear side X1 and the upper side Z1. Engaging teeth 68 are formed at the rear end of the engaging portion 66. The engagement tooth 68 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped projecting toward the upper side Z1 and extending in the left-right direction Y. The engaging tooth 68 is provided with a protrusion 69.
The protruding portion 69 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped that protrudes toward the rear side X1 and extends in the left-right direction Y. The protrusion 69 has a rear end surface 69A flat in the up-down direction Z and an upper end surface 69B flat in the axial direction X. The rear end surface 69A and the upper end surface 69B are connected by a curved surface 69C that is convexly curved toward the upper side Z1 and the rear side X1.

The contact part 67 has a shape that extends from the base end part 65 to the rear side X1. The contact portion 67 is located on the lower side Z <b> 2 than the engagement portion 66.
Such a base end portion 65 of the engaging member 44 is disposed on the front side X <b> 2 and the upper side Z <b> 1 of the cam 41 in the slit 24 of the lower jacket 17. The engaging portion 66 of the engaging member 44 is disposed on the upper side Z <b> 1 from the cam 41. The contact portion 67 of the engaging member 44 is in contact with the boss portion 41A and the cam portion 41B of the cam 41 from the lower side Z2 of the cam 41.

  The shearing portion 42 is inserted through the insertion hole 65 </ b> A of the engaging member 44. The engaging member 44 is supported by the shearing portion 42 so as to be rotatable (movable) in the circumferential direction C. When the pair of contacted portions 43 and the shearing portion 42 are made of different materials, the shearing portion 42 is inserted into the insertion hole 65A before the shearing portion 42 and the contacted portion 43 are integrated. Is inserted. When the shearing portion 42 and the pair of contacted portions 43 are made of the same resin material, the engaging member 44 is placed in a state where the shearing portion 42 and the pair of contacted portions 43 are disposed in the mold. It is formed by so-called insert molding or the like. Thereby, the engaging member 44 is formed in a state where the shearing portion 42 is inserted into the insertion hole 65A.

  The engaging member 44 is located on the lower side Z <b> 2 of the main body 49 of the lock plate 40, strictly below. In a state where the engaging member 44 is inserted through the shearing portion 42, the protruding portion 69 of the engaging member 44 faces the receiving portion 50 of the lock plate 40. The engaging member 44 is located closer to the center side in the left-right direction Y of the main body portion 49 than the pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52 of the lock plate 40.

  The urging member 45 is a spring formed by bending a single wire or the like. The urging member 45 includes a coiled part 75 wound around the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical part 65B of the left side Y2 at the base end part 65, and a holding part 76 and a deforming part 77 extending from the coiled part 75 to the rear side X1. Including one. The deforming portion 77 is disposed on the lower side Z <b> 2 than the holding portion 76. The rear end 77A of the deformed portion 77 is bent to the right Y1.

  In the urging member 45, the holding portion 76 is locked from the upper side Z1 with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the portion on the left side Y2 of the boss portion 41A of the cam 41 from the cam portion 41B, and the end portion 77A of the deformation portion 77 is engaged. It is latched from the lower side Z2 with respect to the contact part 67 of the joining member 44 (refer FIG. 5). In the urging member 45, a force that the deformable portion 77 tends to move to the upper side Z1 toward the holding portion 76 is always generated, and this force moves the entire engaging member 44 along the circumferential direction C to the upper side Z1. It becomes the urging force that urges towards. The engaging teeth 68 of the engaging member 44 urged toward the upper side Z1 by the urging member 45 are always urged toward the main body 49 side of the lock plate 40.

  In the locked state of the steering device 1, the engaging teeth 68 of the engaging portion 66 of the engaging member 44 are fitted into any hole 55 in the lock plate 40 from the lower side Z <b> 2. The engagement teeth 68 are located between the partition portions 56 adjacent to each other in the axial direction X in a state of being fitted in the holes 55. The fact that the engaging teeth 68 are positioned between the partition portions 56 adjacent to each other in the axial direction X is referred to as “engaging” the engaging teeth 68 with the partition portions 56. The position of the engagement member 44 in the circumferential direction C at this time is referred to as an “engagement position”.

A gap 81 in the axial direction X is provided between the pair of abutting portions 43 and the pair of first abutting portions 51 in a state where the engaging member 44 is in the engaging position. A gap 82 in the axial direction X is provided between the contact portion 43 and the pair of second contact portions 52.
As described above, the urging member 45 always urges the entire engaging member 44 toward the upper side Z1. Thereby, the engagement tooth 68 is maintained in the engagement position. That is, in the locked state, the engagement teeth 68 are urged so as to be always located at the engagement position. Further, in the engaging member 44 that is biased toward the upper side Z1 by the biasing member 45, the contact portion 67 is biased so as to press the cam portion 41B of the cam 41 from the lower side Z2.

In this way, when the engagement teeth 68 are in the engagement position in the locked state, the engagement teeth 68 cannot move in the axial direction X, so that the movement of the lock plate 40 in the axial direction X is restricted by the engagement member 44. ing.
As described above, the main body 49 of the lock plate 40 is fixed to the upper jacket 16, and the engaging member 44 is fixed to the lower jacket 17 via the shaft member 46. Therefore, if the engagement member 44 is in the engagement position in the locked state, the position of the upper jacket 16 in the axial direction X is locked.

  In addition to the frictional force between the lower jacket 17 and the upper jacket 16, the engagement teeth 68 on the lower jacket 17 side engage with the partition portion 56 of the lock plate 40 on the upper jacket 16 side, so that in the axial direction X The position of the upper jacket 16 can be firmly locked. Therefore, the expansion and contraction of the steering shaft 3 and the column jacket 4 is stopped, and the position of the steering member 8 in the axial direction X is locked, so that the telescopic adjustment is restricted.

Next, the operation of the lock mechanism 7 when a vehicle collision occurs with the engagement member 44 in the engagement position will be described.
Referring to FIG. 1, during a vehicle collision, a load in the axial direction X is transmitted to the upper shaft 14 by a so-called secondary collision in which the driver collides with the steering member 8. As described above, the upper shaft 14 and the upper jacket 16 are connected via a bearing (not shown). Therefore, the load in the axial direction X transmitted to the upper shaft 14 by the secondary collision is transmitted to the upper jacket 16. The upper jacket 16 is biased toward the front side X2 by this load. As described above, the lock plate 40 is fixed to the upper jacket 16. Therefore, the lock plate 40 is urged together with the upper jacket 16 toward the front side X2. Thereby, the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44 are brought into contact with the holes 55 in which the engagement teeth 68 are fitted from the rear side X1 by the partition portion 56 adjacent from the rear side X1, and are engaged from the lock plate 40. A load in the axial direction X is transmitted to the teeth 68.

The load in the axial direction X at the time of the secondary collision transmitted to the engaging teeth 68 is transmitted to the shearing portion 42 through the engaging portion 66 and the base end portion 65 of the engaging member 44 in order. Thereby, the shearing part 42 is sheared.
Thus, the shearing portion 42 is sheared by the load in the axial direction X transmitted from the lock plate 40 to the engaging member 44 via the engaging teeth 68 engaged with the partitioning portion 56 at the time of a vehicle collision.

  By shearing the shearing portion 42, a part of the energy of the secondary collision is absorbed (Energy Absorption). As a result, the engaging member 44 and the urging member 45 are not supported by the shearing portion 42, and fall together with the sheared shearing portion 42 from the slit 24 to the lower side Z2 (see the dotted line illustrated in FIG. 4). . For this reason, the engaging teeth 68 are disengaged from the holes 55 of the lock plate 40, so that the position of the upper jacket 16 in the axial direction X is weakened and the upper jacket 16 slides to the front side X <b> 2 with respect to the lower jacket 17. The EA is also performed by sliding the upper jacket 16 with respect to the lower jacket 17.

Further, when the engaging member 44 and the biasing member 45 fall together with the shearing portion 42 according to the shearing of the shearing portion 42, the contacted portion 43 that has been integrated with the shearing portion 42 so far is pulled to the shearing portion 42. And then comes out of the second through hole 62. Thereby, the to-be-contacted part 43 falls to the lower side Z2 from the slit 24 together with the shearing part 42.
Therefore, at the time of the secondary collision, the receiving portion 50 of the lock plate 40 and the pair of second contact portions 52 are not obstructed by the contacted portion 43 from moving in the axial direction X, and the upper jacket 16 At the same time, it can move to the front side X2.

Next, the operation of the lock mechanism 7 when the steering device 1 is changed from the locked state to the released state will be described.
In the state of FIG. 5, the operating member 30 is operated so that the steering device 1 is released from the locked state, and the fastening shaft 27 is rotated counterclockwise. Then, the cam 41 rotates integrally with the fastening shaft 27 counterclockwise as viewed from the left side Y2 so that the cam portion 41B that has been facing the front side X2 so far faces the lower side Z2. As the cam 41 rotates, the cam portion 41B pushes down the contact portion 67 of the engaging member 44 to the lower side Z2.

Accordingly, the entire engaging member 44 rotates in the circumferential direction C around the shearing portion 42 toward the lower Z2 against the urging force of the urging member 45. Thereby, the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44 move to the lower side Z2 so as to be disengaged from the hole 55 of the lock plate 40 to the lower side Z2.
FIG. 6 is a view showing a state where the engagement member 44 is in the release position in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the steering device 1 reaches the release state, the cam portion 41B of the cam 41 faces the lower side Z2, and the engaging member 44 is fully rotated toward the lower side Z2. At this time, the engaging teeth 68 of the engaging member 44 are completely removed from the hole 55 of the lock plate 40 to the lower side Z2. In this state, the engagement between the engagement teeth 68 and the partition portion 56 is released. A position in the circumferential direction C of the engagement member 44 in a state where the engagement between the engagement teeth 68 and the partition portion 56 is released is referred to as a “release position”.

As described above, the main body 49 of the lock plate 40 is fixed to the upper jacket 16, and the engaging member 44 is fixed to the lower jacket 17 via the shaft member 46. Therefore, if the engagement teeth 68 are in the release position in the released state, the lock of the position of the upper jacket 16 in the axial direction X is released.
Next, the operation of the lock mechanism 7 when the steering member 8 is telescopically adjusted will be described.

  In a state where the position of the upper jacket 16 in the axial direction X is unlocked, telescopic adjustment is possible. As described above, during the telescopic adjustment, the upper jacket 16 moves relative to the lower jacket 17 in the axial direction X together with the steering member 8. Since the lock plate 40 is fixed to the upper jacket 16, the lock plate 40 moves in the axial direction X together with the upper jacket 16 during telescopic adjustment. Therefore, when the steering member 8 is moved to the rear side X1, the lock plate 40 moves to the rear side X1 together with the upper jacket 16. On the contrary, when the steering member 8 is moved to the front side X2, the lock plate 40 moves to the front side X2 together with the upper jacket 16. On the other hand, as described above, the engaging member 44 is supported by the upper bracket 6. Therefore, the engaging member 44 does not move in the axial direction X during telescopic adjustment.

  As described above, the portion of the abutted portion 43 that protrudes from the second through hole 62 is partly connected to the pair of first abutting portions 51 and the pair of second abutting portions 52 as viewed in the axial direction X. It overlaps with. Further, the lower end portions 52 </ b> A of the pair of second contact portions 52 are located on the upper side Z <b> 1 from the fastening shaft 27. Further, the cam 41 is positioned closer to the center side in the left-right direction Y of the body portion 49 of the lock plate 40 than the pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52 of the lock plate 40 in the left-right direction Y. doing. Further, the engaging member 44 is located closer to the center side in the left-right direction Y of the main body portion 49 than the pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52 of the lock plate 40.

Therefore, when the lock plate 40 moves to the rear side X1 by telescopic adjustment, the pair of first contact portions 51 of the lock plate 40 does not contact the engagement member 44 and the pair of contacted portions 43 are rearward. Contact from X1. Thereby, the relative movement to the rear side X1 of the upper jacket 16 with respect to the lower jacket 17 is controlled.
Conversely, when the lock plate 40 moves to the front side X2 by telescopic adjustment, the pair of second contact portions 52 of the lock plate 40 does not contact the tightening shaft 27, the cam 41, and the engagement member 44. Abuts against the abutted portion 43 from the front side X2. The position in the axial direction X of the lock plate 40 at this time (strictly speaking, the position of the upper jacket 16) is called a “contact position”. Thereby, the relative movement to the front side X2 of the upper jacket 16 is controlled. In the telescopic adjustment, moving the lock plate 40 to the contact position in order to contract the column jacket 4 most is called a telescopic short. A pair of 2nd contact parts 52 functions as a stopper at the time of a telescopic short.

  As described above, during the telescopic adjustment, the upper jacket 16 can move to the front side X2 in the range of the gap 81 between the pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of contacted portions 43, and the pair of second contacts It can move to the rear side X <b> 1 in the range of the gap 82 between the contact portion 52 and the pair of contacted portions 43. The pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52 restrict the upper jacket 16 from moving in a predetermined direction or more in the axial direction X. In particular, the pair of second contact portions 52 restricts the movement of the upper jacket 16 toward the front side X2.

As described above, since the pair of contacted portions 43 are provided separately from the shearing portion 42 so as to be aligned with the shearing portion 42 in the left-right direction Y, the pair of second contacting portions 52 at the time of telescopic adjustment is provided. The load received by the pair of contacted portions 43 due to the contact with is not transmitted to the shearing portion 42. Therefore, it can suppress that durability of the shearing part 42 falls resulting from telescopic adjustment.
In addition, since the pair of contacted portions 43 are provided in the slit 24 of the lower jacket 17 so as to be aligned with the shearing portion 42 in the left-right direction Y, the space in the slit 24 can be effectively used. . Thereby, size reduction of the lock mechanism 7 is achieved, and eventually size reduction of the whole steering apparatus 1 is achieved.

Therefore, when the telescopic adjustment is performed, the shearing portion 42 is damaged even if the upper jacket 16 is moved to the front side X2 and the contact between the pair of contacted portions 43 and the pair of second contact portions 52 is repeated. There is no.
Moreover, since it can suppress that durability of the shearing part 42 falls resulting from telescopic adjustment, since the shearing part 42 can be designed irrespective of the load which the shearing part 42 receives by telescopic adjustment, design of the shearing part 42 is possible. The degree of freedom can be improved.

  Moreover, since it can suppress that durability of the shearing part 42 falls by telescopic adjustment, the upper jacket 16 moves at the time of a secondary collision by presetting the load by which the shearing part 42 is sheared. The starting load (so-called separation load) can be adjusted. That is, the strength of the shearing portion 42 can be adjusted in accordance with the required separation load. On the other hand, since the pair of contacted portions 43 have relatively high strength, they are not damaged by contact with the pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52.

  Further, the contacted portion 43 is supported by the support portion 25 of the lower jacket 17 as described above. Therefore, the load received by the pair of contacted portions 43 at the time of contact with the pair of first contact portions 51 and the pair of second contact portions 52 in the telescopic adjustment is not transmitted to the shearing portion 42, It is received by the support portion 25 of the lower jacket 17. Therefore, it can further suppress that durability of the shearing part 42 falls due to telescopic adjustment.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a state where the engagement member 44 is in the release position and the lock plate 40 is in the contact position in FIG.
Referring to FIG. 7, in the state where the lock plate 40 is in the contact position, the pair of second contact portions 52 and the pair of contacted portions 43 are in contact with each other. A gap 82 (see FIG. 6) does not occur between 52 and the pair of contacted portions 43.

  The engagement teeth 68 and the protrusion 69 of the engagement member 44 are not in contact with the receiving portion 50 and the pair of second contact portions 52. The engaging teeth 68 are positioned on the front side X <b> 2 of the receiving portion 50 with a gap in the axial direction X between the engaging teeth 68. The protruding portion 69 is positioned on the lower side Z <b> 2 of the receiving portion 50 with a gap in the vertical direction Z between the protruding portion 69 and the receiving portion 50. The curved surface 69C of the protruding portion 69 is located on the rear side X1 with respect to the vertical surface 50B of the receiving portion 50, and faces the flat surface 50A of the receiving portion 50 in the vertical direction Z.

Next, an operation of the lock mechanism 7 when the steering device 1 is locked with the lock plate 40 in the contact position will be described.
In the state of FIG. 7, in order to lock the position of the upper jacket 16 with the lock plate 40 in the contact position, the operating member 30 is operated and tightened so that the steering device 1 changes from the released state to the locked state. The attached shaft 27 is rotated. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the cam 41 rotates integrally with the fastening shaft 27 clockwise as viewed from the left side Y2 so that the cam portion 41B that has been facing the lower side Z2 so far faces the front side X2. Move. As the cam 41 rotates, the pressing of the contact portion 67 of the engaging member 44 by the cam portion 41B is released.

  Accordingly, the entire engaging member 44 is rotated about the shearing portion 42 toward the upper side Z <b> 1 by the urging force of the urging member 45. As a result, the engaging teeth 68 and the protrusions 69 that are part of the engaging member 44 move together with the engaging member 44 to the upper side Z1. At this time, the protruding portion 69 contacts the receiving portion 50 by moving together with the engaging member 44. Specifically, the front end portion (upper end portion) of the curved surface 69 </ b> C of the protruding portion 69 contacts the ridge line 50 </ b> C of the receiving portion 50.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the engagement member 44 is further moved to the upper side Z <b> 1 from the state in which the curved surface 69 </ b> C of the protruding portion 69 is in contact with the ridge line 50 </ b> C of the receiving portion 50, the receiving portion 50 is changed to the curved surface of the protruding portion 69. It is pushed to the rear side X1 by 69C. Specifically, the receiving portion 50 is gradually pushed to the rear side X1 while sliding the ridge line 50C from the front end portion to the rear end portion (lower end portion) of the curved surface 69C. Therefore, the entire lock plate 40 is moved to the rear side X1. Accordingly, the upper jacket 16 to which the lock plate 40 is fixed is moved to the rear side X1 by the protruding portion 69 that abuts the receiving portion 50. As the upper jacket 16 moves to the rear side X1, a gap 82 is generated again between the pair of second contact portions 52 and the pair of contacted portions 43. That is, the contact between the protruding portion 69 and the receiving portion 50 causes the pair of second contact portions 52 and the pair of contacted portions 43 to be in non-contact.

  When the engaging member 44 is further rotated in the circumferential direction C from the state shown in FIG. 8 in the clockwise direction as viewed from the left side Y2, the engaging teeth 68 of the engaging member 44 are as shown in FIG. It contacts the main body 49 from the lower side Z2. The engaging teeth 68 at this time do not reach the engaging position because they are not fitted in the holes 55, but are in pressure contact with the main body 49, so that the movement in the axial direction X is restricted, and the steering device 1. Is locked.

  Referring to FIG. 9, when the steering device 1 reaches the locked state with the lock plate 40 in the contact position, the engagement portion 66 of the engagement member 44 is bent to the lower side Z <b> 2, and the engagement teeth 68 is pressed against the main body 49. In this state, the upper surface 68A of the engagement tooth 68 of the engagement member 44 is in surface contact with the lower surface 49C of the main body 49 of the lock plate 40 from the lower side Z2. Locking of the upper jacket 16 is assisted by the surface contact of the upper surface 68A of the engagement tooth 68 with the lower surface 49C of the main body 49. The position in the circumferential direction C of the engagement member 44 when it is in pressure contact with the main body 49 without being fitted into the hole 55 is referred to as a “pressing position”. The state of the steering device 1 when the engaging member 44 is in the pressing position is referred to as a half-locked state. In the circumferential direction C, the engaging member 44 in the pressing position is in the circumferential direction C of the engaging member 44 in the circumferential position C, and in the circumferential direction C of the engaging member 44 in the releasing position. It is located between the positions.

At this time, a gap 83 may be generated between the protruding portion 69 of the engaging member 44 and the receiving portion 50 of the lock plate 40. The gap 83 is narrower in the axial direction X than the gap 82 between the pair of second contact portions 52 and the pair of contacted portions 43.
Therefore, when a vehicle collision occurs in the state of FIG. 9, the receiving portion 50 of the lock plate 40 contacts the protruding portion 69 of the engaging member 44. Thereby, since the load at the time of the secondary collision is transmitted from the engaging member 44 to the shearing portion 42 from the receiving portion 50 of the lock plate 40 through the protruding portion 69, the shearing portion 42 is sheared.

When the steering device 1 is locked when the lock plate 40 is in the contact position, the engagement member is brought into the engagement position where the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44 and the hole 55 of the lock plate 47 are engaged. The locking mechanism 7 may be designed so that 44 moves.
Thus, even when the steering device 1 is in the locked state when the lock plate 40 is in the contact position, the collision load at the time of the vehicle collision is a pair of second contact portions 52. Since it is transmitted to the shearing part 42 via the engaging member 44 without escaping to the contact part 43, the shearing part 42 is reliably sheared.

Depending on the position of the hole 55 of the lock plate 40 after telescopic adjustment, the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44 may not fit into the hole 55 of the lock plate 40 in the locked state. In this case, the engaging member 44 is located at the pressing position.
First, it is assumed that the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44 are in contact with the partition 56A at the rear end of the lock plate 40 from the lower side Z2 and the engagement member 44 is positioned at the pressing position. In this case, the lock plate 40 moves to the front side X <b> 2 due to the secondary collision of the vehicle collision, so that the receiving portion 50 of the lock plate 40 contacts the protruding portion 69 of the engaging member 44. Thereby, since the load at the time of the secondary collision is transmitted from the engaging member 44 to the shearing portion 42 from the receiving portion 50 of the lock plate 40 through the protruding portion 69, the shearing portion 42 is sheared.

  Next, a case where the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44 abut on the partition plate 56 other than the partition portion 56A at the rear end in the lock plate 40 from the lower side Z2 and the engagement member 44 is positioned at the pressing position. Suppose. In this case, the lock plate 40 moves to the front side X2 due to the secondary collision of the vehicle collision, so that the positions of the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44 and the holes 55 of the lock plate 40 in the axial direction X coincide. As a result, the urging force of the urging member 45 moves the engagement member 44 to the upper side Z1, and the engagement member 44 moves to the engagement position and fits into the hole 55. Therefore, the shearing portion 42 is sheared by the load in the axial direction X transmitted from the lock plate 40 via the engagement teeth 68 engaged with the partition portion 56.

  As described above, regardless of the position of the upper jacket 16 in the axial direction X, the vehicle collision load is transmitted from the partition portion 56 or the receiving portion 50 of the lock plate 40 to the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44. The shearing part 42 is sheared. Therefore, regardless of the position of the upper jacket 16 in the axial direction X, the shearing portion 42 is reliably sheared when the vehicle collides.

Next, a first modification of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 10 is a diagram in which the first modification of the present invention is applied to FIG.
Referring to FIG. 10, in the shaft member 46 of the first modified example, the shearing portion 42 and the pair of contacted portions 43 are separate bodies. At both end portions in the left-right direction Y of the shearing portion 42, for example, convex portions 90 projecting in the left-right direction Y are provided. A concave portion 91 into which the convex portion 90 is fitted is provided at the end of the pair of contacted portions 43 on the shearing portion 42 side. Specifically, the convex portion on the right side Y1 fits into the concave portion 91 of the abutted portion 43 on the right side Y1, and the convex portion 90 on the left side Y2 fits into the concave portion 91 of the abutted portion 43 on the left side Y2.

  In the first modification, each of the second through holes 62 accommodates an elastic member 93 such as a coil spring. The pair of elastic members 93 is compressed in the left-right direction Y between the inner surface of the side plate 21 of the upper bracket 6 and the pair of contacted portions 43. Thus, the pair of contacted portions 43 receives an elastic force from one end in the left-right direction Y of the pair of elastic members 93. Accordingly, the pair of contacted portions 43 are pressed against the shearing portion 42 from both sides in the left-right direction Y.

  When a secondary collision of a vehicle collision occurs and a load is transmitted from the lock plate 40 to the shearing portion 42 via the engagement teeth 68 of the engagement member 44, the shearing portion 42 is sheared. The fitting between the convex portion 90 of the shearing portion 42 and the concave portion 91 of the pair of contacted portions 43 is released when the shearing portion 42 is sheared. Therefore, the shearing portion 42 that has received the load at the time of the secondary collision is detached from the pair of contacted portions 43 in the axial direction X. As a result, the shearing portion 42 that receives the pair of contacted portions 43 pushed in the left-right direction Y by the pair of elastic members 93 is removed from between the pair of contacted portions 43, so that the pair of contacted portions 43 is pushed out of the pair of second through holes 62 by the pair of elastic members 93 and jumps into the slit 24. Thereby, the pair of contacted portions 43 are removed from the pair of second through holes 62. Therefore, the pair of second contact portions 52 of the lock plate 40 does not contact the pair of contacted portions 43 when the upper jacket 16 moves to the front side X2 at the time of the secondary collision.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.
For example, the first contact portion 51 and the second contact portion 52 may be separate from the lock plate 40. In this case, the 1st contact part 51 and the 2nd contact part 52 should just be supported by the upper jacket 16 by methods, such as welding. The shape of the second contact portion 52 is not limited to a plate shape, and may be a rod shape extending from the outer peripheral surface 16B of the upper jacket 16.

  Thus, if the first contact portion 51 and the second contact portion 52 are separate from the lock plate 40, the design of each of the first contact portion 51, the second contact portion 52, and the lock plate 40 will be described. The degree of freedom can be improved. As a result, it is possible to design a component that meets the required performance, so that the quality of the first contact portion 51, the second contact portion 52 and the lock plate 40 can be improved, and hence the quality of the steering device 1 can be improved.

  A pin fixed to the upper jacket 16 may be provided instead of the first contact portion 51. In this case, the lower jacket 17 is provided with an insertion hole extending in the axial direction X and penetrating through the lower jacket 17 in the vertical direction Z, and the pin is inserted into the insertion hole. During the telescopic adjustment, when the upper jacket 16 moves to the rear side X1, the pin abuts against the peripheral edge of the insertion hole, thereby restricting the movement of the upper jacket 16 to the rear side X1 beyond a predetermined amount.

Further, the rear end surface 69A and the upper end surface 69B of the protrusion 69 of the engaging member 44 do not need to be connected in an R shape like the curved surface 69C, and the rear end surface 69A and the upper end surface 69B are linearly connected. It connects and may be connected by the taper surface. The tapered surface is inclined so as to go to the lower side Z2 as it goes from the front side X2 to the rear side X1.
Further, the pair of contacted portions 43 may be collars attached to the shearing portion 42. In this case, the pair of abutted portions 43 are cylindrical shapes extending in the left-right direction Y, and the pair of abutted portions 43 are formed with insertion holes penetrating the pair of abutted portions 43 in the left-right direction Y. Has been. The shearing portion 42 is inserted into the insertion hole from the left-right direction Y.

  Moreover, the structure by which the elastic member 93 of a 1st modification is accommodated in the 2nd through-hole 62 of the support part 25 of the lower jacket 17 of this embodiment may be sufficient. In this case, both ends of the shaft member 46 in the left-right direction Y receive elastic force by the elastic member 93. Therefore, when the shearing portion 42 is sheared and dropped at the time of the secondary collision, the pair of contacted portions 43 receive the elastic force from the pair of elastic members 93 in addition to being pulled by the sheared shearing portion 42. As a result, it jumps out into the slit 24 vigorously. Accordingly, the pair of contacted portions 43 is reliably removed from the pair of second through holes 62.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering device, 2 ... Vehicle body, 3 ... Steering shaft, 3A ... One end, 4 ... Column jacket, 6 ... Upper bracket, 8 ... Steering member, 16 ... Upper jacket, 17 ... Lower jacket, 40 ... Lock plate, 42 ... Shearing part, 43 ... contacted part, 44 ... engaging member, 46 ... shaft member, 50 ... receiving part, 51 ... first contacting part, 52 ... second contacting part, 56 ... partition part, 68 ... engaging Synthetic teeth, 69 ... projecting portion, X ... axial direction, X1 ... rear side, X2 ... front side, Y ... left-right direction

Claims (5)

A steering shaft having a steering member attached to one end and capable of extending and contracting in the axial direction;
The steering member has an upper jacket and a lower jacket opposite to the steering member, and rotatably supports the steering shaft. The steering of the upper jacket relative to the lower jacket in the axial direction is achieved by relative movement. A column jacket that can be stretched along with the shaft,
A bracket fixed to the vehicle body and supporting the column jacket;
An engaged member fixed to the upper jacket and having a plurality of engaged teeth arranged in the axial direction;
An engagement member having engagement teeth engageable with the engaged teeth, wherein the position of the upper jacket is locked by the engagement of the engagement teeth with the engaged teeth; An engagement member movable to unlock the upper jacket by releasing, and
Supported by the lower jacket, movably supports the engaging member, and is transmitted from the engaged member to the engaging member via the engaging tooth engaged with the engaged tooth at the time of a vehicle collision. A shearing portion that is sheared by the applied load;
A contacted portion supported by the lower jacket and provided so as to be aligned with the shearing portion in a direction intersecting the axial direction;
An abutting portion that is supported by the upper jacket and regulates movement of the upper jacket in a predetermined direction or more in the axial direction by abutting the abutted portion in a state where the upper jacket is unlocked; ,
A steering apparatus comprising: Including a shaft member extending in the intersecting direction and integrally formed with a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion;
The steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the large diameter portion is the contacted portion, and the small diameter portion is the shearing portion. A receiving portion fixed to the upper jacket;
A protrusion provided on the engaging member and protruding toward the receiving portion;
When the engagement member moves in order to lock the position of the upper jacket in a state where the contact portion is in contact with the contacted portion, the protrusion is moved while moving together with the engagement member. The steering device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the abutted portion and the abutting portion are brought into non-contact by moving the upper jacket while abutting on a portion.   The steering device according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion is formed integrally with the engaged member.   The steering device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contact portion is separate from the engaged member.

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