JP2575969Y2 - Tilt steering system - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A tilt type steering apparatus according to the present invention adjusts a height position of a steering wheel for steering an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A steering wheel height adjusting device called a tilt type steering device is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 62-18121, for example, so that the height of the steering wheel can be changed according to the physique and driving posture of the driver. As described above, it is conventionally known.

A conventionally known tilt type steering apparatus is configured as shown in FIG. 6, for example. Above (after)
A steering shaft 2 that is rotated by operating a steering wheel 1 fixed to an end is inserted through a steering column 3. The lower (front) end of the steering column 3 is supported on the vehicle body so as to be swingable about the horizontal axis 4, and the upper portion is supported on the vehicle body so that the vertical position can be adjusted.

A fixed bracket 5 fixed to the vehicle body on the lower side of the dashboard or the like has an arc-shaped long hole 6 centered on the horizontal axis 4 formed in the vertical direction. An elevating bracket 7 (see FIGS. 7 to 9 described later), which is formed by bending a metal plate having sufficient rigidity, is fixed to a portion of the upper portion of the steering column 3 sandwiched between the fixing brackets 5 by welding or the like. ing.

[0005] Through holes 8 formed in the lifting bracket 7,
8 (FIGS. 7 to 9) and the elongated hole 6, one tilt bolt 9 is inserted. The head 21 of the tilt bolt 9
Width d (FIG. 7-9), the length sufficiently greater than the width W ₆ of the hole 6 and (d> W _6), the head 21 is so as not to pass through the long hole 6. The head 21 is provided with the long hole 6.
, So that only the vertical movement is engaged so as not to rotate.
On the other hand, the tilt nut 10 (FIGS. 7 to 9) screwed to the male screw portion at the tip of the tilt bolt 9 can be freely tightened and released by operating the tilt lever 11.

When adjusting the height position of the steering wheel 1, with the tilt nut 10 loosened,
After the tilt bolt 9 is moved along the long hole 6 of the fixing bracket 5, the tilt nut 10 screwed to the tilt bolt 9 is tightened by the tilt lever 11.

For example, if the tilt nut 9 is tightened while the tilt bolt 9 is moved to the upper end of the elongated hole 6, the steering wheel 1 is raised as shown by a solid line in FIG. When the tilt nut 10 is tightened while the nut is moved to the lower end of the long hole 6, the steering wheel 1 is lowered as shown by a chain line in FIG.

When the height position of the steering wheel 1 is adjusted, the height position of the steering wheel 1 is prevented from inadvertently moving.
No. 3 discloses a structure as shown in FIGS. A pair of vertical plate portions 12 constituting the fixing bracket 5,
12, the fixed gear 1 is provided on the outer surface of one of the vertical plate portions 12.
3 is screwed and fixed.

A lock plate 14 is provided between the fixed gear 13 and the tilt nut 10 screwed to the tip of the tilt bolt 9. The inner surface of the lock plate 14 and the outer surface of the fixed gear 13 are meshed with each other to form a washing plate-like elevating-side meshing tooth 17 and a fixed-side meshing tooth 1.
6 are formed. The lock plate 14 is elastically pressed toward the fixed gear 13 by a compression spring 15 provided between the tilt nut 10 and the lock plate 14.

When the tilt nut 10 is moved to the left in FIG. 8 to fix the height position of the steering wheel, the lock plate 14 cannot be displaced rightward in FIG. As a result, the lock plate 14 cannot be moved up and down while the fixed side meshing teeth 16 and the elevation side meshing teeth 17 are meshed. Therefore, the tilt bolt 9 inserted through the lock plate 14 cannot be moved up and down, so that the height position of the steering wheel does not change carelessly.

On the other hand, Japanese Utility Model Laid- Open Publication No. 63-32963 discloses a structure as shown in FIG. A lock piece 18 is provided between the tilt nut 10 and the fixed bracket 5.
Fixed side meshing teeth 16 formed on the outer surface of fixed bracket 5
And can be freely disengaged. Protrusions 19, 19 are formed at upper and lower ends of the inner surface of the lock piece 18, and each of the protrusions 19, 1
The lock piece 18 is prevented from rotating by the engagement between the lock piece 9 and the elongated hole 6. Further, a compression spring 20 is provided between the outer surface of the lifting bracket 7 and the lock piece 18, and the locking piece 18 is disengaged from the fixed-side meshing tooth 16 and the lifting-side meshing tooth 17. Of elasticity.

When the tilt nut 10 is moved rightward in FIG. 9 to fix the height position of the steering wheel, the lock piece 18 cannot be displaced leftward in FIG. As a result, the lock piece 18 cannot be moved up and down while the fixed side meshing teeth 16 and the elevating side meshing teeth 17 are meshed. Therefore, the tilt bolt 9 into which the lock piece 18 is inserted cannot be moved up and down, so that the height position of the steering wheel does not change carelessly.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The tilt type steering apparatus of the present invention completely removes the engagement between the fixed side meshing teeth and the elevation side meshing teeth when adjusting the height position of the steering wheel. When the height position of the steering wheel is fixed, the two meshing teeth are reliably meshed with each other while preventing the generation of abnormal noise at the meshing portion of the meshing teeth.

In the conventional structure described above, in the structure shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, even when the tilt nut 10 is loosened, the lock plate 14 is fixed to the fixed gear 13 by the elastic force of the compression spring 15.
The state is kept elastically pressed toward. Because of this,
When the lock plate 14 is moved up and down in order to adjust the height position of the steering wheel, the fixed-side meshing teeth 16 and the up-and-down-side meshing teeth 17 generate abnormal noise, and a person operating the tilt type steering device ( To the driver).

On the other hand, in the case of the structure shown in FIG. 9, when the tilt nut 10 is loosened, the lock piece 18 is pushed to the left by the elastic force of the compression spring 20, and the lifting / lowering side mesh formed on the lock piece 18 is formed. Since the teeth 17 and the fixed side meshing teeth 16 formed on the outer surface of the fixed bracket 5 tend to be disengaged, as long as the dimensional accuracy of each component is secured, even when adjusting the height position of the steering wheel, No abnormal noise occurs.

However, in the actual case, it is difficult to secure the dimensional accuracy of each of the constituent members from the viewpoint of cost and the like. If the height position of the steering wheel is adjusted with the tilt nut 10 loosened, , The two meshing teeth 16,
Unusual noise is likely to be generated from the meshing portion of No. 17.

That is, in the case of the conventional tilt type steering column device, the pair of vertical plate portions 12 constituting the fixed bracket 5 are parallel to each other. When the height position of the steering wheel is adjusted, the lifting bracket 7
However, in order to be able to smoothly move up and down inside the two vertical plate portions 12 and 12, the distance D between the inner side surfaces of the two vertical plate portions 12 and 12 is raised and lowered as shown in an exaggerated manner in FIG. The width is larger than the width W _{7 of the} bracket 7 (D> W ₇ ).

When the tilt nut 10 is tightened to fix the height position of the steering wheel, the interval D is reduced by the elastic deformation of the vertical plates 12, 12, and the distance D is reduced. The inner surfaces of 12, 12 and the outer surfaces of the lifting bracket 7 are in close contact. Conversely, when the tilt nut 10 is loosened to adjust the height position of the steering wheel, the distance L between the tilt nut 10 and the head 21 of the tilt bolt 9 increases, and the vertical plates Each of the vertical plate portions 1 is formed by elastically deforming the
The inner surfaces of the brackets 2 and 12 and the outer surfaces of the lifting bracket 7 are separated from each other, and the space between the inner surface of the vertical plate portion 12 near the tilt nut 10 and the outer surface of the lifting bracket 7 is exaggerated in FIG. Such a gap 42 is formed.

On the other hand, the fixed-side and elevating-side both meshing teeth 16,
When the meshing of the teeth 17 is completely removed, it is necessary to form a gap 43 between the meshing teeth 16 and 17 as shown in FIG. Tilt nut 10
Is loosened, first, the fixed-side and elevating-side both meshing teeth 1
There is no particular problem if a gap 43 is formed between 6, 6 and 17, but actually, a gap 42 between the inner surface of the vertical plate portion 12 and the outer surface of the lifting bracket 7 is formed first. ,
Next, the gap 43 is formed. This is because the elasticity of the vertical plate portions 12 is larger than the elasticity of the compression spring 20.

Of course, if the elasticity of the vertical plates 12, 12 is made smaller than the elasticity of the compression spring 20, the above-mentioned problem does not occur, but each of the vertical plates 12, 12 needs to have sufficient rigidity. Although the elasticity of the compression spring 20 is inevitably increased, the increase in the elasticity of the compression spring 20 leads to an increase in the operating force of the tilt nut 10. Therefore, as described above, the elasticity of the vertical plate portions 12 is reduced by the elasticity of the compression spring 20. It is difficult to make it smaller.

Increasing the variation (stroke) of the distance L between the tilt nut 10 and the head 21 of the tilt bolt 9 based on the operation of the tilt nut 10 adjusts the height position of the steering wheel. There are drawbacks such as complicating the operation at the time, and it is difficult to practically adopt it.

The tilt type steering device of the present invention has been conceived in view of the above-mentioned circumstances.

[0023]

The tilt type steering apparatus according to the present invention comprises, similarly to the above-mentioned conventional tilt type steering apparatus, a steering column in which a steering shaft for fixing a steering wheel to a rear end portion is rotatably inserted. A horizontal shaft pivotally supporting the front end of the steering column, a lifting bracket fixed to an intermediate portion of the steering column, a through hole formed in the lifting bracket, and a pair of vertical plate portions. A fixing bracket fixed to the vehicle body with the elevating bracket sandwiched between the left and right, a vertically extending slot formed at a position aligned with the through hole in a part of each of the vertical plate portions, and an elongated hole extending in the vertical direction; A rod member having a large diameter portion at its base end portion that cannot pass through, and a rod member inserted through the long hole and the through hole, and an outer surface of the vertical plate portion at a distal end portion of the rod member. A pressing member which is displaceably engaged with a portion protruding from the rod member in the axial direction of the rod member and has a shape which cannot pass through the elongated hole; and a member for displacing the pressing member in the axial direction with respect to the rod member. An operating member, a fixed gear fixed at a position sandwiching the slot with the outer surface of one of the vertical plate portions whose outer surface faces the pressing member, and formed on the outer surface of the fixed gear. A fixed side meshing tooth that repeats irregularities in the up-down direction, an elevating side meshing tooth meshing with the fixed side meshing tooth on the inner surface, and a through hole through which the rod member is inserted in the center, A lock member sandwiched between the pressing member and the fixed gear; and a spring provided in contact with the lock member and having an elastic force in a direction for separating an inner surface of the lock member and an outer surface of the fixed gear. It has.

In particular, in the tilt type steering apparatus according to the present invention, the pair of vertical plate portions has a fixed end for fixing the upper end to the vehicle body and a free end for the lower end. With the fixing bracket fixed to the vehicle body, the interval between the free ends is made smaller than the interval between the fixed ends, and the interval between the inner surfaces of the pair of vertical plate portions in the free state is It is characterized in that it is slightly smaller than the width dimension of the lifting bracket.

As described above, in order to make the interval between the free ends narrower than the interval between the fixed ends when the fixing bracket is fixed to the vehicle body, for example, as shown in FIG. A mounting plate portion 45 forming a pair of elements 44, 44;
The intersection angle between the vertical plate portions 45 and the vertical plate portions 12 is made obtuse, and the mounting plate portions 45 and 45 of the respective elements 44 and 44 are mounted on a flat mounting surface 46 as shown in FIG. Or a pair of elements 4 as shown in FIG.
Attachment plate parts 45, 45 and vertical plate part 1 constituting the parts 4, 44
As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the crossing angle between the mounting brackets 2 and 12 is a right angle, and the mounting plate portions 45 and 45 of the respective elements 44 and 44 are mounted on the mounting surface 46a having a concave central portion as shown in FIG. I do. Although not shown, both ends of the mounting plate portion are bent downward, and the whole is formed in a U-shape with a downward opening, so that a pair of right and left vertical plate portions bent at an acute angle with respect to this mounting plate portion. Can also be formed.

In any case, after the fixing bracket 5 is mounted on the mounting surfaces 46, 46a of the vehicle body (in a state where the lifting bracket is not inserted inside the vertical plates 12, 12), 12 and 12 are inclined by an angle θ with respect to the vertical plane. The inclination angle θ is determined by design considerations, but when both the pair of vertical plate portions 12 are inclined, it is sufficient that the angle is about 2 degrees. When only one vertical plate portion 12 (for example, only the vertical plate portion supporting the fixed gear) is tilted, it is tilted back and forth by 4 degrees.

[0027]

The operation of adjusting the height position of the steering wheel according to the physique and the like of the driver by the tilt type steering apparatus of the present invention configured as described above is the same as the conventional tilt type steering system described above. It is similar to the case of the device.

In particular, in the case of the tilt type steering device of the present invention, the inner surfaces of the pair of vertical plates constituting the fixed bracket are always elastically pressed toward the outer surface of the lifting bracket. Therefore, when the force pressing the lock member against the fixed gear by the pressing member is released in order to adjust the height position of the steering wheel, almost all of the displacement amount of the pressing member based on the operating member becomes It is used to displace the lock member so as to disengage the fixed side meshing teeth and the lifting side meshing teeth.

Therefore, without making the operation amount of the operation member unnecessarily large, the meshing of the both meshing teeth can be disengaged, and generation of abnormal noise when adjusting the height position of the steering wheel can be prevented.

[0030]

3 and 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the tilt type steering apparatus of the present invention inserts a steering shaft 2 which is rotated by operating a steering wheel 1 fixed to an upper end portion into a steering column 3 as shown in FIG. The lower end of the steering column 3 is attached to the vehicle body,
It is supported swingably around the horizontal axis 4, and the upper part is
The vertical position is adjustable.

The fixing bracket 5 fixed to the vehicle body is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 4, a mounting plate 47 and a pair of supporting plates 48, 4 fixed to both lower end portions of the mounting plate 47 by welding or the like.
And 8. The mounting plate 47, which is made of a metal plate having elasticity and sufficient rigidity, is bent at the center so that the center of the lower surface becomes convex, and is formed in a V-shape as a whole. Each of the support plates 48, 48, which is also formed by bending a metal plate having elasticity and sufficient rigidity at a right angle, is connected to coupling plate portions 49, 49 attached to the lower surface of the mounting plate 47, respectively. And vertical plate portions 12 and 12.

Bolts (not shown) for supporting the fixed bracket 5 on the vehicle body are provided at both ends of the mounting plate 47 and the connecting plate portions 49, 49 which are connected in an overlapping state. Through holes 50 for insertion are formed. Each of the vertical plate portions 12 has elongated holes 6a and 6b extending vertically. In the illustrated embodiment, the width of one long hole 6a (left side in FIG. 3) is narrow, and the width of the other long hole 6b (right side in FIG. 3) is wide.

Fixed bracket 5 constructed as described above
Is supported and fixed to a flat mounting surface 46 (see FIG. 1B) provided on the vehicle body by tightening bolts inserted through the through holes 50 from below. In this state of being supported and fixed, the mounting plate 47 and the coupling plate portion 49 corresponding to the mounting plate portion 45 become flat in accordance with the mounting surface 46. Therefore, the interval between the inner side surfaces of the pair of vertical plate portions 12 becomes narrower downward. When the fixed bracket 5 is attached to the vehicle body in this manner, the distance D between the inner surfaces of the pair of vertical plates 12 and 12 at the middle part in the up-down direction is free. A little smaller than the width dimension W ₇ (D <W ₇ )
Thus, the dimensions and bending angles of each part are regulated.

A portion of the upper lower surface of the steering column 3 sandwiched between the fixed brackets 5 is formed by bending and forming a metal plate having sufficient rigidity.
Are fixed by welding or the like. When assembling the tilt-type steering column device, the lifting bracket 7
The pair of vertical plate portions 12 are inserted between the vertical plate portions 12 while elastically expanding the space between the inner surfaces of the vertical plate portions 12.
Therefore, when the tilt type steering column device is assembled, the inner surface of each of the vertical plate portions 12 and 12 and the outer surface of the elevating bracket 7 are always in a state of elastic contact.

The lifting bracket 7 has a through hole 8 through which a tilt bolt 9a as a rod member is inserted. The base end of the tilt bolt 9a has the slot 6
The head 21 is formed as a large-diameter portion that cannot pass through a. A convex portion 22 that engages with the long hole 6a is formed on the inner surface of the head portion 21 in the vertical direction to prevent the tilt bolt 9a from rotating.

At the tip of the tilt bolt 9a, a portion projecting from the outer wall surface of the vertical plate portion 12 with the tilt bolt 9a inserted through the long holes 6a, 6b and the through hole 8 is provided with a pressing member. The tilt nut 10a is screwed. The tilt nut 10a allows the tilt bolt 9a to be freely displaced in the axial direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4) by operating a tilt lever 11a as an operation member. Further, a convex portion 36 is formed on the inner end surface (the left end surface in FIG. 4) of the tilt nut 10a. A screw hole 37 provided at the center of the tilt nut 10a and screwed with the tilt bolt 9a opens at the center of the convex portion 36.

That is, the male screw 23 formed in the outer half (the right half in FIGS. 3 and 4) of the tilt nut 10a is inserted into the circular hole 24 formed in the base end of the tilt lever 11a. A nut 25 is screwed onto the distal end of the male screw portion 23 and further tightened to fix the base end of the tilt lever 11a to the tilt nut 10a. Therefore, when the tilt lever 11a is operated, the tilt nut 1
0a is displaced in the axial direction of the tilt bolt 9a,
The distance between the tilt nut 10a and the head 21 changes.

The fixed bracket 5 is fixed to the outer side surface (the right side surface in FIG. 4) of one of the pair of vertical plate portions 12 (right side in FIGS. 3 to 4). Gear 26
Are fixed by welding or screwing. The fixed gear 26 is formed in a rectangular frame shape as a whole, and has an elongated hole 27 having the same shape and size as the elongated hole 6b of the vertical plate portion 12 in the center.

The width w of the fixed gear 26 is smaller than the width W ₁₂ of the vertical plate portion ₁₂ (W 12> w), therefore, in a state of being aligned with said elongate hole 6b and the long hole 27 When the fixed gear 26 is fixed to the outer surface of the vertical plate portion 12,
Both ends of the outer surface of the vertical plate portion 12 are exposed before and after the fixed gear 26. A part of the outer surface (the right side surface in FIG. 4) of the fixed gear 26 as described above,
A fixed side meshing tooth 28 is formed at the position sandwiching. In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the shape of each fixed-side meshing tooth 28 is a ratchet tooth shape in which a force for preventing the lock plate 29 described below from being displaced downward is increased.

A lock plate 29, which is a lock member, is provided on the outer surface of the fixed gear 26 as described above.
The lock plate 29 has the same width dimension w as the fixed gear 26, and has a through hole 30 formed at the center thereof, through which the tilt bolt 9a can be inserted. On the inner side surface (left side surface in FIG. 4) of the lock plate 29, elevating-side meshing teeth 31 meshing with the fixed-side meshing teeth 28 are formed.

Further, a leaf spring 32 is provided in relation to the lock plate 29 and the fixed bracket 5, and gives an elastic force to the lock plate 29 in a direction away from the outer surface of the fixed bracket 5. The leaf spring 32 made of a plate material having sufficient elasticity, such as a stainless steel spring material, has a base 33 and a pair of upper and lower holding pieces 34, 34.
And a pair of front and rear leg pieces 35, 35, which are legs.

At the center of the base 33, there is formed a through hole 38 into which a projection 36 formed on the inner end surface of the tilt nut 10a can enter, and the base 33 is formed in a square frame shape. At the upper and lower edges of the base 33, the holding pieces 34,
34 is formed so as to be bent at a right angle toward the vertical plate portion 12 of the fixed bracket 5. Each holding piece 3
Reference numerals 4 and 34 each have an L-shaped cross section, and hold the lock plate 29 against the base portion 33 by holding the upper and lower ends of the lock plate 29.

The pair of leg pieces 35 are bent at right angles from the front and rear end edges of the base 33 toward the vertical plate 12. This pair of leg pieces 35, 35
Distance D ₃₅ of the fixed gear 26 and the lock plate 2
9 (D ₃₅ ≒ w). Accordingly, the leaf spring 32 and the lock plate 29 are connected by the holding pieces 34, 34, and the lifting-side meshing teeth 31 of the lock plate 29 and the fixed-side meshing teeth 2 of the fixed gear 26 are connected.
8 are in close proximity or in contact with each other.
5 and 35 are in contact with the front and rear end edges of the fixed gear 26, and the middle portion of the inner surface is the lock plate 2
9 is in contact with both front and rear edges.

Therefore, the leaf spring 32 is connected to the fixed gear 2.
6 is prevented from being displaced in the rotation direction about the tilt bolt 9a by the contact engagement between the front end portions of the inner surfaces of the leg pieces 35, 35 and the front and rear end edges of the fixed gear 26. The displacement of the lock plate 29 in the rotation direction about the tilt bolt 9a with respect to the leaf spring 32 is caused by the intermediate portions of the inner surfaces of the legs 35, 35 and the front and rear end edges of the lock plate 29. Is prevented by the abutment engagement. As a result, the lock plate 29 is prevented from being displaced with respect to the fixed gear 26 in the rotation direction about the tilt bolt 9a.

The tip edges of the pair of front and rear leg pieces 35, 35 as described above are respectively in contact with portions protruding from the front and rear end edges of the fixed gear 26 on the outer surface of the vertical plate portion 12. . The length L of each leg 35 and 35 is made larger _{(L> T 26 + T 29} ) than the sum of the thickness T ₂₉ of the thickness T ₂₆ of the fixed gear 26 the lock plate 29. Therefore, when the leaf spring 32 is in the free state, the engagement between the fixed-side meshing teeth 28 and the elevating-side meshing teeth 31 is completely disengaged.

When the height position of the steering wheel is adjusted by the tilt type steering apparatus of the present invention configured as described above in accordance with the physique and the like of the driver, the conventional tilt type steering apparatus described above is used. As in the case, the tilt nut 11 is operated by operating the tilt lever 11a.
Then, the tilt nut 10a is moved rightward in FIG.

With the movement of the tilt nut 10a, the convex portion 36 of the tilt nut 10a
Is released, the lock plate 29 is displaced rightward in FIG. 4 based on the elasticity of the leaf spring 32. Although the elasticity of the leaf spring 32 is not so large, as described above, the inner surface of each of the vertical plate portions 12 and 12 and the outer surface of the lifting bracket 7 are always in contact with each other.
Even when the pressing force is released, no gap is formed between the two side surfaces, and the displacement of the leaf spring 32 is such that the lifting / lowering side meshing teeth 31 are all displaced rightward in FIG. Used for

As a result, the engagement between the fixed meshing teeth 28 on the outer surface of the fixed gear 26 and the elevating meshing teeth 31 on the inner surface of the lock plate 29 is released.
In addition, the tilt bolt 9a inserted into the through hole 30 at the center of the lock plate 29 can be moved up and down.

Therefore, while moving the tilt bolt 9a along the long holes 6a, 6b formed in the vertical plate portions 12, 12 of the fixed bracket 5, the steering wheel 1
After adjusting the height position (see FIG. 6), the tilt nut 10a screwed with the tilt bolt 9a by the tilt lever 11a is moved leftward in FIG. 4, and the leaf spring 32 is elastically deformed. When the lock plate 29 is pressed against the fixed gear 26 by the convex portion 36 of the tilt nut 10a, the upper part of the steering column 3 is fixed to the vehicle body with the height position of the steering wheel 1 adjusted appropriately. Can be supported against

In a state where the pressing force by the tilt nut 10a is released, the meshing between the up-and-down side meshing teeth 31 of the lock plate 29 and the fixed side meshing teeth 28 of the fixed gear 26 is completely disengaged. When the height position is adjusted, there is no possibility that the two meshing teeth 31 and 28 mesh with each other to generate abnormal noise.

As described above, the pair of front and rear leg pieces 35, 35 constituting the leaf spring 32 abut on the front and rear end edges of the fixed gear 26 and the lock plate 29, and these two members 26, 29 Since both are prevented from being displaced in the rotational direction about the tilt bolt 9a, the two meshing teeth 28,
Even when the meshing of the meshing members 31 is disengaged, the tops of the fixed side meshing teeth 28 and the tops of the elevation side meshing teeth 31 do not have a torsional positional relationship. Therefore, it is difficult for the peaks of the both meshing teeth 28 and 31 to remain in contact with each other, and when the height position of the steering wheel 1 is fixed, the two meshing teeth 28 and 31 are easily meshed with each other.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the case of the present embodiment, a first leaf spring 39 for preventing the lock plate 29 from rotating with respect to the fixed gear 26.
And a second leaf spring 40 for disengaging the lifting-side meshing teeth 31 of the lock plate 29 and the fixed-side meshing teeth 28 of the fixed gear 26 when adjusting the height position of the steering wheel 1 (see FIG. 4). Are separated.

The first leaf spring 39 is sandwiched between the second leaf spring 40 and the lock plate 29.
A pair of bent plate portions 41, 41 are formed. The length L 41 of each of the bent plate portions 41, ₄₁ is larger than the thickness T ₂₉ of the lock plate 29 (L ₄₁ > T ₂₉ ), but the leading edge of each of the bent plate portions 41, 41 is the vertical plate portion 12. (FIGS. 3 and 4
(See Reference). or,
The distance D41 between the two bent plate portions 41, ₄₁ is substantially equal to the width dimension w of the fixed gear 26 and the lock plate 29 ( _D41 ≒ w). Therefore, each of the bent plate portions 4
The front end portions of the inner surfaces of the fixed gears 26 abut against the front and rear edges of the fixed gear 26.
To prevent the lock plate 29 from rotating with respect to the fixed gear 26.

On the other hand, the second leaf spring 40 is formed in the same shape as the leaf spring 32 in the first embodiment. However, the length L 'of the leg pieces 35a, 35a is
Greater than the sum of the thickness T ₂₆ 6 and the thickness T ₂₉ of the lock plate 29 and the thickness T ₃₉ of the first plate spring 39 (L '
> T ₂₆ + T ₂₉ + T ₃₉ ). Therefore, when the second leaf spring 40 is in the free state, the engagement between the fixed-side meshing teeth 28 and the elevating-side meshing teeth 31 is completely disengaged. The leg piece 35
The distance D 'between the first plate spring 39a and the outer diameter W'
_It is equal to or larger than ₃₉ (D ′ ≧ W ₃₉ ).

In the case of the present embodiment, the elasticity of the first leaf spring 39 and the elasticity of the second leaf spring 40 can be freely changed according to their respective roles. For this reason, the tilt lever 11a (FIGS.
4) Without unnecessarily increasing the force required to operate
The design for surely preventing the rotation of the lock plate 29 is facilitated.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, but can be applied to, for example, the structure shown in FIG. 9 as a conventional structure. That is, the pair of vertical plate portions 1 shown in FIG.
The lower ends of 2 and 12 are free ends, and both vertical plate portions 1
2 and 12 are non-parallel in the free state, and both vertical plate portions 1
If the inner surfaces of the upper and lower brackets 2 and 12 and the outer surfaces of the lifting bracket 7 are always in contact with each other, the meshing of the fixed-side and lifting-side both meshing teeth 16 and 17 can be performed without increasing the operation amount of the tilt lever 11. Can be removed without fail.

[0057]

[Effect of the invention] The tilt type steering device of the invention is:
Although configured and operated as described above, abnormal noise does not occur with the operation, and the height position of the steering wheel can be reliably and easily fixed, and the product value can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first example of a fixing bracket used in the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state before fixing to a vehicle body and a state after fixing.

FIG. 2 shows a second example of the fixing bracket used in the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state before fixing to a vehicle body and a state after fixing.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3 in an assembled state.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the entire configuration of the tilt type steering apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing a first example of a conventional structure.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 7 in an assembled state.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a second example of the conventional structure.

FIG. 10 is an exaggerated cross-sectional view showing a gap generated when adjusting the height position of the steering wheel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering wheel 2 Steering shaft 3 Steering column 4 Horizontal axis 5 Fixing bracket 6, 6a, 6b Long hole 7 Elevating bracket 8 Through hole 9, 9a Tilt bolt 10, 10a Tilt nut 11, 11a Tilt lever 12 Vertical plate part 13 Fixed gear 14 Lock plate 15 Compression spring 16 Fixed side meshing teeth 17 Elevating side meshing teeth 18 Lock piece 19 Convex part 20 Compression spring 21 Head 22 Convex part 23 Male screw part 24 Circular hole 25 Nut 26 Fixed gear 27 Long hole 28 Fixed side mesh Teeth 29 lock plate 30 through hole 31 elevating side meshing teeth 32 leaf spring 33 base 34 holding piece 35, 35a leg piece 36 convex part 37 screw hole 38 through hole 39 first leaf spring 40 second leaf spring 41 bent plate part 42, 43 gap 44 element 45 mounting plate 46, 46a mounting surface 4 Mounting plate 48 supporting plate 49 coupling plate portion 50 through hole

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A steering column for rotatably inserting a steering shaft for fixing a steering wheel to a rear end, a horizontal axis for pivotally supporting a front end of the steering column, and an intermediate portion between the steering columns. A lifting bracket fixed to the vehicle, a through hole formed in the lifting bracket, and a fixed bracket fixed to the vehicle body with the pair of vertical plates sandwiching the lifting bracket from the left and right. A long hole extending in the vertical direction formed at a position corresponding to the through hole at the portion, and a large diameter portion that cannot pass through the long hole at its base end portion, and the long hole and the through hole are inserted. A rod member and a portion protruding from an outer surface of the vertical plate portion at a tip end of the rod member are displaceably engaged in the axial direction of the rod member and have a shape that cannot pass through the long hole. A pressing member, and an operating member for displacing the pressing member in the axial direction with respect to the rod member;
A fixed gear fixed at a position sandwiching the elongated hole on the outer surface of the one vertical plate portion whose outer surface is opposed to the pressing member; and a vertical gear formed on the outer surface of the fixed gear. The fixed side meshing tooth which repeats the unevenness, the raising and lowering side meshing tooth meshing with the fixed side meshing tooth on the inner surface, and a through hole through which the rod member is inserted at the center, respectively, and the pressing member is fixed to the pressing member. A tilt member including a lock member sandwiched between the gear member and a spring provided in contact with the lock member and having elasticity in a direction of separating an inner surface of the lock member and an outer surface of the fixed gear; In the steering device, the pair of vertical plate portions may be fixed ends having upper ends fixed to the vehicle body, and lower ends may be free ends, and the fixed bracket may be fixed to the vehicle body. The distance between the free ends The distance between the fixed ends is smaller than the distance between the fixed ends, and the distance between the inner surfaces of the pair of vertical plate portions in the free state is slightly smaller than the width dimension of the lifting bracket. Tilt type steering column device.