JP4694546B2 - Tilt telescopic steering device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention eliminates backlash at two sliding parts (between the shaft connection and between the movable bracket and the intermediate bracket) at the same time, and prevents the steering wheel (handle) from dropping during the tilting operation, while performing telescopic operation. The present invention relates to a tilt telescopic steering device that is sometimes not affected by the action of a spring member.

  Conventionally, a steering device that can adjust the position of the steering wheel (handle) in the vertical and longitudinal directions according to the physique of the driver (driver), that is, tilt and telescopic adjustment, has been frequently used. When adjusting the tilt (vertical angle) and telescopic (front / rear length), the position cannot be adjusted if there is no clearance between the steering shaft and the steering column (cylinder). Clearance exists.

Due to the presence of the clearance, there is a serious problem that the driver feels a slight rattling when the steering wheel is gripped, and the operability is impaired. Patent document 1 is mentioned as a prior art which is going to eliminate the backlash (so-called looseness).
JP-A-2005-14699

  In the invention of Patent Document 1, the inner column is urged upward by attaching a winding spring to the bracket portion, and the outer peripheral upper surface of the inner column is pressed against the inner peripheral lower surface of the outer jacket (outer column) by the urging force. It is designed to eliminate backlash. With the above configuration, it is possible to eliminate play between the inner column and the outer jacket. However, nothing is solved about the play between the sliding parts other than the above. In other words, the invention described above eliminates play at one sliding portion with one winding spring.

  Therefore, the problem (technical problem or purpose) to be solved by the present invention is that the suspended spring member simultaneously slides at two locations (between the shaft connection and between the movable bracket and the intermediate bracket). And a steering device that prevents the steering wheel (handle) from dropping at the time of tilting operation and does not affect the telescopic operation (the pulling force of the spring member hardly acts) is provided and realized.

  Therefore, as a result of earnestly researching the inventor to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventor of the present invention has a fixed bracket for fixing to the vehicle, a movable bracket movable with respect to the fixed bracket, and the movable bracket. And an intermediate bracket rotatably supported by the fixed bracket, a spring member suspended between the intermediate bracket and the fixed bracket, and a steering column fixed to the movable bracket, The fixed bracket and the movable bracket are provided to be tiltable and telescopic, and the movable bracket and the intermediate bracket are provided to be telescopic, and a part of the lower shaft corresponding to the upper shaft of the steering column and a part of the intermediate bracket Tilt telescopic stairs characterized by By was ring system, it has solved the problems.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a tilt telescopic steering device characterized in that, in the above-mentioned configuration, a flange portion provided at a rear portion of the lower shaft and a part of the intermediate bracket are fixed. The said subject was solved. The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned configuration, the lower end of the spring member is engaged with a hook provided on the intermediate bracket, and the upper end thereof is engaged with a mounting top of the fixed bracket. By using a tilt telescopic steering device, the above-mentioned problems have been solved. The invention of claim 4 is a tilt telescopic steering device characterized in that, in the above-described configuration, the spring member is a tension coil spring.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate backlash at two sliding portions (between the shaft connection and between the fixed bracket and the movable bracket) at the same time by the suspended spring member. In other words, it is possible to more directly eliminate the play when the driver (driver) grips the steering wheel. Furthermore, there is an advantage that it is possible to provide a steering device that prevents the steering wheel (handle) from dropping at the time of tilting operation and does not affect at the time of telescopic operation (the pulling force of the spring member hardly acts).

  The invention of claim 2 is particularly advantageous in that the play between the shaft connections of the steering column can be reliably eliminated. The other effects are the same as those of the first aspect. In invention of Claim 3, a structure is simple and it can provide cheaply by extension. In the invention of claim 4, there is an advantage that the assemblability can be particularly improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the main configuration of the present invention is a steering column 10, a fixed bracket 1, a movable bracket 2, an intermediate bracket 3, and predetermined positions of the fixed bracket 1 and the movable bracket 2. A lock shaft 4 that is inserted and fixed; a connecting shaft 5 that connects the movable bracket 2 and the intermediate bracket 3; a telescopic adjustment unit 6; and a shaft support 7 that rotatably supports the fixed bracket 1 and the intermediate bracket 3. The spring member 8 and the operation lever 9 are configured.

  The steering column 10 includes a column tube 10a, an upper shaft 10b, and a lower shaft 10c. In the column tube 10a, an end portion of the upper shaft 10b (left side in FIG. 2B) is provided on the inner periphery, and an end portion of the lower shaft 10c (right side in FIG. 2B) is provided with spline-shaped uneven portions. It is configured to be slidable through. Since the slide is impossible if there is no interval at the uneven portion, an interval is required in order to enable smooth sliding while adding grease. In some cases, the interval may be felt as loose for the driver.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and the like, the fixing bracket 1 is composed of a pair of left and right support side plates 11 and 11 and a mounting top portion 12. The mounting top portion 12 is mounted at a predetermined position in the vehicle via slide capsule members 14, 14,... And absorbs impact energy while sliding while receiving resistance to the mounting position only when an impact such as a collision occurs. The structure is designed to reduce the impact and protect the driver from accidents.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2 and 3, etc., the movable bracket 2 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and column support portions 21 and 21 are formed on both sides of the bottom portion 22 in the width direction. Has been. Both column support portions 21, 21 support and fix the steering column 10, and the column support portions 21, 21 are mounted between the support side plates 11, 11 of the fixed bracket 1 while being held by the lock shaft 4. [See FIG. 6B]. The fixed bracket 1 and the movable bracket 2 are connected by tilt adjustment holes 13, 13, telescopic adjustment holes 23, 23 and a lock shaft 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tilt adjustment holes 13 and 13 are formed as vertically elongated holes 13 a at appropriate positions of the support side plates 11 and 11. Further, the vertically long hole 13a may be formed in an arc shape. That is, it is formed as an arc having a radius centered on the shaft support 7 part. As shown in FIG. 3, the telescopic adjustment holes 23, 23 are formed as horizontally elongated holes 23 a, 23 a on the end side in the longitudinal direction of the movable bracket 2. The movable bracket 2 serves to perform a tilt operation and a telescopic operation with respect to the fixed bracket 1. The tilt adjustment hole 13 serves as a tilt adjustment hole 13 as the vertically long hole 13a, and the telescopic adjustment hole 23 as a laterally long hole 23a serves as a telescopic adjustment.

  The movable bracket 2 and the intermediate bracket 3 are connected to each other by telescopic adjusting portions 6 and 6 and a connecting shaft 5 (see FIGS. 1 and 6A). As shown in FIG. 5A, the telescopic adjustment portions 6 and 6 are formed as horizontally elongated holes 61 and 61 on the lower side of the intermediate bracket 3. The movable bracket 2 performs a telescopic operation with respect to the intermediate bracket 3.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the intermediate bracket 3 includes both support side plates 31, 31, a lower bottom 32 between the support side plates 31, 31, and an end between the support side plates 31, 31. Part bracket 33. A part of the intermediate bracket 3 (end bracket 33) and a part of the lower shaft 10c corresponding to the upper shaft 10b of the steering column 10 are fixed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, a flange portion 10d provided at the rear portion of the lower shaft 10c and a part of the intermediate bracket 3 (end bracket 33) are fixed by bolting.

  The fixed bracket 1 and the intermediate bracket 3 are configured to be rotatably supported by a shaft support 7 as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 (A) and 6 (A). Specifically, the pivot 71 is configured to be rotatable only. For this reason, the intermediate bracket 3 rotates with respect to the fixed bracket 1 during the tilt operation, but does not move in position during the telescopic operation. The seven parts of the shaft support will be described in detail. At the seven shaft support locations, the fixed bracket 1 and the intermediate bracket 3 are assembled so as not to cause looseness with a slight gap.

  Further, the movable bracket 2 and the intermediate bracket 3 are fastened and fixed by the connecting shaft 5 via the telescopic adjusting portions 6 and 6, but the five connecting shafts always rotate and slide. Since this is a place to be connected, an interval is provided in the same manner as the seven places of the shaft support.

  On both supporting side plates 31 of the intermediate bracket 3, hooks 34 are formed to engage one end (lower end) of the spring member 8 (see FIG. 1A). As shown in FIG. 5A, another member of the hook 34 is attached to the support side plate 31 by welding or the like. As shown in FIG. 5B, the hook 34 may be a protrusion formed integrally with a part of the intermediate bracket 3.

  The other end (upper end) of the spring member 8 is locked to an appropriate locking portion of the mounting top portion 12 of the fixed bracket 1. Specifically, the spring member 8 is provided with a tension coil spring 81. However, if the intermediate bracket 3 is configured to be pulled upward, as shown in FIG. However, it is sufficient and is not limited to the configuration. Further, the spring member 8 serves to prevent and hold the steering wheel W (steering wheel), the steering column 10 and the like from being lowered by its own weight during the tilting operation. It is preferable to approach the tilt adjusting hole 13 of the fixed bracket 1. The reason is to cope with the spring member 8 having a simple configuration with a weak tensile force.

  Next, the operation will be described. During the tilt operation, the steering wheel W (handle) is moved up and down in accordance with the body shape of the driver (driver). At this time, the operation lever 9 is released [clockwise rotation in FIG. 1A]. Then, with the shaft support 7 as a fulcrum, the load on the steering column 10, these members, and the steering wheel W acts on the rotational moment downward due to gravity. At this time, the spring member 8 is provided with a spring coefficient or the like so that an upward tensile force acts on the spring member 8 to cancel the above-described gravitational load and hold the substantially stationary state at that position. Under such a configuration, the steering wheel W (steering wheel) and the steering column 10 are appropriately raised (see FIG. 7A) or lowered (see FIG. 7B), and the movable bracket 2 and The intermediate bracket 3 is appropriately rotated, and the lock shaft 4 is fixed via the operation lever 9 (see counterclockwise rotation in FIG. 1A). With such an operation, the tilt operation is completed.

  Further, during the telescopic operation, the steering wheel W (handle) is moved back and forth (approached or moved away) in accordance with the body shape of the driver (driver). That is, the operation lever 9 is released and the steering column 10 is moved back and forth. Specifically, the movable bracket 2 is shown in FIG. 8A with respect to the fixed bracket 1 and the intermediate bracket 3 through the telescopic adjustment hole 23 and the telescopic adjustment portion 6 while the shaft support 7 is used as a fulcrum. In this manner, the steering wheel W (handle) is brought close to a desired position by sliding forward (front side). At that position, the lock shaft 4 is fixed via the operation lever 9. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the steering wheel W (handle) is released to a desired position by sliding backward (front side). At that position, the lock shaft 4 is fixed via the operation lever 9. With such an operation, the telescopic operation is completed.

  The tension force of the spring member 8 in the present invention acts as a holding force (preventing the handle drop) during the tilt operation, but is not related to the telescopic operation. This point will be described in detail. As described above, the intermediate bracket 3 is pivotally supported by the fixed bracket 1 and is not movable back and forth, and a tensile force of the spring member 8 acts between the fixed bracket 1 and the intermediate bracket 3. The movable bracket 2 and the intermediate bracket 3 are slidable through the telescopic adjustment hole 23 and the telescopic adjustment portion 6, so that the steering column 10 and the steering wheel W fixed to the movable bracket 2 are provided. Even if the (handle) is moved back and forth, the tensile force of the spring member 8 does not fluctuate. That is, the tensile force of the spring member 8 is not related to the telescopic operation (see FIG. 4B and FIG. 8). For this reason, there is an advantage that the telescopic operation can be performed extremely well. In addition to such advantages, the tension force of the spring member 8 has an advantage of acting as a holding force during the tilt operation (see FIGS. 4A and 7).

  In addition, a part of the lower shaft 10c corresponding to the upper shaft 10b of the steering column 10 and a part of the intermediate bracket 3 are fixed, and in this state, between the intermediate bracket 3 and the fixed bracket 1 If there is no spring member 8 suspended on the shaft, a gap is formed between the lower shaft 10c and the upper shaft 10b as shown in FIG. There may be gaps in the sliding parts, and play of these sliding parts may occur.

  However, as shown in FIG. 9B, if there is a spring member 8 suspended between the intermediate bracket 3 and the fixed bracket 1, the lower shaft 10c is pulled by the tensile force of the spring member 8. The concavo-convex part of the upper shaft 10b can be connected to the concavo-convex part of the upper shaft 10b. At the same time, a rotational moment due to the tensile force of the spring member 8 acts on a sliding portion that is a telescopic portion between the movable bracket 2 and the intermediate bracket 3, so that the sliding state can be brought into a connected state with almost no sliding interval. That is, it is possible to eliminate the backlash of the sliding portions at two locations (between the shaft connection and between the fixed bracket and the movable bracket) at the same time with the suspended spring member. Further, the pulling force of the spring member 8 prevents the steering wheel (handle) from dropping during the tilting operation, and does not affect the telescopic operation (the pulling force of the spring member hardly acts).

(A) is a side view of this invention, (B) is a principal part longitudinal side view of (A). It is a perspective view of the present invention. It is a disassembled side view of the main member of this invention. (A) is an action state figure of a fixed bracket and an intermediate bracket in the present invention, and (B) is an action state figure of a movable bracket and an intermediate bracket in the present invention. (A) is a perspective view of the location of an intermediate bracket, (B) is a partial perspective view of another embodiment different from (A). (A) is sectional drawing of the intermediate bracket location of this invention, (B) is sectional drawing of the tilt location of this invention. (A) is a simplified side view raised by a tilt operation, and (B) is a simplified side view lowered by a tilt operation. (A) is a simplified side view with the steering column extended to the body side (right side) by telescopic operation, and (B) is a simplified side view with the steering column retracted to the engine side (left side) by telescopic operation. FIG. (A) is the state figure which removed the spring member in the relationship between an intermediate bracket, an upper shaft, and a lower shaft, (B) is the state figure which provided the spring member in the relationship between an intermediate bracket, an upper shaft, and a lower shaft. is there. It is a disassembled side view of the main member which made the spring member another embodiment.

1 ... fixed bracket, 2 ... movable bracket, 3 ... intermediate bracket, 34 ... hook,
7 ... shaft support, 8 ... spring member, 81 ... tensile coil spring, 10 ... steering column,
10b: Upper shaft, 10c: Lower shaft.

Claims (4)

  A fixed bracket fixed to a vehicle, a movable bracket movable with respect to the fixed bracket, an intermediate bracket corresponding to the movable bracket and rotatably supported by the fixed bracket, and the intermediate bracket and the fixed bracket And a steering column fixed to the movable bracket. The fixed bracket and the movable bracket can be tilted and telescopically provided, and the movable bracket and the intermediate bracket can be telescopically arranged. A tilt telescopic steering device, wherein a part of a lower shaft corresponding to an upper shaft of the steering column and a part of the intermediate bracket are fixed to each other.   2. The tilt telescopic steering device according to claim 1, wherein a flange portion provided at a rear portion of the lower shaft and a part of the intermediate bracket are fixed to each other.   2. The tilt telescopic steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lower end of the spring member is engaged with a hook provided on the intermediate bracket, and an upper end thereof is engaged with a mounting top portion of the fixed bracket.   2. The tilt telescopic steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is a tension coil spring.

Images