JP5365769B2 - Transmission ratio variable steering device and motor lock mechanism for transmission ratio variable steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transmission ratio variable steering device, and a locking mechanism of a motor therefor capable of rapidly locking the motor more than a conventional one without increasing the size of a solenoid. <P>SOLUTION: The locking mechanism has a compression coil spring 38 between a spring receiving wall 37A of a plunger 37 and a solenoid 36. In the compression coil spring 38, a lock lever 32 urged by a torsion spring 34 to the starting end position side is abutted on the spring receiving wall 37A at the intermediate position while being moved from a starting end position to a terminating end position. The lock lever is compressed and deformed while being moved from the intermediate position to the terminating end position to urge the plunger 37 in a direction projecting from the solenoid 36. Thus, a motor 22 can be locked rapidly more than in a conventional locking mechanism, and the urging force P for urging the lock lever 32 to the starting end position side can be suppressed to be smaller than the suction force of the solenoid 36 in the entire stroke range of the plunger 37. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transmission ratio variable steering device capable of changing a transmission ratio from a steering wheel to a steered wheel, and a motor lock mechanism for the transmission ratio variable steering device.

In this type of conventional lock mechanism, an engagement recess is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lock ring that rotates integrally with the rotor of the motor, and the lock lever that rotates between the start position and the end position is engaged with the engagement recess at the start position. Is engaged to lock the motor, and at the end position, the motor is released from the engaging recess to release the lock. In addition, a torsion spring that urges the lock lever toward the start position is provided. Normally, the plunger is pulled into the back of the solenoid by excitation of the solenoid, so that the lock lever is moved toward the end position against the torsion spring. The motor is unlocked by turning it, and when an abnormality occurs in the vehicle, the solenoid is de-energized and the motor is locked by turning the lock lever toward the start position by the urging force of the torsion spring. (See Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-182188 A (FIGS. 8 and 11)

  By the way, it is desirable that the motor is locked as soon as possible when a vehicle abnormality occurs. For this purpose, it is conceivable to increase the urging force of the lock lever at the end position by using a torsion spring having a larger spring coefficient, thereby increasing the rotation speed of the lock lever that rotates toward the start position. Such a configuration may cause the following problems.

  That is, as shown in the graph of FIG. 6, in general, in the solenoid, the suction force for pulling the plunger and the stroke S of the plunger (the moving distance from the position where the solenoid is most retracted) are inversely proportional (the stroke S is small). (Attractive force increases at an accelerated rate as the time elapses). Therefore, without changing the solenoid specifications, only the spring coefficient of the torsion spring is increased, and the urging force P against the lock lever at the end position is changed from, for example, P1 to P2 (P2> P1) in FIG. In this case, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 6, the urging force P against the lock lever exceeds the attracting force of the solenoid, so that the motor cannot be unlocked by the solenoid. In order to avoid such a situation, it is necessary to increase the attracting force of the solenoid in accordance with the spring coefficient of the torsion spring, which causes a problem that the solenoid becomes larger and, consequently, mountability and cost deteriorate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and there is provided a transmission ratio variable steering device and a motor for a transmission ratio variable steering device that can lock a motor more quickly than before without increasing the size of a solenoid. The purpose is to provide a locking mechanism.

The locking mechanism (30) of the motor (22) according to the invention of claim 1 made to achieve the above object is a transmission ratio capable of changing the transmission ratio from the handle (17) to the steered wheels (11, 11). A lock mechanism (30) for the motor (22) for the variable steering device (20), and an engagement recess (31A) on the outer peripheral surface of the lock ring (31) that rotates integrally with the rotor (22R) of the motor (22). The lock lever (32) that rotates between the start end position and the end position is engaged with the engagement recess (31A) at the start end position to lock the rotor (22R) in a non-rotatable manner. The lock is released by releasing from the engagement recess (31A), and the lock lever (32) is urged toward the start end position by the lever urging spring (34) and is connected to the lock lever (32). Plunger (37 In that pulling the back of the solenoid (36) against the lever biasing spring (34), the locking mechanism of the motor (22) for pivoting the locking lever (32) to the end position (30), the plunger (37 ) And a spring receiving portion (37A) projecting from the side, and between the spring receiving portion (37A) of the plunger (37) and the end face of the solenoid (36). The spring receiving portion (37A) of the plunger (37) comes into contact with the spring receiving portion (37A) of the plunger (37) at an intermediate position in the middle of the movement to the end position, and the solenoid ( 36) end face and is compressed and deformed by the plunger (37) and was equipped with a solenoid (plunger biasing spring that biases in a direction to protrude from 36) 38 Having the features.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the lock mechanism (30) of the motor (22) according to the first aspect, the lock lever (32) is moved until the lock lever (32) moves from the starting end position to the intermediate position. It is characterized in that it is configured to be disengaged from the engaging recess (31A).

  A variable transmission ratio steering device (20) according to the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the motor (22) having the lock mechanism (30) according to claim 1 or 2 is provided as a drive source.

[Invention of Claim 1]
According to the first aspect of the invention configured as described above, when the lock lever is located at the terminal position, the plunger is pulled into the back of the solenoid. At this time, both the lever biasing spring and the plunger biasing spring are elastically deformed. When the energization of the solenoid is stopped, the lock lever is rotated to the start position side by the resultant force of the urging force of the plunger urging spring and the urging force of the lever urging spring. It is possible to lock the motor more quickly than the conventional one that has been rotated by itself.

Now, when the solenoid is energized when the lock lever is located at the start position, the plunger is drawn to the back side of the solenoid, and the lock lever rotates from the start position to the end position. At this time, the lever biasing spring increases in the amount of elastic deformation as the lock lever approaches the end position from the start position (the stroke becomes smaller), and the biasing force that biases the lock lever toward the start position increases. The plunger biasing spring abuts against the spring receiving portion of the plunger at an intermediate position where the lock lever moves from the start position to the end position, and is compressed and deformed while moving from the intermediate position to the end position. As the end position is approached (the stroke becomes smaller), the amount of compressive deformation increases, and the urging force in the direction in which the plunger protrudes from the solenoid, that is, the urging force that urges the lock lever toward the start end position increases.

  Here, between the starting end position and the intermediate position, the plunger urging spring is not compressed and deformed, and only the lever urging spring is elastically deformed. Therefore, the urging force on the lock lever is relatively gentle as the plunger stroke decreases. To increase. On the other hand, between the intermediate position and the end position, the lever urging spring is elastically deformed and at the same time the plunger urging spring is compressively deformed, so that the urging force against the lock lever increases relatively rapidly as the plunger stroke decreases. To do. When the lock lever is located at the end position, a biasing force (P2 in FIG. 6) larger than the conventional biasing force (P1 in FIG. 6) having only the torsion spring is generated.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the lock lever is urged toward the start end position with the intermediate position as a boundary so as to match the characteristics of the solenoid that the suction force increases at an accelerated rate as the plunger stroke S decreases. The relationship between the urging force P and the stroke S (spring characteristics) changes, the slope of the spring characteristics (= P / S) is relatively large on the end position side from the intermediate position, and the spring characteristics on the start end position side from the intermediate position. A two-stage spring characteristic with a relatively small inclination is obtained. Thereby, the energizing force P that energizes the lock lever toward the start end position can be suppressed to be smaller than the attracting force of the solenoid throughout the plunger stroke range without increasing the size of the solenoid.

  As described above, according to the motor locking mechanism of the present invention, the motor can be locked more quickly than before without increasing the size of the solenoid.

In addition, in the state where the lock lever is located at the start end position (the state where the lock lever is engaged with the engagement recess), the plunger spring receiving portion and the plunger biasing spring are not in contact with each other. Power is not applied to the lock lever. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the force that presses the lock lever against the lock ring from becoming excessive.

  Further, since the momentum when the plunger is pulled into the solenoid is dropped by the plunger biasing spring, the collision sound between the plunger and the fixed iron core in the solenoid can be reduced.

[Invention of claim 2]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the plunger spring receiving portion and the plunger biasing spring remain separated until the lock lever that has been engaged with the engagement recess at the starting position is released from the engagement recess. Since the urging spring is not compressed, the motor can be unlocked quickly when the solenoid is excited in the locked state.

[Invention of claim 3]
Since the variable transmission ratio steering apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention includes the motor having the lock mechanism according to the first or second aspect as a drive source, the reliability and quietness of the variable transmission ratio steering apparatus are improved. To do.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
A rack 12 is provided between a pair of front wheels 11, 11 (corresponding to the “steered wheels” of the present invention) in the vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1, and both ends of the rack 12 are tie rods 13, 13. Are connected to the front wheels 11, 11. The rack 12 is covered with a cylindrical rack case 12 </ b> C, and the rack case 12 </ b> C is fixed to the vehicle main body 14. Further, a pinion 15 is engaged with the rack 12, and the pinion 15 is rotatably supported by the rack case 12C. The pinion 15 and the handle 17 are connected by an intermediate shaft 18 and a steering shaft 19, and a transmission ratio variable steering device 20 is connected between the intermediate shaft 18 and the steering shaft 19. Universal joints 18J and 19J are provided at intermediate portions of the intermediate shaft 18 and the steering shaft 19, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the transmission ratio variable steering apparatus 20 includes a motor 22 (hereinafter referred to as “transmission ratio change motor 22”) disposed coaxially above a differential reduction gear 21, and transmits to the reduction gear 21. The ratio changing motor 22 is housed in a common ash sleeve 23. The reduction gear 21 includes an input portion 21A at the center, and the input portion 21A has a rotor 22R of the transmission ratio changing motor 22 fixed thereto. The speed reducer 21 includes an output portion 21B on the outer surface of the lower end portion, and a disc 18C provided at the upper end portion of the intermediate shaft 18 is fixed to the output portion 21B. When the input ratio 21A of the speed reducer 21 is rotationally driven by the transmission ratio changing motor 22, the rotation is decelerated and the intermediate shaft 18 rotates.

  A rotational position detector 24 is provided at a position near the upper end of the transmission ratio changing motor 22. The rotational position detector 24 detects the rotational position of the rotor 22R relative to the stator 22S of the transmission ratio changing motor 22. The rotational position detector 24 includes a magnet 24A that rotates integrally with the rotor 22R, and a Hall element 24B that is fixed to the stator 22S.

  A lock mechanism portion 30 described later is provided on the upper surface of the stator 22S of the transmission ratio change motor 22, and the upper end portion of the transmission ratio change motor 22 including the lock mechanism portion 30 is covered with a connection housing 25. The connecting housing 25 includes a top plate portion 25A facing the upper surface of the transmission ratio changing motor 22, a large diameter cylindrical portion 25B extending downward from the top plate portion 25A, and a small diameter cylindrical portion 25C extending upward from the top plate portion 25A. And comprising. The assembly sleeve 23 is fitted and fixed to the lower end of the large diameter cylindrical portion 25B, while the steering shaft 19 is fitted and fixed to the small diameter cylindrical portion 25C. A handle 17 (see FIG. 1) is fixed to the upper end portion of the steering shaft 19. Thus, when the steering wheel 17 is steered, if the rotor 22R of the transmission ratio changing motor 22 rotates, the intermediate shaft 18 rotates relative to the handle 17 and the steering shaft 19, and if the rotor 22R does not rotate, the intermediate shaft 18 rotates. The shaft 18 rotates together with the handle 17 and the steering shaft 19. That is, the rotation angle of the intermediate shaft 18 with respect to the steering angle of the handle 17 can be changed by rotating the rotor 22 </ b> R of the transmission ratio changing motor 22.

  A cable case 26 having a donut-shaped accommodation space is assembled to the upper portion of the connection housing 25. The transmission ratio changing motor 22, the rotational position detecting unit 24, and the like are connected to the steering control device 60 via a spiral cable 27 housed in the cable case 26.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the lock mechanism unit 30 according to the present invention includes a lock ring 31, a lock lever 32, and a linear motion drive source 35. An upper end portion of the rotor 22R protrudes from the upper surface of the transmission ratio changing motor 22, and a lock ring 31 is fixed to the upper end portion of the rotor 22R so as to be integrally rotatable. The lock ring 31 has a ring shape, and a plurality of (for example, four) engagement recesses 31A are formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. Specifically, the engaging recess 31A is composed of a relatively wide-angle shallow recess 31A1 and a deep recess 31A2 in which a part of the shallow recess 31A1 is further recessed in a stepped shape.

  In the present embodiment, the deep recess 31A2 is disposed at the front end in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 among the shallow recesses 31A1. Therefore, even when the lock lever 32 is engaged with the shallow recess 31A1 instead of the deep recess 31A2, if the lock ring 31 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3, the lock lever 32 and the deep recess 31A2 are engaged. Engagement with 31A2 is possible.

The lock lever 32 is pivotally supported by a support column 33 erected from the upper surface of the transmission ratio changing motor 22. The column 33 passes through a position near one end of the lock lever 32. An engaging convex portion 32 </ b> A protrudes toward the lock ring 31 at the tip of an arm 32 </ b> B that extends relatively long from the penetrating portion of the column 33 of the lock lever 32. Then, the lock lever 32 and the start position shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 (C), the rotatable between a terminal position shown in FIG. 4 (A), the engaging projection 32A lock ring at the start position The rotor 22R is locked so as to be non-rotatable by engaging with the engagement recess 31A of 31 to be non-rotatable, while the engagement protrusion 32A is separated from the engagement recess 31A to release the lock at the end position.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a torsion spring 34 corresponding to the “lever biasing spring” of the present invention is attached to the lock lever 32. The torsion spring 34 has a coil spring structure, and one end of the spring wire constituting the coil spring is locked to the end face of the support 33 and the other end is locked to the lock lever 32. The lock lever 32 is urged toward the start end position side (clockwise direction in FIG. 3) by the urging force of the torsion spring 34.

  The lock lever 32 is moved from the start position to the end position against the urging force of the torsion spring 34 by a direct drive source 35 (see FIG. 3) provided on the upper surface of the transmission ratio changing motor 22. The linear drive source 35 is configured to linearly move the plunger 37 by excitation of the solenoid 36, and the distal end portion of the plunger 37 protrudes from the penetrating portion of the column 33 of the lock lever 32 to the side opposite to the arm 32 </ b> B. It is connected to the end. Then, when the plunger 37 is pulled into the interior of the solenoid 36 from the state where the lock lever 32 is located at the start end position, the lock lever 32 rotates toward the end position (counterclockwise in FIG. 3), The lock lever 32 is detached from the engaging recess 31A.

From the position near the tip of the plunger 37, a spring receiving wall 37A (corresponding to the “spring receiving portion” of the present invention) protrudes sideways, and the spring receiving wall 37A and the end face of the solenoid 36 A compression coil spring 38 corresponding to the “plunger biasing spring” of the present invention is provided therebetween. The compression coil spring 38 is compressed and deformed between the spring receiving wall 37 </ b> A and the end face of the solenoid 36 when the lock lever 32 is in the terminal position. One end of the compression coil spring 38 is fixed to the end face of the solenoid 36.

  When the vehicle 10 is normal, the solenoid 36 is excited by turning on the ignition switch, and the plunger 37 is pulled into the back side of the hollow portion of the solenoid 36. At this time, the lock lever 32 is positioned at the end position, the engagement between the engagement convex portion 32A and the engagement concave portion 31A is released, and the rotor 22R becomes rotatable (the state shown in FIG. 4A). ). At this time, the torsion spring 34 is twisted and the lock lever 32 is biased toward the start end position, and the compression coil spring 38 is compressed and deformed between the spring receiving wall 37A and the end face of the solenoid 36. (See FIG. 5 (A)), the plunger 37 is biased in a direction protruding from the solenoid 36. That is, the lock lever 32 is urged toward the start end position not only by the conventional torsion spring 34 but also by the compression coil spring 38. And the urging | biasing force with respect to the lock lever 32 in a terminal position increases from conventional P1 to P2, as shown in FIG.

  Even when the ignition switch is on, if an abnormality (for example, failure of the electric system) occurs in the vehicle 10, the excitation of the solenoid 36 is stopped, and the plunger 37 can move freely in the solenoid 36. . Then, the lock lever 32 moves from the end position to the start position by the resultant force of the urging force of the compression coil spring 38 and the urging force of the torsion spring 34, and the engaging protrusion 32 </ b> A of the lock lever 32 is locked to the lock ring 31 at the start end position. It enters into the deep recess 31A2 and engages with the concave and convex portions (the state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4C). In this way, when the lock lever 32 rotates from the end position toward the start end position, the biasing force of the compression coil spring 38 is added to the biasing force of the conventional torsion spring 34. Can quickly reach the starting position. That is, the transmission ratio changing motor 22 can be locked more quickly than in the past.

  By the way, in a state where the lock lever 32 is engaged with the engaging recess 31A at the starting end position (a state where the engaging protrusion 32A hits the side surface of the deep recess 31A2), as shown in FIG. The receiving wall 37A and the compression coil spring 38 are separated from each other, and a clearance 39 is formed between them.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the movement distance L1 of the plunger 37 between the start position (the state shown in FIG. 5C) and the end position (the state shown in FIG. 5A) is the start position and the end position. It is configured to be longer than the expansion / contraction length L2 of the compression coil spring 38 by a predetermined gap distance Lg.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, in a state where the lock lever 32 is located at the start position and the engaging convex portion 32A hits the side surface of the deep concave portion 31A2 of the engaging concave portion 31A, the compression coil spring 38 is a spring. Since it is separated from the receiving wall 37 </ b> A, the urging force of the compression coil spring 38 is not applied to the lock lever 32. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the force that presses the lock lever 32 against the lock ring 31 from becoming excessive.

  When the vehicle 10 recovers from the abnormality, the solenoid 36 is excited again, and the plunger 37 moves linearly so as to be pulled into the back side of the hollow portion of the solenoid 36. As a result, the lock lever 32 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. As a result, the lock lever 32 reaches the end position, the engagement between the engagement convex portion 32A and the engagement concave portion 31A is released, and the rotor 22R becomes rotatable (the state shown in FIG. 4A). .

  As shown in the change from FIG. 5 (C) to FIG. 5 (B), when the plunger 37 reaches the intermediate position where it is retracted by the gap distance Lg from the state where the lock lever 32 is located at the start position, The wall 37A abuts on the compression coil spring 38. Then, the engagement between the lock lever 32 and the lock ring 31 is released until the lock lever 32 reaches the intermediate position from the start position (the engagement convex portion 32A is retracted to the side of the rotation region of the lock ring 31). ) In other words, the gap distance Lg is set such that the compression coil spring 38 is not compressed until at least the lock lever 32 located at the starting end position and engaged with the engagement recess 31A is disengaged from the engagement recess 31A. It is set (see FIG. 4B). Thereby, when the solenoid 36 is excited in the locked state, the transmission ratio changing motor 22 can be unlocked quickly.

  When the lock lever 32 rotates from the start end position to the end position, the torsion spring 34 has a torsional deformation amount as the lock lever 32 approaches the end position (the plunger 37 is pulled into the solenoid 36 and the stroke S is reduced). The urging force that urges the lock lever 32 toward the start end position increases. The compression coil spring 38 abuts against the spring receiving wall 37A when the plunger 37 is pulled by the predetermined gap distance Lg and the lock lever 32 is located at the intermediate position, and moves from the intermediate position to the end position. To be compressed and deformed. As the end position is approached (the stroke S decreases), the amount of compressive deformation increases, and an urging force in a direction that causes the plunger 37 to protrude from the solenoid 36, that is, an urging force that urges the lock lever 32 toward the start end position. growing.

  Here, between the starting end position and the intermediate position, the compression coil spring 38 is not compressed and deformed, and only the torsion spring 34 is torsionally deformed, so that the stroke S of the plunger 37 is small as shown in FIG. The biasing force P that biases the lock lever 32 toward the starting end position increases relatively slowly as the shift becomes (from S2 to S1 in FIG. 6). On the other hand, between the intermediate position and the terminal position, the torsion spring 34 is torsionally deformed and the compression coil spring 38 is also compressed and deformed, so that the stroke S of the plunger 37 is reduced as shown in FIG. 6 (FIG. 6). The urging force P for urging the lock lever 32 toward the start end position increases relatively abruptly (from S1 to Smin). When the lock lever 32 is located at the end position, an urging force P2 larger than the conventional urging force P1 having only the torsion spring 34 is generated.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the lock lever 32 is moved to the start position side with the intermediate position as a boundary so as to match the characteristics of the solenoid 36 that the suction force increases at an accelerated rate as the stroke S of the plunger 37 decreases. The relationship (spring characteristics) between the urging force P and the stroke S urging the spring is changed, and the slope of the spring characteristics (= P / S) is relatively large on the end position side from the intermediate position, and on the start end position side from the intermediate position. A two-stage spring characteristic with a relatively small slope of the spring characteristic is obtained. Accordingly, the urging force P that urges the lock lever 32 toward the start end position can be suppressed to be smaller than the suction force of the solenoid 36 over the entire stroke range of the plunger 37 without increasing the size of the solenoid 36.

  Further, when the lock lever 32 is moved from the intermediate position to the end position, the plunger 37 is also moved to the solenoid by the inertia (inertial force) of the lock lever 32 that is generated when the lock lever 32 rotates from the start position to the intermediate position. It is possible to urge the lock lever 32 toward the end position, that is, in the direction of pushing into the position 36.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the transmission ratio changing motor 22 can be locked more quickly than before without increasing the size of the solenoid 36. Further, before the plunger 37 is drawn into the solenoid 36 and collides with the fixed iron core 36A in the solenoid 36, the force is dropped by the compression coil spring 38, so the plunger 37 and the fixed iron core 36A (see FIG. 3). The impact sound can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the transmission ratio variable steering apparatus 20 of the present embodiment includes the transmission ratio changing motor 22 having the lock mechanism portion 30 that exhibits the above-described effect as a drive source, reliability is improved and quietness is improved. To do.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the embodiments described below are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and various other than the following can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It can be changed and implemented.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the gap distance Lg is set so that the lock lever 32 is disengaged from the engagement recess 31A before the lock lever 32 moves from the start position to the intermediate position. Lg may be reduced and the gap distance Lg may be set so that the lock lever 32 does not disengage from the engagement recess 31A when the lock lever 32 is positioned at the intermediate position.

  (2) Instead of the compression coil spring 38 and the torsion spring 34, other springs may be used. For example, instead of the compression coil spring 38, a rubber bellows tube that can be expanded and contracted in the axial direction of the plunger 37 may be used.

The conceptual diagram of the vehicle provided with the transmission ratio variable steering apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. Side sectional view of variable transmission ratio steering device Top view of the lock mechanism (A) Plan view of the lock mechanism portion at the end position, (B) Plan view of the lock mechanism portion unlocked between the intermediate position and the start end position, (C) Plan view of the lock mechanism portion at the start end position (A) Side view of linear motion drive source at end position, (B) Side view of linear motion drive source at intermediate position, (C) Side view of linear motion drive source at start position Graph showing the relationship between plunger stroke, solenoid suction force and biasing force against the lock lever

Explanation of symbols

11 Front wheels (steering wheels)
17 Steering wheel 20 Transmission ratio variable steering device 22 Transmission ratio changing motor (motor for transmission ratio variable steering device)
22R rotor 30 lock mechanism 31 lock ring 31 engagement recess 32 lock lever 34 torsion spring (lever biasing spring)
36 Solenoid 37 Plunger 37A Spring receiving wall 38 Compression coil spring (plunger biasing spring)

Claims (3)

A motor locking mechanism for a transmission ratio variable steering device capable of changing a transmission ratio from a steering wheel to a steered wheel,
An engagement recess is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lock ring that rotates integrally with the rotor of the motor, and a lock lever that rotates between the start end position and the end position is engaged with the engagement recess at the start end position. While the rotor is locked so as not to rotate, the rotor is released from the engagement recess at the terminal position to release the lock, and the lock lever is biased toward the start position by a lever biasing spring, and the lock In the lock mechanism of the motor that rotates the lock lever to the end position by pulling the plunger connected to the lever back into the solenoid against the lever biasing spring,
A spring receiving portion projecting sideways from the plunger;
Provided between the spring receiving part of the plunger and the end face of the solenoid, the lock lever contacts the spring receiving part of the plunger at an intermediate position in the middle of moving from the start position to the end position, and the intermediate position A plunger biasing spring that is compressed and deformed by a spring receiving portion of the plunger and an end face of the solenoid while moving from the solenoid to the terminal position, and biases the plunger in a direction protruding from the solenoid. The motor lock mechanism.   2. The motor locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever is configured to be disengaged from the engagement recess until the lock lever moves from the start position to the intermediate position.   A transmission ratio variable steering apparatus comprising a motor having the lock mechanism according to claim 1 as a drive source.

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