JP6202321B2 - Vehicle steering device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle steering apparatus, and more particularly to a steering apparatus including an electric tilt mechanism that adjusts a steering shaft to a desired inclination angle by an electric motor.

  For example, Patent Document 1 below relates to a steering apparatus including an electric tilt mechanism: “A main housing that is swingably supported with a front end portion as a swing center with respect to a vehicle body; and an axial direction that is housed in the main housing. A movable column member that is movably supported, a fixed bracket that is fixed to the vehicle body in a state in which a vehicle body rear side end portion of the main housing is movably supported with respect to the vehicle body, and one end of the fixed bracket. A link mechanism to be supported, and a drive mechanism connected to the other end of the link mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism swings the main housing via the link mechanism and at least the upper and lower sides of a steering wheel connected to the movable column member. A vehicle steering device capable of adjusting the operation position in the direction "is disclosed (before paragraph [0006] of Patent Document 1). Described in).

JP 2013-67311 A

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, an object is to “provide an inexpensive steering device with a small number of parts by making the connecting structure of the drive mechanism and the link mechanism simple and easy to assemble” (see paragraph [ 0005], and the features thereof are described in the latter part of the paragraph [0006], but the support structure of the tilt screw shaft and the electric motor is described in FIG. 1, FIG. 10, the paragraph [0020], etc. Yes. That is, the tilt screw shaft is configured to swing around the pivot shaft with respect to the main housing, and the pivot shaft and the output rotation shaft of the electric motor are separated from each other. This is because a reduction mechanism, a connector, and the like are connected to the electric motor, and a large motor holder including these is supported on the main housing via a pivot shaft. Thus, not only the motor holder is large, but also the pivot range of the motor holder (including the electric motor) is increased by separating the pivot shaft and the output rotation shaft of the electric motor. Therefore, a large space that can allow this is required.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle steering apparatus including an electric tilt mechanism that suppresses a swing range of an electric motor or the like accompanying a swing of a tilt screw shaft as much as possible and saves space. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention connects a main housing that supports a steering shaft so as to be swingable with respect to a vehicle body and a fixed bracket that is fixed to the vehicle body, and adjusts the steering shaft to a desired inclination angle. In the vehicle steering apparatus including the electric tilt mechanism, the electric tilt mechanism is supported to be rotatable about the output rotation shaft with respect to the main housing, and the output of the electric motor to the main housing. A tilt screw shaft that is supported so as to be swingable about a rotation shaft and is rotationally driven by the electric motor, and a nut that is screwed to the tilt screw shaft and moves in the axial direction in accordance with the rotational drive of the tilt screw shaft And a member that is swingably supported by the nut member and swingable with respect to the main housing and the fixed bracket. Is obtained by a further comprising a link mechanism supported by the.

  In the above steering apparatus, the link mechanism is supported to be rotatable about the first pivot shaft with respect to the nut member and is supported to be rotatable about the second pivot shaft with respect to the main housing. A first link member, and a second link member supported rotatably about the third pivot axis with respect to the first link member and supported rotatably about the fourth pivot axis with respect to the fixed bracket. A link member may be provided.

  Since this invention is comprised as mentioned above, there exist the following effects. That is, in the steering device of the present invention, the electric tilt mechanism swings around the output rotation shaft of the electric motor with respect to the main housing, and the electric motor supported rotatably around the output rotation shaft with respect to the main housing. A tilt screw shaft that is supported and rotated by an electric motor, a nut member that is screwed to the tilt screw shaft and moves in the axial direction in accordance with the rotational drive of the tilt screw shaft, and swingable to the nut member Since the link mechanism is supported and supported so as to be swingable with respect to the main housing and the fixed bracket, the steering shaft can be easily adjusted to a desired inclination angle. In particular, since the tilt screw shaft is supported so as to be swingable about the output rotation shaft of the electric motor, the swing range of the electric motor can be minimized and space saving can be achieved.

  In the above steering apparatus, the link mechanism is supported by the nut member so as to be rotatable about the first pivot shaft, and is supported by the main housing so as to be rotatable about the second pivot shaft. A link member; and a second link member supported rotatably about the third pivot axis with respect to the first link member and rotatably supported about the fourth pivot axis with respect to the fixed bracket. If provided, the first and second link members 11 and 12 can be arranged symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the steering shaft, so that a smooth and reliable swinging operation can be performed without generating a twisting force. Can be secured.

In one Embodiment of this invention, it is a side view of the steering device provided with the electric tilt mechanism shown incorporating the bottom view of the connection part of an electric motor and a tilt screw shaft. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the side view which showed the connection part of the electric motor and tilt screw shaft in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the side view which showed the connection part of the electric motor and tilt screw shaft in the conventional steering apparatus.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an overall configuration of a steering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A main housing 2 that supports a steering shaft 1 with respect to a vehicle body B so as to be swingable about a swing center (C). The fixed bracket 3 that is fixed to the vehicle body B is connected via an electric tilt mechanism MT, and the steering shaft 1 is adjusted to a desired inclination angle according to the operation thereof, and the operation position of the steering wheel W is adjusted. Has been. The steering shaft 1 according to this embodiment includes a cylindrical upper shaft 1a having a steering wheel W connected to a rear end portion thereof, and a lower shaft 1b spline-coupled to the front end portion of the upper shaft 1a. Via the main housing 2. The upper shaft 1a and the lower shaft 1b are coupled so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction, and the front end portion of the lower shaft 1b is connected to a turning mechanism (not shown). The steering mechanism is driven in accordance with the operation of the steering wheel W and is configured to steer a steered wheel (not shown) via a wheel steering mechanism (not shown).

  The electric tilt mechanism MT according to the present embodiment includes an electric motor 5 that is supported so as to be rotatable about an output rotation shaft (the axis is indicated by S) with respect to the main housing 2, and a tilt screw shaft 6 that is rotationally driven by the motor. And a nut member 7 that is screwed to this and moves in the axial direction in accordance with the rotational drive of the tilt screw shaft 6, and is swingably supported by the nut member 7 and swings with respect to the main housing 2 and the fixed bracket 3. A link mechanism LM that is supported is provided. The tilt screw shaft 6 is supported so as to be swingable about an output rotation shaft (axis S) of the electric motor 5.

  The electric motor 5 has a speed reduction mechanism 5a and a connector portion 5b, and is rotatably supported by the main housing 2 by brackets 51 and 52, as shown in FIG. The speed reduction mechanism 5a includes, for example, a worm shaft and a worm wheel (not shown). The output rotation shaft of the electric motor 5 is connected to the tilt screw shaft 6 via the speed reduction mechanism 5a, and the output torque of the electric motor 5 is The nut member 7 is appropriately adjusted and transmitted. A trapezoidal screw is formed on the tilt screw shaft 6, and the nut member 7 is also called a tilt nut or a tilt slider. As shown in the upper side (side surface) of FIG. 1, due to the presence of the speed reduction mechanism 5a, the shaft center (S) of the output rotation shaft of the electric motor 5 is the shaft center of the tilt screw shaft 6 with respect to the surface including this. (T) is separated from the orthogonal point (O) by a predetermined distance, and an offset exists between the axis (S) and the point (O).

  The link mechanism LM is supported by the nut member 7 so as to be rotatable about the first pivot shaft P1 and supported by the main housing 2 so as to be rotatable about the second pivot shaft P2. The second link member 11 and the first link member 11 are supported so as to be rotatable about the third pivot axis P3, and supported to the fixed bracket 3 so as to be rotatable about the fourth pivot axis P4. The link member 12 is provided.

  The first link member 11 of the present embodiment is a V-shaped member in a side view and constitutes a bell crank mechanism. The first pivot member 11 is centered on the second pivot shaft P2 in accordance with the axial movement of the nut member 7. The shaft P1 and the third pivot shaft P3 swing in the same direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the first link member 11 has an H-shaped cross section, and the second link member 12 rotates around the third pivot axis P3 in each of the pair of arms 11a and 11a. The nut member 7 is interposed between the pair of leg portions 11b and 11b, and is supported so as to be rotatable about the first pivot shaft P1. On the other hand, the second link member 12 is arranged symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the steering shaft 1, and the second link member 12 is respectively attached to the pair of legs 3 a and 3 a of the fixed bracket 3 having a π-shaped cross section. The fourth pivot axis P4 is supported so as to be rotatable.

  Thus, in the electric tilt mechanism MT configured as described above, when the electric motor 5 is rotationally driven, the tilt screw shaft 6 is rotationally driven around the axis (T), and the nut is set according to the rotational drive. The member 7 moves in the axial direction of the tilt screw shaft 6 while rotating about the axis (T). As a result, the first link member 11 swings about the second pivot axis P2, and the second link member 12 swings about the fourth pivot axis P4. The column member 4, the steering shaft 1 and the steering wheel W are swung around the swing center (C), and the steering wheel W is moved in the vertical direction of the vehicle body.

  In the present embodiment, since the tilt screw shaft 6 is supported so as to be swingable about the output rotation shaft (axis S) of the electric motor 5, as shown by “r” in FIG. The swing range of the electric motor 5 (including 5b) can be minimized. On the other hand, in the conventional electric tilt mechanism, as shown in FIG. 4, the tilt screw shaft 6 is driven to rotate about the pivot shaft P5 supported by the motor holder 5x (including the speed reduction mechanism 5a). Since the pivot shaft P5 and the output rotation shaft (shaft center S) of the electric motor 5 are separated from each other, as indicated by “R” in FIG. 4 (including the connector portion 5b) The swing range of the electric motor 5 is larger than the above “r”.

  Next, the operation of the steering device configured as described above will be described. First, when the electric motor 5 is rotationally driven (for example, forward rotation), the nut member 7 rotates along the tilt screw shaft 6 about the axis (T) according to the rotational motion, and then reaches the point O. Move axially in the direction of proximity. Accordingly, the first link member 11 swings about the second pivot axis P2, and the second link member 12 swings about the fourth pivot axis P4. As a result, the main housing 2 (and the column member 4, the steering shaft 1 and the steering wheel W) swings (rakes up) counterclockwise around the swing center (C), and the operation position of the steering wheel W is From the neutral position, it tilts upward about the oscillation center (C) and reaches the uppermost position. It should be noted that, as in the present embodiment, the entire steering shaft 1 etc. swings and the steering wheel W moves upward is called rake up, and the entire steering shaft 1 etc. swings. The movement of the steering wheel W downward is called rake down, and is distinguished from general tilt up and tilt down.

  On the other hand, when the electric motor 5 is rotationally driven in the opposite direction to the above, the nut member 7 rotates about the shaft center (T) according to this rotational motion, and the shaft is separated in a direction away from the point O. Move direction. Accordingly, the first link member 11 swings about the second pivot axis P2, and the second link member 12 swings about the fourth pivot axis P4. As a result, the main housing 2 (and the column member 4, the steering shaft 1 and the steering wheel W) swings (rakes down) clockwise about the swing center (C), and the operation position of the steering wheel W is It tilts downward about the swing center (C) and reaches the lowest position.

  Thus, in the steering apparatus of the present embodiment, the steering shaft 1 can be adjusted to a desired inclination angle, and the tilt screw shaft 6 is an output rotation shaft (axial center) of the electric motor 5 as shown in FIG. Since the pivoting range (r) of the electric motor 5 can be minimized, the space can be saved. If the link mechanism LM is configured as described above, the first and second link members 11 and 12 can be arranged symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the steering shaft 1, so that no twisting force is generated. A smooth and reliable swing operation can be ensured.

B Body MT Electric tilt mechanism LM Link mechanism P1 First pivot shaft P2 Second pivot shaft P3 Third pivot shaft P4 Fourth pivot shaft 1 Steering shaft 2 Main housing 3 Fixed bracket 4 Column member 5 Electric motor 6 Tilt Screw shaft 7 Nut member 11 First link member 12 Second link member

Claims (2)

  In a steering apparatus for a vehicle provided with an electric tilt mechanism that connects a main housing that swingably supports a steering shaft to a vehicle body and a fixed bracket that is fixed to the vehicle body, and adjusts the steering shaft to a desired inclination angle. The electric tilt mechanism is supported by the main housing so as to be rotatable around an output rotation shaft, and is supported by the main housing so as to be swingable around the output rotation shaft of the electric motor; A tilt screw shaft that is rotationally driven by the electric motor, a nut member that is screwed to the tilt screw shaft and moves in the axial direction in accordance with the rotational drive of the tilt screw shaft, and is swingably supported by the nut member And a link mechanism that is swingably supported with respect to the main housing and the fixed bracket. Steering device for a vehicle according to claim.   A first link member that is rotatably supported about the first pivot shaft with respect to the nut member and is rotatably supported about the second pivot shaft with respect to the main housing; A second link member rotatably supported about a third pivot axis with respect to the first link member and rotatably supported about a fourth pivot axis with respect to the fixed bracket. The vehicle steering device according to claim 1.

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