JP6390295B2 - Steering device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device mounted on an automobile or the like, and more particularly to a technique for securing a current-carrying path for electrical components mounted on a steering wheel.

  In recent automobiles, secondary collision energy is absorbed by the shrinkage of the steering column, which consists of two parts, the inner column and the outer column, in order to reduce the impact received by the driver due to a secondary collision with the steering wheel in the event of an accident. Steering devices are widely used. In this type of steering device, the inner column and the outer column slide relative to each other in the axial direction, so that the steering wheel moves forward of the vehicle and is absorbed by energy absorbing means provided between the inner column and the outer column. Secondary collision energy is absorbed.

  For example, in the steering device described in Patent Document 1, the outer column arranged on the lower side is attached to the vehicle body via a tilt bracket and a tilt pivot, and the inner column arranged on the upper side is tightened by a tightening mechanism. It is held by the outer column. In this steering device, the inner column is allowed to enter the outer column larger than the telescopic adjustment stroke, and the inner column moves to the front side of the vehicle against the tightening frictional force of the tightening mechanism during a secondary collision. To do.

  In such a steering device, it is required to smoothly absorb the secondary collision energy when a light weight driver collides with the steering wheel. In order to achieve this, it is conceivable to reduce the tightening force by the tightening mechanism. However, if the tightening force is decreased, the holding force of the inner column decreases, and the inner column and outer column fit together. It becomes easy to produce backlash in a part. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a low friction material treatment such as coating is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the inner column or the inner peripheral surface of the outer column to reduce the tightening frictional force without reducing the tightening force.

  In a telescopic steering device, the steering shaft is generally composed of an inner shaft and an outer shaft that are spline-coupled within the steering column in order to achieve both transmission of steering torque and telescopic adjustment. In this case, a resin coating may be applied to one of the two splines in order to prevent the generation of a rattling sound caused by a minute gap between the male and female splines.

International Publication WO2004 / 000627

  Electrical components such as a horn and an airbag are attached to the steering wheel of an automobile, and since many of these electrical components are body grounds, it is necessary to secure a current-carrying path from the steering wheel to the vehicle body.

  However, if the low friction material coating is applied to the inner circumferential surface of the outer column or the outer circumferential surface of the inner column as described above, it is difficult to energize the energization path via the contact surface between the inner column and the outer column. It becomes. Further, when the resin coating is applied to the spline fitting portion of the steering shaft, it becomes difficult to energize the energization path via the spline fitting portion due to the resin coating.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a steering apparatus that secures a new energization path from the steering wheel to the vehicle body.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
A steering shaft having electrical conductivity and transmitting steering force;
An outer column having conductivity, forming a guide groove extending in the axial direction through the radial direction, and rotatably supporting the steering shaft;
An inner column that has electrical conductivity, is fitted into the outer column so as to be capable of relative movement in the axial direction, and rotatably supports the steering shaft together with the outer column;
A guide member housed in the guide groove and attached to the inner column;
A fixture for attaching the guide member to the inner column;
A conductive cover having electrical conductivity, fixed in contact with the outer column and covering the guide groove;
An energizing plate made of a conductive plate material, fixed to the inner column in contact with at least one of the fixture and the inner column, elastically deformed and in contact with the energizing cover with a predetermined contact pressure; Provided is a steering apparatus characterized by having
As a result, a new energization path from the steering wheel to the vehicle body can be secured.

  Preferably, the energization plate has a contact portion curved so as to be convex toward the energization cover. Thereby, with a simple configuration, the energizing cover can be brought into contact with a predetermined contact pressure and can be slid without being caught with the energizing cover.

  Preferably, the contact portion is disposed on the vehicle front side with respect to the guide member. Thereby, the position where the vehicle rear side portion of the guide member abuts on the outer column portion on the vehicle rear side of the guide groove at the time of telescopic adjustment can be set as the limit on the vehicle rear side of the telescopic adjustment.

  Preferably, the fixture includes a bolt, and the energizing plate includes an annular portion through which a screw shaft of the bolt passes. Thereby, the electricity supply plate can be fixed to the inner column with a simple configuration.

  Preferably, a low friction material is coated on the inner peripheral surface of the outer column or the outer peripheral surface of the inner column. Thereby, friction generated between the inner column and the outer column can be reduced, and the inner column can be moved to the front side of the vehicle even by a relatively low collision load at the time of the secondary collision.

  Preferably, the steering shaft is formed by fitting an upper steering shaft disposed on the rear side of the vehicle and a lower steering shaft disposed on the front side of the vehicle, and the upper steering shaft in the fitted portion. Alternatively, a resin coating is applied to the lower steering shaft. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the rattling noise from being generated at the fitting portion between the upper steering shaft and the lower steering shaft.

  According to the steering apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to provide a steering apparatus that secures a new energization path from the steering wheel to the vehicle body.

It is the perspective view which looked at the steering mechanism using the steering device which concerns on embodiment from the diagonally left front. It is the perspective view which looked at the steering device which concerns on embodiment from the diagonally left front. It is the partially exploded perspective view which looked at the steering device concerning an embodiment from the diagonally left front. It is a top view of the steering device concerning an embodiment. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a steering device according to an embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the AA cut surface of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view of the upper stopper periphery of the steering device according to the embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the BB cut surface of FIG.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a steering device used in a tilt / telescopic adjustment type rack assist type electric power steering mechanism (hereinafter simply referred to as a steering mechanism) and a partial modification thereof will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Explained. In the description of the steering mechanism and the steering device, front and rear, left and right, and top and bottom are indicated by arrows in the drawings, and the position and direction of each member will be described along this. These directions coincide with the direction of the vehicle when the steering device is mounted on the vehicle.

(overall structure)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a steering mechanism 1 using a steering device 2 according to an embodiment of the present application as viewed obliquely from the front. As shown in FIG. 1, the steering device 2 of the present embodiment has a steering gear 103 via a steering shaft 3 and an intermediate shaft 102 that are supported by a steering column in order to reduce the force required to operate the steering wheel 101. The front wheel is steered via the left and right tie rods 105 connected to the rack by assisting the steering force transmitted to the vehicle by the electric assist mechanism 104 and reciprocating a rack (not shown) to the left and right.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the steering device 2 according to the embodiment of the present application as viewed obliquely from the left front. As shown in FIG. 2, the steering device 2 includes a steering shaft 3 that transmits a steering force, an aluminum alloy die-cast molded product that forms a front portion of the steering column, a cylindrical outer column 10, and a rear portion of the steering column. The main component is an inner column 11 made of a steel pipe and a tilt bracket 12 that supports the outer column 10 on the vehicle body.

  The outer column 10 has an inner peripheral surface 13 (shown in FIG. 5) that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the inner column 11, and a front portion of the inner column 11 is inserted from the vehicle rear side.

  The outer column 10 has a pivot boss 22 holding a collar 21 made of a steel pipe in a boss hole 22a penetrating in the left-right direction at an upper front end of the outer column 10 and is rotatable via a pivot bolt inserted into the collar 21. It is attached to the vehicle body 100.

  The outer column 10 is made of a conductive metal material, and a long energizing cover 15 is attached to the outer column 10 in the axial direction.

  FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view of the steering device 2 according to the embodiment of the present application as viewed obliquely from the left front. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the energizing cover 15, the energizing plate 40 described later, and the stepped low head bolt 35 described later are removed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the energizing cover 15 has a thin plate shape that is long in the axial direction, and front and rear end portions are formed in an arc shape.

  A guide groove 25 that penetrates in the radial direction and is long in the axial direction is formed on the lower side of the energizing cover 15, that is, on the upper portion of the outer column 10. The guide groove 25 accommodates an upper stopper 30 described later for restricting the movement of the inner column 11.

  In FIG. 3, a guide member 31 constituting the upper stopper 30, an energizing plate 40 removed from the upper stopper 30, and a stepped low head bolt 35 removed from the upper stopper 30 are shown. The energization cover 15 and the energization plate 40 constitute a part of an energization path from the inner column 11 to the outer column 10 as described later.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the steering device 2 according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, the energizing cover 15 is disposed so as to cover the guide groove 25 of the outer column 10. As a result, the energization cover 15 not only provides energization as will be described later, but also prevents foreign matter from entering the outer column 10 from the guide groove 25 and hindering the rotation of the steering shaft 3.

(Steering shaft)
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the steering device 2 according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the steering shaft 3 includes a columnar lower steering shaft 61 disposed on the vehicle front side, and a cylindrical upper steering shaft 62 disposed on the vehicle rear side and fitted on the lower steering shaft 61. It consists of.

  The lower steering shaft 61 can be formed by rolling or broaching using a steel round bar as a raw material, and has a male spline 61a on the outer periphery of the rear half. A serration 61b is formed around the front end of the lower steering shaft 61. A vehicle front side portion of the lower steering shaft 61 is rotatably supported by a ball bearing 27 fitted inside the front end portion of the outer column 10.

  The upper steering shaft 62 can be formed by drawing or broaching using a steel pipe as a raw material, and has a female spline 62a fitted to the male spline 61a of the lower steering shaft 61 on the inner periphery of the front half. A serration 62b is formed at the rear end of the upper steering shaft 62 to which a boss 101a (shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 5) of the steering wheel 101 is fitted. A vehicle rear side portion of the upper steering shaft 62 is rotatably supported by a ball bearing 29 fitted inside the rear end portion of the inner column 11.

  The lower steering shaft 61 and the upper steering shaft 62 are spline-coupled to allow torque to be transmitted while allowing relative movement in the axial direction. A resin coating is applied to the male spline 61a of the lower steering shaft 61 in order to prevent rattling with the female spline 62a of the upper steering shaft 62.

(Position adjustment mechanism)
The steering device 2 adjusts the position in the rotational direction around the pivot bolt inserted into the pivot boss 22 when attached to the vehicle body (hereinafter referred to as “tilt adjustment”), in order to match the physique of the driver, etc. The axial position of the inner column 11 can be adjusted (hereinafter referred to as “telescopic adjustment”).

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the AA cut surface shown in FIG. The inner column 11 is fastened and fixed by a vehicle rear side portion of the outer column 10 in which a vehicle body front side portion extends in the vehicle front-rear direction and is formed with a slit 26 opened to the vehicle rear side. The fixed state is released by a driver's operation, and is configured to enable telescopic adjustment. The vehicle rear side portion of the outer column 10 is sandwiched and fixed from the left and right sides by the tilt bracket 12. As described above, when the driver releases the fixing of the inner column 11 by the outer column 10, the vertical fixing by the tilt bracket 12 is also released at the same time, so that the tilt adjustment can be performed. These configurations will be specifically described next.

  The tilt bracket 12 has an upper plate 71 extending in the left-right direction and a pair of left and right side plates 72 and 73 welded to the lower surface of the upper plate 71. The upper plate 71 is fastened to the vehicle body 100 by bolts 74 that pass through bolt holes 71a. The distance between the side plates 72 and 73 is set to be slightly wider than the width in the left-right direction of the outer column 10 in the free state. The left and right plates 72 and 73 are formed with tilt adjusting long holes 72a and 73a through which tightening bolts 81 to be described later are passed. The tilt adjustment long holes 72a and 73a are formed in an arc shape centered on the pivot bolt described above, and the tightening bolt 81 is movable in the tilt adjustment.

  A tightening mechanism 80 is provided around the lower portion of the tilt bracket 12 to fix and release the outer column 10 and the inner column 11 according to the operation of the driver. The tightening mechanism 80 includes a tightening bolt 81 inserted from the left side into the tilt adjusting long holes 72a and 73a and a through hole 28 penetrating in the left-right direction at the lower part of the outer column 10 on the rear side of the vehicle. The outer column 10 and the inner column 11 are tightened from the outside of the pair of left and right side plates 72 and 73 of the tilt bracket 12 using a cam mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the tightening bolt 81 has an operation lever 82 (FIG. 2, FIG. 2) that is rotated between the head and the left side plate 72 of the tilt bracket 12 in order from the head. 3 and 4), a movable cam 83 that rotates integrally with the operation lever 82, and a fixed cam 84 whose right side portion is non-rotatably engaged with the tilt adjusting long hole 72a. An inclined cam surface having a complementary shape is formed on the opposing surfaces of the fixed cam 84 and the movable cam 83.

  When the driver rotates the operation lever 82 to the tightening side, the mountain of the inclined cam surface of the movable cam 83 rides on the mountain of the inclined cam surface of the fixed cam 84 and pulls the tightening bolt 81 to the left side while fixing the fixed cam 84. Press to the right. As a result, the pair of left and right side plates 72 and 73 tighten the lower portion of the outer column 10 from the left and right, restricting the movement of the steering column in the tilt direction, and at the same time, tightening friction force and friction that the outer column 10 tightens the inner column 11. The axial movement of the inner column 11 is limited by the frictional force generated in the plate 85.

  On the other hand, when the driver rotates the operation lever 82 in the release direction, the pair of left and right side plates 72 and 73 whose distance in the free state is wider than the width of the outer column 10 are elastically restored as described above. As a result, the restriction on the movement of the outer column 10 in the tilt direction and the restriction on the movement of the inner column 11 in the axial direction are both released, and the driver can adjust the position of the steering wheel 101.

  A pressing plate 87 and a thrust bearing 88 are fitted on the front end side portion of the fastening bolt 81 protruding from the right side plate 73. A male screw 81a is formed around the tip portion of the tightening bolt 81, and a nut 89 is screwed therein.

  An escape portion spaced from the side plates 72 and 73 is formed around the fastening bolt 81 in the portion of the outer column 10 facing the pair of left and right side plates 72 and 73 of the tilt bracket 12. The relief portion includes two left and right friction plates 85 fixed to the inner column 11 by a lower stopper 50, which will be described later, and an end portion of the intermediate friction plate 86, and is sandwiched between the left and right friction plates 85. Left and right end plate portions 86a and 86b are arranged. The friction plate 85 and the intermediate friction plate 86 hold the inner column 11 by increasing the friction surface that generates a frictional force that resists the force applied to move the inner column 11 when the inner column 11 is fixed. Is reinforced.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the friction plate 85 is long in the front-rear direction, and a portion through which the tightening bolt 81 is passed is a long hole 85a that is long in the front-rear direction. Thereby, when the tightening by the tightening mechanism 80 is released, the relative movement of the tightening bolt 81 and the friction plate 85 is allowed, and telescopic adjustment is enabled.

  The intermediate friction plate 86 has a shape in which a round hole through which the fastening bolt 81 passes is formed in the center of a square plate-like member, and the lower portions of a pair of left and right end plate portions 86a and 86b facing each other are connected by a connection plate portion 86c. Presented.

  As shown in FIG. 4, hook portions 91 and 92 projecting left and right in the horizontal direction are provided at the axial intermediate portions of the left and right side surfaces of the outer column 10, respectively. Further, locking holes 71b and 71c are formed in the left and right sides of the front side of the upper plate 71 of the tilt bracket 12, respectively. Coil springs 93 are stretched over the hook portions 91 and 92 and the locking holes 71b and 71c, respectively. The coil spring 93 bears the weight of the steering column, the steering wheel 101, and the like at the time of tilt adjustment, and lightens the tilt adjustment operation by the driver.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a coil spring 95 is also stretched between the operation lever 82 and the tilt bracket 12. The coil spring 95 applies a preload so that the fixed cam 84 and the movable cam 83 do not rattle when the operation lever 82 is released.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the lower stopper 50 that fixes the friction plate 85 to the inner column 11 is attached to the lower surface on the front end side of the inner column 11 and is accommodated in the slit 26. The friction plate 85 is engaged with a locking arm 54 protruding from the left and right side surfaces of the lower stopper 50 to the outside of the slit 26.

  A buffer holding portion 52 having a substantially L-shaped cross section is formed at the front end of the lower stopper 50 so as to protrude downward. A buffer block 53 is attached to the front side of the buffer holding portion 52. The buffer block 53 abuts against a portion of the outer column 10 on the front side of the slit 26 during telescopic adjustment, thereby defining a telescopic adjustment range (indicated by reference numeral TAf in FIG. 5) forward of the inner column 11. . The buffer block 53 is made of rubber and alleviates the impact so that the resin pin 51 is not damaged even if it hits the vehicle front side portion of the outer column 10 that forms the slit 26 during telescopic adjustment.

(Shock absorbing mechanism)
A resin coating having a low friction coefficient is applied to the outer peripheral surface of a portion of the inner column 11 that is inserted into the outer column 10. Thereby, even if the tightening force of the outer column 10 by the tightening mechanism 80 is set large, the tightening frictional force generated by the tightening of the inner column 11 by the outer column 10 is kept relatively low.

  The lower stopper 50 is attached to the inner column 11 by a pair of front and rear resin pins 51. When the inner column 11 moves forward due to the impact of the secondary collision, the buffer block 53 attached to the lower stopper 50 collides with a portion of the outer column 10 in front of the slit 26. When the impact due to the collision is larger than a predetermined magnitude, the resin pin 51 is sheared and broken, and the inner column 11 moves away from the lower stopper 50 and moves further forward without being restricted by the friction plate 85. Will be able to.

  With such a configuration, even when a lighter driver collides with the steering wheel 101 due to a collision of the automobile, the steering wheel 101 moves forward with the inner column 11 relatively easily. The shock of is reduced. In addition, the low friction material coating with a low coefficient of friction can maintain a low tightening frictional force even when the processing accuracy of the inner peripheral surface 13 of the outer column 10 is lowered, so that the processing cost can be reduced. .

(Upper stopper)
FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view around the upper stopper 30 shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the BB cut surface shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, a pair of left and right guide walls 23, 24 projecting upward and extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the upper portion of the outer column 10, and guide grooves extending in the radial direction therebetween and extending in the front-rear direction 25 is provided. The upper stopper 30 is fixed to the inner column 11, and the height thereof is lower than that of the guide walls 23 and 24 and is accommodated inside the guide groove 25.

  The upper stopper 30 engages with the guide groove 25, thereby preventing relative rotation between the outer column 10 and the inner column 11 and defining an axial relative movement range between the inner column 11 and the outer column 10. That is, the upper stopper 30 abuts on the vehicle rear side portion of the outer column 10 that forms the guide groove 25, thereby defining a telescopic adjustment range (indicated by reference sign TAr in FIG. 5) to the rear of the inner column 11. The movement range of the inner column 11 at the time of the secondary collision (indicated by reference numeral CP in FIG. 5) is defined by contacting the vehicle front side portion of the outer column 10 that forms the guide groove 25.

  The upper stopper 30 includes a guide member 31 of a resin injection molded product and a metal stopper base 32, a stepped low head bolt 35 with a hexagonal hole, and a nut plate 36 fixed to the inner column 11. It is comprised by attaching to the inner column 11 by.

  The guide member 31 has a substantially oval shape in plan view, and the left and right side surfaces of the guide member 31 face the inner surfaces 25a and 25b of the guide walls 23 and 24, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a recess 31 c into which the stopper base 32 is fitted is formed in the lower portion of the guide member 31. The guide member 31 can be formed from synthetic resin, rubber, or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the stopper base 32 has a through-hole 32a into which a screw shaft 35a of a stepped low head bolt 35 is fitted. Further, the stopper base 32 is formed in a curved surface having a lower surface whose curvature is substantially the same as the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the inner column 11 and is in surface contact with the inner column 11 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the nut plate 36 has a boss portion 36 a that fits into a through hole 11 a formed in the inner column 11 in the center of the upper surface, and penetrates from the upper end surface of the boss portion 36 a to the lower end. A screw hole 36c is formed. Further, the nut plate 36 is formed in a curved surface having an upper surface 36b having substantially the same curvature as that of the inner column 11, and as shown in FIG. 8, the inner column 11 is not coated with a low friction material. It is in surface contact with the peripheral surface. In the present embodiment, the stopper base 32 is fixed to the inner column 11 by caulking with the boss portion 36a inserted into the through hole 11a, and then the thread groove of the screw hole 36c is formed by a tap. Instead of the nut plate 36, the upper stopper 30 may be fastened to the inner column 11 by blind rivets, or the stepped low head bolt 35 is tightened by threading the through hole 11a of the inner column 11. You can also

(Electrical path)
In the present embodiment, the steering wheel 101, the upper steering shaft 62, the ball bearing 29, the inner column 11, the nut plate 36, the stepped low head bolt 35, the energizing plate 40, the energizing cover 15, the outer column 10, and the tilt bracket. 12, an energization path leading to the vehicle body 100 is secured.

  Among the energization paths, the upper steering shaft 62, the ball bearing 29, and the inner column 11 are all made of a metal material having a predetermined electric conductivity, and are brought into contact with each other, so that the energization paths indicated by broken line arrows in FIG. Is secured. Further, the outer column 10 and the tilt bracket 12 are also made of a material having a predetermined electric conductivity, and are configured to be energized by contacting each other. The energization path from the inner column 11 to the outer column 10 will be described below.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the upper stopper 30 includes a current-carrying plate 40 made of a plate-like metal material having a predetermined electrical conductivity. The energizing plate 40 has an annular portion as shown in FIG. 3, and a stepped low head bolt 35 is passed through the annular portion. As shown in FIGS. It is sandwiched and fixed between the upper step 35b of the attached low head bolt 35. As shown in FIG. 3, the energizing plate 40 has a protruding portion that protrudes forward and backward from the annular portion, and the protruding portion engages with four locking protrusions that protrude from the upper surface of the guide member 31. By doing so, positioning and rotation prevention are made. The energizing plate 40 can be a stamped press-molded product of a spring steel plate having elasticity, and the material of the energizing plate 40 can be a material such as a phosphor bronze plate in addition to the spring steel plate.

  A contact portion 40a that is curved so as to rise obliquely upward and protrude upward is formed on the front protruding portion of the energizing plate 40. The contact portion 40a is elastically deformed and is in contact with the energizing cover 15 with a predetermined pressure. With this configuration, even when a gap occurs when the inner column 11 moves back and forth by telescopic adjustment, the energizing cover 15 always follows the slight undulation of the energizing cover 15 and the slight rotation of the inner column 11. Will be able to contact. Moreover, since the part of the contact part 40a which contact | connects the electricity supply cover 15 is curving, it can prevent the electricity supply cover 15 and the contact part 40a from being caught.

  With the above configuration, an energization path that is continuous from the inner column 11 to the nut plate 36, the stepped low head bolt 35, the energization plate 40, and the energization cover 15 is configured from the inner column 11 as indicated by a broken line arrow in FIG. 8. The energizing cover 15 is fixed to the outer column 10 by caulking. Thereby, an energization path from the inner column 11 to the outer column 10 is secured. In addition to the caulking, various fixing methods such as press-fitting, screw fixing, bolt fixing, brazing, soldering, rivet, adhesion, and the like can be used for fixing the energizing plate 40.

  According to the embodiment described above, a new energization path from the steering wheel to the vehicle body can be secured.

  The specific embodiments described above are used to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these.

  For example, although the above embodiment is an application of the present invention to a rack assist type electric power steering apparatus, it is naturally applicable to a column assist type electric power steering apparatus.

  In addition, specific configurations of the steering column, the tilt / telescopic adjustment mechanism, the upper stopper, and the like can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, the shape of the energizing plate 40 is not limited to that of the above-described embodiment, and may be any shape as long as it contacts the energizing cover 15 with a predetermined pressure by elastic deformation. For example, the contact portion 40a does not necessarily have to be one as in the above embodiment, and a plurality of contact portions 40a may be formed. The shape of the contact portion 40a is not limited to that according to the above embodiment, and instead of a curved portion. Alternatively, a portion protruding in a hemispherical shape toward the energizing cover 15 may be formed. Moreover, the contact part 40a may be arrange | positioned at the vehicle rear side of the guide member 31, and when providing the contact part 40a with two or more, you may arrange | position at both the vehicle front side and the back side of the guide member 31.

  In addition, the energization plate 40 may be disposed so as to ensure an energization path from the inner column 11 to the energization cover 15, and may be disposed, for example, in direct contact with the inner column 11. In that case, the fixture for attaching the guide member 31 to the inner column 11 need not have conductivity.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering mechanism 2 Steering device 3 Steering shaft 10 Outer column 11 Inner column 11a Through hole 12 Tilt bracket 13 Inner peripheral surface 21 Collar 22 Pivot boss 22a Boss hole 23, 24 Guide wall 25 Guide groove 25a, 25b Inner surface 26 Slit 27 Ball bearing 28 Through hole 29 Ball bearing 30 Upper stopper 31 Guide member 32 Stopper base 32a Through hole 35 Stepped low head bolt 35a Screw shaft 35b Upper step part 36 Nut plate 36a Boss part 36b Upper surface 36c Screw hole 40 Current plate 40a Contact part 50 Lower stopper 51 Resin pin 52 Buffer holding portion 53 Buffer block 54 Locking arm 61 Lower steering shaft 61a Male spline 61b Serration 62 Up Par steering shaft 62a Female spline 62b Serration 71 Upper plate 71a Bolt hole 71b, 71c Locking hole 72 Left side plate 72a Tilt adjustment long hole 73 Right side plate 73a Tilt adjustment long hole 80 Tightening mechanism 81 Tightening bolt 81a Male screw 82 Operation Lever 83 Movable cam 84 Fixed cam 85 Friction plate 85a Long hole portion 86 Intermediate friction plate 86a, 86b End plate portion 86c Connection plate portion 87 Press plate 88 Thrust bearing 89 Nut 91, 92 Hook portion 93 Coil spring 95 Coil spring 100 Car body 101 Steering wheel 102 Intermediate shaft 103 Steering gear 104 Electric assist mechanism 105 Tie rod

Claims (6)

A steering shaft having electrical conductivity and transmitting steering force;
An outer column having conductivity, forming a guide groove extending in the axial direction through the radial direction, and rotatably supporting the steering shaft;
An inner column that has electrical conductivity, is fitted into the outer column so as to be capable of relative movement in the axial direction, and rotatably supports the steering shaft together with the outer column;
A guide member housed in the guide groove and attached to the inner column;
A fixture for attaching the guide member to the inner column;
A conductive cover having electrical conductivity, fixed in contact with the outer column and covering the guide groove;
An energizing plate made of a conductive plate material, fixed to the inner column in contact with at least one of the fixture and the inner column, elastically deformed and in contact with the energizing cover with a predetermined contact pressure; A steering apparatus comprising:   The steering device according to claim 1, wherein the energization plate has a contact portion curved so as to protrude toward the energization cover.   The steering apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the contact portion is disposed on a vehicle front side with respect to the guide member. The fixture includes a bolt;
The steering device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the energization plate includes an annular portion through which a screw shaft of the bolt passes.   The steering apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a low friction material is coated on an inner peripheral surface of the outer column or an outer peripheral surface of the inner column. The steering shaft is formed by fitting an upper steering shaft disposed on the vehicle rear side and a lower steering shaft disposed on the vehicle front side,
The steering device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a resin coating is applied to the upper steering shaft or the lower steering shaft in the fitted portion.

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