JPH0152218B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering lock device for an automobile, and in particular to a so-called two-behavior operated steering system that prevents the steering shaft from becoming locked due to an unexpected key operation while driving. Relating to locking devices.

Prior Art As is well known, a conventional steering lock device has a structure as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, and a casing 2 attached to a steering column 1 includes a key cylinder 3 and an ignition switch 4. The key cylinder 3 operated by a predetermined key K controls the position of the rotating member 5 and the ignition switch 4. A hanger 7 pushed by a spring 6 is engaged with the rotating member 5, and a locking bolt 8 connected to the hanger 7 is inserted into the collar 10 of the steering shaft 9.
to fix the steering shaft 9. In addition, the key K inserted into the key cylinder 3
As shown in FIG. 6, a key sensing lever 11 is provided to keep the hanger 7 in the unlocked position at all times, and when the key K is pulled out from the key cylinder 3, the hanger 7 is released. A locking bolt 8 is arranged to enter a collar 10.

By the way, in the above-mentioned steering lock device, if the key K is pulled out from the key cylinder 3 while the vehicle is running, there is a risk that the steering shaft 9 will be suddenly fixed by the locking bolt 8, making it impossible to steer the vehicle. Therefore, conventionally, once the key K is inserted, the key K cannot be pulled out from the key cylinder 3 unless another manual operation member is operated.
Behaviorally operated steering lock device was published in 1974.
- Proposed in Publication No. 1908, etc. However, in this steering lock device, the tip of the manual operating member, which is unilaterally biased by a spring, follows a plurality of uneven cam surfaces formed partially on the circumferential surface of the rotating member. Once the operating member is operated, there is an inconvenience that the key operation in the direction of the "START" position cannot be performed again until the rotating member is completely returned to the locked position. Furthermore, since the stepped cam surface used is constituted by a large number of circumferential cams adjacent to each other in the length direction of the rotating member, the rotating member is difficult to manufacture and the manufacturing cost is relatively high.

For this reason, the present applicant and others proposed a structure in which the key can be freely operated in the direction of the "START" position without returning the key to the locked position even after the manual operation member has been operated once. This was proposed in application No. 100273 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-246969). That is, in this steering lock device, the side engagement protrusion of the manual operating member, which is movable in the axial direction of the rotating member, is arranged in a circumferential groove of the rotating member that rotates along with the key plate, and The surface groove is composed of a locking groove and an unlocking groove which are located at different positions in the axial direction and the circumferential direction of the rotating member and whose adjacent parts are connected to each other, and a locking groove is provided at the connecting part of the locking groove and the unlocking groove. An inclined surface is formed to move the positioned side engaging protrusion into the unlocking groove by rotation of the rotating member. Therefore, with this structure, if you want to restart after operating the manual operation member, press the key again to "START".
It has the advantage that it only needs to be operated to the side.

However, in this structure, since the device is installed in a narrow vehicle interior, if there is a restriction on the overall length, the tip of the side engagement protrusion of the manual operation member has to be made thin. is located in the unlocking groove, and if your knee, etc. hits the manual operation member and the side engaging protrusion is pressed against the side of the unlocking groove, the tip of the weaker side engaging protrusion may be sheared. , there was a risk of deformation.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned two-behavior operation type steering lock device so that the manual operation member and the side engagement protrusion do not deform even if a strong external force is applied to the manual operation member. is to obtain.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a steering lock that locks and unlocks a steering shaft by a rotating member rotated by a key, which is capable of sliding in a direction parallel to the axis of the rotating member. A side engagement protrusion of the manual operating member is engaged with a circumferential groove of the rotating member, and the circumferential groove is engaged with the side engagement protrusion before the locking position when the key is rotated in the locking direction. an unlocking groove having a stopper surface that prevents the rotating member from rotating to the locked position; the locking grooves are connected to each other, and an inclined surface is formed at the connecting portion of the locking groove and the unlocking groove to move the side engagement protrusion located in the locking groove to the unlocking groove of the rotating member. A support wall is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating member along the unlocking groove, and the base of the tip of the side engagement protrusion comes into contact with the support wall, so that when the manual operation member is forcefully pressed, the support wall prevents the side engagement protrusion from moving. It is proposed that the load be carried by the base.

Embodiments Hereinafter, details of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of a steering lock device according to the present invention, in which the steering lock has a manual operating member 12 that is slidable in a direction parallel to the axis of a rotating member 5 that rotates together with a key 4. Prepare,
This manual operation member 12 can be operated by a push button 14 exposed on the front surface of the casing 13. Further, the side engagement protrusion 12 of the manual operation member 12
Reference character a projects from the side surface of the manual operation member 12 in the centripetal direction of the rotating member 5, and engages with a circumferential groove of the rotating member 5 whose details are shown in FIG. This circumferential groove consists of a locking groove 15 and an unlocking groove 16 that are formed adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the rotating member 5, and these locking grooves 15 and unlocking grooves 16 are shown expanded in FIG. The adjacent parts 17 are connected to each other at different positions in the circumferential direction of the rotating member 5, as shown in FIG. The unlock groove 16 extends from the "START" position of the key K to the "OFF" position before the "LOCK" position, and in the "OFF" position, the manual operation member 12
A stopper surface 16 that is engaged with the side engaging protrusion 12a of
It has a. On the other hand, the locking groove 15 extends from the stopper surface 16a of the unlocking groove 16 from the "START" side position to the "LOCK" position, and when the rotating member 5 is placed in the "LOCK" position, manual operation is required. The side engaging protrusion 12a of the member 12 is placed at the end of the locking groove 15 as shown in the third figure, and in this position the key K can be pulled out from the key cylinder 3. When the rotating member 5 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, the other end of the locking groove 15 engages with the side engagement protrusion 12a of the manual operation member 12 and moves it into the unlocking groove 16. An inclined surface 18 for movement is formed.

On the other hand, a support wall 19 is protruded from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating member 5 at a position adjacent to the unlocking groove 16.
Side surface 19 of support wall 19 having approximately the same arc length as unlocking groove 16
A is a slope along the unlocking groove 16. Also,
The base of the side engaging protrusion 12a of the manual operation member 12 corresponding to the side surface 19a is the side surface 19a of the support wall 19.
The locking surface 20 is inclined to match the shape,
The engagement of the side engagement protrusion 12a with the unlocking groove 16 prevents strong shearing force or bending moment from acting on the side engagement protrusion 12a.

Further, a moderation mechanism A or B is provided between the casing 13, which is a device fixing part, and the manual operation member 12. This moderation mechanism A locks the side engaging protrusion 12a of the manual operation member 12 into the locking groove 15 or the unlocking groove 16.
It is held in position by two notches 21 and 22 formed on the side surface of the manual operation member 12, and a coil spring 23 and a steel ball 24 located in a hole in the casing 13. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of such a moderation mechanism. For example, as in moderation mechanism B shown in FIG. It may also be a combination of integrally molded elastic claws 26.

The steering lock device according to the illustrated embodiment includes:
With the above configuration, when performing a key operation from the "LOCK" position to the "START" position, the side engaging protrusion 12a of the manual operation member 12 is pushed into the unlocking groove 16 by the inclined surface 18. Because it is automatically moved, no matter what operating position the key K is in,
You can freely operate the keys in the direction of the “START” position. Then, when the steering shaft 9 is locked in the driving state and the key K is removed from the key cylinder 3, the key K is rotated to the "OFF" position and the push button 14 is pressed.
The side engagement protrusion 12a of the manual operation member 12 is held in the imaginary line position in FIG. 3, that is, in the locking groove 15, by a moderation mechanism. Therefore, the key K can then be returned to the "LOCK" position only by key operation. Also, when the key K is rotated again from the imaginary line position in FIG. 3 to the "START" side, the inclined surface 18
The side engaging protrusion 12a of the manual operation member 12
moves to the unlock groove 16, so once it is turned to the “LOCK” position as in the conventional case, it is turned to the “START” position again.
It is convenient because the engine can be started again without the troublesome operation of turning it in the position direction.

Further, when the side engaging protrusion 12a of the manual operation member 12 is located in the unlocking groove 16 as shown in the first figure, the knee or the like touches the push button 14 and the manual operation member 1
When a strong force is applied to 2 in the right direction in FIG. There is no bending moment. Note that the side engaging protrusion 12 of the manual operation member 12
a is located in the locking groove 15, the inner end 12b (shown in the first diagram) of the manual operation member 12 is in the hole bottom surface 2.
7, no large external force is applied to the side engaging protrusion 12a.

In the above embodiment, if the support wall 19 is provided on the rotary member 5, it may seem that the support wall 19 becomes obstructed and the key sensing lever 11 cannot be operated. The position of the member 12 is different in the direction of rotation of the rotating member 5, and when the steering lock is in the unlocked state, the key sensing lever 11 is in the position shown in FIG. It does not become an obstacle to the movement of the wall 19.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the steering lock device of the present invention has a simple structure, so it can not only be manufactured at low cost, but also has a convenient structure that can be operated with one hand. Also, when you want to restart after operating the manual operation member, turn it to the “LOCK” position and then turn it to “START” again.
The engine can be started again without the troublesome operation of turning it in the direction of the position. Furthermore, in the present invention, damage to the side engagement protrusion of the manual operation member can be prevented by simply forming a support wall on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating member, on which the base of the side engagement protrusion comes into contact. This can be implemented by simply changing a part of the existing steering lock device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of the steering lock device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts of the device, Fig. 3 is a developed view of the circumferential groove, and Fig. 4 is a modification of the moderation mechanism. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional steering lock device, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 5. 3...Key cylinder, 5...Rotating member, 9...
Steering shaft, 12...manual operation member,
12a... Side engaging protrusion (of manual operation member), 1
5... Locking groove (peripheral groove), 16... Unlocking groove (peripheral groove), 16a... Stopper surface, 18... Inclined surface,
19...Supporting wall (of the rotating member), 19a...Side surface (of the supporting wall).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a steering lock that locks and unlocks the steering shaft using a rotating member that is rotated by a key, the side engaging protrusion of the manual operating member that can slide in a direction parallel to the axis of the rotating member is connected to the rotating member. When the key is rotated in the locking direction, the peripheral groove engages with the side engaging protrusion before the locking position to prevent the rotating member from rotating to the locking position. an unlocking groove having a stopper surface for locking, and locking grooves having different positions in the axial direction and circumferential direction of the rotating member with respect to the unlocking groove and connected to each other near the stopper surface; and the connecting part of the unlocking groove,
An inclined surface is formed to move the side engaging protrusion located in the locking groove to the unlocking groove of the rotating member, and a tip of the side engaging protrusion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating member along the unlocking groove. A steering lock device characterized in that a support wall is formed with which the base abuts, and the support wall receives the load of the base of the side engagement protrusion when the manual operation member is forcefully pressed.