JPH0243825Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tilt steering wheel whose position can be adjusted according to the physique of a vehicle driver, and particularly to a tilt angle adjusting device thereof.

The tilt handle is configured so that the height of the steering wheel can be changed by changing the vertical tilt angle of the steering shaft using an adjustment device, and the steering wheel can be set at the optimal position according to the physique of the vehicle driver. For example, FIG. 1 shows an example of this type of handle. That is, the steering shaft 1 has a steering wheel 2 attached to one end, and the other end is connected by a universal joint 3 to a steering gear box 4 or a connecting shaft 5 to the gear box. The jacket 6 rotatably supports the steering shaft 1 via a bearing (not shown), and is supported at one end by the vehicle body 8 below the instrument panel by an inclination angle adjustment device 7. This adjustment device 7 is attached to a fixed bracket 9 attached to the vehicle body 8.
and a movable bracket 10 which is fixed to the jacket 6 and can be moved up and down within the fixed bracket 9 together with the jacket 6, which can be fixed by tightening with a bolt 11 and an adjustment lever 12 screwed into this bolt. By loosening this tightening, the bolt 11 can move up and down within the elongated hole 9a of the fixed bracket 9, and at the same time, the movable bracket 10 is moved up and down, causing the jacket 6 to tilt up and down.

However, in conventional devices of this type, when the adjustment lever is loosened to adjust the inclination angle, there is no force to support the steering shaft or the jacket, so the jacket, etc. tilts downward due to its own weight. Therefore, the driver is forced to firmly grasp the steering wheel and apply upward force to achieve the desired tilt angle, and then tighten the adjustment lever to fix it in that position. Since jackets and the like are heavy, there is a problem in that they require an extremely large amount of force to operate.

The present invention was developed in view of the above, and its purpose is to suspend a torsion spring between a fixed bracket and a movable bracket, and to apply the upward biasing force of the torsion spring to the movable bracket in an inclination angle adjustment device. By configuring the structure to be strong enough to prevent the jacket, etc. from tilting downward even when the movable bracket is loosened, the driver does not need to support the jacket even when loosening the adjustment device, and is therefore less susceptible to weak forces. The torsion spring can be easily set to the desired inclination angle, and since the coil part of the torsion spring is loosely fitted to the rod of the movable bracket, it is housed within the movable bracket, so when the movable bracket moves up and down, There is no interference with other parts, and as mentioned above, the coil part of the torsion spring fits loosely into the rod of the movable bracket, so when adjusting the inclination angle, the inner periphery of the torsion spring coil part and the outer periphery of the rod can be adjusted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a handle inclination angle adjusting device which has features such as being able to easily maintain a position without causing a jacket to dangle due to sliding resistance between the handle and the handle.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A is a partially cutaway view corresponding to the inclination angle adjustment device 7 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a view taken along arrow B in FIG. 2A. In the figure, 1 is a steering shaft, 6 is a jacket, 9 is a fixed bracket, and 10 is a
is a movable bracket. The fixed bracket 9 is attached to the vehicle body 8 and consists of an inverted U-shaped body having both side walls 15a, 15a.
A has a pair of vertical elongated holes 9a, 9a. This elongated hole is for inserting a tightening bolt 11, which will be described later. The movable bracket 10 is an inverted U-shaped body with a downwardly curved upper part, and is attached to the lower side of the jacket 6 at the curved part of the upper part to support the jacket 6. It is inserted between the walls 15a, 15a, and is movable up and down. 11
1 is a tightening bolt that passes through the fixed bracket 9 and the movable bracket 10, and the head of an adjustment lever 12 is screwed into the tightening bolt 11 as in FIG. 1, and is fixed by rotating the adjustment lever 12. The bracket 9 and the movable bracket 10 can be tightened or loosened. 10a is a reinforcing member welded to the movable bracket 10.

Reference numeral 38 is a torsion spring, and its coil portion 38c is loosely fitted around the outer periphery of a rod 37 that is hung between both side walls 16a, 16a of the movable bracket 10, and one end 38a
is bent to abut against the lower surface of the movable bracket 10 with a larger contact area, and the other end 38b is engaged with a pin 39 provided on the fixed bracket 9 to urge the jacket etc. upward.

Next, to explain the operation, if the adjustment lever 12 is rotated in one direction, the adjustment lever 12 will move the tightening bolt 11.
Both side walls 15 of the fixed bracket 9 are screwed along the
The movable bracket 10 is tightened at points a and 15a, and the jacket 6 etc. that are integrated therewith are fixed. On the other hand, if the adjustment lever 12 is rotated in the other direction, the above-mentioned tightening force will be reduced, and the movable bracket 1 by the fixed bracket 9 will be
The 0 constraint disappears. At this time, the jacket 6 and the like try to tilt downward due to their own weight, but one end 38 is attached to the movable bracket 10 and the fixed bracket 9.
a and the other end 38b of the torsion spring 3 engaged with each other;
Its tilting is prevented by the upward biasing force of 8, and it stops at an inclination angle position where its own weight and the biasing force are balanced. Therefore, the jacket can be tilted vertically by applying only a very small force to the jacket, so that a desired angle of inclination can be easily set with a small force.

As explained above, the inclination angle adjustment device for a tilt handle of the present invention consists of a fixed bracket attached to the vehicle body, a movable bracket that supports the lower side of the jacket and is movable within the fixed bracket, and these fixed brackets. A torsion spring is provided between the bracket and the movable bracket to bias the jacket upward, and the torsion spring has its coil portion loosely fitted around the outer periphery of the rod that is hung around the movable bracket. engaging one end of the coil portion with the movable bracket and the other end with the fixed bracket, respectively;
In addition, the upward biasing force of the torsion spring on the jacket is designed to be strong enough to prevent the jacket from tilting downward even when the fixed bracket and movable bracket are loosened, so that the following effects are achieved.

Even if the fixed bracket and the movable bracket are loosened, the jacket will not tilt downward due to the upward biasing force of the torsion spring, but will stop at an inclined angle position where its own weight and biasing force are balanced. Therefore, the jacket can be tilted vertically by applying only a very small force to the jacket, so that a desired angle of inclination can be easily set with a small force.

A torsion spring is used as a spring that is hung between the fixed bracket and the movable bracket and urges the jacket upward, and the coil portion of the torsion spring is loosely fitted around the outer periphery of a rod that is hung on both side walls of the movable bracket. Since one end of the spring is engaged with the movable bracket and the other end is engaged with the fixed bracket, the structure of the bracket is simple and compact, and since the torsion spring is housed within the movable bracket, the movable bracket can move up and down. There will be no interference with other members.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the coil portion of the torsion spring is loosely fitted into the rod that spans both side walls of the movable bracket, so when adjusting the inclination angle, the inner circumference of the coil portion of the torsion spring and the outer circumference of the rod must be adjusted. Since the jacket does not dangle due to sliding resistance, it is easy to maintain the jacket position.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a tilt handle equipped with an inclination angle adjustment device, Fig. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention, A is a partially cutaway side view, and B is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in Fig. A. . 1... Steering shaft, 6... Jacket, 7... Tilt angle adjustment device, 8... Vehicle body, 9...
Fixed bracket, 10...Movable bracket, 11
... Bolt, 12 ... Adjustment lever, 38 ... Torsion spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A tilt handle is configured such that a jacket holding a steering shaft is pivotally supported at its tip so that its angle of inclination can be adjusted with respect to the vehicle body. A movable bracket is provided so as to be movable within the fixed bracket, and a torsion spring is hung between the fixed bracket and the movable bracket to bias the jacket upward, and the torsion spring is attached to the movable bracket. The coil portion is loosely fitted around the outer periphery of a rod that is hung around the bracket, one end of the coil portion is engaged with the movable bracket, and the other end is engaged with the fixed bracket, and the upward biasing force of the torsion spring on the jacket is A tilt angle adjustment device for a tilt handle, characterized in that the device is strong enough to prevent the jacket from tilting downward even when the front fixed bracket and the movable bracket are loosened.