JPH0327025Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention is a tilt steering device for a vehicle, in particular, once the driver has adjusted the tilt angle to an arbitrary optimal position, the steering wheel can be adjusted for convenience when getting on and off. This invention relates to a device for preventing malfunction in a so-called tilt steering device with memory, in which even if the steering wheel is flipped up, the steering wheel returns to its original position simply by pulling it down when re-boarding the vehicle.

BACKGROUND ART As a tilt steering device with memory, there is a device disclosed in Utility Application No. 126940/1983 (Patent Application No. 30570/1988) filed by the present applicant. In this device, a ratchet has teeth arranged in an arc around the tilt axis for the tilting structure, and a pole has teeth of a short length that removably engages with the teeth for the fixed structure. The tilt angle is fixed by arranging and engaging both toothed portions. By selectively shielding a portion of the arc-shaped tooth portion, the engagement position of both tooth portions is specified.

Problems that the invention aims to solve However, in the conventional device as mentioned above,
Since the arc-shaped teeth are covered only at one end of the length of the arc, the tilt movement is reliably restricted in one angular direction, but the tilt movement is restricted in other angular directions. There was a risk of being fixed in the wrong position due to careful tilt operation.
A specific explanation of this drawback will be given later when the present invention is explained in detail. An object of the present invention is to provide a malfunction prevention device that prevents a steering wheel from being fixed in an incorrect position even when a driver performs a careless tilt operation.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional devices, in the present invention, the arcuate teeth of the ratchet are
It is shielded on both sides of the short fixed side teeth of the pole that engages with it, eliminating the possibility that the handle will be fixed at a tilt angle other than the selected one.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a tilt steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this tilt steering device, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the main shaft includes a lower shaft 11 and a top shaft 12 tiltably connected to the lower shaft 11 via a universal joint. A steering wheel 13 is attached to the upper end of the shaft 12.

The steering column is composed of a lower tube 14 that rotatably supports the lower shaft 11, an upper tube 15 that is attached to the lower tube 14 so as to be tiltable by a predetermined amount, and rotatably supports the upper shaft 12, and a first bracket 16 that supports the lower tube 14. It is supported by a part of the vehicle body via a second bracket 17 that supports it.

In addition, the lower shaft 11 is the Atsupashi shaft 12.
a hollow first shaft 11a connected to the upper end of the shaft;
A second shaft 11b is connected to the lower end of the first shaft so that its upper end can move in the axial direction and transmit torque, and its lower end is connected to the gearbox via an intermediate shaft. bracket 16
It is supported so as to be able to slide in the axial direction and to restrict rotation in the circumferential direction. Roach tube 14
The first bracket 16 is secured by a lock mechanism (not shown).
The lower tube 14, the upper tube 15, the upper shaft 12, and the first shaft 11a of the lower shaft 11 are integrally locked in the axial direction with respect to the first bracket 16 by releasing the operating lever 18 constituting the lock mechanism. The steering wheel 13 is movable to allow the axial position of the steering wheel 13 to be adjusted.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of left and right tilt mechanisms 20 and 30 are disposed on both left and right sides of the assembly portion of both tubes 14 and 15 in the steering column.

The first tilt mechanism 20 on the left side is the lower tube 14
A ratchet 21 fixed to the left side of the upper end, a pawl 22 and a release lever 23 pivotally connected to the attachment tube 15, and a push lever 24 assembled thereto.
The main components are a cover plate 25 assembled to the pivot joints of both tubes 14 and 15, and a lock cam 26.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the ratchet 21 has an arcuate toothed portion 21a at its outer end and a stopper portion 21b at its lower end, and the arcuate toothed portion 21a faces the toothed portion 22a of the pawl 22. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the pawl 22 has a toothed portion 2 at its lower end that faces the arcuate toothed portion 21a and removably meshes with the arcuate toothed portion 21a.
2a, and is pivotally mounted to the upper tube 15 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
Further, a first engagement pin 22 is provided at the lower end of the pole 22.
b and the second engagement pin 22c are assembled concentrically. The first engagement pin 22b has a cylindrical shape, and the pole 22
The second engagement pin 22c is slidably attached to the first engagement pin 22b via a spring 22d. The second engagement pin 22c is pressed against the spring 2 by pressure from the inside.
2d and slides outward against the first engagement pin 22b.
protrudes outward from.

As shown in FIG. 2, the release lever 23 is spline-fitted onto the connecting shaft 27 inside the ratchet 21 and the pawl 22 to release the attachment tube 15.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the cam hole 23a and the support pin 2
3b. In this release lever 23, the first engagement pin 22b of the pawl 22 is engaged with the cam hole 23a, and the support pin 23b and the second engagement pin 22b are engaged with each other.
A spring 28c is latched between support pins 28b provided on the outermost retainer 28a shown in FIG.
The pawl 22 and the lock cam 26, which will be described later, are elastically engaged with the ratchet 21 by the urging force. Further, a lock cam 26 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is spline-fitted to the shaft 27 on the back of the pawl 22, and the lock cam 26 supports the back of the pawl 22 and locks the meshing state with the ratchet 21. There is. A push lever 24 is assembled to the release lever 23, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The push lever 24 is supported so as to be able to swing inward and outward by a support portion 23c provided at a substantially central portion inside the release lever 23, and its lower end penetrates the release lever 23 and protrudes to the outside to push the lower end knob 24a onto the release lever 23. The lower end knob 23d is opposed to the outside. Further, the push lever 24 is biased clockwise in FIG. 10 by a spring 23e assembled on the support portion 23c, and its upper end portion 24b is pressed against the second engagement pin 22c protruding through the cam hole 23a. The lower end knob 24a is spaced apart from the lower end knob 23d of the release lever 23.

The cover plate 25 is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.
As shown in the figure, a pair of upper and lower arc-shaped cover parts 25b and 25c are provided at the end of the plate part 25a, and a protrusion 25d extends in the open area between the two cover parts 25b and 25c, and ratchet teeth are provided inside the protrusion 25d. It is provided with a tooth portion 25e that meshes with the tooth portion 25e. Further, the plate portion 25a has an oval large diameter hole 25f.
Furthermore, the protrusion 25d is provided with a circular small diameter hole 25g. This cover plate 25 is attached to the outside of the ratchet 21 with a fan-shaped retainer 28d in between.
It is assembled so that it passes through the large diameter hole 25f of
It is designed to be able to slide in the radial direction of the same axis. An arc-shaped leaf spring 25h is fixed to this cover plate 25, and retainers 28 at both ends of the leaf spring 25h are fixed to the cover plate 25.
The cover plate 25 is urged to the left in FIG. As a result, the cover plate 25 engages its teeth 25e with the ratchet 21, and both cover parts 25b, 25c
covers both upper and lower ends of the toothed portion 21a of the ratchet 21, and the pawl 22 is engaged between both cover portions. In this state, the small diameter hole 2 of the protrusion 25d
5g is opposed to the second engagement pin 22c of the pawl 22, and when the lower end knob 24a of the push lever 24 is pushed and the second engagement pin 22c is slid, the second engagement pin 22c is moved to the small diameter hole 25g. to connect the cover plate 25 to the pole 22.

On the other hand, the second tilt mechanism 30 on the right side has a ratchet 31 fixed to the upper right side of the lower tube 14,
The main components are a pawl 32, a release lever 33, and a lock cam 34, which are pivotally connected to the lift shaft 15. The second tilt mechanism 30 has a similar configuration to the first tilt mechanism 20 except that the push lever 24, cover plate 25, and their attached parts are omitted, and as described later, the second tilt mechanism 30 has a similar structure to the first tilt mechanism 20. Interlock.

As shown in FIG. 6, the ratchet 31 is provided with an arcuate tooth portion 31a at the outer end and an arcuate hole 31b, and a stopper pin 35 screwed onto the attachment tube 15 is inserted into the arcuate hole 31b as shown in FIG.
The head of a is inserted. Thereby, the tilting movement of the upper tube 15 with respect to the lower tube 14 is regulated to a predetermined amount by the action of the circular arc hole 31b and the stopper pin 35a. Paul 32 is Paul 22
It is formed in the same shape as shown in FIG. 15, and includes only an engaging pin 32a that engages with a cam hole 33a provided in the release lever 33 shown in FIG. This pawl 32 is pivotally attached to the arbor 15 so as to be swingable, and is adapted to face the arcuate toothed portion 31a of the ratchet 31 and engage with it in a detachable manner.

As shown in FIG. 15, the release lever 33 is formed in a similar shape to the head of the release lever 23, and as shown in FIGS.
3 and a shaft 27 supporting the lock cam 26
It has a spline fit on top. Also, shaft 2
A lock cam 34 is installed on the outside of the release lever 33 on top of the release lever 33.
is rotatably assembled and faces the back of the pole 32. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the lock cam 34 includes a cam portion 34a and a leg portion 34b similar to the lock cam 26.
b is provided with a support pin 34c that projects outward and a protrusion 34d that projects inward. As shown in FIG. 2, this lock cam 34 is
A spring 35d latched between the support pin 34c and a support pin 35c provided on the outermost retainer 35b is biased to elastically press the pawl 32, and the pawl 32 is elastically pressed against the ratchet 31. They are engaged and the state of engagement is locked. In this state, the protrusion 34d of the lock cam 34 is in the 15th position.
As shown in the figure, it faces an engaging part 33b provided at the lower end of the release lever 33 at a predetermined distance, and when the release lever 33 rotates a predetermined amount, it engages with the lock cam 34 and resists the spring 35d. and rotate it to separate the lock cam 34 from the back of the pole 32. As shown in FIG. 16, the release lever 33 is connected to the release lever 23 via the shaft 27 so that torque can be transmitted thereto.
3 is rotated, the shaft 27 is rotated, and the release lever 33 is rotated.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the lower tube 14 and the upper tube 15 have a pair of left and right retainers 14 facing each other at their lower ends.
a, 14b, 15a, 15b, and a pair of compression springs 18a, 18b are interposed between them. Both springs 18a, 1
8b is the upper tube 1 when the lock of the upper tube 15 to the lower tube 14 is released.
5. Functions to lift up the shaft 12 and steering wheel 13 as one unit.

In the tilt steering device configured as described above, the upper tube 15 is locked with respect to the lower tube 14 by the action of both tilt mechanisms 20 and 30 when the release lever 23 of the first tilt mechanism 20 is not operated. In this case, the first tilt mechanism 20
is in the state shown in FIG. 3, and the second tilt mechanism 30
Also, the ratchet 31, pawl 32, release lever 33, lock cam 34, etc. are in the same state as those of the first tilt mechanism 20.

However, the first tilt mechanism 20 in this state
When the release lever 23 of the second tilt mechanism 30 is rotated, the shaft 27 rotates and the lock cam 26 is rotated, and the release lever 3 of the second tilt mechanism 30 is rotated.
Rotate 3. In this case, the first tilt mechanism 20
In the initial stage of rotation of the release lever 23, as shown in FIG. 19, the lock cam 26 separates from the back of the pawl 22 to release the lock of the engaged state of the pawl 22, but the first engagement pin 22b of the pawl 22 is The pawl 22 located at the tip of the arcuate portion 23a1 of the hole 23a is still engaged with the ratchet 21. When the release lever 23 is further rotated, the first engagement pin 22b moves to the cam portion 23a2 of the cam hole 23a and swings the pawl 22 away from the ratchet 21, as shown in FIG. 22 is released. On the other hand, in the second tilt mechanism 30, the release lever 3 is rotated by the rotation of the shaft 27.
3 rotates, but similarly to the first tilt mechanism 20, the pawl 32 does not swing at the initial stage of rotation, and when the release lever 33 further rotates, the engagement pin 32a shown in FIG. At the same time as the circular arc portion 33a1 of the hole 33a moves to the cam portion 33a2, the engaging portion 33b of the release lever 33 engages with the protrusion 34d of the lock cam 34, and the lock cam 34
is rotated against the spring 35d. Therefore, the lock of the engaged state of the pawl 32 is released, and the pawl 32 is separated from the ratchet 31, and the engagement between these two 31 and 32 is released. As a result, the upper tube 15 is unlocked from the lower tube 14 by the tilt mechanisms 20, 30, and the upper tube 15, upper shaft 12, and steering wheel 13 are lifted up by the repulsive force of the compression springs 18a, 18b.

In this state, the cover plate 25 is engaged with the ratchet 21 at the toothed portion 25e, and only the portion of the arcuate toothed portion 21a of the ratchet 21 with which the pawl 22 was engaged is released so that the other portions can be engaged. Both cover parts 25b, 25
It is covered in c. Therefore, when the raised steering wheel 13 is pushed down, the pawl 22 pushed by the lock cam 26 slides on the outer periphery of the upper cover portion 25b of the cover plate 25 and returns to its original position on the arcuate toothed portion 21a. It reaches the engagement area and engages with the same area. In addition, the second tilt mechanism 3
0, the lock cam 34 elastically presses the pawl 32, but the ratchet 21 and the pawl 2
2 before engagement, the cam hole 33a and the engagement pin 3
2a, the ratchet 31 and the pole 32 are separated, and the pole 32 is separated from the ratchet 21 and the pole 2.
Immediately after meshing with 2, it meshes with the ratchet 31. As a result, the steering wheel 13 returns to its original position.

Next, the case of adjusting the position of the steering wheel 13 will be described. In this case, the lower end knob 24a of the push lever 24 is pushed inward, and then the release lever 23 is rotated. When the lower end knob 24a of the push lever 24 is pushed, the upper end 24b thereof is swung outward as shown in FIG. 10, causing the second engagement pin 22c of the pawl 22 to protrude against the spring 22d, and the cover plate 25 into the small diameter hole 25g. Therefore, the cover plate 25 is connected to the pawl 22, and slides against the leaf spring 25h in response to the swinging movement of the pawl 22 when the release lever 23 is rotated, as shown in FIG. 21 is released. Further, the engagement of the pawls 22, 32 with the latches 21, 31 in both the tilt mechanisms 20, 30 is released, and the uppipe tube 15 can be tilted.
Therefore, the release lever 23 and the push lever 2
When the steering wheel 13 is moved up and down to a desired position while holding the operation 4, and then the operation of at least one of the levers 23 and 24 is released, the cover plate 25 is moved to the arcuate tooth of the ratchet 21. A mating part of the pawl 22 is secured for meshing with another part of the portion 21a to lock the steering wheel 13 (the attachment tube 15) at a desired position. Thereby, the steering wheel 13 is adjusted to a desired position by the first tilt mechanism 20, and the adjusted position is stored.

It has been known for a long time to use a cover plate to memorize the engagement area, but in the past, the cover plate covered only the upper side of the engagement area, so the driver could accidentally touch the knob 23d of the release lever.
If you try to restore the handle while pulling the
Alternatively, when attempting to quickly restore the steering wheel, there was a possibility that the steering wheel would overshoot and become misaligned. Since the cover plate according to the present invention has cover parts 25b and 25c on both sides of the open part that defines the engagement position of the pole, the engagement position will not be deviated regardless of how the handle is operated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view of the tilt handle malfunction prevention device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 (main view)
3 is an enlarged partially cutaway plan view showing the main parts of the device.
The figures are the same side view, Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view of the upper part of the lower tube with the ratchet fixed, Fig. 5 is the same front view, Fig. 6 is the same side view, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged side view of the pole. Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of the same, Figure 9 is an enlarged side view of both levers assembled, Figure 10 is a rear view of the same, Figure 11 is an enlarged side view of the lock cam, Figure 12 is a front view of the same, and Figure 13 is an enlarged side view of the lock cam. The figures are an enlarged side view of the cover plate, Fig. 14 is a plan view of the same, Fig. 15 is an enlarged inner side view of another release lever, Fig. 16 is an enlarged plan view of the connecting shaft, and Fig. 17 is an enlarged plan view of the other lock cam. Enlarged internal side view, Figure 18 is the same front view, Figures 19 and 20.
This figure and FIG. 21 are explanatory views of the operation of the first tilt mechanism. Explanation of symbols, 11...Lower shaft, 12...
Atsupashi shaft, 13... Steering wheel, 14... Lower tube, 15... Atsupati tube, 20, 30... Tilt mechanism, 21, 31...
...Rachet, 22,32...Paul, 23,3
3...Release lever, 24...Push lever, 2
5... Cover plate, 26, 34... Lock cam, 27... Connection shaft.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A main shaft consisting of a lower shaft and an atsupashi shaft connected to the lower shaft so as to be tiltable; a lower tube which rotatably supports the lower shaft and is supported on a part of the vehicle body; and a lower tube which is attached to the lower shaft so as to be tiltable by a predetermined amount and is capable of rotating the atsupashi shaft. a steering column consisting of an upper tube pivotally supported on the steering column; a ratchet fixedly provided on either one of the tubes of the steering column; and an arcuate toothed portion of the ratchet that is swingably provided on either the other tube. a pawl that resiliently and removably engages with the ratchet; a release lever that engages with the pawl during rotation to release the pawl from the ratchet; and a release lever that faces and engages the arcuate tooth. It is provided with teeth that removably engage with each other, and is rotatably assembled to the pivot portions of both tubes and movable along one side, and elastically engages with the arc-shaped teeth, so that the arc-shaped teeth are engaged with each other. A malfunction prevention device for a tilt handle for a vehicle, comprising a cover plate that partially covers the pole to define an engagement position of the pole with respect to the ratchet,
The cover plate has an opening part that opens only the part of the arcuate toothed part of the ratchet that was engaged with the pawl, and a part that shields the arcuate toothed part of the ratchet from the pawl on both sides of the opening part. and a pair of cover parts provided with the
A malfunction prevention device characterized in that it prevents the pawl from becoming misaligned with the arcuate teeth of the ratchet regardless of whether the handle is restored or not.