JPH0355495Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a tilting device for a steering column of a vehicle such as an automobile.

(Prior Art) A conventional tilting device for a steering column of an automobile will be explained with reference to FIG. A steering handle is attached to the Atsupashi shaft. Also, b is the above Atsupati Yubu a
a pin on the vehicle body side that pivotally supports the atsupa bracket b and the atsup tube a so as to be tiltable in the direction of arrow A (vertical direction);
d is a ratchet plate fixed to the above-mentioned upper bracket b, and e is a lower tube. A lower shaft (not shown) is rotatably supported on the lower tube e, and the lower shaft and the above-mentioned upper shaft are connected via a universal joint. connected.

Further, f is a lower bracket fixed to the lower tube e, g is a lever with ratchet teeth that engages with the ratchet plate d, h is a pin that pivots the lever g to the lower bracket f, and i is a lever that connects the lever g above the lower bracket f. A spring biasing the ratchet plate d in the direction, k a rotating shaft rotatably attached to the vehicle body side member, j a tilting lever fixed to the rotating shaft k, l
is a cam fixed to the rotating shaft k, the cam l is located in the window-like notch _g1 provided in the lever g, and a ratchet plate d is located between the attenuation bracket b and the vehicle body side member. A spring (not shown) is interposed to bias the attachment bracket b and attachment tube a in the direction of arrow A (vertical direction) around a pin c, and grips the tilting lever j to rotate the rotation axis k. When the cam l rotates in the direction of arrow D around the axis of rotation, the cam l also rotates in the same direction around the axis of rotation k, and the tilting lever j, which contacts the cam l through the window-like notch _g1 , rotates around the pin h. The tilting lever j is rotated in the direction of arrow E, and the ratchet teeth of the tilting lever j are separated from the ratchet plate d, and the ratchet plate d, the attachment bracket b, and the attachment tube a move in the arrow A direction (vertical direction) about the pin c. When the lever j is returned to its original direction while the parts d, b, and a are returned to the direction of the arrow B, the ratchet teeth of the lever g and the ratchet plate d engage with each other. Parts d, b, a and the steering wheel can be held in any driving position.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the steering column tilting device for an automobile shown in FIG. 10, the ratchet teeth of the lever g and the ratchet plate d are engaged to hold the steering wheel at a desired driving position. Therefore, even though the driving position of the steering wheel can be changed in multiple stages by changing the number of ratchet teeth, there is a problem in that it cannot be changed steplessly.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a steering column tilting device that allows the driving position of the steering wheel to be changed steplessly.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the steering column tilting device of the present invention connects the upper shaft 1 on the steering handle side to the lower shaft 12 via the universal joint 10, and The upper bracket 5 is fixed to the upper tube 3 which rotatably supports the lower shaft 12, and the lower bracket 11 is fixed to the lower tube 14 which rotatably supports the lower shaft 12. It is pivotally supported on the lower bracket 11 so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction,
A memory hole 5a is provided in an arcuate portion of the upper bracket 5 centered on the pivot portion 8, and the lower bracket 11 is arranged opposite to the memory hole 5a.
An arcuate hole 11c centered around the pivot portion 8 is provided in the arcuate hole 11c, and a pin guide member 20 is fitted into the arcuate hole 11c so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the arcuate hole 11c. A fixing device for removably fixing the pin guide member 20 is provided between the lower bracket 11, a guide pin 23 is inserted into the pin guide member 20, and the guide pin 23 is secured to the memory hole 5a by a spring 22. a flange portion 20b that is biased in the direction of and attaches the fixing device to the pin guide member 20;
A nut 19 that is screwed into a screw provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pin guide member 20, a fixing lever 15 that is integrally attached to the nut 19, and a nut that is screwed into a screw provided on the outer peripheral surface of the nut 19. 18, and a stopper 16 that engages with the arcuate surface 18a of the nut 18.
and a stopper 17 that engages with the flange 20b of the pin guide member 20, and the stoppers 16, 17 are fixed to the inner and outer surfaces of the lower bracket 11.

(Embodiment) Next, the steering column tilting device of the present invention will be explained with reference to an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 9. In FIG. The inner race of the bearing 2 is fixed to the above-mentioned attachment shaft 1 via the snap spring 4, the outer race of the bearing 2 is fixed to the attachment tube 3 by press fitting, and the attachment shaft 1 is fixed to the attachment shaft 1 of the bearing 2.
The shaft 1 is rotatably supported by the shaft 3 via the shaft 1, and a steering handle 28 is attached to the upper end of the shaft 1.

Further, reference numeral 5 in FIGS. 1 to 5 is an inverted U-shaped attachment bracket fixed to the lower end of the attachment tube 3 by welding, and only one side of the attachment bracket 5 extends downward.

Further, 6 is a yoke fixed by welding to the lower end of the atsupashi shaft 1 which vertically passes through the atsupah tube 3, and 7, 7 is the atsupah bracket 5.
14 is a lower tube, 11 is a lower bracket fixed to the lower tube 14 by welding, 11a and 11b are extensions of the lower bracket 11, and the extensions 11a and 11b of the lower bracket 11 are It is fastened and fixed to the body member 27 shown in FIG. 2 via bolts and nuts 26.

Reference numeral 12 in FIG. 1 is a lower shaft rotatably supported within the lower tube 14, and the upper end of the lower shaft 12 is connected via a universal joint 10 to a yoke 6 fixed to the lower end of the upper shaft 1 by welding. When the wheels are connected and the steering handle 28 is steered, the steering force at that time is transmitted to the steering gear box (not shown) via the upper shaft 1, yoke 6, universal joint 10, and lower shaft 12, and the wheels are moved to a predetermined position. It is designed to be steered in the same direction.

Numerals 8, 8 are bolt-shaped pins inserted into the bearings 7, 7, and 9 are nuts for tightening and fixing the pins 8 to the lower portions of the extensions 11a, 11b of the lower bracket 11. The attachment tube 3 and attachment bracket 5 can be tilted about pins 9, 9 in the direction of arrow Y (vertical direction) in FIG. Reference numeral 13 denotes a spring interposed between the upper end of the upper bracket 5 and the upper end of the lower bracket 11, and the spring 13 causes each of the parts 28, 1, 3, 5 to move in the direction of arrow Y (upward). is constantly energized.

Further, reference numeral 11c in FIGS. 2 to 5 is an arc-shaped hole provided on one side of the lower bracket 11.
1c is provided along a circular arc A (see FIG. 5) centered on the pin 8.

5a is a memory hole provided on one side of the upper bracket 5, facing the arcuate hole 11c, and 20 in FIGS. 3 and 4 is inserted into the arcuate hole 11c in the longitudinal direction of the arcuate hole 11c. The pin guide member 20 is a movable pin guide member, and the outer peripheral surface of the pin guide member 20 is provided with a left-hand thread.

Further, a guide pin 23 is slidably inserted into the pin guide member 20, and a spring 22 is interposed between the guide pin 23 and a cap 25 that is tightened and fixed to the pin guide member 20. The guide pin 23 is biased in the direction of one side extension of the upper bracket 5.

Numeral 19 is a nut that is screwed into a left-hand thread formed on the outer circumferential surface of the pin guide member 20.
A right-handed thread is carved on the outer peripheral surface of 9, into which a nut 18 shown in FIG. 7 is screwed.

Further, 16 and 17 in FIGS. 3, 4, 8, and 9 are stoppers fixed to the inner and outer surfaces of the lower bracket 11, and the arcuate surface 16a of the stopper 16 is connected to the nut 18.
The arcuate surface 18a of the same stopper 17
a is the arcuate surface 2 of the flange 20b of the pin guide member 20
0a to prevent rotation of the nut 18 and the pin guide member 20, while the arcuate holes 11c of the pin guide member 20 and the nuts 19, 18
It allows movement along the

In addition, 21a is an outer cable, 21b is an inner cable, and the same outer cable 2
The distal end of the inner cable 1a is fixed to the cap 25, and the inner cable 21b extends into the guide pin 23 and is fixed to the inner surface of the distal end of the guide pin 23.
The other end of 1b extends to a release knob 26. Further, reference numeral 15 denotes a fixing lever, and the fixing lever 15 is tightened and fixed to the nut 19 via a lock nut 29.

(Function) Next, the function of the steering column tilting device will be specifically explained.

Now, the attachment bracket 5, attachment tube 3, and attachment shaft 1 are at the solid line positions in FIGS. 2 and 5, and the guide pin 23 and pin guide member 20 are at x _1.
In this position, the guide pin 23 is engaged with the memory hole 5a of the upper bracket 5, and the flange 20b of the pin guide member 20 is in close contact with the peripheral edge of one end of the arcuate hole 11c of the lower bracket 11. , From this state, rotate the fixing lever 15 in the direction of arrow _Y1 in FIG. Then Natsuto 19
rotates, and accordingly the pin guide member 20 moves in the direction of the upper bracket 5, and the flange 20b of the pin guide member 20 separates from the peripheral edge of one end of the arcuate hole 11c of the lower bracket 11, and the pin guide member 20 moves toward the upper bracket 5. is released from the lower bracket 11, but the upper bracket 5, upper tube 3, and upper shaft 1 are urged upward by the spring 13, and as mentioned above, the pin guide member 2
0 is released from the lower bracket 11, these parts 5, 3, 1 tilt about the pin 8 in the direction of arrow Y (upward) in FIG.

At this time, the guide pin 23 is connected to the spring 22
The guide pin 23 and pin guide member 20 are engaged with the memory hole 5a of the upper bracket 5 by the biasing force of the upper bracket 5, and the guide pin 23 and the pin guide member 20 are also inserted into the arcuate hole 1 of the lower bracket 11 with the pin 8 as the center along with the above-mentioned parts 5, 3, and 1.
1c toward the other end, the pin guide member 20 abuts the other end of the arcuate hole 11c, and the guide pin 23 and memory hole 5a move to the _x2 position in FIG. The above-mentioned parts 5, 3, and 1 stop tilting about the pin 8.

θ _t in FIG. 5 indicates the tilt amount of each of the above-mentioned portions 5, 3, and 1, that is, the steering handle 28.

When this condition is reached, turn the steering wheel 2
8 and move it to a position suitable for the driver.
At this time, each of the above-mentioned parts 5, 3, and 1 rotates around the pin 8, and the guide pin 23 and pin guide member 20 that are engaged with the memory hole 5a move in the arcuate hole 11c, and the guide When the pin 23 and the pin guide member 20 move to an arbitrary position in the arcuate hole 11c, the fixing lever 15 is moved as shown in FIG.
Rotate in the Y ₀ direction.

At this time, the nut 19 rotates in the opposite direction, and the pin guide member 20 moves in the direction opposite to the hot pack bracket 5.
The flange 20b of 0 is the arcuate hole 1 of the lower bracket 11.
The pin guide member 20 is closely attached to the peripheral edge of the pin guide member 1c.
The guide pin 23 and each of the above-mentioned parts 5, 3, and 1 are fixed. The above is the tilting amount adjustment action that matches the driver's driving position.

Furthermore, when the release knob 26 is operated to pull the inner cable 21b from the fixed state, the guide pin 2
3 moves back against the spring 22 from the solid line position to the broken line position in FIG.
2, the respective parts 5, 3, and 1 are tilted by the spring 13 in the direction of arrow Y (upward) in FIG. It comes into contact with a fixed stopper 24 and stops.

θ _u in FIG.
The amount by which the steering handle 28 is flipped up is shown.

Note that the release knob 26 only needs to be operated when the guide pin 23 is to be released from the memory hole 5a.After that, the guide pin 23 is moved forward by the spring 22 and comes into contact with the upper bracket 5, but the guide pin The surface of the attachment bracket 5 that the attachment tube 23 comes into contact with is a flat surface except for the memory hole 5a, and the attachment bracket 5 slides on the guide pin 23, and the attachment bracket 5, attachment tube 3, and attachment shaft are connected to each other. 1 rotates to the above position and stops.

The above is the upward flipping action performed when the driver gets on and off the vehicle.

Further, when the steering handle 28 and the above-mentioned parts 5, 3, 1 are pushed down against the spring 13 from the above-mentioned upwardly tilted state, these parts 28, 5, 3, 1 are centered on the pin 8. Rotate to. Also, due to this rotation, the guide pin 23 in the pin guide member 20, in which the memory hole 5a of the atsupah bracket 5 is fixed at an arbitrary position in the arcuate hole 11c.
When the guide pin 23 is urged in the forward direction by the spring 22, the guide pin 23 engages with the memory hole 5a, and the parts 28, 5, 3, 1
It will be fixed in the setting position mentioned above. The above is the memory effect.

(Effect of the invention) The steering column tilting device of the present invention is constructed as described above, and determines the amount of tilting between the steering handle, the shaft 1, the shaft 1, the shaft tube 3, and the shaft bracket 5 about the pivot point 8. Pin guide member 20 and guide pin 23
An arcuate hole 1 provided in the lower bracket 11 on the vehicle body side.
1c can be fixed at any position, so the driving position of the steering wheel can be changed steplessly.

In addition, the tilting amount can be adjusted according to the driver's driving position by operating the fixing lever 15, and the upward flip-up action performed when the driver gets on and off moves the guide pin 23 backward. Since the memory action of engaging and disengaging the guide pin 23 and the memory hole 5a is performed by pressing down on the steering handle, the operation becomes easy.

Further, the arcuate surface 16a of the stopper 16 fixed to the lower bracket 11 is the arcuate surface 18a of the nut 18.
Then, the flanges 20b of the pin guide member 20 are brought into contact with the stoppers 17 fixed to the lower bracket 11 to prevent rotation of the nuts 18 and the pin guide member 20, while each of the stoppers 1
6 and 17, the arcuate surface 18 of these nuts 18
a and the pin guide member 20 along the arcuate hole 11c (each stopper serves as a guide rail), so the pin guide member 20 can be moved smoothly along the arcuate hole 11c. There is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the steering column tilting device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, Figs. 3 and 4 are longitudinal sectional side views of the pin guide member portion, and Fig. 5 is the same. Explanatory diagram of the operation of the tilting device, No. 6
1 is a perspective view of a pin guide member, FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are perspective views of a nut and a stopper, and FIG. 10 is a side view of a conventional steering column tilting device. 1... Atsushi shaft, 3... Atsushi tube, 5... Atsushi bracket, 5a... Memory hole, 8... Pivotal part, 10... Universal joint, 11... Lower bracket, 11c... Arc-shaped hole, 12... ...Lower shaft, 15-20... Fixing device, 15... Fixing lever, 16, 17...
Stoppa, 18...Natsuto, 18a...Natsuto 1
8 arcuate surface, 19... nut, 20... pin guide member, 20a... arcuate surface of pin guide member 20, 20b... flange of pin guide member 20, 22
...Spring, 23...Guide pin.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An atsupashi shaft 1 on the steering handle side is connected to a lower shaft 12 via a universal joint 10, an atsupah bracket 5 is fixed to an atsupachi tube 3 which rotatably supports the atsupashi shaft 1, and a lower tube rotatably supports the lower shaft 12. Lower bracket 1 on 14
1 is fixed, and the above-mentioned atsupah bracket 5 is attached to the pivot part 8.
A memory hole 5a is provided in an arcuate portion of the upper bracket 5 centered on the pivot portion 8, and is opposed to the memory hole 5a. An arcuate hole 11c centered around the pivot portion 8 is provided in the lower bracket 11, and the pin guide member 20 is fitted into the arcuate hole 11c so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the arcuate hole 11c. A fixing device for removably fixing the pin guide member 20 is provided between the pin guide member 20 and the lower bracket 11, and the guide pin 2 is installed in the pin guide member 20.
3 and insert the guide pin 23 into the spring 2.
2 in the direction of the memory hole 5a,
The fixing device includes a flange 20b attached to the pin guide member 20, a nut 19 screwed into a screw provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pin guide member 20, and a fixing lever integrally attached to the nut 19. 15
, a nut 18 that is screwed into a screw provided on the outer peripheral surface of the nut 19, a stopper 16 that engages with an arcuate surface 18a of the nut 18, and the pin guide member 2.
1. A tilting device for a steering column, comprising a stopper 17 that engages with a flange 20b of the lower bracket 11.