JPH04129857A - Steering device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To widen the feet space of a driver's seat, lessen the number of the items of component parts, and reduce production costs by forming an internal gear on the innerly peripheral surface and providing a bearing inner wheel and a bearing outer wheel on the flange on the outerly peripheral surface in a turning force transmission bearing mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A turning force transmission bearing mechanism 24 is composed of a bearing inner wheel 32, first and second bearing outer wheels 32 and 33, and a ball 34, etc., and is housed in the peripheral wall part 23a of a gear housing 23. An internal gear 36 engaging with a pinion gear 29 is integratedly formed on the inner surface of the bearing inner wheel 31, and the upper end is slightly protruded upward from the upper end of the peripheral wall part 23a to form a bearing fitting part 31a and a flange 31b to which a steering wheel 38 is to be fitted. The first bearing outer wheel 32 is inserted in the lower end part of the bearing inner wheel 31 and the innerly peripheral surface of the peripheral wall part 23a. A screw part 33a is formed on the upper end part of the outerly peripheral surface in the second bearing outer wheel 33, which is inserted in the innerly peripheral surface of the peripheral wall part 23a with the screw part 33a threadedly engaged on the upper end position of the peripheral wall part 23a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention provides a so-called non-rotating center member that is placed at the center of the steering wheel and incorporates a horn switch, etc. The present invention relates to a vehicle steering device in which a wheel is rotated.

(Prior Art) Switches for car audio equipment, cruise control equipment, etc. are desirably attached to the center member of the steering wheel. There is a device.

This type of steering device is, for example,
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 05234. To explain in detail, the fifth
The steering device 1 shown in the figure includes a fixed shaft 3 that fixes a center member 2 at a predetermined position on the vehicle body, and is attached to the fixed shaft 3 so as to be relatively rotatable, and a gear portion 4a is threaded on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end. It is composed of a steering wheel 4, a steering shaft 6, etc., which is rotatably housed in a steering column tube 9 via a bearing 7.7, and has a bevel gear 5 at its upper end that is screwed into a gear portion 4a of the steering wheel 4. has been done.

The center member 2 is fixed by a fixed shaft 3, and the rotational force of the steering wheel 4 rotating around the fixed shaft 3 is transmitted to the steering shaft 6 via the gear portion 4a and the bevel gear 5.

The steering device 8 shown in FIG. 6 includes a fixed shaft 3 for fixing the center member 2 to the vehicle body, and the fixed shaft 3 is housed in the steering column tube 9 via a bearing 7.7 so as to be rotatable. It consists of a pipe-shaped steering shaft 11, etc., with a steering wheel 10 attached to its upper end.

The center member 2 is fixed by a fixed shaft 3, and when the steering wheel 10 is rotated, the steering shaft 11 rotates around the fixed shaft 3.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the above-mentioned conventional vehicle steering device 1.
8, in each case, apart from the steering shaft 6.11 which is rotated by the steering wheel 4.10, a fixed shaft 3 is provided which fixes the center element 2 in each case. Furthermore, each steering shaft 6.11 is supported by a steering column tube 9.9 via a respective bearing 7.7.

Each bearing 7.7 has an outer ring and an inner ring, and each steering column tube 9 needs to be set to a large diameter. For these reasons, a large space is required to install each of the steering devices 1 and 8 in the driver's seat, and
There are problems such as an increase in the number of component parts and an increase in the number of assembly steps.

Further, in the steering device 1 shown in FIG. 5, the rotation direction of the steering wheel 4 and the rotation direction of the steering shaft 6 are reversed, so that the rotation direction of the steering shaft 6 is made the same as the rotation direction of the steering wheel 4. A reversing mechanism must be provided for this purpose, which complicates the structure and increases production costs. Further, the pressure angle between the gear portion 4a of the steering wheel 4 and the bevel gear 5 that meshes with it increases, and the steering wheel 4
There are other problems, such as deteriorating the operating feel and causing noise.

On the other hand, in the steering device 8 shown in FIG. 6, it is necessary to fix the lower end of the fixed shaft 3 to the vehicle body at a position below the steering gear box 13 to which the lower end of the steering shaft 11 is connected.
The mounting structure becomes complicated. Further, since a wire harness (not shown) extending to switches incorporated in the center member 2 is inserted into the fixed shaft 3 and taken out to the outside of the vehicle interior, the wire harness around the fixed shaft 3 is Work such as protecting and assembling the harness becomes difficult. Furthermore, since the center member 2 is fixed to the vehicle body by the fixed shaft 3, there is a problem that the fixed shaft 3 and the center member 2 may be pushed up if the front part of the vehicle body is crushed.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to increase the legroom of the driver's seat, reduce the number of component parts, reduce assembly man-hours, and reduce production costs. In addition, it is possible to protect wire harnesses and improve workability such as assembly.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a steering device for a vehicle that can improve the operational feeling of the steering wheel.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a steering column tube attached to the vehicle body side, a steering column tube that is housed in the steering column tube so as to be relatively rotatable,
A gear housing having a steering shaft having a pinion gear formed at its upper end, and a cylindrical peripheral wall attached to the upper end of the steering column tube to house the pinion gear and eccentric to one side with respect to the axis of the pinion gear. a rotary force transmission bearing mechanism that is rotatably and concentrically fitted on the peripheral wall of the gear house sink and that transmits the rotation of the steering wheel to the pinion gear; is located in, and
a center member that is locked to the vehicle body by a locking means disposed in a space between one side of the pinion gear and the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism; an internal gear that meshes with the pinion gear, an inner bearing ring to which the steering wheel is attached to a flange formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper end; , the bearing inner ring is provided with a relatively rotatable bearing outer ring.

(Operation) The inner ring of the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism is formed with an internal gear that meshes with the pinion gear and a flange to which the steering wheel is attached. Therefore, the rotational force of the steering wheel is transmitted to the steering shaft by the bearing inner ring rotating relative to the bearing outer ring fitted to the peripheral wall of the gear housing. Since the bearing inner race transmits the rotational force of the steering wheel, the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism is made smaller.

Since the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism is fitted concentrically to the peripheral wall, a space is formed between one side of the pinion gear and the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism. The center member is locked to the vehicle body side, for example, a gear housing, by a locking means arranged in this space. Therefore, the center member is fixed independently of rotation of the steering wheel, and the steering wheel is rotated around this non-rotating center member.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show main parts of a vehicle steering device to which the present invention is applied, and the steering device 20 includes a steering column tube 21, a steering shaft 2
2, a gear housing 23, a rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24, a center member 25, and the like.

A steering column tube (hereinafter simply referred to as "column tube") 21 is attached to a predetermined position on the vehicle body, for example, via a bracket (not shown). A flange 21a for attaching a gear housing is integrally formed at the upper end of this column tube 21.
A hole 21b is bored at a predetermined position in 1a, through which a wire harness 46, which will be described later, is inserted.

The gear house sink 23 includes a cylindrical peripheral wall portion 23a and a disk portion 23b integrally formed at the lower end of the peripheral wall portion 23a. The disc portion 23b is placed on the flange 21a of the column tube 21, and is screwed and fixed at a plurality of locations with bolts 27.

A large-diameter hole 23d is bored in the center of the disk portion 23b, and a hole 23e for inserting a wire harness is formed in a position facing the hole 21b of the column tube 21. The inner peripheral surface of the upper end of the peripheral wall portion 23a has a threaded groove 2 into which a threaded portion 33a of a second bearing outer ring 33, which will be described later, is screwed.
3c is screwed on. This peripheral wall portion 23a is connected to the disk portion 2
It is set to be eccentric to the - side with respect to 3b.

The steering shaft 22 is housed in the column tube 21 and is rotatably supported via a bearing 28. Its lower end is connected to a steering gear box (not shown), and its upper end is circular. It protrudes into the peripheral wall 23a from the hole 23d of the plate portion 23b. A pinion gear 29 is integrally formed at the upper end of the steering shaft 22 and is housed in the peripheral wall portion 23a. Peripheral wall part 2
3a and the disc part 23b are eccentric, so the disc part 23
a steering shaft 22 protruding from the hole 23d of b;
That is, the pinion gear 29 is eccentric with respect to the peripheral wall portion 23a.

The rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24 includes an inner bearing ring 31, a first outer bearing ring 32, a second outer bearing ring 33, balls 34, and the like, and is housed within the peripheral wall 23a of the gear housing 23. An internal gear 36 that meshes with the pinion gear 29 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the lower end of the bearing inner ring 31 . Further, the upper end of the bearing inner ring 31 has a peripheral wall portion 23a.
The bearing mounting portion 31a protrudes slightly upward from the upper end.
At the same time, a flange 31b for attaching the steering wheel 38 is formed.

The first bearing outer ring 32 is disposed at a position facing the lower end of the bearing inner ring 31, and is fitted onto the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 23a. Further, the second bearing outer ring 33 has a threaded portion 33a formed at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface. This second bearing outer ring 33 is disposed at the upper end position of the peripheral wall portion 23a, and the threaded groove 2
This peripheral wall portion 23 while screwing the threaded portion 33a into the screw portion 3c.
1 Fitted onto the inner peripheral surface of a.

This bearing inner ring 31 and the first and second bearing outer rings 32.3
3 constitutes an angular contact type bearing, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the threaded portion 33a of the second bearing outer ring 33
By rotating the bearing outer ring 33 with respect to the helical groove 23c of the peripheral wall part 23a, the position of the bearing outer ring 33 in the axial direction with respect to the peripheral wall part 23a can be changed, and the bearing inner ring 31
, a preload is applied to the first bearing outer ring 33 and the balls 34 to prevent them from wobbling.

Each bearing outer ring 32, 33 of the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24 is fitted on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 23a, and is connected to the pinion gear 2.
A space 40 is formed on one side of the bearing inner ring 31 (FIG. 4). In this space 4°, the harness guide 4
1 and two bolts 42 and 42, which will be described later.

The center member 25 is connected to the bearing inner ring 3 via the bracket 44.
1 so as to be relatively rotatable, and is locked to the gear housing 23 by each bolt 42. To be more specific, a hole 44a through which a wire harness 46 is inserted is bored in the center of the bracket 44 to which the center member 25 is attached, and a bearing attachment hole 44a is formed at a position facing the bearing attachment part 31a of the bearing inner ring 31. Section 44
b is formed. A bearing 47 is press-fitted into the bearing mounting portion 44b, and by fitting the bearing 47 into the bearing mounting portion 31a of the bearing inner ring 31, the bracket 44 is rotatably mounted to the bearing inner ring 31.

On the other hand, each bolt 42 has its lower end connected to the gear housing 2.
It is fixed to the disc part 23b by being press-fitted into a hole (not shown) drilled in the disc part 23b of No. 3. A plate 48 that presses down the bracket 44 from above is screwed and fixed to the upper end of each bolt 42.

A horn switch, an audio switch, a cruise control switch (none of which are shown), etc. are incorporated into the upper surface of the center member 25. Each of these switches is electrically connected to a horn device, an audio device, a cruise control control device (none of which is shown), etc. via a wire harness 46.

The wire harness 46 is inserted into the harness guide 41 from the bottom surface of the center member 25 through the hole 44a of the bracket 44, and is inserted into the harness guide 41 from the bottom of the center member 25 through the holes 21b and 23e of the column tube 21 and the disc portion 23b to the outside of the steering device 20. guided by. Therefore, the wire harness 46 does not interfere with the rotating steering wheel 38, bearing inner ring 31, and steering shaft 22. For this reason,
The wire harness 46 can be easily protected, and the mounting structure of the wire harness 46 can be simplified.

Note that the reference numeral 50 in the figure indicates the pinion gear 29 of the steering shaft 22 and the internal gear 3 of the bearing inner ring 31.
This is an adjustment ring that adjusts the backlash with 6. The adjusting ring 50 is formed such that its outer circumferential surface and inner circumferential surface are eccentric with respect to each other. By rotating this adjustment ring 50, the gear housing 2
3 and the column tube 21, that is, the bearing inner ring 31 and the steering shaft 22, and adjust the backlash between the gears 29 and 36. Therefore, the generation of noise can be suppressed, and the operational feeling of the steering wheel can be improved.

To assemble this steering device 20, first, the first and second bearing outer races 32, 33 and balls 34 are fitted into the bearing inner race 31, and the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24 is assembled. Then, the assembled rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24 is fitted into the gear housing 23 screwed and fixed to the column tube 21, and the internal gear 36 of the bearing inner ring 31 is meshed with the pinion gear 29 of the steering shaft 22.

Then, the second bearing outer ring 33 is rotated to apply a preload to the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24, and the wobbling of the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24 is adjusted.

Next, the bracket 44 to which the center member 25 is attached
The bearing 47 is press-fitted into the bearing mounting part 44b of the bearing inner ring 31, and the press-fitted bearing 47 is fitted into the bearing mounting part 31a of the bearing inner ring 31. hold down

The action will be explained below.

The steering shaft 22 is rotatably supported by the column tube 21 via a bearing 28. Further, the bearing inner ring 31 of the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24 is connected to each bearing outer ring 3.
Gear housing 23 via 2.33 and ball 34
It is rotatably supported by the peripheral wall portion 23a of. Therefore,
When the steering wheel 38 is rotated, the internal gear 36 of the bearing inner ring 31 transmits this rotational force to the pinion gear 29, causing the steering shaft 22 to rotate in the same direction as the rotation direction of the steering wheel 38.

Since the bearing inner ring 31 transmits the rotational force of the steering wheel 38 to the steering shaft 22, the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism 24 is made smaller and the gear housing 23 is made more compact.

On the other hand, the bracket 44 to which the center member 25 is attached is
It is rotatably attached to the bearing inner ring 31 via a bearing 47, and is fixed to the disc portion 23b of the gear housing 23 by bolts 42. Therefore, the center member 25 is fixed to the gear housing 23 and is non-rotatable, regardless of the rotation of the steering wheel 38 and the bearing inner ring 31.

Furthermore, when the front portion of the vehicle body is deformed and the steering shaft 22 is pushed up, the pinion gear 29 slides along these teeth with respect to the internal gear 36 to absorb the thrust of the steering shaft 22.

In this embodiment, the gear housing 23, which is a separate member, is screwed and fixed to the upper end of the column tube 21, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be formed.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a steering column tube that is attached to the vehicle body side, and a steering wheel that is housed in the steering column tube so as to be relatively rotatable, and that has a pinion gear formed at its upper end. a shaft; a gear housing that is attached to the upper end of the steering column tube and has a cylindrical circumferential wall that accommodates the pinion gear and is eccentric to one side with respect to the axis of the pinion gear; a rotational force transmission bearing mechanism that is freely and concentrically fitted and transmits the rotation of the steering wheel to the pinion gear; and a rotational force transmission bearing mechanism that is disposed at a central position of the steering wheel so as to be rotatable relative to the steering wheel, and the pinion gear a center member that is locked to the vehicle body side by a locking means disposed in a space between one side and the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism, and the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism has the An internal gear that meshes with the pinion gear is formed, and a bearing inner ring to which the steering wheel is attached to a flange formed on the outer circumferential surface of the upper end; Since the bearing inner ring is equipped with a bearing outer ring that can rotate freely by 4 degrees, it is possible to reduce the number of parts in the steering device, reduce assembly man-hours, and reduce production costs. It can be made smaller and has more leg space in the driver's seat. Furthermore, there are excellent effects such as being able to improve the workability of protecting and assembling wire harnesses, and improving the operational feel of the steering wheel.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicle steering device to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a rotational force shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway plan view taken from arrow IV in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views of conventional vehicle steering devices, respectively. It is. 20... Steering device, 21... Steering column tube, 22... Steering shaft, 2
3... Gear housing, 23a... Peripheral wall portion, 24...
... Rotational force transmission bearing mechanism, 25 ... Center member, 29
...Pinion gear, 31...Bearing inner ring, 32.33
...Bearing outer ring, 36...Internal gear, 38.
...Steering wheel, 40...Space, 42...
- Bolt (locking means). Applicant Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Agent Patent Attorney Kanji Nagado

Claims (1)

[Claims] A steering column tube attached to the vehicle body side, a steering shaft housed in the steering column tube so as to be relatively rotatable and having a pinion gear formed at its upper end, and a steering column tube attached to the upper end of the steering column tube to house the pinion gear. and,
A gear housing having a cylindrical peripheral wall that is eccentric to one side with respect to the axis of the pinion gear, and a gear housing that is rotatably and concentrically fitted to the peripheral wall of the gear housing and transmits rotation of the steering wheel to the pinion gear. a rotational force transmission bearing mechanism, and a locking means disposed at a center position of the steering wheel so as to be rotatable relative to the steering wheel, and disposed in a space between one side of the pinion gear and the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism. and a center member that is locked to the vehicle body side by a center member, and the rotational force transmission bearing mechanism has an internal gear that meshes with the pinion gear formed on the inner circumferential surface of the lower end, and an internal gear formed on the outer circumferential surface of the upper end. A steering device for a vehicle, comprising: a bearing inner ring to which the steering wheel is attached to a flange; and a bearing outer ring fitted to an inner circumferential surface of a peripheral wall of the gear housing and rotatable relative to the bearing inner ring. .