JPH0422746B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tilt steering device for a vehicle.

Various tilt steering devices have already been developed for automobiles and other vehicles that allow the driver to adjust the angle of the steering shaft up and down according to the driver's physique and preferences, and to place the steering wheel in the optimal position for the driver. (For example, in 1983
-13063), is commonly used.

In the above-mentioned tilt steering device, when the driver gets on and off the vehicle, the tilt mechanism is unlocked and the steering shaft is flipped upward to raise the handle position, making it easier for the driver to get on and off the vehicle. A lifting spring is provided, but this lifting spring has conventionally been normally arranged between the movable side and the fixed side along both sides or the upper part of the column shaft that supports the steering shaft. If an attempt is made to increase the spring force so that it can be sufficiently applied to a heavy steering device, there is a problem in that the spring will become larger and the entire tilt mechanism will have to be larger.

The main object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional devices as described above and to provide a device that can obtain a large lifting force with a small and compact mechanism. Refer to and explain.

In Figure 1, 1 is the steering handle, 2
is a steering shaft, and the steering shaft 2 is rotatably supported within a column shaft 3. The column shaft 3 has its lower end supported by a vehicle body side member 4 such as a toe board so as to be swingable, and its upper end. It has a structure in which it is supported by the vehicle body side member 4 by a tilt mechanism 5 which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the tilt mechanism 5 is a movable mechanism having a column bracket 6 fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the column shaft 3, and both side surfaces slidingly in contact with the outer surfaces of both left and right side surfaces of the column bracket 6. It consists of a bracket 7 and a fixed bracket 8 having both side surfaces opposite to the outer surfaces of both side surfaces of the movable bracket 7 and fixed to the vehicle body member 4 by bolts or the like.

A cylinder 61 is fixed to the column bracket 6 and communicates with bolt through holes 6a, 6a provided on both sides thereof, and a cylinder 61 is fixed to both sides of the movable bracket 7, which faces the bolt through holes 6a, 6a of the column bracket 6. Tilt guide grooves 7a, 7a are provided at positions where the bolts 9 pass through the bolt through holes 6a, 6a and the tilt guide grooves 7a, 7a.
By tightening the nut-shaped tightening member 10 that is screwed into the column bracket 6, both sides of the movable bracket 7 are fixedly pressed against both sides of the column bracket 6, and by loosening the tightening member 10 by operating the tilt lever 11, the column is fixed. Move the bracket 6 to the movable bracket 7.
It is possible to adjust the movement up and down along the tilt guide grooves 7a, 7a.

Note that reference numerals 8a and 8a are escape slots for the bolt 9 and the tightening member 10 provided on both sides of the fixing bracket 8.

Guide pins 7b, 7b are fixedly installed on both sides of the movable bracket 7, and guide grooves 8b, 8b are provided on both sides of the fixed bracket 8, into which the guide pins 7b, 7b are inserted.
A lock hole 7c is provided on one side, and the movable bracket 7 is locked to the fixed bracket 8 by fitting the lock member 12 provided on the fixed bracket 8 into the lock hole 7c of the movable bracket 7.
When the lock member 12 is pulled out from the lock hole 7c by operating an operating member (not shown), the movable bracket 7 moves into the guide groove 8b of the fixed bracket 8,
It is designed so that it can be brought into an unlocked state where it can be moved up and down along line 8b. The locking member 12 is biased in the locking direction by a spring 13.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a flip-up coil spring, and the flip-up coil spring 14 is disposed inside the column shaft 3 concentrically with the column shaft 3.

That is, the column shaft 3 is cut and bent inward to form a spring receiving portion 3a, and the upper end portion of the spring coil spring 14 for flipping up is supported by the spring receiving portion 3a via the upper spring seat 15. Cam pins 17, 17 protruding left and right are fixed to the lower spring seat 16 that supports the lower end of the raising coil spring 14, and the cam pins 17, 17 pass through axial grooves 3b, 3b provided in the column shaft 3. Furthermore, it also passes through the inclined cam grooves 8c provided on both sides of the fixed bracket 8,
It is in contact with an inclined cam 18 provided at the lower edge of the cam groove 8c, and the spring force of the flip-up coil spring 14 acts in a direction that pushes the cam pins 17, 17 downward.

It goes without saying that the steering shaft 2, which is rotatably supported within the column shaft 3, passes through the coil of the flip-up coil spring 14.

In the above configuration, the movable bracket 7 is fixed to the fixed bracket 8 when the lock member 12 is fitted into the lock hole 7c, and in this state, the tilt lever 11 is operated to loosen the tightening member 10. The column bracket 6 becomes free with respect to the movable bracket 7. Then, the cam pins 17, 17 move along the inclined cam 18 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 by the spring force of the flip-up coil spring 14 disposed inside the column shaft 3, thereby moving the column shaft 3 upward. the column shaft 3 until the cam pins 17, 17 are located at the upper end of the inclined cam grooves 8c, 8c.
is flipped up, and the bolt 9 moves upward within the tilt guide groove 7a of the movable bracket 7. In this state, the driver lowers the steering wheel 1 to his or her optimum driving position, operates the tilt lever 11 at that position, tightens the tightening member 10, and fixes the column bracket 6 to the movable bracket 7. A steering assembly consisting of a steering handle 1, a steering shaft 2 and a column shaft 3 is fixedly held on a fixed bracket 8 via a movable bracket 7 at an optimum driving position.

When the driver operates an operation member (not shown) when getting off the vehicle, the lock member 12 resists the spring 13 and slips out from the lock hole 7c. Then, the spring force of the flip-up coil spring 14 causes the cam pins 17, 17 to move upward along the inclined cam 18 as shown by arrow A in FIG. .
In this case, movable bracket 7 and column bracket 6
Since the movable bracket 7 remains fixed by tightening the tightening member 10, the movable bracket 7 is integrated with the steering assembly and the guide pin 7b is fixed.
and is guided by the guide groove 8b and moves upward.
In this way, the driver can easily get on and off the vehicle without the steering wheel getting in the way.

The next time the driver gets on the vehicle, when he lowers the handlebar 1 that has been raised to the highest tilt position as described above, the steering assembly and movable bracket 7 will move down as one, and the lock hole 7c of the movable bracket 7 will open. When the tip of the lock member 12 attached to the fixed bracket 8 coincides with the tip, the lock member 12 is automatically fitted into the lock hole 7c by the spring force of the spring 13, and the movable bracket 7 is locked to the fixed bracket 8. . In this state, the position of the steering assembly relative to the movable bracket 7 is the same as before the flip-up, and the steering assembly returns to the optimal driving position set before the flip-up, so no readjustment is necessary.

As shown in FIG. 5, by making the uppermost part b of the inclined cam 18 have a different angle of inclination from the other cam surface a to form a gently inclined part, the cam pin 17 can be easily moved when the steering assembly is flipped up. It is possible to ride on the gently sloped part b and improve the stability in a flip-up state.

In addition, the inclination of the cam may not only be made constant over the entire area as in the embodiments shown in the first and second figures, but may also be made of a curved surface in which the inclination angle changes at each point. It is effective for increasing/decreasing the lifting force or adjusting the feeling during setting operations.

As described above, according to the present invention, one coil spring can serve as both a spring for adjusting the handle position and a spring for flipping up the steering wheel when getting on and off, and the number of parts can be reduced. At the same time, the coil spring is installed concentrically inside the column shaft by utilizing the space between the column shaft and the steering shaft rotatably supported inside the column shaft, so the column spring can be made larger and the spring output can be increased. Even if the steering column is made larger, there is no problem in terms of space, there is no need to make the diameter of the steering column particularly large, and the spring force is set to be sufficient to handle heavy steering assemblies and large amounts of tilt. It is also possible to finely adjust the flip-up force by combining changes in the inclination angle of the inclination cam. Furthermore, not only can the entire tilt mechanism be made small and compact, but the coil spring is housed inside the column shaft, which cannot be seen from the outside, making it extremely clean and visually appealing. This can have a huge effect.

In addition, in the illustrated embodiment, the column shaft is supported by the fixed bracket via the movable bracket, so that when the driver gets out of the vehicle, the steering assembly unites with the movable bracket and flips up to the highest tilt position, allowing the steering assembly and movable bracket to move together. An example is shown in which the present invention is applied to a device having a so-called tilt memory function that prevents the tightening position relationship between columns from changing. It can also be applied to a tilt steering device that does not have a tilt memory function in which the shaft 3 is supported by a tightening member 10 so that it can be adjusted vertically; in this case, the tightening member 10 can be loosened and the fixing bracket 8 and column When the tightening fixation with the shaft 3 is released, the cam pin 1 is lifted up by the flip-up coil spring 14 arranged inside the column shaft 3
7 moves upward along the inclined cam 18 and flips up the steering assembly to the highest tilt position. In this case as well, there are advantages in terms of space by incorporating the flip-up coil spring 14 inside the column shaft 3 by utilizing the space inside the column shaft 3, the spring output can be increased, and the entire tilt mechanism can be made small and compact. Needless to say, it is possible to achieve substantially the same effects as in the above-described embodiments, such as improved performance and improved appearance.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
2 is an enlarged side view of the tilt mechanism shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a modification of the inclined cam. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Steering handle, 2...Steering shaft, 3...Column shaft, 4...Vehicle body side member, 5...Tilt mechanism, 6...Column bracket, 7
...Movable bracket, 8...Fixed bracket, 9...Bolt, 10...Tightening member, 11...Tilt lever, 1
2... Lock member, 14... Coil spring for flipping up, 15, 16... Spring seat, 17... Cam pin, 18... Inclined cam.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A tilt steering device or column in which a column shaft rotatably supporting a steering shaft is supported by a fixed bracket fixed to a vehicle body side member so as to be vertically movable by a direct tightening member. In a tilt steering device in which the shaft is supported by a movable bracket which is removably supported by a locking member on a fixed bracket fixed to a member on the side of the vehicle body so as to be vertically movable, the above-mentioned column shaft is fixed relative to the fixed bracket. A flip-up spring biased in the direction of upward movement is constituted by a coil spring disposed inside the column shaft concentrically with the column shaft, and an Atsupa spring supporting one end of the flip-up coil spring. The seat is fixed inside the column shaft, and a cam pin is provided protruding from the lower spring seat that supports the other end of the flip-up coil spring, and the cam pin passes through an axial groove provided in the column shaft to the outside of the column shaft. The spring force of the flip-up coil spring is applied in a direction in which the cam pin comes into contact with the cam surface of the inclined cam provided on the fixed bracket and moves the cam pin obliquely upward along the cam surface of the inclined cam. Tilt steering device for vehicles. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the Atsupa spring seat is abutted against and locked to a spring receiving portion formed by cutting a part of the column shaft inward. Tilt steering device. 3. The tilt steering for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cam surface of the tilt cam is configured in a curved shape so that the tilt angle changes at each tilt position. Device.