JPH04271958A - Telescopic steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always secure the rigidity on the movable shaft side against the fixed shaft side. CONSTITUTION:The press contact operation time to the outer peripheral surface of the movable shaft side (6) of a press contact member (30) is set longer than the press contact releasing operation time from the outer peripheral surface of the operation shaft side (6), and the deflection due to the error of the dimension precision of the outer peripheral surface of the movable shaft side (6) and the abrasion for the long period use during the press contact operation by the operation of a movable mechanism (23) is absorbed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Purpose of the invention]

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telescopic steering device.

0003

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, as this type of telescopic steering device, one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-190578 is known. This includes a fixed shaft that is rotatably supported on the vehicle body side, a movable shaft that is connected to the fixed shaft so that it can slide relative to the fixed shaft in the axial direction and can rotate integrally with the fixed shaft, and has a steering wheel fixed to its tip, and a movable shaft that is attached to the fixed shaft side. and a drive mechanism disposed in the movable shaft and connected to the movable shaft to slide the movable shaft in the axial direction with respect to the fixed shaft. The rigidity of the side was provided by the frictional force generated at the connection between the fixed shaft side and the movable shaft side.

0004

However, in the conventional telescopic steering device described above, in order to increase the rigidity of the movable shaft side relative to the fixed shaft side, it is necessary to increase the frictional force between the fixed shaft side and the movable shaft side. As a result, the sliding resistance due to frictional force becomes large, making it difficult to achieve smooth sliding of the movable shaft, and the drive mechanism for sliding the movable shaft becomes large, resulting in space and cost savings. It was also disadvantageous.

Therefore, the technical object of the present invention is to increase the rigidity of the movable shaft side relative to the fixed shaft side without increasing the sliding resistance on the movable shaft side when the movable shaft slides. It is something.

[0006]

[Structure of the invention]

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The technical means taken in the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is a pressure contact member that is disposed on the fixed shaft side and that is pressed into or released from the outer peripheral surface of the movable shaft side. an actuating mechanism for actuating the pressure contact member; and a control circuit for controlling the operation of the actuation mechanism; The present invention further includes a timer means for setting a longer operating time of the operating mechanism for bringing the pressure contact member into a pressure contact state.

[0008]

[Operation] The above technical means operates as follows. Normally, the pressure contact member is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the movable shaft side to hold the movable shaft side to the fixed shaft side, and when the movable shaft slides, the pressure contact of the pressure contact member is released by the operation of the actuating member. This ensures the rigidity of the movable shaft relative to the fixed shaft without increasing the sliding resistance when the movable shaft slides.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a column tube 3 is fixed to the breakaway bracket 1 via a bush 2, and this column tube 3 is fixed to the vehicle body via a bracket 4. There is. Breakaway bracket 1 has buttons 5 and 2.
A telescopic tube 6 is held slidably in the axial direction via the telescopic tube 6. A holder 7 is fixed to the telescopic tube 6, and a tilt bracket 8 is rotatably supported on the holder 7 by a bolt 9. A lower main shaft 10 is rotatably supported by the breakaway bracket 1 and the column tube 3, and an upper main shaft 12 is rotatably supported by the tilt bracket 8.
The middle main shaft 11 is slidably connected to the lower main shaft 10, and the upper main shaft 12
is rotatably connected to the middle main shaft 11 via a joint 13 located coaxially with the bolt 9, and is disposed within the telescopic tube 6 and the holder 7.

A telescopic motor 14 is fixed to the breakaway bracket 1. This telescopic motor 14
A deceleration mechanism 15 consisting of a worm and a worm wheel disposed on the breakaway bracket 1 is mounted on the rotation axis of the rotary shaft.
A telescopic screw 16 rotatably held is connected to the breakaway bracket 1 via. A telescopic nut member 17 is fixed to the telescopic tube 6 and is screwed into the telescopic screw 16. In this configuration, by operating the telescopic motor 14, the telescopic screw 16 is rotated via the deceleration mechanism 15. This rotation of the telescopic screw 16 causes the telescopic nut member 17 to slide in the axial direction along the telescopic screw 16 by being screwed together. As a result, the telescopic tube 6, holder 7, and tilt bracket 8 slide integrally with respect to the breakaway bracket 1 and column tube 3, and the middle men shaft 11 and upper main shaft 12 slide integrally with respect to the lower main shaft 10 ( telescopic operation).

A tilt motor 18 is fixed to the breakaway bracket 1. The tilt motor 18 is connected to a tilt screw 20 rotatably held in the holder 7 via a deceleration mechanism 19 consisting of a worm and a worm wheel disposed on the breakaway bracket 1. In addition, the speed reduction mechanism 19 and the tilt screw 2
0 is a spline connection that transmits rotation from the speed reduction mechanism 19 but is slidable in the axial direction in order to enable the above-mentioned telescopic operation.

A tilt nut member 21 whose sliding movement in the axial direction is restricted is disposed on the holder 7. The tilt nut member 21 is threadedly engaged with the tilt screw 20 and is connected to the tilt bracket 8 by a bolt 22. In this configuration, by operating the tilt motor 18, the tilt screw 20 is moved through the deceleration mechanism 19.
rotates. The rotation of the tilt screw 20 causes the tilt nut member 21 to slide in the axial direction along the tilt screw 20 through screw engagement, and since the tilt nut member 21 is restricted from sliding in the axial direction by the holder 7,
The power is transmitted to the tilt bracket 8 via the bolt 22. As a result, due to the positional relationship between the bolts 9 and 22, the tilt bracket 8 is integrally attached to the holder 7 around the bolt 9, and the upper main shaft 12 is integrally attached to the middle main shaft 11 around the joint 13. Rotates vertically (tilt operation).

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a lock bolt 25 is connected to the lock motor 23 via speed reduction mechanisms 24a, 24b, 24c, and 24d consisting of a worm and a worm wheel. This lock bolt 25
is slidably held in a fitting hole 26 formed in the lower side of the breakaway bracket 1 with its rotation restricted. The above-mentioned lock motor 23 and deceleration mechanisms 24a, 24b, and 24c are housed in a case 27, and the case 27 is fixed to the lower side of the breakaway bracket 1. Deceleration mechanism 24d and deceleration mechanism 2
4d and the lock bolt 25 is positioned and housed between the breakaway bracket 1 and the case 27 by a bush which serves as a bearing for the speed reduction mechanism 24d.

A cavity 28 is formed below the holding hole 1a for holding the telescopic tube 6 of the breakaway bracket 1, and the lower surface thereof is an inclined surface 28a. A pressing member 29 is disposed within this space 28 and is formed with an inclined surface 29a that joins the inclined surface 28a. This pressing member 29 is in contact with the lock bolt 25. Pressing member 2
Between 9 and telescope 6 is telescope 6.
A pressure contact member 30 is disposed to be pressed against the outer circumferential surface of.

Referring to FIG. 7, the control circuit 31 for the lock motor 23 will be explained.

An operation switch 33 disposed inside the vehicle is connected to the input port P1 of the CPU 32. or,
The telescopic motor 14 is connected to the output port P2 via a driver circuit 34, and the lock motor 23 is connected to the output port P3 via a driver circuit 35.

In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, the pressing member 30 is normally pressed against the outer circumferential surface of the telescopic tube 6, and rigidity is ensured by its frictional force. In this state, when the operating switch 33 is turned on, the lock motor 23 operates for a predetermined period of time as shown in FIG. Due to the operation of this lock motor 23, the speed reduction mechanism 24
Lock bolt 25 via a, 24b, 24c, 24d
is guided by the breakaway bracket 1 and slides. As the lock bolt 25 slides, the pressing member 29 is released and slides downward due to the joining of the inclined surfaces 28a and 29a.

The sliding of this pressing member 29 causes the pressing member 3 to
0 is released and it slides, and the pressure contact with the outer circumferential surface of the telescopic tube 6 is released as shown in FIG. This reduces the frictional force between the telescopic tube 6 and the pressure contact member 30, making it easier for the telescopic tube 6 to slide. At approximately the same time as the lock motor 23 is activated, the telescopic motor 14 is activated to begin telescopic operation. When the telescopic operation is completed, the end signal is detected and
The operation of the telescopic motor 14 is stopped, and the lock motor 23 is operated in the opposite manner to that described above for a predetermined period of time longer than the operation described above. Due to this operation of the lock motor 23, the lock bolt 25 slides in the opposite direction to that described above, and the pressing member 29 is pressed and slid upward. As a result, the pressing member 30 is pressed and firmly pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the telescopic tube 6 as shown in FIG. 5, and the frictional force between the telescopic tube 6 and the pressing member 30 increases again.

As mentioned above, the telescope tube 6 is
Normally, it is held on the breakaway bracket 1 by pressing the pressure contact member 30 against its outer peripheral surface, and during telescopic operation, the pressure contact of the pressure contact member 30 is released by the operation of the lock motor 23, and the holding from the breakaway bracket 1 is released. Ru. As a result, the rigidity of the column tube 6 with respect to the breakaway bracket 1 can always be maintained high due to the friction force caused by the pressure contact of the pressure contact member 30, and at the same time, during telescopic operation, the friction force caused by the pressure contact of the pressure contact member 30 is released. This makes it possible to reduce the sliding resistance and ensure smooth telescopic operation. Further, the operating time of the pressing operation of the pressing member 30 against the column tube 6 is set longer than the operating time of the pressing operation of the pressing member 30 from the column tube 6. Therefore, during the pressing operation of the pressing member 30 by the operation of the lock motor 23, errors in the dimensional accuracy of the outer peripheral surface of the column tube 6 and gaps due to wear due to long-term use are absorbed, and when the pressing operation is completed, the pressing member 30 is moved to the column tube. It is possible to reliably press the outer peripheral surface of 6. Thereby, the rigidity of the column tube 6 relative to the breakaway bracket 1 can always be ensured in a state other than during telescopic operation.

[0021]

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention comprises a fixed shaft that is rotatably supported on the vehicle body side, and a movable shaft that is connected to the fixed shaft so that it can slide relative to the fixed shaft in the axial direction and rotate integrally with the fixed shaft, and has a steering wheel fixed to its tip. and a drive mechanism disposed on the fixed shaft side and connected to the movable shaft side to slide the movable shaft in the axial direction with respect to the fixed shaft, wherein the fixed shaft side A pressure contact member disposed in the movable shaft and press-contacted to or released from pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the movable shaft side, an actuation mechanism for actuating the pressure contact member, and a control circuit for controlling the operation of the actuation mechanism, and the control circuit of,
A telescopic device comprising a timer means for setting a longer operating time of the actuating mechanism to bring the pressing member into the pressed state than a working time of the actuating mechanism to bring the pressing member into the pressed state. Since it is a steering device, it has the following effects.

[0022] At all times, the rigidity of the fixed shaft side relative to the fixed shaft side can be ensured to be high due to the friction force caused by the pressure contact of the pressure contact members, and at the same time, when the movable shaft is sliding, the friction force caused by the pressure contact of the pressure contact members is released. This makes it possible to reduce the sliding resistance and ensure smooth sliding of the movable shaft.

During the pressure welding operation of the pressure contact member, it is possible to absorb errors in the dimensional accuracy of the outer circumferential surface on the movable shaft side, gaps due to wear due to long-term use, etc., and the pressure contact member is reliably brought into contact with the outer circumference surface on the movable shaft side. be able to. Thereby, the rigidity of the movable shaft relative to the fixed shaft side can always and reliably be ensured.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a telescopic steering device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pressure contact member and an actuation mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2;

6 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 during telescopic operation; FIG.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit that controls the actuation mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an operation time chart of the control circuit.

[Explanation of symbols] 10 Lower main shaft (fixed shaft) 11
Middle main shaft (movable shaft) 12 Middle main shaft (movable shaft) 23 Lock motor (operating mechanism) 25 Lock bolt (operating mechanism) 29 Press member (operating mechanism) 30 Pressing member 31 Control circuit 32 CPU (timer means) 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d Reduction mechanism (operating mechanism)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fixed shaft rotatably supported on a vehicle body side, a movable shaft connected to the fixed shaft so as to be slidable relative to the fixed shaft in the axial direction and rotatable integrally with the fixed shaft, and having a steering wheel fixed to its tip; A telescopic steering device including a drive mechanism disposed on the shaft side and connected to the movable shaft side to slide the movable shaft in the axial direction with respect to the fixed shaft, the telescopic steering device being disposed on the fixed shaft side. It has a pressure contact member that is pressed into or released from pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the movable shaft, an actuation mechanism that operates the pressure contact member, and a control circuit that controls the operation of the actuation mechanism, and the control circuit is connected to the pressure contact member. A telescopic steering device comprising a timer means for setting a longer operating time of the actuating mechanism to bring the pressing member into the pressed state than the operating time of the actuating mechanism to bring the member into the pressed state. .