JPH0448666B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a tilt steering system for adjusting a steering wheel attached to a tiltable steering shaft to a position suitable for the driver's physique to facilitate steering operation. It is something.

Conventional Technology In recent years, automobiles have been equipped with a system in which the position of the steering wheel is adjusted to suit the physique of the driver by appropriately changing the inclination of the steering shaft.
Tilt steering is often used to facilitate steering devices.

The above-mentioned tilt steering includes a first bracket having a pair of support parts fixed to the vehicle body side, and a first bracket attached to the first bracket so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction, and rotatably supporting a tiltable steering shaft. 2 brackets, a bolt inserted laterally into the overlapping portion of the first and second brackets and having one end fixed to one side of the overlapping portion, and a lock lever screwed onto the free end of the bolt. By operating the above lock lever,
The overlapping portions of the first and second brackets are pressed relatively inward on the axis of the bolt and locked by mutual frictional force, thereby fixing the steering shaft at a desired angle of inclination. Things are common.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above-mentioned tilt steering, the frictional force that occurs between the first and second brackets is due to the dimensional accuracy between each component member caused by dimensional errors in manufacturing and wear between the members due to long-term use. may fall below the specified value.

In general, the movable side of a tilt steering wheel is relatively heavy because various switches, etc. are attached to it in addition to the steering wheel, and the decrease in frictional force as described above is due to the movable side position, that is, the steering wheel being held in a constant position. It was getting in the way.

Means for Solving the Problems This invention provides a steering shaft in which a steering wheel is fixed to an upper shaft that can be bent with respect to a lower shaft, a fixed bracket fixed to the vehicle body side, and a top and bottom shaft attached to the fixed bracket. a movable bracket which is arranged to be able to swing freely in the direction of the bracket and rotatably support the upper shaft; a lock bolt that is inserted laterally into the overlapping portion of the fixed bracket and the movable bracket; a lock lever which is screwed onto the lock lever and which clamps the two brackets relatively inward by the fastening force with the lock bolt to fix the movable bracket at a predetermined angle; and a lock lever which is swingably disposed on the fixed bracket; a ratchet that meshes with a predetermined number of engaging teeth formed on the movable bracket; and a spring that is disposed between the ratchet and the fixed bracket and presses the claw portion of the ratchet to constantly mesh with the engaging teeth. , is arranged to rotate coaxially and integrally with the lock lever, and is located at the rear of the ratchet whose tip end claw engages with the engagement teeth of the movable bracket when fixed, so that the ratchet moves in the direction of disengagement of the ratchet. It is composed of ratchet restraint claws that restrain movement.

Function The tilt steering described above uses the fastening force between the lock bolt and the lock lever to pinch the overlapping part of the fixed bracket and the movable bracket inward, and the friction force generated between the two brackets causes the movable bracket to be held in a predetermined position relative to the fixed bracket. The fixation of the movable bracket is made even more reliable by fixing the movable bracket at an angle of 1, and by preventing the ratchet engaged with the engaging teeth of the movable bracket and the movement of the ratchet in the disengagement direction by a ratchet restraining pawl that interlocks with the lock lever. There is.

Furthermore, during adjustment, even if the ratchet restraining pawl moves away from the ratchet in conjunction with the release operation of the lock lever, the spring will press the ratchet against the engaging teeth of the movable bracket, causing the movable bracket and the upper shaft to inadvertently move downward. do not have. Moreover,
During adjustment work, the pawls of the ratchet pass over the engaging teeth of the movable bracket one by one, giving the operator a sense of moderation and facilitating the adjustment work. Furthermore, the pawl portion of the ratchet does not come into contact with the peak portion of the engagement tooth and stop, thereby preventing any hindrance to the locking operation of the lock lever.

Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of the tilt steering according to the present invention.

In the drawings, 1 is a steering shaft extending from a steering gear (not shown) and has a steering wheel 2 fixed to its tip, 3 is a fixed bracket fixed to the vehicle body side, 4 is a movable bracket disposed on the fixed bracket 3, and 5 is a steering shaft. A lock lever disposed on one side of the fixed bracket 3 and extending toward the steering wheel 2 is shown.

The steering shaft 1 is composed of a lower shaft 1a that is pivotally supported by a fixed bracket 3, and an upper shaft 1b that is pivotally supported by a movable bracket 4. The lower shaft 1a and the upper shaft 1b are tilted by a universal joint 6. Possibly connected.

The fixing bracket 3 is a member formed by bending a flat plate material of a predetermined shape into a substantially square shape from the front, and has shaft holes 7, 7 bored in the center of both side walls, respectively. Round holes 8, 8 for mounting the lock lever 5 are bored diagonally below the lock levers 7, 7.
On the other hand, the movable bracket 4 is a member formed by bending a flat plate material of a predetermined shape into a substantially U-shaped planar shape, and the shaft holes 7, 7 of the fixed bracket 3 are provided at the center of both side walls.
Corresponding shaft holes 9, 9 are formed, and
Near the front edges of both side walls, arcuate holes 10, 10 are formed, centered around the shaft holes 9, 9, and corresponding to the round holes 8, 8 of the fixing member 3. The fixed bracket 3 and the movable bracket 4 are connected by rotary shafts 11, 11 inserted into shaft holes 7, 7, 9, 9 formed in opposing side walls, respectively, and the movable bracket 4 is connected to the fixed bracket 3. Therefore, it can be tilted while being held from the outside.

On the axis of the round holes 8, 8 of the fixed bracket 3, washer plates 12, 12 are disposed between the corresponding side walls of the fixed bracket 3 and the movable bracket 4, the front and back surfaces of which are in sliding contact with the side walls. A cylindrical spacer 13 having substantially the same length as the width between the side walls is arranged between the two side walls of the movable bracket 4. And this round hole 8,
A lock bolt 14 having a multi-thread thread at its tip and a brim-like head at its base is inserted between the holes 8 and 8. Therefore, this lock bolt 14 is inserted into one round hole 8 of the fixing bracket 3 and the washer plate 1.
2. It passes through the circular arc hole 10 on one side of the movable bracket 4, the spacer 13, the circular arc hole 10 on the other side of the movable bracket 4, the washer plate 12, and the circular hole 8 on the other side of the fixed bracket 3. The support shaft 1 of the lock lever 5 is attached to the tip of the lock bolt 14 protruding from the round hole 8 on the other side.
5 is screwed on.

At the front edge of the side wall of the movable bracket 4 on the side where the lock lever 5 is disposed, an arcuate peripheral edge 17 is formed along the arcuate hole 10, and a notch 18 is formed in the upper part of this arcuate peripheral edge 17. , a predetermined number of engagement teeth 19, 19, . . . are formed at the lower part.

On the other hand, on the inner front side of the side wall of the fixed bracket 3 on the side on which the lock lever 5 is disposed, a ratchet 20 having a substantially L-shape is disposed so as to be slidable about the center thereof. This ratchet 20
A claw portion 20a that engages with the above-mentioned engaging teeth 19, 19, etc. is formed on the outside of the upper end portion, and this claw portion 20a
The engagement tooth 1 is moved by a spring 21 disposed between the other end of the ratchet 20 and the fixed bracket 3.
9, 19, and so on.

Furthermore, the lock lever 5 of the fixed bracket 3
An arcuate hole 22 centered on the round hole 8 for mounting the lock lever 5 is formed in the front part of the side wall on the side where the lock lever 5 is mounted. The lock lever 5 is fixed to the end.
The distal end claw portion 23a of the ratchet restraining claw 23, which swings together with the ratchet, protrudes inward. The tip claw portion 23a of the ratchet restraining claw 23 is located inside the upper end portion of the ratchet 20 forming the claw portion 20a only when the claw portion 20a of the ratchet 20 is engaged with the engaging teeth 19, 19, . The arcuate portion 20b of
It is possible to move to.

The adjustment procedure for the tilt steering having the above configuration will be explained below.

In the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the fastening force generated between the support shaft 15 of the lock lever 5 and the lock bolt 14 pushes both side walls of the fixed bracket 3 and the movable bracket 4 toward the spacer 13, respectively. A frictional force is generated on both sides of the washer plates 12, 12 disposed between the brackets 3, 4, and the claw portion 2 of the ratchet 20
0a meshes with one of the engaging teeth 19, 19, . Therefore, movement in the detachment direction is restricted. Therefore, the movable bracket 4 is fixed to the fixed bracket 3 by the frictional force generated between the movable bracket 4 and the fixed bracket 3, and by the engagement between the claw portion 20a of the ratchet 20 and the engagement teeth 19, and the movable bracket 4 is Upper shaft 1 pivotally supported by bracket 4
b is fixed at a constant angle.

From this state, in order to adjust the position of the steering wheel 2, that is, the inclination angle of the movable bracket 4, first rotate the lock lever 5 downward in FIG. Release power. Then, the pressing force of the side walls of the fixed bracket 3 and the movable bracket 4 on the spacer 13 is released, and the frictional force generated by the washer plates 12, 12 between the brackets 3, 4 is reduced. In addition, in this state, the tip claw portion 23a of the ratchet restraint claw 23 is inserted into the arcuate hole 23a.
2 in the upper direction in FIG.

Next, when the steering wheel 2 is held and swung upwards or downwards, the pawls 20a of the ratchet 20 engage the engaging teeth as the movable bracket 4 swung, as shown in FIG. 19,
The movable bracket 4 repeats engagement and disengagement with the movable bracket 4, giving a sense of moderation to the swinging motion of the movable bracket 4.

When the steering wheel 2 is stopped at a predetermined position where the claw portion 20a of the ratchet 20 and the engaging teeth 19 engage, and the lock lever 5 is moved upward in FIG.
4 and the support shaft 15, a frictional force is generated by the washer plates 12, 12 between both side walls of the fixed bracket 3 and the movable bracket 4, and the engagement teeth 19 and Meshing ratchet 20
The claw portion 20a is prevented from swinging in the detachment direction by the distal end claw portion 23a of the ratchet restraining claw 23, and the movable bracket 4 is fixed at the desired position with respect to the fixed bracket 3.

In the above embodiment, the movable bracket 4 can be tilted upward at a large angle while holding the steering wheel 2, and the steering wheel 2 can be moved upward to facilitate getting into and out of the automobile.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, in the tilt steering according to the present invention, the overlapping portion of the fixed bracket and the movable bracket is pressed inwardly by the fastening force between the lock bolt and the lock lever, and the fixed bracket and the movable bracket are The movable bracket is held at a predetermined angle with respect to the fixed bracket by preventing the friction force generated between the movable brackets and the movement of the ratchet in the disengagement direction, which is engaged with the engaging teeth of the movable bracket, by the ratchet restraining pawls interlocked with the lock lever. Since the movable bracket can be fixed, even if the frictional force generated between the movable bracket and the fixed bracket is less than a predetermined value capable of holding the movable part, the movement of the ratchet in the disengagement direction when engaged with the engagement teeth is By blocking the movement with a ratchet restraint pawl that interlocks with the lock lever, the movable bracket can be reliably fixed to the fixed bracket, and the position of the steering wheel can be adjusted with a sense of moderation. This is extremely convenient in practice.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 5 are drawings showing one embodiment of the tilt steering according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a side view, FIG. 2 is a bottom view, FIG. 3 is a split perspective view, and FIG.
This figure and FIG. 5 are schematic diagrams for explaining the operation of the ratchet and the ratchet restraining pawl. 1... Steering shaft, 1a... Lower shaft, 1b... Upper shaft, 2... Steering wheel, 3... Fixed bracket, 4... Movable bracket, 5... Lock lever, 14... Lock bolt, 19, 19... ...Engaging tooth, 20...Ratchet, 20a...Ratchet pawl, 21...
... Spring, 23 ... Ratchet restraint claw, 23
a... Tip claw portion of the ratchet restraint claw.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering shaft having a steering wheel fixed to an upper shaft that can be bent with respect to a lower shaft, a fixed bracket fixed to the vehicle body side, and a steering wheel disposed on the fixed bracket so as to be swingable in the vertical direction, A movable bracket that rotatably supports the upper shaft, a lock bolt that is inserted laterally into the overlapping portion of the fixed bracket and the movable bracket, and a lock bolt that is threaded onto the tip of the lock bolt to provide a fastening force to the lock bolt. a lock lever that clamps the two brackets relatively inwardly to fix the movable bracket at a predetermined angle;
A ratchet is swingably disposed on the fixed bracket and meshes with a predetermined number of engagement teeth formed on the movable bracket; A spring that presses the engaging teeth to constantly engage them, and a rear part of the ratchet, which is arranged to rotate coaxially and integrally with the lock lever, and whose tip end claw engages with the engaging teeth of the movable bracket when fixed. A tilt steering wheel comprising: a ratchet restraining pawl located at the rear end of the ratchet for restraining movement of the ratchet in the disengagement direction.