JPH0617653Y2 - Steering column tilting device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tilting device for a steering column of a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional tilting device for a steering column of an automobile will be described with reference to FIG. 10, in which a is an upper tube, and an upper shaft (not shown) is rotatably supported in the upper tube. A steering handle is attached to the. Further, b is an upper bracket fixed to the upper sleeve a, c is the upper bracket b and a pin on the vehicle body side for pivotally supporting the upper sleeve a in the direction of arrow A (vertical direction), and d is the upper bracket. A ratchet plate fixed to b, e is a lower tube, and a lower shaft (not shown) is rotatably supported on the lower tube e.
The lower shaft and the upper shaft are connected via a universal joint.

Further, f is a lower bracket fixed to the lower tube e, g is a lever having ratchet teeth meshing with the ratchet plate d, h is a pin for pivotally supporting the lever g to the lower bracket f, and i is the lever. A spring for biasing g toward the ratchet plate d, a rotary shaft k rotatably mounted on the vehicle body side member, a tilting lever j fixed to the rotary shaft k, and a fixed lever l for the rotary shaft k. With the cam, the cam 1 is located in the window-shaped notch g ₁ provided in the lever g,
Further, a spring (not shown) for urging the ratchet plate d, the upper bracket b and the upper sleeve a in the arrow A direction (up and down direction) around the pin c is provided between the upper bracket b and the body side member. When the tilting lever j is gripped and rotated in the direction of arrow D about the rotation axis k, the cam l also rotates in the same direction about the rotation axis k, and the cam l has a window-shaped notch. The tilting lever j contacting via the portion g ₁ rotates about the pin h in the direction of arrow E, the ratchet teeth of the tilting lever j move away from the ratchet plate d, and the ratchet plate d
And the upper bracket b and the upper sleeve a tilt about the pin c in the direction of arrow A (vertical direction), and while returning these parts d, b and a in the direction of arrow B, the tilt lever j is returned to its original position. When it is returned to the direction, the ratchet teeth of the lever g and the ratchet plate d mesh with each other so that the above parts d, b and a and the steering wheel are held at an arbitrary driving position.

[0004]

In the tilting device for a steering column of an automobile shown in FIG. 10, the ratchet teeth of the lever g and the ratchet plate d are meshed with each other so that the steering handle is held at an arbitrary driving position. Therefore, even if the driving position of the steering wheel can be changed in multiple stages depending on the number of ratchet teeth,
There was a problem that it could not be changed steplessly.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a tilting device for a steering column capable of continuously changing the driving position of the steering handle. .

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a tilting device for a steering column according to the present invention connects an upper shaft 1 on the steering wheel side to a lower shaft 12 via a universal joint 10 to provide the upper shaft. 1, an upper bracket 5 is fixed to an upper sleeve 3 that rotatably supports 1, a lower bracket 11 is fixed to a lower sleeve 14 that rotatably supports the lower shaft 12, and the upper bracket 5 is connected to the upper bracket 5 via a pivot 8. The lower bracket 11 is pivotally supported so that it can be tilted in the vertical direction, and the upper bracket 8 of the upper bracket 5 is pivotally supported.
A memory hole 5a is provided in an arc-shaped portion centered on the center of the arc, and an arc-shaped hole 11c centered on the pivot 8 is provided in the lower bracket 11 so as to face the memory hole 5, and the pin guide member 20 is provided in the arc-shaped hole 11c. Is inserted so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the arcuate hole 11c, and a fixing device for detachably fixing the pin guide member 20 is provided between the pin guide member 20 and the lower bracket 11. A guide pin 23 is inserted into the pin guide member 20, and the guide pin 23 is urged toward the memory hole 5a by a spring 22, and the fixing device is connected to the collar portion 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,
A fixing lever 15 integrally attached to the nut 19;
Nut 1 to be screwed into a screw provided on the outer peripheral surface of the nut 19.
8, a stopper 16 that engages with the arcuate surface 18a of the nut 18, and a stopper 17 that engages with the flange portion 20b of the pin guide member 20.
Guide pin pulling means 21a for fixing 17 to the inner and outer surfaces of the lower bracket 11 to separate the guide pin 23 from the memory hole 5a against the spring 22.
21b and 26 are attached to the guide pin 23, and the pulling means and the fixing device constitute a tilting position storage mechanism of the steering column.

[0007]

The tilting device of the steering column according to the present invention is constructed as described above, and includes the steering handle, the upright shaft 1, the upright tube 3, and the upright bracket 5.
The pin guide member 20 and the guide pin 23, which determine the amount of tilting about the pivotal support portion 8 and, are fixed at arbitrary positions of the arcuate hole 11c provided in the lower bracket 11 on the vehicle body side, and the driving position of the steering wheel is adjusted. Change steplessly.

Further, the tilting amount adjusting action according to the driving position of the driver operates the fixing lever 15, and the upward flip-up action performed when the driver gets on and off the vehicle causes the guide pin 23 to retreat. Also, the memory effect of engaging and disengaging the guide pin 23 and the memory hole 5a is achieved by pushing down the steering handle,
Each is done.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The steering column tilting device of the present invention will now be described with reference to one embodiment shown in FIGS.
1 is an upper shaft, 3 is an upper tube, 2 is a bearing, the inner race of the bearing 2 is fixed to the upper shaft 1 via the snap ring 4, and the outer race of the same bearing 2 is fixed to the upper plate 3 by press fitting. The bearing 1 is rotatably supported by the bearing 3 via the bearing 2, and a steering handle 28 is attached to the upper end of the bearing 1.

1 to 5 is an inverted U-shaped upper bracket fixed to the lower end of the upper sleeve 3 by welding, and only one side of the upper bracket 5 extends downward. Reference numeral 6 denotes a yoke fixed by welding to the lower end of the upper shaft 1 penetrating the upper tube 3 in the vertical direction,
7, 7 are bearings press-fitted into the holes in the upper part of the upper bracket 5, 14 is a lower tube, 11 is a lower bracket fixed to the lower tube 14 by welding, 11a,
Reference numeral 11b denotes an extension portion of the lower bracket 11, and extension portions 11a and 11b of the lower bracket 11 are fastened and fixed to the body member 27 of FIG. 2 via bolts and nuts 30.

Reference numeral 12 in FIG. 1 denotes a lower shaft which is rotatably supported in the lower tube 14, and an upper end of the lower shaft 12 is fixed to a lower end of the upper shaft 1 by welding to a yoke 6 having a universal joint 1.
When the steering wheel 28 is steered, the steering force at that time is transmitted to the steering gear box (not shown) via the upright shaft 1, the yoke 6, the universal joint 10 and the lower shaft 12, The wheels are steered in a predetermined direction.

Further, 8 and 8 are bolt-shaped pins fitted and inserted in the bearings 7 and 7, and 9 is a nut for tightening and fixing the respective pins 8 to the lower portions of the extension portions 11a and 11b of the lower bracket 11, and the steering handle 28 The upper shaft 1, the upper pipe 3, and the upper bracket 5 can be tilted about the pins 9 and 9 in the arrow Y direction (vertical direction) in FIG. In addition, 13 is the above-mentioned bracket 5
Is a spring interposed between the upper end of the lower bracket and the upper end of the lower bracket 11, and the spring 13 constantly urges the portions 28, 1, 3, 5 in the Y direction (upward).

Also, 11c in FIGS. 2 to 5 is an arcuate hole provided on one side of the lower bracket 11 and is the same.
c is provided along an arc (a) (see FIG. 5) with the pin 8 as the center. Further, a reference numeral 5a is a memory hole provided on one side extension of the upper bracket 5 so as to face the arcuate hole 11c, as shown in FIGS.
20 is a pin guide member which is fitted into the arc-shaped hole 11c and is movable in the longitudinal direction of the arc-shaped hole 11c. The pin guide member 20 has a left-hand thread formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof.

A guide pin 23 is slidably fitted in the pin guide member 20, and a spring 22 is interposed between the guide pin 23 and the cap 25 fixed to the pin guide member 20. The same guide pin 23
Is urged in the direction of the one-side extension of the upper bracket 5. Reference numeral 19 is a nut that is screwed into a left screw engraved on the outer peripheral surface of the pin guide member 20, and the outer peripheral surface of the nut 19 is
A right-hand thread is engraved on this nut 1 shown in Fig. 7.
8 is screwed.

16, 17 of FIGS. 3, 4, 8, 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 the arcuate surface 18a of the nut 18.
In addition, the arcuate surface 17a of the stopper 17 is attached to the pin guide member 2
0 to the arc-shaped surface 20a of the collar portion 20b,
While preventing the nut 18 and the pin guide member 20 from rotating, the arc-shaped holes 1 of the pin guide member 20 and the nuts 19 and 18 are prevented.
It is possible to move along 1c.

Further, 21a is an outer cable and 21b is an inner cable, and the tip of the outer cable 21a is fixed to the cap 25, and the inner cable 21b extends into the guide pin 23 and the tip of the guide pin 23. The other end of the inner cable 21b is fixed to the inner surface and extends to the release knob 26. Further, 15 is a fixing lever, and the fixing lever 15 is tightened and fixed to the nut 19 via a lock nut 29, and the guide pin pulling means 21a, 21b, 26 and the fixing device 1 are provided.
The tilt position storage mechanism of the steering column is constituted by 5 to 20.

Next, the operation of the tilting device for the steering column will be specifically described. Now, the upper bracket 5, the upper sleeve 3, and the upper shaft 1 are in the solid line positions in FIGS. 2 and 5, the guide pin 23 and the pin guide member 20 are in the x ₁ position, and the guide pin 23 is in the memory hole of the upper bracket 5. 5a, while the pin guide member 20 has a flange portion 20b having an arcuate hole 1 in the lower bracket 11.
Assuming that it is in close contact with the peripheral portion of one end of 1c, the fixing lever 15 is rotated from this state in the direction of the arrow Y ₁ in FIG. As a result, the nut 19 rotates, the pin guide member 20 moves in the direction of the upper bracket 5, and the collar portion 20b of the pin guide member 20 moves away from the peripheral edge of one end of the arcuate hole 11c of the lower blade 11 as a result.
Although the pin guide member 20 is released from the lower bracket 11, the upper bracket 5, the upper tube 3, and the upper shaft 1 are biased upward by the spring 13, and the pin guide member 20 is released from the lower bracket 11 as described above. When released, these portions 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 engaged with the memory hole 5a of the upper bracket 5 by the urging force of the spring 22, and the guide pin 23 and the pin guide member 20 also have the above-mentioned portions 5, 3, 1. At the same time, the pin guide member 20 moves in the arc-shaped hole 11c of the lower bracket 11 toward the other end around the pin 8, and the pin guide member 20 abuts on the other end of the arc-shaped hole 11c so that the guide pin 23 and the memory hole 5a are When moved to the x ₂ position in FIG.
Tilt around the pins 8 of 3 and 1 stops.

In FIG. 5, θ _t represents the amount of tilt (tilt amount) of the above-mentioned portions 5, 3, 1, that is, the steering handle 28. In this state, the steering wheel 28 is gripped and moved to a position suitable for the driver. Also at this time,
The respective parts 5, 3, 1 rotate around the pin 8, and the guide pin 23 and the pin guide member 20 engaged with the memory hole 5a move in the arcuate hole 11c, and the guide pin 2
3 and the pin guide member 20 move to an arbitrary position in the middle of the arcuate hole 11c, the fixing lever 15 is moved to the Y position in FIG.
Rotate in the ₀ direction.

At this time, the nut 19 rotates in the opposite direction to that described above, the pin guide member 20 moves in the direction opposite to the upper bracket bracket 5, and the collar portion 20b of the pin guide member 20 moves in the arcuate hole of the lower bracket 11. The pin guide member 20 and the guide pin 23 and the respective parts 5, 3, 1 are fixed in close contact with the peripheral portion of 11c. The above is the tilt amount adjusting action according to the driving position of the driver.

From the fixed state, the release knob 26
And pull the inner cable 211b to operate the guide pin 2
3 retreats from the solid line position to the broken line position in FIG. 3 against the spring 22 and escapes from the memory hole 5a, and the parts 5, 3, 1 are released from the lower bracket 11 and the parts 5, 3 , 1 tilts in the direction of arrow Y (upward) in FIG. 2 about the pin 8 by the spring 13, and the lower end 5b of the upper bracket 5 contacts the stopper 24 fixed to the lower bracket 11 and stops.

Θu in FIG. 5 indicates the amount of jumping up of each of the portions 5, 3, 1, that is, the steering handle 28. The release knob 26 is operated only when the guide pin 23 is removed from the memory hole 5a. After that, the guide pin 23 is advanced by the spring 22 and comes into contact with the upper bracket 5; The surface of the upper bracket 5 which 23 abuts is the memory hole 5a.
The upper bracket is a flat surface, and the upper bracket 5 slides with respect to the guide pin 23, and the upper bracket 5, the upper tube 3, and the upper shaft 1 rotate to the above positions and stop.

The above is the upward flip-up action performed when the driver gets on and off the vehicle. Further, when the steering handle 28 and the respective parts 5, 3, 1 are pushed downward against the spring 13 from the above tilted state, these parts 28, 5, 3, 3 are pressed.
1 rotates about the pin 8. Further, by this rotation, when the memory hole 5a of the upper bracket 5 faces the guide pin 23 in the pin guide member 20 fixed at an arbitrary position of the arcuate hole 11c, the guide is urged by the spring 22 in the forward direction. Pin 23 is the same memory hole 5a
, So that each of the portions 28, 5, 3, 1 is fixed to the set position described above. The above is the memory function.

[0024]

The tilting device of the steering column of the present invention is constructed as described above, and determines the tilting amount of the steering handle, the upright shaft 1, the upright tube 3, and the upright bracket 5 about the pivot 8. Since the pin guide member 20 and the guide pin 23 can be fixed to arbitrary positions of the arcuate hole 11c provided in the lower bracket 11 on the vehicle body side, the driving position of the steering wheel can be changed steplessly.

Further, the tilting amount adjusting action adapted to the driving position of the driver operates the fixing lever 15, and the upward flipping action performed when the driver gets on and off the vehicle causes the guide pin 23 to retreat. Also, the memory effect of engaging and disengaging the guide pin 23 and the memory hole 5a is achieved by pushing down the steering handle,
Since each is done, operation becomes easy.

The arcuate surface 18a of the nut 18 is fixed to the arcuate surface 16a of the stopper 16 fixed to the lower bracket 11,
Connect the collar portion 20b of the pin guide member 20 to the lower bracket 11
The nuts 18 and pin guide members 20 are brought into contact with each other to prevent the nuts 18 and the pin guide members 20 from rotating. On the other hand, the stoppers 16 and 17 allow the arc surfaces 18a of the nuts 18 and the arc shape of the pin guide members 20 to be stopped. Since the stopper guides the movement along the hole 11c (each stopper acts as a guide rail), the pin guide member 20 can be smoothly moved along the arcuate hole 11c.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a tilting device for a steering column of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of a pin guide member portion.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view of a pin guide member portion.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the tilting device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a pin guide member.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a nut and a stopper.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a nut and a stopper.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a nut and a stopper.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a conventional tilting device for a steering column.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Apatashyaft 3 Apatachiubu 5 Apatapaketto 5a Memory hole 8 Pivot 10 Universal joint 11 Lower bracket 11c Arc-shaped hole 12 Lower shaft 15 Locking device fixing lever 16 Stopper 18 Pin 19 Natop 18 Natop 18 Member 20a Arc-shaped surface of the pin guide member 20b Collar portion of the pin guide member 20 21a Outer rope of the traction means 21b Inner rope of the traction means 22 Spring 23 Guide pin 26 Release knob of the traction means

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A steering handle-side upper clutch 1 is connected to a lower shaft 12 via a universal joint 10, an upper bracket 3 is fixed to an upper member 3 which rotatably supports the upper shaft 1, and the lower shaft 12 is rotated. The lower bracket 11 is fixed to a lower tube 14 which is supported so that the upper bracket 5 is connected to the lower bracket 1 via a pivot 8.
1 is pivotally supported so that it can be tilted in the vertical direction, and a memory hole 5a is provided in a circular arc portion centered on the pivotal support portion 8 of the upper bracket 5 and the lower bracket 11 is opposed to the memory hole 5. The arcuate hole 1 centered on the pivot 8
1c is provided, the pin guide member 20 is inserted into the arcuate hole 11c so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the arcuate hole 11c, and the pin guide member 20 and the lower bracket 1 are also provided.
A fixing device for removably fixing the pin guide member 20 is provided between the pin guide member 20 and the first pin guide member 20, and the guide pin 23 is inserted into the pin guide member 20 and the guide pin 23 is attached to the spring 22
The fixing device is urged toward the memory hole 5a by means of a collar 20b attached to the pin guide member 20.
A nut 19 screwed onto a screw provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pin guide member 20, a fixing lever 15 integrally attached to the nut 19 and a screw provided on the outer peripheral surface of the nut 19. The nut 18 and the arcuate surface 18 of the nut 18.
a stopper 16 engaging with a and the pin guide member 20
And a stopper 17 which engages with the collar portion 20b of the lower bracket 11,
The guide pin pulling means 21a, 21b, 26 fixed to the inner and outer surfaces of the guide pin 23 to separate the guide pin 23 from the memory hole 5a against the spring 22.
A tilting device for a steering column, wherein the tilting position storing mechanism is configured by the pulling means and the fixing device.