JPH0710670B2 - Tilt device for steering column - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tilting device in which a base end portion of a steering column is rotatably supported by a vehicle body and a steering wheel can be moved up and down. The present invention relates to a tilting device for a steering column having a tilt function for setting an optimum driving position of a wheel and a flip-up function for jumping up the steering column when getting on and off the vehicle while the position is stored.

[Conventional technology]

As this type of tilt device, for example, one shown in FIG. 9 is known (for example, refer to Subaru XT Service Manual 1985 edition).

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a steering column, which is swingably supported by a vehicle body 2 at its base end portion. 3 is the car body 2
It is a fixed bracket having a substantially U-shaped cross section and is provided with a substantially arcuate elongated hole 4 centered on the swing fulcrum of the steering column 1 on both side walls 3a, 3b thereof. Reference numeral 6 denotes an inner bracket arranged in the fixed bracket 3 and formed with a long hole 7 corresponding to the long hole portion 4. The width of the long hole 7 is smaller than that of the long hole portion 4. Reference numeral 8 denotes a tilt bracket fixed to the steering column 1, which has a through hole 9 formed at a right angle to the axis of the steering column 1, and the through hole 9 extends along the long hole 7 as the steering column 1 swings. Are set to move. Reference numeral 10 denotes a bolt, which penetrates the long hole 7 and the through hole 9, and its head 10a abuts on one side wall 6a of the inner bracket 6 and is loosely fitted in the long hole portion 4 of the fixed bracket 3. There is. Reference numeral 11 denotes a nut screwed into the bolt 10, which abuts on the other side wall 6b of the inner bracket 6 and is loosely fitted in the long hole portion 4 of the fixed bracket 3. Reference numeral 12 denotes an operation lever, which is fastened and fixed to the nut 11 via a washer 13 with a screw 14. Reference numeral 15 denotes a memory device, which includes a support pin 16 that supports the inner bracket 6 at a predetermined position of the fixed bracket 3. The support pin 16 is housed in a case body 17 that is fixed to the fixed bracket 3 so as to be able to move forward and backward, and is normally projected by the urging force of a built-in spring and engaged with the inner bracket 6, while the knob 18 is pulled. By operation, it retreats via the cable 19 and the engagement with the inner bracket 6 is released. In addition, 20 is a hole formed in the fixed bracket 3 for the support pin 16 to move in and out, 21 is an engagement hole formed in the inner bracket 6 for the support pin 16 to engage, and 22 and 23 are the bolts 10 described above.
Fixed bracket 3 fitted to the head 10a and nut 11 of the
It is a bearing that rolls in the long hole portion 4 of. The inner bracket 6 is constantly urged in the flip-up direction by a flip-up spring (not shown).

Therefore, when the steering wheel (not shown) is set to the optimum driving position, the operating lever 12 is operated to loosen the nut 11 and swing the steering column 1 to set it at an appropriate position. In this case, the bolt 10 moves in the long hole 7 of the inner bracket 6 and
The head of 10 and the nut 11 move in the long hole portion 4 of the fixed bracket 3 via bearings 22 and 23. Then, the operation lever 12 is operated at an appropriate position of the steering column 1 to tighten the nut 11, and the steering column 1 is fixed to the inner bracket 6 via the tilt bracket 8. At this time, since the inner bracket 6 is engaged with the support pin 16 of the memory device 15 and is in a fixed state with respect to the fixed bracket 3, the steering column 1 is positioned at a desired position with respect to the fixed bracket 3. It

On the other hand, in order to widen the space for getting on and off, when the steering column 1 is flipped up, the knob 18 is pulled. At this time, the support pin 16 of the memory device 15 is retracted to release the engagement with the inner bracket 6, and the inner bracket 6 is flipped up by the flip-up spring. in this case,
Since the steering column 1 is fixed to the inner bracket 6 by the bolt 10 and the nut 11 via the tilt bracket 8, and the lever 12 is fixed to the nut 11,
The steering column 1 jumps up from the fixed bracket 3 together with the bolt 10 and the lever 12.

Further, when returning to the original position, the steering column 1 is pushed down to engage the support pin 16 with the engagement hole 21 of the inner bracket 6. In this case, since the steering column 1 is fixed to the desired position of the inner bracket 6, the original optimum driving position is reproduced.

That is, this device is capable of reproducing the state before the flip-up when the steering column 1 is flipped up in a state where the original driving position is stored and returned to the original state.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In this conventional tilting device, when the steering column 1 is flipped up, the lever 12 jumps up together with the steering column 1 via the inner bracket 6, so that a moving space for the lever 12 is required, and the fixed bracket for the steering column 1 is required. There is a problem in that the shape of the instrument panel in which the meters 3 and various switches are arranged is restricted in the front part of the vehicle interior of the vehicle body to which 3 is fixed.

Further, since the lever 12 and the inner bracket 6 both bounce up, the weight of the bounce up parts increases, and it is necessary to increase the force of the up up spring, resulting in an increase in the spring space and an increase in the size of the tilting device. .

Further, when the steering column 1 jumps up, the bearings 22 and 23 come into contact with the upper ends of the long holes 4 and 4 of the fixed bracket 3 to stop the steering column 1 from jumping up. However, if the weight of the bounce-up parts increases and is heavy,
There is also a problem that the inertial force of the steering column 1 at the time of jumping up increases, and as a result, the impact at the time of stopping the jumping up increases and abnormal noise and vibration increase.

Therefore, the technical problem of the present invention is to limit the shape of the instrument panel by allowing the devices such as the nut 11 and the operating lever 12 set in advance to the optimum driving position to remain on the fixed bracket side at the time of flipping up. Without increasing the space for the flip-up spring, and also preventing an increase in noise and vibration at the time of stop-up due to an increase in inertial force of the steering column.

[Means for solving problems]

A technical means of the present invention for solving such a problem is to provide a fixing bracket fixed to a vehicle body in the tilting device for the steering column, wherein a base end portion of the steering column is rotatably supported by the vehicle body. A moving member that engages with the fixed bracket so as to be movable around the rotation fulcrum of the steering column, and a fixing means that fixes the moving member to the fixed bracket at a desired position, and the moving member and the steering wheel are provided. It comprises a connecting means for connecting the columns in a fixed distance relationship, a releasing means for releasing the connection of the connecting means, and a flip-up device for flipping up the steering column upward when the connection is released. In the flip-up device, a link is pivotally supported on either the fixed bracket or the steering column. In addition to the slider being provided on the steering wheel, an elastic member for urging the link in the direction of swinging the steering column upward is provided, and a slide member for swinging the steering column by sliding the slider is fixed to the other side. It is characterized by

[Action]

According to this means, when the steering column is tilted, the fixation of the moving member to the fixed bracket by the fixing means is released, and the steering column is swung while the moving member is connected to the steering column by the connecting means to move the steering column to a desired position. After that, the moving member is fixed by the fixing means.

Then, when the steering column is flipped up, the connection of the connecting means is released by the releasing means. Then, while the moving member remains fixed to the fixed bracket, the link is rotated by the urging force of the elastic member by the flip-up device, the slider slides up along the slide member, and the steering column slides. It is lifted by and raised to the upper end of the set flip-up position.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a tilt device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The basic structure of the tilt device T shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 is as follows.
Fixing bracket 40, moving member 50, fixing device 60 as fixing means, jump lever 70 as connecting means and releasing means
And a flip-up device 80.

Reference numeral 30 is a steering column that includes the steering shaft 35. As shown in FIG. 2, the base end portion 30a is
A bracket 32 fixed to the vehicle body 31 is rotatably supported via a support shaft 33. 34 is a tilt bracket fixed to the steering column 30.

The fixed bracket 40 is formed by joining a pair of plates bent in a substantially L-shaped cross-section at their side wall portions 40a and 40b via a erection member 41. And the tilt bracket
34 is arranged between the side wall portions 40a and 40b. Reference numeral 42 denotes a slide block, which has a long hole-shaped mounting hole 42a and is fitted to the fixed bracket 40. The fixing bracket 40 is fixed to the vehicle body 31 with a bolt or the like in the mounting hole 42a. Reference numeral 43 is a guide groove formed on the front edges of the side wall portions 40a, 40b, and the guide shaft 44 protruding from the tilt bracket 34 slides while being guided as the steering column 30 swings. . Reference numeral 45 is a long hole formed in each of the side wall portions 40a and 40b, and is a support shaft which is a swing support point of the steering column 30.
It is formed in a substantially circular arc shape centered on 33. Further, the embossed uneven portion 4 is formed on the edge of the long hole 45 of the one side wall portion 40a.
6 are formed.

The moving member 50 includes a bolt 51 and engaging members 52 and 53. The bolt 51 movably penetrates the elongated hole 45. One of the engaging members 52 is splined to the head 51a of the bolt 51 and is prevented from coming off by the E ring 54,
A detent claw 52a that engages with the long hole 45 is formed.
The other engaging member 53 is inserted through the threaded portion 51b of the bolt 51 at its insertion opening 53c to form a detent claw 53a that engages with the long hole 45, and as shown in FIG. An uneven engaging portion 53b that meshes with the uneven portion 46 is formed.
Further, a cam portion 55 is formed on the side opposite to the claw 53a. As shown in FIG. 6, the cam portion 55 is formed by alternately forming high portions 55a and low portions 55b on the outer circumference of the insertion opening 53c. Further, the bolt 51 has a collar 5 between the side wall portions 40a and 40b.
6 is loosely fitted. On the other hand, the tilt bracket 34 has an arc-shaped support portion that engages with and is supported by the collar 56.
36 are formed.

The fixing device 60 is formed by forming a nut portion 62 on the operation lever 61. The nut portion 62 is provided with a screw portion 62a that is screwed into the screw portion 51b of the bolt 51, and in particular, as shown in FIG. 6, a clamp cam portion 63 is formed on the inlet side of the screw portion 62a. The clamp cam portion 63 has a mountain portion 63a and a valley portion 63b alternately formed on the circumference in the same manner as the cam portion 55 of the engaging member 53, and the cam portion 55a is tightened when the screw portion 62a is tightened. Of the clamp cam portion 63 is set so as to come into contact with each other, and when the screw portion 62a is loosened about 1/8 of a turn, the mountain portion 63a of the clamp cam portion 63 becomes Is set to face the lower part 55b of the. Reference numeral 64 denotes a spring, which is arranged between the nut portion 62 and the engaging member 53 in a compressed state and biases the nut portion 62 in a direction of separating from the engaging member 53. Reference numeral 65 denotes a spring, which is stretched between the tilt bracket 34 and the operation lever 61, and the operation lever 61 is attached to the nut portion.
62 is urged in the tightening direction with respect to the bolt 51.

The jump lever 70 is rotatably supported by the collar 56 and has an engagement groove 72 that engages with a lock pin 71 provided on the tilt bracket 34. Engagement groove 72 is a lock pin
71 and the support portion 36 of the tilt bracket 34 to the collar 56.
It has a pressing surface 72a that presses against. During this engagement, the fixed mounting 60 and the steering column 30 are connected via the tilt bracket 34. 74 is a coil spring, which is attached to the collar 56 in a twisted state, both ends 74a and 74b are locked in the locking holes 75 of the jump lever 70, and the intermediate portion 74c is pulled to the erection member 41 of the fixed bracket 40. The jump lever 70 is always urged in the engaging direction of the engagement groove 72 with respect to the lock pin 71. Reference numeral 76 denotes an operating rod of the jump lever 70 as a releasing means, which is rotated clockwise in FIG. 2 to release the engagement between the engagement groove 72 and the lock pin 71. Reference numeral 77 denotes a protruding portion of the jump lever 70, which is provided on the lock pin 71 so that the jump lever 70 does not rotate excessively by the biasing force of the coil spring 74 after the engagement between the engagement groove 72 and the lock pin 71 is released. Its length is set so as to abut.

The flip-up device 80 includes a swing slider crank mechanism including a link 81, a slider 82, and a slider member 83, and a coil spring 84 as an elastic member.

The link 81 is formed in a U-shaped cross section and has side walls 81a and 81a.
A through hole 85 is formed at one end of b, and the through hole 85 is rotatably supported by a rotary shaft 86 installed on the fixed bracket 40. Incidentally, 85a is a bush fitted in the through hole 85. The slider 82 is formed of a pin member and is installed between mounting holes 87 formed at the other ends of the side walls 81a and 81b of the link 81. The slide member 83 is formed with an elongated hole 88 through which the slider 82 penetrates, and the elongated hole 88 is fixed to the tilt bracket 34 as a pair along the axis of the steering column 30 by sliding on the elongated hole 88 of the slider 82. The steering column 30 is set to swing. As shown in FIG. 5, the coil spring 84 is wound around the rotary shaft 86 in a twisted state, and has one end locked to the erection member 41 of the fixed bracket 40 and the other end locked to the bottom wall 81c of the link 81. I'm always a link 81
Is urged in the clockwise direction R2 in FIG. 2 (the direction in which the steering column 30 is swung upward).

Then, the jump lever 70 is engaged with the lock pin 71, and the nut portion 62 of the operation lever 61 for the bolt 51 is
When the steering column is loosened,
30 is swingable within the range of the long hole 45 of the fixed bracket 40 where the bolt 51 moves, that is, within the range where the slider 82 slides on the lower side 1 of the long hole 88 of the slide member 83.
As shown in the figure, it can be located between the upper limit position A and the lower limit position B. C is a neutral position, which is an intermediate position between the upper limit position A and the lower limit position B.

When the jump lever 70 is disengaged from the lock pin 71, the slider 82 moves the upper end 88 of the elongated hole 88 of the slide member 83 by the urging force of the coil spring 84.
When a is reached, the steering column 30 is set to the flip-up position D at this position. In this position, as shown in FIG. 7, the end edges 89 of the side walls 81a and 81b of the link 81 come into contact with the projection 78 forming the engaging groove 72 of the jump lever 70, and the jump lever 70 is locked by the lock pin. It is designed to be held in the disengaged position of 71.

Next, the operation of the tilt device having the above configuration will be described.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 2, the steering column 30 is set to the neutral position C. In this state, the jump lever 70 is engaged with the lock pin 71 of the tilt bracket 34 in the engagement groove 72, and the nut portion 62 of the operation lever 61 is in a tightened state with respect to the bolt 51.
Further, the slider 82 of the flip-up device 80 is located below the elongated hole 88 of the slide member 83.

When performing the tilt operation from this state, the operation lever 61
Is rotated clockwise A1 in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the screw portion 62a of the nut portion 62 is loosened from the screw portion 51b of the bolt 51, and the crest portion 63a of the clamp cam portion 63 is raised to the high portion of the cam portion 55. Remove from 55a. In this case, if the rotation of the operation lever 61 is about 1/8 rotation,
Since the mountain portion 63a and the lower portion 55b face each other, the gap between them becomes large, and accordingly, the bolt 51 becomes axially movable via the spline coupling portion of the head portion 51a. Therefore, the tightening force is abruptly relieved by a slight rotation of the operation lever 61, and the bolt 51 is more likely to move in the long hole 45 of the fixing bracket 40. If the operation lever 61 is rotated more than 1/8 turn,
Since the 63 and the cam portion 55 are sufficiently separated from each other, the tightening force is relaxed. In this state, the bolt 51 can move in the long hole 45. Then, in order to determine the optimum driving position of the steering wheel (not shown), the steering column 30 is swung between the upper limit position A and the lower limit position B and set to a desired position. In this case, the bolt 51 moves integrally with the steering column 30 via the jump lever 70 and moves in the long hole 45. At this time, the engaging members 52 and 53 also move along with the bolts 51, but as shown in FIG. Since it engages with the concave-convex portion 46 of the 40, it moves in a stepwise manner with respect to the fixed bracket 40. Therefore, there is a feeling of moderation and the tilt operation is comfortable. Further, during the tilting operation, the slider 82 of the flip-up device 80 slides in the range of the lower side portion 1 of the elongated hole 88 of the slide member 83.

After setting the steering column 30 to the desired position, the operation lever 61 may be released. Then, the operating lever 61 is rotated counterclockwise A2 in FIG. 2 by the urging force of the spring 65, so that the nut portion 62 is tightened with respect to the bolt 51, and the bolt 51 is fixed to the fixing bracket 40. At the same time, the steering column 30 connected via the jump lever 70 is positioned.

In addition, when the steering column 30 is flipped up when the occupant gets on and off, the following operation is performed. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the operating rod 76 of the jump lever 70 is rotated clockwise R1. Then, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the engagement between the engagement groove 72 and the lock pin 71 is released. At this time, the link 81 is rotated by the urging force of the coil spring 84,
The slider 82 slides in the long hole 88 of the long hole 88 of the slide member 83 through the long hole 88, and the steering column 30 is lifted by the slider 82 and set to the flip-up position D. In this case, since the slider 82 slides in the long hole 88, the sliding resistance does not cause the steering column 30 to suddenly jump up. Therefore, for example, the impact is reduced as compared with the case where the steering column 30 is simply springed up. To be done.
Further, in this case, the bolt 51 and the operating lever 61 maintain the fixed state with respect to the fixed bracket 40.

At the flip-up position D, since the angle formed by the link 81 and the elongated hole 88 (θ in FIG. 7) around the upper end 88a of the elongated hole 88 is an acute angle, even if a downward load is applied to the steering wheel, Although the link 81 tries to rotate clockwise, the link 81 does not move because the slider 82 is in contact with the upper end 88a of the elongated hole. Therefore, the steering column 30 is locked at the flip-up position D.

Furthermore, when returning from the flip-up position D to the original optimum driving position, the jump lever
When the 70 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (arrow R3), the protrusion 78 abuts the side walls 81a, 81b of the link 81 and the edges 89 to rotate the link 81 counterclockwise. Then, with the angle θ formed by the link 81 and the long hole 88 being an obtuse angle, the steering column
Push down 30. In this case, when the jump lever 70 is in the released state, the protruding portion 77 is in contact with the lock pin 71 of the tilt bracket 34 by the biasing force of the coil spring 74, and the lock pin 71 is lowered when the steering column 30 is lowered. The protruding portion 77 reaches the engaging groove 72 while pushing and expanding the protruding portion 77 against the biasing force of the coil spring 74, and engages with the engaging groove 72 as shown in FIG. Further, the slider 82 of the flip-up device 80 is also pushed down against the biasing force of the coil spring 84, and is positioned at the lower side portion 1 of the long hole 88 of the slide member 83. At this time, since the bolt 51 is in a fixed state and the optimum driving position of the steering column 30 is mechanically stored, the original position can be immediately reproduced. Furthermore, as shown in FIG.
The engaging groove 72 presses the lock pin 71 on the pressing surface 72a, and the support portion 36 of the tilt bracket 34 is pressed against the bolt 51 via the collar 56, so that the steering column 30 is positioned without rattling. It

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the tilting device of the present invention, when the steering column is flipped up, the moving member and the fixing means can be held in a stationary state while being fixed to the fixing bracket. Since the shape of the panel is not restricted, the weight of the flip-up component can be reduced, and the spring force of the flip-up spring does not need to be strong, a small and lightweight tilt device can be obtained.

Further, since the slider of the flip-up device slides on the slide member (in the embodiment, the long hole of the slide member) to flip up the steering column, the steering column is not suddenly jumped up due to the sliding resistance between the slider and the slide member. It is possible to prevent abnormal noise and vibration when the steering column stops jumping up.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a tilting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing its assembled state, FIG. 3 is a plan view of III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 2 sectional view taken along line IV-IV,
FIG. 5 is a sectional view corresponding to line VV in FIG. 2 showing a state at the time of flipping up, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an essential part showing a configuration of a fixing device, FIG.
FIGS. 8 and 9 are views showing the action of the tilting device, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the action at the time of flipping up, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the state when returning from the flip up position to the original position, FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a conventional tilt device. T ... Tilt device 30 ... Steering column 30a ... Base end 31 ... Car body 40 ... Fixed bracket 50 ... Moving member 60 ... Fixing means 70 ... Coupling means 76 ... Release means 80 ... Bounce device 81 ... Link 82 ... Slider 83 ... Slide Member 84 ... Elastic member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tilting device for a steering column, wherein a base end portion of a steering column is rotatably supported on a vehicle body, and a fixed bracket fixed to the vehicle body, and a rotation fulcrum of the steering column on the fixed bracket. A connecting member that movably engages as a center and a fixing unit that fixes the moving member to a fixing bracket at a desired position, and connects the moving member to the steering column in a fixed distance relationship. Means, a releasing means for releasing the connection of the connecting means, and a flip-up device for flipping the steering column upward when the connection is released, and the flip-up device includes the fixing bracket and the A link is pivotally supported on either one of the steering columns, a slider is attached to this link, and the steering A steering column is provided with an elastic member for urging the link in a direction of swinging the ring column upward, and a slide member for swinging the steering column by sliding of the slider is fixed to the other side. Tilt device.