JPH08101033A - Device for detecting angle of rotation of steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To detect the angle of rotation of a steering wheel with good accuracy. CONSTITUTION: A recessed section 14 is formed at the central part of the lower surface of a steering wheel 11. A holding section 15 which holds a pin 25 in a point-contact state in the rotating direction of the wheel 11 is integrally formed at the opening of the recessed section 14. A rotation angle detector 16 houses an annular rotating section 18 in a rotatable state and the pin 25 is erected on the circumference of the section 18. When the wheel 11 is rotated, the recessed section 14 is also rotated and the pin 25 makes revolving movement together with the section 14 regardless of the rotating direction of the section 14. As a result, the rotating section 18 of the detector 16 is rotated. Therefore, the angle of rotation of the wheel 11 can be always detected with high accuracy. Even when the detector 16 is attached to an inclined or eccentric position, the rotating section 18 can be smoothly rotated by absorbing the attaching error of the detector, because the holding section 15 holds the pin 25 in the point-contact state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering system in which the rotation of a steering wheel is transmitted to an annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means provided concentrically with the steering wheel to detect the rotation angle. The present invention relates to a wheel rotation angle detection device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type, for example, there is one as shown in FIGS. This one is
A steering wheel 2 is fixed to the upper end of the steering shaft 1.
A cylindrical connecting member 3 also serving as a member for detecting a rotation angle is arranged in a central portion of the lower surface of the steering wheel 1 so as to be inserted into the steering shaft 1. As shown in FIG. 10, at the upper end of the connecting member 3, three pins 3a are formed on the circumference, and the pins 3a are fitting recesses 2a formed at corresponding positions of the steering wheel 2. It is inserted inside.
The connecting member 3 is rotated via the pin 3a as the steering wheel 2 rotates.

The rotation angle detector 4 has an annular rotating portion 6 rotatably provided in an annular case 5, and the lower end of the connecting member 3 is inserted into the steering shaft 1. And the case 5 is fixed to a support (not shown). An engaging pin 6a protruding in the inner diameter direction is formed in the rotating portion 6, and an engaging notch portion 3b formed in the lower end portion of the connecting member 3 along the axial direction.
It is arranged to engage with. A ring-shaped slit plate 7 is fixed to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating portion 6, and a large number of slits are formed along the circumferential direction thereof. A photo interrupter 8 is disposed on the case 5 side so as to sandwich the slit plate 7 from the outer peripheral portion.

With the above structure, the steering wheel 2
When is rotated, the connecting member 3 is rotated accordingly,
Further, the rotation unit 6 of the rotation angle detector 4 is rotated. Then, as the slit plate 7 of the rotating unit 6 rotates, the photo interrupter 8 detects the light reception signal of the light passing through the slit of the slit plate 7, and the steering wheel 2 is detected from the magnitude and phase of the light reception signal.
It becomes possible to obtain signals corresponding to the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the.

[0005]

By the way, in general, when the rotation angle detector 4 is assembled, it is difficult to make the center of the rotation axis completely coincide with the center of the rotation axis of the steering shaft 1. You need to anticipate. Therefore, in order to smoothly rotate the rotating portion 6 of the rotation angle detector 4 even when the positions of the two rotation axes are displaced, for example, the fitting recess 2a of the steering wheel 2 and the coupling member 3 are engaged with each other. Between the pin 3a and the notch portion 3b of the connecting member 3 and the engaging pin 6 of the rotating portion 6.
A dimensional margin called so-called play is provided in each of the rotation directions with respect to a.

However, because of such play, when the steering wheel 2 is rotated only in one direction, on the contrary, the rotating portion 6 of the rotation angle detector 4 may rotate following the rotation. However, when the steering wheel 2 is rotated in the opposite direction, the rotating portion 6 is rotated after the steering wheel 2 has idled by the amount of the backlash, and therefore the rotation of the steering wheel 2 is detected by the rotation angle detection. There is a problem in that it cannot be accurately transmitted to the rotating portion 6 of the container 4, and the detection accuracy of the rotation angle cannot be improved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a steering wheel rotation angle detecting device capable of accurately detecting the rotation angle of a steering wheel regardless of the rotation direction. To provide.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the rotation of a steering wheel is transmitted to an annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means provided concentrically with the steering wheel to detect the rotation angle. And a pin corresponding to the pin of the steering wheel, the pin being provided upright in the rotation axis direction of the steering wheel on the circumference of the annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means. A recess formed so that the pin is inserted thereinto, and a holding portion which is provided in the recess and holds the pin in contact with only from both sides corresponding to the rotation direction of the steering wheel. It has a characteristic (Claim 1).

Further, according to the present invention, in the above object, the pin erected at a position corresponding to the annular rotating portion of the steering wheel and the pin entering the annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means. The formed recess,
The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a holding portion which is provided in this recess and which holds the pin in contact with only from both sides corresponding to the rotation direction of the steering wheel (claim 2).

In each of the above-mentioned configurations, it is preferable that the concave portion integrally has the holding portion formed in a convex shape so as to sandwich the pin from both sides in the opening (claim 3). .

Further, the holding portion may be composed of a U-shaped spring member that sandwiches the pin from both sides (claim 4).

Further, it is preferable that the holding portion is formed so that a cross section of a contact portion holding the pin has an arc shape.

[0013]

According to the rotation angle detecting device for a steering wheel of the present invention, when the steering wheel is rotated, the pin that is inserted into the recess is rotated, and the annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means is rotated. To be moved,
The rotation angle can be detected. At this time, the pins that are erected on the annular rotating portion are in contact with each other from both sides in the rotation direction by the holding portion of the recess of the steering wheel, so that the rotation of the pin is prevented regardless of the rotation direction of the steering wheel. It will rotate together. As a result, the rotation angle of the steering wheel can be detected accurately in any direction.

Further, in the above-mentioned case, when the annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means and the steering wheel are deviated from the concentric circles and are attached in an eccentric state due to an assembly error or the like, when the steering wheel rotates,
When the pin inserted in the recess rotates, the pin and the recess become relatively displaced, but since the pin is held by the holding portion of the recess only in the contacting direction with respect to the rotation direction, The error can be absorbed by moving between the two with respect to such a radial deviation. Furthermore, this also applies to the case where the rotation axis of the steering wheel and the rotation axis of the annular rotation part of the rotation angle detection means are mounted in an inclined manner,
The pin can be offset from the holding portion of the recess in the rotation axis direction to absorb the error.

Even when an error occurs during such assembly, the pin is rotated while being held in the holding portion without causing an error in the rotation direction of the steering wheel, so that the steering wheel is rotated. The rotation angle of the wheel can be accurately detected.

In the steering wheel rotation angle detecting device according to the second aspect of the invention, contrary to the above configuration, the pin is provided in the steering wheel and the recess is provided in the annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means. However, since there is no change in the relative configuration of the two, the same effect can be obtained.

According to the rotation angle detecting device for a steering wheel of the third aspect, since the holding portion is integrally provided in the concave portion, the structure can be made simple and highly reliable.

According to the rotation angle detecting device of the steering wheel of the fourth aspect, since the holding portion is constituted by the U-shaped spring member, when the pin is held, the pin is held between the two due to the eccentricity described above. Even when a stress is applied, it can be flexibly absorbed and smoothly rotated.

According to the rotation angle detection device of the steering wheel of the fifth aspect, the pin is inclined with respect to the holding portion when the rotation axes of the rotation angle detection means and the steering wheel are inclined. Even if it is, the cross section of the holding part is arcuate, so it is possible to always make a point contact state or a line contact state between them, and prevent excessive stress on the pin as much as possible. Therefore, the annular rotating part can be always kept in a smooth rotating state.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows a vertical side surface of the overall configuration. A steering wheel 11 (only a portion near the center of rotation is shown in the figure) disposed in a driver's seat portion of an automobile or the like is viewed from the floor side. It is fixed to the tip of the provided steering shaft 12.
A cylindrical cancel cam 13 for canceling the setting of the turn indicator is inserted through the steering shaft 12. An engagement pin 13a that fits into a recess 11a formed on the lower surface side of the steering wheel 11 is formed on the peripheral edge of the upper end of the cancel cam 13, whereby the cancel cam 13 is rotated along with the rotation of the steering wheel 11. Is designed to be rotated.

On the lower surface of the steering wheel 11, there is formed a recess 14 which is long in the radial direction and extends in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the concave portion 14 is integrally provided with a holding portion 15 formed so as to project from both sides in an arc shape when viewed in a cross section in the rotation direction of the steering wheel 11. Has been.

As shown in the top view of FIG. 2, the rotation angle detector 16 serving as the rotation angle detecting means has an inner case in which a ring-shaped rotating portion 18 is housed in a ring-shaped outer case 17. The case 19 is fitted and the inner case 19 is fixed to the outer case 17 with a screw 20. The rotating portion 18 is rotatably provided in a retaining state. An annular slit plate 21 is fixed to the rotating portion 18.

The slit plate 21 has a large number of slits radially formed along the circumferential direction. The photo interrupter 22 for detecting the rotation angle of the slit plate 21 includes the light projecting unit 2
3 and the light receiving section 24 are arranged so as to be opposed to each other so as to form a "U" shape, and the outer case 1 is formed so that the outer peripheral portion of the slit plate 21 is sandwiched between the light projecting section 23 and the light receiving section 24.
7 is fixed. In this case, the photo interrupter 2
Two pairs of the light emitting / receiving elements are arranged in the two light emitting portions 23 and the light receiving portions 24 in the rotational direction with an interval (half pitch) of half the slit width of the slit plate 21 therebetween. As will be described later, the rotation direction is detected.

Further, a pin 25 is fixed to the rotating portion 18 so as to project upward, that is, toward the steering wheel 11 side, so as to rotate integrally. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the pin 25 is arranged so as to enter the concave portion 14 of the steering wheel 11, and is held by the holding portion 15 of the steering wheel 11.
Are held in a point contact state on both sides in the rotation direction.

The rotation angle detector 16 constructed in this way
Is the steering shaft 12 and the cancel cam 1.
In the state in which it is inserted in 3, the three fixing portions 17a formed on the outer peripheral portion of the outer case 17 are fixed to the supporting portion 26 provided on the driver side by screws 27.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When the steering wheel 11 is rotated and the concave portion 14 formed on the lower surface side is rotationally moved, the pin 25 is rotationally moved accordingly. Then, the rotation part 18 of the rotation angle detector 16 is rotated by an angle corresponding to the rotation angle of the steering wheel 11. At this time, since the slit plate 21 of the rotating unit 18 rotates integrally, the number of slits corresponding to the rotation angle is moved, and the photo interrupter 22 can detect the number of passing slits. Become.

That is, the light receiving section 24 of the photo interrupter 22 outputs a light receiving signal of "H" level or "L" level as shown in FIG. 4 in response to the passage of the slit. Since the rotation angle for one slit is known in advance, the rotation angle of the steering wheel 11 can be detected according to the number of passing slits. Further, at this time, since the two pairs of light emitting / receiving elements are arranged at positions displaced by a half pitch with respect to the slit, the order is switched to the rising phase of each light receiving signal according to the rotation direction of the slit plate 21. Therefore, the rotation direction can be detected.

In the above case, the pin 25 fixed to the rotating portion 18 is held in a point contact state with respect to the rotating direction by the holding portion 15 formed in the recess 14 on the steering wheel 11 side. Therefore, as the steering wheel 11 rotates, the steering wheel 11 integrally rotates. Therefore, the rotation angle of the steering wheel 11 can always be detected accurately regardless of the rotation direction.

Further, in the above-mentioned case, when the rotating portion 18 of the rotation angle detector 16 and the steering wheel 11 are deviated from the concentric circles and are attached in an eccentric state due to an assembly error or the like, the steering wheel 11 rotates. When the pin 25 inserted in the recess 14 is rotated, the pin 25 and the recess 14 are relatively displaced from each other, but the pin 25 comes into point contact with the holding direction of the recess 14 in the rotation direction. Since it is held in the state, it is possible to absorb the error by moving between the two with respect to such a deviation in the radial direction.

Further, even when the steering shaft 12 and the rotary shaft of the rotary portion 18 of the rotary angle detector 16 are mounted in a state of being inclined to each other, the pin 25 holds the concave portion 14 in the same manner. The deviation from the portion 15 in the rotation axis direction makes it possible to absorb the error.

Even if an error occurs during such an assembly, the pin 25 is fixed to the steering wheel 1.
The rotation angle of the steering wheel 11 can be accurately detected because the rotation is performed while being held by the holding portion 15 without causing an error with respect to the rotation direction of 1.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show the second embodiment of the present invention, and the portions different from the first embodiment will be described below. That is, in the present embodiment, the concave portion 14 formed on the lower surface side of the steering wheel 11 and the holding portion 15 formed at the opening thereof are configured such that the U-shaped spring member 29 is attached to the concave portion 28. is there.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the spring member 29 has a U shape when viewed in a cross section in the rotating direction of the steering wheel 11, and has an arc shape on the side facing the tip end portion thereof. The two bent holding portions 30 and 30 are formed, whereby the pin 25 is elastically held in a point contact state.

According to the above construction, the rotation angle of the steering wheel 11 can be detected accurately regardless of the rotation direction of the steering wheel 11 in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the pin 25 can be elastically moved by the holding portion 30. Since it is held, even if the center of the rotating shaft is eccentric or tilted, the error can be flexibly absorbed and the rotating portion 18 can be smoothly rotated.

FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the steering wheel 11 is provided with a pin 31 and the rotation angle detector 1 is provided.
The receiving portion 33 that forms the concave portion 32 is provided in the rotating portion 18 of No. 6. A tap 31a is formed on the pin 31 and is fixed to the steering wheel 11 side so as to stand upright in the rotation axis direction. The receiving portion 33 is fixed to the rotating portion 18, and an arc-shaped holding portion 34 is integrally formed in the opening portion as in the first embodiment. Therefore, according to the third embodiment as described above, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the second embodiment is that the steering wheel 11 is provided with a pin 31 and is rotated as in the third embodiment. The rotating portion 18 of the angle detector 16 has a recess 35.
A U-shaped spring member 29 that forms is formed. Therefore, the same working effect as that of the second embodiment can be obtained by the fourth embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows. The two sets of the light emitting element and the light receiving element may be integrally provided, or may be separately provided at positions separated by a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction. The light receiving section may be configured to have a photodiode or another light receiving element other than the phototransistor.

[0038]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the steering wheel rotation angle detecting device of the present invention,
The following effects can be obtained. According to the steering wheel rotation angle detection device of the first aspect, the pin is provided upright on the circumference of the annular rotation portion of the rotation angle detection means, and the pin enters the position corresponding to the pin of the steering wheel. Since the pin is configured to be held by the holding portions that contact only from both sides corresponding to the rotation direction of the steering wheel, it is integrated with the rotation regardless of the rotation direction of the steering wheel. The rotating portion can be rotated, and the rotation angle of the steering wheel can be accurately detected in any direction.

Further, in the above-mentioned case, due to an assembling error or the like, the annular rotation part of the rotation angle detection means and the steering wheel are deviated from the concentric circles and are attached in an eccentric state, or their rotation axes are inclined. Even if it is mounted in a closed state, it becomes possible to rotate the pin integrally only in the rotation direction, absorb the deviation due to the error amount, and smoothly rotate the circular ring-shaped rotating part. It has an excellent effect that it is possible to improve.

According to the rotation angle detecting device of the steering wheel of the second aspect, contrary to the above-mentioned structure, the pin is provided in the steering wheel and the recess is provided in the annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means. However, since there is no change in the relative configuration of the two, the same effect can be obtained.

According to the steering wheel rotation angle detecting device of the third aspect of the invention, since the holding portion is integrally provided in the recessed portion, an excellent effect that the structure can be made simple and highly reliable can be obtained. Play.

According to the rotation angle detecting device of the steering wheel of the fourth aspect, since the holding portion is constituted by the U-shaped spring member, when the pin is held, the pin is held between the two due to the eccentricity described above. Even if a stress is applied, it has an excellent effect that it can be flexibly absorbed and smoothly rotated.

According to the rotation angle detecting device of the steering wheel of the fifth aspect, the pin is inclined with respect to the holding portion when the rotation axes of the rotation angle detecting means and the steering wheel are inclined. Even if it is, the cross section of the holding part is arcuate, so it is possible to always make a point contact state or a line contact state between them, and prevent excessive stress on the pin as much as possible. As a result, an excellent effect that the annular rotating portion can be always kept in a smooth rotating state is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of the overall configuration showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing a rotation angle detector with a part thereof broken away.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view in which a pin and a concave portion are cut in a rotational direction.

FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram of a detection signal

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the connecting member.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 is a steering wheel, 12 is a steering shaft, 14, 28, 32, 35 are concave portions, 15, 30, 3
4 is a holding unit, 16 is a rotation angle detector (rotation angle detecting means), 18 is a rotation unit (annular rotation unit), 21 is a slit plate, 22 is a photo interrupter, 23 is a light projecting unit, 24 is a light receiving unit, Reference numerals 25 and 31 are pins, 29 is a spring member, and 33 is a receiving portion.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A steering wheel rotation angle detection device for transmitting rotation of a steering wheel to an annular rotation portion of the rotation angle detection means concentrically provided with the steering wheel to detect the rotation angle. In the above, a pin that is erected in the rotation axis direction of the steering wheel on the circumference of the annular rotation part of the rotation angle detection means, and the pin is formed so as to enter the position corresponding to the pin of the steering wheel. A rotation angle detecting device for a steering wheel, comprising: a concave portion; and a holding portion which is provided in the concave portion and holds the pin in a state of contacting only from both sides corresponding to a rotation direction of the steering wheel. 2. A steering wheel rotation angle detecting device for transmitting the rotation of the steering wheel to an annular rotating portion of the rotation angle detecting means concentrically provided with the steering wheel to detect the rotation angle. In the above, a pin that is erected at a position corresponding to the annular rotation portion of the steering wheel, a recess formed so that the pin enters the annular rotation portion of the rotation angle detection means, and a recess provided in this recess are provided. And a holding portion which holds the pin in a state of contacting only from both sides corresponding to the rotation direction of the steering wheel. 3. The concave portion is configured to integrally have the holding portion formed in a convex shape so as to sandwich the pin from both sides in an opening portion of the concave portion. Steering wheel rotation angle detection device. 4. The rotation angle detection device for a steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein the holding portion is formed of a U-shaped spring member that sandwiches the pin from both sides. 5. The rotation angle detecting device for a steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein a cross section of a contact portion that holds the pin of the holding portion is formed in an arc shape. .