JPH1059194A - Cable type steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent application of load on a fixed part of a wire end part to a pulley for improving durability in a cable type steering device in which a handle and a gear box are connected to each other by a wire. SOLUTION: A pin 15 fixed on a tip of an inner cable 5i, 6i of a Bowden wire is fixed on a pin hole 13s formed in a right and a left end surface of a drive pulley 13, the inner cable 5i, 6i connected to the pin 15 is engaged in a spirally formed wire fixing groove 133 formed in the right and left end surface of the drive pulley 13 to be fixed, and the inner cable 5i, 6i is wound on a pulley groove in a circumferential surface of the drive pulley 13. Tension of the inner cable 5i, 6i is supported by friction force applied between the inner cable 5i, 6i and the wire fixing groove 133 , thereby application of load on a fixing part of the inner cable 5i, 6i to the pin 15 can be avoided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cable-type steering device in which a handle and a gear box are connected by a flexible cable such as Bowden wire.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional steering apparatus for a vehicle has a rack-and-shaft system in which a lower end of a steering shaft having a handle at an upper end is connected to a gear box, and steering torque input to the handle is provided in the gear box via the steering shaft. It was to transmit to the pinion mechanism.

However, when the steering wheel is connected to the gearbox using the steering shaft, it is difficult to freely select the relative position of the steering wheel with respect to the position of the gearbox. There is a problem that the gearbox cannot be shared between the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle. Moreover,
Since vibrations input to the tires from the road surface and vibrations of the engine are input to the steering wheel via the steering shaft, there is a problem that the vibrations impair the quietness in the room and the riding comfort.

Therefore, a cable-type steering device using a flexible transmission means such as a Bowden wire instead of the conventional steering shaft has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-2431).

[0005] This makes it possible to freely select the relative position of the steering wheel with respect to the position of the gear box, and it is difficult to transmit the vibration of the gear box to the steering wheel. be able to.

[0006]

By the way, in the above-mentioned prior art, the fixing portion between the end of the wire and the pulley is formed by inserting a pin fixed to the end of the wire by casting or caulking into a pin hole formed in the end surface of the pulley. It has a fixed structure,
When the pulley rotates and the wire is rewound, the tension of the wire directly acts on the pin, and the durability of the fixing portion may be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to reduce the load applied to a fixed portion between a wire end and a pulley to improve durability.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a spiral pulley groove of a driving pulley connected to a steering wheel and a spiral pulley connected to a gear box for steering wheels are provided. Since both ends of the wire were wound around the pulley groove and the pins fixed to both ends of the wire were fixed to the pin holes formed in the drive pulley and the driven pulley,
The steering torque of the steering wheel is transmitted to the gear box via the wire, and the wheels are steered. At this time, a wire fixing groove connecting the pin hole and the pulley groove was formed on the end faces of the driving pulley and the driven pulley over a central angle of at least 90 °, and the wire was fitted into the wire fixing groove. A load is prevented from acting on the fixed portion between the wire and the pin due to the frictional force acting between the groove and the wire.

If the wire fixing groove is formed in a spiral or corrugated shape, a wire fixing groove having a sufficient length can be formed within a limited area of the end faces of the driving pulley and the driven pulley.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a vehicle steering system, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the driving pulley, and FIG.
It is a 5-line enlarged sectional view.

As shown in FIG. 1, a drive pulley housing 2 provided in front of a steering wheel 1 of an automobile and a driven pulley housing 4 provided in a gear box 3 are connected by two Bowden wires 5 and 6. . Gear box 3
Tie rods 8 _L , 8 extending from both ends of
_R is connected left and right wheels W _L, a W _R to a knuckle which supports (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, a driving pulley 13 is fixed to a rotating shaft 12 rotatably supported by the driving pulley housing 2 and rotating together with the handle 1. The Bowden wire 5 includes an outer tube 5o and an inner cable 5i that is slidably housed inside the outer tube 5o.
And an inner cable 6i that is slidably housed therein.

One end of each of the inner cables 5i and 6i is wound around the outer periphery of the drive pulley 13 and fixed, and one end of the outer tubes 5o and 6o is connected to the drive pulley housing 2.
Two cable through-holes 2 _1, 2 ₂ formed therethrough, the flange portion 5 _1, 6 ₁ is fixed to the inner surface of the driving pulley housing 2.

[0015] FIGS. 2-4 as apparent from, the outer peripheral surface of the drive pulley 13 and a spiral pulley groove 13 ₁ is formed, both inner cables 5 to the pulley groove 13 ₁
i, 6i are wound. That is, both inner cables 5i, 6i is wound by the axially central portion of the pulley groove 13 ₁ towards the end surface of the right and left of the drive pulley 13 respectively about 2 rotate away from each other of the drive pulley 13 (720 °) . The end faces of right and left drive pulley 13, the spiral wire fixing groove 13 ₂ continuous to both ends of the pulley groove 13 _1, 13 ₃ are formed. Each wire fixing groove 13
_2, 13 ₃ is formed over substantially 450 °, the left and right end faces in each pin hole 13 ₄ of the drive pulley 13 so as to be continuous to the front end, 13 ₅ are formed. Both inner cables 5i, pins 14 and 15 are secured by casting or caulking the tip of 6i is fitted into the pin holes 13 _4, 13 _5, both inner cables extending from the pin 14, 15 5
i, after 6i is fitted by press-fitting inside the wire fixing groove 13 _2, 13 _3, is wound around the pulley groove 13 _1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the gear box 3 is divided into a left motor storage chamber 18 and a right rack and pinion storage chamber 19, and the driven pulley housing 4 is provided in the rack and pinion storage chamber 19. Supported. Driven pulley 20 provided in driven pulley housing 4
The rotation shaft 21 integrated with the rack-and-pinion storage chamber 19
Into which the pinion 22 is fixed. Inside the gear box 3, both ends are the tie rods 8 _L ,
8 steering rod 23 connected to the _R is supported freely lateral slide, the steering rod 23
The pinion 22 is engaged with the rack 24 formed in the above.

The other ends of the inner cables 5i, 6i of the two Bowden wires 5, 6 are fixedly wound around the outer periphery of the driven pulley 20, and the other ends of the outer tubes 5o, 6o are connected to the driven pulley housing 4. It is fixed at an appropriate position. The structure for fixing the other ends of the inner cables 5i and 6i to the driven pulley 20 is substantially the same as that for the driving pulley 13 described above, and a duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

The power steering motor 25 housed in the motor housing 18 of the gear box 3 has a stator 26 fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the motor housing 18 and three motors 26 on the inner circumferential surface of the motor housing 18. Ball bearing 27,2
A motor output shaft 30 rotatably supported via the steering wheels 8 and 29 and fitted on the outer periphery of the steering rod 23, and a rotor 31 fixed to the motor output shaft 30 and facing the stator 26. A ball screw mechanism 32 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the motor output shaft 30 and the outer peripheral surface of the steering rod 23.
The motor 25 is driven to rotate the motor output shaft 30 in the normal and reverse directions, so that the steering rod 2
The steering assist force that reciprocates the steering wheel 3 in the left-right direction can be generated.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

For example, when the steering wheel 1 is rotated to the left to turn the vehicle to the left, the rotating shaft 12 rotates clockwise together with the driving pulley 13 in FIG. as a result,
The inner cable 5i of the Bowden wire 5 is pulled,
When the inner cable 6i of the Bowden wire 6 is loosened, the rotation of the driving pulley 13 causes the driven pulley 20 to rotate.
, The rotation shaft 21 rotates, and the steering torque is transmitted to the rack 24 via the pinion 22.

When the steering torque is detected by detecting means (not shown), the detected value of the steering torque is subjected to arithmetic processing in the electronic control unit together with other control signals, and the power steering motor 25 is driven based on the result. You. Thus, the steering rod 23 is driven in the left-right direction by the power steering motor 25, and the operation of the steering wheel 1 by the driver is assisted.

As described above, since the handle 1 and the gear box 3 are connected by the Bowden wires 5 and 6, which are easily bent, the handle 1 can be arranged at an arbitrary position with respect to the gear box 3. The degree of freedom in design is greatly improved. Thus, for example, the gearbox 3 can be shared between the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle, and the structure of the tilt mechanism and the telescopic mechanism of the handle 1 can be simplified.

Further, since the conventional steering shaft connecting the steering wheel 1 and the gear box 3 is eliminated,
The vibration of the gear box 3 and the vibration of the engine are less likely to be transmitted to the steering wheel 1 so that the ride comfort is improved. In addition, the space under the driver's feet can be sufficiently secured to improve the comfort and the vehicle collision. At times, the handle 1 can be moved with a sufficient stroke toward the front of the vehicle body, so that a large shock absorbing effect can be exhibited.

Generally, the limit rotation angle of the handle 1 is d.
One and a half turn (540 °) left and right from the neutral state
The handle 1 to the limit position.
The drive pulley 13 in the neutral state
Pulley groove 13₁Wrapped in two turns each
One of the cables 5i and 6i has a pulley for the drive pulley 13.
Re-groove 13₁3 and a half turns around
Is the pulley groove 13 ₁Around a half turn
You. Thus, the inner cable for the drive pulley 13
When the wrapping amount of the le 5i and 6i decreases, the inner
The tension of the cables 5i and 6i is fixed to the pins 14 and 15.
And the durability of the fixed part is reduced.
there's a possibility that.

However, in this embodiment, the pins 14, 14
Since the end portions of the inner cables 5i, 6i connected to 15 are fitted into the wire fixing grooves 13 ₂ , 13 ₃ by press fitting, the inner cables 5i, 6i are formed at those portions.
A large frictional force between the wire fixing groove 13 _2, 13 ₃ is applied. As a result, the tension of the inner cables 5i and 6i does not directly act on the fixed portion with the pins 14 and 15, and the durability of the fixed portion is improved. Moreover, since the wire fixing grooves 13 ₂ and 13 ₃ are formed in a spiral shape around the rotation shaft 12, the wire fixing grooves 13 ₂ and 13 ₃ having a sufficient length are formed within a limited area of the end face of the driving pulley 13. In addition, a large frictional force can be applied to the inner cables 5i and 6i.

Incidentally, the durability of the fixed portions at the other ends of the inner cables 5i and 6i with respect to the driven pulley 20 is also improved by the same operation as described above.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the second embodiment, the wire fixing grooves 13 ₂ , 13
The shape of ₃ differs from that of the first embodiment. That is, in the present embodiment, the wire fixing grooves 13 ₂ and 13 ₃ are formed in a waveform over substantially 360 ° so as to surround the rotating shaft 12, and the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. be able to.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, in the embodiment, the wire fixing groove 1
3 _2, 13 ₃ is formed over the central angle of 450 ° or 360 °, but the central angle is possible to obtain a sufficient action and effect as long as 90 ° or more.

[0031]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, at least nine wire fixing grooves for connecting the pin holes and the pulley grooves are formed on the end faces of the driving pulley and the driven pulley.
Formed over the central angle of 0 °, and the wire was fitted into this wire fixing groove, the wire tension was supported by the frictional force acting between the wire and the wire fixing groove, and the wire and the pin were fixed at the fixing portion. The application of a load can be avoided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
Since the wire fixing groove is formed in a spiral shape, a wire fixing groove having a sufficient length can be formed within a limited area of the end faces of the driving pulley and the driven pulley.

According to the invention described in claim 3,
Even when the wire fixing groove is formed in a waveform, a wire fixing groove having a sufficient length can be formed within a limited area of the end faces of the driving pulley and the driven pulley.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a vehicle steering device.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a driving pulley.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view according to a second embodiment and corresponding to FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Handle 3 Gear box 5 Bowden wire (wire) 6 Bowden wire (wire) 13 Drive pulley 13 ₁ Pulley groove 13 ₂ Wire fixing groove 13 ₅ Wire fixing groove 13 ₄ Pin hole 13 ₅ Pin hole 14 Pin 15 Pin 20 Follower pulley W _L wheel W _R wheel

Claims (3)

[Claims] A drive pulley connected to a handle (1)
The spiral pulley groove of (13) (13)₁) And wheels (W_L,
W_RDriven) connected to gearbox (3) for steering
Wire (5, 5) is inserted into the spiral pulley groove of pulley (20).
6) Wrap both ends and wire
Pins (14, 15) fixed to both ends of (5, 6) are
Formed on the driving pulley (13) and the driven pulley (20)
Pin hole (13_Four, 13_Five) And handle (1)
The input steering torque is transmitted through the wires (5, 6).
Cable stearin transmitting to gearbox (3)
A driving pulley (13) and an end face of a driven pulley (20).
The pin hole (13_Four, 13_Five) And the pulley groove (1)
3₁) And a wire fixing groove (13)_Two, 13 _Three)
Over a central angle of at least 90 °.
Gear fixing groove (13_Two, 13_Three) To the wire (5,
6) Cable-type steerer characterized by fitting
Device. 2. The wire fixing groove (13 ₂ , 13 ₃ )
The cable-type steering device according to claim 1, wherein the spiral-shaped steering device is formed in a spiral shape. Wherein the wire fixing groove (13 _2, 13 ₃₎
2. The cable-type steering device according to claim 1, wherein the signal is formed in a waveform.