JPS61244665A - Regulator for position of angle - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the angular position of one member that is constrained to rotate with the other member, such as a steering wheel mounted on a steering column of an automobile.
The present invention relates to an adjustment device for adjusting the angular position of a wheel.

Currently, as such an adjustment device, two coupling shafts 7) are used.
4. Adjustment devices are known in which the angular position of one shaft relative to the other shaft can be changed.

Patent GB-A-509508 (Eliot) discloses such an adjusting device in which a drive shaft is connected to a driven shaft via an intermediate device, the intermediate device being essentially comprises an outer sleeve attached to the driven shaft, the outer sleeve having inner inclined splines adapted to cooperate with complementary splines formed around the two annular blocks; The inner surface of the annular block is provided with splines which cooperate with complementary splines provided at the end of the drive shaft. A spring is arranged between the bending annular blocks, which ensures that both shafts rliM together due to a wedge effect.

In order to change the angular position of the driven shaft, the elements associated with said annular block are acted upon with a translational movement, which overcomes the above-mentioned wedge effect and allows angular adjustment of the driven shaft. .

It will be clear that such an arrangement is particularly intended to allow adjustment of the magnetic generator during operation.

The above applies equally to patent AT-A-29524'6, which discloses a device for adjusting the injection flow rate of an internal combustion engine, but the 14-section device essentially consists of a drive shaft and a drive shaft. a drive shaft, the two shafts being connected by a sliding sleeve;
The leap meshes with the drive shaft through the inner teeth, and is also tubular! The teeth formed on the opposite part mesh with each other through the outer inclined teeth.

A change in the angular position of the driven shaft is obtained by displacing the sliding sleeve with a translational movement.

A noteworthy feature is that the above-mentioned elliptical force allows for a change in the angular position of one member connected in a floating manner to the other member.

It will be clear that such a floating assembly will not be subjected to large loads and that the risk of accidents in the event of misadjustment or underadjustment will be limited.

Regarding the possibility of adjusting the angular position of the steering wheel on the steering column, it is easily understood that the integral mounting of the two parts cannot be in a floating state, and on the contrary, it cannot be completely reliable. It must be provided with mechanical properties that can withstand continuous loads and stresses in the dust! 11°
- As is well known, a steering wheel of a motor vehicle comprises a ring and a hub, both of which are connected in a conventional manner by at least one radial spoke, which in most cases extends along the diameter of the ring. It extends.

As is well known, the steering wheel is restrained for rotation with the free end of the steering column by a spline formed in one end portion of the steering column, the spline interfacing with a corresponding spline formed in the bore of the hub. The hub is provided with a frusto-conical surface adapted to cooperate with a frusto-conical surface of the steering column. Axial attachment of the steering wheel to the steering column is achieved by nuts and washers. The nut cannot be removed once it is screwed onto the end of the steering column, and the washer is located between the front face of the hub and the nut.

Typically, the steering wheel will be attached to the steering column after various adjustments to the front axle assembly of the vehicle have been completed.

As the forward axle assembly is adjusted after installation of the steering bar and associated steering column, the steering column is rotated to a considerable extent under the influence of such adjustment. After this, in most cases, the splines on the steering column are not angularly positioned, so that the steering wheel is mounted in the following manner. That is, such an embodiment is a complete orientation of the spokes of the steering wheel, thereby tilting them relative to the zero position of the steering wheel. Note that the zero position means that the steering wheel is adjusted so that the vehicle performs a complete straight-line motion.

It has been proposed to increase the number of splines in order to be able to orient the spokes. The number of splines provided on the steering column is usually 40, and of course the same number of splines are also provided on the hub, so that after adjustment of the steering wheel the spokes can be completely horizontal, but this is extremely difficult. With the most closely aligned splines, the spokes would tilt at an angle of about 4.5 degrees in the worst case.

Although it is possible to adjust the front axle assembly to bring the steering wheel back to level, such a technique requires considerable time and requires the appropriate tools and chuck equipment and skill to make such adjustments. Therefore, such tasks are generally not performed by users.

Whether the spokes of the steering wheel have a large or small inclination, such inclination is unacceptable to the driver, who cannot comfortably hold the steering wheel by its spokes, especially while driving on the highway. I can't.

Even if there are no aesthetic issues regarding the spoke inclination, it is better to eliminate such inclination.

The present invention provides an adjustment device adapted to adjust the angular position of a steering wheel keyed to a steering column of a motor vehicle in an improved manner, with the adjustment device being easy to install and handle. The aim is to eliminate such disadvantages.

According to the present invention, there is provided an adjusting device for adjusting the angular position of the driving member when both the driving member and the driven member are rotationally driven and the driving member is connected to the driven member, the adjusting device comprising: comprising a ring disposed between the two members;
Each of the inner and outer surfaces of said ring is provided with spline means adapted to cooperate with complementary means provided on both said members to form two joints, said complementary means being adapted to form two joints. at least one of said means comprises a helical spline, said ring being associated with translational movement control means such that a translational displacement of said ring is accompanied by an angular displacement of one of said members; In the device, the translational movement control means comprises a screw, the axis of the screw being parallel to the axis of rotation of both parts, cooperating with the ring on the one hand and the hub on the other hand, the screw is adapted to cause a translational movement in the ring by a controlled rotational movement, and the one of the two parts supporting the ring is advantageously a steering column of a motor vehicle;
The other of said members is a hub of a steering wheel mounted on said steering column, each of said members having a frusto-conical bearing surface adapted to cooperate with one another. An adjustment device is provided.

According to the adjustment device of the present invention, the spokes can be adjusted to fit the steering wheel to the steering column! The steering wheel can be set in a temporary manner such that it is almost horizontal. The spokes will then be easily adjusted in the horizontal direction by a simple operation of the control screw before plucking the steering wheel onto the steering column.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure #1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of an adjusting device constructed in accordance with the present invention for adjusting the angular position of a steering wheel of a motor vehicle attached to a steering wheel column; The figure is in Figure 1.
3 is a cross-sectional view along line -■, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showing the present invention and another embodiment.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the steering column is designated by the reference numeral 10 and the steering wheel hub 11 is, for example, as shown in detail in FIG. two diametrical spokes 12 with risers 13, these spokes 1
2 and 13 are connected to an annular member (not shown) of the steering wheel.

The free end of the steering column 10 is, in the usual manner,
It has a frusto-conical surface 18, from which
A surface with linear splines 10A (for example, 40 splines, arranged regularly around the circumference) extends, and from this surface extends a threaded portion 10B.

The steering wheel hub 11 is provided with a ring 15 at one end thereof, which ring 15 is fixed to the hub 11 by rivets 16. The ring 15 is provided with a frustoconically shaped inner surface 17 adapted to cooperate with a frustoconically shaped surface 18 formed on the steering column 10 .

The hub 11 includes on its inner surface at least one concave helical spline, preferably a set of concave helical splines 11E. - the set of concave helical splines IIE is adapted to receive a set of convex ribs 20E, which are formed on the outer surface of the ring 20; The inner surface of the ring 20 is provided with splines 20A, and these splines 20A are connected to the steering column 10.
It is designed to be mutually locked with the corresponding spline IOA provided in the.

In this way, the ring 20 is attached to the steering column 10.
and the hub 11, and an annular collar 20C is provided on one surface of the ring 20. Annular color 20G
is a peripheral shoulder 20D and an inclined surface 2 formed at one end thereof.
0D' and II number of radial throwers) 20D'', which are adapted to provide an elastic deformation capability to the annular collar 20C, thereby allowing the control screw 25 to snap into place. It is adapted to be attached to the ring 20.

Such control screw 25 is of annular shape and is coaxial with the aforementioned members, steering column and hub. The outer surface of the control screw 25 is provided with a thread 25A, which corresponds to the thread 11L formed on the inner surface of the hub 11 and between the helical splines described above, so that the splines of the hub 11 will have a dual function. That is, the variation in the angular position of the ring 20 is related to the axial displacement of the control screw 25. An inlet inclined surface 25G is provided on the inner surface of the annular screw 25.
and a groove portion 25H are provided, and the groove portion 25H is provided with a ring 25H.
The collar 20C is adapted to cooperate with a shoulder 20D provided on the collar 20C.

It will be clear that the control screw 25 can be easily attached to the ring 25 in a snap-fitting manner.

It will also be clear that the control screw 25 can be held firmly in the hub 11, especially since the control screw 25 cannot expand radially, especially after it has been inserted into the hub 11.

In order to rotate the control screw 25, the end face of the control screw 25 is provided with a plurality of angularly offset recesses, for example three recesses 25I, which are adapted to receive suitable tools. It has become.

As will be readily understood, control screw 25 is removed prior to final locking of hub 11 to steering column 10.
By rotating the ring 20, the ring 20 is displaced with a translational movement, which is accompanied by a rotation of the hub 11 of the steering wheel, after the various components of the automatic steering gear have been adjusted. spokes 12 and 13 can assume a completely horizontal position.

If the diametrical spokes 12 and 13 of the steering wheel have an imperfect orientation, the spokes 12
and 13 by simply adjusting the control screw 25
Accurate positioning along the X-ray can be easily achieved.

It should also be noted that the diameter of the ring 20 is made smaller than the diameter of the threaded portion 11L between the convex splines 2OE, thereby preventing the threaded portion 11L from being damaged.

After adjustment, the steering wheel is locked to the steering column 10 by attaching a plate 30 to which a nut 31 is applied which cannot be removed once installed.

A spring arranged between the rings 20 and 15 may also be provided, in which case the control screw 25 cooperates with the ring 20 by a mere contact engagement.

In such an embodiment, the contact screw 25 is annular and the thrust exerted on the ring 20 by the control screw 25 is identical in all respects, thereby avoiding the risk of jamming.

Additionally, the linear splines on the steering column 10 allow for optimum steering wheel positioning prior to adjustment and allow the steering wheel and ring-screw assembly to form an easily assembled combination. Become.

According to another embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the hub 11 is formed at its front with a bore with a polygonal, preferably hexagonal, cross section, in which a facet 40 arranged along a helical path is formed. provided. The shape of the outer surface of the ring 20 is made complementary to the shape of the bore, which has a hexagonal cross-section and, as in the previous embodiment, includes a shoulder with a 20D" A section 20D is provided, which allows the control screw 2
5 positioning becomes possible. This control screw 25 has facets 4
The threaded portions 40A are formed at the center of each of the screws 0 and are screwed together.

For operation, the control screw 25 rotates the ring 20.
insofar as the ring 20 and the hub 11 associated therewith are caused to undergo a translational movement and an angular displacement.
This is similar to the previous embodiment.

Preferably, the threads of the ring 20 are right-handed, so that the helical splines are left-handed, in which case displacement of one side of the steering wheel is in the same direction as the direction of rotation of the ring.

It is clear that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but can be modified in various ways without departing from the technical scope of the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a preferred embodiment of an adjusting device constructed according to the invention for adjusting the angular position of a steering wheel of a motor vehicle mounted on a steering column; FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the present invention. [Explanation of main reference symbols] 10 Steering column 10A...Spline 11...Hub 11A...Spline 11E...Helical spline 12.13...Spoke 20...Ring 2OA...Spline 20C...Collar 20E...Convex spline 25...Control screw allowance

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Both the driving member and the driven member are rotationally driven,
and an adjustment device for adjusting the angular position of the driving member when the driving member is connected to the driven member,
a ring disposed between said members, each of said ring's inner and outer surfaces being provided with spline means, said spline means cooperating with complementary means provided on said members; a joint, at least one of said complementary means comprising a helical spline, said ring being associated with translational movement control means, whereby said translational displacement of said ring is controlled by said members. In an adjustment device adapted to involve one angular displacement, the translational movement control means comprises a screw;
The axis of the screw is parallel to the axis of rotation of both parts, and by cooperating the screw with the ring on the one hand and the hub on the other hand, the screw is driven into the ring with a controlled rotational movement. One of the two members supporting the ring is a steering column of an automobile, and the other of the two members is a hub of a steering wheel attached to the steering column. An adjusting device characterized in that: (2) An adjusting device as claimed in claim 1, in which the control screw is annularly shaped and coaxial with both members, the control screw being connected to the collar of the ring through its inner surface. and a suitable threaded hub through its outer threaded surface, wherein the joint between said steering column and said ring comprises a linear spline, and the joint between said ring and said hub comprises a Adjustment device, characterized in that both of them consist of a helical spline, and that the splines of the hub are multi-functional, ie the variation of the angular position of the ring is related to the axial displacement of the screw. 3. The adjustment device of claim 1, wherein the ring has an outer surface of polygonal cross-section, each facet thereof cooperating with a surface of a complementary bore formed in the hub. the facets of the bore are disposed along a helical passage, the ring includes a shoulder adapted to engage the control screw, and the control screw is arranged along a helical passageway, the control screw being arranged along a helical passageway; An adjusting device characterized in that it is adapted to be screwed into a threaded portion formed in the central portion.