JPS61285169A - Steering wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent backlash between gears, rattle of a pad portion or the like by urging helical planet gears mounted to both ends of a planet shaft by a resilient member in such a manner as to be moved axially apart from or adjacent to each other. CONSTITUTION:A steering wheel includes a planetary gear mechanism for keeping a pad portion 1 unrotatable. In this case, the planetary gear mechanism includes a plurality of sun gears 3 and a plurality of planet gears 5 which are all helical gears. There is provided a resilient member 6 for moving two planet gears 5a, 5b mounted to at least a planet shaft 4a axially apart from or adjacent to each other. At least another planet shaft 4b and two planet gears 5c, 5d mounted thereto are fixed. In this construction, the upper or lower surface of the teeth of the planet gears 5a, 5b are brought in contact with the lower or upper surface of the teeth of the sun gear 3 to restrict backlash.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a steering wheel equipped with a planetary gear mechanism for fixing a pad portion in a non-rotating manner.

(Conventional technology) A steering wheel with a non-rotating pad is equipped with electronic devices such as switches, sound generators, and indicators that relay power to the horn, constant speed drive, communication device, radio, headlights, etc. on the pad. However, development is progressing with the aim of improving the operability of the above-mentioned electronic devices by taking advantage of the non-rotation of the pad portion, and (2) increasing the product value by giving a sense of luxury.

As one of the pad section non-rotating mechanisms, there is a column-side sun gear fixed to the column section, a pad-side sun gear to which the pad section is fixed, and a planet that meshes with the two sun #I wheels and has the same shaft. There is a planetary gear mechanism consisting of gears, but in the case of such a mechanism, not only does backlash inevitably exist between the planetary gear and the sun gear, but also a larger gap due to dimensional errors and assembly errors. may occur.

This backlash and gap cause rattling in the pad section and generation of abnormal noise, which poses a problem of detracting from the sense of luxury, which was one of the objectives of the product's development.

Therefore, conventionally, as a steering wheel with a blue line for suppressing backlash etc. of the planetary mechanism, it was
There is a type of steering wheel that uses planetary rollers as seen in Japanese Patent No. 7'-191654, but this type of steering wheel has problems in that it is difficult to assemble and has poor durability.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) Therefore, as a means to suppress this backlash, etc., a planetary gear is provided so as to be movable in the radial direction of the sun gear, and this planetary gear is moved in the radial direction of the sun gear by a spring or the like. It is conceivable to apply force to the center.

However, if it is written like that, the Mf center may be displaced in the radially outward direction of the sun gear, so it is possible for the planetary gear and the sun gear to become disengaged when a rotating horn is applied from the outside of the pad part. be. Then, a new problem arises in that the planetary gear slips in the circumferential direction of the sun gear, causing the pad portion to rotate.

An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problem that backlash and gaps between the gears cause rattling and noise in the pad portion, detracting from the sense of luxury.

Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving Problems) The present invention has a plurality of sun gears of the N-star gear mechanism and a plurality of planetary shirts 1 which are meshed with each of the sun gears at both ends of each of them. a plurality of planetary gears mounted in a helical gear configuration, and two planetary gears mounted on at least one planetary shaft of the plurality of planetary shafts. An elastic member is provided for urging the planet shirt 1 to approach or move away from the planet shirt 1 relatively in the axial direction, and at least one of the planet shafts at the center thereof This invention attempts to solve the above-mentioned problems by a technical means of fixing the shirt l~ and the two planetary gears attached to the planetary shaft.

(Function) Since the helical planetary gears attached to both ends of one planetary shaft are urged by elastic members to approach or move away from each other in the axial direction, the planetary gears The upper or lower surfaces of the teeth contact the lower or upper surfaces of the teeth of the helical sun gear that meshes with the planetary gear, thereby acting to suppress backlash.

At this time, the planetary gear fixed to the other planetary shaft acts to prevent the sun gear from rotating.

(Example) Next, an example in which the present invention is embodied in a steering wheel of an automobile will be described based on FIGS. 1 and 2.

Note that the planetary gear machine IM of this embodiment includes a pad side sun gear 3a and a column side sun gear 3 as the plurality of sun gears 3.
the two sun gears b, and the two sun gears 3a,
3b as the Vi star gear 5, 1
The pad-side planetary gear 58 and the column-side planetary gear 5b attached to the main planetary shaft/Ia, and the pad-side planetary gear 5C and the column-side planetary gear 5C attached to the other planetary shaft 4b. It consists of a planetary gear 4d, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, a steering shaft 8 passes through the column portion 7 of the automobile, and a boss 9 is fastened to the tip of the steering shaft 8 with a nut 10. Boss sprays 1 to 11 extending horizontally outward are fixed to the central portion of the boss 9 by welding.

Spokes 12 are fixed to the outer edges of the boss sprays 1 and 11, and a ring 13 is supported at the tips of the spokes 12.

A helical column-side sun tooth width 3b is provided on the outer periphery of the lower part of the boss 9 so as to be rotatable relative to the boss 9 via a bearing 14. It is fixed so that it does not occur.

On the other hand, a helical pad-side sun gear 3a is provided on the upper outer periphery of the boss 9 via a bearing 16, and a box-shaped pad portion 1 is fixed to the top of the sun gear 3a by bolts 17. It is possible to store electronic devices (not shown) such as switches and shutoff devices inside.

Two planetary shaft supporting members 18a and 18b are fixed to the outer circumference of the boss plate 11 so as not to move in the radial direction of the two sun gears 3a and 3b. and,
These support members 18a118b are fixed onto the boss sprays 1-11 by screwing support members 20 welded to the two side frames 19, 23, respectively.

In one planetary shaft support member 18a, as shown in FIG. 2, an upper sliding bearing 21 and a lower sliding bearing 22 are attached to the upper and lower ends of the side frame 19.23, and there is a space between them. One planetary shaft 4a is erected, and in order from the bottom are a column side planetary gear 5b, a coil spring 6 which is an elastic member, and a pad side planetary gear 58.
is extrapolated. An elastic force acts on the coil spring 6 to cause the two planetary gears 5a and 5b to move away from each other in the axial direction.

The magnitude of the elastic force is such that the upper surface of the teeth of the pad-side planetary gear 5a contacts the lower surface of the teeth of the pad-side sun gear 3a, and the lower surface of the teeth of the column-side planetary gear b. This is sufficient for the surface to come into contact with the upper surface of the tooth of the column side sun gear 3b.

Of course, the two sun gears 3a, 3b and the planetary gear 5a,
5b must be engaged smoothly.

As shown in FIG. 1, an upper slide bearing 21 and a lower slide bearing 22 are attached to the upper and lower ends of the side frame 19.23 of the other planetary shaft support member 18b. In between (j, one planetary shaft 4b is erected, and pad-side planetary gears 5 are installed at both ends of the
A planetary gear 5d on the column side c is attached to each column.

However, unlike the other planetary shirt 1-4a, the coil spring 6, which is an elastic member, is not fitted onto this planetary shaft 4b. The reason is as follows.

The pad-side sun gear 3a is rotatably supported relative to the boss 9, and the pad-side sun gear 3a and the pad-side planetary gear 5a are helical gears, so that the planetary shaft 4a When the attached coil spring 6 applies a biasing force to the pad-side planetary gear 5a so that the gear 5a separates from the column-side planetary gear 56,
A component of the biasing force tends to rotate the pad side sun gear 5a.

If the pad side sun gear 3a rotates, the two planet gears 5 attached to both ends of the planet shaft 4a
a, 5b and two sun gears 3a.

The engagement with 3b becomes loose and backlash occurs.

Therefore, there is no point in suppressing backlash by providing the illumination springs 6 in the planetary shirts 1 to 4a to separate the pad-side planetary gears 5a and the column-side planetary gears 5b from each other. Therefore, in order to prevent the pad side sun gear 38 from rotating, the planetary shaft 4b and the planetary gears 5c, 5b must be integrally fixed.

When assembling the steering wheel configured as described above, it is sufficient to assemble it using a known procedure, but in the planetary shaft support portion 188, the coil spring 6 is slightly compressed by the two planetary gears 5a and 5b. It must be attached to the planet support member 18a.

Regarding the embodiment configured as above, the operation and operation will be explained next.
Explain the effect.

First, when the ring 13 is rotated to perform a steering operation, as the boss plate 11 is rotated, the two planetary gears 5a and 5c move around the column side sun gear 3a, and then,
The other two planetary gears 5b and 5d are the column side sun gear 3b.
Each revolves around its own axis.

However, since the column side sun gear 3b is fixed to the column part 7, it does not rotate, and the pad side sun gear 3a also does not rotate following the gear 3b, so it always does not rotate with respect to the column part 7. It becomes a dynamic state. Therefore, the pad portion 1 fixed to the pad side sun gear 3a also becomes non-rotatable.

On the other hand, a coil spring 6 acts on the planetary shaft 4a to separate the pad-side planetary gear 5a and the column-side planetary gear 5b from each other in the axial direction of the shaft 4a. gear 3
a is urged upward, and the upper surface of the helical of the pad-side planetary gear 5a comes into contact with the lower surface of the helical of the pad-side sun gear 3a.

The pad-side planetary gear 58 pushes up the pad-side sun gear 3a, and since the pad-side sun gear 3a has a helical shape, the biasing horn applied to the bottom surface of the helical helical A part of the force becomes a component force that rotates the pad side sun gear 3a.

Therefore, the pad side sun gear 3a tries to rotate, but at this time, the coil spring is attached (the pad side planetary gear 5C15d is fixed to both ends of the planetary shirt 1~/Ib that is not pulled). Therefore, even if the rotational force of the pad-side sun gear 3a is transmitted to the pad-side planetary gear 3c, the planetary shaft 4b, and the column-side planetary gear 5d, it is fixed to the column part 7 and does not rotate. The rotation of the pad side sun gear 3a is prevented by the pad side sun gear 3b.

Therefore, the planetary shaft 4b from which the coil spring 6 is not removed and the two planetary gears 5C15d fixed thereto act as a rotation stopper for the pad-side planetary gear 38.

In this manner, with the rotation of the pad-side sun gear 3a being prevented, the upper surface of the helical part of the pad-side planetary gear 5a is constantly in contact with the lower surface of the helical part of the pad-side sun gear 3a.

On the other hand, the relationship between the column-side planetary gear 5b and the column-side sun gear 3b is similar to the relationship between the pad-side planetary gear 5a and the pad-side sun gear 3a. The column side planetary gear 5b rotates around the column side sun gear 3b while constantly keeping contact with the upper surface of the side sun gear 3b.

Therefore, the pad-side sun gear 3a and the column-side sun gear 3b, which rotate in the same phase, behave as if they were planetary gears.
The teeth of the sun gear come in contact with the two teeth of the sun gear, and while maintaining the contact state, it becomes a state where it seems like they are sandwiched between them.The gaps caused by backlash and gear assembly errors are suppressed.

Therefore, backlash between the pad-side sun gear 3a and the two pad-side planetary gears 5a, 5c and between the column-side sun gear 3b and the two column-side planetary gears 5b, 5d is eliminated, and the steering operation is improved. The generation of abnormal noise is suppressed.

In addition, the Mu shafts 1-4a and 4b to which the planetary gears 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d are attached are boss spray h 11
Since the two sun gears 3a and 3b cannot be moved in the radial direction, the planetary gears 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d cannot mesh with the two sun gears 3a and 3b, as in the previously considered technology. will never come off.

As described above, the invention of this embodiment consists of two sun gears 3a, 3b and four planetary gears 5a, 5 which are helical.
B, 5G, 5d batches in one Planetary Shirt I
An elastic member is attached to ~48 so that the two planetary gears 5a, 5b attached to shirt 1~ are moved toward or away from each other by the action of the elastic member,
Two planetary gears 5c and 5 are attached to another planetary shaft 4b.
This is an excellent invention in which rotation of the pad side sun gear 38 is prevented and suppressed by fixing d.

This invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various changes are of course allowed without significantly impairing the effects of the invention.

For example, the design of the planetary shaft support members 18a, 18b to which the planetary gears 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d are attached can also be changed as desired.

For example, the upper sliding bearing 21a and the lower sliding bearing 21b
It is also possible to directly support the boss spray i 11 without being supported through the side plates 19 and 23,
Also, one bearing is provided in the center of the planetary shaft 4a, and it is fixed to the boss plate 11, and the bearing and y
A coil spring 6 is installed between the Il star gear gears 5a and 5b.
It is also possible to intervene.

The mechanism for fitting the planetary shaft 4a into the pad-side planetary gear 5a can also have a spline fitting structure, for example.

Furthermore, for each sun gear 3, two planetary gears 5 (attached to one planetary shaft 4) are meshed at the same time, and four planetary gears 5 are attached to one planetary shaft 4a. , it is also possible to urge the two planetary gears 5 toward or away from each other.

Effects of the Invention While exhibiting the original function of the planetary gear mechanism, it is possible to suppress backlash and gaps caused by assembly errors that sometimes occur during assembly of the mechanism, and also eliminate rattling. . As a result, no abnormal noise is generated when operating the steering wheel.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a portion showing how a planetary gear is attached. Pad part 1, sun gears 3.3a, 3b, planetary seat 4
．． 4a, 4. b, planetary gear 5.5a, 5b, 5C15C
1 elastic member 6°

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering wheel equipped with a planetary gear mechanism for making a pad portion (1) non-rotatable, wherein a plurality of sun gears (3) of the planetary gear mechanism and a plurality of planetary gears are provided. A plurality of planetary gears (5) are attached to each end of the shaft (4) so as to mesh with each of the sun gears (3).
is composed of a helical gear, and at least one of the plurality of planetary shafts (4)
The two planetary gears (5a, 5b) attached to the planetary shaft (4a) are connected to the planetary shaft (4a), respectively.
An elastic member (6) is provided for urging the planetary shafts (6) to approach or move away from each other relatively in the axial direction, and at least one other planetary shaft (4) of the plurality of planetary shafts (4) 4b) and the same planetary shaft (4b)
A steering wheel characterized in that two planetary gears (5c, 5d) attached to b) are fixed.