KR101145909B1 - Steering apparatus for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A steering apparatus for a car is provided to couple a pinion shaft and a steering shaft easily and connect the steering shaft with the pinion shaft instead of a universal joint and transfers the torque of the steering shaft stably. CONSTITUTION: A steering apparatus for a car comprises a gear box(10), a rack assembly(20), a tie rod(30), and a pinion shaft(40). A rack gear and a pinion gear are meshed in the gear box. The rack gear changes the torque from a steering shaft into a linear movement. The rack assembly comprises inner ball joints in both ends and the rack gear in one side. A tie rod is formed into one body with a ball in an inner ball joint and comprises an outer ball joint in end edge. The pinion shaft is coupled with the upper part of the gear box. The pinion shaft includes a first shaft, a second shaft, and a connection joint. The first shaft comprises a pinion gear in outer circumference of the lower part. The second shaft comprises a ring shaped groove for connecting with an object joint in the upper part. The connection joint connects the first shaft and second shaft to be rotated in all direction.

Description

Automotive steering device {STEERING APPARATUS FOR AUTOMOBILE}

The present invention relates to a steering apparatus for automobiles, and more particularly to a steering apparatus for automobiles to change the traveling direction of the vehicle in accordance with the rotation operation of the steering wheel.

The steering device is a device for changing the driving direction of the vehicle at the driver's will, and assists the driver in advancing the vehicle in a desired direction by arbitrarily changing the center of rotation in which the front wheel of the vehicle rotates.

The technology related to such a steering device for a vehicle is disclosed in Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2000-0044084 (published July 15, 2000), Patent Registration No. 10-1002669 (announced December 20, 2010), Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0039670 (published on April 13, 2007) and the like.

1 is a perspective view of a steering apparatus for a vehicle according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, the steering apparatus for a vehicle according to the prior art fixes a steering wheel 1 disposed in a driver's seat, a steering shaft 2 connected to a steering wheel 1, and a steering shaft 2 to a vehicle body. A steering column (3), a gearbox (4) comprising a rack gear (4a) and a pinion gear (4b) for converting the rotational force input from the steering shaft (2) into linear motion, and an inner ball joint (5a) at both ends. Rack bar 5 having a, a tie rod 6 formed integrally with the ball of the inner ball joint 5a and an outer ball joint 7 provided at the end of the tie rod 6.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the pinion shaft and the universal joint applied to the steering apparatus for a vehicle according to the prior art.

Generally, the pinion shaft 4c in which the pinion gear 4b is formed at one end is connected with the steering shaft 2 using the universal joint 8, as shown in FIG.

Here, the universal joint 8 is a pinion shaft when the center line of the pinion shaft 4c and the steering shaft 2 does not coincide with each other to form a predetermined angle or are separated by a parallel distance. It serves to convey to (4c).

Such a conventional steering device for automobiles uses the universal joint 8 to connect the pinion shaft 4c and the steering shaft 2 to the outer circumferential surface of the pinion shaft 4c and the universal joint 8 at the lower part of the engine room of the vehicle. Splines formed on the inner circumferential surface of) must be engaged with each other.

Here, the space under the engine room of the vehicle is very difficult to perform the work of mounting the pinion shaft and the steering shaft, because the work space is very narrow due to other devices. In particular, in some models there is a problem that the workability is remarkably deteriorated because there is almost no space to perform the pinion shaft and steering shaft mounting operation due to the interference of other devices during the replacement of the steering device.

In addition, the conventional automotive steering device is required for maintenance due to the replacement of the universal joint (8) when the universal joint (8) is excessively loaded, the damage and failure of the universal joint (8) frequently occurs. There was a problem that the time and cost increase unnecessarily.

The present invention is to solve the problems as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a steering device for a vehicle that can easily perform the connection work of the pinion shaft and the steering shaft.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a steering device for an automobile which can stably transmit the rotational force of the steering shaft while connecting the pinion shaft and the steering shaft instead of the universal joint.

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, the present invention includes a gear box in which a rack gear and a pinion gear are coupled to convert a rotational force input from a steering shaft into a linear motion, and inner ball joints at both ends thereof. A rack assembly having a rack gear formed at one side, a tie rod formed integrally with the ball of the inner ball joint and having an outer ball joint at an end thereof, and a pinion coupled to an upper portion of the gear box and having the pinion gear formed at an outer peripheral surface of a lower end thereof. The pinion shaft includes: a first shaft having the pinion gear formed on an outer circumferential surface of a lower portion thereof; a second shaft having an annular groove formed to engage with a mating joint at an upper end portion thereof; and the first shaft and the second shaft in front and rear directions. And a connecting joint for rotatably connecting in a direction.

The first shaft includes a pinion gear formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end and a pair of protruding members protruding from the upper end so as to be engaged with the rack gear, and the pair of protruding members each have a semicircular shape to form a circle. It is formed, spaced apart so that the coupling space is coupled to form a coupling space between the pair of protruding member, characterized in that the insertion hole is formed in the horizontal direction through the center of the pair of protruding member.

As long as the connection joint is coupled to a pair of coupling grooves formed on the front and rear surfaces of the connection pin and the connecting pin coupled to the through hole formed in the horizontal direction at a position corresponding to the insertion hole of the protruding member in the center of the connection joint, respectively. It includes a pair of coupling pins, characterized in that formed in a height corresponding to the coupling space lower than the height of the coupling space.

An insertion space into which the protruding member is inserted is formed in a lower surface of the second shaft, and a pair of coupling holes to which the pair of coupling pins are coupled is symmetrically formed at a lower end of the second shaft.

The upper surface of the first shaft and the lower surface of the second shaft, the upper end of the protruding member and the ceiling surface of the insertion space are spaced apart by a predetermined interval so as to form the rotational movement space of the first and second shafts.

An upper portion of the second shaft is formed in an annular annular groove close to the upper end so that the mating joint connected to the steering shaft is coupled, and a lower end of the mating joint is formed with a coupling hole to which the upper end of the second shaft is coupled. A slit is formed in one direction by being connected to the coupler, and one side of the mating joint is fastened to a bolt for adjusting the spacing of the slit across the annular groove.

The rack assembly includes a rack bar having a rack gear meshed with the pinion gear, a rack bush coupled to an outer circumferential surface of the rack bar, and a stopper for limiting a moving distance of the rack bar, wherein the rack bush is in contact with the rack bar. Is formed of a metallic tube, the inner circumferential surface of the tube is made of a plurality of long grooves are formed along the longitudinal direction to prevent friction and noise is formed, the outer surface of the tube is characterized in that the coating material is integrally formed do.

The tubular body is formed in a cylindrical shape formed with a through hole through which both ends are opened and a rack bar is fitted therein, one end opening of the tubular body is formed with a round jaw, and one side of the tubular body is formed to be stretchable to absorb assembly tolerances at regular intervals. It is characterized in that the spaced incision grooves are formed.

The coating material is a rubber material, characterized in that formed integrally on the outer peripheral surface of the tube by insert molding.

As described above, the present invention couples the pinion shaft to the two shafts and the connection joint connecting them to connect the pinion shaft itself so as to be rotatable in the front-back direction and the left-right direction.

Accordingly, the present invention facilitates the connection work between the pinion shaft and the mating joint connected to the steering shaft by variously adjusting the angle between the first and second shafts by rotating the first and second shafts around the connecting joint. Can be done.

As a result, the present invention can improve the workability of connecting the pinion shaft and the mating joint even if the work space is narrow in the lower engine room of the vehicle.

In particular, the present invention can replace the steering apparatus without the need to remove other devices unnecessarily due to interference during the replacement operation of the steering apparatus has the effect of reducing the work time and effort.

In addition, the present invention improves the meshing ratio between the rack gear and the pinion gear and improves the durability of the gearbox by compensating for problems such as stiffness weakening and noise absorption of the conventional plastic rack bush.

1 is a perspective view of a steering device for a vehicle according to the prior art.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pinion shaft and universal joint applied to the steering apparatus for a vehicle according to the prior art.
3 is a perspective view of a vehicle steering apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an exploded perspective view of the pinion shaft shown in FIG. 3.
5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the rack assembly shown in FIG.
6 is a perspective view of the rack bush shown in FIG.
7 is a cross-sectional view of the rack bush shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, a steering apparatus for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The basic configuration of the steering apparatus for automobiles in the present embodiment will be described using the configuration of the steering apparatus for automobiles shown in FIG. 1.

However, in the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail centering on the configuration of the pinion shaft with a difference in the configuration of the gear box shown in FIG.

3 is a perspective view of a steering apparatus for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the pinion shaft shown in Figure 3, Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the rack assembly shown in Figure 3, 6 and 7 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of the rack bush shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a steering apparatus for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a steering wheel 1 disposed in a driver's seat, a steering shaft 2 connected to a steering wheel 1, and a steering shaft. (2) a steering column (3) for fixing the vehicle body, a rack gear (not shown) and a pinion gear (not shown) to which the rotational force input from the steering shaft (2) is converted into linear motion ( 10), a rack assembly 20 having inner ball joints at both ends and a rack gear formed at one side, a tie rod 30 formed integrally with the balls of the inner ball joint, and having an outer ball joint at the ends and a gearbox And a pinion shaft 40 coupled to the upper portion of 10 and having a pinion gear formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gearbox 10 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the rack bar 21 (see FIG. 5) of the rack assembly 20 is inserted along the horizontal direction, and the upper portion of the gearbox 10 is inserted into the gearbox 10. The pinion shaft 40 is coupled, one side of the gear box 10 is coupled to the yoke plug and support yoke for adjusting the adhesion of the pinion gear and the rack gear.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pinion shaft 40 includes a first shaft 41 having a pinion gear 411 formed on an outer circumferential surface of the lower portion thereof, and an annular groove 421 to be coupled to the mating joint 50 at an upper end thereof. The second shaft 42 and the connecting shaft 43 for connecting the first shaft 41 and the second shaft 42 so as to be rotatable in the front and rear and left and right directions.

The first shaft 41 includes a pinion gear 411 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the lower end portion so as to be engaged with the rack gear of the rack bar 21, and a pair of protruding members 412 protruding from the upper end portion.

The pair of protruding members 412 are each formed in a semicircular shape to form a circle, and are spaced apart by the coupling space 413 such that the connection joint 43 is coupled between the pair of protruding members 412.

Each protruding member 412 is formed by the insertion hole 414 penetrates in the horizontal direction so that the connecting pin 431 of the connecting joint 43 is inserted.

The upper part of the second shaft 42 is recessed in an annular shape close to the upper end such that the steering shaft 2 and the mating joint 50 connecting the second shaft 42 are coupled to form an annular groove 421. The lower surface of the two shafts 42 is formed with an insertion space 422 into which the protruding member 412 and the connecting joint 43 are inserted.

Here, the mating joint 50 is coupled to the lower end of the steering shaft (2) or steering column (3) connecting the second shaft 42 and the steering shaft (2) or steering column (3), the upper portion The pair of flange yokes are formed in a substantially 'U' shape.

And the lower portion of the mating joint 50, the coupling hole 51 is formed so that the upper end of the second shaft 42 is coupled, the slit 52 is formed along the front and rear direction is connected to the coupling hole 51 on the lower one side do.

One side of the mating joint 50, the bolt 53 for adjusting the interval of the slit 52 is penetrated through the left and right directions. Here, the bolt 53 is fastened across the annular groove 421 so that the upper end of the second shaft 42 is hooked.

As such, when the bolt 53 is fastened while the upper end of the second shaft 42 is coupled to the coupling hole 51, the upper end of the second shaft 42 is caught by the bolt 53, and the slit 52 As the spacing of N) narrows, the second shaft 42 and the mating joint 50 are stably coupled.

On the other hand, splines or serrations are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the upper end of the second shaft 42 and the inner circumferential surface of the coupler 51 of the mating joint 50 in sizes and shapes corresponding to each other.

However, the mating joint 50 is not necessarily limited to the shape shown in FIG. 4, and may be changed to various types of connecting means such as a flexible joint or a universal joint.

In the lower end of the second shaft 42, as shown in FIG. 4, a coupling hole 423 is formed to which a pair of coupling pins 432 are coupled to the front and rear surfaces of the connection joint 43, respectively.

The coupling hole 423 includes a circular hole 424 formed to a size corresponding to the diameter of the coupling pin 432 and a connection hole 425 connecting the circular hole 424 from the lower end of the second shaft 42. .

The connection hole 425 is formed in a width smaller than the diameter of the coupling pin 432.

Thus, as the coupling pin 432 is fixedly coupled to the circular hole 424 through the connection hole 425, the coupling pin 432 is prevented from being arbitrarily separated from the circular hole 424.

Accordingly, the present invention can be stably coupled to the connection joint and the second shaft by forcibly fitting the coupling pins coupled to both sides of the connection joint to the coupling hole formed in the lower end of the second shaft.

The connecting joint 43 is formed in a shape corresponding to the coupling space 413 between the pair of protruding members 412, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

A through hole 433 is formed in a central portion of the connection joint 43 in a left and right direction at a position corresponding to the insertion hole 414 of the protruding member 412 so that the connection pin 431 is inserted therein, and the connection joint 43 The front and rear surfaces of the coupling grooves are coupled to each coupling pin 432 is formed.

That is, when the first shaft 41 is seen in FIG. 4, the first shaft 41 is rotatable in the front-rear direction about the connecting pin 431 of the connecting joint 43, and the second shaft 42 is the connecting joint 43. Rotational movement in the left and right directions about the coupling pin 432 of the.

In the present embodiment, the first shaft 41 and the second shaft 42 are each rotatably coupled by about 10 °.

Here, the connection joint 43 is formed to a height lower than the height of the coupling space (413).

Thus, the upper surface of the first shaft 41, the lower surface of the second shaft 42, the upper end of the protruding member 412, and the insertion space 422 of the first shaft 41 to form a space in which the first and second shafts 42 rotate. The ceiling surface is installed spaced by a predetermined interval.

As described above, the present invention couples the pinion shaft to the two shafts and the connection joint connecting them to connect the pinion shaft itself so as to be rotatable in the front-back direction and the left-right direction.

Accordingly, the present invention controls the pinion shaft and the steering shaft by adjusting the angle between the first and second shafts by rotating the first and second shafts around the connection joint even when the working space is narrow in the lower engine room of the automobile. The connection work with the connected mating joint can be performed easily.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the rack assembly 20 includes a rack bar 21 and a rack bar 21 in which a rack gear 23 meshed with the pinion gear 411 of the pinion shaft 40 is formed. It includes a rack bush 24 and the stopper for limiting the movement distance of the rack bush 24 coupled to the outer peripheral surface of the.

The rack bush 24 is formed of a tubular body 241 that is fitted to the outer circumference of the rack bar 21 by a metal material at a portion in contact with the rack bar 21, and a covering material 242 is integrally formed on the outer surface of the tubular body 241. Is formed.

Here, the coating member 242 is integrally formed on the outer circumferential surface of the tube body 241 by insert molding, and is preferably formed of a rubber material such as methacrylate-butadiene-styrene (MBR).

The tubular body 241 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a through hole 243 in which both ends are opened and the rack bar 21 is fitted therein, and a round bar 244 is formed in one opening of the tubular body 241.

For example, the tubular body 241 is formed of a carbon steel pipe (STKM) 11 material for the mechanical structure, the inner circumferential surface of the tubular body 241 is a plurality of long grooves 245 and one incision groove to be spaced apart by a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction ) Is formed.

As such, since a plurality of long grooves 245 are formed in the rack bush 24, when the rack bush 24 is operated while being in close contact with the rack bar 21, the rack bush 24 is formed through the long grooves 245. Due to the air flowing into the friction between the rack bush 24 and the rack bar 21 is reduced, friction noise by friction is reduced.

In addition, as the incision grooves 246 spaced by a predetermined interval are formed in the tubular body 241, the rack bush 24 may be expanded and contracted by the interval of the incision grooves 246 to absorb the assembly tolerances.

That is, when the diameter of the rack bar 21 is finely large or small, the tubular body 241 can be increased or decreased by the width of the cutting groove 246, the present invention performs the assembly tolerance occurs during assembly.

Next, the coupling relationship and the operation of the steering device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, in order to assemble the pinion shaft 40, the connecting joint 43 is positioned on the upper part of the first shaft 41, and then the connecting joint 43 is moved downward so that the pair of protruding members 412 is separated. Is coupled to the coupling space 413.

At this time, the coupling groove 432 is coupled to the coupling groove formed on the front and rear surfaces of the connection joint 43.

Subsequently, the insertion hole 414 of the protruding member 412 and the through hole 433 of the connecting joint 43 are positioned to correspond to each other, and then the connecting pin 431 is inserted to insert the protruding member 412 and the connecting joint ( 43) are combined and secured so as not to separate.

Next, the second shaft 42 is positioned so that the insertion space 422 of the second shaft 42 is positioned on the protrusion member 412 and the connection joint 43 coupled to each other, and then the connection joint 43 Of the coupling pin 432 is forcibly fitted to the coupling hole 423 formed on the lower surface of the second shaft 42.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, the first shaft 41 is rotatable in the front-rear direction about the connecting pin 431 of the connecting joint 43, and the second shaft 42 is the connecting joint 43. It is possible to rotate in the horizontal direction about the coupling pin 432 of the).

The present invention can adjust the pinion shaft at various angles by bending the first shaft and the second shaft by a predetermined angle, and then rotates the pinion shaft at a desired angle in a narrow working space of the engine room of a car or a mating joint. Can be easily performed.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7, the rack bush 24 is fitted to the outer surface of the rack bar 21 when the rack assembly 20 is assembled, and the rack tube 22 is disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the rack bar 21. ) Are combined.

And the end of the rack tube 22 is tightly coupled to the annulus 244 of the rack bush 24, the airtight is maintained, the leakage of oil is prevented.

Thus, the rack bar 21 is moved to the left and right by the operation of the steering wheel (1) while frictionally contacting the inner circumferential surface of the rack bush 24, the air contained in a small amount along with the oil moves through the long groove 245, the rack bar 21 Works smoothly.

In addition, since the rack bush 24 is formed of a metallic material in the tubular body 2 in contact with the rack bar 21, the rack bush 24 has abrasion resistance to prevent damage and breakage due to friction, thereby improving durability.

As mentioned above, although the invention made by the present inventor was demonstrated concretely according to the said Example, this invention is not limited to the said Example and can be variously changed in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

The present invention is used to easily perform the coupling operation of the pinion shaft and the steering shaft of the steering apparatus for changing the traveling direction of the vehicle.

10: gearbox 20: rack assembly
21: rack bar 22: rack tube
23: rack gear 24: rack bush
241: tube 242: coating material
243: through hole 244: round jaw
245: intestinal groove 246: incision groove
30: tie rod 40: pinion shaft
41: first shaft 411: pinion gear
412: projecting member 413: coupling space
414: insertion hole 42: second shaft
421: groove groove 422: insertion space
423: coupling hole 424: circular hole
425: connection hole 43: connection joint
431: connecting pin 432: coupling pin
433: through hole 50: counterpart joint
51: coupler 52: slit
53: bolts

Claims (9)

Gear box in which rack gear and pinion gear are combined to convert rotational force input from steering shaft into linear motion,
Rack assembly having inner ball joint at both ends and rack gear formed at one side,
A tie rod formed integrally with the ball of the inner ball joint and having an outer ball joint at an end thereof;
A pinion shaft coupled to an upper portion of the gear box and having the pinion gear formed on an outer circumferential surface of a lower end portion;
The pinion shaft
A first shaft in which the pinion gear is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the lower end and a pair of protruding members are formed in the upper end;
A second shaft in which an annular groove is formed to be engaged with the mating joint at the upper end portion;
It includes a connecting joint for rotatably connecting the first shaft and the second shaft in the front and rear and left and right directions,
The pair of protruding members are each formed in a semicircular shape to form a circle, and the steering device for the vehicle, characterized in that spaced apart so as to form a coupling space for coupling the connection joint between the pair of protruding members. . The method of claim 1,
Steering device for a vehicle, characterized in that the insertion hole is formed in the horizontal direction in the center of the pair of protruding members. The method of claim 2, wherein the connection joint
A connection pin coupled to a through hole formed in a horizontal direction at a position corresponding to the insertion hole of the protruding member at a central portion of the connection joint;
A pair of coupling pins coupled to the pair of coupling grooves formed on the front and rear surfaces of the connection joint,
Steering device for a vehicle, characterized in that formed in a shape corresponding to the coupling space lower than the height of the coupling space. In the third,
The lower surface of the second shaft is formed by inserting an insertion space into which the protruding member is inserted,
Automotive steering apparatus, characterized in that the pair of coupling holes to which the pair of coupling pins are symmetrically formed at the lower end of the second shaft. The method of claim 4, wherein
The upper surface of the first shaft and the lower surface of the second shaft, the upper end of the protruding member and the ceiling surface of the insertion space are installed to be spaced apart by a predetermined interval so as to form the rotational movement space of the first and second shafts Steering system. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The upper portion of the second shaft is formed in an annular annular groove close to the top so that the mating joint is connected to the steering shaft,
The lower portion of the mating joint is formed with a coupler is coupled to the upper end of the second shaft, is connected to the coupler is formed with a slit in one direction,
On one side of the mating joint, the steering device for the vehicle, characterized in that the bolt is fastened across the annular groove to adjust the spacing of the slit. The rack assembly of claim 1, wherein the rack assembly comprises:
A rack bar having a rack gear meshed with the pinion gear;
Rack bushes coupled to the outer circumferential surface of the rack bar and
It includes a stopper for limiting the moving distance of the rack bar,
The rack bush is formed of a metallic tube in contact with the rack bar.
On the inner circumferential surface of the tube is formed a plurality of long grooves along the longitudinal direction to the air flow to prevent friction and noise,
Steering device for a vehicle, characterized in that the outer surface of the tubular body is integrally formed with a coating material. The method of claim 7, wherein
The tubular body is formed in a cylindrical shape having a through hole through which both ends are opened and a rack bar is fitted therein.
One end of the tube is formed with a round jaw,
One side of the tubular body is formed to be stretchable, the steering device for automobiles, characterized in that the cut grooves are formed spaced apart at regular intervals to absorb the assembly tolerance. The method of claim 7, wherein
The covering material is a rubber material, characterized in that the steering device for automobiles, characterized in that formed integrally on the outer peripheral surface of the tube by insert molding.

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