KR20180041829A - Latch assembly and steering column tilting device therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a ratchet assembly and a steering column tilting device including the same. The ratchet assembly includes: a fixed gear installed on one side of a bracket and having a first tooth unit on the outer side; a movable gear having a second tooth unit engaged to the first tooth unit on the inner side and having multiple driven cam protrusions on the outer side; and a driving cam including multiple driving cam protrusions moving the movable gear to the fixed gear by being in contact with the driven cam protrusion. According to the present invention, the ratchet assembly and the steering column tilting device including the same can prevent tooth hanging phenomenon which can occur when the fixed gear and the movable gear are engaged. So, the ratchet assembly and the steering column tilting device including the same can reduce damage to and wear of the gear and enables the gears to be stably engaged.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a latch assembly and a steering column tilting device having the same,

The present invention relates to a latch assembly and a steering column tilting apparatus having the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a latch assembly for preventing a tooth on tooth phenomenon, and a steering column tilting apparatus for stably fixing the steering column tilting apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In the current industry, a steering system for steering a vehicle applied to a vehicle is provided with a steering column tilting device that adjusts the height of the steering wheel according to the physical conditions of the driver.

The steering column tilting apparatus includes a bracket fixed to the vehicle body, a cam lever assembly fixed to the bracket, and a steering column supported by the bracket in association with the cam lever assembly. When the cam lever assembly is operated, As shown in Fig.

However, the steering column tilting apparatus of the pressure fixing type has a phenomenon in which the steering column is tilted upward (hereinafter referred to as a 'pop-up phenomenon') when an impact load larger than the fixing force acting on the steering column by accident acts, Resulting in a double injury to the driver.

Accordingly, a steering column tilting apparatus having a pair of gears has been developed to increase the fixing force acting on the steering column in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

A representative example of such a steering column tilting apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1 (hereinafter, referred to as 'prior art'), and a steering column tilting apparatus according to the prior art will be schematically described with reference to FIG.

1, the steering column tilting apparatus according to the related art includes a movable gear 60 and a fixed gear 60 to prevent a pop-up of the steering column 1 between the cam 30 and the mounting bracket 10, And a spring (80) for preventing the tilting lever (35) from escaping in the axial direction of the adjustment bolt (25) protruded from the mounting bracket (10) The movable gear 60 includes teeth of respective teeth formed to protrude only in the center portion so as to be engaged with the teeth formed on the fixed gear 70 around the adjustment bolt insertion hole into which the adjustment bolt 25 is fitted.

Thus, the steering column tilting apparatus of the related art includes the movable gear 60 and the fixed gear 70, thereby providing a firm fixing force when fixing the steering column 1, thereby preventing the pop-up phenomenon of the steering column 1 do.

However, in the conventional tilting device of the steering column, as the process of engaging the movable gear 60 with the fixed gear 70 is performed collectively, a Tooth on Tooth phenomenon in which the tooth tips of the gears face each other Occurs.

Such a latching phenomenon causes problems such as deformation and breakage of the steering column tilting apparatus or inability to operate the steering column tilting apparatus.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a steering column tilting apparatus which can reduce the malfunction of the steering column tilting apparatus through the improved type of tooth coupling system, secure the steering column efficiently, and secure the driver's safety.

Korea Patent Publication No. 2006-0081095 (2006. 07. 12.)

In order to solve the above-described problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a steering column tilting apparatus having a latch assembly and a latch assembly for preventing a latching phenomenon of a gear structure for fixing a tilt of a steering column tilting apparatus.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixed gear comprising: a fixed gear provided at one side of a bracket and having a first tooth formed on an outer side; A movable gear having a second tooth portion formed on an inner side thereof to engage with the first tooth portion and a plurality of driven cam projections formed on an outer side thereof; And a driving cam having a plurality of driving cam protrusions for moving the movable gear in the direction of the fixed gear in contact with the driven cam projections.

At this time, the drive cam is configured to engage with the fixed gear in a state in which one side of the movable gear is inclined during a locking operation.

The driving cam protrusions may include first driving cam protrusions and second driving cam protrusions formed in different shapes.

The first driving cam projection and the second driving cam projection are radially formed and arranged such that the first driving cam projection is engaged with the driven cam projection in a locking operation of the driving cam before the second driving cam projection So as to be in contact with each other.

The center angle of the second driving cam protrusion is smaller than the center angle of the first driving cam protrusion.

The driving cam protrusions may be composed of a first driving cam projection having an inclined first driving cam surface and a second driving cam projection having a second driving cam surface inclined at an angle larger than the first driving cam surface .

The driven cam protrusions include a first driven cam surface formed to coincide with the first drive cam surface in accordance with the drive cam projection at the corresponding position, and a second driven cam surface formed to conform to the second drive cam surface. do.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering column tilting apparatus, which is coupled with the latch assembly to adjust a tilt of a steering column supported by the bracket.

The latch assembly according to the present invention has an effect of preventing breakage and wear of the gears and preventing the teeth from being stuck together when the movable and fixed gears are engaged with each other.

In addition, the steering column tilting apparatus of the present invention including the latch assembly has the advantage of reducing malfunctions in adjusting the tilt of the steering column, securing the steering column efficiently, and securing the safety of the driver.

1 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional steering column tilting apparatus.
2 is a bottom perspective view of a steering column tilting apparatus having a latch assembly according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the latch assembly is disassembled in FIG. 2. FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a steering column tilting apparatus having a latch assembly.
5 is an exploded perspective view of the bracket and the latch assembly;
Figures 6 and 7 are exploded perspective views of the latch assembly.
8 is a view for explaining the movable gear.
9 is a view for explaining the drive cam.
10 and 11 are views showing the structure of the movable gear and the driving cam according to an example.
12 is a view showing a structure of a movable gear and a drive cam according to another example.
13 is a view showing a state in which the latch assembly is assembled.
FIG. 14 is a view of the latch assembly in a locked state as viewed from the direction aa 'of FIG.
Fig. 15 is a view of the locked latch assembly in which the position of the drive cam is changed, as viewed from the direction bb 'of Fig. 13;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components throughout the drawings. Further, if it is determined that the gist of the present invention may be blurred, detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but it goes without saying that the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto and can be practiced by those skilled in the art.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a steering column tilting apparatus having a latch assembly according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which the latch assembly is disassembled in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a steering column tilting apparatus having a latch assembly, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a bracket and a latch assembly, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are exploded perspective views of a latch assembly.

The steering column tilting apparatus A according to the present invention shown in Figs. 2 to 4 is for adjusting the inclination of a steering column 1 supported by a bracket 10 fixed to a vehicle body, And a latch assembly 100 for fixing the angle.

At this time, the latch assembly 100 is fixed to the bracket 10 in a state of being fastened to the steering column 1.

Here, the steering column 1 may be a steering column of a known technique, and is not a technical gist of the present invention, so a detailed description of its structure and function will be omitted. The steering column 1 shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is shown by a thin broken line.

A part of the bracket 10 is shown to omit a portion of the bracket 10 in order to show the coupling structure of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bracket 10 is formed so as to have a "T" shape, and the horizontal plate is assembled to the vehicle body to fix the steering column tilting apparatus A, The plate serves to support the steering column 1.

Specifically, the steering column 1 is interposed between the vertical plates of the bracket 10 and has a hole through which the tilt bolt 110 passes, and is supported on the bracket 10 through engagement with the latch assembly 100.

The vertical plate of the bracket 10 is formed with a support hole 12 in which the latch assembly 100 is assembled and the support hole 12 is formed in a longitudinally elongated shape such that the inclination of the steering column 1 can be adjusted. .

Hereinafter, the latch assembly 100 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

The latch assembly 100 of the present invention includes a tilt bolt 110, a fixed gear 120, a movable gear 130, a spring 150, a driving cam 160, and a lever 180.

The tilt bolt 110 sequentially passes through the fixed gear 120, the movable gear 130, the drive cam 160 and the lever 180 after passing through the support hole 12 of the bracket 10, The movable gear 130, the driving cam 160, and the lever 180 are closely contacted with each other.

At this time, the spring 150 is interposed between the fixed gear 120 and the movable gear 130 to provide elasticity to the movable gear 130 so that the movable gear 130 is moved in the direction of the lever 180 in the unlocked state .

The driving cam 160 is coupled to the lever 180 and rotates together with the lever 180. When the lever 180 rotates in the locking direction, the driving cam 160 moves the movable gear 130 in the direction of the fixed gear 120, (130) and the fixed gear (120) are engaged with each other.

Conversely, when the lever 180 rotates in the unlocking direction, the urging of the driving cam 160 relative to the movable gear 130 is released, and the movable gear 130 is rotated by the resilient force of the spring 150, Respectively.

The fixed gear 120 provided at one side of the bracket 10 includes a hexagonal fixed gear body 122 and a first tooth portion 129 formed on the outer side of the fixed gear body 102.

The first teeth 129 are formed in the longitudinal direction of the fixed gear body 122 and are arranged side by side on the left and right sides of the outer side surface of the fixed gear body 122.

An assembled portion 124 protruding from the inside of the fixed gear body 122 is inserted into the support hole 12 so that the fixed gear 120 is fixed to the bracket 10, And a fixed gear elongated hole 126 through which the bolt 110 passes.

The fixed gear body 122 has a recess 128 formed along the rim of the stationary gear hole 126. One end of the spring 150 abuts against the engaging portion 128, do.

8 is a view for explaining the movable gear. Specifically, FIG. 8A shows the inside of the movable gear 130, and FIG. 8B shows the outside of the movable gear 130. FIG.

The movable gear 130 includes a movable gear body 132, a second tooth portion 138 formed on the inner side of the movable gear body 132 to engage with the first tooth portion 129, And a plurality of driven cam protrusions 140 projecting from the driven cam protrusion 140.

Specifically, the movable gear body 132 is formed to surround the fixed gear body 122 when engaged with the fixed gear body 122.

A movable gear hole 134 through which the tilt bolt 110 passes is formed at the center of the movable gear body 132.

The other end of the spring 150 is in contact with the spring support jaw 136 so that the other end of the spring 150 is supported by the spring support jaw 136. The spring support jaw 136 is formed on the inner side of the movable gear body 132 along the rim of the movable gear hole 134, do.

The second teeth 138 are arranged side by side on the left and right sides of the inner surface of the movable gear body 132 so as to face the first teeth 129.

A plurality of driven cam protrusions 140 are formed on the outer surface of the movable gear body 132 such that the driven cam protrusions 140 are radially formed and disposed around the movable gear hole 134.

Each of the driven cam protrusions 140 has a driven cam surface 142, 144 formed in the shape of an inclined surface.

9 is a view for explaining the drive cam. Specifically, FIG. 9A shows the inside of the driving cam 160, and FIG. 9B shows the outside of the driving cam 160. As shown in FIG.

The drive cam 160 has a drive cam body 162 and a drive cam hole 164 through which the tilt bolt 110 passes is formed at the center of the drive cam body 162.

A plurality of driving cam protrusions 166 and 167 protruding from the inner side surface of the driving cam body 162 to move the movable gear 130 in the direction of the fixed gear 120 in contact with the driven cam protrusion 140.

At this time, the driving cam protrusions 166 and 167 are radially formed and arranged around the driving cam hole 164.

Each drive cam projection 166, 167 has a drive cam surface 168, 170 formed in the form of an inclined surface.

The driving cam protrusions 166 and 167 are accommodated in a space provided between the driven cam protrusions 140 in the unlocked state and are rotated by the tilt bolt 110 in the locking operation, The movable gear 130 is pushed in the direction of the fixed gear 120.

A lever-engaging portion 172 of a polygonal shape is protruded from the outside of the driving cam body 162.

A lever hole 182 is formed in the lever 180 for easily rotating the driving cam 160. A lever engaging portion 172 is inserted into the lever hole 182 to connect the lever 180 ).

10 and 11 are views showing a structure of a movable gear and a driving cam according to an example, FIG. 12 is a view showing a structure of a movable gear and a driving cam according to another example, and FIG. 13 is a cross- Fig. FIG. 14 is a view of the latch assembly in the locked state, taken along the line a-a 'of FIG. 13, and FIG. 15 is a view of the locked latch assembly in which the position of the drive cam is changed, as viewed from the direction b-b' of FIG.

The latch assembly 100 described above may be configured such that during the initial engagement of the first tooth portion 129 and the second tooth portion 138 in the locking operation of the drive cam 160, Is engaged with the fixed gear (120) in an inclined state.

In the initial operation in which the second tooth portion 138 is coupled to the first tooth portion 129 in this way, only the portion of the second tooth portion 138 is first moved to the first tooth portion 129 in a state in which the second tooth portion 138 is inclined. And the remaining portions are gradually coupled to each other to prevent the tooth-on-tooth phenomenon.

Hereinafter, the tooth coupling structure of the latch assembly 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. FIG.

10 and 11, a description will be made of a process in which the movable gear 130 is gradually engaged with the movable gear 130 in a state in which the movable gear 130 is inclined by the structure of the movable gear 130 and the driving cam 160 according to an example.

The driving cam protrusions 166 and 167 formed on the driving cam 160 in the structure of the driving gear 130 and the driving cam 160 according to an exemplary embodiment are formed in the same manner as the first driving And includes a cam protrusion 166 and a second driving cam protrusion 167.

More specifically, the first driving cam protrusion 166 and the second driving cam protrusion 167 are both formed and arranged radially, but the central angle of the second driving cam protrusion 167 is the same as that of the first driving cam protrusion 167. [ The first driving cam protrusion 166 is provided so as to contact the driven cam protrusion 140 before the second driving cam protrusion 167 in the locking operation of the driving cam 160 There is a difference.

At this time, the driven cam protrusion 140 and the driven cam surfaces 142 and 144 formed on the movable gear 130 are all formed in the same shape.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, each of the driven cam protrusions 140 is disposed on each quadrant that divides the outer surface of the movable gear body 132 into four zones, and the driven cam protrusions 140 Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 32.5. ≪ / RTI >

Two first drive cam protrusions 166 and two second drive cam protrusions 167 are provided, and the same kind of drive cam protrusions 166 and 167 are disposed adjacent to each other.

At this time, the central angle of the first driving cam protrusion 166 excluding the first driving cam surface 168 is formed to be 32.5 degrees, and the central angle of the second driving cam protrusion 167, except for the second driving cam surface 170, The central angle with respect to the flat portion is formed to be 22.5 DEG.

The driving cam protrusions 166 and 167 are accommodated in the interval between the driven cam protrusions 140. When the center angle of the second driving cam protrusion 167 is smaller than the center angle of the first driving cam protrusion 166 A gap is formed between the second driven cam surface 144 and the second drive cam surface 170 by an angular difference of 10 degrees as shown in Fig. 11 (a).

On the other hand, the first driving cam protrusion 166 formed to match the interval between the driven cam protrusions 140 maintains the first driving cam surface 168 in contact with the first driven cam surface 142.

Therefore, when the driving cam 160 rotates for the locking operation, the first driving cam protrusion 166 pushes the driven cam protrusion 140 before the second driving cam protrusion 167, The cam follower 167 contacts the corresponding driven cam protrusion 140 after the lever 180 is rotated by 10 degrees.

In this process, as shown in FIG. 14 or 15, one side of the movable gear 130 is tilted so as to make an initial engagement with the fixed gear 120.

Hereinafter, the structure of the movable gear 130 and the drive cam 160 according to another example will be described with reference to FIG.

In the structure of the movable gear 130 and the drive cam 160 according to another example, the drive cam protrusions 166 and 167 include a first drive cam protrusion 166 having a sloped first drive cam surface 168, And a second driving cam projection 167 having a second driving cam surface 170 whose photograph angle is larger than the first driving cam surface 168. [

At this time, the first driving cam protrusion 166 and the second driving cam protrusion 167 are all formed in the same shape except for the driving cam surfaces 168 and 170.

That is, the first driving cam protrusion 166 and the second driving cam protrusion 167 are formed in the same shape except that the slopes of the driving cam surfaces 168 and 170 are different from each other.

In addition, two first drive cam protrusions 166 and two second drive cam protrusions 167 are provided, and the same kind of drive cam protrusions 166 and 167 are disposed adjacent to each other.

On the other hand, the driven cam protrusions 140 corresponding to the drive cam protrusions 166 and 167 are provided with the first driven cam surface 142 formed to coincide with the first drive cam surface 168 along the drive cam protrusions 166 and 167 at the corresponding positions, And a second driven cam surface 144 formed to coincide with the second drive cam surface 170.

The drive cam protrusions 166 and 167 provided in this manner maintain the respective drive cam surfaces 168 and 170 in contact with the corresponding driven cam surfaces 142 and 144 in the unlocked state.

In this state, when the driving cam 160 rotates for the locking operation, the moving distance A of the driven cam protrusion 140 pushed by the first driving cam protrusion 166 against the same turning angle of the driving cam 160 Is shorter than the moving distance B of the driven cam protrusion 140 pushed by the second driving cam protrusion 167. [

In other words, the driven cam protrusion 140 and the second driven cam surface 144, which have the first driven cam surface 142 in the same rotation angle range by the difference in the inclination angles of the different driving cam surfaces 168, 170 and the driven cam surfaces 142, 144, (A < B) is generated in the distance that the driven cam protuberance 140 having the cam follower 140 moves.

As a result, the driving cam 160 causes a portion of the movable gear 130 to be inclined. As shown in FIG. 14 or 15, the movable gear 130 is inclined with respect to the fixed gear 120 in a state where one side is inclined Thereby forming an initial coupling.

On the other hand, depending on the position of the drive cam protrusion 166 or 167 that induces the drive gear 130 to tilt toward the fixed gear 120 among the drive cam protrusions 166 and 167, 129 can be changed.

For example, when the first drive cam protrusion 166 acts as a factor to cause the movable gear 130 to tilt, the first drive cam protrusion 166 is moved upward or downward of the movable gear 130 The one end of the second tooth 138 is first engaged with the first tooth 129 as shown in FIG. 14, and the tooth is gradually engaged.

On the contrary, if the first driving cam protrusion 166 is disposed on the left or right side of the movable gear with reference to Fig. 13, as shown in Fig. 15, the second teeth 138 of either one of the pair of second teeth 138 Is first engaged with the first tooth portion 129, and then the other second tooth portion 138 is engaged with the tooth.

The latch assembly 100 according to the present invention allows the movable gear 130 to gradually engage with the fixed gear 120 in a state in which the movable gear 130 is inclined so that the fixed gear 120 and the movable gear 130 are engaged with each other. Which prevents the occurrence of a tooth catching phenomenon which may occur when the gear is broken, thereby reducing the breakage and wear of the gear and allowing the gears to be stably coupled.

The steering column tilting apparatus A having the latch assembly 100 can reduce malfunctions in adjusting the inclination of the steering column 1 and can secure the steering column 1 efficiently and secure the driver It is very useful in terms of.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, substitutions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. will be. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention and the accompanying drawings are intended to illustrate and not to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments and accompanying drawings. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

A: Steering column tilting device
1: Steering column 10: Bracket
12: Support hole 100: Latch assembly
110: Tilt bolt 115: Fixing member
120: fixed gear 122: fixed gear body
124: Assembly section 126: Fixed gear long shaft
128: latching portion 129: first tooth portion
130: movable gear 132: movable gear body
134: movable gear hole 136: spring supporting jaw
138: second tooth portion 140: driven cam projection
142: first driven cam face 144: second driven cam face
150: spring 160: drive cam
162: driving cam body 164: driving cam hole
166: first driving cam projection 167: second driving cam projection
168: first drive cam surface 170: second drive cam surface
172: lever engaging portion 180: lever
182: Lever hole

Claims (8)

A fixed gear provided at one side of the bracket and having a first tooth formed on the outer side;
A movable gear having a second tooth portion formed on an inner side thereof to engage with the first tooth portion and a plurality of driven cam projections formed on an outer side thereof; And
And a driving cam having a plurality of driving cam protrusions for moving the movable gear in the direction of the fixed gear in contact with the driven cam projections. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the drive cam engages with the fixed gear in a state in which one side of the movable gear is inclined during a locking operation. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the driving cam protrusions comprise first driving cam protrusions and second driving cam protrusions formed in different shapes. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the first driving cam projection and the second driving cam projection are formed and arranged radially,
Wherein the first driving cam projection is configured to contact the driven cam projection in advance of the second driving cam projection in the locking operation of the driving cam. 5. The method of claim 4,
And a central angle of the second driving cam protrusion is smaller than a center angle of the first driving cam projection. 3. The method of claim 2,
The driving cam protrusions
A first driving cam projection having an inclined first driving cam surface and a second driving cam projection having a second driving cam surface inclined at an angle greater than the first driving cam surface. The method according to claim 6,
The driven cam projections
A first driven cam surface formed to coincide with the first drive cam surface in accordance with the drive cam projection at the corresponding position, and a second driven cam surface formed to conform to the second drive cam surface, respectively. The steering column tilting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the inclination of the steering column supported by the bracket is adjusted by engaging with the latch assembly of any one of claims 1 to 7.

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