KR20190068152A - Telescope device for steering column of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a telescope device for a steering column of a vehicle. According to the present invention, the present invention relates to a telescope device for a steering column of a vehicle having a new structure, which adjusts a length of a steering shaft connected to a steering wheel while telescoping the steering shaft, and then, can stably fixate the steering shaft after the steering shaft is telescoped by using a gear. When a vehicle collides, impact energy applied to a steering column is easily absorbed by unfolding a rolled portion of a gear plate locked by the gear.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a telescope device for a steering column for an automobile,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telescope device for a steering column for an automobile, and more particularly, to a telescopic device for a steering column of a vehicle, which is capable of adjusting the telescoping length of the steering wheel and absorbing impact energy acting on the steering column side, To a telescope device of a column.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a steering apparatus for a vehicle includes a telescopic device for adjusting a distance between a driver and a steering wheel, and a tilting device for adjusting a tilting angle of the steering wheel.

The telescopic device is one of a kind of convenience device that adjusts the longitudinal length of the steering shaft connected to the steering wheel so that the distance between the driver and the steering wheel can be adjusted to a desired distance corresponding to the driver's body shape.

Such a telescopic device has a manual mode in which the driver directly transfers the steering wheel and steering shaft back and forth in the axial direction and an electric motor system in which motor power is used to improve the driver's convenience.

As an example of the prior art, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0065844 (May 2014.05.30) discloses a telescopic device for a steering column having a function of controlling a length of a steering wheel and buffering a collision. The steering mechanism includes a steering shaft connected to the steering wheel, an outer tube connected to the outer diameter portion of the steering shaft, a column housing connected to the body by a hollow structure in which the outer tube is inserted into the body so as to be movable back and forth, A lever that is rotatably connected to the outer tube to provide a locking force when fastened to the outer tube, and a curling plate that is extendably connectable between the outer tube and the column housing.

Therefore, when the driver unlocks the lever and then pushes the steering wheel forward or backward in accordance with the body of the driver, the steering shaft connected to the steering wheel and the outer tube connected to the steering shaft move forward or backward, When the lever is locked in the adjusted position, the steering shaft and the outer tube, including the steering wheel, are fixed.

Further, when an impact force is transmitted to the steering column portion while the driver hits the steering wheel at the time of collision of the vehicle, a curling plate (normally one end is curled), which functions as a shock absorbing portion, is deployed and impact force acting on the steering column portion Is buffered.

However, a separate load adjusting plate for adjusting the buffering force of the curling plate and other parts (guide and molding pins, etc.) for fixing the load adjusting plate are required, so that the number of parts constituting the conventional telescopic type steering column portion is large, And increasing the number of assembly operations.

In addition, when the lever is locked for fixing the position of the steering wheel and the steering shaft, the fastening bracket interlocking with the lever is easily deformed. As a result, the locking force of the lever is weakened and the locking force is released to the strong impact. There is a problem of deviating from the position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle steering apparatus capable of telescoping and adjusting a length of a steering shaft connected to a steering wheel, firmly fixing a steering shaft after a telescoping adjustment by using a gear, And it is an object of the present invention to provide a telescopic device for a steering column for an automobile having a structure in which an impact energy acting on a steering column side can be easily absorbed while a curled portion of a locked gear plate is expanded by a gear.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering apparatus comprising: an outer tube coupled to a steering shaft on a steering wheel; A column housing fixed to the vehicle body and having a lower end portion of the outer tube slidably inserted therein; An impact energy absorbing block formed at a bottom of the outer tube and exposed along a cut formed at the bottom of the column housing; The upper end portion of the plurality of tooth groove grooves is in close contact with the outer surface of the impact energy absorbing block and the lower end portion of the shock absorbing end portion is bent in reverse to be inserted into the friction induction channel in the impact energy absorbing block, A gear plate fixed to the column housing; A gearshaft rotatably mounted on a bottom of the column housing, the gearshaft being connected to a steering column position adjusting lever located at one side of the column housing; And a gear mounted on the gear shaft and locked or unlocked in the gear groove of the gear plate or unlocked from the gear groove; The steering column of the automotive steering column includes a steering column,

Preferably, a wing end is integrally formed at both ends of a point between the upper end and the lower end of the gear plate, and the wing end is equipped with a telescoping guide cover which closely contacts the column housing.

Further, a rubbing rivet connected to the impact energy absorbing block is riveted at a position adjacent to the gear groove of the gear plate.

Further, a coil spring inserted into a groove for passing through a spring formed on the upper surface of the gear, for providing a resilient restoring force in a locking direction to the gear is mounted on the gear shaft.

Preferably, a support block for rotatably supporting the gear shaft is integrally formed on both sides of the bottom surface of the column housing.

The fastening bracket is disposed on the outer surface of the support block and the lever is stacked on the outside of the fastening bracket so that the fastening bracket is pressed by the inclined stepped surface of the lever when the lever is locked, And the pressing of the tightening bracket by the inclined stepped surface of the lever is released.

Through the above-mentioned means for solving the problems, the present invention provides the following effects.

First, after the steering shaft connected to the steering wheel is telescoped and adjusted in length, the steering shaft can be fixed at a desired position with the locking force of the lever, and the steering shaft can be firmly fixed at a desired position The position fixing can be maintained in a rigid state after the adjustment of the length of the steering shaft connected to the steering wheel.

Second, when a collision occurs in a vehicle, when the impact force is transmitted to the steering shaft and the outer tube while the driver hits the steering wheel, the rear end bending portion (curled portion) of the toothed plate is locked So that the impact force can be easily absorbed.

1 and 2 are a perspective view and a bottom view of a telescope apparatus for a steering column for an automobile according to the present invention,
3 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a telescope apparatus for a steering column for an automobile according to the present invention,
4 is an enlarged view of a gear and a gear plate of a telescope device of a steering column for an automobile according to the present invention,
FIGS. 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views illustrating operational flows of a telescope apparatus for a steering column for an automobile according to the present invention;
6 is a graph showing impact load contrast strokes acting on a gear plate of a telescope device of a steering column for an automobile according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 are a perspective view and a bottom view of a telescope apparatus of a steering column according to the present invention, and reference numeral 10 denotes a steering shaft.

The front end of the steering shaft 10 is connected to a steering wheel (not shown) for steering, and the rear end is splined to the tie rod-side second steering shaft 11 extending toward the tie rod for steering.

At this time, an outer tube 20 is disposed on the outer diameter portion of the steering shaft 10, and the outer tube 20 and the steering shaft 10 are coupled to each other through bearings (not shown) And can be moved in a length-adjustable manner.

The lower end of the outer tube 20 is inserted into the columnar housing 30 such that the longitudinal length of the outer tube 20 can be adjusted. The columnar housing 30 is fixedly mounted at a predetermined position of the vehicle body.

According to the present invention, an impact energy absorbing block 22 is integrally formed on the bottom of the outer tube 20 so as to be exposed to the outside along a cutout 32 formed at the bottom of the column housing 30.

3, a friction induction channel 24 is formed in the interior of the impact energy absorbing block 22, the friction induction channel 24 having a longitudinally long rectangular cross section and an open rear end.

Particularly, a gear plate 40 is mounted on the impact energy absorbing block 22 and the column housing 30.

More specifically, the gear plate 40 is formed in an elongated strip shape. In the upper end, a plurality of gear grooves 42 are formed in a line at regular intervals, and a lower end portion of the gear plate 40 has an impact absorbing end 44).

The upper end portion of the gear plate 40 on which the gear groove 42 is formed is brought into close contact with the outer surface (bottom surface) of the impact energy absorbing block 22 and the impact absorbing end 44, Is inserted and disposed in the friction induction channel (24) of the piston (22).

A wing end 46 is integrally formed at a position between an upper end portion and a lower end portion of the gear plate 40 and a telescoping guide cover 48 made of a rubber material is attached to the wing end 46.

Accordingly, during the telescoping operation for adjusting the length of the steering wheel, the telescoping guide cover 48 attached to the blade end 46 is brought into sliding contact with the bottom surface of the column housing 30 Since the guide cover 48 is a rubber material during the telescoping operation, it prevents the gear plate 40 from directly contacting the column housing 30 and prevents the occurrence of joints due to slide contact.

A rivet 47 for rupture connected to the impact energy absorbing block 22 is riveted at a position adjacent to the gear groove 42 of the gear plate 40, that is, at a position adjacent to the fixed blade end 46.

A support block 34 for rotatably supporting the gearshaft is integrally formed on both sides of the bottom surface of the column housing 30. The gearshift shaft 50 is rotatably inserted into the support block 34, .

At this time, the gear shaft 50 is connected to the steering column position adjusting lever 12 positioned at one side of the column housing 30, and rotates together with the lever 12 during each rotation operation.

4, the gear shaft 50 is provided with a gear 60, which is locked in the gear groove 42 of the gear plate 40 or unlocked from the gear groove 42, Respectively.

To this end, a plurality of teeth 62 inserted into the gear groove 42 are integrally formed at the bottom of the gear 60.

A coil spring 66 is inserted into the gear shaft 50. A part of the coil spring 66 is inserted into the spring durability groove 64 formed on the upper surface of the gear 60, The coil spring 66 serves to provide an elastic restoring force in the locking direction of the gear 60, that is, a resilient restoring force of the gear 60 toward the gear groove 42 at all times.

On the other hand, a fastening bracket 14 is disposed on the outer surface of the support block 34 formed on the column housing 30, and the steering column position adjusting lever 12 is disposed on the outer side of the fastening bracket 14, do.

At this time, an inclined step surface 13 for pressing the tightening bracket 14 is formed on the inner surface of the lever 12.

The lever 12 can be locked in the locked position while the tightening bracket 14 is pressed by the inclined stepped surface 13 of the lever 12 during the locking rotation of the lever 12, The pressing of the tightening bracket 14 by the inclined step surface 13 of the lever 12 is released and the lever 12 can be released from the locking position.

Hereinafter, the operational flow of the steering column telescope apparatus of the present invention having the above-described structure will be described.

Steering Wheel  Length adjustment operation

Adjusting the length of the steering wheel means adjusting the front-to-rear distance between the driver and the steering wheel to a desired level according to the driver's body.

To this end, the driver rotates the lever 12 to the unlocking position.

When the lever 12 is rotated to the unlocking position, the pressing of the tightening bracket 14 by the inclined stepped surface 13 of the lever 12 is released and the lever 12 is released from the locked position, At the same time, the gear shaft 50 connected to the lever 12 rotates in the direction of lifting the gear 60.

Subsequently, the teeth 62 of the gear 60 are released from the gear groove 42 of the gear plate 40 and the lock to the gear plate 40 is released.

Subsequently, in the telescoping operation in which the driver moves the steering wheel back and forth, the steering shaft 10 connected to the steering wheel and the outer tube 20 fastened to the steering shaft 10 are moved together in the forward and backward directions.

Since the gear plate 40 connected by riveting to the impact energy absorbing block 22 of the outer tube 20 is also unlocked by the gear 60, .

At this time, since the telescoping guide cover 48, which is a rubber material attached to the blade end 46 of the gear plate 40, is in sliding contact with the bottom surface of the column housing 30, Thereby absorbing noise due to movement and preventing noise from being generated.

When the steering wheel is adjusted to the desired position by the driver and then the lever 12 is rotated in the locking direction again, the inclined stepped surface 13 of the lever 12 reaches the position for pressing the tightening bracket 14 The lever 12 is fixed and at the same time the gear shaft 50 connected to the lever 12 rotates the gear 60 in the locking direction.

Thus, the teeth 62 of the gear 60 are locked and inserted into the gear groove 42 of the gear plate 40 again.

Impact energy absorbing action

5A to 5C show the impact energy absorbing operation of the telescope apparatus for a steering column for an automobile according to the present invention, and Fig. 6 is a view showing an impact energy acting on a gear plate of a telescope apparatus for an automotive steering column according to the present invention. A graph showing load versus stroke.

When the driver's body hits the steering wheel in the event of a vehicle collision, impact energy is transmitted to the steering shaft 10 connected to the steering wheel and the outer tube 20 fastened to the steering shaft 10. [

At this time, the outer tube 20 is directed downward by the impact energy at the same time, and the breaking rivet 47 connected to the impact energy absorbing block 22 of the outer tube 20 is firstly cut, Absorbed.

Subsequently, the outer tube 20 is moved in the downward direction to unfold the shock absorbing end 44 of the gear plate 40.

More specifically, the upper end portion of the gear plate 40 where the gear groove 42 is formed is locked by the gear 60, and the impact energy absorbing block 22 of the outer tube 20 moves downward The impact absorbing end 44 of the friction induction channel 24 is pressed against the channel 24 while the impact absorbing end 44 of the friction induction channel 24 It collides with the inner wall and spreads horizontally, absorbing impact energy secondarily.

When the impact force is transmitted to the steering shaft and the outer tube 20 while the driver hits the steering wheel at the time of collision of the vehicle, the front end portion of the gear plate 40 is fixed by the gear 60, The shock absorbing end 44, which is the rear end bending portion of the shock absorber 40, is horizontally unfolded so that the impact energy can be easily absorbed and the injured driver can be reduced.

10: Steering shaft
11: second steering shaft
12: Lever
13:
14: Fastening bracket
20: outer tube
22: Shock absorbing block
24: Friction induction channel
30: column augmentation
32: incision
34: Support block
40: Gear plate
42:
44: Shock absorption stage
46:
47: Rivet
48: Guide cover
50: Gear shaft
60: Tooth
62: toothed
64: Spring ditch groove
66: coil spring

Claims (6)

An outer tube coupled with the steering shaft on the side of the steering wheel;
A column housing fixed to the vehicle body and having a lower end portion of the outer tube slidably inserted therein;
An impact energy absorbing block formed at a bottom of the outer tube and exposed along a cut formed at the bottom of the column housing;
The upper end portion of the plurality of tooth groove grooves is in close contact with the outer surface of the impact energy absorbing block and the lower end portion of the shock absorbing end portion is bent in reverse to be inserted into the friction induction channel in the impact energy absorbing block, A gear plate fixed to the column housing;
A gearshaft rotatably mounted on a bottom of the column housing, the gearshaft being connected to a steering column position adjusting lever located at one side of the column housing; And
A gear mounted on the gear shaft and locked or unlocked in the gear groove of the gear plate;
And a steering angle sensor for detecting steering angle of the steering column.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a wing end is integrally formed at both ends of a point between an upper end portion and a lower end portion of the gear plate and a telescoping guide cover which is closely attached to the column housing is attached to the wing end. Device.
The method according to claim 1,
And a rubbing rivet connected to the impact energy absorbing block is riveted at a position adjacent to the gear groove of the gear plate.
The method according to claim 1,
And a coil spring inserted into the groove for passing the spring formed on the upper surface of the gear to provide a resilient restoring force to the gear in the locking direction is mounted on the gear shaft.
The method according to claim 1,
And a support block for supporting the rotation of the gear shaft is integrally formed on both side portions of the bottom surface of the column housing.
The method of claim 5,
A fastening bracket is disposed on the outer surface of the support block. A lever is stacked on the outer side of the fastening bracket. When the lever is locked, the fastening bracket is pressed by the inclined step surface of the lever, And the pressing force of the tightening bracket is released by the inclined stepped surface of the telescopic device of the automotive steering column.

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