JP2005206042A - Steering column device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering column device capable of fixing a column to a vehicle body with a large holding force even when an operation lever is operated with a light force.
When an operation lever 86 is turned, a thrust bearing 83 is interposed between the operation lever 86 and a nut 85, so that the operation lever 86 can be operated with a small force, and a distance bracket is provided. Even if the side plates 71A and 71B of the No. 7 are firmly tightened by the side plates 62A and 62B of the tilt bracket 6, the force required to operate the operation lever 86 is slight. It can be tightened with a strong tightening force.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering column device, and more particularly to a steering column device that absorbs an impact when a driver has a secondary collision with a steering wheel in a vehicle collision.

  In the steering column device designed to absorb the impact at the time of the secondary collision, when the driver collides with the steering wheel, the distance bracket integrated with the column disengages from the bracket fixed to the vehicle body and moves to the vehicle body front side. By doing so, the driver is protected from injury.

  In such a steering column device, it is necessary to fasten the distance bracket to the bracket with a large holding force so that the column is detached from the bracket only when a large impact force at the time of collision is applied to the steering wheel. In the steering column device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-22384, the tightening nut that is rotated by the operation lever is in surface contact with the bracket that tightens the distance bracket, so the frictional force of the contact surface between the tightening nut and the bracket is low. large.

  Therefore, in order to fasten the distance bracket to the bracket with a large holding force, it is necessary to operate the operation lever against the frictional force of the contact surface, so the force required to operate the operation lever is proportional to the holding force. It is not preferable because it becomes large.

Actual fair 2-22384 specification

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a steering column device that can fix a column to a vehicle body with a large holding force even when an operation lever is operated with a light force.

  The above problem is solved by the following means. That is, the first invention is a steering column that rotatably supports a steering shaft on which a steering wheel is mounted, a bracket fixed to a vehicle body, and is clamped by the bracket so as to be movable forward of the vehicle in a secondary collision. A distance bracket for supporting the steering column, the bracket, a clamping rod inserted through the distance bracket, a first pressing member provided at one end of the clamping rod and pressing one side of the bracket against one side of the distance bracket; A second pressing member provided at the other end of the clamping rod and pressing the other side of the bracket against the other side of the distance bracket; an operating lever rotatably provided at the other end of the clamping rod; The rotation operation is performed by pressing the second pressing member. A steering column device comprising: a conversion mechanism for converting to an operation; a contact surface between the operation lever and the tightening rod; or a rolling contact member provided on a contact surface between the operation lever and the bracket. It is.

  A second invention is the steering column device according to the first invention, wherein the conversion mechanism is a cam mechanism.

  A third invention is a steering column device according to the first invention, wherein the conversion mechanism is a screw feed mechanism.

  A fourth invention is a steering column device according to any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the rolling contact member is a thrust bearing.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering column for rotatably supporting a steering shaft to which a steering wheel is mounted, a bracket fixed to a vehicle body, and sandwiched by the bracket so as to be movable forward of the vehicle in a secondary collision. A distance bracket that supports the bracket, a clamping rod that is inserted through the distance bracket, a first pressing member that is provided at one end of the clamping rod and that presses one side of the bracket against one side of the distance bracket, and the clamping rod A second pressing member that is provided at the other end of the bracket and presses the other side surface of the bracket against the other side surface of the distance bracket, and is rotatably supported at the other end of the clamping rod so as to face the second pressing member. Rotating member, opposite of the second pressing member and the rotating member A cam surface provided on the surface, an operating lever connected to the rotating member, a contact surface between the operating lever and the clamping rod, or a thrust bearing provided on a contact surface between the rotating member and the clamping rod. A steering column device characterized by comprising:

  A sixth invention is a steering column that rotatably supports a steering shaft on which a steering wheel is mounted, a bracket that is fixed to a vehicle body, and that is clamped by the bracket so as to be movable forward in the event of a secondary collision. A distance bracket that supports the bracket, a clamping rod inserted through the distance bracket, a first pressing member that is provided at one end of the clamping rod and presses one side surface of the bracket against one side surface of the distance bracket, and the clamping rod A male screw provided at the other end, a nut that is screwed into the male screw and presses the other side of the bracket against the other side of the distance bracket, an operating lever connected to the nut, a pressing surface of the nut, and the above Thrust on the contact surface with the bracket A steering column apparatus characterized in that it comprises a bearing.

  According to a seventh aspect, in the steering column device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the bracket is provided with a long slot for tilting through which the tightening rod is inserted, and the distance bracket for supporting the steering column. The steering column device is capable of tilting along the long tilting groove.

  In the steering column device of the present invention, since the rolling contact member is interposed on the contact surface between the rotating operation lever and the tightening rod or the contact surface between the operation lever and the bracket, the holding force of the distance bracket is increased. However, since the force required to operate the operation lever is kept small, a large holding force of the distance bracket can be obtained with an easy operation.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an example applied to a steering column apparatus having a tilting mechanism is shown. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the entirety of a first embodiment of a steering column device of the present invention. The steering column device 1 has an upper column 21 and a lower column 22 that are fitted so as to be telescopically movable in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, and an upper steering shaft 31 is rotatably supported on the upper column 21. A lower steering shaft 32 is rotatably supported on the shaft 22.

  The upper steering shaft 31 and the lower steering shaft 32 are also fitted so as to be capable of telescopic movement in the left-right direction in FIG. The upper steering shaft 31 has a steering wheel 4 mounted on the right end (upper end) thereof, and a lower end of the lower steering shaft 32 is connected with a steering gear including a rack and pinion mechanism or the like via a universal joint (not shown). .

  When the driver rotates the steering wheel 4, the rotational force is transmitted to the steering gear via the upper steering shaft 31 and the lower steering shaft 32, and the steering angle of the wheel can be changed via the rack and pinion mechanism. . When the driver collides with the steering wheel 4 at the time of a vehicle collision, the upper column 21 and the upper steering shaft 31 move to the left in FIG. 1 and collapse to absorb the collision energy.

  A tilt bracket 6 is fixed to the vehicle body 5 with a bolt (not shown), and an upper column 21 is attached to the tilt bracket 6 so as to be tiltable.

  2 is an enlarged side view of the tilt bracket 6 of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of the upper column 21, and shows the detailed shape of the distance bracket 7. The first embodiment shows an embodiment in which a cam mechanism is used as a conversion mechanism for converting the turning operation of the operation lever into the tightening operation of the distance bracket 7.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the tilt bracket 6 is composed of a pair of plates having an L-shaped cross section. That is, it is configured by upper mounting portions 61A and 61B attached to the vehicle body 5 and side plates 62A and 62B extending downward from the mounting portions 61A and 61B. The left and right side plates 62A and 62B are connected by a connecting plate 63 to reinforce the rigidity of the tilt bracket 6.

  The side plates 71A and 71B of the distance bracket 7 having a U-shaped cross section are sandwiched inside the side plates 62A and 62B of the tilt bracket 6, and the upper ends of the side plates 71A and 71B are fixed to the upper column 21 by welding. . A front plate 72 is formed integrally with the distance bracket 7, and the upper end of the front plate 72 is also fixed to the upper column 21 by welding, thereby strengthening the rigidity of the distance bracket 7.

  U-shaped cutouts 73A and 73B are formed in the side plates 71A and 71B of the distance bracket 7, and the cutouts 73A and 73B open to the right steering wheel 4 side. The side plates 62A and 62B of the tilt bracket 6 are formed with long tilt long grooves 64A and 64B in the vertical direction of FIGS. 2 and 3, and the notches 73A and 73B and the tilt long grooves 64A and 64B are formed in a round bar shape. The tightening rod 8 penetrates and extends left and right.

  Therefore, when the driver collides with the steering wheel 4 at the time of the vehicle collision, the U-shaped cutouts 73A and 73B of the distance bracket 7 integrated with the upper column 21 are moved away from the fastening rod 8 and moved to the left in FIG. it can.

  In FIG. 3, a fixed cam 81, a movable cam 82, and a thrust bearing 83 as a rolling contact member are fitted on the left side of the tightening rod 8 in this order. The fixed cam 81 has a small-diameter portion 81 </ b> A on the right side that is formed in a rectangular shape that abuts against the inner surface of the long groove for tilt 64 </ b> A, and prevents the fixed cam 81 from rotating with respect to the tilt bracket 6. An operation lever 86 is fixed to the left side surface of the movable cam 82 that is rotatably fitted on the outer periphery of the tightening rod 8, and the right side surface of the thrust bearing 83 is in contact with the left side surface of the operation lever 86.

  Cam surfaces are formed on opposite side surfaces of the fixed cam 81 and the movable cam 82, respectively. When the operation lever 86 is rotated in the column clamp direction and the movable cam 82 is rotated with respect to the fixed cam 81, the fixed cam 81 The cam surface peak of the movable cam 82 rides on the peak of the cam surface 81, separates the movable cam 82 and the fixed cam 81, strongly presses the fixed cam 81 against the side plate 62A, and the reaction force causes the clamping rod 8 to move. Press left. When the operating lever 86 is rotated in the column unclamping direction, the valley of the cam surface of the movable cam 82 falls on the peak of the cam surface of the fixed cam 81, the movable cam 82 approaches the fixed cam 81, and the fixed cam 81 is moved to the side plate 62A. As a result, the tightening rod 8 moves to the right. The contact between the cam surfaces of the fixed cam 81 and the movable cam 82 may be a rolling contact via a rolling contact member such as a roller instead of a surface contact.

  A male screw 84 is formed at the left end of the tightening rod 8, and the tightening force of a nut 85 screwed into the male screw 84 is adjusted, and the operating lever 86 and the movable cam 82 are fixed to the fixed cam 81 via the thrust bearing 83. The fixed cam 81 is fastened to the side plate 62A with an appropriate tightening force. A disc-shaped head 87 is in contact with the outside of the side plate 62B at the right end of the clamping rod 8 and sandwiches the side plates 62A and 62B of the tilt bracket 6 with the fixed cam 81 described above. An anti-rotation portion 87A on the left side of the disc-shaped head 87 is formed in a rectangular shape that abuts against the inner surface of the long slot for tilting 64B, and prevents the tightening rod 8 from rotating about the tilt bracket 6.

  When the operation lever 86 is rotated, the thrust bearing 83 is interposed between the operation lever 86 and the nut 85, so that the operation lever 86 can be operated with a small force, and the side plate 71A of the distance bracket 7 is operated. , 71B is strongly tightened with the side plates 62A and 62B of the tilt bracket 6, the force required to operate the operation lever 86 is slight, and the distance bracket 7 can be easily tightened against the tilt bracket 6 with a simple operation. Can be tightened.

  Therefore, in the column unclamped state, the distance bracket 7 integrated with the upper column 21 can move along the tilting long grooves 64A and 64B in the direction of the arrow X in FIG. The inclination angle of the steering wheel 4 can be adjusted by the movement.

  To the upper column 21, two L-shaped stays 23A and 23B are fixed to the left side of the distance bracket 7 by welding in a side view. The tension springs 24A and 24B are stretched between the attachment portions 61A and 61B of the tilt bracket 6 and the stays 23A and 23B. The tension springs 24A and 24B always urge the upper column 21 upward through the stays 23A and 23B to balance the weight of the tilted portion in the column unclamped state, so that the driver can adjust the inclination angle of the steering wheel 4. Make adjustments easy.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an energy absorber 25 that absorbs collision energy when a driver hits the steering wheel 4 at the time of a vehicle collision is provided on the lower surface of the upper column 21. The energy absorber 25 is formed by bending a single round bar. The energy absorber 25 starts from the contact portion 25A (extending in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2) disposed on the left side of the front plate 72 of the distance bracket 7 and is at both ends of the contact portion 25A (the paper surface of FIG. 2). 1 and 2 to the right side of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 with a slope that rises to the right, slightly beyond the clamping rod 8, and then U-turns counterclockwise around the clamping rod 8 to the left It extends with a downward sloping slope.

  When the driver collides with the steering wheel 4 at the time of a vehicle collision and the distance bracket 7 is disengaged from the clamping rod 8 and moves to the left in FIG. 1, the front plate 72 of the distance bracket 7 moves the contact portion 25A of the energy absorber 25 on the left side. And the energy absorber 25 is bent while squeezing the outer periphery of the tightening rod 8. The frictional resistance of the outer periphery of the tightening rod 8 and the energy absorber 25, and the energy absorber 25 along the outer periphery of the tightening rod 8. The collision energy is absorbed by the energy required for bending.

  According to the steering column device 1 of the first embodiment described above, when the operation lever 86 is rotated, the thrust bearing 83 is interposed between the operation lever 86 and the nut 85. Can be operated with a small force, and even if the distance bracket 7 is firmly tightened to the side plates 62A and 62B of the tilt bracket 6, the increase in the force required to operate the operation lever 86 is small, so that the operation is easy. The distance bracket 7 can be fastened to the tilt bracket 6 with a strong fastening force.

  In the first embodiment, the right side surface of the thrust bearing 83 is in contact with the left side surface of the operation lever 86 to reduce friction during operation of the operation lever, but the left side surface of the movable cam 82 is connected to the left side of the operation lever 86. By causing the right side surface of the thrust bearing 83 to come into contact with the left side surface of the movable cam 82 by projecting to the left side of the surface, friction during operation of the operation lever may be reduced.

  Moreover, although 1st Embodiment showed embodiment applied to the steering column apparatus in which tilt operation is possible, you may apply to the steering column apparatus which cannot perform tilt operation, and both tilt operation and telescopic operation are possible You may apply to a steering column apparatus.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a second embodiment of the steering column device of the present invention. The second embodiment shows an embodiment in which a screw feed mechanism is used as a conversion mechanism for converting the turning operation of the operation lever into a distance bracket tightening operation. In FIG. 5, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  A thrust bearing 88 is fitted on the left side of the clamping rod 8. A male screw 84 is formed at the left end of the clamping rod 8, and an operation lever 891 is integrally formed with a nut 89 screwed into the male screw 84. The right side surface of the nut 89 is in contact with the thrust bearing 88, the nut 89 is pressed against the side plate 62A via the thrust bearing 88, and the thrust bearing 88 is fastened to the side plate 62A with an appropriate tightening force.

  When the operation lever 891 is rotated in the column clamp direction, the nut 89 is screwed into the male screw 84 and moves to the right, and the nut 89 presses the thrust bearing 88 against the side plate 62A. With this reaction force, the tightening rod 8 moves to the left. A ball screw mechanism with less friction may be provided by interposing a ball on a contact surface of a screw that is screwed into the male screw 84 and the nut 89 of the second embodiment. Other structures are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  When the operation lever 891 is turned, the thrust bearing 88 is interposed between the side plate 62A and the nut 89. Therefore, the operation lever 891 can be operated with a small force, and the distance bracket 7 is attached to the tilt bracket 6. Even if the side plates 62A and 62B are strongly tightened, the force required to operate the operation lever 891 is slight, and the distance bracket 7 can be fastened to the tilt bracket 6 with a strong tightening force with an easy operation.

1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing an entire first embodiment of a steering column device 1 of the present invention. The enlarged side view of the tilt bracket 6 of FIG. 1 is shown. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is an enlarged side view of the upper column 21, and shows the detailed shape of the distance bracket 7. It is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering column apparatus 21 Upper column 22 Lower column 23A, 23B Stay 24A, 24B Tension spring 25 Energy absorber 25A Contact part 31 Upper steering shaft 32 Lower steering shaft 4 Steering wheel 5 Car body 6 Tilt bracket 61A, 61B attaching part 62A, 62B Side plate 63 Connecting plate 64A, 64B Long slot for tilt 7 Distance bracket 71A, 71B Side plate 72 Front plate 73A, 73B Notch 8 Tightening rod 81 Fixed cam 81A Small diameter portion 82 Movable cam 83 Thrust bearing 84 Male screw 85 Nut 86 Operation lever 87 Head Part 87A Non-rotating part 88 Thrust bearing 89 Nut 891 Operation lever

Claims (7)

A steering column that rotatably supports a steering shaft on which a steering wheel is mounted,
Brackets fixed to the car body,
A distance bracket that is clamped by the bracket so as to be movable forward in the event of a secondary collision and supports the steering column;
A tightening rod inserted through the bracket and the distance bracket,
A first pressing member provided at one end of the tightening rod and pressing one side surface of the bracket against one side surface of the distance bracket;
A second pressing member provided at the other end of the clamping rod and pressing the other side of the bracket against the other side of the distance bracket;
An operation lever rotatably provided at the other end of the tightening rod;
A conversion mechanism for converting the rotation operation of the operation lever into the pressing operation of the second pressing member;
A steering column device comprising a rolling contact member provided on a contact surface between the operation lever and the clamping rod or a contact surface between the operation lever and the bracket. In the steering column apparatus according to claim 1,
A steering column device, wherein the conversion mechanism is a cam mechanism. In the steering column apparatus according to claim 1,
A steering column device, wherein the conversion mechanism is a screw feed mechanism. In the steering column device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A steering column device, wherein the rolling contact member is a thrust bearing. A steering column that rotatably supports a steering shaft on which a steering wheel is mounted,
Brackets fixed to the car body,
A distance bracket that is clamped by the bracket so as to be movable forward in the event of a secondary collision and supports the steering column;
A tightening rod inserted through the bracket and the distance bracket,
A first pressing member provided at one end of the tightening rod and pressing one side surface of the bracket against one side surface of the distance bracket;
A second pressing member provided at the other end of the clamping rod and pressing the other side of the bracket against the other side of the distance bracket;
A rotating member supported rotatably at the other end of the tightening rod so as to face the second pressing member;
A cam surface provided on the opposing surface of the second pressing member and the rotating member;
An operating lever coupled to the rotating member;
A steering column device comprising a thrust bearing provided on a contact surface between the operation lever and the tightening rod or on a contact surface between the rotating member and the tightening rod. A steering column that rotatably supports a steering shaft on which a steering wheel is mounted,
Brackets fixed to the car body,
A distance bracket that is clamped by the bracket so as to be movable forward in the event of a secondary collision and supports the steering column;
A tightening rod inserted through the bracket and the distance bracket,
A first pressing member provided at one end of the tightening rod and pressing one side surface of the bracket against one side surface of the distance bracket;
A male screw provided at the other end of the clamping rod;
A nut that engages with the male screw and presses the other side of the bracket against the other side of the distance bracket;
An operating lever connected to the nut,
A steering column device comprising a thrust bearing provided on a contact surface between the pressing surface of the nut and the bracket. In the steering column device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A steering column device, wherein the bracket is provided with a long groove for tilt through which the tightening rod is inserted, and a distance bracket for supporting the steering column can be tilted along the long groove for tilt.

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