JPH0439807Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a so-called telescopic steering structure that moves a vehicle steering wheel in the axial direction of a steering shaft.

<Prior Art> The structure of a conventional telescopic steering wheel is shown in FIG. That is, the steering shaft 50 connected to a steering wheel (not shown) and the column tube 52 on the outside of the steering shaft 50 are configured to be extendable and retractable in the axial direction by spline connection or the like, and the movable side of the steering shaft 50 The steering wheel 54 is fixed to the shaft 50a with a screw 56, the shaft 50a is formed hollow, a push rod 58 is slidably inserted therein, and the screw is attached to one end of the shaft 50a by rotating a lever. a telescopic lever 6 that moves forward and pushes the push rod 58 into the shaft 50a;
0 is attached, and a plurality of continuously arranged spheres 62 in contact with the tip of the push rod 58 are led out to the side of the shaft 30a, and the surface of the spheres 62 is attached to the inner wall surface of the outer cylinder 50b of the steering shaft 50. They were starting to touch each other. Adjustment of the steering wheel 54 using the telescopic steering system configured as described above is carried out by loosening the telescopic lever 60 to release the pressing fixation of the sphere 62, moving the steering wheel 54 to a desired position, and then adjusting the telescopic lever 60. After tightening the clever lever 60, the steering wheel 54
was fixed in that position to match the body shape of the driver.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in such a configuration, the telescopic lever 60 for fixing the steering wheel 54 is placed in the center of the steering wheel 54, which is not only unfavorable in appearance but also prevents collisions. There are safety problems such as the steering shaft 50 and column tube 52 sometimes coming into contact with a part of the driver's body, and the problem that the overall structure becomes larger because the steering shaft 50 and column tube 52 have to be constructed to be extendable and retractable. The point was hot.

<Means for solving the problems> Therefore, in this invention, with the aim of solving the above problems, a telescopic steering wheel is used.
A collar fixed to a steering wheel side end of a steering shaft and having a spline in the axial direction of the steering shaft; a steering wheel that is slidably fitted to the spline of the collar by a boss provided in the center; and the collar. a ring that is slidably fitted into a spline of the steering wheel; and a boss and the ring of the steering wheel are rotated in mutually opposite directions in the circumferential direction of the collar, so that the boss and the ring are rotated along the collar. and a fixing means for fixing to the collar at an arbitrary position.

<Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows a telescopic steering wheel 2 according to the present invention, and this telescopic steering wheel 2 will be explained below with reference to an exploded assembly diagram of FIG. 2.

The steering shaft 4 is inserted into a cylindrical column tube 6, and is connected to a steering wheel (not shown) on the left side of the figure. A screw 4a is formed at the right end of the steering shaft 4, into which a nut 8 is screwed. 1
0 is a cylindrical collar that is inserted into the screw 4a, has a spline formed on its outer periphery, and is fixed to the steering shaft 4 together with a cover 12 that covers the periphery by the nut 8, washer 11, etc. The ring 14 has a spline hole 14a that slidably fits into the spline of the collar 10.
A protrusion 18 having a hole 16 bored in a direction perpendicular to the central axis is provided on the outer periphery.

On the other hand, a boss 22 is provided at the center of the steering wheel 20 and is slidably fitted into the spline of the collar 10.
A protrusion 26 with a female thread 24 is formed at a position corresponding to the hole 16 of the ring 14 when the ring 14 is fitted. The operating screw 28 has a threaded portion 30 at its tip that is screwed into the female threaded portion 24 of the protruding portion 26, and a collar-shaped locking piece 34 is provided between the rotary knob 32 attached to the other end and the threaded portion 30. is provided. The hole 16 of the ring 14 has a diameter such that a portion from the tip of the operating screw 28 to the locking piece 34 can be freely inserted therein, and the locking piece 34 cannot pass through.

The telescopic steering wheel 2 is configured such that the steering wheel 20 is connected to the projection 18 of the ring 14.
and the protrusion 26 of the boss 22 so that the collar 10 is fitted into the hole 1 of the ring 14.
Insert the operation screw 28 from the 6 side and
The threaded portion 30 of the boss 22 is screwed into the female threaded portion 24 of the boss 22. If the operating screw 28 is not tightly tightened, the boss 22 can be slid along with the ring 14 in the axial direction of the collar 10, allowing the driver to move the steering wheel 20 to a desired position. After moving the steering wheel 20 to the desired position, turn the operation screw 2
Tighten 8. Then, the boss 22 and the ring 14 try to rotate due to forces that try to rotate them in different rotational directions, but since both are fitted into the splines of the collar 10, the collar 10 is rotated due to the above force. be fixed to.

In this way, according to the above embodiment, the operating screw 28
By tightening and loosening the steering wheel 20, the steering wheel 20 can be fixed and made movable.Moreover, the operation screw 28 is located on the back side of the steering wheel 20, which is preferable for appearance, and in addition, the visibility of the meters seen through the steering wheel 20 is improved. In addition, safety can be improved because no part of the driver's body comes into contact with the driver in the event of a collision.
Moreover, since there is no need to make the steering shaft 4 or the column tube 6 extendable or retractable, the structure is simple, and it can be applied to conventional non-telescopic type steering and can easily be converted to a telescopic type.

In this embodiment, the steering wheel 20 is fixed by tightening the operation screw 28, but this is not limited to screws, but other means such as a cam may be used to secure the ring 14 and the boss 22 to each other. It is also possible to draw the protrusions 18 and 26 closer together or to create a space between the two protrusions 18 and 26.

<Effects of the invention> According to the invention, the ring and the boss of the steering wheel are fixed to the collar provided at the end of the steering shaft by rotating them in opposite directions, resulting in a simple structure. Moreover, since the fixing member of the steering wheel is not located on the driver's side, the safety of the driver in the event of a collision is maintained, and moreover, it can be easily applied to a conventional steering structure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially sectional side view showing one embodiment of the telescopic steering according to the present invention;
The figure is an exploded view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a conventional example. In the drawing, 2 is telescopic steering,
4 and 50 are steering shafts, 10 is a collar, 14 is a ring, 20 and 54 are steering wheels, 22 is a boss, and 28 is an operating screw.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A collar fixed to a steering wheel side end of a steering shaft and having a spline in the axial direction of the steering shaft; a steering wheel that is slidably fitted to the spline of the collar by a boss provided in the center; and the collar. a ring that is slidably fitted into a spline of the steering wheel; and a boss and the ring of the steering wheel are rotated in mutually opposite directions in the circumferential direction of the collar, so that the boss and the ring are rotated along the collar. and fixing means for fixing the collar to the collar at an arbitrary position.