Steering device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9545943-B2
Application number	US-201514849198-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 9, 2015
Priority date	Sep 17, 2014
Publication date	Jan 17, 2017
Grant date	Jan 17, 2017

Abstract

A steering device includes: a rotary shaft supported by an upper bracket; a plurality of engaged teeth fixed to an upper jacket; a lock member including engaging teeth to mesh with the engaged teeth; and a support shaft supported by a lower jacket at a position farther away from the engaged teeth than the rotary shaft 35 . When the rotary shaft is rotated, a first rotary member is rotated in synchronization with the rotary shaft. A second rotary member moves the lock member to a disengaged position in conjunction with rotation of the first rotary member. The lock member is urged toward a meshing position by an urging member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A steering device comprising:
a steering member;

a steering shaft which is expandable and contractible in an axial direction and to one end of which the steering member is coupled;
a column jacket including an upper jacket adjacent to the steering member and a lower jacket on the opposite side of the upper jacket from the steering member, the column jacket being expandable and contractible in the axial direction together with the steering shaft through movement of the upper jacket with respect to the lower jacket in the axial direction;
a bracket fixed to a vehicle body to support the lower jacket;
a rotary shaft supported by the bracket to extend in a direction that is orthogonal to the axial direction, the rotary shaft being configured to rotate in accordance with an operation of an operation member attached to one end of the rotary shaft;
a plurality of engaged teeth fixed to the upper jacket, the engaged teeth being arranged side by side in the axial direction;
a lock member supported by the rotary shaft and having an outer peripheral surface formed with an engaging tooth that meshes with the engaged teeth in order to lock the upper jacket in position in the axial direction, the lock member being relatively rotatable with respect to the rotary shaft between a meshing position at which the engaging tooth and the engaged teeth mesh with each other and a disengaged position at which meshing between the engaging tooth and the engaged teeth is canceled;
a support shaft provided separately from the rotary shaft to extend in parallel with the rotary shaft, the support shaft being supported by the lower jacket at a position farther away from the engaged teeth than the rotary shaft;
a first rotary member supported by the rotary shaft so as to rotate in synchronization with the rotary shaft;
a second rotary member supported by the support shaft and configured to rotate about the support shaft in conjunction with rotation of the first rotary member to abut against the lock member to move the lock member to the disengaged position; and
an urging member supported by the second rotary member to urge the lock member toward the meshing position,
wherein the first rotary member has a cylindrical surface that extends along a circumferential direction of an outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft; and
the urging member contacts the cylindrical surface from a direction of a normal to the cylindrical surface.

2. The steering device according to claim 1 , wherein
a rotational direction of the lock member is opposite to a rotational direction of the rotary shaft.

3. The steering device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the outer peripheral surface of the lock member is provided with a plurality of the engaging teeth formed along a surface direction of the outer peripheral surface, and a distance between a center of rotation of the lock member and a portion of the outer peripheral surface at which the engaging teeth are provided increases at a location farther away from the engaged teeth;
a gap is provided between the second rotary member and the lock member with the lock member located at the meshing position; and
the lock member is moved while narrowing the gap so as to increase the number of the engaging teeth that mesh with the engaged teeth that move toward the opposite side together with the upper jacket when a vehicle collision is caused.

4. The steering device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the second rotary member includes a first projection and a second projection disposed away from each other in a direction in which the support shaft extends to project toward the rotary shaft;
the first rotary member includes a protrusion that projects toward the support shaft and that can abut against the first projection; and
the lock member includes a projecting portion that projects toward the support shaft and that can abut against the second projection.

5. The steering device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a positioning mechanism provided to the lower jacket to position the first rotary member when the lock member is located at the meshing position or the disengaged position.

6. A steering device comprising:
a steering member;

a steering shaft which is expandable and contractible in an axial direction and to one end of which the steering member is coupled;
a column jacket including an upper jacket adjacent to the steering member and a lower jacket on the opposite side of the upper jacket from the steering member, the column jacket being expandable and contractible in the axial direction together with the steering shaft through movement of the upper jacket with respect to the lower jacket in the axial direction;
a bracket fixed to a vehicle body to support the lower jacket;
a rotary shaft supported by the bracket to extend in a direction that is orthogonal to the axial direction, the rotary shaft being configured to rotate in accordance with an operation of an operation member attached to one end of the rotary shaft;
a plurality of engaged teeth fixed to the upper jacket, the engaged teeth being arranged side by side in the axial direction;
a lock member supported by the rotary shaft and having an outer peripheral surface formed with an engaging tooth that meshes with the engaged teeth in order to lock the upper jacket in position in the axial direction, the lock member being relatively rotatable with respect to the rotary shaft between a meshing position at which the engaging tooth and the engaged teeth mesh with each other and a disengaged position at which meshing between the engaging tooth and the engaged teeth is canceled;
an urging member supported by the lower jacket in engagement with the lock member to urge the lock member toward the meshing position; and
a rotary member supported by the rotary shaft so as to rotate in synchronization with the rotary shaft to move the urging member in a direction from the meshing position toward the disengaged position in accordance with rotation of the rotary shaft,
wherein a rotational direction of the lock member is opposite to a rotational direction of the rotary shaft,
the rotary member includes a pressing portion that projects from the rotary member to press the urging member;
the lock member includes an engagement portion that engages with the urging member, the lock member being different from the rotary member; and
the rotary member, the urging member and the lock member are structured such that: when the rotary member rotates in a first direction, (i) the urging member is moved by the pressing portion of the rotary member, and (ii) the engagement portion of the lock member is pushed by the movement of the urging member toward a second direction which is opposite to the first direction.

7. The steering device according to claim 6 , further comprising:
a positioning mechanism provided to the lower jacket to position the rotary member when the lock member is located at the meshing position or the disengaged position.

Assignees

• Jtekt Corp

Inventors

• Sakuda Masayoshi
• Okano Ryota

Classifications

• B62D1/185

  adjustable by axial displacement, e.g. telescopically (B62D1/183, B62D1/187, B62D1/19 take precedence) · CPC title

• B62D1/187

  with tilt adjustment; with tilt and axial adjustment (B62D1/183, B62D1/19 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B62D1/192

  Yieldable or collapsible columns · CPC title

• B62D1/184 Primary

  Mechanisms for locking columns at selected positions · CPC title