Steering device

• US 8,707,818 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2011
• Issued: 04/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NSK Limited
• Original Assignee: NSK Limited
• Inventors: Okada, Shinji, Yamamoto, Kou
• Primary Examiner(s): Krause, Justin
• Application Number:
  US13/379,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20120272778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,007 Days
• Field of Search: 744/92, 744/93, 280/775
• US Class Current: 74/493
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/184 Mechanisms for locking columns at selected positions

Abstract

A steering device is provided in which fastening of a column is carried out smoothly, meshing of a movable tilt lock gear and a fixed tilt lock gear is carried out smoothly when tilting is clamped, and a rigidity can be increased when the tilting is clamped. A side plate on a left side to which a fixed tilt lock gear is attached is restrained from being elastically deformed by a rib. Therefore, in tilting and clamping and telescopically clamping, positions of the fixed tilt lock gear and a movable tilt lock gear in a vehicle width direction relative to each other is not varied, and therefore, the movable tilt lock gear and the fixed tilt lock gear are brought in mesh with each other smoothly.

Claims

1. A steering device, comprising:

a vehicle body attaching bracket which can be attached to a vehicle body;

a column in which a tilt position thereof is supported adjustably by the vehicle body attaching bracket, and a steering shaft mounted with a steering wheel is axially supported pivotably;

a fastening rod which is inserted to a tilt adjusting long groove formed at a side plate and the column in order to fasten to clamp the column to a left and right pair of the side plates of the vehicle body attaching bracket at a desired tilt position;

a fixed cam which is supported by one end of the fastening rod and presses an inner side face of one of the side plates of the vehicle body attaching bracket to the column;

a movable cam which is supported pivotably by the one end of the fastening rod along with an operating lever opposedly to the fixed cam;

a cam face which is provided to each of faces of the fixed cam and the movable cam opposed to each other, and presses the movable cam to the fixed cam relatively in an axial direction;

a detent portion which is formed at the fixed cam in order to make the fixed cam unable to rotate relative to the movable cam, is inwardly fitted to the tilt adjusting long groove, and is made to be slidable along the tilt adjusting long groove in adjusting a tilt position of the column;

a fixed tilt lock gear which is attached to an outer side face of the one of side plates of the vehicle body attaching bracket;

a movable tilt lock gear which is pivoted in synchronism with an operation of pivoting the operating lever and can be brought in mesh with the fixed tilt lock gear; and

a rib which is formed along the tilt adjusting long groove at a vicinity of the tilt adjusting long groove of the one of side plates, and restrains an elastic deformation of the one of side plate when the column is fastened to clamp.

2. The steering device according to claim 1, wherein the rib is formed between the fixed tilt lock gear and an upper plate of the vehicle body attaching bracket.

3. The steering device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a gap which is formed at a portion of connecting the other of side plates of the vehicle body attaching bracket to the upper plate of the vehicle body attaching bracket, and facilitates an elastic deformation of the other of side plates when the column is fastened to clamp.

4. The steering device according to claim 3, wherein the gap is opened on a rear side thereof in view of the vehicle body.

5. The steering device according to claim 1, wherein:

the movable tilt lock gear which is outwardly fitted to the fixed cam movably in a tilting direction; and

a spring which is interposed between the movable tilt lock gear and the fixed cam, sandwiches an outer peripheral face of the fixed cam, and elastically supports a movement of the movable tilt lock gear in the tilting direction relative to the fixed cam.

6. The steering device according to claim 5, wherein when ridges of the movable tilt lock gear and the fixed tilt lock gear are brought into contact with each other in fastening the column to the vehicle body attaching bracket, the spring is elastically deformed by a reaction force thereof, and the movable tilt lock gear is moved in the tilting direction relative to the fixed tilt lock gear.

7. The steering device according to claim 6, wherein when the column is released from fastening the vehicle body attaching bracket, meshing of the movable tilt lock gear to the fixed tilt lock gear is made to be easy to be disengaged by a gap between the fixed cam and the movable tilt lock gear in an up and down direction of the vehicle body.