Steering system

• US 9,580,100 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2015
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Tomiyama, Hiromitsu, Nagatani, Atsumune, Tanaka, Hidenobu, Nagaoka, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ilan, Ruth
• Application Number:
  US14/943,616
• Publication Number:
  US 20160144886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 469 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/184 Mechanisms for locking columns at selected positions
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/187 with tilt adjustment; with tilt and axial adjustment B62D1/183, B62D1/19 takes precedence

Abstract

A steering system includes an upper bracket having a first tooth row, a rigid tooth member, a second tooth row provided on the tooth member, a first moving member, and an elastic member disposed between the tooth member and the first moving member. The first tooth row includes a plurality of first teeth. The second tooth row includes a plurality of second teeth. The elastic member exerts a constant restoration force. The second tooth row meshes with the first tooth row when the first teeth and the second teeth are alternately arranged in a tilt direction.

Claims

1. A steering system comprising:

a steering member;

a column jacket that holds a steering shaft with the steering member coupled to one end of the steering shaft and that is movable in a tilt direction intersecting an axial direction of the steering shaft in an up-down direction in order to position the steering member in the tilt direction;

a bracket that has a surface provided with a first tooth row including a plurality of first teeth arranged along the tilt direction, and that is fixed to a vehicle body to support the column jacket;

an operation member that is operated for the positioning;

a rigid tooth member that is provided adjacent to the bracket in a direction orthogonal to both the axial direction and the tilt direction and that is movable in the tilt direction along with the column jacket and movable in the orthogonal direction;

a second tooth row that is provided on a surface of the tooth member, the tooth member surface facing the bracket surface in the orthogonal direction, and that includes a plurality of second teeth arranged along the tilt direction, the second tooth row meshing with the first tooth row when the first teeth and the second teeth are alternately arranged in the tilt direction;

a moving member that is disposed on the opposite side of the tooth member from the bracket in the orthogonal direction and that is movable in the orthogonal direction in accordance with an operation of the operation member; and

an elastic member disposed between the tooth member and the moving member such that while the moving member moves toward the bracket, the elastic member is compressed in the orthogonal direction and exerts a constant restoration force in a predetermined range, the elastic member being capable of exerting the constant restoration force over a range that is larger than a distance between a position where the moving member starts to compress the elastic member and a position where the second tooth row is meshed with the first tooth row when the first teeth and the second teeth are alternately arranged in the tilt direction.

2. The steering system according to claim 1, wherein the tooth member has a reinforcing rib.

3. The steering system according to claim 1, wherein when the first tooth row and the second tooth row are in mesh with each other, the elastic member is in contact with at least a part of the second tooth row.

4. The steering system according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is a disc spring.