Steering system

• US 9,718,490 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2016
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Aota, Kenichi, Tanaka, Hidenobu, Tomiyama, Hiromitsu, Nagaoka, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Drew J
• Application Number:
  US15/200,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20170008548A1
• Time in Patent Office: 396 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/184 Mechanisms for locking columns at selected positions

Abstract

A steering system includes: a first tooth member provided with a first tooth row that includes a plurality of first teeth each of which has a tooth trace extending in a lateral direction and which are aligned along a tilt direction, the first tooth row being elastically deformable in the lateral direction, and a second tooth member including a second tooth row that includes a plurality of second teeth each of which has a tooth trace extending in the lateral direction and which are aligned along the tilt direction, the second tooth member facing the first tooth member in the lateral direction. The first tooth member is supported by an upper bracket such that the first tooth row is disposed away from the upper bracket in the lateral direction. The second tooth member is movable in the tilt direction along with a column jacket.

Claims

1. A steering system comprising:

a steering shaft with a steering member coupled to the steering shaft at one end thereof;

a column jacket that holds the steering shaft and that is movable in a tilt direction extending upward and downward so as to cross an axial direction of the steering shaft;

a bracket fixed to a vehicle body to support the column jacket;

an operation member that is operated to enable and disable movement of the column jacket with respect to the bracket;

a first tooth member provided with a first tooth row that includes a plurality of first teeth each of which has a tooth trace extending in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to both the axial direction and the tilt direction and which are aligned along the tilt direction, the first tooth row being elastically deformable in the orthogonal direction, the first tooth member being supported by the bracket such that the first tooth row is disposed away from the bracket in the orthogonal direction; and

a second tooth member including a second tooth row that includes a plurality of second teeth each of which has a tooth trace extending in the orthogonal direction and which are aligned along the tilt direction, the second tooth member facing the first tooth member in the orthogonal direction, being movable in the tilt direction along with the column jacket, and also being movable in the orthogonal direction in accordance with an operation of the operation member.

2. The steering system according to claim 1, wherein

the second tooth member has a higher strength than the bracket.

3. The steering system according to claim 1, wherein

the second tooth member contains a sintered compact.

4. The steering system according to claim 1, wherein

the second tooth member integrally includes:

a main body portion that has a facing surface facing the first tooth member in the orthogonal direction; and

a protruding portion that protrudes toward the first tooth member from the facing surface and that has an orthogonal surface orthogonal to the facing surface,

each of the second teeth includes an end in a tooth trace direction and a dedendum portion, and

the end is fixed to the facing surface, and the dedendum portion is fixed to the orthogonal surface.

5. The steering system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a separation member interposed between the first tooth member and the bracket to separate the first tooth row from the bracket in the orthogonal direction.