JP2005329864A - Steering gear for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To meet various needs of a driver by enabling a steering wheel for a vehicle to be used for both a round steering wheel and a natural steering wheel. <P>SOLUTION: The annular steering wheel 23 is divided into four, namely upper and lower fixed sections 24U and 24D fixed to a housing and left and right rocking sections 24L and 24R rockably pivoted to the housing by left and right supporting shafts 27L and 27R diagonally extending toward a steering shaft. A mode switching means for switching between first mode (mode of the round steering wheel) for locking the rocking sections 24L and 24R and second mode (mode of the natural steering wheel) for permitting the rocking of the left and right rocking sections 24L and 24R about the left and right supporting shafts 27L and 27R is disposed at a position where the left and right rocking sections 24L and 24R are connected to the upper and lower fixed sections 24U and 24D to make the steering wheel 23 annular in a transmission mechanism for transmitting a rotation of the steering handle 23 to the steering shaft. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention includes a first mode in which the steering handle functions as a normal round handle, and a second mode in which a pair of left and right grips provided on the steering handle function as a natural handle that rotates around the rotation axis while rotating around the rotation axis. The present invention relates to a vehicle steering device that can be switched between.

A steering handle for use in a steer-by-wire vehicle steering system includes a rectangular base portion fixed to the vehicle body and a pair of slidably supported back and forth along the left and right side portions of the base portion. It is composed of a steering grip, and a left turn signal is output by moving the right steering grip forward and moving the left steering grip backward, and conversely moving the right steering grip backward A technique for outputting a right turn signal by moving the steering grip forward is known from Patent Document 1 below.
Special table 2003-533402 gazette

  By the way, a steering handle for a vehicle that has been generally used in the past is a circular round handle. However, an alternative steering handle (natural handle) has already been proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-116872. ing. This steering handle has a pair of left and right grips, and by rotating these grips around the revolution axis while rotating around the revolution axis, the burden on the wrist of the driver is reduced and steering operation is facilitated. .

  However, at present, the driver's request for the conventional round handle and the driver's request for the natural handle cannot be satisfied with a single steering handle, and the round handle and the natural handle are used properly depending on the road conditions. I couldn't satisfy the driver's request.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to answer various needs of a driver by using a steering handle for a vehicle as both a round handle and a natural handle.

  To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an annular steering handle, a housing that supports the steering handle and rotates integrally with the steering handle, and the steering shaft rotates the steering shaft. A transmission mechanism for transmitting to the steering wheel, an operation amount detection means for detecting an operation amount of the steering handle based on rotation of the steering shaft, and an actuator for turning the wheel based on the operation amount detected by the operation amount detection means, The steering handle is divided into four parts: an upper and lower fixed part fixed to the housing, and a left and right swinging part pivotally supported on the housing by left and right support shafts extending obliquely forward toward the steering shaft. In the vehicle steering apparatus, the transmission mechanism includes a left and right swinging portion connected to an upper and a lower fixing portion. Mode switching means for switching between a first mode in which the swinging portion is locked at a position where the tearing handle is annular and a second mode in which the left and right swinging portions are allowed to swing around the left and right support shafts. A vehicle steering apparatus characterized by the above is proposed.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the configuration of claim 1, the transmission mechanism includes a planetary gear mechanism including three elements of a sun gear, a ring gear, and a planetary carrier, and among the three elements. A first bevel gear connected to the first element and left and right second bevel gears connected to the left and right support shafts and meshing with the first bevel gear, the second element and the third element of the three elements Are connected to the housing and steering shaft respectively
The mode switching mechanism establishes the first mode by coupling the first element to at least one of the second and third elements, and non-rotatably couples the first element to the fixed part. A vehicle steering system characterized by establishing a mode is proposed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the first and second modes can be switched when the steering handle is in the neutral position. A vehicle steering apparatus is proposed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, an annular steering handle, a housing that supports the steering handle and rotates integrally with the steering handle, and the rotation of the steering handle is transmitted to the steering shaft connected to the wheels. The steering handle is provided with an upper and lower fixed portion fixed to the housing, and a left and right swing supported on the housing by a left and right support shaft extending obliquely forward toward the steering shaft. The vehicle steering apparatus is divided into four parts, and the transmission mechanism has a first mode in which the swinging part is locked at a position where the left and right swinging parts are connected to the upper and lower fixing parts and the steering handle is annular. And a mode switching means for switching between the second mode that allows the left and right swinging portions to swing around the left and right support shafts. A vehicle steering system is proposed which is characterized in that the.

  The first and second steering actuators 14 and 17 correspond to the actuator of the present invention, the support member 35 of the embodiment corresponds to the fixing portion of the present invention, and the sun gear 39a, the ring gear 31a and the planetary carrier 38a of the embodiment include The steering angle sensor Sa and the steering torque sensor Sb of the embodiment correspond to the first element, the second element, and the third element of the present invention, respectively, and the mode changeover switch Se of the embodiment corresponds to the operation amount detection means of the present invention. Corresponds to the mode switching means of the present invention.

  According to the configuration of claim 1 or claim 2, the annular steering handle of the steering device is rocked to the housing by the upper and lower fixing portions fixed to the housing and the left and right support shafts extending obliquely forward toward the steering shaft. The steering wheel is divided into four parts, the left and right swinging parts that are pivotally supported, and the steering mechanism is connected to the transmission mechanism that transmits the rotation of the steering handle to the steering shaft. Mode switching means is provided for switching between a first mode in which the swinging portion is locked at a position where the ring is annular and a second mode in which the left and right swinging portions are allowed to swing around the left and right support shafts. The first mode that uses the steering handle as a normal round handle according to the driver's preference, driver's skill level, road conditions, etc. Holding it is possible to freely select a second mode for operating the steering wheel while twisting around the support shaft, it is possible to meet the diverse needs of the driver.

  According to the configuration of claim 2, the planetary gear mechanism including the three elements of the sun gear, the ring gear, and the planetary carrier, the first bevel gear connected to the first element of the planetary gear mechanism, and the left and right support shafts are connected. The transmission mechanism is constituted by the left and right second bevel gears meshed with the first bevel gear, and the second element and the third element of the planetary gear mechanism are connected to the housing and the steering shaft, respectively. 2. By connecting to at least one of the third elements, the first mode can be established in which the planetary gear mechanism is locked and the steering handle is made annular, and the first element is non-rotatably connected to the fixed part. By doing so, the left and right second bevel gears are rotated by the first bevel gear to allow the left and right swinging portions to swing around the left and right support shafts. It is possible to establish a 2 mode.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect, since the first and second modes can be switched when the steering wheel is in the neutral position, it is possible to prevent the driver from feeling uncomfortable by switching the mode during operation of the steering wheel. be able to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 9 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a vehicle steering system, FIG. 2 is a front side view of the vehicle, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a view taken along arrow 5 in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 5 when the steering handle is turned 90 ° to the left, and FIG. 9 is a view in the direction of arrow 9 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a steering gear box 11 that steers wheels W of an automobile includes a rack bar 12 that can slide in the left-right direction of the vehicle body, and both ends of the rack bar 12 have left and right tie rods 13 and 13. To the left and right wheels W, W. A pinion 15 rotated by a first steering actuator 14 made of an electric motor meshes with a rack 16 formed on the rack bar 12, and when the first steering actuator 14 is driven, the rack bar 12 moves to the left and right of the vehicle body via the pinion 15 and the rack 16. Sliding in the direction, the left and right wheels W, W are steered through the tie rods 13,13.

  A second steering actuator 17 made of an electric motor and an annular drive gear 18 rotated thereby are arranged so as to surround the outer periphery of the rack bar 12. A male screw member 21 meshes with a female screw member 20 supported by a bracket 19 fixed to the rack bar 12, and a driven gear 22 provided at one end of the male screw member 21 meshes with the drive gear 18. Accordingly, when the second steering actuator 17 is driven, the rotation of the drive gear 18 is transmitted to the male screw member 21 via the driven gear 22, and the female screw member 20 that meshes with the rotating male screw member 21 moves in the left-right direction of the vehicle body. The bar 12 slides in the left-right direction of the vehicle body and the left and right wheels W, W are steered.

  The first steering actuator 14 is used during normal operation, and the second steering actuator 17 is used as a backup when the first steering actuator 14 fails.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the steering handle 23 formed in an annular shape is divided into four upper and lower fixing portions 24U and 24D and left and right swinging portions 24L and 24R. The upper and lower fixing portions 24U and 24D are steered. The left and right rocking portions 24L and 24R are fixed to the housing 25 located at the center of the handle 23 via spokes 26 and 26, and the left and right swinging portions 24L and 24R are spoke 28 on the left and right support shafts 27L and 27R. , 28 are pivotally supported via swinging.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the housing 25 is composed of a cup-shaped housing main body 29 and a housing cover 31 fixed to the front opening by bolts 30. The intermediate portions of the left and right support shafts 27L and 27R are rotatably supported by the left and right projecting portions 29a and 29a via roller bearings 32 and 32, and the front end portions of the left and right support shafts 27L and 27R are balls on the housing cover 31. The bearings 33 and 33 are rotatably supported.

  A cylindrical support member 35 is fixed inside the rear column cover 34 disposed in front of the housing 25 with bolts 36... And a hollow shaft 38 is inserted into the support member 35 via a pair of ball bearings 37, 37. Is supported rotatably. One end of a sun gear shaft 39 integrally provided with a sun gear 39a at the center is rotatably supported by the housing cover 31 via a needle bearing 40 and a ball bearing 41, and is rotated by a housing main body 29 via a plain bearing 42. It is supported freely. Further, the other end side of the sun gear shaft 39 is fitted into the hollow shaft 38 and is supported by the needle bearings 43 and 43 so as to be relatively rotatable.

  2 to 4 together with FIG. 6, the planetary carrier 38 a formed integrally with the hollow shaft 38 is provided with three planetary gear shafts 44 that are spaced 120 ° apart from each other in the circumferential direction. The planetary gears 45 are rotatably supported on the planetary gear shafts 44, respectively. These planetary gears 45... Mesh with a sun gear 39 a formed integrally with the sun gear shaft 39 and simultaneously mesh with a ring gear 31 a formed integrally with the housing cover 31. The sun gear 39a, the planetary carrier 38a, the ring gear 31a, and the planetary gears 45 constitute a planetary gear mechanism 46.

  Second bevel gears 48L, 48R provided integrally with the left and right support shafts 27L, 27R mesh with the first bevel gear 47 provided integrally with the sun gear shaft 39. The rotation axes AL and AR passing through the centers of the left and right support shafts 27L and 27R intersect with the revolution axis A passing through the center of the sun gear shaft 39 at an angle of 35 °. That is, the left and right rotation axes AL and AR across the revolution axis A intersect each other at an angle of 70 °. The rear end of the steering shaft 49 is coaxially splined to the front end of the sun gear shaft 39.

  The planetary gear mechanism 46, the first bevel gear 47, and the second bevel gears 48L and 48R constitute a transmission mechanism 58 that transmits the operation of the steering handle 23 to the steering shaft 49.

  A steering angle sensor Sa for detecting a steering angle δ input by the driver to the steering handle 23 at the front end portion of the steering shaft 49 extending inside the front column cover 51 fixed to the front end of the rear column cover 34 with bolts 50. And a steering torque sensor Sb for detecting the steering torque T input by the driver to the steering handle 23 is provided at an intermediate portion of the steering shaft 49. Further, a steering reaction force generating means 52 is provided at an intermediate portion of the steering shaft 49. The steering reaction force generating means 52 applies a pseudo steering reaction force to the steering handle 23 by an electric motor or hydraulic pressure, and the drive gear 53 provided on the output shaft meshes with the driven gear 54 provided on the steering shaft 49. Thus, the direction and magnitude of the steering reaction force can be arbitrarily controlled.

  As apparent from FIGS. 4 and 7, a solenoid 55 is housed in the front portion of the sun gear shaft 39, and its output rod 56 is urged downward in FIG. The sun gear shaft 39 engages with a locking hole 38 b of the hollow shaft 38 that fits around the outer periphery of the sun gear shaft 39. In this state, the sun gear shaft 39 is coupled to the hollow shaft 38 and the sun gear 39a is integrated with the planetary carrier 38a. As a result, the sun gear 39a, the planetary carrier 38a and the ring gear 31a are integrated, and the planetary gear mechanism 46 is locked. It becomes.

  The upper portion of the output rod 56 passes through a notch 38c formed in the hollow shaft 38 and having a central angle of 180 °, and faces an engaging hole 35a formed in the support member 35. Therefore, when the solenoid 55 is energized and the output rod 56 is moved upward against the spring force of the spring 57, the lower end of the output rod 56 is detached from the locking hole 38b of the hollow shaft 38 and is engaged with the support member 35. Match. In this state, the sun gear shaft 39 integral with the sun gear 39a is non-rotatably coupled to the locking hole 35a of the support member 35, but the hollow shaft 38 integral with the planetary carrier 38a rotates freely within the range of the notch 38c. can do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operation of the first steering actuator 14 is controlled by the first steering actuator electronic control unit Ua, and the operation of the second steering actuator 17 is controlled by the second steering actuator electronic control unit Ub. The operation of the reaction force generating means 52 is controlled by the steering reaction force generating means electronic control unit Uc.

  The first and second steering actuator electronic control units Ua and Ub have a steering angle δ detected by the steering angle sensor Sa, a vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor Sc, and a rack position P detected by the rack position sensor Sd. The steering reaction force generating means electronic control unit Uc is inputted with the steering angle δ detected by the steering angle sensor Sa, the steering torque T detected by the steering torque sensor Sb, and the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor Sc. Entered.

  Further, a mode changeover switch Se is connected to the first steering actuator electronic control unit Ua, and energization to the solenoid 55 of the transmission mechanism 58 is controlled by the operation of the mode changeover switch Se.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment having the above configuration will be described.

  When the first mode is selected with the mode changeover switch Se, the steering handle 23 functions as a normal round handle. At this time, the solenoid 55 is in a demagnetized state, the output rod 56 is urged downward in FIG. 7 by the elastic force of the spring 57, and the lower end of the solenoid 55 is fitted in the outer periphery of the sun gear shaft 39. In order to engage with 38b, the sun gear shaft 39 is coupled to the hollow shaft 38, and the sun gear 39a is integrated with the planetary carrier 38a. As a result, the sun gear 39a, the planetary carrier 38a, and the ring gear 31a are integrated, and the planetary gear mechanism 46 is locked.

  In this first mode, the planetary gear mechanism 46 is locked, and the sun gear shaft 39 having the sun gear 39a and the hollow shaft 38 having the planetary carrier 38a are integrated with the housing 25, and the first bevel gear provided on the sun gear shaft 39 is integrated. The left and right support shafts 27L, 27R connected to 47 via the second bevel gears 48L, 48R are also integrated with the housing 25. As a result, the left and right swinging portions 24L and 24R are integrated with the upper and lower fixing portions 24U and 24D of the steering handle 23, and the steering handle 23 has the same shape as a normal round handle.

  When the steering handle 23 is operated around the revolution axis A in this state, the rotation is transmitted from the housing 25 to the steering shaft 49 via the planetary carrier 38a and the hollow shaft 38 of the planetary gear mechanism 46 in the locked state. The steering angle δ and the steering torque T are detected by the steering angle sensor Sa and the steering torque sensor Sb connected to.

  The steering angle δ detected by the steering angle sensor Sa, the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor Sc, and the rack position P detected by the rack position sensor Sd are input to the first steering actuator electronic control unit Ua. The electronic control unit Ua for the first steering actuator drives the first steering actuator 14 so that, for example, the steering angle γ of the wheels W and W proportional to the steering angle δ of the steering handle 23 is obtained, and the steering gear box 11 Wheels W and W are steered via

  At this time, feedback control is performed so that the rack position P detected by the rack position sensor Sd (that is, the turning angle γ of the wheels W, W) matches the target position. For example, when the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor Sc is high, the target turning angle of the wheels W and W is decreased, and when the vehicle speed V is low, the target turning angle of the wheels W and W is increased. Sometimes, it is possible to improve the straight running stability of the vehicle and facilitate the handling of the vehicle at a low speed.

  In the steer-by-wire type steering apparatus, since the steering reaction force from the wheels W, W does not act on the steering handle 23, the steering reaction force generation means 52 is driven by a command from the steering reaction force generation means electronic control unit Uc. It is necessary to apply a steering reaction force to the steering handle 23. The target steering reaction force at that time is searched for a map using the steering angle δ detected by the steering angle sensor Sa and the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor Sc as parameters. This map is set so that the steering reaction force increases as the steering angle δ increases, and the steering reaction force increases as the vehicle speed V increases. The drive of the steering reaction force generating means 52 is feedback-controlled so that the steering torque T detected by the steering torque sensor Sb matches the target steering reaction force. In this way, by applying a pseudo steering reaction force to the steering handle 23 by the steering reaction force generating means 52, the driver's uncomfortable feeling can be eliminated.

  When the first steering actuator 14 fails, the second steering actuator electronic control unit Ub controls the second steering actuator 17 in the same manner, so that the wheels W and W can be continuously steered.

  When the second mode is selected by the mode changeover switch Se, the steering handle 23 is not a normal round handle but functions as a natural handle whose rotation angle is limited to 90 ° to the left and right from the neutral position. At this time, the solenoid 55 is energized and the output rod 56 is driven upward in FIG. 7 against the spring force of the spring 57, and its upper end engages with the locking hole 35a of the support member 35. 39 (that is, the sun gear 39a) is restrained by the support member 35 so as not to rotate.

  In this second mode, the driver grips and operates the left and right swing parts 24L and 24R of the steering handle 23, and the housing 25 (that is, the ring gear 31a) is driven by the steering torque applied to the swing parts 24L and 24R. Is rotated, the planetary carrier 38a (that is, the hollow shaft 38) rotates because the sun gear 39a is restrained so as not to rotate. When the hollow shaft 38 rotates in this way, the steering shaft 49 connected thereto rotates, so that the steering angle δ and the steering torque T are detected by the steering angle sensor Sa and the steering torque sensor Sb. Similarly to the case, the first steering actuator 14 (or the second steering actuator 17) is actuated to steer the wheels W and W.

  However, in the second mode, the rotation angle of the steering shaft 49 until full turning is smaller than in the first mode, so that the turning angle of the wheels W and W can be sufficiently obtained according to the mode switching. The gain is changed. This gain is adjusted by setting the gear ratio of the planetary gear mechanism 46.

  In this second mode, the hollow shaft 38 rotates relative to the sun gear shaft 39, the output rod 56, and the support member 35 that are fixed to be non-rotatable, but the notch 38c (see FIG. 7) provided in the hollow shaft 38. As a result, interference with the output rod 56 is avoided, so that the hollow shaft 38 can rotate without any trouble.

  In the second mode described above, when the steering handle 23 is operated from the neutral state shown in FIG. 5 in the left turning direction around the revolution axis A as shown in FIGS. It rotates in the counterclockwise direction around the AL, and the right swinging portion 24R also rotates in the counterclockwise direction around the rotation axis AR.

  When the steering handle 23 is operated in the left-turning direction about the revolution axis A in this way, the second bevel gears 48L and 48R meshing with the first bevel gear 47 which is restrained so as not to rotate together with the sun gear shaft 39 are counterclockwise around the revolution axis A. While revolving in the direction of rotation, the left and right wrists of the driver are naturally twisted and do not have an unreasonable angle, making it easy for the driver to perform steering operations. become. Finally, the limit rotation angle around the revolution axis A of the steering handle 23 is suppressed to 90 °. Therefore, it becomes possible for the driver to operate the steering handle 23 by moving only the part and the hand from the elbow of the arm while the position of the elbow is substantially fixed, and the steering operation is further facilitated.

  Although the case where the steering handle 23 is operated in the left turning direction has been described so far, the operation when the steering handle 23 is operated in the right turning direction is the same.

  When switching between the first mode and the second mode, if the steering handle 23 is not in the neutral position, the output rod 56 of the solenoid 55 engages with the locking hole 38b of the hollow shaft 38 or the locking hole 35a of the support member 35. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driver from feeling uncomfortable by switching between the first and second modes while the vehicle is turning.

  As described above, just by operating the mode changeover switch Se, the steering handle 23 can be used as a round handle or a natural handle depending on the driver's preference, the skill level of the driver, the road conditions, etc. Because it can be used, it can meet the diverse needs of the driver and increase the fun of driving.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, although the steer-by-wire type steering device has been described in the embodiment, the present invention is applied to a normal steering device in which the steering shaft 49 is mechanically connected to the wheels W and W via the steering gear box. Can also be applied. Even in this case, it is desirable to assist the driver's steering operation with a hydraulic actuator or an electric actuator.

  In the embodiment, the sun gear 39a of the planetary gear mechanism 46 is the first element, the ring gear 31a is the second element, and the planetary carrier 38a is the third element, but the combination is arbitrary.

  In the embodiment, the rotation axes AL and AR of the left and right oscillating parts 24L and 24R are mutually 70 °, but the angle is not limited to 70 °.

Overall view of vehicle steering system Front side view of the vehicle 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 4-4 enlarged sectional view of FIG. 5 direction arrow view of FIG. 6-6 enlarged sectional view of FIG. 7-7 enlarged sectional view taken along line 7-7 Action explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 5 when the steering handle is turned 90 ° to the left 9 direction arrow view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

14 First steering actuator (actuator)
17 Second steering actuator (actuator)
23 Steering handle 24U Fixed portion 24D Fixed portion 24L Swing portion 24R Swing portion 25 Housing 27L Support shaft 27R Support shaft 31a Ring gear (second element)
35 Support member (fixed part)
38a Planetary carrier (third element)
39a Sun gear (first element)
47 first bevel gear 48L second bevel gear 48R second bevel gear 49 steering shaft 58 transmission mechanism Sa steering angle sensor (operation amount detection means)
Sb steering torque sensor (operation amount detection means)
Sc mode change switch (mode change means)
W wheel

Claims (4)

An annular steering handle (23), a housing (25) that supports the steering handle (23) and rotates integrally with the steering handle (23), and the rotation of the steering handle (23) is transmitted to the steering shaft (49). A transmission mechanism (58), an operation amount detection means (Sa, Sb) for detecting an operation amount of the steering handle (23) based on rotation of the steering shaft (49), and an operation amount detection means (Sa, Sb). An actuator (14, 17) for turning the wheel (W) based on the detected operation amount;
The steering handle (23) includes upper and lower fixing parts (24U, 24D) fixed to the housing (25) and left and right support shafts (27L, 27R) extending obliquely forward toward the steering shaft (49). 25) a vehicle steering apparatus divided into four parts into left and right swing parts (24L, 24R) pivotably supported by
The transmission mechanism (58) includes the swinging portions (24L, 24R) at positions where the left and right swinging portions (24L, 24R) are connected to the upper and lower fixing portions (24U, 24D) and the steering handle (23) is annular. Mode switching means (Se) for switching between a first mode for locking the left and right and a second mode for allowing the left and right swinging portions (24L, 24R) to swing around the left and right support shafts (27L, 27R). A vehicle steering apparatus comprising the vehicle steering apparatus.   The transmission mechanism (58) includes a planetary gear mechanism (46) including three elements of a sun gear (39a), a ring gear (31a), and a planetary carrier (38a), and a first element (39a) of the three elements. A first bevel gear (47) connected to the left and right support shafts (27L, 27R) and left and right second bevel gears (48L, 48R) meshed with the first bevel gear (47). Of the two elements, the second element (31a) and the third element (38a) are connected to the housing (25) and the steering shaft (49), respectively, and the mode switching means (Se) includes the first element (39a). Is coupled to at least one of the second and third elements (31a, 38a) to establish the first mode, and the first element (39a) is fixed to the fixed part (35). Combine with and establishes the second mode, the vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 1.   The vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second modes can be switched when the steering handle (23) is in a neutral position. An annular steering handle (23), a housing (25) that supports the steering handle (23) and rotates integrally with the steering handle (23), and the rotation of the steering handle (23) are connected to the wheels (W). A transmission mechanism (58) for transmitting to the steering shaft (49).
The steering handle (23) includes upper and lower fixing parts (24U, 24D) fixed to the housing (25) and left and right support shafts (27L, 27R) extending obliquely forward toward the steering shaft (49). 25) a vehicle steering apparatus divided into four parts into left and right swing parts (24L, 24R) pivotably supported by
The transmission mechanism (58) includes the swinging portions (24L, 24R) at positions where the left and right swinging portions (24L, 24R) are connected to the upper and lower fixing portions (24U, 24D) and the steering handle (23) is annular. Mode switching means (Se) for switching between a first mode for locking the left and right and a second mode for allowing the left and right swinging portions (24L, 24R) to swing around the left and right support shafts (27L, 27R). A vehicle steering apparatus comprising the vehicle steering apparatus.

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