JP4332279B2 - Steering lock device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improvement in an assembly structure of a lock shaft in a steering lock device for an automobile.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a steering lock device for an automobile, the lock shaft is projected in the direction of the steering shaft from an opening hole provided on the steering shaft side of the housing, so that the lock shaft is engaged with the steering shaft and the steering shaft cannot be rotated. It is configured as follows. The conventional steering lock device generally has a structure in which the lock shaft is inserted into the housing from the side opposite to the opening hole together with the spring for biasing the lock shaft in the steering shaft direction, and then the lid is attached to close the opening for storage. is there.
[0003]
However, in the conventional structure as described above, the spring and the lock shaft in the housing can be removed by destroying the lid and its fixed portion. For this reason, there is a possibility that the anti-theft function may be lost due to the lock action being released by an unauthorized act.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
This invention pays attention to this point, and an object of the present invention is to further improve the reliability of the steering lock device by eliminating the lid.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a lock shaft and a spring for urging the lock shaft in the steering shaft direction are inserted into the housing through an opening hole provided on the steering shaft side of the housing, and the lock shaft Alternatively, the locking shaft is fixed by locking a retaining member provided in a state where it can be protruded and projected in one side of the housing side and urged in a protruding direction to a holding portion provided on the other side of the locking shaft or the housing side. It is assembled to the housing. Such a configuration eliminates the need for a lid, prevents the lid from being destroyed and the lock shaft from being removed, and does not impair the anti-theft function of the steering lock device.
[0006]
Also, a swing bar driven by a motor is provided, and the lock shaft is inserted into the housing by the swing bar, and this configuration is applied to an electric steering lock device.
[0007]
Further, in the above-described electric apparatus, the lock shaft is provided with a retaining member, and a holding portion on the housing side is formed on the swing bar, and the retaining portion is engaged with the retaining member to prevent the lock shaft from coming off. And immersing into the housing.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electric steering lock device will be described. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the main part in the assembled state, FIG. 2 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the main part, FIG. 3 is a front view of the entire steering lock device with the housing broken, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the drive mechanism of the apparatus, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
[0009]
First, the overall schematic structure will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a housing, 2 is a mounting recess, 3 is a mounting cover, and 4 is a steering shaft. A steering shaft column is sandwiched between the recess 2 and the cover 3 at a predetermined position. It is attached. The fixing bolt is not shown. Reference numeral 5 denotes a lock shaft, and reference numeral 6 denotes a spring for biasing the lock shaft. The lock shaft 5 and the spring 6 are accommodated in the lock shaft accommodating portion 1 b through an opening hole 1 a formed in the housing 1.
[0010]
7 is a sector gear type swinging bar that is swingably attached to the housing 1 at a fulcrum 7a, 8 is a driving motor, 9, 10 and 11 are reduction gears, and 12 is a limit switch microswitch. The swing bar 7 is configured such that the gear portion 7b meshes with the small diameter gear 11a of the final reduction gear 11 and swings within a certain range. Reference numeral 13 denotes a locking solenoid of a driving mechanism constituted by the motor 8, the gears 9 to 11, and the like, and includes a lock member 13a biased in the direction of the gear 11 by a spring 13b.
[0011]
The lock shaft 5 is urged in the direction of the steering shaft 4 by a spring 6. When the lock shaft 5 protrudes from the opening hole 1a, the lock shaft 5 engages with the steering shaft 4 to lock it, thereby exhibiting an effect of making it impossible to rotate. Further, the swing bar 7 engages with the lock shaft 5 and exerts an action of releasing the lock by immersing the lock shaft 5 into the housing 1. Next, the assembly structure of the lock shaft 5 and the locking operation will be described.
[0012]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lock shaft 5 is, for example, a rectangular column having a rectangular cross section. A pin insertion hole 5a is provided on one side of the lock shaft 5 in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and a stopper pin 5b serving as a retaining member is provided on the pin shaft. A biasing spring 5c is inserted. The stopper pin 5b has a tip that can protrude and retract from the side surface of the lock shaft 5 and is biased in the protruding direction. On the other hand, the swing bar 7 is provided with a projecting piece 7c facing downward in an intermediate portion, and a lower portion of the back surface thereof is cut out in a step shape to form an engaging portion 7d. The swing bar 7 is formed of the projecting piece 7c. Is attached to the housing 1 so as to pass through a predetermined position of the lock shaft storage portion 1b.
[0013]
The shape and structure of each member are as described above, and the lock shaft 5 is assembled by first inserting the spring 5c and the stopper pin 5b in this order into the pin insertion hole 5a. When the spring 6 and the lock shaft 5 are inserted in this order from the opening hole 1a into the lock shaft storage portion 1b while holding the stopper pin 5b so that it does not protrude, the swing bar 7 is engaged as shown in FIG. When inserted to the position of the portion 7d, the stopper pin 5b protrudes, and is locked to the engaging portion 7d so as to be prevented from coming off in the direction of the opening hole 1a. That is, in this example, the engaging portion 7d is a holding portion on the housing 1 side, and the assembly is completed.
[0014]
Next, the operation will be described. FIGS. 1 and 3 are views showing a locked state. The swinging bar 7 is rotated upward and is in contact with the upper stopper 1c of the housing 1, and the lock shaft 5 can be moved upward. The steering shaft 4 is locked by protruding the tip 5d from the opening hole 1a by the urging force of the spring 6.
[0015]
Here, when an unlocking operation such as inserting a key into a key switch (not shown) is performed, this is detected and the motor 8 is driven, and the reduction gear 9 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. The rotation is transmitted from the small diameter gear 11a to the gear portion 7b of the swing bar 7, and the swing bar 7 is rotated clockwise. Since the engaging portion 7d moves downward by this rotation, the stopper pin 5b locked to the engaging portion 7d is also pushed down, and the lock shaft 5 is immersed in the opening hole 1a to lock the steering shaft 4. Is released. Since the swing bar 7 itself is a sector gear having a speed reducing function, the drive mechanism is simplified, and the engaging portion 7d is provided between the fulcrum 7a and the gear portion 7b, so that the lock shaft A sufficient pressing force for 5 is obtained.
[0016]
When the swing bar 7 rotates to the unlocked position in this way, the actuator of the micro switch 12 is pushed, and a signal that the lock shaft 5 is immersed in the housing 1 is transmitted to a controller (not shown). Can be driven. The energization of the motor 8 at this time is stopped after a lapse of a required time until the swing bar 7 comes into contact with the lower stopper 1d of the housing 1. In this unlocked position, the gear 11 is just half-turned from the state shown in FIG. 3 and its lock hole 11b is located in the lower part of the figure, and the solenoid 13 is arranged at a position corresponding to the lock hole 11b at this time. Yes. For this reason, the lock member 13a slidably contacted with the gear 11 by the urging force of the spring 13b is inserted into the lock hole 11b as shown in FIG. It is held in the unlocked state.
[0017]
Further, when a lock operation is performed by a key operation or the like in this unlocked state, the solenoid 13 is excited, the lock member 13a is pulled out from the lock hole 11b, and the drive mechanism can be operated. At the same time, the motor 8 is driven to rotate the reduction gear 9 in the clockwise direction. This rotation is decelerated and transmitted to the swing bar 7, and the swing bar 7 rotates counterclockwise until it contacts the upper stopper 1c. . With this rotation, the engaging portion 7d moves upward, so that the lock shaft 5 biased by the spring 6 can be moved accordingly, and finally the tip 5d protrudes from the opening hole 1a. . Thus, the steering shaft 4 is returned to the locked state shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and this locked state is maintained by the urging force of the spring 6.
[0018]
Excitation of the solenoid 13 in the case of the above-described locking operation is temporarily performed for a time sufficient to pull out the lock member 13a, and the motor 8 is energized at this time until the swing bar 7 contacts the upper stopper 1c. It will be stopped after the required time.
[0019]
The above example is applied to the case where the present invention is applied to an electric steering lock device. However, the present invention can be applied to a steering lock device in which a lock shaft is directly driven by a key operation. is there. Further, in the above example, the lock shaft 5 is provided with the stopper pin 5b which is a retaining member and the swing bar 7 is provided with the engaging portion 7d, and the engaging portion 7d prevents both the locking shaft 5 from being detached and pushed down. Although it has a structure that also functions, a structure in which a retaining portion dedicated to retaining is provided in the lock shaft storage portion 1b of the housing 1, a structure in which a retaining member is provided on the housing side, and a structure in which the retaining portion is provided on the lock shaft side, etc. It is also possible to adopt.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, the steering lock device of the present invention inserts a lock shaft and a spring for urging the lock shaft toward the steering shaft into the housing through an opening hole provided on the steering shaft side of the housing. And a retaining member provided on the other side of the lock shaft or the housing side is engaged with a retaining member provided on the other side of the lock shaft or the housing side. The lock shaft is assembled to the housing.
[0021]
Therefore, the lid in the conventional device becomes unnecessary, the lock is not released by an unauthorized act of destroying the lid or its fixed part and removing the lock shaft, and the anti-theft function of the device is improved, and the high reliability Sex is obtained. In addition, since the number of parts is reduced without the need for ripping and the assembly is easy, the number of man-hours required for the assembly work can be reduced, and thus the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
[0022]
In addition, with a rocking bar driven by a motor, the driving mechanism is simplified and sufficient driving force can be exerted on the lock shaft, so that the electric steering is relatively small and reliable. It becomes easy to obtain a locking device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a steering lock device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a main part of the apparatus.
FIG. 3 is an overall front view showing the housing of the above apparatus in a cutaway view.
FIG. 4 is a partially exploded front view of the entire apparatus, with the housing cut away.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a drive mechanism of the apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 1a Opening hole 1b Lock shaft accommodating part 4 Steering shaft 5 Lock shaft 5b Stopper pin (detachment prevention member)
5c Spring 6 Spring 7 Swing bar 7d Engagement part (holding part)
8 Motor

Claims (3)

A steering lock device configured so that the lock shaft is engaged with the steering shaft so that the steering shaft cannot be rotated by projecting the lock shaft toward the steering shaft from an opening hole provided on the steering shaft side of the housing. In
A lock shaft and a spring that urges the lock shaft in the steering shaft direction are inserted into the housing from the opening hole side, and are provided in a state where the lock shaft can be moved in and out and urged in the protruding direction. A steering lock device in which a lock shaft is assembled to a housing by engaging the retaining member on a lock shaft or a holding portion provided on the other side of the housing. The steering lock device according to claim 1, wherein a swing bar driven by a motor is provided, and the lock shaft is immersed in the housing by the swing bar. A locking member is provided on the lock shaft, and a holding part on the housing side is formed on the swing bar, and the holding part is engaged with the locking member so as to prevent the lock shaft from being detached and to be inserted into the housing. The steering lock device according to claim 2.

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