JP5440563B2 - Shock absorbing steering shaft - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement of an impact absorption type steering shaft that constitutes a steering device of an automobile. Specifically, when manufacturing this steering shaft, the occurrence of galling between the inner edge of the inner shaft and the outer peripheral surface of the outer shaft is prevented, thereby suppressing an increase in the manufacturing cost of the steering shaft. On the other hand, a structure capable of stabilizing the shock absorbing performance is realized. Note that the steering shaft that is an object of the present invention includes not only a shaft supported on the inside of the steering column but also an intermediate shaft disposed on the front side of the steering column.

For example, a structure as shown in FIG. 3 is widely known as a steering device for imparting a steering angle to a steered wheel (usually a front wheel except a special vehicle such as a forklift). In this steering device, a steering shaft 3 is rotatably supported on the inner diameter side of a cylindrical steering column 2 supported by a vehicle body 1. A steering wheel 4 is fixed to the rear end portion of the steering shaft 3 protruding rearward from the rear end opening of the steering column 2. When the steering wheel 4 is rotated, this rotation is transmitted to the input shaft 8 of the steering gear unit 7 via the steering shaft 3, the universal joint 5a, the intermediate shaft 6, and the universal joint 5b. When the input shaft 8 rotates, a pair of tie rods 9, 9 arranged on both sides of the steering gear unit 7 are pushed and pulled, and a steering wheel according to the operation amount of the steering wheel 4 is turned to a pair of left and right steering wheels. Give a corner. In the case of the structure shown in FIG. 3 , the steering column 2 and the steering shaft 3 are telescopic types so that the front and rear positions of the steering wheel 4 can be adjusted. In recent years, an electric power steering apparatus in which the electric motor 10 is incorporated as an auxiliary power source in the steering apparatus as described above has also become widespread.

The steering column 2 and the steering shaft 3 are configured to displace the steering wheel 4 while absorbing impact energy in the event of a collision. That is, in the event of a collision accident, a secondary collision in which the driver's body collides with the steering wheel 4 occurs following a primary collision in which the automobile collides with another automobile or the like. In order to alleviate the impact applied to the driver's body during the secondary collision and to protect the driver, the steering shaft 3 supporting the steering wheel 4 is subjected to the secondary collision with respect to the vehicle body 1. It is necessary to support it so that it can be displaced forward by a forward impact load. For this reason, the steering column 2 is contracted by the impact load of the secondary collision, the outer column 11 is shortened by the entire length of the steering column 2, and the steering shaft 3 is contracted by the outer shaft 12 by the total length of the steering shaft 3. However, a large impact is prevented from being applied to the driver's body colliding with the steering wheel 4 by being displaced forward.
The outer column and the inner column that constitute the telescopic steering column as described above, and the front and rear positions of the outer shaft and the inner shaft that constitute the steering shaft may be opposite to the illustrated structure. As a technique for manufacturing the telescopic steering shaft as described above, there are techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example.

4 to 7 show a conventional example of an impact absorbing steering shaft and a manufacturing method thereof described in Patent Document 1 among them. The steering shaft 3a is configured such that the outer shaft 12a and the inner shaft 13 are engaged with each other so as to be relatively displaceable in the axial direction, and the total length is shortened by an impact load applied in the axial direction at the time of a secondary collision.
The outer shaft 12a has a circular tube shape as a whole, and a small diameter portion 14 is formed at one end portion by drawing one end portion (left end portion in FIGS. 4 to 5 ). A female serration 15 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 14. The inner shaft 13 is also formed in a circular tube shape as a whole, and a large-diameter portion 16 is formed at one end by expanding one end (the right end in FIGS. 4 to 5 ). A male serration 17 that engages with the female serration 15 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 16.

When the outer shaft 12a and the inner shaft 13 are combined to produce the steering shaft 3a as shown in FIG. 4 , first, as shown in FIG. 5 , the female serration 15 and the male serration 17 Are engaged with each other at the tip end portion (left end portion in FIG. 5 ) of the small diameter portion 14 and the tip end portion (right end portion in FIG. 5 ) of the large diameter portion 16.
And the outer peripheral surface of the front-end | tip part of the said small diameter part 14 is pressed to radial direction inward with the said both serrations 15 and 17 being mutually engaged. That is, a pair of pressing pieces 18, 18 are arranged around the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 14 and the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16, and the two small pressing portions 18, 18 are brought close to each other, whereby the small diameter portion 14 strongly presses the outer peripheral surface of the tip portion. On the inner side surfaces of these pressing pieces 18, 18 are formed recesses 19, 19 in which the cross-sectional shape of the portion contacting the outer peripheral surface is arcuate in the portion contacting the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the small diameter portion 14 doing.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the thickness between the end faces of the two pressing pieces 18, 18 with both the recesses 19, 19 lightly in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 14. T gaps 20 and 20 are formed. From this state, both the pressing pieces 18, 18 are strongly pressed in a direction approaching each other by a pressing device (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 7 , the pressing pieces 18 and 18 are brought close to each other until the thickness of the gaps 20 and 20 becomes 0, and the cross-sectional shape of the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 14 is shown in FIG. It is plastically deformed into an oval shape as shown in. At the same time, the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16 inserted into the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 14 is also pressed through the both serrations 15 and 17, and the sectional shape of the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16 is also shown in FIG. Plastically deform into an elliptical shape as shown.

In this way, if the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 14 and the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16 are pressed radially inward, and the cross-sectional shape of both the distal end portions is plastically deformed into an elliptical shape, then, The outer shaft 12a and the inner shaft 13 are relatively displaced in the axial direction so as to approach each other. That is, after the outer shaft 12a and the inner shaft 13 are taken out from both the pressing pieces 18, 18, the outer shaft 12a is placed on the left side in FIG. The relative displacement is made. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 , the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 14 is press-fitted into the proximal end portion of the large diameter portion 16, and the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16 is fitted to the proximal end portion of the small diameter portion 14. Press-fit into. The intermediate portion of the small diameter portion 14 and the intermediate portion of the large diameter portion 16 that are not plastically deformed by the two pressing pieces 18 and 18 are loosely engaged with each other.
Since the inner shaft 13 constituting the shock absorbing steering shaft as described above has a smaller outer diameter than the outer shaft 12a, it is often formed of carbon steel having a high hardness such as S35C in order to ensure strength. Alternatively, it can be formed of a carbon steel pipe such as STKM12B. In this case, the radial thickness is increased in order to ensure strength.

Although the above description has been given with respect to the steering shaft 3 that fixes the steering wheel 4 (see FIG. 3 ) to the rear end portion, the intermediate shaft 6 disposed in the front side portion of the steering device is similarly axially arranged. It may be configured to be shrinkable. Such a contraction-type intermediate shaft 6 has the steering wheel 4 pushed up to the driver side by reducing the overall length from the impact load accompanying the primary collision at the time of the primary collision when the automobile collides with another automobile or the like. To protect the driver. The intermediate shaft 6 transmits the output torque of the electric motor 10 as an auxiliary power source in addition to the torque applied from the steering wheel 4 to the steering shaft 3 by the operation of the driver. For this reason, when the shock absorbing steering shaft as described above is applied to the intermediate shaft 6, the holding force (fitting strength) of the engaging portion between the outer shaft 12a and the inner shaft 13 is increased, and the durability is improved. Need to be high. As a result, the contact pressure between the outer peripheral edge of the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16 and the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 14 is increased, and when the shock absorbing steering shaft manufacturing method as described above is performed. When the outer shaft 12a and the inner shaft 13 are relatively displaced in the axial direction in a direction approaching each other, galling is likely to occur at the outer peripheral edge of the distal end portion of the large-diameter portion 16. That is, at the time of this relative displacement, the long diameter portion of the outer peripheral edge of the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16 having an elliptical cross-sectional shape and the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 14 having a circular cross sectional shape are strongly rubbed. The outer peripheral edge of the tip portion bites into the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 14. If the galling generated in this way is left unattended, the energy absorption performance in the event of a collision may become unstable. Therefore, in order to stabilize the energy absorption performance, it is necessary to remove a surplus portion (peeling portion) generated by galling by cutting or the like. Also, depending on the degree of galling, the completed shock absorbing steering shaft must be discarded as a defective product, which increases manufacturing costs due to increased processing effort and yield, and improvements are desired. . In particular, in the case of the intermediate shaft 6, as described above, there is a great need for improvement in order to increase the contact pressure of the fitting portion in order to secure the holding force.

Japanese Patent No. 3168841 Japanese Patent No. 3716590

In view of the circumstances as described above, the present invention is an impact-absorbing steering system in which an outer shaft and an inner shaft are coupled to each other so as to be capable of relative displacement in the axial direction in accordance with an impact load applied during a secondary collision. When manufacturing this steering shaft, it is possible to prevent galling between the outer peripheral edge of the inner shaft and the inner peripheral surface of the outer shaft. The invention was invented to realize a structure capable of suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost by obtaining an impact-absorbing steering shaft having stable energy absorption performance while suppressing generation of non-defective products.

The shock absorbing steering shaft of the present invention includes an outer shaft and an inner shaft . Of these, the outer shaft is tubular and forms female serrations on the inner peripheral surface of at least the portion extending from the tip edge to the intermediate portion. The inner shaft forms a male serration that engages with the female serration on at least the outer peripheral surface of the portion extending from the tip edge to the intermediate portion. The outer shaft and the inner shaft are elliptical in cross section with respect to a virtual plane orthogonal to the central axis, the middle portion of the inner shaft at the tip of the outer shaft, and the cross sectional shape is also elliptical. the distal end of the inner shaft at an intermediate portion of the outer shaft, respectively, with the impact applied during a secondary collision, by the both shafts with each other is internally fitted axially fixed by the relative displaceable engaging strength, the The outer shaft and the inner shaft are combined.

In particular, in the shock absorbing steering shaft of the present invention, the inner shaft has a solid circular shape, and at least the tip of the inner shaft has an opening at the tip surface of the inner shaft. A concave hole having a tapered shape that is inclined in a direction in which the diameter becomes smaller as the surface goes to the inner part is formed. And at least the front-end | tip part of the said inner shaft is made into the cylindrical part, and while making the axial direction dimension of the said concave hole larger than the thickness regarding the radial direction of this cylindrical part, of the front-end | tip part of the said inner shaft Among them, the rigidity in the radial direction of the portion closer to the tip is made lower than the rigidity in the same direction of the portion closer to the intermediate part.

When carrying out the present invention as described above, for example, as in the invention described in claim 2, at least one small-diameter portion having a small inner diameter is provided at one end portion of the outer shaft, and at least an outer diameter is provided at one end portion of the inner shaft. A large-diameter portion having a large is provided. Then, the rigidity in the radial direction of the portion near the tip edge of the tip portion of the large diameter portion is made lower than the rigidity in the same direction of the portion near the intermediate portion .

According to the shock absorbing steering shaft of the present invention configured as described above, when this steering shaft is manufactured, it is possible to prevent galling between the tip edge of the outer shaft and the inner peripheral surface of the inner shaft. In addition, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost of the steering shaft by assembling an impact absorbing steering shaft that can exhibit excellent impact energy absorbing performance while suppressing an increase in processing time and generation of defective products. The reason for this is that the rigidity in the radial direction of the tip edge portion of the inner shaft is lower than the rigidity in the same direction of the middle portion, so the shock absorbing steering shaft is manufactured. This is because it is possible to prevent galling between the tip edge of the inner shaft and the inner peripheral surface of the outer shaft. That is, the rigidity of the leading edge portion of the inner shaft is low, and the contact pressure between the leading edge portion and the inner peripheral surface of the outer shaft is small. For this reason, when the two shafts are relatively displaced in the axial direction in a direction approaching each other, the friction acting between the tip edge portion of the inner shaft and the inner peripheral surface of the outer shaft can be reduced. The tip edge portion can be prevented from biting into the inner peripheral surface, and the occurrence of the galling can be prevented .

1 is a cross-sectional view of a steering shaft showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention. Similarly, the same figure as FIG. The side view which shows one example of the steering device conventionally known in the state which cut | disconnected a part. Sectional drawing which shows one example of the conventional structure of the shock absorption type steering shaft used as the object of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the state which engaged the front-end | tip part of the inner shaft, and the front-end | tip part of the outer shaft at the time of manufacture of a conventional structure. XX sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, showing a state in which both the end portions are plastically deformed radially inward by a pair of pressing pieces.

[Example of Embodiment ]
1 and 2 show an example of an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, including the present example, the shock absorbing steering shaft of the present invention is characterized by preventing the occurrence of galling between the tip edge of the inner shaft 13a and the inner peripheral surface of the outer shaft 12a. The aim is to realize a structure that can suppress an increase in manufacturing cost by assembling an impact absorption type steering shaft capable of exhibiting excellent impact energy absorption performance while suppressing an increase in labor and generation of defective products. The structure and operation of the other parts are the same as those of the conventionally known shock absorbing steering shaft and its manufacturing method, including the structure shown in FIGS. The illustration and description will be omitted or simplified, and the following description will focus on the features of this example.

In the case of the structure of the present example, the rear end portion (right side in FIGS. 1 and 2) constituting the steering shaft 3b has a larger outer diameter than the front end portion (left side in FIGS. 1 and 2). A portion 16a is provided. Such a large diameter portion 16a is formed by cutting the outer peripheral surface of the front end portion of the inner shaft 13a . Walking, the insertion of the inner shaft 13a on the inner diameter side of the outer shaft 12a, if possible, without providing the large-diameter portion 16a, the same over the outer diameter of the inner shaft 13a in the axial length You can also do things. However, in this case, male serrations 17 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner shaft 13a over the entire length in the axial direction in order to prevent the shrinkage load of the steering shaft 3b from becoming excessive.
A small-diameter portion 14 having an inner diameter smaller than that of the rear end portion (right side in FIGS. 1 and 2) is provided at the front end portion (left side in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the outer shaft 12a. Such a small-diameter portion 14 is formed by drawing the front end portion of the outer shaft 12a which is tubular like the conventional structure described above, or by cutting the inner peripheral surface of the rear end portion. To do. Alternatively, if the inner shaft 13a can be inserted into the inner diameter side of the outer shaft 12a, the inner diameter of the outer shaft 12a can be made the same over the entire length in the axial direction without providing the small diameter portion 14. However, in this case, in order to prevent the shrinkage load of the steering shaft 3b from becoming excessive, a female serration that engages with the male serration 17 over the entire length in the axial direction on the inner peripheral surface of the outer shaft 12a. 15 is formed.
In the case of the structure of this example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a large-diameter portion 16a is drawn at the rear end by cutting the outer peripheral surface of the front end of the inner shaft 13a, and the front end of the outer shaft 12a is drawn. The small-diameter portions 14 are respectively provided by applying

Further, a concave hole 21 is provided at the tip of the large diameter portion 16a (the right end in FIGS. 1 and 2). And the inner peripheral surface of this recessed hole 21 is made into a taper shape, and the thickness of the radial direction of the front-end | tip part of this large diameter part 16a is so that it goes to the front-end edge (right side of FIGS. 1-2) of this large-diameter part 16a. The thinned cylindrical portion 24 is used. As is clear from the description of FIGS. 1 and 2, the axial dimension L ₂₁ of the concave hole 21 is sufficiently larger than the wall thickness T _{24 in} the radial direction of the cylindrical portion 24 (L ₂₁ >> T ₂₄ ). doing. Accordingly, the rigidity of the cylindrical portion 24 in the radial direction is significantly lower than that in the case where the concave hole 21 is not provided.

In order to manufacture the shock absorbing type steering shaft of the present example configured as described above, first, the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16a is engaged with the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 14 as shown in FIG. And the outer peripheral surface of the front-end | tip part of this small diameter part 14 is pressed radially inward by a pair of press pieces 18 and 18, and the said steering shaft similarly to the case of FIG. 7 which shows an example of the conventional structure mentioned above . The distal end portion of the small-diameter portion 14 and the distal end portion of the large-diameter portion 16a are plastically deformed in the radial direction so that the cross-sectional shape related to the virtual plane orthogonal to the central axis of 3b becomes an ellipse. At this time, the pressing force for pressing both the pressing pieces 18, 18 may be adjusted. That is, the thicknesses of the gaps 20 and 20 (see FIG. 6 ) between the end faces of the two pressing pieces 18 and 18 are set to positive values in a state where the both ends are plastically deformed (the gaps 20 and 20 The amount of deformation of both the tip portions can be adjusted. Further, the shape of the portion of the inner surface of each of the pressing pieces 18, 18 that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 14 is a concave portion 19, 19 having a circular cross section as shown in FIGS. Not limited to this, as long as the radially opposite positions of the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the small-diameter portion 14 can be pressed toward each other, the plane or the cross-sectional shape can be a V-shaped surface or the like. Furthermore, even when the cross-sectional arc shape is used, the magnitude relationship with the curvature radius of the outer peripheral surface of the tip end portion of the small diameter portion 14 may be any. In any case, if the engaging portion between the tip portions is plastically deformed, then the outer shaft 12a and the inner shaft 13a are relatively displaced in the axial direction, and the tip portion of the small diameter portion 14 is moved. The proximal end portion of the small diameter portion 14 is press-fitted into the proximal end portion of the large diameter portion 16a and the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 16a. Further, the intermediate portion of the small diameter portion 14 and the intermediate portion of the large diameter portion 16a are loosely fitted to each other.

According to the shock absorbing steering shaft of the present invention configured as described above, when manufacturing the steering shaft 3b, the leading edge of the large diameter portion 16a of the inner shaft 13a and the small diameter portion 14 of the outer shaft 12a are formed. It is possible to realize an impact-absorbing steering shaft that prevents the occurrence of galling with the inner peripheral surface and suppresses an increase in manufacturing cost of the steering shaft 3b, and can exhibit excellent impact energy absorption performance. The reason for this is that the inner peripheral surface of the concave hole 21 provided at the tip of the large-diameter portion 16a is tapered, and the radial direction of the tip of the large-diameter portion 16a increases toward the tip edge of the large-diameter portion 16a. This is because the thickness is reduced (the rigidity is reduced). Since such a configuration is adopted, even when the outer shaft 12a and the inner shaft 13a are relatively displaced in the axial direction in the direction of approaching each other when the steering shaft 3b is manufactured, the large-diameter portion 16a. The tip edge of the small diameter portion and the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 14 do not rub against each other. That is, the rigidity in the radial direction of the tip edge portion of the large diameter portion 16a is reduced by the thickness of this portion, and the contact pressure between the tip edge portion and the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 14 is reduced. Is small. For this reason, when the shafts 12a and 13a are relatively displaced, the friction acting between the tip edge portion of the large-diameter portion 16a and the inner peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion 14 can be reduced. The tip edge portion can be prevented from biting into the inner peripheral surface, and the occurrence of a surplus portion due to galling on the inner peripheral surface can be prevented .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car body 2 Steering column 3 Steering shaft 4 Steering wheel 5a, 5b Universal joint 6 Intermediate shaft 7 Steering gear unit 8 Input shaft 9 Tie rod 10 Electric motor 11 Outer column 12, 12a Outer shaft 13, 13a-13e Inner shaft 14 Small diameter part 15 Female serration 16, 16a to 16e Large diameter portion 17 Male serration 18, 18a Pressing piece 19 Recess 20 Clearance
21 concave hole
24 Cylindrical part

Claims (2)

A tubular outer shaft in which female serrations are formed on the inner peripheral surface of at least a portion extending from the leading edge to the intermediate portion, and a male that engages with the female serrations on the outer peripheral surface of at least the portion extending from the leading edge to the intermediate portion. The inner shaft formed with serrations, the inner shaft at the tip of the outer shaft whose elliptical cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the central axis is elliptical, and the inner shaft whose cross-sectional shape is also elliptical The inner shaft of the outer shaft is fitted and fixed to the intermediate portion of the outer shaft with a fitting strength that allows the shafts to be displaced relative to each other in the axial direction in response to an impact applied during a secondary collision. in the inner shaft and an impact absorbing type steering shaft comprising combining, and the inner shaft and the solid circle rhabdoid, this At least the tip of the inner shaft is formed with a concave hole that is open at the tip surface of the inner shaft and has a tapered shape that is inclined in a direction in which the diameter decreases as the inner peripheral surface moves toward the back, At least the tip portion of the inner shaft is a cylindrical portion, and the axial dimension of the concave hole is made larger than the maximum value of the thickness in the radial direction of the cylindrical portion, and the tip portion of the inner shaft Among them, the shock absorption type steering shaft is characterized in that the rigidity in the radial direction of the portion near the tip is made lower than the rigidity in the same direction of the portion near the middle portion.   A small diameter portion having at least a small inner diameter is provided at one end portion of the outer shaft, a female serration is formed on an inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion, and a large diameter portion having at least a large outer diameter is provided at one end portion of the inner shaft, A male serration that engages with the female serration is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion, and among the distal end portions of the large-diameter portion, the rigidity in the radial direction of the portion closer to the distal end is also set to be greater than the rigidity related to the portion closer to the intermediate portion. The base end of the large-diameter portion is formed at the tip of the small-diameter portion whose cross-sectional shape with respect to a virtual plane orthogonal to the central axis is elliptical, and the large-diameter portion of which the cross-sectional shape is also elliptical. The outer shaft and the outer shaft are fixed to the proximal end portion of the small-diameter portion with a fitting strength that allows the shafts to be relatively displaced in the axial direction in response to an impact applied during a secondary collision. Previous Bound the inner shaft, the shock absorbing steering shaft according to claim 1.

Images