Jtekt Corporation

Michiaki Yamaoka

Masayoshi Sakuda

Atsumune Nagatani

Yu Myohoji

Yoshihito Yoshihara

Satoki Yoshimura

Ryota Okano

Shigeru Morita

There is provided a steering system that can absorb an increased total amount of shock at a time of a secondary collision. A steering member is connected to one end of an upper jacket in a column axial direction. A lower jacket is externally fitted with the other end of the upper jacket in the column axial direction so as to be slidable with respect to the upper jacket. The lower jacket is supported by a support member fixed to a vehicle body. At the time of a secondary collision, a first sliding member generates a first resistive force by performing first relative sliding with respect to the upper jacket, and a second sliding member which is moved together with the first sliding member in the column axial direction generates a second resistive force by performing second relative sliding with respect to the support member and the lower jacket.

Steering system

Provided is a steering system that is configured to absorb a secondary collision shock load and achieves high vibration rigidity with a simple structure. A lower jacket is externally fitted to an upper jacket in a slidable manner. A support member that supports the lower jacket includes a fixed portion that is fixed to a vehicle body. A shock of a secondary collision is absorbed by a shock absorbing mechanism. The shock absorbing mechanism includes second slide members configured to move together with the upper jacket, and to frictionally slide relative to the support member upon a secondary collision. The second slide member includes a sandwiched portion that is sandwiched between the support member and the lower jacket, and a transmitting portion that is brought into contact with both of the lower jacket and the support member at a position closer to the fixed portion than the sandwiched portion.

A first sliding member is held by an upper jacket. A second sliding member includes a fixed portion fixed to the first sliding member, and an extension portion that extends in a column axis direction and that has a coupled portion coupled to the fixed portion at a predetermined location in the column axis direction. The second sliding member being clamped by the clamping mechanism slides relative to a supporting member and a lower jacket during a secondary impact. The second sliding member includes a slit that reduces coupling stiffness between the fixed portion and the coupled portion of the extension portion so as to facilitate, in a clamping state of the clamping mechanism, deflection of the coupled portion of the extension portion relative to the fixed portion in a lateral direction as seen from the column axis direction.

Steering apparatus

A steering system includes a column jacket that can extend and contract in an axial direction as a result of relative movement between an inner jacket and an outer jacket that houses the inner jacket, a regulation member fixed to the outer jacket and passing through an insertion hole in the inner jacket, and an elastic member fixed to the outer jacket. At the time of vehicular collision, when the regulation member is sheared by a peripheral portion of the insertion hole in the inner jacket in conjunction with the relative movement between the inner jacket and the outer jacket, a tip portion of the elastic member is fitted in the insertion hole.

Growing community of inventors

Ikoma-gun, Japan

Michiaki Yamaoka