Jtekt Corporation

Satoki Yoshimura

Masayoshi Sakuda

Atsumune Nagatani

Yoshihito Yoshihara

Yu Myohoji

Michiaki Yamaoka

Osamu Fujimura

Shigeru Morita

Kenta Takai

Yoshinori Hakamata

Seigi Maeda

Takahiro Baitou

Satoshi Ueno

An upper bracket of a steering column apparatus includes a vehicle body-side bracket including side plates, a tube-side bracket including side plates, and a support shaft. The vehicle body-side bracket has first coupling holes in the side plates. The tube-side bracket has second coupling holes in the side plates. The first coupling holes and the second coupling holes are configured such that the vehicle body-side bracket and the tube-side bracket are coupled together by inserting the support shaft through the first coupling holes and the second coupling holes. Each of the second coupling holes is open rearward and is configured such that, when an axial load equal to or greater than a predetermined load is applied to an upper tube, fitting between the second coupling hole and the support shaft is terminated and the tube-side bracket moves forward.

Steering column apparatus

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 column jacket includes a pair of facing portions facing each other, and a stepped portion which extends in a direction that intersects with a column axial direction and at which an outer surface of the corresponding facing portion projects outward halfway toward an end side of the column jacket. Tilt grooves are formed in respective side plates of an upper bracket fixed to a vehicle body. A clamping mechanism including a clamping shaft inserted through the tilt grooves clamps the side plates to bend the side plates such that an end of each side plate on the extending direction upper side is displaced toward the corresponding facing portion. The stepped portion is located between a fulcrum portion serving as a fulcrum when the corresponding side plate is bent by being clamped by the clamping mechanism and the corresponding tilt groove, in an extending direction of the side plates.

Growing community of inventors

Shiki-gun, Japan

Satoki Yoshimura