Jtekt Corporation

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Shoji Ishimura

Tomonori Sugiura

Yuji Takahashi

Shigeru Hoshino

Tatsuro Kubota

Masayoshi Sakuda

Hidenobu Tanaka

Naohiro Oosono

Kazuhiro Watanabe

Susumu Imagaki

Ryota Okano

Masaaki Hashimoto

Kentaro Kikuiri

Kosuke Ito

Yuuji Ishii

A vehicle steering apparatus includes a shaft member, a moving portion, a support member, and a stop portion. The moving portion includes a first abutting surface that faces the stop portion in a circumferential direction of the shaft member. The first abutting surface is inclined with respect to an axial direction of the shaft member to face a shaft support portion side when the moving portion is viewed in a radial direction of the shaft member. The stop portion includes a first abutted surface that abuts the first abutting surface.

Vehicle steering apparatus

A steering system that is telescopically extendable and retractable using a motor driving force includes a motor, a telescopic steering shaft, a tube that supports the steering shaft such that the steering shaft is rotatable and that is movable with telescopic movement of the steering shaft, and a driving force transmission device that transmits a rotational driving force of the motor to the tube. The driving force transmission device includes a driving force converter that converts the rotational driving force of the motor to a linear driving force, and a coupling member that couples the driving force converter to the tube. The coupling member is breakable by an impact force applied thereto through the steering shaft and the supporting member during a secondary collision so as to decouple the driving force converter from the tube.

Steering system

A steering system that is telescopically extendable and retractable using a motor driving force includes a motor, a telescopic steering shaft, a tube that supports the steering shaft such that the steering shaft is rotatable and that is movable with telescopic movement of the steering shaft, an energy absorbing member connected to the tube, and a movable member connected to the energy absorbing member and configured to move the tube by being moved by a driving force of the motor. The energy absorbing member has a stiffness that moves the tube by transmitting the driving force of the motor from the movable member to the tube. The energy absorbing member is deformable to absorb impact energy that is applied to the energy absorbing member through the steering shaft and the tube during a secondary collision.

A steering device includes a column shaft, a column jacket, a fastening mechanism including a fastening shaft having a first flat portion, a first tooth member, a second tooth member, an energizing member, and a release member including: a cylindrical portion having a second flat portion; and a release portion, wherein: the release member is configured to cause the release portion to be engaged with the second tooth member; and a projecting portion formed on at least one of the first flat portion and the second flat portion is elastically engaged with the other one of the first flat portion and the second flat portion and restrain backlash between the first flat portion and the second flat portion.

Steering device

An operating lever is fitted to an operating shaft and pivots with the operating shaft. A first cam brought to pivot by the operating lever and a second cam cam-engaged with the first cam to push a column jacket are supported by the operating shaft. The first cam includes a first projecting portion and a second projecting portion that are disposed on opposite sides of a central axial line in a manner as to face each other in a radial direction. The operating lever has a first hole into which the first projecting portion is fitted and a second hole into which the second projecting portion is fitted. The second hole has a larger dimension than the second projecting portion in the radial direction.

Fastening device and steering apparatus

A support shaft includes a first supported portion and a second supported portion supported by respective support holes of a pair of fastened portions. The support shaft includes a large-diameter portion including the first supported portion, a small-diameter portion including the second supported portion and having a diameter smaller than the large-diameter portion, and a stepped portion formed between the large-diameter portion and the small-diameter portion. The small-diameter portion includes a tapered portion provided in the small-diameter portion so as to be adjacent to the stepped portion and having a diameter gradually decreasing toward the stepped portion, a first to-be-broken portion placed in a smallest-diameter portion of the tapered portion so as to be broken at a time of a secondary collision, and a second to-be-broken portion placed adjacent to the second supported portion so as to be broken at the time of the secondary collision.

Steering apparatus

A steering system includes a column jacket including a lower jacket and an upper jacket; an engagement member; a retaining member; and a buffer member that is retained by the retaining member and contacts the engagement member in a contact direction at a time when the upper jacket is displaced to one sliding end. The retaining member includes a support surface that supports the buffer member; paired holding portions that are respectively disposed on both sides of the buffer member in a circumferential direction of the upper jacket and hold the buffer member toward the support surface; and a restriction portion configured to be engaged with an end of the buffer member on a side toward which an opposite direction is directed, so as to restrict movement of the buffer member in the opposite direction, the opposite direction being opposite to the contact direction.

A column jacket includes an outer jacket and an inner jacket that are slidable relative to each other in the axial direction for telescopic adjustment. The inner jacket has an outer peripheral surface fitted to an inner peripheral surface of the outer jacket. A base end of an engaging member is fixed to the inner jacket. The inner peripheral surface of the outer jacket includes a guide groove, and a stopper provided at an end of the guide groove. The stopper restricts disconnection of the inner jacket from the outer jacket when being engaged with the engaging member. The engaging member is engaged with the guide groove, and the guide groove guides axial movement of the inner jacket via the engaging member. The guide groove has a bottom portion that faces a distal end of the engaging member.

A steering apparatus includes a steering shaft; a column jacket including an outer jacket including a slit and a pair of fastened portions, and an inner jacket; a fastening mechanism; an engaged tooth formation member including at least one engaged tooth and fixed to the inner jacket; a support shaft including end portions supported by support holes of the fastened portions; a tubular reinforcing member fitted to an outer peripheral surface of the support shaft at a prescribed area between the pair of end portions; and an engaging tooth formation member including an engaging tooth that engages with the engaged tooth.

A steering system includes an upper jacket that is movable in an axial direction, a first stopper member fixed to the upper jacket, and a second stopper member on a vehicle body. When a lock and unlock mechanism unlocks the upper jacket, the second stopper member moves to an advanced position where the second stopper member faces the first stopper member in the axial direction. When the lock and unlock mechanism locks the upper jacket, the second stopper member moves to a retracted position where the second stopper member retracts from the advanced position.

A steering apparatus includes a steering shaft; a column jacket including an outer jacket including a slit and a pair of fastened portions, and an inner jacket; a bracket; a fastening mechanism; an engaged tooth formation member including at least one engaged tooth and fixed to the inner jacket; a support shaft including end portions supported by support holes of the fastened portions; an engaging tooth formation member including an engaging tooth that engages with the engaged tooth; and a biasing member configured to bias the support shaft in a biasing direction. One of the fastened portions or a member supported by the one fastened portion includes a positioning portion configured to position the support shaft in the biasing direction.

A steering apparatus includes an upper bracket that supports a column jacket. The upper bracket includes a first member including a first top plate and fixed to the vehicle body, and a second member fixed to the first member and supporting the column jacket. The second member includes: a second top plate fixed to the first top plate, a pair of side plates extending downward from the second top plate and placed on both side of the column jacket; and a pair of restricted portions extended laterally from the pair of side plates, respectively. The first member includes a pair of restricting portions extending downward from the first top plate, the pair of restricting portions each including a second fixed portion fixed to its corresponding restricted portion.

In a steering device, a restriction member urged by an urging member restricts rotation of an inner tube when the restriction member is at an inserted position at which the restriction member is inserted into a second opening of the inner tube through a first opening of an outer tube. When the inner tube moves to contract a steering column upon a secondary collision, a driving edge portion of the second opening drives the restriction member to a position at which the restriction member is retracted from the second opening against the urging member.

Growing community of inventors

Kashihara, Japan

Shoji Ishimura