Jtekt Corporation

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Koyo Seiko Company, Ltd.

Hiruta-kogyo Co., Ltd.

Koyo Seiko., Ltd.

Daiwa Plastics Co., Ltd.

Susumu Imagaki

Eiji Tanaka

Hiroyuki Yao

Masayoshi Sakuda

Hiroshi Kawakami

Takeshi Matsuda

Shigeru Hoshino

Kenji Imamura

Tomonori Sugiura

Wataru Yamada

Takuya Adachi

Atsushi Tano

Kazuki Fujiwara

Kota Higuchi

Kenji Utsunomiya

Osamu Sano

Takuya Suzuki

Kunihiro Oka

Yuji Takahashi

Tatsuro Kubota

Shoji Ishimura

So Tanaka

Ryota Okano

Shigetaka Kinme

Arata Kikuchi

Fumio Kishida

Masanori Kobayashi

Kentaro Kikuiri

Shingo Ougita

Tatsuhiro Yamamoto

Yoshio Ito

Shunsuke Nunomura

Tatsuo Otsuka

Daiki Goto

Takahiro Baito

Kentaro Okuno

Koji Yoshioka

Yuuji Ishii

Yoshinori Nishi

Seiji Sunada

Eiji Hayashi

Takahiro Fujii

Tomoyuki Takei

A steering system includes an upper jacket, a lower jacket, a support, a lock mechanism, and a shock absorber. The support supports the lower jacket. The lock mechanism switches a restriction of a telescopic adjustment and a termination of the restriction. The upper jacket includes a protruding stopper configured to regulate a position of the upper jacket at one end of a telescopic stroke range. The lock mechanism includes an opening and closing portion configured to enter a path of the stopper while the restriction of the telescopic adjustment is terminated, and configured to open the path of the stopper while the telescopic adjustment is restricted.

Steering system

A steering column device includes an inner tube, a housing, and a lock mechanism configured. The lock mechanism includes a first engagement member, a second engagement member, a first urging member, a second urging member, a cam member configured to rotate about a rotation axis extending in a direction in which the first urging member and the second urging member are arranged such that the second urging member serving as a follower is moved in the direction in which the first urging member and the second urging member are arranged to change a magnitude relationship between an urging force of the first urging member and an urging force of the second urging member, and an operation lever configured to operate the cam member.

Steering column device

A steering device includes: an inner tube; an outer tube that fixes the inner tube by fastening the inner tube from an outer side, and has a first slit extending in an axial direction; a pair of clamp brackets that is disposed so that the clamp brackets face each other with the first slit therebetween; and a reinforcing member that is connected to one of the clamp brackets and also connected to a connection region that is a region of an outer circumferential surface of the outer tube and located farther on one side in the axial direction than an end of the first slit on the one side in the axial direction.

Steering device

A pin assembly includes: a resin pin; and a collar fitted to a round shaft portion of the resin pin and having higher hardness than the resin pin. The round shaft portion is sheared to cancel connection between a first plate and a second plate upon secondary collision of a vehicle. The collar includes an end face received by a reception surface of the second plate, and shears the round shaft portion in a shear plane along the end face upon the secondary collision. The round shaft portion includes a hollow hole. An inner circumference of the hollow hole includes a straight portion which has a generating line parallel to an axial direction of the round shaft portion and which is traversed by a plane including the end face of the collar.

Pin assembly and steering device

A fastening mechanism fastens a first side plate to a second side plate by a fastening member. A boss with a rhombic cross-section of the fastening member is inserted into a telescopic-adjust long groove of the second side plate. An outer periphery of the boss includes a first corner part and a third corner part each forming an obtuse angle and facing each other. The first corner part is disposed on an upper side in an axial direction, on a lower side in a tilt direction, while the third corner part is disposed on a lower side in the axial direction, on an upper side in the tilt direction. A width across the first corner part and the third corner part is shorter than a groove width W of the telescopic-adjust long groove.

A first plate of a stationary bracket has long holes which extend parallel to a column movement direction, and through which large-diameter portions of suspension bolts are passed. The inner circumferences of the long holes include: recessed curved surface portions of end portions in a direction opposite to the column movement direction; first inner edge portions which are on the side of a middle position between the long holes; and second inner edge portions. In a secondary collision, when the one suspension bolt slides over the first inner edge portion of the long hole, for example, a gap is formed between the other suspension bolt and the second inner edge portion of the long hole.

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.

Elongated holes are formed in a first plate of a fixed bracket so as to extend parallel to a column moving direction. An elongated hole inserted portion of a suspending bolt of a suspending mechanism is disposed in an initial assembling position in one of the elongated holes. An inner circumference of the elongated hole includes a pair of flat surface portions which are parallel to the column moving direction, an arc-shaped surface portion and tapered surface portions which connect a pair of end portions of the arc-shaped surface portion to the corresponding flat surface portion. Tapered angles which the tapered surfaces form relative to the column moving direction are equal to or greater than a friction angle.

A steering column device is provided with a pair of suspension shafts which connects a first plate of a fixed bracket and a second plate of a movable bracket, thereby suspending a movable jacket through the movable bracket. A pair of first holes, each of which is an elongated hole, into which the pair of suspension shafts is inserted, is formed in the first plate. A connection and separation mechanism which separates, at the time of a secondary collision, the second plate from a predetermined position of the first plate in a column movement direction includes a resin pin disposed only between the pair of first holes in relation to a direction orthogonal to the column movement direction.

Steering-column device

A steering column device is provided with a suspension mechanism which is supported on a fixed bracket, suspends a movable jacket through a movable bracket, and can move in a column movement direction at the time of a secondary collision. The suspension mechanism includes a suspension bolt which is inserted into a first plate of the fixed bracket and a second plate of a tilt bracket and is screwed into a nut. A leaf spring which is interposed between a head portion of the suspension bolt and the second plate in a state of bringing a stepped portion of the suspension bolt into contact with the second plate biases the first plate to the second plate side. Further, the second plate is pinched between the stepped portion and the nut.

In a steering system, a first through-hole is formed in a stationary bracket secured to vehicle body. A second through-hole is formed in a movable bracket that is movable relative to the stationary bracket in a prescribed direction at the time of a secondary collision. A pin passed through both the first through-hole and the second through-hole breaks at a position between the first through-hole and the second through-hole at the time of the secondary collision, thereby allowing the movable bracket to move relative to the stationary bracket. An under plate attached to the movable bracket closes the second through-hole from below.

A gear includes a metal core and a synthetic resin tooth body. The metal core includes a cylindrical portion, and a disc portion that extends inwardly in a radial direction from one end of the cylindrical portion. The synthetic resin tooth body is coupled to the cylindrical portion of the metal core. A plurality of rotation prevention grooves is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion, and a plurality of rotation prevention grooves is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion.

Gear and electric power steering device

An electric power steering apparatus comprises a driving gear driven by an electric motor for steering assist and a driven gear meshed with the driving gear. A steering shaft is rotated along with the driven gear. The steering shaft is rotatably supported by a first bearing and a second bearing. An urging member is arranged in a recess provided in a housing. The urging member urges at least one of the first bearing and the second bearing in a direction in which a center-to-center distance between the driving gear and the driven gear increases.

Electric power steering apparatus

An electric power steering apparatus comprises a transmission mechanism for transmitting driving force of a steering assisting electric motor to a steering mechanism. A driven gear of the transmission mechanism is rotatably supported by first and second bearings. One of the first and second bearings includes an inner ring coupled so as to be rotatable together with an output shaft of a steering shaft, an outer ring held on a housing, and a rolling element interposed between the inner ring and the outer ring. One of the inner ring and the outer ring includes an annular elastic plate giving a preload to the rolling element.

An electric power steering apparatus includes a worm interlockedly connected to an output shaft of an electric motor, a first and a second bearing each supporting the respective side of the worm in a housing, and a gear wheel meshed with the worm. The housing includes a fitting bore in which the first bearing supporting a side of the worm closer to the electric motor is to be fitted, and an annular retaining portion located at a position corresponding to the second bearing and eccentrically oriented with respect to the center (axial center) of the fitting bore in a direction that shortens a distance L between the center of rotation of the worm and that of the gear wheel, and the annular retaining portion retains a coil spring around an outer circumference of the second bearing.

Growing community of inventors

Tondabayashi, Japan

Susumu Imagaki