Steering device
AssigneeNsk Ltd.
InventorYoshifumi Kurokawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A steering column has a cylindrical front-side column and a cylindrical rear-side column having a front-end portion that is connected to a rear-end portion of the front-side column. The steering shaft has a front-side shaft rotatably supported inside the front-side column, a rear-side shaft rotatably supported inside the rear-side column and has a rear-end portion to which the steering wheel is attached, and a universal joint connecting the rear-end portion of the front-side shaft and the front-end portion of the rear-side shaft. The front-end portion of the front-side column is always arranged above a portion of the extension line of the center axis of the rear-side column which exists at the same location in the front-rear direction as the front-end portion.
Claims8
A steering device comprising:
- a steering column;
- and
- a steering shaft rotatably supported inside the steering column;
- wherein:
- the steering column has a cylindrical front-side column supported by and fastened to a vehicle body, and a cylindrical rear-side column arranged on a rear side of the front-side column and having a front-end portion connected to a rear-end portion of the front-side column,
- the steering shaft has a front-side shaft rotatably supported inside the front-side column, a rear-side shaft rotatably supported inside the rear-side column and having a rear-end portion where a steering wheel is supported by and fastened to, and a universal joint connecting a rear-end portion of the front-side shaft and a front-end portion of the rear-side shaft,
- a center axis of the front-side column is arranged so as to be parallel to a horizontal plane, which corresponds to a floor surface of a vehicle room of the vehicle body in a state that the steering device is supported by and fastened to the vehicle body,
- the rear-side column is arranged so that a center axis thereof inclines downward going forward with respect to the horizontal plane, and
- the front-side column is arranged so that the front-end portion of the front-side column is always arranged above a portion of an extension line of the center axis of the rear-side column which exists at the same location in a front-rear direction as the front-end portion of the front-side column.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.