Vehicle steering device and method for assembling the same
AssigneeHl Mando Corporation
InventorWoo Jin Shin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to the present embodiments, there may be provided a vehicle steering device, comprising a steering shaft having a toothed portion having a plurality of mountains and valleys axially formed on an outer circumferential surface of an end portion thereof and circumferentially arranged, and rotated with a steering wheel to transfer a steering force, an upper column formed in a hollow shape and having the steering shaft coupled to and rotatingly supported on an inner circumferential side thereof, and a shaft fixing member having one side end coupled to the steering shaft and another side end coupled to the upper column to fix the steering shaft, and a method for assembling the same.
Claims17
A vehicle steering device, comprising:
- a steering shaft having a toothed portion having a plurality of mountains and valleys axially formed on an outer circumferential surface of an end portion thereof and circumferentially arranged, and rotated with a steering wheel to transfer a steering force;
- an upper column formed in a hollow shape and having the steering shaft coupled to and rotatingly supported on an inner circumferential side thereof;
- and
- a shaft fixing member having one side end coupled to the steering shaft and another side end coupled to the upper column to fix the steering shaft,
- wherein the shaft fixing member includes:
- a shaft coupling portion where an end portion of the steering shaft is inserted;
- a tube coupling portion coupled to an outer circumferential surface of the upper column;
- and
- a body portion connecting the shaft coupling portion and the tube coupling portion,
- wherein the tube coupling portion includes:
- an end portion support portion supported on an end portion of the upper column;
- and
- an outer circumferential surface support portion extending from the end portion support portion and supported on an outer circumferential surface of the upper column,
- wherein the shaft coupling portion, the body portion, and the end portion support portion are hollow, and the outer circumferential surface support portion is rod-shaped and extends in the axial direction, such that rotation of the end portion of the steering shaft is restrained by the shaft coupling portion and rotation of the upper column is restrained by the outer circumferential surface support portion.
A method for assembling a steering device, comprising:
- a shaft aligning step of aligning, in the steering device, a steering shaft to a neutral position, the steering shaft having, at an end portion thereof, a mountain connecting portion connecting two or more mountains in a circumferential direction;
- a shaft coupling step of moving a shaft fixing member toward the end portion of the steering shaft, the shaft fixing member including a hollow shaft coupling portion into which the end portion of the steering shaft is inserted, a hollow end support portion supported on an end portion of an upper column, a hollow body portion connecting the shaft coupling portion and the end support portion, and an outer circumferential surface support portion extending from the end support portion and having a rod shape, and coupling the shaft fixing member to the steering shaft by inserting a pair of insertion protrusions formed on an inner circumferential surface of the shaft coupling portion into grooves on opposite sides of the mountain connecting portion of the steering shaft when the steering shaft is in the neutral position;
- and
- an upper column coupling step of coupling an end portion of the outer circumferential surface support portion to the upper column by axially moving the shaft fixing member while maintaining the neutral position of the steering shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.