Patent ID: 8919220
Filing Date: 2014-12-30
Classification: B60R,B62D

Abstract:
1. A steering column apparatus configured for installation in a vehicle body defining forward, rearward, width, upward, and downward directions, the steering column apparatus comprising: a steering column having a center axis and a front end section disposed in the forward direction of the vehicle body, a rear end section disposed in the rearward direction of the vehicle body, a middle section therebetween, and a center axis therethrough, the steering column being supported by the vehicle body so as to be able to pivot and displace around a pivot shaft that is arranged in the width direction of the vehicle body, the steering column supporting a steering shaft on which a steering wheel is mounted such that the steering shaft can rotate; a displacement bracket fastened to an uppermost location in the upward direction of the middle section of the steering column and comprising a through hole formed in the width direction of the vehicle body; a support bracket comprising a pair of support plate sections and a pair of long holes having a longitudinal axis in the upward and downward directions of the vehicle body that are formed in positions of the pair of support plate sections that are aligned with the through hole of the displacement bracket, the support bracket being supported by the vehicle body and having the displacement bracket held between the pair of support plate sections; a rod shaped member that is inserted through the through hole and the pair of long holes in the upward and downward directions so as to be capable of displacing along the long holes in the upward and downward directions, the rod shaped member located further in the upward direction of the vehicle body than the center axis of the steering column; an adjustment lever that comprises a base end section that is connected to an end section of the rod shaped member, and a main portion that has a tip end section that is separated from the base end section, the adjustment lever being able to rotate the rod shaped member; and a cam apparatus connected to the end section of the rod shaped member and configured to expand or contract in the width direction of the vehicle body according to the operation of the adjustment lever and thereby cause a space between the pair of support plate sections to expand or contract, wherein the steering column is supported by the vehicle body such that the steering wheel is configured to be adjustable between an uppermost position disposed in the upward direction of the vehicle body and a lowermost position disposed in the downward direction of the vehicle body, and so that the steering column is configured to displace in the forward direction of the vehicle body in the event of a secondary collision, wherein the longitudinal axis of the long holes is inclined at a specified angle with respect to a virtual plane that is orthogonal to a center axis of the steering column, and elongating in the downward and forward directions of the vehicle body the specified angle being larger than an inclination angle of the axis of the steering column with respect to the forward and rearward directions of the vehicle body regardless of a position of the steering wheel between the uppermost position and the lowermost position thereof, a stepped stopper section located on an outside surface of one of the pair of support plate sections nearest the adjustment lever, and a locking arm located on the base end section of the adjustment lever and comprising a tip end section configured so that when the adjustment lever is positioned such that the position of the steering wheel is maintained, the tip end section of the locking arm comes in contact with the stepped stopper section, and when the adjustment lever is positioned so that the position of the steering wheel can be adjusted, the tip end section of the locking arm is separated from the stepped stopper section, wherein the stepped stopper section extends in a direction that is inclined at a specified angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the long holes and by changing the position on the stepped stopper section and thereby changing where the tip end section of the locking arm comes in contact with the steeped stopper section depending on the position of the steering wheel, the distance between the steering column and the tip end section of the adjustment lever being kept constant when the adjustment lever is positioned so that the position of the steering wheel can be maintained regardless of the position of the steering wheel.