Patent ID: 7871091

Claim:
A steering damper apparatus comprising: a body frame; wheels suspended by the body frame; a steering shaft rotatably supported by the body frame, the steering shaft having a lower shaft connected to the wheel side; a handlebar connected to an upper shaft of the steering shaft for rotating the steering shall to steer the wheels; and a damper for damping the rotation of the steering shaft, wherein the rotation of the steering shaft is damped by the damper only when there is an input from either the handlebar or the wheels, wherein one of the upper and lower shafts of the steering shaft includes a steering-side protrusion, and the other of the upper and lower shafts of the steering shaft includes a steering-side depression in which the steering-side protrusion is loosely fitted with a predetermined space therebetween, and wherein when the upper and lower shafts rotate relative to each other, the steering-side protrusion and the steering-side depression are brought into abutment with each other so that torque is transmitted between the upper and lower shafts via the steering-side protrusion and the steering-side depression, wherein the one of the upper and lower shafts having the protrusion is also formed with a rib located in a space between an outer periphery of the other of the upper and lower shafts and an inner circumferential side of the housing.