WO2020022588A1

WO2020022588A1 - Vehicle steering apparatus having irrotational core part

Info

Publication number: WO2020022588A1
Application number: PCT/KR2018/016275
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joo Yong Jo; Jeong Min Choi
Original assignee: Pyong Hwa Valeo Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2018-07-27
Filing date: 2018-12-19
Publication date: 2020-01-30
Also published as: KR20200012571A; KR102105379B1; CN112543726A; CN112543726B

Abstract

Disclosed is a steering apparatus of a vehicle comprising a housing fixed to a vehicle body, a steering wheel rotatably mounted in the housing, a steering gear set installed to transmit rotation of the steering wheel to a steering shaft and an irrotational core part fixed to the housing and allowing an outer wire harness to be wired thereto. The steering apparatus of a vehicle is capable of facilitating the user's convenience by providing on a hub positioned at the center of a steering wheel an irrotational core part on which various electric modules are to be mounted so that it is possible to use the electric modules conveniently regardless of a steering angle.

Description

VEHICLE STEERING APPARATUS HAVING IRROTATIONAL CORE PART

The present disclosure relates to a steering apparatus of a vehicle having an irrotational core part. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a steering apparatus of a vehicle, which allows electric modules to be conveniently used regardless of a steering angle of a steering wheel by defining on a central portion of the steering wheel an irrotational core part on which various electric modules are to be mounted.

A steering apparatus of a vehicle is generally configured to variably adjust a traveling direction of a vehicle body in accordance with a steering direction of a driver. Such a steering apparatus includes a steering wheel to be grasped and operated by a driver, a steering shaft directly connected to the steering wheel and a steering mechanism connected to the steering shaft to variably adjust an angle of vehicle wheels to be steered.

Further, as disclosed in Korean laid-open patent publication No. 2000-0015545, the steering wheel is designed to secure safety of the driver in case of emergency by mounting an airbag module at the central portion thereof. In addition, as disclosed in Korean registered patent No. 10-0569951, the steering wheel is designed to improve convenience of operation of various electric equipment such as a remote control type switch module and the like by installing the electric equipment on a spoke part connecting between the center of the steering wheel and a rim at the edge portion of the steering wheel in a state in which the installing area is expanded by means of a suitable member such as a pad.

However, since the conventional steering wheel has a structure in which the airbag module or the remote control type switch module is rotated together with the steering wheel during steering, a deployment angle of the airbag in case of emergency may deviate from an optimal range for securing safety of the driver and in the case of the remote control type switch module, it is difficult for the driver to perform a normal operation of the switch module when the driver does not ascertain the position of the switch module with his/her naked eye in the process of rotation of the steering wheel.

Particularly, in the case of an autonomous vehicle, a monitor capable of outputting visual information such as a state of the vehicle to the outside may be mounted at the center of the steering wheel. In this case, image or image information output from the monitor is inverted upside down or angled to the left or right direction during steering operation so that it is inevitably difficult for the driver to recognize the image or image information.

Accordingly, there is a need to develop a new type of steering apparatus capable of separately providing an independent portion that does not rotate regardless of a steering angle of the steering wheel.

Therefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a steering apparatus of a vehicle, which is capable of facilitating the user's convenience or suitable for an autonomous vehicle by providing on a hub of a steering wheel an irrotational core part on which various electric modules are to be mounted such that it is possible to use the electric modules conveniently regardless of a steering angle.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a steering apparatus of a vehicle, which is capable of improving availability of electric modules by defining a wiring path of a wire harness which may be arranged to extend from the outside to the electric modules at an irrotational core part so as to detour an installation portion of a steering gear set connecting between a steering wheel and a steering shaft.

In one general aspect, a steering apparatus of a vehicle comprises a housing fixed to a vehicle body, a steering wheel rotatably mounted in the housing, a steering gear set installed to transmit rotation of the steering wheel to a steering shaft and an irrotational core part fixed to the housing and allowing an outer wire harness to be wired thereto, wherein a wiring path of the wire harness is set so as to reach the irrotational core part without interference with rotation of the steering gear set in the inside of the housing.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the steering gear set comprises a hollow main gear part connected to the steering wheel, a transition gear part meshed with the main gear part, and a sub-gear part meshed with the transition gear part and coupled coaxially to the steering shaft, wherein the main gear part and the sub-gear part are preferably disposed so as to circumscribe the transition gear part in a state of being axially spaced apart from each other.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the wiring path of the wire harness is preferably set to reach the irrotational core part via an axial gap between the main gear part and the sub-gear part and an inner portion of the main gear part.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the housing comprises a boss part for rotatably supporting the main gear part and an opening for allowing the wire harness to be introduced therein, wherein the boss part preferably forms a gap for setting the wiring path of the wire harness between itself and the transition gear part.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the irrotational core part is preferably provided at its back side with a hollow mounting part protruding axially to couple to the boss part.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the main gear part is preferably provided with an extension part extending axially to couple to a hub of the steering wheel.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is preferable that the transition gear part comprises scissors gears installed rotatably at both ends thereof via torsion springs respectively, wherein the main gear part is meshed with the transition gear part together with one scissors gear and the sub-gear part is meshed with the transition gear part together with the other scissors gear.

Preferably, an embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a column mount bracket coupled to the housing and rotatably supporting one end of the transition gear part and the sub-gear part respectively.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, both ends of the transition gear part are preferably installed so as to be supported rotatably against the housing and the column mount bracket respectively.

The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure is configured to provide on a hub located at a central portion of a steering wheel an irrotational core part on which various electric modules can be mounted so that the various electric modules mounted on the irrotational core part can be used more conveniently regardless of a steering angle of the steering wheel and above all things, a steering apparatus suitable for an autonomous vehicle can be provided.

In addition, in the steering apparatus of a vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure, since a wiring path of a wire harness to be arranged from the outside to provide connection to the various electric modules installed on the irrotational core part can be arranged so as to detour an installation portion of the steering gear set connecting between the steering wheel and the steering shaft, it is possible not only to ensure an improved availability of various electric modules but also to fundamentally eliminate occurrence of deformation of the wire harness that may be caused because the wire harness is twisted in relation to steering operation.

For example, in case where an airbag module is mounted on the irrotational core part, since a deployment angle of the airbag can be set to an optimal angle with respect to a position of the driver's upper body regardless of a steering angle of the steering wheel, the present disclosure implements an effect that the degree of injury of a driver can be reduced when a crash or collision accident occurs.

In addition, in case where various remote control type switch modules or a monitor are mounted on the irrotational core part, electric equipment can be operated more conveniently regardless of the steering angle of the steering wheel and particularly, image or image information output from the monitor can be normally recognized without being inverted upside down or change of its left and right angles so that convenience of the user can be facilitated.

Further, since the steering apparatus of a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to apply a transition gear part equipped with scissors gears to a steering gear set that transmits steering force from the steering wheel to the steering shaft, it can eliminate backlash that may generate at the meshed portion of the gear during steering operation and therefore impart a functionality of precisely transferring the steering angle and it can also eliminate occurrence of noise due to tooth contact that may occur at the meshed portion of the gear and therefore ensure quietness.

Further, the steering apparatus of a vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure can adjust steering force transmitted from the steering wheel to the steering shaft to a desired level through variable setting of a gear ratio for each gear constituting the steering gear set.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a steering apparatus of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the steering apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of main components of the steering apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view taken in the opposite direction of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating separately only a steering gear set shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view taken in the opposite direction of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of main components of the steering gear set shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a transition gear part shown in FIG. 7.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a steering apparatus of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a steering wheel 10 to be grasped by a driver, a steering gear set 20 for transmitting steering force of the steering wheel 10, a housing 30 enveloping the steering gear set 20 and a steering shaft 40 for transmitting the steering force output from the steering wheel 10 to a steering mechanism (not shown) of front wheels.

The steering wheel 10 includes a ring-shaped rim part 11 located at an edge portion thereof, a hollow hub 12 located at the central portion thereof, a plurality of spoke parts 13 connecting between the rim part 11 and the hub 12 and an irrotational core part 14 disposed at the center of the rim part 11 to not rotate regardless rotation of the hub 12.

In this case, the rim part 11, the hub 12 and the spoke parts 13 correspond to members rotating integrally during steering operation, while the irrotational core part 14 is a member which is not rotated regardless of steering operation and on which various electric modules such as a remote control type switch module and an airbag module are installed. To this end, the irrotational core part 14 is integrally provided at its back side with a hollow mounting part 14a protruding outward for fixedly coupling to the housing 30.

The steering gear set 20 serves to transmit rotational force applied to the steering wheel 10 to the steering shaft 40 during steering operation and includes a main gear part 21 connected to the hub 12 of the steering wheel 10, a transition gear part 22 meshed with the main gear part 21 and a sub-gear part 23 meshed with the transition gear part 22 and coaxially coupled to the steering shaft 40 as shown in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 5 to 7.

In this case, the main gear part 21 and the sub-gear part 23 are configured such that they circumscribe both ends of the transition gear part 22 respectively in a state of being spaced apart from each other by an appropriate distance in an axial direction. In other words, the transition gear part 22 is configured to be disposed at a position deviated outward from a steering axis connecting between the main gear part 21 and the sub-gear part 23.

In this case, the steering gear set 20 is configured to implement various reduction ratios through a proper design for the main gear part 21, the transition gear part 22 and the sub-gear part 23. For example, the gear ratio may be adjusted by setting portions of the transition gear part 22 which are meshed with the main gear part 21 and the sub-gear part 23 respectively as stepped configurations having a different number of teeth, thereby variably adjusting the steering force transmitted from the steering wheel 10 to the steering shaft 40. Alternatively, even if the gear ratios of the main gear part 21 and the transition gear part 22 only are adjusted, a desired reduction ratio can be obtained.

Further, the main gear part 21 is hollow and is installed so as to be rotatably supported in the housing 30. Further, the main gear part 21 is configured so as to partially protrude to the outside of the housing 30 and directly couple to the hub 12 of the steering wheel 10.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the main gear part 21 includes an extension part 21a protruding axially toward the outside of the housing 30 to be coupled to the hub 12 of the steering wheel 10. The extension part 21a of the main gear part 21 is configured to be inserted and assembled into the inner peripheral surface of the hub 12 of the steering wheel 10. In this case, the extension part 21a includes a plurality of protrusions 21b protruding outwardly and disposed radially to provide tight coaxial coupling to the hub 12 of the steering wheel 10.

Particularly, the extension part 21a of the main gear part 21 is provided at its front end with a ring-shaped connecting plate 21c to ensure stable support to the hub 12 of the steering wheel 10. In this case, the connecting plate 21c is provided with a plurality of hollow assembling columns 21d protruding axially for coupling to the hub 12.

Further, a predetermined gap may be defined axially between the main gear part 21 and the sub-gear part 23 so that a wiring path of a wire harness (as shown by a broken line in FIG. 2) to be arranged to reach the irrotational core part 14 from the outside can be ensured regardless of rotation of the steering wheel 10. In other words, the wiring path of the wire harness is defined to pass through the axial gap between the main gear part 21 and the sub-gear part 23 and enter the inside of the housing 30 and then reach the back side of the irrotational core part 14 via the inside of the mounting part 14a. In this case, since the wiring path of the wire harness can be secured freely from rotation of the hub 12 of the steering wheel 10, occurrence of deformation such as twisting of the wire harness that may be caused in relation to steering operation is fundamentally eliminated.

Further, both ends of the transition gear part 22 are provided respectively with scissors gears 24 for absorbing backlash wherein the pair of the scissors gears 24 are installed such that they are elastically supported to the transition gear part 22 respectively in the opposite direction from each other. In other words, as shown in FIG. 8, the scissors gears 24 are installed at both ends of the transition gear part 22 respectively such that they perform restoring movement in a rotational direction by means of torsion springs 25.

To this end, the transition gear part 22 and the scissors gears 24 are provided respectively with fastening

holes

22a and 24a for fixing both ends of the torsion springs 25 while each of both ends of the transition gear part 22 is formed with a recessed portion 22b for receiving the torsion spring 25. In addition, the transition gear part 22 is configured to integrally include support shaft parts 22c protruding outwardly for mounting bearings at both ends thereof.

In this case, the main gear part 21 is meshed with the transition gear part 22 together with one scissors gear 24 of the pair of the scissors gears 24 located at both ends of the transition gear part 22 while the sub-gear part 23 is meshed with the transition gear part 22 together with the other scissors gear 24.

Further, the sub-gear part 23 is connected to a serration part 40a of the steering shaft 40 by spline coupling as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6.

The housing 30 is installed and fixed at a position adjacent to a steering column in the vehicle interior wherein it is configured to allow the steering gear set 20 to be mounted in the inside thereof. Particularly, the housing 30 is provided at its inside with a hollow boss part 31 protruding axially to rotatably support the main gear part 21.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the boss part 31 is configured to allow a first bearing 51 to be mounted on its outer peripheral surface. Accordingly, the boss part 31 rotatably supports the inner peripheral surface of the main gear part 21 via the first bearing 51. Further, the housing 30 is configured to allow a second bearing 52 for rotatably supporting the front end of the transition gear part 22 to be separately mounted at the outside of its edge portion.

Further, the boss part 31 allows the free end of the mounting part 14a of the irrotational core part 14 to be inserted into its inside, thereby supporting the irrotational core part 14 in a state of not rotating regardless of steering operation.

Further, the housing 30 is provided with an opening 32 in the form of an inlet opening which can communicate with the outside to allow the wiring path of the wire harness to be defined. In other words, the opening 32 allows the wire harness to enter the inside of the housing 30 from the outside, then the wire harness entered the inside of the housing 30 enters the inner space of the boss part 31 through an axial gap between the main gear part 21 and the sub-gear part 23 and then the wire harness is arranged to reach the back side of the irrotational core part 14 after passing through the inner space of the mounting part 14a. In summary, the wire harness is arranged so as to pass through the axial gap between the main gear part 21 and the sub-gear part 23 after entering the inside of the housing 30 through the opening 32 of the housing, to sequentially pass through the inner space of the boss part 31 and the inner space of the mounting part 14a, and then to be connected to the irrotational core part 14.

Further, the housing 30 is provided at its rear end with a plate-shaped column mount bracket 33 having a perforated central portion in order to fix the housing to a column portion of a vehicle body. In this case, the column mount bracket 33 is configured to allow a third bearing 53 for rotatably supporting a rear end of the transition gear part 22 and a fourth bearing 54 for rotatably supporting the sub-gear part 23 to be mounted therein.

Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure configured as mentioned above, steering force applied to the steering wheel 10 during steering operation is transmitted to the main gear part 21 of the steering gear set 20 via the rim part 11 and the spoke part 13 and the hub 12, then the steering force transmitted to the main gear part 21 is transmitted to the sub-gear part 23 via the transition gear part 22 and then provided to the steering shaft 40 so that steering in a desired direction is accomplished.

In this process, the irrotational core part 14 positioned at the center of the steering wheel 10 can be supported in a state of not rotating regardless of the steering operation by means of coupling between the mounting part 14a and the boss part 31 of the housing 30.

As a result, various electric modules such as a remote control type switch module or a monitor which may be mounted on the irrotational core part 14 can be kept in a state of not rotating regardless of steering operation so that this steering apparatus can be used more conveniently and provided as a steering apparatus suitable for an autonomous vehicle.

Since the wire harness connected to the various electric modules mounted on the irrotational core part 14 can be arranged to enter the inner space of the housing 30 through the opening 32 of the housing and detour the installation portion of the steering gear set 20 and then reach the back side of the irrotational core part 14, it is possible to ensure normal operational functionality for various electric field modules.

In other words, since the wiring path of the wire harness may be set such that it passes through the axial gap between the main gear part 21 and the sub-gear part 23, enters the inner space of the housing 30 through a gap between the sub-gear part 23 and the boss part 31 and then reaches the back side of the irrotational core part 14 after passing through the inner space of the mounting part 14a, the irrotational core part 14 can be kept in a state of not rotating regardless of rotation of the steering wheel 10.

Further, according to the present disclosure, since it is possible to eliminate backlash, which may generate at the meshed portion of the gear in the process of transmitting steering force from the steering wheel 10 to the steering shaft 40, by means of the scissors gears 24 provided in the transition gear part 22 of the steering gear set 20, this makes it possible not only to precisely transfer a steering angle but also to eliminate the problem of occurrence of noise caused by tooth contact which may occur at the meshed portion of the gear so that quietness of the vehicle interior can be ensured.

Claims

A steering apparatus of a vehicle, comprising:

a housing fixed to a vehicle body;

a steering wheel rotatably mounted in the housing;

a steering gear set installed to transmit rotation of the steering wheel to a steering shaft; and

an irrotational core part fixed to the housing and allowing an outer wire harness to be wired thereto,

wherein a wiring path of the wire harness is set so as to reach the irrotational core part without interference with rotation of the steering gear set in the inside of the housing.
The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the steering gear set comprises:

a hollow main gear part connected to the steering wheel;

a transition gear part meshed with the main gear part; and

a sub-gear part meshed with the transition gear part and coupled coaxially to the steering shaft,

wherein the main gear part and the sub-gear part are disposed so as to circumscribe the transition gear part in a state of being axially spaced apart from each other.
The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the wiring path of the wire harness is set to reach the irrotational core part via an axial gap between the main gear part and the sub-gear part and an inner portion of the main gear part.
The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the housing comprises a boss part for rotatably supporting the main gear part and an opening for allowing the wire harness to be introduced therein, wherein the boss part forms a gap for setting the wiring path of the wire harness between itself and the transition gear part.
The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the irrotational core part is provided at its back side with a hollow mounting part protruding axially to couple to the boss part.
The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the main gear part is provided with an extension part extending axially to couple to a hub of the steering wheel.
The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the transition gear part comprises scissors gears installed rotatably at both ends thereof via torsion springs respectively, wherein the main gear part is meshed with the transition gear part together with one scissors gear and the sub-gear part is meshed with the transition gear part together with the other scissors gear.
The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising a column mount bracket coupled to the housing and rotatably supporting one end of the transition gear part and the sub-gear part respectively.
The steering apparatus of a vehicle according to claim 8, wherein both ends of the transition gear part are installed so as to be supported rotatably against the housing and the column mount bracket respectively.