CN221023827U

CN221023827U - Foldable steering wheel

Info

Publication number: CN221023827U
Application number: CN202322095924.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 储金鹏; 孙鹏飞; 郭大军; 周水庭; 周有诺; 孟君灵
Original assignee: Xiamen University of Technology
Current assignee: Xiamen University of Technology
Priority date: 2023-08-04
Filing date: 2023-08-04
Publication date: 2024-05-28
Anticipated expiration: 2033-08-04

Abstract

The utility model discloses a foldable steering wheel, which comprises a steering wheel, a steering transmission assembly, an angle adjusting mechanism, a height adjusting mechanism, a translation mechanism and a support panel positioned on the bottom surface of a vehicle, wherein the steering wheel, the steering transmission assembly, the angle adjusting mechanism, the height adjusting mechanism, the translation mechanism and the support panel are arranged at the front part of the vehicle together with a driver console; the steering wheel is connected with the steering transmission assembly; the angle adjusting mechanism is connected with the steering transmission assembly and drives the steering transmission assembly to rotate; the height adjusting mechanism comprises a telescopic electric cylinder, one end of the telescopic electric cylinder is directly or indirectly connected with the steering transmission assembly, and the other end of the telescopic electric cylinder is fixed on the support panel; the translation mechanism is arranged below the support panel and drives the support panel to move back and forth along with the steering wheel. The steering wheel can be folded and hidden to the inner side below the driver console in the intelligent driving mode, the reservation design of the storage space in the vehicle body structure is not needed, the space utilization rate is improved, misoperation of a driver is avoided in the intelligent driving mode, and the safety is improved.

Description

Foldable steering wheel

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of automobile parts, in particular to a foldable steering wheel.

Background

At present, the vehicle is developing intelligently, and the intelligent unmanned automobile and commercial vehicle in the future can realize the intelligent whole vehicle, and the steering wheel is an important part for controlling the steering of the vehicle and is a mechanism needing research and optimization in the intelligent process. After the automobile is gradually intelligent and unmanned, the steering wheel is changed into 'useless' setting occupying space, so that a foldable steering wheel is needed, the hiding function can be realized, namely, the steering wheel can be hidden under the intelligent driving mode of the automobile, the space of the cab can be better utilized, a driver is more comfortable, misoperation of the driver can be avoided, and traffic accidents are reduced.

The existing foldable steering wheel is folded, and a folding and shrinking hiding mechanism and a folding method for the steering wheel are disclosed as CN112455529A, a steering wheel body is folded, and the folded steering wheel is stored into an instrument desk through a screw rod and a guide rail structure, but the scheme needs to reserve a larger storage space inside the instrument desk, so that the storage design of a vehicle body structure is not facilitated. Therefore, it is significant to develop a steering wheel that can achieve folding hiding without reserving a storage space inside a vehicle body structure.

Disclosure of utility model

The technical problem to be solved by the utility model is to provide the foldable steering wheel, which can be folded and hidden in an intelligent driving mode of an automobile without reserving a storage space in the body structure.

In order to solve the technical problems, the technical solution of the utility model is as follows: a foldable steering wheel comprises a steering wheel, a steering transmission assembly, an angle adjusting mechanism, a height adjusting mechanism, a translation mechanism and a support panel positioned on the bottom surface of a vehicle, wherein the steering wheel, the steering transmission assembly, the angle adjusting mechanism, the height adjusting mechanism, the translation mechanism and the support panel are arranged at the front part of the vehicle together with a driver console; the steering wheel is connected with the steering transmission assembly; the angle adjusting mechanism is connected with the steering transmission assembly and drives the steering transmission assembly to rotate; the height adjusting mechanism comprises a telescopic electric cylinder, one end of the telescopic electric cylinder is directly or indirectly connected with the steering transmission assembly, and the other end of the telescopic electric cylinder is fixed on the support panel; the translation mechanism is arranged below the support panel and drives the support panel to move back and forth along with the steering wheel.

Preferably, the angle adjusting mechanism comprises a driving source and a worm gear reducer which are connected, the steering transmission assembly is rotatably connected to the worm gear reducer through a pair of connecting plates, and the angle adjusting mechanism is fixed through a bracket.

Preferably, the telescopic electric cylinder is obliquely arranged on the support panel, and the upper end of the telescopic electric cylinder is connected with the angle adjusting mechanism so as to be indirectly connected with the steering transmission assembly.

Preferably, the translation mechanism is a screw-nut sliding block mechanism, and comprises a translation sliding rail, a translation sliding block, a translation driving motor and a ball screw nut, wherein the support panel is respectively connected with the translation sliding block and the ball screw nut, the translation sliding block is slidably arranged in the translation sliding rail, and the translation driving motor drives the ball screw nut to enable the support panel to slide along the translation sliding rail.

Preferably, the translation mechanism is installed in fixed box, and this fixed box top surface is the opening, and open-ended width and support panel's width adaptation, support panel still is connected with the translation protection casing respectively in the both sides of opening part, and this translation protection casing is elastic dentate protection casing.

Preferably, the steering transmission assembly comprises a steering upper column, a steering lower column, a spline movable sleeve and an assembly main body shell, wherein the steering upper column is connected with a steering wheel through a universal shaft joint, the steering lower column is connected to a steering gear of a vehicle through a universal shaft bearing seat, a sleeve limiting ring and a sleeve spring are arranged in the spline movable sleeve, and the periphery of the joint of the steering upper column and the steering wheel is provided with the assembly main body shell.

Preferably, the steering transmission assembly is provided with a clutch which is connected above the steering upper column through the universal shaft joint, and the clutch adopts a gear motor driving type clutch.

Preferably, the steering transmission assembly is provided with a torque sensor connected to the steering wheel.

Preferably, the steering wheel is provided with a face detection sensor.

Preferably, the first protective cover and the second protective cover which are arranged in a sliding way are arranged on the periphery of the height adjusting mechanism and the periphery of the angle adjusting mechanism.

After the scheme is adopted, the utility model has at least the following beneficial effects:

1. The intelligent steering system is provided with an angle adjusting mechanism, a height adjusting mechanism and a translation mechanism, in an intelligent driving mode, the steering transmission assembly and the steering wheel are pulled to be contracted downwards below the driver console by the height adjusting mechanism, the steering transmission assembly and the steering wheel are driven to integrally rotate by the angle adjusting mechanism, so that the steering wheel is adjusted to be parallel to the bottom surface of the driver console, and then the support panel and the steering wheel integrally arranged on the support panel are driven to move towards the vehicle head by the translation mechanism at the bottom, so that the steering wheel is folded and hidden to the inner side below the driver console from the outer side of the driver console; when manual driving is needed, the unfolding process of the steering wheel is the reverse process of folding and hiding. The folding hidden design of the steering wheel does not need to reserve a storage space in the vehicle body structure, improves the space utilization rate, prevents misoperation of a driver in an intelligent driving mode, and improves the safety.

2. Compared with a telescopic mechanism such as a telescopic cylinder, the sliding mechanism adopts a screw-nut sliding block mechanism, and the sliding mechanism slides smoothly and is not easy to interfere with a height adjusting mechanism for adjusting the upper and lower heights.

3. The steering transmission assembly is provided with the clutch, the connection between the steering wheel and the transmission shaft of the vehicle can be disconnected in the folding and hiding state of the steering wheel, and the steering wheel can be attracted in the stretching and unfolding state of the steering wheel to ensure stable transmission of steering force and torque.

4. The steering wheel is provided with the face detection sensor, so that the state of a driver can be perceived under the two states of folding, hiding and stretching the steering wheel, and the state of the driver can be reported by intelligently connecting a vehicle machine system.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of the present utility model, FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the overall structure of the present utility model, FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the steering drive assembly of the present utility model;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the angle adjustment mechanism and height adjustment mechanism of the present utility model;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a translation mechanism of the present utility model 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a translation mechanism according to the present utility model

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of the fully deployed state of the utility model;

FIG. 8 is a state diagram of FIG. 7 after adjustment by the angle adjustment mechanism;

FIG. 9 is a state diagram of FIG. 8 after adjustment by the height adjustment mechanism;

fig. 10 is a state diagram of fig. 9 after adjustment by the translation mechanism.

In the figure: 1-a driver console; 2-steering wheel; 3-steering transmission assembly; 30-connecting plates; 31-steering upper column, 32-steering lower column, 33-spline movable sleeve; 35-universal shaft bearing seats; 36-clutch; a 37-torque sensor; 38-an integrated stepping servo motor; 39-an assembly body housing; 4-an angle adjustment mechanism; 41-a driving source; 42-worm gear reducer; 5-a height adjustment mechanism; 6-a translation mechanism; 61-translating the slide rail; 64-ball screw nut; 65-fixing the box body; 66-translating the shield; 7-supporting the panel; 81-a protective baffle; 82-a first shield; 83-a second shield; 84-fixing blocks; 9-bracket.

Detailed Description

The utility model will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings and the specific examples.

The utility model discloses a foldable steering wheel, which is a preferred embodiment of the utility model, as shown in fig. 1-10, and comprises a steering wheel 2, a steering transmission assembly 3, an angle adjusting mechanism 4, a height adjusting mechanism 5, a translation mechanism 6 and a support panel 7 positioned on the bottom surface of a vehicle, wherein the steering wheel 2, the steering transmission assembly 3, the angle adjusting mechanism 4, the height adjusting mechanism 5, the translation mechanism 6 and the support panel 7 are arranged on the front part of the vehicle together with a driver console 1.

The steering wheel 2 is connected to a steering gear assembly 3.

The angle adjusting mechanism 4 may include a driving source 41 and a worm gear reducer 42 connected, and the steering gear assembly 3 may be rotatably connected to the worm gear reducer 42 by a pair of connection plates 30. The driving source 41 may be a stepping motor, and drives the worm gear reducer 42 to work, so as to drive the steering transmission assembly 3 to rotate, thereby realizing the pitching angle adjustment of the steering wheel 2. The worm gear reducer 42 can achieve a stable self-locking effect. The angle adjusting mechanism 4 is fixed by a bracket 9.

The height adjusting mechanism 5 comprises a telescopic electric cylinder, one end of the telescopic electric cylinder is directly or indirectly connected with the steering transmission assembly 3, and the other end of the telescopic electric cylinder is fixed on the support panel 7. Specifically, the telescopic electric cylinder can be obliquely arranged on the support panel 7, and compared with the vertical arrangement, the oblique arrangement is more in accordance with the usual state of the steering wheel 2 when the steering wheel 2 extends out for use and can enable the telescopic range of the steering wheel 2 in the up-down height direction to be larger under the condition of occupying a small space. In this embodiment, the upper end of the telescopic electric cylinder is connected to the upper end of the bracket 9, thereby being indirectly connected to the steering transmission assembly 3. Specifically, the upper end of the telescopic electric cylinder is connected to the upper end of the bracket 9 through a pin. The telescopic electric cylinder is used as a driving source, so that the rigidity of the mechanism is increased, and meanwhile, when the telescopic electric cylinder stretches, the angle adjusting mechanism 4 is driven, and then the steering transmission assembly 3 and the steering wheel 2 are driven to realize the telescopic function in the vertical height direction. The telescopic electric cylinder is independently used for driving, so that the space is effectively utilized, a plurality of motors are prevented from being integrated on the angle adjusting mechanism 4, and the space utilization rate of the system is improved. Meanwhile, the telescopic electric cylinder has a self-locking function, and can accurately control the telescopic position by self-locking through the motor, and the self-locking force enables the mechanism to resist certain external force without deformation.

Further, for better fixing and protecting the mechanism, a foldable protecting baffle 81 is provided between the steering transmission assembly 3 and the upper end of the bracket 9, and the foldable is to prevent the interference angle adjusting mechanism 4 from adjusting the angle. The first protective cover 82 and the second protective cover 83 which are arranged in a sliding manner are arranged below the protective baffle 81, and a sliding device is arranged inside the first protective cover 82, so that the first protective cover 82 can stretch along with the stretch electric cylinder. The sliding device may include a fixed block 84 and a sliding rod (not shown in the figure), where the fixed block 84 is disposed on the support 9, and one end of the sliding rod is fixed inside the first protection cover 82, and the other end is slidably connected to the fixed block 84. The sliding rod is arranged parallel to the telescopic electric cylinder.

The translation mechanism 6 is provided below the support panel 7 and drives it to move back and forth with the steering wheel 2 in the forward or backward direction of the vehicle. The translation mechanism 6 may be a screw-nut slider mechanism, which includes a translation slide 61, a translation slider (not shown), a translation driving motor (not shown), and a ball screw nut 64. The support panel 7 is respectively connected with a translation sliding block and a ball screw nut 64, the translation sliding block is slidably arranged in the translation sliding rail 61, and the translation driving motor drives the ball screw nut 64 to enable the support panel 7 to slide along the translation sliding rail 61. Further, the translation mechanism 6 is installed in a fixed box 65, the top surface of the fixed box 65 is an opening, and the width of the opening is adapted to the width of the support panel 7. Further, the support panel 7 is connected with a translational protection cover 66 at one side or two sides of the opening, and the translational protection cover 66 may be an elastic toothed protection cover, which does not interfere with the forward and backward movement of the support panel 7, and can also protect the translational mechanism 6 in the fixed box 65.

The steering gear assembly 3 may include a steering upper column 31, a steering lower column 32, a splined movable sleeve 33, and an assembly body housing 39. The steering upper column 31 may be connected to the steering wheel 2 by a universal shaft joint, and the steering lower column 32 may be connected to a steering gear (not shown) of the vehicle by a universal shaft bearing block 35. The spline movable sleeve 33 is connected with the steering upper column 31 and the steering lower column 32, and a sleeve limiting ring and a sleeve spring are arranged in the spline movable sleeve 33 and used for ensuring that when the steering wheel 2 is fully unfolded and fully folded, the spline of the steering column stretches and contracts to have enough travel, and the installation positions of the steering wheel 2 and the steering lower column 32 do not need to be adjusted. The periphery of the joint of the steering upper column 31 and the steering wheel 2 is provided with the assembly main body shell 39, and each part of the steering transmission assembly 3 can be installed inside the assembly main body shell 39. The connecting plate 30 is disposed on the assembly body casing 39, and both can be integrally formed.

In the intelligent driving mode, the steering angle information is sent to the steering gear by the whole vehicle to complete the steering operation of the vehicle, and in order to prevent the steering action from being reversely transmitted to the steering wheel 2 from the steering gear, the steering wheel 2 is driven to rotate, and interference with other mechanisms occurs under the folding and hiding state of the steering wheel 2. Therefore, the steering transmission assembly 3 may further be provided with a clutch 36, and the clutch 36 is connected above the steering upper column 31 through the universal shaft joint, so that the connection between the steering wheel 2 and the vehicle transmission shaft can be disconnected in the folded and hidden state of the steering wheel 2, and the actuation of the steering wheel 2 in the stretched and unfolded state ensures that the steering force and torque can be stably transmitted. The clutch 36 may be a geared motor-driven clutch comprising a clutch linear motor, a meshing spur gear set, a spline sleeve, and a clutch spring connected in sequence, the clutch spring being connected to a universal joint, the clutch linear motor being connected to only one of the gears of the meshing spur gear set, the other meshing gear being connected to an integrated stepper servo motor 38 (containing an absolute encoder) and mounted inside an assembly body housing 39 by a bracket. When the clutch 36 works, after the clutch position is calibrated through the integrated stepping servo motor 38, the gear connected with the clutch is pushed to be separated or meshed through the clutch linear motor, so that the clutch is generated.

Further, the steering gear assembly 3 may be further provided with a torque sensor 37 to detect a rotational torque and output an angle signal to the outside after conversion by an encoder. The torque sensor 37 is connected to the steering wheel 2 at its upper end and to the other gear of the meshing spur gear set of the clutch 36 at its lower end.

Further, a face detection sensor is arranged on the steering wheel 2, the state of a driver can be perceived under the two states of folding, hiding, extending and unfolding of the steering wheel 2, and the state of the driver is reported by being intelligently connected with a vehicle machine system.

In the intelligent driving mode, as shown in fig. 7-8, the steering transmission assembly 3 and the steering wheel 2 are driven to integrally rotate through the worm gear reducer 42 of the angle adjusting mechanism 4, so that the steering wheel 2 is adjusted to be parallel to the bottom surface of the driver console; as shown in fig. 9, the steering transmission assembly 3 and the steering wheel 2 are pulled to be contracted downwards to the bottom surface of the driver console by the height adjusting mechanism 5; as shown in fig. 10, the support panel 7 is driven by the translation mechanism 6 at the bottom to move along with the steering wheel 2 mounted on the support panel in the direction of the vehicle head, so that the steering wheel 2 is folded and hidden from the upper outer side of the console 1 to the lower inner side of the console (the inner side refers to the side close to the vehicle head). Of course, the working sequence of the angle adjusting mechanism 4 and the height adjusting mechanism 5 can be interchanged in the folding and hiding process. When manual driving is needed, the unfolding process of the steering wheel 2 is the reverse process of folding and hiding, and the angle and the height of the steering wheel can be adjusted at any time under the unfolding state, so that the steering wheel is more suitable for operation of a driver. The steering wheel 2 can be folded and hidden in an intelligent driving mode, so that the space of a cab is better utilized, the space utilization rate is improved, and a driver is more comfortable; the folding hidden steering wheel can avoid misoperation of a driver, reduce traffic accidents and improve safety; in addition, the design of folding hidden steering wheel makes the inside of car succinct, pleasing to the eye more, has improved the pleasing to the eye degree of vehicle.

The above description is only of the preferred embodiments of the present utility model, and should not be taken as limiting the technical scope of the present utility model, but all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the utility model as defined by the claims and the specification are to be embraced by the utility model.

Claims

1. A foldable steering wheel, characterized in that: the steering wheel, steering transmission assembly, angle adjusting mechanism, height adjusting mechanism, translation mechanism and support panel on the bottom of the vehicle are arranged at the front part of the vehicle together with the driver console; the steering wheel is connected with the steering transmission assembly; the angle adjusting mechanism is connected with the steering transmission assembly and drives the steering transmission assembly to rotate; the height adjusting mechanism comprises a telescopic electric cylinder, one end of the telescopic electric cylinder is directly or indirectly connected with the steering transmission assembly, and the other end of the telescopic electric cylinder is fixed on the support panel; the translation mechanism is arranged below the support panel and drives the support panel to move back and forth along with the steering wheel; the translation mechanism is a screw-nut sliding block mechanism and comprises a translation sliding rail, a translation sliding block, a translation driving motor and a ball screw nut, wherein the support panel is respectively connected with the translation sliding block and the ball screw nut, the translation sliding block is slidably arranged in the translation sliding rail, and the translation driving motor drives the ball screw nut to enable the support panel to slide along the translation sliding rail.

2. A foldable steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein: the angle adjusting mechanism comprises a driving source and a worm gear reducer which are connected, the steering transmission assembly is rotatably connected to the worm gear reducer through a pair of connecting plates, and the angle adjusting mechanism is fixed through a bracket.

3. A foldable steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein: the telescopic electric cylinder is obliquely arranged on the support panel, and the upper end of the telescopic electric cylinder is connected with the angle adjusting mechanism so as to be indirectly connected with the steering transmission assembly.

4. A foldable steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein: the translation mechanism is installed in fixed box, and this fixed box top surface is the opening, and open-ended width and support panel's width adaptation, support panel still is connected with the translation protection casing respectively in the both sides of opening part, and this translation protection casing is elastic dentate protection casing.

5. A foldable steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein: the steering transmission assembly comprises a steering upper column, a steering lower column, a spline movable sleeve and an assembly main body shell, wherein the steering upper column is connected with a steering wheel through a universal shaft joint, the steering lower column is connected to a steering gear of a vehicle through a universal shaft bearing seat, a sleeve limiting ring and a sleeve spring are arranged in the spline movable sleeve, and the periphery of the joint of the steering upper column and the steering wheel is provided with the assembly main body shell.

6. A foldable steering wheel according to claim 5, wherein: the steering transmission assembly is provided with a clutch which is connected above the steering upper column through the universal shaft joint, and the clutch adopts a meshing type motor driving clutch.

7. A foldable steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein: the steering transmission assembly is provided with a torque sensor which is connected with a steering wheel.

8. A foldable steering wheel according to claim 1, wherein: the periphery of the height adjusting mechanism and the periphery of the angle adjusting mechanism are provided with a first protective cover and a second protective cover which are arranged in a sliding manner.