Position adjustable steering device

Abstract

When clamped side plates of an upper column bracket (movable bracket) are fastened via clamping side plates of an upper fixed bracket by a fastening shaft in response to a rotating operation of an operating lever, the brackets are locked with each other. A pressing mechanism that includes a pressing member moves in the axial direction of the fastening shaft in accordance with fastening by the fastening shaft, and presses a lower tube (inner tube) through an insertion hole formed in an upper tube (outer tube). The entirety of the axial force of the fastening shaft is used as a retaining force for retaining the posture of a steering column.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A position adjustable steering device, comprising:
 a steering column that includes an outer tube and an inner tube that are fitted to each other so as to be relatively slidable in an axial direction of the steering column to make telescopic adjustment, and that support a steering shaft such that the steering shaft is rotatable;   a fixed bracket that has a pair of clamping side plates, and that is fixed to a vehicle body;   a movable bracket that has a pair of clamped side plates arranged along inner side faces of the respective clamping side plates, and that is fixed to the outer tube;   a fastening mechanism that includes a fastening shaft that passes through the clamping side plates and the clamped side plates, and that achieves telescopic lock by fastening the clamped side plates with use of the fastening shaft via the clamping side plates in accordance with a rotating operation of an operating lever;   an insertion hole that is formed in the outer tube; and   a pressing mechanism that moves in an axial direction of the fastening shaft in accordance with fastening by the fastening shaft, and that has a pressing member that presses the inner tube through the insertion hole,   wherein:   a plurality of the insertion holes are formed in a lower side portion of the outer tube,   the pressing mechanism has a first pressing member and a second pressing member each of which has a body portion fixed to the movable bracket and a pressing piece extending from the body portion, and which are fixed to the respective clamped side plates,   the pressing piece of the first pressing member and the pressing piece of the second pressing member are tilted in opposite directions with respect to a vertical plane, and   the pressing mechanism is configured such that the pressing pieces of the pressing members press the inner tube through the insertion holes in directions that are tilted with respect to the fastening shaft in accordance with fastening by the fastening mechanism.   
     
     
         2 . The position adjustable steering device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the movable bracket includes a coupling plate that couples the clamped side plates to each other;   each of the clamped side plates has a first end portion fixed to the outer tube and a second end portion coupled to a corresponding one of end portions of the coupling plate; and   the coupling plate has a flexible portion that is elastically deformable such that a distance between the clamped side plates is reduced.   
     
     
         3 . The position adjustable steering device according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 a first movable bracket and a second movable bracket are provided as the movable bracket;   each of the first movable bracket and the second movable bracket has a first side plate that serves as the clamped side plate arranged along a corresponding one of the clamping side plates of the fixed bracket, a second side plate that faces the first side plate, and a coupling plate that couples the first side plate and the second side plate to each other;   each of the first side plate and the second side plate has a first end portion fixed to the outer tube and a second end portion coupled to a corresponding one of end portions of the coupling plate;   a slit extending in an axial direction of the outer tube is formed in the outer tube; and   the first end portions of the first side plate and the second side plate of the first movable bracket, and the first end portions of the first side plate and the second side plate of the second movable bracket are fixed to the outer tube on respective sides of the slit.