Steering Lock Mechanism Preventing Half Lock via Oblique Tooth Extension
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Solution Overview
Problem
Steering systems often experience a 'half lock' condition where the tooth top lands of stationary and movable teeth come into contact, leading to incomplete locking and potential instability during tilt adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A steering system design featuring a lock mechanism with toothed portions on the fastening side plates and a tooth member that translates movement to ensure full engagement of teeth, preventing half lock by moving second toothed portions obliquely to mesh with first toothed portions as the lock progresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tooth top lands of stationary teeth and movable teeth are made to contact for locking, then locking function is achieved, but half lock occurs leading to incomplete locking and instability
Solution Approach 1:
The tooth member is designed to move not only in the longitudinal direction (first dimension) but also to extend obliquely outward (second dimension). This two-dimensional movement ensures that teeth engage properly through both longitudinal translation and radial extension, preventing half-lock conditions where only tooth top lands contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The tooth member acts as an intermediary between the fastening member and the fastening side plate. It translates the pressing force from the fastening member into coordinated longitudinal and radial movements, mediating the engagement between stationary and movable teeth to ensure complete locking without half-lock.
2Reliability
If movable teeth and stationary teeth are made to mesh for locking, then locking function is achieved, but tooth top land contact occurs in early stage causing half lock
Solution Approach 1:
The tooth member is pre-positioned between the fastening member and fastening side plate with its teeth aligned to engage the stationary teeth. The motion translation mechanism is pre-configured to first translate longitudinal movement into radial extension, ensuring proper tooth engagement before full locking occurs, preventing premature tooth top land contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The tooth member transitions from a static component to a dynamic one that actively changes its position and orientation during the locking process. The motion translation mechanism enables the tooth member to dynamically adjust its radial position based on longitudinal displacement, ensuring precise tooth-to-tooth engagement throughout the locking sequence.
Data Source
AI summary
In a steering system configured such that occurrence of a half lock is suppressed, when a body portion of a tooth member is pressed in a lock operation of locking the position of a steering column, the tooth member is extended to move a pair of second tooth row forming portions away from each other obliquely with respect to a lateral direction of an elongate tilt hole along the outer surface of a fastening side plate.