The application claims priority benefits under 35 USC xc2xa7119 of Japanese Patent Application Serial No. 2000-303967 filed on Oct. 3, 2000, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tilt steering apparatus capable of adjusting the height of a steering wheel.
2. Description of Related Arts
In this type of tilt steering apparatus, there is an antinomic request to desire to eliminate backlash at a support of a tilt and make reflection to be resistance in operation as low as possible at the time of operating the tilt.
For example, there is a case where a tilt pivot shaft is inserted through a connection hole of a bracket provided in a steering column, and the steering column is swung around the pivot shaft so that the tilt is adjusted. In this case, it is preferable that a clearance between an outer peripheral surface of the pivot shaft and an inner peripheral surface of the connection hole is as small as possible in order to eliminate the backlash at the support of the tilt, while a large clearance is preferred in order to reduce the friction to be resistance in operation at the time of adjusting the tilt.
In order to satisfy the antinomic request, significantly strict dimensional tolerance is required with respect to the pivot shaft and the connection hole, resulting in increased fabrication cost.
An object of the present invention is to provide a tilt steering apparatus which is low in cost and in which there is no backlash at a support of a tilt and friction at the time of adjusting the tilt is low.
In order to attain the above-mentioned object, in one aspect of the present invention, a tilt steering apparatus comprises a pivot fixed to a vehicle body; a steering column swung around the pivot at the time of tilt adjustment; a connection hole which is provided in the steering column and through which the pivot is inserted; and a projection formed on either one of an inner peripheral surface of the connection hole and an outer peripheral surface of the pivot opposite thereto so as to extend in a substantially circumferential or axial direction and brought into contact with the other peripheral surface.
In the present embodiment, the pivot and the connection hole are brought into contact with each other at the projection, thereby making it possible to reduce the contact area therebetween. As a result, it is possible to reduce friction created therebetween at the time of operating the tilt. Further, even when the pivot is pressed into the connection hole due to the variation in dimensional tolerance, the projection is easily deformed at the time of the pressing, thereby making it possible to minimize the increase in the friction at the time of relative rotation between the pivot and the connection hole. As a result, the dimensional tolerance need not be strict, thereby making it possible to reduce the fabrication cost.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.