Claims:We claim:
1. A steering system (100) for a vehicle, said steering system (100) comprising:
a first steering column (104) pivotably mounted to main mounting bracket (102) through a pivot bracket (110) and pivot pins (114);
a second steering column (106) mounted on a middle mounting bracket (108), wherein said middle mounting bracket (108) is attached to said main mounting bracket (102);
a universal joint (112) adapted to couple said first steering column (104) to said second steering column (106); and
a steering column locking mechanism (126) adapted to lock said first steering column (104) in a selected tilted position, wherein a first end (116) of said steering column locking mechanism (126) is connected to said pivot bracket (110) through a pin (120),
wherein,
said pivot pins (114) and said pin (120) are co-planar, where a longitudinal plane (C-C’) of said pivot pins (114) and said pin (120) is transverse to a longitudinal plane (A-A’) of said first steering column (104); and
an angle (O) between a longitudinal plane (B-B’) of said steering column locking mechanism (126) and said longitudinal plane (C-C’) is in a range of 80° to 100° thereby controlling axial play of said steering column (104) in any locked state.

2. The steering system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said main mounting bracket (102) is attached to said vehicle in a direction opposite to an operator seat; and
said steering column locking mechanism (126) is a gas spring.

3. The steering system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said steering column locking mechanism (126) is actuated by a hand operated lever (124) to at least one of lock said first steering column (104) in the selected tilted position and unlock said first steering column (104) from the selected tilted position.

4. The steering system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a second end (118) of said steering column locking mechanism (126) is pivotably attached to a bottom mounting bracket (122).

5. The steering system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pivot bracket (110) is pivotably mounted on said main mounting bracket (102) via said pivot pin (114) on both sides of said main mounting bracket (102) with a bush (128).

6. The steering system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pivot bracket (110) defines an extension (130) to which said steering column locking mechanism (126) is attached thereto.

7. The steering system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said main mounting bracket (102) includes a stopper adapted to restrict a movement of said pivot bracket (110) in a direction away from an operator; and said hand operated lever (124) restricts the movement of said pivot bracket (110) in a direction towards said operator.

8. The steering system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a force (F2) acting along said steering column locking mechanism (126) is more than a force (F3) acting transverse to said steering column locking mechanism (126) thereby controlling the axial play of said first steering column (104).

9. A method (200) for controlling axial play of a steering column (104) in a steering system (100) of a vehicle, said method (200) comprising:
pivotably mounting a first steering column (104) to a main mounting bracket (102) through a pivot bracket (110) and pivot pins (114);
mounting a second steering column (106) on a middle mounting bracket (108);
coupling by, a universal joint (112), the first steering column (104) to the second steering column (106);
connecting a first end (116) of a steering column locking mechanism (126) to the pivot bracket (110) through a pin (120) which is co-planar to the pivot pins (114); and
pivotably connecting a second end (118) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) to a bottom mounting bracket (122),
wherein
a longitudinal plane (C-C’) of the pivot pins (114) and the pin (120) is transverse to a longitudinal plane (A-A’) of the first steering column (104); and
an angle (O) between a longitudinal plane (B-B’) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) and the longitudinal plane (C-C’) of the pivot pins (114) and the pin (120) is in a range of 80° to 100° thereby controlling axial play of the steering column (104) in any locked state.

10. The method (200) as claimed in claim 9, wherein said method (200) comprises,
actuating by, a hand operated lever (124), the steering column locking mechanism (126), to at least one of lock said first steering column (104) in the selected tilted position and unlock said first steering column (104) from the selected tilted position;
restricting by, a stopper of the main mounting bracket (102), a movement of the pivot bracket (110) in a direction away from an operator; and
restricting by, the hand operated lever (124), the movement of the pivot bracket (110) in a direction towards the operator,
wherein
the steering column locking mechanism (126) is a gas spring; and
a force (F2) acting along said steering column locking mechanism (126) is more than a force (F3) acting transverse to said steering column locking mechanism (126) thereby controlling the axial play of said first steering column (104).

, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates in general to a steering system for a vehicle and more particularly, the disclosure relates to controlling axial play of a steering column in any locked state.
BACKGROUND
Steering column is a device which is used for connecting a steering wheel to the steering mechanism. Further, a tiltable steering column is a type of steering column that improves driver’s comfort while operating the vehicle. The tiltable steering column is generally installed on a steering shaft axially attached to a steering wheel. The tiltable steering column is tiltable in its forward and backward directions in a vicinity to an upper end of the steering wheel so that an operator of the vehicle can manually adjust a position of the steering wheel at an optimum desired position.
Generally, the tiltable steering column for the vehicle such as tractor comprises a steering column and a horizontal pivot about which the steering column is pivotably mounted. Further, the tiltable steering column includes a spring-operated locking mechanism that is configured to lock the steering column in user desired tilt position. Conventional locking mechanism for tiltable steering column includes a compression spring mechanism that is attached towards an opposite end of the steering column for allowing the steering column to be adjusted relatively to a wide range of positions and thereafter to releasably hold the steering column in a selected tilted position.
Although, the conventional tiltable steering column and the respective locking mechanism enable the driver to move and lock the steering column at user desired position, it should be noted that the tiltable steering column play is more than 10 mm in a locked condition, thereby the operator of the vehicle feels discomfort while riding the vehicle.
Further, noise occurs due to rattling attributable to the tiltable steering column play. This rattling noise eventually is discomfort to the operator of the vehicle thereby making the conventional tiltable steering column and locking mechanism partially inefficient in achieving the intended objective.
Therefore, there exists a need for an efficient tiltable steering column with acceptable steering column play in a locked state without any rattling noise and suitable for agricultural vehicle such as tractor.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a steering system for a vehicle.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a method of controlling axial play of a steering column in the steering system of the vehicle.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide the tiltable steering system with minimum axial play.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the efficient tiltable steering system, which reduces rattling noise when the steering system is operated by user.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the efficient tiltable steering system which is simple in design.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the tiltable steering system that works in agricultural vehicle.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the tiltable steering system that enhances the comfort level of the operator of the vehicle.
These and other objects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of a steering system of a vehicle, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;
Figure 2 depicts a side view of the steering system of the vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein;
Figure 3 depicts a free body diagram of the steering system of the vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein;
Figure 4a depicts another side view of the steering system, where the steering column is locked in a mid-state, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein;
Figure 4b depicts another side view of the steering system, where the steering column is locked in state away from an operator of the vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein;
Figure 4c depicts another side view of the steering system, where the steering column is locked in state towards the operator of the vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein; and
Figure 5 depicts a flowchart indicating a method of controlling axial play of steering column in the steering system of the vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein. Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figure 1 through Figure 5, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
For the purpose of this description and ease of understanding, the steering system of the vehicle is explained herein below with reference to be provided in an agricultural vehicle. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to use steering system in any other vehicle without otherwise deterring the intended function of the steering system as can be deduced from the description and corresponding drawings.
As discussed hereinbefore, the steering system for the vehicle comprises a steering column and a horizontal pivot about which the steering column is pivotably mounted thereby the steering column can be tilted based on the requirement of an operator of the vehicle. Further, the tiltable steering column includes a gas spring operated locking mechanism that is configured to lock the steering column in user desired tilt position. The locking mechanism for tiltable steering column is allowing the steering column to be adjusted relatively to a wide range of positions and thereafter to releasably hold the steering column in a selected tilted position.
Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of a steering system (100) of a vehicle, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the steering system (100) includes a main mounting bracket (102), a first steering column (104), a second steering column (106), a middle mounting bracket (108), a pivot bracket (110), an universal joint (112), a plurality of pivot pins (114), a pin (120), a bottom mounting bracket (122), a hand operated lever (124), a steering column locking mechanism (126) and a plurality of bushes (128). The first steering column (104) is pivotably mounted to the main mounting bracket (102) through the pivot bracket (110) and pivot pins (114). In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the main mounting bracket (102) is attached to the vehicle in a direction opposite to an operator seat. The first steering column (104) is configured to receive a steering wheel (not shown in figure) at top end of the first steering column (104). In an embodiment, the pivot bracket (110) is pivotably mounted to the main mounting bracket (102) on both sides of the main mounting bracket (102) by using the pivot pins (114) and bushes (128). The second steering column (106) is mounted on the middle mounting bracket (108), where the middle mounting bracket (108) is attached to the main mounting bracket (102). In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first steering column (104) and the second steering column (106) is connected to each other through the universal joint (112). The universal joint (112) is configured to allow the first steering column (104) to swing with respect to the second steering column (106). The swinging movement of the first steering column (104) with respect to the second steering column (106) enables the user to adjust the position of steering wheel to any user desired position. In an embodiment, the second steering column (106) is fixed.
The steering column locking mechanism (126) is configured to lock the first steering column (104) at the user desired tilted position. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the steering column locking mechanism (126) is a gas spring. The gas spring is a type of spring that uses compressed gas contained within an enclosed cylinder which is sealed by a sliding piston to pneumatically store potential energy and withstand external force applied parallel to the direction of the piston shaft. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide any type of spring such as mechanical springs, mechanical struts, dampers and gas struts for locking the first steering column (104) at user desired position.
A first end (116) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) is connected to the pivot bracket (110) through the pin (120). The pivot pins (114) and the pin (120) are co-planar. The pivot bracket (110) defines an extension (130), as shown in fig. 1) at any one side of the pivot bracket (110) to which said steering column locking mechanism (126) is attached thereto. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the extension (130) is defined on the pivot bracket (110) at the left-hand side when view from the operator of the vehicle. A second end (118) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) is pivotably attached to the bottom mounting bracket (122). The bottom mounting bracket (122) includes an extended bracket to pivotably receive the second end (118) of the steering column locking mechanism (126). The bottom mounting bracket (122) is attached to the vehicle chassis or vehicle transmission system. The steering column locking mechanism (126) is actuated by the hand operated lever (124) to at least one of lock the first steering column (104) in the selected tilted position and unlock the first steering column (104) from the selected tilted position. The main mounting bracket (102) includes a stopper adapted to restrict a movement of the pivot bracket (110) in a direction away from the operator and in a direction towards the operator. The steering column locking mechanism (126) is configured to maintain the hand operated lever (124) in an engaged position.
Figure 2 depicts a side view of the steering system (100) of the vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein. A longitudinal plane (A-A’) is an imaginary longitudinal plane of the first steering column (104). A longitudinal plane (B-B’) is an imaginary longitudinal plane the steering column locking mechanism (126). A longitudinal plane (C-C’) is an imaginary longitudinal plane of the pivot pin (114) and the pin (120). The longitudinal plane (C-C’) of the pivot pins (114) and the pin (120) is transverse to the longitudinal plane (A-A’) of the first steering column (104). In an embodiment, an angle (O) between the longitudinal plane (B-B’) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) and the longitudinal plane (C-C’) is in a range of 80° to 100° thereby controlling axial play of the steering column (104) in any locked state.
Figure 3 depicts a free body diagram of the steering system (100) of the vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein. The steering column locking mechanism (126) and the hand operated lever (124) enable the operator of the vehicle to move and lock the first steering column (104) at operator desired position. If the first steering column (104) play is less than 6 mm when it is locked, then the operator of the vehicle feels good comfort while riding the vehicle. To achieve this acceptable play of the first steering column (104), a force (F2) acting along the steering column locking mechanism (126) is more than a force (F3) acting transverse to the steering column locking mechanism (126). In the steering system (100), the angle (O) between the longitudinal plane (B-B’) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) and the longitudinal plane (C-C’) of the pivot pins (114) and the pin (120) is in a range of 80° to 100°, therefore the force (F2) acting along the steering column locking mechanism (126) is more than the force (F3) acting transverse to the steering column locking mechanism (126) thereby controlling axial play of the steering column (104) in any locked state. Therefore, moment of the gas spring pivot point is absent.
Figure 4a, Figure 4b and Figure 4c depict the steering system (100) of the vehicle, where the first steering column (104) is locked in mid-state, locked in state away from the operator of the vehicle and locked in state towards the operator of the vehicle respectively. The angle (O) between the longitudinal plane (B-B’) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) and the longitudinal plane (C-C’) of the pivot pins (114) and pin (120) is 90°, 82° and 98° when the first steering column (104) is locked in mid-state, locked in the state away from the operator of the vehicle and locked in the state towards the operator of the vehicle respectively.

Figure 5 depicts a flowchart indicating a method (200) of controlling axial play of steering column (104) in the steering system (100) of the vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein. For the purpose of this description and ease of understanding, the method (200) is explained herein below with reference to controlling axial paly of the steering column (104) of the steering system (100) provided in an agricultural vehicle. However, it is also within the scope of this invention to practice/implement the entire steps of the method (200) in a same manner or in a different manner or with omission of at least one step to the method (200) or with any addition of at least one step to the method (200) for controlling axial paly of the steering column (104) of the steering system (100) provided in any other vehicle, without otherwise deterring the intended function of the method (200) as can be deduced from the description and corresponding drawings. In an embodiment, the method (200) includes, pivotably mounting a first steering column (104) to a main mounting bracket (102) through a pivot bracket (110) and pivot pins (114), mounting a second steering column (106) on a middle mounting bracket (108), coupling by, a universal joint (112), the first steering column (104) to the second steering column (106), connecting a first end (116) of a steering column locking mechanism (126) to the pivot bracket (110) through a pin (120) which is co-planar to the pivot pins (114) and pivotably connecting a second end (118) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) to a bottom mounting bracket (122), wherein a longitudinal plane (C-C’) of the pivot pins (114) and the pin (120) is transverse to a longitudinal plane (A-A’) of the first steering column (104) and an angle (O) between a longitudinal plane (B-B’) of the steering column locking mechanism (126) and the longitudinal plane (C-C’) of the pivot pins (114) and the pin (120) is in a range of 80° to 100° thereby controlling axial play of the steering column (104) in any locked state.

The method (200) includes actuating by, a hand operated lever (124), the steering column locking mechanism (126), to at least one of lock said first steering column (104) in the selected tilted position and unlock said first steering column (104) from the selected tilted position. The method (200) includes restricting by, a stopper of the main mounting bracket (102), a movement of the pivot bracket (110) in a direction away from an operator and in a direction towards the operator.
Advantageously, the steering system (100) of the present invention provides tiltable steering column with acceptable play without any rattling noise thereby enhancing comfort to the operator of the vehicle.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments.
It is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation. The exemplary embodiments described in this specification are intended merely to provide an understanding of various manners in which this embodiment may be used and to further enable the skilled person in the relevant art to practice this invention.
Although, the embodiments presented in this disclosure have been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, the skilled person in the art would readily recognize that these embodiments can be applied with modifications possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in this specification by making innumerable changes, variations, modifications, alterations and/or integrations in terms of materials and method used to configure, manufacture and assemble various constituents, components, subassemblies and assemblies, in terms of their size, shapes, orientations and interrelationships without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
The numerical values given of various physical parameters, dimensions and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher or lower than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary.
Throughout this specification, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, shall be understood to imply including a described element, integer or method step, or group of elements, integers or method steps, however, does not imply excluding any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or method steps.
The use of the expression “a”, “at least” or “at least one” shall imply using one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as used in the embodiment of the disclosure in order to achieve one or more of the intended objects or results of the present invention.
The description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “down”, “top”, and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g. “horizontally”, “downwardly”, “upwardly” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion.
These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the corresponding apparatus or device be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected”, refer to a relationship, wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

REFERENCE NUMERAL
100 - Steering system
102 - Main mounting bracket
104 - First steering column
106 - Second steering column
108 - Middle mounting bracket
110 - Pivot bracket
112 - Universal joint
114 - Pivot pins
116 - First end of steering column locking mechanism
118 - Second end of steering column locking mechanism
120 - Pin
122 - Bottom mounting bracket
124 - Hand operated lever
126 - Steering column locking mechanism
128 - Bush
130 - Extension
A-A’ - A longitudinal plane of first steering column
B-B’ - A longitudinal plane of steering column locking mechanism
C-C’ - A longitudinal plane of pivot pin and pin
F1 - Force from steering column
F2 - Force acting along the steering column locking mechanism
F3 - Force perpendicular to the steering column locking mechanism