| 摘要 |
A shock absorbing steering shaft comprises an outer tubular shaft 14 having female serrations 16 and an inner solid shaft 10 having male serrations 12. The outer tubular shaft is first pressed radially inwards by members 18,19 so as to plastically deform an inner portion thereof, before the inner shaft is inserted into the outer shaft so that the inner shaft is held in place by the plastically deformed portion of the outer shaft. Before the outer shaft is plastically deformed the tip 13 of the inner shaft may first be inserted into the outer shaft so that the two shafts overlap, the pressing members may then be moved inwardly so as to deform the outer shaft in a region where the two shafts do not overlap. The pressing members may each have one (see figure 5) or two contact points 20-23 and may take various forms (see figures 2a-d and figure 7 for example). The female serrations on the outer shaft may be formed when the shaft is deformed by being pressed inwardly so as to deform the tip end of the shaft. |
