LOW-VIBRATION STEERING DEVICE

摘要

A low-vibration steering device for use on industrial vehicles comprising a steering shaft rotatably supported at its lower end by a gearbox and connected to a steering wheel at its upper end, a tubular steering column enclosing the steering shaft with an annular spacing left between the inside diameter of the steering column and the outside diameter of the steering shaft, a steering column clamp secured to a chassis frame of the vehicle and holding the steering column at its portion above its middle portion, a flexible vibration shutoff member disposed between a lower end portion of the steering column and a portion of the steering shaft near its lower end to support the said lower end portion by said portion near said lower end, and an oil-impregnated bearing interposed between an upper end portion of the steering column and a corresponding upper end portion of the steering shaft and having a greater rigidity than the flexible member. The flexible member may be disposed between a lower end portion of the steering column and the gearbox to connect the former with the latter. The configuration of the flexible member is determined so that an elastic constant thereof is kept comparatively small while a load applied thereto due to a radial movement of the lower portion of the steering column relative to the steering shaft is small, but the constant becomes large when the load exceeds a preset limit.