GB1104205A - Vehicle steering mechanisms - Google Patents

Abstract

1,104,205. Toothed gearing. BURMAN & SONS Ltd. 8 Feb., 1967 [25 Feb., 1966], No. 8366/66. Heading F2Q. In a vehicle steering mechanism comprising a rack 10 meshed by a pinion 11 on a steering shaft 12, collars 15, 16 are freely mounted on the shaft 12 on the side of the pinion 11 remote from the driver and wedging means acting between the collars 15, 16 are adapted to force the collars axially apart upon relative rotation between them in one direction and are adapted to permit the collars to move axially closer to each other upon relative rotation in the opposite direction. The collars 15, 16 are located between the end of pinion 11 and a further collar 21 secured to the shaft 12. The wedging means comprise a plurality of balls or rollers 17 located in coacting tapered grooves 18 formed in adjacent axial faces of the collars 15, 16. Friction pads 19, 20 are mounted in a housing 14 and are adapted to co-operate with the peripheries of collars 15, 16 respectively. When the driver turns shaft 12 in one direction or the other, the interaction between the rack 10 and pinion 11 will produce a small lateral displacement of the shaft sufficient to bring one of the collars 15, 16 into engagement with the associated pad 19, 20 thereby braking the collar and causing relative rotation between the collars 15, 16 in a direction to permit them to take up relative positions of minimum axial separation. If a force is transmitted to the shaft 12 from the road wheels of the vehicle, the opposite action occurs, and the collars 15, 16 are forced apart against the axial abutments to exert a resistance to movement of the shaft 12. An adjustable screw 22 engages the end of the shaft 12 in order to load the mechanism, and a torsion spring 23 interconnects the collars 15, 16 so as to tend to displace them towards the position of maximum separation.