JP2012254758A - Vehicle steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle steering device capable of stopping a seal member to come out by a race positioning member.SOLUTION: The vehicle steering device 1 includes the race positioning member 7 that positions an outer race 61 of a bearing 6 in a first accommodation space 40a. The race positioning member 7 has: a through-hole 71a that makes a pinion shaft 2 inserted; and a mounting hole 70b to mount a dust seal 16 that seals the through-hole 71a at the inside opening, and the mounting hole 70b opens to the bearing 6 side with a hole diameter larger than the hole diameter of the through-hole 71a. As a result, the movement to the dust seal 16 outside of the race positioning member 7 is restricted.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle steering apparatus mounted on an automobile or the like.

  A conventional vehicle steering apparatus includes a pinion shaft that rotates by a steering operation of the vehicle, a rack shaft that reciprocates by rotation of the pinion shaft, and a housing that accommodates the rack teeth of the rack shaft and the pinion teeth of the pinion shaft. There is a rack-and-pinion type steering device provided with (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In the vehicle steering apparatus shown in Patent Document 1, when the pinion shaft rotates by a steering operation, this rotational force is transmitted to the rack shaft, and the rack shaft reciprocates. Then, the moving force of the rack shaft is transmitted to the steered wheels via the tie rods, and the steered wheels are steered.

  By the way, in this type of vehicle steering device, one end of the pinion shaft is supported by the first bearing and the other end (axially intermediate portion) is rotatably supported by the second bearing in the housing. Has been.

  A 1st bearing consists of a needle roller bearing, for example, and is arrange | positioned at the bottom part of the housing. The second bearing is composed of, for example, a ball bearing, and its outer ring is positioned by a positioning member, and is entirely disposed in the vicinity of the opening of the housing.

  The positioning member has an insertion hole through which the pinion shaft is inserted, and a cylindrical portion protruding to the outer periphery of the outer opening of the insertion hole, and the insertion hole is sealed with a dust seal. The dust seal is attached by press-fitting into the cylindrical portion of the positioning member through the pinion shaft.

JP 2010-149542 A

  However, in the vehicle steering apparatus shown in Patent Document 1, the temperature due to heat received from peripheral components (engine, exhaust pipe, etc.), frictional heat generated between the pinion teeth and the rack teeth as the pinion shaft rotates, and the like. When the internal pressure of the housing increases due to the rise, a force in the direction of releasing the dust seal is applied from the housing by the internal pressure. For this reason, in order to prevent detachment of the dust seal, it is necessary to press-fit the dust seal into the cylindrical portion of the race positioning member with a relatively large load.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle steering apparatus that can prevent a seal member from coming off by a race positioning member.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the vehicle steering apparatus of (1) to (8).

(1) Pinion teeth are provided on the outer peripheral surface, the pinion shaft is rotated by a steering operation of the vehicle, the rack teeth meshing with the pinion teeth of the pinion shaft, and the vehicle is reciprocated by the rotation of the pinion shaft. A rack shaft for turning the steered wheels, a housing having a housing space for housing the rack teeth of the rack shaft and the pinion teeth of the pinion shaft, and two races inside and outside the housing space of the housing A bearing that rotatably supports the pinion shaft, and a race positioning member that positions an outer race in the accommodation space among the two inner and outer races of the bearing and is attached to an inner surface of the housing, The race positioning member includes an insertion hole through which the pinion shaft is inserted, and a seal that seals the insertion hole with an inner opening thereof. Has a mounting hole for mounting the member, the mounting hole is a vehicle steering system which is open to the bearing side with a larger pore size than the diameter of the insertion hole.

(2) In the vehicle steering apparatus according to (1) above, the race positioning member is formed by a seal receiving surface in which an inner opening periphery of the insertion hole receives the seal member from the mounting hole side.

(3) In the vehicle steering apparatus according to (1) or (2), the race positioning member includes a screw portion coupled to the housing by a tightening torque, and the tightening torque associated with the coupling of the screw portion. The torque receiving portion is arranged in parallel with the mounting hole in the axial direction.

(4) In the vehicle steering apparatus according to (1) to (3), the housing has a caulking portion formed by caulking an opening end portion opened to the outside thereof, and the race positioning member Has an end surface portion that is exposed to the outside of the housing and faces the caulking portion.

(5) In the vehicle steering apparatus according to (3) or (4), the race positioning member is disposed such that at least a part of the torque receiving portion is exposed to the outside of the housing.

(6) In the vehicle steering apparatus according to any one of (3) to (5), the race positioning member has a side surface in which the torque receiving portion has a planar polygonal outline.

(7) In the vehicle steering device according to any one of (3) to (5), the torque receiving portion of the race positioning member is disposed inside the screw portion.

(8) In the vehicle steering apparatus according to (7), the race positioning member has a recess in which the torque receiving portion opens to the outside of the housing.

  According to the present invention, the seal member can be retained by the race positioning member.

The perspective view shown in order to demonstrate the whole steering apparatus for vehicles which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the steering apparatus for vehicles which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is the perspective view and sectional drawing which show the race positioning member of the steering device for vehicles which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a perspective view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view. (A) And (b) is the perspective view and sectional drawing which show the race positioning member of the steering device for vehicles which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a perspective view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a vehicle steering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of vehicle steering system)
FIG. 1 shows the entire vehicle steering apparatus. FIG. 2 shows a main part of the vehicle steering apparatus. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle steering apparatus 1 includes a pinion shaft 2 that rotates by an operation of a steering 100 of a vehicle (not shown), and a steering wheel 101 of the vehicle that moves by the rotation of the pinion shaft 2. The rack shaft 3 for turning the rack, and the accommodation spaces 40a and 41a for accommodating the rack teeth 3a of the rack shaft 3 and the pinion teeth 2a of the pinion shaft 2 (first accommodation space 40a and second accommodation space 41a) A housing 4 (first housing element 40, second housing element 41), bearings 5 and 6 for rotatably supporting the pinion shaft 2 in the first housing space 40a of the housing 4, and both of these bearings The outer race (outer ring) 61 of the bearing 6 is mainly composed of a race positioning member 7 that positions the first accommodation space 40a.

  The steering 100 is rotatably arranged on the axis of the steering column 102 and is connected to the steering shaft 103.

  The steering shaft 103 is inserted through the steering column 102 and is connected to the first intermediate shaft 105 via a cardan joint 104. The first intermediate shaft 105 is connected to the second intermediate shaft 107 via a cardan joint 106.

(Configuration of pinion shaft 2)
As shown in FIG. 2, the pinion shaft 2 has pinion teeth 2 a on the outer peripheral surface thereof, a part of the pinion shaft 2 is exposed to the outside of the housing 4 and is rotatably accommodated in the first accommodation space 40 a, and one end portion 20 is connected to the second intermediate shaft 107 (shown in FIG. 1) so as not to be relatively rotatable.

  An annular flange 2 b that receives the inner ring 60 of the bearing 6 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pinion shaft 2. Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the pinion shaft 2, the inner ring 60 is positioned in the first housing space 40 a by restricting the axial movement of the inner ring 60 of the bearing 6 (moving to the side opposite to the formation position of the flange portion 2 b). A retaining ring 8 is attached.

(Configuration of rack shaft 3)
The rack shaft 3 has rack teeth 3a that mesh with the pinion teeth 2a, is movably accommodated in the first accommodation space 40a and the second accommodation space 41a, and is mounted on the left and right steering wheels 101 (shown in FIG. 1). They are connected via a tie rod 108 (shown in FIG. 1).

(Configuration of housing 4)
The housing 4 includes a first housing element 40 that forms a first housing space 40a, and a second housing element 41 that forms a second housing space 41a that communicates with the first housing space 40a. (Not shown).

  The first housing element 40 opens the first housing space 40a on one side (one end 20 side of the pinion shaft 2) and closes the other side (the other end 21 side of the pinion shaft 2). The bottom is formed by a substantially cylindrical member.

  The first housing element 40 is formed with a caulking portion 400b by plastically deforming (caulking) the opening end portion 40b that opens to the outside. Thereby, the formation position of the caulking portion 400b is arranged not at the inside of the first housing element 40 but at the end, and the forming operation of the caulking portion 400b can be easily performed.

  A threaded portion 40 c for attaching the race positioning member 7 is provided on the inner surface on the opening side of the first housing element 40. The inner surface of the first housing element 40 on the closing side is formed with a bearing mounting surface 40 d for mounting the bearing 5. An annular stepped portion 40 e as a race receiving portion that receives the outer ring (outer race) 61 of the bearing 6 is provided at an axially intermediate portion on the inner surface of the first housing element 40.

  A cylindrical cover member 9 made of synthetic resin through which the pinion shaft 2 is inserted is attached to the opening-side outer surface of the first housing element 40.

  The second housing element 41 is disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the first housing element 40 with the second housing space 41a orthogonal to the first housing space 40a, and has a generally bottomless substantially cylindrical shape that opens in both axial directions. It is formed by the member. Further, the second housing element 41 has a cylindrical boot 109 (shown in FIG. 1) attached in an extendable manner between the outer peripheral surface of the second housing element 41 and the outer peripheral surface of the tie rod 108 (shown in FIG. 1).

  The second housing element 41 is integrally provided with a cylindrical convex portion 11 that communicates with the first housing space 40a and opens to the outside of the housing 4 and has a guide housing hole 11a for housing the shaft guide 10. ing.

  The shaft guide 10 is housed in the guide housing hole 11a so as to be able to advance and retreat along the axial direction, and is entirely formed of a cylindrical member. An O-ring 12 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft guide 10 to be interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the guide receiving hole 11a.

  A concave guide surface 10 a having an inner peripheral surface that matches the outer peripheral surface of the rack shaft 3 is provided at one end of the shaft guide 10. A spring accommodating hole 10b that opens to the opposite side of the rack shaft 3 side is provided at the other end portion of the shaft guide 10.

  The shaft guide 10 is provided with a stepped attachment hole 10c that opens to the guide surface 10a and the spring accommodating hole 10b. A pressing member 13 that presses the rack shaft 3 toward the pinion shaft 2 is attached to the mounting hole 10c.

  The front end surface of the pressing member 13 is formed by a pressing surface 13 a that matches the outer peripheral surface of the rack shaft 3. A spring force is applied to the pressing member 13 by the compression spring 14 in the direction in which the rack teeth 3 a mesh with the pinion teeth 2 a via the shaft guide 10.

  The compression spring 14 is disposed so as to be interposed between an inner end surface of a guide presser 15 to be described later and a spring side opening peripheral edge of the mounting hole 10c, and is accommodated in the spring accommodation hole 10b.

  The guide presser 15 has a free end surface exposed to the outside, is attached in the opening of the guide receiving hole 11a, and is entirely formed of a cylindrical member.

(Configuration of bearing 5)
The bearing 5 is formed of, for example, a needle roller bearing having a needle roller 50 as a rolling element and a race 51 for rolling the needle roller 50 between the outer peripheral surface of the pinion shaft 2 and the first housing element. It is attached to 40 bearing mounting surfaces 40d. The bearing 5 is configured to rotatably support the other end 21 of the pinion shaft 2.

(Configuration of bearing 6)
The bearing 6 includes, for example, a ball bearing having an inner ring 60 and an outer ring 61 as two inner and outer races, and a spherical body 62 as a rolling element that rolls between the inner ring 60 and the outer ring 61. It is arranged so as to be interposed between the inner peripheral surface of one housing element 40. And the bearing 6 is comprised so that the axial direction intermediate part of the pinion shaft 2 may be rotatably supported.

  The inner ring 60 is disposed around the outer periphery of the pinion shaft 2 so as to be interposed between the retaining ring 8 and the flange portion 2b. The outer ring 61 is disposed between the race positioning member 7 and the stepped portion 40e and is disposed in the first accommodation space 40a.

(Configuration of race positioning member 7)
3A and 3B show the race positioning member. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3A and 3B, the race positioning member 7 has two large and small body portions 70 and 71 (a large size body portion 70 and a small size body) having different outer sizes. Part 71), which is housed in the first housing space 40a and attached to the inner peripheral surface of the first housing element 40, and is entirely formed by a cap member which opens to the bearing 6 side.

  The race positioning member 7 is configured to press the outer ring (outer race) 61 of the bearing 6 against the stepped portion 40e of the first housing element 40 to position the first housing space 40a. As a material for the race positioning member 7, for example, aluminum is used in order to reduce the weight of the apparatus.

  The large-size body portion 70 has a screw portion 70a and a mounting hole 70b, a step portion 70c and a race positioning portion 70d, is disposed at one end portion of the race positioning member 7, and is a first accommodation space. 40a.

  The threaded portion 70a is coupled to the threaded portion 40c of the first housing element 40 by tightening torque, and is applied by a sealing material (not shown) for sealing between the threaded portion 40c of the first housing element 40. Has been.

  The mounting hole 70b opens on the bearing 6 side, and is disposed in the body portion 70 having a large size as a whole. A retaining ring 8 is accommodated in the mounting hole 70b. The hole diameter of the mounting hole 70b is set to be larger than the hole diameter of the insertion hole 71a.

  The stepped portion 70c is arranged with a large-sized body 70 and a small-sized body 71 interposed. The step portion 70 c is configured so as to function as an end surface portion that is interposed between the small-sized body portion 71 and faces the caulking portion 400 b of the first housing element 40.

  The race positioning part 70d presses the outer ring 61 of the bearing 6 against the stepped part 40e to position it in the first accommodating space 40a, and is disposed on the opening free end face (opening end face on the bearing 6 side) of the mounting hole 70b.

  The small-sized body portion 71 includes an insertion hole 71a through which the pinion shaft 2 is inserted, and a torque receiving portion 71b that receives tightening torque from a tightening tool (not shown) when the screw portion 70a and the screw portion 40c are coupled. Is disposed at the other end portion of the race positioning member 7 and is provided integrally with the large-sized body portion 70.

  The insertion hole 71a is sealed by a dust seal 16 as a seal member at the inner opening thereof, and is disposed across the small-sized body 71 and the large-sized body 70. The inner opening peripheral edge of the insertion hole 71a is a stepped part (a stepped part interposed between the insertion hole 71a and the mounting hole 70b) that receives one end of the dust seal 16 (the end on the insertion hole 71a side) from the mounting hole 70b side. ) As a seal receiving surface 710a.

  The dust seal 16 is attached to the race positioning member 7 by press-fitting from the bearing 6 side into the attachment hole 70b.

  The torque receiving portion 71b has, for example, a side surface 710b having a polygonal shape (in this embodiment, a hexagonal shape) and is partially exposed to the outside of the housing 4 so as to extend in the axial direction of the mounting hole 70b and the race positioning member 7. They are arranged in parallel.

(Assembly method of vehicle steering apparatus 1)
Next, a method for assembling the vehicle steering apparatus 1 shown in the present embodiment will be described.

  The method of assembling the vehicle steering apparatus 1 shown in the present embodiment includes “attaching a bearing (needle roller bearing)”, “accommodating a pinion shaft”, “attaching a bearing (ball bearing)”, and “forming a caulking portion”. Since each process of "is performed sequentially, each of these processes is demonstrated sequentially.

  It is assumed that the rack shaft 3 is previously arranged at a predetermined position in the housing 4 by the guide presser 15 and the shaft guide 10.

“Installing needle roller bearings”
The bearing 5 is accommodated in the first accommodation space 40a of the first housing element 40 and attached to the bearing attachment surface 40d.

"Accommodating the pinion shaft"
While rotating the pinion shaft 2 to which the inner ring 60 of the bearing 6 is previously attached at a predetermined site so that the pinion teeth 2a mesh with the rack teeth 3a of the rack shaft 3, the tip end portion (the other end portion 21 of the pinion shaft 2) is rotated. Is accommodated in the first accommodating space 40a so as to pass through the inside of the needle roller 50. In this case, when the pinion shaft 2 is accommodated in the first accommodation space 40 a, the inner ring 60 of the bearing 6 is disposed in the flange portion 2 b of the pinion shaft 2, and the outer ring 61 is disposed in the stepped portion 40 e of the first housing element 40. Is done. Further, the pinion teeth 2 a of the pinion shaft 2 are engaged with the rack teeth 3 a of the rack shaft 3.

"Attaching ball bearings"
First, the one end 20 of the pinion shaft 2 is inserted into the insertion hole 71a of the race positioning member 7 in which the dust seal 16 is previously attached at a predetermined position of the attachment hole 70b.

  Next, the threaded portion 70 a is coupled to the threaded portion 40 c of the first housing element 40 and the race positioning member 7 is attached to the first housing element 40. In this case, when the race positioning member 7 is attached to the first housing element 40, the outer ring 61 of the bearing 6 is sandwiched between the stepped portion 40e of the first housing element 40 and the race positioning portion 70d of the race positioning member 7. Mounted under pressure. Further, the insertion hole 71a of the race positioning member 7 is sealed by the dust seal 16 at the inner opening thereof.

"Formation of crimped part"
The caulking portion 400b is formed by caulking the opening end portion 40b of the first housing element 40 toward the stepped portion 70c. Thereby, the race positioning member 7 is prevented from coming off to the side opposite to the bearing 6.

Thereafter, the pinion shaft 2 is inserted into the cover member 9, and then the cover member 9 is attached to the opening-side outer surface of the first housing element 40.
In this way, the vehicle steering apparatus 1 can be assembled.

  In the vehicle steering apparatus 1 assembled in this way, heat received from peripheral parts (engine, exhaust pipe, etc.), and friction generated between the pinion teeth 2a and the rack teeth 3a as the pinion shaft 2 rotates. When the internal pressure of the housing 4 increases due to a temperature rise due to heat or the like, the dust seal 16 receives this internal pressure and presses the seal receiving surface 710a of the race positioning member 7. For this reason, the seal receiving surface 710a receives the internal pressure of the housing 4 via the dust seal 16, and the movement of the dust seal 16 to the outside of the housing 4 is restricted by the seal receiving surface 710a.

  In the present embodiment, since the torque receiving portion 71b is arranged in parallel in the axial direction of the mounting hole 70b and the race positioning member 7, the large-sized body portion 70 is applied when tightening torque is applied to the torque receiving portion 71b. Thus, the tightening torque does not act directly, and the occurrence of distortion of the shape inside the race positioning member 7 (inside the mounting hole 70b) can be suppressed.

  Thereby, the possibility that the sealing performance by the dust seal 16 may be reduced is eliminated. On the other hand, in the conventional case (when the dust seal is press-fitted into the cylindrical portion protruding to the outer periphery of the outer edge of the race positioning member), the inner surface of the cylindrical portion is deformed by the tightening torque when tightening the race positioning member, and the dust seal There is a possibility that the sealing performance due to.

[Effect of the first embodiment]
According to the first embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the seal receiving surface 710a of the race positioning member 7 receives the internal pressure of the housing 4 through the dust seal 16, the movement of the dust seal 16 is restricted by the seal receiving surface 710a, and the dust seal 16 can be prevented from coming off. Thereby, the press-fitting allowance of the dust seal 16 can be reduced, and the press-fitting work of the dust seal 16 into the mounting hole 70b can be easily performed.

(2) When the screw portion 70a is coupled to the screw portion 40c of the first housing element 40, it is easy to apply a tightening torque to the torque receiving portion 71b, and the work of attaching the race positioning member 7 to the first housing element 40 is facilitated. It can be done easily.

(3) Since the occurrence of distortion of the internal shape of the race positioning member 7 can be suppressed when the tightening torque is applied to the torque receiving portion 71b, the adverse effect on the sealing performance by the dust seal 16 can be reduced, and the race positioning can be reduced. This is very effective when the member 7 is formed of a material such as aluminum having a relatively low hardness.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a race positioning member for a vehicle steering system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). 4 (a) and 4 (b) show the race positioning member. 4A and 4B, members that are the same as or equivalent to those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the race positioning member 80 of the vehicle steering system according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a torque receiving portion 80b disposed inside the screw portion 80a. There is a feature in that.

  For this reason, the race positioning member 80 includes two large and small body portions 800 and 801 (a large diameter body portion 800 and a small diameter body portion 801) having different outer diameters, and the first accommodation space 40a (FIG. 2). And a cap member that is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the first housing element 40 and that opens to the bearing 6 side. The race positioning member 80 is configured to press the outer ring (outer race) 61 of the bearing 6 against the stepped portion 40e of the first housing element 40 to position the first housing space 40a.

  The race positioning member 80 includes a threaded portion 80a coupled to the threaded portion 40c of the first housing element 40 by a tightening torque, and a torque receiving portion 80b that receives the tightening torque associated with the coupling of the threaded portion 80a. An attachment hole 80c for press-fitting and attaching the dust seal 16, an insertion hole 80d communicating with the attachment hole 80c and inserting the pinion shaft 2 and a race positioning portion 80e facing the outer ring 61 of the bearing 6 are provided.

  The outer end surface portion 80 f of the race positioning member 80 is formed as a flat surface facing the caulking portion 400 b of the first housing element 40.

  The screw portion 80a is disposed over the large-diameter body portion 800, and the mounting hole 80c is disposed over the large-diameter body portion 800 and the small-diameter body portion 801.

  The torque receiving portion 80b is disposed in the large-diameter trunk portion 800. The torque receiving portion 80b includes a plurality (for example, eight in the present embodiment) of round holes that open to the outside of the first housing element 40 and that are arranged along the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of the insertion hole 80d. ) Is provided. The plurality of recesses 80g are configured such that the inner peripheral surface thereof receives a tightening torque from a tightening tool (not shown) in accordance with the screw connection of the threaded portion 80a.

  The mounting hole 80c opens to the bearing 6 side, and the hole diameter is set to be larger than the hole diameter of the insertion hole 80d. A retaining ring 8 is accommodated in the mounting hole 80c.

  The insertion hole 80d is disposed in the large-diameter trunk portion 800 and is sealed by the dust seal 16 at the inner opening. The inner opening periphery of the insertion hole 80d is formed by a seal receiving surface 80h that receives the dust seal 16 from the mounting hole 80c side.

  The race positioning part 80e presses the outer ring 61 of the bearing 6 against the step part 40e to position it in the first accommodating space 40a, and is disposed on the opening free end face (opening end face on the bearing 6 side) of the mounting hole 80c.

  The dust seal 16 is attached to the race positioning member 80 by press-fitting into the attachment hole 80c.

  In the vehicle steering apparatus 1 configured as described above, heat received from peripheral components (engine, exhaust pipe, etc.), and frictional heat generated between the pinion teeth 2a and the rack teeth 3a as the pinion shaft 2 rotates. When the internal pressure of the housing 4 increases due to a temperature rise due to the above or the like, the dust seal 16 receives this internal pressure and presses the seal receiving surface 80g of the race positioning member 80. For this reason, the seal receiving surface 80g receives the internal pressure of the housing 4 through the dust seal 16, and the movement of the dust seal 16 to the outside of the housing 4 is restricted by the seal receiving surface 80g.

  In the present embodiment, the torque receiving portion 80b is arranged in parallel in the axial direction of the mounting hole 80c and the race positioning member 80, so that when the tightening torque is applied to the torque receiving portion 80b, The tightening torque does not act directly, and the occurrence of distortion in the shape of the race positioning member 80 (inside the attachment hole 80c) can be suppressed.

[Effect of the second embodiment]
According to the second embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the seal receiving surface 80g of the race positioning member 80 receives the internal pressure of the housing 4 via the dust seal 16, the movement of the dust seal 16 is restricted by the seal receiving surface 80g, and the separation of the dust seal 16 from the housing 4 is suppressed. be able to. Accordingly, the press-fitting allowance of the dust seal 16 can be reduced, and the press-fitting work of the dust seal 16 into the mounting hole 80c can be easily performed.

(2) When the screw portion 80a is coupled to the screw portion 40c of the first housing element 40, it is easy to apply a tightening torque to the torque receiving portion 80b, and the work of attaching the race positioning member 80 to the first housing element 40 is facilitated. It can be done easily.

(3) When the tightening torque is applied to the torque receiving portion 80b, the distortion of the internal shape of the race positioning member 80 can be suppressed, and the adverse effect of the dust seal 16 on the sealing performance can be reduced.

  As mentioned above, although the vehicle steering device of the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible.

(1) Although the case where aluminum is used as the material of the race positioning members 7 and 80 has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and other metals such as steel may be used.

(2) In the above embodiment, the case where a part of the torque receiving portions 71b and 80b are exposed to the outside of the housing 4 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the entire torque receiving portion is disposed outside the housing. May be exposed. In short, the present invention only requires that at least a part of the torque receiving portion is exposed to the outside of the housing.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle steering device, 2 ... Pinion shaft, 2a ... Pinion tooth, 2b ... Gutter part, 20 ... One end part, 21 ... Other end part, 3 ... Rack shaft, 3a ... Rack tooth, 4 ... Housing, 40 ... 1st housing element, 40a ... 1st accommodation space, 40b ... Opening end part, 400b ... Caulking part, 40c ... Screw part, 40d ... Bearing mounting surface, 40e ... Step part, 41 ... 2nd housing element, 41a 2nd accommodation space, 5 ... Bearing, 50 ... Needle roller, 51 ... Race, 6 ... Bearing, 60 ... Inner ring (inner race), 61 ... Outer ring (outer race), 62 ... Sphere, 7 ... Race positioning member , 70 ... Large size body, 70a ... Screw part, 70b ... Mounting hole, 70c ... Stepped part, 70d ... Race positioning part, 71 ... Small size body, 71a ... Insertion hole, 710a ... Seal receiving surface, 71b ... Torque receiver, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10b ... Side surface, 8 ... Retaining ring, 9 ... Cover member, 10 ... Shaft guide, 10a ... Guide surface, 10b ... Spring accommodation hole, 10c ... Mounting hole, 11 ... Convex part, 11a ... Guide accommodation hole, 12 ... O-ring , 13 ... pressing member, 13a ... pressing surface, 14 ... compression spring, 15 ... guide presser, 16 ... dust seal, 80 ... race positioning member, 80a ... screw part, 80b ... torque receiving part, 80c ... mounting hole, 80d ... insertion Hole, 80e ... Race positioning part, 80f ... Outer end face part, 80g ... Recess, 80h ... Seal receiving surface, 800 ... Large diameter body, 801 ... Small diameter body, 100 ... Steering, 101 ... Steering wheel, 102 ... Steering column, 103 ... steering shaft, 104 ... cardan joint, 105 ... first intermediate shaft, 106 ... cardan joint, 107 ... second intermediate shaft, 108 ... tylo De, 109 ... boots, T ... tightening torque

Claims (8)

A pinion shaft having pinion teeth on the outer peripheral surface, and rotating by a steering operation of the vehicle;
Rack teeth that mesh with the pinion teeth of the pinion shaft, and a rack shaft for turning the steered wheels of the vehicle by reciprocating movement by rotation of the pinion shaft;
A housing having an accommodating space for accommodating the rack teeth of the rack shaft and the pinion teeth of the pinion shaft;
A bearing having two inner and outer races in the housing space of the housing and rotatably supporting the pinion shaft;
An outer race of the two inner and outer races of the bearing is positioned in the housing space, and a race positioning member attached to the inner surface of the housing;
The race positioning member has an insertion hole through which the pinion shaft is inserted, and an attachment hole for attaching a seal member that seals the insertion hole with an inner opening thereof. A steering apparatus for a vehicle that opens to the bearing side with a large hole diameter.   2. The vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the race positioning member is formed with a seal receiving surface, in which an inner peripheral edge of the insertion hole receives the seal member from the attachment hole side.   The race positioning member includes a screw portion that is coupled to the housing by a tightening torque, and a torque receiving portion that receives the tightening torque as the screw portion is coupled, and the torque receiving portion is in an axial direction with respect to the mounting hole. The steering apparatus for vehicles according to claim 1 or 2 arranged in. The housing has a caulking portion formed by caulking an opening end that opens to the outside thereof,
4. The vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the race positioning member has an end surface portion that is exposed to the outside of the housing and faces the caulking portion. 5.   5. The vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the race positioning member is disposed such that at least a part of the torque receiving portion is exposed to the outside of the housing.   The vehicle steering apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the race positioning member has a side surface in which the torque receiving portion has a planar polygonal outline.   The vehicle steering apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the race positioning member has the torque receiving portion disposed inside the screw portion.   The vehicle steering apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the race positioning member has a concave portion in which the torque receiving portion opens to the outside of the housing.

Images