JP2017185849A - Rack guide and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rack guide which is further suppressed in the wear of a slide face more than a current status, improved in wear resistance, and, in particular, not largely exfoliated over a wide area even in a grease-free dry state, and a manufacturing method which can efficiently manufacture the rack guide in a smaller number of processes.SOLUTION: In a rack guide 50, a slide face S for slidably supporting a rack shaft 8 in an axial direction which is geared with a pinion shaft 7 is formed of resin in which a reinforced fiber F which is continuous to a direction D intersecting with a slide direction L of the rack shaft in a plane of the slide face at an angle of 80 to 100° is arranged. A manufacturing method press-molds a sheet of the resin in which the reinforced fiber F is arranged by using a foundation face of a metal-made bulk body being an origin of the rack guide as a part of a press mold, and forms the slide face by assembling the resin sheet to the foundation face.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a rack guide and a manufacturing method thereof.

In general, a rack and pinion type steering apparatus is provided with a rack guide (support yoke) in order to suppress backlash between the rack and the pinion.
The rack guide includes a sliding surface that supports a rack shaft that meshes with the pinion shaft so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the rack shaft. With the rack shaft supported by the sliding surface, a compression coil spring or the like is provided. By being pushed out to the pinion shaft side by the urging member, it is used for applying a preload between the rack and the pinion to suppress backlash.

The challenges required for rack guides include reducing friction on the sliding surface, improving creep resistance and wear resistance, and eliminating lubricants such as grease by reducing friction and improving wear resistance. And the like).
For example, the rack guide is formed of a resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyacetal (POM), or polyetheretherketone (PEEK) in which a solid lubricant is dispersed, if necessary, into a three-dimensional shape on the sliding surface. A plate (sliding contact plate) is configured by attaching to a base surface serving as the sliding surface of a bulk body made of metal such as aluminum.

However, the sliding surface made of PTFE or the like has insufficient wear resistance, and causes a problem that the sliding surface peels over a wide area particularly in a dry state in which grease is made free.
In addition, in order to prevent the plate from being displaced or removed from the bulk body, it is necessary to process the plate and the bulk body to prevent them from coming off, and the structure is complicated, and the plate is assembled to the bulk body. There is also a problem that the attaching process is necessary and the productivity is low.

In Patent Document 1, the entire rack guide is integrally formed of a polyamide resin (fiber reinforced polyamide resin) in which reinforcing fibers such as glass fibers are randomly dispersed.
According to such a configuration, the step of assembling the plate to the bulk body can be omitted, and a rack guide having a thermal expansion coefficient close to that of aluminum or the like can be manufactured by adjusting the fiber diameter and the blending ratio of the reinforcing fibers. Also, the wear resistance of the sliding surface can be improved to some extent.

  However, even with the configuration of Patent Document 1, the wear resistance is still insufficient.

JP-A-4-2088674

An object of the present invention is to provide a rack guide that has a sliding surface with lower friction and improved wear resistance than the current state, and that does not peel off over a large area even in a dry state that is grease-free. Is to provide.
Moreover, the objective of this invention is providing the manufacturing method which can manufacture such a rack guide efficiently with fewer processes.

  The invention according to claim 1 includes a sliding surface (S) that supports the rack shaft (8) meshing with the pinion shaft (7) so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the rack shaft, Reinforcing fibers (F) continuous in a direction (D) intersecting at an angle (θ) of 80 ° or more and 100 ° or less with respect to the sliding direction (L) of the rack shaft in the sliding surface are arranged. This is a rack guide (50) made of a resin.

The invention according to claim 2 is the rack guide according to claim 1, wherein the resin is a thermoplastic resin.
The invention according to claim 3 is the rack guide according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reinforcing fibers are carbon fibers.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the sliding surface comprises a resin sheet (55) on which the reinforcing fibers are disposed, and a solid lubricant is dispersed in the outermost layer of the sheet. 4. The rack guide according to any one of items 3 to 3.

  Invention of Claim 5 is a manufacturing method of the rack guide of any one of the said Claim 1 thru | or 4, Comprising: The sheet | seat of resin in which the said reinforcement fiber was arrange | positioned is more than the softening temperature of the said resin In the preheated state, the base surface is used as a part of the press die on the base surface (54) which becomes the sliding surface of the metal bulk body (59) which becomes the rack guide. It is a manufacturing method of a rack guide including a step of forming the sliding surface by press molding and assembling to the base surface.

The invention according to claim 6 is provided with a concave portion (54a) in the base surface, and the convex portion (55a) is formed by fitting the sheet along the inner surface of the concave portion during press molding. The rack guide manufacturing method according to claim 5, wherein the sheet is fixed to a lower ground of the bulk body by fitting the concave portion and the convex portion.
In the invention according to claim 7, the sheet is thermocompression-bonded to the foundation surface by pressing the sheet in a state where the foundation surface is rough and the bulk body is heated to near the melting point of the resin. It is a manufacturing method of the rack guide of Claim 5 made to fix.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sliding surface of the rack guide is made of a resin in which continuous long fiber-like reinforcing fibers are arranged, so that conventional PTFE or the like, fiber reinforced polyamide resin, or the like is used. Compared to the sliding surface made of, the friction can be further reduced, and the wear resistance can be further improved.
In addition, the above-mentioned long fiber-like reinforcing fibers are arranged in a direction intersecting at an angle of 80 to 100 ° with respect to the sliding direction of the rack shaft in the sliding surface, thereby reducing the friction and wear resistance. Compared with the conventional example described above, or the case where the reinforcing fibers are arranged mainly along the sliding direction at an angle other than the above, the sliding surface is particularly wide in the dry state, coupled with the improvement effect of the property. It is possible to satisfactorily prevent peeling on a large scale over the area.

That is, when long fiber-like reinforcing fibers are arranged along the sliding direction of the rack shaft, the stress along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fibers is mainly applied to the sliding surface by sliding with the rack shaft. Is added.
However, since the reinforcing fiber has higher strength in the length direction than the radial direction as a characteristic of the fiber, the reinforcing fiber hardly breaks even when the sliding surface receives stress in the same direction, and the resin layer between the reinforcing fibers is stressed. More often cause cracks. In addition, since the generated crack is easily propagated to the surrounding resin layer, the sliding surface is peeled off over a wide area as a result.

On the other hand, when the long fiber-like reinforcing fibers are arranged at the predetermined angle so as to intersect the sliding direction of the rack shaft, the reinforcing fibers are mainly formed on the sliding surface by sliding with the rack shaft. Stress along the radial direction is applied.
As a result, the reinforcing fibers are relatively easy to break in the radial direction, and the applied stress can be absorbed well by the above breaking, so that the resin layer between the reinforcing fibers is suppressed from cracking, and as a result, the sliding occurs. It is possible to satisfactorily prevent the moving surface from peeling over a large area.

According to the invention described in claim 2, by selecting and using a thermoplastic resin as the resin, versatility and workability can be achieved while maintaining good effects of reducing friction on the sliding surface and improving wear resistance. Etc. can be improved.
According to the invention described in claim 3, the effect of the invention described in claim 1 can be further improved by selecting and using a high-strength carbon fiber as the long-fiber reinforcing fiber.

According to the invention described in claim 4, a sliding having a predetermined three-dimensional shape is performed by, for example, press molding a sheet of resin [FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics)] in which long reinforcing fibers are disposed. The surface can be formed relatively easily.
In addition, for example, by utilizing the structural characteristics of the FRP sheet in which resin layers and reinforcing fibers are alternately laminated, an expensive solid is selectively used only on the outermost layer of the sheet to form a sliding surface. Lubricant can be dispersed.

Therefore, the sliding surface can be further reduced in friction and the wear resistance can be improved without causing a significant cost increase of the rack guide, and the effect of the invention described in claim 1 can be further improved.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the preheated FRP sheet is formed by using the base surface that is the sliding surface of the metal bulk body that is the basis of the rack guide as a part of the press die. At the same time as forming the sliding surface by press molding on the lower ground, the rack guide of the present invention can be efficiently manufactured with fewer steps because it can be assembled integrally with the bulk body.

According to invention of Claim 6, both can be fixed reliably by fitting the convex part formed in the sheet | seat of FRP simultaneously with the said press molding to the concave part provided in the ground of the bulk body.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the FRP sheet is thermocompression bonded simultaneously with the press molding to the lower ground of the bulk body heated to the vicinity of the melting point of the resin as a rough surface, so that both can be securely fixed. .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows an example of embodiment of the rack guide of this invention, Comprising: A figure (a) is a top view, A figure (b) is a front view, A figure (c) is a side view. It is a schematic diagram of schematic structure of the steering device in which the rack guide of the example of FIG. 1 is incorporated. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the steering device in the example of FIG. 2. It is a graph which shows the result of having measured the abrasion resistance of various samples as a model of the sliding surface of a rack guide. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the vertical load added to the various samples as a model of the sliding surface of a rack guide, and a wear width. FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views showing an example of a process for manufacturing the rack guide of the example of FIG. FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views showing another example of a process for manufacturing the rack guide of the example of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a schematic configuration of the steering device 1 in which the rack guide is incorporated.
Referring to FIG. 2, the steering device 1 includes a steering member 2 such as a steering wheel that is rotated and a steering mechanism 4 that steers the steered wheels 3 in conjunction with the rotation of the steering member 2. The steering device 1 also includes a steering shaft 5 having a steering member 2 attached to one end thereof, and an intermediate shaft 6.

  The steered mechanism 4 is configured by a rack and pinion mechanism. The steered mechanism 4 includes a pinion shaft 7 and a rack shaft 8 as a steered shaft. The pinion shaft 7 is connected to the steering shaft 5 via the intermediate shaft 6. The pinion shaft 7 forms a pinion 7a in the vicinity of its end. The rack shaft 8 forms a rack 8 a that meshes with the pinion 7 a of the pinion shaft 7 on a part of the outer periphery in the axial direction W.

  The rack shaft 8 is supported in a rack housing 9 fixed to the vehicle body so as to be movable in an axial direction W (corresponding to a vehicle width direction which is the left-right direction of the vehicle body) via a rack bush B or the like. Each end of the rack shaft 8 protrudes from the corresponding end of the rack housing 9 to both sides. Each end of the rack shaft 8 is connected to a corresponding steered wheel 3 via a corresponding tie rod 10 and a corresponding knuckle arm (not shown).

When the steering member 2 is rotated and the steering shaft 5 is rotated, this rotation is converted into a linear motion in the axial direction W of the rack shaft 8 by the pinion 7a and the rack 8a. Thereby, the turning of the steered wheel 3 is achieved.
The steering device 1 includes a rack guide device 20. The rack guide device 20 is disposed on the opposite side of the pinion 7 a with respect to the rack shaft 8. The rack guide device 20 functions to guide the movement of the rack shaft 8 in the axial direction W while urging the rack shaft 8 toward the pinion 7a.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the steering device 1. With reference to FIG. 3, the steering device 1 includes a pinion housing 11, a first bearing 12, and a second bearing 13. The pinion housing 11 is integrally attached to the rack housing 9.
The first bearing 12 and the second bearing 13 are held by the pinion housing 11 and rotatably support the pinion shaft 7 within the pinion housing 11. The first bearing 12 and the second bearing 13 are disposed on both sides of the pinion 7a. The second bearing 13 is disposed on the tip side of the pinion shaft 7.

The 1st bearing 12 consists of a ball bearing, for example. The 2nd bearing 13 consists of cylindrical roller bearings, for example. The pinion 7 a of the pinion shaft 7 and the rack 8 a of the rack shaft 8 are meshed with each other in the pinion housing 11.
The rack guide device 20 includes a housing 30, an end member 40, a rack guide 50, and a biasing member 60.

The housing 30 is provided integrally with the pinion housing 11. The housing 30 is disposed on the opposite side to the pinion 7a with the rack shaft 8 therebetween.
The housing 30 is formed with an accommodating portion 31 made of, for example, a circular hole. The rack shaft 8 is inserted into the accommodating portion 31. In the accommodating portion 31, an external opening end portion 32 is formed on the side opposite to the rack shaft 8 side. The end member 40 is composed of a plug (plug) fixed by screw fitting to the inner periphery of the outer opening end portion 32.

  The rack guide 50 has a first direction X1 (advancing direction) toward the rack shaft 8 and a second direction X2 (reverse direction) that is opposite to the first direction X1 and toward the end member 40 in the housing portion 31. ) And can be moved (movable forward and backward). Hereinafter, the first direction X1 and the second direction X2 are collectively referred to as the forward / backward direction X. The rack guide 50 slidably supports the back surface 8b of the rack 8a of the rack shaft 8.

The end member 40 includes a first end surface 41 on the first direction X1 side, a second end surface 42 on the second direction X2 side, and an outer peripheral surface 43. The first end surface 41 faces the rack guide 50. A male screw 44 and an outer peripheral groove 45 are formed on the outer peripheral surface 43 of the end member 40. The outer circumferential groove 45 is disposed closer to the rack guide 50 than the male screw 44.
A seal member 46 is accommodated in the outer circumferential groove 45. The seal member 46 is made of an annular elastic member such as an O-ring. The seal member 46 fulfills a function of sealing between the outer peripheral surface 43 of the end member 40 and the inner peripheral surface 31 a of the accommodating portion 31.

An internal thread 33 is formed in a range of a predetermined length from the external opening end 32 of the housing part 31. The male screw 44 of the end member 40 is screwed into the female screw 33, and the end member 40 is fixed to the housing 30.
A tool engagement hole 47 is formed in the second end surface 42 of the end member 40. The tool engagement hole 47 is formed in, for example, a polygonal cross section so that a tool for screwing the end member 40 from the side of the external opening end 32 is engaged.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a rack guide 50, in which FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 1 (b) is a front view, and FIG. 1 (c) is a side view.
Referring to FIGS. 1A to 1C and FIG. 3, the rack guide 50 includes a bulk body 59 made entirely of a metal such as aluminum.
The bulk body 59 includes a first end surface 51 on the first direction X1 side, a second end surface 52 on the second direction X2 side, and an outer peripheral surface 53. The first end surface 51 faces the rack shaft 8.

On the first end surface 51 of the rack guide 50, a concave ground surface 54 having a shape that substantially matches the shape of the back surface 8 b of the rack shaft 8 is formed. An FRP sheet 55 is fixed to the lower ground 54 in a curved shape along the ground surface 54, and the sheet 55 forms a sliding surface S that supports the rack shaft 8 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. Has been.
The outer peripheral surface 53 consists of a cylindrical surface. The second end surface 52 is formed with a concave portion 56 formed of a circular hole concentric with the cylindrical surface formed by the outer peripheral surface 53. The biasing member 60 is a compression coil spring that is interposed between the bottom of the recess 56 of the second end surface 52 of the rack guide 50 and the first end surface 41 of the end member 40. The biasing member 60 includes a first end 61 that is received by the bottom of the recess 56 of the rack guide 50 and a second end 62 that is received by the first end surface 41 of the end member 40. The urging member 60 urges the rack guide 50 to the first direction X1 side (rack shaft 8 side).

  A plurality of outer peripheral grooves 57 are formed on the outer peripheral surface 53 of the rack guide 50. In each outer circumferential groove 57, for example, an annular elastic member 58 such as an O-ring is accommodated and held. The outer diameter of the rack guide 50 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the accommodating portion 31. The rack member 50 moves in the advancing / retreating direction X in the accommodating portion 31 by the elastic member 58 sliding on the inner peripheral surface 31 a of the accommodating portion 31.

1 (a) to 1 (c), an FRP sheet 55 is made of a resin in which a plurality of reinforcing fibers F are disposed.
The sliding surface S is a sheet of FRP so that the reinforcing fibers F are continuously arranged in the direction D intersecting with the sliding direction L of the rack shaft 8 at an angle θ of 80 ° or more and 100 ° or less. 55 is fixed to the base surface 54.

The angle θ is limited to the above range. When the range is not limited, many reinforcing fibers F are arranged along the sliding direction L of the rack shaft 8, and the sliding surface S as described above. This is because there is a possibility of causing peeling on a large scale over a wide area.
On the other hand, when all the reinforcing fibers F are arranged so as to intersect the sliding direction L of the rack shaft 8 within the range of the angle θ, the sliding surface S covers a wide area by the mechanism described above. And large-scale peeling can be satisfactorily suppressed.

In consideration of further improving such an effect, the angle θ is preferably 85 ° or more, particularly 88 ° or more, and preferably 95 ° or less, particularly 92 ° or less, even in the above range.
Examples of the reinforcing fiber F include various fibers such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, and aramid fiber. In particular, carbon fibers that are high in strength and excellent in reducing friction and improving wear resistance are preferred.

  Examples of the resin include polyamide (PA) such as polyamide 6, 11, 12, 46, 66, 612, 610, 6T, 9T, 6I, MXD6, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), thermoplastic polyurethane, thermoplastic polyimide, POM. At least one of thermoplastic resins such as PEEK and thermosetting resins such as polyimide resin and polyamideimide resin can be used.

In particular, considering the improvement of versatility, workability, etc. while maintaining good effects of reducing friction and wear resistance of the sliding surface S, thermoplastic resins, especially polyamide and / or polyphenylene sulfide, especially polyamide 66 is preferred.
The FRP sheet 55 is produced, for example, by press-molding a laminate in which a plurality of reinforcing fibers F are laid out in a certain direction and sandwiched between upper and lower resin films while being heated to a temperature higher than the melting point of the resin.

At this time, an expensive solid lubricant may be selectively dispersed only in the film constituting the outermost layer on the sliding surface S side. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the friction of the sliding surface S and improve the wear resistance without significantly increasing the cost of the rack guide.
Examples of the solid lubricant include at least one of fluororesin, graphite, molybdenum disulfide, silicon nitride, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the results of measuring the wear resistance of a flat sample (disk) as a model of the sliding surface S of the rack guide 50 by the ring-on-disk method using an iron ring.
That is, Sample 1 is a CFRTP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermo Plastics) sheet 55 formed by press-molding a laminate in which carbon fibers as reinforcing fibers F are laid in one direction and sandwiched between upper and lower films of polyamide 66, and further a polyamide 55 The sliding surface S in the present invention is reproduced by laminating on a flat plate base made of 66.

Sample 2 is a polyamide 66 in which glass fibers are randomly dispersed and formed into a flat plate shape. The slide surface of the rack guide described in Patent Document 1 is reproduced. Sample 3 is a flat plate made of PTFE. This is a reproduction of the sliding surface of a conventional plate (sliding plate).
It can be seen from FIG. 4 that the wear resistance of the sliding surface S can be greatly improved by configuring the sliding surface S with the CFRTP sheet 55.

FIG. 5 shows a relationship between the vertical load and the wear width applied to a flat sample as a model of the sliding surface S of the rack guide 50 in a dry state. It is a graph to show.
That is, sample 1-1 is sample 1 having the same configuration as that used in the previous ring-on-disk method, and the carbon fiber direction D is the sliding direction of the steel ball in the Bowden test (= sliding direction L of the rack shaft). Is set in a Bowden tester so as to intersect at an angle θ = 90 °, and the sliding surface S in the present invention is reproduced.

Sample 1-2 was set in the Bowden testing machine so that the direction 1 of the carbon fiber coincided with the sliding direction of the steel ball in the Bowden test (angle θ = 0 °). The sliding surface arranged along the sliding surface S is reproduced.
Further, Sample 2 is a reproduction of the sliding surface of the rack guide described in Patent Document 1, which is the same as that used in the previous ring-on-disk method.

  From FIG. 5, the carbon fiber as the reinforcing fiber F is continuously arranged in the direction D intersecting the sliding direction L of the rack shaft 8 at the angle θ in the predetermined range described above. It can be seen that the sliding surface can be well prevented from peeling over a large area over a large area, especially in the dry state, coupled with the reduction in friction and the effect of improving the wear resistance, which were clarified in the on-disk test.

6A and 6B are cross-sectional views showing an example of a process for manufacturing the rack guide 50. FIG.
Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, in the manufacturing method of this example, bulk body 59 is used in combination with upper mold 70 as the lower mold of press molding.
In addition, the bulk body 59 used here has a recess 54 a formed of a circular hole concentric with the cylindrical surface formed by the outer peripheral surface 53 on the base surface 54.

Further, the upper mold 70 is provided with a convex mold surface 71 having a shape substantially coinciding with the shape of the base surface 54 on the base surface 54 side. Further, a convex portion 71a made of a small-diameter cylinder is formed at a position corresponding to the concave portion 54a of the base surface 54 of the mold surface 71.
In this example, first, a sheet 55 preheated above the softening temperature of the resin is placed between the mold surface 71 of the upper mold 70 and the lower ground 54 of the bulk body 59 as the lower mold as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the upper mold 70 and the bulk body 59 are clamped with a predetermined pressing pressure with the sheet 55 interposed therebetween.

  Then, the sheet 55 is press-molded into a concave shape along the base surface 54. Further, a part of the sheet 55 corresponding to the concave portion 54a is pressed along the convex portion 71a to be formed along the inner surface of the concave portion 54a, thereby forming the convex portion 55a fitted into the concave portion 54a. The press-molded sheet 55 is fixed to the lower ground 54 of the bulk body 59 by fitting the convex portions 55a.

Thereafter, when the upper mold 70 is opened and the excess portion of the sheet 55 is cut, the rack guide 50 having the sliding surface S constituted by the FRP sheet 55 fixed to the lower ground 54 of the bulk body 59 is manufactured.
According to the manufacturing method including the above steps, the pre-heated FRP sheet 55 is press-molded using the lower ground surface 54 of the bulk body 59 as a part of the press die, and simultaneously assembled with the bulk body 59. Therefore, the rack guide 50 can be efficiently manufactured with fewer steps.

Further, by fitting the convex portion 55 a formed on the FRP sheet 55 simultaneously with the press molding into the concave portion 54 a provided on the base surface 54, both can be securely fixed.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views showing another example of a process for manufacturing the rack guide of the example of FIG.
Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, in this example, a bulk body 59 having a roughened surface 54 is used.

Then, with the bulk body 54 heated to near the melting point of the resin, the sheet 55 preheated to a temperature higher than the softening temperature of the resin is used as a mold surface 71 of the upper mold 70 and a lower mold as shown in FIG. Then, the upper mold 70 and the bulk body 59 are clamped at a predetermined pressing pressure with the sheet 55 interposed therebetween as shown in FIG. 7B. .
Then, the sheet 55 is press-molded into a concave shape along the base surface 54. Further, the resin on the surface side of the sheet 55 in contact with the base surface 54 enters minute irregularities on the rough base surface 54, and the press-formed sheet 55 is placed under the bulk body 59 by a so-called anchor effect. Fixed to the ground 54.

Thereafter, when the upper mold 70 is opened and the excess portion of the sheet 55 is cut, the rack guide 50 having the sliding surface S constituted by the FRP sheet 55 fixed to the lower ground 54 of the bulk body 59 is manufactured.
According to the manufacturing method including the above steps, the rack guide 50 can be efficiently manufactured with fewer steps.

In addition, the FRP sheet 55 is thermocompression bonded to the base surface 54 heated to the vicinity of the melting point of the resin as a rough surface, so that both can be securely fixed.
The configuration of the present invention is not limited to that described above.
For example, the entire rack guide 50 may be formed by FRP. In that case, if the reinforcing fibers F in the outermost FRP constituting the sliding surface S are oriented in the above-described direction, the orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers in other regions is not particularly limited.

Rather, in consideration of improving the overall strength of the rack guide 50, the reinforcing fibers other than the outermost layer are preferably oriented in various directions. Alternatively, the structure other than the outermost layer may have a structure in which short reinforcing fibers are randomly dispersed in the resin.
In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering device, 2 ... Steering member, 3 ... Steering wheel, 4 ... Steering mechanism, 5 ... Steering shaft, 6 ... Intermediate shaft, 7 ... Pinion shaft, 7a ... Pinion, 8 ... Rack shaft, 8a ... Rack, 8b ... Back, 9 ... Rack housing, 10 ... Tie rod, 11 ... Pinion housing, 12, 13 ... Bearing, 20 ... Rack guide device, 30 ... Housing, 31 ... Accommodating portion, 31a ... Inner peripheral surface, 32 ... External opening end , 40 ... end members, 41 and 42 ... end faces, 43 ... outer peripheral faces, 44 ... male threads, 45 ... outer peripheral grooves, 46 ... seal members, 47 ... tool engagement holes, 50 ... rack guides, 51, 52 ... end faces, 53 ... outer peripheral surface, 54 ... base surface, 54a ... concave portion, 55 ... sheet, 55a ... convex portion, 56 ... concave portion, 57 ... outer peripheral groove, 58 ... elastic member, 59 ... bulk body, 60 ... biasing member, 61, 62 ... End, 70 ... Up , 71 ... mold surface, 71a ... convex part, B ... rack bush, D ... direction, F ... reinforcing fiber, L ... sliding direction, S ... sliding surface, W ... axial direction, X ... forward and backward direction, X1, X2 ... direction, θ ... angle

Claims (7)

  A sliding surface that supports a rack shaft that meshes with the pinion shaft so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the rack shaft is provided, and the sliding surface is 80 in the sliding surface with respect to the sliding direction of the rack shaft. A rack guide made of resin in which continuous reinforcing fibers are arranged in a direction intersecting at an angle of not less than 100 ° and not more than 100 °.   The rack guide according to claim 1, wherein the resin is a thermoplastic resin.   The rack guide according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reinforcing fibers are carbon fibers.   The rack guide according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sliding surface is made of a resin sheet on which the reinforcing fibers are disposed, and a solid lubricant is dispersed in an outermost layer of the sheet. .   The rack guide manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the resin sheet on which the reinforcing fibers are disposed is preheated to a temperature higher than a softening temperature of the resin. On the base surface to be the sliding surface of the metal bulk body that is the basis of the press, the base surface is used as a part of a press mold and press-molded, and the sliding surface is assembled to the base surface. A method of manufacturing a rack guide including the steps of configuring.   A concave portion is provided on the base surface, and the sheet is formed along the inner surface of the concave portion at the time of press molding to form a convex portion that fits into the concave portion, and by fitting the concave portion and the convex portion. The method for manufacturing a rack guide according to claim 5, wherein the sheet is fixed to an underlying ground of the bulk body.   The said base surface is made into a rough surface shape, The said sheet | seat is press-molded in the state heated to the melting | fusing point vicinity of the said resin, and the said sheet | seat is thermocompression-bonded and fixed to the said base surface. Rack guide manufacturing method.

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