JP2017217972A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering device which can directly measure a yoke clearance and inhibit occurrence of abnormal noise without increasing the number of components.SOLUTION: A rack guide 20 slidably supports a rack shaft in a rack shaft direction in which the rack shaft configured to engage with a pinion shaft extends. A sealing member 40 seals the rack guide 20 in a housing 8. A biasing member 30 is provided between the sealing member 40 and the rack guide 20 and biases the rack shaft 3 toward the pinion shaft 5 through the rack guide 20. An opening 47 is formed at the sealing member 40. A steering device 1 is provided with an elastic plug body 50 which has a closing part 52 for closing the opening 47 and elastically deforms to maintain a distance (a yoke clearance C) between the rack guide 20 and the sealing member 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device.

2. Description of the Related Art A rack-and-pinion type steering device that rotates a pinion shaft by steering a steering wheel and turns the wheel by converting the rotation into an axial motion of a rack meshing with the pinion is known.
The steering device described in Patent Document 1 below is provided with an elastic member that biases the rack guide toward the rack in order to appropriately press the rack against the pinion. The elastic member is disposed between the rack guide and a lid member that closes the housing in which the rack guide is inserted. In order to appropriately adjust the biasing force of the elastic member, it is preferable to directly measure the gap (yoke clearance) between the lid member and the rack guide. A through-hole is formed in the lid member, and the yoke clearance can be directly measured by inserting a jig or the like into the housing through the through-hole. The through hole is sealed by fitting a spring seal component.

  Here, a sudden load may be input from the rack to the rack guide against the biasing force of the preload spring. In this case, there is a slight gap between the rack and the pinion, and there is a possibility that a rattling noise (abnormal noise) resulting from the contact between the rack and the pinion may occur. In order to suppress the occurrence of rattling noise, it is necessary to provide a buffer means made of synthetic resin between the rack guide and the lid member in addition to the elastic member (for example, Patent Document 2 below).

Japanese Patent No. 5888110 JP 2002-67982 A

In order to suppress the occurrence of abnormal noise in the steering device described in Patent Document 1, it is conceivable to provide the buffer means described in Patent Document 2. In this case, the yoke clearance can be directly measured and the generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed, but the number of parts increases and the cost increases.
The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object thereof is to provide a steering device capable of directly measuring the yoke clearance without increasing the number of parts and suppressing the generation of abnormal noise. To do.

  The invention according to claim 1 includes a rack shaft (3) meshing with the pinion shaft (5), and a rack guide (20) for slidably supporting the rack shaft in a rack axis direction (X) in which the rack shaft extends. And a housing (8) for housing the rack guide, a sealing member (40) for sealing the rack guide in the housing, and the rack member provided between the sealing member and the rack guide. In the steering device (1) including a biasing member (30) for biasing the rack shaft toward the pinion shaft via a guide, the sealing member includes the rack guide and the sealing member. An opening (47) used for measuring the gap (C) is formed, and the gap between the rack guide and the sealing member is maintained by closing and elastically deforming the opening. Do It characterized in that it contains sex plug body (50) further is a steering device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the elastic plug body includes a closing portion (52) that closes the opening, and an interval between the rack guide and the sealing member that extends from the closing portion and elastically deforms. The steering device according to claim 1, further comprising an elastically deformable portion (51) for maintaining
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the elastic deformation portion is disposed on the first contact portion (54) that contacts the rack guide, and on the closing portion side (F2) with respect to the first contact portion, A second contact portion (55) that contacts the sealing member, wherein the surface pressure of the first contact portion is greater than the surface pressure of the second contact portion. 2. The steering device according to 2.

The invention according to claim 4 is disposed between the sealing member and the rack guide, and the elastic plug body is arranged in a direction (R) perpendicular to the urging direction (F1) of the urging member. The steering device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a cylindrical member (60) surrounding the elastic plug so as to face each other.
The invention according to claim 5 is the steering apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the elastic plug body is made of ethylene propylene diene rubber.

  In addition, in the above, the numbers in parentheses represent reference numerals of corresponding components in the embodiments described later, but the scope of the claims is not limited by these reference numerals.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the opening is formed in the sealing member that seals the rack guide in the housing, the distance (yoke clearance) between the rack guide and the sealing member is directly measured. can do.
Even when the load input from the rack shaft to the rack guide is large against the urging by the urging member, the elastic plug that closes the opening is elastically deformed, so that the gap between the rack guide and the sealing member is reduced. Spacing is maintained. Therefore, the generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed.

Thus, the yoke clearance can be measured directly without increasing the number of parts, and the generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed.
According to the second aspect of the invention, since the yoke clearance is maintained by elastically deforming the elastic deformation portion extending from the closing portion that closes the opening, a load is applied to the rack guide against the bias of the biasing member. When it is input, the blocking portion is difficult to receive the load. Therefore, even when a load is input to the rack guide against the urging of the urging member, the state in which the opening is closed by the closing portion is maintained.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the surface pressure of the first contact portion that contacts the rack guide is greater than the surface pressure of the second contact portion that contacts the sealing member. The surface pressure is a load per unit area. Therefore, when a load is input to the rack guide against the urging force of the urging member, the first contact portion on the opposite side of the closing portion side from the second contact portion is more than the second contact portion. Since it bends, the obstruction | occlusion part is harder to receive the said load. Therefore, even when a load is input to the rack guide against the urging of the urging member, the state where the opening is closed by the closing portion is reliably maintained.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the elastic plug body is disposed between the sealing member and the rack guide, and is a cylinder that faces the elastic plug body from a direction orthogonal to the biasing direction of the biasing member. Surrounded by a member. Therefore, when a load is input to the rack guide against the urging force of the urging member, the elastic plug body can be prevented from spreading in a direction orthogonal to the urging direction, so the load input to the rack guide It is possible to suppress the repulsive force of the elastic plug body from being dispersed in the direction orthogonal to the urging direction. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of unusual noise can be suppressed further.

  As in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the elastic plug may be formed of ethylene propylene diene rubber.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a steering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the periphery of the rack shaft support device. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the elastic plug in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a steering apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The steering device 1 includes a pinion shaft 5 to which rotation of a steering member 4 such as a steering wheel is transmitted, and a rack shaft 3 that steers the steered wheels 2 by moving in a rack axis direction X that extends in the width direction of the vehicle. Including. The rack shaft 3 meshes with the pinion shaft 5, and the rotation of the pinion shaft 5 is converted into the movement of the rack shaft 3 in the rack axis direction X. The rack shaft 3 constitutes a steering mechanism 6 together with the pinion shaft 5.

  The rack shaft 3 has a rack tooth formation region 3R in which rack teeth 3A arranged in the rack axis direction X are formed. A steering member 4 is connected to one end of the pinion shaft 5 via an intermediate shaft 11 and a steering shaft 12. The pinion shaft 5 has pinion teeth 5A that can mesh with the rack teeth 3A. The pinion teeth 5 </ b> A are formed on the outer peripheral surface near the other end of the pinion shaft 5.

Steering device 1 further includes a housing 8 that houses rack shaft 3 and pinion shaft 5. The housing 8 includes a rack housing 9 in which an insertion hole 15 into which the rack shaft 3 is inserted is formed, and a pinion housing 14 that is fixed to the rack housing 9 and accommodates the pinion shaft 5. The housing 8 may be integrally formed with a single member.
Each end of the rack shaft 3 in the rack axis direction X protrudes outside the rack housing 9. A tie rod 10 is connected to each end of the rack shaft 3 in the rack axis direction X via a joint. Each tie rod 10 is connected to a corresponding steered wheel 2 via a corresponding knuckle arm (not shown). The pinion shaft 5 is accommodated in the rack housing 9 in the vicinity of the other end. The pinion shaft 5 is accommodated in the pinion housing 14 at one end side of the portion accommodated in the rack housing 9. The pinion housing 14 is fixed to the rack housing 9 by, for example, bolts 18 (see FIG. 2 described later).

  The rack shaft 3 is moved in the rack axis direction X when the steering member 4 is steered. Specifically, when the steering member 4 is steered, rotation is transmitted to the pinion shaft 5 via the steering shaft 12 and the intermediate shaft 11. The rotation transmitted to the pinion shaft 5 is converted into a movement of the rack shaft 3 in the rack axis direction X by the meshing of the pinion teeth 5A and the rack teeth 3A. As a result, the steered wheels 2 are steered through the tie rods 10 connected to the rack shaft 3.

The steering device 1 further includes a rack shaft support device 13 that supports the rack shaft 3 so that rattling does not occur between the rack shaft 3 and the pinion shaft 5.
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view around the rack shaft support device 13.
With reference to FIG. 2, the rack shaft support device 13 includes a rack guide 20 that slidably supports the rack shaft 3 in the rack axis direction X, the rack housing 9 that houses the rack guide 20, and the rack guide 20. Is provided between the sealing member 40 and the rack guide 20 and biases the rack shaft 3 toward the pinion shaft 5 via the rack guide 20. Force member 30. The direction in which the biasing member 30 biases the rack guide 20 is referred to as a biasing direction F1. The reverse direction of the urging direction F1 is referred to as a reverse direction F2.

  The rack housing 9 has a cylindrical housing portion 9 </ b> A that extends in a direction Y orthogonal to the rack axial direction X. The rack guide 20 has a substantially cylindrical shape. The rack guide 20 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 9A. The rack guide 20 is movable in the orthogonal direction Y within the accommodating portion 9A. The rack guide 20 is disposed on the opposite side of the rack shaft 3 from the pinion shaft 5. The rack guide 20 slidably supports the back surface 3B of the rack teeth 3A of the rack shaft 3. The orthogonal direction Y is a direction parallel to the urging direction F1 and the reverse direction F2. On the opposite side of the rack shaft 3 from the pinion shaft 5, the biasing direction F1 is also the rack shaft 3 side in the orthogonal direction Y, and the reverse direction F2 is the opposite side of the rack shaft 3 in the orthogonal direction Y. is there.

  A radial direction around the central axis 20 </ b> A of the rack guide 20 is referred to as a radial direction R. The radial direction R is also a direction orthogonal to the orthogonal direction Y, the biasing direction F1, and the reverse direction F2. The rack guide 20 has a first surface 21 provided on the biasing direction F1 side, a second surface 22 provided on the reverse direction F2 side, and an outer peripheral surface 23 formed of a cylindrical surface. On the first surface 21 of the rack guide 20, a concave surface 24 having a shape that substantially matches the shape of the back surface 3 </ b> B of the rack shaft 3 is formed. A curved sliding contact plate 25 is attached along the concave surface 24, and the sliding contact plate 25 is in sliding contact with the back surface 3 </ b> B of the rack shaft 3.

An O-ring 27 is housed in each of the plurality of annular housing grooves 26 provided on the outer peripheral surface 23 of the rack guide 20. The outer diameter of the rack guide 20 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the accommodating portion 9A. When the rack guide 20 moves in the accommodating portion 9A in the orthogonal direction Y, the O-ring 27 slides on the inner periphery of the accommodating portion 9A.
The sealing member 40 seals the external opening end 9B provided on the side opposite to the rack shaft 3 side in the accommodating portion 9A. The sealing member 40 is also called a yoke plug. The sealing member 40 has a facing surface 41 that faces the second surface 22 of the rack guide 20 and an outer peripheral surface 42 that is a cylindrical surface. An O-ring 45 is accommodated in an annular accommodating groove 43 provided on the outer peripheral surface 42 of the sealing member 40.

The sealing member 40 is fixed to the rack housing 9. The sealing member 40 is fixed by being screwed into the accommodating portion 9A. A male screw 46 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 42 of the sealing member 40 at a portion closer to the external opening end 9B than the accommodation groove 43. A female screw 9C into which the male screw 46 is screwed is formed at the outer opening end 9B of the housing portion 9A.
An accommodation hole 28 for accommodating the biasing member 30 is formed in the second surface 22 of the rack guide 20. The biasing member 30 can be elastically deformed in the orthogonal direction Y, and is, for example, a coil spring. The biasing member 30 is disposed between the bottom surface of the receiving hole 28 and the facing surface 41 of the sealing member 40 in a state compressed in the orthogonal direction Y, and the rack shaft 3 is connected to the pinion shaft via the rack guide 20. It is energizing towards 5.

  An opening 47 used for measuring the yoke clearance C is formed in the sealing member 40. The yoke clearance C is a distance between the second surface 22 of the rack guide 20 and the facing surface 41 of the sealing member 40. The yoke clearance C is, for example, about 60 μm to 100 μm. The opening 47 penetrates the sealing member 40 in the orthogonal direction Y. The opening 47 allows the internal space A1 of the housing portion 9A of the rack housing 9 and the external space A2 of the rack housing 9 to communicate with each other.

  The rack shaft support device 13 further includes an elastic plug 50 that maintains the yoke clearance C by elastic deformation and closes the opening 47. The elastic plug 50 may be formed of a material that has excellent wear resistance and is swollen by grease or the like present in the housing portion 9A, and is formed of, for example, ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM). The elastic plug 50 may be formed of a material other than EPDM, and may be, for example, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR), silicone rubber, or the like. The elastic plug body 50 is detachably provided on the sealing member 40 from the outside of the rack housing 9. The elastic plug 50 integrally includes a closing portion 52 that closes the opening 47 and an elastic deformation portion 51 that extends from the closing portion 52 in the urging direction F1 and maintains the yoke clearance C by elastic deformation. The elastic deformation portion 51 is also a repulsion portion that generates a repulsive force H with respect to the input load G input from the rack shaft 3 to the rack guide 20. The repulsive force H is a load in the urging direction F1, and the input load G is a load in the reverse direction F2.

The input load G is generated according to various conditions. Specifically, the input load G is such that vibration is transmitted from the steered wheel 2 to the rack shaft 3 when the vehicle travels on a rough road, that is, the steered wheel 2 is turned to reverse the input or to turn the vehicle. When the rudder is steered, the rack shaft 3 moves in the rack axis direction X, and the rack teeth 3A come into contact with the pinion teeth 5A.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the elastic plug 50 in FIG.

  The closing portion 52 is formed by a cylindrical main body portion 56 extending in the orthogonal direction Y, a seal portion 57 that is pressed against the inner surface of the opening 47 and seals between the sealing member 40 and the closing portion 52, and the sealing member 40. When attaching the elastic plug body 50, it integrally has a regulating portion 58 for regulating the position of the elastic plug body 50 in the orthogonal direction Y. The seal portion 57 has a form of an annular protrusion that protrudes outward in the radial direction R from the outer surface of the main body portion 56. A plurality (two in this embodiment) of the seal portions 57 are arranged in the orthogonal direction Y. However, only one seal portion 57 may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 56. The restricting portion 58 has a flange shape projecting outward in the radial direction R from the other end portion (end portion on the reverse direction F2 side) opposite to one end portion (end portion on the biasing direction F1 side) of the main body portion 56. It has the form.

  The elastic deformation portion 51 includes a cylindrical main body portion 53 extending from the main body portion 56 of the closing portion 52 toward the biasing direction F1 and an end portion of the main body portion 53 opposite to the closing portion 52 (on the biasing direction F1 side). A first contact portion 54 that is connected to the rack guide 20, and an end portion on the closing portion 52 side (an end portion on the reverse direction F <b> 2 side) in the main body portion 53. It has the 2nd contact part 55 which contact | abuts integrally.

The first contact portion 54 is in contact with the vicinity of the center of the rack guide 20 in the radial direction R (specifically, in the vicinity of the intersection with the central axis 20A of the rack guide 20 on the bottom surface of the accommodation hole 28). The first contact portion 54 is in contact with the rack guide 20 in an elastically deformed state or in a state where it is not elastically deformed (so-called zero touch).
The first contact portion 54 has a truncated cone shape that tapers toward the urging direction F1. The first abutment portion 54 is a surface on the biasing direction F1 side of the first abutment portion 54, and includes a first abutment surface 54 </ b> B that abuts the bottom surface of the accommodation hole 28 of the rack guide 20, and the accommodation hole 28. It has the 1st inclined surface 54A which inclines so that it may go to the inner side of radial direction R as it goes to a bottom face (toward the urging | biasing direction F1). An end of the first inclined surface 54A on the biasing direction F1 side is connected to an outer end in the radial direction R of the first contact surface 54B. Unlike the present embodiment, the first contact portion 54 does not have the first inclined surface 54A, and may have a columnar shape.

  The second abutting portion 55 has a flange-like form extending in the radial direction R from the end portion on the closing portion 52 side (reverse direction F2 side) in the main body portion 53. The second abutting portion 55 is directed to the second abutting surface 55 </ b> B that abuts the portion of the facing surface 41 of the sealing member 40 that is located at the periphery of the opening 47, and the bottom surface of the accommodation hole 28 (in the biasing direction F <b> 1). And a second inclined surface 55A that is inclined so as to be directed inward in the radial direction R. The second contact surface 55B is a surface on the reverse direction F2 side of the second contact portion 55, and the second inclined surface 55A is a surface on the biasing direction F1 side of the second contact portion 55.

Unlike the present embodiment, the second contact portion 55 may not have the second inclined surface 55A. In this case, the surface of the second contact portion 55 on the biasing direction F1 side is orthogonal. A plane orthogonal to Y may be used.
The second contact portion 55 is disposed closer to the closing portion 52 than the first contact portion 54. The second contact portion 55 is disposed outward in the radial direction R from the first contact portion 54. The surface pressure of the second contact portion 55 is smaller than the surface pressure of the first contact portion 54. In other words, the area of the first contact surface 54B of the first contact portion 54 is smaller than the area of the second contact surface 55B of the second contact portion 55. The surface pressure is a load per unit area.

The elastic plug 50 is formed with a cavity 59 extending from the end of the elastic plug 50 on the reverse direction F2 side in the biasing direction F1. The cavity 59 passes through the main body portion 56 of the closing portion 52 in the orthogonal direction Y and extends to the approximate center of the elastic deformation portion 51 in the orthogonal direction Y.
The elastic deformation portion 51 is located inward of the urging member 30 in the radial direction R. The rack shaft support device 13 is disposed between the sealing member 40 and the rack guide 20, and faces the elastic plug 50 from a direction (radial direction R) orthogonal to the biasing direction F <b> 1 of the biasing member 30. The cylindrical member 60 surrounding the elastic plug 50 is further included. The cylindrical member 60 has a cylindrical shape extending in the orthogonal direction Y. The tubular member 60 separates the elastic plug body 50 from the biasing member 30. The cylindrical member 60 faces the portion (second abutting portion 55) located at the outermost position in the radial direction R at least in the elastic deformation portion 51 of the elastic plug 50 from the outer side in the radial direction R.

  According to the present embodiment, since the opening 47 is formed in the sealing member 40 that seals the rack guide 20 in the rack housing 9, the jig inserted into the internal space A <b> 1 of the rack housing 9 through the opening 47. The distance (yoke clearance C) between the rack guide 20 and the sealing member 40 can be directly measured using a tool (not shown). Therefore, the yoke clearance C can be measured with high accuracy, and the urging force of the urging member 30 can be adjusted with high accuracy.

Even when the load (input load G) input from the rack shaft 3 to the rack guide 20 is large against the urging of the rack shaft 3 by the urging member 30, the elastic plug 50 that closes the opening 47 is elastically deformed. By doing so, the yoke clearance C is maintained. Therefore, the generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed.
Therefore, it is possible to directly measure the yoke clearance C without increasing the number of parts, and to suppress the generation of abnormal noise.

  Further, since the yoke clearance C is maintained by elastic deformation of the elastic deformation portion 51 extending from the closing portion 52 that closes the opening 47, when the input load G is input to the rack guide 20, the closing portion 52 applies a load. It is hard to receive. Therefore, even when a load is input to the rack guide 20 against the urging of the urging member 30, the state where the opening 47 is closed by the closing portion 52 is maintained.

  Further, the surface pressure of the first contact portion 54 that contacts the rack guide 20 is larger than the surface pressure of the second contact portion 55 that contacts the sealing member 40. Therefore, when the input load G is input, the first contact portion 54 on the side opposite to the closing portion 52 side (the biasing direction F1 side) from the second contact portion 55 is more than the second contact portion 55. Since it bends, the blocking part 52 is less likely to receive a load. Therefore, even when the input load G is input to the rack guide 20, the state in which the opening 47 is closed by the closing portion 52 is reliably maintained.

  Further, since the elastic plug 50 has a cavity 59, when the input load G is input to the rack guide 20, the main body portion 53 of the elastic deformation portion 51 and the main body portion 56 of the closing portion 52 are formed. Elastic deformation can be performed to narrow the cavity 59. Therefore, the elastic deformation of the second contact portion 55 and the seal portion 57 inward in the radial direction R can be mitigated. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the contact between the second contact portion 55 and the sealing member 40 from being removed, and the seal portion 57 from being removed from the inner surface of the opening 47.

Further, since the first contact portion 54 is in contact with the vicinity of the center of the rack guide 20 in the radial direction R, the concave surface 24 of the rack guide 20 is evenly pressed against the rack shaft 3 via the sliding contact plate 25. Therefore, local wear of the rack guide 20 and the sliding contact plate 25 can be prevented.
Further, by adjusting the outer diameter of the first contact portion 54 and the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the second contact portion 55, the surface pressure of the first contact portion 54 that contacts the rack guide 20 is reduced. The elastic plug body 50 can be designed so as to be larger than the surface pressure of the second abutting portion 55 that abuts on the surface.

  The elastic plug 50 is disposed between the sealing member 40 and the rack guide 20, and is surrounded by a cylindrical member 60 that faces the elastic plug 50 from the radial direction R. Therefore, when the input load G is input to the rack guide 20, it is possible to suppress the elastic deformation portion 51 of the elastic plug body 50 from spreading in the radial direction R, and thus the repulsive force H of the elastic deformation portion 51 of the elastic plug body 50. Can be prevented from being dispersed in the radial direction R. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of unusual noise can be suppressed further.

Further, by providing the elastic plug 50, the generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed without excessively increasing the urging force of the urging member 30. Therefore, the force required when steering the steering member 4 in a state where the input load G is not input to the rack guide 20 can be reduced, and the steering feeling is improved.
Even when stress relaxation in which the stress decreases over time due to long-term use, that is, so-called “sagging” occurs in the elastically deforming portion 51 of the elastic plug body 50, it is elastic by the grease applied to the rack guide 20. Since the elastic deformation part 51 of the plug 50 swells, the influence of stress relaxation can be reduced. Even when the elastic deformation portion 51 is swollen, the expansion of the elastic deformation portion 51 in the radial direction R is suppressed by the tubular member 60. By suppressing the expansion of the elastic deformation portion 51 in the radial direction R, it is possible to prevent the elastic deformation portion 51 from being in contact with the urging member 30 and being damaged.

  Also, unlike the present embodiment, when a damper is disposed between the sealing member 40 and the rack guide 20 separately from the member that closes the opening 47, the sealing member 40 is screwed and fixed to the accommodating portion 9A. At this time, the torsional torque is applied to the damper from the sealing member 40, and the function of the damper (the function of maintaining the yoke clearance C) may vary. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the sealing member 40 is screwed into the accommodating portion 9A before the elastic plug 50 is attached to the sealing member 40, the elastic plug 50 is twisted from the sealing member 40. It is attached to the sealing member 40 without receiving torque.

  Further, when the elastic plug 50 is attached to the sealing member 40, the diameter of the elastic plug 50 can be reduced inward in the radial direction R so as to narrow the cavity 59 formed in the elastic plug 50. The attachment work of the elastic plug body 50 can be performed smoothly. Further, since the elastic plug body 50 can be suppressed from being caught by the sealing member 40 by the first inclined surface 54A and the second inclined surface 55A, the attaching operation of the elastic plug body 50 can be performed more smoothly.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.
For example, the steering device 1 is not limited to a manual type steering device in which steering of the steering member 4 is not assisted, but is a column type electric power steering device that assists steering of the steering member 4 by applying the power of the electric motor to the steering shaft 12. It may be. Further, the steering device 1 may be a pinion type electric power steering device that assists steering of the steering member 4 by applying power of the electric motor to the pinion shaft 5. The steering device 1 further includes another pinion shaft that meshes with the rack shaft 3 at a position different from the pinion shaft 5, and assists steering of the steering member 4 by applying the power of the electric motor to the other pinion shaft. It may be a dual pinion type electric power steering device.

  In addition, the present invention can be variously modified within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering device, 3 ... Rack shaft, 5 ... Pinion shaft, 8 ... Housing, 30 ... Energizing member, 40 ... Sealing member, 47 ... Opening, 50 ... Elastic plug body, 51 ... Elastic deformation part, 52 ... Closure 54, first contact portion, 55, second contact portion, 60, cylindrical member, C, clearance, F1, biasing direction, F2, reverse direction, R, radial direction, X, rack axial direction

Claims (5)

A rack shaft that meshes with the pinion shaft;
A rack guide that slidably supports the rack shaft in a rack axis direction in which the rack shaft extends;
A housing for accommodating the rack guide;
A sealing member for sealing the rack guide in the housing;
In a steering apparatus including an urging member provided between the sealing member and the rack guide and urging the rack shaft toward the pinion shaft via the rack guide.
The sealing member is formed with an opening used for measuring a distance between the rack guide and the sealing member,
The steering apparatus further includes an elastic plug that closes the opening and elastically deforms to maintain a distance between the rack guide and the sealing member.   The elastic plug body includes a closing portion that closes the opening, and an elastic deformation portion that extends from the closing portion and elastically deforms to maintain a distance between the rack guide and the sealing member. The steering apparatus according to claim 1. The elastic deformation portion has a first contact portion that contacts the rack guide and a second contact portion that is disposed closer to the closing portion than the first contact portion and contacts the sealing member. And
The steering device according to claim 2, wherein the surface pressure of the first contact portion is larger than the surface pressure of the second contact portion.   A cylindrical member disposed between the sealing member and the rack guide and surrounding the elastic plug body so as to face the elastic plug body from a direction orthogonal to the urging direction of the urging member; The steering device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the steering device is included.   The steering device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the elastic plug is made of ethylene propylene diene rubber.

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