JP2550518Y2 - Tie rod inner joint - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tie rod inner joint for connecting a rack shaft end and an inner end of a tie rod in a rack and pinion type steering apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The rotation of a pinion, which rotates with the rotation of a steering handle, is converted into axial movement of a rack shaft fitted and supported slidably in the housing in the axial direction. In a rack and pinion type steering device that steers left and right front wheels via connected tie rods, a tie rod inner joint that connects an end of the rack shaft and an end of the tie rod on the vehicle body center side is, for example, shown in FIG. Socket 1 whose end face is fastened to the end of rack shaft 5 as shown in FIG.
And a ball seat 2 (generally made of synthetic resin) fitted into the lumen of the socket 1 and a spherical portion 3 provided at the end of the tie rod 4 and fitted and held in the ball seat 2. It is usually constituted by a ball joint.

[0003]

In the rack and pinion type steering apparatus as described above, stopper surfaces 61 are provided near both ends of the housing 6, and the end surface 1a of the socket 1 of the tie rod inner joint is connected to the stopper surface 61. A measure is taken to limit the stroke of the rack shaft 5 by hitting.

However, in recent years, the size of ball joints has been reduced for the purpose of weight reduction and the like, and tie rod inner joints have also been required to be reduced in size and weight. However, as described above, the end face 1a of the socket 1 has a rack shaft. Since it has a role of a stopper for regulating the stroke of the socket 1, it is difficult to reduce the size of the socket 1 and there is a problem that the desired weight reduction cannot be achieved.

[0005] The present invention has as its main object to address the above conventional problems.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in the tie rod inner joint as described above, a step is formed over the entire periphery of the end face of the socket.
A first feature is that a ring-shaped plate whose outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the socket and which is in contact with a stopper surface of a housing that slidably supports the rack shaft is fitted thereto, and a detent plate is provided thereon. The second feature is that the ring-shaped plate is prevented from rotating in combination.

[0007]

As described above, the stroke of the rack shaft is regulated by the contact of the ring-shaped plate with the stopper surface, so that the outer diameter of the socket can be reduced irrespective of the diameter of the stopper surface, and the tie rod inner joint can be reduced. The size and weight can be reduced, and the parts can be shared.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a socket fastened to an end of a rack shaft 5, and 2 denotes a synthetic resin fitted in a lumen of the socket 1. The ball seats 3 are spherical portions provided at the ends of the tie rods 4 and fitted and held in the ball seats 2. And a tie rod inner joint for connecting the
A stopper surface 61 is provided in the vicinity of an end of the cylindrical housing 6 that supports the housing so as to be movable in the axial direction.

A step portion 11 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the end surface 1a of the socket 1 over the entire circumference, and a ring-shaped plate 7 is fitted to the step portion 11.

The ring-shaped plate 7 has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the socket 1 and has a size capable of restricting an axial stroke of the rack shaft 5 by abutting against a stopper surface 61 provided on the housing 6. Has a dimension capable of being press-fitted and fixed to the peripheral surface 11a of the step portion 11 of the socket 1 and is made of a hard synthetic resin material.

Incidentally, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
In this example, four corners are abutted against the stopper surface 61 to limit the stroke by partially shaving the portion to reduce the weight and the weight of the synthetic resin material. However, the outer periphery of the plate 7 may be formed in a circular shape as shown by a chain line a to increase the contact area with the stopper surface 61.

The ring-shaped plate 7 may be fixed to the step portion 11 by press-fitting, or may be press-fitted and fixed by an adhesive.

As described above, the step portion 11 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the end face of the socket 1, and the ring-shaped plate 7 that is in contact with the stopper surface 61 of the housing 6 is fitted to the step portion 11. Regardless of the diameter of the stopper surface 61, the outer diameter of the socket 1 can be reduced to reduce the size and weight of the tie rod inner joint, and the ring-shaped plate 7 can be used for housings of different specifications. It can be applied simply by replacing them together, and the tie rod inner joint can be shared.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a flat portion 11b having a width across two sides is formed on a peripheral surface 11a of a step portion 11 provided on an outer peripheral portion of an end face of the socket 1. At a plurality of locations (four locations in FIG. 2), a gap b is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the ring-shaped plate 7 press-fitted to the stepped portion 11 and the flat portion 11b. The detent plate 8 having the claw 8a fitted into the socket 1 is joined to the end face 1a of the socket 1 by fitting the claw 8a into the gap b and fastening the socket 1 to the end of the rack shaft 5. , The detent plate 8 is the rack shaft 5
The ring-shaped plate 7 is sandwiched between the end and the end surface 1a of the socket 1 so as to function as a detent washer so that the ring-shaped plate 7 is detented.

In the present invention, in addition to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, the ring-shaped plate 7 is made of metal, and a cylindrical portion which fits on the outer periphery near the end of the rack shaft 5 is integrally formed with the plate 7. After the plate 7 is fitted to the step 11 of the socket 1 and the end face 1a of the socket 1 is fastened to the end of the rack shaft 5, the rack shaft 5
The cylindrical portion of the plate 7 fitted on the outer periphery near the end of the rack shaft 5 may be fixed to the outer periphery of the rack shaft 5 by caulking.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, a step portion is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the end surface of the socket of the tie rod inner joint, and a ring-shaped plate which is in contact with the stopper surface of the housing is fitted to the step portion. With this structure, the outer diameter of the socket can be reduced and the tie rod inner joint can be reduced in size and weight irrespective of the diameter of the stopper surface of the housing, and the tie rod inner joint can be used in various rack and pinion type steering devices. It is also possible to share parts of the joint, which can reduce the cost, and can bring a great effect in practical use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B show a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. Is shown.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a socket fitted with a ring-shaped plate and a detent plate, showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional tie rod inner joint structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Socket 1a End surface 2 Ball seat 3 Spherical part 4 Tie rod 5 Rack shaft 6 Housing 7 Ring-shaped plate 8 Detent plate 8a Claw part 11 Step 11a Peripheral surface 11b Flat surface 61 Stopper surface

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A socket fastened to a rack shaft end of a rack-and-pinion type steering device, a ball seat fitted in a bore of the socket, and a ball seat provided at an end of a tie rod and fitted to the ball seat. In a tie rod inner joint comprising a spherical portion to be held, a step portion is formed over the entire periphery of the end surface of the socket on the rack shaft side, and the outer diameter of the step portion is the outer diameter of the socket.
A tie rod inner joint, wherein a ring-shaped plate , which is larger and is in contact with a stopper surface provided near an end of a housing that slidably supports the rack shaft, is fitted. 2. The inner peripheral surface of a ring-shaped plate according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of flat portions having a two-part width portion are formed on the peripheral surface of the step portion, and the flat portion is fitted to the step portion. A tie rod inner joint, wherein a detent plate having a claw portion fitted into a gap between the rack shaft and the flat surface portion is sandwiched between a rack shaft end and an end surface of a socket.