JP3214028B2 - Rack and pinion steering system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rack and pinion type steering apparatus for an automobile.

Conventionally, the rotation of a pinion of a steering shaft has been converted into an axial displacement of a rack that meshes with its teeth, and a tie rod connected via a ball joint connected to the rack has been used to convert the rotation of the pinion into the axial direction of the rack. There is a rack-and-pinion type steering device of a type that transmits the displacement of the rack to the steering link mechanism. In order to prevent the connection portion between the rack and the ball joint from being loosened, there is a technology in which a loosening washer is provided at the connection portion. is there.

In this technique, a washer shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is used. The washer 101 folds a plate having a polished shape into two pieces.
In the vicinity of the center of the plate surface of No. 2, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a hole 104 that fits into the non-circular portion 109 of the rack 103 is formed. ,
A hole 107 into which a bolt 106 projecting from the tip of the rack 103 is fitted is formed.

In the washer 101 having the above-mentioned shape, the folded portion 108 is directed downward as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 in a state of being folded in two, and one bent piece 102 of the washer 101 is attached to the rack 103. Non-circular portion 109
To the other bent piece 1 using the hole 104.
The ball joint 111 to which the tie rod 110 is connected is screwed to the bolt 106 protruding from the tip of the rack 103, and the ball joint 1
The upper end of the bent piece 105 of the washer 101 located on the 11 side is bent at the notch 112 of the ball joint 111 to prevent the connection between the rack 103 and the ball joint 111 from loosening.

[0005]

However, in the rack and pinion type steering apparatus having the above-described structure, as shown in FIG. 9, the tie rod 110 swings up and down due to the vertical movement of the tire, and the steering operation is performed. , The boot 113 covering the connecting portion repeatedly bends or expands and contracts.
13 hangs down due to its own weight, so that it may contact the upper end of the washer 101 interposed at the connection between the rack 103 and the ball joint 111, possibly damaging the boot 113.

Here, it is conceivable to avoid the contact with the boot 113 by reducing the outer diameter of the locking washer 101.
Gear box 1 that slidably supports the rack 103
The contact with the end of the block 13 prevents movement of the rack 103 and also acts as a stopper that regulates the steering angle, so that the outer shape cannot be simply reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention converts a rotation of a pinion of a steering shaft into an axial displacement of a rack that meshes with a tooth of the steering shaft, and connects a tie rod connected via a ball joint connected to the rack. Thereby, in a rack and pinion type steering device of a type that transmits the axial displacement of the rack to the steering link mechanism, a folding-in locking washer is provided at a connection portion between the rack and a ball joint with the bent portion upward. And the bent portion is located below the upper end of the ball joint, and one of the locking washer is
Fit the bent piece to the non-circular part of the rack,
Of the bent piece to the lower end of the ball joint
Fold it and attach it, and fold one of the lock washers
The lower end of the bent piece was arranged so as to abut at a predetermined position on the end of the gear box which slidably supports the rack.

[0009]

According to the rack and pinion type steering apparatus of the present invention, a two-fold loosening washer is provided at the connection between the rack and the ball joint so that the bent portion is directed upward, and the bent portion is provided with the ball. Since the boot is disposed so as to be located below the upper end of the joint, the boot covering the connection portion does not directly contact the locking washer, and even if it does, the boot comes into surface contact and the boot may be damaged. Disappears. Further, since the lower end of the washer is arranged so as to abut at a predetermined position with the end of the gear box that slidably supports the rack, the washer also functions as a stopper that regulates the steering angle. be able to.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Here, FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the whole rack and pinion type steering apparatus according to the present invention.
2 and 3 are plan views showing a locking washer used in the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounted state of a locking washer according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a mounted state of a locking washer according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a rack, and 2 denotes a rack slidably inserted into the rack. The rack 2
Engages with a pinion 3 of a steering shaft (not shown), and converts the rotation of the pinion 3 into an axial displacement of the rack 2. A tie rod 5 is connected to both ends of the rack 2 via ball joints 4 connected to the rack 2, and the tie rod 5 transmits an axial displacement of the rack 2 to a steering link mechanism (not shown). , Swinging wheels (not shown).

At the connection between the rack 2 and the ball joint 4, a locking washer 6 is interposed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the anti-loosening washer 6 is used by folding it in half as shown in FIG. A hole 10 is formed at a slightly eccentric position to fit into the non-circular portion 9 at the tip of the rack 2, and the plate surface of the other bent piece 11 is also slightly eccentric in the direction of the bent portion 8. At the position, a bolt 12 protruding from the tip of the rack 2
A hole 13 into which is inserted.

The washer 6 having the above-mentioned shape has its folded portion 8 turned upward as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in a state of being folded in half, and one bent piece 7 of the washer 6 is attached to the rack 2. The ball joint 4 fitted with the non-circular portion 9 using the hole 10 and the bolt 12 of the rack 2 fitted in the hole 13 of the other bent piece 11 with the tie rod 5 connected thereto. Is screwed into a bolt 12 protruding from the tip of the rack 2, and then the lower end of the bent piece 11 of the washer 6 located on the ball joint 4 side is bent at the notch 14 of the ball joint 4, The connection between the rack 2 and the ball joint 4 was prevented from loosening.

In the state where the washer 6 is interposed in the connection portion between the rack 2 and the ball joint 4, the bent portion 8 is located below the upper end of the ball joint 4 as shown in FIG. A lower end is arranged so as to abut at a predetermined position with an end of a gear box 1 that slidably supports the rack 2, and a boot 15 is mounted so as to cover the connection.

The non-circular portion 9 formed on the rack 2 is
For example, by forming a notch only at the upper end as shown in FIG. 4, the above-mentioned hole 1 formed in one bent piece 7 of the washer 6 fitted to the non-circular portion 9 is formed.
The shape of 0 is asymmetrical in the upper and lower directions to prevent erroneous assembly of the washer 6 in the upper and lower directions.

According to the rack-and-pinion type steering apparatus according to the present invention described above, a two-fold loosening washer 6 is provided at the connecting portion between the rack 2 and the ball joint 4 with the bent portion 8 directed upward, and Since the bent portion 8 is disposed below the upper end of the ball joint 4, the boot 15 covering the connection portion does not directly contact the locking washer 6,
Also, even if it does, it will be in surface contact, and there is no fear of the boot 15 being damaged. Further, since the lower end of the washer 6 is disposed so as to abut at a predetermined position with the end of the gear box 1 which slidably supports the rack 2, the washer 6 serves as a stopper for regulating the steering angle. Can also be performed.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
Naturally, various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the non-circular portion 9 of the rack 2 is formed by forming notches only at the upper end, but is formed by forming notches having different widths at the upper and lower ends. You may.

[0021]

According to the rack and pinion type steering apparatus of the present invention, the boot covering the connecting portion between the rack and the tie rod has a structure that does not damage the boot.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an entire rack-and-pinion type steering device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a locking washer used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a locking washer used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounted state of a locking washer according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of a locking washer according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a conventional locking washer.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a conventional locking washer.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounted state of a conventional locking washer.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounted state of a conventional locking washer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gab box 2 Rack 3 Pinion 4 Ball joint 5 Tie rod 6 Locking washer 7 Bending piece 8 Bending part 9 Non-circular part 10 hole 11 Bending piece 12 Bolt 13 Hole 14 Notch 15 Boots

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62D 3/12 503 B62D 7/16 F16B 39/24 F16C 11/06

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the pinion of the steering shaft is converted into the axial displacement of a rack that meshes with the teeth.
In a rack-and-pinion type steering device of a type in which axial displacement of the rack is transmitted to a steering link mechanism by a tie rod connected via a ball joint connected to the rack, a connection portion between the rack and the ball joint in the clamshell locking washer toward the bent portion upward, and together with the bent portion is located below the upper end of the ball joint, the moderate
Place one bent piece of the lock washer on the
Into the shape, and attach the lower end of the other bent piece to the
Bend at the lower end of the
A rack-and-pinion type steering device, wherein a lower end of one bent piece of a stop washer is arranged so as to abut at a predetermined position on an end of a gear box slidably supporting the rack.