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US 5,040,631 AGranted
Rack and pinion auxiliary steering mechanism, especially for motor vehicles
AssigneeZahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen AG
InventorsArmin Lang, Helmut Knodler
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AssigneeZahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen AG
InventorsArmin Lang, Helmut Knodler
Estimating the term…
In an electrically-assisted rack and pinion auxilliary steering mechanism, an electric motor is controlled in accordance with a signal from a torque-measuring device. To prevent faulty control messages, a safety switching device is provided that contains two switches capable of being activated by a lever. A ball nut that is connected with a threaded spindle by a ball diversion channel is connected with the steering rack of the rack and pinion steering gear. The threaded spindle is connected via a spring bellows, with an output part of a coupling that can be coupled with or uncoupled from the electric motor. The threaded spindle is connected, axially movable and rotatable, opposite the fixed housing by two elastic intermediate rings and two axial bearings. If the axial movement does not coincide with the torque at the steering wheel in case of a malfunction, the coupling is disengaged by one of the two switches.
In a rack and pinion auxiliary steering mechanism for motor vehicles including a pinion (2) connected with a manually operable steering shaft and arranged in a housing (13) and meshing with teeth of a steering rack (3), and further including an electric motor (8) for assisting the movement of the steering rack via means (12) for engaging and disengaging the motor under control of a safety switching mechanism (28) when torque initiated by the electric motor does not coincide with torque initiated at the steering shaft as sensed by a torque measuring device (7), the improvement which comprises
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.