Power steering gear for motor vehicle

A motor vehicle power steering gear comprising:

• a housing,
• a pinion head supported on said housing for rotation about a centerline of said steering gear,
• a tubular spool shaft supported at an outboard end thereof on said housing for rotation about said centerline of said steering gear independently of said pinion head having an inboard end adjacent said pinion head,
• a torsion bar in said tubular spool shaft having an outboard end rigidly connected to said outboard end of said spool shaft and an inboard end protruding beyond said inboard end of spool shaft and rigidly connected to said pinion head so that said torsion bar establishes a center position of said spool shaft relative to said pinion head and induces a restoring force on said spool shaft in response to rotation thereof relative to said pinion head,
• the inboard end of said spool shaft being movable in all directions within a plane perpendicular to said centerline relative to both said pinion head and said torsion bar,
• a valve spool rotatable as a unit with said spool shaft,
• a tubular valve body rotatably journaled on said spool shaft around said valve spool, and
• a tripod joint between said valve body and said pinion head including
• a plurality of three slots in a first end of said valve body equally angularly spaced around said centerline of said steering gear, and
• a plurality of three radial pins rigidly attached to said pinion head at equal angular intervals around said centerline of said steering gear each having a spherical lobe closely received in a corresponding one of said plurality of slots in said first end of said valve body,
• whereby said valve body is coupled to said pinion head for unitary rotation therewith and said inboard end of said spool shaft is unsupported on said pinion head a plane perpendicular to said centerline of said steering gear except through said valve body and said tripod joint.