US 6,308,593 B1Granted

Apparatus for adjusting tie rod

AssigneeHonda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsTakao Shibayama, Atsushi Osada, Masaru Maruo

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Abstract

In a tie rod adjusting apparatus which adjusts a tie rod of a steering mechanism for steering a front wheel of a motor vehicle, an open end wrench is supported by a supporting mechanism which has a freedom of four axes so as to be movable in the vehicle width direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction, tiltable in the vehicle width direction, and tiltable about an axial line (U-axis) which extends longitudinally along the length of the open end wrench. A tilting member of the supporting mechanism for tilting in the vehicle width direction is supported by a guide rail which is arcuate with the top end portion of the open end wrench serving as a center of arc. By the arcuate movement of the tilting member along the guide rail, the open end wrench is tiltable in the vehicle width direction without deviating the top end portion thereof in the vehicle width direction.

Claims5

Dependent claims

In an apparatus for adjusting a tie rod built in a steering mechanism of a vehicle, said tie rod having a rod main body and a tool engaging portion formed in hexagonal cross section in the rod main body;

an open end wrench having a wrench main body and having a rod rotating portion at a top end portion thereof, said rod rotating portion being adapted to be engaged with the tool engaging portion to rotate the rod main body in normal or reverse direction of rotation for adjustment of the tie rod;
a carriage for moving said open end wrench toward and away from the tie rod from a lower side of the vehicle staying at a predetermined position;
and
a supporting mechanism for supporting said open end wrench on said carriage, said supporting mechanism having a freedom of four axes and supporting said open end wrench so as to be movable in a vehicle width direction and a vehicle longitudinal direction, tiltable in the vehicle width direction, and rotatable about a longitudinal axial line of said open end wrench, the improvement comprising:
said supporting mechanism having a tilting member for tilting said open end wrench in the vehicle width direction said tilting member being constituted such that said open end wrench is tilted in the vehicle width direction by an arcuate movement of said tilting member, a center of an arc of the arcuate movement being coincident with the top end portion of said open end wrench.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.