Power steering apparatus and method of assembling same
AssigneeShowa Corporation
InventorKaduto Sato
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A power steering apparatus of the disclosure includes a rack shaft; a steering wheel-side pinion shaft that rotates as a steering wheel is turned; an assist side pinion shaft that is driven to rotate by a drive unit, thereby assisting the rotation of the steering wheel-side pinion shaft; and a gear housing that accommodates the rack shaft, and has a second leg portion fixed to a vehicle. The gear housing includes a first housing that accommodates a meshing portion between the rack shaft and the steering wheel-side pinion shaft; a second housing that accommodates a meshing portion between the rack shaft and the assist side pinion shaft; and a third housing that is provided with the second leg portion.
Claims16
A power steering apparatus comprising:
- a rack shaft that has a rack and moves a steered unit;
- a first pinion shaft that has a first pinion meshing with the rack of the rack shaft, and rotates as a steering unit is turned;
- a second pinion shaft that has a second pinion meshing with the rack of the rack shaft, and is driven to rotate by a drive unit, thereby assisting the rotation of the first pinion shaft;
- and
- a housing that accommodates the rack shaft, and has a fixed portion fixed to a vehicle,
- wherein the housing comprises:
- a first housing portion that accommodates a meshing portion between the rack shaft and the first pinion shaft;
- a second housing portion that is a separate body from the first housing portion, and accommodates a meshing portion between the rack shaft and the second pinion shaft;
- and
- a third housing portion that is a separate body from the first and second housing portions, and is provided with the fixed portion.
A method of assembling a power steering apparatus comprising
- a rack shaft that has a rack and moves a steered unit;
- a first pinion shaft that has a first pinion meshing with the rack of the rack shaft, and rotates as a steering unit is turned;
- a second pinion shaft that has a second pinion meshing with the rack of the rack shaft, and is driven to rotate by a drive unit, thereby assisting the rotation of the first pinion shaft;
- and
- a housing that accommodates the rack shaft, and has a plurality of fixed portions fixed to a vehicle, the plurality of fixed portions comprising a first fixed portion and a second fixed portion
- wherein the housing comprises:
- a first housing portion that accommodates a meshing portion between the rack shaft and the first pinion shaft, and that is provided with the first fixed portion;
- a second housing portion that is a separate body from the first housing portion, and that accommodates a meshing portion between the rack shaft and the second pinion shaft;
- and
- a third housing portion that is a separate body from the first and second housing portions, and that is provided with the second fixed portion,
- the method comprising:
- fixing the first fixed portion of the first housing portion to a fixture;
- fixing the second fixed portion of the third housing portion to the fixture;
- and
- adjusting the meshing between the rack shaft and the first pinion shaft, and, after the adjusting of the meshing between the rack shaft and the first pinion shaft, adjusting the meshing between the rack shaft and the second pinion shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.