End of travel stop
AssigneeSteering Solutions IP Holding Corporation
InventorsJoshua D. Mullins, James J. Shavrnoch, Andrey A. Sergeyev
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In an embodiment of the invention, an end of travel stop is provided for a steering gear assembly having a housing, a rack, and a tie rod. The end of travel stop includes an annular body comprising a plurality of segments defining a first crenellated side of the annular body and a second crenellated side of the annular body. The stop is circumscribed over the rack and is oriented between the housing and the tie rod, and is configured to absorb an impact force transferred through the tie rod and to prevent overtravel of the rack.
Claims13
An end of travel stop for a steering gear assembly having a housing, a rack, and a tie rod, the end of travel stop comprising:
- an annular body comprising a plurality of segments defining a first crenellated side of the annular body and a second crenellated side of the annular body, each segment includes a first side and a second side that is disposed directly opposite the first side, the first side defines a crenel that extends towards the second side, the second side defines a merlon that projects away from the first side and is disposed directly opposite the crenel, and the stop is circumscribed over the rack and oriented between the housing and the tie rod and arranged to absorb an impact force transferred through the tie rod and to prevent overtravel of the rack, wherein the end of travel stop is arranged to elastically deform and absorb an impact force of between 25 kN and 75 kN from the tie rod and a rack displacement of between 5 mm and 10 mm.
A steering gear assembly comprising:
- a housing defining a first bore, a second bore, and a housing abutment extending between the first bore and the second bore, the second bore defining an aperture that is disposed proximate the housing abutment;
- a rack received within the first bore of the housing;
- a tie rod joint coupled to the rack and received within the second bore;
- and
- an end of travel stop circumscribed over the rack and oriented between the housing and the tie rod, the end of travel stop including an annular body comprising a plurality of segments defining a first crenellated side of the annular body and a second crenellated side of the annular body, each segment includes a sidewall that extends between the second crenellated side and the second side, the sidewall of adjacent segments define a shear area having a length between 5 mm and 10 mm, and each segment of the plurality of segments includes an outer surface that includes a tab that extends into the aperture to seat the travel stop between the housing and the tie rod, wherein the end of travel stop is arranged to absorb an impact force of between 25 kN and 75 kN from the tie rod and a rack displacement of between 5 mm and 10 mm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.