| 摘要 |
<p>A motor vehicle power steering gear (10) having a spool shaft (30) connected to a steering wheel, a pinion head (18) connected to a steered wheel, a torsion bar (36) between the spool shaft and the pinion head, a control valve (50) for regulating a hydraulic steering assist boost pressure in response to rotation of the spool shaft from an on-center position relative to the pinion head against a restoring force of the torsion bar, and a quiet preload apparatus (70) including a C-shaped spring (76) around the spool shaft having a pair of resilient jaws (82,84), a drive pin (72) on the spool shaft clamped with a preload between the resilient jaws, and a cushioned abutment (74) on the pinion head clamped with the preload between the resilient jaws. The cushioned abutment includes a pair of radial cantilever springs (88,90) which flex upon engagement with corresponding ones of the resilient jaws during forced oscillation of the pinion head back and forth through the on-center relative position of the spool shaft to minimize audible noise associated with such engagements and a radial reinforcement (92) between the cantilever springs which limits flexure thereof to minimize the effect of the cantilever springs on the performance characteristics of the control valve. <IMAGE></p> |
