STEERING ASSEMBLY FOR A RIDING LAWN MOWER

摘要

A steering assembly for a lawn maintenance vehicle having a control assembly that receives a user rotational input, a transfer assembly for transferring the rotational input from the user to a pair of wheel assemblies. Each wheel assembly includes a knuckle connected to a pivot bar by way of a kingpin, wherein the kingpin is positioned within the rim of the tire operatively connected to the knuckle. The transfer assembly includes a sector gear having a leading edge that forms a rack that is meshingly engaged to a pinion gear of the transfer assembly.

主权项

1. A steering assembly for a lawn maintenance vehicle having a frame, said steering assembly comprising:
a control assembly including a steering wheel operatively connected to a pinion gear; a transfer assembly including a sector gear and a pair of tie rods, wherein said sector gear is operatively connected to said frame and rotatable relative thereto, said sector gear having an arcuate leading edge forming a rack that is meshingly engaged with said pinion gear, said pair of tie rods being operatively connected to said sector gear; and a pair of wheel assemblies, wherein each tie rod of said transfer assembly is attachable to one of said wheel assemblies, and movement of said tie rods in response to rotation of said sector gear causes said wheel assemblies to rotate.