| 摘要 |
A rack and pinion gear assembly 10 (FIG. 1) includes a resilient bushing which urges the rack into meshing engagement with the pinion. An arcuate inside bearing surface 54 (FIG. 4) of the bushing 18 has a larger radius of curvature than the curved outside surface 52 of the rack 12 against which it bears. The rack thus makes tangent contact with the bushing 18. When one portion of the bushing 18 is worn and therefore excessive play appears in the steering gear assembly 10, the bushing may be removed from the housing 16 of the assembly and rotated 180 DEG and then reinserted into the housing to thereby provide an unworn bearing surface which slidably engages the rack 12. The bushing 18 includes a plurality of axially extending grooves 70, 72, 74, and 76 through which lubricant is supplied to the bearing surfaces 52 and 54. In a second embodiment (FIG. 5) the aperture 50b in the bushing 18b through which the rack 12b extends has a square cross section and is in tangent contact with the rack at two locations 84 and 86. In a third embodiment (FIG. 3) the aperture 50c in the bushing through which the rack 12c extends is composed of four arcuate segments 100, 102, 104, and 106 each having the same radius of curvature, and each having a different center of curvature 110, 112, 114, and 116, respectively. This provides tangent contact between the rack 12c and the bushing 18c at two axially extending areas 120 and 122. |
