Telescopic steering column with bearing races - has races fitting in cylindrical cage with guides onto shallow grooves cut in shafts

摘要

A telescopic steering column has bearing races which prevent the two telescoping shafts from turning relative to one another. The grooves for the ball bearings are in the outer face of the inner shaft and the inner face of the outer shaft. This reduces the weakening of the shafts at the point where the grooves are cut and simplifies assembly. The grooves (10, 7) are partly in a cylindrical cage (9), fitting between the shafts (1, 2) and partly cut into the shafts themselves. The cage can be made of a series of shells, each shell having a running path for its own ball race. Connectors fit along the edge of the shells and the shells can be made from plastics. The cylinder can be designed as a group of interlocking segments.