Steering Gear Pivot Ring for Low-Noise Pinion Engagement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power-assisted steering systems in motor vehicles experience gear play due to component tolerances, thermal expansions, and wear, leading to undesirable noises during alternating steering actions, which current solutions fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A steering gear mechanism with a pinion shaft supported by a fixed bearing and a movable bearing, featuring a pivot ring with torsion webs that allows adjustable resilient application through an adjustment device, optimizing the pinion shaft's engagement with the gear to minimize noise and friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the pinion shaft is rigidly fixed in the fixed bearing, then the structural stability is improved, but gear play and noise increase due to component tolerances, thermal expansions, and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pivot ring with torsion webs that can elastically deform to change the positional parameters of the pinion shaft. This allows the system to adapt to component tolerances, thermal expansions, and wear while maintaining stable operation, thereby reducing gear play and noise without sacrificing structural stability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the rigid fixed bearing into a dynamic system by incorporating a pivot ring that can pivot and deform elastically. This dynamic structure allows the pinion shaft to self-adjust its position in response to operational conditions, eliminating gear play while maintaining structural integrity
2Reliability
If resilient elements are added to press the pinion against the gear, then gear play is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the resilient pressing function with the fixed bearing structure by integrating the pivot ring directly into the bearing. The torsion webs of the pivot ring provide the resilient force needed to press the pinion against the gear, eliminating the need for separate resilient elements and reducing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot ring serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, enables pivoting movement, and generates resilient pressing force through its torsion webs. This multi-functional design reduces the number of separate components needed while improving gear engagement reliability
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the pinion shaft is made highly resilient, then noise is reduced during alternating steering, but excessive friction occurs in the tooth engagement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent allows for adjustable resilience parameters through the pivot ring design. By modifying the geometry and material properties of the torsion webs, the system can be tuned to provide optimal resilient force that reduces noise without creating excessive friction in the tooth engagement
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The adjustable resilient application ensures optimal steering behavior by preventing excessive friction and noise, adapting to various steering systems and vehicle structures, thereby enhancing the operational performance of the steering gear mechanism.
Implementation Method 1
a pivot ring (15) which has an outer ring (19) and an inner ring (16) which are connected to each other by means of one or more torsion webs (20)
Data Source
AI summary
A steering gear mechanism is disclosed for a steering system of a motor vehicle including at least a housing, a gear wheel, a pinion intermeshing with the gear wheel and a pinion shaft comprising the pinion. The pinion shaft is mounted on one side of the pinion in a fixed bearing, which includes a pivot bearing, in which the pinion shaft is received. The pivot bearing itself is received in a fixed bearing sleeve. The fixed bearing comprises a pivot ring, which has an outer ring and an inner ring, which are connected to each other by way of one or more torsion webs in such a manner that pivoting about a pivot axis defined by the one or more torsion webs is enabled, the inner ring being received in the fixed bearing sleeve and the outer ring being mounted within the housing.