Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Jtekt Corporation

Takumitsu Otani

Hayato Miyakawa

Hideo Kometani

Nobuyuki Taoka

Nariaki Sakamoto

Masashi Fujimoto

Agen Nishikido

Yoshiyuki Maenaka

Isao Shintani

Kei Nakate

A rack-and-pinion steering system includes a pinion shaft having pinion teeth, a rack shaft on which rack teeth are formed which mesh with the pinion teeth; and a rack bush which supports the rack shaft slidably in an axial direction thereof. An outer circumferential surface of the rack shaft includes a first area which is a concave formed on an outer circumferential surface of the rack shaft and extending in the axial direction and a second area which is an area of the outer circumferential surface excluding the first area and lies adjacent to an end portion of the first area in the axial direction. The rack teeth are formed in the first area. A chamfered portion or a rounded portion is provided on a boundary between the end portion of the first area and the second area to chamfer or round a corner portion on the boundary.

Steering system

A rack bush for supporting a rack shaft in a rack-and-pinion steering system so that the rack shaft slides in an axial direction thereof includes a teeth side support portion and a back side support portion. Rack teeth are formed in a first area of an outer circumferential surface of the rack shaft. The teeth side support portion contacts a second area of the outer circumferential surface to support the rack shaft from a teeth side where the rack teeth are formed. The second area lies adjacent to the first area in the axial direction. The back side support portion contacts a third area of the outer circumferential surface to support the rack shaft from a back side other than the teeth side. The third area is positioned out of the first area in a circumferential direction around an axis of the rack shaft.

Rack bush and steering system

Growing community of inventors

Kashihara, Japan

Takumitsu Otani