Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Delphi Technologies, Inc.

Tony Michael Dodak

Anthony J Champagne

Michael A Eickholt

Eugene T Tanke, Ii

A power steering gear including a spool shaft, a pinion head, a torsion bar between the spool shaft and the pinion head, and a rotary detent which resists twisting of the torsion bar including an annular first ball seat rotatable as a unit with a pinion head end of the torsion bar, an annular second ball seat facing the first ball seat, a plurality of detent notches in the first and second ball seats facing each other in pairs, a plurality of detent balls between the facing pairs of detent notches, a plain cylindrical sleeve around the torsion bar rigidly connected at a first end thereof to the second ball seat, a pair of radial abutments on the torsion bar near a spool shaft end thereof, and a pair of cantilever springs at a second end of the cylindrical sleeve having lateral deflection strokes perpendicular to a longitudinal centerline of the torsion bar and ramps which resiliently capture therebetween the radial abutments. The ramps induce longitudinal thrust reactions between radial abutments and the cantilever springs proportional to the lateral deflection of the latter which bias the second ball seat toward the first ball seat.

Power steering gear for motor vehicle

A motor vehicle power steering gear having a spool shaft connected to a steering wheel, a pinion head connected to a steered wheel, a torsion bar between the spool shaft and the pinion head, a valve for regulating a hydraulic steering assist boost pressure in response to rotation of the spool shaft from an on-center position relative to the pinion head against a restoring force of the torsion bar, and a quiet preload apparatus including a C-shaped spring around the spool shaft having a pair of resilient jaws, a drive pin on the spool shaft clamped with a preload between the resilient jaws, and a cushioned abutment on the pinion head clamped with the preload between the resilient jaws. The cushioned abutment includes a pair of radial cantilever springs which flex upon engagement with corresponding ones of the resilient jaws during forced oscillation of the pinion head back and forth through the on-center relative position of the spool shaft to minimize audible noise associated with such engagements.

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Birch Run, MI, United States of America

Tony Michael Dodak