The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 12, 1989
Filed:
Mar. 02, 1987
Wolfgang Rohrbach, 6500 Mainz, DE;
Georg Grafenstein, 6272 Niedernhausen, DE;
Wilhelm Beer, 6090 Russelsheim, DE;
Burghardt Kiy, 6090 Russelsheim, DE;
Eugen Monetha, 6090 Russelsheim, DE;
Other;
Abstract
A rack and pinion steering system, especially for motor vehicles, has a toothed rack that can be axially displaced in a steering gear housing, a pinion driven by the steering wheel and actuating the toothed rack, and a spring-loaded pressure part supported in the steering gear housing which serves to generate a certain pressure between the toothed rack and the pinion. Measures to raise the coefficient of friction which come into frictional contact with each other--in each case only in the region corresponding to straight-ahead driving--are provided on one or more surfaces of the steering system. As a result of such measures to increase the coefficient of friction at certain friction points in the steering system relating to straight-ahead motion of the vehicle, it is a simple matter to achieve an increase in steering torque in the center region of the steering system without the need for geometrical changes to the steering system or an increase in the pressure between the toothed rack and the pinion. The steering torque increase resulting from increased friction in the center region of the steering system compensates for the wear effects which are known to occur there after the vehicle has been operated for some time.