Claims
- 1. A rod joint for connecting the rack of a rack and pinion steering assembly to a tie rod having a ball end comprising bearing means for enclosing the ball end of the tie rod, said bearing means including a pair of plastic bearing seats having arcuate inner surfaces disposed in engagement with the ball end of the tie rod and circular outer surfaces, a metal housing having a generally cylindrical wall with an inner surface disposed in abutting engagement with said circular outer surfaces of said plastic bearing seats, said housing having an inturned axially outer end portion at least partially defining an aperture through which the tie rod extends and forming a shoulder abutment which is engaged by one of said bearing seats to retain said bearing means and tie rod ball end in said housing, an end closure adapter at least partially disposed within said housing adjacent to an inner end portion of said housing opposite from said inturned outer end portion of said housing and connected with an end of the rack, said end closure adapter axially retaining said bearing means and cooperating with said shoulder abutment to apply an axial preload force to said bearing seats, said end closure including surface means defining an annular groove and an annular bead disposed axially outwardly from said annular groove, said generally cylindrical wall of said housing being plastically deformed radially inwardly into abutting engagement with a bottom portion of said annular groove and being disposed in abutting engagement with opposite annular side surfaces of said bead to retain said housing and end closure against axial movement relative to each other under the influence of the preload force and operating forces applied to the bearing seats, said wall of said housing including an outer surface which defines a groove in said wall where said wall is plastically deformed radially inwardly into said annular groove in said end closure adapter, and means for preventing relative rotation between said housing and said rack, said means for preventing relative rotation between said housing and said rack including a detent tab which extends into a recess formed in said rack.
- 2. A rod joint as set forth in claim 1 wherein said end closure includes a generally frustroconical end surface for bottoming said bearing means, said generally frustroconical end surface sloping radially and axially outwardly toward said ball end of the tie rod to enable preload forces having radial and axial components to be transmitted between said end closure and said bearing means.
- 3. A rod joint as set forth in claim 1 wherein end closure adapter includes an internally threaded opening to receive an externally threaded end portion of said rack.
- 4. A rod joint as set forth in claim 1 wherein said wall of said housing extends past said end closure and has an inner surface disposed in abutting engagement with the end portion of the rack at a location axially inwardly from said bead.
- 5. A rod joint as set forth in claim 1 wherein the end of the rack is disposed in abutting engagement with said end closure, said housing wall being connected with the rack at a location axially inwardly from said bead to hold said housing wall and end closure against axial movement relative to the rack.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 288,045, filed Sept. 11, 1972, now abandoned, which is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 34,156, filed May 4, 1970, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,999.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
914,575 |
Jan 1963 |
UK |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
34156 |
May 1970 |
|
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
288045 |
Sep 1972 |
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