Patent ID: 6615947
Filing Date: 2003-09-09
Classification: B62D

Abstract:
A steering system for a vehicle, comprising:a) a rack being movably mounted within a rack housing, said rack being coupled to a steerable road wheel at one end and another steerable road wheel at the other end; b) a rotary-to-linear mechanism being coupled to said rack at one end and an electric motor at the other, said electric motor providing an actuating force to said rotary-to-linear mechanism, said actuating force causing said rack to move linearly within said rack housing; c) a first coupling mechanism coupling said electric motor to said rack housing; and d) a second coupling mechanism coupling a ball nut to said rack, wherein at least one of the said first and second coupling mechanisms are configured to provide kinematical degrees of freedom to limit the effects of at least one of non-axial loads and bending moments acting thereon.