Patent ID: 7430937

Claim:
A rack and pinion assembly comprising: first and second slide assemblies; first and second elongated rack gears each having forward and rearward ends defining a longitudinal axis with a plurality of rack teeth therebetween, the rack gears being positioned near the first and second slide assemblies and at least one of the first and second rack gears including a front alignment wall with a flat top surface and a front rack tooth having an irregular tooth configuration comprising a reduced tooth height with respect to one or more of the plurality of rack teeth; and first and second rotatable gear wheels in operable communication with the first and second rack gears respectively, at least one of the rotatable gear wheels comprising an outside face and a notched inside face for longitudinally mating with the alignment wall to align the first and second rack gears with the gear wheels when the gear wheels are assembled longitudinally from the forward ends onto the rack gears.