Patent ID: 7954396

Claim:
A rack and pinion steering gear, comprising: a housing; a pinion disposed in said housing; a rack disposed in said housing and adapted to be pressed against said pinion; a thrust element disposed in said housing and adapted to press said rack and said pinion against one another, wherein a first side of said thrust element is supported against said rack; a wedge-shaped part disposed in said housing and formed of two semicircular annular elements, each of which is provided with at least one wedge surface that is disposed at an angle to a central plane of said wedge-shaped part, wherein a second side of said thrust element is supported against said wedge-shaped part; and a set screw disposed in said housing, wherein a side of said wedge-shaped part remote from said thrust element is supported against said set screw, and wherein at least one of said thrust element and said set screw is provided with an inclined surface that cooperates with said at least one wedge surface of said annular elements of said wedge-shaped part; a tensioning element that is adapted to apply pressure against said wedge-shaped part in a direction toward a center of said wedge-shaped part.