ANALYSIS OF A NEW TYPE OF ELECTRIC POWER STEERINGGEAR WITH TWO PINIONS ENGAGED ON THE SAME SETOF TEETH ON THE RACK

Abstract

Electric power steering is the most commonly used solution in passenger cars. It is a more economical andreliable solution than the hydraulic equivalent. Its main parts are usually the rack, pinion, and worm wheel,which are subject to wear during driving. A steering gear that works incorrectly poses a direct threat to thesafety of the driver and other road users. The paper presents various types of electric power steering gears,with a particular emphasis on the problems that arise during the design of the pinion and rack. In this paper,a new electric power steering system consisting of a steering gear with two pinions working on a commontoothing of the rack (TPEPS) is proposed. The benefits of placing two pinions on one tooth set of a steeringrack are described, which eliminates many problems during production, and thus allows the reduction inproduction costs. As part of the analysis, design challenges for a new type of transmission are presented,taking into account key customer requirements, with a particular emphasis on durability and ensuring thedesired noise level, which is important due to the replacement of cars with an internal combustion drive withan electric drive. This paper presents selected friction and noise test results for a new power steering system.A comparison is made with a system that has two pinions and different teeth on the rack (DPEPS). The resultsindicate that the new system could become an alternative solution due to its lower friction value and lowernoise.