Ackermann Steering Mechanism
Ackermann Steering Mechanism
Ackermann Steering Mechanism
Introduction
The most conventional steering arrangement is to turn the front wheels using a
hand–operated steering wheel which is positioned in front of the driver, via the steering
column, which may contain universal joints (which may also be part of the collapsible
steering column design), to allow it to deviate somewhat from a straight line. Other
arrangements are sometimes found on different types of vehicles, for example, a tiller or
rear–wheel steering. Tracked vehicles such as tanks usually employ differential steering
— that is, the tracks are made to move at different speeds or even in opposite directions
to bring about a change of course.
Rack and pinion unit mounted in the cockpit of an Ariel Atom sports car chassis.
For most high volume production, this is usually mounted on the other side of this panel
Many modern cars use rack and pinion steering mechanisms, where the steering
wheel turns the pinion gear; the pinion moves the rack, which is a linear gear that meshes
with the pinion, converting circular motion into linear motion along the transverse axis of
the car (side to side motion). This motion applies steering torque to the swivel pin ball
joints that replaced previously used kingpins of the stub axle of the steered wheels via tie
rods and a short lever arm called the steering arm.
The rack and pinion design has the advantages of a large degree of feedback and
direct steering "feel". A disadvantage is that it is not adjustable, so that when it does wear
and develop lash, the only cure is replacement.
Older designs often use the recirculation ball mechanism, which is still found on
trucks and utility vehicles. This is a variation on the older worm and sector design; the
steering column turns a large screw (the "worm gear") which meshes with a sector of a
gear, causing it to rotate about its axis as the worm gear is turned; an arm attached to the
axis of the sector moves the Pitman arm, which is connected to the steering linkage and
thus steers the wheels. The recirculation ball version of this apparatus reduces the
considerable friction by placing large ball bearings between the teeth of the worm and
those of the screw; at either end of the apparatus the balls exit from between the two
pieces into a channel internal to the box which connects them with the other end of the
apparatus, thus they are "recalculated".
The recalculating ball mechanism has the advantage of a much greater mechanical
advantage, so that it was found on larger, heavier vehicles while the rack and pinion was
originally limited to smaller and lighter ones; due to the almost universal adoption of
power steering, however, this is no longer an important advantage, leading to the
increasing use of rack and pinion on newer cars
Power steering