A steering apparatus includes first and second electric motors that rotate a steering shaft via speed reduction mechanisms, and the motors being disposed to face each other. The first electric motor, a first motor pulley, a second motor pulley and the second electric motor are arranged in order in a rotation axis direction. When a first system electric actuator (including a first nut and the first electric motor) and a second system electric actuator (including a second nut and the second electric motor) are provided to the common steering shaft, in a first axis direction, the first and second nuts can be arranged close to each other, reducing sizes of the peripheries of the nuts.

A power steering system includes a rack housing arranged to receive a longitudinally displaceable rack member. The system also includes an assist cover connected to the rack housing, the rack housing and the assist cover defining a cavity. The system further includes an assist assembly at least partially disposed within the cavity. The assist assembly includes a power pack connected to at least one of the rack housing and the assist cover, the power pack having a power pack shaft extending therefrom. The assist assembly also includes a drive pulley having a drive pulley shaft that extends between the rack housing and the assist cover, the drive pulley shaft and the power pack shaft separate shafts and operatively coupled to each other. The assist assembly further includes a driven pulley disposed about the rack member.

A power assistance drive for a steering column of a motor vehicle may include a belt drive arranged in a housing, with an input pulley that is coupled to the motor shaft of a motor so as to be rotationally drivable about an input axis and which is drivingly connected by means of a drive belt to an output pulley that is mounted in the housing so as to be rotatable about an output axis. To enable a repair-friendly design and easier replacement of the motor, the motor may be releasably attached to the housing and the motor shaft may be connected to the input pulley by means of a releasable coupling.

A motor includes a rotor, a stator surrounding an outer side of the rotor in a radial direction and including a coil, and a bus bar of a wire electrically connected to the coil and having conductivity, wherein the stator is provided with a hole extending in an axial direction, the bus bar includes stretched portions extending in the axial direction, and each of the stretched portions is disposed in the hole.

A method for operating a steering mechanism (12) of a motor vehicle, wherein a steering rod (27) can be held or displaced along its longitudinal axis (a) by an electric motor (22) so that the wheel steering angle (8, 9) of at least one wheel (5, 6) on at least one vehicle axle (1) can be maintained or changed. When a force (F.sub.ext) acts essentially axially on the steering rod (27), displacement of the steering rod (27) is at least inhibited by a detent torque (RM) of the electric motor (22) and/or by a self-induced torque (M.sub.sip) of the electric motor. The invention also relates to a device for carrying out the method and to a steering mechanism, which is preferably in the form of a steer-by-wire steering system. A control unit is provided for carrying out the method.

A rack steering system and a motor vehicle having such a rack steering system. The inventive rack steering system comprises a steering gear housing, a toothed rack, which extends through the steering gear housing, an electric motor, which is coupled to the toothed rack on a thread side of the steering gear housing via a ball screw to provide an axial force to the toothed rack, and two track rod links arranged at axial ends of the toothed rack. The steering gear housing is designed in one piece such that a drive insert opening is formed on the thread side of the steering gear housing for arrangement of the electric motor and a direct stop face for a track rod link or a support face for the arrangement and axial support of a separate stop element for a track rod link is also formed on this thread side.

An abnormality detection device includes a processing circuit configured to perform an abnormality detecting process. The abnormality detecting process includes a first state quantity acquiring process, a second state quantity acquiring process, a difference calculating process of calculating a difference between a first state quantity and a second state quantity, and a determination process of comparing an absolute value of the difference with a difference threshold value. The abnormality detecting process is a process of detecting an abnormality of a turning unit when the absolute value of the difference is greater than the difference threshold value, and the processing circuit is configured not to perform the determination process when an absolute value of an actual current value is greater than a current threshold value.

A steering apparatus includes: a mechanism that turns a turning wheel; a first motor that generates a driving force that is given to the mechanism; and a control device. The control device includes: a first computation circuit that computes a first limiting value to which an electric current to be supplied to the first motor is limited in a particular situation; a determination circuit that determines whether the turning wheel is in touch with an obstacle; a second computation circuit that computes a second limiting value to which the electric current to be supplied to the first motor is limited when the determination circuit determines that the turning wheel is in touch with the obstacle; and a third computation circuit that computes the threshold to be used by the determination circuit, based on a smaller limiting value of the first limiting value and the second limiting value.

A motor supporting structure for a steering device includes a motor one end of which has an output shaft extending along the axial direction of the rack bar, a motor peripheral part that is disposed on the other end of the motor, and a first fastener that includes a first bolt and that fastens the motor and the motor peripheral part in the axial direction. The rack housing includes a first support that supports one end of the power generator unit and a second support that supports the other end of the power generator unit. The second support has a tip portion connected to the other end of the power generator unit. The tip portion of the second support has a first hole through which the shaft of the first bolt passes, and is fastened by a first fastener, together with the motor and the motor peripheral part.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a rack-driven electric power assisted steering device. Embodiments of the present invention provide a rack-driven electric power assisted steering device comprising: a rack bar which slides in the axial direction in a rack housing and has an outer circumferential screw groove formed at the outer circumferential surface thereof; a ball nut which has an inner circumferential screw groove formed at the inner circumferential surface thereof and corresponding to the outer circumferential screw groove of the rack bar, and has a ball circulation passage formed between the inner and outer circumferential surfaces thereof, the ball circulation passage passing through the ball nut in the axial direction; end caps coupled to one end and the other end of the ball circulation passage, respectively, each of the end caps having a ball return hole provided to circulate balls through the ball circulation passage, the outer circumferential screw groove, and the inner circumferential screw groove; and a support member coupled to the inner circumferential surface of the ball nut while supporting the end caps in the axial direction.