Abstract: Aiming at the problem that the free clearance of the recirculating ball steering gear is too large and the steering stability of the vehicle is reduced, an optimal design method for the clearance of the recirculating ball steering gear is proposed. The method mainly starts from the two aspects of structure and use, analyzes the defects of the conventional technology, and obtains a new rack structure with a stepped structure in the middle tooth waist. The structure enables the steering gear to transmit with zero clearance, improves the driving stability of the vehicle, and ensures that the meshing does not cause jamming under the full steering stroke. At the same time, the bench performance test of the steering gear was carried out. The results showed that the steering gear achieved the optimization effect of zero-backlash engagement at the middle position of the stroke, and the performance and driving safety of the steering gear were improved.

Key words: Recirculating ball diverter; Free clearance; Meshing without clearance; Handling stability

摘要： 针对循环球转向器的自由间隙过大而导致的汽车转向操控稳定性下降等问题，文章提 出了一种循环球转向器间隙优化设计方法。该方法主要从结构和使用两方面出发，分析常规 技术的缺陷，得到中间齿腰部带阶梯结构的新型齿条结构。该结构使转向器能够零间隙传动， 提升车辆行驶稳定性，并保证全转向行程下啮合不产生卡滞。同时，对该转向器进行台架性 能试验，结果表明，该转向器达到了在行程中间位置零间隙啮合的优化效果，转向器性能和 行驶安全性均得以改善。

关键词: 循环球转向器；自由间隙；无间隙啮合；操控稳定性