Steering system equipped with anti-rotation mechanism

Claim 1

A steering system comprising: a stationary column; a steering shaft concentrically surrounded by said column; a steering wheel having a hub portion at which it is mounted on the upper end poriton of said steering shaft for rotation therewith; a pair of internal gears, one of which is provided to the hub portion of said steering shaft in a manner to be rotatable relative thereto and the other is provided to the upper end portion of said column in a fixed relation thereto; a pinion shaft; a pair of pinions mounted on said pinion shaft for rotation therewith; mounting means for mounting said pinion shaft on said hub portion of said steering wheel in a manner to allow said pinion to mesh with said internal gears while allowing the former to be movable toward and away from the latter; and spring means for resiliently urging said pinions toward said internal gears to eliminate backlash therebetween; in which said mounting means comprises a hole which is elongated radially of said steering wheel; and in which said spring means comprises a pair of leaf springs, each mounted at a first end thereof on the respective upper and lower sides of said hub portion of said steering wheel and each spring having at a second end thereof curved fingers contacting said pinion shaft in a manner to partly surround same.