Steering system in wheeled vehicle

Claim 1

A steering system in a wheeled vehicle, comprising a front-wheel steering linkage arranged to be operated by a steering wheel, a rear-wheel steering linkage including a lateral control shaft operatively connected at the opposite ends thereof with a pair of rear steerable road wheels, a rotary shaft extending longitudinally in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle and operatively connected at the front end thereof with said front-wheel steering linkage, and a rear-wheel steering mechanism operatively connected to the rear end of said rotary shaft for effecting axial displacement of said lateral control shaft in response to rotary motion of said rotary shaft, wherein said rear-wheel steering mechanism comprises a housing mounted on a body structure of the vehicle for rotatably supporting thereon said lateral control shaft, a first cylindrical carrier body mounted within said housing for rotation about a vertical axis perpendicular to the central axis of said lateral control shaft and drivingly connected to the rear end of said rotary shaft to be rotated in response to operation of said front-wheel steering linkage, a second cylindrical carrier body mounted within said first cylindrical carrier body for rotation about the central axis of said lateral control shaft, a radial rod integral with said lateral control shaft and arranged within the interior of said second cylindrical carrier body, said radial rod extending perpendicular to the central axis of said control shaft, a universal joint assembly mounted within said second cylindrical carrier body for slidably supporting said radial rod of said control shaft, and an actuator assembly mounted on said housing for rotating said lateral control shaft.