Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Howard D Beauch

Richard Kremer Riefe

Leland Nels Olgren

Benjamin H Everett, Ii

John P Sutorik

Michael Patrick Anspaugh

William David Cymbal

Ray Garnet Armstrong

Samuel Roland Palfenier

David Michael Byers

Thomas J Milton

Roger A Bourbina

Kurt J Hilbrandt

Russell L Herlache

Frederick P Arndt

Frank R Keipert, Jr

Scott A Norris

Brady J Lennon

Gilbert J Sauve

Stanley J Iseler

An energy absorber for a motor vehicle steering column including a yoke pivotable about a lateral centerline of a body of the motor vehicle and an energy absorbing mechanism responsive to linear translation of a mast jacket of the steering column relative to the yoke. The mast jacket extends through a bore in the yoke and a plastic bushing in the bore prevents the mast jacket from tipping relative to the yoke. The energy absorbing mechanism includes flat metal strap wound into a spiral coil and cradled or otherwise captured in a flat recess in the yoke tangent to the mast jacket. A distal end of the flat metal strap parallel to the mast jacket is rigidly attached to the latter so that during linear translation of the mast jacket under impact, the distal end is pulled out of the flat recess and unrolls the spiral coil. As the spiral coil unrolls, the flat metal strap is plastically deformed to convert into work a fraction of the kinetic energy of the impact on the steering column.

Energy absorber for motor vehicle steering column

A tilt adjustable motor vehicle steering column having a mast jacket on a motor vehicle body structure, a tilt housing supported on the mast jacket for pivotal movement about a lateral centerline of the steering column, a steering wheel rotatably supported on the tilt housing, a tilt latch for immobilizing the tilt housing, and an inertia-actuated secondary restraint operative independent of the tilt latch to prevent upward pivotal movement of the tilt housing. The secondary restraint includes a spool rotatably supported on the mast jacket, a tether on the spool having an end attached to the tilt housing, and an inertia-actuated latch operative to block rotation of the spool in response to high negative acceleration of the motor vehicle. The inertia-actuated latch includes a plurality of radial abutments on the spool, a pawl engageable on the radial abutments, and a pendulum operative to pivot the pawl into engagement on the radial abutments.

Tilt adjustable motor vehicle steering column

An energy absorber for a motor vehicle steering column including a yoke pivotable about a lateral centerline of a motor vehicle body and an energy absorbing means between the yoke and the mast jacket responsive to linear translation of the mast jacket relative to the yoke. The mast jacket extends through a bore in the yoke and a plastic bushing in the bore prevents the mast jacket from tilting relative to the yoke before and during linear translation of the mast jacket. The energy absorbing means includes a flat metal strap attached at one end to the mast jacket and bent over a convex anvil on the yoke. The metal strap is pulled over the anvil parallel to a longitudinal centerline of the mast jacket and plastically deformed to convert into work a fraction of the kinetic energy of an impact on the steering column. Because the mast jacket pivots as a unit with the yoke, the metal strap is always parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the mast jacket and the vector force reaction on the mast jacket attributable to the energy absorber intersects the lateral centerline.

Energy absorbing steering column for motor vehicle

An energy absorbing steering column for a motor vehicle including a housing supported on a body structure of the vehicle for translation through a linear collapse stroke in response to an impact on a steering wheel of the steering column and an energy absorber. The energy absorber includes a flat metal ribbon having a first end anchored to the housing, an unrestrained second end, a preformed first undulation near the first end looped over a stationary first roller, and a preformed second undulation tangent to the first undulation looped over a floating second roller. The first and second undulations overlap each other and are confined between a pair of parallel containment walls of the steering column housing. As the steering column housing traverses its linear collapse stroke, the flat metal ribbon is plastically deformed to convert kinetic energy to work by being pulled sequentially over rotating anvils defined by at least one half of the circumference of the stationary first roller and at least one half of the circumference of the floating second roller.

Energy absorbing steering column

A motor vehicle steering column having power adjustment of the horizontal and vertical positions of a steering wheel on an end of the steering column including an adjustable tubular mast jacket on which the steering wheel is supported, a stationary tubular mast jacket, and a self-adjusting slide bearing between the stationary and adjustable mast jackets. The self-adjusting slide bearing includes a support tube on the stationary mast jacket, pair of inward facing frustoconical seats on the support tube, a pair of plastic split sleeve bearings slidably mounted on the adjustable mast jacket each having an outward facing frustoconical side, and a tubular spring between the split sleeve bearings biasing the latter toward converging annuluses defined between the frustoconical seats and the adjustable mast jacket for lash-free sliding support of the adjustable mast jacket on the stationary mast jacket. In a preferred embodiment, the tubular spring is a plastic sleeve having a plurality of circumferential slots separated by a plurality of webs which resiliently flex in the length direction of the sleeve.

Motor vehicle steering column

A universal joint between an upper steering shaft and a lower steering shaft in a tilt-adjustable motor vehicle steering column includes a pair of bifurcated yokes formed to near-net-shape integrally with the upper and lower shafts, a plastic jacket molded in-situ on each of the bifurcated yokes, and a plastic centering sphere. Each of the plastic jackets has a pair of exposed, frusto-conical bearing surfaces molded thereon which slidably engage corresponding frusto-conical side walls of cross grooves in the plastic centering sphere.

A steering shaft

A method of making a plastic ball sleeve assembly includes the steps of forming a flat plastic sleeve blank, cold forming a plurality of ball sockets in the sleeve blank, cold forming a plurality of integral living hinges in the sleeve blank, inserting respective ones of a plurality of hard metal spheres in corresponding ones of the ball sockets, cold forming the sleeve blank to define retaining means at each ball socket operative to retain the spheres in the sockets while exposing surface segments of the spheres on opposite sides of the sleeve blank, and flexing the sleeve blank at the living hinges until opposite end edges of the sleeve blank abut whereby a tubular ball sleeve assembly is achieved. In a preferred embodiment, interlocking tangs and notches are formed in edges of the sleeve blank which interlock to capture the tubular shape of the ball sleeve assembly.

Method of making plastic ball sleeve assembly

A steering column including a steering wheel mounted on a tilt-housing of the steering column for up and down pivotal movement about a first transverse axis and a shroud or bezel on the tilt-housing. The shroud has a viewing port therein and a drum is supported on the tilt-housing behind the shroud for rotation about a second transverse axis parallel to the first transverse axis. An outer cylindrical wall of the drum having graphic symbols thereon is partially visible through the viewing port so that the symbols scroll across the viewing port as the drum rotates about the second transverse axis. A connecting rod has a first end pivotally connected to a stationary part of the steering column and a second end pivotally connected to a side of the drum eccentric relative to the second transverse axis so that the drum rotates about the second transverse axis concurrently with up and down pivotal movement of the tilt-housing.

Adjustable steering column with column position indicating apparatus

A longitudinally collapsible shaft assembly particularly for application as a steering shaft in energy absorbing steering columns. The shaft assembly includes a first shaft element having a tube end, a second shaft element having a bar end in the tube end, and a coupling which connects the bar and tube ends for unitary rotation without restraining the shaft elements longitudinally relative to each other. The coupling includes diametrically opposite longitudinal slots in the tube end and two longitudinally spaced pairs of diametrically opposite rollers on the bar end which roll along the side edges of the slots to minimize friction during longitudinal collapse. for transferring torque between the tube and bar ends in one direction, one pair of diametrically opposite rollers engages one pair of diagonally opposite side edges of the longitudinal slots. For transferring torque between the tube and bar ends in the opposite direction, the other pair of diametrically opposite rollers engages the other pair of diagonally opposite side edges of the longitudinal slots.

Collapsible shaft assembly

An infinitely adjustable manual control for a lengthwise adjustable automotive steering column of the type having a stationary outer member and an inner tubular member slidable telescopically in the outer member. The manual control includes a housing on the outer member, a clutch element mounted on the housing for radial and lateral shiftable movement, and rack teeth on the clutch element and on the inner tubular member. In a lowered position of the clutch element, the rack teeth mesh to immobilize the inner tubular member relative to the outer member. In a raised position of the clutch element, the rack teeth are disengaged. The rack teeth are oriented at an angle to the longitudinal centerline of the steering column so that the lateral movement of the clutch element in the housing effects longitudinal movement between the rack teeth to assure mesh in all relative positions of the inner and outer members. An actuator and a pair of side bars on the housing releasably secure the clutch element in its lowered position. A flexible cable controlled by the driver operates the actuator to release the clutch element for movement to the raised position when lengthwise adjustment is desired.

Manual control for adjustable steering column

A tilt-lock for a tilt-adjustable steering wheel has angular gross and angular fine adjustment capability. A worm gear sector on a housing pivotable with the steering wheel meshes with a worm wheel on a latch plate pivotable on a stationary bracket. When the latch plate is in a latching position the worm wheel meshes with the worm gear sector to capture the angular gross adjusted position of the steering wheel. The worm wheel is rotatable for angular fine adjustment of the steering wheel. When the latch plate is moved to the releasing position, the worm wheel separates from the worm gear sector to release the steering wheel for angular gross adjustment.

Steering wheel tilt-lock

An adjustable steering column including a tubular mast jacket assembly adapted for stationary mounting on a vehicle body, a steering shaft in the mast jacket, a lower mount supporting the steering shaft on the mast jacket near the lower end of the latter for rotation and for up and down tilting between upper and lower limit positions in the vertical center plane of the mast jacket, an upper mount supporting the steering shaft on the mast jacket near the upper end of the latter for rotation and for the up and down tilting movement, and a tilt lock for maintaining the steering shaft in any of a plurality of adjusted positions between the upper and lower limit positions through simple grasp and release of a manual release lever.

Adjustable steering column

A collapsible, energy absorbing steering column with staged energy absorption. A sleeve around a lower mast jacket of the column has a primary part in the annulus defined by the overlap between the lower mast jacket and an upper mast jacket of the column and a secondary part outside the annulus. A plurality of primary roll deforming steel balls in interference in the annulus are also loosely received in pockets in the sleeve primary part. A plurality of secondary roll deforming steel balls are loosely received in the sleeve secondary part outside the annulus and held on the sleeve by a strippable retainer. When the column collapses, the secondary roll deforming steel balls enter the axially expanding overlap between the mast jackets to increase the level of energy absorption.

A collapsible steering column for automobiles including a plurality of mast jacket cylinders which are arranged in telescopic configuration with cylinder deforming units operatively mounted therebetween having rollable deformer balls active throughout telescopic collapse of the mast jacket into an optimized collapsed length to provide increased and energy absorption stroke over a given column length.

Steering column for vehicle with multitube energy absorbing mast jacket

A transmission shift control assembly for a tilting steering column assembly has a rotary arm member to which a transmission shift control cable is attached. The rotary motion at the arm member translates to linear motion at the cable. The arm member is connected with a detent control which has stop members to limit the rotary motion and a locating member to position the shift control at the selected transmission operating condition. A manual lever is secured with the detent control and the arm member to permit operator selection of the desired transmission operating condition. The manual lever pivots a portion of the detent control about one axis to release it from the locating portion so that upon rotation of the manual lever about another axis intersecting the first axis, a change in transmission operation can be selected. The steering column is tiltable about an axis which passes through the point of intersection of the other two axes.

Growing community of inventors

Frankenmuth, MI, United States of America

Howard D Beauch