Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford-werke Gmbh

Wegu-und Kunststoffwerke Gmbh & Co. Kg

Joachim Heidel

Dirk Sickert

Markus Braun

Jens Hohmann

Kristian Tebbe

Birger Assmann

Michael Dietz

Thorsten Hildebrand

A steering column for a motor vehicle may include a steering spindle and a cover. The steering spindle may include an input shaft configured to rotate with a steering wheel, an output shaft rotatably mounted in a steering gear housing, and a swivel joint arranged between the shaft and the output shaft. A portion of the steering spindle within a footwell of the vehicle may be covered by the cover. The cover may include a fastening device and an opening on a side facing away from the footwell. The opening of the cover may extend across a portion of the output shaft, the swivel joint, and a portion of the input shaft. The cover may be fastened to a portion of the steering gear housing by the fastening device so the cover does not rotate with the steering spindle.

Steering column including a protective cover

A shaft comprises two parts. One of these two parts is tube-shaped, and the other is pushed into the tube-shaped part along a main axis. The two parts are fixed to each other for rotation about the main axis and connected to each other in a gliding way along the main axis, by a spline provided between the two parts. One of the two parts comprises a plurality of elongated teeth which are parallel to the main axis and whose cross-sections decrease from the first part towards the second part. Intermediate spaces between neighboring teeth are at least as broad as the teeth. The other of the two parts, at its circumference facing the first part, is made of plastically deformable plastic material, and a counter-profile into which the teeth engage is pressed in the plastic material by intrusion of the teeth during assembly of the two parts.

Steering column made of plastic

A steering column for a motor vehicle may include a steering spindle and a cover. The steering spindle may include an input shaft configured to rotate with a steering wheel, an output shaft rotatably mounted in a steering gear housing, and a swivel joint arranged between the shaft and the output shaft. A portion of the steering spindle within a footwell of the vehicle may be covered by the cover. The cover may include a fastening device and an opening on a side facing away from the footwell. The opening of the cover may extend across a portion of the output shaft, the swivel joint, and a portion of the input shaft. The cover may be fastened to the steering gear housing by the fastening device so the cover does not rotate with the steering spindle.

A seal system () for sealing an opening () which leads into an interior space of a motor vehicle that receives a steering housing (). The seal system () has at least one guide channel () that opens into a receiving region () for receiving at least one lug () which is arranged on the steering housing (), with the result that the seal system () can be connected in a frictionally locking manner to the steering housing () through a locking element () in the receiving region ().

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Kassel, Germany

Joachim Heidel