Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Delphi Technologies, Inc.

Nexteer (beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.

Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation

Steering Solutions IP Holding Company

Leland Nels Olgren

Jeff A Gregg

Melvin Lee Tinnin

Howard D Beauch

William Paul Skvarla

Roger A Bourbina

Donald A Niedzielski

Michael S Gregus

William David Cymbal

Hamid Vahabzadeh

Samuel Roland Palfenier

Keith A Kozlowski

Kevin Carlton Ross

Indulis H Piziks

Frank R Keipert, Jr

Madhu Raghavan

Germaine Niedzielski, Legal Representative

An adjustable steering column assembly having a column jacket defining a longitudinal axis and moveable in at least one of a telescoping direction and a tilting direction is disclosed. A bracket is coupled to the column jacket with at least one pivot shaft coupled to the bracket along a pivot axis. A lever is mounted to the pivot shaft and rotates between a set position for preventing movement of the column jacket and an adjustable position for allowing movement of the column jacket. A locking device engages the lever and moves between a locked position and an unlocked position in response to rotation of the lever between the set and adjustable positions, respectively. A restrictor encircles the bracket, the column jacket, the lever and the locking device for resisting against an outwardly radial force produced by the locking device when in the locked position.

Adjustable steering column assembly

An adjustable steering column assembly for a vehicle preferably has a bracket for rigid attachment to the vehicle with a first slot defining a longitudinal adjustment path of the assembly. A steering shaft is journaled to a jacket of the assembly for rotation about an axis. A shuttle attaches rigidly to the jacket and adjustably to the bracket for telescoping and tilt adjustment of the assembly. The shuttle has a second slot that defines a collapse path with said second slot preferably having a first portion restraining said steering shaft in a normal state and a second portion that allows said steering shaft to move through said collapse path when in a collapsed state. A pin extends through said first and second slots for coupling said shuttle to said bracket.

Collapsible steering column assembly

The present invention provides for a steering column assembly having a column jacket defining a longitudinal axis. A first clamping member and a second clamping member are disposed along the longitudinal axis about the column jacket. A lever is coupled to one of the first and second clamping members and rotatable between a set and adjustable positions. The lever includes a first arm and a second arm flanking the column jacket and coupled to at least one of the first and second clamping members with a portion of the locking device disposed about at least one of the first and second clamping members and engaging both of the first and second arms such that rotation of the lever moves the portion of the locking device for minimizing rotation of the lever between the set and adjustable positions when the locking device moves between a locked and unlocked positions.

Adjustable steering column assembly for a vehicle

A rotatable combination that includes first and second members respectively having first and second longitudinally extending pluralities of splines. The second plurality of splines extend substantially parallel to the rotational axis. The first plurality of splines includes first and second longitudinally extending sections having different orientations with the second longitudinal section defining an angle with the rotational axis. The first longitudinal section engages the second plurality of splines before the second longitudinal section during assembly of the two members. Engagement of the second longitudinal section with the second plurality of splines generates a greater resistance to longitudinal movement than engagement of the first longitudinal section with the second plurality of splines. Engagement of the second longitudinal section with the second plurality of splines rotationally couples the first and second members in a backlash-free engagement and may be advantageously employed with a constant velocity joint.

Spline arrangement for rotatably coupling two members

A wobble joint particularly useful for supporting a wash plate in a wash basket of an automatic washing appliance includes inner and outer races formed with mating part-spherical surfaces having common centers of curvature about a longitudinal axis of the joint. Anti-rotation structure acts between the inner and outer races to prevent relative rotation of the races about the longitudinal axis, and cooperates with the part-spherical surfaces to restrict the races to two degrees of tilting movement about respective tilt axes disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and to one another, such that one of the races is thereby supported for wobbling movement relative to the other of the races. In a washing appliance application, the wash plate is fixed to the outer race and wobbles relative to the inner race.

Wobble joint

A joint assembly has outer and inner joint members supported for relative angular movement while preventing rotation between the joint members. The outer joint member is fitted with a lip seal device presenting at least one seal lip which dynamically engages and sealingly wipes at least one corresponding sealing surface of the inner joint member at all angles to seal a space for the retention of lubricant and exclusion of contaminants.

Constant velocity joint

A wobble joint for use in automatic washing appliances and the like includes inner, outer and intermediate joint members which have nesting curved sliding surfaces that enable the joint members to pivot relative to one another. The joint has motion limiting features acting between the intermediate joint member and each of the inner and outer joint members to restrict relative movement between the outer joint member and the intermediate joint member to pivotal movement within a first plane and to restrict relative movement of the intermediate member and inner joint member to pivotal movement within a second plane transverse to the first plane. The motion limiting features comprise first and second arcuate grooves extending parallel to the first and second planes and retainers captured in the grooves and relatively moveable therealong.

A position control apparatus for an adjustable motor vehicle steering column including a friction clamp, a control shaft rotatable between locked and unlocked positions, a hollow rectangular frame moveable relative to the control shaft when the steering column is adjusted, a first toothed pawl a second toothed pawl, and an elastic bushing resiliently supporting the first and second toothed pawls on the control shaft inside of the rectangular frame. When the control shaft is rotated to its locked position the friction clamp frictionally captures the adjusted position of the steering column. The pawls have gear sectors thereon which are relatively angularly offset by one-half tooth pitch. When the control shaft is rotated to its locked position, the one-half tooth pitch offset assures that at least one of the gear sectors will mesh with a rack gear on the rectangular frame even if the other engages the rack gear peak-to-peak. Each pawl further includes a lug which cooperates with a plain edge of the rectangular frame in immobilizing the pawl when the gear sector thereon is meshed with the rack gear so that the meshed tooth couple between the gear sector and the rack gear reinforces the friction clamp.

Position control apparatus for steering column

A steering column including a mast jacket pivotable up and down for vertical adjustment and variable lengthwise for horizontal adjustment and a clamp for releasably capturing the position of the steering column. The clamp includes a stationary bracket, a first rack lever and a second rack lever each pivotally supported on the stationary bracket and linked to the mast jacket by a drive lug, and a pair of lock shoes supported on the stationary bracket for linear translation and pivotal movement. An intermediate link between the lock shoes and a manual control lever thrusts the lock shoes linearly toward a cam on the stationary bracket concurrent with pivotal movement of the control lever toward a locked position. The cam pivots the lock shoes concurrent with linear translation to wedge the lock shoes against respective ones of the rack levers with toothed racks on the rack shoes meshing with toothed racks on the rack levers to capture the position of the mast jacket by immobilizing the rack levers. Resilient thrust on the intermediate link in an over-center position thereof relative to the control lever retains the control lever in its locked position.

Adjustable steering column for motor vehicle

A steering column including a mast jacket adjustable vertically and horizontally and clamp. The clamp includes a housing having a pair of piston bores and a control shaft bore intersecting each of the piston bores. A control shaft is rotatable in the control shaft bore and connected to a manual operating lever. A pair of passages in the control shaft define gates in the piston bores which are fully open and partially open in an unlocked position and in a locked position, respectively, of the manual operating lever. Aggregates of media grains in the piston bores traverse the open gates without interference in response to relative linear translation between the pistons and the piston bores. The media grains bridge the partially open gates and clump in the piston bores to define solid plugs which rigidly immobilize the pistons. Vertical adjustment of the steering column induces relative linear translation between one of the pistons and its piston bore and horizontal adjustment of the steering column induces relative linear translation between the other of the pistons and its piston bore. When the pistons are immobilized, the position of the steering column relative to the vehicle body is rigidly captured.

A steering column including a mast jacket pivotable up and down for vertical adjustment of the steering column and variable lengthwise for horizontal adjustment of the steering column. A clamp includes a first rotatable screw shaft on a stationary bracket perpendicular to a longitudinal centerline of the steering column, a second rotatable screw shaft on the mast jacket parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the steering column, a first split nut on the first screw shaft, and a second split nut on the second screw shaft. The first split nut and the first screw shaft cooperate in converting vertical adjustment of the steering column into idling rotation of the first screw shaft. The second split nut and the second screw shaft cooperate in converting horizontal adjustment of the steering column into idling rotation of the second screw shaft. A manual operating lever of the clamp rotates a control shaft which squeezes the first and the second split nuts against the first and the second screw shafts to frictionally couple the split nuts and the screw shafts and thereby capture the position of the steering column.

A steering apparatus for a motor vehicle including a steering column and an electric power assist apparatus. The steering column includes a mast jacket, a steering shaft rotatably supported on the mast jacket, and a steering hand wheel on the steering shaft. The electric power assist apparatus includes a speed reducer on the mast jacket and an electric motor. A worm wheel of the speed reducer is rigidly connected to an output shaft of the speed reducer which, in turn, is connected to a steering gear of the motor vehicle. A worm gear of the speed reducer is driven by the electric motor and meshes with the worm wheel to transfer the torque of the electric motor to the speed reducer output shaft. A tubular reference shaft is rotatably supported on the speed reducer housing. A torsion bar in the tubular reference shaft has a lower end connected to the speed reducer output shaft and an upper end connected to the reference shaft and to the steering shaft through a stroking universal coupling which isolates the reference shaft and the speed reducer output shaft from lateral runout of the steering shaft.

Steering apparatus for motor vehicle

A position control apparatus for an adjustable steering column including a first toothed rack, a cam block shiftable in linear translation toward and away from the first toothed rack, a rack shoe having a second toothed rack thereon mounted on the cam block for linear translation therewith and for pivotal movement relative thereto, and a spring biasing the rack shoe to a tilted position on the cam block. An end tooth of the second toothed rack engages a mating tooth of the first toothed rack when the cam block is advanced toward the first toothed rack. The force reaction of the mating tooth on the end tooth pivots the rack shoe relative to the cam block to a position parallel to the first toothed rack in which the first and the second toothed racks mesh. If a peak of the end tooth meets a peak of the mating tooth, pivotal movement of the rack shoe displaces the peak of the end tooth to a flank of the mating tooth thereby to prevent alignment of the peaks of the teeth on the first and second toothed racks and corresponding interference with smooth mesh between the first and the second toothed racks.

Growing community of inventors

Frankenmuth, MI, United States of America

Leland Nels Olgren