The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 23, 1997
Filed:
May. 13, 1996
Marc William Heinzman, Frankenmuth, MI (US);
Michael Patrick Anspaugh, Bay City, MI (US);
Richard Kremer Riefe, Saginaw, MI (US);
David Michael Byers, Saginaw, MI (US);
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
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 structure responsive to linear translation of a mast jacket of the steering column relative to the yoke in the direction of a longitudinal centerline of the mast jacket. The mast jacket extends through a bore in the yoke and is prevented by the bore from tipping relative to the yoke. The energy absorbing structure includes a convex anvil on the mast jacket and a J-shaped flat metal strap seated on the convex anvil with a short leg rigidly attached to the yoke and a long leg juxtaposed a wall of the mast jacket. An impact on the steering column initiates linear translation of the mast jacket in the direction of its longitudinal centerline relative to the yoke during which the convex anvil translates linearly relative to the stationary metal strap so that the metal strap is pulled over the convex anvil and plastically deformed to convert into work a fraction of the kinetic energy of the impact.