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:
Apr. 07, 1998
Filed:
May. 15, 1995
Donald B Moote, Lake Orion, MI (US);
Kris B Rogers, Toronto, CA;
Andrew C Stewart, Lake Orion, MI (US);
Frank R Varela, Etobicoke, CA;
Michael W Boles, Grand Blanc, MI (US);
Gerald McLean, South Lyon, MI (US);
Teodor G Nedelcu, Willowdale, CA;
ITT Corporation, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A pivot joint includes a housing surrounding a rotatable shaft. A retainer clip frictionally engages the shaft and seats against one end of the housing to fixedly axially position the rotatable shaft and the housing with respect to each other and to a rotatable lever connected to one end of the rotatable shaft. In one embodiment, the rotatable shaft is hardened and the retainer clip is hardened to a higher hardness than the hardness of the rotatable shaft. In another embodiment, a pair of retainer clips frictionally engage opposite ends of the rotatable shaft and seat against the rotatable lever and one end of the housing to form a fixed dimensional relationship between the housing, the rotatable shaft and the lever. The retainer clip may include notches formed on the edge of a frusto-conical annulus surrounding a central aperture in the retainer clip to form a discontinuous shaft engaging surface.