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. 21, 1999
Filed:
Apr. 01, 1998
Richard Thomas Stuedemann, Hemlock, MI (US);
Richard Kremer Riefe, Saginaw, MI (US);
Ray Garnet Armstrong, Bay City, MI (US);
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
A connection between a collapsible mast jacket of an energy absorbing steering column and a body of a motor vehicle including a mounting bracket on the mast jacket having an attachment flange perpendicular to a longitudinal centerline of the steering column, an aperture in the attachment flange, a plastic bushing captured in the aperture, and a fastener operative to rigidly clamp the plastic bushing to the body of the motor vehicle. The plastic bushing fractures in response to an impact on the steering column to release the mounting bracket. In a preferred embodiment, retention between the attachment flange and the plastic bushing is effected by an edge of the aperture in the attachment flange seated in an annular outside groove in the plastic bushing. A plurality of linear slots in the plastic bushing divide the plastic bushing into a plurality of cantilever spring segments which flex inward when the bushing is pushed into the aperture in the attachment flange and which snap out when the annular slot in the bushing registers with the peripheral edge of the aperture in the attachment flange.