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:
Nov. 30, 2004
Filed:
Jul. 02, 2002
Richard James Peel, Coventry, GB;
NSK Steering Systems Europe Limited, Berkshire, GB;
Abstract
A clamp bolt assembly for a clamping mechanism, particularly for an adjustable steering column for a vehicle, includes a substantially cylindrical bolt or rod with one end threaded to receive a lock nut and with its other end having a reduced-diameter portion to form a shoulder against which a pack of disc springs can be held in place by a nut preened onto the end of the rod. When the rod is placed under tension between its ends, the disc springs provide a substantially constant secondary load function to compensate for any loss of tensile load in the rod. This is particularly applicable to an adjustable steering column clamping mechanism where the rod forms the bolt of a clamp bolt assembly and the primary load is applied at one end against the set of disc springs. Accordingly, during normal vehicle life of the steering column, compressive creep, surface-to-surface wear, etc. is compensated for by the substantially constant force provided by the clamp bolt assembly.