Coupling between steering shaft and steering wheel
US5855449A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 9, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jan 5, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 9, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T403/7066
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A coupling between a motor vehicle steering shaft and a motor vehicle steering wheel including a primary socket on the steering wheel, a hub on the steering shaft plugged into the primary socket, a pair of V-shaped notches in the plug and in the primary socket cooperating in defining a polygonal chamber, and a cylindrical coil spring wedged in the polygonal chamber. The cylindrical coil spring thrusts the plug laterally against the primary socket to eliminate dimensional clearance, i.e., lash, therebetween. Lugs on the primary socket seat in notches in the plug and cooperate with the coil spring in transferring torque between the hub and the primary socket. A retractor on the steering wheel twists the coil spring to a smaller diameter concurrent with linear translation of the retractor in an arc around the primary socket thereby to reduce the diameter of the coil spring for installation and/or removal of the hub from the primary socket. A latch on the retractor and a plunger on the hub cooperate in automatically releasing the coil spring for expansion between the V-shaped notches concurrent with the hub being plugged into the primary socket.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.