Tool-Free Steering Assembly Height Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional telescoping steering assemblies require tools to adjust height and may weaken the steering post due to stress concentration points from holes, necessitating a low-maintenance and tool-free adjustment solution.
Innovation Solution
A quick-adjust telescoping steering assembly featuring a detent member, steering post with recesses, and a yoke with a movable collar that allows height adjustment without tools, using a torque-transferring mechanism to secure the yoke relative to the steering post.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional steering assemblies use bolts and holes to adjust steering post height, then the adjustment mechanism is secure, but the steering post strength is reduced due to stress concentration at hole locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes holes from the steering post by extracting the traditional bolt-hole adjustment mechanism and replacing it with a groove-based detent system. The recesses are formed as surface features rather than through-holes, eliminating stress concentration points while maintaining adjustment capability through the detent member engaging with the grooves.
Solution Approach 2:
The detent member serves as an intermediary component that enables height adjustment without requiring holes in the steering post. The detent member engages with the recesses to provide secure positioning at different heights, mediating between the adjustment requirement and the structural integrity requirement.
2Ease of operation
If conventional steering assemblies require tools for height adjustment, then the connection is secure, but the adjustment process becomes time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The steering assembly enables self-service adjustment by allowing the operator to change the steering post height directly with hand-operated components. The detent member and movable device work together to provide tool-free adjustment while maintaining secure connection through the engagement mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a movable device that allows dynamic adjustment of the detent member position along the steering post. This dynamic mechanism enables the operator to easily release and reposition the detent member between recesses to achieve height adjustment, then secures it in place.
3Device complexity
If holes are drilled in the steering post for bolt reception, then the adjustment mechanism is simple, but the steering post becomes weakened and prone to crack initiation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating recesses as localized surface features rather than through-holes. These recesses are positioned at specific locations along the steering post to engage the detent member, providing adjustment functionality without compromising the overall structural integrity of the steering post.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle, such as an all-terrain or utility-terrain vehicle, includes a telescoping, adjustable, steering assembly. The steering assembly includes a steering device that is coupled to the steering assembly, which can be adjusted to increase or decrease the height of the steering device. The steering assembly may include a detent member, a steering post, a yoke, a collar, and a biasing member. The steering post includes axially spaced arcuate grooves where a detent member is seated and held in place with a collar. The collar includes a tapered internal surface for applying lateral pressure to the detent member to lock the yoke in place relative to the steering post. Without the use of tools, the collar may be moved to release the lateral pressure on the detent member, which in turn permits the yoke to be moved relative to the steering post—resulting in adjustment of the steering device.