Steering Column Bracket Spacer for Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Steering column mounting brackets often shift to undesirable positions during installation, causing assembly difficulties, damage, improper positioning, and seating issues due to excessive degrees of freedom, and spring features that provide lift can exacerbate this problem.
Innovation Solution
An adjustment mounting bracket assembly with a mounting bracket having an arcuate slot and a spacer with engaging features that restrict the degree of freedom by aligning with a clamp bolt and interacting with the steering column's recess, ensuring proper orientation and positioning before installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the mounting bracket is allowed to move freely before installation, then it can be adjusted to different positions, but it may shift to an undesirable position causing assembly difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-positioning the mounting bracket at a desired orientation using a spacer and engaging features before the bracket is installed into the vehicle. The spacer maintains the bracket in a predetermined position during shipping and assembly, preventing it from shifting to undesirable positions while still allowing for future adjustment. This resolves the contradiction by providing both initial position control and subsequent adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If spring features provide lift to the mating element, then adjustment capability is enhanced, but the tendency for the mounting bracket to shift to unintended position increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a spacer as an intermediary component between the mounting bracket and the mating element. This spacer acts as a mediator that maintains the bracket in a predetermined position while allowing the spring features to provide lift and adjustment capability. The spacer's engaging features interact with the bracket and mating element to control position, resolving the contradiction between adjustment capability and position stability.
3Manufacturing precision
If the mounting bracket has fewer degrees of freedom after installation, then positioning precision is improved, but assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the mounting system into separate components: the mounting bracket, the spacer, and the mating element. The spacer is further segmented into specific engaging features that interact with corresponding features on the bracket and mating element. This segmentation allows for precise positioning through the interaction of these discrete features while maintaining relatively simple individual components, resolving the contradiction between positioning precision and assembly complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustment mounting bracket assembly for a steering column includes a mounting bracket mountable to a steering column mating element, the mounting bracket having a bracket aperture configured to receive a clamp bolt therethrough, the mounting bracket also having an arcuate slot. The bracket assembly also includes a spacer having a spacer aperture configured to receive the clamp bolt therethrough to align the spacer with the mounting bracket, the spacer having a first engaging feature disposed within the arcuate slot of the mounting bracket and a second engaging feature engageable with a recess of the steering column, disposal of the first engaging feature within the arcuate slot and disposal of the second engaging feature within the recess restricting the degree of freedom of the mounting bracket relative to the steering column.