Steering Column Locking Device Damping Cover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing locking devices for adjustable steering columns in vehicles are complex to produce and may fail to reliably dampen noise over time due to wear, especially when the activating lever is locked and unlocked.
Innovation Solution
A locking device with a window-like slot, abutment finger, and damping cover, where the damping cover is made from a natural or synthetic elastomer or plastic, effectively dampening the movement of the activating lever in both opening and closing directions, with optional additional damping elements like rubber inserts or leaf springs, ensuring long-lasting noise reduction and easy replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a roller buffer is used to dampen the activating lever, then noise damping is achieved, but the structure becomes complex and the damping effect deteriorates over time due to wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a simple plastic cover that can be easily replaced when worn, rather than a complex roller buffer mechanism. This disposable approach maintains noise damping effectiveness while simplifying the overall structure and reducing manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameter from metal (roller buffer) to plastic (cover), which provides sufficient damping for the activating lever while being simpler in structure and less prone to wear-related complexity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a roller buffer is used to dampen the activating lever, then noise damping is achieved, but production becomes difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic cover is a simple, inexpensive component that can be mass-produced through injection molding, making manufacturing far easier and more cost-effective than producing roller buffers with their complex mechanical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical roller buffer system with a simpler plastic cover that achieves the same noise damping function through material properties rather than complex mechanical mechanisms, significantly easing production.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If additional damping elements like rubber inserts or leaf springs are added, then noise damping is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple damping functions into a single integrated plastic cover structure, eliminating the need for separate rubber inserts or leaf springs. This merging approach maintains effective noise damping while reducing overall structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides effective and long-lasting noise damping with low manufacturing costs, maintaining the damping effect over time and allowing for easy replacement of worn parts, while simplifying the production process and reducing structural complexity.
Implementation Method 1
the damping cover (20, 21) is made from a natural or synthetic elastomer or plastic
Implementation Method 2
effectively dampening the movement of the activating lever
Data Source
AI summary
A locking device for a steering column may include an activating lever attached to a clamping bolt, which lever interacts with a pressure plate such that when the activating lever is rotated about an axis of the clamping bolt in a closing direction the steering column is clamped in the locking device, and such that when the activating lever is rotated in the opening direction the steering column can be adjusted. An abutment finger may be radially spaced apart from the clamping bolt and project in a direction of the axis of the clamping bolt. The abutment finger may engage in a window-like slot of the activating lever so that rotation of the activating lever is possible but limited in the opening and closing directions by abutment of the abutment finger against opposite abutment surfaces of the window-like slot, at least one which may comprise a damping cover.