1. A steering wheel and column assembly for deployment on a vehicle, the steering wheel and column assembly comprising:
a steering column housing;
a rotatable steering assembly, comprising:
a steering column shaft rotatably coupled to the steering column housing; and
a steering wheel fixedly coupled to the steering column shaft; and
a torsional damper device, comprising:
a stator body fixedly coupled to the steering column housing;
a rotor body fixedly coupled to the rotatable steering assembly, the rotor body frictionally engaging the stator body to produce a predetermined coulomb torque frictional resistance; and
a resilient element contacting at least one of the rotor body and the stator body to bias the rotor body and the stator body toward each other.
2. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 wherein the steering column shaft extends through the stator body.
3. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 2 wherein the steering column shaft extends through the rotor body.
4. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 wherein the rotor body frictionally engages the stator body along an annular friction interface.
5. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 4 wherein the plane of the annular friction interface is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the steering column shaft.
6. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 4 wherein the inner diameter of the substantially annular friction interface is between approximately 70 millimeters and approximately 110 millimeters.
7. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 wherein the rotor body frictionally engages the rotor body along a tubular friction interface.
8. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 7 wherein the tubular friction interface is substantially coaxial with the steering column shaft.
9. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 further comprising:
a supplemental inflatable restraint (SIR) module mounted on the steering wheel; and
an elongated electrical conductor electrically coupled to the SIR module and residing between the stator body and the rotor body.
10. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 9 wherein the elongated electrical conductor is substantially contained within the torsional damper device.
11. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 wherein the resilient element is integrally formed with the rotor body.
12. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 wherein the rotor body frictionally engages the stator body along a friction interface plane, and wherein the resilient element is compliant in a direction normal to the plane of the friction interface.
13. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 wherein the resilient element comprises a spring disposed between the rotor body and the steering wheel.
14. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined coulomb torque frictional resistance is between approximately 0.1 Newton meters and approximately 0.4 Newton meters.
15. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined coulomb torque frictional resistance is between approximately 0.15 Newton meters and approximately 0.25 Newton meters.
16. A steering wheel and column assembly, comprising:
a steering column housing;
a rotatable steering assembly, comprising:
a steering column shaft rotatably coupled to the steering column housing; and
a steering wheel fixedly coupled to the steering column shaft; and
a torsional damper device, comprising:
a stator body fixedly coupled to the steering column housing, the stator body having a first predetermined torsional stiffness;
a rotor body fixedly coupled to the rotatable steering assembly, the rotor body having a second predetermined torsional stiffness; and
a resilient element maintaining the stator body and the rotor body in frictional engagement.
17. A steering wheel and column assembly according to claim 16 wherein the first predetermined torsional stiffness and the second predetermined torsional stiffness are each between approximately 40 Newton meters per degree and approximately 80 Newton meters per degree.
18. A supplemental inflatable restraint (SIR) coil assembly for deployment within a steering wheel and column assembly of the type that includes a steering column housing, a steering column shaft rotatably coupled to the steering column housing, a steering wheel fixedly coupled to the steering column shaft, and an SIR module mounted on the steering wheel, the SIR coil assembly comprising:
a stator body configured to be fixedly coupled to the steering column housing comprising a raised annular rim;
a rotor body configured to be fixedly coupled to at least one of the steering wheel and the steering column shaft, the rotor body comprising an outer radial lip frictionally engaging the raised annular rim to produce a predetermined coulomb torque frictional resistance between approximately 0.1 Newton meters and approximately 0.4 Newton meters; and
an SIR coil disposed between the stator body and the rotor body and configured to be electrically coupled to the SIR module.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An oil pump, comprising:
a plurality of pump chambers each having a volume varied by engine drive, the pump chambers pressurizing oil inhaled through an inlet port and discharge it through an outlet port; and
a branch passage connected between upstream and downstream sides of the outlet port at branch and confluent points, the branch passage in a vicinity of the confluent point being shifted in pulse-pressure phase with respect to the outlet port.
2. The oil pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein a flow rate of oil flowing through the outlet port and that of oil flowing through the branch passage are substantially the same between the branch and confluent points.
3. The oil pump as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a balancer shaft which drives the oil pump, the balancer shaft rotating at speed twice as high as a crankshaft to cancel engine secondary vibrations.
4. The oil pump as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
a drive shaft;
an inner rotor driven by the drive shaft, the inner rotor having an outer periphery formed with external teeth each including a trochoid curve; and
an outer rotor disposed at the inner periphery of the inner rotor, the outer rotor being offset with respect to the inner rotor, the outer rotor having an inner periphery formed with internal teeth each including the trochoid curve, the internal teeth being meshed with the external teeth of the inner rotor.
5. The oil pump as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a pump housing, the pump housing comprising a base block and a cover block attached to a front face of the base block,
wherein the outlet port and branch passage are formed in half at a junction between the base block and the cover block,
wherein the base block and the cover block are coupled together by a plurality of bolts.
6. The oil pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the branch passage extends curvedly with respect to the outlet port which extends linearly.
7. An oil pump, comprising:
a plurality of pump chambers each having a volume varied by engine drive, the pump chambers pressurizing oil inhaled through an inlet port and discharge it through an outlet port; and
a branch passage connected between upstream and downstream sides of the outlet port at branch and confluent points,
the outlet port and the branch passage having different distances between the branch point and the confluent point.
8. The oil pump as claimed in claim 7, wherein a flow rate of oil flowing through the outlet port and that of oil flowing through the branch passage are substantially the same between the branch and confluent points.
9. The oil pump as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a balancer shaft which drives the oil pump, the balancer shaft rotating at speed twice as high as a crankshaft to cancel engine secondary vibrations.
10. The oil pump as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:
a drive shaft;
an inner rotor driven by the drive shaft, the inner rotor having an outer periphery formed with external teeth each including a trochoid curve; and
an outer rotor disposed at the inner periphery of the inner rotor, the outer rotor being offset with respect to the inner rotor, the outer rotor having an inner periphery formed with internal teeth each including the trochoid curve, the internal teeth being meshed with the external teeth of the inner rotor.
11. The oil pump as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a pump housing, the pump housing comprising a base block and a cover block attached to a front face of the base block,
wherein the outlet port and branch passage are formed in half at a junction between the base block and the cover block,
wherein the base block and the cover block are coupled together by a plurality of bolts.
12. The oil pump as claimed in claim 7, wherein the branch passage extends curvedly with respect to the outlet port which extends linearly.
13. An oil pump, comprising:
a plurality of pump chambers each having a volume varied by engine drive, the pump chambers pressurizing oil inhaled through an inlet port and discharge it through an outlet port;
a branch passage connected between upstream and downstream sides of the outlet port at branch and confluent points; and
a throttle provided to the branch passage at at least one of the branch and confluent points, the throttle being smaller in cross-sectional area than a general section of the branch passage.
14. The oil pump as claimed in claim 13, wherein a flow rate of oil flowing through the outlet port and that of oil flowing through the branch passage are substantially the same between the branch and confluent points.
15. The oil pump as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a balancer shaft which drives the oil pump, the balancer shaft rotating at speed twice as high as a crankshaft to cancel engine secondary vibrations.
16. The oil pump as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:
a drive shaft;
an inner rotor driven by the drive shaft, the inner rotor having an outer periphery formed with external teeth each including a trochoid curve; and
an outer rotor disposed at the inner periphery of the inner rotor, the outer rotor being offset with respect to the inner rotor, the outer rotor having an inner periphery formed with internal teeth each including the trochoid curve, the internal teeth being meshed with the external teeth of the inner rotor.
17. The oil pump as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a pump housing, the pump housing comprising a base block and a cover block attached to a front face of the base block,
wherein the outlet port and branch passage are formed in half at a junction between the base block and the cover block,
wherein the base block and the cover block are coupled together by a plurality of bolts.
18. The oil pump as claimed in claim 13, wherein the branch passage extends curvedly with respect to the outlet port which extends linearly.
19. The oil pump as claimed in claim 13, further comprising another throttle provided to the branch passage at another of the branch and confluent points.
20. The oil pump as claimed in claim 13, wherein the throttle serves to attenuate a pulse pressure within the outlet port.