Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:
1. An energy absorbing steering column comprising:
a mast jacket assembly including a lower mast jacket and an upper mast jacket supported on the lower mast jacket for linear translation through a collapse stoke in response to an impact on a steering hand wheel on the mast jacket assembly,
a lower mounting means operable to mount the mast jacket assembly on a support structure for vertical pivotal movement about a lateral pivot axis at the bottom of the lower mast jacket to adjust the vertical position of the steering hand wheel,
a rake bracket including a pair of vertical sides on opposite sides of the upper mast jacket,
a pair of vertical slots in respective ones of the vertical sides of the rake bracket,
a rake bolt supported on the upper mast jacket for up and down pivotal movement as a unit with the mast jacket assembly about the lateral pivot axis traversing the rake bracket through the pair of vertical slots therein so that the ends of the vertical slots define an upper limit position and a lower limit position of vertical pivotal movement of the mast jacket assembly,
a control lever on the rake bolt pivotable between an unlocked position and a locked position,
a clamp means operable in response to pivotal movement of the control lever from the unlocked position to the locked position to rigidly couple the upper mast jacket to the rake bracket thereby to capture the position of the steering hand wheel relative to the support structure,
an upper mounting means operable to support the rake bracket vertically on the support structure and to release the rake bracket for linear translation as a unit with the upper mast jacket through the collapse stroke thereof in response to the impact on the steering hand wheel,
an energy absorber means operable during the collapse stroke of the upper mast jacket to exert on the rake bracket a force resisting linear translation of the upper mast jacket and urging rotation of the rake bracket about a longitudinal centerline of the rake bolt, and
a stabilizer means operable during the collapse stroke of the upper mast jacket to prevent rotation of the rake bracket about the longitudinal centerline of the rake bolt.
2. The energy absorbing steering column recited in claim 1 wherein the second mounting means comprises:
a pair of planar flanges on the rake bracket perpendicular to respective ones of the vertical sides of the rake bracket,
a pair of open slots in respective ones of the planar flanges facing the steering hand wheel, and
a pair of capsules rigidly clamped to the support structure each having a side channel slidably receiving the edge of a respective one of the pair of open slots so that the capsules support the rake bracket vertically on the support structure and release the rake bracket through an open end of each of the pair of open slots for linear translation as a unit with upper mast jacket through the collapse stroke thereof.
3. The energy absorbing steering column recited in claim 2 wherein the energy absorber means comprises:
a convex anvil on each of the pair of planar flanges of the rake bracket,
a pair of serpentine flat metal straps facing respective ones of the convex anvils each having an exposed inboard end, and
an attachment means operable to rigidly attach the inboard end of each of the pair of serpentine metal straps to the support structure so that during the collapse stroke of the rake bracket as a unit with the upper mast jacket each of the pair of convex anvils is thrust against and pulled across the corresponding one of the serpentine metal straps thereby to plastically deform each of the serpentine metal straps and exert on the rake bracket at the planar flanges thereof reaction forces resisting linear translation of the rake bracket as a unit with the upper mast jacket through the collapse stroke thereof and urging rotation of the rake bracket about the longitudinal centerline of the rake bolt.
4. The energy absorbing steering column recited in claim 3 wherein the stabilizer means comprises:
a pair of trunnions rigidly supported on the upper mast jacket on opposite sides thereof parallel to the rake bolt and juxtaposed respective ones of a pair of vertical edges on corresponding ones of the vertical sides of the rake bracket so that rotation of the rake bracket about the longitudinal centerline of the rake bolt during the collapse stroke of the upper mast jacket is blocked by interference between the pair of trunnions and the pair of vertical edges.
5. The energy absorbing steering column recited in claim 4 further comprising:
a cantilever spring on the control lever having a barb thereon resiliently engageable on a first one of the pair of trunnions in the locked position of the control lever to releasably retain the control lever in the locked position thereof.
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. A method of depositing a film on a substrate, the method comprising:
loading a substrate onto a substrate support in a reaction space, wherein the reaction space includes a blocking member spaced from a periphery of the substrate support, wherein a gap is defined between the blocking member and the periphery of the substrate;
supplying an inert gas inwardly toward the substrate and through the gap between the blocking member and the periphery of the substrate, wherein the inert gas turns outwardly toward an exhaust after passing over the periphery of the substrate; and
conducting one or more deposition cycles, at least one of the cycles comprising: supplying one or more reactant gases substantially vertically while supplying the inert gas.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein supplying the inert gas comprises supplying the inert gas inwardly in all radial directions.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein supplying the inert gas comprises moving the blocking member upward such that the inert gas flows through the gap.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the inert gas does not reach the middle of the substrate.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the blocking member extends less than or equal to about 5 mm inwardly over the periphery of the substrate.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the blocking member extends less than or equal to about 2 mm inwardly over the periphery of the substrate.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein supplying the one or more reactant gases comprises supplying the one or more reactant gases through a showerhead plate while conducting the one or more deposition cycles.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more deposition cycles comprise atomic layer deposition cycles.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the inert gas flows inwardly between a first side of the blocking member and periphery of the substrate and after turning flow is outwardly past a second side of the blocking member opposing the first side of the blocking member.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the blocking member floats when the inert gas is supplied.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the blocking member is integral with the substrate support.
12. A deposition apparatus, comprising:
a reactor wall;
a substrate support positioned under the reactor wall, the substrate support being configured to support a substrate
a blocking member positioned to overlap with a periphery of the substrate support, wherein the blocking member defines one or more openings between the substrate support and blocking member;
a reaction space defined over the substrate support;
one or more gas conduits configured to supply inert gas inwardly toward the substrate through the one or more openings around the periphery of the substrate support, wherein the inert gas is supplied between the periphery of the substrate and the blocking member; and
an exhaust outlet positioned such that the inert gas turns outwardly toward the exhaust outlet after passing the periphery of the substrate.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the blocking member is vertically movable.
14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the blocking member is formed integrally with the reactor wall.
15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the inert gas flows inwardly between a first side of the blocking member and periphery of the substrate and after turning flow is outwardly past a second side of the blocking member opposing the first side of the blocking member.
16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more gas conduits include one or more peripheral openings that open to the periphery of the reaction space, the one or more peripheral openings together substantially surrounding all sides of the reaction space.
17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the blocking member is configured to be moved up by the inert gas, and to be moved down when the inert gas is not supplied.
18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the reactor wall comprises an inner wall and an outer wall surrounding the inner wall, and wherein the inner wall and the outer wall have a gap therebetween, the gap forming a portion of the one or more gas conduits.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the blocking member comprises a portion positioned under the inner wall, and wherein the portion of the blocking member is configured to contact a bottom surface of the inner wall when the blocking member is moved up, and to be spaced apart from the bottom surface of the inner wall when the blocking member is moved down.
20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the blocking member comprises a portion positioned over the substrate, and wherein the portion of the blocking member is spaced apart from the substrate when the blocking member is moved up such that the one or more conduits are open to the periphery of the reaction space.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the blocking member is configured to contact the substrate when the inert gas is not supplied.
22. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a blocking member rim laterally surrounding the blocking member, the blocking member rim being interposed between a bottom surface of the reactor wall and a top surface of the substrate support.
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the blocking member rim is configured to contact the bottom surface of the reactor wall and the top surface of the substrate support.
24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the blocking member rim has a first height, and wherein the blocking member has a second height, the second height being smaller than the first height.
25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the second height is smaller than the first height by about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm.
26. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the blocking member is vertically movable between a first vertical level and a second vertical level, a distance between the first and second vertical levels being about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm.
27. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the blocking member is configured to be spaced apart from the substrate support by about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm when moved vertically away from the substrate support.
28. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a showerhead plate positioned above the substrate support, the showerhead plate defining the reaction space together with the substrate support.
29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the exhaust outlet opens to the reaction space above the one or more peripheral openings, wherein the blocking member and the showerhead plate together define a portion of the exhaust outlet
30. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the inert gas has a flow rate of about 10 sccm to about 3,000 sccm.