1. A garnish clip for attaching a garnish, that holds a curtain shield airbag, to a portion of a vehicle body, comprising:
a body attachment portion for attachment to a vehicle body, and
a garnish attachment portion for attachment to a garnish,
wherein the garnish attachment portion comprises a base with one end connected to the body attachment portion and an opposite end connected to one end of a garnish engagement portion by a U-shaped connection, so that the garnish engagement portion opposes the base,
wherein a latch includes cooperable parts disposed on the garnish engagement portion and the body attachment portion at positions opposing one another, whereby the garnish engagement portion is latched to the body attachment portion,
wherein the latch is released when an impact force is sustained by the deployment of the curtain shield airbag so as to move the garnish engagement portion away from the body attachment portion, and
wherein the garnish attachment portion, including the U-shaped connection, has stiffening elements that provide sufficient rigidity to the garnish attachment portion to limit movement of the garnish engagement portion away from the body attachment portion when the latch is released.
2. The clip described in claim 1, wherein the latch comprises latch plates extending from either the garnish engagement portion or the body attachment portion and latch shoulders on either the body attachment portion or the garnish engagement portion to engage pawls on the ends of the latch plates.
3. A garnish clip for attaching a garnish, that holds a curtain shield airbag, to a portion of a vehicle body, comprising:
a body attachment portion for attachment to a vehicle body, and
a garnish attachment portion for attachment to a garnish,
wherein the garnish attachment portion comprises a base with one end connected to the body attachment portion and an opposite end connected to one end of a garnish engagement portion by a U-shaped connection, so that the garnish engagement portion opposes the base,
wherein a latch includes cooperable parts disposed on the garnish engagement portion and the body attachment portion at positions opposing one another, whereby the garnish engagement portion is latched to the body attachment portion,
wherein the latch is released when an impact force is sustained by the deployment of the curtain shield airbag so as to move the garnish engagement portion away from the body attachment portion,
wherein the garnish attachment portion has sufficient rigidity to limit movement of the garnish engagement portion away from the body attachment portion when the latch is released, and
wherein ribs extend lengthwise on the base, the U-shaped connection, and the garnish engagement portion, to provide rigidity to the garnish attachment portion that limits movement of the garnish engagement portion away from the body attachment portion when the latch is released.
4. The clip described in claim 1, wherein a garnish insertion tube is provided on the garnish engagement portion for sliding engagement with a recess in a garnish.
5. The clip described in claim 1, wherein the body attachment portion has a pair of legs with a corresponding pair of pawls for insertion into an attachment hole in the vehicle body.
6. A garnish clip for attaching a garnish, that holds a curtain shield airbag, to a portion of a vehicle body, comprising:
a body attachment portion for attachment to a vehicle body; and
a garnish attachment portion for attachment to a garnish,
wherein the garnish attachment portion is constructed to provide a space for retaining a portion of an airbag, and has a latch that is released upon deployment of the airbag to expand the space to a limited extent, and to move a garnish away from the body attachment portion to a limited extent, and
wherein the garnish attachment portion has ribs that limit said movement.
7. The clip described in claim 6, wherein the latch has cooperable parts on the body attachment portion and one end of the garnish attachment portion, and the garnish attachment portion has a hinge at an opposite end thereof that permits said movement.
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 gear shaping machine, comprising:
a saddle;
a linear guide mounted to the saddle and defining a shaping axis;
a ram slidable on the linear guide along the shaping axis;
a spindle carried by the ram; and
at least one linear motor supported by the saddle and acting on the ram, the at least one linear motor operable to reciprocate the ram and the spindle back and forth along the shaping axis in unison relative to the saddle.
2. The gear shaping machine of claim 1 wherein the at least one linear motor includes first and second linear motors in opposed spaced relationship and in a first symmetric orientation about the shaping axis, and wherein the ram carries at least one first magnet and at least one second magnet in an opposed spaced relationship and in a second symmetric orientation about the shaping axis.
3. The gear shaping machine of claim 2 wherein the first linear motor magnetically biases the at least one first magnet and the second linear motor magnetically biases the at least one second magnet to linearly reciprocate the ram along the shaping axis.
4. The gear shaping machine of claim 2 wherein the first and second symmetric orientations are arranged such that a substantial amount of the magnetic force generated by the first and second linear motors and the at least one first magnet and the at least one second magnet are cancelled.
5. The gear shaping machine of claim 4 wherein the first and second linear motors are mounted on a motor mounting structure extending away from the saddle, the motor mounting structure having an opening aligned along the shaping axis, the first and second linear motors mounted within the opening, and wherein the ram reciprocates within the opening and is interposed between the first and second linear motors.
6. The gear shaping machine of claim 5 wherein the ram has a longitudinal center axis, the longitudinal center axis coincident with the shaping axis.
7. The gear shaping machine of claim 1 wherein the linear guide includes a first and a second guiderail in an opposed spaced relationship, the ram interposed between the first and second guiderails, and wherein the ram includes a first and a second guiderail bearing, wherein the first guiderail bearing is slidable on the first guiderail and the second guiderail bearing is slidable on the second guiderail.
8. The gear shaping machine of claim 7 wherein the first guiderail bearing includes at least one first bearing block, and the second guiderail bearing includes at least one second bearing block, the at least one first bearing block and the at least one second bearing block each slidable along the first and second guiderails, respectively, along the shaping axis.
9. The gear shaping machine of claim 7 wherein the linear guide further includes a saddle bearing block mounted to the saddle, the saddle bearing block receiving an inner guiderail mounted on the ram.
10. A gear shaping machine, comprising:
a support structure;
a gear shaping head carried by the support structure, the gear shaping head having a ram movable relative to the support structure, the ram carrying a spindle and a rotary drive, the rotary drive operably connected to the spindle to impart a torque to the spindle; and
wherein the spindle and the rotary drive reciprocate together with the ram and relative to the support structure.
11. The gear shaping machine of claim 10 wherein the rotary drive and spindle maintain a fixed axial distance as the spindle and rotary drive reciprocate together with the ram.
12. The gear shaping machine of claim 11 wherein the rotary drive directly drives the spindle such that there is no intermediary linkage between the spindle and the rotary drive.
13. The gear shaping head of claim 12 wherein the spindle has a plurality of incremental angular positions, the rotary drive operable to journal the spindle to each of the plurality of incremental angular positions.
14. The gear shaping machine of claim 13 further comprising an infeed mechanism between the gear shaping head and the support structure, the infeed mechanism operable to linearly reciprocate the gear shaping head toward and away from a work table mounted to the support structure along a radial infeed axis.
15. The gear shaping machine of claim 14 further comprising at least one linear motor carried by the gear shaping head and operable to linearly reciprocate the ram relative to the support structure.
16. The gear shaping machine of claim 15 wherein the at least one linear motor linearly reciprocates the ram in a cutting stroke toward the work table and a return stroke away from the work table along a stroke axis, and wherein the infeed mechanism is operable to bias the gear shaping head away from the work table along the radial infeed axis between the cutting stroke and the return stroke.
17. A method for shaping a blank into a gear with a gear shaping machine, the method comprising:
cutting a portion of the blank during a cutting stroke with a tool operably connected to a spindle of the gear shaping machine, wherein the spindle travels from a first position to a second position during the cutting stroke, the cutting stroke occurring along a stroke axis;
returning the spindle to the first position during a return stroke, the return stroke occurring along the stroke axis; and
indexing the spindle from a first angular position to a second angular position after completion of the return stroke.
18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of indexing a work table from a first angular position to a second angular position after completion of the return stroke.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein the steps of indexing the spindle and indexing the work table occur simultaneously.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the steps of indexing the spindle and indexing work table are time stepped such that they are not continuous.
21. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of transitioning the spindle radially away from the work table after the cutting stroke and before beginning the return stroke such that the tool does not interfere with the blank during the return stroke.
22. The method of claim 20 wherein the steps of indexing the spindle and indexing the support table occur only at the end of the return stroke.