Gear/drive unit

US9670988B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9670988-B2
Application numberUS-57430505-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateAug 12, 2005
Priority dateAug 31, 2004
Publication dateJun 6, 2017
Grant dateJun 6, 2017

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

A gear drive unit ( 1 ), for a seat adjuster or a power-assisted steering system, comprised of a spindle ( 40 ), on which a drive gear ( 42 ) that drives the spindle ( 40 ) is provided, a drive assembly ( 20 ), which drives the drive gear ( 42 ) by means of a driven element ( 500 ) and at least one device ( 30 ) on which the drive assembly ( 20 ) is at least flanged-mounted, and which operationally couples at least the driven element ( 500 ) and the drive gear ( 42 ). The invention provides that at least one additional support ( 100, 100 ′) is provided in which the drive gear ( 42 ) is mounted, and this support is fastened to the base part ( 50 ) and supports the device ( 30 ).

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

The invention claimed is: 1. A gear drive unit ( 1 ), which is fastened on a base part ( 50 ), the gear drive unit ( 1 ) comprising: a spindle ( 40 ), on which a drive gear ( 42 ) that drives the spindle ( 40 ) is provided; a drive assembly ( 20 ), which drives the drive gear ( 42 ) by a driven element ( 500 ); and a gear housing ( 30 ) on which the drive assembly ( 20 ) is mounted and which operationally couples at least the driven element ( 500 ) and the drive gear ( 42 ), wherein at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′) is positioned in the gear housing such that the driven element ( 500 ) is disposed at least partially radially outside of the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′), and the drive gear ( 42 ) is mounted in the at least one additional support, and the at least one additional support is fastened to the base part ( 50 ) and supports the gear housing ( 30 ), in that the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′) is substantially tubular in shape, and in that the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′) has at least one radial opening ( 130 ), through which the driven element ( 500 ) of the drive assembly ( 20 ) and the drive gear ( 42 ) are connected to one another, and wherein the at least one additional support further includes an area ( 110 ) that forms a customer-side interface. 2. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , further comprising at least a first bearing cap ( 200 ) which is fastened within the support ( 100 , 100 ′) and positions the drive gear ( 42 ) axially and radially on one side. 3. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 2 , wherein the at least first bearing cap ( 200 ) has an outer thread on the outer circumference, with which it is screwed into a corresponding inner thread of the support ( 100 , 100 ′). 4. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 2 , wherein a second bearing cap ( 300 ) is provided, wherein the second bearing cap ( 300 ) is fastened within the support ( 100 ) and positions the drive gear ( 42 ) axially and radially on an other side. 5. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 2 , wherein the support ( 100 ′) and the first bearing cap ( 200 ) are joined to have the shape of a cup and position the drive gear ( 42 ) axially and radially on an other side. 6. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 3 , wherein a second bearing cap ( 300 ) is provided, wherein the second bearing cap ( 300 ) is fastened in the support ( 100 ) and positions the drive gear ( 42 ) axially and radially on an other side. 7. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 3 , wherein the support ( 100 ′) and the first bearing cap ( 200 ) are joined to have the shape of a cup and position the drive gear ( 42 ) axially and radially on an other side. 8. A gear drive unit ( 1 ), which is fastened on a base part ( 50 ), the gear drive unit ( 1 ) comprising: a spindle ( 40 ), on which a drive gear ( 42 ) that drives the spindle ( 40 ) is provided; a drive assembly ( 20 ), which drives the drive gear ( 42 ) by means of a driven element ( 500 ); a gear housing ( 30 ) on which the drive assembly ( 20 ) is mounted and which operationally couples at least the driven element ( 500 ) and the drive gear ( 42 ); and at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′) positioned in the gear housing ( 30 ) such that the driven element ( 500 ) is disposed at least partially radially outside of the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′), the drive gear ( 42 ) being mounted in the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′), and the at least one support being fastened to the base part ( 50 ) and supporting the gear housing ( 30 ), wherein the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′) has at least one radial opening ( 130 ), through which the driven element ( 500 ) and the drive gear ( 42 ) are connected to one another, and wherein the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′) is substantially tubular in shape, the gear drive unit also comprising a first main assembly ( 2 ) including the spindle ( 40 ), the drive gear ( 42 ) and the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′), and a second main assembly ( 3 ) including the driven element ( 500 ), the drive assembly ( 20 ) and the gear housing ( 30 ), the second main assembly being fitted to the first main assembly, wherein a pin in the gear housing cooperates with a recess in the support to position the second main assembly with respect to the first main assembly. 9. A gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 8 , wherein the axial play of the drive gear ( 42 ) is minimized during assembly by pushing together the drive gear ( 42 ) and the support ( 100 , 100 ′) and pushing together or screwing down at least one bearing cap ( 200 ). 10. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the support ( 100 , 100 ′) has a tubular wall having therein the radial opening. 11. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 10 , wherein the support ( 100 ′) has the shape of a cup. 12. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 10 , wherein the tubular wall has a circumferential direction, and wherein the radial opening is elongated in the circumferential direction. 13. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 8 , wherein the support ( 100 , 100 ′) has a tubular wall having therein the radial opening. 14. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 13 , wherein the support ( 100 ′) has the shape of a cup. 15. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 13 , wherein the tubular wall has a circumferential direction, and wherein the radial opening is elongated in the circumferential direction. 16. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′) has a substantially cylindrical outer surface. 17. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 16 , wherein the at least one radial opening ( 130 ) is formed through the cylindrical outer surface. 18. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one additional support ( 100 , 100 ′) has a substantially cylindrical outer surface along its entire length. 19. Gear drive unit ( 1 ) according to claim 3 , wherein a second bearing cap ( 300 ) is provided, wherein the second bearing cap ( 300 ) is integral with the support ( 100 ′) and positions the drive gear ( 42 ) axially and radially on an other side. 20. The gear drive unit of claim 1 , wherein the customer interface is in the form of a recess in the circumference of the at least one additional support. 21. The gear drive unit of claim 1 , wherein the customer interface is in the form of a projection from the circumference of the at least one additional support. 22. The gear drive unit of claim 8 , wherein the second main assembly further includes a gear cover, wherein the gear cover at least partially surrounds the at least one additional support. 23. A gear drive unit ( 1 ), which is fastened on a base part ( 50 ), the gear drive unit ( 1 ) comprising: a spindle ( 40 ), on which a drive gear ( 42 ) that drives the spindle ( 40 ) is provided; a drive assembly ( 20 ), which drives the drive gear ( 42 ) by a driven element ( 500 ); and a gear housing ( 30 ) on which the drive assembly ( 20 ) is mounted and which operationally couples at least the driven element ( 500 ) and the drive gear ( 42 ), wherein at least one additional support ( 100 ′) is positioned in the gear housing such that the driven element ( 500 ) is disposed at least partially radially outside of the at least one additional support ( 100 ′)

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • Assembling of gear into force transmitting device · CPC title

  • Directly cooperating gears · CPC title

  • F16H1/16Primary

    comprising worm and worm-wheel · CPC title

  • Operations & Transport · mapped topic

  • Operations & Transport · mapped topic

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US9670988B2 cover?
A gear drive unit ( 1 ), for a seat adjuster or a power-assisted steering system, comprised of a spindle ( 40 ), on which a drive gear ( 42 ) that drives the spindle ( 40 ) is provided, a drive assembly ( 20 ), which drives the drive gear ( 42 ) by means of a driven element ( 500 ) and at least one device ( 30 ) on which the drive assembly ( 20 ) is at least flanged-mounted, and which operation…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Oberle Hans-Juergen, Schmidt Willi, Lienig Andreas, and 1 more
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification F16H1/16. Mapped technology areas include Mechanical Engineering.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Jun 06 2017 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).