Shaft depressor for a slap yoke in a steering assembly

摘要

A shaft depressor is used for seating a shaft (15) against a closed, usually curved, portion between first and second sides of a U-shaped socket (10) in a slap yoke of a steering shaft assembly. It is used together with a clamp bolt (20) which extends through a hole (11) in the first side of the socket and fastens to threads at a second parallel side thereof. The shaft depressor consists of a cylindrical body (30) having an inside diameter sized to fit over the clamp bolt, an outside diameter sized to pass through the hole (11) in the first side of the U-shaped socket, and projecting members (32) for pressing the shaft into the closed portion of the socket. The shaft depressor can have a tapered lead (31) at one end for easy insertion through the hole in the first parallel side and the projecting members can be fins (32) projecting radially outwardly from the surface of the cylindrical body. The radially projecting fins may be axially extending ribs, circumferential ribs, cones or a single helical rib on the surface of the cylindrical body (30).