Abstract: An axle drive mechanism comprises an input shaft rotatably mounted in a housing having bearings for supporting the input shaft at opposite ends of the housing. The input shaft includes a pinion gear in meshed engagement with a driven gear coaxially secured about the longitudinal axis of two axle shafts which extend outwardly from the housing. The housing also includes openings at each end of the housing through which the end portions of the input shaft are exposed exteriorly of the housing so that either or both ends of the input shaft can be coupled to a drive line. The axle drive also includes a closure cap adapted to be received in the opening at one end of the housing for enclosing the housing and protecting the unused shaft end.

Abstract: A rail assembly which is especially advantageous for use in constructing the frame and underbody of a motor vehicle comprises an upper channel member, a lower channel member and an intermediate member or web in the form of a corrugated sheet secured between the channel members and whose margins abuttingly engage the peripheral walls of the channels. Each furrow and ridge preferably comprises a planar panel portion. Each planar panel portion is interconnected by a web panel portion which is preferably angled at an acute angle with respect to the transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rail. Preferably, each planar panel portion has a trapezoidal shape to maximize resistance to bending moments along the longitudinal axis of the rail. The rail design can also be incorporated into other structural elements in a vehicle, i.e. in a pillar arch or a vehicle body, to provide additional rigidity to the vehicle structure.

Abstract: A fuel sender mount comprises a support rod, a mounting plate secured at one end of the support rod and bolted to the top wall of the fuel tank, a carriage slideably mounted to the support rod and secured to the fuel sender housing and a spring for resiliently urging the carriage downwardly away from the top wall of the tank. The lower end of the carriage is received in a guide socket so that the fuel sender remains fixedly positioned with respect to the fuel tank. The mount is particularly useful in a fuel tank having a resiliently deformable bottom which can be deformed upwardly upon contact with a foreign object. During such contact, the carriage slides along the support rod to prevent puncturing of the bottom wall of the tank, and the force of the contact is not directed against the support rod or the mounting plate with sufficient force to cause the mounting bolts to rip through the top wall of the fuel tank or otherwise rupture the fuel tank.

Abstract: A lost motion link for allowing selective control of the throttle valve of a vehicle engine between accelerator pedal linkage and speed control system linkage comprises:an elongated body having an enclosed longitudinal passage dimensioned to receive an enlarged cable terminus, an integral flange for pivotally mounting the body to the throttle valve actuator, and a restricted portion of the longitudinal passage entraining the terminus in the body.

Abstract: A vehicle window operating system (10) disclosed for use in combination with a vehicle body (12) having an outer contour (13) comprises an elongated guide member (30), a guide follower (34) and a regulator (38) including a control member (40) that acts along the longitudinal axis of the guide member for displacing the guide follower along the guide member to provide window panel (24) stability along its path of displacement and also to provide flush alignment of the window panel with the vehicle contour.

Abstract: A cable mount comprises a tubular body having a radially enlarged flange and retaining fingers axially spaced from and inclined toward the enlarged flange adapted to retain the mount within an apertured panel. The cable mount also includes an axial extension including one part of a two-piece ball and socket connection. A second piece of the ball and socket connection is provided on a cable accessory such as a tubular sheath which can therefore be swivelly mounted with respect to the cable mount. Another cable accessory comprises a barrier cap which covers the opening in the apertured panel and a registering opening in any trim material covering the panel. In addition, an integral cable assembly according to the present invention includes a pair of cable mounts and any mating cable accessories such as sheaths or barrier caps, and these components are entrained between the ends of the cable by an enlarged terminus at each end of the cable.

Abstract: An axle beam for supporting drivetrain and steering components of a motor vehicle comprises a first elongated channel member having a substantially hat-shaped cross section including first and second sidewalls, a bottom wall having a longitudinal edge at one edge of each of the sidewalls, and side flanges extending outwardly from the other edges of the sidewalls. A second elongated member includes surface portions registering with and bonded to the side flanges of the first member. An end plate is secured at each longitudinal end of the beam and is configured to support a wheel spindle support knuckle. Additional steering structure including the steering control assembly can be mounted on sidewalls of the beam. Additional reinforcement can be provided to the axle beam by corrugated web panels inserted within the longitudinal channel as well as by flanged apertures formed in the sidewalls of the first elongated member.

Abstract: A vehicle construction comprises a series of modules which can be individually fabricated and assembled to include vehicle operating components before the modules are combined in the final assembly of the vehicle. An underbody module, including a passenger platform is preferably integrally constructed with a chassis frame comprising a pair of longitudinal rails sandwiched between upper and lower flooring panels and extending longitudinally beyond the flooring panels, is a support structure for the remaining modules. A second module comprising a cowl having a windshield frame integrally constructed with a dash panel frame provides structural support for vehicle controls and adjacent modules or body panels. Preferably, the underbody and cowl modules are joined by additional structural supports to form a cage enclosing passenger area of the vehicle. A third module encloses the vehicle area in front of the passenger compartment and a fourth module encloses the area behind the passenger compartment.

Abstract: A rail assembly which is especially advantageous for use in constructing the frame and underbody of a motor vehicle comprises an upper channel member, a lower channel member and an intermediate member or web in the form of a corrugated sheet secured between the channel members and whose margins abuttingly engage the peripheral walls of the channels. Each furrow and ridge preferably comprises a planar panel portion.

Abstract: An adjustable steering wheel hub in an automobile steering mechanism comprises a first hub member and a second hub member. The first hub member includes a circumferentially splined bore adapted to be engaged with a circumferentially splined section of a steering shaft. The second hub member is coupled to a steering wheel and includes at least one threaded aperture registering with an arcuate aperture in the first member through which a fastener is secured to provide a selectively, adjustable, angularly fixed connection between the first hub portion and the second hub portion.

Abstract: A modular door comprises a lower door housing defining a cavity adapted to receive a glass panel, and an upper cassette including a housing carrying a track for displaceably mounting the glass panel with respect to the upper housing and a regulator for controlling displacement of the glass panel along the track. The cassette is removable as a unit from the lower door housing to expose the passenger compartment through a large portion of the door opening in the vehicle body. The lower housing is hingedly secured to the vehicle body within the door opening and wholly supports the upper housing of the cassette. Nevertheless, the door unit seals against a weatherseal extending around the periphery of the door opening when the glass panel is displaced to its fully extended position.

Abstract: The transfer case comprises differential gearing in the form of a single planetary gear set having an annulus, a first set of planet gears in engagement with the annulus, a second set of planet gears in engagement with corresponding planet gears of the first set and a sun gear in engagement with the planet gears of the second set. The input torque supplied by a transmission output member is applied to the annulus so that substantially any portion of the torque can be applied to the sun gear by appropriate sizing of the sun gear with respect to the size of the annulus.

Abstract: A spring for use in a vehicle suspension comprises at least one leaf having longitudinal ends tapering outwardly from one end of the spring to the other to form a substantially trapezoidal shaped leaf spring. The leaf is resiliently biased by a spring constant to a normally semi-elliptical shape which deflects into a substantially linear orientation when the vehicle supported upon a ground surface by the suspension. The linear orientation of the usually semi-elliptical spring maximizes resistance to lateral distortion in the direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the spring. Preferably, the spring comprises a single leaf having tapered longitudinal edges and an eye at each longitudinal end adapted to receive a mounting pin therethrough.

Abstract: A speaker seal for mounting a speaker within an automobile wherein the speaker is suspended in an opening in a body panel located substantially parallel to and spaced from a substantially contiguous trim panel with a corresponding opening, comprises a tubular member coaxially extending around the opening in the body panel and the opening in the trim panel and resiliently compressed between the panels. The seal forms an acoustic barrier between sound waves emitted by the speaker through the trim panel opening from sound waves emitted on the other side of the speaker.

Abstract: A vehicle transfer case (10) includes first and second planetary gear sets (68,70) and a selector (146) for selectively positioning (a) the first planetary gear set (68) in an operating position and the second planetary gear set (70) in a locked position to provide low speed driving without any differential action between first and second outputs (36,38) or (b) the first planetary gear set (68) in a locked or nonoperating position and the second planetary gear set (70) in an operating position to provide high speed driving with differential action between the first and second outputs (36,38). The second planetary gear set (70) which selectively provides the differential action between the first and second outputs (36,38) has components (106,108,122) all of which are rotatable about a central axis A, and planet gears (126,128) of the planet carrier component (122) are rotatable about axes parallel to the central axis.

Abstract: A wiper arm assembly and system utilizing same is disclosed wherein a wiper arm of the assembly is alternately coupled to a wiper arm driver in first and second angular positions angularly spaced about a pivot axis to permit movement of the assembly to a park position and automatic movement between first and second limit positions of a glass wipe pattern. A manually operable coupling mechanism permits the movement and automatically locks the wiper arm to the wiper arm driver in the first angular position during movement towards the first limit position immediately after movement from the park position towards the second limit position. The coupling mechanism includes a locking member and a cam having first and second communicating grooves in which the locking member is alternately positioned. The cam is mounted on the wiper arm driver to rotate about the pivot axis.

Abstract: A vehicle drivetrain (16) disclosed includes a viscous clutch (30) that is driven by an auxiliary output (52) of a transaxle (28) to provide four-wheel driving when needed while providing two-wheel driving at other times. A selector (54) is preferably incorporated to selectively (a) disconnect the auxiliary output (52) of the transaxle from the pair of wheels not normally driven thereby, (b) connect the auxiliary output (52) of the transaxle to the second pair of wheels through the viscous clutch (30), or (c) connect the auxiliary output (52) of the transaxle to an output (60) of the viscous clutch (30) in a bypassed relationship to the clutch. The drivetrain (16) has particular utility when utilized with a transversely mounted front engine and can be utilized with a transaxle (28) of either the automatic or manual shifting type.

Abstract: An adjustable tilt steering wheel column, including a tilt steering column mechanism which operates substantially independently from the steering column is disclosed. The tilt mechanism includes an upper plate, a lower plate, a hinge pin and a release lever. The upper and lower plates are connected by the hinge pin which allows for angular movement between the two plates. The upper plate has two vertical wall members spaced apart and positioned perpendicular to the hinge pin. The vertical wall members have a plurality of vertically spaced notches which are parallel to the hinge pin. An upper portion of the release lever includes a pair of spaced pin-carrying legs to coincide with the vertical wall members. The legs are pivotally connected to the lower plate by a pair of pivot bolts. A compression spring is mounted between the upper portion of the lever and a bracket mounted on the upper plate. The spring urges the pins into the notches of the vertical wall members.