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US 4,195,862 AGranted
Camber adjusting shim arrangement
AssigneeShim-A-Line, Inc.
InventorsGerald A. Specktor, John W. Solberg
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AssigneeShim-A-Line, Inc.
InventorsGerald A. Specktor, John W. Solberg
Estimating the term…
An improved shim arrangement for adjusting the camber of a wheel in a steerable driving axle assembly, such as a front axle assembly of a four wheel drive vehicle. The shim arrangement involves a large number of tapered shims of resilient non-metallic material of high compressive strength at yield, each of which has a different maximum dimension and each of which preferably has a color corresponding to the maximum dimension of the shim. In use, a shim of the required thickness is inserted between two sections of the axle housing to adjust the angle between them and hence the camber of the wheel. Because the shims are colored, it is possible to identify the particular shim that has been used after the axle assembly has been reassembled after insertion of the shim. The shims are of a resilient plastic material such as 40% glass filled nylon. Each shim preferably has an annular rib adjacent its inner wall which engages the adjacent surfaces of the housing, or an adjacent shim, and acts as a seal.
In a steering drive axle assembly having an axle housing, a driving axle in said housing, a driven axle, a universal joint connecting said driving axle and said driven axle, a second housing surrounding said driven axle, a wheel hub member surrounding and rotatably secured to said second housing and secured to said driven axle to be rotated thereby, an intermediate annular member pivotally secured to said axle housing and detachably clamped to said second housing to pivotally connect said second housing to said axle housing, said second housing and said annular member having adjacent mating surfaces, and detachable means for clamping said mating surfaces together, and
As a new article of manufacture, a non-metallic, resilient, annular tapered shim, adapted to be used between the annular mating faces or surfaces of a driving axle housing and a driven axle housing and useful in controlling camber of a wheel mounted on a steerable driven axle, said shim being made of a yieldably compressible plastic material of high impact strength and a compressive strength at yield of the order of 29,000 to 36,500 lbs. per square inch, such as is provided by nylon having a filler of glass beads, said annular shim having surfaces or faces between the inner and outer circumferences thereof, and at least one relatively narrow annular ridge on at least one face thereof to aid in forming a fluid tight seal with the adjacent one of said mating surfaces.
In a steering drive axle assembly having an axle housing, a driving axle in said housing, a driven axle, a universal joint connecting said driving axle and said driven axle, a second housing surrounding said driven axle, a wheel hub member surrounding and rotatably secured to said second housing and secured to said driven axle to be rotated thereby, an intermediate annular member pivotally secured to said axle housing and detachably clamped to said second housing to pivotally connect said second housing to said axle housing, said second housing and said annular member having adjacent mating surfaces, and detachable means for clamping said mating surfaces together,
In a steering assembly, for an automobile or other vehicle, having a first housing, a second housing, a wheel hub member surrounding and rotatably secured to said second housing, an intermediate annular member pivotally secured to said first housing and detachably clamped to said second housing to pivotally connect said second housing to said first housing, said second housing and said annular member having adjacent mating surfaces, and detachable means for clamping said mating surfaces together,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.