Christopher N Bither

20100124455, May 20, 2010

Nov 17, 2008

12/271991

Miroslaw Zaloga - Shelby Townhip MI, US
George E. Doerr - Clarkston MI, US
Christopher N. Bither - Commerce Township MI, US
Christopher J. Mielke - Shelby Township MI, US
Marco E. Rodriguez - Macomb Township MI, US

GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC. - Detroit MI

F16C 11/00
B62D 7/16

403144, 403120

A pivot joint assembly includes a housing having a bore therethrough and a coaxial central axis. A stud is disposed coaxially with the bore, and has a bearing surface. A resilient member disposed between the housing and the stud is biased against the housing to accommodate radial loads transferred therebetween. An inner metal ring disposed between the resilient member and the bearing surface substantially surrounds the bearing surface and is sized for a sliding fit between the bearing surface and an interface surface of the inner metal ring. The stud is configured to pivot about the central axis by a range of at least 40 degrees. The pivot joint assembly may further include a sealing element configured to seal the bearing surface and the interface surface. Another embodiment includes an axial restraint element configured to prevent axial separation of the stud and housing.

20100230921, Sep 16, 2010

Mar 13, 2009

12/403609

Miroslaw Zaloga - Shelby Township MI, US
Christopher J. Mielke - Shelby Township MI, US
George E. Doerr - Clarkston MI, US
Christopher N. Bither - Commerce Township MI, US
Marco E. Rodriguez - Macomb Township MI, US
Eric B. Hoyer - White Lake MI, US

GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC. - Detroit MI

B62D 7/16

280 93511, 280 93502

A steering mechanism includes a relay rod and an idler arm operatively attached to a first end thereof. A pitman arm includes a stud and is operatively attached to a second end of the relay rod. A bushing is configured to allow displacement of the pitman arm relative to the relay rod. The bushing includes an outer can, an inner metal member, and a bushing disposed therebetween. The inner metal member has a tapered receptacle configured to mate with a tapered portion of the stud. The resilient member may include voids, which may be oriented generally perpendicular to a turning direction and may be tapered from the base to the opening. The inner metal member may have a generally-cylindrical portion and substantially-opposing outer flats interrupting the same. The outer flats are spaced by a distance smaller than the cylinder diameter and may be substantially parallel to the turning direction.