Patent ID: 8226063

Claim:
A drive assembly comprising: a threaded screw; a gear rotatably disposed about said threaded screw, said gear including a geared outer surface; a housing including a bore and a lower arcuate surface with an opening therethrough, said bore extending between a closed end and an opposing open end; a rotatably driven worm disposed within said bore of said housing and extending between a bearing end and a drive end, said worm including a threaded outer surface protruding through said opening in said lower arcuate surface of said housing and threadably engaging said geared outer surface of said gear; and a generally U-shaped retainer strap partially surrounding said gear and adapted to couple said housing and said gear together to align and preload said worm and said gear; wherein an end plug is disposed in said open end of said bore for rotatably supporting said driven end of said worm and wherein said retainer strap includes a first upright portion adapted to be coupled to said housing, a second upright portion adapted to be coupled to said end plug, and a generally U-shaped lower portion partially surrounding said gear.