The Torrington Company

Nastech Europe Limited

Nsk Steering Systems Europe Limited

Michael T Hancock

Laurence George Barton

Yasuhisa Yamada

Seiichi Moriyama

David Thomas Wormall

Yuichiro Fukunaga

Ian David Baynes

Vehicle steering column ride down apparatus to guide the direction of steering column collapse in the event of vehicle crash includes a first part for fixedly mounting to a support such as a cross car beam and a second part for coupling to a steering column assembly. At least one of the parts has one or more tracks to act as guides and the other part has structure that runs in the one or more tracks. The apparatus also includes a tightener to tighten the two parts, one upon the other, to provide a predetermined frictional resistance at least to initial relative break-away movement of the two parts in the event of vehicle crash. Each track may be constituted by at least one slot. Coated plates can be clamped between flanges of the parts, which are each in the form of brackets to provide further initial frictional resistance to the initial relative break-away movement of the two parts.

Vehicle steering column ride down apparatus

A collapsible steering column for a vehicle includes an energy absorption device in the form of a wire bent into a U-shape with a member attached to an outer tube of the column engaging the base of the &ldquo;U&rdquo; of the wire. The free arms of the wire are contained within two apertures of a steering column adjustment block, in which the outer tube is mounted, with the base of the wire lying outside of apertures of the block. Upon vehicle crash, the outer tube moves and the member presses on the base of the wire to draw the arms of the wire out of the two apertures and into a third aperture intermediate of the two. The wire is given different cross sectional profiles to meet specified energy absorption criteria.

Collapsible steering column for a vehicle

In a snap connection system in which a shaft is inserted into a tube to a predetermined position, where co-operating surfaces on tube and shaft engage as in a laterally acting wedge. Two axially spaced spring loaded balls on one side of the tube urge the shaft into wedging engagement with the tube when in the pre-determined position. During insertion, a further spring loaded ball on the opposite side of the tube adjacent the wedge apex urges the shaft out of wedging engagement with the tube. A detent in the shaft accommodates this further ball at the predetermined position, locating the shaft axially and permitting wedging. The balls are biased by a spring sleeve and a tang thereon locates the sleeve on the tube. The tang may extend to the tube interior to coact with a detent in the shaft so that unclipping is necessary for disassembly. Alternatively, a spring loaded pin extending through sleeve and tube wall may accomplish the same end.

Snap connection system

An adjustable vehicle steering column clamping mechanism for a rake and reach adjustable steering column includes a steering column support bracket which has two flanks extending on either side of a steering column outer tube, each flank incorporating a slot to permit rake adjustment. A reach adjustment bracket has two flanks which extend on either side of the tube and lie adjacent the flanks of the bracket, the flanks also having slots extending parallel to the tube axis for reach adjustment. The flanks are spaced from the tube so as to accept heads of clamping bolts operated by a handle acting on associated clamping parts mounted on the bolts. The arrangement enables the bolts to be located on a substantially on-center line passing at right angles through the axis of the steering column.

Adjustable vehicle steering column clamping mechanism

A shaft coupling includes a shaft with a circumferential groove near one end, a shaft receiving member and a resiliently loaded shaft retention member in the shaft receiving member. The shaft retention member is fitted about a clamping bolt with one end of the spring engaging in the groove of the shaft. The shaft can be a vehicle steering column shaft and the shaft receiving member can be a yoke of a universal joint.

Shaft coupling

A collapsible steering column assembly with means to absorb energy transmitted by the steering column upon collapse, including a deformable U-shaped wire clip engaged around a pair of pins. A skid member adjoins the clip and is coupled to the steering column so that, upon collapse of the steering column, the skid member is urged in a direction to deform the wire clip by drawing it over the pins. The clip and skid member are accommodated in a fixed mounting bracket for the steering column.

Collapsible steering column assembly

A rake and reach adjustable steering column is secured in its desired location by means of a clamping mechanism. The clamping mechanism includes a cam on camming surfaces on which rollers held in a body freely run. A bolt extends from the cam and roller arrangement through a mounting bracket for the steering column and through a member fixed to the steering column. The body is rotatable by a handle which, through the cam and roller arrangement, causes thrust washers and other parts to release and clamp the steering column in position.

Steering column clamping mechanism

A vehicle crash energy absorbing mechanism incorporated in a steering column structure mountable to a breakaway mounting, the structure including an inner steering shaft which is drivably coupled by a splined arrangement to an outer shaft. The inner shaft has an energy absorption member in the form of a tube which surrounds a pin which is mounted diametrically through the inner shaft. A crash induced force on the column structure causes the outer shaft to be forced relatively towards the tube, thereby inducing an interaction between the pin and tube, the latter being deformed thereby to achieve the requisite energy absorption. In an alternative embodiment, the splined outer shaft itself acts as the absorption energy member, the pin deforming the splined arrangement.

Energy absorbing steering assembly

A steering column assembly for a vehicle incorporating a powered facility to adjust it in a vertical plane. A prime mover is pivotally connected to part of the steering column, the prime mover reciprocating an arm pivotably linked to one end of a bell crank lever, the other end being pivotably linked to the steering column part and an intermediate portion of the lever being able to pivot about a fixed part of the vehicle.

Motored adjustable steering column

A locking mechanism for locking an axially adjustable vehicle steering column. The locking mechanism comprising a steering column structure slidably attached to a break away mounting, the steering column structure being axially moveable relative to the mounting and a wedging blade for locking the steering column structure to the mounting by a wedging action in response to an actuating cable.

Locking mechanism for a vehicle steering column

A vehicle steering column incorporates a device to allow manual reach adjustment of the steering column. Actuating means is provided to pull the steering wheel away from the driver in the event of an impact of the vehicle. Two legs, slidably connected to the steering column and one of the legs connected to a pulling cable of the actuating means, each have along one edge ramps and along the opposite edges have serrated portions. One leg is inverted relative to the other so that they mate with the ramps of one leg nesting in valleys defined by the ramps of the other leg. A shear element normally secures the legs. The legs are located by two guide rails in a serrated block assembly with its serrations lying closely adjacent but normally clear of leg serrations. Upon vehicle impact, the cable is pulled and one leg tries to separate from the other leg, the shear element breaks and the serrations on the legs lock into the serrations of the serrated block assembly. Further pulling continues to pull the whole assembly.

Apparatus for connecting adjustable reach steering column to actuating

A vehicle steering column with means for adjusting the reach of a steering wheel in an axial direction relative to the column includes a coupling between a steering column shaft and a steering column tubular portion, the shaft and tubular portion being relatively slidable. The coupling incorporates a resilient member to provide preloaded torque resistance to inhibit transmission of rotational backlash through the steering column and the shaft and tubular portion are of non-circular section and the resilient member is of non-uniform thickness. In the unstressed state, a sleeve of the resilient member for surrounding the shaft is angularly offset and is twisted into alignment by the non-circular shaft upon assembly of the coupling to provide the torque resistance.

Vehicle steering column

A vehicle steering column is decoupled in the event of a frontal impact of the vehicle to prevent frontal crash forces from reaching the upper steering column. A releasable coupling interconnects upper and lower portions of the steering column and includes a clamping arrangement normally to clamp the two portions together. The clamping arrangement is released upon forcible shifting of the lower portion towards the upper portion.

Vehicle steering column incorporating means to decouple it

A coupling member for taking up torque in a vehicle steering column to absorb vibration and vehicle body misalignment, the coupling member including a plastics disc with a pair of diametrically opposed bosses which protrude further from one face of the disc than from the other face, and another pair of diametrically opposed bosses which protrude further from the other face of the disc than from its one face. The disc is able to distort upon application of torque through the bosses by means of a cut-out portion between each adjacent boss. A fail-safe deflection plate can be provided on each face of the disc to react against opposed pairs of bosses in the event of high application of torque. An adaptor piece holding one end of a steering column is fitted to one face of the disc and a splined flange is secured to the other face of the disc to enable the coupling member to be secured to another steering column component.

Coupling member for taking up torque in a vehicle steering column and a

A steering column for a vehicle and a method of making same, wherein the steering column is made from a tube which has a sleeve passed over a length of it in the region where the steering column is to be engaged by a steering lock mechanism, in order for there to be sufficient thickness in that region to accommodate a lock slot of the steering lock mechanism. In order to achieve substantially the same overall outer diameter along the major length of the steering column, the sleeve is secured to the tube, for example, by welding and the sleeve and underlying tube are crushed by swaging or a die forming machine so that the outer diameter of the sleeve becomes substantially the same as that of the tube beyond the sleeve.

Growing community of inventors

Coventry, United Kingdom

Michael T Hancock