Device for active retraction, in the event of impact, of an automobile vehicle steering column
US5769455A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 30, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jun 23, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB62D1/184
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
In an automobile vehicle steering column including a steering shaft mounted in a tube-body by means of bearings and attached to a reinforcing member of the tube-body which is mounted on a support member fixed to the chassis of the vehicle and an adjustment system with an axle for locking the support member, an active retraction device in the steering column comprises two sloping wedges mounted on and having conjugate inclinations relative to the axle, and at least one fusible pin coupling the sloping wedges. The inside sloping wedge is disposed around the depthwise adjustment slide and the outside sloping wedge is attached to the axle of the adjustment system. In the event of an impact, the fusible pin is sheared by the triggering of an air-bag and allows the sloping wedges to move apart and to release the tension in the adjustment system axle in order to allow the steering shaft to move in a required direction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.