Steering column in a motor vehicle

US6116647A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Micro Compact Car AG · DE

Inventors

• Thomas Fischer · Tübingen, DE
• Martin Ganser · Weil der Stadt, DE
• Ulrich Schick · Nagold, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 13, 1998
• Grant date: Sep 12, 2000
• Expiry date: Jul 13, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B62D1/16
• WIPO field: Transport
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A steering column in a motor vehicle having a steering shaft which, in the event of a crash, can be displaced axially in the direction of the vehicle front by a load on the steering wheel. The steering column has a shell element around the steering shaft adjoining the steering wheel which can be divided by the displacement of the steering wheel for reducing the displacement resistance. The shell element is divided into at least two parts approximately in the axial direction of the steering shaft. The steering wheel and the steering shaft press the shell parts of the shell element apart radially to the outside in the event of an axial displacement.