Steering column assembly for a vehicle
First Claim
1. A steering column assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a column jacket having upper and lower jacket tubes telescopically coupled with each other;
a steering shaft rotatably supported in the column jacket and capable of tilting and telescoping together with the column jacket;
upper and lower clamps mounting the column jacket on a vehicle body in such a manner that the column jacket can tilt about a lower end portion of the lower jacket tube;
the upper clamp having a pair of opposed sidewalls and first and second distance brackets disposed movably between the sidewalls so as to sandwich the column jacket therebetween, the first distance bracket including a lock portion engageable with an outer surface of the upper jacket tube, the second distance bracket including a support portion engageable with an outer surface of the lower jacket tube; and
an operation lever attached to the upper clamp so as to be able to pivot between a lock position and an unlock position, wherein, when the operation lever is at the lock position, the sidewalls is caused to press the first and second distance brackets against the column jacket with the lock portion pushed on the upper jacket tube and the support portion pushed on the lower jacket tube so that both of the column jacket and the steering shaft are prevented from tilting and telescoping.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A steering column assembly includes a column jacket provided with upper and lower jacket tubes telescopically coupled with each other for supporting therein a steering shaft rotatably. The column jacket is mounted tiltably on a vehicle body by upper and lower clamps and received between sidewalls of the upper clamp through distance brackets. One of the distance brackets includes lock protrusions that face the outer surface of the upper jacket tube, while the other includes support protrusions that face the outer surface of the lower jacket tube. When an operation lever is set to a lock position, the sidewalls is caused to press the distance brackets against the column jacket with the lock protrusions pushed on the upper jacket tube and the support protrusions pushed on the lower jacket tube. In this state, the column jacket is prevented from tilting and telescoping.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A steering column assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
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a column jacket having upper and lower jacket tubes telescopically coupled with each other;
a steering shaft rotatably supported in the column jacket and capable of tilting and telescoping together with the column jacket;
upper and lower clamps mounting the column jacket on a vehicle body in such a manner that the column jacket can tilt about a lower end portion of the lower jacket tube;
the upper clamp having a pair of opposed sidewalls and first and second distance brackets disposed movably between the sidewalls so as to sandwich the column jacket therebetween, the first distance bracket including a lock portion engageable with an outer surface of the upper jacket tube, the second distance bracket including a support portion engageable with an outer surface of the lower jacket tube; and
an operation lever attached to the upper clamp so as to be able to pivot between a lock position and an unlock position, wherein, when the operation lever is at the lock position, the sidewalls is caused to press the first and second distance brackets against the column jacket with the lock portion pushed on the upper jacket tube and the support portion pushed on the lower jacket tube so that both of the column jacket and the steering shaft are prevented from tilting and telescoping. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A steering column assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
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a column jacket having upper and lower jacket tubes telescopically coupled with each other and supporting therein a steering shaft rotatably;
a clamp mounting the column jacket tiltably on a vehicle body, the clamp having a pair of opposed sidewalls and first and second distance brackets disposed movably between the sidewalls so as to sandwich the column jacket therebetween, the first distance bracket having a lock portion engageable with an outer surface of the upper jacket tube, the second distance bracket having a support portion engageable with an outer surface of the lower jacket tube; and
control means for pushing the sidewalls thereby pressing the first and second distance brackets against the column jacket with the lock portion pushed on the upper jacket tube and the support portion pushed on the lower jacket tube so that the column jacket is prevented from tilting and telescoping when an operation lever is in a lock position. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A clamp for mounting a column jacket tiltably on a vehicle body, the column jacket having upper and lower jacket tubes telescopically coupled with each other, the clamp comprising:
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a pair of opposed sidewalls;
first and second distance brackets disposed movably between the sidewalls so as to sandwich the column jacket therebetween, the first distance bracket including a lock portion engageable with an outer surface of the upper jacket tube, the second distance bracket including a support portion engageable with an outer surface of the lower jacket tube; and
control means for pushing the sidewalls thereby pressing the first and second distance brackets against the column jacket with the lock portion pushed on the upper jacket tube and the support portion pushed on the lower jacket tube so that the column jacket is prevented from tilting and telescoping when an operation lever is in a lock position. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification