The present invention relates to tiltable steering column assemblies for automotive vehicles, and particularly to a lock mechanism for retaining the tilting component of the steering column in selected positions of adjustment.
Vehicle steering columns are often provided with a tiltable component that enables the steering wheel to be set at varying degrees of tilt, according to the desires and needs of different persons that might have occasion to drive the vehicle. Typically a manually operable lock mechanism is provided for retaining the steering wheel component in selected positions of tilt adjustment.
One such lock mechanism uses an elongated rod between the steering column components, in combination with a locking sleeve that encircles the rod to retain the rod in selected positions of adjustment. The rod and sleeve have mating teeth that are discontinuous in the circumferential plane, whereby the sleeve can be rotated around the rod axis to move the teeth into or out of mesh.
The sleeve grips the external surface of the rod, such that when the teeth are in mesh, the teeth are precluded from separation, even under high impact accident conditions when high forces might be imposed on the steering column components.