US 7,455,320 B2
Shock absorbing steering apparatus
Kenji Imamura, Toyota (Japan); Shigeru Hoshino, Toyota (Japan); Kiminori Yoshino, Toyota (Japan); Hideo Kondo, Aichi-gun (Japan); Junichi Nakano, Toyota (Japan); Hiroaki Date, Komaki (Japan); and Hitoshi Nakanishi, Toyota (Japan)
Assigned to Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/554,024
PCT Filed Apr. 28, 2004, PCT No. PCT/JP2004/006231
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Oct. 21, 2005,
PCT Pub. No. WO2004/101345, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 25, 2004.
Claims priority of application No. 2003-136380 (JP), filed on May 14, 2003; application No. 2003-279544 (JP), filed on Jul. 25, 2003; application No. 2003-286678 (JP), filed on Aug. 05, 2003; application No. 2003-290149 (JP), filed on Aug. 08, 2003; application No. 2003-310419 (JP), filed on Sep. 02, 2003; and application No. 2004-049733 (JP), filed on Feb. 25, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2006/0181070 A1, Aug. 17, 2006
Int. Cl. B62D 1/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 280—777 38 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
11. A shock absorbing steering apparatus for use in a vehicle, comprising:
a steering column to be fixed to a portion of a body of the vehicle such that the steering column is releasable from the body of the vehicle and movable in a forward direction of the vehicle in the event of a secondary collision of an occupant of the vehicle upon a collision of the vehicle, one of the steering column and said portion of the body of the vehicle including a mounting portion, and the other of the steering column and said portion of the body of the vehicle including a holding portion;
an impact energy absorbing member to be mounted on the mounting portion, the impact energy absorbing member including an engaging portion which is engageable with the holding portion and being deformable as the steering column is moved in the forward direction of the vehicle while the engaging portion is held in engagement with the holding portion, whereby the impact energy absorbing member absorbs an impact energy generated by the secondary collision; and
an engagement adjusting mechanism operable to permit or inhibit an engagement between the engaging portion of the impact energy absorbing member and said holding portion;
wherein the engagement adjusting mechanism includes a mechanism operable to cause the holding portion to be displaced by an amount corresponding to a magnitude of an impact applied to the body of the vehicle upon the collision of the vehicle, and a mechanism operable to permit the engagement between the engaging portion and the holding portion when the amount of displacement of the holding portion is larger than a predetermined threshold.