GB1342216A - Vehicle steering gear - Google Patents

Abstract

1342216 Steering column SOC ANON AUTOMOBILES CITROEN 12 Sept 1972 [29 Sept 1971] 42235/72 Heading B7H A safety steering arrangement includes a steering column formed by three non-aligned shafts 5, 7, 8 joined end to end by universal joints 10 and including a first shaft 7 connected to an easily displaceable part of the vehicle 1, a second shaft 5 mounted in bearings 6 in a more rigid part 2 of the vehicle, e.g. a bulkhead, and an intermediate shaft 8, and means mounted on a rigid part of the vehicle between the ends of the intermediate shaft 8 which forms a fulcrum about which the intermediate shaft pivots upon displacement of the part 1, e.g. in the event of a collision, to cause movement of the steering wheel 4 away from the driver. The easily displaceable part 1 may be an end portion of the chassis on which are mounted the engine (not shown), road wheels and rack and pinion mechanism 3 and which is displaced in the direction of arrow F (Fig. 1) in the event of a collision. In a first embodiment the fulcrum is formed by an abutment 12 mounted on a bulkhead. In the event of a collision the shaft 7 is displaced to position 7a, the shaft 8 pivots about abutment 12 to position 8a and the shaft 5 and steering wheel 4 move away from the driver (in direction of arrow G) to positions 5a and 4a respectively. In a second embodiment (Fig. 3a) the shaft 8 is mounted in a bearing 19 which is pivotally connected by pivot pin 23 to a bracket 20 on the bulkhead 2. In a modification (not shown) the bearing 19 is connected to the bulkhead 2 by deformable lugs which allow the shaft 8 to pivot to position 8a.