Collapsible steering column assembly with releasably attached spring

Abstract

A steering column assembly comprising an upper jacket, a lower jacket, a column mounting bracket operatively coupled to the lower jacket, and a spring extending from a first end to a second end. The upper jacket is telescopingly adjustable within the lower jacket over a range of driving positions between a retracted column position and an extended column position and moveable to a range of collapse positions beyond the retracted column position when moving away from the extended column position. The first end of the spring is releasably coupled to the column mounting bracket such that the spring disengages from the column mounting bracket in response to an impact force which moves the upper jacket into the range of collapse positions. The second end of the spring is disposed within an interior region of the upper jacket.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.