Over-center locking mechanism for steering column assembly

A steering column assembly for a vehicle, said assembly comprising:

• a column jacket extending along a longitudinal axis;
• a mounting bracket coupled to said column jacket and including a first plate disposed on one side of said column jacket and a second plate disposed on an opposing side of said column jacket relative to said first plate with said mounting bracket configured for attachment to the vehicle;
• a first clamp shaft coupled to and extending through said first plate along a first transverse axis intersecting said column jacket and transverse to said longitudinal axis;
• a second clamp shaft coupled to and extending through said second plate along a second transverse axis intersecting said column jacket and transverse to said longitudinal axis;
• a cam mechanism coupled to said first clamp shaft for axially moving said first clamp shaft along said first transverse axis between a lock position compressing said first plate against said column jacket to fix a position of said column jacket relative to said mounting bracket and a release position releasing said first plate from said column jacket to permit movement of said column jacket relative to said mounting bracket;
• a bridge extending across said column jacket and interconnecting said first clamp shaft and said second clamp shaft to transmit said axial movement of said first clamp shaft along said first transverse axis between said lock position and said release position to said second clamp shaft along said second transverse axis for moving said second clamp shaft concurrently with said first clamp shaft.