Steering apparatus

A steering apparatus comprising:

• a steering wheel that is manipulated by a driver;
• a steering shaft of which one end is coupled to the steering wheel;
• a steering column supported by a vehicle body and configured to rotatably support the steering shaft;
• an intermediate shaft of which one end is coupled to another end of the steering shaft via a universal joint;
• a clutch input shaft of which one end is coupled to another end of the intermediate shaft via another universal joint;
• a clutch output shaft of which one end is disposed to face another end of the clutch input shaft;
• a clutch fixed to the vehicle body and configured to connect and disconnect the clutch input shaft and the clutch output shaft;
• a steering gear configured to convert rotational movement of the clutch output shaft into linear movement to steer vehicle wheels;
• a drive mechanism configured to apply a drive force to a power transmission system on the clutch output shaft side so as to steer the vehicle wheels in a state where the clutch is disconnected;
• and
• a bracket configured to fix the clutch to the vehicle body and to restrict placement angles of the clutch input shaft and the clutch output shaft,
• wherein a tilt angle of the intermediate shaft relative to a horizontal plane is set to be larger than a tilt angle of the clutch input shaft relative to the horizontal plane when viewed in a vehicle transverse direction, and
• the bracket is disengaged from the vehicle body when a predetermined impact load in a vehicle longitudinal direction is input to the steering gear.