Collapsible motor vehicle steering shaft
AssigneeEtablissement Supervis
InventorsDominik Naff, Hubert Breuss
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A steering shaft for a steering system of a motor vehicle including an outer tubular member, and an inner tubular member extending into the outer member and secured therein against axial and/or radial displacement relative to the outer member, with the two tubular members being axially displaceable relative to each other in case of a collision, and with one of the tubular members having tear-off strips with bent-over front ends having bent-over sections engaging the other tubular member, each of the tear-off strips being formed by two spaced flutes of the one tubular member, the flutes also defining weakness locations.
Claims3
A steering shaft for a steering system of a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a first tubular member;
- and
- a second tubular member extending into the first tubular member and secured therein without a possibility of axial and radial displacement relative thereto during normal operation of the steering shaft,
- wherein the first and second tubular members are displaceable relative to each other in an axial direction in case of a collision,
- wherein the second tubular member has a plurality of tear-off strips each having a bent-over front end, when viewed in a displacement direction of the first and second tubular members, which is one of cut free and stamped free of the second tubular member,
- wherein the second tubular member has a plurality of pairs of flutes continuously extending along the second tubular member, with each pair of flutes forming one of the tear-off strips and defining weakness locations,
- wherein the first tubular member has a plurality of recesses corresponding to the plurality of tear-off strips, and
- wherein the bent-over front ends of the tear-off strips project through respective recesses of the first tubular member and engage the first tubular member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.