Steering system for a motor vehicle

Abstract

A power steering system for a motor vehicle, comprising a steering wheel actuated by the driver of the vehicle, at least one steered wheel, an actuator motor that is activated to assist the steering movement initiated by the driver and a locking device for locking the steering wheel in at least one predetermined position. The steering wheel is moved to the predetermined position by activation of the actuator motor upon detection of a predetermined preset operating condition. Using the actuator motor to move the steering wheel to the predetermined position frees the driver from having to manually turn the steering wheel to the locking position upon shutdown of the vehicle. This has the advantage of increasing the comfort of such a steering system since the driver is freed from having to turn the steering wheel after shutdown of the vehicle and of increasing protection against theft since the driver does not have to remember to engage the steering lock upon shutdown of the vehicle.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.