Lock for locking the steering shaft or the gear rack of the steering gear or the output shaft of the transmission of a motor vehicle

A lock adapted to lock a steering shaft or a gear rack of a steering-gear or an output shaft of a transmission of a motor vehicle, said lock comprising a locking element displaceable to-and-fro between a locked and an unlocked position and furthermore a control element rotatable to-and-fro by means of a drive arranged to axially displace a drive element cooperating with the locking element or displacing the locking element directly in either direction, wherein the drive element (10) or the locking element and the control element (35) are arranged and configured to extend coaxially to cooperate in such manner that, by means of

• (a) a cross-pin (41) having two ends (65, 66) which is axially displaceable in a transverse borehole (42) of the drive element (10) or the locking element, and
• (b) two helically running inner channels (43, 44) and a first plane terminal surface (45) of the control element (35) which runs perpendicularly to the axis of rotation (8) of the control element (35) and which adjoins the two helically running inner channels (43, 44) and which is bounded by a first side ramp (47) running from the bottom (54) of one helically running inner channel (43) on the outside of and at a distance (55) from and past the other helically running inner channel (44) toward the drive element (10) or the locking element,
• during the rotation of the control element (35) in a direction (69) in which the two ends (65, 66) of the cross-pin (41) projecting from the transverse borehole (42) of the drive element (10) or of the locking element move in the two helically running inner channels (43, 44) toward the first plane terminal surface (45) of the control element (35), the drive element (10) or the locking element shall be correspondingly axially displaced and, when the ends (65, 66) of the cross-pin (41) move from the two helically running inner channels (43, 44) onto the first plane terminal surface (45), they shall not move and will remain in the axial position so reached until the control element (35) is rotated in the opposite direction (74) to cause the ends (65, 66) of the cross-pin (41) to run in the two helically running inner channels (43, 44) away from the the first plane terminal surface (45), whereby the drive element (10) or the locking element shall be axially displaced in the opposite direction.