Steering Column Shuttle Mechanism for Crash Egress Support
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automotive steering columns collapse during a crash, causing the steering wheel to drop into the driver's lap, hindering egress, and lack adjustable features like rake and telescope positioning.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable steering column assembly with a bracket for rigid attachment to the vehicle, featuring a shuttle with slots for longitudinal and tilt adjustments, and a pin system that maintains the column upright during a collision by misaligning the pivot point, preventing downward movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the steering column collapses during a crash to absorb kinetic energy, then the energy absorption function is improved, but the steering wheel drops into the driver's lap impeding egress
Solution Approach 1:
The steering column assembly is divided into separate functional components: the collapsible column structure for energy absorption, and the independently supported steering wheel assembly. The steering wheel is mounted on a separate support structure that prevents it from dropping into the driver's lap during collapse, while the column itself continues to absorb kinetic energy through controlled deformation.
2Loss of energy
If the steering column is made collapsible for safety, then the energy absorption capability is improved, but the vertical support function deteriorates causing the column to drop
Solution Approach 1:
A separate support structure acts as an intermediary between the collapsible steering column and the vehicle body. This support structure maintains vertical support for the steering wheel assembly during normal operation and during collapse, preventing the steering wheel from dropping into the driver's lap while allowing the column to collapse for energy absorption.
3Device complexity
If the steering column provides fixed positioning, then the structural simplicity is improved, but the adjustability for different drivers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The steering column incorporates adjustable positioning mechanisms that allow the column to be configured in multiple positions (telescopic adjustment for length, rake adjustment for angle). These mechanisms enable the column to adapt to different driver preferences and vehicle configurations while maintaining structural integrity and safety functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable steering column assembly for a vehicle preferably has a bracket for rigid attachment to the vehicle with a first slot defining a longitudinal adjustment path of the assembly. A steering shaft is journaled to a jacket of the assembly for rotation about an axis. A shuttle attaches rigidly to the jacket and adjustably to the bracket for telescoping and tilt adjustment of the assembly. The shuttle has a second slot that defines a collapse path with said second slot preferably having a first portion restraining said steering shaft in a normal state and a second portion that allows said steering shaft to move through said collapse path when in a collapsed state. A pin extends through said first and second slots for coupling said shuttle to said bracket.