Vehicle energy absorbing steering column - has steering wheel section of column axially displaceable within column chamber

摘要

The chamber in the steering column section in which the steering wheel section of the column can move axially is in series with a further chamber to which it is connected via a flow channel. A through-flow valve is incorporated in the channel and is adjusted by a control element having e.g. an electromagnet which is actuated by a collision sensor in the front of the vehicle. The end of the steering wheel column has a piston which is acted upon by a spring and is held in the first chamber. A further spring-loaded piston is located in the second chamber and facilitates relative axial movement. Both chambers are filled with incompressible medium.