The present invention provides a steering apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus including: a plate bracket supported on distance brackets and having a first slot through which an adjustment bolt passes, the distance brackets being coupled to the outer circumferential surface of an upper tube to face each other; a stationary gear coupled to the plate bracket, wherein the stationary gear has a second slot that corresponds to the first slot and through which the adjustment bolt passes and first gear teeth formed at opposite edges thereof; and a movable gear having a through-hole through which adjustment bolt passes and second gear teeth formed on opposite sides thereof and engaged with the first gear teeth.

A variable steering angle steering device rotationally drives a rotational element using a steering angle ratio adjustment motor so as to change the relationship between the amount of rotation of a first rotating shaft and the amount of rotation of a second rotating shaft, thereby changing the relationship between the amount of steering of the steering wheel and the amount of change in steering angle. The steering angle ratio adjustment motor is supported and fixed at a part of a steering column forward than a portion at which the steering column is supported with respect to a support frame. In the event of primary collision, the steering angle ratio adjustment motor collides with the support frame and is thereby prevented from being displaced rearward beyond the support frame.

A steering column may include an actuating unit in which a steering shaft is mounted rotatably, a holding unit that is connectable to a body of a motor vehicle and that adjustably supports the actuating unit, a locking element that is coupled movably to the holding unit for axial locking of the actuating unit, a spring element that exerts a prestressing force on the locking element, a securing element for fixing the spring element, and a counterbearing. The locking element, the securing element, and the counterbearing may form a three-point arrangement in which the spring element is fixed. The spring element may be supported on one side on the locking element and on the other side on the counterbearing. The securing element may be arranged between the locking element and the counterbearing and may prestress the spring element.

A support shaft includes a first supported portion and a second supported portion supported by respective support holes of a pair of fastened portions. The support shaft includes a large-diameter portion including the first supported portion, a small-diameter portion including the second supported portion and having a diameter smaller than the large-diameter portion, and a stepped portion formed between the large-diameter portion and the small-diameter portion. The small-diameter portion includes a tapered portion provided in the small-diameter portion so as to be adjacent to the stepped portion and having a diameter gradually decreasing toward the stepped portion, a first to-be-broken portion placed in a smallest-diameter portion of the tapered portion so as to be broken at a time of a secondary collision, and a second to-be-broken portion placed adjacent to the second supported portion so as to be broken at the time of the secondary collision.

An energy absorbing member is fixed to an outer periphery of an inner column, extends in a front-rear direction and is introduced into a slit of an outer column. During a secondary collision, a tightening rod is displaced forward together with the outer column, so that the energy absorbing member is vertically restrained to the tightening rod and the inner column from a up-down direction, is crushed by the tightening rod and generates impact absorption load.

A steering column assembly comprises a shroud having a first part that is fixed in position axially relative to the vehicle and a second part that can in use can move relative to the first part for adjustment of the length of the shroud, a support bracket that in use is secured to a part of the vehicle, and a clamp mechanism that has a locked position in which it locks the position of the moving part of the shroud relative to the first part of the shroud and an unlocked position in which it permits movement between the first and second parts of the shroud. The assembly further comprises an end of travel protection mechanism which comprises a cam that is free to rotate around an axis and a lock bolt, in a locked position the end of travel protection mechanism urging the lock bolt into a position where it limits the amount of collapse of the shroud and in an unlocked position the end of travel protection mechanism the lock bolt being withdrawn into a position where it permits additional collapse of the shroud beyond that permitted when in the locked position, in which the mechanism converts a rotary movement of the cam into the required linear motion of the lock bolt, the rotation of the cam in use being created by a linkage that is connected to a part of the clamp mechanism arranged such that with the clamp mechanism in the unlocked position the secondary lock mechanism is in the locked position and with the clamp mechanism in the locked position the secondary lock mechanism is in the unlocked position.

A steering column device includes: a steering column; and a the telescopic guide mechanism including a second telescopic elongated hole formed in one of the lower wall portion of the tilt bracket and the bottom wall portion of the steering column, and a sliding guide member which is provided to the other of the lower wall portion of the tilt bracket and the bottom wall portion of the steering column which does not include the second telescopic elongated hole, whose a portion confronts the second telescopic elongated hole, and which elastically sandwiches an edge portion of the second telescopic elongated hole in the upward and downward directions.

According to the present embodiments, locking and unlocking can be smoothly performed even when gears for fixing a steering column during a telescoping operation of the steering column are not properly engaged, a collapse motion for absorbing impact can be smoothly performed even when a vehicle collision occurs in a state in which the gears are not properly engaged, impact is absorbed at the minimum and maximum of strokes so as to enable the prevention of noise generation during the telescoping operation, and the number of components can be reduced and assembly process can be simplified.

Embodiments of the present invention may provide a vehicle steering column comprising: a hollow-shaped upper tube in which a steering shaft is fitted; a middle tube coupled to the outer circumferential side of the upper tube so as to allow the axial telescopic movement of the upper tube; a lower tube coupled to the outer circumferential side of the middle tube so as to allow the axial telescopic movement of the middle tube; a mounting bracket coupled to the outer circumferential side of the lower tube; and a telescopic link member which is coupled at one end thereof to a telescopic motor and a telescopic speed reducer, provided at the lower tube, and is coupled at the other end thereof to the upper tube.

A steering column device includes: an outer column having a tubular shape; an inner column movably inserted in the outer column; a restricting member provided through a tubular wall at a lower section of the outer column in such a way as to be capable of coming in and out of the tubular wall in the thickness direction thereof; and a load absorbing wire including first ends engageable with the restricting member and a second end supported on the inner column side, and configured to be deformed by movement of the second end toward the vehicle front side together with the inner column upon application of a load of a preset value or greater to the inner column toward the vehicle front side, to thereby absorb the load.