Two part impact absorbing steering shaft - has shaft joined by coupling plate which deforms to permit relative movement of both ends

摘要

The steering shaft is of two separate sections joined by a coupling plate (4). The steering wheel side of the steering shaft (3) is provided with a crank at the coupling end. The end section is pressed flat to fit into a correspondingly shaped slot in the coupling plate. The steering gear side of the steering shaft (2) enters the coupling plate without alteration to its cross section at the coupling plate. The respective shaft ends are welded to the coupling plate. The coupling plate is weakened by pressing two lines (7,8) in the form of inverted 'U'. The base of the lines end as bores (15,16,17,18) in the coupling plate close to the centre shaft.