| 摘要 |
A mechanism for adjusting the position of a vehicle steering column has a toothed rack 10,40 engaging with a location gear 12,42, and a locking gear 16,46 engaging the location gear 12,42 that can also be engaged (by rotation of a shaft along axis 14) with the rack 10,40 to lock the location gear 12,42 to the rack 10,40. A link (17, fig 5) supports gears 12,16 for rotation during adjustment, and pivots about axis 14 for locking. Attempting to move the mechanism while locked causes the gears 12,16 to try to move in opposite senses but movement is locked by the engagement of contradictory gears. The shaft may have a square cross-section which cooperates with a square aperture 30 in link 17. Axle 19 of gear 16 is urged towards gear 12 by a spring 17b, but may move slightly in a slot 17a to ensure meshing of gear 16 in rack 10. Lugs 402 on the racks engage holes 202 to lock the rack in relation to a guide slot. A clamp (e.g. of the cam-type) may prevent play or rattle. Similar mechanisms lock the reach and rake positions, and both mechanisms may be operable in unison by a single shaft. |
