摘要 |
A motor vehicle steering column including a stationary support, a moveable support on which a steering wheel is rotatably mounted, and a position control apparatus which achieves both positive retention of the position of the moveable support and substantially infinite positional adjustability. The position control apparatus includes a gate on the stationary support, a stack of thin plates on the moveable support which moves back and forth with the moveable support in front of the gate, and a slide on the stationary support which moves a segment of the stack of thin plates partially into the gate to immobilize the moveable support relative to the stationary support. In a preferred embodiment, a spring strokes the slide to a position partially overlapping the stock of thin plates and the gate when an operating lever is pivoted from an unlocked position to a locked position and a cam rotatable with the operating lever strokes the slide in the opposite direction when the operating lever is pivoted form the locked position to the unlocked position.
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