US-12623711-B2 - Energy absorption strap integrated with a telescope drive bracket

US12623711B2US 12623711 B2US12623711 B2US 12623711B2US-12623711-B2

Abstract

A steering column assembly includes a lower jacket. The steering column assembly also includes an upper jacket disposed within the lower jacket and being telescopingly adjustable relative to the lower jacket. The steering column assembly further includes a telescope drive assembly electrically moving a telescope drive nut axially to telescopingly adjust the upper jacket. The steering column assembly yet further includes an energy absorption strap directly coupled to the upper jacket and directly coupled to the telescope drive nut to transfer axial movement of the telescope drive nut to the upper jacket.

Inventors

Joen C. Bodtker
Melvin L. Tinnin
Jorge Flores Garay
Joseph R. Streng

Assignees

STEERING SOLUTIONS IP HOLDING CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250502

Claims (5)

1 . A method of assembling an energy absorption strap to a steering column comprising: orienting the energy absorption strap perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the steering column; positioning a locking tab within an hourglass shaped aperture defined by an upper jacket of the steering column; and rotating the energy absorption strap 90 degrees to orient the energy absorption strap parallel to the longitudinal axis of the steering column.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising inserting an anti-lift fastener within a slot defined by the energy absorption strap and into the upper jacket.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising directly coupling the energy absorption strap to a telescope drive nut of a telescope drive assembly.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the locking tab comprises a stem and a head segment to form a T-shaped geometry, further comprising positioning the head segment within an inner cavity defined by the upper jacket.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the stem is positioned within the hourglass shaped aperture defined by the upper jacket.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional application of, and claims priority to, U.S. application Ser. No. 18/530,601, filed Dec. 6, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The following description relates to energy absorption devices for steering columns and, more particularly, to an energy absorption strap integrated with telescope drive bracket for a steering column assembly. BACKGROUND A vehicle, such as a car, truck, sport utility vehicle, crossover, mini-van, marine craft, aircraft, all-terrain vehicle, recreational vehicle, or other suitable vehicles, include various steering system schemes, for example, steer-by-wire and driver interface steering. These steering system schemes typically include a steering column assembly for translating steering input to an output that interacts with a steering linkage to ultimately cause the vehicle wheels to turn. Steering columns often include various safety features, such as airbags to lessen impact forces. In addition, many steering column assemblies are collapsible and include one or more energy absorption features, such as energy absorption straps. Some energy absorption straps are configured to roll along their length to absorb energy, and are often referred to as roll straps. Typically, roll straps absorb energy during the deformation of the strap in an impact event wherein kinetic energy can be dissipated through compression of the steering column assembly. In power telescoping (i.e., translating) steering columns, a drive bracket is used to connect a telescope actuator to an upper jacket to carry out telescoping motion of the upper jacket relative to a lower jacket. The energy absorption function is achieved with the above-described energy absorption strap, which is a separate component housed within a drive bracket. The drive bracket is frangibly connected to the upper jacket to release at a prescribed load in order to allow the energy absorption strap to engage and become the load path. Typically, a collection of connecting parts is included in the overall assemblies of the telescope drive bracket and the energy absorption strap assembly. The number of parts, combined with the associated assembly steps adds cost and assembly complexity to the overall system. SUMMARY According to one aspect of the disclosure, a steering column assembly includes a lower jacket. The steering column assembly also includes an upper jacket disposed within the lower jacket and being telescopingly adjustable relative to the lower jacket. The steering column assembly further includes a telescope drive assembly electrically moving a telescope drive nut axially to telescopingly adjust the upper jacket. The steering column assembly yet further includes an energy absorption strap directly coupled to the upper jacket and directly coupled to the telescope drive nut to transfer axial movement of the telescope drive nut to the upper jacket. According to another aspect of the disclosure, an energy absorption strap for a vehicle steering column includes a radially outer leg including a first radially extending flange and a second radially extending flange. The energy absorption strap also includes a central leg. The energy absorption strap further includes a radially inner leg. The energy absorption strap further includes a first curved segment connecting the radially outer leg and the central leg. The energy absorption strap yet further includes a second curved segment connecting the central leg and the radially inner leg. According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of assembling an energy absorption strap to a steering column is provided. The method includes orienting the energy absorption strap perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the steering column. The method also includes positioning a locking tab within an hourglass shaped aperture defined by an upper jacket of the steering column. The method further includes rotating the energy absorption strap 90 degrees to orient the energy absorption strap parallel to the longitudinal axis of the steering column. These and other aspects of the present disclosure are disclosed in the following detailed description of the embodiments, the appended claims, and the accompanying figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not to-scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a vehicle with a steering system; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a steering column having a power telescope assembly and an energy absorption strap, with the energy absorption strap having a telescope drive bracket integrally formed therein; FI