US 11,753,065 B1
Steering column retraction initiator
Erik William Soderlind, Harrison Township, MI (US); Taras Palczynski, Ann Arbor, MI (US); and Steven Bryan Amburgy, Commerce Township, MI (US)
Assigned to FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US)
Filed by Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US)
Filed on Mar. 21, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/699,254.
Int. Cl. B62D 1/19 (2006.01); B62D 5/00 (2006.01)
CPC B62D 1/192 (2013.01) [B62D 5/006 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A handwheel actuator for a steer by wire system of a vehicle, the handwheel actuator comprising:
a column for operably coupling a handwheel to other components of the steer by wire system, the column comprising a lower column portion and an upper column portion that are movable relative to each other to alternately retract the handwheel away from an operator seated in the vehicle or extend the handwheel toward the operator; and
a feedback actuator operably coupled to the column to provide tactile feedback to the operator responsive to movement of the handwheel,
wherein the column further comprises a frictional engagement assembly and a time-specific release initiator,
wherein the frictional engagement assembly is engaged to fix the lower column portion relative to the upper column portion at a selected distance from the operator, and disengaged to enable movement of the upper column portion relative to the lower column portion, and
wherein the time-specific release initiator is actuated by an electrical trigger signal initiated a predetermined time delay after detecting a triggering event to cause the lower column portion and the upper column portion to be disengaged.