Body mounted sliding steering column with offset feedback actuator
A steering apparatus for a vehicle that utilizes steer-by-wire controls and may selectively be operated in an autonomous mode comprises a body mounted sliding steering column. The body mounted sliding steering column includes an arm that slides between a stowed position and a use position on at least one rail attached to a frame of the vehicle. The arm supports a steering column that may also be adjustable between a retracted position and an extended position. The arm also houses a force feedback motor in force-transmitting communication with the steering column.
1. A vehicle, comprising:
a frame defining a passenger cabin having a front and a back;
a plurality of parallel rails mounted to the frame near the front of the passenger cabin;
a sliding steering assembly, comprising:
an arm having two ends, a first end of the two ends slidably connected to the plurality of parallel rails and a second end of the two ends supporting a housing;
a steering column extending from the housing; and
a steering wheel affixed to an end of the steering column; and
a force feedback motor configured to selectively exert a rotational force on the steering column.
2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the force feedback motor is mounted inside the arm near the first end of the arm, the force feedback motor connected to the steering column via a belt.
3. The vehicle of claim 2 , further comprising a tensioner mounted inside the arm between the force feedback motor and the steering column, the tensioner in contact with the belt.
4. The vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the sliding steering assembly is selectively movable on the plurality of parallel rails between a first position and a second position, the first position located farther from the back of the passenger cabin than the second position.
5. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the steering column comprises a first section rotatably connected to the arm, a second section slidably engaged with the first section, and a third section slidably engaged with the second section.
6. The vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the steering column is adjustable between a retracted position, in which a distal end of the first section overlaps a distal end of the second section and the distal end of the second section overlaps a distal end of the third section, and an extended position, in which a proximal end of the first section overlaps the distal end of the second section and a proximal end of the second section overlaps the distal end of the third section.
7. The vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the steering wheel is affixed to the proximal end of the third section.
8. The vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the sliding steering assembly further comprises an electric motor configured to selectively adjust the steering column between the retracted position and the extended position.
9. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising an electric motor configured to selectively move the arm between a first position and a second position on the plurality of rails.
10. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the sliding steering assembly further comprises an electric motor configured to selectively adjust an angle between the steering column and a horizontal plane.
11. A sliding steering column comprising:
a plurality of rails connected, in parallel, to a vehicle;
a steering assembly slidably mounted at one end on the plurality of rails, the steering assembly comprising:
a telescoping steering column connected to a second end of the steering assembly;
a force feedback motor configured to selectively rotate the telescoping steering column; and
a steering wheel mounted on a free end of the telescoping steering column.
12. The sliding steering column of claim 11 , wherein the telescoping steering column comprises a plurality of sections, each of the plurality of sections slidably engaged with another of the plurality of sections.
13. The sliding steering column of claim 11 , wherein the steering assembly is selectively moveable on the plurality of rails between a first position and a second position, and the telescoping steering column is selectively adjustable between a retracted position and an extended position.
14. The sliding steering column of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of rails is connected to an A-frame of the vehicle.
15. The sliding steering column of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of rails is connected to a cross-car beam of the vehicle.
16. A movable steering apparatus, comprising:
an arm having a first end slidably mounted on at least one rail, the at least one rail affixed to an interior surface of a vehicle;
a steering column extending from a second end of the arm, the steering column rotatably mounted to the arm;
a steering wheel attached to the steering column; and
a force feedback motor in force-transmitting communication with the steering column.
17. The movable steering apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the force feedback motor is in force-transmitting communication with the steering column via a belt.
18. The extendable steering apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the force feedback motor is mounted proximate the at least one rail.
19. The extendable steering apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the steering wheel is movable between a first position closer to a perimeter of a passenger cabin of the vehicle and a second position farther from the perimeter of the passenger cabin of the vehicle.
20. The extendable steering apparatus of claim 19 , wherein in the first position the steering column is retracted and the arm is located at a first end of the at least one rail, and in the second position the steering column is extended and the arm is located at a second end of the at least one rail, the first end opposite the second end.