Vehicle steering column

Claim 1

A steering column for a vehicle having a steering wheel and a steering gear comprising a first rotatable stub shaft coupled to the steering wheel, a second rotatable stub shaft coupled to the steering gear, a rotatable steering shaft extending between the first and second stub shafts, a first coupling means for coupling one end of the steering shaft to the first stub shaft, and a second coupling means for coupling the other end of the steering shaft to the second stub shaft, at least one of the coupling means coupling the steering shaft to one of the stub shafts so as to define an angle between the steering shaft and said one of the stub shafts, said at least one coupling means being relatively torsion-stiff and fabricated of metal plate and including a metal stamping having four arms disposed in a cross-like configuration, a first metal strip rigidly coupled intermediate its ends to an end of the steering shaft and at its ends to two opposed arms of the stamping, and a second metal strip rigidly coupled at its ends to two different opposed arms of the stamping and intermediate its ends to an end of said one of the stub shafts, the first strip being located on one side of the stamping and the second strip being located on the other side of the stamping.