Steering wheel arrangement for a motor vehicle

Claim 1

A steering wheel arrangement in a motor vehicle, in which a steering column ( 5 ) provided with a steering wheel ( 4 ) is pivotally supported in a holder ( 6 ) arranged in the vehicle, and in which the steering wheel together with a first section ( 7 ) of the steering column is (designed, in the event of a collision, to be moved from a normal position to a crash position closer to the driver of the vehicle by means of a drive device acting on the first section ( 7 ) of the steering column, characterized in that the drive device comprises a working chamber ( 13 ) intended to act upon the first section ( 7 ) of the steering column, and located around said first section, to which chamber a gas generator ( 21 , 29 ) is connected, which is designed to be activated in the event of a collision in order to deliver propellant gas to the working chamber ( 13 ), thereby moving the first section ( 7 ) of the steering column and the steering wheel ( 4 ) to a crash position closer to the driver of the vehicle, the holder ( 6 ) comprising a first and a second part ( 9 , 10 ), which are telescopically inserted one inside the other and tightly enclose the first section ( 7 ) of the steering column ( 5 ), and together with the first section ( 7 ) form the working chamber ( 13 ), the first part ( 9 ) being axially locked relative to the first section ( 7 ) of the steering column and the second part ( 10 ) being anchored in the vehicle, and that the holder ( 6 ) is mounted so that it can swivel in a vertical plane through the logitudinal direction of the steering column ( 5 ), and is designed to be turned in conjunction with axial displacement of the first section ( 7 ) of the steering column, so that the steering wheel ( 4 ) is lowered.