Patent ID: 7225701

Claim:
A locking configuration, comprising: an adjustable steering column; a fixed mounting; a tilt-adjustable casing tube secured on said fixed mounting, said tilt-adjustable casing tube surrounding said adjustable steering column; a locking device provided between said fixed mounting and said tilt-adjustable casing tube, said locking device having an actuating lever pivotally mounted about a pivot point between a locking position and a release position laterally next to or below said tilt-adjustable casing tube such that the release position is below the locking position; a handle component disposed at a free end of said actuating lever, said handle component being disposed at a given distance from said tilt-adjustable casing tube when said actuating lever is in the locking position; and said actuating lever having an angled region formed with a predetermined buckling point between said pivot point and said handle component and being configured as a deformation element for absorbing energy wherein said actuating lever is plastically deformable in a crash such that said handle component moves toward said tilt-adjustable casing tube.