Patent ID: 8413541

Claim:
A clamp assembly for securing a fixed portion of a steering column assembly to a movable portion of a steering column comprising: a rack of teeth carried by said moving portion and a rack of teeth carried by said fixed portion, a clamp pin which passes through an opening in said fixed portion and an opening in said moving portion, an inner hollow toothed block and an outer hollow toothed block, each carrying at least one rack of teeth with said at least one rack of teeth on said inner hollow toothed block facing said rack of teeth on said moving portion and said at least one rack of teeth on said outer hollow toothed block facing said rack of teeth on said fixed portion, said inner hollow toothed block being mounted onto said clamp pin so that said inner hollow toothed block is movable to and fro along said clamp pin and said outer hollow toothed block being mounted on said inner hollow toothed block such that said outer hollow toothed block is movable to and fro along said inner hollow toothed block; a clamping means mounted on an end of said clamp pin, a clamp block mounted on said clamp pin between said clamping means and said inner hollow toothed block and said outer hollow toothed block and which is biased into engagement with said fixed portion by said clamping means when said clamp assembly is locked, a first spring which acts between said clamping means and said fixed portion to release said clamping means from said fixed portion when said clamp assembly is unlocked; a retaining clip having a first part fixed relative to said clamp block and a second part, spaced from said first part, which provides a lost motion coupling between said retaining clip and said inner hollow toothed block and an independent lost motion coupling between said retaining clip and said outer hollow toothed block such that said second part engages both said inner hollow toothed block and said outer hollow toothed block when said clamp assembly is unlocked but both said inner hollow toothed block and said outer hollow toothed block independently move away from said second part when said clamp assembly is locked, a second spring which acts between said clamp block and said inner hollow toothed block to bias said inner hollow toothed block into engagement with said second part of said retaining clip when said clamp assembly is unlocked and also to bias said at least one rack of teeth of said inner hollow toothed block into engagement with said rack of teeth of said moving portion when said clamp assembly is locked, and a third spring which acts between said clamp block and said outer hollow toothed block to bias said outer hollow toothed block into engagement with said second part of said retaining clip when said clamp assembly is unlocked and also to bias said at least one rack of teeth of said outer hollow toothed block into engagement with said rack of teeth of said fixed portion when said clamp assembly is locked.