Patent ID: 7625009

Claim:
A steering column assembly for a vehicle, said assembly comprising: a mounting bracket for attachment to the vehicle; a column jacket connected to said mounting bracket and longitudinally moveable relative to said mounting bracket along a longitudinal axis in response to an emergency event and pivotally moveable relative to said mounting bracket about a rake axis; a rake bracket coupled to said column jacket and spaced from said mounting bracket along said longitudinal axis for attaching said column jacket to the vehicle in an elevated position prior to the emergency event and detachable from the vehicle in response to said longitudinal movement of said column jacket in response to the emergency event; a support mechanism interconnected between said mounting bracket and said column jacket with said support mechanism pivoting with said column jacket during said pivotal movement and supporting said column jacket in substantially the same elevated position after detachment of said rake bracket from the vehicle in response to the emergency event, as the column jacket was in prior to detachment of said rake bracket.