Patent ID: 7886631

Claim:
An adjustable steering column assembly for a vehicle, said assembly comprising: a column jacket defining a longitudinal axis and moveable in at least one of a telescoping direction and a raking direction; a telescope bracket with said column jacket mounted thereon; a rake bracket coupled to said telescope bracket; a first gear coupled to said rake bracket and defining a first pivot axis transverse to said longitudinal axis with said first gear rotatable about said first pivot axis and including a plurality of teeth; a second gear including a plurality of teeth meshing with said teeth of said first gear and defining a second pivot axis transverse to said longitudinal axis and spaced above said first pivot axis with said second gear coupled to said rake bracket and rotatable about said second pivot axis such that rotation of said first gear about said first pivot axis causes rotation of said second gear about said second pivot axis; and a cam mechanism coupled to said rake bracket and to each of said first and second gears with said cam mechanism movable along said first and second pivot axes during rotation of said first and second gears for selectively engaging said rake bracket to prevent movement of said column jacket in at least one of said telescoping and raking directions, wherein said cam mechanism includes a monolithic cam member defining an elongated configuration extending radially relative to said first and second pivot axes with said monolithic cam member coupled to each of said first and second gears, wherein said monolithic cam member includes a plurality of second cam surfaces spaced from each other about said second pivot axis.