Patent ID: 7753409

Claim:
A vehicle comprising a steering assembly for steering the vehicle, the steering assembly comprising: a steering shaft that has a proximal end toward a driver of the vehicle and that is arranged to turn about an axis of turning to steer road wheels of the vehicle; a steering wheel that is coaxial with the axis of turning and can be grasped by a driver and turned about the axis of turning; and a mechanism coupling the steering wheel and the steering shaft comprising a first part that turns in unison with the steering wheel and a second part that turns in unison with the steering shaft, a lock for selectively locking the two parts together for turning in unison with each other and unlocking the two parts from each other to allow them to turn relative to each other, and a lost motion interface between the two parts that constrains the amount of relative turning of the two parts to a defined range about the axis of turning.