Patent ID: 7604255

Claim:
A steering column for a vehicle comprising: a steering column member connectable with a steering wheel and rotatable to turn steerable vehicle wheels; a mounting bracket which connects said steering column to a vehicle frame; a support connected with said mounting bracket and through which said steering column member extends, said support supporting said steering column member for rotation about a longitudinal axis of said steering column member and being movable relative to said mounting bracket; a locking mechanism which applies a force to lock said support in any one of a plurality of positions relative to said mounting bracket; and a release mechanism that reduces the force applied by said locking mechanism by a first amount in response to a first sensed vehicle condition, said locking mechanism including an actuator rotatable relative to said mounting bracket by manual actuation to selectively lock said support in any one of said plurality of positions relative to said mounting bracket, said release mechanism being connected with said actuator and rotating said actuator in response to said first sensed vehicle condition.