US Patent 7810408 Energy absorbing mechanism of steering column supporting apparatus

There is provided a steering column supporting apparatus in which tilt pins are locked on a tilt bracket fixed to a vehicle body and engaged with tilt plates welded to respective both sides of a steering column, and slotted holes extended in the axial direction of the steering column are formed in the tilt plates. A bulging part is formed on a lower surface of the steering column, and is designed to be larger in size than a gap between the lower surface of the steering column and the tilt bracket and increased in height as it goes rearward in the direction of the length of a vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce impact load applied to the steering column in the event of head-on vehicle crash.