US Patent 7946195 Steering apparatus for vehicle

A steering apparatus for a vehicle capable of executing a steer-by-wire (SBW) mode of steering road wheels by a steering mechanism mechanically disconnected with a steering device. The steering apparatus includes a clutch which is composed of a shaft that rotates together with the steering device, an internal gear ring which has a rotation center coinciding with that of the shaft and transmits its rotation to the steering mechanism, an external gear ring partially intermeshed with the internal gear ring, lock members which transmit/disconnect the rotation of the shaft to the external gear, and a lock operating member for displacing the lock members to lock/unlock positions.