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A steering wheel (SW) (also called a '''driving wheel''' or '''hand wheel''') is a type of steering Control in Vehicle s and vessels ( Ship s and Boat s). This article deals with SW's in vehicles; see Steering Wheel (ship) for the use in vessels. SW's are used in most modern land Vehicle s, including all mass-production Automobile s as well as light and heavy trucks. The SW is the part of the Steering system that is manipulated by the driver; the rest of the steering system responds to such driver inputs. This can be through direct mechanical contact as in Recirculating Ball or Rack And Pinion steering gears, without or with the assistance of Hydraulic Power Steering HPS , or as in some modern production cars with the assistance of computer controlled motors EPS . With the introduction of federal vehicle regulation in the United States in 1968, FMVSS 114 required the imparement of SW movement, to hinder Motor Vehicle Theft ; in most vehicles this is accomplished when the ignition Key is removed from the Ignition lock. Remote car audio controls are often included on the steering wheels of newer vehicles. HISTORY The first automobiles were steered with a Tiller , but Packard introduced the SW on the second car they built, in 1899 . Within a decade, the SW had entirely replaced the tiller in automobiles. C S Rolls introduced the first car in Britain fitted with wheel steering as he imported a 6 hp Panhard & Levassor from France in 1898. Arthur Constantin KREBS replaced the tiller with an inclined SW for the Panhard car he designed for the Paris-Amsterdam race which ran from the 7th to 13rd of July 1898. PASSENGER CARS SW's for passenger automobiles are generally circular in form, and are mounted to the Steering Column by a hub connected to the outer ring of the SW by one or more Spoke s (single spoke wheels being a rather rare exception). Other types of vehicles may use the circular design, a butterfly shape, or some other shape. In countries where cars must drive on the left side of the road, the steering wheel is typically on the right side of the car (right-hand drive or RHD); the converse applies in countries where cars drive on the right side of the road (left-hand drive or LHD). Besides its use in steering, the SW is the usual location for a button to activate the car's Horn . Additionally, many modern automobiles may have other controls, such as Cruise Control and audio system controls built into the SW to minimize the extent to which the driver must take his hands off the wheel. An Airbag , used to protect the driver in event of a frontal collision, is mounted inside a cover in the center of the SW. Therefore, to prevent injury from the airbag deployment, it is important that the driver does not sit too close. Typical recommendations are a distance of at least 1-foot (30 cm) between the surface of the airbag cover and the driver's chest. Power Steering and Power Assist Steering both give the driver an easier means by which the steering of a car can be accomplished. Modern power steering have almost universally relied on a hydraulic system, although Electrical Systems are steadily replacing this technology. Mechanical power steering systems (ex. Studebaker, 1952) have been invented, but their weight and complexity negate the benefits that they provide. While other methods of steering passenger cars have resulted from experiments, none have been deployed as successfully as the SW. OTHER DESIGNS car's steering wheel has buttons and knobs to control various functions]] The SW is centrally located on certain high-performance sports cars, such as the McLaren F1 , and in the majority of single-seat racing cars. As a driver may have his hands on the SW for hours at a time these are designed with Ergonomics in mind. However, the most important concern is that the driver can effectively convey torque to the steering system; this is especially important in vehicles without power steering or in the rare event of a loss of steering assist. A typical design for circular SW's is a Steel or Magnesium rim with a plastic or rubberized grip molded over and around it. Some drivers purchase vinyl or textile Steering Wheel Cover s to enhance grip or comfort, or simply as decoration. Another device used to make steering easier is the Brodie Knob . A similar device in Aircraft is the Yoke . Water vessels not steered from a stern-mounted Tiller are directed with the Ship's Wheel , which may have inspired the concept of the steering wheel. ADJUSTABLE STEERING WHEELS Tilt Wheel Developed by General Motors' Saginaw Steering Gear Division, the seven position Tilt Wheel was made available in several General Motors products in 1963. Originally a luxury option on cars, the tilt function helps to adjust the SW by moving the wheel through an arc in an up and down motion. Tilt Steering Wheels rely upon a ratchet joint located in the steering column just below the SW. By disengaging the ratchet lock, the wheel can be adjusted upward or downward while the steering column remains stationary below the joint. Some designs place the pivot slightly forward along the column, allowing for a fair amount of vertical movement of the SW with little actual tilt, while other designs place the pivot almost inside the SW, allowing adjustment of the angle of the SW with almost no change it its height. Telescope Wheel Developed by General Motors Saginaw Steering Gear Division, the telescoping wheel can be adjusted to an infinite number of positions in a 3-inch range. The Tilt ''and'' Telescope SW was introduced as an exclusive option on Cadillac automobiles in 1965 . Adjustable Steering Column In contrast, an adjustable steering column allows SW height to be adjusted with only a small, useful change in tilt. Most of these systems work with compression locks or electric motors instead of ratchet mechanisms; the latter may be capable of moving to a memorized position when a given driver uses the car, or of moving up and forward for entry or exit. Swing-away Steering Wheel Introduced on the 1961 Ford Thunderbird , and made available on other Ford products throughout the 1960s , the Swing-away steering wheel allowed the steering wheel to move nine inches to the right when the transmission selector was in Park, so as to make driver exit and entry easier. BUTTONS ON THE STEERING WHEEL The first button added to the SW was a switch to activate the car's electric Horn . Traditionally located on the SW hub or center pad, the horn switch was sometimes placed on the spokes or activated via a decorative horn ring which obviated the necessity to move a hand away from the rim. A further development, the Rim Blow steering wheel, integrated the horn switch into the steering wheel rim itself. When computer functions can be operated comfortably and safely using buttons on the SW. This ensures a high standard of additional safety since the driver is able in this way to control and operate many systems without even taking hands off the wheel or eyes off the road. The Scroll Button s can be used to set volume levels or page through menus. The buttons can be adjusted manually for Reach and Height . GAMING IMITATIONS Certain Input Device s (originating in arcade machines) are available for Computer s and Console Game s are designed to look and feel like a SW, and are intended for use in Racing games. The more inexpensive ones are just Paddle Controllers with a larger wheel, but some go so far as to employ Force Feedback to simulate the Tactile Feedback a real driver feels from a steering wheel. This good feedback from the steering contributes to steering "feel" and is one of the Hallmark s of a true "driver's car" or Sports Car . SEE ALSO
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