GB2347181A

GB2347181A - Releasably preventing movement of a gear lever into reverse gear

Info

Publication number: GB2347181A
Application number: GB9904137A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sylvain Cospin
Original assignee: Draftex Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Laird Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 1999-02-23
Filing date: 1999-02-23
Publication date: 2000-08-30
Also published as: GB9904137D0

Abstract

The gear lever is pivotted, such as by a ball and socket arrangement, in the upper end of a housing. The upper part 5A of the gear lever carries a sleeve which has a slot 46 through which extends a pin 48 rigid with the gear lever. The sleeve 34 carries an enlarged platform 44 on which the lower end of a compression spring 50 is seated, the upper end of the spring 50 engaging the pin 48. The platform (44) is thus normally in a position below the upper end of a wall 10A upstanding from the top of the housing. To engage reverse gear, the driver raises the sleeve on the gear lever to allow the platform 44 to be clear of the wall 10A, thereby allowing the gear lever (5) to move into the reverse gear position. Upon release of the sleeve, a sloping undersurface 54 of the platform 44 makes contact with a similarly sloping surface 56 of the wall 10A. These sloping surfaces facilitate movement of the gear lever out of the reverse gear position.

Description

RE,. ASARTE B, OCKTN- ARRAN T, M.NTS The invention relates to releasable blocking arrangements.

Embodiments of the invention to be described below, by way of example only, are for releasably blocking the movement of a gear change lever in a motor vehicle and, in particular, for preventing inadvertent engagement of reverse gear. However, embodiments of the invention may be used in other applications.

According to the invention, there is provided a releasable movement-blocking arrangement, comprising a lever, a pivotal mounting supporting the lever intermediate its ends so as to be spaced by a first portion of the lever from one end of the lever and by a second portion of the lever from the other end of the lever, means on the first portion of the lever for connecting the lever to a mechanism to be controlled by pivotting movement of the lever, and abutment means movably mounted on the second portion of the lever so as to be movable between a first setting in which it blocks pivotting movement of the lever into a predetermined position and a second setting in which it allows movement of the lever into the predetermined position.

According to the invention, there is further provided a gear lever mounting arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising a housing carrying a pivotal mounting pivotally supporting the gear lever intermediate its ends and receiving the lower portion of the gear lever which carries means for connecting the gear lever to the gear box, the housing supporting a fixed abutment above the pivotal mounting and adjacent the upper portion of the gear lever, the upper portion of the gear lever carrying a movable abutment slidably mounted on the gear lever to move between a first setting in which it contacts the fixed abutment to block movement of the gear lever into the reverse gear position and a second setting in which it permits movement of the gear lever into the reverse gear position.

Releasable blocking arrangements for preventing inadvertent engagement of reverse gear in a motor vehicle, and embodying the invention, will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section through part of the gear change mechanism of a vehicle and which includes one of the reverse gear blocking arrangement; Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the arrangement of Figure 1, showing the blocking arrangement in a position in which engagement of reverse gear is prevented; Figure 3 corresponds to Figure 2 but shows the gear lever in a position in which reverse gear is engaged; Figure 4 is a sectional view corresponding to Figure 3; Figure 5 is a cross-section corresponding to Figure 1 but showing another of the blocking arrangements; and Figure 6 is a sectional view of part of the mechanism of Figure 5 showing the blocking arrangement in a position in which engagement of reverse gear is prevented.

Figure 1 shows the gear lever 5 having an upper part 5A and a lower part 5B. The lever is pivotally mounted by means of a rotary coupling 6 in the upper part 8 of a housing 10. The rotary coupling comprises a ball 12 having a through bore by means of which it is mounted on the gear lever 5 and secured in position. The ball 12 is made of relatively hard, low friction plastics or similar material. The ball is mounted within an annular ring 14, also made of suitable relatively hard low friction plastics or similar material. Ring 14 is supported in an annular support 16 fixed in the upper part 8 of the housing.

In this way, the lever 5 is pivotally mounted in the upper part of the housing 10.

The housing 10 has a lower part 18 which has an enlarged volume to accommodate the pivotting movement of the lower part 5B of the lever 5. The lower part 18 of the housing 10 is secured in a suitable manner, such as to the floor or central console, in the vehicle, so as to be adjacent the driver, fixtures 20 being used for this purpose.

A flexible bellows 22 extends between the lower part 5B of the gear lever and the internal wall of the lower part 18 of the housing 10 to reduce the transmission of noise and prevent the transmission of dust etc.

The end 24 of the lower part 5B of the gear lever is connected, by a suitable linkage not shown, to the gear box for carrying out gear changing in accordance with the appropriate positioning of the gear lever by the driver. Movement of the lower part 5B of the gear lever can be guided by means of a gate shown generally at 26. Possible movement of the gear lever is shown dotted at 28.

As shown most clearly in Figures 2 and 3, the upper part 8 of the housing has an opening 30 through which the upper end 5A of the gear lever extends.

Figures 2,3 and 4 also show that the housing 10 is extended upwardly on one side to form a wall 10A for controlling and selectively limiting movement of the gear lever in a manner to be explained.

As shown in Figure 1, the upper end 5A of the gear lever carries a sleeve 34 having an enlarged upper end 36, a screw thread 37 for receiving the knob of the lever, and flanges 38,40 and 42, the sleeve 34 extending integrally downwardly from the flange 42 to an enlarged lower end forming a platform 44. The portion of the sleeve 34 between the flange 42 and the platform 44 is provided with a slot 46 (see also Figures 2,3 and 4) having an upper end 46A and a lower end 46B. A pin 48, fixed in a hole through the upper end 5A of the gear lever, extends through the slot 46 and protrudes therefrom. A compression spring 50 has its lower end located on an annular shoulder 52 on the platform 44 of the sleeve 34 and extends upwardly into contact with the pin 48. The spring 50 thus normally urges the sleeve 34 downwards into the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, in which a resilient ring 51 carried by flange 42 contacts with the pin 48, the pin thus limiting the downward movement of the sleeve.

As shown in Figure 2, in this configuration the platform 44 of the sleeve 34 forms an abutment which limits the movement of the gear lever 5 in a particular direction by contacting the wall 10A. The wall 10A is positioned so that movement of the gear lever into the position required for engaging reverse gear of the vehicle is prevented, the wall 10A being suitably positioned relative to the reverse gear position of the gear lever.

When reverse gear is to be engaged, the driver raises the sleeve 34, by lifting it with the aid of the enlarged upper end 36.

This therefore raises the platform 44 relative to the pin 48, compressing the spring 50. The platform 44 is thus raised to a height which permits the lever to be moved into the reverse gear position, the raised platform 44 passing over the top of the wall 10A. When the gear lever has been moved into the reverse gear position, the driver can release the sleeve 34, so that the platform 44 is lowered by the spring 50 onto the top of the wall 10A, all as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

The sleeve 34 is made of suitable relatively hard and strong plastics material or similar material. The platform 44 advantageously carries a resilient seal 45 so as to engage the upper end of the wall 10A smoothly and quietly.

As shown in Figures 2,3 and 4, the underside of the platform 44 covered by the seal 45 has a sloping surface 54 which, in the reverse gear position of the gear lever, engages a similarly sloping surface 56 on the wall 10A. The sloping surfaces 54,56 facilitate movement of the gear lever out of the reverse gear position. The driver can simply achieve this by applying normal force to the gear lever, without having to lift the sleeve 34.

As the gear lever moves from the reverse gear position, the mutually contacting inclined surfaces 54,56 cause the platform 44, and the remainder of the sleeve, to rise relative to the pin 48, temporarily compressing the spring 50. When the platform has been moved clear of the upper end of the wall 10A, the spring 50 resiles and the sleeve returns to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In this way, a reverse gear blocking arrangement is provided above the rotary coupling 6. The arrangement is thus advantageous as compared with arrangements in which the mechanism for reverse gear blocking is mounted below the rotary coupling 6 and within the housing 18, being connected to the sleeve by means of a cable passing from an upper part of the gear lever into the lower part 18 of the housing closely adjacent to the rotary coupling. With such arrangements, there is a risk that the cable will either interfere with satisfactory operation of the rotary coupling or will itself be inadvertently caught or jammed in the rotary coupling.

Figures 5 and 6 correspond to Figures 1 and 4 but show a modified arrangement. Items in Figures 5 and 6 corresponding to items in the other Figures are correspondingly referenced.

As shown in Figure 5, the housing 10, the rotary coupling 6 and the lower part of the gear lever 5 are the same as in the mechanism in Figure 1. However, the upper part of the gear lever differs. As shown in Figure 5, the spring 50 is now mounted at the upper end of the sleeve 34. The upper end 36 of the sleeve slidably extends into a recess 60 in the gear lever knob 62, and is urged downwardly by the compression spring 50, one end of which contacts the base 64 of the recess 60 and the other end of which extends into a slot 66. The lower end of the sleeve 34 is provided with a slot 46 corresponding to the slot 46 of Figures 1 to 3 and through which the pin 48 extends but there is no flange 42. The platform 44 carried by the sleeve 34 has the same shape as in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4.

The operation is generally as already described. When the gear lever is not in the reverse gear position, the spring 50 urges the sleeve 34 to its lowermost position on the gear lever so that the upper end 46A of the slot 46 is pressed into contact with the pin 48. The platform 44 is thus positioned below the inclined upper surface 56 of the wall 10A, and movement of the lever into the reverse gear position is blocked. When the driver wishes to select reverse gear, he lifts the sleeve 34 against the bias of the spring 50, using finger pressure on the flange 40 for example, so that the lower end 46B of the slot moves towards the underside of the pin 48. The platform 44 is now above the upper surface 56 of the wall 10A, permitting the gear lever to move into the reverse gear position as shown in Figure 6, whereafter the driver allows the sleeve 34 to move back towards its downward position, so that the lower inclined surface 54 of the abutment 44 makes contact with the upper surface 56 of the wall 10A.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A releasable movement-blocking arrangement, comprising a lever, a pivotal mounting supporting the lever intermediate its ends so as to be spaced by a first portion of the lever from one end of the lever and by a second portion of the lever from the other end of the lever, means on the first portion of the lever for connecting the lever to a mechanism to be controlled by pivotting movement of the lever, and abutment means movably mounted on the second portion of the lever so as to be movable between a first setting in which it blocks pivotting movement of the lever into a predetermined position and a second setting in which it allows movement of the lever into the predetermined position.
2. An arrangement according to claim 1, in which the abutment means is carried by a sleeve slidable on the second portion of the lever.
3. An arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, in which the abutment means is spring-biassed into the first setting.
4. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, including fixed abutment means fixedly mounted relative to the pivotal mounting and positioned adjacent to the second portion of the lever so that contact between the movable abutment means and the fixed abutment means blocks movement of the lever into the first position when the movable abutment means is in the first setting.
5. An arrangement according to claim 4, in which movement of the movable abutment means into the second setting moves the movable abutment means clear of the fixed abutment means and allows the lever to move into the predetermined position.
6. An arrangement according to claim 5, in which contact between the movable abutment means and a first part of the fixed abutment means blocks movement of the lever into the first position when the movable abutment means is in the first setting and the movable abutment means moves into contact with a second part of the fixed abutment means when the movable abutment means is in the second setting and the lever is in the predetermined position.
7. An arrangement according to claim 6, in which the second part of the fixed abutment means has a surface which matches and makes contact with a corresponding surface of the movable abutment means when the lever is in the predetermined position, the surfaces being inclined to the longitudinal axis of the lever whereby movement of the lever out of the predetermined position causes movement of the movable abutment means into the first setting whereby to allow such movement of the lever.
8. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the pivotal mounting comprises a rotary member carried by the lever and rotatably engaged within a fixed recess.
9. An arrangement according to claim 8, in which the rotary member is a ball through which the lever passes.
10. A gear lever mounting arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising a housing carrying a pivotal mounting pivotally supporting the gear lever intermediate its ends and receiving the lower portion of the gear lever which carries means for connecting the gear lever to the gear box, the housing supporting a fixed abutment above the pivotal mounting and adjacent the upper portion of the gear lever, the upper portion of the gear lever carrying a movable abutment slidably mounted on the gear lever to move between a first setting in which it contacts the fixed abutment to block movement of the gear lever into the reverse gear position and a second setting in which it permits movement of the gear lever into the reverse gear position.
11. An arrangement according to claim 10, in which the movable abutment is carried by a sleeve slidable on the upper portion of the gear lever.
12. An arrangement according to claim 10 or 11, in which the movable abutment is spring-biassed into the first setting.
13. An arrangement according to any one of claims 10 to 12, in which the fixed abutment means is carried by a wall upstanding from an upper part of the housing.
14. An arrangement according to claim 13, in which, when the gear lever has been moved into the reverse gear position, the movable abutment makes contact with a predetermined part of the wall.
15. An arrangement according to claim 14, in which the movable abutment and the predetermined part of the wall have matching surfaces inclined to the axis of the gear lever whereby movement of the gear lever out of the reverse gear position moves the movable abutment means towards the second setting.
16. An arrangement according to any one of claims 10 to 15, in which the pivotal mounting comprises a ball and socket coupling.
17. A releasable movement-blocking arrangement for releasably blocking movement of a vehicle gear lever into the reverse gear position, substantially as described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
18. A releasable movement-blocking arrangement for releasably blocking movement of a vehicle gear lever into the reverse gear position, substantially as described with reference to Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.