GB2349434A

GB2349434A - A gearbox assembly suitable for right hand or left hand drive vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2349434A
Application number: GB0008502A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerhard Wittberger
Original assignee: Steyr Nutzfahrzeuge AG
Current assignee: MAN Truck and Bus Osterreich AG
Priority date: 1999-04-08
Filing date: 2000-04-06
Publication date: 2000-11-01
Anticipated expiration: 2020-04-06
Also published as: DE10014264A1; GB0008502D0; GB2349434B; AT411845B; AU759172B2; DE10014264B4; ATA61899A; AU2761000A; ZA200001742B

Abstract

A vehicle gearbox assembly having a shifting device and a gearbox 1. The shifting device has a shift linkage which is located between a manual shift lever and, a shifting member 2 for triggering shifting operations in the gearbox 1, and is provided with a shifting rod 3, the end 4 of which is adjacent and spaced from the gearbox 1 and is pivotally connected to one end of a guide rod 7 so that it can be freely moved in all directions. The other end of the guide rod 7 is supported on the gearbox 1. To use a gearbox 1 designed for left-hand-drive vehicles in a vehicle with right-hand drive or, conversely, use a gearbox 1 designed for right-hand-drive vehicles in a vehicle with left-hand drive, the guide rod 7 is arranged on the side of the gearbox 1 opposite to the side on which the shifting member 2 is fitted. In addition, the shifting rod 3 is arranged on this side of the gearbox 1, and the connection between the shifting rod 3 and the shifting member 2 on the opposite side of the gearbox is established via a transverse shifting rod 8 which extends across the top of the gearbox 1. The ends 9, 10 of the transverse shifting rod are connected via ball-and-socket joints 11, 12. This transverse shifting rod 8 is guided in the longitudinal direction in the inner part 13 of a swivel head 14 attached to a console 15 fitted to the top of the gearbox 1. The inner part 13 can be moved in a ball-and-socket-type manner.

Description

1 2349434- A Gearbox Assemb The present invention relates to a vehicle

gearbox assembly and in particular to a forward-control truck gearbox assembly having a shift linkage located between a manual shift lever and a shifting member for triggering shifting operations in the gearbox, the shift linkage being provided with a shifting rod, having an end adjacent and spaced from the side of the gearbox, and being pivotally connected to one end of a guide rod so that it can be moved freely in all directions, the other end of the guide rod being indirectly supported on the gearbox.

There are right and left-hand-drive vehicles. The gearbox and the associated shifting device are geared to the vehicle's type of steering system, ie to right or left-hand-drive systems. A European vehicle manufacturer who sells his vehicles mainly in countries with right-hand traffic is often faced with the problem that in Europe the unit numbers of vehicles with right-hand drive are significantly lower than those of vehicles with lefthand drive. This causes manufacturing and delivery prices for right-hand-drive gearboxes to be usually significantly higher than those for left-hand-drive gearboxes. The price difference, however, cannot be charged to customers of right-hand-drive vehicles to an adequate extent, which reduces the profit margin for such vehicles.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gearbox assembly which permits the use of the same gearbox in a vehicle irTespective of whether the vehicle in question has right or left-hand drive.

The invention provides a gearbox assembly for left-hand-drive gearboxes in right-handdrive vehicles as claimed in Claim I and a gearbox assembly for right-hand-drive gearboxes in left-hand-drive vehicles as claimed in Claim 2.

2 Preferred features and finther developments of the invention are set out in the dependent subclaims.

Both main embodiments of the invention allow the use of the gearbox assembly in vehicles with the opposite steering system. The additional costs for the parts of the shift system including their assembly are lower than the.costs which would be incurred for manufacturing an independent gearbox assembly including its own shift system for the respective opposite steering system.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing a gearbox 1, designed for a left-hand-drive vehicle, is usually installed in left-hand-drive vehicles and is, consequently, provided on the left-hand side with a vertically and rotatably (see arrows) movable shifting member 2 via which the shifting operations are transmitted to the gearbox I where they are converted to corresponding gearshifting actions.

Together with the drive unit, which consists of an internal combustion engine and/or an electric motor and a clutch, the gearbox I constitutes the drive device of a motor vehicle, such as a forward-control truck.

A shifting rod 3 establishes the connection between a manual shift lever (not shown) which can be actuated by the driver for gear changes, and the shifting member 2. If this gearbox 1, which in the present case is a lefthand-drive gearbox for left-hand-drive vehicles, is to be installed in a vehicle steered on the opposite side, ie in a right-handdrive vehicle, the shifting rod 3 is installed on that side of the gearbox I which is opposite to the normal side, ie in the present case on the right-hand side of the gearbox 1. The end 4 of the shifting rod 3 is adjacent and spaced from the gearbox and is pivotally connected to an end 5 of a guide rod 7 so that it is freely movable in all directions. The other end 6 of the guide rod 7 is supported directly on the gearbox I so 3 as to be freely movable. In addition, the connection between the shifting rod 3 and the shifting member 2 arranged on the opposite side of the gearbox I is established by a transverse shifting rod 8 which extends across the top of the gearbox 1. The ends 9, 10 of the transverse shifting rod 8 are provided with ball-and-socket joints 11, 12. The transverse shiffing rod 8 is itself guided in a longitudinal direction in the inner part 13 of a swivel head 14, which inner part 13 can be moved in a ball-and-socket-type manner. The swivel head 14 is fitted to a console 15 mounted on the top of the gearbox 1.

The transverse shifting rod 8 may be made of a single straight piece of rod material the ends 9, 10 of which are connected to the shifting rod 3 and shifting member 2 via balland-socket j oints 11, 12 fitted to the ends 9, 10. Alternatively, the transverse shifting rod 8 may be composed of several separate pieces for example, it may consist of three rod- shaped parts, namely one straight relatively short centre part and two straight rodshaped outer parts screwed onto or into each of the end faces of the centre part. The connection between the shifting rod 3 and the shifting member 2 would then be established via ball-and-socket joints 11, 12 fitted to each of the outer ends of the outer parts. This tripartite version of the transverse shifting rod offers the advantage that the lateral distance to the outer connecting points on the shifting rod 3 and shifting member 2 and the entire length of the transverse shifting rod 8 can be modified and adjusted by adjusting the depth to which the outer parts are screwed onto or into the centre part.

The console 15 may consist of a bearing bracket which is fastened to the top of the gearbox by means of bolts 16, 17. A swivel head 14 having a swivel neck 19 extending horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the gearbox is attached to a flange 18 on the console 15. The swivel head 14 has an inner part 13 in a bearing eye 20 at its free end so that the inner part 13 can be moved in a ball-and-socket-type manner. The transverse shifting rod 8 is guided in a longitudinal direction by a transverse passage bore 21 in the inner part 13.

In the present embodiment the guide rod 7, located next to the gearbox 1, runs in a substantially vertical direction and is supported at its lower end via a ball-and-socket 4 joint 22 on a bracket 23, the bracket 23 being laterally attached to the outside of the gearbox I and being located below the shifting rod 3. The guide rod 7 is connected at the upper end, via a ball-and-socket joint 24 to a bracket 25 which is connected to the shifting rod 3 and projects laterally outwards or inwards.

The shifting device according to the invention makes it possible to transfer the translatory and rotational shifting movements effected by the shifting rod 3 and initiated in X, Y and Z directions from the side of the gearbox 1 where the shifting rod 3 is arranged to the opposite side of the gearbox 1 and, direct these movements into the gearbox 1 via the shifting member 2 for the purpose of executing the triggered shifting operations.

Claims

Claims:

1. A vehicle gearbox assembly having a shifting device and a gearbox, the shifting device having a shift linkage located between a manual shift lever and a shifting member for triggering shifting operations in the gearbox, the shift linkage being provided with a shifting rod having an end adjacent and spaced from the side of the gearbox and being pivotally connected to one end of a guide rod so that it can be freely moved in all directions, the other end of the guide rod being supported on the gearbox, wherein if the gearbox assembly is usually designed for left-hand-drive vehicles and has the shifting member arranged on the lefthand side of the gearbox but is to be used in right-hand-drive vehicles, the guide rod is arranged on the right-hand side of the gearbox, the shifting rod is located on the right-hand side of the gearbox and the connection between the shifting rod and the shifting member on the left-hand side of the gearbox is effected by means of a transverse shifting rod extending over the top of the gearbox in a transverse direction, the transverse shiffing rod being connected via a ball-andsocket joint at each end of the transverse shifting rod and being guided in a longitudinal direction in the inner part of a swivel head fastened to a console attached to the top of the gearbox, the inner part being movable in a ball-andsocket-type manner.

2. A vehicle gearbox assembly for a motor vehicle having a shifting device and a gearbox, the shifting device having a shift linkage located between a manual shift lever and, a shifting member for triggering the shifting operations in the gearbox provided with a shifting rod having an end adjacent and spaced from the side of the gearbox and being pivotally connected to one end of a guide rod so that it can be freely moved in all directions the other end of the guide rod being supported on the gearbox, wherein if the gearbox assembly is usually designed for right-hand-drive vehicles and has the shifting member arranged on the righthand side of the gearbox but is to be used in left-hand-drive vehicles, the guide rod is arranged on the left-hand side of the gearbox, the shifting rod is located on 6 the left-hand-side of the gearbox and the connection between the shiffing rod and the shifting member on the right-hand side of the gearbox is effected by means of a transverse shifting rod extending over the top of the gearbox in a transverse direction, the transverse shifting rod being connected via a ball-and-socket joint at each end of the transverse shifting rod and being guided in a longitudinal direction in the inner part of a swivel head fastened to a console attached to the top of the gearbox, the inner part being movable in a ball-and-socket-type manner.

3. A vehicle gearbox assembly as claimed in Claim I or 2, wherein the transverse shifting rod is a single-piece straight rod the ends of which are linked to the shifting rod and the shifting member respectively via ball-and- socket joints.

4. A vehicle gearbox assembly as claimed in Claim I or 2, wherein the transverse shifting rod is composed of one substantially straight centre part and two outer parts which are screwed onto or into each of the end faces of the centre part, the ends of the outer parts being connected via a ball- and-socket joint to the shifting rod and shifting member respectively, the lateral distance to the outer connecting point on the shifting rod and on the shifting member and the effective length of the transverse shifting rod being adjustable by adjusting the depth to which the outer parts are screwed onto or into the centre part.

5. A vehicle gearbox assembly as claimed in Claim I or 2, wherein the console consists of a bearing block which is attached by means of bolts, the swivel head being fitted to a flange on the console and having a swivel neck which extends horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the gearbox, the free end of the swivel head being provided with a bearing eye in which the inner part is supported in a ball-and-socket-type manner, a transverse passage bore in the inner part guiding the transverse shifting rod in the longitudinal direction.

7 6. A vehicle gearbox assembly as claimed in Claim I or 2, wherein the guide rod runs in a substantially vertical direction and is supported at its lower end via a ball-and-socket joint on a bracket, the bracket being laterally attached to the outside of the gearbox and located below the shifting rod, the upper end of the guide rod being connected, via a ball-and-socket joint to a bracket which is connected to the shifting rod and projects laterally outwards or inwards.

7. A vehicle gearbox assembly for a motor vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing.