JP2000272372A - Column shift lever structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve shift operability and the layout freedom by providing a rotary contact type wiper switch integrally in a grip part of a shift lever in a column shift unit provided above a steering column. SOLUTION: A steering shaft 2 is inserted through and held by a steering column 1 with the upper end part projecting to the driver's seat side, with a steering wheel 3 mounted on the upper end part of the shaft 2. A column shift unit 4 and a key cylinder 5 are provided around the upper part of the steering column 1. A rotary contact type wiper switch 10 is provided integrally on the outside of a grip part 8a of a shift lever 8. The outer diameter of a knob part 10a of the wiper switch 10 is formed smaller than the outer diameter of the grip part 8a of the shift lever 8. Thereby, operation error of the wiper switch 10 at the time of operating the shift lever 8 is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a column shift lever structure of a column shift unit mounted on a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a motor vehicle is equipped with a column shift unit 51 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as a shift unit for operating a mounted automatic transmission (automatic transmission) in each shift state. Something you are doing. This column shift unit 5
1 is a steering column 53 with a tightening bolt 52.
Has a unit body 54 fixed to the outer peripheral portion of
On the unit body 54, a column shift lever 55 of the automatic transmission is rotatably supported at each shift position.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the steering column 53 is configured as a shock-absorbing type that can expand and contract in the axial direction, and is mounted on the vehicle body side by upper and lower brackets (not shown) arranged at intervals in the axial direction. Installed. A steering shaft 56 is inserted and held in the steering column 53, and an upper end of the steering shaft 56 is
A steering wheel 57 is rotatably mounted.

[0003] By the way, the column shift lever 55
Is generally disposed between the steering wheel 57 and an instrument panel (not shown) and on the left side of the steering column 53 when viewed from the driver side. Also, the shift lever 55 and the steering wheel 5
A wiper operation lever 59 having a wiper switch 58 is provided between the steering column 53 and the steering column 53 via a fixed bracket 60. Therefore, the shift lever 55 is disposed at a position farther from the driver than the wiper operation lever 59. The fixed bracket 60 includes a turn signal light switch 6.
A switch operation lever 62 having a 1 is disposed on the right side of the steering column 53 opposite to the wiper operation lever 59. A key cylinder 63 is provided near the column shift unit 51.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional column shift lever structure, the wiper operation lever 59 is disposed on the near side as viewed from the driver, and the shift lever 55 is located farther than the wiper operation lever 59. The driver holds the steering wheel 57 with one hand and shifts the shift lever 55 with the other hand.
Is difficult to operate, and the fingertip may hit the shift lever 55 when the wiper switch 58 is operated, and there is a problem in the operability of the functional components. Further, in the conventional column shift lever structure, when a device having an operation panel is provided at the center of the instrument panel, the operation of the device is hindered by the layout of the shift lever 55 and the shift position. Had a defect. Furthermore, in the conventional column shift lever structure, it is necessary to lay out in consideration of the positional relationship between the shift lever 55 and the wiper operation lever 59 so that the wiper operation lever 59 does not interfere when the shift lever 55 is operated. There is a disadvantage that the degree of freedom in layout of the shift unit 51 and its peripheral components is reduced.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the impact absorption stroke of the steering column without affecting the operation of the device located on the instrument panel. An object of the present invention is to provide a column shift lever structure which is not affected by the presence or absence of a column shift unit and can improve shift operability and layout flexibility.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a column shift lever structure which constitutes a column shift unit provided on an upper portion of a steering column. The unit is integrally provided with a rotary contact type wiper switch.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

1 to 3 show an embodiment of a column shift lever structure according to the present invention. The steering column 1 in the figure is supported on the vehicle body in a state where the upper bracket (not shown) or the like is bolted to a hanger bracket or the like and rises obliquely upward from the front to the rear of the vehicle. Moreover, the steering column 1
Has an axially expandable and contractible structure, and is disposed at a front position on the driver's seat side in the vehicle compartment. When an excessive load is applied in the axial direction, it compresses by a preset shrinkage allowance. Thus, it is configured to absorb a shock.

In the steering column 1, a steering shaft 2 is provided with its upper end protruding toward the driver's seat.
And a steering wheel 3 is rotatably attached to the upper end of the steering shaft 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automatic transmission mounted on the vehicle is parked in a parking state, a reverse state, a neutral state, a driving state, etc., in the vicinity of the upper portion of the steering column 1 and on the steering wheel 3 side. And a key cylinder 5 which is attached to an ignition switch (not shown) and which locks and unlocks by inserting and turning a key.

The column shift unit 4 has a unit main body 6 formed in a flat rectangular shape extending in the vehicle width direction so as to arrange the steering column 1 with an intermediate portion. Are fixed to the outer peripheral portion of the steering column 1 by fastening bolts 7. A column shift lever 8 of the automatic transmission is rotatably supported at each shift position on a unit body 6 located on the left side of the steering column 1 when viewed from the driver side. One end of a shift cable 9 is attached to a front end of the shift cable 8, and the shift cable 9 moves in the front-rear direction of the vehicle as the shift lever 8 rotates.

Further, in the shift lever 8 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a rotary contact type wiper switch 10 is integrally provided outside the grip portion 8a. It has a wiper switch integrated structure that integrates a conventional wiper operation lever. The wiper switch 10 has a knob 10a provided on the outer peripheral surface thereof with various scales (for example, high speed, low speed, intermittent and stop) for controlling the movement of a wiper (not shown). By rotating in the direction, the wiper can be switched on and off, or the operating speed of the wiper can be switched stepwise. For this reason, a cable (not shown), one end of which is connected to the wiper motor and the other end of which is connected to the power supply, is housed inside the knob 10a of the wiper switch 10, the shift lever 8, and the like.

The outer diameter of the knob 10a of the wiper switch 10 is smaller than the outer diameter of the grip 8a of the shift lever 8, so that the wiper switch 10 can be contacted even when the shift lever 8 is gripped. This makes it difficult for the wiper switch 10 to malfunction when the shift lever 8 is operated. In addition, the wiper switch 10 is configured to be movable in the axial direction. When the knob 10a is pressed toward the grip 8a of the shift lever 8, the washer liquid from the washer nozzle (not shown) of the front window moves toward the glass surface. It is designed to be injected.

On the other hand, the column shift unit 4 includes:
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a switch operation lever 12 having a turn signal light switch 11 is integrally provided at a right side of the steering column 1 opposite to the shift lever 8. The turn signal light switch 11 is configured so as to be able to switch on and off the light by pinching and turning the switch. The switch operation lever 12 can be configured to switch a turn signal (not shown) by operating the switch operation lever 12 in the up and down direction, or to switch the illumination direction of the head lamp up and down by operating the switch operation lever 12 in the front and rear direction. I have.

In the column shift lever structure according to the embodiment of the present invention, a rotary contact wiper switch 10 is integrally provided on the end side of the grip portion 8a of the shift lever 8 constituting the column shift unit 4, and Since the shift lever 8 has a wiper switch integrated structure, the column shift unit 7 can be made close to the steering wheel 3 to increase the distance from the instrument panel. Therefore, even when the column shift method is adopted, the steering column 1
It is not necessary to reduce the shock absorption stroke when a load is applied in the axial direction, and the operation of the shift lever 8 becomes easy. Further, in the column shift lever structure of the present embodiment,
Since the outer diameter of the grip portion 10a of the wiper switch 10 is formed smaller than the outer diameter of the grip portion 8a of the shift lever 8, it does not occur that the wiper switch 10 is operated by mistake when the shift lever 8 is operated. Further, in the column shift lever structure of the present embodiment, the shift lever 8 and the conventional wiper operation lever are integrated, and the switch operation lever 12 having the turn signal light switch 11 is on the opposite side to the shift lever 8. ,
Since it is integrally provided on the right side of the column shift unit 4, the wiper operation lever is not required, and a separate fixing bracket dedicated to the switch operation lever is not required, so that the number of parts and assembly can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Man-hours can be reduced.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible based on the technical idea of the present invention. is there.

[0016]

As described above, in the column shift lever structure according to the present invention, the rotary contact type wiper switch is integrally provided on the grip portion of the column shift lever of the column shift unit provided above the steering column. Therefore, it is not necessary to consider the positional relationship between the shift lever and the wiper operation lever, and the column shift unit can be arranged closer to the steering wheel side than before. Therefore, according to the column shift lever structure of the present invention, even when the column shift is employed, the operation of the device on the instrument panel can be smoothly performed at the shift position, and the device can be smoothly operated. Impact absorption stroke is not affected by the presence or absence of the column shift unit, and the impact load applied in the axial direction of the steering column can be effectively absorbed. Moreover, in the column shift lever structure of the present invention, the operation of the shift lever becomes easy, and the layout of the column shift unit and its peripheral parts can be freely performed, so that the operability of the shift and the degree of freedom of the layout can be improved. By reducing the number of parts and the number of assembling steps, it is possible to reduce costs and improve assembling workability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a column shift lever structure according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from below.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a column shift lever structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of the column shift unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional column shift lever structure viewed from below.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a conventional column shift lever structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering column 2 Steering shaft 3 Steering wheel 4 Column shift unit 6 Unit main body 7 Tightening bolt 8 Column shift lever 8a Grip part 10 Wiper switch 11 Turn signal light switch 12 Switch operation lever

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A column shift lever structure constituting a column shift unit provided on an upper part of a steering column, wherein a rotary contact type wiper switch is integrally provided on a grip portion of the shift lever. Lever structure. 2. The column shift unit according to claim 1, wherein a turn signal light switch is integrally provided at a position opposite to the shift lever.
Column shift lever structure described in 1. 3. The column shift lever structure according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of said wiper switch is formed smaller than an outer diameter of a grip portion of said shift lever.