JP2001150974A - Shift lever - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a buttom coming off, and form a knob inexpensively by integral molding. SOLUTION: A pair of guides 38, 40 is extended from a tip part of a lever main body 12, a detent pin 18 provided in an end part of a cable 16 is arranged between the guides 38, 40 to be moved by guide of the guides 38, 40. Since the paired guides 38, 40 are inserted into a slit slot 28 of the buttom 26 inside a lateral hole 24, a wall part 44 is brought into contact with the guide 40 when the buttom 26 slides to the opening side of the lateral hole 24 by a prescribed amount. The button 26 is prevented thereby from coming off. Since the silding of the buttom 26 is limited by a guide 44, a wall or the like for limiting the slide of the buttom 26 is not required to be formed in an inner circumferential part of the hole 24. No undercut part is formed in the knob 20 when the integral molding is conducted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a shift lever of a shift lever device for operating a transmission of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for gear shifting operation of an automatic transmission mounted on a vehicle, a shift lever provided near a steering column or between a driver's seat and a passenger seat of a vehicle is rocked. ), A so-called shift lever device for shifting the speed of an automatic transmission is generally known.

[0003] In this type of shift lever device, a limiting mechanism (detent mechanism) for limiting inadvertent swing operation of the shift lever is usually provided, and provided at the tip of the shift lever. By pressing the knob button and entering the knob, the cable provided inside the shift lever is pulled and moved, whereby the restriction of the shift lever swing by the restriction mechanism is released. Has become.

[0004]

By the way, a button provided on the knob is fitted in a hole formed in the knob, and generally slides along the hole.
In this case, the button must be prevented from coming out of the hole. As shown in FIG. 6, a protrusion 102 is formed to protrude from the outer peripheral portion of the button 100, and a groove 104 into which the protrusion 102 fits is formed on the knob 106 as shown in FIG. The groove 104 is naturally connected to the groove 104 into which the main body of the button 100 is inserted. However, the hole 108 has an open end but the groove 10
4 has no opening end corresponding to the opening end of the hole 108, and the portion corresponding to the opening end of the hole 108 is a wall 110.
It has been. The protrusion 102 that has entered the groove 104
As the button 100 slides in the hole 108, the groove 1
Although it slides inside the wall portion 04, the sliding of the projection 102 toward the wall portion 110 is restricted by contacting the wall portion 110, and accordingly, the sliding of the button 100 is also restricted. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the button 100 from coming out of the hole 108 completely.

[0005] However, when the knob 106 having the wall portion 110 and the groove portion 104 is formed from a synthetic resin material, the groove portion 104 becomes a so-called undercut. Therefore, when such a knob 106 is integrally molded, a special and expensive mold such as a nesting die is used, or the knob 106 is divided into a plurality of parts and each part is molded. Knob 106
Will be formed. In the former case, the cost is high because a special die is used, and in the latter case, a plurality of sets of dies are required to form the knob 106 and an assembling process is required, so that the cost is also high.

An object of the present invention is to provide a shift lever in which the button can be prevented from coming off and the knob can be formed at a low cost by integral molding in consideration of the above facts.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a shift lever connected directly or indirectly to a transmission of a vehicle.
A plurality of shift ranges set in the transmission by a shift operation to a predetermined shift position, a cylindrical lever body that changes to a shift range corresponding to the shift position;
A first hole that is attached to the distal end of the lever body and coaxially communicates with the hollow portion of the lever body in the attached state, and a direction that intersects the depth direction of the first hole. A knob formed with a second hole portion opened at one end in the depth direction of the knob, and a knob accommodated in the lever body and one end side restricting the shift operation. A connection member that is directly or indirectly connected to a mechanism, and that releases the restriction of the shift operation by the restriction mechanism by moving in the release direction inside the lever main body, and is integrally provided at a distal end portion of the lever main body. A guide that guides the other end of the connection member along the depth direction of the first hole when the connection member is moved, and slides along the second hole. Possible the second A facing wall that is inserted into the portion and faces the guide toward the opening end side of the second hole is formed, engages with the other end of the connection member, and moves to the bottom side of the second hole. A button for pressing the other end of the connection member in the release direction by the movement of the connection member.

According to the shift lever having the above-described structure, the knob has the second hole, and when the button inserted into the second hole is pushed toward the bottom of the second hole, the button is connected. The other end of the member is pressed and moved in the release direction. Thereby, the shift operation restriction by the restriction mechanism is released, and the shift operation of the lever main body becomes possible. When the button is pressed, the movement of the other end of the connection member is limited only in the depth direction of the first hole by the guide provided at the tip of the lever body.

Here, the guide is inserted into the second hole, and the opposing wall formed on the button faces the guide in the opening direction of the second hole, so that the button is in the second position. After a predetermined amount of sliding movement in the opening direction of the hole, the opposing wall comes into contact with the guide, and the movement in the opening direction is restricted by the guide. That is, in this state, the movement of the button in the opening direction is restricted, thereby preventing the button from falling out of the second hole.

Further, since the button is removed by the guide as described above, the second hole may be a simple hole, that is, a hole having no wall or the like for preventing the button from being removed. The hole and its surroundings do not form a so-called undercut for molding the knob. For this reason, the knob can be integrally formed of a synthetic resin material.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of a tip of a shift lever 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Is shown by a plan sectional view.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shift lever 1
0 has a lever main body 12 formed in a cylindrical shape.
The lever body 12 has a base end in the longitudinal direction (an end on the lower side in the drawing of FIG. 1) which is connected to a base member provided near a column cover of a vehicle (not shown) or between a driver's seat and a passenger seat of the vehicle.
For example, it is pivotally supported with the vehicle width direction as the axial direction.

The lever main body 12 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and the inside thereof is formed as a connection member accommodating hole 14. Inside the connection member housing hole 14, a cable 16 as a flexible connection member elongated along the longitudinal direction of the lever main body 12 is housed. Although not particularly shown, a detent member called a detent pin or a detent piece is fixed to an end of the cable 16 on the base end side of the lever main body 12. The detent member protrudes to the outside of the lever body 12 through a hole such as a slit hole formed on the base end side of the lever body 12, and its distal end is provided on the side of the base end of the lever body 12. Into the detent hole of the detent plate. The inner periphery of the detent hole is made uneven, and when the inner periphery convex portion of the detent hole faces the tip portion of the detent member along the turning direction of the lever body 12, the inner periphery convex portion is engaged with the tip portion of the detent member. In addition to restricting the rotation of the lever main body 12, the detent member moves along the longitudinal direction of the lever main body 12, whereby the facing state between the inner peripheral convex portion of the detent hole and the distal end portion of the detent member is released. ,
The above-described turning restriction is released.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a locking pin 18 is provided at the end of the cable 16 on the distal end side of the lever body 12.
Has been fixed. The locking pin 18 has a cylindrical shape that is axially oriented along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction on the distal end side of the lever body 12, and an axial intermediate portion of the locking pin 18 is fixed to the distal end of the cable 16. Have been.

A knob 2 is provided at the tip of the lever body 12.
0 is provided. The knob 20 is a handle for gripping the shift lever 10 when the shift lever 10 is operated. Inside the knob 20 is a first hole which is coaxial with the connection member accommodating hole 14 in a state where the knob 20 is attached to the distal end of the lever body 12. A vertical hole 22 and a horizontal hole 2 as a second hole portion formed in a depth direction substantially along the vehicle width direction.
4 are formed. In the present embodiment, the lateral hole 24 has an open end at the left end in the vehicle width direction and is open at the left end of the knob 20, and the lateral hole 24 has a bottom end at the right end in the vehicle width direction. .

The vertical hole 22 has an inner diameter dimension of the lever body 1.
The lever body 12 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the lever 2 and the lever body 12 can be inserted from the opening end thereof. Further, the bottom side of the vertical hole 22 is opened on the inner peripheral surface at the middle part in the depth direction of the horizontal hole 24.

A button 26 is accommodated in the horizontal hole 24. A part of the button 26 is exposed to the outside from the opening end of the horizontal hole 24, and the button 26 is pushed into the inside of the horizontal hole 24 by pressing the end of the exposed portion toward the bottom of the horizontal hole 24. Can be slid.

The portion of the button 26 that has entered the inside of the horizontal hole 24 penetrates in the depth direction of the vertical hole 22 and has a width dimension greater than the axial dimension of the locking pin 18 described above. A sufficiently short slit hole 28 is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the slit hole 28 is formed in a longitudinal direction along the depth direction of the horizontal hole 24 in a plan view (the state shown in FIG. 3), and the button 26 is moved from the initial position to a predetermined pushing position. The formation position and the longitudinal dimension are set so as to communicate with the above-described vertical hole 22 even when the vertical hole 22 is moved to the position where it is pushed down.

Cam holes 30 are formed at both ends in the width direction of the slit holes 28. Each cam hole 30 is provided with a knob 20
1 is open on the opposite side (upper side in FIG. 1) of the lever body 12 and the slit holes 28 are all in communication with the slit holes 28. However, the cam hole 30 is not open on the lever body 12 side (the lower side in FIG. 1) of the knob 20, and the cam hole 30
The knob 20 has a cam portion 32 on the lever body 12 side. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the cam portion 32 has an inclined surface facing the side opposite to the lever body 12 with respect to the bottom in the depth direction of the horizontal hole 24. From the inner end of one cam hole 30 along the width direction of the slit hole 28, the slit hole 2
8, the dimension up to the inner end of the other cam hole 30 is slightly larger than the above-described axial dimension of the locking pin 18, and the other cam hole 30 extends from one cam hole 30 to the slit hole 28. The locking pin 18 can be accommodated in a state where the locking pin 18 faces in the axial direction.

On the other hand, from the end of the button 26 at the bottom of the horizontal hole 24, a holding projection 34 is formed so as to project toward the bottom of the horizontal hole 24. A compression coil spring 36 is disposed between the end of the button 26 on the bottom side of the horizontal hole 24 and the bottom of the horizontal hole 24. The inner diameter of the compression coil spring 36 (specifically, the inner diameter when the shape of the compression coil spring 36 is considered to be cylindrical) is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the holding projection 34.
A holding projection 34 is fitted from one end of the compression coil spring 36, and the compression coil spring 36 is held by the holding projection 34.

The other end of the compression coil spring 36 is in contact with the bottom of the horizontal hole 24, and biases the button 26 against the knob 20 toward the open end of the horizontal hole 24.

On the other hand, a pair of guides 38 and 40 extend from the tip of the lever body 12 described above. The guide 38 and the guide 40 are formed so as to oppose each other along the depth direction of the horizontal hole 24, and each penetrates the communicating portion between the vertical hole 22 and the horizontal hole 24 and enters the horizontal hole 24. . Each of the guides 38 and 40 is formed in a rectangular rod shape extending in the longitudinal direction along the depth direction of the vertical hole 22, and the interval between the guide 38 and the guide 40 is slightly larger than the diameter of the locking pin 18 described above. The locking pin 18 can be arranged between the guide 38 and the guide 40.

The size of each of the guides 38 and 40 along the width direction of the slit hole 28 is slightly larger than the width size of the slit hole 28, and as shown in FIG.
4 and also into the slit hole 28.

Here, of the inner peripheral wall of the slit hole 28 described above, the wall portion 42 facing the bottom side of the horizontal hole 24 is the cam hole 3.
The dimension of the guide 38 located at the opening side of the horizontal hole 24 at least along the depth direction of the horizontal hole 24 from the wall portion 42 to the cam hole 30 is further located than the zero. That is all.

On the other hand, of the inner peripheral wall of the slit hole 28, the wall portion 44 facing the opening side of the horizontal hole 24 is located at the same position as the wall portion of the cam hole 30 facing the opening side of the horizontal hole 24. Guide 4 located at the bottom side of lateral hole 24 along the depth direction of 24
It faces 0.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

As described above, the shift lever 10 is pivotally supported at the base end side of the lever main body 12, and the shift lever 10 is turned around the base end side (shift operation) to be separately mounted on the vehicle. Installed automatic transmission (not shown)
Is changed to a shift range corresponding to the turning position of the shift lever 10.

However, when the shift lever 10 has reached a specific turning position, the tip side of the detent member locked to the cable 16
When the shift lever 10 is turned to the inner peripheral convex portion side, the distal end side of the detent member contacts the inner peripheral convex portion, and the indirect rotation is performed. The turning operation of the shift lever 10 is restricted.

In order to release the rotation restriction of the shift lever 10 as described above, the detent member is displaced to release the facing state between the inner peripheral convex portion of the detent hole and the distal end portion of the detent member. The detent member can be displaced by pressing and pulling the cable 16 housed in the connection member housing hole 14 of the lever main body 12 toward the distal end side of the lever main body 12, and the distal end of the detent member and the inner peripheral convex portion of the detent hole. Can be canceled.

That is, when the button 26 inserted into the horizontal hole 24 of the knob 20 is pushed into the bottom of the horizontal hole 24 against the urging force of the compression coil spring 36 as shown in FIG. The cam portion 32 of the lever body 12 extends in the plane direction (ie, the bottom side in the depth direction of the lateral hole 24).
(In a direction inclined to the opposite side to the opposite direction). As a matter of course, the locking pin 18 tends to move in this pressing direction, but since the locking pin 18 is disposed between the guide 38 and the guide 40, the locking pin 18 extends outward in the depth direction of the lateral hole 24. Movement is limited by the guide 40.
Therefore, the locking pin 18 moves only toward the side opposite to the lever body 12, that is, toward the side opposite to the opening side of the vertical hole 22 in the depth direction of the vertical hole 22.

When the locking pin 18 moves to the side opposite to the opening side of the vertical hole 22, the cable 16 directs the inside of the vertical hole 22 and the connection member housing hole 14 to the side opposite to the opening side of the vertical hole 22. Move. As a result, the detent member moves and the state in which the detent hole faces the inner peripheral convex portion is released.

On the other hand, when the pressing force on the button 26 is released, the button 26 slides toward the opening of the horizontal hole 24 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 36. At this time, the sliding movement of the button 26 toward the opening side of the horizontal hole 24 is restricted by the wall portion 44 of the slit hole 28 abutting on the guide 40. Therefore, the button 26 does not fall out of the opening of the horizontal hole 24.

Also, by removing the button 26 with the guide 40, the lateral hole 24 can be a simple hole, that is, a hole having no wall or the like for preventing the button 26 from coming off. The lateral hole 24 and its surroundings do not form a so-called undercut in forming the knob 20.
Therefore, the knob 20 can be integrally formed of a synthetic resin material.

When the present embodiment is viewed from another viewpoint, the other end of the cable 16 can be moved along the depth direction of the vertical hole 22 by the guides 38 and 40, Compared to the case where the cable 16 is moved by bending, the frictional resistance due to the rubbing of other parts when the cable 16 moves is eliminated, so that the pressing force applied to the button 26 can be small. Regarding this effect, the same can be said for a conventional shift lever in which a guide member is separately arranged inside the knob. However, in such a conventional configuration, a separate guide member is required, so that the number of parts is increased, and cost is reduced. However, in the present embodiment, the guide 38,
40 is extended from the distal end portion of the lever body 12 (that is, the guides 38 and 40 are merely
Part of the configuration), the number of parts is small,
Costs can be reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description of the second embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of the tip of a shift lever 70 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main shift lever 7
The inside of the 0 lever body 12 is a connection member accommodation hole 14. Inside the connection member receiving hole 14, the lever main body 12 is provided.
Rod-shaped rod 72 made longitudinal along the longitudinal direction of
Is housed.

Although the rod 72 is not shown in detail, a detent member called a detent pin or a detent piece is fixed to an end of the rod 72 on the base end side of the lever body 12. The detent member protrudes to the outside of the lever body 12 through a hole such as a slit hole formed on the base end side of the lever body 12, and its distal end is provided on the side of the base end of the lever body 12. Into the detent hole of the detent plate. The inner periphery of the detent hole is made uneven, and when the inner periphery convex portion of the detent hole faces the tip portion of the detent member along the turning direction of the lever body 12, the inner periphery convex portion is engaged with the tip portion of the detent member. In addition to restricting the rotation of the lever main body 12, the detent member moves along the longitudinal direction of the lever main body 12, whereby the facing state between the inner peripheral convex portion of the detent hole and the distal end portion of the detent member is released. The above-mentioned turning restriction is released.
However, the cable 16 in the first embodiment described above is used.
The pivot restriction can be released by displacing the lever 72 toward the distal end side of the lever body 12, whereas the rod 72 can be released from the pivot end by displacing the lever body 12 toward the base end side. .

On the other hand, the locking pin 18 is fixed to the end of the rod 72 on the tip side of the lever body 12. The locking pin 18 has a cylindrical shape that is axially oriented along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction on the distal end side of the lever body 12, and an axially intermediate portion of the locking pin 18 is fixed to the distal end of the rod 72. Have been.

On the other hand, cam holes 74 are formed at both ends in the width direction of the slit hole 28 of the button 26. Each of the cam holes 74 is basically the same as the cam hole 30 of the first embodiment described above, but the inclination direction of the cam portion 76 formed on the inner peripheral portion of the cam hole 74 is different from that of the cam portion 32. Different, side hole 2
4 has an inclined surface facing the lever body 12 side with respect to the bottom side in the depth direction.

In the above embodiment, the shift lever 7
To release the rotation restriction of 0, the detent member can be displaced by pushing the rod 72 toward the base end side of the lever main body 12, and the facing state between the distal end portion of the detent member and the inner peripheral convex portion of the detent hole can be released.

That is, when the button 26 inserted into the horizontal hole 24 of the knob 20 is pushed into the bottom of the horizontal hole 24 against the urging force of the compression coil spring 36 as shown in FIG. 74 of the lever body 12 with respect to the surface direction (that is, the bottom side in the depth direction of the lateral hole 24).
(In a direction inclined to the side).
As a matter of course, the locking pin 18 attempts to move in this pressing direction, but the locking pin 18
Therefore, the movement of the lateral hole 24 to the outside in the depth direction is restricted by the guide 40. Therefore, the locking pin 18 moves only toward the side opposite to the lever body 12, that is, toward the opening side of the vertical hole 22 in the depth direction of the vertical hole 22.

When the locking pin 18 moves to the opening side of the vertical hole 22, the rod 72 moves the vertical hole 22 and the connection member accommodation hole 14.
Is moved toward the opening side of the vertical hole 22. As a result, the detent member moves and the state in which the detent hole faces the inner peripheral convex portion is released.

On the other hand, when the pressing force on the button 26 is released, the button 26 slides toward the opening of the horizontal hole 24 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 36. At this time, the sliding movement of the button 26 toward the opening side of the horizontal hole 24 is restricted by the wall portion 44 of the slit hole 28 abutting on the guide 40. Therefore, the button 26 does not fall out of the opening of the horizontal hole 24.

As described above, in the present embodiment, although the form of the connecting member and the moving direction of the connecting member for releasing the rotation are different from those of the first embodiment, the guide 40 is used to release the button 26. Since the horizontal hole 24 may be a simple hole, that is, a hole having no wall or the like for preventing the button 26 from coming off, the horizontal hole 24 and its surroundings can be used as a so-called undercut for forming the knob 20. It will not be.
Therefore, the knob 20 can be integrally formed of a synthetic resin material.

When the present embodiment is viewed from another viewpoint, the other end of the rod 72 can be moved along the depth direction of the vertical hole 22 by the guides 38 and 40. Compared to the case where the rod 72 is moved by bending, the frictional resistance caused by the rod 72 rubbing against other parts when moving is eliminated, so that the pressing force applied to the button 26 can be reduced. Regarding this effect, the same can be said for a conventional shift lever in which a guide member is separately arranged inside the knob. However, in such a conventional configuration, a separate guide member is required, so that the number of parts is increased, and cost is reduced. However, in the present embodiment, the guide 38,
40 is extended from the distal end portion of the lever body 12 (that is, the guides 38 and 40 are merely
Part of the configuration), the number of parts is small,
Costs can be reduced.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, the button can be prevented from coming off, and the knob can be formed at a low cost because the second hole does not become a so-called undercut even when the knob is integrally formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a shift lever according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1 in a state where a button is pressed.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of a main part of the shift lever according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of a button.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a shift lever according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a knob in a conventional shift lever.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 shift lever 12 lever body 16 cable (connection member) 20 knob 22 vertical hole (first hole) 24 side hole (second hole) 26 button 38 guide 40 guide 44 wall (opposing wall) 52 knob 70 shift lever 72 rod (connection member)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A shift range that is directly or indirectly connected to a transmission of a vehicle and that corresponds to the shift position among a plurality of shift ranges set in the transmission by a shift operation to a predetermined shift position. A cylindrical lever body to be changed, and a first hole portion attached to the distal end portion of the lever body and coaxially communicating with the hollow portion of the lever body in the attached state, and the first hole portion. A knob formed with a depth direction along a direction intersecting the depth direction, and second holes formed at one end in the depth direction of the knob, respectively, and housed inside the lever body, A connecting member having one end side directly or indirectly connected to the limiting mechanism for limiting the shift operation, and releasing the shift operation limitation by the limiting mechanism by moving in the release direction inside the lever body; A guide that is provided integrally with the distal end of the lever body and enters the second hole, and guides the other end of the connection member along the depth direction of the first hole when the connection member moves. And an opposite wall that is slidably fitted along the second hole and is opposed to the guide toward an opening end side of the second hole, the opposite wall being formed, and A button that engages with the other end and presses the other end of the connection member in the release direction by moving the second hole toward the bottom.