JP2003312298A - Speed changer for at automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a speed changer for an AT vehicle, which reduces a cost needed for absorbing collision energy. <P>SOLUTION: A bracket 7 of the speed changer 1 comprises an upper bracket 8, whose one end is fitted on an upper part 51 of the body 5 of the speed changer and the other end is fitted on an installation support member 2 so as to rotate freely in the vertical direction on the member 2, and a lower bracket 9 whose one end is fitted on a lower part 52 of the body 5 and the other end is fitted on the installation support member 2 in a position lower than the position where the upper bracket 8 is fitted. The lower bracket 9 comprises left and right flanges 91, 91 whose upper ends are fixed to the lower part 52 with a bolt 12 and lower ends are fixed to the installation support member 2 with a bolt 13, and a coupling plate 92 coupling both flanges together on their back to form the U-shaped section of the coupled flanges. Both flanges 91, 91 are formed in such a way that the middle part of each flange in the back and forth direction B is shorter than the other part of that in the same direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shift operating device for an AT vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a shift operating device for operating an automatic transmission is provided between a driver's seat and a passenger's seat of an AT vehicle, and the shift operating device is provided in accordance with running conditions. By operating the shift lever, the transmission connected to the gear shift operating device operates and automatic gear shifting is performed. As an AT vehicle shift operating device, for example, a shift operating device 101 as shown in FIG. 5 has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-343977).

The shift operating device 101 is arranged in a cover portion 103 formed below a central portion of an instrument panel 102 of a vehicle. The shift operating device 101 is provided in the cover portion 103 and has an automatic transmission (not shown). ), And a shift lever 106 that is provided outside the device body 104 through an opening 105 formed on the cover 103 to select a speed stage.

As shown in FIG. 6, the main body 104 of the apparatus is attached to a pair of arms 107, 107 protruding in the front-rear direction from the vehicle body into the cover 103, and a pair of slits 108 are formed on the upper surface. Frames 109,1
09, a shaft 110 pivotally supported by both frames 109 and 109 to support the shift lever 106, a resin pin 111 (only one side is shown) interposed between the frames 109 and 109 and the shaft 110, Both frames 10
It is provided with a pair of corrugated plates 112, 112 which are respectively inserted into the slits 108, 108 of the shafts 9, 109 and attached to both ends of the shaft 110.

As a result, when an impact load P is applied to the shift lever 106 from above due to the behavior of the occupant during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the resin pin 111 is first broken and the gear shift operating device 101 is dropped from the vehicle body side, and then the frame is moved. 109
When the meandering portion 113 of the corrugated plate 112 above the shaft interferes with the frame 109 and plastically deforms when passing through the slit 108, the impact energy applied to the shift lever 106 is absorbed.

[0006]

However, in such a shift operating device for an AT vehicle, the shift lever 1
The resin pin 111, the corrugated plate 112, and the slit 108 serve as a member that absorbs the impact energy applied to 06.
There is a problem that the cost is significantly increased because the number of parts is increased and the configuration is complicated because the frame 109 or the like formed with is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an AT vehicle shift operating device capable of suppressing the cost required for absorbing impact energy.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a shift operating device for an AT vehicle according to a first aspect of the present invention, an upper air box to a lower floor are provided inside an instrument panel of a vehicle. The instrument support member provided on the instrument support member is provided with a bracket for mounting the device body provided with the shift lever from above. One end side of the bracket is attached to the upper part of the device body, and the other end side is the instrument support member. An upper bracket rotatably attached to the upper and lower sides, and a lower bracket having one end attached to a lower portion of the apparatus main body and the other end attached to the instrument support member below the upper bracket. , The lower bracket includes the lower portion of the apparatus body and the instrument support member. And left and right flanges lower end attached to the instrument support member with the upper end side positioned on the left and right side is attached to the lower between,
The flanges are formed in a U-shaped cross-section, which is composed of a connecting plate that connects one of the front and rear sides of the flanges. The length is set to be smaller than the length in the front-rear direction.

In such a structure, when an impact load is applied to the shift lever from above during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the upper bracket rotates downward, causing the lower bracket to open and deform at the left and right flanges. When the shift lever moves downward due to the deformation, the impact energy applied to the shift lever is absorbed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transmission operation device for an AT vehicle in which a hole is formed in the intermediate portion of at least one of the left and right flanges.

In such a structure, the opening mode of the flange can be changed by changing the diameter of the hole formed in the intermediate portion of the flange, so that the deformation mode of the lower bracket can be easily adjusted.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an AT showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part inside an instrument panel to which the vehicle gear shift operation device 1 is attached, and FIG. 2 is a right side surface of FIG. 1. Inside the instrument panel, extending in the up-and-down direction A, the upper and lower mounting portions 21 and 22 are installed from the air box located above the instrument panel to the floor located below the instrument panel. An instrument support member 2 is provided.

The instrument support member 2 is formed so as to be curved upward, and one end side of a steering member 3 for supporting a steering column is attached to a central portion thereof. The other end of the steering member 3 can be attached to the dash side panel via the support bracket 4.

The gear shift operating device 1 of the present invention is attached to the instrument support member 2 from above in a lower portion 24 below the connecting portion 23 with the steering member 3, and is connected to the automatic transmission. The device main body 5, a shift lever 6 (selector lever) provided on the upper side of the device main body 5 for selecting a speed stage and the like, and a bracket 7 for attaching the device main body 5 to the lower side portion 24 of the instrument support member 2. ing.

One end side of the bracket 7 is the main body 5 of the apparatus.
Upper bracket 51 and the other end of the upper bracket 8 rotatably attached to the instrument support member 2 up and down, and one end of the upper bracket 8 attached to the lower part 52 of the apparatus main body 5 and the other end of the instrument support member 2 to the upper support member 2. Lower bracket 9 attached below the bracket 8
It consists of and.

One end of the upper bracket 8 is attached by tightening the bolt 10 at the front surface 51a of the upper portion 51 of the apparatus main body 5, while the other end is connected to the steering member at the lower portion 24 of the instrument support member 2. An upper mount bracket 25 attached near the portion 23 is attached to the upper mount bracket 25 so as to rotate up and down by a bolt 11 when a collision occurs.

Further, the upper mount bracket 25 is formed with an elongated hole 26 in the front-rear direction B through which the bolt 11 is inserted, so that the mounting position for mounting the upper bracket 8 on the upper mount bracket 25 can be adjusted. There is.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower bracket 9 is located on the left and right sides between the lower portion 52 of the apparatus body 5 and the lower mount bracket 27 attached to the lower side portion 24 of the instrument support member 2. The left and right flanges 91, 91 whose upper end side (one end side) is bolted to the bottom portion 52a of the lower portion 52 with the front and rear bolts 12, 12 and whose lower end side (other end side) is bolted with the lower mount bracket 27 by the bolt 13
(Only the flange 91 on the right side is shown), both flanges 91,
It is formed to have a U-shaped cross section including a connecting plate 92 that connects the rear sides of the 91.

In the left and right flanges 91, 91, the length 93a of the intermediate portion 93 in the front-rear direction B is defined by the intermediate portion 9
The general portion other than 3 (upper and lower portions) 94 is formed to have a length smaller than the length 94a in the front-rear direction B, and a round hole 95 is formed in the middle portion 93 of the right flange 91. ing.

In such a structure, the impact load P is applied to the shift lever 6 from above due to the behavior of the occupant during a frontal collision of the vehicle.
When (see FIGS. 1 and 2) is applied, the upper bracket 8 pivots downward around the bolt 11 via the device main body 5, and this pivoting causes an impact load on the lower bracket 9 via the device main body 5. P is transmitted.

At this time, the lower bracket 9 is weaker in strength than other members because the intermediate portion 93 of the left and right flanges 91, 91 is formed smaller than the general portion 94.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower bracket 9 is deformed by causing the flanges 91, 91 to open at the intermediate portion 93, and this deformation causes the shift lever 6 to move downward to shift. The impact energy applied to the lever 6 is absorbed.

Therefore, in the gear shift operating device 1 of the present embodiment, since the impact energy applied to the shift lever 6 can be absorbed by the simple structure using the bracket 7, the cost required for absorbing the impact energy can be suppressed. it can.

Further, since the round hole 95 is formed in the middle portion 93 of the right flange 91, the strength of the lower bracket 9 is weakened as compared with the lower bracket in which the hole is not formed in the flange. It becomes easy to deform. Therefore, the impact energy can be efficiently absorbed.

Further, since the opening mode of the flanges 91, 91 can be changed by changing the diameter of the hole 95, the deformation mode of the lower bracket 9 can be easily adjusted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower bracket 9 has a D (drive) position selected for normal running of the shift lever 6 and a mounting position to the instrument support member 2 (to the lower mount bracket 27). It is provided on a line Q connecting the (attachment position).

As a result, the lower bracket 9 is provided along the load direction of the impact load P applied to the shift lever 6 at the time of collision (the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure), so that the vehicle is likely to collide during traveling. The lower bracket 9 easily receives the impact load P and can be easily deformed.
Therefore, the impact energy absorption efficiency can be further increased.

Although a hole is formed in the middle portion 93 of the right flange 91 of the lower bracket 9 in the present embodiment, at least one of the left and right flanges 91, 91 is formed.
Since it suffices to form a hole in the intermediate portion 93 of No. 1, a hole may be formed in the intermediate portion 93 of the left flange 91, or a hole may be formed in the intermediate portion 93 of both flanges 91, 91. .

[0030]

As described above, in the shift operating device for an AT vehicle according to claim 1 of the present invention, when an impact load is applied to the shift lever from above during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the upper bracket rotates downward. By doing so, the lower bracket is deformed, and the deformation causes the shift lever to move downward, so that the impact energy applied to the shift lever is absorbed. Therefore, since the impact energy applied to the shift lever can be absorbed with a simple structure using the bracket, the cost required for absorbing the impact energy can be suppressed.

Further, in the transmission operating device for an AT vehicle according to the present invention, the mode of opening the flange can be changed by changing the diameter of the hole formed in the intermediate portion of the flange. It can be easily adjusted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part to which a shift operating device for an AT vehicle showing an embodiment of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower bracket of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a lower bracket at the time of a collision.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main portion to which a conventional AT vehicle shift operating device is attached.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Shift operation device 2 Instrument support members 5 Device body 7 bracket 8 upper bracket 9 Lower bracket 51 upper part 52 Lower part 91 flange 92 Connection plate 93 Middle part 93a Length of the middle part in the front-back direction 94 General Department 94a Length of general part in front-back direction 95 round hole

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An instrument support member, which is provided inside an instrument panel of a vehicle, extending from an upper air box to a lower floor, is provided with a bracket for mounting a device body provided with a shift lever from above. This bracket has an upper bracket whose one end side is attached to the upper part of the apparatus body and the other end side which is attached to the instrument support member so as to be vertically rotatable, and one end side which is attached to the lower part of the apparatus body and the other end side. The lower bracket is attached to the instrument support member below the upper bracket, and the lower bracket is located on the left and right sides between the lower portion of the apparatus main body and the instrument support member and has an upper end. Side is attached to the lower part and the lower end side is the instrument support. The left and right flanges are attached to the member, and are formed in a U-shaped cross section, which is composed of a connecting plate that connects the front and rear sides of both flanges. A gear shift operation device for an AT vehicle, wherein the gear shift operation device is formed to have a length smaller than the length of the general portion other than the intermediate portion in the front-rear direction. 2. The shift operating device for an AT vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a hole is formed in the intermediate portion of at least one of the left and right flanges.