JP2005119381A - Shift lever device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shift lever device capable of suppressing the space and cost increase by eliminating the use of a retainer for supporting a control lever and reducing rattling generated in the control lever. <P>SOLUTION: The shift lever device 10 can be manufactured easily and inexpensively because the control lever 60 has a U-shaped section formed by bending a flat plate. As the first bearing part 72 and second bearing part 74 of the control lever 60 are arranged in the radial direction of a first shaft 22, it does not use unnecessarily the space around a shift lever 14 stretching in the axial direction of the first shaft 22, which allows making small the whole construction of the shift lever device 10 to a great extent. Further since the configuration is such that the installing space of the shift lever 14 stretching in the axial direction of the first shaft 22 is used as a space for installing the bearing part of the control lever 60, the length in the shaft 22 axial direction of the bearing part of the control lever 60 can be secured large, which allows reducing rattling generated in the control lever 60. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a shift lever device for shifting a transmission of an automobile.

  In a shift lever device that shifts a transmission of an automobile, for example, the shift lever is supported at its lower end by a cylindrical shaft arranged along the left-right direction of the vehicle, and in the shift direction (front-rear direction of the vehicle). It is possible to operate along. The shift lever is engaged with one end of a control cable connected to the transmission. Thus, the driver can select a plurality of automatic transmission modes set along the shift direction by operating the shift lever in the shift direction.

  On the other hand, in a state where the shift lever is located at a specific shift position (for example, “D” shift position), the shift lever is operated in the select direction that intersects the shift direction, and can be switched to the manual shift mode. There is also a shift lever device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In such a shift lever device, for example, a cylindrical retainer is rotatably connected to a lower end portion of the shift lever by a columnar pin disposed along the vehicle front-rear direction. The shaft is rotatably supported by a shaft disposed along the left-right direction of the vehicle.

  A control lever is provided near the side of the shift lever along the axial direction of the shaft. The control lever can be swung in the shift direction by a cylindrical retainer fixed to the lower end of the control lever and supported on the shaft coaxially with the retainer of the shift lever. One end of the cable is locked. The control lever is connected to the shift lever in a state where the shift lever is located in the selection area of the automatic transmission mode, and the transmission can be shifted by moving in the shift direction together with the shift lever. If the shift lever is operated in the select direction with the shift lever positioned at a specific shift position, the connection between the control lever and the shift lever is released, and the shift lever can be operated in the shift direction independently of the control lever. It is like that.

  By the way, in such a shift lever device, as described above, since the control lever is supported by the shaft by the cylindrical retainer fixed to the lower end thereof, the shift lever along the axial direction of the shaft. It is necessary to secure the installation space for the retainer of the control lever on the side. For this reason, there exists a problem that the whole structure of the shift lever apparatus along the axial direction of a shaft enlarges.

  In addition, the control lever is configured to swing (turn) the upper end with a retainer fixed to the lower end as a rotation fulcrum, so that a sufficient movement stroke of the control cable locked to the upper end can be secured. Needs to be set longer in the vertical dimension of the control lever. However, when the length of the control lever in the vertical direction is set to be long, the backlash of the retainer with respect to the shaft is amplified at the upper end portion (control cable connection portion) of the control lever. In order to reduce the backlash, it is necessary to set the length of the retainer in the axial direction to be long, and there is a problem that it is difficult to achieve a reduction in size of the apparatus.

Furthermore, since the control lever and the retainer are generally joined by means such as welding or are integrally formed by die casting such as aluminum, the manufacturing is complicated and causes high costs. Yes.
JP-A-9-236169

  In consideration of the above facts, the present invention eliminates the support of the control lever by the retainer, so that it is possible to save space and cost, and to reduce the occurrence of play in the control lever. The purpose is to obtain.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the shift lever device according to the first aspect of the present invention is supported at the lower end by the first shaft and the second shaft orthogonal to each other and is rotated around the axis of the first shaft. This makes it possible to select the shift position in the selection area of the automatic transmission mode, and to operate in the selection area of the manual transmission mode by rotating around the axis of the second shaft at the specific shift position. And a shift lever provided to be rotatable about an axis of the first shaft, coupled to the shift lever and connected to a transmission of a vehicle, and in conjunction with the shift lever, the axis of the first shaft. When the shift lever is operated to the selection area of the manual shift mode while shifting the transmission by rotating around A control lever that is disengaged from the connection with the shift lever, wherein the control lever is formed by bending a flat plate, and the axial direction of the first shaft is A first bearing portion provided along a radial direction of the first shaft on one side of the shift lever, the first shaft being inserted and supported; and the shift lever along the axial direction of the first shaft. The second bearing portion is provided along the radial direction of the first shaft on the other side and is supported by the first shaft being inserted therethrough, and is continuous between the first bearing portion and the second bearing portion. And a connecting portion that connects the two together.

  In the shift lever device according to claim 1, when the shift lever is turned around the axis of the first shaft and the shift position in the selection area of the automatic transmission mode is selected, the control lever connected to the shift lever is Rotating around the axis of the first shaft in conjunction with the shift lever. Since this control lever is connected to the transmission of the vehicle, the transmission can be shifted by selecting the shift position of the shift lever.

  Further, when the shift lever is turned around the axis of the second shaft at a specific shift position and operated in the manual shift mode selection area, the connection between the shift lever and the control lever is released. For this reason, when the shift lever is operated in the selection area of the manual transmission mode, the shift lever can be shifted independently of the control lever.

  Here, in the present shift lever device, the control lever is formed by bending a flat plate, and the first bearing portion and the second bearing are respectively provided on both sides of the shift lever along the axial direction of the first shaft. And the first bearing portion and the second bearing portion are integrally connected by a connecting portion continuously spanned between them (bent in a so-called “C-shaped cross section”). Processed)). For this reason, compared with the case where the control lever and the retainer are joined by means such as welding as in the conventional shift lever device, or when the control lever and the retainer are integrally formed by die casting such as aluminum, the control lever Manufacturing is easy, and cost reduction can be achieved.

  The first bearing portion and the second bearing portion of the control lever are flat plates and are provided along the radial direction of the first shaft. For this reason, the control lever can be installed in a minimum installation space without unnecessarily eroding the space around the shift lever along the axial direction of the first shaft. Therefore, as compared with the case where the cylindrical retainer fixed to the lower end of the control lever is arranged on the side of the shift lever along the axial direction of the shaft as in the conventional shift lever device, the axis of the first shaft The overall structure of the shift lever device along the direction can be greatly reduced.

  In addition, since the installation space for the shift lever along the axial direction of the shaft is also used as the installation space for the control lever bearing portion, the control lever bearing portion of the control lever bearing portion is not enlarged without increasing the overall configuration of the shift lever device. A long length along the axial direction of one shaft can be secured. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of play in the control lever.

  Thus, in the shift lever device according to the first aspect, by eliminating the support of the control lever by the retainer, it is possible to reduce the space and cost, and to reduce the occurrence of play in the control lever. .

  As described above, according to the shift lever device of the present invention, by eliminating the support of the control lever by the retainer, space saving and cost reduction can be achieved, and backlash occurs in the control lever. Can be reduced.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the overall configuration of a shift lever device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the main part of the shift lever device 10. Further, FIG. 3 shows a side view of the configuration of the main part of the shift lever device 10.

  The shift lever device 10 includes a box-shaped housing case 12 fastened and fixed to a vehicle body frame by bolts or the like. A shift lever 14 is provided at the center of the housing case 12. The shift lever 14 includes a round rod-shaped lever rod 16 and a support member 18 that covers and supports the lower end side of the lever rod 16. A shift knob (not shown) is provided at the upper end of the lever rod 16.

  The support member 18 is formed in a rod shape having a rectangular cross section by a resin material or the like, and a notch 20 is formed at the lower end portion along the vehicle left-right direction at the center in the width direction (vehicle longitudinal direction in the present embodiment). Has been. A cylindrical first shaft 22 disposed in parallel with the left-right direction of the vehicle is fitted into the notch 20, and the lower end of the support member 18 is supported by a cylindrical second shaft 24 disposed along the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The part and the first shaft 22 are rotatably connected. The second shaft 24 is locked by a clip 26 that engages with the support member 18.

  The first shaft 22 is inserted into a through hole 30 formed in the side wall 28 of the housing case 12, and both axial ends protrude outward from the side wall 28 of the housing case 12. At one end in the axial direction of the protruding first shaft 22, a hook-shaped retaining portion 32 is provided and is engaged with a hole edge of the through hole 30. Further, a cylindrical locking portion 34 protrudes in the axial direction at the other axial end of the protruding first shaft 22, and the locking portion 34 has a hole edge of the through hole 30. The clip 38 is engaged through the engaged flat blade 36. Thus, the first shaft 22 is supported by the housing case 12 so as not to move along the axial direction and to be rotatable around the axial line.

  Therefore, the shift lever 14 can be operated in the shift direction (the vehicle longitudinal direction in the present embodiment) around the axis of the first shaft 22, and the select that intersects the shift direction around the axis of the second shaft 24. It is possible to operate in the direction (the vehicle left direction in the present embodiment).

  The shift lever device 10 is a so-called gate type shift lever device, and the guide plate 40 constituting the upper end portion of the housing case 12 has a shift groove 42 bent in a zigzag shape. The shift rod 42 penetrates the lever rod 16 of the shift lever 14 so as to guide the shift operation of the shift lever 14.

  Then, the shift lever 14 is shifted in the shift direction along the shift groove 42 in a state where the shift lever 14 is positioned in the selection area 41 (see FIG. 4) of the automatic transmission mode, so that the shift lever 14 is moved to the shift position (main position). In the embodiment, “P” shift position, “R” shift position, “N” shift position, “D” shift position) can be changed (see FIG. 2). The shift lever device 10 includes a P position detection switch 44 that detects that the shift lever 14 is positioned at the “P” shift position, and a solenoid 46 that locks the shift lever 14 positioned at the “P” shift position. In the state where the P position detection switch 44 detects that the shift lever 14 is positioned at the “P” shift position, if the vehicle brake is not operated, the solenoid 46 moves the “R” position from the “P” position to “R”. ”Is prevented from moving to the position.

  The shift lever device 10 is a so-called Tiptro type shift lever device. When the shift lever 14 is located at a specific shift position (“D” shift position in the present embodiment), the shift lever 14 is selected. It can be tilted in the direction (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3). When the shift lever 14 is shifted in the select direction, the shift lever 14 is moved to the manual shift mode selection area 43 (see FIG. 4).

  When the shift lever 14 is operated in the shift direction with the shift lever 14 positioned in the manual shift mode selection area 43, a switch arm 48 protruding from the lower end of the support member 18 toward the vehicle lower side as shown in FIG. The control switch 50 fixed to the housing case 12 is turned “ON” and “OFF”, whereby the automatic transmission of the vehicle is shifted in the manual shift mode. Specifically, when the shift lever 14 is shifted to the front side of the vehicle (the “+” side in the present embodiment), the automatic transmission is shifted up, and the shift lever 14 is moved to the rear side of the vehicle (the present embodiment). Then, when the shift operation is performed to the “−” side), the automatic transmission is shifted down.

  On the other hand, a columnar rod portion 52 protrudes obliquely upward from an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the support member 18. A compression coil spring 54 is inserted into the cylinder of the rod portion 52, and a columnar detent pin 56 having one end portion (upper end portion in the present embodiment) having a spherical shape is inserted. Therefore, the detent pin 56 is biased upward by the biasing force of the compression coil spring 54, and the upper end portion of the detent pin 56 is in contact with the back surface of the guide plate 40.

  A detent groove (not shown) is formed on the back surface of the guide plate 40 corresponding to the detent pin 56. The detent groove is formed to bend corresponding to the movement locus of the detent pin 56 accompanying the shift operation of the shift lever 14, and a recess (not shown) is formed at a position corresponding to each shift position of the shift lever 14. Therefore, a moderation feeling is given to the shift operation of the shift lever 14.

  In addition, a protrusion 58 having a rectangular block shape is provided on the middle portion in the longitudinal direction of the support member 18 on one side in the vehicle left-right direction (the vehicle left side in the present embodiment). The protrusion 58 corresponds to a hole 62 of the control lever 60 described later.

  Furthermore, a substantially triangular engagement protrusion 64 constituting a clutch mechanism protrudes from the upper end portion of the support member 18 above the protrusion 58 on one side in the vehicle left-right direction (the vehicle left side in the present embodiment). ing. The engagement protrusion 64 corresponds to a lever portion 66 of a control lever 60 which will be described later, and constitutes a clutch mechanism. A first cutout 68 is formed. The side wall 28 of the housing case 12 is provided with a substantially rectangular hole 70 corresponding to the engagement protrusion 64, and the shift lever 14 is operated in the select direction to select the manual shift mode selection area 43. In the moved state, the end of the engagement protrusion 64 opposite to the support member 18 is disposed in the hole 70. The length of the hole 70 along the shift direction is set to be longer than the movement range of the engagement protrusion 64 accompanying the movement in the shift direction in the manual shift mode selection area 43 of the shift lever 14. The engaging protrusion 64 of the shift lever 14 does not interfere with the side wall 28 of the housing case 12.

  On the other hand, the control lever 60 described above is formed into a so-called “cross-sectional U shape” by bending a flat plate material such as metal, and one side of the shift lever 14 along the axial direction of the first shaft 22. The first bearing portion 72 disposed along the radial direction of the first shaft at the left side of the vehicle in the present embodiment, and the other side of the shift lever 14 along the axial direction of the first shaft 22 (the present embodiment). The right side of the vehicle) has a second bearing portion 74 disposed along the radial direction of the first shaft 22. The lower end portions of the first bearing portion 72 and the second bearing portion 74 are disposed along the axial direction of the shaft 22 and are continuously spanned between the first bearing portion 72 and the second bearing portion 74. The connection part 76 is connected integrally.

  In addition, a first insertion hole 78 and a second insertion hole 80 are formed in each central portion of the first bearing portion 72 and the second bearing portion 74, and the first insertion hole 78 and the second insertion hole 80 are formed. The first shaft 22 is inserted through the bushing 82. Thereby, the control lever 60 is supported so as to be rotatable around the axis of the first shaft 22.

  Further, a cable attachment portion 84 is integrally provided on the vehicle front side of the first bearing portion 72 along the radial direction of the first shaft 22. A cylindrical cable pin 86 protrudes from the front end portion of the cable attachment portion 84 on the surface on one side (the vehicle left side in the present embodiment) along the axial direction of the shaft 22. One end of a control cable (not shown) connected to an automatic transmission (not shown) is locked to the cable pin 86.

  Further, the lever portion 66 constituting the clutch mechanism is integrally provided along the radial direction of the shaft 22 on the vehicle upper side of the first bearing portion 72. The lever portion 66 includes a base portion 88 that is substantially L-shaped when viewed from the front, and an engaging portion 90 that extends from the upper end portion of the base portion 88 toward the vehicle front side. The base portion 88 is provided with a rectangular hole portion 62 corresponding to the protrusion 58 of the shift lever 14 described above at a portion immediately above the first insertion hole 78 of the first bearing portion 72. The projection 62 of the shift lever 14 is inserted into the hole 62 when the shift lever 14 is tilted to the manual shift mode selection area 43 (see FIG. 3). The length dimension of the hole 62 along the shift direction is set to be longer than the movement range of the protrusion 58 accompanying the movement of the shift lever 14 in the manual shift mode selection area 43 along the shift direction.

  Further, a second notch 92 is formed on the lower end side of the engaging portion 90 of the lever portion 66, and the engaging protrusion 64 of the shift lever 14 described above is fitted into the second notch 92. (See FIGS. 2 and 3).

  Here, in the present shift lever device 10, when the shift lever 14 is operated in the shift direction while being positioned in the automatic transmission mode selection area 41, the engagement protrusion 64 of the shift lever 14 and the lever portion of the control lever 60 are provided. The control lever 60 is rotated around the axis of the first shaft 22 via the 66 engaging portions 90 (second notch portions 92). Therefore, the automatic transmission is shifted via the control cable whose one end is locked to the cable pin 86 of the cable mounting portion 84 of the control lever 60. That is, in response to the shift lever 14 being selected from the shift position (in this embodiment, “P” shift position, “R” shift position, “N” shift position, “D” shift position), A plurality of automatic transmission modes set in the automatic transmission are selected.

  In addition, when the shift lever 14 is positioned at a specific shift position (“D” shift position in the present embodiment), it is tilted in the select direction (on the lever portion 66 side of the control lever 60) to select the manual shift mode. When moved to the area 43, the first notch 68 of the engaging protrusion 64 of the shift lever 14 and the second notch 92 of the lever 66 of the control lever 60 are vertically opposed. . In this state, even if the shift lever 14 is operated in the shift direction, the engagement protrusion 64 of the shift lever 14 and the second notch 92 of the control lever 60 are not engaged, and independent of the control lever 60 (engagement) The shift lever 14 can be operated in the shift direction (in a state where the control lever 60 is not moved by the protrusion 64).

  When the shift lever 14 is operated in the shift direction with the shift lever 14 tilted to the lever portion 66 side of the control lever 60 in this way, the shift operation of the shift lever 14 is detected by the control switch 50 described above. The automatic transmission is shifted in the manual transmission mode.

  In addition, the length dimension along the shift direction of the engaging portion 90 of the control lever 60 is set to be longer than the moving range of the engaging protrusion 64 accompanying the shift direction movement in the selection area 43 of the manual shift mode of the shift lever 14. Thus, even when the shift lever 14 is shifted in the shift direction in the manual shift mode selection area 43, the engagement protrusion 64 does not interfere with the base portion 88 of the lever portion 66.

  When the shift lever 14 is positioned in the manual shift mode selection area 43, the projection 58 of the shift lever 14 is inserted into the hole 62 of the control lever 60. As described above, Since the length dimension along the shift direction is set to be longer than the movement range of the protrusion 58 accompanying the movement of the shift lever 14 in the manual shift mode selection area in the shift direction, the relationship between the protrusion 58 and the hole 62 is set. As a result, the shift lever 14 and the control lever 60 are not interlocked. On the other hand, if the control lever 60 rotates unnecessarily independently of the shift lever 14 in this state, the protrusion 58 engages with the hole 62 to prevent unnecessary rotation of the control lever 60. It has come to be.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

  In the shift lever device 10 configured as described above, when the shift lever 14 is operated in the shift direction and the shift position is selected in a state where the shift lever 14 is positioned in the automatic transmission mode selection area 41, the engagement protrusion 64 of the shift lever 14, and The control lever 60 is rotated around the axis of the first shaft 22 through the second notch 92 of the lever portion 66 of the control lever 60. Therefore, the automatic transmission is shifted via the control cable whose one end is locked to the cable pin 86 of the cable mounting portion 84 of the control lever 60.

  In addition, when the shift lever 14 is tilted in the select direction and is operated in the manual mode selection area 43 while being in the “D” shift position, the first notch portion of the engagement protrusion 64 of the shift lever 14 is operated. 68 and the second cut-out portion 92 of the control lever 60 are vertically opposed to each other so that a shift operation independent of the control lever 60 of the shift lever 14 can be performed (the connection between the shift lever 14 and the control lever 60 is released). ) In this state, when the shift lever 14 is operated in the shift direction, the automatic transmission is shifted in the manual shift mode.

  Here, in the present shift lever device 10, the control lever 60 is formed by bending a flat plate, and on both sides along the axial direction of the first shaft 22, the first bearing 72 and the second are respectively provided. The first bearing portion 72 and the second bearing portion 74 are integrally connected by a connecting portion 76 that is continuously stretched between the bearing portion 74 (so-called “cross section”). ("U" shape)). For this reason, as compared with the case where the control lever and the retainer are joined by means such as welding as in the conventional shift lever device, or when the control lever and the retainer are integrally formed by die casting such as aluminum. Is easy to manufacture, and this can reduce the cost.

  The first bearing portion 72 and the second bearing portion 74 of the control lever 60 are flat plates and are provided along the radial direction of the first shaft 22. For this reason, the control lever 60 can be installed in a minimum installation space without unnecessarily eroding the space around the shift lever 14 along the axial direction of the first shaft 22. Therefore, as compared with the case where the cylindrical retainer fixed to the lower end of the control lever is arranged on the side of the shift lever along the axial direction of the shaft as in the conventional shift lever device, the first shaft 22 The overall structure of the shift lever device 10 along the axial direction can be greatly reduced.

  In addition, the installation space for the shift lever 14 along the axial direction of the first shaft 22 is also used as the installation space for the bearing portion of the control lever 60. For this reason, without increasing the overall configuration of the shift lever device 10 along the axial direction of the first shaft 22, the length of the bearing portion of the control lever 60 along the axial direction of the shaft 22 (the first bearing portion 72). The distance between the second bearing portion 74 and the second bearing portion 74 can be ensured long. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of play in the control lever 60.

  As described above, in the shift lever device 10 according to the present embodiment, by eliminating the support of the control lever by the shaft and the retainer, space saving and cost reduction can be achieved, and the control lever 60 has a backlash. Can reduce the occurrence.

FIG.
It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the whole structure of the shift lever apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of the principal part of the shift lever apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the principal part of the shift lever apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of the guide plate which is a structural member of the shift lever apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 Shift lever device
14 Shift lever
22 First shaft
24 Second shaft
41 Selection area for automatic transmission mode
43 Manual shift mode selection area
60 Control lever
72 1st bearing part
74 Second bearing
76 Connection

Claims (1)

The lower end portion is supported by the first shaft and the second shaft orthogonal to each other, and the shift position in the selection area of the automatic transmission mode can be selected by rotating around the axis of the first shaft, and also specified. A shift lever that can be operated in a manual shift mode selection area by being rotated around the axis of the second shaft at the shift position;
It is provided so as to be rotatable around the axis of the first shaft, is connected to the shift lever and is connected to a transmission of a vehicle, and rotates around the axis of the first shaft in conjunction with the shift lever. And a control lever that is disengaged from the shift lever when the shift lever is operated to the manual shift mode selection area;
In a shift lever device comprising:
The control lever is formed by bending a flat plate, and
A first bearing portion provided along a radial direction of the first shaft on one side of the shift lever along an axial direction of the first shaft, and supported by being inserted through the first shaft;
A second bearing portion provided along the radial direction of the first shaft on the other side of the shift lever along the axial direction of the first shaft, and supported by being inserted through the first shaft;
A connecting portion that is continuously stretched between the first bearing portion and the second bearing portion to connect the two together.
A shift lever device characterized by that.

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