JP2006306189A - Shift lever structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability by adjusting the installation position of a shift lever. <P>SOLUTION: An opening 11a is formed on a top surface of a main body 11 of a console, which is one of vehicle interiors. A lever base 13 is fitted in the opening so as to be capable to protrude upward. A shift lever 20 is supported by the lever base 13 so that shift-operation can be made. The shift position of the shift lever 20 is electrically processed, so as to control a transmission gear. The lever base 13 is made to adjust the angle between a first position along the top surface of the console body 11 using a rear end as a shaft, and a second position inclined upward at the front end. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a shift lever electrically connected to a transmission, and more particularly to an installation structure thereof.

In general, a shift lever and a transmission of a vehicle are mechanically linked. The installation position of the shift lever is fixed, and the positional relationship with the driver cannot be adjusted.
JP 2002-274209 A

  In recent years, vehicles in which a shift lever and a transmission are electrically linked have also appeared. In this case, the shift position of the shift lever is converted into an electric signal, and the transmission is controlled based on the electric signal. With such an electrical linkage structure, it is considered easy to adjust the position of the shift lever installation location. Then, it can be moved closer to or away from the driver according to the situation such as the frequency of the shift operation, and the atmosphere around the driver's seat can be arranged, which is considered to increase convenience.

The present invention has been made in view of the above consideration,
In a vehicle that uses a shift position of a shift lever provided in the interior of the passenger compartment as an electrical signal and controls the transmission based on the electrical signal,
The interior has an interior body and a lever base;
The lever base supports the shift lever so that it can be shifted, and has a shift lever structure that is incorporated in the interior body through a position adjustment mechanism so that the position can be adjusted.

The interior is, for example, a console, and an opening is formed on the upper surface of the console body that is an interior body, and a lever base is fitted into the opening so as to protrude upward.
As an aspect of adjusting the position of the lever base, the angle of the lever base is adjusted between a first position along the upper surface of the console body with the rear end portion as an axis and a second position where the front end portion is inclined upward. It may be possible.

  It is preferable that the lever base position adjusting mechanism includes a stepping motor that moves the lever base and an operation button of the stepping motor.

  According to the present invention, the shift lever can be moved closer to or away from the driver in accordance with the situation such as the frequency of the shift operation, so that the operability can be improved and the area around the driver's seat can be made tight or free. Can be easily arranged.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the interior of a vehicle. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an instrument panel provided at the front of the passenger compartment, reference numeral 2 denotes a handle, and reference numeral 3 denotes a driver's seat.

  A console 10 (interior) is provided between the driver's seat and the passenger seat (in front of the page in FIG. 1). The console 10 includes a console body 11 (interior body), a lid 12 that closes a housing portion at the rear of the console body 11, and a lever base 13. An opening 11 a is formed on the upper surface of the console body 11. The lever base 13 is fitted into the opening 11a.

  A shift lever 20 is erected on the lever base 13 so that a shift operation can be performed. That is, the shift lever 20 can change the shift position in several stages by sliding or tilting with respect to the lever base 13 in the front-rear direction. A shift position detector 21 is provided at the base end of the shift lever 20. The detector 21 detects the shift position of the shift lever 20. An electrical signal line 22 made of a lead wire or the like extends from the detector 21, and this electrical signal line 22 is connected to a control device (not shown). A shift position detection signal from the detector 21 is input to the control device via the electric signal line 22. The control device controls the transmission (not shown) of the vehicle based on this input signal.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lever base 13 of the console 10 has a box shape with a bottom opening. As shown in FIG. 1, the rear end portion of the lever base 13 is connected to the console body 11 via an angle adjustment mechanism 30 (position adjustment mechanism) so that the angle can be adjusted (position adjustment is possible). The angle adjustment mechanism 30 includes a stepping motor 31 (rotation drive unit). The stepping motor 31 is connected to the mounting shaft 32 of the lever base 13. The rotation shaft of the stepping motor 31 and the attachment shaft 32 may be directly connected or may be connected via a speed reduction mechanism. The attachment shaft 32 extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle (the direction orthogonal to the plane of FIG. 1). When the stepping motor 31 is driven, the lever base 13 is pivoted up and down about the mounting shaft 32, and the first position (solid line in FIG. 1) which is flush with the upper surface of the console body 11 and the front end portion The angle is adjusted between the second position (the phantom line in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3) tilted upward by a predetermined angle. As the angle of the lever base 13 is adjusted, the shift lever 20 is raised and lowered.

  The instrument panel 1 is provided with a lever base lifting operation button 33. The stepping motor 31 can be turned on / off by the operation button 33, so that the lever base 13 can be set to a desired angle and the shift lever 20 can be set to a desired height.

  According to the shift lever structure having the above configuration, for example, when frequent shift operations are required, the lever base 13 is tilted upward to the second position as shown in FIG. Thereby, the shift lever 20 can be brought close to the driver's side, and the operability can be improved. In addition, a tight cockpit feeling can be produced. On the other hand, when the frequency of the shift operation is low, for example, when traveling on an expressway, the lever base 13 is set to the first position as shown by the solid line in FIG. As a result, the shift lever 20 can be moved away from the driver, allowing a relaxed shift operation and providing a margin in the passenger compartment space.

  Since the lever base 13 and thus the shift lever 20 can be moved up and down by the electric stepping motor 31, the driver only has to press the operation button 33, and the load is hardly applied. In addition, a fine height adjustment is possible between the first horizontal position (solid line in FIG. 1) and the second inclined position (FIG. 3).

  The shift lever 20 and the transmission are only electrically connected by the electric signal line 22, and the electric signal line 22 can bend and stretch easily when the shift lever 20 is moved up and down. Therefore, the configuration is not complicated.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.
For example, the vehicle interior in which the shift lever is installed is not limited to the console, and may be an instrument panel or the like.
The lever base is not limited to the vertical direction, and may be adjusted in the horizontal direction.
The lever base is not limited to rotational movement, and may be moved in parallel, or may be operated by combining rotational movement and parallel movement.
The position adjustment of the lever base may be performed by other driving means instead of the stepping motor, or may be performed manually instead of the automatic type such as electric operation.
The operation buttons for adjusting the position of the lever base are not limited to the instrument panel, and may be arranged on the console or may be arranged at other locations.

1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle interior showing an embodiment of the present invention with a lever base in a first position. FIG. It is front sectional drawing of the console which follows the II-II line of FIG. It is a schematic side view which shows the said compartment in the state in which a lever base is a 2nd position.

Explanation of symbols

1 Instrument panel 2 Handle 3 Driver's seat 10 Console (vehicle interior with shift lever)
11 Console body (interior body)
11a Opening 12 Lid 13 Lever base 20 Shift lever 21 Shift position detector 22 Electric signal line 30 Angle adjustment mechanism (position adjustment mechanism)
31 Stepping motor (drive means)
32 Mounting shaft 33 Lever base lifting operation button

Claims (4)

In a vehicle that uses a shift position of a shift lever provided in the interior of the passenger compartment as an electrical signal and controls the transmission based on the electrical signal,
The interior has an interior body and a lever base;
A shift lever structure characterized in that the lever base supports the shift lever so as to be able to perform a shift operation, and is incorporated in the interior main body through a position adjusting mechanism so as to be capable of adjusting the position.   The shift lever structure according to claim 1, wherein the interior is a console, and an opening is formed in an upper surface of the console body, and a lever base is fitted into the opening so as to protrude upward.   The lever base is adjustable in angle between a first position along the upper surface of the console main body with a rear end portion as an axis and a second position where the front end portion is inclined upward. The shift lever structure according to 2.   The shift lever structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lever base position adjusting mechanism includes a stepping motor that moves the lever base and an operation button of the stepping motor.

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