JP2007155067A - Control switch for automatic transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible for a user to know a turn position of a movable body from the appearance without increasing the number of parts. <P>SOLUTION: In this control switch for the automatic transmission, an indication piece 34 provided on a spring body 30 is exposed on a surface of a housing 1 (a case 2) through a bearing hole 5, the spring body 30 fixed to a shaft part 13 turns integrally when the movable body 10 connected with a manual shaft turns for the housing 1, and the indication piece 34 exposed on the surface of the housing 1 moves (turns) in the peripheral direction of the bearing hole 5 along the surface of the housing 1. Consequently, relative positional relation of an indication part 7 and the indication piece 34 provided on the surface of the housing 1 is changed in accordance with a turn position of the movable body 10 so that the user can know the turn position of the movable body 10 from the appearance by the indication part 7 provided in the housing 1 and the indication piece 34 provided on the spring body 30 without increasing the number of parts. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control switch for an automatic transmission that generates a position signal indicating a shift position such as parking, reverse, neutral, drive, 2nd speed, and 1st speed by switching operation of a shift lever of an automatic transmission in an automobile. It is.

  Conventionally, vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions (automatic transmissions) generate position signals indicating the automatic transmission shift position, such as parking, reverse, neutral, drive, 2nd speed, and 1st speed, by shifting the shift lever. A control switch for automatic transmission is used, and an operation command is given to the microcomputer of the control system in accordance with each position signal.

  As an example of this type of automatic transmission control switch, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a housing 51 comprising a case 51a made of aluminum die-casting and a cover 51b made of synthetic resin, and the inside of the housing 51 is rotated. There is a movable body 60 that is freely housed, and a housing 51 is attached to an automatic transmission, and the movable body 60 is fixed to a manual shaft 80 for shift switching that rotates according to an operation of a shift lever. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). That is, the movable body 60 rotates integrally with the manual shaft 80 according to the rotation of the shift lever.

  The movable body 60 includes a shaft portion 61 fixed to the manual shaft 80, and a main body 62 that protrudes from the shaft portion 61 and rotates in a space formed by the recess 52 of the case 51a. The shaft portion 61 is fastened and fixed to the manual shaft 80 by using. A washer 71 is mounted on the shaft portion 61 as a detent for the tightening nut 70. The housing 51 is provided with a bearing hole 53 that pivotally supports the shaft portion 61. Although a detailed structure will not be described, a plurality of movable contacts 63 urged by a coil spring 64 are provided on the surface of the main body 62 facing the cover 51b, and a plurality of movable contacts 63 implanted in the cover 51b are provided. The belt-shaped fixed contact 54 is elastically contacted and separated.

  The plurality of fixed contacts 54 are provided in an arc shape with respect to the rotation center of the movable body 60, and include a fixed contact 54 corresponding to each shift position such as parking and reverse, and a common fixed contact 54. . In other words, in this automatic transmission control switch, the movable body 60 is integrally rotated in response to the rotation operation of the shift lever, and the movable contact 63 is brought into contact with and separated from the fixed contact 54 to provide a switching output. A position signal is obtained.

By the way, instead of the structure in which the shaft portion 61 is fastened and fixed to the manual shaft 80 using the tightening nut 70 as in the conventional example, a structure in which the manual shaft 80 is press-fitted and fixed to the shaft portion 61 of the movable body 60 is employed. Generally adopted. As a conventional example of this type, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the spring body 30 is housed in an insertion hole 61 a that is provided through the shaft portion 61 of the movable body 60, and a pair of holding portions provided in the spring body 30. There is one in which each holding portion 32 is pressed against the tip portion and elastically held by press-fitting the tip portion of the manual shaft 80 into the space between 32. According to such a conventional example, it is not necessary to tighten the nut 70 as in the previous conventional example, so that the manufacturing process can be simplified and the occurrence of problems due to insufficient tightening or loosening of the nut 70 can be prevented.
JP 11-45636 A

  By the way, since the movable body 60 is hidden in the housing 51 in the state of the finished product, the rotational position of the movable body 60 cannot be known from the appearance. On the other hand, when the manual shaft 80 is fixed to the shaft portion 61 of the movable body 60 and the control switch for the automatic transmission is attached to the automatic transmission in the manufacturing process of the automobile, the movable body is considered in consideration of convenience in later processes. It is desirable to set 60 to the rotation position (for example, neutral position) of a specific shift position. For this purpose, in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 (hereinafter referred to as “conventional example 1”), an indicator piece 71 a for indicating the rotational position of the movable body 60 is provided integrally with the washer 71. The turning position of the movable body 60 can be known from the appearance by the indicating piece 71a.

  However, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 (hereinafter referred to as “conventional example 2”), there is no exposed member on the surface of the housing 51 like the washer 71. A member for knowing the moving position must be added.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic transmission control switch capable of knowing the rotational position of the movable body from the appearance without increasing the number of parts. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention includes a movable body that rotates in a housing in response to a switching operation of a shift lever of an automatic transmission, and a movable contact is provided on the movable body. A position signal indicating the shift position of the automatic transmission corresponding to the combination of the movable contact and the fixed contact that contacts or separates is provided in the housing with a plurality of fixed contacts that contact with and separate from the movable contact according to the rotation position. In a control switch for automatic transmission that outputs, a cover that is formed in a flat shape with one open surface and a plurality of the fixed contacts are arranged on the inner bottom surface, and is formed in a flat shape and is coupled to the cover so as to close the open surface The movable contact is provided on the housing composed of a case and a surface facing the inner bottom surface of the cover, and is inserted into a bearing hole penetrating the housing in the thickness direction. And a shaft portion pivotally supported in such a manner that it has an insertion hole through which the tip portion of the shaft that passes through the shaft portion along the axial direction of the bearing hole and rotates by the operation of the shift lever is inserted. A spring body comprising the movable body, a holding portion that is housed in the insertion hole and elastically held by being pressed against the tip of the shaft, and an indicating piece that is connected to the holding portion and exposed outside the insertion hole And an indicating portion provided around the bearing hole on the housing surface and indicating the rotational position of the movable body relative to the housing by a relative positional relationship with the indicating piece.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, a protective wall is provided in the vicinity of the indicating portion on the surface of the housing to protect the surrounding of the indicating piece.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the protective wall is provided in a portion excluding a moving range of the pointing piece that moves in accordance with a shift lever switching operation.

  The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that, in the invention of any one of claims 1 to 3, the indicator piece is colored in a color different from that of the housing.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the indicating portion is provided from the front surface to the side surface of the protruding portion that protrudes around the bearing hole on the housing surface. The indicator piece is extended to a position facing the side surface of the protrusion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the shaft is rotated by the operation of the shift lever, the spring body is rotated together with the movable body, and the indicator piece provided in the spring body is also rotated. The relative positional relationship between the indicating unit and the indicating piece changes according to the rotational position of the movable body, and the number of parts is increased by the indicating piece provided on the housing and the indicating piece provided in the spring body. There is an effect that the rotational position of the movable body can be known from the appearance.

  According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the periphery of the indicating piece is protected by a protective wall so as to be protected at the time of assembling, transporting, or assembling to the automatic transmission. Further, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the indicating piece of the spring body from being deformed or damaged.

  According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, since the movement of the indicator piece accompanying the rotation of the movable body is not hindered by the protective wall, the dimensional constraint of the indicator piece There is an effect that the visibility can be improved by relaxing.

  According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effects of any one of claims 1 to 3, the visibility of the indicating piece can be improved, the efficiency of attaching work to the automatic transmission, and work mistakes. There is an effect that can be prevented.

  According to the invention of claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 3, the indicator piece and the indicator can be visually recognized from the side of the housing, and the efficiency of the installation work to the automatic transmission is improved. This has the effect of preventing mistakes.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. However, since the basic configuration is the same as that of the conventional example, common portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, a substantially fan-shaped housing 1 assembled by joining a case 2 made of aluminum die-casting and a cover 3 made of synthetic resin with rivets (not shown), and is housed in the housing 1 so as to be rotatable. The movable body 10 is provided.

  The movable body 10 is made of zinc die casting and includes a main body 11 having a cylindrical shaft portion 13 at one end, and in a recess (not shown) provided on a surface (lower surface in FIG. 2) facing the cover 3 of the main body 11. The three movable contacts 15 elastically biased toward the cover 3 by the coil spring 14 are housed. The structure of the shaft portion 13 is the same as that of the conventional example 2, and in the shaft portion 13, a pair of flat surfaces extending in the axial direction from the substantially axial center to one end side (left side in FIG. 1C). The string portions 13a are provided so as to be parallel to each other. As a result, the insertion hole 13b through which the manual shaft is inserted is narrow at the portion where the string portion 13a is provided (see FIG. 1B).

  A spring body 30 as shown in FIG. 3 is accommodated in the insertion hole 13 b of the shaft portion 13. The spring body 30 is formed by processing a plate material having elasticity, and includes a main portion 31 formed in a narrow semi-annular shape, and along the width direction of the main portion 31 from both ends of the main portion 31. A pair of holding portions 32 rising up, a narrow rising piece 33 rising in the same direction as the holding portion 32 from a substantially center in the circumferential direction of the main portion 31, and a substantially triangular shape formed by bending the tip of the rising piece 33 outward. And a shape indicating piece 34. The holding portion 32 includes a rectangular flat plate-like holding piece 32a, a connecting piece 32b that connects one end edge of the holding piece 32a and the main portion 31, and the other end edge of the holding piece 32a substantially parallel to the connecting piece 32b. It has a support piece 32c protruding outward, and is connected to both ends of the main portion 31 via a connection piece 32b so that the holding pieces 32a are substantially parallel to each other. The holding piece 32a has a pair of protrusions 32d that are substantially oval in plan view and protrude toward the other holding piece 32a so that the major axis direction coincides with the width direction of the main portion 31. Has been. The spring body 30 configured as described above is inserted from one end side (right side in FIG. 1C) of the insertion hole 13b of the shaft portion 13 from the indication piece 34, and the indication piece 34 is inserted into the other end of the insertion hole 13b. And is held in the insertion hole 13b of the shaft portion 13 such that the holding pieces 32a of the pair of holding portions 32 are brought into contact with the opposing surfaces of the chord portions 13a. Is done. Here, the locking piece 32e protruding from the end edge of the support piece 32c is bent rearward and locked to the tip of the string portion 13a, and the connecting piece 32b is brought into contact with the rear end edge of the string portion 13a. Thus, the spring body 30 is fixed to the shaft portion 13 while being accommodated in the insertion hole 13b (see FIG. 1B). Note that the distance at which the protrusions 32d of the pair of holding portions 32 face each other is slightly smaller than the width of the manual shaft.

  The cover 3 is formed in a flat and substantially fan shape with an opening on one side, and a bearing hole 4 that pivotally supports the end portion of the shaft portion 13 of the movable body 10 inserted through a portion corresponding to the center of the fan in the thickness direction. It is penetrated by. Further, a strip-shaped conductor (not shown) provided with a fixed contact (not shown) at one end is insert-molded on the inner bottom surface of the cover 3. Each fixed contact is arranged in a concentric arc shape with the bearing hole 4 as the center, and is opposed to the movable contact 15 provided in the movable body 10 in the housing 1. Further, a connector portion 20 surrounded by a peripheral wall and formed in a cylindrical shape is formed integrally with the cover 3, and on the inner bottom surface of the connector portion 20, the tips of a plurality of conductors protrude in a plurality of rows and connector terminals are provided. It is formed. That is, the movable contact 15 held by the movable body 10 is selectively brought into contact with and separated from each fixed contact in accordance with the rotational position of the movable body 10 with respect to the housing 1, and a position signal corresponding to the shift position of the automatic transmission. Is taken out via the mating connector connected to the connector portion 20.

  The case 2 is made of aluminum die casting and is formed in a flat and substantially fan shape. Like the cover 3, the other end side of the shaft portion 13 of the movable body 10 is inserted into a portion corresponding to the main part of the fan 10 and pivotally supported. The bearing hole 5 is penetrated in the thickness direction. A cylindrical projection 8 is provided around the bearing hole 5 on the surface of the case 2 (upper surface in FIG. 2) so as to surround the bearing hole 5, and the front surface of the projection 8 (upper surface in FIG. 2). A protective wall 6 having a substantially C-shape in plan view is similarly provided so as to surround the bearing hole 5. Further, an instruction portion 7 made up of a pair of protrusions is provided at a portion between both ends of the protective wall 6 on the front surface of the protrusion 8. The case 2 is provided with a screw insertion hole 1a through which a mounting screw for attachment to the vehicle body (or automatic transmission) is inserted.

  The present embodiment configured as described above is assembled as follows. An annular oil seal 40 is accommodated in the bearing hole 4 of the cover 3, and a waterproof packing 41 having a substantially fan-shaped outer shape is disposed on the opening surface of the cover 3, and the coil spring 14, the movable contact 15, and the spring body 30 are attached. The shaft portion 13 of the body 10 is inserted into the bearing hole 4 through the oil seal 40 and the movable body 10 is accommodated in the cover 3. Next, the case 2 in which the annular oil seal 42 is accommodated in the bearing hole 5 is attached to the cover 3, and the other end side of the shaft portion 13 of the movable body 10 is inserted into the bearing hole 5 through the oil seal 42. Thus, the case 2 and the cover 3 are coupled by rivets to assemble the housing 1 to complete the present embodiment. If the manual shaft is passed through the insertion hole 13 b of the shaft portion 13 from the cover 3 side, the distal end portion of the manual shaft having a substantially oval cross-sectional shape is located between the pair of holding portions 32 of the spring body 30. The tip of the manual shaft can be elastically held with respect to the shaft portion 13 by press-fitting into the holding portion 32 and pressing the holding portion 32 by the spring force of the spring body 30.

  By the way, the indication piece 34 provided on the spring body 30 is exposed to the surface of the housing 1 (case 2) through the bearing hole 5, and when the movable body 10 connected to the manual shaft rotates with respect to the housing 1, The spring body 30 fixed to the portion 13 also rotates together, and the indicator piece 34 exposed on the surface of the housing 1 moves (turns) along the surface of the housing 1 in the circumferential direction of the bearing hole 5. On the other hand, since the indicator portion 7 is provided around the bearing hole 5 on the surface of the housing 1 (case 2) (front surface of the protrusion 8), the housing 1 is viewed from the axial direction of the manual shaft as shown in FIG. If the pointing piece 34 is positioned between the pointing portions 7 formed of a pair of protrusions when the lens is viewed, the rotational position of the movable body 10 with respect to the housing 1, that is, the movable body 10 receives a specific position signal (for example, neutral). It is easy to determine that the position signal corresponding to the position is output.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the manual shaft is rotated by the operation of the shift lever, the spring body 30 is rotated together with the movable body 10, and the indicator piece 34 provided in the spring body 30 is also rotated. The relative positional relationship between the indicator 7 provided on the surface of the housing 1 (surface of the protrusion 8) and the indicator piece 34 changes according to the rotational position of the movable body 10, and is provided in the housing 1. The rotating position of the movable body 10 can be known from the appearance without increasing the number of parts by the pointing piece 34 provided in the pointing portion 7 and the spring body 30. Further, by surrounding and protecting the indicating piece 34 with a protective wall 6 projecting around the bearing hole 5 on the surface of the housing 1, a spring can be used at the time of assembling, transporting, or assembling to the automatic transmission. It is possible to prevent the indication piece 34 of the body 30 from being deformed or damaged. Further, the protective wall 6 is provided at a portion other than the moving range of the indicating piece 34 that moves in accordance with the shift lever switching operation, and the moving of the indicating piece 34 accompanying the rotation of the movable body 10 is obstructed by the protective wall 6. Therefore, the dimensional restriction of the pointing piece 34 can be relaxed and the visibility can be enhanced. If the indication piece 34 is colored in a color different from that of the housing 1 (case 2), the visibility of the indication piece 34 can be improved, the work of attaching the automatic transmission to the automatic transmission can be made more efficient, and work mistakes can be prevented. There is an advantage.

  By the way, instead of the indication portion 7 made of a protrusion, an indication portion 7 ′ made of a concave groove formed on the front surface of the protrusion 8 may be provided as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B or FIG. 4C, the indicator portions 7 and 7 ′ formed of ridges or concave grooves are formed from the front surface to the side surface of the protrusion 8 and at the tip of the indicator piece 34. 8 is provided not only from the front of the housing 1 but also from the side of the housing 1, the indication piece 7 ′ and the indication piece 34 (extension piece 34 a ) Can be visually recognized, and there is an advantage that the efficiency of the mounting work to the automatic transmission and the prevention of work mistakes can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is the front of the principal part containing a bearing hole, (c) is a right sectional view of the principal part containing a bearing hole. It is an exploded perspective view same as the above. It is a perspective view of the spring body in the same as the above. (A)-(c) is a perspective view of the principal part which shows the other structure of the instruction | indication part and instruction | indication piece in the same as the above. The prior art 1 is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right sectional view, (c) is a right side view of the movable body, (d) is a front view of the washer, and (e) is a bottom view of the washer. is there. The principal part same as the above is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right sectional view, and (c) is a lower sectional view. The prior art example 2 is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right sectional view, (c) is a right side view of the movable body, and (d) is a front view of the spring body. The principal part same as the above is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right sectional view, and (c) is a lower sectional view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 Case 3 Cover 4 Bearing hole 5 Bearing hole 6 Protective wall 7 Instruction part 10 Movable body 13 Shaft part 13b Insertion hole 30 Spring body 32 Holding part 34 Instruction piece

Claims (5)

A movable body that rotates within the housing in response to a switching operation of a shift lever of an automatic transmission is provided. The movable body is provided with a movable contact, and a plurality of contacts with and apart from the movable contact according to the rotational position of the movable body In a control switch for automatic transmission that outputs a position signal indicating a shift position of an automatic transmission corresponding to a combination of a movable contact and a fixed contact that is provided in the housing and is in contact with or separated from the fixed contact,
A cover formed in a flat shape with one surface opened and a plurality of the fixed contacts disposed on the inner bottom surface, the housing formed of a case formed in a flat shape and coupled to the cover so as to close the opening surface;
The movable contact is provided on a surface facing the inner bottom surface of the cover, and includes a shaft portion that is inserted into a bearing hole penetrating the housing in the thickness direction and pivotally supported. The axial direction of the bearing hole The movable body having an insertion hole through which the tip of the shaft that passes through the shaft portion and rotates by the operation of the shift lever is inserted.
A holding part that is accommodated in the insertion hole and elastically held by being pressed against the tip of the shaft, and a spring body that is connected to the holding part and that is exposed outside the insertion hole;
An automatic transmission control switch, comprising: an indicator portion provided around a bearing hole on a surface of the housing and indicating a rotational position of the movable body relative to the housing by a relative positional relationship with the indicator piece.   2. The control switch for an automatic transmission according to claim 1, further comprising a protective wall provided in the vicinity of the indicating portion on the surface of the housing and surrounding and protecting the indicating piece.   3. The control switch for an automatic transmission according to claim 2, wherein the protective wall is provided in a portion excluding a moving range of the indicating piece that moves in accordance with a shift lever switching operation.   4. The control switch for an automatic transmission according to claim 1, wherein the indicating piece is colored in a color different from that of the housing.   The indicating portion is provided from the front surface to the side surface of the protruding portion provided around the bearing hole on the housing surface, and the indicating piece extends to a position facing the side surface of the protruding portion. The control switch for an automatic transmission according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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