JP2007285487A - Inhibitor switch and method for manufacturing same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid unintentional conduction due to conductive foreign matter in oil while controlling manufacturing cost by making a projection part project into a parting section of a parting part of a contact plate. <P>SOLUTION: In the inhibitor switch 1 provided with a terminal stand 2 fixed in a transmission case of an automatic transmission, contact plates 3, 4 formed on the terminal stand 2, an operation part 5 operating along the contact plates 3, 4 with interlocking with the select lever of a vehicle, and a movable contact 5b capable of sliding on the contact plates 3, 4 and forming a predetermined electric circuit according to a contact position thereof, and detecting shift position of a select lever in the electric circuit, the parting parts 3, 4 divided to block conduction after arranged at a predetermined section of the terminal stand 2 is formed on the contact plates 3, 4 and projection parts 11, 12 projecting to the parting sections of the parting parts 8, 9 are formed on the terminal stand 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inhibitor switch that is disposed in a transmission case of an automatic transmission of a vehicle and detects a shift position of a select lever, and a manufacturing method thereof.

  In order to detect the shift position of the select lever, an automatic switch in an automobile is usually provided with an inhibitor switch in its mission case. Such an inhibitor switch includes a terminal block fixed in the transmission case of the automatic transmission, a contact plate formed on the terminal block, an operation unit that operates along the contact plate in conjunction with the select lever of the vehicle, And a movable contact formed on the operation portion and capable of sliding on the contact plate to form a predetermined electric circuit corresponding to the contact position.

  Thus, the inhibitor switch operates in oil filled in the mission case, and detects the shift position of the select lever from the electrical circuit formed according to the contact position of the movable contact with the contact plate. Based on this detection, the power transmission path of the automatic transmission can be controlled in correspondence with the shift position of the select lever (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In such an inhibitor switch, multiple rows of contact plates extending in parallel are formed on the terminal block. A dividing portion that connects adjacent rows is formed. Then, after arranging the contact plate integrated by the dividing part at a predetermined position of the terminal block, if the dividing part is divided by a punch or the like and the electric conduction is cut off, it is separated for each row in the manufacturing process. In addition to avoiding this, it is possible to achieve desired electrical conduction for each column after the division.
JP 2002-175743 A

  However, in the above-described conventional inhibitor switch, the fracture surface at the dividing portion of each dividing portion is exposed to the outside, and any measures are taken to avoid an electrical failure at the dividing portion of the dividing portion. However, there were the following problems. That is, in the oil in the mission case, conductive foreign matters such as fine metal powder often float, and if such conductive foreign matter adheres across the dividing portion of the contact plate, unintentional conduction is made, and a short circuit occurs. There has been a problem that electrical failures may occur.

  In addition, by subjecting the terminal block to secondary molding and filling the secondary molding resin into the part where the part is divided, conductive foreign matter adheres to the part and the electrical failure occurs. Although it is conceivable to avoid this, in that case, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases by the amount corresponding to the secondary forming step.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. By projecting a protruding portion with respect to a dividing portion of a dividing portion of a contact plate, the manufacturing cost is suppressed, and the intention by a conductive foreign matter in oil is intended. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inhibitor switch and a method for manufacturing the same that can avoid conduction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a terminal block fixed in a transmission case of an automatic transmission of a vehicle, a contact plate formed on the terminal block, and an operation along the contact plate in conjunction with a select lever of the vehicle. And a movable contact that is formed on the operation unit and can slide on the contact plate to form a predetermined electric circuit according to the contact position. In the inhibitor switch for detecting the shift position of the lever, the contact plate is formed with a dividing portion which is arranged at a predetermined position of the terminal block and then is divided to cut off the conduction, and the terminal The base is characterized in that a protruding portion that protrudes with respect to the dividing portion of the dividing portion is formed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the inhibitor switch according to the first aspect of the present invention, the protrusion is formed to project to a position interposed between the fracture surfaces of the dividing portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the inhibitor switch according to the second aspect, a dividing hole for inserting a cutting means is formed at a position corresponding to the dividing portion in the terminal block so as to divide the dividing portion. In addition, a partial peripheral edge of the dividing hole constitutes the protrusion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal block fixed in a transmission case of an automatic transmission of a vehicle, a contact plate formed on the terminal block, and operating along the contact plate in conjunction with a select lever of the vehicle. And a movable contact that is formed on the operation portion and that can slide on the contact plate to form a predetermined electric circuit corresponding to the contact position. In the inhibitor switch manufacturing method of obtaining a predetermined circuit by cutting off the continuity by cutting off the dividing portion formed on the contact plate after being arranged at the predetermined position, when dividing the dividing portion, The cutting is performed while leaving a protruding portion protruding from the terminal block with respect to the cutting position.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing an inhibitor switch according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the protrusion is formed to project to a position interposed between fracture surfaces in the dividing portion.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the manufacturing method of the inhibitor switch according to the fifth aspect, a dividing hole for inserting a cutting means is provided at a position corresponding to the divided portion in the terminal block so as to divide the divided portion. While forming, the partial periphery in the said parting hole comprises the said projection part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to invention of Claim 1 or Claim 4, since the projection part which protrudes with respect to the parting part of a parting part was formed in the terminal block, when the conductive foreign material adheres to the parting part by the said protrusion part It is possible to prevent conduction and maintain the interruption of conduction. Therefore, since a separate process such as secondary molding can be omitted, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed, and unintended conduction due to conductive foreign matters in the oil can be avoided.

  In the invention of claim 2 or claim 5, since the protruding portion is formed to protrude to a position interposed between the fracture surfaces in the dividing portion, it is possible to more reliably avoid unintended conduction due to conductive foreign matter in the oil. it can.

  According to the third or sixth aspect of the present invention, a dividing hole for inserting the cutting means to divide the dividing portion is formed at a position corresponding to the dividing portion in the terminal block. Since the peripheral portion of the portion constitutes the protrusion, the protrusion can be formed during the dividing step of the dividing portion, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
The inhibitor switch according to the present embodiment is disposed in a transmission case of an automatic transmission of an automobile and is for detecting a shift position of a select lever. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a resin molded product is used. Are mainly composed of a terminal block 2 made of a metal, contact plates 3 and 4 made of metal, an operation unit 5 in which a movable contact 5 b is formed, and a metal case 6.

  The terminal block 2 has a plurality of groove portions 2a extending in the longitudinal direction on the surface side (the upper surface side in FIGS. 1 and 2), and the connector portion 2b is integrally formed at a predetermined portion on the side surface. . The terminal block 2 is provided with two upper and lower contact plates 3 and 4, and a part of the upper contact plate 3 faces the outside in the groove 2 a of the terminal block 2. The movable contact 5b is configured to be slidable.

  Each of the contact plates 3 and 4 is formed by, for example, extracting and bending a conductive metal plate with a press or the like into a predetermined shape. Further, terminal portions 3a and 4a are formed at the end portions of the upper and lower contact plates 3 and 4, respectively, and these terminal portions 3a and 4a are set so as to be positioned at the connector portion 2b. Thus, if a connector (not shown) formed on an external device or the like (for example, a controller or the like disposed in the mission case) is connected to the terminal portions 3a and 4a of the connector portion 2b, the detection signal of the inhibitor switch 1 is sent. It can be sent to external devices.

  The case 6 is attached so as to cover the surface side of the terminal block 2, and the flange portion 6 b is integrally formed. By inserting a bolt (not shown) into the bolt hole 6 ba formed in the flange portion 6 b, The case 6 and the terminal block 2 are configured to be fixed at predetermined positions in a mission case (not shown). Further, the case 6 is formed with a straight elongated hole 6a in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the lever portion 5a of the operating portion 5 is inserted into the elongated hole 6a.

  On the other hand, the operation unit 5 can operate along the contact plate 5b in conjunction with the select lever of the automobile, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lever unit 5a in conjunction with the operation of the select lever, A movable contact 5b that can slide on the contact plate 3 is formed. That is, the operation portion 5 is accommodated between the case 6 and the terminal block 2 and the operation of the select lever is transmitted via the protruding lever portion 5a, and the contact plate 3 is slid on the contact plate 3 according to the operation. It is possible to move. Since the movable contact 5b is formed corresponding to the groove 2a formed on the terminal block 2, when the operation unit 5 operates, the movable contact 5b slides on the contact plate 3 in the groove 2a. It will be.

  However, when the operation unit 5 slides on the contact plate 3, the movable contact 5b and the contact plate 3 come into contact with each other to be electrically connected, and a predetermined electrical circuit is formed according to the contact position. It is configured to be. Therefore, the shift position of the select lever can be detected from a predetermined electrical circuit, and the power transmission path of the automatic transmission can be controlled in accordance with the shift position of the select lever based on the detection. Yes. The contact plates 3 and 4 are electrically connected at predetermined locations, and an electrical predetermined circuit is formed including these two contact plates 3 and 4.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 4, the contact plates 3, 4 are formed with dividing portions 8, 9 that are arranged at predetermined positions of the terminal block 2 and then divided to cut off conduction. The dividing portions 8 and 9 are for connecting adjacent rows or portions so that the contact plates 3 or 4 consisting of a plurality of rows or portions are not separated in the manufacturing process. In 1, it is a site | part resected so that conduction | electrical_connection may be interrupted | blocked.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a dividing hole 10 into which a cutting means 7 such as a punch (see FIG. 6) can be inserted is formed at a position corresponding to the dividing portions 8 and 9 in the terminal block 2. The dividing hole 10 is formed so as to penetrate through the front and back of the terminal block 2, and there is also a portion where the projections 11 and 12 are formed by protruding a part of the peripheral edge inward. Hereinafter, each of the protrusions 11 and 12 formed at the dividing portion of the dividing portion 8 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the dividing hole 10 in which the protruding portion 11 is formed has a substantially L-shaped opening in plan view, and the corner portion (part of the periphery) forms the protruding portion 11. Yes. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the dividing portion 8 is positioned along the opening shape of the dividing hole 10 and a cutting means 7 such as a punch corresponding to the opening shape is fitted into the dividing hole 10. As shown in FIG. 5B, the protrusion 11 is interposed between the fracture surfaces A. That is, when the pair of fractured surfaces A generated by the division is connected by a straight line, the protrusion 11 is configured to be positioned within the straight line.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the dividing hole 10 in which the protruding portion 12 is formed has a substantially U-shaped opening in plan view, and the protruding portion (part of the periphery) constitutes the protruding portion 12. is doing. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the dividing portion 8 is positioned along the opening shape of the dividing hole 10 and a cutting means 7 such as a punch corresponding to the opening shape is fitted into the dividing hole 10. As shown in FIG. 5B, the protrusion 12 is interposed between the fracture surfaces A. That is, when the pair of fractured surfaces A generated by the division is connected by a straight line, the protruding portion 12 is configured to be positioned within the straight line.

  As a result, projections 11 and 12 projecting from the desired dividing location of the dividing portion 8 in the contact plates 3 and 4 are formed, and the protruding portions 11 and 12 provide oil in the transmission case to the respective dividing locations. It is possible to maintain the interruption of conduction by preventing conduction when floating conductive foreign matter adheres. That is, even if conductive foreign matter is attached between one fracture surface A and the protrusion (11 or 12), conduction between the one fracture surface A and the other fracture surface A can be avoided. .

  Therefore, since a separate process such as secondary molding can be omitted, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed, and unintended conduction due to conductive foreign matters in the oil can be avoided. In addition, in this embodiment, although the thing which formed the projection parts 11 and 12 in the parting part of the parting part 8 in the contact plate 4 is mentioned, the same parting part is shown in the parting part of the parting part 9 in the contact plate 3. It may be formed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the protrusions 11 and 12 are formed so as to protrude to a position interposed between the fracture surfaces A and A in the dividing portion 8 (including the dividing portion 9), so that the conductivity in the oil can be more reliably performed. Unintentional continuity due to sexual foreign matter can be avoided. Further, a dividing hole 10 for inserting the cutting means 7 to divide the dividing portions 8 and 9 is formed at a position corresponding to the dividing portions 8 and 9 in the terminal block 2. Since the periphery of the portion constitutes the protrusions 11 and 12, the protrusions 11 and 12 can be formed during the dividing step of the dividing portions 8 and 9, and the manufacturing process can be simplified. Furthermore, if the cutting means 7 such as a punch can be inserted into the plurality of dividing holes 10 at the same time, a large number of the dividing portions 8 and 9 can be divided at a plurality of locations at the same time. It can be simplified.

  According to the inhibitor switch 1, when the driver operates the select lever, the lever portion 5 a is operated in conjunction with the operation, and the operation portion 5 slides linearly on the contact plate 3 to the contact position. A predetermined electrical circuit is formed accordingly. At this time, since the interruption of the conduction of the dividing portions 8 and 9 is reliably maintained by the projections 11 and 12, an electrical failure such as a short circuit can be surely prevented and the reliability of the inhibitor switch 1 can be improved. .

Next, a method for manufacturing the inhibitor switch 1 will be described.
First, the contact plates 3 and 4 respectively connected by the dividing portions 8 and 9 are positioned and fixed at predetermined positions in a molding die for molding the terminal block 2. Then, a resin is poured into the molding die, and the terminal block 2 is molded while the contact plates 3 and 4 are insert-molded. At this time, by forming the dividing hole 10 at a position corresponding to each of the dividing parts 8 and 9, the dividing parts 8 and 9 are exposed to the outside at a plurality of places through the dividing hole 10. However, the protrusions 11 and 12 are formed on some (or all) of them.

  After the contact plates 3 and 4 are fixed to the terminal block 2 as described above, the cutting portions 8 and 9 are simultaneously cut at a plurality of locations by fitting the cutting means 7 such as punches into the cutting holes 10a and 10b. At this time, the separation is performed leaving the projections 11 and 12 protruding from the terminal block 2 with respect to the part to be divided. As a result, the projections 11 and 12 protrude with respect to the divided portions of the divided portions 8 and 9. Thus, since the terminal block 2 in which the contact plates 3 and 4 are insert-molded is obtained, the inhibitor switch 1 according to the present embodiment can be obtained by attaching the operation unit 5 and the case 6 to the terminal block 2.

  Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the protruding portion protruding from the dividing portion of the dividing portion is formed on the terminal block, for example, FIG. It is good also as what the protrusion part 13 does not interpose between the fracture surfaces A and A in the parting parts 8 and 9 as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, a pair of protrusions 13 are formed from a part of the periphery of the dividing hole 10, and the dividing parts 8 and 9 are positioned in the opening to interfere with the protruding part 13. The cutting means 7 such as a punch is inserted into the dividing hole 10 with respect to the opening.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 5B, although the protruding portion 13 protrudes from the dividing portion of the dividing portions 8 and 9, when a pair of fractured surfaces A generated by the dividing are connected by a straight line, The protrusion 13 is not located within the straight line. However, even in this case, the conduction when the conductive foreign matter floating in the oil in the mission case adheres to the respective divided portions by the protrusions 13 can be prevented and the interruption of the conduction can be maintained. That is, even when conductive foreign matter is attached between one fracture surface A and one or both of the protrusions 13, conduction between the one fracture surface A and the other fracture surface A is avoided. It can be done.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the contact plate having the dividing portion is arranged in two upper and lower stages, but it may be one stage or three or more stages. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the operating portion slides linearly on the contact plate in conjunction with the operation of the select lever. Instead, for example, the fixed contact is arcuate (or circumferential). It is good also as what makes an operation part slide in arc shape (circumferential shape).

  The contact plate is formed at a predetermined position on the terminal block and then divided to be cut off to cut off the conduction, and the protruding portion protrudes from the divided portion when the divided portion is cut. As long as the inhibitor switch is formed on the terminal block and the manufacturing method thereof, the present invention can be applied to a switch having a different external shape or a function added thereto.

The whole perspective view showing the appearance of the inhibitor switch concerning the embodiment of the present invention An exploded perspective view for showing the internal configuration of the inhibitor switch The perspective view which shows the operation part in the inhibitor switch The perspective view which shows the contact plate arrange | positioned in the upper and lower stages in the inhibitor switch The top view which shows the contact plate arrange | positioned in the lower stage in the inhibitor switch, and the enlarged view which shows the division | segmentation location of the parting part It is a figure explaining the method (substantially L-shaped division | segmentation) which divides | segments the division part in the inhibitor switch, Comprising: (a) The top view which shows before a division | segmentation (b) The top view which shows after a division | segmentation It is a figure explaining the method (substantially U-shaped division | segmentation) which divides | segments the division part in the inhibitor switch, Comprising: (a) The top view which shows before a division | segmentation (b) The top view which shows after a division | segmentation It is a figure explaining the method to divide | segment the parting part in the inhibitor switch which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) The top view which shows before parting (b) The top view which shows after parting

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inhibitor switch 2 Terminal block 3 Contact board 4 Contact board 5 Operation part 5b Movable contact 6 Case 7 Cutting means (punch)
8 Dividing part 9 Dividing part 10 Dividing hole 11, 12, 13 Protruding part A Broken surface

Claims (6)

A terminal block fixed in the transmission case of the automatic transmission of the vehicle;
A contact plate formed on the terminal block;
An operation unit that operates along the contact plate in conjunction with the select lever of the vehicle;
A movable contact that is formed on the operation unit and that can slide on the contact plate to form a predetermined electrical circuit corresponding to the contact position;
In an inhibitor switch for detecting a shift position of the select lever from the electrical circuit,
The contact plate is formed at a predetermined position of the terminal block and then divided to be cut off to cut off the conduction, and the terminal block protrudes from the divided portion of the divided block. An inhibitor switch characterized in that a protruding portion is formed.   The inhibitor switch according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is formed so as to protrude to a position interposed between the fracture surfaces of the dividing portion.   A portion of the terminal block corresponding to the dividing portion is formed with a dividing hole for inserting a cutting means to divide the dividing portion, and a part of the periphery of the dividing hole constitutes the protruding portion. The inhibitor switch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that A terminal block fixed in the transmission case of the automatic transmission of the vehicle;
A contact plate formed on the terminal block;
An operation unit that operates along the contact plate in conjunction with the select lever of the vehicle;
A movable contact that is formed on the operation unit and that can slide on the contact plate to form a predetermined electrical circuit corresponding to the contact position;
In the manufacturing method of an inhibitor switch, wherein the contact plate is disposed at a predetermined position of the terminal block, and then the dividing portion formed on the contact plate is divided to cut off conduction to obtain a predetermined circuit. The method for manufacturing an inhibitor switch is characterized in that, when the dividing portion is divided, the dividing is performed leaving a protruding portion protruding from the terminal block with respect to the dividing portion.   5. The method of manufacturing an inhibitor switch according to claim 4, wherein the protrusion is formed so as to protrude to a position interposed between the fracture surfaces in the dividing portion.   A dividing hole for inserting a cutting means to divide the dividing portion is formed at a position corresponding to the dividing portion in the terminal block, and a partial peripheral edge of the dividing hole constitutes the protruding portion. 6. The method of manufacturing an inhibitor switch according to claim 5, wherein:

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