JP4914105B2 - Inhibitor switch and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

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, a plurality of rows of contact plates extending in parallel are formed on the terminal block, but conventionally, in order to prevent the plurality of rows of contact plates from separating apart in the manufacturing process, 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 continuity 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 particular, in the inhibitor switch, the oil is forced to flow along the surface of the terminal block by the operation of the operation unit. When the oil enters the dividing hole and reaches the dividing point, the conductive foreign matter contained therein There was a possibility that a malfunction would occur. That is, since the conventional dividing hole is merely opened at a position corresponding to the dividing portion, the oil flowing along with the sliding of the operation portion is likely to enter.

  However, when the secondary molding is performed on the terminal block and the secondary molding resin is filled in the divided portion of the divided portion, the conductive foreign matter adheres to the divided portion, resulting in an electrical failure. 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, and by making it difficult for oil to enter from a dividing hole for dividing the divided portion, the intention of the conductive foreign matter in the oil is suppressed while suppressing the manufacturing cost. 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. An operation portion that is formed on the contact plate, and is formed on the contact plate so as to slide on the contact plate to form a predetermined electric circuit corresponding to the contact position. To be inserted at a position corresponding to the dividing portion of the terminal block and to be cut off after being arranged at a predetermined position, and to cut off the conduction, and to insert the cutting means to divide the dividing portion of and a plurality of cutting holes in the inhibitor switch for detecting the shift position of the select lever from the electrical circuit, equipped with a wall portion provided upright on the respective peripheral portions of the plurality of the divided hole It is characterized by that.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the inhibitor switch according to the first aspect, the wall portion is a portion integrally formed with the terminal block.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the inhibitor switch according to the first or second aspect, the wall portion is formed over the entire circumference of the dividing hole.

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. An operation portion that is formed on the contact plate, and is formed on the contact plate so as to slide on the contact plate to form a predetermined electric circuit corresponding to the contact position. To be inserted at a position corresponding to the dividing portion of the terminal block and to be cut off after being arranged at a predetermined position, and to cut off the conduction, and to insert the cutting means to divide the dividing portion and a plurality of cutting holes in the cut-off with molding the terminal block, after the contact plate is disposed at a predetermined position of the terminal block, conduction and dividing the cut-off portion formed in the contact plate Inhibitor switch to get a predetermined circuit by In the manufacturing method, the time the terminal block of the molding, characterized by integrally molding the walls launch the respective periphery of the plurality of the divided hole.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing an inhibitor switch according to the fourth aspect, the wall portion is formed over the entire circumference of the dividing hole.

  According to the invention of claim 1 or claim 4, since the wall portion is erected on the peripheral portion of the dividing hole, the manufacturing cost is suppressed by making it difficult for oil to enter from the dividing hole for dividing the dividing portion. However, unintended conduction due to conductive foreign matter in the oil can be avoided.

  According to invention of Claim 2 or Claim 4, since the wall part was made into the site | part integrally molded with the terminal block, a wall part can be formed at the time of the molding process of the said terminal block, and a manufacturing process is simplified. can do.

  According to invention of Claim 3 or Claim 5, since the wall part is formed over the perimeter of a parting hole, it can make it harder for oil to penetrate from a parting hole, and it suppresses manufacturing cost. Unintentional conduction due to conductive foreign matter in the oil can be avoided more reliably.

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, a metal contact plate 3, 4; an operation portion 5 on which a movable contact 5b is formed; and a metal case 6.

  The terminal block 2 is integrally formed with a guide rail 2c extending in the longitudinal direction on the surface side (the upper surface side in FIGS. 1 and 2), and a plurality of guide rails 2c adjacent in the vertical direction extend in the same direction. Groove portion 2a is formed. That is, the guide rail 2c extends in a convex shape on the surface of the terminal block 2, and a groove 2a is formed between adjacent guide rails 2c as shown in FIG.

  In addition, the upper and lower contact plates 3 and 4 are attached to the terminal block 2, 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 guided by the guide rail 2c can be slid. 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.

  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 and a guided portion 5c that is guided by the guide rail 2c and slides the operating portion 5 along the groove 2a are 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 in the terminal block 2, when the operation unit 5 is operated while being guided by the guided portion 5c, the movable contact 5b is moved into the groove 2a. Will slide on the contact plate 3. Thus, the inhibitor switch 1 is disposed in the mission case and is used by being immersed in the oil filled in the mission case. Therefore, the operation of the operation unit 5 causes the surface of the terminal block 2 (in particular, the movable contact). The oil is forced to flow along the surface on which 5b slides.

  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 FIGS. 5 and 6, a dividing hole 10 into which a cutting means 7 such as a punch (see FIG. 7) can be inserted is formed at a position corresponding to the dividing portions 8 and 9 in the terminal block 2. Yes. The dividing hole 10 is a through hole opened on the front and back surfaces of the terminal block 2, and the dividing portions 8 and 9 are positioned over the opening of the dividing hole 10 as shown in FIG. At the same time, when the cutting means 7 such as a punch corresponding to the opening is fitted into the dividing hole 10, the dividing portions 8 and 9 can be divided as shown in FIG. In addition, even after the dividing parts 8 and 9 are divided, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the dividing part is exposed to the outside through the dividing hole 10.

  Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, wall portions 11 (ribs) are erected on the peripheral edge portions of the plurality of dividing holes 10. The wall portion 11 is formed of a projecting portion that is integrally formed when the terminal block 2 is formed, and is formed at the peripheral portion of the opening on the front surface side and the opening on the back surface side of the terminal block 2, respectively. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the wall portion 11 resists the oil flow m in the transmission case that is forcibly generated along the surface of the terminal block 2 in accordance with the operation of the operation portion 5, and is divided. Infiltration of oil into the hole 10 can be suppressed.

  Therefore, by making it difficult for oil to enter from the dividing hole 10, unintentional conduction due to conductive foreign substances in the oil can be avoided at the dividing portions of the dividing portions 8 and 9. Moreover, since the wall part 11 was made into the site | part integrally molded with the terminal block 2, the wall part 11 can be formed at the time of the shaping | molding process of the said terminal block 2, and a manufacturing process can be simplified. Among the wall portions 11, those formed in the groove portion 2 have projecting dimensions that do not hinder the operation of the guided portion 5 c accompanying the operation of the operation portion 5.

  Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the dividing hole 10 is filled with a resin, a separate process such as secondary molding can be omitted, so that the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. 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.

  In addition, if the wall part 11 is formed over the perimeter of the dividing hole 10, it can make it difficult for oil to infiltrate from the said dividing hole 10, and can suppress the electroconductivity in oil, suppressing manufacturing cost. Unintentional conduction due to foreign matter can be avoided more reliably. However, in consideration of the expected oil flow, the wall portion 11 may be formed only in that direction (for example, only in the left-right direction in FIG. 5).

  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 mold for forming 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.

  Moreover, the peripheral part (including both the whole periphery or a part of them) of the dividing hole 10 to be formed is protruded, and the wall part 11 is formed integrally with the terminal block 2. On the other hand, 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. . In this way, the terminal block 2 in which the wall portion 11 is erected on the peripheral edge portion of the dividing hole 10 while the contact plates 3 and 4 are insert-molded can be obtained. Therefore, if the operation portion 5 and the case 6 are attached thereto, this embodiment The inhibitor switch 1 according to the above is obtained.

  Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. As described above, the contact plate having the dividing portion is arranged in two upper and lower stages, and one stage is used. There may be three or more stages. In the present embodiment, the operation unit 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).

If the inhibitor switch has a wall portion standing upright at the peripheral edge of each of the plurality of dividing holes and its manufacturing method, it can be applied to a device having a different external shape or having other functions added. it can.

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 Top view showing the front side of the terminal block of the inhibitor switch Sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the parting method of the parting part by the parting hole of the inhibitor switch, Comprising: (a) The schematic diagram which shows before parting of the parting part (b) The schematic diagram which shows after parting of the parting part Schematic cross-sectional view for illustrating the action of the wall portion formed at the peripheral edge portion of the dividing hole in the inhibitor switch

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 Wall part

Claims (5)

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;
A dividing portion that is formed on the contact plate and disposed at a predetermined position of the terminal block, and then is divided to cut off conduction.
A plurality of dividing holes formed in positions corresponding to the dividing portions in the terminal block, for inserting cutting means to divide the dividing portions;
In an inhibitor switch for detecting a shift position of the select lever from the electrical circuit,
An inhibitor switch, comprising a wall portion standing on a peripheral edge portion of each of the plurality of dividing holes.   The inhibitor switch according to claim 1, wherein the wall portion is a portion integrally formed with the terminal block.   The inhibitor switch according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wall portion is formed over the entire circumference of the dividing hole. 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;
A dividing portion that is formed on the contact plate and disposed at a predetermined position of the terminal block, and then is divided to cut off conduction.
A plurality of dividing holes formed in positions corresponding to the dividing portions in the terminal block, for inserting cutting means to divide the dividing portions;
A predetermined circuit by forming the terminal block and disposing the contact plate at a predetermined position of the terminal block and then cutting off the dividing portion formed on the contact plate. In the manufacturing method of an inhibitor switch for obtaining the terminal block, the wall portion is integrally formed by raising the peripheral edges of the plurality of dividing holes when the terminal block is formed.   The said wall part was formed over the perimeter of the said dividing hole, The manufacturing method of the inhibitor switch of Claim 4 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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