JP5166068B2 - Position detecting device and shift lever device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a position detection device and a shift lever device.

Conventionally, in a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission, the connection state of the automatic transmission is switched by operating a shift lever of the shift lever device.
As such a shift lever device, in recent years, a switching position of a shift member such as a shift lever is detected by a sensor such as a magnetoresistive element, and based on the detection signal, the switching position of the shift member is detected and an actuator is operated. A so-called shift-by-wire system has been developed that switches the connection state of the automatic transmission (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The shift lever device adopting the shift-by-wire system eliminates the need for a mechanical structure such as a link mechanism, so that it is possible to perform a shift operation with a relatively small force and realize downsizing. A degree of freedom can be given to the design of the layout of the apparatus.

  In this type of shift lever device, the shift lever as a detected body to which a shift operation for switching the connection state of the automatic transmission is input and the shift lever switching position (shift position) are input. And a detection device for detecting a shift operation.

  The detection device includes a magnetoresistive element that detects a direction of a magnetic flux incident from the outside, and a bias magnet that applies a bias magnetic field to the magnetoresistive element, based on a detection signal output from the magnetoresistive element. The shift lever switching position is detected.

  In this shift lever device, a magnetoresistive element and a bias magnet are assembled on a single circuit board, and a shift lever (a magnetic body provided on the shift lever) moves relative to the magnetoresistive element and the bias magnet. The shift lever switching position is detected based on the direction (detection signal) of the magnetic flux detected by the element (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In such a shift lever device, the detection signal output from the magnetoresistive element corresponds to the predetermined position when the shift lever (magnetic body) is at a predetermined position (including a switching position and a position in the middle of movement). From the viewpoint of reducing the position detection error as much as possible, and from the viewpoint of preventing unforeseen circumstances resulting from the position detection error, the output level (output voltage) as expected in the design specification of the shift lever device , Is strongly requested.

For this reason, not only the assembly tolerance (arrangement position deviation) of the magnetoresistive element and the bias magnet is small, but also the assembly tolerance of the shift lever (magnetic body) and the bias magnet is also small. Is required.
JP 2005-67228 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-318475, 30th paragraph, etc.

  However, in the shift lever device described above, the magnetoresistive element and the bias magnet are assembled on one circuit board. For this reason, the shift lever (magnetic material) and the bias magnet can be reduced to some extent by reducing the tolerance of assembly of the two members on the same circuit board to a certain extent. As for the current situation, no means for reducing such position detection error is provided.

  Even if the assembly tolerances of the magnetoresistive element and the bias magnet and the assembly tolerances of the shift lever (magnetic body) and the bias magnet are reduced, the assembly tolerances of the shift lever are overlapped. A case where a position detection error becomes apparent is conceivable.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the object thereof is to reduce the assembly tolerance of the magnetic detection object, the magnetoresistive element, and the bias magnet, and to detect the detection object. It is an object of the present invention to provide a position detection device that can reduce the position detection error and a shift lever device using the position detection device.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the invention described in claim 1 includes a detected object having magnetism, a guide rail member that guides the detected object to a predetermined position along a fixed path, and an external device. A magnetoresistive element that detects the direction of the incident magnetic flux, a support member to which the magnetoresistive element is assembled, a bias magnet that applies a bias magnetic field to the magnetoresistive element, and the detected object and the bias magnet. A position detecting device including a detecting means for detecting a position of the detected object based on a direction of magnetic flux detected by the magnetoresistive element, wherein the bias magnet includes the bias magnet and the detected object. The guide rail member is fixed to the guide rail member in a state where the bias magnet is positioned with respect to the magnetoresistive element. Fixed to the support member, wherein the bias magnet, it is integrally embedded in the guide rail member by insert molding, and the gist.

According to this configuration, the bias magnet is fixed to the guide rail member so as to define the positional relationship between the bias magnet and the detection target, and the guide rail member includes the bias magnet as a magnetoresistive element. The support member is fixed in a state of being positioned with respect to the support member. For this reason, the assembly tolerance of the detected object and the bias magnet guided by the guide rail member can be reduced, and the assembly tolerance of the magnetic detection object, the magnetoresistive element, and the bias magnet can be reduced to the magnetic tolerance. It can be made to depend only on the assembly tolerance of the resistance element and the bias magnet. As a result, by increasing the assembly accuracy of the magnetoresistive element and the bias magnet to the support member, the assembly tolerance of the magnetic detection object, the magnetoresistive element, and the bias magnet is reduced.
In particular, since the bias magnet is integrally embedded in the guide rail member by insert molding, the assembly tolerance of the detected object and the bias magnet guided by the guide rail member by a practical and reliable method is made small. be able to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the position detection device according to the first aspect, the guide rail member is provided with an opening that opens at a surface of the guide rail member, and communicates with the opening. The gist of the present invention is that the bias magnet is insert-molded at the bottom of the accommodating portion .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the position detecting device according to the first or second aspect, the magnetoresistive element is an MRE element using a magnetoresistive effect, and the guide rail member is sandwiched between the bias magnets. The gist is that they are arranged on both sides .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the position detection device according to the second or third aspect, the bottom surface of the accommodating portion is provided with a pair of protrusions so as to extend along the longitudinal direction . Is the gist.

  The invention according to claim 5 is a shift lever device mounted on a vehicle and for switching the connection state of the automatic transmission, wherein the shift lever that can be moved to a plurality of locations is a detected object. The gist of the invention is to include the position detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and a detection unit that detects an input shift operation based on a detection position of the shift lever.

  According to this configuration, the position detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 for detecting the position of a shift lever that is moved to a plurality of locations to switch the connection state of the automatic transmission of the vehicle. Therefore, when the shift lever is at a predetermined position on the guide rail member, the output level of the detection signal from the magnetoresistive element is assumed, and the shift lever position detection error can be reduced. It is possible to satisfy the design specifications of the device.

According to the onset bright, the detected member having magnetism, magneto-resistive element, and assembling tolerances of the bias magnet is僅小reduction, can be reduced position detection error of the object to be detected.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), a shift lever device 1 according to this embodiment includes a shift lever 2 as a detected body that is moved to a plurality of locations in order to switch the shift position of an automatic transmission of a vehicle, And a shift panel 4 formed with a modified H-type (h-type) shift gate 3 through which the lever 2 is inserted. The shift panel 4 is provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle. The shift lever device 1 according to the present embodiment functions as a position detection device for the shift lever 2.

  More specifically, the shift lever 2 has positions A to A set at a plurality of positions of the shift gate 3 along the shift gate 3 by a driver's shift operation in order to switch the connection state of the automatic transmission of the vehicle. E (switching position) is movably provided.

  The shift gate 3 includes a first gate 11 and a second gate 12 that extend in parallel to each other, and a third gate 13 that connects between the first gate 11 and the second gate 12. The length is about half that of the two gates 12. The third gate 13 extends from the upper end of the first gate 11 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first gate 11 and is connected to the second gate 12 at a substantially central portion of the second gate 12. Yes.

  The positions A, B, and C are respectively an upper end portion of the second gate 12, a connection point with the third gate 13 located at a substantially central portion of the second gate 12, and a lower portion of the second gate 12. It is provided at the end. Further, the positions D and E are provided at the upper end of the first gate 11 (connection point with the third gate 13) and the lower end of the first gate 11, respectively.

In the shift lever device 1 shown in FIG. 1A, the positions A, B, and C are set as a reverse position “R”, a neutral position “N”, and a drive position “D”, respectively. Further, the positions D and E are set as a neutral position and a brake position “B”, respectively. Thus, the position D is set as a neutral position, and when the shift lever 2 is moved from the position D to each of the positions A to E by the driver's shift operation, the position D is again the neutral position. It is configured to automatically return by a momentary mechanism (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the shift lever device 1 of the present embodiment includes four pairs (multiple pairs) of sensors as magnetoresistive elements that detect the direction of magnetic flux incident from the outside. When the shift lever 2 is shifted by the driver, the sensors 11a, 11b, ..., 13a, 13b, the bias magnets 101 to 103 for applying a bias magnetic field to the sensor chips 11a, 11b, ... The position of the shift lever 2 is detected based on detection signals output from the chips 11a, 11b,..., And a detection means for detecting a shift operation input to the shift lever 2 and a controller 6 as a detection means are provided. ing. The controller 6 is provided on the back side of the shift panel 4 and detects the position of the shift lever 2 in any of the positions A to E (switching position) based on the detection signal. Based on the position detection result, the shift operation input to the shift lever 2 is detected.

Specifically, a bias magnet 101 is provided below the first gate 11 and at an intermediate position between the positions D and E, and the bias magnet 101 crosses the first gate 11 (the third gate 13). A pair of sensor chips 11a and 11b are provided so as to be sandwiched in the longitudinal direction). Further, below the second gate 12, a bias magnet 102a is provided at an intermediate position between the positions A and B, and the bias magnet 102a extends in the direction crossing the second gate 12 (of the third gate 13). A pair of sensor chips 12a and 12b are provided so as to be sandwiched in the longitudinal direction). In the second gate 1 2 downward, the intermediate position of the position B and C, as well as bias magnet 102b are provided, the bias magnet 102b direction transverse to the second gate 12 (the third gate 13 A pair of sensor chips 12c and 12d are provided so as to be sandwiched in the longitudinal direction). Further, below the third gate 13, a bias magnet 103 is provided at an intermediate position between the positions B and D, and the bias magnet 103 crosses the third gate 13 (first and second gates). A pair of sensor chips 13a and 13b are provided so as to be sandwiched in the longitudinal direction of 11 and 12 . In the present embodiment, the four pairs (plural pairs) of sensor chips 11a, 11b,..., 13a, 13b and the bias magnets 101,. In a state where the circuit board 5 as a supporting member disposed between the shift panel 4 and the controller 6 shown in FIG. 1 (a) is positioned relative to each other so that the mounting tolerance is small. It is assembled.

  Here, each of the sensor chips 11a to 13b includes a pair of MRE (Magneto-resistance effect) elements (magnetoresistive elements) 7a and 7b arranged at a predetermined sandwich angle (90 °). The half bridge circuit 8 is formed by electrical connection (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). That is, the resistance value (output voltage value) of each MRE element 7a, 7b becomes higher as the direction of the magnetic flux passing through the MRE element 7a, 7b approaches the direction parallel to the current direction. Yes.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 ( b ), a flat square columnar counter magnet 2 a is integrally fixed to the base end of the shift lever 2, and the shift lever 2 is moved by a shift operation. Accordingly, the position moves to each of the positions A to E.

  In this embodiment, the shift lever 2 is formed based on the direction of magnetic flux formed by the counter magnet 2a and the bias magnets 101 to 103 and detected by the MRE elements 7a, 7b (sensor chips 11a, 11b,...). The position of is detected.

  Specifically, taking a pair of sensor chips 13a and 13b arranged in the third gate 13 as an example, the output voltage V (intermediate potential) at the output terminal Pout of the sensor chip 13a is shown in FIG. 2B, the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a) is positioned at position D in the shift gate 3, and the magnetic flux direction in the half-bridge circuit 8 of the sensor chip 13a is the ground side MRE element. It becomes higher as it approaches a direction parallel to 7b (current direction) (state of FIG. 2A). On the other hand, the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a) is located at the position B in the shift gate 3, and the magnetic flux direction becomes lower as it approaches a direction parallel to the MRE element 7a (current direction) on the power source side. (State of FIG. 2B).

  In this way, when the shift lever 2 is located at any one of the positions A to E, in each of the sensor chips 11a to 13b, a pair of MRE elements 7a and 7a (the output terminal Pout of the half bridge circuit 8). ) To output the output voltage V. Then, the signal is input to a comparator (not shown) and compared with a threshold value Vth, and in each of the sensor chips 11a to 13b, a binary signal of “1” (when V ≧ Vth) or “0” (when V <Vth). Is generated. In each pair of sensor chips 11a, 11b,..., 13a, 13b, a set of binarized signals is set, and further, four sets of binarized signals (for example, “0, 0”, “0, 0”, “0, 0”, “1, 0”, etc.) are input to the controller 6. In the controller 6, the four sets of binarized signals are compared with a comparison table (not shown) with the positions A to E, and the switching position of the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a) ( Any one of the positions A to E) is detected, and the input shift operation is detected.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the shift lever device 1 of the present embodiment is disposed between the shift panel 4 and the circuit board 5, and the counter magnet 2a is connected to the shift gate. 3 is provided with a guide rail member 9 that guides to each of the positions A to E (predetermined positions) along the three gate patterns (a constant track indicated by a virtual line in FIG. 3A). The bias magnets 101 to 103 are inserted into the guide rail member 9 so as to define the positional relationship between the bias magnets 101 to 103 and the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a) guided by the guide rail member 9. It is embedded (fixed) integrally by molding. Further, the guide rail member 9 has a plurality of pairs of pins 9p, 9p, 9a, 10b, 103b, with the bias magnets 101 to 103 positioned with respect to the sensor chips 11a, 11b, ... (MRE elements 7a, 7a, ...). Are fixed to the circuit board 5 via (see FIG. 3B).

  More specifically, the guide rail member 9 is formed in a modified H type (h type) so as to match the gate pattern of the shift gate 3, and the guide rail member 9 is also formed in the same modified H type guide. Rails 9a (grooves) are formed. The guide rail 9 a is inserted with the shift lever 2, and has an opening 9 b that opens on the surface of the guide rail member 9 along the shift gate 3, and the opening 9 b inside the guide rail member 9. And a receiving portion 9c for receiving (moving) the counter magnet 2a along the first gate 11 to the third gate 13 in a guideable manner.

  And the shift lever apparatus 1 of this embodiment is the state in which the said shift lever 2 was penetrated by the opening part 9b of the said shift gate 3 and the guide rail 9a, and the said counter magnet 2a was accommodated in the said accommodating part 9c. The counter magnet 2a is guided along the first gate 11 to the third gate 13, and is positioned at the positions A to E.

  As a result, the shift lever 2 moves accurately along the modified H-shaped gate pattern (constant trajectory) of the shift gate 3. In other words, the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a) moves only in the front-rear direction (traveling direction) without swinging up and down and left and right (depth direction and width direction of the guide rail 9a) along the gate pattern. It becomes like this. Note that the bottom surface 9d of the accommodating portion 9c of the guide rail 9a extends along the longitudinal direction of the first gate 11 to the third gate 13 in order to reduce sliding friction between the counter magnet 2a and the bottom surface 9d. In this way, a pair of protrusions 9e, 9e are provided in a protruding manner.

  Further, the bias magnets 101 to 103 are integrated with the guide rail member 9 by insert molding so that the positional relationship with the counter magnet 2a moving in the accommodating portion 9c of the guide rail 9a is assumed. It is buried in. Here, insert molding refers to a method in which a metal part or the like (insert product) is previously loaded in a mold and integrated with the resin injected into the mold to form a composite part. It becomes possible to arrange with high accuracy.

  The shift lever 2 is shifted so as to be positioned at the positions A to E (switching positions) in a state where the counter magnet 2a is housed in the housing portion 9c of the guide rail 9a. The connection state of the automatic transmission (any one of “R”, “N”, “D”, “B”, “neutral position”) is switched.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the bias magnets 101 to 103 are integrally embedded (fixed) in the guide rail member 9 by insert molding, and the guide rail member 9 is attached to the circuit board 5. Are fixed. For this reason, the assembly tolerance between the guide rail member 9 and the bias magnets 101 to 103, and hence the assembly tolerance between the counter magnet 2a and the bias magnets 101 to 103 are reduced. Then, the counter magnet 2a fixed to the shift lever 2 moves along the gate pattern of the shift gate 3 according to the assumed positional relationship with respect to the bias magnets 101 to 103. .

  Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a) moves from position D to position B in the shift gate 3, and MRE elements 7a and 7b (half-half) of the sensor chip 13a are moved along with the movement. The case where the direction of the magnetic flux in the bridge circuit 8) changes from the state shown in FIG. 2A to the state shown in FIG. 2B will be described as an example. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, when the bias magnet 103 is not fixed to the guide rail member 9 as in the prior art, the positional relationship between the counter magnet 2a and the bias magnet 103 is as follows. Due to the assembly tolerance of the bias magnet 103, it deviates from the assumed state. The output voltage V from the sensor chip 13a (indicated by a phantom line in FIG. 5) is also shifted by ΔX in FIG. 5 in the X-axis direction (longitudinal direction of the third gate 13). Thereby, a set of binarized signals (for example, “1, 0”) based on the output voltage V of the sensor chips 13a and 13b is not input to the controller 6 as designed, and the reliability as the shift lever device 1 is improved. Will be damaged. As a result, the shift lever device 1 cannot obtain a set of binarized signals as expected, so that the operation of the controller 6 is not stable, and in some cases, the connection state of the automatic transmission of the vehicle is changed. It can even cause problems. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the bias magnet 103 is fixed (integrated) to the guide rail member 9, and the assembly tolerance of the guide rail member 9 and the bias magnet 103 is reduced, so that the counter magnet The positional relationship between 2a and the bias magnet 103 is as assumed. The output voltage V (shown by a solid line in FIG. 5) from the sensor chips 13a and 13b is also assumed. As a result, a set of binarized signals (for example, “1, 0”) based on the output voltage V of the sensor chips 13a and 13b is input to the controller 6 according to the design specifications, and the reliability as the shift lever device 1 is achieved. Will be enhanced.

According to this embodiment, the following operations and effects can be obtained.
(1) The bias magnets 101 to 103 are guide rails that guide the shift lever 2 along the gate pattern accurately so as to define the positional relationship between the bias magnets 101 to 103 and the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a). The guide rail member 9 is fixed (integrated) to the member 9 and the bias magnets 101 to 103 are positioned with respect to the sensor chips 11a, 11b,... (MRE elements 7a, 7b,...). And fixed to the circuit board 5. Thereby, the assembly of the shift lever 2, the sensor chips 11a, 11b,..., And the bias magnets 101 to 103 is improved by increasing the assembly accuracy of the MRE elements 7a, 7b,. The attached tolerances will be reduced. As a result, the output voltage V output from the MRE elements 7a, 7b,... When the shift lever 2 is at a predetermined position on the guide rail member 9 (including a switching position and a position in the middle of movement) is assumed. As a result, the position detection error of the shift lever 2 can be reduced, and the design specifications of the shift lever device 1 can be satisfied.

  (2) Since the bias magnets 101 to 103 are integrally embedded in the guide rail member 9 by insert molding, the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a) guided by the guide rail member 9 in a practical and reliable manner, and The assembly tolerance of the bias magnets 101 to 103 can be made small.

The above embodiment may be modified as follows.
In the above embodiment, the bias magnets 101 to 103 are fixed to the guide rail member 9 to define the positional relationship between the bias magnets 101 to 103 and the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a), and the guide The rail member 9 was fixed to the circuit board 5 in a state where the bias magnets 101 to 103 were positioned with respect to the sensor chips 11a, 11b,... (MRE elements 7a, 7b,...).

  However, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to this, and is fixed depending on the positional relationship between the sensor chips 11a, 11b,... (MRE elements 7a, 7b,...) And the bias magnets 101 to 103, and the guide rail member 9 ′. In order to define the positional relationship between the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2a) and the bias magnets 101 to 103, which are guided to a predetermined position along the track, the following may be configured. That is, the sensor chips 11a, 11b,... And the bias magnets 101 to 103 are used for connection to external wiring, and are positioned and assembled with each other on a lead frame made of a conductive metal material so as to form a predetermined wiring pattern. In addition, the guide rail member 9 ′ may be molded integrally with the lead frame with a resin used for sealing the lead frame. Here, the lead frame is preferably used in place of the circuit board 5 as shown in the above embodiment, but may be used in combination with such a circuit board 5.

  Here, the guide rail member 9 ′ is described in the above embodiment so that the assembly intersection of the sensor chips 11a, 11b,... And the bias magnets 101 to 103 assembled to the lead frame is small. It is preferable to mold using a sealing resin in the same shape as the guide rail member 9. That is, the guide rail member 9 ′ is shaped so that the shift lever 2 (counter magnet 2 a) is guided by the guide rail member 9 ′ and accurately moves along the gate pattern (constant track) of the shift gate 3. It is preferable that That is, the guide rail member 9 ′ moves the shift lever 2 only in the front-rear direction (traveling direction) without swinging up and down and left and right (depth direction and width direction of the guide rail 9 a) along the gate pattern. It is preferable to mold the lead frame using a sealing resin for the lead frame.

  According to this, the positional relationship between the sensor chips 11a, 11b,... (MRE elements 7a, 7b,...) And the bias magnets 101 to 103 and the predetermined position along the predetermined track by the guide rail member 9 ′. In order to define the positional relationship between the shift lever 2 to be guided and the bias magnets 101 to 103, the following configuration is provided. That is, the sensor chips 11a, 11b,... And the bias magnets 101 to 103 are used for connection to external wiring, and are positioned and assembled with each other on a lead frame made of a conductive metal material so as to form a predetermined wiring pattern. It is attached. Further, the guide rail member 9 'is formed using a mold with a resin for sealing the lead frame. For this reason, the assembling tolerance of the detected object guided by the guide rail member 9 ′ and the bias magnets 101 to 103 can be reduced, and the shift lever 2, the sensor chips 11a, 11b,. The assembly tolerance of ˜103 can be made to depend only on the assembly tolerances of the sensor chips 11a, 11b,. In addition, the assembly tolerance when the sensor chips 11a, 11b,... And the bias magnets 101 to 103 are assembled to the lead frame is the assembly tolerance (± 0.2 to Compared with ± 0.3 mm), it is very small (about ± 50 μm). That is, since the assembly tolerance is virtually none and is small in the first place, the assembly tolerance of the shift lever 2, the MRE elements 7a, 7b,... And the bias magnets 101 to 103 is minimized. Become so.

  Furthermore, when the guide rail member 9 'is molded using a mold with a resin that seals the lead frame, it is preferable to use so-called transfer molding. According to this molding method, the heat-pressed sealing resin is closed, injected into a heated mold, and pressure-molded, which is practical and leads to a mass production with a good lead frame. It is possible to integrally mold the guide rail member 9 'while sealing.

  In the above embodiment, the bias magnets 101 to 103 embedded in the guide rail member 9 are exposed from the guide rail member 9 so as to be directly assembled (fixed) to the circuit board 5 (FIG. 3B). reference). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the bias magnets 101 to 103 are completely embedded in the guide rail member 9 as long as the assembly tolerance of the bias magnets 101 to 103 with respect to the sensor chips 11a, 11b,. May be.

In the above embodiment, buried by insert molding only bias magnet 101 to 103 guide rail member 9, the bias magnet 101 further sensor chips 11a, 11b, ... in a state of being positioned with respect to the bias magnet 101 to 103 of -103 may be embedded in the guide rail member 9 by insert molding.

  In the above embodiment, the position detection device that detects the position of the detection object is applied to the shift lever device that uses the detection object as a shift lever and switches the connection state of the automatic transmission of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position detection device of such a technical idea can be applied to other devices to which a contactless sensor switch can be applied in order to detect the position of the detected object. For example, the present invention can be applied to a vehicle paddle shift device, various vehicle switch devices (neutral start switch device, stop lamp switch device, push start switch device, etc.), and a vehicle seat buckle device.

  In the above embodiment, an MRE element that detects the direction of magnetic flux (magnetic vector) is used as the magnetoresistive element. However, as the magnetoresistive element, for example, a Hall element that is a sensor that detects the strength of a magnetic field in a predetermined direction is used. It can also be used.

  In the above embodiment, each of the sensor chips 11a to 13b is formed by electrically connecting a pair of MRE elements (magnetoresistive elements) 7a and 7b arranged at a predetermined sandwich angle (90 °). Although the half bridge circuit 8 is used, it is of course possible to form a full bridge circuit including a pair of the half bridge circuits 8 in order to further increase the detection sensitivity.

  In the above embodiment, the gate pattern of the shift gate 3 is a modified H type, but the gate pattern is not limited to this, and may be various other gate patterns such as a stepped gate pattern.

  In the above embodiment, the shift lever device 1 is provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle. However, the shift lever device 1 is not limited thereto, and may be provided at other locations, for example, a center console or a steering column. .

(A) is a perspective view which shows the partial structure of the shift lever apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is a three-dimensional figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the sensor chip and bias magnet of the shift lever apparatus. It is a circuit diagram which shows the half bridge circuit which consists of MRE elements, (a) is a figure which shows the state in which the direction of magnetic flux is parallel to the MRE element (current direction) on the ground side (shift lever at position D) FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating a state in which the direction of magnetic flux is parallel to the current-side MRE element (the current direction thereof) (the corresponding diagram when the shift lever is at position B). ). (A) is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the shift lever apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is the aa arrow directional cross-sectional view of (a). It is a figure corresponding to the bb arrow section of Drawing 3 (a), and an operation figure showing the state where the shift lever is moving from position D to position B. It is a figure which shows the output voltage V of the sensor chip (MRE element) arrange | positioned at the 3rd gate of a shift panel, A solid line shows the output state of the sensor chip of embodiment of this invention, and a virtual line (two-dot chain line) FIG. 6 is a graph showing the output state of a sensor chip of the prior art.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Shift lever apparatus, 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 13a, 13b ... Sensor chip, 101, 102a, 102b, 103 (101-103) ... Bias magnet, 2 ... Shift lever, 2a ... Counter magnet DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Shift gate, 4 ... Shift panel, 5 ... Circuit board, 6 ... Controller, 7a, 7b ... MRE element, 8 ... Half bridge circuit, 9 ... Guide rail member.

Claims (5)

A detected object having magnetism, a guide rail member that guides the detected object to a predetermined position along a fixed track, a magnetoresistive element that detects the direction of magnetic flux incident from the outside, and the magnetoresistive element The support member to which the magnetic resistance element is assembled, the bias magnet for applying a bias magnetic field to the magnetoresistive element, the detected body and the bias magnet, and the detected target based on the direction of the magnetic flux detected by the magnetoresistive element A position detection device comprising detection means for detecting the position of the body,
The bias magnet is fixed to the guide rail member so as to define a positional relationship between the bias magnet and the detected object. The guide rail member is configured such that the bias magnet is in contact with the magnetoresistive element. Fixed to the support member in a positioned state ,
The position detecting device , wherein the bias magnet is embedded in the guide rail member by insert molding .   The position detection device according to claim 1,
  The guide rail member includes an opening that opens on a surface of the guide rail member, and a housing that is provided in communication with the opening and accommodates the object to be detected so as to be guided. The bottom of the housing A position detecting device in which the bias magnet is insert-molded.   In the position detection device according to claim 1 or 2,
  The position detection device, wherein the magnetoresistive element is an MRE element using a magnetoresistive effect, and is disposed on both sides of the guide rail member so as to sandwich the bias magnet.   In the position detection device according to claim 2 or 3,
  A position detection device in which a pair of protrusions is provided on the bottom surface of the housing portion so as to extend along the longitudinal direction. A shift lever device mounted on a vehicle for switching the connection state of the automatic transmission,
The position detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a shift lever that can be moved to a plurality of locations is a detection target, and an input shift based on a detection position of the shift lever. A shift lever device comprising: a detecting means for detecting an operation.

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