JP5355256B2 - Lever position detector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever position detection device provided in an operation lever device of an automatic transmission.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an automatic transmission operating lever device that detects a position (range position) of an operating lever using a magnet and a sensor. As this type of operation lever device, Patent Document 1 discloses the position of an operation lever that can move in the selection direction and the shift direction along an h-shaped operation path by a plurality of Hall ICs that are magnets and magnetic sensors. What to detect is described (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In this operation lever device 100, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of Hall ICs 103 fixed to the housing 102 side are opposed to the lever position detection device 101, and a plurality of Hall ICs 103 are opposed to each other as the operation lever 104 moves. When a magnet 105 that can move along the movement axis is provided and the magnet 105 is moved to a position corresponding to the range position in accordance with the operation of the operation lever 104, any one of the plurality of Hall ICs 103 senses it. The range position of the operation lever 104 can be detected.

JP 2004-138235 A

  However, the lever position detection device 101 of the conventional operation lever device 100 requires a moving mechanism 106 and a guide mechanism 107 that move the magnet 105 along a plurality of movement axes in accordance with the movement of the operation lever 104. There is a problem that it becomes complicated and costly.

  Conventionally, at least two of a plurality of sensors are detected at each range position, and a range position is selected by the combination. When a problem occurs in the sensor, detection out of the combination is performed. However, there is a problem that the number of sensors is larger than the number of range positions, the size of the detection device is increased, and the cost is increased.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a lever position detection device that can detect the position of an operation lever that can be rotated in the selection direction and the shift direction, and that can simplify the structure and reduce the cost.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever position detecting device for an operating lever device that detects the position of an operating lever that can swing along an H-shaped operating path. A case-like case member disposed in a lower portion; a magnet provided in the case member so as to be movable together with a lower portion of the operation lever; a plurality of magnetic sensors disposed below the magnet ; The magnetic sensor includes three magnetic sensors arranged side by side so as to be parallel to the shift path between two shift paths in the shift direction constituting the H-shaped operation path, and the three magnetic sensors Including one magnetic sensor disposed on one shift path side and two magnetic sensors disposed side by side so as to be parallel to the shift path on the other shift path side . Disc shape Each of the range positions is opposed to at least two of the plurality of magnetic sensors, and the three magnetic sensors are opposed to the magnet corresponding to three positions in the shift direction, The one magnetic sensor always faces the magnet when the operation lever is located on one shift path side, and the two magnetic sensors are in the shift direction when the operation lever is located on the other shift path side. The magnet and at least one magnetic sensor are configured to face each other at three shift positions .

The invention of claim 2 is had contact to the lever position detecting device according to claim 1, and a connecting portion of substantially spherical lower portion of the operating lever, and the connecting portion capable associated hole linking the center of the magnet It is characterized by having.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the lever position detecting device according to the first or second aspect, the peripheral wall of the case member is made of a magnetic material.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the magnet provided at the lower portion of the operation lever moves to a predetermined position in accordance with the swinging operation of the operation lever, at least of the plurality of magnetic sensors disposed below the magnet. Any two magnetic sensors sense magnetism and output a predetermined detection signal to detect the position of the operation lever. In addition, since a magnet is provided below the operation lever, it is not necessary to provide a separate moving mechanism for moving the magnet with the movement of the operation lever, and the magnet has no directivity in the circumferential direction. Since it is plate-shaped, a guide mechanism for regulating the direction of the magnet is not necessary, so that the structure of the entire apparatus can be simplified and the number of parts can be reduced to reduce the cost.

In addition , each of the three shift positions of the two shift paths arranged in an H-shape can be detected by six magnetic sensors, and each shift position is detected by two magnetic sensors. The device can be made small. Also, when moving the shift lever along the operation path, any one of the magnetic sensors always faces the magnet, so that an abnormality of the magnetic sensor can be diagnosed in an electric circuit.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the substantially spherical connecting portion provided at the lower portion of the operating lever is linked to the magnet connecting hole, thereby providing a simple structure with the lower portion of the operating lever. Since the magnet and the magnet can be linked, it is possible to suppress variation in the relative position between the operation lever and the lever position detection device, compared to the case where another member is interposed between the operation lever and the magnet.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects of the invention, the outer wall of the case-like case member is made of a magnetic material, so that the case member can cause the external electromagnetic wave to the magnetic sensor. The influence of can be suppressed.

  In addition, when the connection between the magnet and the operation lever is released, the magnet is attracted to the case member that is a magnetic body, and the detection signal is turned off because it is out of the detection range of the magnetic sensor, and the incorrect operation lever position is output. Can be prevented, safety can be ensured, and fail-safe can be realized.

It is sectional drawing of the operating lever apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the principal part of the lever position detection apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is arrangement | positioning explanatory drawing of the range position operated with the operation lever concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the lever position detection apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a layout view of each magnetic sensor of the lever position detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view for demonstrating the relationship between the magnet and magnetic sensor in the state which has the operation lever concerning one Embodiment of this invention in a neutral position. It is a top view for demonstrating the relationship between the magnet and magnetic sensor in the state which has the operation lever concerning one Embodiment of this invention in a drive position. It is an arrangement drawing showing a modification of a magnetic sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the conventional operation lever apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  An operation lever device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a rotatable operation lever 2, a lever position detection device 3 according to this embodiment that detects the position of the operation lever 2, and a lever restriction unit that restricts the movement direction of the operation lever 2. (Not shown) and a check mechanism unit 5 for returning the operation lever 2 from the operation position to the initial position. The operation lever 2, the lever position detecting device 3, the lever restricting portion, and the check mechanism portion 5 are assembled to a main case 6 as a casing.

  In this embodiment, the operation lever device 1 is disposed at a position where the driver can easily operate at the center in the vehicle width direction of the instrument panel I, and the device main body is housed inside the instrument panel I so that the vehicle body The knob 24 of the operation lever 2 is protruded from the instrument panel I through the indicator P.

  The operation lever 2 includes a lever main body 21, a shift rotation shaft 22, a select rotation shaft 23, and a knob 24. The operation lever 2 can be rotated in the select direction Y and the shift direction X (see FIG. 3).

  The lever main body 21 is composed of a lever block 210 formed of a synthetic resin and a pipe portion 211 insert-molded on the upper end portion of the lever block 210. The lever block 210 is provided with a support hole 210b through which the select rotation shaft 23 is inserted.

  The shift rotation shaft 22 is generally resin-molded in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an opening 22a through which the lever block 210 of the lever body 21 is inserted is provided in the vertical direction. A select rotation shaft 23 is rotatably inserted in the central portion of the shift rotation shaft 22 in a direction perpendicular to the center axis of the shift rotation shaft 22. The operation lever 2 is rotatable about the shift rotation shaft 22 to be able to perform a shift operation, and can be selected about the select rotation shaft 23.

  The main case 6 is resin-molded in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a storage portion 61 for storing the shift rotation shaft 22 is provided on the upper portion thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operation lever 2 follows an H-shaped operation path K, and can select the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth range positions. ing. Here, the six range positions are a drive position (indicated by “D” in the drawing), a neutral position (indicated by “N” in the drawing), a reverse position (indicated by “R” in the drawing), and a shift down position (indicated by the drawing). In this figure, the home position is indicated by “−”, the home position (indicated by “H” in the drawing), the shift-up position (indicated by “+” in the drawing), and the home position is the initial position, while the drive position and neutral. Each of the position, reverse position, shift up position and shift down position is a moving position.

  The H-shaped operation path K includes a first shift path K1 in which a drive position, a neutral position, and a reverse position are positioned in this order, and a shift up position, a home position, and a shift down position in this order. It consists of a second shift path K2 parallel to K1 and a third select path K3 formed across the neutral position and the home position. And the operation lever 2 is provided so that rotation is possible so that the front-end | tip part may move along the H-shaped operation path K. FIG. Here, the extending direction of the first shift path K1 is the shift direction X, and the extending direction of the third select path K3 is the select direction Y.

  As shown in the figure, the check mechanism unit 5 includes a check unit 51 that behaves integrally with the operation lever 2 and a check block 52 that guides the check unit 51.

  The check part 51 is housed in a hollow check rod 511 having a tapered tip reduced in diameter, a check ball part 512 formed integrally with the tip part of the check rod 511, and a hollow part of the check rod 511. A check spring 513 that presses the check ball portion 512 against a check surface (not shown) of the check block 52 is formed.

  In such a structure, the check ball portion 512 is pressed against the check surface 521 of the check block 52 with a predetermined pressing force, so that an appropriate operation force is applied to the operation lever 2 and, as shown in FIG. Self-return function so that when the control lever 2 is moved to each movement position (neutral position, reverse position, drive position, shift down position, shift up position), the control lever 2 automatically returns to the home position. Have.

  The lever position detection device 3 includes a lever position output unit 31 disposed below the operation lever 2, a detection main body unit 32 that is mounted below the lever position output unit 31 and detects a lever selection position, and the operation lever 2. It is comprised from the connection lever 33 which connects the magnet M mentioned later.

  In this lever position detection device 3, the magnet M is linked to a connecting lever 33 provided below the operation lever 2 that swings around the shift rotation shaft 22 and the select rotation shaft 23. The position is point-symmetric with the range position (see FIG. 3) of the operating lever 2, and the range position of the magnet M is arranged as shown in FIG.

  The lever position output unit 31 includes a case-like case member 311 attached to the bottom of the check block 52, and a single magnet M provided in the case member 311 so as to be movable and provided below the operation lever 2. It is composed of The magnet M is formed in a disc shape, and a circular linkage hole Ma is provided at the center, and a resin bearing Mb is inserted into the linkage hole Ma. The bottom plate 312 constituting the case member 311 and partitioning the magnetic sensors S1 to S6 is formed of a non-magnetic resin material, and the peripheral wall 313 standing on the periphery of the bottom plate 312 is a magnetic material. It is formed of an iron plate.

  The detection main body 32 is disposed at a predetermined position on the base plate 322, a base plate 322 stored in the base case 322, and another case member 321 mounted on the bottom of the case member 311, respectively. And a plurality of non-contact magnetic sensors S1 to S6 that output detection signals, and the selected position of the operation lever 2 is detected by the position of the magnet M. The first sensor S1 to the sixth sensor S6 are magnetic sensors, for example, Hall ICs, which are turned on when magnetism is sensed and output a detection signal, but are turned off when no magnetism is sensed. .

  For example, when the operating lever 2 is located at the reverse position, the first sensor S1 and the second sensor S2 sense the magnet M, thereby detecting that the operating lever 2 is at the reverse position. When the operation lever 2 is positioned at the neutral position, the second sensor S2, the third sensor S3, and the fourth sensor S4 sense the magnet M as shown in FIG. When the operation lever 2 is detected to be in the neutral position and the operation lever 2 is located at the drive position, the fourth sensor S4 and the fifth sensor S5 sense the magnet M as shown in FIG. 2 is detected at the drive position. Similarly, when the operation lever 2 is positioned at the upshift position, the fifth sensor S5 and the sixth sensor S6 sense the magnet M to detect that the operation lever 2 is at the upshift position, When the operation lever 2 is located at the home position, the sixth sensor S6 and the third sensor S3 sense the magnet M to detect that the operation lever 2 is at the home position. When the lever 2 is positioned at the downshift position, the magnet M senses the sixth sensor S6 and the first sensor S1, thereby detecting that the operating lever 2 is at the downshift position.

  The connecting lever 33 is provided so as to penetrate the check rod 511, and a substantially spherical connecting portion 331 that is connected to the connecting hole Ma in the central portion of the magnet M via the bearing Mb is formed at the tip of the connecting lever 33. . The check ball portion 512 is provided with a circular hole 512a through which the connecting portion 33 passes, and the connecting lever 33 is moved along the operation path K in the bottom direction of the check block 52 and the upper portion of the case member 311 and the select direction. Openings 52a and 311a for penetrating while allowing relative movement in the direction Y are provided.

  With the above configuration, according to the lever position detection device 3 of the present embodiment, as the operation lever 2 swings, the magnet M provided at the lower portion of the operation lever 2 moves to a position corresponding to the range position. Since at least any two magnetic sensors among the plurality of sensors S1 to S6 arranged below the magnet M sense magnetism and output a predetermined detection signal, the position of the operation lever 2 can be detected. In addition, since the magnet M is provided below the operation lever 2, it is not necessary to provide a separate moving mechanism for moving the magnet M in accordance with the movement of the operation lever 2, and the magnet M is arranged in the circumferential direction. Since it has a disc shape with no directivity, a guide mechanism for regulating the direction of the magnet M is also unnecessary. Therefore, the structure can be simplified and the number of parts can be reduced to reduce the cost.

  Further, according to the lever position detection device 3 of the present embodiment, three shift positions (two in total) of the two shift paths K1 and K2 arranged in an H shape are detected by the six magnetic sensors S1 to S6. In addition, since the two magnetic sensors detect each shift position, the number of sensors can be reduced and the detection device can be made compact. Also, when moving the shift lever along the operation path, any one of the magnetic sensors always faces the magnet, so that an abnormality of the magnetic sensor can be diagnosed in an electric circuit.

  In this embodiment, the lower part of the operating lever 2 and the magnet M are connected by connecting the substantially spherical connecting part 331 provided at the lower part of the operating lever 2 to the connecting hole Ma of the magnet M. Compared with the case where another member is interposed between the magnet 2 and the magnet M, the structure is simplified, so that variation in the relative position between the operation lever 2 and the lever position detection device 3 can be suppressed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the peripheral wall 313 of the casing-like case member 311 is formed of an iron plate as a magnetic material, and the magnet M is movably accommodated in the case member 311. Since the influence of the external electromagnetic wave on S6 can be suppressed, and when the connection between the magnet M and the operation lever 2 is released, the magnet M is attracted to the peripheral wall 313 of the case member 311 which is a magnetic body as shown in FIG. The detection signal is turned off outside the detection range of the sensors S1 to S6, and an erroneous position of the operation lever 2 is prevented from being output, safety can be ensured, and fail-safe can be realized.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various other embodiments can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the six magnetic sensors S1 to S6 that detect magnetism and output a detection signal are described has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and other numbers of magnetic sensors, for example, magnetic sensors. In the case where five magnetic sensors are provided by removing S2 and S4 and providing one sensor at a position symmetrical to the magnetic sensor S6, or for example, as shown in FIG. The present invention can be applied even when S20 is provided.

  In that case, when the operation lever 2 is located at the reverse position, the first sensor S11 and the second sensor S12 sense the magnet M, thereby detecting that the operation lever 2 is at the reverse position. When the operation lever 2 is in the neutral position, the second sensor S12, the third sensor S13, and the fourth sensor S14 sense the magnet M, so that the operation lever 2 is in the neutral position. To detect. When the operation lever 2 is located at the drive position, the fourth sensor S14 and the fifth sensor S15 sense the magnet M to detect that the operation lever 2 is at the drive position. Further, when the operation lever 2 is located at the shift-down position, the sixth sensor S16 and the seventh sensor S17 sense the magnet M to detect that the operation lever 2 is at the shift-down position. Further, when the operating lever 2 is positioned at the home position, the seventh sensor S17, the eighth sensor S18, and the ninth sensor S19 detect the magnet M, thereby confirming that the operating lever 2 is at the home position. To detect. Further, when the operation lever 2 is located at the upshift position, the ninth sensor S19 and the tenth sensor S20 sense the magnet M, thereby detecting that the operation lever 2 is at the upshift position.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the check rod 511 and the connecting lever 33 are provided coaxially in the lower part of the operation lever 2, but they may be provided separately.

2 Operation lever 3 Lever position detection device 311 Case member 331 Connecting portion M Magnet Linking hole Ma
S1 to S6 Magnetic sensor (first to sixth sensors (Hall IC))
S11 to S20 Magnetic sensor (first to tenth sensors (Hall IC))

Claims (3)

In a lever position detection device for an operation lever device that detects the position of an operation lever that can swing along an H-shaped operation path,
A housing-like case member disposed at a lower portion of an operation lever supported at a central portion so as to be swingable; a magnet provided in the case member so as to be movable together with a lower portion of the operation lever;
A plurality of magnetic sensors disposed below the magnet;
The plurality of magnetic sensors includes three magnetic sensors arranged side by side so as to be parallel to the shift path between the two shift paths in the shift direction constituting the H-shaped operation path.
One magnetic sensor arranged on one shift path side across the three magnetic sensors;
Two magnetic sensors arranged side by side so as to be parallel to the shift path on the other shift path side,
The magnet is composed of a single member having a disk shape, and faces at least two magnetic sensors among a plurality of magnetic sensors at each range position;
The three magnetic sensors face the magnet corresponding to three positions in the shift direction, and the one magnetic sensor always faces the magnet when the operation lever is located on one shift path side,
The two magnetic sensors are configured such that the magnet and at least one magnetic sensor face each other at three shift positions in the shift direction when the operation lever is located on the other shift path side. Detection device. Te lever position detecting apparatus odor according to claim 1,
A substantially spherical connecting portion at the bottom of the operating lever;
A linkage hole in which the connecting portion can be linked to the central portion of the magnet;
A lever position detecting device comprising: In the lever position detection device according to claim 1 or 2,
A lever position detecting device, wherein a peripheral wall of the case member is made of a magnetic material.

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