JPH02256522A - Shift indicating device for transmission for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To selection-display the display pattern of a different shift position in a display part and secure a large display division by installing the display part having the display divisions in the number less than the total number of the shift positions, onto an operating means for indicating shift positions. CONSTITUTION:The title shift device 11 is integraly equipped with an operating means 15 which is installed onto the side of a steering column in front of a steering wheel 21 and can be shift-operated in the vertical direction, locking means 45, and a display means 71. The traveling range of a transmission is selected through a push-pull wire by the vertical shift of the operating means 15. The display means 71 has a display board 75 having the display divisions 75a-75d in the less number than the total number of shift positions, and the display patterns (P, R, N, D) in the normal mode and the display patterns (N, D, 2, 1) in the sports mode can be selection-display on the display divisions 75a-75d consisting of the arrangement of a plurality (8X8) of LEDs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a shift instruction device in an automobile transmission, such as an automatic transmission.

(Prior Art) As conventional shift instruction devices, floor control type and column control type are known (
(Refer to Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-25237) Floor control methods have generally been various in the past, and this method is the first.
As shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 19, the shift lever 7201 located beside the driver's seat is selectively moved to the following positions: Park: P1 Reverse: R1 Neutral 2 N1 Drive: D12 Speed Drive = 2.1 Speed Drive = 1 position Perform rotation operation. When a shift instruction to the intended driving range is given in this way, this mechanical instruction is transmitted to the manual lever 7207 of the automatic transmission 205 directly connected to the engine E via the link mechanism 203. The manual lever 7 then drives a valve in the transmission 205 to switch to a designated travel range. shift lever 2
The operating position for 01 is the display section 20 beside the shift lever 201.
This can be visually recognized by position symbols such as P, R, N, D, 2.1, etc. displayed at 9.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 20, the column control type shift lever 215 extends from the steering column that surrounds the shaft of the steering wheel 211 to the outside of this wheel 211, and by rotating the shift lever 215, the intended driving range is determined. It is designed to give instructions for shifting to. Although not shown, a display section for visually confirming the shift position is provided on the instrument panel or the like.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, the display on the display unit 209 etc. is, for example, P,
It has a number of display sections corresponding to R, N, D, and 2.1, and any one of the sections lights up according to the operation of the shift levers 201 and 215. Therefore, one of the many sections has to be confirmed, and that '? ! 41 operations were troublesome.

In addition, the space in which the display section is provided is limited, and the more sections there are, the smaller the area of each section becomes, making it difficult to visually recognize the display and potentially increasing the driver's fatigue level.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a shift instruction device for an automobile transmission that can reduce the number of display sections relative to the number of shift positions and increase the size of each section.

[Structure 1 of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) The means of the present invention for solving the problems described above includes an operating means for instructing a shift position, and a display section for displaying the instructed shift position. a position detector for detecting the shift position instructed by the operating means; The device is equipped with a controller that issues a display switching instruction to the display section based on the position signal from the position detector.

(Function) According to this configuration, the display section of the display section can switch and display display patterns of different shift positions in the same section, so the number of display sections can be reduced, and the display section can be large in a limited space. It becomes possible to secure the following.

(Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shift instruction device 11 of this embodiment integrally includes an operating means 15 capable of moving in the vertical direction, a locking means 45, and a display means 71. Note that the above-mentioned up and down direction refers to the up and down direction that feels operational, and does not necessarily refer to the vertical direction. Up and down in the following explanation,
The same applies to the front and back.

Reference numeral 63 denotes a release button of the locking means 45, which will be described later.
Reference numeral 73 indicates a display section of the display means 71, and 75a to 75d indicate display sections of the display section 73, respectively.The shift position detector 81 and the controller 91 are built into the shift instruction device 11.

The shift instruction device 11 is attached to the aforementioned steering column 225 (FIG. 4) and placed behind the steering wheel 211 at an appropriate distance, and the driver can access the spokes 213 and the wheel rim from the front of the wheel 211. Almost the whole thing through 214? [It is summarized in a compact manner.] Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the vertical movement of the operating means 15 is converted into a reciprocating rotational movement of a manual lever 223 that switches the travel range of the transmission 205 via the push-pull wire 13. .

The shift instruction device 11 will be explained in more detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The operating means 15 includes a base 17 fastened to the steering column 225 and an operating body 21 as described below.

The casing 23, which forms the base of the operating body 21, has a substantially L-shape, and the lower side thereof is arranged horizontally to form a handle 25, and the other side has a slider 27 fixed thereto. As shown in FIG. 5, this slider 27 is provided with a headed rail 29 that extends in the vertical direction and projects toward the base 17, and a rail groove 31 formed in the base 17 fits into this headed rail 29. The rail of the lever is accepted so as to be able to be forged. As a result, the operating body 21 is mounted so that it can be moved vertically in parallel.

A positioning means 35 is provided between the base 17 and the slider 27.

The positioning means 35 includes six notch grooves 37 formed in the vertical direction on the side surface of the base 17, and the slider 27.
The check ball 41 is located on the side and is biased toward the row of notch grooves 37 by a spring 39.
They are formed at the locations corresponding to R, N, D, and 2°1. In this example, the relationship between the above-mentioned positions is determined so that the notch grooves 37 are arranged at equal pitches, and this pitch will hereinafter be referred to as the operation pitch.

Therefore, when the operation body 21 is moved up and down, the check ball 41 is elastically engaged with the notch groove 37 at every operation pitch, and is positioned step by step with a sense of moderation. The sheath tube 13a of the push-pull wire 13 is fixed to the base 17, and the core wire 13b is fixed to the slider 27, so that the vertical operation of the operating body 21 is controlled by the manual lever 223 as described above. transmitted to.

The locking means 45 is constructed as follows.

Referring also to FIG. 6, two rectangular locking grooves 47 corresponding to PlR are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction on the front surface of the base 17 with the aforementioned operation pitch. On the other hand, a socket hole 49 is formed on the rear surface of the slider 27 and has a cross section of approximately the same rectangular shape as the lock groove. When the slider 27 is positioned in P or R by the positioning means 35, the socket hole 49 It is arranged so as to face the lock groove 47. A rectangular detent pin 51 is loosely inserted into the socket hole 49, and the pin 51 is urged toward the lock groove 47 by a spring 53. As a result, the detent bin 51 can be engaged with any one of the lock grooves 47, and at this time the slider 27 is restrained by P or R and is in a locked state.

On the other hand, a through hole 55 having a rectangular cross section is formed in the detent bin 51 in the vertical direction, and an inner surface 55a of the through hole 55 on the side opposite to the base 17 is sloped downward toward the base.

The slider 27 also has a release rod 61 attached to the through hole 5.
It is inserted so that it can be slid towards 5. The release rod 61 has the above-mentioned release button 63 at its lower end, is urged downward by a spring 65, and its lower movable silver is regulated by a stopper pin 67. Further, the cross section of the release rod 61 is rectangular, and the upper end thereof has the above-mentioned sloped inner surface 55a in the through hole 55 of the detent bin 51.
A slope with the same tendency is attached. In the lower moving silver, the sloped upper end portion is inserted into the through hole 55 and comes into contact with the sloped inner surface 55a, and a gap corresponding to the depth of the lock groove 47 is formed on the opposite side. The relationships between these parts are defined as follows.

With this configuration, when the release button 63 is pressed to move the release rod 61 upward, the sloped upper end of the rod 61 drives the detent bin 51 out of the lock groove 47, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. make them leave. As a result, the above-mentioned restriction on P or R is released and the vehicle becomes unlocked. That is, the parallel movement operation of the operating body 21 can be performed while placing one hand on the handle 25 of the casing 23 and the release button 63. Note that the R lock groove 47 has a slope on one side 47a. Therefore, from R to N
, in the operation to the D side, the detent bin 51 overcomes the surface 47a, so the operation can be performed without pressing the release button 63.

Next, the display means 71 will be explained.

The display section 73 described above consists of a display board 75 attached to the front surface of the casing 23 as shown in FIG. 4, and lamps 77 (77a to 77d) arranged behind this display board. As shown in FIG. 7, the display board 75 is divided into four substantially square display sections 75a to 75d arranged vertically. The number of display sections 758-75d is smaller than the total number of shift positions. Each display section has 8×8 LEDs 76 arranged in these display sections. In order to avoid complexity in the drawings, only the LED elements used in this embodiment are represented by small white circles. And the above lamp 7
7a to 77b are arranged one by one corresponding to the display sections 75a to 75d.

On the other hand, a shift position detector 81 is constructed between the base 17 and the slider 27 as follows. That is, on the back surface of the slider 27, six pairs of A contacts 83 are arranged in the vertical direction at the operating pitch, and the slider is moved sequentially from the bottom by the operating pitch to position the positioning means 3.
5 is positioned as described above, the B contact 85 fixed to the base 17 short-circuits the six pairs of A contacts 81 in sequence from below. Therefore, shift positions P, N, R, D, and 2°1 can be sequentially detected using this short-circuit signal.

A controller 91 consisting of a microcomputer is built into the handle 25 of the casing 23.

FIG. 8 is an overall explanatory diagram of the display means 71, with reference numeral 89.
There is a power battery. The basics of this display control are to input the short circuit signal (position signal SA) from the shift position detector 81 to the controller 91, and also input shift positions P, R, N, D as the operating state signal SB.
Normal mode display pattern using only 2,
A switching signal NS is input to the sports mode display pattern which also uses the first shift position.

This switching is performed using a changeover switch or the like. The controller 91 also includes a vehicle speed signal VEL of the vehicle.
, engine rotation signal RPM, brake signal BRK, throttle angle signal THO, throttle fully open signal THF, and ignition key position signal KEY are also input.

When the normal mode is selected, the display board 7
Select the LED elements in the display sections 75a to 75d of No. 5 to display the phase A position symbols (P, R, N, D from the bottom) as shown in FIG. 9(a), and also display the sports mode. When is selected, a display switching instruction signal SC is issued to display the display pattern of the phase B position (N, D, 2.1 from the bottom) as shown in FIG. 9(b). In this way, the display contents are switched according to the driving mode, and the lamp 77 of the corresponding display section is lit in accordance with the position signal SA, thereby brightly displaying the position there.

Note that the signal transmission line 93 for the display switching instruction SC and other necessary parts are sealed against electromagnetic noise to prevent malfunctions.

An example of the contents of the above-mentioned basic control will be explained according to the flow shown in FIG. 10.

This control flow is repeated from when the ignition key position is turned ON, and the controller 91
First, it is determined whether the driving state is in the sports mode (step 81). If the sport mode is selected (YES>, then check whether it is shifted to position D or 2.1, that is, the position is P.
,R.

Confirm that it is not N (step S2), and display the display pattern of the phase B (N, D, 2.1> position) on the display board 75 (step S3). The display is easy to shift when driving.

Next, it is sequentially determined whether the operated shift position is D or 2h11 (steps S4, S6), and if it is D, the lamp 77b of the display section 75b in which that symbol is displayed is turned on (step S5), and the corresponding display is Show partitions.

Similarly, if it is 2, the lamp 77c of that display section is turned on (Step S7), and if it is 1, the lamp 77d is turned on (Step 88). On the other hand, even in sports mode, if the judgment in step $2 is No, that is, if the operated shift position is P, R, or N, the corresponding position must be displayed by lighting. Therefore, the phase A (P.

Switch to the expression pattern of R, N, D) (step S9)
, and connects to step 814, which will be described later.

Further, when the normal mode operation state is selected, the determination in step S1 is No, and then 2 or 1 is selected.
It is determined whether the position has been shifted to (
Step 510). If the result is YES, in other words, the normal mode is selected and the displayed content is in phase A (P).

Even if the mode is R, N, D), if the gear is shifted to 2 or 1, it is assumed that the mode will shift to sport mode driving, and the display content is switched to phase B (N, D, 2.1) (step 511). , 2 or 1 in connection with step S6
is displayed (steps 87 and 88).

Further, if the determination in step S10 is No, it is assumed that normal mode operation will continue, and phase A (P
. , 77b, or 77a (step 816.817, S18.519). Therefore, the display is easy to operate for a driver who uses only D and does not use 1 and 2 when driving.

In both the display patterns of Phase A and Phase B, the operating direction of the operating body 21 and the moving direction of the display are upside down, which stabilizes the lighting position as seen from the driver and improves visibility. In this case, six displays are displayed using four display sections, so even if the operating body 21 is downsized, it is possible to display a large display.
Moreover, it can be visually recognized in a short time.

Further, the driver can operate the operating body 21 as described above simply by moving one hand from the steering wheel 211 to the handle 25 immediately in front of the steering wheel 211. Furthermore, by simply shifting your line of sight slightly toward the spoke 213 side of the steering wheel 211, you can see the position symbol on the display section 73 at a short viewing distance, and at this time, only the area where the corresponding position symbol is displayed is brightly illuminated, making it easy to see. This can be done more clearly and in a shorter time. In addition, the visibility of the display section 73 is almost the same as the visibility of meters, and visibility is improved. Even if the operating body 21 is made large to some extent, it will not interfere with switches such as radio switches. Therefore, the display section 73 can be provided on the operating body 21, and the display section 73 can be viewed while operating the operating body 21, thereby significantly improving operability. Therefore, the shift operation becomes extremely easy, and the degree of fatigue is significantly reduced. moreover,
When the operating body 21 is operated by rotating around the steering column, the operating body 21 becomes tilted depending on the operating position, resulting in an unstable posture. However, in this embodiment, the operating body 21 is operated by vertically moving in parallel. Therefore, the posture of the operating body 21 is stable regardless of the operating position, and visibility can be performed without any hindrance even in a narrow range inside the wheel rim 214 of the steering wheel 211.

In the embodiment, the movement of the operating body is mechanically transmitted to the manual lever 7223 of the transmission via the push-pull wire 13, but for example, the position signal SA
may be processed by the controller 91 to output a shift instruction signal, and this signal may drive an actuator to switch the travel range of the transmission. If such an electric control drive method is adopted, the operating force of the operating body 21 is reduced, and its operability is further improved.

Further, in the embodiment, the operating body 21 is slidably moved up and down, but it is also possible to configure it to be rotatable.

Furthermore, the controller 91 may be installed outside the operating body 21.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

The shift instruction device 121 of this embodiment is also arranged in substantially the same manner as in FIG. 1, and is constructed using a base 125 fixed to a pedestal 123 attached to the steering column.

The operating body 133 of the operating means 131 includes a casing 137 in which a handle 135 is formed, a support block 139 integrated with the casing, and a pair of parallel links 141a and 141b connecting the support block 139 and the base 125.
It is equipped with One end of each link 141a, 141b is connected to the support block 139 through a pin 143 so as to be able to rotate relative to the support block 139 in the vertical direction, and the other end is connected to the base 139 through a ball-shaped pivot 145.
It is supported by 5. Therefore, the operating body 133 is movable in the up-down direction and the front-back direction.

An arm 147 extends from the other end of the link 141a, and a locking means 151 is constructed between this arm and the base 125 as follows. That is,
An arcuate surface 153 is formed in the base 125 and is curved in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction around the pivot 145.
A check ball 157 is disposed at the mouth of a blind hole 155 opened at the free end of the arm 147, and this check ball is urged toward the arcuate surface 153 by a spring 159. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the arcuate surface 153 has a lock groove 161 and a notch groove 163 arranged in series. When the operating body 133 is pulled toward the user in the direction of arrow E, the arm 147 rotates together with the link 141a, so that the check ball 157 can engage with the notch groove 163.

The lock groove 161 is configured as shown in FIG. 13, and has shift positions P, R, and N in order from the bottom.

D, parts corresponding to 2.1 are provided, and when the check ball 157 falls into these lock grooves, the link 1
Rotation of 41a is restricted and becomes locked. However, in the example, R→N, N4:! D.

In order not to restrict the operation of Dd2.1→2 (the arrow indicates the operation in that direction), a radius 161a is added to the side wall of the lock groove at these necessary locations so that the check ball 157 can climb over and hang there. be. In other operations, such as PgR, the check ball 157 is restricted so that it cannot be operated.

The notched groove 163 is formed, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, and its side walls are formed gently so that the check ball 157 can move over them. Therefore, as described above, when the operating body 133 is pulled toward the front (arrow F in FIG. 12), the operating body 133 enters the unloading state, and each time the check ball 157 falls into the notch groove 163, the operating body 133 is positioned and the vertical movement operation is performed. You can do it freely.

Furthermore, the shift position detector 167 in the display means 165 of this embodiment is constructed as follows. That is, a fan-shaped plate 169 is connected to the base 125 side of the other link 141b, and six pairs of A contacts 171 are fixed to this fan-shaped plate around the pivot 145. As the operating body 133 is positioned as described above and operated one operation pitch at a time, the B contact 173 provided on the base 125 contacts the corresponding pair of A contacts 171 to transmit the position signal SA. It is supposed to be done.

Further, the support block 139 includes the display section 73 used in the first embodiment, and the controller 91 is built into the handle 135. Therefore, this display means operates in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Further, the position signal SA is converted into a shift support signal and used for the electric control drive system described above.

In this second embodiment, since the operating body 133 is supported by simple parallel links 141a and 141b, frictional resistance is extremely small, and unlocking and shifting operations can be performed simply by operating the handle 135, which improves operability. will improve further.

Another embodiment of the display means will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17.

The display section 183 of this display means 181 has one display section 1.
85, and its display board has 8x8 LEDs.
Elements 187 are arranged, and one lamp 189 is arranged behind the display board.

The display section 183 is the operating body 21 of the first embodiment. Alternatively, the shift position detector 81 or 16 is arranged on the front surface of the operating body 133 in the second embodiment.
The position signal SA from 7 is input to the controller 191. Then, this controller 191 issues a display switching instruction SC- according to the type of position signal @SA,
As a result, position symbols P, R, N, D, 2.1 as shown in FIG. 17 are switched and displayed in the display section 185,
When this switching operation is completed, the lamp 189 is turned on to brightly display the position.

According to this embodiment, the display section 183 can be made sufficiently large, and there is only one display, making it easier to visually recognize it.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the configuration of the present invention, even if there are a large number of shift positions, the number of sections on the display section can be reduced. J2 recognition becomes easier. Furthermore, since a large display section can be constructed in a limited space, it can be easily viewed. Therefore, the present invention has the effect of significantly reducing the operational burden on the driver.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 10 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a front view of the main part of the driver's seat of an automobile equipped with the shift instruction device of this embodiment, and FIG. An explanatory diagram of the linkage mechanism between the indicating device and the transmission, Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of the operating means, Fig. 4 is a side view taken along the rV-IV arrow in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is the Fig. 3 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the Vl-Vl arrow in FIG. 3, FIG. 7 is a front view of the main part seen in the FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway front view of a shift instruction device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
Figures 3 and 14 are enlarged views of the main parts of Figure 11, respectively.
15 to 17 show other embodiments of the display means, FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration, and FIG.
The figure is a front view of an operating body equipped with this display means, FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the display state of the display section, and FIG. 18 is a front view of the main part of the driver's seat of an automobile equipped with a conventional shift instruction device.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a linkage mechanism between this shift device and a transmission, and FIG. 20 is a front view of the main part of a driver's seat of an automobile equipped with another conventional shift instruction device. 11.121...Shift instruction device 15.131...Operation means 73.183...Display sections 75a to 75d, 185-...Display section 81.16
7...Shift position detector 91.191...Controller 131...Operation means

Claims (1)

[Claims] The apparatus includes an operating means for instructing a shift position, and a display section for displaying the instructed shift position, the display section having a number of sections smaller than the total number of shift positions, and for switching a shift position display pattern. A shift gear for an automobile, which includes a position detector that has a display function and detects a shift position instructed by an operating means, and a controller that issues a display switching instruction to a display section based on a position signal from the position detector. Machine shift instruction device.