JPH05280621A - Operation device of automatic transmission for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve operation feeling of an operation device provided on an instrument panel. CONSTITUTION:An operation device of an automatic transmission has an operation device main part 12 provided on an instrument panel 2 in the vicinity of a part opposed to a steering wheel, and a shift operation lever 13 projectingly extended from the operation device main part 12 to a vehicle chamber side. The shift operation lever 13 is oscillatably pivoted at its base end around a first shaft member 14 in the operation device main part 12, in the direction of a vehicle width. The lever can be oscillatably operated in substantially vertical and horizontal directions. A force required when the shift operation lever 13 is operated in substantially vertical directions smaller than that when the lever is substantially horizontal direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, and more particularly to an operating device in which an operating feeling of a shift operating lever is appropriately set.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an operating device for an automatic transmission is provided in a center console between the left and right front seats. In this case, however, the space on the floor becomes narrow and it becomes an obstacle, so the operating device is not installed. The technique of providing the ment panel is also known. For example, Jitsuko Sho-60-10
In 911 publication, an operation device is provided on an instrument panel, and a shift operation lever (select lever) thereof is provided so as to be inserted through an upper wall portion of the instrument panel.
An operating device is provided in which the shift operating lever is arranged in a substantially vertical state (inclined slightly backward from the vertical direction), and a shock absorbing mechanism at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle is provided in the middle of the shift operating lever. Have been described. In this operating device, the shift operating lever is provided in a substantially vertical posture, and is configured to operate the shift operating lever in the front-back direction.

[0003]

By the way, in the operating device of the above-mentioned publication, since the shift operating lever is provided so as to be inserted through the upper wall portion of the instrument panel, the distance from the steering wheel to the shift operating lever is large. Therefore, there is a problem that the operability is deteriorated. Therefore,
The instrument panel is equipped with an operating device, and its shift operating lever is placed so that it passes through the upper end of the front wall of the instrument panel facing the passenger compartment, and the distance from the steering wheel to the shift operating lever is maximized. It is also possible to set it small to improve operability. on the other hand,
In the operation device provided on the instrument panel as described above, it is difficult to prevent the erroneous operation of the shift operation lever by setting the lever length of the shift operation lever to be long like the shift operation lever of the floor type operation device. Therefore, it is desirable to prevent the erroneous operation of the shift operating lever by setting a large rotation angle of the shift operating lever.

However, if the rotation angle of the shift operating lever is set to a large value, the ratio of the front-back direction component and the vertical direction component of the operating direction of the shift operating lever fluctuates greatly according to the rotational position of the shift operating lever, and human beings move. Due to the characteristics of the arm, the operating force when operating vertically is much smaller than the operating force when operating in the front-back direction. It makes the driver feel uncomfortable and tends to cause fatigue of the driver's arm, making it impractical. An object of the present invention is to provide an operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, which is an operating device provided on an instrument panel and which can improve the operation feeling of a shift operating lever.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, the operating device main body portion being provided in the vicinity of a portion of the instrument panel facing the steering handle, and the operating device. An operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, comprising: a shift operation lever extending in a protruding manner from a main body portion to a vehicle compartment side; When the shift operation lever is operated in a substantially vertical direction, it is pivotally mounted around a support shaft and is configured to be operated to swing in a substantially vertical position and a substantially horizontal position. The required operation force of is smaller than the required operation force when operating in the approximately front-back direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein a required operating force of the shift operating lever becomes smaller as an operating component of the shift operating lever in a vertical direction increases. It is configured as follows.

[0007]

In the operating device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the operating device main body is provided near a portion of the instrument panel facing the steering handle, and the shift operation lever is protruded from the operating device main body toward the passenger compartment. The shift operation lever is pivotally mounted on its proximal end side so as to be swingable about a vehicle-width-oriented pivot shaft in the operation device main body, and is placed in a substantially vertical position and a substantially horizontal position. Therefore, the required operating force for operating the shift operating lever in the substantially vertical direction is smaller than the required operating force for operating the shift operating lever in the substantially front-back direction. , Even if the rotation angle of the shift operation lever is set to a large value,
The operation feeling can be set uniformly when operating the shift operation lever in the front-rear direction and in the up-down direction.

In the operating device according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the required operating force of the shift operating lever becomes smaller as the operating component of the shift operating lever in the vertical direction increases, the shift operating lever is rotated. The operation feeling can be set uniformly over the entire dynamic operation range.

[0009]

According to the present invention, as described in the above section, the following effects can be obtained. According to the operating device of claim 1, since the required operating force for operating the shift operating lever in the substantially vertical direction is smaller than the required operating force in operating the shift operating lever in the substantially front-back direction, the shift operation is performed. Even if the turning angle of the operating lever is set to a large value, the operating feeling can be set uniformly when operating the shift operating lever in the front-rear direction and in the up-down direction.

According to the second aspect of the operating device, the required operating force of the shift operating lever is reduced as the vertical operating component of the shift operating lever is increased. The operation feeling can be set uniformly over the entire range of the rotation operation.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is a case where the present invention is applied to an operating device for an automatic transmission of an automobile, and the description will be given by defining the front, rear, left and right of the automobile as a reference. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an instrument panel 2 is provided in front of the left and right front seats 1.
An instrument panel frame 3 extending in the vehicle width direction is provided inside, the left and right ends of the instrument panel frame 3 are fixed near upper ends of left and right hinge pillars (not shown), and a meter panel is provided on a right end of an upper end of the instrument panel 2. 4 is provided,
A central bulging portion 5 bulging rearward is provided at a substantially central portion of the instrument panel 2 in the vehicle width direction, and a stearer column 6 extending rearward in a protruding manner on the right side of the central bulging portion 5.
On the right side of the instrument panel 2, there is rotatably provided a steering shaft 7 that extends through the substantially central portion of the steering column 6 and projects toward the driver's seat. The steering handle 8 is fixed, and an operating device 10 for shifting the automatic transmission 9 is provided near the right end of the central bulging portion 5 facing the left end of the steering handle 8, and the operating device 10 is a bracket. It is fixedly supported by the instrument panel frame 3 via the member 11 in an approximately front-rear direction and in a downward slope.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the operating device 10 has an operating device main body 12 disposed in the central bulging portion 5.
And a shift operating lever 13 extending rearward from the operating device main body 12, and the operating device main body 12 includes the shift operating lever 13 around the first shaft member (corresponding to the pivot shaft) 14 and the second shaft member. A lever support mechanism 16 for rotatably supporting around 15 is provided, and an output lever 17 of the lever support mechanism 16 is connected to an input lever 19 of a parking mechanism 60 of the automatic transmission 9 via a push-pull wire 18. The shift range of the automatic transmission 9 is the shift operation lever 13
It is switched according to the rotational operation position around the first shaft member 14.

The shift operating lever 13 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the lever main body 26 is made of a substantially straight rod-shaped member that is oriented in the front-rear direction in a plan view, and the hollow operation knob 27 made of synthetic resin is provided. Is provided in the vicinity of the rear end of the lever main body 26 extending obliquely to the left (on the side opposite to the steering shaft 7 side), and a shock absorbing portion 26a is provided, and the operation knob 27 is provided at the tip of the lever main body 26. The grip portion 27a is located to the left of the lever body 26 (the shock absorbing portion 2
It is mounted in an offset state in the same direction as the bending direction of 6a).

The operation device main body 12 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a support plate 21 is fixed to the rear wall surface of the bracket member 11, and the support plate 2 is provided.
A box-shaped casing 20 having a front end opening that extends rearward is fixed to the casing 1, and a rear wall portion 20a of the casing 20 is formed in a curved shape that bulges toward the steering handle 8 side, and about 2/3 above the rear wall portion 20a. The portion is inclined upward so that the inclination becomes gentler as it goes upward, and a first guide slit 22 having a shape as shown in FIG. 6 is formed at a substantially central portion of the rear wall portion 20a in the vehicle width direction. A panel support member 24 for supporting the decorative panel 23 facing the vehicle compartment is provided on the rear side of the panel 20, and the rear wall portion 24a of the panel support member 24 and the decorative panel 23 are similar to the rear wall portion 20a of the casing 20. It is formed in a curved shape that bulges rearward, and the rear wall portion 24a and the upper approximately two-thirds portion of the decorative panel 23 are inclined upward so that the inclination becomes gentle toward the upper side. 1 guide The the portions facing the slit 22 1
A second guide slit 25 having substantially the same shape as the guide slit 22 is provided, and the lever main body 2 of the shift operation lever 13 is provided.
The reference numeral 6 extends through the guide slits 22 and 25 so as to project rearward from the operating device main body 12. However, the second guide slit 25 is provided to prevent the inner wall of the panel support member 24 from being exposed.

The lever supporting mechanism 16 will be described. As shown in FIGS.
A plate-shaped fixing portion 28a elongated in the front-rear direction, and the fixing portion 28a
The lower end of the rear end of the connecting portion 2 extending in the right direction and having a substantially U-shape in side view
8b is provided, the front half of the lever main body 26 is fixed to the fixed portion 28a, and the first shaft member 14 oriented in the vehicle width direction is provided at the lower portion of the casing 20. A sleeve 29 is rotatably provided on the first shaft member 14, and a bearing portion 29a extending between a pair of upper and lower wall portions 28c of a connecting portion 28b is formed near the right end of the sleeve 29, and the upper and lower wall portions 28c are formed. The second shaft member 15 in which the bearing portion 29a is relatively rotatably inserted
Is pivotally supported, and the spring member 30 is externally fitted to the second shaft member 15 between the upper wall portion 28c and the bearing portion 29a, and the lever support member 28 is moved through the spring member 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. An output lever 17 that is biased and extends in an upwardly inclined manner from an opening 31 formed in the right side wall of the casing 20 is provided at the right end of the sleeve 29, and one end of the push-pull wire 18 is provided at the output lever 17. Is connected to a pin member 32 provided near the front end of the.

The shift operating lever 13 is rotatably supported around the first shaft member 14 and the second shaft member 15, respectively, and as shown in FIG. 6, the shift ranges P, R of the first guide slit 22. It is configured to be movable along the first guide slit 22 at each shift position of N, D, 2, 1, and the middle portion of the lever main body 26 is moved to the left end edge of the first guide slit 22 by the bias of the spring member 30. Pressed and held at a desired shift position, the operation direction of the shift operation lever 13 is substantially in the front-rear direction at the P shift position of the first guide slit 22, as shown in FIG. 1
It is configured to move in the vertical direction as it is operated toward the shift position side, and to be in the substantially vertical direction at one shift position. A neutral lock gate 22a recessed leftward is formed at the N shift position of the first guide slit 22.

The parking mechanism 60 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7 showing a parking state, the other end of the push-pull wire 18 is connected to a connecting fitting 62 fixed to the manual shaft 61, and integrated with the manual shaft 61. A detent portion 63a corresponding to each shift position of P, R, N, D, 2, 1 is formed on the outer edge portion of the rotating manual plate 63, and a ball 64 that engages with one of the plurality of detent portions 63a. Is spring 6
5, when the shift operation lever 13 is switched to the P position, the pin 66a of the parking assist lever 66 engages with the parking engaging groove portion 63c at the end of the circular arc groove 63b of the manual plate 63 to perform parking. The parking rod cam 68 is pulled through the rod 67, and the parking rod cam 68 is pulled to the parking pole 6.
The parking pole 69 is engaged with the parking gear 70 to engage with the parking gear 70 so that the parking pole 69 is brought into the parking state. Although not shown in FIG. 7, a manual valve for switching the oil passage of the hydraulic circuit is provided in the automatic transmission 9 below the manual plate 63, and the manual valve 63 projects downward from the manual plate 63. The manual valve is operated by the pin member
The switching of the oil passage corresponding to the operation position of the shift operation lever 13 is executed.

P, R of the manual plate 63,
The depth of the detent portion 63a formed corresponding to each shift position of N, D, 2, 1 is formed so as to become shallower toward the shift position of 1, and the engaging force between the detent portion 63a and the ball 64 is 1. Is set to be smaller toward the shift position side, and the required operation force of the shift operation lever 13 is set to be smaller toward the 1 shift position side of the first guide slit 22. P, R, N of the shift operation lever 13
The required operating force at each of the D, 2, and 1 shift positions is set to about 10 to 15% of the maximum longitudinal muscular strength (20 to 22 kgw) at the P shift position, for example.
In the shift position of 1, the maximum vertical strength (12 to 1
4kgw), about 10 to 15% of R, N, D,
The second shift position is set to be gradually reduced within the range of the required operating force at the P shift position and the required operating force at the 1 shift position.

As shown in FIG. 5, the operating device 10 is provided with a shift lock device including an electromagnetic actuator 33 for shift lock and a restricting portion 34 extending rightward from the rear end of the fixed portion 28a. , When the shift operation lever 13 is held in the parking range position, even if the ignition key is operated and the engine is driven, unless the brake pedal is depressed, the electromagnetic actuator 33 moves the regulating portion 34 to the right. It is configured to restrict the shift operation from the parking range position to another range and prevent a sudden start of the vehicle.

At a substantially central portion of the panel support member 24,
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a lever insertion space 35 is formed so as to include the second guide slit 25 in a front view, and a pair of front and rear is provided at the left end and the right end near the rear end of the lever insertion space 35. Guide rails 36 are each formed in a curved shape that bulges rearward (toward the vehicle compartment) along the rear wall portion 24a of the panel support member 24, and there is flexibility between the left and right guide rails 36 in the front-back direction. An elongated flat plate-shaped shutter member 37 is guided and supported, a rear end portion of the lever insertion space 35 is closed via the shutter member 37, and an elongated guide hole 37a is formed in the shutter member 37 in the left-right direction. The portion near the rear end is inserted into the guide hole 37a so as to be swingable in the left-right direction, and even if the shift operation lever 13 is operated, the shutter member 37 along with the lever body 26 moves along the guide rail 36. The rear end of the lever insertion space 35 is always held in the closed state. This prevents the inner wall of the panel support member 24 from being exposed through the second guide slit 25.

On the rear end surface of the rear wall portion 20a of the casing 20, a cushioning member 50 made of urethane foam or synthetic rubber having elasticity is attached inside the lever insertion space 35, and the center of the cushioning member 50 is attached. A guide slit 51 having the same shape as the first guide slit 22 through which the lever body 26 is inserted is formed in the portion. By providing the cushioning member 50, it is possible to absorb the impact sound when the lever main body 26 comes into contact with the left end edge of the first guide slit 22 by the spring force of the spring member 30 during a shift operation, and moreover, make up for a frontal collision. It is possible to absorb the impact at the time of the secondary collision of the occupant with the panel 23.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the decorative panel 23 has a panel member 40 made of a semitransparent synthetic resin and a base material 41 provided on the front side of the panel member 40. A light guide space 43 having a rear end opening is formed on the right side of 24, and P, R, N, D of the second guide slit 25 are formed in a portion of the panel member 40 corresponding to the light guide space 43.
P, R, N, D, corresponding to the shift positions of 2 and 1, respectively.
Characters 2 and 1 are printed, and a lamp 44 for illuminating the characters printed on the panel member 40 from the inside is provided in the light guide space 43.

Next, the operation of the operating device 10 will be described. Since the shift operation lever 13 is provided in the vicinity of a portion of the instrument panel 2 facing the left end portion of the steering handle 8 so as to project toward the passenger compartment, the shift operation lever 13 is provided. 8, the steering handle 8 is held by both hands as shown in FIG. 8, and the shift operation lever 13 is operated by the index finger and / or the middle finger of the left hand, or the left hand released from the steering handle 8. Since the shift operation lever 13 can be operated only by extending a little forward, the operability of operating the shift operation lever 13 is excellent.
Since the rotation angle of the shift operating lever 13 is set relatively large (about 90 degrees), the shift operating lever 13
It is possible to prevent erroneous operation. Moreover, since the required operation force of the shift operation lever 13 is set to be smaller toward the 1st shift position side of the first guide slit 22, the operation feeling of the shift operation lever 13 is made substantially uniform at each shift position. Therefore, the operability of the shift operation lever 13 can be improved.

In this embodiment, by changing the depth of the detent portion 63a, the required operating force of the shift operating lever 13 is set stepwise so that it becomes smaller toward the shift position of the first guide slit 22 toward the 1st shift position. However, by using a non-linear spring for the push-pull wire, the required operation force of the shift operation lever 13 may be set to be smoothly reduced toward the shift position of 1. The operation knob 27 may be constructed to have an elastic structure from a base material made of synthetic rubber or urethane foam and a skin covering the base material. In the present embodiment, the operating device 10 and the automatic transmission 9 are mechanically interlocked with each other via the push-pull wire 18, but may be electrically interlocked with each other. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a right-hand drive vehicle, but the present invention can be applied to a left-hand drive vehicle as well.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vicinity of an instrument panel.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an operating device.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of an operating device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the operating device.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a lever support mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a development view of a first guide slit.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a parking mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of relevant parts such as a steering handle and a shift operation lever.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Instrument panel 8 Steering handle 9 Automatic transmission 10 Operating device 12 Operating device main body 13 Shift operating lever 14 First shaft member

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle having an operating device main body provided near a portion of an instrument panel facing a steering handle, and a shift operating lever extending in a protruding manner from the operating device main body toward a passenger compartment. An operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, wherein the shift operating lever is pivotally mounted at a base end side of the operating device main body so as to be swingable around a pivot shaft in a vehicle width direction, and is in a substantially vertical position. And a substantially horizontal position, the required operating force for operating the shift operating lever in a substantially vertical direction is greater than the required operating force for operating in a substantially front-back direction. An operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, which is configured to be small. 2. The operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the required operating force of the shift operating lever decreases as the operating component of the shift operating lever in the vertical direction increases. An operating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle characterized by the above.