JPH0751624Y2 - Reversible shift lever device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a retractable gear shift operation lever device for controlling a transmission of a vehicle.

(Prior Art) In many automobiles, a gear shift operation lever for controlling the transmission is arranged on the side of the driver's seat, but in a narrow garage or a crowded shopping street, the driver often moves from the passenger side. It may be desirable to get on and off, and in this case, the gear shift operation lever is a large obstacle that prevents the driver from moving from the driver's seat to the passenger seat and from the passenger's seat to the driver seat. Therefore, conventionally, a gear shift operation lever is configured to be bendable, and the lever is bent or laid down as needed so that an occupant can easily move between the driver's seat and the passenger seat. No. 121617 is disclosed.

However, in the previously proposed gear shift operation lever device,
An upper lever having an operation knob at its upper end and a lower lever having a link for gear shifting operation near its lower end are formed by a ball joint consisting of a ball member and upper and lower seat members that rotatably support the ball member. It is flexibly connected, and a locking device that locks the upper lever and the lower lever in the normal standing position penetrates the operation knob slidably fitted on the upper lever and the ball member. Through a sliding shaft as a locking member that connects the upper lever and the lower lever in a skewer shape, a spring pin that operatively connects the operation knob and the sliding shaft, a flanged bush, and the spring pin. Since it is composed of a large number of members that require a high degree of processing accuracy and assembly accuracy, such as a spring that biases the sliding shaft toward the locking position, There is a disadvantage that a structure very complex and expensive and. Further, when the upper lever is laid down, it is necessary to grasp the operation knob, pull out and unlock the sliding shaft from the lower lever side, and then push the lever downward. Therefore, the amount of operation required to move the operation knob upward when unlocking is large, and the spring must be compressed by the operation amount of the operation knob, and the sliding shaft and the spring pin must be lifted against friction. However, there is a problem that the required operation force is large, and furthermore, the upward pulling operation of the operation knob and the downward falling operation of the upper lever are in opposite directions.

Further, in a work vehicle such as a backhoe, a work lever having a foldable structure is used, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Sho 62-1103.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57. This operation lever device is related to an upper lever having an operation knob at its upper end, a lower lever rotatably connected to the upper lever by a pivot, and an operating state in which the upper lever and the lower lever are upright in a normal state. The locking device includes a locking member for stopping, an engaging groove cooperating with the locking member, and a spring that elastically biases the locking member toward the engaging groove.

However, with this structure, when the upper lever is toppled, it is necessary to operate with both hands when the locking member is released from the engagement groove against the urging force of the spring and unlocked, and the upper lever is tilted. There is a drawback that a large operating force is required for rotation, and if a dustproof boot that covers the pivot part of the upper lever and the lower lever and the locking device is provided, unlocking operation becomes extremely difficult in practice. Dust-proof boots cannot be provided, which not only impairs the appearance, but also may cause the operation of the rotating and sliding parts to become unsmooth due to the accumulation of dust. There is a problem that the occupant's hands and clothes are easily soiled by the applied lubricating oil.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention solves the drawbacks of the previously proposed tiltable operation lever device, and allows the driver to easily perform a fall or bend operation with one hand operation and a small operation force. In addition, it is possible to smoothly and easily return from the fallen position to the standing position and the operability is good, and the dustproof cover is easy to install, and the operability may be deteriorated by mounting the cover. Further, the present invention aims to provide a lever device of this type which has a simple structure and is inexpensive.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention was devised to achieve the above object, and includes an upper lever and a lower lever that are flexibly connected by a pivot, and an upper portion that extends below the pivot. To engage with a locking groove formed at the lower end of the lever, a collar slidably fitted over the upper portion of the upper lever, and the locking groove provided below the locking groove. A locking device that includes a locking member that prohibits the upper lever from rotating around the pivot, and a member that connects the collar and the locking member, and the locking member that engages with the locking groove. An elastic device for urging upward is provided, and the locking member is disengaged from the locking groove via the connecting member by displacing the collar downward against the urging force of the elastic device. And the upper lever At a side portion of the lower end of the upper lever which is perpendicular to the pivot, the locking member is elastically lowered downward against the biasing force of the elastic device when the upper lever falls down around the pivot. Press,
In addition, when the upper lever is returned from the fall position to the standing position, the guide projection has a substantially circular arc shape that smoothly guides the locking member and engages with the locking groove by the urging force of the elastic device. The invention proposes a tiltable shift operation lever device characterized by being provided with.

(Operation) According to the present invention, the gear shift operation lever is composed of an upper lever and a lower lever flexibly connected by a simple pivot, and normally locks the upper lever and the lower lever in the standing position. The locking device comprises a locking member connected to a collar slidably fitted over the upper lever via a connecting member such as a strut and a locking groove at the lower end of the upper lever, and the locking member is formed by an elastic device. Since the male member is constantly urged to engage with the locking groove, it is structurally very simple. Also, the upper lever can be easily laid down by pushing down the collar slightly to disengage the locking member from the locking groove and pushing the upper lever in substantially the same direction, that is, diagonally downward. Further, since the guide protrusion having a substantially circular arc shape is provided on the side of the lower end of the upper lever, when the upper lever falls, the locking member elastically abuts the guide protrusion by the elastic device and the upper lever is pressed. The locking member is guided with a moderation according to the rotational operation force, and when the upper lever is returned to the standing position, the locking member is guided by the guide protrusion and smoothly guided to the locking groove, and the same engagement is automatically performed. It engages with the groove and is locked.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the figure, reference numeral 10 generally indicates a gear shift operation lever, which is composed of an upper lever 10a and a lower lever 10b that are flexibly connected by a pivot 12. Upper lever 10
A knob 14 is mounted on the upper end of a, and a lock groove 16 having a wedge-shaped cross section is provided on the lower end extending downward from the pivot 12. On the other hand, the lower lever 10b supports both ends of the pivot shaft 12 and also has a U-shaped cross-section lever body 18 for accommodating the lower end portion of the upper lever 10a and a U-shape fixed to the lower end portion of the lever body 18. Support member 20 and an arm 22 for pivotally attaching one end of a speed change rod (not shown) connected to the transmission of the vehicle. The support member 20 is attached to an appropriate vehicle body member such as the floor of the vehicle by an axis 0. -It is pivoted so that it can rotate around 0.

An annular collar or sleeve 24 is fitted on the upper lever 10a so as to be slidable in the vertical direction.
The upper ends of two struts 26 are rotatably connected to each other by rivets 28. Both ends of a pin 30 are supported on the lower end of the strut 26, and a roller 32 is mounted on the pin 30. The roller 32 cooperates with the locking groove 16 in a manner to be described later to form a locking member that prohibits rotation of the upper lever 10a around the pivot shaft 12, and also the collar 24,
The strut 26, the rivet 28, the pin 30, and the roller 32 constitute a locking device that locks or unlocks the upper lever 10a with respect to the lower lever 10b.

A coil spring 34 is contracted in the lever body 18 of the lower lever 10b, and the spring 34 is a spring retainer.
An elastic device for constantly urging the roller 32 upward via the 36 is constructed. Further, a guide projection 38 having an arc shape of a substantially circular center with respect to the pivot 12 is fixed to a side of the lower end of the upper lever 10a in a direction perpendicular to the pivot 12 by a suitable means such as welding. Further, the upper end portion of the dustproof boot 40 for dustproofing and improving the appearance is locked to the collar 24.

In the above structure, during normal use of the gear shift operating lever 10, as shown by the solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2, the roller or locking member 32 is moved by the urging force of the spring 34 so that the upper lever 10a moves. Locking groove 16 provided at the lower end
Since it is fitted inside, the upper lever 10a is prohibited from rotating around the pivot 12, and the upper lever 10a and the lower lever 10b operate as a substantially integrated lever.
Next, when the driver moves from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat side to get on and off, first, the driver holds the collar 24 arranged adjacent to the knob 14 against the spring force of the spring 34 with one hand. When it is pushed downward by more than the depth of the lock groove 16, the roller 32 is pushed downward via the strut 26 and escapes from the lock groove 16 at the lower end of the upper lever. Then, when the driver pushes the upper lever 10a to the left in FIG. 2 with the same one hand as above, the upper lever rotates around the pivot 12 in the counterclockwise direction, and the one-dot chain line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the lower end of the upper lever 10a is bent or laid down in the vehicle width direction so that the lower end of the upper lever 10a has an upper edge 4
Abut 2 and stop. Standing gear shift lever 10
However, by bending as described above, the driving car
Since it is possible to easily move from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat side, and from the passenger's seat side to the driver's seat side, it is extremely convenient when getting on and off from the passenger seat side in a narrow garage or a shopping street. Since the guide protrusion 38 fixed to the outer side of the lower end portion of the upper lever 10a is constantly pressing the roller 32 downward against the urging force of the spring 34 when the upper lever 10a is turned around,
The tilting rotation of the upper lever 10a is smoothly performed with a moderation under the action of the spring biasing force.

Next, with the upper lever 10a lying down as described above,
When returning from the passenger seat side to the normal upright position after shifting in and out, the upper lever 10a
When is rotated about the pivot 12 in the clockwise direction by about 90 degrees, the roller 32, which is constantly urged upward by the spring 34, is displaced along the guide protrusion 38 and automatically enters the lock groove 16. After fitting, the upper lever 10a and the lower lever 10b are integrally connected again, and the shift operation lever 10 is in the upright state. Therefore, the return rotation of the upper lever 10a from the fallen state to the standing state is performed extremely smoothly, and no additional operation other than the rotation operation of the upper lever 10a is required.

Further, as indicated by reference numeral 44 in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the upper lever 10a is properly in the proper position, a warning color marker such as red or vermilion is provided at a position covered by the collar 24. It is desirable to keep. If the driver has not inadvertently returned the upper lever 10a to the proper position, the roller 32 and the locking groove 16 will not fit properly, and thus the strut 26 will be in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Occupying a more lowered intermediate position, the upper end surface of the collar 24 is raised by the marker 44 so that the driver can easily confirm this fact. In addition, this type of incomplete return of the upper lever 10a is likely to occur when the hand at night is dark, so it is more advantageous to apply the marker 44 with fluorescent paint.

In the above-mentioned configuration, the upper lever 10a and the lower lever 10b are flexibly connected by the pivot 12, the locking groove 16 is provided at the lower end of the upper lever 10a, and the locking member 32 of the locking device is locked by the spring 34. Since it has a very simple structure in which it engages with the stop groove 16 and the locking member 32 and the collar 24 are connected by the strut 26 as a connecting member, there is an advantage that it can be manufactured at low cost. Further, since the locking device is unlocked by pushing down the collar 24 by a small distance exceeding the depth of the locking groove 16 against the elastic force of the spring 34, the amount of unlocking operation of the collar 24 is small and the locking is performed. Since a particularly large frictional force does not act upon the unlocking displacement of the member 32, one-handed operation can be performed easily, and moreover, the upper lever 10a can be pushed down smoothly in the substantially same direction, that is, obliquely downward with the same one hand after unlocking. Therefore, the fall operation is excellent, and when returning from the fall position to the standing position, the guide protrusion 38
With the guide action, the upper lever 10a can be automatically locked in the standing position by simply rotating the upper lever 10a to the return position. Therefore, there is an advantage that the return operability is also extremely excellent. In addition, it is easy to attach the dustproof cover 40 using the collar 24, and there is an advantage that the operability of the operation lever 10 is not deteriorated by the attachment of the dustproof cover 40. There is the additional advantage that it can be improved and that malfunctions due to dust buildup on rotating and sliding parts of the device can be prevented and that the hands and clothing of the driver can be prevented from becoming soiled.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
The present invention can be implemented with various changes and modifications within the scope of the claimed invention. As an example, instead of the roller 32,
A rod-shaped member having a cross-sectional shape substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape of the locking groove 16 can be adopted as the engaging member.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the tiltable shift operation lever device according to the present invention is provided with an upper lever and a lower lever that are flexibly connected by a pivot, and a lower end of the upper lever that extends below the pivot. A locking groove formed on the upper lever, a collar slidably fitted over the upper portion of the upper lever, and the collar of the upper lever arranged below the locking groove by engaging with the locking groove. A locking device including a locking member that prohibits rotation around a pivot and a member that connects the collar and the locking member, and is attached upward so as to engage the locking member with the locking groove. An elastic device for urging is provided, and the locking member is disengaged from the locking groove via the connecting member by displacing the collar downward against the urging force of the elastic device. With the other trunk of the upper lever When the upper lever is tilted around the pivot, the side of the pivot perpendicular to the pivot always elastically presses the locking member downward against the biasing force of the elastic device, and When the upper lever is returned from the fall position to the standing position, the guide member having a substantially circular arc shape that smoothly guides the locking member and engages with the locking groove by the urging force of the elastic device is provided. Since it is provided, the operation lever can be tilted or bent, and the operation of returning it to the standing position can be performed smoothly and easily with a small operating force with one hand, so that operability is good, and the structure is simple and inexpensive. Further, there is an advantage that the dustproof cover can be easily attached and the operability is not deteriorated by attaching the cover.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an upper lever from the standing position shown by the solid line in FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion showing a state in which 10a is laid down. 10 …… gear shift operation lever, 10a …… upper lever, 10b …… lower lever, 12 …… spindle, 16 …… lock groove, 24 …… collar,
26: Strut, 30: Pin, 32: Roller (locking member), 34: Spring (elastic device), 38: Guide protrusion, 40: Dust-proof cover.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Takeshi Yamazaki 10 Okuramachi, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Japan Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd. Kawasaki Plant (56) References Showa 61-192318 (JP, U) Sho 62-2384 (JP, U) Actually opened Sho 62-121617 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An upper lever and a lower lever which are flexibly connected by a pivot, a locking groove formed at a lower end of the upper lever extending downward from the pivot, and a slidable upper part of the upper lever. A collar externally fitted to the locking member, a locking member disposed below the locking groove to prevent the upper lever from rotating around the pivot, and the collar and the engaging member. A locking device including a member for connecting the locking member, and an elastic device for urging the locking member upward so as to engage the locking member with the locking groove, and the collar is provided with the elastic device. The locking member is configured to be disengaged from the locking groove via the connecting member by displacing it downward against the force, and a side portion of the lower end portion of the upper lever in a direction perpendicular to the pivot axis. In the upper lever, When the fall lever is turned around, the locking member is elastically pressed downward against the biasing force of the elastic device, and when the upper lever is turned around from the fall position to the standing position, A foldable gear shift operating lever device comprising a guide protrusion having a substantially arc shape that smoothly guides the stopper member and engages with the locking groove by the urging force of the elastic device.