JPS62245415A - Collapsible shift lever device for automatic transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a shift lever to be turned down, and to improve operability for the turning down of the shift lever, by moving a stopper release knob along a circular arc groove formed on the side wall of a cover member. CONSTITUTION:By moving a stopper releasing knob 89 along circular arc grooves 79 and 89 against a return spring 87, a slide stopper 80 is turned centering an turning axis 77, and turning down guide grooves 76 and 96 are released and an upper lever part 20 can be turned down to an assistant sat side along the turning down guide grooves 76 and 96. Furthermore, since the stopper releasing knob is provided on the side wall of cover members 70 and 90, no obstruction, such as a protruding projection, etc., is present on the upper wall of the cover members 70 and 90, and the movement from a seat to another can be easily and safely attained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a foldable shift lever device for automatic transmissions, and more specifically, to a foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission, and more specifically, a shift lever device for a floor shift type of an automobile etc. that can be bent at a predetermined position. This invention relates to a foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission configured as follows.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, shift levers of automatic transmissions in automobiles, etc.
A so-called floor shift type shift lever, in which the shift lever is disposed on the vehicle floor between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat, has become popular. A shift lever that stands upright from the floor of the vehicle inside the vehicle is used to switch gears of the automatic transmission via a remote control link system (control cable, etc.).

In automobiles equipped with this floor shift type shift lever, the driver often gets in and out of the vehicle from the passenger seat in places where parking spaces are narrow or where traffic is heavy. In this case, when moving from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat, or from the passenger's seat to the driver's seat, the shift lever, which stands upright from the vehicle floor, becomes a protrusion that gets in the way, making it difficult to move from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat.

Therefore, the shift lever conventionally installed on the vehicle floor was divided into upper and lower halves, and the two were connected with a bin to make the shift lever bendable. A type shift lever device (for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-32887) has been proposed.

However, in the conventionally proposed foldable shift lever device for automatic transmissions, when moving the seat, the shift lever is moved in the direction of gear change operation (vehicle longitudinal direction).
It is designed to be folded down and folded down. Moreover, no means is taken to restrict the bending operation position of the shift lever.

Therefore, when the shift lever is bent toward the front of the vehicle and laid down, the tilted shift lever tends to get in the way, especially in cab-over type vehicles.

In addition, if the shift lever is bent toward the rear of the vehicle and laid down, it tends to interfere with the parking brake lever, the shift lever cannot be tilted down to a sufficiently low position, and the shift lever tends to get in the way. In such cases, the folded portion may be exposed and become protruding, and clothing may be caught on the folded portion when moving the seat within the vehicle interior.

Moreover, if you bend the shift lever in the neutral position with the engine running while the vehicle is stopped and accidentally touch the shift lever when moving from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat, the transmission will inadvertently shift into the drive range. There are concerns that there is a risk of the shift.

Furthermore, due to its bending structure, the upper lever part on the shift knob side is pushed down along the 3-shaped pin groove formed in the lower lever part partially against the spring, and then the upper lever part is pushed down in this state around the axis. It is designed to be rotated, pulled up by a spring, and then folded down by bending the upper lever part.

Therefore, since the shift lever is located below the side of the driver's seat, there is a problem in that it is difficult to bend the shift lever in a normal driving position.

Therefore, the applicant first developed a cover that is fixed to the vehicle floor side and covers the bent portion of the shift lever, and has a cover that is bent to allow the upper lever portion to be bent in one direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of shift operation only in the parking range. We proposed a foldable shift lever device for automatic transmissions with a guide groove exposed to the outside for visual inspection (Utility Application No. 60-0913).
No. 85).

In this foldable shift lever device for automatic transmission,
The folded shift lever does not get in the way when moving the seat.
It is extremely easy to move a seat in a vehicle, and even if a part of the body accidentally touches a shift lever when moving the seat, the transmission will not be activated inadvertently, making it safe. Also,
Excellent performance was obtained, including good shift lever bending operability.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the above-mentioned folding shift lever device for an automatic transmission having the configuration of the prior application, a stopper is provided that blocks the bending guide groove and prevents the upper lever portion from bending, but due to the structure of the stopper mechanism, The stopper release knob is arranged on the earthen wall of the cover close to the bending guide groove.

Therefore, when the driver moves to his seat by tilting down the shift lever, there is a risk that his feet or clothes may get caught on the stopper release knob protruding from the upper wall of the cover.

Furthermore, depending on the driver's posture, the shift lever may get in the way and make it difficult to operate the stopper release knob.

Therefore, it has been desired to improve the stopper mechanism including the position of the stopper release knob.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to further improve seat mobility and safety during movement while maintaining the above-mentioned good folding operability.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, the present invention adopts the following configuration as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

That is, the present invention provides the above-mentioned folding shift lever device for an automatic transmission, in which a slide stopper for blocking the bending guide groove formed in the cover member is blocked by a return spring on a rotating shaft provided on a side wall of the cover member. The knob mounting shaft, which is biased in position and fixed to the outer peripheral edge of the slide stopper, is passed through an arcuate groove formed in the side wall of the cover member, and a stopper release knob is fixed to the tip of the knob mounting shaft. do.

Specifically, taking Figures 1 to 4 as examples,
A foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission has a shift lever (10) disposed between a driver's seat and a passenger's seat, an upper lever part (20) on the shift knob (21) side and a lower lever part on the transmission side. (30) and two lever parts (20,
30) are foldably connected by a joint means (40).

The cover member (70, 90) attached to the fixed member and covering the bent portion of the shift lever has a detent groove (73, 93) on which the upper lever part (20) contacts and slides.
is formed, and a bending guide a (76, 96) extending toward the passenger seat is formed continuously from the barking range groove (75, 95) in the detent groove.

Furthermore, a slide stopper (80) that blocks the bending guide a (76, 96) is attached to the side wall (70a) of the cover member.
) A return spring (8
7), it is attached and biased to the cutoff position. Then, the knob mounting shaft (82) fixed to the outer peripheral edge of the slide stopper (80) passes through the arcuate grooves (79, 99) formed in the side wall of the cover member, and the stopper release knob (89) is fixed to the tip thereof. has been done.

[For production]

According to the above-mentioned means, in a shift position other than the barking range, the upper lever part (
20) and the bending guide a (76, 96) formed on the cover member (70, 90) do not match, and the shift lever (
lO) cannot be bent.

Then, when the shift lever (10) is shifted to the barking range, the upper lever part (2o) and the bending guide grooves (76, 96) formed in the cover member align, and the shift lever (10) is in the bendable position. Become. However, the upper lever part (
20) is prevented from being bent.

Therefore, when the stopper release knob (89) is moved along the arcuate grooves (79, 89) against the return spring (87), the slide stopper (8o) is moved against the rotation shaft (7).
Rotate around 7) and bend the guide grooves (76, 96).
is released, and the upper lever part (2o) can be bent and tilted toward the passenger seat along the guide grooves (76, 96).

With the shift lever in the tilted state, the driver's seat is moved, that is, from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat, or from the passenger's seat to the driver's seat.

In addition, contrary to the above, the shift lever (1o) is returned to its original state by placing the upper lever portion (2o) in an upright state along the bending guide grooves (76, 96) of the cover member.

In this way, the shift lever (10) can be bent only when the shift lever (10) is shifted to the parking range. Further, the bending direction is regulated toward the passenger seat side by a bending guide 111 (76, 96) formed on the cover member.

Moreover, the stopper release knob (80) is connected to the cover member (70).
・Because it is provided on the side of the cover member (70),
There are no obstacles such as protrusions on the 0.90) earthen wall, making it easy and safe to move the seat.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4 show a foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
Figure 14 shows the detent plate, which is the component part.
The slide stopper, dust cover, and slide cover are shown respectively.

The foldable shift lever device can be broadly classified into shift lever 10.
, a torsion spring 50 attached to the shift lever 10, a lower bracket 60 that supports the shift lever 10, a detent plate 70 that regulates the shift position of the shift lever IO, a slide stopper 80 that prevents bending of the shift lever 1O, and covers the detent mechanism. It is comprised of a dust cover 90, a slide cover 100 that displays the gear shift position, a dust boot 110, and the like.

In these figures, 10 indicates the entire shift lever, which is disposed substantially upright between a driver's seat and a passenger seat (not shown). The shift lever 10 is divided into two parts: an upper lever part 20 on the side of the shift knob 21 and a lower lever part 30 on the side of the transmission, both of which are foldably connected by a coupling means 40.

That is, a pipe-shaped rotating shaft 22 is welded to the lower end of the upper lever portion 20, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the lower lever portion 30 is composed of a fork-shaped shift lever support 31 and a pipe-shaped rotating shaft 32, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the two are integrated by welding. A bolt 41 passes through a hole formed in the support 31 and is fastened with a nut 42 via a spring washer. The pipe-shaped rotating shaft 22 of the upper lever portion is arranged concentrically on the outer periphery of the bolt 41 via a collar 43 and a pair of resin flanged bushes 44 . Z-Z
It is coupled to be rotatable in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) in the paper of FIG. 3 about the center.

Further, a torsion spring 50 is wound around the outer periphery of the pipe-shaped rotating shaft 22, and its protruding intermediate portion 51 and both end portions 52, 52 are connected to the upper lever portion 22, respectively.
0 and the support 31 of the lower lever part.

The torsion spring 50 biases the upper lever portion 20 in the right direction (shift lever bending direction) in the paper of FIG.

Reference numeral 60 denotes a lower bracket, which is integrally fixed to a chassis-frame cross member on the vehicle frame side (not shown) with a plurality of bolts and nuts together with a cable bracket 61 fastened to the lower surface thereof with a plurality of bolts and nuts. There is.

The lower bracket 60 supports the shift lever 10 rotatably in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a shift lever retainer 62 having a pair of left and right upright portions 62a is integrally fixed to the upper surface of the lower bracket 60 by welding. A detent plate 7 for regulating the shift position of the shift lever 10 is provided on the outside of the pair of upright portions 62a, 62a.
0 are arranged, and one bolt 63 is passed through these holes and fastened with a nut 64 via a spring washer. Further, the pipe-shaped rotating shaft 32 of the lower lever portion 30 is concentrically attached to the outer periphery of the bolt 63 located inside the pair of upright portions 62a, 62a via a collar 65 and a pair of resin flanged bushes 66, 66. It is arranged in a shape. As a result, the shift lever 10 is rotatably supported in the left-right direction (vehicle longitudinal direction) in the plane of FIG. 2 about the axis XX of the bolt 63. The shift position of the shift lever 10 is from the front of the vehicle to the parking range (P
range), reverse range (R range), neutral range (N range), drive range (D range), third range (3 range), second range (2 range)
and low range (L range).

Further, an upper bevel gear 3 is attached to the pipe-shaped rotating shaft 32.
3 is fixed by means such as welding, caulking, press-fitting, etc.

The lower bevel gear 34 that meshes with the upper bevel gear 33 is connected to the horizontal base 62b of the shift lever retainer 62.
The pin shaft 67 is rotatably mounted by a nut 35 via a plate washer and a spring washer on a pin shaft 67 which is fitted into a hole and welded. Lower bevel gear 34
A control lever 36 is welded to and is rotatable about the axis Y-Y of a four-pin shaft 67. 3
7 and 37 are resin flanged bushes interposed between the pin shaft 67 and the lower bevel gear 34. Further, a pin 38 is fixed to the tip of the control lever 36, and the end of the control cable is fitted into the pin 38 via a rubber bush (not shown). As a result, the rotational movement of the shift lever 10 around the axis X-x is converted into the rotational movement around the axis Y-Y of the control lever 36 by the pair of bevel gears 33 and 34, and the control cable is further reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The automatic transmission is configured to be operated to switch the automatic transmission to a predetermined gear position. Note that the dashed dotted line C in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 indicates the central axis of the control cable.

The detent plate 70 has a pair of holes 71 formed in the vehicle width direction side walls 70a and 70a as shown in FIGS.
- By the bolt 63 passing through 71 and the bolt 69 passing through a hole 72 formed in the vehicle front wall 70C and fastened to a nut 68 welded to the front upright part 62c of the shift lever retainer 62 shown in FIG. installed.

The earth wall 70b of the detent plate 70 has a pair of holes 71.
The upper wall 70a has a shift lever for regulating the shift position of the shift lever 10, as shown in FIG. A step-shaped detent groove 73 extending in the direction) is formed. The above-mentioned upper lever portion 2o is attached to the end surface 73a of the detent groove 73 on the passenger seat side.
・It is pressed by the spring force of the spring 50. End surface 73a of this detent groove 73
R range, N range, D range, 3 range, 2
At the range and L range positions, an arcuate groove 731 corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the upper lever portion 2o is provided in order to give a sense of moderation to the shift operation of the shift lever 10 and prevent erroneous operation.
73.・73°・73. - 73□ and 73L are formed respectively. In this way, N range, D range and 3 ranges are obtained on the same surface, and R range and 2 ranges are obtained on the same surface.
The range is the position where the shift lever 10 is operated around the axis Z-Z toward the driver's seat (upper part of Figure 1), and the P range and L range are the position where the shift lever IO is similarly operated further towards the driver's seat. It can be obtained by doing.

Further, the detent groove 73 in the upper lever portion 20
Each stepped portion 74. of the detent groove is in contact with the portion of the detent groove.・7
4.・74N ・743 ・74□ and 74L
A parallel width across flats 23 is formed for abutting against and accurately setting the shift operation position. The width W2 of the P range groove 75 in the detent groove 73 is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the upper lever portion 20 shown in FIG. 2, and slightly larger than the width W between the width across flats 23. ing.

Furthermore, the detent plate 70 has its P range groove 7.
5, the bending guide groove 76 extends to the passenger seat side.
(hereinafter referred to as guide groove 76) is formed.

This guide groove 76 is substantially perpendicular to the shift lever speed change operation direction, and an axis A obtained by extending its center line extends in a direction passing through the axis X-X, and the front surface of the vehicle is located at the step of the P range groove 75. The upper lever part 2 shown in FIG.
0, and the width W4 at its lower end is approximately the same as the width W2 of the P range groove 75.
The dimensions are set. In addition, the detent plate 70
On the side wall 70a on the passenger seat side, on the inner peripheral side closer to the axis XX, there are a bin 77 that forms the rotation axis of a slide stopper, which will be described later, and a bin 78, in which one end of a return spring of the slide stopper, which will be described later, is locked. They are press-fitted parallel to the axis XX and integrally fixed by welding.

Further, an arcuate groove 79 centered on the axis 0-o of the bin 77 is formed on the outer circumferential side thereof, to which a release knob of a slide stopper, which will be described later, is attached.

And the bin 77 that forms the rotation axis of the slide stopper
The rotational center axis O-o is located on the axis vAA connecting the speed change operation rotational center axis XX of the shift lever 10 and the centerline of the guide groove 76.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the slide stopper 80 has a section on the outer peripheral edge of a side wall 80a that blocks the guide groove 76 and has an upper wall 80b bent at a right angle that contacts the upper lever portion 20. It has a circuit shape,
A pipe-shaped rotating shaft 81, which is fitted into the pin 77, is integrally welded to the lower end thereof. The outer circumferential surface 80d of the upper wall 80b is aligned with the central axis (axis 0-
The inner circumferential surface 7 of the upper wall 70b of the detent plate 70 has a curved shape centered at 0).
It is designed to slide along 0d. Further, the side wall 80a of the slide stopper 80 has a knob mounting shaft 82 on its outer peripheral edge that fits into the arcuate groove 79 of the detent plate, and a pin 83 on its inner peripheral edge to which one end of a return spring to be described later is locked. , respectively, the above axis O-
It is press-fitted parallel to the 0 and fixed integrally by welding. Note that the front end surface (left end surface in FIG. 9) 80C of the slide stopper 80 is formed as an inclined surface forming an angle θ with respect to a plane B connecting the axis 0-0 and the front end surface of the upper wall 80b.

As shown in FIG. 3, this slide stopper 80 has a pipe-shaped rotating shaft 81 connected to a pin 77 provided on the side wall 70a of the detent plate, and a pair of resin flanged bushes 84 and 8.
4, the axis of the pin 77 O-O
A snap ring 86 is rotatably supported around the center and is fitted into an annular groove of the pin 77 via a spacer 85.
is held axially by The rotation angle of the slide stopper 80 is regulated within a certain range of angles by the abutting relationship between the knob mounting shaft 82 and the arcuate groove 79 of the detent plate.

87 is a return spring (
The intermediate portion thereof is wound around a pipe-shaped rotating shaft 81, and both ends thereof are respectively engaged with a pin 78 of a detent plate and a pin 83 of a slide stopper. This return spring 87 is designed so that the slide stopper 80 is connected to the guide groove 76 so that the shift lever 1O does not fall down even when it is in the P range.
is biased in the direction of blocking it. That is, the slide stopper 80 is biased to the left in the paper of FIG.
2 in the position shown in FIG. In this way, the slide stopper 80 that blocks the guide groove 76 is
During normal operation, it prevents the shift lever 10 from being bent and functions as a part of the detent plate 70. At the same time, the outer peripheral surface 80d of the slide stopper is aligned with the inner peripheral surface 70d of the detent plate to close the guide groove 76 to ensure sealing performance. A plate washer 88 is fitted onto the knob mounting shaft 82 and interposed between the detent plate 7o and the slide stopper 80.

Note that FIG. 3 is partially cut away along a plane including the knob attachment shaft 82 so that the attachment relationship of the slide stopper 8o and the stopper release knob can be easily understood.

The dust cover 90 has a box shape that covers the detent mechanism described above, and is made of a resin material. The dust cover 90 includes the detent groove 73 (P range groove 75), the guide groove 76, and the circular arc groove 7 of the detent plate 70, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13.
9, a detent groove 93 (P range groove 95), a guide groove 96, and an arcuate groove 99 (FIG. 4) are provided. The upper wall 90b of the dust cover 90 has a curved shape centered on the axis XX, similar to the detent plate 70, and a pair of parallel protrusions 91, 91 along the curved shape are formed on the inner surface 90d. The two protrusions 91, 91 shown in FIG.
0 (FIGS. 2 and 3), and this dust cover 90 has its left and right side walls 90a and 90a.
It is attached to the detent plate 70 with four screws 94 tightened into holes 92 formed in the. In addition, the arc groove 7
A stopper release knob 89 made of resin is screwed onto the tip of the knob attachment shaft 82 that protrudes through the holes 9 and 99.

98 is fitted to the knob mounting shaft 82 and is attached to the detent plate 7.
This is a plate washer interposed between the dust cover 90 and the dust cover 90. Note that the lower inner circumferential surface 90 of this dust cover 90
c is formed as an inclined surface (draft angle during injection molding) from the viewpoint of sealability and assemblability with the dust boot 110 described later.

The slide cover 100 has a detent plate upper wall 70
The outer circumferential surface 70e of b and the inner circumferential surface 9 of the dust cover upper wall 9ob
It slides along 0d along with the shift lever 10, displays the gear shift position, and has the function of covering and sealing the guide groove 76 in modes other than the P range. This slide cover 100 has a flexible, ultra-thin plate shape made of resin material, and fits with the width across flats 23 of the upper lever portion, and allows the upper lever portion 20 to be bent. A cutout groove 101 is formed in the end surface (lower surface in the figure) on the passenger seat side shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG.
and a rubber seal portion 114 that is fitted and attached to an outer circumferential groove 113 formed in the base portion 112. The base 112 has three screws 115 shown in FIG.
nut 116 (fourth) welded to the lower bracket 60
It is attached to the lower bracket 60 in advance by fastening it to the lower bracket 60 (FIG.). Then, the upper outer circumferential surface of the base 112 is tightly fitted into the inner circumferential surface 90c of the dust cover, thereby sealing the space between them. Although the dust boot 110 is shown in a free state in FIGS. 2 and 4, when it is actually mounted on a vehicle, the seal portion 114 is pushed down by the vehicle floor F shown by the imaginary line in FIG. , the edge 117 of the seal portion 114 seals between the vehicle floors F. The dust cover 110 is installed between the lower bracket 60, the dust cover 90, and the vehicle floor F, and prevents water, mud, dust, etc. from entering the vehicle interior, and also blocks noise from outside the vehicle interior.

In the foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission configured as described above, the shift lever 10 is operated around the axis 2-2 along the detent groove 73 of the detent plate 70, and also around the axis XX. Manipulate. As a result, the control lever 36 is rotated around the axis Y-Y via the pair of bevel gears 33 and 34, and the control cable (not shown) is reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, thereby controlling the automatic transmission (not shown). Operate the manual valve lever to switch to the specified gear.

At shift positions other than the P range, the upper lever portion 20 and the guide groove 76 formed in the detent plate do not match, and the shift lever 10 cannot be bent. When the shift lever 10 is shifted to the P range, the upper lever part 20 tries to fall down due to the spring force of the torsion spring 50, but it comes into contact with the slide stopper 80 in the guide groove 76 and stops at that position, preventing bending. be done. At this time, the load applied by the torsion spring 50 in the direction of tilting the upper lever portion 20 is received by the detent plate 70 mainly through the plate washer 88 fitted to the knob mounting shaft 82.

When bending and tilting the shift lever 10, the operation is as follows.

First, shift lever 10 to P range. In this shift position, the guide groove 76 provided in the upper part 20 of the shift lever and the detent plate 70
The shift lever is in the bendable position. However, the shift lever bending operation is performed using the slide stopper 80.
It is blocked by.

Next, the stopper release knob 89 provided on the side surface of the dust cover 90 is moved clockwise (in the direction of arrow G) in FIG. 4 along the arcuate groove 79 while resisting the return spring 87. Then, the slide stopper 80 also moves to axis 0 at the same time.
-0 to release the guide groove 76.

When the slide stopper 80 is unlocked, the upper lever part 20 is subjected to a force in the direction of inclination by the torsion spring 50, so that it falls down naturally at the same time as the slide stopper 80 completes its movement, and the lower end surface of the guide groove 76 It comes into contact with and stops.

When the shift lever is tilted down, the outer diameter portion of the upper lever portion 20 passes through the groove width W1 portion of the guide groove 76, and then the width across flats 23 of the upper lever portion passes through the guide groove 76.
It engages with the groove width W4 portion.

Therefore, even when the shift lever is in the tilted state, the upper lever portion 20 is held within the guide groove 76 with a slight gap. Therefore, even if the shift lever is tilted down with the engine running, the rattling noise between the two will hardly be a problem.

When the upper lever part 20 falls, the slide stopper 80 rotates about the axis O-0 by the action of the return spring 87 and returns to the original state shown in FIG. 2 in which the guide groove 76 is closed. When the shift lever 10 is in the tilted state, the upper lever portion 20 is roughly held by the guide groove 76 of the detent plate and the inclined surface 80c of the slide stopper, and is further biased by the return spring 87 of the slide stopper to move the upper lever portion 20. Hold securely.

Then, with the shift lever in the tilted state, the driver's seat is moved, that is, from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat, or from the passenger's seat to the driver's seat.

Next, return the shift lever 10 to its original state (regular P range).
To return to , proceed as follows.

That is, without operating the stopper release knob 89, the fallen upper lever portion 20 is moved along the guide groove 76 of the detent plate around the axis Z-Z while resisting the torsion spring 50. Then, the upper lever part 2
0, the slide stopper 80 also moves to the inclined surface 80c.
rotates around the axis O-0 and releases the guide groove 76.

Then, at the same time as the upper lever part 20 passes, the return spring 87 automatically returns to the original position of blocking the guide groove 76 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Therefore, from now on, the shift lever 10 is moved by the slide stopper 80.
is held securely in its normal upright position. Note that a tension spring may be used as the spring for pressing the upper lever portion 20 against the detent groove end surface 73a of the detent plate.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the shift lever 10 is bent and tilted toward the passenger seat side in the vehicle width direction, which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of shift operation, so that the seat can be easily moved within the vehicle interior.

In particular, in a cab-over type vehicle as shown in FIG. By folding the shift lever 10 toward the front, the shift lever 10 that has been folded down does not get in the way when moving from the driver's seat to the passenger seat, making it extremely easy to move the seat. Note that F indicates the vehicle floor and H indicates the steering wheel.

Furthermore, since the shift lever 10 can only be bent when shifted to the P range, in the unlikely event that the shift lever 10 is moved away from the driver's seat while the engine is running while the vehicle is stopped, or the shift lever is accidentally bent while moving the seat. Even if a part of the body touches the shift lever 10, the shift lever 10 is reliably held in the P range, so there is no risk that the vehicle will start moving unexpectedly, and it is safe.

Further, from the appearance, the fact that the shift lever 10 is foldable and the direction in which it is folded can be intuitively recognized. Moreover,
The upper lever section 20 can be released by simply moving the stopper release knob 89 of the slide stopper 80 clockwise.
The upper lever part 20 automatically falls down due to the spring force of the torsion spring 50 pressing the detent groove end face 73a of the detent plate, so that the shift lever
Extremely good bending operability.

Furthermore, since the stopper release knob 89 is provided on the side surface of the dust cover 90, there are no obstacles such as protrusions on the upper wall 90b of the dust cover 90. Therefore, it is extremely easy and safe to move the seat within the vehicle. Furthermore, there is no problem that the stopper release knob 89 is hidden behind the shift lever 10 and is difficult to operate.

According to this embodiment, the upper lever portion 2 is moved by using the spring force of the detent torsion spring 50.
Since the upper lever part 20 is tilted down, a new spring for tilting the upper lever part 20 is not required, and it can be manufactured at a low cost. Moreover, the durability of the shift lever 10 can be improved since no unreasonable force is applied to the joint portion (bending portion) of the shift lever 10. Furthermore, since the bent portion of the shift lever 10 is covered by the detent plate 70 and the dust cover 90, there is no risk of clothes getting caught on the bent portion when the shift lever is in the tilted position, or of getting dirty with grease applied for lubrication. .

The present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, but
The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but includes various embodiments within the scope of the claims. It can also be set in It can also be applied to a type of shift lever in which the detent rond is pushed down and disengaged from the cam hole of the detent plate by pressing the button provided on the shift knob of the shift lever, and the shift operation is performed using the shift lever. It is. Moreover, a tension spring can also be used as the return spring of the slide stopper.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, since the shift lever is tilted toward the passenger seat side perpendicular to the direction of gear change operation,
The bent shift lever does not get in the way when moving the seat, making it extremely easy to move the seat inside the vehicle.

In addition, the shift lever can only be bent in P range, so in the unlikely event that the driver leaves the engine running while the car is stopped and moves the shift lever and leaves the driver's seat, or if a part of the body accidentally touches the shift lever while moving the seat. Even if touched, the transmission will not operate inadvertently, making it safe.

Further, the shift lever can be bent and pushed down by simply moving the stopper release knob along the arcuate groove formed on the side wall of the cover member, and the shift lever is extremely easy to bend.

Moreover, since the stopper release knob is provided on the side of the cover member that covers the bent part of the shift lever, there are no protrusions or other obstacles on the upper wall of the cover member, making it easy and safe to move the seat inside the vehicle. It is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show a foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view with the shift lever shifted to the parking range. , Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main part taken in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a side view of Figure 1, Figures 5- Fig. 7 shows an enlarged view of the detent plate, Fig. 5 is a plan view seen from the arrow ■ direction in Fig. 6, Fig. 6 is a side view, Fig. 7 is a view seen from the front of the vehicle, Figures 8 to 1θ are enlarged views of the slide stopper. Figure 8 is a plan view seen from the arrow ■ direction in Figure 9, Figure 9 is a side view, and Figure 1O is a view from the front of the vehicle. Figures 11 to 13 show the dust cover, Figure 11 is a plan view, Figure 12 is a sectional view taken along the xn-xm line in Figure 11, and Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the dust cover. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the xm-xm line, FIG. 14 is a plan view of the slide cover, and FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view showing the interior of a cab-over type vehicle adopting the foldable shift lever device of the present invention. It is. Explanation of symbols 10 ----- Shift lever 20 --- Upper lever section 21 --- Shift knob 30 --- Lower lever section 36 --- - Control lever 40 - - - - Joint means 41 - - - - Bolt 50 - - - - Torsion spring 6 (1 - - - - - Lower bracket 63 - - - - - Bolt 70 - −・−・Detent plate (cover member) 70
a-Detent plate side wall 70b--Detent plate upper wall 73--1--Detent groove 73a--Detent groove end surface 75--Barking range groove 76-- -...Bending guide groove 77...
-Zen (rotation axis of slide stopper) 79 --- Arc groove 80 --- Slide stopper 82 --- Knob mounting shaft 87 --- Return spring 89 ---・
--- Stopper release knob 90 --- Dust cover (cover member) 90
a-Dust cover side wall 9Qb-・Dust cover top wall 93--Detent groove 95--Barking range groove 96-----
---Bending guide groove 99 --- Inner arc groove 100 --- Slide cover

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) The shift lever located between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat is divided into two parts: an upper lever part on the shift knob side and a lower lever part on the transmission side, and both lever parts are foldably connected by a joint means. In the folding shift lever device for an automatic transmission, a cover member attached to a fixed member and covering the bent portion of the shift lever is provided with a detent groove in which the upper lever portion contacts and slides, and a detent groove in the detent groove is formed. A bending guide groove is formed that extends to the passenger seat side continuously from the barking range groove, and a slide stopper that blocks the bending guide groove is moved to the blocking position by a return spring on the rotating shaft provided on the side wall of the cover member. The automatic mechanism is characterized in that a knob mounting shaft that is biased and attached and fixed to the outer peripheral edge of the slide stopper passes through an arcuate groove formed in the side wall of the cover member, and a stopper release knob is fixed to the tip of the knob mounting shaft. Foldable shift lever device for transmissions.