JPS62245417A - Collapsible shift lever device for automatic transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve a shift lever returning operability, and a shift lever holding characteristic for the shift lever in a turned down state, keeping a good characteristic for the movement from a seat to another, by providing a stopper releasing knob, making the the end face of a slide stopper in an oblique plane inclined to the center line of a turning down guide groove, and constituting the slide stopper so as to move rotatably against a return spring in a shift lever returning operation. CONSTITUTION:A slide stopper 80 which cuts off turning down guide grooves 76 and 96 is energized and mounted on an turning axis 77 of provided at a cover member by a return spring 87, and at the outer peripheral part, a stopper releasing knob 89 is provided. And at the shift lever returning operation time, the end face of the slide stopper 80 bringing into contact with an upper lever part 20 is formed in an oblique plane 80c inclined against the center line A of the turning down guide grooves 76, 96, and the slide stopper 80 is constituted so as to move rotatably against the return spring 87 at the shift lever returning operation time.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission, and more specifically, a shift lever of a floor shift type of an automobile etc. 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 vehicle floor inside the vehicle cabin is used to switch gears of the automatic transmission via a remote control link system (control cable, etc.).

In cars equipped with this floor shift type shift lever, the driver often gets on and off from the passenger seat in places where parking spaces are narrow or in areas with heavy traffic. When moving from the passenger seat to the driver's seat, the shift lever that stands upright from the vehicle floor becomes a protrusion that gets in the way, making it difficult to move from the passenger seat to the driver's seat.

Therefore, the shift lever conventionally installed on the vehicle floor was divided into upper and lower halves, and the two parts were connected with a pin to make the shift lever bendable, thereby making it easier to change seats. 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 has been taken to equally 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 bending guide that allows the upper lever part to be bent in one direction approximately perpendicular to the direction of gear change operation only in the parking range, in a cover that is fixed to the vehicle floor and covers the bent part of the shift lever. We proposed a foldable shift lever device for automatic transmissions in which the groove is 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. The stopper is configured to be operated manually when returning the shift lever from the depressed state to the normal parking range state.

That is, after returning the shift lever from the tilted state to the upright state, it is necessary to turn the stopper that is in the released state a (released state) into the cutoff state (locked state) by operating the stopper release knob each time.

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.

In addition, the structure is not designed to securely hold the upper lever when it is folded down, and in some cases, the shift lever may be held in the folded position.
If the shift lever is not held in place sufficiently, it is possible that a rattling noise may occur when the shift lever is tilted down with the engine running.

Therefore, it has been desired to improve the ease of returning the shift lever and the ability to hold the shift lever in the tilted position.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to further improve the shift lever return operability and the shift lever retainability in the folded state while maintaining the above-mentioned good seat mobility.

[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 a bending guide groove formed in a cover member is attached to a blocking position by a return spring on a rotating shaft provided in the cover member. At the same time, a stopper release knob is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the slide stopper, and the end surface of the slide stopper that comes into contact with the upper lever portion when the shift lever is returned is bent to form an inclined surface inclined with respect to the center line of the guide groove. Accordingly, the slide stopper is configured to be rotatable against the return spring when the shift lever is returned.

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 upper lever part (20
) is formed into a detent groove (73, 93) that slides in contact with the parking range groove (75, 95), and a bending guide groove (76, 96) that extends toward the passenger seat is continuous with the parking range groove (75, 95) in the detent groove. It is formed.

Further, a slide stopper (80) for blocking the bending guide grooves (76, 96) is mounted on a rotating shaft (77) provided on the cover member and biased to a blocking position by a return spring (87). A stopper release knob (89) is provided on its outer peripheral edge.

When the shift lever is returned, the upper lever part (
The end surface of the slide stopper (80) that comes into contact with
The inclined surface (80c) is inclined with respect to the center line (A) of the bending guide groove (76, 96), and the slide stopper (80) rotates against the return spring (87) when the shift lever is returned. configured to be possible.

[For production]

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

Then, when the shift lever (10) is shifted to the parking range, the upper lever part (20) and the bending guide grooves (76, 96) formed in the cover member align, and the shift lever (10) is placed in the bendable position. . but,
The upper lever part (20
) is prevented from bending.

Therefore, when the stopper release knob (89) is moved against the return spring (87), the slide stopper (80) rotates around the rotation axis (77) and the bending guide groove (76, 96) is released. and the upper lever part (2
0) can be folded and moved toward the passenger seat side along the guide grooves (76, 96).

When the upper lever part (20) is pushed down, the slide stopper (8)
0) rotates around the rotating shaft (77) by the action of the return spring (87), and bends into the bending guide groove (76, 9).
6) Return to the shut-off position where it is closed. In this shift lever tilted state, the upper lever part (20) is folded into the guide groove (7).
6 and 96) and the inclined surface (80C) of the slide stopper, and is urged by the return spring (87) to be held securely.

When the shift lever (10) is tilted toward the passenger seat, the driver can very easily move his seat, that is, move from the driver's seat to the passenger seat or from the passenger seat to the driver's seat.

Furthermore, without operating the stopper release knob (89), the upper lever part (20) that has fallen down is bent and removed from the guide groove (76).
96) to return to the upright position, the upper lever part (
20), the slide stopper (80) rotates around the rotation axis (77) by the inclined surface (80c),
Release the bending guide grooves (76, 96).

At the same time as the upper lever part (20) passes, the slide stopper (
80) automatically returns to its original state with the bending guide grooves (76, 96) blocked, and the shift lever (10) is maintained in its original upright state.

〔Example〕

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

1 to 5 show a foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
Figure 15 shows the detent plate, which is one of the components.
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 supporting the shift lever 1O. A detent plate 70 that regulates the shift position of the shift lever 10, a slide stopper 80 that prevents the shift lever 10 from bending. It is comprised of a dust cover 90 that covers the detent mechanism, 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 of the shift knob 21 and a lower lever part 30 on the transmission side, 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 part 30, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, consists of a fork-shaped shift lever support 31 and a pipe-shaped rotating shaft 32, both of which 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.A collar 43 and a pair of resin flanged bushes 44 are attached to the outer periphery of the bolt 41. The pipe-shaped rotating shaft 22 of the upper lever part is arranged concentrically through the shaft 44, and the upper lever part 20 is aligned with the axis Z-2 of the pole 41.
They are coupled to be rotatable in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) in the plane of the drawing in FIG.

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 in the paper of FIG. 4 (shift lever bending direction).

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. 4, 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. 3 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),
They are arranged in a line in seven positions: third range (3 ranges), second range (2 ranges), 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 bottle shaft 67 is rotatably mounted by a nut 35 via a plate washer and a spring washer on a bottle 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 the pin shaft 67. 37
- 37 is a resin flanged bushing interposed between the pin shaft 67 and the lower bevel gear 34; Furthermore, a pin 38 is fixed to the tip of the control lever 36, and the end of the control cable is fitted into this pin 38 via a rubber bush (not shown). As a result, the rotational movement of the shift lever 1O 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. 2, 3, and 5 indicates the central axis of the control cable.

The detent plate 70 has a pair of holes 71 formed in the side walls 70a and 70a in the vehicle width direction, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.
- 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 play) 70 has a pair of holes 71.
As shown in FIG. 6, the upper wall 70a has a curved shape centered on the central axis (axis X-X) of the shift lever 10, and as shown in FIG. A step-shaped detent groove 73 extending in the direction) is formed. The above-mentioned upper lever portion 20 is pressed against the end surface 73a of the detent groove 73 on the passenger seat side by the spring force of the torsion spring 50. At the R range, N range, D range, 3 range, 2 range, and L range positions on the end surface 73a of this detent groove 73, an upper lever is provided in order to give a sense of moderation to the shift operation of the shift lever 10 and prevent erroneous operation. An arc-shaped groove 73 corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the portion 20.・73
N・73°・73. - 73t and 73L are formed respectively. In this way, the N range, D range and 3 range are obtained on the same plane, and the R range and 2 range are at the position where the shift lever 10 is operated around the axis Z-Z toward the driver's seat (upper part of Fig. 2). Furthermore, P range and L
The range can be obtained by moving the shift lever 10 further toward the driver's seat.

Further, the detent groove 73 in the upper lever portion 20
Each step 74F of the detent groove is in contact with the
・74.・74.・74. - A parallel width across flats 23 is formed that abuts on 74□ and 74L to accurately set 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 D1 of the upper lever portion 20 shown in FIG. There is.

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. Section 74. The upper lever part 2 shown in FIG.
The width W4 of the lower end thereof is set to be approximately the same as the width W2 of the P range groove 75. Also, detent plate 7
On the side wall 70a on the passenger seat side of No. 0, there is a pin 77 on the inner peripheral side closer to the axis X-X that forms the rotation axis of a slide stopper, which will be described later.
A pin 78, to which one end of a return spring of a slide stopper to be described later is locked, is 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 pin 77 is formed on the outer circumferential side thereof, to which a release knob of a slide stopper to be described later is attached.

A pin 77 forms the rotation axis of the slide stopper.
The rotational center axis O-O is the same as the shift operation rotational center axis X-X of the shift lever 10 and the center of the guide groove 76.
It is located on the axis that connects the

As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, 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 2o. 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 〇-
The inner circumferential surface 7 of the curved upper wall 7°b of the detent plate 70 has a curved shape centered at 〇).
It is designed to slide along 0d. Further, the side wall 80a of the slide stopper 8o has a knob mounting shaft 82 on its outer peripheral edge that fits into the circular arc 819 of the detent plate, and a pin 83 on its inner peripheral edge to which one end of a return spring, which will be described later, is locked. , respectively, the above axis o-
It is press-fitted parallel to the 0 and fixed integrally by welding.

Furthermore, when the shift lever is returned, the upper lever portion 20
The front end surface of the slide stopper 80 (the left end surface in FIG. 1O) that comes into contact with the slide stopper 80 is formed as an inclined surface 80c making an angle θ with respect to a plane B connecting the axis 0-0 and the front end surface of the upper wall 80b. There is.

As shown in FIG.
By fitting to the pin 77 provided in a through a pair of resin flanged bushes 84, 84, it is rotatably supported around the axis O-O of the pin 77, and further via a spacer 85. It is held in the axial direction by a snap ring 86 fitted into an annular groove of the pin 77. 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 810, and both ends thereof are respectively engaged with the pin 78 of the detent plate and the pin 83 of the slide stopper. This return spring 87 is designed to prevent the slide stopper 80 from falling over even when the shift lever 10 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.
3 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 70 and the slide stopper 80.

In addition, FIG. 4 is partially cut away along a plane including the knob attachment shaft 82 so that the attachment relationship of the slide stopper 80 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. As shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, the dust cover 90 has detent grooves 93 (with similar shapes) corresponding to the detent grooves 73 (P range grooves 75), guide grooves 76, and arcuate grooves 79 of the detent plate 70. A P range groove 95), a guide groove 96 and an arcuate groove 99 (FIG. 5) 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. has been done. Both protrusions 91, 91 are connected to the outer peripheral surface 70e of the detent plate upper wall 70b and the dust cover upper wall 90b, both of which have a curved shape.
Slide cover 1 inserted in the gap between the inner circumferential surfaces 90d of
00 (Figures 3 and 4), and
This dust cover 90 has left and right side walls 90a and 90.
It is attached to the detent plate 70 with four screws 94 tightened into the holes 92 formed in a. Further, a stopper release knob 89 made of resin is screwed to the tip of the knob attachment shaft 82 that protrudes through the arcuate grooves 79 and 99. A plate washer 98 is fitted onto the knob mounting shaft 82 and interposed between the detent plate To and the dust cover 90. Note that the lower inner peripheral surface 9 of this dust cover 90
0c 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 peripheral surface 70e of b and the inner peripheral surface 9 of the dust cover upper wall 90b
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 (bottom surface in the figure) on the passenger seat side shown in FIG.

The dust boot 110 is made of a rubber base 112 in which a reinforcing metal plate 111 having an angular cross-section is embedded, as shown in FIG.
and the outside formed on this base 112.

It is composed of a rubber seal portion 114 that is fitted and attached to the circumferential groove 113. The base portion 112 is attached to the lower bracket 60 in advance by fastening three screws 115 shown in FIG. 2 to a nut 116 (FIG. 5) welded to the lower bracket 60. And the base 11
The upper outer circumferential surface of the dust cover 2 is tightly fitted to the inner circumferential surface 90c of the dust cover to form a seal between the two. Although the dust boot 110 is shown in a free state in FIGS. 3 and 5, 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. And dust cover 1
10 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 this way, when the above components are assembled,
As shown in FIG.
The center line A of the shift lever and the rotation center axis X- of the shift lever
It is located on the axis connecting X, and the inclined surface 80C of the slide stopper forms an angle θ with respect to the center vAA of the guide groove 76. In addition, in FIG. 1, the upper lever part 20 is shown in a state in which it is folded down, and the upper lever part 20 is cut in the middle.

In the foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission configured as described above, the shift lever 10 is operated around the axis vAz-z along the detent groove 73 of the detent plate 70, and also around the axis X-X. Manipulate. This causes the control lever 36 to be moved to the shaft &'5! via the pair of bevel gears 33 and 34. By rotating the control cable around y-y and reciprocating the control cable (not shown) in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a manual valve lever of an automatic transmission (not shown) is actuated to switch to a predetermined 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 8B fitted to the knob mounting shaft 82.

When bending and tilting the shift lever 1O, the operation is as follows.

First, shift lever 10 to P range. In this shift position, the upper lever portion 20 of the shift lever
and the guide groove 76 provided in the detent plate 70 coincide with each other, and the shift lever becomes a bendable position. However, the shift lever bending operation is prevented by a slide stopper 80.

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. 5 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 W3 portion of the guide groove 76, and then the width across flats 23 of the upper lever portion passes through the guide 'a7.
It engages with the groove width W4 portion of No. 6.

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.

When the upper lever part 20 falls, the slide stopper 80 rotates about the axis 0-0 by the action of the return spring 87 and returns to the original state shown in FIG. 1 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. It is securely held and highly safe, and even if the shift lever is tilted down with the engine running, the gap between the upper lever part 20 and the guide groove 76 is small and the return spring 87 is biased. Therefore, the rattling noise between the two is hardly a problem.

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 part 20 is moved in the direction of the arrow J in FIG. 1 along the guide groove 76 of the detent plate and against the torsion spring 50, centering on the axis Z-Z. let Then, as the upper lever part 20 moves, the slide stopper 80 also moves to the first position around the axis wAo-o by the inclined surface 80c.
Rotate in the direction of arrow G in the figure to release 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. 2 and 3. Therefore,
Thereafter, the shift lever 10 is reliably held in its normal upright position by the slide stopper 80. 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 IO is bent and tilted toward the passenger seat 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. 16, the shift lever 10 disposed between the driver's seat D and the passenger seat E is 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
Good bending operability.

Furthermore, the front end surface of the slide stopper 80 that comes into contact with the upper lever portion 20 when the shift lever is returned is moved into the guide groove 7.
6, the slide stopper 80 blocks the guide groove 76 without operating the stopper release knob 89 (simply return the fallen upper lever part 20 to the upright state). Since the shift lever automatically returns to its original state, there is no complication and the shift lever return operability is extremely good.

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. Furthermore, no excessive force is applied to the joint portion (bending portion) of the shift lever 1O, and the durability of the shift lever 1° can be improved. 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 chance of clothes getting caught on the bent portion when the shift lever is in the tilted position, or 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 embodiments, but includes various embodiments within the scope of the claims. The inclined surface of the slide stopper can also be formed as a curved surface. Also, the shift lever
The present invention can also be applied to a type of shift lever in which the end face of the detent groove is pushed down to release the engagement with the cam hole of the detent plate and the shift lever is operated by pressing a button provided on the shift knob. 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.

Furthermore, the slide stopper can be automatically returned to the cut-off position by simply returning the upper lever to the upright position without operating the stopper release knob, so there is no need to worry about the hassle of shifting the shift lever. The return operability is extremely good.

Further, when the shift lever is in the tilted state, the upper lever portion is held by the guide groove and the sloped surface of the slide stopper, and is biased by the return spring, so that the upper lever portion can be reliably held in that position. Therefore, it is highly safe. Further, in this shift lever tilted state, the slide stopper blocks the guide groove, so that the sealing performance of the guide groove can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 5 show a foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 shows the shift lever with the dust cover, slide cover and dust boot removed. -A side view showing the tilted state; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the shift lever shifted to the parking range; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of main parts taken in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle; Fig. 4 is the IV of Fig. 3. A cross-sectional view along the -rV line, FIG.
6 to 8 are enlarged views of the detent plate, FIG. 6 is a plan view seen from the direction of arrow ■ in FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a side view, and FIG. 8 is a side view of the detent plate. The figure is a view seen from the front of the vehicle, Figures 9 to 11 are enlarged views of the slide stopper, Figure 9 is a plan view seen from the arrow ■ direction in Figure 8, and Figure 10 is a side view. Figure 11 is a view seen from the front of the vehicle, Figures 12 to 14 show the dust cover, Figure 12 is a plan view, and Figure 13 is a view taken along the xm-xm line in Figure 12. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV in FIG. 12, FIG. 15 is a plan view of the slide cover, and FIG. 16 is a cab-over type using the foldable shift lever device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the interior of a vehicle. Explanation of symbols 10---Shift lever 20---Upper lever part 21---Shift knob 3 (1-111---Lower lever part 36------
-Control lever 40--Jointing means 41--Bolt 50--Torsion spring 60--Lower bracket 63-111--Bolt 70-- Detent plate (cover member) 73
・----11-Detent groove 73a---Detent groove end face 75---Parking range groove 76----
---Bending guide groove 77・-----m-・Pin (rotation axis of slide stopper) 79--・Circular groove 80・-----・Slide stopper 80c・・-
- Slope surface of slide stopper 82 --- Knob mounting shaft 87 --- Return spring 89 --- Stop collar release knob 90 --- Dust cover (cover member) 93-・
-・Detent groove 95---Parking range groove 96----1111 bending guide groove 99---Circular groove 100---Slide cover 110--- -・Dust boots x -x-・-
・Shift lever speed change operation rotation center axis Y -Y---
−−−Rotation center axis of control lever z −z−
--------Bending rotation center axis o of the shift lever
-o------1.Rotation center axis A of the slide stopper---1.Center line of the bending guide groove D---Driver's seat side seat E-・・・・・・Passenger side seat F・−・・−
-------Vehicle floor θ ----Angle between the slope of the slide stopper and the center line of the bending guide groove

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 continuous with the parking range groove and extended toward the passenger seat side, and a slide stopper for blocking the bending guide groove is biased to a blocking position by a return spring on a rotating shaft provided on the cover member. At the same time, a stopper release knob is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the slide stopper, and the end surface of the slide stopper that comes into contact with the upper lever portion when the shift lever is returned is an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the center line of the bending guide groove. A foldable shift lever device for an automatic transmission, characterized in that a slide stopper is configured to be rotatable against the return spring when the shift lever is returned.