JPH0547740B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a shift lever that changes the gear ratio and forward/backward movement in an automatic vehicle (hereinafter referred to as an AT vehicle) equipped with a torque converter. The present invention relates to a device that adjusts the angle of a steering wheel according to a driver's physique, etc.

[Conventional technology]

The shift lever of an AT vehicle is generally installed protruding from the floor of the driver's seat, as shown in Figure 5, and is designed to change the gear ratio and forward/backward movement by moving it forward or backward.

A T-shaped handle 02 is formed at the upper end of the lever body 01, and when moving the lever body 01, the lock of the lever body 01 is released by pressing the lock release button 03 installed at one end of the handle 02 with your finger. and becomes movable.

On the base side of the lever body 01, there are "P" for parking, "R" for reverse, "N" for neutral, and "D", "1", and "2" depending on the gear ratio for forward. A name plate 04 is installed that displays the positions such as "," etc., and by moving the lever body 01 to the respective position,
It is configured to set the desired operating state.

After setting the lever body 01 to a desired position, when the user releases his or her finger from the lock release button 03, the lever body 01 is fixed at that position.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In conventional AT cars, the shift lever has the handle 02 integrally molded with the lever body 01, so the grip direction of the handle 02 is fixed in a fixed direction (usually in the left-right direction along the width of the vehicle). There is. Therefore, depending on the physique of the driver, the driver may find it inconvenient to operate the shift lever.

The shift lever is usually installed on the center line of the vehicle body, so in domestic cars with right-hand drive, the shift lever is operated with the left hand, but depending on the physique of the driver, it may be necessary to operate the shift lever as shown in Figure 6. Furthermore, when gripping the handle 02 facing left and right, it becomes necessary to bend the wrist 05 unnaturally. Especially if you are a petite driver, your seat may be moved forward.
When the shift lever is set to a rear position such as "1" or "2", it is necessary to strongly bend the wrist 05, which often makes operation inconvenient.

In order to improve this inconvenience, it is conceivable to attach the handle 02 with the grip facing in an appropriate diagonal direction, but since the physique and preferences of drivers vary from person to person, a handle fixed at a fixed angle may not be suitable. It will not be suitable for all drivers.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned inconvenience, the present invention makes the handle of the shift lever rotatable around the axis of the lever body and can be fixed at any angle position to suit the physique and preference of the driver. Afterwards,
An object of the present invention is to provide an angular position adjusting device for a handle grip of a shift lever, which allows the angular position to be selected.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

In an automatic vehicle, this device adjusts the angular position of the handle of a shift lever that sets the driving state by moving within a required range, and comprises an intermediate tubular lever body 1, and a lever body 1. rotatably fitted, and
A handle shaft 2 having a flange 5 located near the upper end of the lever body 1 and having a tooth row formed on its lower surface; and a handle having a grip 8 fixed to the upper end of the handle shaft 2 and facing laterally at the top. 7, mounted near the upper end of the lever body 1 so as to be slidable in the axial direction but not rotatable around the axis;
a cam 14 having a tooth row that can engage with the tooth row of the flange 5 on the upper surface; a spring 19 that presses and urges the cam 14 toward the flange 5; When you move to the parking position at one end,
A device for adjusting the angular position of a handle grip of a shift lever, comprising: a lock release means that engages with the cam 14 and moves the cam 14 downward along the lever body 1 to separate the cam 14 from the flange 5. .

In the above device, the lock release means is disposed so as to be movable in the axial direction of the shift lever in the parking position "P", and the lock release means is provided with the pair of fork arms 23
a, the fork plate 23 is arranged such that the cam 14 is inserted between the fork arms 23a at the parking position "P", and the fork plate 23 comes into contact with this when the fork plate 23 is lowered, The cam 14 may be configured with a pair of flanges 15 projecting from the lower end side of the cam 14 so that the cam 14 is driven and lowered.

[Effect]

When the shift lever is in a position other than the parking position "P", the cam 14 is pushed up by the spring 19 and pushed out to the flange 5 of the handle shaft 2, and the radially formed tooth rows engage with both. In this state, the cam 14 is in contact with the lever body 1.
Since it is mounted so as not to rotate around the axis, the flange 5 and the handle 7 integrated therewith are also prevented from rotating around the axis, and the handle 8 of the bundle is held at a constant angular position.

When the shift lever is moved to the parking position "P" and the cam 14 is lowered by the lock release means, the cam 14 and the flange 5 are separated, the engagement between the tooth rows of the two is released, and the handle can be moved. The grip 8 can be adjusted to any angular position by rotating around the axis. After adjustment, when the cam 14 is released from the unlocking means, the cam 14 is released from the spring 19.
The grip 8 is pressed against the flange 15, and the teeth engage at that angular position to hold the grip 8 in the adjusted angular position.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the main parts of a shift lever of the embodiment.

The lever body 1 has a hollow tubular shape, and a handle shaft 2, which also has a hollow tubular shape, is fitted into the upper end of the lever body 1, and the lever body 1 is screwed into a groove 3 carved in the horizontal surface near the lower end of the handle shaft 2. The distal end portion of the set screw 4 is engaged to prevent the handle shaft 2 from moving in the axial direction and to prevent the handle shaft 2 from coming off, and is also rotatable about the shaft.

A flange 5 having a tooth row (to be described later) formed on the lower surface is formed in the middle of the handle shaft 2 at a position that almost contacts the upper end of the lever body 1, and the handle is attached to the upper end of the shaft portion 6 extending above the flange 5. 7 is installed.

The handle 7 has a T-shape with a horizontal grip 8 at its upper end, and is integrally fixed to the handle shaft 2 with a plurality of setscrews 9.

The handle 7 is provided with a shaft hole 7a that is coaxial with the center hole of the lever body 1 and the handle shaft 2, and the grip 8 is provided with a horizontal blind hole 8a. Shaft hole 7a
A rod 10 for operating a locking means for fixing the shift lever in a set position is fitted in the shift lever.

Further, a button 11 and a spring 12 for lock release are attached to the blind hole 8a of the grip 8, and when the button 11 is pushed against the spring 12, the sloped part 13 formed on the button 11 will release the rod. The upper end of the shift lever 10 is pressed to push the rod 10 downward to release the locking means and make the shift lever movable in the front and back direction.

On the other hand, a cam 14 is fitted into the upper end of the lever body 1. The cam 14 has flanges 15 on the left and right sides.
A cylindrical shape with a set screw 1 screwed into it.
By engaging the tip of the lever 6 with an axially elongated hole 17 carved near the upper end of the lever main body 1, it is prevented from rotating and is able to slide in the axial direction within the range of the elongated hole 17. Furthermore, between the spring receiver 18 and the cam 14 fixed in a proper position on the lever body 1,
A spring 19 is installed to bias the cam 14 toward information.

The lower surface of the flange 5 of the handle shaft 2 and the cam 14
A row of teeth is formed on the upper surface of each. This tooth row has a saw blade shape with a triangular cross section, and is provided radially by dividing the circumference into equal angles. When the cam 14 is pressed by the spring 19 and rises, the upper and lower tooth rows mesh, The relative rotation between the flange 5 and the cam 14 is restrained, and the restraint is released when the cam 14 is lowered and the two are separated.

That is, when the cam 14 is pushed up by the spring 19 and the two sets of tooth rows are in mesh with each other, the handle fixed to the handle shaft 2 provided with the flange 5 is prevented from rotating around the shaft.
The angle of the grip 8 is fixed at a fixed set position. When the cam 14 is pushed down and disengaged from the flange 5, the handle becomes rotatable around the axis, and the grip 8 can be rotated to any angular position, and the cam 14 is moved at the desired position by the biasing force of the spring 19. By pushing up 14 and engaging the toothing of flange 5, grip 8 can be fixed in its angular position.

The means for raising and lowering the cam 14 is constructed as follows.

A shaft 21 is vertically slidably attached to a support member 20 installed at an appropriate position on the vehicle body side in front of the shift lever in the moving direction. A key 22 for preventing rotation is attached to the shaft 21.

A fork plate 23 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 21. The fork plate 23 is provided with a pair of left and right fork arms 23a facing toward the shift lever side, and when the shift lever moves to the frontmost parking position "P", the cam 14 moves between the fork arms 23a. The pair of left and right flanges 15 are positioned close to the lower side of the fork arm 23a.

Further, a lock release button 24 for the handle angle is fixed to the upper end of the shaft 21, a spring 25 is installed between it and the support member 20, and the fork plate 2
3 is biased upward.

As shown in the third figure, when the shift lever is set to the rear instead of the frontmost parking position "P", the flange 15 of the cam 14 is spaced apart from the fork plate 23. Even if the lock release button 24 is pressed down to lower the fork plate 23, no effect will be exerted on the shift lever side.

Move the shift lever to the front position "P" for parking.
When the lock release button 24 is pressed down, the fork plate 23 is lowered, the pair of fork arms 23a abut against the flange 15, and the cam 1
4 is lowered and separated from the flange 5. As a result, the engagement between the two sets of tooth rows is released, the handle becomes rotatable around the axis, and the grip 8 can be rotated to any angular position.

After selecting the angular position of the grip 8 according to the driver's physique and preference, when the driver releases his or her finger from the lock release button 24, the spring 19 causes the lock release button 24, shaft 21, and fork plate 23 to rise. The force pressing the cam 14 downward is released, and the cam 14 rises to the position where it contacts the flange 5 due to the biasing force of the spring 19, and the two sets of tooth rows mesh, and the grip 8 is moved to the selected angle. Fixed in position.

The angular position of the grip 8 can be selected depending on the number of teeth equally dividing the circumference of the two tooth rows. For example, if each tooth row has 24 teeth, the angle of the grip 8 can be selected in 15 degree increments, and
If the number of teeth is 18 each, the pitch can be selected in 20 degree increments, and the optimum angle position can be adjusted according to the driver's convenience.

〔Effect of the invention〕

(a) The angular position of the handle grip 8 of the shift lever in an AT vehicle can be selected and set to the most convenient state according to the driver's physique, preferences, etc.

(b) The angle of the grip 8 can be adjusted only when the shift lever is moved to the frontmost position for parking, and is locked in other positions, so the grip 8 cannot be adjusted while driving. to ensure that the selected angular position is maintained without any change in angle.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a shift lever of the same embodiment, and Fig. 3 shows the shift lever in a position other than the parking position. Fig. 4 is a side view showing the set state, and Fig. 4 is a side view showing the shift lever set to the parking position and the rotation lock of the grip portion released;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional shift lever for an AT vehicle, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state of a wrist operating the shift lever shown in FIG. 1...Lever body, 2...Handle shaft, 5...
Flange, 6... Shaft, 7... Handle, 8...
Grip, 10... Lock release rod, 11... Lock release button (for shift lever), 14...
Cam, 15...Flange, 16...Set screw, 1
7...Long hole, 18...Spring receiver, 19...Spring, 20...Support member, 21...Shaft, 22...
Key, 23...fork plate, 23a...fork arm, 24...lock release button (for grip rotation), 25...spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A device for adjusting the angular position of the grip of a handle of a shift lever that sets the driving state by moving it within a required range in an automatic vehicle, which comprises: a hollow tubular lever body; a handle shaft rotatably fitted to the lever body, located near the upper end of the lever body, and provided with a flange having a radial tooth row formed on its lower surface; and fixed to the upper end of the handle shaft; and a handle having a handle facing laterally at the top; and a handle mounted near the upper end of the lever body so as to be slidable in the axial direction but not rotatable around the axis, and engaged with the tooth row of the flange on the upper surface. a cam with a possible tooth row; a spring that presses the cam toward the flange; and a spring that presses the cam toward the flange.
A device for adjusting the angular position of a grip of a shift lever handle, comprising: lock release means that engages with the cam and moves the cam downward along the lever body to separate the cam from the flange.