Abstract:
A gear shift lever apparatus includes: a first support shaft pivotally supported on an upper housing; a gear shift lever swingably supported via the first support shaft; an engagement member provided to the gear shift lever; a second support shaft pivotally supported on a lower housing in parallel to the first support shaft with at least part of the second support shaft overlapping the first support shaft in an axial direction thereof; a selector lever swingably supported via the second support shaft; an engagement receiver formed in the selector lever and being engageable with the engagement member in a swing direction thereof; and a bypass unit configured to prevent the selector lever from interfering with the first support shaft upon swinging of the gear shift lever due to a manipulation of the gear shift lever through engagement between the engagement member and the engagement receiver.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-207594, filed on Sep. 22, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    The disclosure relates to a gear shift lever apparatus which includes a gearshift lever configured to change the gear shift position by manipulating the gear shift lever swingingly. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    In a general practice, a gear shift lever apparatus is disposed in a center console between the driver seat and the front passenger seat. Since the center console is situated within the reach of the hand of the driver during driving, various layouts are demanded for the center console to improve the comfort in the vehicle interior. To satisfy such a demand, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Sho 63-186310 has proposed a gear shift lever apparatus in which the position of the gear shift lever can be disposed offset in a vehicle widthwise direction while the attachment position of the selector lever is unchanged. 
         [0006]    A gear shift lever apparatus  101  shown in  FIG. 1 , which has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Sho 63-186310, includes: a support shaft  102  disposed extending in the vehicle widthwise direction; a gear shift lever  103  swingably pivotally supported by the support shaft  102 ; and a selector lever  104  pivotally supported by the support shaft  102  together with the gear shift lever  103 . In the gear shift lever apparatus  101 , swinging manipulation of the gear shift lever  103  in the vehicle front-rear direction makes the selector lever  104  swing and thereby change the range position of the automatic transmission (not illustrated) through a wire (not illustrated) connected to the lower end of the selector lever  104 . In the gear shift lever apparatus  101 , the gear shift lever  103  and the selector lever  104  are supported by the support shaft  102  with the gear shift lever  103  offset to one end of the support shaft  102  and the selector lever  104  offset to the other end of the support shaft  102 . 
         [0007]    Since, as described above, the gear shift lever  103  and the selector lever  104  are supported by the support shaft  102  with the gear shift lever  103  offset to one end of the support shaft  102  and the selector lever  104  offset to the other end of the support shaft  102 , the gear shift lever  103  can be disposed offset in the vehicle widthwise direction while the attachment position of the selector lever  104  is unchanged. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    In the configuration disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Sho 63-186310, however, the gear shift lever  103  and the selector lever  104  are supported by the same shaft, the support shaft  102  has to be made long according to the dimension of their offset positioning, and the gear shift lever apparatus as a whole is inevitably large in size in the vehicle widthwise direction. This is likely to affect the layout of the center console, although the position of the gear shift lever  103  can be offset from the selector lever  104 . 
         [0009]    An object of disclosed embodiments is to provide a gear shift lever apparatus which enables the gear shift lever to be disposed offset from the selector lever without affecting the layout of the center console. 
         [0010]    An embodiment is a gear shift lever apparatus including: a housing including an upper housing and a lower housing; a first support shaft pivotally supported on the upper housing; a gear shift lever swingably supported via the first support shaft; an engagement member provided to a lateral side of the gear shift lever and protruding in a direction orthogonal to a plane on which the gear shift lever swings; a second support shaft pivotally supported on the lower housing in parallel to the first support shaft with at least part of the second support shaft overlapping the first support shaft in an axial direction thereof; a selector lever swingably supported via the second support shaft; an engagement receiver formed in a lateral side of the selector lever, extending in a direction orthogonal to a plane on which the selector lever swings, and being engageable with the engagement member in a swing direction thereof; and a bypass unit configured to prevent the selector lever from interfering with the first support shaft upon swinging of the gear shift lever due to a manipulation of the gear shift lever through engagement between the engagement member and the engagement receiver. 
         [0011]    In the foregoing configuration, the second support shaft is disposed in parallel to the first support shaft in the way that makes the part of the second support shaft overlap the first support shaft in its axial direction. For this reason, the lower housing is not disposed on the line extending from the first support shaft of the upper housing. Thereby, the dimension of the upper housing in the axial direction of the first support shaft can be made shorter. This makes it possible to dispose the gear shift lever offset from the selector lever without affecting the layout of the center console. 
         [0012]    In addition, because the overall length dimension from the second support shaft to the selector lever can be made smaller, the twist of the selector lever is eliminated. This makes it possible to improve the rigidity of the selector lever, and additionally to prevent the occurrence of vibration. 
         [0013]    Furthermore, because the selector lever is disposed bypassing the upper shift shaft, the selector lever can be disposed as close to the gear shift lever as possible. Thus, the selector lever can be housed in the housing, and thereby, the dimension of the upper housing in the axial direction of the first support shaft can be made smaller. This makes it possible to make the apparatus as a whole smaller. 
         [0014]    The upper housing may be disposed on an upper surface side of a vehicle body-side fixing portion; and the lower housing may be disposed on an undersurface side of the vehicle body-side fixing portion. 
         [0015]    In the foregoing configuration, the upper housing is disposed on the upper surface side of the vehicle body-side fixing portion, and the lower housing is disposed on the undersurface side of the vehicle body-side fixing portion. For this reason, the space which the gear shift lever apparatus occupies in the center console can be made smaller. This makes it possible to increase the degree of freedom of the layout of the center console. 
         [0016]    The bypass unit may include: a small-diameter portion provided to an end of the first support shaft and having a shaft diameter smaller than the rest of the first support shaft; and an arc-shaped elongated hole formed in the selector lever for the small-diameter portion penetrated therein to allow the selector lever to swing. 
         [0017]    In the foregoing configuration, since the small-diameter portion is provided to the first support shaft, the elongated hole formed in the selector lever can be made as small as possible. This enables the selector lever to bypass the first support shaft without reducing the rigidity of the selector lever, and with the simple structure. 
         [0018]    Moreover, because the selector lever is disposed bypassing the first support shaft, the selector lever can be housed in the housing, and the apparatus as a whole can be made smaller. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a side view showing a related gear shift lever apparatus. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a gear shift lever apparatus of a first embodiment of the present invention taken in the selection direction, and shows the gear shift lever apparatus as being in an automatic transmission (A/T) mode. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is another cross-sectional view of the gear shift lever apparatus of the first embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention taken in the shift direction. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is the other cross-sectional view of the gear shift lever apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention taken in the selection direction, and shows the gear shift lever apparatus as being in a manual transmission (M/T) mode. 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a gear shift lever apparatus of a second embodiment of the present invention taken in the selection direction. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. 
         [0025]    Descriptions will be hereinbelow provided for the embodiments of the present invention by referring to the drawings. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 to 4 , a gear shift lever apparatus  1  of a first embodiment of the present invention is disposed on a vehicle body-side fixing portion  91  of a floor panel  90  which is situated between the driver seat and the front passenger seat of the vehicle. The gearshift lever apparatus  1  is provided to switch multiple ranges set for an automatic transmission (not illustrated), and changes the automatic transmission to a desired one of the multiple ranges. From the front to rear in a shift direction (in the vehicle front-rear direction), a parking (P) range, a reverse (R) range, a neutral (N) range and a drive (D) range are set for the automatic transmission in this order. In addition, an automatic transmission (A/T) mode and a manual transmission (M/T) mode are set in the D range. The A/T mode and the M/T mode are disposed in the selection direction (the vehicle widthwise direction) orthogonal to the shift direction. Incidentally, shift-up (+) manipulation and shift-down (−) manipulation in the shift direction are designed to be capable of being performed while the gear shift lever is in the M mode. 
         [0027]    The gear shift lever apparatus  1  includes, among other things, a housing  10 , a gear shift lever  20 , an upper shift shaft (first support shaft)  30 , a selector lever  40 , and a lower shift shaft (second support shaft)  50 . 
         [0028]    The housing  10  includes an upper housing  11 , a lower housing  12  and a lower cover  13 . The upper housing  11  and the lower housing  12  form the housing  10  which is shaped like a box. The lower cover  13  is disposed on the undersurface of the lower housing  12 . The upper housing  11  and the lower housing  12  are integrally assembled together by screwing a fixing bolt  14 , which penetrates the flanges  11   a,    12   a  provided to the respective upper and lower housings  11 ,  12 , to a fixing nut  15 . 
         [0029]    The gear shift lever  20  is supported on the upper housing  11  with the base end portion of the gear shift lever  20  pivotally attached to the upper shift shaft  30 , and thereby is swingable in the shift direction. A shift knob  21  is disposed in the distal end portion of the gear shift lever  20 , and a shift button  22  is disposed in the shift knob  21 . Pressing manipulation on the shift button  22  makes a rod  26  and a position pin  25  move downwards, and disengages the position pin  25  from a dent groove (not illustrated) provided to the upper housing  11 . This makes it possible for the gear shift lever  20  to swing in the shift direction. In addition, the upper shift shaft  30  is provided with a selector shaft  23  which extends in the shift direction, and the selector shaft  23  makes it possible for the gear shift lever  20  to swing in the selection direction. 
         [0030]    A column-shaped engagement protrusion (engagement member)  24  is provided to a lateral side of the gear shift lever  20 . The engagement protrusion  24  projects orthogonal to a plane on which the gear shift lever  20  swings in the shift direction. 
         [0031]    The upper shift shaft  30  is disposed in the selection direction, and the two ends of the upper shift shaft  30  are pivotally supported on the respective inner surfaces of the upper housing  11 . In addition, a small-diameter portion  31  is provided to one end of the upper shift shaft  30 . The shaft diameter of this small-diameter portion  31  is set smaller than that of the other end of the upper shift shaft  30 . 
         [0032]    The selector lever  40  includes an upper lever  41  and a lower lever  45 . The lower shift shaft  50  penetrates a joint portion where the upper lever  41  and the lower lever  45  are joined together. The selector lever  40  is supported on the lower housing  12  by being pivotally attached to the lower shift shaft  50  and thereby is swingable in the shift direction. 
         [0033]    The upper lever  41  is disposed upwards from the lower shift shaft  50  along the gear shift lever  20 . An engagement hole (engagement receiver)  42  is opened in an upper-end lateral side of the upper lever  41 , and penetrates the upper lever  41  in a direction orthogonal to the plane on which the selector lever  40  swings. The engagement hole  42  is formed to enable the engagement protrusion  24  to be detachably inserted thereinto, and to be capable of engaging with the engagement protrusion  24  when the gear shift lever  20  swings in the shift direction. When the gear shift lever  20  moves to the A/T mode, the engagement protrusion  24  is inserted and engaged with the engagement hole  42 . When the gear shift lever  20  moves to the M/T mode, the engagement protrusion  24  comes out of the engagement hole  42 , and their engagement is undone. As a structure serving as a bypass unit for preventing the selector lever  40  from interfering with the upper shift shaft  30 , the lower end portion of the upper lever  41  is progressively larger in width in the shift direction while in the shape of a spindle. An arc-shaped elongated hole  43  is formed in this spindle-shaped portion  47 , and the small-diameter portion  31  of the upper shift shaft  30  is inserted into the arc-shaped elongated hole  43 . To put it specifically, the selector lever  40  is disposed to bypass the upper shift shaft  30  by means of the elongated hole  43 ; and when the selector lever  40  swings in the shift direction, the small-diameter portion  31  moves inside the elongated hole  43  in order that the selector lever  40  should not interfere with the smaller-diameter portion  31 . 
         [0034]    The lower lever  45  is extended downward from the lower shift shaft  50 , and a wire connector  46  is provided to the lower end of the lower lever  45 . A transmission cable (not illustrated), which is extended from the automatic transmission (not illustrated) disposed under the floor panel  90  of the vehicle, is formed from: a cable outer (not illustrated) made from a flexible tube-shaped member; and an inner wire (not illustrated) inserted in the cable outer. The end portion of the cable outer (not illustrated) is fixed to a cable bracket  16 , and the end portion of the inner wire (not illustrated) is connected to the wire connecter  46 . 
         [0035]    The lower shift shaft  50  is disposed in parallel to the upper shift shaft  30  in the selection direction, and vertically under the upper shift shaft  30 . The two ends of the lower shift shaft  50  are supported by the inner walls of the lower housing  12 . In addition, the lower shift shaft  50  is disposed in away that a part of the lower shift shaft  50 , which penetrates the selector lever  40 , overlaps the small-diameter portion  31  of the upper shift shaft  30  in its axial direction when looked down from above vertically. 
         [0036]    A mounting hole  92  configured to make the inside and outside of the vehicle communicate with each other is formed in the vehicle body-side fixing portion  91 . The gear shift lever apparatus  1  is mounted on the vehicle body-side fixing portion  91  from above in the vehicle interior while the lower housing  12  is put in a state of projecting through the mounting hole  92  toward the outside of the vehicle, that is to say, projecting downward beyond the floor panel  90 . 
         [0037]    In the foregoing constitution, the lower shift shaft  50  is disposed in parallel to the upper shift shaft  30  and vertically under the upper shift shaft  30 , and with the part of the lower shift shaft  50  overlapping the upper shift shaft  30  in its axial direction. Thereby, the lower housing  12  does not have to be disposed on the line extending from the upper shift shaft  30  of the upper housing  11 . For this reason, the dimension of the upper housing  11  in the selection direction can be set shorter. This makes it possible to dispose the gear shift lever  20  offset from the automatic transmission without affecting the layout of the center console. 
         [0038]    In addition, the lower shift shaft  50  is disposed under the floor panel  90 . For this reason, the overall length dimension from the lower shift shaft  50  to the wire connector  46  of the lower lever  45  is made shorter. This makes it possible to inhibit the twist of the selector lever  40 , to improve the rigidity of the selector lever  40 , and additionally to inhibit the occurrence of vibration. 
         [0039]    Furthermore, the upper housing  11  is disposed on the upper surface side of the vehicle body-side fixing portion  91 , and the lower housing  12  is disposed on the undersurface side of the vehicle body-side fixing portion  91 . For this reason, even if a space A as shown in  FIG. 2  needs to be set up, the space which the gear shift lever apparatus  1  occupies in the center console can be made small. This makes it possible to increase the degree of freedom of the layout of the center console. 
         [0040]    Moreover, because the small-diameter portion  31  is provided to the upper shift shaft  30 , the elongated hole  43  formed in the upper lever  41  of the selector lever  40  can be made as small as possible. This enables the selector lever  40  to bypass the upper shift shaft  30  without reducing the rigidity of the selector lever, and with the simple structure. 
         [0041]    Besides, because the selector lever  40  is disposed bypassing the upper shift shaft  30 , the selector lever  40  can be disposed as close to the gear shift lever  20  as possible. For this reason, the selector lever  40  can be housed in the housing  10 , and the dimension of the upper housing  11  in the axial direction of the upper shift shaft  30  can be made accordingly smaller. This makes it possible to make the apparatus as a whole smaller. 
         [0042]    The gear shift lever apparatus  1  of this embodiment includes the M/T mode, and is designed in the way that: while in the A/T mode, the gear shift lever  20  and the selector lever  40  are linked together; and while in the manual transmission mode, the gear shift lever  20  and the selector lever  40  are not linked together. However, it should be noted that even if the gear shift lever apparatus adopts a configuration in which the gear shift lever is manipulated zigzaggedly both in the shift direction and in the selection direction as in a case of a gate-type gear shift lever apparatus, this embodiment is applicable by making changes to the shape of the engagement protrusion for the purpose of making the engagement protrusion and the engagement hole engage with each other, as well, when the gear shift lever is swung in the selection direction. 
         [0043]    In addition, in this embodiment, the engagement member is the engagement protrusion, and the engagement receiver is the engagement hole. However, the combination of the engagement member and the engagement receiver is not necessarily limited to this combination of the engagement protrusion and the engagement hole. This embodiment is applicable to any other configuration, as long as the configuration enables the linkage in the shift direction as well as the engagement and disengagement in the selection direction. For example, this embodiment is applicable to a configuration in which: the engagement member is the engagement hole; and the engagement receiver is the engagement protrusion. 
         [0044]    Next, descriptions will be provided for a gear shift lever apparatus  2  of a second embodiment of the present invention by referring to the drawings. Components which are common between the gear shift lever apparatus  1  of the first embodiment and the gear shift lever apparatus  2  of the second embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions for the common components will be omitted. What makes the second embodiment, which is shown in  FIG. 5 , differ from the first embodiment to a large extent is that a gear shift lever  71  and a selector lever  72  are different in configuration from the gear shift lever  20  and the selector lever  40 . 
         [0045]    The gear shift lever  71  of this embodiment includes no selector shaft  23 , and is directly supported by the upper shift shaft  30 . For this reason, the gear shift lever  71  swings only in the shift direction, but not in the selection direction. In other words, the engagement protrusion  24  and the engagement hole  42  always engage with each other in the shift direction without disengaging from each other. 
         [0046]    In addition, in the selector lever  72  of this embodiment, an upper lever  73  and a lower lever  74  are spaced out in the axial direction of a lower shift shaft  75 . 
         [0047]    The foregoing constitution brings about the same working/effects as the first embodiment. In addition, because the upper lever  73  and the lower lever  74  of the selector lever  72  are spaced out in the axial direction of the lower shift shaft  75 , it is possible to inhibit the twist of the selector lever  72  further, to increase the rigidity of the selector lever  40  further, and additionally to inhibit the occurrence of vibration. 
         [0048]    Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, it is to be noted that the present invention is not limited only to these embodiments and various other embodiments may also be applicable.