Abstract:
A window is formed in a case mounted on a vehicle. The window has opposed inner walls. A select member is pivotally connected to the case in a manner to pivot about a first axis that extends substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the case. The select member has a stopper arm exposed to the window. A shift lever is pivotally connected to the select member in a manner to pivot about a second axis that extends substantially in parallel with the longitudinal axis. The shift lever has a portion that passes through the gate slot. A lock lever is pivotally connected to the case and projectable into the window to block a traveling path of the stopper arm of the select member. A load supporting structure is provided that permits the lock lever to move to and abut against either one of the opposed inner walls of the window when a given force is applied to the lock lever by the stopper arm of the select member. An actuating mechanism is provided that permits the lock lever to selectively assume a first position wherein the lock lever is projected into the window blocking the traveling path of the stopper arm and a second position wherein the lock lever is kept away from the window opening the traveling path.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates in general to shift lever devices of an automotive automatic transmission, and more particularly to the shift lever devices of a type that provides P-position with a lock function and N-position with a R-position shift inhibiting function.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Hitherto, in automotive automatic transmissions, there have been proposed various types of shift lever devices. One of them is of a so-called gate type wherein a shift lever is permitted to move along a zigzag path for selecting a desired gear position. In order to suppress unwilled shifting of the shift lever, for example, unwilled movement from N-position to R-position of the shift lever, the shift lever devices of such gate type have a shift inhibiting mechanism. One of them is disclosed in Laid-open Japanese Patent Application (Tokkaihei) 11-151946. The shift inhibiting mechanism of this publication employs a lock lever that is arranged to abut against a stopper member of the shift lever when a shift inhibiting function is needed.  
           [0005]    However, due to its inherent construction, even the shift lever device of the publication has failed to exhibit a satisfied performance. That is, it is difficult to provide the device with a robust construction.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a shift lever device which is superior to the shift lever device of the above-mentioned publication.  
           [0007]    According to the present invention, there is provided a shift lever device of gate type, having a shift inhibiting mechanism by which, when operated, unwilled N→R shifting and/or P→R shifting of a shift lever is assuredly suppressed.  
           [0008]    According to the present invention, there is provided a shift lever device of gate type, which is robust in construction.  
           [0009]    According to the present invention, there is provided a shift lever device which comprises a case adapted to be mounted on a vehicle, the case having a longitudinal axis and including an indicator roof panel that has a gate slot formed therethrough; a window formed in the case, the window having opposed inner walls; a select member pivotally connected to the case in a manner to pivot about a first axis that extends substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the select member having a stopper arm exposed to the window; a shift lever pivotally connected to the select member in a manner to pivot about a second axis that extends substantially in parallel with the longitudinal axis, the shift lever having a portion that passes through the gate slot; a lock lever pivotally connected to the case to be projectable into the window to block a traveling path of the stopper arm of the select member; a load supporting structure that permits the lock lever to move to and abut against either one of the opposed inner walls of the window when a given force is applied to the lock lever by the stopper arm of the select member; and an actuating mechanism that permits the lock lever to selectively assume a first position wherein the lock lever is projected into the window blocking the traveling path of the stopper arm and a second position wherein the lock lever is kept away from the window opening the traveling path. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shift lever device of the present invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a side view of the shift lever device of the present invention with some parts removed for clarification of arrangement of parts;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a shift lever installed in the shift lever device of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the shift lever device of the present invention, that is taken from a front of the device;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the shift lever device of the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the shift lever device where a select member and a shift lever are installed;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the shift lever device where a lock lever is installed; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a portion of the shift lever device wherein the lock lever is installed. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]    In the following, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0020]    For ease of understanding, various directional terms, such as, right, left, upper, lower, rightward, etc., are included in the description. However, such terms are to be understood with respect to only a drawing or drawings on which the corresponding part or portion is shown.  
         [0021]    Referring to the drawings, particularly FIG. 5, there is shown a shift lever device of the present invention.  
         [0022]    Denoted by numeral  1  is a case made of a reinforced plastic, which is tightly mounted on a given portion of a vehicle body. The case  1  is formed at a bottom thereof with two parallel brackets  2  each extending in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body. The brackets  2  are formed with respective circular openings  2   a  which are aligned. The aligned circular openings  2   a  rotatably receive therein axially opposed ends  3  of a shaft  4  of a select member  5 . Thus, the select member  5  pivots forward and rearward about an axis of the aligned circular openings  2   a , that is, forward and rearward relative to the vehicle body. That is, the select member  5  pivots about a first axis defined by the shaft  4 , which is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the case  1 . The select member  5  is made of a reinforced plastic that is different from that of the case  1 .  
         [0023]    As shown in FIG. 5, the select member  5  is formed, at a portion on the shaft  4 , with a shaft supporting portion  6  which extends in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body. To the shaft supporting portion  6 , there is pivotally connected a shift lever  8  through a shaft  7 . Thus, the shift lever  8  pivots rightward and leftward with respect to the vehicle body. That is, the shift lever  8  pivots about a second axis relative to the select member  5 , which is substantially in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the case  1 .  
         [0024]    As is seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, below the bottom of the case  1 , there is arranged a mounting plate  52  which has a rubber cover  53  engaged with the bottom of the case  1 .  
         [0025]    Referring back to FIG. 5, the select member  5  is formed with a guide groove  9  with which a slider boss  16  of the shift lever  8  is slidably engaged. The select member  5  is formed at a rear side bank of the guide groove  9  with a stopper arm  10  and at a front side bank of the guide groove  9  with a sector arm  11 . The stopper arm  10  is formed with a tapered leading end. The sector arm  11  is formed with a notched peripheral edge  12  which is shaped to be concentric with the shaft  4 .  
         [0026]    As is seen from FIG. 3, against the notched peripheral edge  12  of the sector arm  11 , there is resiliently pressed a rounded free end  14   a  of a spring plate  14  whose base end  14   b  is tightly connected to an inside surface of the case  1  through a pin  13 .  
         [0027]    As is seen from FIGS. 5 and 6, the sector arm  11  is formed at its right side surface with a pin  15  to which a cable (not shown) extending from an automatic transmission (not shown) is connected.  
         [0028]    The shift lever  8  is made of a reinforced plastic and formed with a base portion  8   a  that has a bore  8   b  through which the shaft  7  passes. As shown, the slider boss  16  is integrally mounted on an upper portion of the base portion  8   a . If desired, the slider boss  16  may be a separate member that is detachably connected to the shift lever  8 .  
         [0029]    As is seen from FIG. 6, upon assembly, axially ends of the slider boss  16  are constantly and slidably engaged with respective side walls of the guide groove  9  of the select member  5 . A metal tube  18  has a lower end embedded in the shift lever  8 .  
         [0030]    As is seen from FIG. 5, a knob  19  is detachably connected to an upper end of the metal tube  18 . The base portion  8   a  of the shift lever  8  is formed with an upwardly extending tubular portion  20  into which a coil spring  21  and a slide pin  22  are installed.  
         [0031]    As shown in FIG. 4, upon assembly, the slide pin  22  is slidably pressed against an inclined groove  1   a  defined on a lower surface of a bracket  1   b  that is mounted on an upper portion of the case  1 . The groove  1   a  extends to be concentric with the shaft  4 , and as shown, the groove  1   a  has a width that is sloped in a lateral direction of the vehicle. Due to a biasing force produced by the coil spring  21  in the tubular portion  20  and a sliding engagement of the slide pin  22  with the inclined width of the groove  1   a , the shift lever  8  is biased to take a left position  19 L as viewed in FIG. 4. For the reason which will become apparent hereinafter, at a portion that corresponds to “3/D position”, the groove  1   a  has two recesses into which the spring-biased slide pin  22  is insertable for holding the shift lever  8  at two predetermined positions. Thus, when the shift lever  8  is moved between the two positions, a detent feeling is produced and thus given to a driver who is handling the shift lever  8 .  
         [0032]    As is seen from FIGS. 1, 3,  4  and  5 , the metal tube  18  of the shift lever  8  extends upward through a gate slot  24  formed in a curved indicator roof panel  23  that covers a curved upper open portion of the case  1 .  
         [0033]    As is seen from FIGS. 1 and 5, the gate slot  24  has a zigzag shape including various lever hold bay portions. Beside the lever hold bay portions, corresponding indication windows  25  are provided in the indicator roof panel  23 , which are for P-position, R-position, N-position, 3/D-position, 2-position and  1- position.  
         [0034]    It is to be noted that 3/D position includes  3- position and D-position.  
         [0035]    As is shown in FIG. 5, below the indication windows  25  of the indicator roof panel  23 , there is provided a lamp house  26  that houses therein a lamp or lamps for illuminating the windows  25  from rear side. Furthermore, below the zigzag gate slot  24  of the indicator roof panel  23 , there is provided a curved guide plate  27  having a guide slot  28  that is identical in shape to the gate slot  24  of the indicator roof panel  23 . Upon assembly, the two guide slots  28  and  24  are merged with each other. Beneath the guide plate  27 , there is slidably disposed a shield plate  29  that has an opening  29   a  through which the pipe  18  passes. Thus, when the shift lever  8  moves in and along the zigzag gate slot  24 , the shield plate  29  moves together with the shift lever  8 .  
         [0036]    Designated by numeral  30  is a lock unit that is mounted to a left side of the case  1  (as viewed in FIG. 5). The lock unit  30  has a pivotal lock lever  31  that is made of a reinforced plastic and engageable with the above-mentioned stopper arm  10  of the select member  5  in an after-mentioned manner.  
         [0037]    As is seen from FIGS. 5 and 7, the lock unit  30  comprises a base plate  33  having a plurality of projections that are detachably engaged with engaging notches formed in the left side of the case  1 . To the base plate  33 , there is pivotally connected the lock lever  31  through a shaft  34 . The shaft  34  is integral with the lock lever  31  and thus these parts  34  and  31  move together as a single unit. To the base plate  33 , there is also connected an electric actuator  35  that functions to turn or pivot the shaft  34  and thus the lock lever  31 .  
         [0038]    As is best seen from FIG. 7, the lock lever  31  has a generally sectoral form and the shaft  34  extends perpendicular to a base portion of the lock lever  31 . The shaft  34  to which the lock lever  31  is secured can rotate about an axis thereof and move along the axis by a certain but small distance. For this movement, the right end and left end portions of the shaft  34 , as viewed in FIG. 7, are rotatably and axially held by first and second shaft holders  38  and  36  which are secured to the base plate  33  of the lock unit  30 . As shown, the second shaft holder  36  is shaped like a clip including two arms whose leading ends  36   a  are separated by a certain distance. Near the second shaft holder  36 , the shaft  34  has a thinner portion  34   a . Due to provision of such thinner portion  34   a , the shaft  34  can be easily put into the first and second shaft holders  38  and  36 . That is, for this putting, the thinner portion  34   a  is put into the second shaft holder  36  through the clearance defined by the arms and the shaft  34  is axially moved to receive the right end portion thereof into the first shaft holder  38 .  
         [0039]    As shown in FIG. 7, the left end of the shaft  34  is integrally formed with a radially projected lever  39  and an axially projected cancel pin  40 . The cancel pin  40  is somewhat offset with respect to the axis of the shaft  34 .  
         [0040]    As is seen from FIGS. 5 and 7, the lock lever  31  is insertable into a rectangular window  49  formed in a side wall of the case  1 . Due to the axially movable arrangement of the shaft  34 , positioning of the lock lever  31  relative to the window  49  can be exactly and easily made.  
         [0041]    Referring back to FIG. 7, the lever  39  has an elongate opening  41  formed therethrough. Slidably engaged with the elongate opening  41  is a pin  43  that is provided on a work arm  42  of the electric actuator  35 . The pin  43  has such a length as to keep the pivotal and slidable connection between the lever  39  and the work arm  42  even when the shaft  34  axially moves by a distance that permits movement of the lock lever  31  between opposed inner walls  50  and  51  (see FIG. 2) of the window  49  of the case  1 .  
         [0042]    As is shown in the drawing (viz., FIG. 7), near the axially projected cancel pin  40  of the shaft  34 , there is placed a leading end of a cancel lever  44  that is pivotally connected to the base plate  33  through a shaft  45 . A coil spring  32  is disposed about the shaft  45  to bias the cancel lever  44  in a direction to separate the leading end of the same from the cancel pin  40 .  
         [0043]    The other end of the cancel lever  44  is in contact with a lower end of a cancel rod  46  that has an upper end projected into the indicator roof panel  23  (see FIG. 2). More specifically, as is seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the cancel rod  46  is slightly projected upward through an opening formed in the indicator panel roof panel  23 , which is covered with a detachable lid  23   a . That is, when the lid  23   a  is removed from the opening, the upper end of the cancel rod  46  can be manually pressed down. With this manual operation, the cancel lever  44  pushes up the cancel pin  40  thereby to withdraw the lock lever  31  from the window  49 . As will be clarified hereinafter, under this condition, the select member  5  is pivotal in a fore-and-aft direction without obstruction by the lock lever  31 .  
         [0044]    The shaft  34  has at a middle portion thereof a projection  47  which is contactable with another projection  48  provided on the base plate  33 . That is, by contacting the projection  48 , the projection  47  restricts the rotation of the shaft  34  about the axis of the same. The cancel lever  44  is formed with a bracket  44   a  that is useful when assembling of the cancel lever  44  in the lock unit  30  is made.  
         [0045]    As is well understood from FIG. 5, the window  49  of the case  1  is so sized as to permit a pivotal movement of the lock lever  31  therein and therefrom. More specifically, as is seen from FIG. 4, the window  49  is framed and has the front and rear opposed inner walls  51  and  50  against which front and rear walls of the lock lever  31  can abut when the shaft  34  to which the lock lever  31  is fixed moves axially in a forward and rearward direction.  
         [0046]    As may be seen from FIGS. 5 and 7, in the window  49 , when the shift lever  8  is in P-position, the front wall of the lock lever  31  is in abutment with the rear wall of the stopper arm  10  thereby suppressing movement of the shift lever  8  toward R-position. While, when the shift lever  8  is in N-position, 3/D-position, 2-position or 1-position, the rear wall of the lock lever  31  is in abutment with the front wall of the stopper arm  10  thereby suppressing movement of the shift lever  8  from N-position to R-position.  
         [0047]    That is, when, upon standstill of the vehicle, the shift lever  8  is moved to P-position, the lock lever  31  is projected into the case  1  thereby locking the shift lever  8  to achieve “Park-Lock” condition. Furthermore, when the vehicle is moving at a speed higher than a predetermined speed, unwilled movement of the shift lever  8  from 3/D-position, 2-position or 1-position to R-position through N-position is inhibited by the lock lever  31  that is in abutment with the front wall of the stopper arm  10 . That is, “Neutral-Lock” condition is achieved in this case.  
         [0048]    In the following, the above-mentioned “Park-Lock” and “Neutral-Lock” conditions will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5.  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 3 shows “Park-Lock” condition of the shift lever device of the invention with the shift lever  8 , as illustrated by a solid line, assuming P-position.  
         [0050]    As is described hereinabove, under “Park-Lock” condition, the lock lever  31  (see FIG. 5) is projected into the window  49  and the rear wall of the stopper arm  10  is in abutment with the front wall of the lock lever  31 . Thus, under this condition, counterclockwise rotation of the select member  5  about the axis of the shaft  4  is inhibited.  
         [0051]    When, now, the shift lever  8  is applied with a certain force in a direction shown by the arrow D 1  (see FIG. 3), that is, toward R-position, the abutment of the stopper arm  10  with the lock lever  31  inhibits movement of the shift lever  8  toward R-position. More specifically, if the force applied to the shift lever  8  is remarkable, the lock lever  30  is pressed against the rear wall  50  of the window  49  and thus appropriately received by the case  1 .  
         [0052]    When, under “Park-Lock” condition, an engine is started and a brake pedal is depressed or actuated, the electric actuator  35  is energized. Upon this, the work arm  42  of the actuator  35  is pulled down. With this, as is seen from FIG. 7, the shaft  34  and thus the lock lever  31  is pivoted away from the window  49  thereby to permit a rightward movement of the stopper arm  10  as viewed in the drawing. Thus, the shift lever  8  can be moved from P-position toward R-position along the gate slot  24 . When the shift lever  8  is shifted to R-position, the vehicle can move backward and when the shift lever  8  is shifted to D-position, the vehicle can move forward.  
         [0053]    When, now, the shift lever  8  is moved leftward with respect to the vehicle, that is, moved to 3-position, the associated transmission is brought to a third speed position. As is seen from FIG. 6, due to the leftward movement of the shift lever  8 , the slider boss  16  of the shift lever  8  is moved leftward along the guide groove  9  of the select member  5 .  
         [0054]    It is thus to be noted that the shift lever  8  and the select member  5  move like a single unit when moved or pivoted forward and rearward about the axis of the shaft  4 . That is, as is seen from FIG. 5, the shift lever  8  pivots rightward and leftward about the axis of the shaft  7  relative to the select member  5 . Thus, if the indicator roof panel  23  (see FIG. 1) has an extra manual shift slot MS, the shift lever  8  in D-position can be pivoted rightward into the slot MS and pivoted forward and rearward isolating from the select member  5 . By using the forward and rearward movement of the shift lever  8 , a so-called manual shifting is obtainable by the shift lever device of the invention.  
         [0055]    As is seen from FIG. 3, during the forward and rearward pivoting of the select member  5  about the axis of the shaft  4 , the notched peripheral edge  12  of the sector arm  11  of the select member  5  is forced to slide on the rounded free end  14   a  of the spring plate  14  producing a detent feeling. Furthermore, as is seen from FIG. 4, when the shift lever  8  is pivoted laterally, that is, rightward and leftward in the drawing, the spring-biased slide pin  22  (see FIG. 5) is forced to slide laterally on the sloped bottom surface of the inclined groove  1   a  of the bracket  1   b . This sliding produces a biasing force by which the shift lever  8  is biased to pivot leftward. In other words, such biasing force helps the driver to sense the necessity of pivoting the shift lever  8  rightward upon need of shift change.  
         [0056]    When the vehicle moves at a speed higher than a predetermined speed, the electric actuator  35  is kept deenergized keeping the work arm  42  projected therefrom due to work of a biasing spring (not shown) installed in the actuator  35 . Under this condition, as is seen from FIG. 7, the shaft  34  assumes a predetermined angular position causing the lock lever  31  to be placed in the window  49  of the case  1 . Thus, as is described hereinabove, the pivotal movement of the stopper arm  10  in forward direction is suppressed. That is, under this condition, the rear wall of the lock lever  31  (see FIG. 5) abuts against the front wall of the stopper arm  10  thereby inhibiting the forward pivoting of the select member  5  and thus that of the shift lever  8 . That is, “Neutral-Lock” that inhibits movement of shift lever  8  toward R-position is established. If, under this condition, an external force is applied to the shift lever  8  in a direction to move from N-position toward R-position, the stopper arm  10  presses the lock lever  31  against the front wall  51  of the window  49  of the case  1 . This abutment brings about an assured inhibition of an undesirable shifting of the shift lever  8  toward R-position.  
         [0057]    As is described hereinabove, when, under “Park-Lock” and/or “Neutral-Lock” condition, the lock lever  31  is projected into the window  49  of the case  1 . Under this condition, the stopper arm  10  of the select member  5  abuts against the front wall of the lock lever  31  or the rear wall of the same. Thus, if, under this condition, the shift lever  8  is pulled or pushed by force, the lock lever  31  is moved but slightly until it firmly abuts against the rear or front wall  50  or  51  of the window  49 . However, the slight movement of the lock lever  31  is appropriately absorbed by the axial movement of the shaft  34  which is axially movably held by the first and second shaft holders  38  and  36  (see FIG. 7).  
         [0058]    As is described hereinabove, in accordance with the present invention, the shift lever  8  is movable or pivotal in two directions, one being a fore-and-aft direction and the other being a lateral direction with respect to the vehicle body. The fore-and-aft pivoting of the shift lever  8  is made together with the select member  5 , and the lateral pivoting of the same is made independently relative to the select member  5 . The pivotal movement of the select member  5  is restricted by the lock lever  31 . Since, in stopping the movement of the select member  5 , the lock lever  31  receives the force from the select member  5  at its one edge. If, under “Park-Lock” and/or “Neutral-Lock” condition, the shift lever  31 .is accidentally pulled or pushed by force, the axial displacement of the lock lever  31  is stopped by the rear or front wall  50  or  51  of the window  49  of the case  1 . In this condition, the lock lever  31  receives the force at one edge thereof while abutting against the rear or front wall  50  r  51  at the other edge thereof. That is, for stopping the select member  5 , the lock lever  31  takes the most effective posture. Thus, unwilled or unexpected shifting of the shift lever  31  is reliably suppressed by the lock lever  31  that has a compact and thin structure.  
         [0059]    The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application 2001-323452 filed Oct. 22m 2001 are incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0060]    Although the invention has been described above with reference to the embodiment of the invention, the invention is not limited to such embodiment as described above. Various modifications and variations of such embodiment may be carried out by those skilled in the art, in light of the above description.