Patent ID: 7536918

Claim:
A system that determines a force-travel profile of a shifter in a vehicle having an instrument panel counsel, a windshield, and a shifter having an associated shifter shaft for a transmission, the system comprising: a shifter fixture mounted to the shifter; a hand actuation interface that operates to actuate the shifter when force is applied to the hand actuation interface by a user; a multi-dimensional force sensor (force sensor) that operates to sense forces sustained on the shifter fixture mounted to the shifter; a rigid linkage that interconnects the shifter fixture with the force sensor; a universal joint connecting two rigid linkages, one connecting the hand actuation interface and the other connecting the force sensor; a travel measurement rod for mounting position transducers; at least two transducers, a first transducer and a second transducer each mechanically mounted onto the travel measurement rod to determine position of a reference point associated with the travel measurement rod; and a data acquisition device in operable electrical communication with the multi-dimensional force sensor and the at least two transponders, wherein the data acquisition device operates to process force inputs received from the multi-dimensional force sensor and reference point position inputs from the at least two transponders to generate a force-travel curve of the shifter.