Patent ID: 7546783

Claim:
A shift handle attachment system, comprising: a shift shaft having a distal end portion and a shaft axis, said distal end portion comprising a non-circularly shaped head adjacent a shaft end of said distal end portion; a shift handle core having a central bore therethrough, said central bore having a bore axis, a head seat being formed in said central bore which is complementarily shaped with respect to said non-circularly shaped head for abuttingly receiving said head seatingly therein; a shift handle interconnected with said shift handle core; a resilient interconnection between said shift shaft and said shift handle core which biasably retains, in a direction parallel to said shaft axis, said distal end portion of said shift shaft seatingly received by said central bore, wherein said resilient interconnection comprises: a notch formed in said shift shaft, said notch being oriented transversely with respect to said shaft axis; a slot formed in said shift handle core, said slot passing through said shift handle core and being oriented transversely with respect to said bore axis; and a clip disposed within said shift handle and having an engagement portion which is resiliently disposed in said slot; wherein when said shift shaft is seated in said central bore, said notch aligns with said slot and said engagement portion is resiliently disposed in both said notch and said slot; at least one cut-out formed in said shift shaft, said at least one cut-out being oriented parallel to said shaft axis, said at least one cut-out being open at said end of said distal end portion and having an oppositely disposed blind terminus; and at least one rib, one said rib for each said cut-out, respectively, disposed in said central bore of said shift handle core, said at east one rib being oriented parallel to said bore axis; wherein when said distal end portion of said shift shaft is seated in said central bore, each said rib is received by a respective said cut-out; and wherein when said distal end portion of said shift shaft is seated in said central bore, said head abuts said head seat such that said shift handle core is prevented from rotating about said shaft axis independently of said shift shaft.