Patent ID: 8196491

Claim:
A shift selector apparatus for a vehicle transmission, comprising a housing, a shift path defined by the housing, the shift path having a first side, a second side spaced from the first side by a first distance, a first end and a second end spaced from the first end by a second distance, the second distance being greater than the first distance, a first shift zone provided in the shift path, the first shift zone including at least first and second selectable shift positions, the first shift position when selected generating a first request to move the vehicle in a first direction, and the second shift position when selected generating a second request to move the vehicle in a second direction different than the first direction, a second shift zone provided in the shift path and spaced from the first shift zone, the second shift zone configured to enable bump-shifting between a plurality of forward ranges, a shift lever movable along the shift path, the shift lever including a first release and a second release, and a locking member coupled to the shift lever, wherein the first release is movable between a first position and a second position of the first release, the first release is biased toward the first position, the second release is movable between a first position and a second position of the second release, the second release is biased toward the first position of the second release, the locking member is movable between a first position of the locking member in which the shift lever is blocked from moving between the selectable shift positions of the first shift zone and from moving between the first shift zone and the second shift zone, a second position of the locking member in which the shift lever is movable between the selectable shift positions and blocked from moving between the first shift zone and the second shift zone, and a third position of the locking member in which the shift lever is movable between the selectable shift positions and between the first shift zone and the second shift zone, and movement of the locking member to the third position of the locking member is blocked until the first release is moved away from the first position of the first release concurrently with the second release being moved away from the first position of the second release.