Switching lever of motor vehicle comprising control member

Abstract

The invention relates to a switching lever (L) comprising an arm (B) having one end attachable to a steering wheel region of a motor vehicle and a control member at the free end of the arm, characterized in that the control member (1) comprises: a housing (3); a removable housing (2) mounted around the housing (3); elastic return means (41) and reversible holding means holding the shell around the housing, the holding means comprising at least one portion (400) movable between an active holding position and a retracted position by cooperating with the elastic return means; and pusher means (5, 51) of the housing, the pusher means (5, 51) being configured to push the housing when the housing is released from the holding means.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a gearshift lever for a motor vehicle, in particular a lever positioned in the area of the vehicle's steering wheel.

[0002] It is known to have a controller on the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, such as a gearshift lever for manually operating indicators or lights. The driver can operate the lever by hand, in particular by simple movements of the fingertips or several fingers.

[0003] In the case of a vehicle with an automatic transmission, it is also known to have a gearshift lever on the steering wheel, which is used to shift gears between different common positions: drive, neutral, and reverse.

[0004] Patent application EP3689659 - A1 describes a gearshift lever on the steering wheel of a motor vehicle with an automatic transmission. The gearshift lever includes an arm attached to the shaft of the vehicle's steering wheel, and an operating member is present at the free end of the arm. The operating member includes a handle, which allows switching from one position to another by pulling the lever with the handle to the "neutral" position and moving the handle lifted in this way forward or backward to move to the drive position or reverse position respectively. The handle has an upper face that provides information about the operating position, and the upper face covers a screwed - in base having a volume and shape that facilitate the switching operation. This makes it possible to provide a vehicle equipped with a drive - reverse gearshift lever that has a handle capable of achieving reliable switching operations between the drive position, neutral position, and reverse position.

[0005] Document US2020 / 0201378 - A1 describes a gearshift lever attached to the area of the steering wheel of a motor vehicle. The gearshift lever includes an end provided with operating means more particularly for rotational operation. The operating means includes a shaft and a cap mounted and held around the shaft.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to propose an alternative solution that provides a gearshift lever, in particular for changing gears, which is located on the steering wheel of a vehicle, capable of achieving a reliable gear change and at the same time providing the option of customizing the operating member of the lever in terms of aesthetics and / or ergonomics.

[0007] To this end, the present invention proposes a gearshift lever that includes an arm having one end adapted to be attached to the area of the steering wheel of a motor vehicle and an operating member located at the free end of the arm, characterized in that the operating member includes:

[0008] - a housing,

[0009] - a removable shell that is mounted around the housing,

[0010] - An elastic return device and a reversible retaining device for retaining the housing around a housing body, the retaining device including at least one part that can move between an active retaining position and a retracted position by cooperating with the elastic return device.

[0011] - A pusher device of the housing, the pusher device being configured to push the housing back when the housing is released from the retaining device.

[0012] Thus, the housing of the operating member is retained to the housing body by clamping and is easily released for replacement.

[0013] The pusher device makes it easier to remove the housing.

[0014] This arrangement of the operating member according to the invention allows the housing to be mounted to fit closely around the housing body, in other words, with a very small clearance between the housing body and the housing, such that the housing is always firmly retained around the housing body when the rod is operated, while being easily removable when the housing needs to be replaced.

[0015] In a preferred manner, the housing body has a main direction that is oriented transversely or obliquely to the main direction of the rod arm.

[0016] In particular, the pusher device is configured to push the housing back along the main direction of the housing body.

[0017] In a preferred manner, the housing body at least partially houses the elastic return device, the retaining device, and the pusher device.

[0018] In a preferred manner, the pusher device includes an elastic member and a pusher element that can move translationally at least in the housing by cooperating with the elastic member.

[0019] In a preferred manner, the elastic member is preloaded between 7 Newtons and 15 Newtons, preferably preloaded between 10 Newtons and 14 Newtons.

[0020] Preferably, the pusher element includes an opening that cooperates with a stop included in the housing body to limit the translational travel of the pusher element.

[0021] Advantageously, the moving part between the active retaining position and the retracted position of the retaining device is a protruding part, and the housing includes an opening for receiving the protruding part.

[0022] In a preferred manner, the housing body includes at least two walls having grooves for guiding the housing translationally in the main direction of the housing body.

[0023] Preferably, the housing includes internal guiding grooves that cooperate with the grooves of the housing body.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the housing includes an internal stop against which the actuator element contacts when the movable part of the holding means moves to the retracted position.

[0025] In particular, the housing includes a one-piece portion having an internal recess. In particular, the housing has an internal profiling area that includes a recessed portion with a reduced size relative to the actuator element, and this recessed portion forms a stop for the actuator element.

[0026] Preferably, the shift lever is a gearshift lever for a gearbox. The lever is configured such that it is possible to select between different gear positions of the gearbox, in particular between the drive position, neutral position, and reverse position of an automatic gearbox. The gearbox is in particular a gearbox of a motor vehicle, and the shift lever is intended for a motor vehicle as indicated above.

[0027] The shift lever includes an arm having one end configured to be attached to a steering wheel area of the motor vehicle, and this area can be a plate around the axis of the steering wheel of the motor vehicle.

[0028] The invention also relates to a motor vehicle that includes a shift lever having an arm with one end attached to a steering wheel area of the vehicle, and the lever is as described above. In particular, this area of the steering wheel can be a plate around the axis of the steering wheel of the motor vehicle.

[0029] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of several specific embodiments of the invention, which are given by way of example with reference to the drawings and are not limiting in any way, in which:

[0030] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shift lever with an operating member according to an embodiment of the invention, which is mounted on a receiving part on the steering wheel of a motor vehicle.

[0031] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a shift lever including an operating member according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0032] Figure 3A is a partial perspective view of the operating member mounted at one end of the lever arm as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 when the housing is held on the housing body.

[0033] Figure 3B is a partial perspective view of the operating member mounted at one end of the lever arm as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 when the housing is removed. ​​​​

[0034] Figure 4 is Figure 2 and Figure 3A a partial schematic view (without a closing element) of a longitudinal cross-section of the operating member shown in

[0035] Figure 5 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a switching lever including an operating member according to a variant of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] In this specification, unless otherwise specified, the terms front, rear, upper, and lower refer to the normal orientation of a vehicle resting on vehicle wheels. The axes X, Y, Z of the orthogonal trihedron respectively correspond to the longitudinal axis (oriented from front to back), the transverse axis (oriented towards the right side of the vehicle), and the vertical axis for a vehicle resting on vehicle wheels (in the normal position).

[0037] Figures 1 to 4 are discussed together.

[0038] Figure 1 A switching lever L having an operating member 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in perspective view. The switching lever L is mounted on a plate A around the axis of a steering wheel of a motor vehicle. According to an example, the plate also supports a switching lever G for indicators and lights and a switching lever H for windshield wipers.

[0039] The lever includes an arm B. At one end of the arm B, there is arranged an operating member 1 of the lever, which enables the lever to be actuated between different positions, thus ensuring the switching of an automatic transmission according to an example. The other end of the arm is attached to the plate A. An information panel I carries information (not shown in this figure) indicating the relationship between the position of the lever and the gear position.

[0040] The operating member 1 includes an elongated housing 2, which is closed at one of its ends by a closing element 6.

[0041] Figure 2 Is shown in exploded view a switching lever including an operating member 1 as Figure 1 shown in

[0042] The lever L includes an arm B, which has a body B1 with a recess that houses an electronic board C useful for switching changes and a bundle of cables W. A plate B2 closes the recess. The switching change mechanism is implemented according to known methods that are not the subject of the present invention.

[0043] The information panel I is attached to a face of the arm B visible to the driver and indicates the relationship between the position of the lever and the gear position. In this example, the information indicates the generally different positions of the drive gear position, the neutral gear position, and the reverse gear position:​​

[0044] - D: Standard drive gear position (usually denoted as D for "drive"),

[0045] - B: Drive gear position with regenerative braking (usually denoted as B for "brake", usually provided in a vehicle having at least one electric drive motor),

[0046] - N: Neutral gear position (usually denoted as N for "neutral"),

[0047] - R: Reverse gear position (usually denoted as R for "reverse").

[0048] The operating member 1 includes a housing 3 located at the end of the lever arm, and this housing 3 supports the outer shell 2, also known as the cover shell. The outer shell 2 includes a cutout 22 that follows the contour of the end of the housing 3 supporting the arm B, and this cutout 22 allows the said shell to slide on the housing 3 and around the end of the housing supporting the arm.

[0049] The housing has an overall parallelepiped shape, and its maximum dimension defines the main direction of the housing. This main direction of the housing substantially corresponds to the lateral direction (Y) of the vehicle.

[0050] Inside the housing, a one-piece clamping and holding device is mounted transversely to the housing. This holding device includes a support 40 and a lug 400, and the lug 400 forms a part protruding from the lower face of the support 40. This element can cooperate with an elastic return element 41 to move between an active holding position and a retracted position, and the elastic return element 41 is a torsion spring housed in a recess 30 of the housing (see Figure 3A , Figure 3B ). The said lug 400 is positioned in the opening 21 of the said shell 2 when the shell is force-fitted onto the housing.

[0051] The housing 3 also includes side walls 32, 31, 33 that are paired and opposite to each other (the face opposite to face 32 is not shown in the figure). The side walls are oriented along the main direction of the housing, generally forming a parallelepiped, and the side walls include grooves for translationally guiding the outer shell 2. The guiding grooves 102, 101 are the only guiding grooves shown in the figure. In addition, two opposite side walls (side face 32 and its opposite face without a reference numeral) include studs (only stud 320 is shown in the figure) that form stoppers 320, and the studs protrude on their respective outer faces, and the outer faces cooperate with the pusher devices 5, 51 as explained below.

[0052] The shell 2 is a one-piece hollow part. The shell 2 includes internal guiding grooves that cooperate with the grooves of the housing. The shell 2 is mounted to fit closely around the housing. In other words, there is a very small clearance between the housing and the shell, so that the shell is always firmly held around the housing when the lever is operated.

[0053] To facilitate the removal of the shell 2, a pusher device including a preloaded spring 51 and a pusher element 5 that can move translationally due to the force of the spring 5 is installed in the housing 3. The pusher element 5 is located inside a part of the housing, and the shell 2 slides onto the housing 3 from this part. These pusher devices are also configured to enter the interior of the shell 2 when the lug 400 holding the shell 2 is, for example, pressed by the tip of a sharp object used by a person to be in the retracted position. The shell includes at least one internal stop against which the pusher element contacts to push the shell. This stop can be an element protruding from the inner surface of the shell. Alternatively, the shell can have an internal forming area with a recessed portion of reduced size such that the larger-sized pusher element 5 abuts against this recessed portion to push the shell.

[0054] The pusher element 5 includes a wall 50 having two opposite faces oriented transversely to the main direction of the housing and the shell, one of the faces facing the shell and the other face facing the housing supporting the shaft 53 for receiving the preloaded spring 51. This shaft 53 allows the spring 51 to be held and guided translationally. In addition, the pusher element 5 includes two opposite side walls 52, 54 oriented in the main direction of the housing and the shell, and these walls each include openings 520, 540 defining a length. The pusher element 5 is mounted on the housing 3 such that these two walls 52, 54 are respectively located above and in contact with the corresponding side walls (side wall 32 and its opposite face without a reference numeral) of the housing, and the studs 320 included in the corresponding side walls of the housing are respectively inserted into the corresponding openings 520 (only opening 520 is shown in the figure) to limit the translational movement of the pusher element 5 and hold it to the housing when the pusher element 5 applies a thrust force.

[0055] When the lug 400 is placed in the retracted position, where the shell 2 is no longer held, the compressed preloaded spring 51 can relax in a translational movement oriented in the main direction of the housing and the shell and apply a thrust force (arrow P) on the pusher element 5, which has the effect of pushing the pusher element Figure 3B ) into the shell and thus at least partially pushing the shell out of the housing. The load of the spring 51 is calibrated such that the shell 2 is pushed away from the housing supporting the shell 2, but the shell 2 is not pushed away too strongly. For example, the spring load is about 10 Newtons to 12 Newtons. These pusher devices enable anyone to easily remove the shell 2, which is installed by assembly with a very small clearance between the housing and the shell.

[0056] The open end 20 of the housing, which is opposite to the end on the steering wheel side, can be closed by a closing element 6 that can have a material and / or color and / or opacity different from that of the housing 2. According to an example, the closing element 6 is fixed to the housing by adhesion. The closing element 6 adheres to the inner side of the edge of the open end 20 of the housing.

[0057] According to Figure 5 In a variant illustrated in [reference], the operating member 1' includes an outer housing 2' having a shape similar to that of the housing 2 described above, but the outer housing 2' includes an inner shaft 25'. The outer housing 2' is mounted around the housing body. The protruding part of the retaining element is a stud 400' mounted in a through hole of a support 40' that is mounted transversely to the main direction of the housing body and the housing 2'. A return device in the form of a compression spring 41' of the stud is held between one face of the stud and the opposite face of the support, such that the stud can move translationally between a protruding position and a retracted position transversely to the main direction of the housing body and the housing. The protruding stud 400' can snap into an opening 21' of the housing 2' to hold the housing. As described above, pressing on the stud with the tip of a sharp object is sufficient to retract the stud into the housing body and thus release the housing. Additionally, the pusher device includes a pusher element 5' associated with a preloaded compression spring 51' mounted in a shaft 53'. The shaft 53' includes the pusher element and extends into the inner shaft 25' of the housing 2'. The two shafts 53', 25' abut when the housing is clamped to the housing body. As described above, the pusher device makes it easier to remove the housing 2' when the housing is released. The shaft supports the preloaded spring 51' and guides the preloaded spring 51' translationally when clamping or releasing the housing.

[0058] According to the present invention, in addition to covering the housing body and particularly facilitating the function of being manually operated by the driver of the vehicle by its elongated shape, the outer housings 2, 2' also have an aesthetic effect. The outer housings 2, 2' can be easily personalized. This personalization can be achieved by having an aesthetic surface effect (color, texture) and / or by its ergonomic shape. Since the outer housings 2, 2' are easy to mount around and remove from the housing body, they can be easily replaced by anyone.

[0059] Therefore, the present invention allows the vehicle user to easily disassemble and assemble the housing of the operating member of the gearshift lever at any time, including during after-sales service, for the purposes of interchangeability and customization.

Claims

1. A switching lever (L), said switching lever (L) comprising an arm (B) having one end adapted to be attached to a steering wheel area of a motor vehicle and an operating member located at the free end of said arm, characterized in that, The operating member (1, 1') comprises: - a housing (3), - a removable shell (2, 2'), the shell (2, 2') being mounted around the housing (3), - an elastic return device (41, 41') and a reversible retaining device that retains the shell around the housing, the retaining device comprising at least one part (400, 400') capable of cooperating with the elastic return device to move between an active retaining position and a retracted position, - pusher means (5, 51, 5', 51') for the shell, the pusher means (5, 51, 5', 51') being configured to push back the shell when the shell is released from the retaining device.

2. The switching lever according to claim 1, wherein The pusher means comprises an elastic member (51, 51') and a pusher element (5, 5'), the pusher element (5, 5') being capable of cooperating with the elastic member to move at least translationally in the shell.

3. The switching lever according to claim 2, characterized in that The elastic member (51, 51') is preloaded between 7 N and 15 N, preferably between 10 N and 14 N.

4. The switching lever according to any one of claims 2 to 3, characterized in that, The pusher element (5, 5') comprises at least one opening (520) that cooperates with at least one stop (320) included in the housing to limit translational movement of the pusher element.

5. The switching lever according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The part (400, 400') capable of moving between the active retaining position and the retracted position of the retaining device is a projecting part, and the shell comprises a receiving opening (21, 21') for the projecting part.

6. The switching lever according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The housing at least partly houses the elastic return device, the retaining device and the pusher means.

7. The switching lever according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The housing comprises at least two walls, the at least two walls comprising grooves (101, 102) for guiding the shell translationally in the main direction of the housing, and the shell comprises internal guiding grooves that cooperate with the grooves of the housing.

8. The switching lever according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that, The shell comprises an internal stop, and the pusher element (5, 5') contacts the internal stop when the moving part (400, 400') of the retaining device is in the retracted position.

9. The switching lever according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The shift lever is configured to allow shifting between different gear positions of a gearbox, in particular between a drive position - neutral position - reverse position of an automatic gearbox.

10. A motor vehicle comprising a shift lever (L), the shift lever (L) comprising an arm (B) having one end attached to the steering wheel area of the vehicle, the lever being the lever according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The motor vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the steering wheel area is a plate around the axis of the steering wheel of the motor vehicle.

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