Silence shift lock mechanism of shift lever

Abstract

To provide a silence shift lock mechanism of a shift lever which prevents abnormal sound at ON / OFF of a brake pedal while holding increase in the number of components and increase in cost.SOLUTION: A silence shift lock mechanism of a shift lever comprises a lock link 21 which is unable to shift by restricting motion of a detent pin 18 in parking position, a solenoid 25 which oscillates the lock link up to lock release position when a brake is stepped down and an extension spring 30 which always pulls a rotational axis 22 of the lock link 21 to one side of its shaft hole 32. It can prevent abnormal sound from being generated when the brake is stepped down which results from clearance of a shank of the lock link or can eliminate a return spring of the solenoid 25.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a noise-reducing shift lock mechanism for an automatic transmission shift lever. [Background technology]

[0002] Automotive automatic transmission shift levers have traditionally incorporated a shift lock mechanism, which prevents the shift lever from being shifted from the parking position to another position unless the brake pedal is depressed.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a shift lock mechanism in which, when the brake pedal is depressed, a solenoid is activated to swing a lock plate to an unlocked position, allowing the shift lever to be shifted from the parking position to another position. An unavoidable clearance exists between the rotation shaft of the lock plate and its shaft hole. Therefore, when the brake pedal is depressed to cause the solenoid to swing the lock plate to the unlocked position, and when the brake pedal is released to turn off the solenoid and return the lock plate to the locked position, abnormal noise due to the clearance in the shaft hole can occur. This abnormal noise is particularly noticeable in automobiles with poor interior sound-absorbing performance.

[0004] The above-mentioned abnormal noise can be reduced by filling the gap between the lock plate's rotating shaft and its shaft hole with grease. However, the viscosity of the grease increases at low temperatures, which can increase the risk of the lock link malfunctioning. The above-mentioned abnormal noise can also be reduced by increasing the machining precision of the parts and reducing the clearance of the shaft. However, increasing the machining precision of the parts increases costs.

[0005] In addition to the clearance in the shaft hole mentioned above, the abnormal noise that occurs when the brake pedal is turned on and off can also be caused by the impact noise that occurs when the lock plate hits a stopper that restricts its swing range. For this reason, cushions are sometimes provided on the stoppers to reduce the impact noise, but this increases the number of parts and costs.

[0006] In Patent Document 1, a solenoid and coil spring are attached to the lock plate, and the lock plate is held in the locked position when the solenoid is off. However, this coil spring is positioned almost parallel to the direction in which the solenoid operates, and in order to swing the lock plate to the unlocked position, the solenoid must operate while stretching the coil spring. For this reason, the conventional structure requires a large, powerful solenoid, which increases its weight and cost. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-6628 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a noise-reducing shift lock mechanism for a shift lever that solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, prevents abnormal noise when the brake pedal is pressed on / off, while suppressing an increase in the number of parts and costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The noise-reducing shift lock mechanism for a shift lever of the present invention, which was developed to solve the above problems, includes a lock link that locks the movement of the detent pin in the parking position to disable shifting, a solenoid that swings the lock link to the unlocked position when the brake is applied, and an extension spring that always pulls the rotation shaft of the lock link to one side of its shaft hole, preventing the generation of abnormal noise when the brake is applied due to clearance of the shaft portion of the lock link.

[0010] The extension spring may be tensioned in a direction that returns the lock link to the locked position when the solenoid is off, thereby eliminating the return spring and return-side stopper of the solenoid. The lock link may be I-shaped and equipped with a shift lock arm that restricts movement of the detent pin. The lock link may also be V-shaped and equipped with a shift lock arm that restricts movement of the detent pin and an angle restriction arm that restricts the swing angle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The noise-reducing shift lock mechanism for a shift lever of the present invention is provided with an extension spring that always pulls the lock link's rotating shaft to one side of the shaft hole. Therefore, even if there is clearance in the lock link's shaft, the lock link's rotating shaft is always biased in the same direction and contacts the same part of the shaft hole. This prevents the hammering noise that occurs when the lock link is activated due to the clearance in the shaft hole. Therefore, there is no need to fill the shaft hole with grease or increase the machining precision of the shaft parts, preventing increases in costs. Other advantages of the present invention will be described in conjunction with the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall view of a shift lever device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the lock lever is in a locked position. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the lock lever is in an unlocked position. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the solenoid in an off state. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the solenoid in an on state. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the lock lever of the second embodiment is in a locked position. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the lock lever of the second embodiment is in an unlocked position. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the lock lever of the third embodiment is in a locked position. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the lock lever of the third embodiment is in an unlocked position. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the lock lever of the fourth embodiment is in a locked position. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the lock lever of the fourth embodiment is in an unlocked position. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram (locked state) showing an example in which a return spring is disposed in the pushing direction of a solenoid. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a return spring is disposed in the pushing direction of a solenoid (unlocked state). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below, but first the overall structure of an AT shift lever device 10 of the embodiment will be described. In Figure 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a resin casing, and 12 denotes a lever body that is journaled in casing 11 by shift central shaft 13. As shown in Figure 2, a cover 15 having a vertically long opening 14 through which lever body 12 passes is provided on the surface of casing 11, and the positions P, R, N, D, 2, and L are indicated on the side of the cover. As is well known, the position of lever body 11 is transmitted electrically or physically to the automatic transmission, and gear shifting is performed.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, a detent plate 16 is provided on the casing 11. A detent groove 17 is formed in the detent plate 16. The shape of the detent groove 17 is shown by a thick line in FIG. 3. A detent pin 18 that fits into this detent groove 17 is provided on the side of the lever body 11, and by pressing a button 20 provided on a knob 19 of the lever body 11, the detent pin 18 can be slid in the longitudinal direction of the lever body 11. The detent pin 18 is always biased toward the shift central shaft 13 by a spring, and moves away from the shift central shaft 13 when the button 20 is pressed.

[0015] In Figure 3, the position of the detent pin 18 in each position is indicated by a circle. As shown in the figure, the detent groove 17P for the parking position (P) is formed long and narrow, and when the lever body 11 is in the parking position, the detent pin 18 is located deep within the detent groove 17P. In this state, the detent pin 18 is constrained by the detent groove 17P, so the lever body 11 cannot be moved to shift to another position. To shift to another position, the button 20 on the lever body 11 must be pressed to move the detent pin 18 diagonally downward in Figure 3 and release it from the detent groove 17P. The above configuration is well known.

[0016] (First embodiment) In this embodiment, a lock link 21 that restricts movement of the detent pin 18 in the parking position is provided at a position outside the detent groove 17P. The lock link 21 is pivotally supported on the casing 11 by a rotary shaft 22. As shown enlarged in FIG. 4, the lock link 21 in this embodiment is I-shaped and includes a shift lock arm 23 that locks the movement of the detent pin 18. When the shift lock arm 23 is in the position shown in FIG. 4, even if the button 20 is pressed, the detent pin 18 abuts on the tip surface of the shift lock arm 23, preventing the detent pin 18 from being released from the detent groove 17P. In other words, FIG. 4 shows the shift locked state.

[0017] However, on the opposite side of the lock link 21 across the rotation shaft 22 is a short lever 24, and a solenoid 25 is disposed approximately perpendicular to the lever 24. The tip of a plunger 26 of the solenoid 25 is connected to the tip of the lever 24 by a pin 27. When the brake pedal is depressed, the solenoid 25 is energized, retracting the plunger 26 and swinging the lock link 21 clockwise to the position shown in Figure 5. In the state shown in Figure 5, the tip surface of the shift lock arm 23 moves sideways from the detent groove 17P, releasing the shift lock provided by the lock link 21. By pressing the button 20, the detent pin 18 can be released from the detent groove 17P, allowing the lever body 11 to be shifted from the parking position to another position. In this specification, the position of the lock link 21 shown in Figure 4 is referred to as the locked position, and the position of the lock link 21 shown in Figure 5 is referred to as the unlocked position.

[0018] As described above, the shift lock mechanism is made up of the lock link 21, which restricts the movement of the detent pin 18 in the parking position, and the solenoid 25, which swings the lock link 21 to the unlocked position when the brake is applied. However, when the solenoid 25 is de-energized, the lock link 21 must be returned to the locked position shown in FIG.

[0019] To achieve this, a return spring can be incorporated into the solenoid 25, so that when the brake is turned off and the power to the solenoid 25 is cut off, the force of the return spring will return the lock link 21 to the restricted position shown in Figure 4. However, if the force of the return spring is weak, it will not be possible to reliably return the lock link 21, and conversely, if the force of the return spring is made stronger, the attractive force of the solenoid 25 will also need to be made stronger, which will result in the solenoid 25 becoming larger.

[0020] Therefore, in the present invention, an extension spring 30 is provided rather than incorporating a return spring in the solenoid 25. In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a coil spring serving as a return spring is provided on the opposite side of the solenoid in the direction that pushes out the plunger of the solenoid, but in the present invention, as shown in Figure 4, the extension spring 30 is provided in a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which plunger 26 of solenoid 25 moves forward and backward. A base end 31 of extension spring 30 is fixed to casing 11, and a tip end of extension spring 30 is attached to pin 27 described above.

[0021] When the lock link 21 is in the locked position shown in FIG. 4, the line connecting the rotation axis 22 of the lock link 21, the pin 27, and the base end 31 of the extension spring 30 is straight or nearly straight. However, when the solenoid 25 pulls the pin 27 and the lock link 21 is in the unlocked position shown in FIG. 5, the line connecting the rotation axis 22 of the lock link 21, the pin 27, and the base end 31 of the extension spring 30 is bent in a dogleg shape as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, when the solenoid 25 is de-energized in the state shown in FIG. 5, the tension of the extension spring 30 acts to return the lock link 21 to the state shown in FIG. 4, returning the lock link 21 to the locked position shown in FIG. 4. Because the lock link 21 is stable in the state shown in FIG. 4, the return spring and return-side stopper of the solenoid 25 can be omitted. This also eliminates the sound of the lock link 21 hitting the return-side stopper.

[0022] Furthermore, as described above, by arranging the rotation shaft 22 of the lock link 21, the pin 27, and the base end 31 of the extension spring 30 so that the line connecting them is straight or nearly straight, a downward force is always applied to the rotation shaft 22 of the lock link 21 in FIG. 4. Therefore, whether in the locked position of FIG. 4 or the unlocked position of FIG. 5, the rotation shaft 22 of the lock link 21 is always pulled to one side of its shaft hole 32. As a result, even if there is clearance between the rotation shaft 22 of the lock link 21 and the shaft hole 32, abnormal noise caused by the clearance when the brake is applied can be prevented. In contrast, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, if the return spring 50 is arranged in a direction that pushes out the plunger 26 of the solenoid 25, the lock link 21 will operate when the solenoid 25 is turned on and off, and when the cushion 34 comes into contact with the first stopper 35 or the second stopper 36, the position of the clearance of the rotation shaft 22 inside the shaft hole will be reversed, causing abnormal noise.

[0023] Figures 6 and 7 show the internal structure of solenoid 25. When current is applied to electromagnetic coil 40 around plunger 26, plunger 26 is pulled in by electromagnetic force as shown in Figure 7. Reference numeral 41 denotes an internal stopper, and when current is applied, plunger 26 hits this internal stopper 41. However, if a sound-deadening cushion 42 is installed inside, abnormal noise generated by solenoid 25 can also be prevented.

[0024] As described above, in this embodiment, in the locked position shown in Figure 4, the extension spring 30 is arranged so that it is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the plunger 26 of the solenoid 25 moves forward and backward. In other words, the angle between the two is 90°. However, it does not necessarily have to be perpendicular; as in the third and fourth embodiments described below, this angle can be set freely as long as the lock link 21 can be biased to the locked position.

[0025] (Second embodiment) In the first embodiment described above, the lock link 21 was I-shaped and equipped with only the shift lock arm 23. However, in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the lock link 21 is V-shaped and equipped with the shift lock arm 23 and a swing angle limiting arm 33 that limits the swing angle. A cushion 34 is provided at the tip of the swing angle limiting arm 33, which abuts against a first stopper 35 formed on the casing 11 in the locked state shown in FIG. 8 and against a second stopper 36 in the unlocked state shown in FIG. 9. This makes it possible to accurately limit the swing range of the lock link 21. If this cushion 34 is made of rubber, the generation of hitting noise can be prevented.

[0026] Although the swing angle limiting arm 33 can be omitted as in the first embodiment, if it is necessary to precisely determine the stopping position of the lock link 21, the swing angle limiting arm 33 can be provided as in the second embodiment.

[0027] (Third embodiment) 10 and 11 show a third embodiment. In the first and second embodiments described above, the solenoid 25 and extension spring 30 are connected to the same pin 27 at the tip of the lever 24 of the lock link 21. However, in the third embodiment, two pins 27a and 27b are provided on the lever 24 of the lock link 21, and the tip of the plunger 26 of the solenoid 25 is attached to pin 27a, and the tip of the extension spring 30 is attached to pin 27b. The angle between the extension spring 30 and the forward / backward direction of the plunger 26 of the solenoid 25 is an obtuse angle greater than 90°.

[0028] In this third embodiment, too, in the locked state shown in Fig. 10, the line connecting the rotation axis 22 of the lock link 21, the pin 27b, and the base end 31 of the extension spring 30 is arranged to be straight or nearly straight. When the solenoid 25 is turned on and the lock link 21 is moved to the unlocked position as shown in Fig. 11, the pin 27b rotates, stretching the extension spring 30 and changing its direction. Therefore, when the solenoid 25 is turned off, the tension of the extension spring 30 returns the lock link 21 to the locked position shown in Fig. 10, just like in the first and second embodiments.

[0029] (Fourth embodiment) A fourth embodiment is shown in Figures 12 and 13. In this embodiment, the tip of an extension spring 30 is attached to the tip of the swing angle limiting arm 33 of the first embodiment, and the base end 37 of the extension spring 30 is located above the solenoid 25. In this embodiment, too, in the locked state shown in Figure 12, the rotation shaft 22 of the lock link 21, the pin 27, and the base end 37 of the extension spring 30 are straight or nearly straight, but in the unlocked position shown in Figure 13, the swing angle limiting arm 33 is rotated by the solenoid 25, changing the direction of the extension spring 30, and when the solenoid 25 is turned off, the extension spring 30 returns to the locked position shown in Figure 12. As shown in these third and fourth embodiments, the direction of the extension spring 30 can be changed in various ways.

[0030] As described above, according to the present invention, by devising the positioning of the extension spring 30, it is possible to prevent abnormal noise from being generated from the AT lever when the brake pedal is pressed and released, while suppressing an increase in the number of parts and an increase in costs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 10 AT shift lever device 11 Casing 12 Lever body 13 Shift center axis 14 Aperture 15 Cover 16 Detent plate 17 Detent groove 18 Detent pin 19 Knob 20 buttons 21 Lock Link 22 Rotation axis 23 Shift lock arm 24 Lever 25 solenoid 26 Plunger 27-pin 30 Extension spring 31 Proximal end 32 Shaft hole 33 Swing angle control arm 34 Cushion 35 First stopper 36 Second stopper 37 Proximal end 40 Electromagnetic Coil 41 Internal stopper

Claims

1. a lock link that locks the movement of the detent pin in the parking position to disable shifting; a solenoid that swings the lock link to an unlocked position when the brake is depressed; an extension spring that always pulls the rotation shaft of the lock link to one side of the shaft hole, A noise-reducing shift lock mechanism for a shift lever, which prevents abnormal noise caused by clearance of the shaft portion of the lock link when the brake is applied.

2. 2. The noise-reducing shift lock mechanism for a shift lever according to claim 1, wherein the extension spring is tensioned in a direction that returns the lock link to the locked position when the solenoid is off, and the return spring and return-side stopper of the solenoid are omitted.

3. 3. The noise-reducing shift lock mechanism for a shift lever according to claim 2, wherein the lock link is I-shaped and includes a shift lock arm that restricts movement of the detent pin.

4. 3. The noise-reducing shift lock mechanism for a shift lever according to claim 2, wherein the lock link includes a shift lock arm that restricts movement of the detent pin and a swing angle restricting arm that restricts a swing angle of the detent pin.

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