Shift lever device

Abstract

To provide a shift lever device capable of making it difficult to scrape crests of a check guide even if shift change is repeated.SOLUTION: A shift lever device 1 is provided with a check mechanism 30 for giving moderation feeling to a driver in operating a shift lever 10, the check mechanism 30 includes a check member 31 with a check sheet 31a provided integrally with the shift lever 10, and a check block 32 arranged facing the check member 31. The check sheet 31a includes a tip part 31a1 formed in the peripheral wall shape of a circular cylinder, and a support part 31a2 for supporting the tip part 31a1, and the check block 32 is provided with a wave type check guide 32a brought into slide contact with the tip part 31a of the check member 31 with crest parts 32a1 and trough parts 32a2 which are alternately formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to a shift lever device for switching the shift position of an automatic transmission of a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a shift lever device for operating an automatic transmission of a vehicle. FIG. 6 shows a check ball 110 and a check sheet 120 that constitute a check member provided in this shift lever device. The check ball 110 is made of an iron ball and is embedded in the tip of the check sheet 120 as shown in FIG. 6.

[0003] The check ball 110 slides on the check guide 32a while pressing the check guide 32a (see FIG. 3) formed on the check block 32. The check guide 32a has alternately formed ridges 32a1 and valleys 32a2, and each time the check ball 110 crosses a ridge 32a1, a sense of moderation during a shift change is imparted to the check mechanism including the check member.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, in the shift lever device described in Patent Document 1, since the check ball 110 is made of an iron ball, the check ball 110 and the crest portion 32a1 of the check guide 32a (formed of, for example, PA66-GF33 (polyamide 66 - glass fiber 33)) are in point contact. And when shifting, the check ball 110 slides on the check guide 32a while pressing the check guide 32a, so the check ball 110 has to overcome the crest portion 32a1 of the check guide 32a while applying a large pressure. Therefore, while repeating the shift change, the crest portion 32a1 of the check guide 32a is easily worn by the check ball 110.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present application is to provide a shift lever device capable of making it difficult to wear the crest portion of the check guide even when the shift change is repeated.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] To achieve the above object, the shift lever device according to claim 1 includes a shift lever for a driver to operate, a case body that rotatably supports the shift lever, and a check mechanism disposed between the case body and the shift lever to give a sense of moderation to the driver when operating the shift lever. The check mechanism includes a check member having a check sheet provided integrally with the shift lever, and a check block provided on the case body and disposed opposite to the check member. The check sheet includes a tip portion formed in the shape of the peripheral wall of a cylinder and a support portion that supports the tip portion. The check block includes a corrugated check guide in which crest portions and trough portions are alternately formed and that is in sliding contact with the tip portion of the check sheet.

[0008] The shift lever device according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the shift lever device of claim 1, the check sheet is integrally formed of resin with the tip portion and the support portion.

[0009] The shift lever device according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the shift lever device of claim 1, the check sheet is formed by embedding a tip portion formed of metal into a support portion formed of resin.

[0010] The shift lever device according to claim 4 is characterized in that, in the shift lever devices of claims 1 to 3, the check member further includes a holder into which the check sheet is inserted, and both the check sheet and the holder have an anti-misassembly mechanism for being inserted in a meshed manner with a convex portion formed on an outer surface of the check sheet and a groove (concave portion) formed on an inner surface of the holder.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the shift lever device of claim 1, since the tip portion of the check sheet gets over the ridge portion of the check block while making line contact or surface contact, the pressure applied to each point is lower than that of the conventional shift lever device which gets over while making point contact. Therefore, even if the shift change is repeated, it is possible to make it difficult to wear down the ridge portion of the check guide.

[0012] According to the shift lever device of claim 2, since the tip portion is formed of resin having lower rigidity than an iron ball, it is possible to further make it difficult to wear down the ridge portion of the check guide.

[0013] According to the shift lever device of claim 3, the same effect as that of the shift lever device of claim 1 can be obtained.

[0014] According to the shift lever device of claim 4, since the convex portion formed on the outer surface of the check sheet and the groove (concave portion) formed on the inner surface of the holder are inserted in a meshed manner, it is possible to prevent misassembly and to prevent the check sheet from moving within the holder even after assembly.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows the overall appearance of a shift lever device 1 according to an embodiment of the present application. The shift lever device 1 is for operating an automatic transmission (not shown) of a vehicle (not shown). The driver of the vehicle rotates the shift lever 10 back and forth to select one of shift positions (specifically, for example, parking [P], reverse [R], neutral [N], and drive [D]) set within a predetermined rotational movement range. Accordingly, the shift lever device 1 switches the operation mode of the automatic transmission to a mode corresponding to the selected shift position. In FIGS. 1 to 3, when referring to directions, the directions of the arrows shown in each figure are used.

[0018] The shift lever device 1 includes a case body 20 and a shift lever 10. The case body 20 is arranged, for example, in a center console (not shown) of a vehicle. A support shaft 12 (see FIG. 3) is formed at the base end of the shift lever 10, and the support shaft 12 is pivotally supported by bearing portions 23R and 23L provided on a pair of side walls 21R and 21L (see FIG. 2) of the case body 20 via collars 23Ra and 23La. However, in FIG. 1, although the bearing portion 23L and the collar 23La are shown, the bearing portion 23R and the collar 23Ra are not shown. A shift knob (not shown) is attached to the tip of the shift lever 10.

[0019] Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the shift lever device 1 includes a check mechanism 30. The check mechanism 30 is arranged between the case body 20 and the shift lever 10, and gives a sense of moderation to the driver when the driver changes the shift position with the shift lever 10.

[0020] The case body 20 has a box shape, and a shift hole 22 is opened in its upper surface 20a. A part of the shift lever 10 pivotally supported in the case body 20 protrudes from the shift hole 22.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the check mechanism 30 includes a check member 31 provided integrally with the shift lever 10 and a check block 32 provided on the case body 20.

[0022] The check member 31 has a check sheet 31a, a check spring 31b, and a check holder 31c. The check sheet 31a is urged outward in the radial direction of the support shaft 12 by the check spring 31b installed in the check holder 31c.

[0023] On the inner surface 21Ra of the right side wall 21R, a block accommodation recess (not shown) is formed facing the outer surface side of the right side wall 21R, and a check block 32 is disposed in the block accommodation recess. The check block 32 is disposed in contact with the bottom of the block accommodation recess (the back surface of the upper surface 20a). Further, the check block 32 is disposed to face a check member 31 that rotates and moves together with the shift lever 10.

[0024] On the check block 32, a check guide 32a that slidably contacts the tip 31a1 of the check sheet 31a is formed. The check guide 32a is a rail-shaped plate body having a predetermined width, and its cross section is wavy (see FIG. 3). Therefore, ridges 32a1 and valleys 32a2 are alternately formed on the check guide 32a. And each valley 32a2 is formed at a position corresponding to each shift position on the check guide 32a. Note that the check block 32 is formed of, for example, PA66-GF33 in the present embodiment.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 4(c), the check sheet 31a is mainly composed of a tip 31a1 that slidably contacts the check guide 32a and a support portion 31a2 that supports the tip 31a1. The tip 31a1 is formed in a shape in which a horizontally oriented cylinder is embedded in the upper portion 31a21 of the columnar support portion 31a2. The check sheet 31a is formed of resin, for example, POM (polyoxymethylene) in the present embodiment, and the tip 31a1 and the support portion 31a2 are integrally formed.

[0026] Further, chamfers 31a22' are provided at two predetermined positions on the circumferential surface 31a22 of the support portion 31a2. The chamfers 31a22' are provided for the purpose of ensuring correct insertion when inserting the check sheet 31a into the check holder 31c, that is, for the purpose of preventing misassembly, and for the purpose of restricting rotation of the check sheet 31a within the check holder 31c after insertion. Therefore, the inner circumferential surface 31c1 of the check holder 31c also has thickening portions 31c1' protruding toward the center at the two positions where the chamfers 31a22' are located, as shown in FIG. 4(d).

[0027] In addition to the chamfers 31a22' and the thickening portions 31c1', it is conceivable to provide anti-rotation protrusions and grooves for the anti-misassembly mechanism. FIG. 5(a) shows a check member having a check sheet 31a' provided with anti-rotation protrusions 31a'3 at two predetermined positions on the circumferential surface of the support portion and a check holder 31c' provided with grooves 31c'3 into which the protrusions 31a'3 are inserted on the inner circumferential surface. FIG. 5(b) shows a check member having, contrary to the check member of FIG. 5(a), a check holder 31c'' provided with anti-rotation protrusions 31c''4 on the inner circumferential surface and a check sheet 31a'' provided with grooves 31a''4 into which the protrusions 31c''4 are inserted on the circumferential surface of the support portion.

[0028] FIGS. 4(a) and (b) show the state where the check sheet 31a is inserted into the check holder 31c. As can be seen from FIGS. 4(a) and (b) and FIG. 1, the check sheet 31a is inserted into the check holder 31c in a positional relationship such that the curved surface of the tip portion 31a1 is in line contact with the ridge portion 32a1 of the check guide 32a. Therefore, when the driver rotates the shift lever 10 back and forth, the check member 31 rotates accordingly, so that the tip portion 31a1 of the check sheet 31a will ride over the ridge portion 32a1 of the check guide 32a while maintaining line contact.

[0029] As described above, the shift lever device 1 of the present embodiment includes a shift lever 10 for the driver to operate, a case body 20 that rotatably supports the shift lever 10, and a check mechanism 30 that is disposed between the case body 20 and the shift lever 10 and gives a sense of moderation to the driver when the shift lever 10 is operated.

[0030] The check mechanism 30 includes a check member 31 having a check sheet 31a provided integrally with the shift lever 10, and a check block 32 provided on the case body 20 and disposed opposite to the check member 31.

[0031] Furthermore, the check sheet 31a includes a tip portion 31a1 formed in the shape of the peripheral wall of a cylinder and a support portion 31a2 that supports the tip portion 31a1. The check block 32 includes a corrugated check guide 32a in which ridges 32a1 and valleys 32a2 are alternately formed and that is in sliding contact with the tip portion 31a1 of the check sheet 31a.

[0032] In this way, in the shift lever device 1 of the present embodiment, since the tip portion 31a1 of the check sheet 31a gets over the ridges 32a1 of the check block 32 while making line contact or surface contact, the pressure applied to each point is lower than that of the conventional shift lever device that gets over while making point contact. Therefore, even if the shift change is repeated, it is possible to make it difficult to wear down the ridges of the check guide.

[0033] Also, the check sheet 31a is integrally formed of resin with the tip portion 31a1 and the support portion 31a2.

[0034] Thereby, since the tip portion 31a1 is formed of resin having lower rigidity than an iron ball, it is possible to make it even more difficult to wear down the ridges of the check guide.

[0035] Further, the check member 31 further includes a check holder 31c into which a check sheet 31a is inserted. Both the check sheet 31a and the check holder 31c have chamfers 31a22' and thickness increases 31c1' for the convex portion formed on the outer surface of the check sheet 31a to engage with the groove (concave portion) formed on the inner surface of the check holder 31c and be inserted.

[0036] This makes it possible to prevent misassembly and also prevent the check sheet 31a from rotating within the check holder 31c after assembly.

[0037] Incidentally, the check holder 31c is an example of a "holder". The chamfers 31a22' and thickness increases 31c1', and the anti-rotation protrusions 31a'3, 31c''4 and grooves 31c'3, 31a''4 are examples of a "misassembly prevention mechanism".

[0038] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0039] (1) In the above embodiment, the tip portion 31a1 and the support portion 31a2 of the check sheet 31a are integrally formed of resin. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the tip portion 31a1 may be formed of metal and the metal tip portion 31a1 may be embedded in the support portion 31a2 formed of resin. However, even in this case, it is necessary to maintain the shape of the tip portion 31a1, that is, the circumferential wall shape of the cylinder. If such a shape is maintained, the tip portion 31a of the check sheet 31a rides over the ridge portion 32a1 of the check block 32 while making line contact, so that the pressure applied to each point is still lower than that of the conventional shift lever device that rides over while making point contact.

[0040] (2) In the above embodiment, the tip portion 31a of the check sheet 31a rides over the ridge portion 32a1 of the check block 32 while making line contact. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may ride over while making surface contact with a surface having a predetermined width instead of a complete line.

[0041] (3) In the above-described embodiment, as an example of the misassembly prevention mechanism, chamfers 31a22' and increased wall thickness 31c1', and anti-rotation protrusions 31a'3, 31c''4 and grooves 31c'3, 31a''4 were given. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other mechanisms may be adopted. Also, the location where the mechanism is provided is not limited to two locations, and may be one location, or three or more locations.

[0042] (4) In the above-described embodiment, the support portion 31a2 of the check sheet 31a was formed in a cylindrical shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be formed in a polygonal column shape. In this case, by appropriately selecting the bottom surface shape, it may not be necessary to newly provide a misassembly prevention mechanism.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0043] 1 Shift lever device 10 Shift lever 20 Case body 30 Check mechanism 31 Check member 31a Check sheet 31a1 Tip 31a2 Support portion 31a22' Chamfer 31a'3, 31c''4 Anti-rotation protrusions 31a''4, 31c'3 Grooves 31c Check holder 31c1' Increased wall thickness 32 Check block 32a Check guide 32a1 Ridge 32a2 Valley

Claims

1. A shift lever for an operator to operate, A case body that rotatably supports the shift lever, A check mechanism that is disposed between the case body and the shift lever and gives a sense of moderation to the driver when the shift lever is operated, and comprising The check mechanism is A check member having a check sheet provided integrally with the shift lever, A check block provided on the case body and disposed opposite to the check member, The check sheet includes a tip portion formed in the shape of the peripheral wall of a cylinder and a support portion that supports the tip portion, The check block includes a corrugated check guide in which ridges and valleys are alternately formed and that is in sliding contact with the tip portion of the check sheet, The check sheet is formed by embedding the tip portion formed of metal into the support portion formed of resin, Shift lever device.

2. The check member further includes a holder into which the check sheet is inserted, Both the check sheet and the holder have an anti-misassembly mechanism for being inserted by engaging a convex portion formed on the outer surface of the check sheet and a groove (concave portion) formed on the inner surface of the holder, The shift lever device according to Claim 1.

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