JP6518568B2 - Shift device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a shift device for shifting a control member to a plurality of shift positions, and more particularly to a shift device suitable for a gear shift device of a motor vehicle.

  In an automobile equipped with an automatic transmission, the shift position of the automatic transmission is designated by operating a shift lever of a shift device installed near the center console box.

In recent years, as such a shift device, a so-called shift by wire system has been developed in which the switch position of the shift lever is detected by a sensor and the actuator is operated by the switch signal to switch the connection state of the transmission.
In such a shift device in the shift by wire system, mechanical configuration such as a link mechanism is not necessary, so that miniaturization is facilitated. In addition, shift change can be performed with relatively small force, and the layout of the shift device in the vehicle compartment can be made flexible.

  As a conventional shift device, one that detects a switching position of a shift lever with a magnetic sensor is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2011-163782, A

  The shift device of Patent Document 1 includes a magnet attached to the shift lever and a plurality of magnetic sensors disposed corresponding to the plurality of shift positions, and the shift position is moved by moving the shift lever to the plurality of shift positions. The position of is detected by a magnetic sensor.

The shift lever of the shift device is rotatably supported with the lower end of the shift lever as a fulcrum. For example, when the driver performs a shift operation from the neutral position (N shift position) to the drive position (D shift position), grasp the operation knob attached to the upper end of the shift lever and move the operation lever along the shift gate. Move from N position to D shift position.
At this time, the magnetic sensor disposed at the D shift position detects the magnetic field of the magnet attached to the shift lever, and detects that the shift lever has moved to the D shift position.

By the way, various switches such as an air conditioner adjustment switch and an audio volume adjustment switch are also arranged in the vicinity of a center console box of a car.
When the driver operates the various switches of the center console box, the driver may touch the operation knob of the shift lever installed near the various switches.
Many shift levers have a light load so that they can be operated smoothly. Therefore, when the driver accidentally touches the operation knob, the operation lever rotates against the intention and the shift lever moves from the D shift position to the N shift position, and the N shift position is detected. is there.

  According to the structure of detecting the position of the shift position using such a magnetic sensor, when the shift lever rotates against the intention, the position detection of the D position is canceled during the rotation of the shift lever, and the N is unintentionally N There is a risk of switching to position detection, and it is difficult to say that the reliability of the operation of the shift lever is sufficient.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a shift device capable of accurately detecting the shift position of the operation member and having high reliability of the shift operation of the operation member. .

In order to achieve the above object, an operation member to be shifted to a plurality of shift positions, a shift gate plate for defining an operation direction of the operation member, and a plurality of film shapes for detecting each shift position of the operation member And a pressure sensor, wherein the shift position of the operation member is detected by selectively pressing the operation member against each pressure sensor, and each pressure sensor is detected at each shift position of the gate portion of the shift gate plate. It is characterized in that it is provided on the corresponding inner wall via an elastic member .

  According to this configuration, the shift position of the operating member can be accurately detected.

Moreover, according to this configuration, the pressure sensor can be attached while confirming the position of each shift position, and the pressure sensor can be attached correctly to the predetermined shift position.

Moreover, according to this configuration, the pressure sensor can be easily attached even in a small space portion where the arrangement space is limited.

Preferably, an auxiliary sensor composed of a magnetic sensor or an optical sensor for detecting each shift position of the operation member is provided.
According to this configuration, since each shift position can be detected by a different sensor, detection accuracy of each shift position of the operation member can be enhanced.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect the shift position of the operation member, and to provide a shift device with high reliability of the shift operation of the operation member.

1 is an external side view of a shift device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is an external appearance top view of a shift device. It is an enlarged plan view showing a shift gate board of shift device typically. It is an enlarged plan view which shows the part of the shift display part of a shift apparatus. It is an expanded sectional view of the attachment part of a pressure sensor, (a) is an expanded sectional view showing a state before a shift lever is pressed against a pressure sensor, (b) is an enlarged view showing a state where a shift lever is pressed against a pressure sensor FIG. It is a characteristic view showing the electrical property of a pressure sensor. It is a block diagram explaining the function of the shift device concerning Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

(Embodiment 1)
A shift device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
FIG. 1 is an external side view of the shift device 1, and FIG. 2 is an external plan view of the shift device 1.
The shift device 1 detects the operation position of the shift lever 2 of the automobile, converts the detection signal into an electrical switching signal, and operates, for example, an actuator in response to the switching signal. It is a thing.

  The shift device 1 is based on a substantially tetrahedral housing 3. An upper cover 4 is attached to an opening 3 </ b> A provided at the top of the housing 3. An opening 4A is formed in a substantially central portion of the upper cover 4, and the opening 4A is provided with a shift gate plate 5 which defines the operation direction of the shift lever 2 serving as an operation member. The shift gate plate 5 is attached to the back side of the upper cover 4.

  The shift lever 2 is inserted into the gate portion 8 formed in the shift gate plate 5 and the lower end 2A is supported by a bearing 7 provided on the bottom 3B of the housing 3. The shift lever 2 supports the lower end 2A. As shown in FIG. 2, it is supported so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows X and Y in FIG.

An operation knob (not shown) is attached to the upper end portion 2B of the shift lever 2, and the driver can operate the shift lever 2 while holding the operation knob to perform a shift change.
A substantially H-shaped gate portion 8 functioning as a guide for the operation direction of the shift lever 2 is opened in the shift gate plate 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the gate section 8 has a home position (H shift position) 8A, a neutral position (N shift position) 8B, a drive position (D shift position) 8C, a reverse position (R shift position) 8D and a low position. (L shift position) 8E is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a shift display unit 9 is provided on the surface of the upper cover 4 in parallel with the gate unit 8 to display each shift position 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E of the shift lever 2. In the display unit 9, gate lines 9A corresponding to the shape of the gate unit 8 shown in FIG. 3 are formed. The H character 9B is located at the position corresponding to the H shift position 8A shown in FIG. 3, the N character 9C at the position corresponding to the N shift position 8B, and the D character 9D at the position corresponding to the D shift position 8C. An R character 9E is formed at a position corresponding to the position 8D, and an L character 9F is formed at a position corresponding to the L shift position 8E.

When the driver performs a shift operation to each of the shift positions 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E, the driver grips the operation knob and checks each of the characters 9B, C9, D9, E9, F9 of the shift display unit 9. While the shift lever 2 can be operated to a predetermined shift position.
In the present embodiment, the shift display unit 9 is provided on the upper surface of the upper cover 4, but in the present invention, the shift display unit may be formed on the surface of the operation knob.

FIG. 3 shows the shift lever 2 positioned at the H shift position 8A. When the engine is started, the shift lever 2 is positioned at the H shift position 8A. The H shift position 8A is a shift position at which the shift lever automatically returns after the shift lever 2 is moved to each of the shift positions 8B, 8C, 8D, and 8E.
The N shift position 8A is a shift position in which the shift lever 2 is temporarily positioned when the shift lever 2 is moved to the D shift position 8C or the R shift position 8D, and the shift lever 2 is moved to the D shift position 8C or the R shift position 8D. When operating the camera, the structure always passes through the N shift position 8B. When the shift lever 2 is moved to the R shift position 8D, it is always necessary to stop the depression of the brake pedal.
The L shift position 8E is a shift position used when operating a reduction gear change (engine brake) of the engine. The L shift position 8E does not have to be operated through the N shift position 8B as in the D shift position 8C, and has a structure in which the H shift position 8A can be moved directly to the L shift position 8E.

Next, the operation of the shift lever 2 in the shift device 1 will be described.
When the shift lever 2 is moved to the N shift position 8B, the shift lever 2 is moved from the H shift position 8A to the right in FIG.
When the shift lever 2 is moved to the D shift position 8C, the shift lever 2 is moved from the H shift position 8A to the right in FIG. 3 along the gate portion 8 and then the shift lever 2 is moved downward in FIG. Move to
When the shift lever 2 is moved to the R shift position 8D, the shift lever 2 is moved from the H shift position 8A to the right in FIG. 3 along the gate portion 8 and then the shift lever 2 is moved upward in FIG. Move to
When the shift lever 2 is moved to the L shift position 8E, the shift lever 2 is moved from the H shift position 8A along the gate portion 8 downward in FIG.

  A film-like pressure sensor 11 is provided on the inner wall 10 corresponding to each shift position 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E of the gate section 8. As shown in FIG. 5A, the pressure sensor 11 is attached to the inner wall 10 of the gate portion 8 via an elastic member 12 such as an elastomer.

The pressure sensor 11 is in the form of a film, can be bent according to the shape of the inner wall 10 of the gate portion 8, and can be accurately attached to each of the shift positions 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E. Further, the pressure sensor 11 can be attached while confirming the positions of the shift positions 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E, and the pressure sensor 11 can be attached accurately to the predetermined shift position.
By using the film-like pressure sensor 11 as the pressure sensor 11, the pressure sensor 11 can be easily attached even if the arrangement space of the pressure sensor 11 is the inner wall 10 of the gate portion 8 which is narrow.

  When the shift lever 2 is pressed against the pressure sensor 11, the pressure applied to the pressure sensor 11 causes the pressure sensor 11 to be distorted together with the elastic member 12 as shown in FIG. 5 (b). When the pressure sensor 11 is distorted, this distortion is detected as a change in electric resistance value, and the operation position of the shift lever 1 is detected.

  FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing the electrical characteristics of the pressure sensor 11. The pressure sensor 11 has a structure in which the electrical resistance value changes in proportion to the amount of change in strain of the pressure sensor 11.

  As described above, the shift device 1 has a structure in which the shift position of the shift lever 2 can not be detected unless the shift lever 2 is moved to a predetermined shift position and the shift lever 2 is pressed at the shift position. Therefore, the shift position of the shift lever 2 can be accurately detected. When the pressing of the shift lever 2 against the pressure sensor 11 is released, the pressure sensor 11 is configured to return to its original shape by the elastic force of the elastic member 12.

  According to such a configuration, the driver's hand or the like touches the shift lever 2 and the shift lever 2 is not switched to the driver's unintended shift position. Therefore, the shift position of the shift lever 2 can be accurately detected, and a reliable shift operation of the shift lever 2 can be guaranteed. Therefore, it is possible to provide the shift device 1 with high reliability of the operation of the shift lever 2.

Second Embodiment
The shift device 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, the same components as in the first embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining the function of the pressure sensor 11 and the auxiliary sensor 30 consisting of a magnetic sensor or an optical sensor.

The auxiliary sensor 30 is provided at a position corresponding to each of the shift positions 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E of the shift lever 2. The detection result of the pressure sensor 11 is sent to the determination unit 31, and the detection result of the auxiliary sensor 30 is also sent to the determination unit 31.
When the detection result is sent from the pressure sensor 11 and the auxiliary sensor 31, the determination unit 31 determines that the shift lever 2 has detected a predetermined shift position.
When the detection result is sent from only one of the pressure sensor 11 and the auxiliary sensor 30, the shift lever 2 does not detect a predetermined shift position, and it is determined that a failure has occurred.

  According to the shift device 20, each shift position 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E can be detected by different sensors 11, 30, so that each shift position 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E of the shift lever 2 can be detected. Detection accuracy can be enhanced.

  In the present invention, each pressure sensor 11 is attached to each shift position 8A, 8B, 8C, for example, by attaching each pressure sensor 11 to a tape with a predetermined interval and sticking the tape along the inner wall 10 of the gate portion 8. , 8D, and 8E. According to this configuration, the pressure sensor 11 can be easily and accurately attached to the gate portion 8 having a narrow arrangement space.

  Further, the present invention may use a pressure sensor having a structure in which a sensor element is accommodated in a container made of an elastic material, and is not limited to this embodiment as long as it can detect the amount of change in electrical characteristics. .

  In the present invention, a thick film pressure sensor may be used as a pressure sensor for detecting the shift position of the shift lever 2, and in the case of a pressure sensor whose electrical characteristics change when the shift lever 2 is pressed. The embodiments are not limited to the above.

  In the present invention, the pressure sensor 11 detects the operation position of each shift position 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E of the shift lever 2, and for example, the amount of tilt of the shift lever 2 and the amount of movement of the shift lever axial direction. May be combined with the structure for detecting.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. That is, those skilled in the art may make various modifications, combinations, subcombinations, and substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention or equivalent components thereof regarding the components of the embodiments described above.

  The present invention is applicable to various shift devices that shift the operating member to a plurality of shift positions.

1, 20 ...... Shift device 2 ...... Shift lever 5 ...... ..... Shift gate plate 8. ·················································································· Auxiliary sensor

Claims (2)

An operating member that is shifted to a plurality of shift positions;
A shift gate plate that defines the operating direction of the operating member;
And a plurality of film-like pressure sensors for detecting each shift position of the operation member,
The shift position of the operating member is detected by selectively pressing the operating member against each of the pressure sensors ,
A shift device characterized in that each pressure sensor is provided on an inner wall corresponding to each shift position of the gate portion of the shift gate plate via an elastic member .   The shift device according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary sensor comprising a magnetic sensor or an optical sensor for detecting each shift position of the operation member.

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