JPH05118413A - Automatic transmission shift lever device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To ensure the certainty of shifting in automatic mode and manual mode. A shift lever device of an automatic transmission for selecting a shift range and a shift stage, wherein a support pin 1 on a lower end side is provided.
A grip portion 4 that rotates about an axis parallel to the support pin 1 is provided at an upper end portion of a shaft portion 3 that is rotated about the axis to select the shift range, and the grip portion 4 is operated by a push button operation. A lock mechanism 19 for locking and unlocking the rotation of the grip 4, and an upshift signal is output by rotating the grip 4 in one direction, and a downshift signal is output by rotating in the other direction. Shift signal switch 4
0 and 41 are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shift lever device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, and more particularly, in an automatic transmission capable of automatic and manual shifting, selecting a shift range such as a drive range or a reverse range, The present invention relates to a shift lever device that selects a shift speed during manual shifting.

[0002]

As is well known, an automatic transmission for a vehicle is operated by operating a shift lever in each range such as parking, reverse, neutral, drive, second speed (S) and first speed (L). Select and switch the manual valve to correspond to the selected range, and in the range for driving such as drive range, shift is executed based on throttle opening and vehicle speed to set a predetermined shift stage It is like this. In addition, recently, a solenoid valve is incorporated in a hydraulic control circuit, and the solenoid valve is controlled by an electronic control device to operate a shift valve to execute a gear shift. An automatic transmission capable of manual shifting by outputting the output based on the output is being put to practical use.

As a shift lever device for an automatic transmission of this type, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-8545 discloses a selection of a running range in an automatic mode and an upshift and a downshift in a manual mode only by rotating a shift lever. Shown is a device configured to provide shift selection. That is, the second shift path is formed in parallel with the first shift path that selects the driving range in the automatic mode, and the connecting path from the D range position of the first shift path to the neutral position of the second shift path is provided. The shift lever is arranged so as to move along the shift path and the connecting path, and the automatic mode is switched to the manual mode by moving the shift lever from the D range position of the first shift path to the second shift path. On the shift road, the shift lever is tilted once from the neutral position forward to output a signal for upshifting by one step, and tilted backward once to shift down by one step.

[0004]

In the conventional shift lever device described above, the range selection in the automatic mode and the switching between the automatic mode and the manual mode, and the selection of the upshift and the downshift in the manual mode are performed. Since it can be performed by moving the lever back and forth or left and right of the vehicle, it is excellent in operability and simplification of the mechanism, but there is a problem in reliability of the shift operation.

That is, all operations such as selection of the range are performed by moving the shift lever back and forth or left and right, and in addition, the shift lever between the D range position of the first shift path and the second shift path. Can be moved without any special additional operation, so when operating the shift lever in the front-back direction, whether upshift or downshift occurs in manual mode, or range switching in automatic mode occurs. It is difficult to operate because it is not immediately known whether the problem occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the operation in the automatic mode and the operation in the manual mode are performed by the same shift lever, but by performing different operations from each other, the operation is surely performed. An object of the present invention is to provide a shift lever device having improved performance.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shift lever device for an automatic transmission that selects a gear range and a gear stage, which is rotated about a support pin on the lower end side. A grip portion that rotates about an axis parallel to the support pin is provided at the upper end of the shaft portion that is operated to select the shift range, and the rotation of the grip portion is locked and released by a push button operation. And a shift signal switch that outputs an upshift signal by rotating the grip portion in one direction and outputs a downshift signal by rotating the grip portion in the other direction. It is what

[0008]

In the shift lever device of the present invention, the grip portion is rotatably attached to the upper end portion of the shaft portion which rotates about the lower end side support pin, and the lock mechanism is operated by the push button operation. The grip portion and the shaft portion are integrated with each other, or the grip portion is rotatable relative to the shaft portion. If the grip portion and the shaft portion are integrated by the lock mechanism, the shaft portion is rotated by applying a turning force to the grip portion, and the shift range is selected. On the other hand, if the lock mechanism is used to release the unity between the grip and the shaft by pressing the push button, and if the turning force is applied to the grip in that state, the grip will remain stationary with respect to the shaft. Rotate relative to each other. In that case,
When it is rotated in one direction from the neutral position or in the opposite direction, the shift signal switch provided corresponding to each rotation direction is operated, and the upshift signal or the downshift signal is generated. Is output. That is, the shift is performed based on the manual operation.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which a lower end portion of a support pin 1 extending in the vehicle width direction. The shift lever 2 rotatably supported by is composed of a shaft portion 3 and a grip portion 4 provided on the upper end portion thereof. Its shaft 3
Is a hollow shaft 6 whose upper end is a base 5 for the grip 4.
And a detent rod 7 inserted into the interior of the hollow shaft 6 so as to be vertically movable. A detent pin 8 extending in a direction parallel to the support pin 1 is provided at a lower end portion of the detent rod 7. It is installed so that it projects from. A detent plate 9 is fixed to one side of the lower side of the shaft portion 3 along the rotation direction of the shaft portion 3, and the detent pin 8 corresponds to each range of the detent plate 9. It is adapted to engage with the formed groove. FIG. 2 shows an example of the shape of the groove of the detent plate 9. In the example shown here, parking (P), reverse (R), neutral (N), drive (D), second speed ( S) and a first speed (L) range are formed with grooves corresponding to the respective ranges, and among the boundary portions of these grooves, the R range to the N range, the S range to the D range, and the L range.
At the boundary portion from the range to the S range, the detent pin 8 is configured to be overcome by rotating the shift lever 2, and at the other boundary portions, the detent pin 8 is removed from the groove and passed by a button operation described later. It is like this. The detent rod 7 is pushed upward by the spring 10 so that the detent pin 8 engages with the groove of the detent plate 9.

The base portion 5 formed on the upper end of the shaft portion 3 has
A pair of brackets 11 having a central axis oriented in a direction parallel to the support pin 1 are provided, and a pin 12 protruding from the inner surface of the lower portion of the grip portion 4 is rotatably fitted to these brackets 11. There is. That is, the grip portion 4 is a hollow member having an open lower end, and a push rod 13 having a lower end slidably brought into contact with the upper end of the detent rod 7 is vertically moved by a guide portion 14 at its center. It is held movably. The upper end portion of the push rod 13 is formed in a substantially hemispherical shape, and the inclined surface of the tip portion of the shift pin 16 integral with the shift button 15 at about 45 degrees is in contact therewith. The shift pin 16 is the support pin 1
It is held by a guide portion 17 so as to move back and forth in a direction parallel to the shift button 15 which is one end thereof.
From the grip portion 4 to the driver side (right side in FIG. 1A).

The right side in FIG. 1B is the front side of the vehicle, and the front side portion of the grip 4 is
For example, a mode switching button 18 that is operated by the index finger to switch between the automatic mode and the manual mode is provided. The mode switching button 18 has a lock mechanism 19 for selectively blocking the rotation of the grip portion 4, and a push-push mechanism 2 for switching between a forward movement state and a backward movement state each time it is pressed.
It is connected through 0.

The lock mechanism 19 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The pin 12 fitted in the bracket 11 has a circular plate 21 which is close to and faces the bracket 11.
Is fixed, and a notch 22 is formed in the bracket 11 and the disc 21 so as to coincide with each other when the grip 4 is in the neutral position shown in FIG. A protrusion 23 that is selectively inserted into these notches 22 is formed at the lower end of the lever 24. The lever 24 is arranged inside the grip portion 4 along the vertical direction, is rotatably supported at its central portion, and has its upper end portion connected to the mode switching button 18 via the push / push mechanism 20. ing. Further, a spring 25 for urging the lever 24 in the direction in which the protrusion 23 enters the cutout portion 22 is connected to the lever 24. Further, a switch 26 that outputs a signal indicating the manual mode is arranged near the lever 24, and is turned on by the lever 24 when the lever 24 rotates in the direction in which the projection 23 comes out of the cutout 22. It is designed to be operated.

As ancillary mechanisms, a mechanism for restricting the range of rotation of the grip portion 4 and a mechanism for returning and holding the grip portion 4 to the neutral position are provided. That is, an arcuate groove or slit 27 is formed around the pin 12 on one of the bracket 11 and the disk 21 that are close to each other and face each other, and on the other side, a protrusion that moves in this groove or slit 27. 28 is formed, and the protrusion 28 abuts the end of the groove or slit 27 to restrict the rotation of the grip 4.

Further, a recess is formed at one location on the outer periphery of the disc 21, and a steel ball 29 is provided which fits into the recess when the grip 4 is in the neutral position.
9 is pressed to the recess side by the spring 30,
Further, a tension spring 31 is provided between a point on the outer peripheral side of the disc 21 and a predetermined fixed portion radially outside the point.
Is stretched. That is, the rotation of the grip portion 4 is regulated by a predetermined resistance force by fitting the steel ball 29 into the recess, and the resistance force that causes the steel ball 29 to slip out of the recess when the grip portion 4 is rotated from the neutral position. Gives a sense of moderation,
Further, when the grip portion 4 is rotated in either direction from the neutral position, the tension spring 31 is extended and the elastic force of the tension spring 31 is increased.
It acts as a return turning force of the grip portion 4 via 1.

The push / push mechanism 20 will be further described. This is a mechanism which is in principle the same as the mechanism used for a knock type ballpoint pen or the like, and has opposite edges as shown in the development view of FIG. The drive-side cylindrical body 32 and the driven-side cylindrical body 33 having teeth formed on the inner surface of the cylindrical body are provided with a cylindrical holder 34 that accommodates these in such a manner as to be movable in the axial direction. The ridges 35 and 36 are formed along the axial direction. Further, on the inner surface of the holder 34, a long groove 37 having substantially the same width as the protrusions 35 and 36 and a short groove 38 adjacent to the long groove 37 at a pitch slightly deviated from an integral multiple of the pitch of the teeth are formed. ing. The driving side cylindrical body 32 is connected to the mode switching button 18, and the driven side cylindrical body 33 is rotatably connected to the end portion of the lever 24. The driven-side cylindrical body 33 is constantly pressed toward the driving-side cylindrical body 32 by receiving the force of rotating in the direction.

Therefore, the ridge 3 of each cylindrical body 32, 33
When the grooves 5 and 36 are in the long groove 37 formed in the holder 34, the teeth of the cylindrical bodies 32 and 33 are not completely meshed with each other because the protrusions 35 and 36 have the above-described displacement, and the force in the axial direction is generated. The inclined surface acts as a turning force and acts on each of the cylindrical bodies 32 and 33. In this state, when the driving side cylindrical body 32 pushes the driven side cylindrical body 33 to the right in FIG. 4, it becomes rotatable at the moment when the protrusion 36 of the driven side cylindrical body 33 comes out of the long groove 37, and the teeth are completely removed. The driven side cylindrical body 33 rotates due to the rotational force due to the non-engagement with the driven side cylindrical body 33. As a result, the protrusion 36 of the driven-side cylindrical body 33 enters the short groove 38 of the holder 34, and the driven-side cylindrical body 33 cannot move further in the axial direction, and is held in a so-called push state (position).
In this state, the driven-side cylindrical body 33 is rotated by an angle slightly deviated from the tooth pitch in accordance with the distance between the long groove 37 and the short groove 38. Therefore, the driving-side cylindrical body 32 moves forward again and is driven. At the time of pressing 33, both teeth are not completely meshed as before, and as a result, when the driven side cylindrical body 33 is pushed and the ridge 36 comes out from the short groove 38, both teeth are pushed. The driven-side cylindrical body 33 rotates so as to completely mesh with each other. Therefore, when the driving-side cylindrical body 32 moves backward and the driven-side cylindrical body 33 moves following this, the protrusions 35 and 36 enter into the long groove 37, and the restriction of the movement of the driven-side cylindrical body 33 by the short groove 38 is released. At that time, the protrusions 35 and 36 are displaced as described above, whereby the driven-side cylindrical body 33 is forcibly rotated, and the meshing of the teeth is displaced. That is, it returns to the initial state.

A dog 39 is provided at a predetermined position, for example, a lower end portion of the grip portion 4, and an upshift switch 40 is turned on by the dog 39 when the grip portion 4 is pushed and rotated forward of the vehicle. A downshift switch 41 that is turned on by a dog 39 when the grip portion 4 is pushed and rotated rearward of the vehicle is provided on a predetermined fixed portion, for example, the base portion 5.

An example of the automatic transmission A employing the above shift lever device is shown in FIG. That is, the automatic transmission A connected to the engine E has a torque converter 51 having a lock-up clutch 50 as a transmission mechanism and a second transmission unit 60 having a set of planetary gear mechanisms.
And a first transmission unit 70 that sets a plurality of forward gears and reverse gears by two sets of planetary gear mechanisms.

The second transmission section 60 is for performing two-stage switching between high and low, and the carrier 61 of the planetary gear mechanism is connected to the turbine runner 52 of the torque converter 51, and this carrier 61 is also connected. Between the sun gear 62 and the sun gear 62, a clutch C0 and a one-way clutch Fo are provided in parallel relationship with each other.
A brake B0 is provided between the housing and the housing Hu.

The sun gears 71 and 72 in each planetary gear mechanism of the first transmission portion 70 are provided on a common sun gear shaft 73, and in the planetary gear mechanism on the left side (front side) in the drawing of the first transmission portion 70. Ring gear 74 and second
A first clutch C1 is provided between the gear unit 60 and the ring gear 63, and a second clutch C2 is provided between the sun gear shaft 73 and the ring gear 63 of the second gear unit 60. The carrier 75 of the planetary gear mechanism on the left side of the figure and the ring gear 76 of the planetary gear mechanism on the right side (rear side) in the first transmission portion 70 are integrally connected, and
The output shaft 77 is attached to the carrier 75 and the ring gear 76.
Are connected.

The first brake B1 which is a band brake is provided on the outer peripheral side of the clutch drum of the second clutch C2 so as to stop the rotation of the sun gear shaft 73, more specifically, the sun gear shaft 73 and the housing. A first one-way clutch F1 and a second brake B2 are arranged in series with Hu, and a second one-way clutch F2 with a carrier 78 and a housing Hu in the planetary gear mechanism on the rear side. The third brake B3 is arranged in parallel.

A hydraulic circuit 80 for supplying and discharging hydraulic pressure to each of the clutches C0, C1 and C2 and the brakes B0, B1, B2 and B3 is provided. This hydraulic circuit 80
Is provided with first and second solenoid valves S1 and S2 for executing the first to fourth speed shifts, and a third solenoid valve S3 for engine braking.
An electronic control unit (ECU) 81 is provided for controlling on / off of these solenoid valves S1, S2, S3. The electronic control unit 81 is mainly composed of a central processing element, a storage element and an input / output interface, and has the solenoid valves S1, S2, S.
As data for controlling 3, the vehicle speed signal detected by the vehicle speed sensor 82, the throttle opening signal detected by the throttle opening sensor 83 attached to the engine E, and the shift pattern selection switch 84 for power mode, economy mode, etc. Output pattern select signal,
Engine water temperature signal detected by the water temperature sensor 85, foot brake switch 86 and side brake switch 87
The brake signal output from the switch 26 is turned on by pressing the mode switching button 18.
From the upshift switch 40 and the downshift switch 41, and the like.

The above-mentioned automatic transmission A is constructed so that it can be selected between an automatic mode and a manual mode.
Here, the automatic mode is a shift mode in which the shift in the forward gear is automatically executed based on the running state of the vehicle such as the vehicle speed and the engine load, and the manual mode is the gear in the forward gear. Is a shift mode in which shift is executed based on a signal output from the shift lever device based on a manual operation.

In the above-described automatic transmission A, the gears are set by engaging the friction engagement devices as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, a circle indicates ON for the solenoid valve, engagement for the friction engagement device, an X for OFF for the solenoid valve, a friction engagement device for release, and a triangle for the solenoid valve. Indicates that it can be switched to ON / OFF, and that the friction engagement device can be switched between engagement and disengagement as appropriate.

Next, the operation of the shift lever device described above will be described. First, the travel range is selected by rotating the shift lever 2 about the support pin 1 at the lower end thereof. That is, when the grip 4 is in the neutral position, the notch 2 between the disc 21 fixed to the pin 12 and the bracket 11 is formed.
When the two are aligned with each other and the protrusion 23 of the lock mechanism 19 is inserted therein, the grip portion 4 and the shaft portion 3 are substantially integrated. Therefore, when the shift button 15 is pushed and the detent rod 17 is pushed down by the shift pin 16, the detent pin 8 comes out of the groove of the detent plate 9. Therefore, if the shift button 15 is pushed and the grip portion 4 is pushed forward or backward, 2 rotates around the support pin 1 and a predetermined traveling range can be selected. As described above, the shift from the R range to the N range, the shift from the N range to the D range, and the shift from the S range to D
The shift to the range and the shift from the L range to the S range can be performed without pressing the shift button 15.

When the D range, the S range, or the L range is selected, the electronic control unit 81 determines the gear stage to be set based on the throttle opening and the vehicle speed,
Based on the judgment result, the solenoid valves S1, S2,
The speed is set by turning S3 ON or OFF.

The manual mode can be set while the shift lever 2 is set to the D range position, and if the mode switching button 18 is pressed once at the D range position, the lock mechanism 19 can be set.
The upper end of the lever 24 in is pushed by the push / push mechanism 20, and the push / push mechanism 20 is switched to the pushed state. As a result, the switch 26 is turned on by the lever 24 and outputs a signal, and the electronic control unit 81 determines that the manual mode is selected based on the signal input from the switch 26.

On the other hand, when the lever 24 is rotated by pushing the upper end portion as described above, the protrusion 23 provided at the lower end portion thereof.
However, since it comes out from the bracket 11 and the disc 22,
The lock of the grip 4 at the neutral position is released. This state is maintained until the mode switching button 18 is pressed again because the push / push mechanism 20 is switched to the pressed state. When the handgrip 4 is pushed forward or rearward in the state of being switched to the manual mode in this way, the handgrip 4 rotates about the pin 12 and the dog 39 accordingly moves up or down. Since 41 is turned on, an upshift signal or a downshift signal is input to the electronic control unit 81 according to the rotating direction of the grip 4. And electronic control unit 81
Each time these signals are input, the predetermined solenoid valves S1, S2, S3 are turned on or off in order to set the speed stage on the high speed side or the low speed side of the current shift speed.

When the grip portion 4 is rotated from the neutral position to either the front or rear direction, the force required to pull the steel ball 29 out of the concave portion becomes a resistance force, and the resistance force immediately comes out. When the grip portion 4 is returned to the neutral position, on the contrary, the steel ball 29 fits into the concave portion and the rotation of the grip portion 4 is restricted at the same time. There will be something. The restoring force of the grip portion 4 to the neutral position is given by the tension spring 31.

In order to switch to the automatic mode, the mode switch button 18 may be pressed again. In this case, the push / push mechanism 20 is switched to the non-pressed state, so that the lever 24 moves counterclockwise in FIG. It rotates, and as a result, the switch 26 is turned off. Further, since the projections 23 are fitted into the notches 22 that are aligned with each other, the grip 21 is fixed to the bracket 11, so that the grip 4 is fixed to the shaft 3.
Be integrated into. Therefore, in this state, shift button 1
By pressing 5 to disengage the detent pin 8 from the groove of the detent plate 9, the shift lever 2 can be shifted from the D range position to another range position.

As is known from the operation table of FIG. 6,
The engine braking is effective in the first speed and the second speed in the manual mode, and these gears can be arbitrarily selected. Therefore, it is necessary to perform control so as to prevent the engine E from rising up depending on the running state. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example thereof. In step 1, it is judged whether or not the throttle opening θ is “0”. If the judgment result is “no”, the process returns, and if “yes”, the step returns. It proceeds to step 2 and determines whether or not a downshift is instructed. If the result of the determination is "no", the process returns. If "yes", the process proceeds to step 3 and the vehicle speed V is the reference value V0.
Determine if the vehicle speed is higher. If the result of the determination is "yes", the routine proceeds to step 4, where the downshift is executed, and at the subsequent step 5, the lockup clutch 50 is set to the half lockup state. on the other hand,
If the judgment result in step 3 is "no", step 6
The downshift is executed in step S6 and the lockup clutch 50 is completely released in step S7.

Therefore, if the control shown in FIG. 7 is performed, at the time of high vehicle speed where the engine may be blown up,
Since the lockup clutch 50 is in the half lockup state, the engine E can be prevented from rising.

The detent mechanism that can be used in the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the above embodiment, and as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, for example, the shift lever May be configured to hold the shift lever at a predetermined range position with a groove formed in a decorative plate having a symbol indicating the range position, which penetrates the shift lever, in a direction orthogonal to the shift direction of the shift lever. .. In this case, as shown in (C), it is preferable to provide the moderation pin 100 in a configuration in which the N range position and the D range position are continuous.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the lock mechanism of the present invention is as follows.
It suffices that the grip portion and the shaft portion be selectively integrated, and the shift signal switch that outputs the upshift signal and the downshift signal in the manual mode is basically turned on by the turning operation of the grip portion. It suffices if it is a configuration that outputs a signal.

[0035]

As described above, according to the shift lever device of the present invention, the shift of the grip portion is manually performed by unlocking the grip portion and rotating the grip portion by the button operation, and by the button operation. Since the part is integrated with the shaft part to switch the range in the automatic mode, it is necessary to operate the buttons to switch between the two modes, thus ensuring the reliability of the operation between the automatic mode and the manual mode. Can be secured. In addition, in the device of the present invention, the same shift lever is used for operation in any of the modes, and the shift path or slit for guiding the shift lever need only be for the automatic mode. It can be a narrow and compact device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the groove shape of the detent plate.

FIG. 3 is a mechanism diagram showing the configuration of the lock mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a development view for explaining the push-push mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of an automatic transmission targeted by the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an operation table thereof.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of control for avoiding blowing up.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of another detent groove.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Support Pin 2 Shift Lever 3 Shaft 4 Grip 18 Mode Change Button 19 Lock Mechanism 40 Upshift Switch 41 Downshift Switch

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yasuo Hojo, 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Atsushi 1, Taba 1, Toyota Town, Aichi Prefecture, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. ( 72) Inventor Takeshi Inuzuka, Takane Fujii-cho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture, Aisin A / Daburiyu Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A shift lever device of an automatic transmission for selecting a shift range and a shift stage, wherein an upper end portion of a shaft portion which is rotated around a support pin on a lower end side to select the shift range, A grip portion is provided that rotates about an axis parallel to the support pin, and a lock mechanism that locks and unlocks the rotation of the grip portion by a push button operation, and a grip mechanism that rotates in one direction A shift lever device for an automatic transmission, comprising: a shift signal switch that outputs an upshift signal and that outputs a downshift signal by rotating in another direction.