WO2001092046A1

WO2001092046A1 - Arrangement at a gear lever

Info

Publication number: WO2001092046A1
Application number: PCT/SE2001/001107
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lars Miller
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab (Publ)
Priority date: 2000-06-02
Filing date: 2001-05-18
Publication date: 2001-12-06
Also published as: SE515170C2; AU2001262826A1; DE10196277T1; SE0002056L; SE0002056D0; DE10196277B4

Abstract

Arrangement for length adjustment of a linkage (1) between a gear lever (2) and a gearbox (3) in a utility vehicle with a tiltable driver's cab (4), in connection with tilting of the cab (4). The gear lever (2) is articulatedly connected to the cab (4). The linkage (1) includes a link arm (10) which is articulatedly connected to a portion of the linkage (1) which is connected to the gearbox (3), and the link arm (10) can pivot about a hinge (12) at a distance from a tilt spindle (7) for the cab (4) during tilting of the cab (4). A lever arm (5) is, at a lever end (14), connected articulatedly to the link arm (10) so that the lever arm (5) can pivot relative to the link arm (10) about a lever axis (15). The lever arm (5) is, at the lever axis (15), slidable along the link arm (10). At least one locking element (20) is arranged to be able, by engaging with the link arm (10), to prevent sliding movements of the lever arm (5) along the link arm (10). The locking element (20) is arranged to be manoeuvred by means of the lever arm (5) and, at a predetermined angle between the lever arm (5) and the link arm (10), to come out of engagement with the link arm (10).

Description

ARRANGEMENT AT A GEAR LEVER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an arrangement for length adjustment of a linkage between a gear lever and a gearbox, according to the preamble to patent claim 1.

STATE OF THE ART

Utility vehicles with the engine under the driver's cab often have a means of access to the engine whereby the cab is tilted or pivoted about a horizontal axis which in most cases is oriented in the transverse direction of the vehicle and is situated forward of the engine. To transmit to the gearbox the driver's gearchange operations, the gear lever is connected to the gearbox by a mechanical linkage. In certain utility vehicles this linkage includes a substantially horizontal arm which makes it possible for the cab to undergo, relative to the chassis, springing movements which only to a limited extent propagate to the gear lever. When the cab is being tilted, the position of the axis about which said horizontal arm pivots, relative to the position of the axis about which the cab pivots, causes an increase in the distance between the gear lever and the axis about which said horizontal arm pivots. This increased distance causes the parts of the linkage which move during cab tilting to "straighten out" relative to one another, but if the increase in distance is too great there has also to be elongation of the portion of the linkage which is movable during cab tilting.

A known solution to this problem is for one of the arms of the linkage to be telescopic, in which case it is locked in its retracted position by a transverse locking pin, or the like, which is manoeuvred by hydraulic pressure from a hydraulic arrangement. However, that solution is complicated to design and manufacture and entails relatively high manufacturing costs. Such a design also entails a relatively large amount of maintenance during use. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide, for length adjustment, during cab tilting, of a linkage between a gear lever and a gearbox, an arrangement which is easy to design and manufacture and therefore inexpensive to manufacture and entails only a small amount of maintenance during use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is achieved by means of an arrangement with the features indicated in patent claim 1.

A gear lever being slidable along a link arm by means of a lever arm eliminates the need for a telescopic arrangement, or the like, for length adjustment. This is because a change in length is achieved by the gear lever being able to assume various positions along the link arm and to be placed at distances corresponding to those positions from the link arm's connection to the mechanism on its output side. Arranging such a sliding connection provides a simpler design solution than, for example, a telescopic arrangement.

A locking element being arranged to be manoeuvred by means of the lever arm, and the locking element being arranged to come out of engagement with the link arm at a predetermined angle between the lever arm and the link arm, has the following implications. The linkage elongation required during cab tilting involves substantially two movements. One consists in the lever arm pivoting relative to the link arm. The other movement consists in the lever arm being moved along the link arm. According to the invention, the pivoting movement is used for manoeuvring the locking of the sliding movement. In other words, the pivoting movement has two functions, viz. to bring about part of the necessary change in length of the linkage and to control the locking of the sliding movement which itself effects the remainder of the change in length. This eliminates the need for a separate manoeuvring arrangement, e.g. in the form of a hydraulic arrangement, for locking with regard to the portion of the change in length which is not effected by the pivoting movement.

Further advantages of the invention are indicated by the following description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 depicts a schematic, partly sectional, side view of a linkage between a gear lever and a gearbox, with an arrangement, according to the invention, for length adjustment of the linkage during cab tilting, when the cab is in the vehicle travel position.

Fig. 2 depicts a schematic, partly sectional, side view of the linkage in Fig. 1, when the cab is in a tilted position,

Fig. 3 depicts a partly sectional side view of a first embodiment of a coupling arrangement forming part of the linkage according to Figs. 1 and 2, when the cab is in the vehicle travel position,

Fig. 4 depicts the coupling arrangement in Fig. 3 during tilting of the cab,

Fig. 5 depicts a partly sectional side view of a second embodiment of a coupling arrangement forming part of the linkage according to Figs 1 and 2, when the cab is in the vehicle travel position,

Fig. 6 depicts a perspective view of the coupling arrangement in Fig. 5, and

Fig. 7 depicts a partly sectional side view of the coupling arrangement in Fig. 5, during tilting of the cab. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Fig. 1 depicts a linkage 1, between a gear lever 2 and a gearbox 3, on a truck. The gear lever 2 is situated in a driver's cab 4 which is here represented only by a portion of its floor situated adjacent to the gear lever 2. The cab floor 4 also forms the cover of the engine (not depicted) which is situated, together with the gearbox 3, under the cab. The gear lever 2 has its lower end connected rigidly to a lever arm 5 and is connected articulatedly to the cab 4 at a lever bearing 6.

As the engine is situated under the cab 4, the cab 4 has to be displaced from the vehicle travel position depicted in Fig. 1 to provide access to the engine. This displacement is effected by the cab 4 being tilted about a substantially horizontal tilt spindle 7 by which the cab 4 is connected to the truck chassis. In Fig. 1 the tilt spindle 7 is oriented perpendicular to the plane of the drawing.

The gearbox 3 is connected via a mechanism 8 to a lever 9 which is supported for pivoting on the vehicle's chassis. When no manoeuvring of the gearbox 3 is taking place, the lever 9 is at rest relative to the truck chassis. The lever 9 may therefore be regarded as fixed relative to the chassis during cab tilting.

A link arm 10 has an output end 11 connected articulatedly to the lever 9. The link arm 10 may be a tube of circular, quadrilateral or other suitable cross-section, or a solid rod of circular, quadrilateral or other suitable cross-section. It is thus possible for the link arm 10, e.g. during cab tilting, to pivot relative to the lever 9 via a hinge 12 which is situated at a distance from the tilt spindle 7.

The link arm 10 is surrounded by a sleeve 13 whose internal shape is adapted so that the sleeve 13 can slide along the link arm 10. To facilitate this, the inside surface of the sleeve 13 may, for example, be provided with a plastic film or the like. The sleeve 13 is connected articulatedly to one end 14 of the lever arm 5. This enables the lever arm 5 to pivot relative to the sleeve 13 (and hence relative to the link arm 10) about a lever axis 15.

Fig. 2 depicts the linkage 1 when the cab 4 is tilted, e.g. for access to the truck's engine. The cab 4 is here tilted by 60 degrees anticlockwise about the tilt spindle 7.

Cab tilting involves the link arm 10 pivoting (through its connection to the cab 4 via the lever arm 5 and lever bearing 6) about^" the hinge 12. As the hinge 12 does not coincide with the tilt spindle 7, cab tilting alters the distance between the hinge 12 and the lever bearing 6. In the example in Figs. 1 and 2 this distance increases. The increasing distance means that, as the cab tilts, the angle between the lever arm 5 and the portion of the link arm 10 which is situated between the sleeve 13 and the hinge 12 increases. As the cab tilts, the sleeve 13 also slides along the link arm 10, further away from the hinge 12, as may be seen by comparing Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 3 depicts a first embodiment of a coupling arrangement 16 according to the invention between the lever arm 5 and the link arm 10. In this embodiment the link arm 10 is a tube of quadrilateral cross-section. The lever end 14 is forked, partly surrounds the sleeve 13 and is connected to the sleeve 13 via hinges 17 on opposite sides, for pivoting about the lever axis 15. The connection between the lever end 14 and the sleeve 13 may alternatively take the form of two lugs provided with holes and connected firmly to the sleeve 13, and one lug, provided with a hole, or an eye on the lever end 14, which is applied between the lugs on the sleeve in order to form, together with them and a split pin or the like, a hinge connection.

A yoke 18 partly surrounds the sleeve 13 and is connected to it via hinges whose axis of rotation coincides with the lever axis 15. Alternatively the yoke may be connected to the sleeve via a hinge or hinges whose axis of rotation does not coincide with the lever axis 15. The yoke 18 is fitted between the sleeve 13 and the lever end 14. The yoke 18 has at a first end 19 a spigot 20 intended for insertion in a socket aperture 21 which penetrates the wall of the sleeve 13, and in a link arm aperture 22 which penetrates the wall of the link arm 10. When the spigot 20 is inserted in the two apertures 21 and 22, it prevents movement of the sleeve 13 in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 10.

The spigot 20 may be of any desired shape appropriate to bringing it into engagement with the link arm 10 and hence preventing movement of the sleeve 13 in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 10. The spigot 20 has in this embodiment a conical shape. Alternatively it may have, for example, a cylindrical shape. It may also have a square, rectangular, oval or other suitable cross-section. Its cross-sectional area may be constant, or vary, along its longitudinal direction. In particular, it may also be wedge- shaped. According to a further alternative, the first end 19 of the yoke 18 may bend towards the sleeve so that the first end 19 may, by engagement in a corresponding aperture in the link arm 10, have the same function as the spigot 20 in the first embodiment. According to another alternative, the link arm 10 may be provided with an element protruding in its transverse direction, with which an aperture, fork, clevis or the like, arranged on the yoke 18, may be brought into engagement.

A compression spring 24 is situated at a second end 23 of the yoke 18, which second end 23 is situated on the opposite side of the lever axis 15 to the first end 19. The compression spring 24 is arranged to apply a pressure between the sleeve 13 and the yoke 18 and to rotate the yoke 18, anticlockwise in Fig. 3, about the hinges 17 and thereby keep the spigot 20 inserted in the apertures 21, 22.

Tilting the cab 4 causes, as mentioned above with reference to Figure 2, an increase in the distance between the hinge 12 and the lever bearing 6, thereby increasing the angle between the lever arm 5 and the portion of the link arm 10 which is situated between the sleeve 13 and the hinge 12. This means that the lever end 14 pivots, clockwise in Fig. 3, about the lever axis 15. The lever end 14 is arranged so that at a certain angle between the lever arm 5 and the link arm 10 it comes into contact with a shoulder 25 situated at the second end 23 of the yoke 18. Figure 4 shows how, when the lever end 14 is in contact with the shoulder 25 and the angle between the lever arm 5 and the portion of the link arm 10 which is situated between the sleeve 13 and the hinge 12 increases further, the yoke 18 rotates, clockwise in Figure 4, about the hinges 17, thereby extracting the spigot 20 from the link arm aperture 22. This then means that the sleeve 13 can move along the link arm 10. When the distance between the hinge 12 and the lever bearing 6 increases further as the cab tilts, the lever arm 5 draws the sleeve 13 along the link arm 10 away from the hinge 12, as may be seen by comparing Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 depicts a tension spring 26 which has one end fastened in the sleeve 13 and the other end (not depicted) fastened in the link arm 10, at a point between the sleeve 13 and the hinge 12. In this embodiment the tension spring 26 is situated inside the link arm 10. The link arm 10 is provided with a longitudinal groove to make it possible to fasten the tension spring 26 in the sleeve 13. It is also conceivable for the tension spring 26 to be arranged outside the link arm 10 or for the tension spring 26 to be replaced by a compression spring situated on the opposite side of the sleeve 13, in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 10. When the cab 4 is manoeuvred from its normal vehicle travel position to its tilted position, and the sleeve 13 moves away from the hinge 12, the tension spring 26 is stretched.

When the cab 4 is manoeuvred from its tilted position to its normal vehicle travel position, the force applied by the tension spring 26 has the effect of bringing the sleeve 13 back towards the hinge 12 and also reducing the angle between the lever arm 5 and the portion of the link arm 10 which is situated between the sleeve 13 and the hinge 12, while at the same time the lever end 14 ceases to be in contact with the shoulder 25. At the same time, the spigot 20 moves in towards the sleeve aperture 21. When the sleeve 13 is in a position at which the link arm aperture 22 is at approximately the same position in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 10 as the sleeve aperture 21, the force from the compression spring 24 has the effect of inserting the spigot 20 in the link arm aperture 22, thus preventing movement of the sleeve 13 along the link arm 10. Figure 5 depicts a second embodiment of a coupling arrangement 16 according to the invention between the lever arm 5 and the link arm 10. In this embodiment the link arm 10 is again a tube of quadrilateral cross-section. The lever end 14 is forked and is connected to the sleeve 13 via hinges 17 associated with the sleeve 13, for pivoting about the lever axis 15. A spigot 20 is fitted in a guide bushing 27 which is connected firmly to the sleeve 13 and oriented substantially parallel with a plane which is defined by the longitudinal directions of the link arm 10 and the lever arm 5. The spigot 20 is arranged to move in the longitudinal direction of the guide bushing 27 and to be inserted in a sleeve aperture 21 which penetrates the wall of the sleeve 13 and in a link arm aperture 22 which penetrates the wall of the link arm 10. When the spigot 20 is inserted in the two apertures 21, 22, it prevents movement of the sleeve 13 in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 10.

The spigot 20 may be of any desired shape appropriate to bringing it into engagement with the link arm 10 and hence preventing movement of the sleeve 13 in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 10. In this embodiment the spigot 20 is of circular cross-section. Alternatively it may have a square, rectangular, oval or other suitable cross-section. Its cross-sectional area and/or cross-sectional shape may also vary along its longitudinal direction.

A compression spring 24 is situated in the guide bushing 27. One end of it is in contact with the guide bushing 27, at the latter's free end. The other end of the compression spring 24 is connected to the spigot 20. The compression spring 24 thus applies to the spigot 20 a force directed substantially in the longitudinal direction of the spigot 20, towards the apertures 21, 22, to keep the spigot 20 inserted in the apertures 21, 22.

A manoeuvring arm 28 is connected firmly to the lever end 14. The free end of the spigot 20 is provided with a shoulder 29 which is intended, during manoeuvring of the spigot 20, to come into contact with the manoeuvring arm 28. The shoulder 29 extends at least partly outside the radial delineating surfaces of the spigot 20, in a direction perpendicular to a plane which is defined by the longitudinal directions of the link arm 10 and the lever arm 5. The shoulder 29 may, for example, be a ball with a radius larger than the cross- section of the spigot 20, a transverse pin or some other suitably shaped element. The manoeuvring arm 28 is fastened to the lever end 14 at a point situated closer to the lever axis 15 than the point where the shoulder 29 is situated when the spigot 20 is in its inserted position.

Figure 6 shows the manoeuvring arm 28 provided with a slit 30 which extends substantially in a direction parallel to a plane which is defined by the longitudinal directions of the link arm 10 and the lever arm 5. The spigot 20 extends through the slit 30 in the manoeuvring arm 28, and the width of the slit 30 is smaller than the extent of the shoulder 29 in the transverse direction of the slit 30. Instead of being provided with a slit 30, the manoeuvring arm 28 may alternatively be designed so that it extends on only one side of the shoulder 29.

In Figure 5 it may be seen that the manoeuvring arm 28 has a free end 31 situated at a greater distance from the lever axis 15 than the shoulder 29 when the spigot 20 is in its inserted position. When the cab 4 is being tilted and the lever end 14 pivots (as described above with reference to Figure 3), clockwise in Figure 5, about the lever axis 15, the manoeuvring arm 28 moves towards and, as the pivoting continues, come into contact with the shoulder 29.

Figure 7 shows how further pivoting of the lever end 14 causes the manoeuvring arm 28, via the shoulder 29, to extract the spigot 20 from the apertures 21, 22, thereby allowing the sleeve 13 to move along the link arm 10.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. Arrangement for length adjustment of a linkage (1) between a gear lever (2) and a gearbox (3) in a utility vehicle with a til table driver's cab (4), in which the gear lever (2) is articulatedly connected to the cab (4) and the linkage (1) includes a link arm (10) which is articulatedly connected to a portion of the linkage (1) which is connected to the gearbox (3), whereby the link arm (10) can pivot about a hinge (12) at a distance from a tilt spindle (7) for the cab (4) during tilting of the cab (4), in addition to which a lever arm (5) at a lever end (14) is articulatedly connected to the link arm (10) so that the lever arm (5) can pivot relative to the link arm (10) about a lever axis (15), characterised in that the lever arm (5) at the lever axis (15) is slidable along the link arm (10), that at least one locking element (20) is arranged to be able by engaging with the link arm (10) to prevent sliding movements of the lever arm (5) along the link arm (10), that the locking element (20) is arranged to be manoeuvred by means of the lever arm (5), and that the locking element (20) is arranged to come out of engagement with the link arm (10) at a predetermined angle between the lever arm (5) and the link arm (10).

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the lever arm (5) at the lever end (14) is articulatedly connected to a sleeve (13), and that the sleeve (13) is mounted for sliding on the link arm (10).

3. Arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the locking element (20) is arranged to fit into an aperture (22) provided in the link arm (10).

4. Arrangement according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the locking element (20) is articulatedly connected to the sleeve (13).

5. Arrangement according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the locking element (20) is connected to the sleeve (13) and is slidable in a direction which does not coincide with the longitudinal direction of the sleeve (13).

6. Arrangement according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that a spring (24) is arranged to urge the locking element (20) towards the link arm (10).

7. Arrangements according to any one for the foregoing claims, characterised in that at least one shoulder (25, 29) is firmly connected to the locking element (20) and that the lever arm (5) or an element connected firmly to it is arranged, by pivoting relative to the link arm (10), to come into contact with the shoulder (25, 29) in order to manoeuvre the locking element (20).

8. Arrangement according to claim 7, characterised in that a rocker element (18) is articulatedly connected to the sleeve (13) and that the locking element (20) and the shoulder (25) are arranged on the rocker element (18) and are each situated on their respective side of the pivot axis of the rocker element.

9. Arrangement according to claim 7, characterised in that the shoulder (29) is arranged on the locking element (20), that a manoeuvring arm (28) is fastened to the lever arm (5) and that when the locking element is engaged with the link arm (10) the manoeuvring arm (28) on the lever arm (5) is situated at a shorter distance from the lever axis (15) than the shoulder (29), and a free end (31) of the manoeuvring arm (28) is situated at a greater distance from the lever axis (15) than the shoulder (29).

10. Arrangement according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterised, in that a return spring (26) has one end connected to the link arm (10) and is arranged so that its other end acts upon the sleeve (13).

11. Arrangement according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the link arm (10) is rigid.