Shift device for vehicle that includes a shift lever and a control lever that are separately supported by a baseplate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11486491-B2
Application number	US-202016898969-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 11, 2020
Priority date	Jul 11, 2019
Publication date	Nov 1, 2022
Grant date	Nov 1, 2022

Abstract

A shift device for a vehicle includes a baseplate, a shift lever having a spherical shaft part at a lower end, and a control lever connected to the shift lever. The spherical shaft part of the shift lever is supported by the baseplate and configured to turn relative to the baseplate. A cable coupling part is provided at an upper part of the control lever. A turning shaft part supported by the baseplate is provided at a lower part of the control lever outward of the spherical shaft part of the shift lever in a vehicle width direction, and the turning shaft part is configured to turn relative to the baseplate. The control lever has a branched part between the cable coupling part and the turning shaft parts, and the branched part is located above the spherical shaft part and branched in the vehicle width direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A shift device for a vehicle, the shift device comprising:
a baseplate supported by a vehicle body;
a shift lever having a spherical shaft part at a lower end; and
a control lever connected to the shift lever, the control lever being configured to transmit an operating force input into the shift lever in a vehicle body front-rear direction to a transmission through a cable, wherein:
the spherical shaft part of the shift lever is supported by the baseplate and configured to turn relative to the baseplate;
the control lever includes a lever main body;
a cable coupling part to which the cable is coupled is provided at an upper part of the control lever, the cable coupling part connected to the lever main body;
a turning shaft part supported by the baseplate is provided at a lower part of the control lever outward of the spherical shaft part of the shift lever in a vehicle width direction, and the turning shaft part is configured to turn relative to the baseplate;
the control lever has a branched part that is directly connected to and between the lever main body and the turning shaft part, a lower end of the lever main body directly connected to an uppermost end of the branched part and an upper end of the turning shaft part directly connected to a lowermost end of the branched part; and
the branched part is located above the spherical shaft part and branched in the vehicle width direction from the lower end of the lever main body so as to extend toward, in the vehicle width direction, and directly connect to the upper end of the turning shaft part.

2. The shift device for the vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the shift lever and the control lever are connected to each other so that an engaging projection formed on the control lever is inserted and engaged into an engaging opening formed in the shift lever;
a protruding direction of the engaging projection formed on the control lever and a protruding direction of the cable coupling part are opposite directions; and
a position at which the engaging projection is engaged in the engaging opening, a position of the spherical shaft part, and a position of the cable coupling part are located in the same plane.

3. The shift device for the vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein:
a line extending from the turning shaft part of the control lever along the vehicle width direction passes through a center of the spherical shaft part; and
a central portion of the cable coupling part and the position at which the engaging projection is engaged in the engaging opening are located in or near an imaginary plane that passes through the center of the spherical shaft part and extends along the vehicle body front-rear direction.

4. The shift device for the vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the baseplate is provided with a gate having an opening that guides shifting operation of the shift lever;
a cushion member that is a part separate from the baseplate and made of a material softer than a material composing the baseplate is installed along an edge of the opening of the gate;
the shift lever is provided with a detent pin configured to move upward and downward and constituting a detent mechanism that functions to position the shift lever at each shift position of the shift lever;
the cushion member has a detent cushion that extends downward so as to come into contact with the detent pin in a state where the detent pin has reached a raised position; and
the detent cushion has an engaging projection that engages with the baseplate and an opening that is formed above the engaging projection.

5. The shift device for the vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein the baseplate is provided with an insertion hole into which the detent cushion of the cushion member is inserted, and a clearance is left between a vertical wall forming an inner surface of the insertion hole and a side surface of the detent cushion facing the vertical wall.

6. The shift device for the vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein
the cushion member includes a shift gate cushion that covers the edge of the opening of the gate, and further includes the detent cushion,
the detent cushion includes a body that extends downwards from the shift gate cushion,
the engaging projection extends from the body of the detent cushion in the vehicle width direction, and
the opening, that is formed above the engaging projection, extends in the vehicle width direction through the body.

7. The shift device for the vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the shift device further comprises an additional turning shaft part that is supported by the baseplate and is provided at the lower part of the control lever outward of the spherical shaft part of the shift lever in an additional vehicle width direction that is opposite to the vehicle width direction, and the additional turning shaft part is configured to turn relative to the baseplate,
the control lever further has an additional branched part that is directly connected to and between the lever main body and the additional turning shaft part, the lower end of the lever main body directly connected to an uppermost end of the additional branched part and an upper end of the additional turning shaft part directly connected to a lowermost end of the additional branched part; and
the additional branched part is located above the spherical shaft part and branched in the additional vehicle width direction from the lower end of the lever main body so as to extend toward, in the additional vehicle width direction, and directly connect to the upper end of the additional turning shaft part.

8. The shift device for the vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
an outer circumferential edge of the turning shaft part of the control lever has a circular shape as seen from the vehicle width direction;
the baseplate is formed by integrally combining an upper baseplate and a lower baseplate, the upper baseplate having an upper support part that supports the turning shaft part along an upper side of the outer circumferential edge, the lower baseplate having a lower support part that supports the turning shaft part along a lower side of the outer circumferential edge;
at least one of the upper support part of the upper baseplate and the lower support part of the lower baseplate has a circular arc shape matching a shape of the outer circumferential edge of the turning shaft part as seen from the vehicle width direction; and
the lower baseplate is provided with a temporary holding part on which, before the spherical shaft part of the shift lever is installed, the control lever that has been turned toward one side so as to be away from an installation path of installing the spherical shaft part is placed and temporarily held.

9. A shift device for a vehicle, the shift device comprising:
a baseplate supported by a vehicle body;
a shift lever having a spherical shaft part at a lower end; and
a control lever connected to the shift lever, the control lever being configured to transmit an operating force input into the shift lever in a vehicle body front-rear direction to a transmission through a cable, wherein:
the spherical shaft part of the shift lever is supported by the baseplate and configured to turn relative to the baseplate;
a cable coupling part to which the cable is coupled is provided at an upper part of the control lever;
a turning shaft part supported by the baseplate is provided at a lower part of the control lever outward of the spherical shaft part of the shift lever in a vehicle width direction, and the turning shaft part is configured to turn relative to the baseplate;
the control lever has a branched part between the cable coupling part and the turning sh

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd
• Tokai Rika Co Ltd
• Tsuda Ind Co Ltd
• Mannoh Ind Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kato Shori
• Toyama Atsushi
• Fukushima Takaaki
• Nishikawa Naotaka

Classifications

• F16H2059/0269

  Ball joints or spherical bearings for supporting the lever · CPC title

• F16H61/24

  Providing feel, e.g. to enable selection · CPC title

• F16H59/10 Primary

  comprising levers · CPC title

• F16H61/22

  Locking {of the control input devices} (constructional features of locking or disabling mechanisms F16H63/34) · CPC title

• F16H2061/247

  Detents for range selectors · CPC title