Transmission electronic shifter with adjustable damped friction clutch

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9664276-B2
Application number	US-201414511505-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 10, 2014
Priority date	Oct 24, 2013
Publication date	May 30, 2017
Grant date	May 30, 2017

Abstract

An electronic shifter can include a base, a shift lever assembly, a detent system and a clutch system. The shift lever assembly can include a pivot base having a coupling member. The detent system can include a biasing member and a detent member associated with the shift lever assembly. The biasing member can bias the detent member into engagement with a cam member. The clutch system can include a flexible clutch member and a bearing area having a bearing surface. The bearing area can be associated with the base and can receive the coupling member and clutch member to pivotably couple the shift lever assembly to the base. The detent system can apply a downward force onto the coupling member thereby forcing the clutch member against the bearing surface and providing frictional damping of the shift lever assembly during movement thereof proportional with a biasing force of the biasing member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic shifter assembly for a shift-by-wire transmission, comprising:
a base;
a shift lever assembly including a pivot base having a coupling member;
a detent system including a biasing member and a detent member associated with the shift lever assembly, the biasing member biasing the detent member into engagement with a cam member coupled to the base; and
a clutch system including a flexible clutch member and a bearing area having a tapered bearing surface, the bearing area defined by the base and configured to receive the coupling member with the flexible clutch member coupled thereto to pivotably couple the shift lever assembly to the base such that the flexible clutch member extends partially around the coupling member with an inner surface of the flexible clutch member bearing on the coupling member and an outer surface of the flexible clutch member engaging and reacting against the tapered bearing surface;
wherein the detent system is configured to apply a downward force onto the coupling member thereby causing corresponding downward movement of flexible clutch member relative to a decreasing diameter of the tapered bearing surface such that an inner diameter of the flexible clutch member is reduced thereby applying increased frictional force on the coupling member so as to cause increased frictional resistance to pivotal movement of the shift lever assembly and provide tuned frictional damping of the shift lever assembly during movement thereof proportional with a biasing force of the biasing member.

2. The shifter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bearing area includes a female socket defined by the base and the bearing surface includes a tapered inner sidewall defined by the female socket.

3. The shifter assembly of claim 2 , wherein the base includes an upper base member coupled to a lower base member, the lower base member being positioned under the upper base member and including the bearing area, the cam member coupled to the upper base member.

4. The shifter assembly of claim 2 , further comprising a pivot member coupled to the coupling member, the pivot member forming a male outer pivot surface of the coupling member.

5. The shifter assembly of claim 4 , wherein the male outer pivot surface includes a substantially spherical surface.

6. The shifter assembly of claim 3 , wherein the coupling member with the flexible clutch member coupled thereto is pivotably positioned in the female socket.

7. The shifter assembly of claim 6 , wherein the downward force applied by the detent system urges the pivot base downward in a direction away from the cam member and away from the upper base member.

8. The shifter assembly of claim 7 , wherein the flexible clutch member comprises a C-shaped flexible clutch member.

9. The shifter assembly of claim 8 , wherein the C-shaped flexible clutch member is substantial incompressible in a radial direction such that a radially inward force applied to the outer surface by movement of the C-shaped flexible clutch member relative to the decreasing diameter of the tapered bearing surface causes the C-shaped flexible clutch member to expand in a circumferential direction thereby reducing the internal diameter thereof and applying the increased frictional force on the coupling member.

10. The shifter assembly of claim 7 , wherein the cam member includes a cam surface in engagement with the detent member, the cam surface including a plurality of detent grooves corresponding to gear selection locations and a corresponding plurality of ridges between the detent grooves.

11. The shifter assembly of claim 10 , wherein pivotal movement of the shift lever assembly from one gear selection location to another gear selection location includes corresponding movement of the detent plunger from one of the plurality of detent grooves to another one of the plurality of detent grooves and over one of the plurality of ridges positioned therebetween; and
wherein movement of the detent plunger over the one of the plurality of ridges compresses the biasing member by a first amount greater than a second amount of compression associated with the plurality of detent grooves, the first amount of compression corresponding to a first downward force applied onto the coupling member and the second amount of compression corresponding to a second downward force applied onto the coupling member, the first downward force causing greater frictional resistance via the clutch system to pivotal movement of the shift lever assembly than the second downward force.

12. The shift lever assembly of claim 8 , wherein the base defines first and second cut-outs extending from the female socket, the first and second cut-outs configured to receive first and second ends of the C-shaped flexible clutch member; and
wherein the first and second ends of the C-shaped flexible clutch member each include a radially outwardly extending projection, the projections configured to be received in the first and second cut-outs.

13. The shift lever assembly of claim 3 , wherein the electronic shift lever assembly includes a poly-stable electronic shift lever assembly; and
wherein the detent member includes first and second spaced apart detent members and the cam member includes first and second spaced apart cam members, the first and second detent members being coupled to the pivot base.

14. A poly-stable electronic shifter assembly for a shift-by-wire transmission, comprising:
a base having an upper base member coupled to a lower base member positioned under the upper base member;
a shift lever assembly including a pivot base having a coupling member;
a detent system including a biasing member and a detent member associated with the shift lever assembly, the biasing member biasing the detent member into engagement with a cam member coupled to the upper base member; and
a clutch system including a flexible clutch member and a bearing socket having a tapered bearing surface defined by the lower base member, the bearing socket configured to receive the coupling member with the flexible clutch member coupled thereto to pivotably couple the shift lever assembly to the base such that the flexible clutch member extends partially around the coupling member with an inner surface of the flexible clutch member bearing on the coupling member and an outer surface of the flexible clutch member engaging and reacting against the tapered bearing surface;
wherein the detent system is configured to apply a downward force onto the coupling member thereby causing corresponding downward movement of flexible clutch member relative to a decreasing diameter of the tapered bearing surface such that an inner diameter of the flexible clutch member is reduced thereby applying increased frictional force on the coupling member so as to cause increased frictional resistance to pivotal movement of the shift lever assembly and provide tuned frictional damping of the shift lever assembly during movement thereof proportional with a biasing force of the biasing member.

15. The shift lever assembly of claim 14 , further comprising:
a pivot member coupled to the coupling member, the pivot member forming a male outer pivot surface of the coupling member;
and
wherein the coupling member with the pivot member and the flexible clutch member coupled thereto is pivotably positioned in the bearing socket such that the inner surface of the flexible clutch member bears on the pivot member and the outer surface of the clutch member engages and reacts against the tapered inner sidewall.

16. The shifter assembly of claim 15 , wherein th

Assignees

• Tenbrink Jay T
• Brown Robert L
• Niskanen Donald
• Ypma Kirk
• Fca Us Llc

Inventors

• Tenbrink Jay T
• Brown Robert L
• Niskanen Donald
• Ypma Kirk

Classifications

• F16H2059/0269

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

• F16H2061/247

  Detents for range selectors · CPC title

• F16F7/023

  and characterised by damping force adjustment means · CPC title

• F16H59/10 Primary

  comprising levers · CPC title

• F16H59/0204

  for automatic transmissions with means for range selection and manual shifting, e.g. range selector with tiptronic · CPC title