JP2007030762A - Shift device of automatic transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shift device of an automatic transmission capable of locking a shift lever and preventing the drive of a vehicle when a driver has no intention of operating the shift lever. <P>SOLUTION: A sensor unit 16 for detecting whether or not a part of a hand of a driver is placed on a convex part 2b for placing a part of the hand of the driver is provided on the convex part 2b. When a control device receives a signal for indicating the condition that a part of the hand of the driver is placed on the convex part 2b from the sensor unit 16, the control device outputs the unlocking signal to a shift lever locking mechanism to perform the unlocking control of the shift lever 5. When the control device receives no signal for indicating the condition that a part of the hand of the driver is placed on the convex part 2b from the sensor unit 16, the lock signal is output to the shift lever locking mechanism to perform the locking control of the shift lever 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a shift device for an automatic transmission mounted on a vehicle.

  A vehicle (automobile) equipped with an automatic transmission selects and switches one of a plurality of ranges of the automatic transmission by operating a shift lever provided in the shift device. The shift knob provided at the top end of the shift lever is provided with a release button (release button) for releasing the lock state of the shift lever lock mechanism that prevents the shift lever from being inadvertently operated (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

When an operation of moving the shift lever of the automatic transmission as disclosed in Patent Document 1 from, for example, an N (neutral) position to an R (reverse) position or the like is performed, a shift lever lock mechanism is pressed by pressing the release button. By releasing the lock, the shift lever can be operated.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-174078 (FIG. 1)

  By the way, in the conventional shift lever device as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, when the shift lever is in the N (neutral) position, it can be freely operated in the D (drive) position without pressing the release button. can do. For this reason, when the shift lever is in the N (neutral) position, for example, if the driver's elbow or the like inadvertently touches the shift knob, or if a passenger other than the driver accidentally touches the shift knob, the driver The shift lever may be operated to the D position even though there is no intention to operate to the D position.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a shift device for an automatic transmission that prevents a driver from operating the shift lever by locking the shift lever when the driver does not intend to operate the shift lever.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a shift lever that is movably installed at a plurality of shift positions, a lock means that can lock and unlock the shift lever, and the lock means that allows the lock lever to be unlocked. Control means for controlling the locking and unlocking operation of the shift lever, and a convex portion for placing a part of the driver's hand in the vicinity of the shift lever between the shift lever and the driver's seat of the vehicle, A shift device for an automatic transmission provided with detecting means for detecting whether or not a part of a driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion on the convex surface portion, the control means comprising: When a signal indicating that a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion is input from the detection means, an unlock signal is output to the lock means to output the shift lever. B When the signal indicating that a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion is not input from the detection means, a lock signal is output to the lock means. Then, lock control of the shift lever is executed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the shift lever is unlocked by the locking means only when the driver's hand is partly placed on the convex surface for the driver to perform a shift operation. When the driver is in a state where a part of the driver's hand is not placed on the convex surface portion, the shift lever can be maintained in the locked state by the locking means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the shift device includes a shift position detection unit that detects a shift position when the shift lever is operated, and the shift device detects the shift position when the shift lever is operated. Based on this detection signal, a plurality of ranges of the automatic transmission can be switched electrically.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, as in the shift-by-wire type shift device that can electrically switch a plurality of ranges of the automatic transmission based on the detection signal from the shift position detection means, Locking means when the driver does not place a part of the driver's hand on the convex surface (when the driver does not intend to perform the shift operation) with respect to the shift lever that can be operated from the position to each shift position. By this, it becomes possible to maintain the locked state.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shift lever for selecting one of a plurality of shift positions of the automatic transmission, and a shift position of the automatic transmission according to the shift position selected by the shift lever. An actuator for switching, a control means for outputting a switching command signal to the actuator, and a convex surface portion for placing a part of the driver's hand in the vicinity of the shift lever side between the shift lever and the driver's seat of the vehicle; And a control means for detecting whether or not a part of a driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion. The means outputs a switching command signal to the actuator only when a signal indicating that a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface is input from the detection means. To.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, the control means outputs the switching command signal to the actuator only when a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion from the detection means, so that the shift knob The release button can be omitted, and the operability of the shift lever can be improved.

  According to the present invention, the shift lever is unlocked by the lock means and the shift operation is enabled only when the driver's hand is partly placed on the convex surface for the driver to perform the shift operation. When the driver is in a state where a part of the driver's hand is not placed on the convex surface portion, the shift lever can be maintained in the locked state by the locking means. Therefore, when the driver does not intend to perform the shift operation and does not place a part of the driver's hand on the convex surface (when the driver does not intend to perform the shift operation), for example, the driver's elbow Even if the shift knob is inadvertently touched or an occupant other than the driver accidentally touches the shift knob, the shift lever can be prevented from moving and being shifted.

Further, according to the present invention, the actuator is operated by the shift operation of the shift lever only when the driver's hand is partly placed on the convex surface portion so that the driver can perform the shift operation. Therefore, when the driver does not intend to perform the shift operation and the driver's hand is not partly placed on the convex surface, the driver or a passenger other than the driver accidentally touches the shift knob and the shift lever operates incorrectly. Even if this is done, it is possible to prevent the shift device from malfunctioning by making it impossible to switch the range of the automatic transmission.
The control means releases the shift knob by outputting a switching command signal to the actuator only when a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex portion from the detecting means, thereby enabling a shift operation. The structure of the shift knob and the shift device can be simplified by omitting the button and the lock mechanism, and the operability of the shift lever can be improved.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiments.
<Embodiment 1>
1 is a schematic perspective view showing a shift device of an automatic transmission according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the shift device, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the shift device. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the shift device, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle equipped with the shift device, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the vicinity of the driver's wrist is placed on the slope of the convex portion. FIG.
The upper side of FIG. 3 is the front side of the vehicle on which this shift device is mounted, and the lower side of FIG. 3 is the rear side of the vehicle on which this shift device is mounted. The first embodiment is an example applied to a shift-by-wire shift device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the shift-by-wire shift device 1 according to the first embodiment has a gate groove 3 that forms a shift pattern in the center of the upper surface 2a of the case body 2, and this A shift lever 5 having a shift knob 4 attached to the tip is inserted into the gate groove 3. In the first embodiment, the shift device 1 is installed on a floor (console) in the vicinity of the front side of the driver's seat S of the vehicle (automobile) C as shown in FIG.

  The gate groove 3 is a linear first gate groove 3a extending along the front-rear direction of the vehicle C (see FIG. 5), and from the front end of the first gate groove 3a (upper left side in FIG. 1) toward the right side. A second gate groove 3b is formed, and a third gate groove 3c is formed from the rear end of the first gate groove 3a (oblique right lower side in FIG. 1) toward the left side. The first gate groove 3a Near the front end of the first gate groove 3a, near the rear end of the first gate groove 3a is a D (drive) position, inside the second gate groove 3b is an R (reverse) position, and inside the third gate groove 3c is L (low). Position.

  A push button type P (parking) operation button 6 is provided on the front end side of the upper surface 2a of the case body 2 (upper left side in FIG. 1). Further, a support mechanism (not shown) that supports the shift lever 5 in a swingable manner along the gate groove 3 (first gate groove 3a, second gate groove 3b, and third gate groove 3c) in the case body 2. Then, after operating the shift lever 5 to either the N position or the D position in the first gate groove 3a, the hand is released to automatically return to the neutral position (home position: hereinafter referred to as H position) 7. A return mechanism (not shown) is provided. Note that the shift lever 5 is located at the H position 7 after the P operation button 6 is pressed and the P position signal is input.

  When the shift lever 5 is put into the second gate groove 3b at the R position and when the shift lever 5 is put into the third gate groove 3c at the L position, the detent mechanism (not shown) holds it in that position. Is configured to do. This holding release can be performed by manually pushing the shift lever 5 back to the first gate groove 3a side. Further, in the case main body 2, a shift for detecting the shift position of the shift lever 5 (the R position, the N position, the D position, the L position and the H position 7 described above) when the driver operates the shift knob 4. A position detector 8 (see FIG. 4) is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the shift device 1 includes a control device (ECU) 10, and the shift device 1 is electrically connected to the automatic transmission 11 via the control device (ECU) 10. Yes. The automatic transmission 11 is connected to an output shaft (not shown) of the engine 13 via a torque converter 12. The hydraulic control unit 14 of the automatic transmission 11 is provided with an electric actuator 14 a for switching the range of the automatic transmission 11. The hydraulic control unit 14 and the electric actuator 14 a are driven and controlled based on a control signal from the control device 10.

  When the driver operates the shift knob 4, the control device 10 is based on the shift position detection signal input from the shift position detection unit 8 based on the position of the swinging shift lever 5, and the hydraulic control unit 14 and the electric control unit 10. The control signal is output to the actuator 14a to drive and control both, and the range of the automatic transmission 11 is switched. Further, the control device 10 controls the hydraulic control unit 14 and the electric actuator 14a based on the P position signal input in response to the pressing operation of the P operation button 6 when the driver presses the P operation button 6. The control signal is output to drive and control both, and the range of the automatic transmission 11 is switched to the P range.

  Further, the control device 10 outputs a signal to a shift lever lock mechanism 15 (see FIG. 2) to be described later based on a detection signal input from the sensor section 16 (see FIG. 1) to be described later, thereby shifting the shift lever lock mechanism 15. And the shift lever 5 is locked and unlocked (details will be described later).

  Each range (R, N, D, L) of the automatic transmission 11 has each shift formed by the gate groove 3 (first gate groove 3a, second gate groove 3b, third gate groove 3c) of the shift device 1. It corresponds to the position (R, N, D, L). When the automatic transmission 11 is selected in the N range, the neutral state is set in which the power transmission between the engine 13 side and the drive wheel (not shown) side of the automatic transmission 11 is interrupted. When the automatic transmission 11 is selected in the P range by pressing the P operation button 6, the power transmission between the engine 13 side and the drive wheel (not shown) side is set to a neutral state, and An electric parking lock mechanism (not shown) is activated to mechanically lock the output shaft (not shown) of the automatic transmission 11.

  A shift lever lock mechanism 15 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) is provided in the case main body 2 of the shift device 1 so that the shift lever 5 can be locked and unlocked. Further, the shift lever lock mechanism 15 is configured to shift-lock the shift lever 5 to the H position 7 when the P operation button 6 is pressed to the P (parking) position. As the shift lever lock mechanism 15, for example, a solenoid that operates by energization control can be used.

  A convex surface portion 2b extending in the same direction as the linear first gate groove 3a is integrally formed on the rear end side (obliquely lower right side in FIG. 1) of the upper surface 2a of the case body 2. The vicinity of the center of the convex surface portion 2b has an inclined surface 2c that falls toward the rear side (side closer to the driver's seat S (see FIG. 5)) with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle C (see FIG. 5). The convex surface portion 2b is for placing the inner side near the wrist when the driver operates the shift knob 4 on the fingertip or fingertip side of the palm to shift to a desired shift position. Note that the slope closer to the gate groove 3 than the vicinity of the center of the convex portion 2b is curved inward so as not to interfere even when the shift knob 4 is operated to the D position.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the slope 2c of the convex surface portion 2b serves as a detecting means for detecting that the inside of the vicinity of the wrist is placed during a shift operation in which the driver operates the shift knob 4. A sensor unit 16 is installed. For the sensor unit 16, for example, a sensor such as a touch sensor that detects a known capacitance change or a load sensor that detects a known load change can be used.

  When the detection signal is input from the sensor unit 16, that is, when the inside of the vicinity of the wrist is placed on the slope 2 c of the convex surface portion 2 b, the control device 10 moves the shift lever 5 to the shift lever lock mechanism 15. Outputs a lock release signal (lock release signal). Further, the control device 10 shifts with respect to the shift lever lock mechanism 15 when no detection signal is input from the sensor unit 16, that is, when the inside of the vicinity of the wrist is not placed on the inclined surface 2c of the convex surface portion 2b. A signal (lock signal) for maintaining the lock of the lever 5 is output.

  The shift device 1 of the automatic transmission 11 according to the first embodiment is configured as described above. For example, when the driver does not intend to perform a shift operation and the palm or fingertip is not touching the shift knob 4, Nothing is detected by the sensor unit 16 disposed on the slope 2c of the convex surface part 2b, and the control device 10 maintains the locked state of the shift lever 5 by the shift lever lock mechanism 15.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, in order to perform the shift operation, the driver puts the inner side of the vicinity of the wrist A on the shift operation side of the driver on the inclined surface 2c of the convex surface portion 2b, and tilts the shift knob 4. When the index finger, the middle finger, and the ring finger are brought into contact with the vicinity of the portion 4a, the inner side in the vicinity of the wrist A contacts the sensor unit 16. Therefore, in this situation, a detection signal is output from the sensor unit 16 to the control device 10. As a result, a signal for releasing the lock of the shift lever 5 is output from the control device 10 to the shift lever lock mechanism 15, and the lock of the shift lever 5 is released. Therefore, the driver can operate the shift lever 5 to a desired shift position (any one of R, D, and L).

  In addition, the driver operates the shift lever 5 to a desired shift position (any of R, N, D, and L) from the situation where the P (parking) position is reached by pressing the P operation button 6. Even in this case, a detection signal is output from the sensor unit 16 to the control device 10 when the inside of the vicinity of the wrist is placed on the slope 2c of the convex surface portion 2b as described above. As a result, a signal for releasing the lock of the shift lever 5 is output from the control device 10 to the shift lever lock mechanism 15, the lock of the shift lever 5 is released, and the shift lever 5 can be operated.

  Thus, according to the shift device 1 of the automatic transmission 11 according to the first embodiment, only when the driver places the inner side near the wrist on the slope 2c of the convex surface portion 2b in order to perform the shift operation, When the detection signal is output from the sensor unit 16, the shift lever 5 is unlocked by the shift lever lock mechanism 15, and the driver does not place the inner side near the wrist on the slope 2c of the convex surface portion 2b (the shift operation is performed). When there is no intention, the shift lever 5 is always locked by the shift lever lock mechanism 15.

  Therefore, when the driver does not intend to perform the shift operation and the inner side near the wrist is not placed on the slope 2c of the convex portion 2b, for example, the driver's elbow or the like touches the shift knob 4 inadvertently or the driver Even if an occupant other than the passenger accidentally touches the shift knob 4, it is possible to prevent the shift lever 5 from swinging (moving) and being shifted.

  Conventionally, when operating from the P (parking) position to a desired shift position (any one of R, N, D, and L), the P release button is pressed to operate the shift lever lock mechanism 15. In the first embodiment, the shift lever 5 is unlocked only when the inner side near the wrist is placed on the inclined surface 2c of the convex surface portion 2b, that is, when the driver intends to perform the shift operation. Since the shift lever 5 is unlocked by the shift lever lock mechanism 15, the P release button can be dispensed with.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a shift device for an automatic transmission according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same structural member as the shift apparatus of the automatic transmission of Embodiment 1 shown in FIGS. 1-6, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, an authentication sensor unit 17 that detects a vein pattern near the palm of the driver is provided on the slope 2 c of the convex surface 2 b provided with the sensor unit 16. . As the authentication sensor unit 17, for example, an authentication sensor using a known biometric authentication technique for detecting a palm vein pattern used in a bank ATM or the like as image data can be used. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, when the driver performs a shift operation, the authentication sensor unit 17 detects a vein pattern when the vicinity of the palm is first placed on the slope 2c of the convex surface portion 2b. Then, this detection data is stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown) in the control device 10 (see FIG. 4) (for example, vein pattern data of the owner of the vehicle on which the shift device is mounted). ) And only when they match, for example, a signal for permitting engine start is output.

  As described above, when the driver performs a shift operation, it is quickly and easily determined whether or not the user is a registered user (such as a vehicle owner) by simply placing the vicinity of the palm on the slope 2c of the convex surface portion 2b. Security functions can be enhanced.

<Modification>
In the first embodiment described above, the case where the shift lever lock mechanism (lock means) 15 is provided has been described, but the shift lever lock mechanism 15 may not be provided.
In this case, a sensor unit (detection unit) 16 that detects whether or not a part of the driver's hand is on the convex surface portion 2b is provided, and the sensor unit 16 is controlled by the control device (control unit) 10. The switch command signal to the electric actuator (actuator) 14a is output only when a signal indicating that a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion 2b is input.
In this way, the control device 10 outputs a switching command signal to the electric actuator 14a only when a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion 2b from the sensor unit 16, and the shift operation is performed. Can be made possible. Therefore, when the driver does not intend to perform the shift operation and does not place a part of the driver's hand on the convex surface portion 2b, the driver or an occupant other than the driver accidentally touches the shift knob 4, and the shift lever Even if 5 is erroneously operated, the electric actuator 14a does not operate and the range of the automatic transmission 11 cannot be switched.
When the driver does not have a part of the driver's hand on the convex surface portion 2b and the shift lever 5 is operated to shift, the operation load is detected and an alarm is generated. The passenger may be informed that the operation is prohibited by sounding and alarming.

<Other variations>
Further, each of the embodiments described above is an example of a shift-by-wire type shift device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the shift operation of the shift lever by the driver is mechanically automatically changed. The present invention can be similarly applied to a normal shift device that transmits to the machine side and performs range switching.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a shift device for an automatic transmission according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1 is a schematic side view showing a shift device for an automatic transmission according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a shift device for an automatic transmission according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The schematic block diagram which shows the shift apparatus of the automatic transmission which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. Schematic which shows the vehicle carrying the shift apparatus of the automatic transmission which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The principal part schematic side view which shows the state which mounted the driver | operator's wrist vicinity on the slope of a convex part. The schematic plan view which shows the shift apparatus of the automatic transmission which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shift apparatus 2 Case main body 2b Convex part 2c Slope 3 Gate groove 4 Shift knob 5 Shift lever 6 P operation button 10 Control apparatus (control means)
11 Automatic transmission 14 Hydraulic control unit 14a Electric actuator (actuator)
15 Shift lever lock mechanism (locking means)
16 Sensor part (detection means)
17 Authentication sensor part

Claims (3)

A shift lever movably installed at a plurality of shift positions, a lock means for locking and unlocking the shift lever, a control means for controlling the lock lever unlocking and unlocking operations by the lock means, A shift device for an automatic transmission comprising a convex portion for placing a part of a driver's hand in the vicinity of the shift lever side between the shift lever and the driver's seat of the vehicle,
The convex portion is provided with detection means for detecting whether or not a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex portion,
The control means outputs a lock release signal to the lock means when a signal indicating that a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion is input from the detection means. When the unlock control of the shift lever is executed and a signal indicating that a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion is not input from the detection means, the lock means A lock signal is output and lock control of the shift lever is executed.
A shift device for an automatic transmission. The shift device includes a shift position detection unit that detects a shift position when the shift lever is operated, and is electrically automatically based on a detection signal from the shift position detection unit when the shift lever is operated. It is possible to switch between multiple ranges of the transmission.
The shift device for an automatic transmission according to claim 1. A shift lever for selecting one of a plurality of shift positions of the automatic transmission, an actuator for switching the shift position of the automatic transmission according to the shift position selected by the shift lever, and a switching command signal to the actuator A shift device for an automatic transmission comprising: a control means for outputting; and a convex portion for placing a part of a driver's hand in the vicinity of the shift lever side between the shift lever and a driver's seat of the vehicle. There,
The convex portion is provided with detection means for detecting whether or not a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex portion,
The control means outputs a switching command signal to the actuator only when a signal indicating that a part of the driver's hand is placed on the convex surface portion is input from the detection means.
A shift device for an automatic transmission.

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