WO2017124373A1

WO2017124373A1 - Gearshift assembly for vehicles

Info

Publication number: WO2017124373A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/071574
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pedro ALBADALEJO; XueMin ZHONG; Jaume FERRE
Original assignee: Ficosa International Taicang Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ficosa International Taicang Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-01-21
Filing date: 2016-01-21
Publication date: 2017-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 2018-07-21
Also published as: CN108700185B; CN108700185A

Abstract

A gearshift assembly (100) for vehicles comprises a housing (200), a selector lever (300), hinge means (400) for allowing shifting movement of the selector lever (300) relative to the housing (200) for remotely controlling a vehicle transmission, and biasing means (500, 550). The hinge means (400) comprise an at least partially spherical surface (405) and contact elements (410, 430, 440, 450) arranged distributed radially thereto. The contact elements (410, 430, 440, 450) and the at least partially spherical surface (405) are adapted to slide relative to each other. The biasing means (500, 550) are configured to bias the at least partially spherical surface (405) and the contact elements (410, 430, 440, 450) into contact with each other along at least a portion of three different meridians of the at least partially spherical surface (405).

Description

Gearshift assembly for vehicles

The present disclosure relates to gearshift assemblies for vehicles, and specifically gearshift assemblies with controlled tolerances when operating a selector lever that can be moved relative to a housing by means of a ball joint for remotely controlling a vehicle transmission.

BACKGROUND

Ball joints typically comprise a socket that defines a spherical chamber adapted to receive a pivot ball that can be rotated therein. In the field of gearshift assemblies for motor vehicles, the pivot ball is part of a selector lever that can be actuated for remotely controlling a vehicle transmission.

Free plays are present between the ball and the socket as, due to manufacturing tolerances, the ball has a slightly smaller diameter than the socket as otherwise their assembly would not be possible. These free plays are undesirable since they are felt by the user as the selector lever is actuated which results in discomfort.

Attempts have been made for removing undesirable free plays in the ball joint. For this purpose, elastic elements have been provided, such as one or more pre-compressed plates acting against the pivot ball, one or more rubber elements surrounding the socket, etc. The use of elastic elements acting on the socket of the ball joint for reducing tolerances is also known in the art.

US5505103 discloses one example of a ball joint for connecting a selector lever to a housing in a vehicle gearshift assembly. In this example, the socket is formed by a number of resilient spring fingers. In use, the pivot ball of the selector lever, that is received into the socket, is biased into a centered neutral position when released. Such flexible fingers of the socket allow tolerances in the pivot ball to be reduced.

US5024117 employs an elastic member for retaining the pivot ball of the ball joint such that an operating load is stabilized. The elastic member has a number of tongues having an elastically displaceable free end.

In such solutions, the flexible fingers and the elastic member tend to lose their properties over time since the materials they are made of tend to relax over time. In addition, such flexible or elastic parts do not efficiently ensure pre-compression of the assembly during product service life due to creeping effect.

GB1147298 provides a ball shifter for noise reduction that engages a spherical seat in a housing that is fixed to the body of the vehicle. A cap is screwed onto the housing and has a spherical surface and a central aperture through which the lever extends. A spring is compressed between the collar and a flat in the ball to hold the ball on its seat. This ball shifter however does not have means for positioning of the ball in the socket seat, which results in an undesirable problem.

Still other known solutions are based on an increase of the diameter of the pivot ball relative to diameter of the socket/housing in order to reduce clearances therebetween. However, it has been found that efficient performance at the end of service life cannot be ensured.

There is thus still a need for having an efficient gearshift assembly for vehicles capable of providing a zero-play gearshift movement of the selector lever relative to the housing, with no clearances in the ball joint even at the end of service life.

SUMMARY

A gearshift assembly for vehicles is disclosed herein. Although the present gearshift assembly may be of the shift-by-wire type, it can be also applied to any other type of gearshift devices for controlling a vehicle transmission.

The present gearshift assembly comprises a housing which may be fixed to a suitable location in the vehicle. The gearshift assembly also comprises a selector lever that can be moved relative to the housing. For coupling the selector lever and the housing, hinge means are provided. The hinge means allow shifting movement of the selector lever relative to the housing for remotely controlling a vehicle transmission.

The hinge means in the present gearshift assembly comprise an at least

partially spherical surface and contact elements arranged distributed radially to said at least partially spherical surface. In any case, the contact elements and the at least partially spherical surface are adapted to slide relative to each other as the selector lever is moved, for example as the user actuates the selector lever for controlling the vehicle transmission.

Biasing means are provided cooperating with the above mentioned hinge means. The biasing means are configured to bias the at least partially spherical surface and the contact elements into contact with each other along at least a portion of three different meridians of the at least partially spherical surface. The contact elements are, thus, arranged to provide a corresponding contact region with each of the three different meridians of the at least partially spherical surface.

In one non-limiting example, the biasing means may be a spring element, such as a compression spring. The spring element is arranged to act upon a portion of the selector lever so as to bias the selector lever towards the housing.

In a further example, the biasing means may be an elastic element such as for example an overmoulded elastomer plate attached to the housing. The elastic element would be in this case arranged to act upon a portion of the selector lever so as to bias the selector lever towards the housing.

The gearshift assembly may further comprise a plunger that is biased onto a contoured surface by the action of the biasing means. This is the case of shift-by-wire shifting devices where it is usually required to provide the user with information relating to shifting operation as the selector lever is actuated.

In such case, the biasing means performs a dual function, namely biasing the at least partially spherical surface and the contact elements into contact with each other, and also biasing the plunger onto the contoured surface. However, it may be envisaged the case where the biasing means such as the above mentioned compression spring only performs a single function of biasing the plunger onto the contoured surface for providing the user with information relating to shifting operation while the above mentioned elastic plate is provided to perform the function of biasing the at least partially spherical surface and the contact elements into contact with each other. Other possible combinations are not ruled out.

The contact elements may be three different inclined planes arranged to intersect each other. Each plane may be adapted to be in tangential contact with the at least partially spherical surface. Therefore, each plane includes one contact region with one meridian of the at least partially spherical surface.

The contact elements may also be two or three protrusions. For example, one protrusion may include a contact region with one meridian of the at least partially spherical surface and another protrusion may include the two other contact regions with the other two meridians of the at least partially spherical surface. Alternatively, three protrusions may be provided such that each protrusion includes one contact region with a corresponding meridian of the at least partially spherical surface.

In order to provide the user with information relating to shifting operation as the selector lever is actuated, in this example of the present gearshift assembly the at least partially spherical surface may be integrally formed with or attached to the housing. In this case, the contact elements may be integrally formed with or attached to the selector lever. Here, the selector lever may comprise a first contact element shaped as a substantially semi disc-shaped protrusion having a first rim. Such first rim is arranged so as to contact the at least partially spherical surface along at least a portion of one meridian of the at least partially spherical surface. The selector lever may further comprise in this case a second contact element shaped as a substantially disc-shaped protrusion having a second rim. Such second rim is arranged so as to contact the at least partially spherical surface along at least a portion of the other two meridians of the at least partially spherical surface. In one example, at least one of the first rim and the second rim may be chamfered so as to enhance contact with the spherical surface. In one specific example, one contact region may be provided at the first rim and the other two contact regions may be provided at the second rim.

Alternatively, the selector lever may comprise three contact elements shaped as substantially semi disc-shaped protrusions each having a rim. Each rim is arranged so as to contact the at least partially spherical surface along at least a portion of one meridian of the at least partially spherical surface. As a result, each rim provides a contact region.

As in the above example of the present gearshift assembly, the at least partially spherical surface may be integrally formed with or attached to the selector lever. Here, the contact elements may be integrally formed with or attached to the housing. In this case, the contact elements may be for example three radially distributed protrusions shaped as ridges or lumps. It may be preferred that the ridges or lumps are rigid elements integrally formed with or attached to the housing. However, examples where the ridges or lumps may be formed in the selector lever are not ruled out, in which case, the housing has no ridges or lumps.

It may be preferred that the at least partially spherical surface is an outer surface of a ball integrally formed with or attached to the selector lever. In this case, and also as described above, when a plunger is provided such that it is biased onto a contoured surface for providing the user with information relating to shifting operation, that is, for giving the user a feeling from a spring force as the selector lever is moved on the contoured surface, the biasing force of the plunger against the contoured surface is also used to push the selector lever over three contact points.

In any case, it is preferred that the contact elements are arranged so as to contact three evenly radially distributed meridians of the at least partially spherical surface. In general, it is preferred that three contact points or lines are arranged at an angular spacing of 120° from each other on one of the housing and the selector lever to be in contact with the other of the selector and the housing. In general, the contact points or lines between the selector lever and the housing are located on an opposite location to the direction of the force applied by the plunger.

With the above combination of an at least partially spherical surface and contact elements which are adapted to slide relative to each other upon shifting movement of the selector lever, a zero-play movement, i.e. a movement with no clearances between the lever and the housing, is achieved without the need for a ball and socket joint with extra parts for that purpose. Tolerance control is easier and controlling a spherical surface is not necessary since only the contact elements have to be measured. Since only contact elements are necessary to be controlled, such as the protrusions or the housing, the material of the parts in general can be optimized. High quality machining tools are thus not necessary for the manufacture of the gearshift assembly resulting in that costs and complexity are reduced.

The manufacturing process of the present gearshift assembly also benefits from the use of manufacturing injection techniques. Additional advantages found with the present gearshift assembly is less restrictions required during design process to control wall thicknesses of parts, e.g. the at least partially spherical surface, in order to avoid different contractions in contact surfaces. In addition, the present gearshift assembly further provides auto-centring features.

Additional objects, advantages and features of embodiments of the gearshift assemblies for vehicles will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the description, or may be learned by practice thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Particular embodiments of the present gearshift assemblies for vehicles will be described in the following by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

Figure 1a is a sectional elevation of one example of the present gearshift assembly；

Figure 1b is a sectional elevation of another example of the present gearshift assembly；

Figure 2 is a bottom view of a housing of the example of the present gearshift assembly shown in figure 1a；

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of a second example of the present gearshift assembly；

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a selector lever of the example shown in figure 3；

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the selector lever shown in figures 3 and 4；

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic bottom view of an alternative example of the housing of present gearshift assembly shown in figure 1a；

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the selector lever showing an alternative example of the contact elements； and

Figure 8 is an elevation of the selector lever shown in figure 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The figures show a gearshift assembly generally designated by reference numeral 100. The gearshift assembly 100 is of the shift-by-wire type, although those skilled in the art will readily understand that many other different types of gearshift assemblies fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

In the example shown in figure 1a, the shift-by-wire gearshift assembly 100 comprises a fixed housing 200 and a selector lever 300 that can be pivotally moved relative to the housing 200 through hinge means 400 for remotely controlling a vehicle transmission.

The hinge means 400 are defined, in this first example, by a spherical surface 405 integrally formed with or attached to the selector lever 300 and by contact elements. In this specific example, the contact elements are protrusions 410 integrally formed with or attached to the housing 200. The protrusions 410 and the spherical surface 405 are adapted to slide relative to each other as the selector lever 300 is actuated by the user for controlling the vehicle transmission.

In this case, the spherical surface 405 corresponds to a pivot ball as can be appreciated in figure 1a. In this example, three radially distributed protrusions 410 are provided, which may be in the form of ridges (figure 2) , lumps (figure 6) or a combination thereof. Other possible embodiments of the protrusions 410 are not ruled out whilst they are arranged so as to contact three evenly radially distributed meridians of the spherical surface 405 of the selector lever 300.

Biasing means are also provided. In the specific example shown in figure 1a, the biasing means are a compression spring 500 arranged inside a lever driving arm 350. The lever driving arm 350 is a part of the shift-by-wire gearshift assembly 100 shown in the figures and it is attached to or is part of the selector lever 300 so they move together as the user actuates the selector lever 300 for controlling the vehicle transmission. The lever driving arm 350 may be adapted for carrying a magnet 370 for detecting the position of the selector lever 300.

As shown in figure 1a, the compression spring 500 is fitted inside a tubular passage 355 formed inside the lever driving arm 350. One end 510 of the compression spring 500 is arranged for abutting a corresponding inner end 360 of the tubular passage 355. The opposite end 520 of the compression spring 500 is arranged for acting on a plunger 700.

Now referring to the example of figure 1b, an elastic plate 550 is provided. The elastic plate 550 in this case acts as the biasing means instead of the compression spring 500 shown in figure 1a. In the particular case of the example of figure 1b, the elastic plate 550 is a plate overmoulded with an elastomer 560. The elastic plate 550 is arranged for biasing a socket 250 against the spherical surface 405. The elastic plate 550 is attached, e.g. screwed, to the housing 200. In this case, the contact elements 410 may be formed in the socket 250 instead of being formed in the housing 200 as is the case of figure 1a.

Although the compression spring 500 and the elastic plate 550 are both shown in figure 1b, in this example of figure 1b the compression spring 500 and the plunger 700 might not be present. However, in the case that both the compression spring 500 and the elastic plate 550 are present simultaneously as shown in figure 1b, the compression spring 500 could only perform the function of biasing the plunger 700 onto the contoured surface 600 so that the elastic plate 550 would perform the function of biasing the protrusions 410 against the spherical surface 405.

The plunger 700 is arranged to be biased by the compression spring 500 onto a contoured surface 600. The contoured surface 600 is fixed, for example to one portion of the housing 200, and is configured so that as the plunger 700 moves on the contoured surface 600 as the selector lever 300 is actuated, the user is provided with information relating to shifting operation.

The compression spring 500 is thus arranged such that in use it is compressed and released inside the tubular passage 355 of the lever driving arm 350 such that spring forces are generated acting upon a portion of the selector lever 300 so as to bias it towards the housing 200. This causes the spherical surface 405 and the protrusions 410 to be biased into contact with each other. It should be noted that said contact between the spherical surface 405 and the protrusions 410 of the gearshift assembly 100 occurs along a portion of three different meridians of the spherical surface 405.

Therefore, the compression spring 500 performs a dual function: biasing the selector lever 300 towards the housing 200 such that the spherical surface 405 and the protrusions 410 are biased into contact with each other, and biasing the plunger 700 onto the contoured surface 600 for providing the user with information relating to shifting operation as described above.

In the example of the shift-by-wire gearshift assembly 100 shown in figures 3-5 of the drawings, the spherical surface 405 is integrally formed with or attached to the housing 200, as illustrated in figure 3 of the drawings. In this example, the protrusions 410 are integrally formed with or attached to the selector lever 300. More specifically, in this example the protrusions 410 consist of a semi disc-shaped protrusion 430 that is formed integral with the selector lever 300 or attached thereto. The semi disc-shaped protrusion 430 has a first rim 435 arranged so as to contact the one meridian of the spherical surface 405 of the housing 200. Also in this example, the protrusions 410 further consist of a disc-shaped protrusion 440 that is formed integral with the selector lever 300 or attached thereto. The disc-shaped protrusion 440 has a second rim 445. The second rim 445 is chamfered to enhance contact with the other two meridians of the spherical surface 405.

In the example shown in figures 3-5 of the drawings, two cylindrical aligned

protrusions

310, 320 projecting outwards of the selector lever 300 are received in the housing 200 for limiting the rotational movement of the selector lever 300 to the housing 200. Alternatively, the cylindrical aligned

protrusions

310, 320 may be provided at the housing 200 projecting towards the selector lever 300 and received in the selector lever 300. Although depicted for this example, these

protrusions

310, 320 may be applied to other embodiments of the invention.

According to the example shown in figures 7 and 8, the contact elements are three different inclined planes 450 which are arranged intersecting each other. Each inclined plane 450 is adapted to be in tangential contact with the spherical surface 405 as illustrated in figure 8. Therefore, each inclined plane 450 includes one contact region with one meridian of the at least partially spherical surface 405.

Although described herein are embodiments where protrusions 410 are formed in the selector lever 300 and a spherical surface 405 is formed in the housing 200, and embodiments where protrusions 410 are formed in the housing 200 and a spherical surface 405 is formed in the selector lever 300, other examples are however not ruled out. For example, the protrusions 410, whether they are discs, semi discs, ridges or lumps, could be formed both in the selector lever 300 and in the housing 200. For example one disc-shaped protrusion 400 might be formed in the selector lever 300 and two semi disc-shaped protrusions 430 might be formed in the housing 200.

Claims

A gearshift assembly (100) for vehicles, the assembly (100) comprising:

-a housing (200) ；

-a selector lever (300) ；

-hinge means (400) for allowing shifting movement of the selector lever (300) relative to the housing (200) for remotely controlling a vehicle transmission, the hinge means (400) comprising an at least partially spherical surface (405) and contact elements arranged distributed radially thereto, the contact elements and the at least partially spherical surface (405) being adapted to slide relative to each other； and

-biasing means (500, 550) configured to bias the at least partially spherical surface (405) and the contact elements into contact with each other along at least a portion of three different meridians of the at least partially spherical surface (405) .
The assembly (100) according to claim 1, where the contact elements are three different inclined planes (450) arranged to intersect each other, each inclined plane (450) being adapted to be in tangential contact with the at least partially spherical surface (405) .
The assembly (100) according to claim 1, where the contact elements are two or three protrusions (430, 440； 410) .
The assembly (100) according to any preceding claim, where the at least partially spherical surface (405) is integrally formed with or attached to the housing (200) , and where the contact elements are integrally formed with or attached to the selector lever (300) .
The assembly (100) according to claim 4, where the selector lever (300) comprises a first contact element shaped as a substantially semi disc-shaped protrusion (430) having a first rim (435) arranged so as to contact the at least partially spherical surface (405) along at least a portion of one meridian of the at least partially spherical surface (405) , and where the selector lever (300) further comprises a second contact element shaped as a substantially disc-shaped protrusion (440) having a second rim (445) arranged so as to contact the at least partially spherical surface (405) along at least a portion of the other two meridians of the at least partially spherical surface (405) .
The assembly according to claim 4, where the selector lever (300) comprises three contact elements shaped as substantially semi disc-shaped protrusions (430) , each substantially semi disc-shaped protrusion (430) having a first rim (435) arranged so as to contact the at least partially spherical surface (405) along at least a portion of one of the three meridians of the at least partially spherical surface (405) .
The assembly (100) according to claim 5, where at least one of the first (435) and the second rim (445) is chamfered so as to enhance contact with the at least partially spherical surface (405) .
The assembly (100) according to claim 6, where at least one first rim (435) of said substantially semi disc-shaped protrusions (430) is chamfered so as to enhance contact with the at least partially spherical surface (405) .
The assembly (100) according to any of claims claim 1-3, where the at least partially spherical surface (405) is integrally formed with or attached to the selector lever (300) , and where the contact elements are integrally formed with or attached to the housing (200) .
The assembly (100) according to claim 9, where the contact elements are three radially distributed protrusions (410) shaped as ridges or lumps.
The assembly (100) according to claim 9 or 10, where the at least partially spherical surface (405) is an outer surface of a ball integrally formed with or attached to the selector lever (300) .
The assembly (100) according to any preceding claim, where the contact elements are arranged so as to contact three evenly radially distributed meridians of the at least partially spherical surface (405) .
The assembly (100) according to any preceding claim, where the biasing means is at least one of a spring element (500) and an elastic element (550) arranged to act upon a portion of the selector lever (300) so as to bias the selector lever (300) towards the housing (200) .
The assembly (100) according to any preceding claim, where the gearshift assembly (100) is of the shift-by-wire type.
The assembly (100) according to claim 14, further comprising a plunger (700) biased onto a contoured surface (600) to provide the user with information relating to shifting operation, where the biasing means (500； 550) that bias the at least partially spherical surface (405) and the contact elements into contact with each other also bias the plunger (700) onto the contoured surface (600) .