Self-Aligning Detent Spring Assembly

An automatic transmission comprising:

• a stationary housing having a flat surface portion;
• an actuator rod operatively connected to a parking pawl for setting of said parking pawl, said parking pawl being operable when set for locking the automatic transmission into a parking gear;
• a rotatable detent lever operatively connected to said actuator rod and having a plurality of detent teeth;
• an internal mode switch (IMS) having a stationary portion;
• a detent spring assembly having a substantially flat, one-piece detent spring, a cage operatively connected to a first end of said detent spring, and a roller assembly positionable within said cage and having an axis of rotation, said roller assembly being configured for rolling contact with one of said detent teeth in response to rotation of said rotatable detent lever;
• wherein said cage is engageable with said stationary portion of said IMS to thereby axially orient said axis of rotation into an approximately perpendicular orientation with respect to one of said plurality of detent teeth.

A detent spring assembly for biasing a rotatable detent lever of a park system for use with an automatic transmission, the rotatable detent lever having a plurality of detent teeth, the detent spring assembly comprising:

• a detent spring having a primary bending axis;
• a roller assembly having a shaft portion and a roller portion;
• and
• a cage configured for retaining said roller assembly therewithin, said roller portion of said roller assembly being operable for continuous rolling contact with a thickness of one of the plurality of detent teeth in response to rotation of the rotatable detent lever;
• wherein a first end of said detent spring is operatively connected to said cage and is deflectable from said primary bending axis upon rotation of the rotatable detent lever, and a flat second end of said detent spring rests on a flat stationary transmission surface to thereby act as a reaction end for opposing the deflection of said first end, said roller assembly being configured for perpendicularly orienting an axis of rotation of said roller assembly with respect to a longitudinal center plane of one of said plurality of detent teeth.