Shift mechanism for automatic transmission

An inline shift mechanism for a vehicle automatic transmission having at least three forward drive positions, comprising:

• a support bracket;
• a shift lever pivotally mounted on said support bracket;
• a shifter plate pivotally mounted on the support bracket, with a motion transmitting connection means to said transmission;
• and
• stop means including a self-centering pawl secured to the shift lever and a detent plate mounted on the bracket for engagement with said pawl to permit successive pivoting of said shift lever in progressive increments between adjacent drive positions only after momentary release of said shift lever after each shifting movement.

A shift mechanism for an automotive automatic transmission, comprising:

• a mounting bracket;
• a shift lever mounted on the bracket for both forward and rearward pivotal movement between at least three forward drive positions, neutral, reverse and park positions and for generally transverse movement relative to the axis of said pivoting movement;
• a shifter plate mounted on the bracket for pivotal movement about said axis, said shifter plate having a motion transmitting connection to an automatic transmission;
• a drive pin on said shift lever for pivoting said shifter plate;
• stop means comprising a self-centering pawl carried by the shift lever and a detent plate mounted on the bracket pivotable about said axis;
• and
• said stop means being adapted to permit successive shifting of said shift lever in progressive increments between said three drive positions only after momentary relief of said lever after each shifting movement between adjacent drive positions.

A shift mechanism for an automotive automatic transmission, comprising:

• a vertically disposed mounting bracket;
• a shift lever mounted on said mounting bracket with horizontally disposed pivot pin means for pivoting movement relative thereto and for generally vertical movement relative thereto;
• means biasing said shift lever into a lowermost position;
• a shifter plate pivotally mounted on said pivot pin means and having a motion transmitting connection to an automatic transmission;
• a drive pin mounted on said shift lever and extending through a generally vertically disposed slot in said shifter plate;
• a biasing pin secured to said shift lever, said pin being biased to hold the shift lever in a lowermost vertical position;
• a generally arcuate cam slot associated with said mounting bracket within which said biasing pin is movable, said cam slot having a formation requiring upward movement of said shift lever in order to pivot the same from any one of three forward drive positions into neutral, reverse or park positions;
• a detent plate pivotally mounted on said pivot pin means and biased into a centered position between two stop positions;
• and
• pawl means carried by said shift lever and adapted, during shifting movement of said shift lever between any adjacent two of said drive positions, to pivot said detent plate into one of said stop positions as said shifter plate is pivoted to the next drive position by said drive pin, and to release said shift lever to permit said detent plate to recenter itself thereby permitting shifting of the shift lever into the next drive position.