Automatic transmission shift control device

An automatic transmission shift control device for a vehicle having a brake pedal, comprising:

• a selector lever movable into a plurality of gear positions including a parking position and having a hollow cylindrical post having a pair of diametrically opposed openings and a knob attached to an upper end of said post;
• and
• means for controlling movement of said selector lever;
• said means including a position plate having a profiled opening defining said gear positions, a position pin installed transversely of said post in said openings for up-and-down movement and releasably engaged in said position plate for positioning said selector lever at one of said gear positions, a rod installed in said post for up-and-down movement and supporting said position pin at the lower end thereof, a control button mounted in said knob for substantially horizontal movement and cooperative with said rod to disengage said position pin from said position plate, a bushing mounted on said post for rotation but against axial movement and having at the upper end a pair diametrically opposed notches with which said position pin is engaged for disengaging said position pin from said position plate, a solenoid operatively connected to said bushing to rotate same selectively between a first position where said notches are aligned with position pin and a second position where said notches are misaligned with said position pin, and an electrical circuit for controlling said solenoid in such a way that said bushing is rotated into said first position when said position pin is at said parking position and the brake pedal is fully depressed and into said second position when said position pin is at said parking position and the brake pedal is free from depression.