Shift control mechanism
OwnerArthur Anderson, Robert L. Heikkilainventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floor mounted shift control mechanism for a vehicle wherein adjustment of each of the cables from the transmission and the key cylinder can be made inside the vehicle within the shift control mechanism. The shift control mechanism also includes provisions for locking the shift lever in its Park position when the key cylinder is in its Lock or Accessory positions; and for preventing the ignition key from being removed from the key cylinder unless the shift lever is in its Park position. There are also included provisions for requiring a high force to override the Locked-in Park condition, while operationally subjecting the cable from the key cylinder to reduced loads; and for an assured detent feeling for the driver while shifting through the various shift positions.
Claims18
For use with a transmission and an ignition key cylinder having lock and accessory positions, and said transmission and said ignition key cylinder each having a cable extending therefrom, shift control mechanism comprising a housing having a box-like base and a cover mounted thereon, an opening formed in the cover, a shift lever pivotally mounted in the base and extending upwardly through the opening and adapted to be pivoted through park, reverse, neutral and forward shift positions therein, a spring-loaded member slidably mounted around said shift lever adapted to be manually moved through said shift positions within said opening, a plurality of indentations formed on the inner surface of the cover corresponding to said shift positions, a spring-loaded detent member movable with said shift lever from selective cooperation with said plurality of indentations for assuring definite selections of said shift positions, and interlock means operatively connected to the spring-loaded member and to the key cylinder via the cable extending therefrom for locking the shift lever int he park position when the key cylinder is in its lock or accessory position, wherein said interlock means and said shift lever are pivotally mounted a predetermined distance apart for attaining a mechanical advantage for immunizing cable loads and increasing the force that would be required to override the park condition.
For use with a transmission and an ignition key cylinder having lock and accessory positions, and said transmission and said ignition key cylinder each having a cable extending therefrom, shift control mechanism comprising a housing having a box-like base and a cover mounted thereon, an opening formed in the cover, a shift lever pivotally mounted in the base and extending upwardly through the opening and adapted to be pivoted through park, reverse, neutral and forward shift position therein, a spring-loaded member slidably mounted around said shift lever adapted to be manually moved through said shift positions within said opening, interlock means operatively connected to the spring-loaded member and to the key cylinder via the cable extending therefrom for locking the shift lever in the park position when the key cylinder is in its lock or accessory positions, wherein said interlock means includes an interlock lever pivotally mounted in said base adjacent said pivotally mounted shift lever and operatively connected to the cable from the key cylinder, and wherein said interlock lever and said shift lever are pivotally mounted a predetermined distance apart for attaining a mechanical advantage for minimizing cable loads and increasing the force that would be required to override the park condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.