Gear select lever locking arrangement

A gear select lever locking arrangement for an automotive transmission, couprising:

• a select lever including a detent pin provided on a movable portion thereof;
• a detent plate for guiding said detent pin for establishing various gear positions including a detent groove for establishing a park position of said transmission when said detent pin is seated in said detent groove;
• a rotatably mounted first lever, said first lever positionable in at least a set position and an engaged position and being rotated by said detent pin from said set position to said engaged position according to contact of said detent pin with said first lever when said detent pin is seated in said detent groove for establishing said park position of said transmission;
• a rotatably mounted bell crank lever being rotatingly movable according to rotation of said first lever, said bell crank lever positionable in at least a set position and an engaged position corresponding to said set and engaged positions of said first lever, and including two arm portions, a first arm portion being connected to a cable engaged with a key interlock mechanism and a second arm portion comprising a projecting portion, said key interlock mechanism being active to block a cylinder of said key interlock mechanism from rotating to a lock position wherein a key is removable from said cylinder in a set position of said bell crank lever, and wherein said key interlock mechanism being active to allow said cylinder to rotate to said lock position at said engaged position of bell crank lever, wherein said projecting portion of said bell crank lever is positioned when in said engaged position so as to contact said detent pin for locking said first lever.

A gear select lever locking arrangement, comprising:

• a key operated cylinder rotatable upon insertion of a key;
• a blocking mechanism so constructed and arranged as to block said key operated cylinder from rotating to a predetermined position wherein the key is removable from said key operated cylinder, said blocking mechanism having a blocking position wherein said key operated cylinder is blocked from rotating to said predetermined position and an unblocking position wherein said key operated cylinder is allowed to rotate to said predetermined position;
• a gear select lever movable between a plurality of positions including a predetermined position, said gear select lever supporting a position pin and manually operable means for moving said pin;
• a position plate formed with a groove receiving said position pin and a predetermined notch opening to said groove, said predetermined notch being arranged to come into registry with said position pin when said gear select lever is in said predetermined position for receiving said position pin for allowing movement of said position pin from said groove into said predetermined notch;
• a catch mechanism constructed and arranged such that movement of said position pin from said groove into said predetermined notch shifts said catch mechanism from an open position to a catch position, said catch mechanism including a first lever rotatable around a first axis and a second lever rotatable around a second axis, said first lever including a projecting portion which is moved according to movement of said position pin when said position pin contacts said projection portion when moving into said predetermined notch, movement of said first lever causing rotation of said second lever around said second axis such that a latch portion of said second lever is moved to latch said projecting portion of said first lever for retaining said projecting portion in a locked position such that said position pin is held locked between said projecting portion of said first lever and the latch portion of said second lever within said predetermined notch, thus establishing said catch position;
• said first lever of said catch mechanism being operatively connected to said blocking mechanism such that when said catch mechanism assumes said open position, said blocking mechanism assumes said blocking position, while when said catch mechanism assumes said catch position, said blocking mechanism assumes said unblocking position.