Shift lever device
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho
InventorsMasaya Nishimura, Kazuhiro Sato, Masaki Fujita, Yoshitaka Watanabe, Hitoshi Kanazawa, Noriyasu Shamoto
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A shift lever device includes a shift lever which allows selection of an arbitrary shift range by shift operation and which is rotatably supported by a structure that breaks when an axial impact force above a preselected magnitude is applied to the shift lever. The breakage of the supporting structure allows safer absorption of an impact force applied to the shift lever. The breakable supporting structure may take the form of a portion of a thin portion of a circular wall forming a bearing that rotatably supports the shift lever, or a frangible pin or bracket that pivotably supports the shift lever.
Claims8
A shift lever device for a vehicle comprising:
- an elongated shift lever which allows selection of an arbitrary shift range by shift operation;
- and
- a supporting mechanism which rotatably supports a lower end of said shift lever, said mechanism including
- a shaft to which a lower end of said shift lever is connected so as to allow said shift lever to be rotatable in a longitudinal direction;
- a bearing portion formed from a circular wall that surrounds and supports said shaft, and
- a supporting means for absorbing an axial impact force by breaking and allowing said shift lever to move axially when an axial impact force above a preselected magnitude is applied to said shift lever including a thin-walled portion in said circular wall forming said bearing portion, the thickness of said thin-walled portion being thinner than adjacent portions of said circular wall, and being selected such that said thin-walled portion breaks when said axial impact force above said preselected magnitude is applied thereto.
A shift lever device for a vehicle comprising:
- an elongated shift lever which allows selection of an arbitrary shift range by a shift operation;
- a shaft to which said shift lever is connected so as to allow said shift lever to be rotated;
- and
- breaking means for being broken by a force above a predetermined magnitude applied to said shift lever,
- said breaking means including:
- a shaft supporting hole which rotatably supports said shaft;
- a breaking portion which is broken by the force;
- and
- an escape hole for receiving said shaft after said breaking portion is broken,
- wherein said breaking portion is formed between said shaft supporting hole and said escape hole.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.