Park inhibition solenoid assembly
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsMark A. Vernacchia, Stephen W. Powell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A Park inhibition solenoid assembly for preventing the undesirable shifting of a transmission from an out-of-Park mode to a Park mode includes a follower and an armature slidably disposed within a valve body/housing and within a solenoid. The follower is moveable between an out-of-Park position and a Park position and the armature is moveable between an unlocked position and a locked position. The follower and armature include detents for supporting a bearing. The armature and bearing prevent the follower from moving from the out-of-Park position to the Park position when the armature is held in place in the lock position by the solenoid.
Claims19
An assembly disposed within a transmission for controlling the movement of a lever between a first position and a second position, the first position corresponding to a first mode of transmission operation and the second position corresponding to a second mode of transmission operation, the assembly comprising:
- a housing having a longitudinal axis;
- an inner sleeve attached to and disposed within the housing, wherein the inner sleeve is coaxial with the longitudinal axis, and wherein the inner sleeve defines an aperture that extends from an inner surface of the inner sleeve to an outer surface of the inner sleeve;
- a bearing element disposed within the aperture of the inner sleeve;
- an outer sleeve connected to and moveable by the lever, the outer sleeve disposed between the inner sleeve and the housing, the outer sleeve coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the outer sleeve having an inner surface that defines a detent, and wherein the bearing element is aligned with the detent of the outer sleeve when the lever is in the second position;
- and
- an armature slidably disposed within the inner sleeve and coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the armature having an outer surface that defines a detent, wherein the armature is moveable along the longitudinal axis between an unlocked position and a locked position, and wherein the bearing element is aligned with the detent of the armature when the armature is in the unlocked position and the bearing element is not aligned with the detent of the armature when the armature is in the locked position, and
- wherein the lever is prevented from moving from the second position to the first position when the armature is in the locked position and the bearing element prevents the outer sleeve from moving relative to the inner sleeve.
An assembly disposed within a transmission for controlling the movement of a lever between a first position and a second position, the first position corresponding to a Park mode of transmission operation and the second position corresponding to an out-of-Park mode of transmission operation, the assembly comprising:
- a housing having a longitudinal axis;
- an inner sleeve attached to and disposed within the housing, wherein the inner sleeve is coaxial with the longitudinal axis, and wherein the inner sleeve defines an aperture that extends from an inner surface of the inner sleeve to an outer surface of the inner sleeve;
- a bearing element disposed within the aperture of the inner sleeve;
- an outer sleeve connected to and moveable by the lever, the outer sleeve disposed between the inner sleeve and the housing, the outer sleeve coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the outer sleeve having an inner surface that defines a detent, and wherein the bearing element is aligned with the detent of the outer sleeve when the lever is in the second position;
- and
- an armature slidably disposed within the inner sleeve and coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the armature having an outer surface that defines a detent, wherein the armature is moveable along the longitudinal axis between an unlocked position and a locked position, and wherein the bearing element is aligned with the detent of the armature when the armature is in the unlocked position and the bearing element is not aligned with the detent of the armature when the armature is in the locked position,
- a solenoid coupled to the housing proximate the armature, the solenoid having a coil operable to move the armature to the locked position when the solenoid is activated, and
- wherein the lever is prevented from moving from the second position to the first position when the armature is in the locked position and the bearing element prevents the outer sleeve from moving relative to the inner sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.