The present invention relates to a control lever according to the preamble of appended claim 1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

The present invention relates to the type of control levers which have a built in electrical manoeuvring function which is affected by the mechanical shift function of the control lever. This kind of control levers are for example used in motor vehicles with so-called semi-automatic gear box, with manual gear shift but where the clutch is controlled electrically. A known kind of control lever with this electrical manoeuvring function is shown and described in SE 8903702-2. The electrical manoeuvring function is activated by putting the head of the control lever in mobile connection with the lever part in such a way that the electrical switching function is activated when the mechanical shift movement begins. It is desirable to activate the switch as early as possible. This is achieved by keeping the relative movement of the manoeuvring head as small as possible, while not permitting undesired activa¬ tion through the movements which occur due to vibrations and play between the manoeuvring head and the lever part.

TECHNICAL PROBLEM:

The object of the present invention is to arrive at a control lever in which switching of the electrical switch is done as early as possible during a manoeuvring phase while maintaining a reliable function of the switch and a rational production.

SOLUTION:

The said object is achieved by means of a control lever according to the present invention, the features of which are defined in the appended claim 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

The invention will now be described in more detail by means of two embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the upper end of a control lever according to the invention in a first embodiment taken along the line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the upper part of the control lever in accordance with the invention along the line II-II of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 shows a top view corresponding to a cut along the line III-III of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 shows an open perspective view of the upper end of the control lever in a second embodiment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:

The control lever according to the invention is intended to achieve in one and the same movement of the lever not only the mechanical shifting of a mechanism but also the electrical activation of a means which is either a part of said mechanism or is completely separate from it. Examples of such applications are as mentioned, the manoeuvring of semi-automatic gear boxes for motor vehicles, where the mechanical shifting means shifting between different gears, while the electrical activation means activation of an electrical drive unit for a mechanical clutch. The electri-

cal activation is primarily done via an electrical switch in the control lever, however further conditions for the activation can be set up using an electrical control unit, such as for example a micro processor, which detects rpm, gear position, the speed of the vehicle etc.

The control lever according to the invention consists of, as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2, two main parts, a lever part 1 and a manoeuvring head 2 which is arranged at one end 3 of the control lever, while its opposite end is pivotally fixed in a not shown bracket, and the mechanical shifting is brought about through pivoting the control lever around a joint fixed at a distance from the upper end of the lever. The main movement of the lever for shifting into different gear positions is in Figs. 1 and 2 shown with a double arrow 4 , but in a conventional way the with arrows indicated main movement 4 in one or the other direc¬ tion can be combined with a sideways movement across the direction of the arrow 4 for choosing between different gear positions. This can for example be achieved by mounting the lower end of the control lever in a ball coupling which permits pivotable movements of the control lever in the desired direction.

The manoeuvring head 2 in the shown examples has a body in the shape of a housing 5, of a relatively stiff and strong material, for example hardened plastic of a mainly cylin¬ drical form with a side part 6 which covers the circumfer¬ ence and an upper part 7 so that the housing contains a cavity 8 which is directed downwards, so that the upper part 3 of the lever part 1 extends into the cavity. The part of the manoeuvring head 2 which can be seen from the outside consists of a grip portion 9, shown in Fig. 2 which is shaped so as to be easily gripable, and preferably made in a semisoft material, preferably some kind of plastic or synthetic rubber. The inner surfaces of the grip portion 9

connect mainly to the housing 5 and is fixedly connected to this. In the shown example the housing 5 has a holding part 5' which is essentially sleeve formed and has different functions in the manoeuvring head which will be described further below.

The manoeuvring head 2 is further in mobile attachment to the upper end of the lever part 1 in a way which will permit only a very limited relative movement when one manually by holding the manoeuvring head 2 moves the control lever in such a direction that a change in gear position is initiated. This relative movement is necessary in order to switch an electrical switch 10 which is built in to the manoeuvring head and is intended to achieve the above- mentioned activation of a chosen mechanism. The switch 10 is shown completely schematically and in the shown example consists of two contacting parts, one contact part 11 which belongs to the manoeuvring head and moves together with the manoeuvring head, and one contact part 12 which is rigidly attached to the lever part 1. The mobile contact part 11 is in the shown example attached to the inside of the side part 6 of the housing 5 and extends in a ringshape around the upper end of the lever part 1 and has a contacting surface 13. The mobile contact part 11 can extend around the entire circumference or be limited to a chosen sector of the circumference around the control lever 1. The fixed contact part 12 can for example be a mainly cylindrical sleeve which has been pressed on to the upper end of the control lever. In principle the fixed contact part 12 can consist of the enveloping surface of the control lever, since the control lever usually consists of an electrically conducting material. There are separate electrical circuits leading to both contact parts 11 and 12, of which one circuit 11' is shown, and through which the electrical switch 10 is part of an electrical circuit which through the switch is intended to be shifted between

an open and a closed state in order to electrically activate the mechanism in question in a known manner through the feeding of electrical current to an electrical¬ ly powered drive unit, respectively to turn off the power feeding to that unit.

According to the invention the manoeuvring head 2 is pivotally attached to the lever part 1 by a guide means 14, which permits a limited longitudinal reciprocal relative movement of the manoeuvring head 2 relative to the lever part 1 in at least one set direction, in the shown example the two directions shown by the double headed arrow 4. This limited movement is chosen in a way which will enable the electrical switch 10 to be switched between opened and closed states. In the example shown the relative movement must permit a movement equal to the contact gap 15 between the two contact parts i.e. the contacting surfaces 13, 16.

In the example shown the guide means 14 includes a lati- tudinal axial pin or stud 17 which extends through the one end 3 of the lever part 1 and has a mainly cylindrical shape. The pin 17 extends through a correspondingly shaped and dimensioned, suitably cylindrical bore 18, which extends mainly radially through the control lever 1. The axial pin 17 is of such a length that it protrudes with both its ends 19 and 20 a distance outside of the envelop¬ ing wall 21 of the lever part 1 and extends into corre¬ spondingly shaped and dimensioned recesses 22, 23 in the manoeuvring head 2, or to be more exact into the holder 5' . In the example shown, the axial pin is of such a dimension that it is fixedly attached to the control lever, for example by press fitting, and inserted into the two recesses 22, 23 with such a play that the manoeuvring head can slide in an axial direction, i.e. along the geometrical longitudinal axis 24 of the axial pin 17 which extends latitudinally, in the example shown in a direction perpen-

dicular to the longitudinal axis 36 of the lever part 1. The play, i.e. the radial play should be as small as possible, for example ±0,01 mm, while the axial movement should also be kept as small as possible, which is mainly determined by the position of the contact parts, i.e. the contact gap 15, and should for example be kept in the order of ±0,5 mm.

In the figures the manoeuvring head 2 is shown in a centered neutral position, with the switch 10 in a preset state, in the example shown in an open position in which the contact gap 15 is maintained, i.e. the moving contact part 11 is kept at a distance from the fixed contact part 12. This is brought about by a centering organ 25 which in the example shown consists of an elastic element in the shape of a centering ring which in the shown example is fixed between the side part 6 of the housing 5 and the upper end 3 of the lever part 1. The centering ring 25 is for example an O-ring made of rubber, synthetic rubber, or plastic with a carefully chosen softness, so that the centering ring assures the centered position as long as the manoeuvring head is not exposed to manual manoeuvring forces.

The above described part of the guide means 14 ensures the coupling of the manoeuvring head to the control lever and the desired relative movement in the direction of the double headed arrow 4. In order to enable this movement and for reasons of finance and production there must be maintained a play between the inward surfaces of the manoeuvring head 2 and the lever part 1, which according to the invention is absorbed by a play absorbing means 26, which forms a part of the guide means 14, see Figs. 2 and 3. The play absorber 26 consists of at least one or in the shown example two roller means 27, 28 which are arranged at a distance from the pivot pin 17 between respective guide

tracks or guide surfaces 29, 30 in the manoeuvring head, and respective opposed guide tracks or guide surfaces 31, 32 in the upper end 3 of the lever part 1. Said guide surfaces 31, 32 in the shown example consist of plane surfaces along the upper end of the lever part 3. All of the guide surfaces 29, 30, 31, 32 in the shown example extend in a direction parallel to the common plane of the longitudinal axis 33 of the control lever and the direction of movement 4. The two roller means 27, 28 can be moved around a geometrical roller axis 27', 28' (mobile in parallel) which also extends in a direction mainly parallel to the longitudinal axis 33 of the lever part. In the embodiment shown in the figures, there is at the upper end of the holder 5' shaped two recesses 33, 34 which are open in the direction facing the lever part 1, each having a supporting surface 35, 36 which in the shown example is plane, extends in a perpendicular direction to the said common plane, and serves as a gliding surface for the downward facing surface of the roller organ 37, 38. One wall of the recesses 33, 34 form said guide surface 29, 30, while the other two walls 39, 40, 41, 42 form end walls which limit the movement of the roller means.

The roller means 27, 28 have a certain elasticity, i.e. they have a peripheral surface 43, 44 which is flexibly deformable, and are preferably in non-deformed condition made with a circular, for example cylindrical, circumfer¬ ence with a diameter which is not smaller than, i.e. equal to or greater than the distance between the two guiding surfaces 29, 31, for the respective roller means. This tenses the roller means 27, 28 in their assembled states and in practice as is shown in Fig. 3 makes them somewhat less than round, which ensures that no play can arise between the roller means and the respective guiding surfaces. However, the distance between the end surfaces 39, 40, 41, 42 is greater than the diameter of the roller

means, so that the roller means are permitted to make a rolling movement in the two directions of the arrow 4.

In the example shown the two roller means 27, 28 have distinctly different elasticity which ensures a centering of the manoeuvring head 2 relative to the symmetry axis 25 shown in Fig. 3 of the lever part 1. This difference in symmetry is achieved by, for example, as in the shown example by making the roller means 27, 28 from a tubular bar, for example by cutting of portions in the radial plane of the bar and choosing different thicknesses for the two rolling means or alternatively choosing materials with different elasticity.

When the driver of the motor vehicle wants to shift gear he uses his hand to hold the grip portion 9 of the manoeuvring head 2, and as at least a part of the gear shifting movement this moves the manoeuvring head 2 in one of the two directions indicated by the double headed arrow 4, i.e. in a direction which coincides with the axial direction of the longitudinal axis 24 of the guide means 14. Through the inertia of the lever part 1, both because of mass inertia and because of friction in the attachment of the lever part, the motion of manoeuvring head 2 will not immediately be transferred to the lever part, but will first result in a relative movement of the manoeuvring head relative to the lever part which during a very short portion of the movement of the manoeuvring head, for example 0,5 mm, will be still which will cause the manoeuvring head and more precisely the circumferential gliding surfaces of the recesses 22, 23, which in the example shown have a cylind¬ rical shape, will glide along the two ends 19, 20 of the axial pin 17, and more precisely, their corresponding gliding surfaces which in the example shown have a cylind- rical shape. The gliding surfaces have a low friction so that the movement relative to the control lever can be done

fully without initially exposing the control lever to any noticeable manoeuvring force. The forces which are to be overcome are first of all the low friction in the gliding surfaces and the centering force from the centering ring 25, but this force does not either have any practical significance for the manual relative movement. This continues until the switch 10 has been switched from its one state to its other state, which in the example shown is achieved when the moving contact part 11 is displaced in one of the two directions indicated by the double headed arrow 4, until one part of the contact surface 13 of the contact part comes into contact with the contact surface 16 of the fixed contact part 12. The manoeuvring head is designed in such a way that the relative movement comes to a mechanical stop, so that the contact parts do not absorb the entire mechanical force caused by the transfer of force from the manoeuvring head to the lever part. This stop can for example be formed by the end surfaces in the two recesses, against which the corresponding end surfaces of the axial pin 17 come to a stop at the end of the relative movement. The end surfaces in the recesses 22, 23 are in the example shown formed by a part of the inner wall 6' of the side part 6. The axial play, i.e. the distance between the corresponding end surfaces in centered position should be essentially equal to or somewhat greater than the contact gap 15 in the switch 10.

During the above described relative movement between the manoeuvring head 2 and the lever part 1, the roller means 27, 28 roll in contact with their respective guiding surfaces 29, 30, 31, 32, during movement of the respective axes of rotation 27', 28' in their respective recesses 33, 34. The play absorber 26 will thus during rolling contact exert a minimal resistance to the relative movement. Through the difference in elasticity between the roller means 27, 28 that roller means which has the lower degree

of elasticity will be deformed insignificantly and thereby define the relative movement of the manoeuvring head 2 relative to the symmetry line 45 of the lever part 1 so that the manoeuvring head during the entire relative movement can be kept well centered relative to this line, while the other roller means 27 will adjust its degree of deformation to the play which needs to be absorbed.

As soon as the switch has been switched, the chosen activa- tion takes place of the mechanism which is controlled by an electrical drive unit. During continued movement of the lever, i.e. continued movement of the manoeuvring head 2 in the chosen direction, see arrow 4, the lever part 1 of the control lever is moved in the direction of movement of the manoeuvring head 2, which causes the chosen mechanical shift motion, for example gear shift in a gear box in a motor vehicle after disengagement of the clutch.

As soon as the mechanical manoeuvring motion has been carried out and the lever part 1 is kept still and the grip on the manoeuvring head 2 ceases, the manoeuvring head returns to a centered neutral position by the spring motion of the center ring 25 in the direction of the longitudinal axis 24. This is made possible by a gliding movement opposite to the activation movement between the gliding surfaces in the guiding means whereby the switch 10 is switched to an open state since the mobile contact part 11 returns to its centered position, thereby maintaining the contact gap 15 again. The play absorber 26 works reciprocally, i.e. the return motion of the manoeuvring head is brought about by the rolling means 27, 28 rolling in an opposite direction along their guiding surfaces 29, 30, 31, 32 which extend in a direction parallel to the main direction of movement of the control lever and the manoeuvring head, according to the double headed arrow 4. The guiding surfaces are furthermore straight, and in the

example shown plane. This causes the electrical drive unit to be switched to the mechanism in question, in this case a coupling mechanism, so that the disengaged state ceases and a smooth transition to driving position takes place, i.e. power from the driving engine of the vehicle is transferred to the driving wheels of the vehicle.

As can be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, the axial pin 17 has a thinner part which is formed by the end part 20. The transition from a wider to a thinner part is made by a step. The axial pin 17 is assembled by inserting it from the left, into the bore 18 in the lever part 1, during which process it is inavoidable that the enveloping surface 35 of the axial pin is exposed to scratches in the thicker part of the pin. The end part 20 of the axial pin 17 is however not exposed to this, due to its smaller diameter, and can form a gliding surface with low friction.

In the first embodiment according to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the bearing between the axial pin 17 and the manoeuvring head

2 is thus formed by a gliding layer at each end 19, 20 of the axial pin 17. In the second embodiment as shown in Fig.

4, the bearing of the axial pin is in the shape of roller bearings between the axial pin 17 and the manoeuvring head 2, in principle in the same way as the play absorber. For reasons of simplicity, the grip portion is not shown, and thus only the housing 5 is shown, which also in this case has recesses 22, 23 into which the axial pin 17 protrudes with its respective ends 19, 20. In Fig. 4 only one side is shown, i.e. the one end 20 of the axial pin, but on the opposite side there is a corresponding arrangement.

In this second embodiment, the housing 5 has rollers 46,

47, 48, or wheels which for example are three on each side, and which can be moved in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 24 of the axial pin in respective grooves

49, 50 two of which are shown in Fig. 4. The grooves are made of recesses in the side part 6 in the housing 5, and extend symmetrically relative to the longitudinal axis of the axial pin, with an angle between them of approximately 120°. The rollers 46, 47, 48 have a certain degree of elasticity and an outer diameter which in a non-assembled state somewhat exceeds the distance between the tangential points of the respective wheels, that is a tangential point

51 between the periphery of the wheel, the enveloping surface 29 of the end of the axis, and a tangential point

52 which is diametrically opposite the first tangential point and which is the tangential point between the circumference of the respective rollers and the opposite wall 53 of the groove 49. This causes a slight tension in each wheel 46-48 which enables them to absorb tolerances present in the production of the components in question. This overdimensioning should however be so small that the tension does not negatively effect the rolling friction. The rollers in the example shown are made ring-formed elements of for example plastic which have for example been formed by cutting off pipes which gives the wheels parallel side surfaces 54, 55. These form guiding surfaces against two guiding walls 56, which face each other, and are parallel to each other, and parallel to an axial plane through the longitudinal axis 24 of the axial pin 17, and are located in each groove 49, 50. The guiding surfaces 54, 54 of the rollers in each roll have a distance between them which constitutes the width of the roller, which is slightly less than the width of the respective grooves 49, 50. In this way three rollers are arranged in the opposite end 19 of the axial pin 17, in grooves in the side part 6 of the housing, which emanate from the recess 22.

The centering organ 25 thus holds the switch 10 open, and holds the manoeuvring head, 2 in a symmetrical neutral position. During movement of the manoeuvring head, all six

rollers roll through their contact with firstly the enveloping surface 29 of the axial pin, and secondly with the opposite wall 43 in corresponding grooves. The movement will thus take place completely without any radial play, and with very low friction which will cause the relative movement between the manoeuvring head and the lever part will cause a quick shift of the switch, and will not in practice be felt by the user at all. Steps for balancing the contact parts 11, 12 in the switch 10 can easily be achieved by step surfaces between the housing 5 and the lever part 1 or the end surfaces of the axial pin. The roller means 27, 28 of the play absorber 26 at the top of the lever end 3 are in motion at the same time, and form an upper roller bearing for the manoeuvring head 2.

As soon as the lateral movement stops, the manoeuvring head 2 returns to a centered neutral position through the spring motion of the centering organ 25, whereby the six rollers 36-38 roll towards their roller ways in opposite directions in the two lower roller bearings, and the two rollers 27, 28 in a corresponding way roll in the upper roller layer.

The invention is not limited to the above described embodiments shown in the drawings, but can be varied within the scope of the appended claims. For example the axial pin 17 can be replaced by two separate axial pins which corre¬ spond to the end parts 19, 20, and which protrude from the lever part 1. Alternately the manoeuvring head 2 can be provided with two axial pins facing each other, which protrude into a bore corresponding to the bore 18 or two recesses in the lever part. In case only one axial pin 17 is used, it is alternately possible that this pin instead is fixedly attached to the manoeuvring head 2, and axially moveable relative to the control lever, in order to move along with the relative movement of the manoeuvring head. Although normally not possible, it can in some cases be

desirable to achieve a switch function during a manoeuvring movement perpendicular to both the longitudinal axis of the lever part 1 and the manoeuvring movement according to the arrow 4, whereby the relative movement can be achieved by pivoting of the manoeuvring head around the axial pin 17, thereby causing a shift of the switch 10. This can be used for shifting the same circuit as movement in the direction of the double headed arrow 4, but can alternately be used together with a composite switch with yet another contact part which has not been shown, to cause a switching of a separate circuit and thereby a separate mechanism or some kind of indication equipment. If only the switching function is desired during motion in the direction of the arrow 4, the guide means 14 or not shown guiding edges in the manoeuvring head can be so arranged as to make this rotary motion impossible. In this case e.g. the axial pin 17 can have an angular cross-section, while the corre¬ sponding gliding surfaces of the manoeuvring head have a correspondingly angular shape, with plane surfaces. The shape of the cross-section can for example be square or rectangular, or in some other way polygonal, alternately not round shape. The axial pin can alternately be provided with guiding pins in a radial direction, which run in corresponding tracks in the recesses of the manoeuvring head. The design and function of the centering organ 25 can be done in many various ways in order to elastically return the manoeuvring head to a chosen initial position, which does not have to be a centered position. The switch can in an unaffected state be closed, and instead be switched to an open state during the manoeuvring movement.

It is possible that the play absorber 26 consists of only one roller organ, while the other roller organ has been replaced with a plane gliding surface, which for example corresponds to the guiding surface 30 being in direct contact with the guiding surface 32 of the lever part 1.

The roller organs 27, 28 can be replaced by massive wheels which are made of a material with different elasticities.

It is furthermore possible to use the play absorber also for manoeuvring heads which are pivotally attached to the lever part by a ball coupling.

The lower roller bearings can have rollers which similarily to the upper roller bearing have different elasticity. The lower bearings can also consist of a different amount of rollers, for example one or two opposite rollers on each side.