ACTUATING DEVICE FOR AN ELECTRO-MECHANICAL OR HYDRO-MECHANICAL MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY OF AN AGRICULTURAL COMMERCIAL VEHICLE

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an actuating device for an electro-mechanical motor vehicle transmission system, comprising a housing, a shift lever, a flat mechanical linkage, wherein the shift lever is movably supported at housing for shifting between gear ratios, wherein the shift lever is movably supported in each one of the shift gate in a shifting direction by means of the flat mechanical linkage and is pivotably supported in at least one selection gate about a selection axis for selecting among different shift gates, as well as a detection device, which is designed to detect a displacement of the shift lever in the shifting direction and pivoting of the shift lever about the selection axis.

Claims

1. An actuating device for a motor vehicle transmission system, comprising: a housing, a shift lever, and a flat mechanical linkage, wherein the shift lever is movably mounted to the housing for shifting between gear ratios, and wherein the shift lever is movably supported in each one of a shift gate in a shifting direction by a flat mechanical linkage and is pivotably supported for selecting among different shift gates in at least one selection gate about a selection axis; a detection device, which is designed to detect displacement of the shift lever in the shifting direction and pivoting of the shift lever about the selection axis.

2. The actuating device of claim 1, wherein the mechanical linkage comprises a four-bar linkage formed as a double rocker, which comprises a first rocker pivotably supported in relation to the housing and a second rocker pivotably supported in relation to the housing, wherein the first rocker and the second rocker are hinge-connected via a linkage and the shift lever is firmly attached to the linkage.

3. The actuating device of claim 2, wherein the distance between the housing-side rotary axes of the first rocker and the second rocker is lower than the joint distance of the linkage.

4. The actuating device of claim 2, wherein the first rocker and the second rocker are furthermore pivotably supported about the selection axis at the housing.

5. The actuating device of claim 2, wherein the actuating device comprises a first position encoder cooperating with the detection device and supported in a reciprocally displaceable manner, configured to detect the displacement of the shift lever in the shifting direction, and wherein the mechanical linkage comprises a slider, which couples the first rocker or the second rocker or the linkage to the position encoder.

6. The actuating device of claim 2, wherein the actuating device comprises a second position encoder cooperating with the detection device and pivotably supported about the selection axis, which second position encoder is non-rotatably connected to the first rocker and the second rocker.

7. The actuating device of claim 1, wherein the detection device inductively interacts with the first position encoder and/or the second position encoder.

8. The actuating device of claim 5, wherein the first position encoder is supported on the selection axis in a reciprocally displaceable manner.

9. The actuating device of claim 1, wherein furthermore resetting means are provided for resetting the shift lever into a neutral position.

10. The actuating device of claim 1 configured for use in a motor vehicle.

11. The actuating device of claim 10, wherein the motor vehicle is an agricultural commercial vehicle.

Description

[0019] The present disclosure will be explained in more detail by way of the following figures. The figures are only to be understood as an example, merely representing preferred embodiment, wherein:

[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the actuating device according to the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective representation of the actuating device shown in FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 3 is another detailed perspective representation of the actuating device according to the present disclosure of FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the actuating device 1 according to the present disclosure. It comprises a shift lever 2 having a terminal gear knob. The shift lever 2 is movably attached to a housing 3, which in turn is accommodated in the armrest of a driver's seat of an agricultural commercial vehicle that is not shown. The shift lever 2 is guided in a motion link 16, comprising multiple shift gates 4 and multiple selection gates 5 orthogonally extending toward the shift gates 4 and connecting the shift gates 4, wherein the selection gates 5 are provided to be able to transfer the shift lever 2 from one shift gate 4 into another one. Especially the respective end positions of the shift lever 2 define respective gears or reduction ratios of a transmission system not shown, which is associated to the actuating device 1.

[0024] As it is shown in FIG. 2, only a flat mechanical linkage 15 provides for displaceability of the shift lever 2 along the shift gates 4. This flat mechanical linkage 15 comprises a double rocker, the double rocker being defined by the first rocker 6, the second rocker 7 and a linkage 8, which is hinge-connected to the first rocker 6 and the second rocker 7. The shift lever 2 is firmly connected to the linkage 8. The first rocker 6 and the second rocker are pivotably supported in relation to the housing 3, wherein they are rotatably supported not immediately at housing 3, but at a selection axis 13, which in turn is rotatably supported immediately at the housing 3. The axis of the selection axis 13 is orthogonal to the rotary axes of the first rocker 6 and the second rocker 7. Due to pivotability about selection axis 13, pivoting of the shift lever 2 along the selection gate 5 of FIG. 1 is allowed.

[0025] A helical spring 12 provides for resetting of the shift lever 2 into a monostable neutral position along the selection gate 5. The distance d1 of the rotary axes of the linkage 8 is larger than the distance d2 of the housing-side rotary axes of the rockers 6, 7, the shift lever 2 thereby not maintaining its orientation, but is described by pivoting occurring in the plane of the mechanical linkage 15 about an imaginary axis. The pivot joints between the linkage 8 and the associated rocker 6 and 7, respectively, may have a stopper to limit pivoting along the shift gate of the shift lever 2.

[0026] A slider 9 is hinged to the first rocker 6, which in turn is connected to a first position encoder 10, which in turn is displaceably supported along the selection axis 13. The position encoder 10 inductively cooperates with a detection device 14 arranged on a circuit board. It comprises for example multiple coils, the inductivity of which varies depending on the position of the first position encoder 10. As the position of the first rocker 6, and thus the position of the shift lever 2, specifies the position of the position encoder 10 along the selection axis 13, the detection device 14 is able to detect the position of the shift lever 2 along the shift gate 4 of FIG. 1.

[0027] For the detection of the pivoting position of the shift lever 2 along the selection gate 5 a second position encoder 11 is provided, which is non-rotatably connected to the second rocker 7 via the selection axis 13. This second position encoder 11 also inductively cooperates with the detection device 14, so that it is able to detect the position of the shift lever 2 along one of selection gates 5.

[0028] The respective surface facing the detection device 14 of the first position encoder 10 and of the second position encoder 11 is bulged according to the pivoting along the selection gate to essentially maintain a clearance to the detection device that is constant during pivoting.