CONTROL ELEMENT, IN PARTICULAR FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control element, in particular, a switching device, for manually controlling and/or activating functions in a motor vehicle, comprising a lever. The lever is mounted on a support such that the lever can be adjusted in at least one direction from a neutral position to an adjustment position. The lever interacts with a pressure element which is guided in a gate track of a gate and is resiliently loaded, in particular, in such a way that a return force in the direction of the neutral position acts on the lever when it is adjusted. A cam is present in the gate. The cam, in the neutral position, acts upon the lever in order to reduce play such that the lever is biased in the direction towards the adjustment position.

Claims

1. A control element for manually activating and/or triggering functions in a motor vehicle, comprising a handle mounted on a support in such a way that the handle may be adjusted in at least one direction from a neutral position into an adjustment position, a pressure element cooperating with the handle and being guided in a gate path of a gate while subjected to a resilient force such that a restoring force acts on the handle in the direction of the neutral position when the handle is adjusted, and a cam located in the gate and acting on the handle in such a way that the handle is tensioned in the gate to reduce the movement play of the handle.

2. The control element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cam acts on the handle in the neutral position to reduce the movement play in such a way that the handle is tensioned in the direction of a shift and/or towards the adjustment position.

3. The control element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handle is adjustable in a first and/or a second pivoting direction about a first and/or a second swivel pivoting axis.

4. The control element as claimed in claim 3, wherein the handle is a pivot-mounted selector lever.

5. The control element as claimed in claim 4, wherein the support for the handle is constructed as a universal and/or cardan joint.

6. The control element as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a housing wherein the handle comprises a gearshift shaft that is pivot-mounted in the support, and wherein the gearshift shaft projects out of the housing for manual operation of the handle by the user.

7. The control element as claimed in claim 6, wherein the gearshift shaft is movably mounted in the universal and/or cardan joint by a bearing pin, wherein the universal and/or cardan joint is movably mounted in the housing by journals and/or bearing shells, and wherein the bearing points for the bearing pin and/or for the universal and/or cardan joint are designed as clearance fits.

8. The control element as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a guide duct for a resilient element for exerting the resilient force and for the pressure element located in the gearshift shaft, wherein the resilient element consists of a pressure spring, and wherein the pressure element is a pin or a button.

9. The control element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cam is located on a gate wall of the gate, which gate wall is opposite the gate path, wherein the gate consists of thermoplastic material, wherein the cam is injection molded on the gate wall during manufacture of the gate, and wherein the gate path has a three-dimensional contour for generating a haptic for the shifting of the handle.

10. The control element as claimed in claim 6, wherein a shift and/or the adjustment position is recorded by a code carrier that encodes the adjustment and/or the adjustment position and a sensor which determines the encoding in such a way that, with a plurality of adjustment positions, all the adjustment positions may be recorded by one code carrier.

11. The control element as claimed in claim 10, wherein the code carrier is composed of a magnetic code plate, which contains various magnetic fields, and the sensor consists of a plurality of Hall sensors at which a signal inversion occurs when the code carrier is displaced, wherein the code carrier is preferably mounted on the gearshift shaft by a guide component, and wherein the Hall sensors are attached to a printed circuit board mounted in the housing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] An exemplary embodiment of the present invention with various developments and designs is illustrated in the drawings and will be described in more detail below.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a control element in a plan view;

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a section along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

[0035] FIG. 3 shows a section along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2

[0036] FIG. 4 shows a section along the line 4-4 in FIG. 1; and

[0037] FIG. 5 shows an enlarged detail view of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] FIG. 1. shows a control element 1 which serves for the manual activation of functions in a motor vehicle and is utilized, in particular, as a gear selector for a shift-by-wire selector device. The control element 1 is provided with a movable handle 2 in the manner of a selector lever. The handle 2 is movably mounted on a support 3 (see FIG. 2) in such a way that the handle 2 may be adjusted in at least one direction, preferably in two different directions 4, 5, from a neutral position. The handle 2 can be adjusted into associated adjustment positions so that the handle 2 may be adjusted manually into the adjustment positions by the user. When the user adjusts the handle 2 accordingly, the respective desired functions in the motor vehicle are thereby triggered and/or activated.

[0039] The handle 2 in this case is designed to be movable by pivoting, so that the handle 2 is a pivot-mounted lever. To this end, the handle 2, as can be seen in FIG. 2, may be adjusted by means of a bearing pin 6 about a first pivot axis in the first pivoting direction 4 and by means of a bearing 7 in the form of journals and/or bearing shells about a second pivot axis in the second pivot direction 5. The support 3 for the handle 2 is furthermore constructed as a cardan joint or a universal joint, as shown with reference to FIG. 3, in order to permit the pivoting movement in the respective pivoting direction 4, 5. In this case, the bearing points for the bearing pin 6 and/or for the bearing 7, i.e. the bearing points for the universal and/or cardan joint 3, are designed as clearance fits.

[0040] As is also revealed in FIG. 2, a pressure element 8 cooperates with the handle 2, wherein the pressure element 8 is guided in a gate path 10 of a gate 9. The pressure element 8 has a resilient element 11 and is consequently subjected to a resilient force. As a result of the guidance of the pressure element 8 in the gate path 10 when the handle 2 is pivoted, a restoring force thereby acts on the handle 2 in the direction of the neutral position when the handle is adjusted.

[0041] The handle 2 comprises a gearshift shaft 12 which is pivot-mounted in the support 3, as seen with reference to FIG. 2. A guide duct 13 for the resilient element 11 for exerting the resilient force and for the pressure element 8 is located in the gearshift shaft 12. The resilient element 11 here is composed of a pressure spring. The pressure element 8 is a pin, a button or a journal here. According to FIG. 1, the control element 1 also has a housing 16, wherein the gearshift shaft 12 projects out of the housing 16 for manual operation of the handle 2 by the user, as shown with reference to FIG. 2. The universal and/or cardan joint 3 is in turn movably mounted in the housing 16, and more precisely in the lower part of the housing 16, by means of the bearing 7.

[0042] As seen in FIG. 5, a cam 14 is located in the gate 9. The cam 14 acts on the handle 2, and more precisely on the gearshift shaft 12, in such a way that the handle 2 is tensioned in the gate 9 to reduce the movement play of the handle 2. In particular, the cam 14 acts on the handle 2 or the gearshift shaft 12 in the neutral position in such a way that the handle 2 is tensioned in the direction of the shift and/or in the direction towards the adjustment position. As a result of this action, a reduction in the movement play of the handle 2 in the neutral position is achieved. The cam 14 is located on a gate wall 15 of the gate 9, wherein the gate wall 15 can be opposite the gate path 10. The cam 15 is expediently composed of thermoplastics plastics material and is manufactured by injection molding. The cam 14 is then injection molded on the gate wall 15 during manufacture of the gate 9. According to FIG. 5, the gate path 10 has a 3D (three-dimensional) contour to generate a haptic for the shifting of the handle 2.

[0043] The control element 1 furthermore has a means for recording the adjustment and/or the adjustment position or the adjustment positions for the handle 2. The means for recording the adjustment and/or the adjustment positions comprises a code-carrier 17 (shown in FIG. 4), which may be displaced in a guided manner and encodes the adjustment and/or the adjustment positions, and a sensor determining the encoding. The code carrier 17 is composed of a magnetic code plate which contains various mutually differentiable magnetic fields for encoding the adjustment and/or the adjustment positions, for example, by means of corresponding magnetic tracks. The sensor (not shown in more detail) is composed of a magnetic sensor, and more precisely a plurality of Hall sensors here, at which signal inversion occurs in a way corresponding to the displacement of the code plate 17. As a result, even when there are a plurality of adjustment positions, all the adjustment positions of the handle 2 may be recorded by means of the single code carrier 17 and a complex movement of the handle 2 may also be detected. The code carrier 17 is mounted on the gearshift shaft 12 by means of a guide component 18, whereby the code carrier 17 may be displaced in a way corresponding to the adjustment of the gearshift shaft 12. The Hall sensors are attached to a printed circuit board 19 mounted in the housing 16.

[0044] A control element 1 of this type can be utilized for a gear selector in motor vehicles. In the case of such a shift-by-wire selector device for the transmission in the motor vehicle, the handle 2 is the selector lever for the shift-by-wire selector device and the shift-by-wire selector device generates corresponding signals for the positioning of the handle 2, wherein the signals serve to control the transmission. However, the present invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiment described and illustrated. Instead it comprises all developments of which a person skilled in the art is capable within the scope of the invention defined by the patent claims. In addition to applications in motor vehicles, a control element 1 of this type can also be used in an advantageous manner as input means for computers, machine tools, household appliances or the like.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0045] 1: Control element [0046] 2: Handle [0047] 3: Support/universal and/or cardan joint [0048] 4, 5: Direction/pivoting direction [0049] 6: Bearing pin [0050] 7: Bearing [0051] 8: Pressure element [0052] 9: Gate [0053] 10: Gate path [0054] 11: Resilient element [0055] 12: Gearshift shaft [0056] 13: Guide duct [0057] 14: Cam [0058] 15: Gate wall [0059] 16: Housing [0060] 17: Code carrier/code plate [0061] 18: Guide component [0062] 19: Printed circuit board