Transmission gearshift indicator

Claim 1

An indicator mechanism, for a vehicle transmission control system having a transmission shift tube which is supported within the vehicle steering column and which is rotatable to a plurality of positions by a gear shift lever to effect different transmission settings, comprising: a support means having a dial on its front side with spaced representations in a horizontally aligned relationship and corresponding to different transmission settings, said support means having a generally horizontal guide slot immediately below said spaced representations; an expansible spring having a plurality of coils and one end affixed to said support means; a pointer having a base portion including a first depending leg which is crimped to a coil of said spring intermediate the ends of the latter, said base portion of said pointer extending through said horizontal guide slot of said support member and having a second depending leg in sliding engagement with said support means on its back side, said pointer having a needle extending upwardly from said base portion and located adjacent said front side of said dial to provide a visual indication of the transmission setting; a cable having one end connected with the other end of said spring to act in opposition to the bias thereof and having its other end connected with the shift tube, said cable when moved in response to rotation of the shift tube in first and second opposite directions respectively causing and allowing said spring to expand and contract to linearly move said pointer to effect different transmission settings and with pointer moving linear distances across said dial which are less than the distances moved by said cable in response to rotation of the shift tube.