Control mechanism

Claim 2

A control mechanism for use with a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second sprockets rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said sprockets and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to predetermined transmission shift ratios, drive means operatively connected between said first and second sprockets, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second sprocket, a latch plate mounted adjacent said cam plate for rotation independent of said cam plate, lost-motion means interconnecting said latch plate and said cam plate, a plurality of camming steps formed on a portion of said cam plate, a plurality of latching steps formed on an adjacent portion of said latch plate corresponding to said shift ratios, actuating means operatively connected between said latch plate and said transmission for selectively establishing said shift ratios, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said camming and latching steps, spring means operatively connected to said latch member for urging said latch member into contact with any adjacent latching step, the combination of initial movement of said camming steps on said cam plate and the lost motion resulting from relative movement of said cam and latch plates via said lost-motion means serving to unlatch said latch member from said adjacent latching step of said latch plate upon initial rotary movement of said control knob, with continued rotary movement of said control knob causing said latch plate to rotate until said latch member becomes selectively seated in another of said latching steps of said latch plate corresponding to a selected one of said shift ratios.

Claim 3

A control mechanism for use with a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second sprockets rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said sprockets and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, an endless chain mounted around said first and second sprockets, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second sproCket, a latch plate mounted adjacent said cam plate for rotation independent of said cam plate, a notched opening formed in said cam plate, a pin secured to said latch plate and extending into said notched opening, the diameter of said pin being a predetermined amount smaller than the width of said notched opening, a plurality of V-shaped steps formed on a portion of said cam plate, a plurality of right-angled steps formed on an adjacent portion of said latch plate corresponding to said shift ratios, actuating means operatively connected between said latch plate and said transmission for selectively establishing said shift ratios, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said V-shaped and right-angled steps, spring means operatively connected to said latch member for urging said latch member into contact with any adjacent right-angled step, the combination of initial movement of said V-shaped steps on said cam plate and the lost motion resulting from the space between said pin and said notched opening serving to unlatch said latch member from said adjacent right-angled step of said latch plate upon initial rotary movement of said control knob, with continued rotary movement of said control knob causing said latch plate to rotate until said latch member becomes selectively seated in another of said right-angled steps of said latch plate corresponding to a selected one of said shift ratios.

Claim 4

A control mechanism for use with a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second sprockets rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said sprockets and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, an endless chain mounted around said first and second sprockets, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second sproCket, a latch plate mounted adjacent said cam plate for rotation independent of said cam plate, a notched opening formed in said cam plate, a pin secured to said latch plate and extending into said notched opening, the diameter of said pin being a predetermined amount smaller than the width of said notched opening, a plurality of V-shaped steps formed on a portion of said cam plate, a plurality of right-angled steps formed on an adjacent portion of said latch plate corresponding to said shift ratios, actuating means operatively connected between said latch plate and said transmission for selectively establishing said shift ratios, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said V-shaped and right-angled steps, spring means operatively connected to said latch member for urging said latch member into contact with any adjacent right-angled step, the combination of initial movement of said V-shaped steps on said cam plate and the lost motion resulting from the space between said pin and said notched opening serving to unlatch said latch member from said adjacent right-angled step of said latch plate upon initial rotary movement of said control knob, with continued rotary movement of said control knob causing said latch plate to rotate until said latch member becomes selectively seated in another of said right-angled steps of said latch plate corresponding to a selected one of said shift ratios.

Claim 5

A control mechanism for a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second sprockets rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said sprockets and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, an endless chain mounted around said first and second sprockets, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second sprocket, a first opening formed in said second sprocket at a first predetermined diameter thereof, second and third spaced openings formed in said second sprocket at a second predetermined diameter thereof, a rotatable lock mechanism having a gear formed on an end thereof, said gear being rotatable through a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions including Lock and Start positions, a pair of oppositely disposed parallel gear-racks connected for meshing engagement with said gear, and a pair of rod members formed on adjacent ends of said gear-racks, one of said rod members being caused to enter said first opening in response to movement of said control knob to said PARK position and movement of said gear to said Lock position, the other of said rod members being caused to alternately enter said second and third openings in response to movement of said control knob to PARK and NEUTRAL positions, respectively, and movement of said gear of said lock mechanism to said Start position, thereby locking said second sprocket and preventing the actuation of said REVERSE, DRIVE and LOW shift ratios.

Claim 6

A control mechanism for a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second sprockets rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said sprockets and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, an endless chain mounted around said first and second sprockets, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second sprocket, a first opening formed in said second sprocket at a first predetermined diameter thereof, second and third spaced openings formed in said second sprocket at a second predetermined diameter thereof, a rotatable lock mechanism having a gear formed on an end thereof, said gear being rotatable through a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions including Lock and Start positions, a pair of oppositely disposed parallel gear-racks connected for meshing engagement with said gear, and a pair of rod members formed on adjacent ends of said gear-racks, one of said rod members being caused to enter said first opening in response to movement of said control knob to said PARK position and movement of said gear to said Lock position, the other of said rod members being caused to alternately enter said second and third openings in response to movement of said control knob to PARK and NEUTRAL positions, respectively, and movement of said gear of said lock mechanism to said Start position, thereby locking said second sprocket and preventing the actuation of said REVERSE, DRIVE and LOW shift ratios.

Claim 7

A control mechanism for a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second sprockets rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said sprockets and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, an endless chain mounted around said first and second sprockets, a sun gear mounted for rotation with said first sprocket, a ring gear mounted for independent rotation with respect to said sun gear and said first sprocket, at least one pinion gear in mesh with said sun gear and said ring gear, a pointer secured to said ring gear for rotation therewith, and a plurality of fixed shift ratio indicia mounted adjacent said pointer in a spaced relationship with the outer periphery of said ring gear, said pointer being caused to rotate through a length equal to a predetermined fraction of the length of rotation of said control knob for selective alignment with said shift ratio indicia.

Claim 8

A control mechanism for a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second sprockets rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said sprockets and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, an endless chain mounted around said first and second sprockets, a sun gear mounted for rotation with said first sprocket, a ring gear mounted for independent rotation with respect to said sun gear and said first sprocket, at least one pinion gear in mesh with said sun gear and said ring gear, a pointer secured to said ring gear for rotation therewith, and a plurality of fixed shift ratio indicia mounted adjacent said pointer in a spaced relationship with the outer periphery of said ring gear, said pointer being caused to rotate through a length equal to a predetermined fraction of the length of rotation of said control knob for selective alignment with said shift ratio indicia.

Claim 9

A control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second externally toothed members rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said toothed members and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions, an interconnecting drive means operatively connected between said first and second toothed members for driving said second toothed member in response to rotary movement of said first toothed member via said control knob, a gear arrangement including a sun gear, at least one pinion gear, and a ring gear, said sun gear being mounted for rotation with said first toothed member, a pointer element secured to said ring gear, said gear arrangement serving to cause said pointer element to rotate through one-half the arcuate length of said control knob, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second toothed member, a latch plate, lost-motion means interconnecting said latch plate and said cam plate, an actuating cable secured to said latch plate, first spring means for urging the rotation of said latch plate in a predetermined direction in order to move said actuating cable, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said latch plate, second spring means for urging said latch member into contact with said latch plate to restrain rotary movement of said latch plate, cam means formed on said cam plate for urging said latch member out of contact with said latch plate upon the initial rotary movement of said control knob, locking means having a plurality of manually-actuated operating positions and adapted to prevent the rotation of said second toothed member during the combination of selected rotary positions of said control knob and selected operating positions of said locking means, and to unlatch said latch member from said latch plate during the combination of a particular rotary position of said control knob and a particular operating position of said locking means.

Claim 10

A control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second externally toothed members rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said toothed members and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions, an interconnecting drive means operatively connected between said first and second toothed members for driving said second toothed member in response to rotary movement of said first toothed member via said control knob, a gear arrangement including a sun gear, at least one pinion gear, and a ring gear, said sun gear being mounted for rotation with said first toothed member, a pointer element secured to said ring gear, said gear arrangement serving to cause said pointer element to rotate through one-half the arcuate length of said control knob, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second toothed member, a latch plate, lost-motion means interconnecting said latch plate and said cam plate, an actuating cable secured to said latch plate, first spring means for urging the rotation of said latch plate in a predetermined direction in order to move said actuating cable, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said latch plate, second spring means for urging said latch member into contact with said latch plate to restrain rotary movement of said latch plate, cam means formed on said cam plate for urging said latch member out of contact with said latch plate upon the initial rotary movement of said control knob, locking means having a plurality of manually-actuated operating positions and adapted to prevent the rotation of said second toothed member during the combination of selected rotary positions of said control knob and selected operating positions of said locking means, and to unlatch said latch member from said latch plate during the combination of a particular rotary position of said control knob and a particular operating position of said locking means.

Claim 11

A control mechanism for use with a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second externally toothed members rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said toothed members and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, a pair of interconnected bevel gears operatively connected between said first and second toothed members for driving said second toothed member in response to rotary movement of said first toothed member via said control knob, a gear arrangement including a sun gear, at least one pinion gear, and a ring gear, said sun gear being mounted for rotation with said first toothed member, a pointer element secured to said ring gear, said gear arrangement serving to cause said pointer element to rotate through one-half the arcuate length of said control knob, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second toothed member, a latch plate mounted adjacent sad cam plate for rotation independent of said cam plate, a notched opening formed in said cam plate, a pin secured to said latch plate and extending into said notched opening, the diameter of said pin being a predetermined amount smaller than the width of said notched opening, an actuating cable secured to said latch plate and operatively connected to said transmission for selectively establishing said shift ratios, first spring means for urging the rotation of said latch plate in a predetermined direction in order to move said actuating cable, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said latch plate, a plurality of right-angled steps formed on said latch plate, second spring means for urging said latch member into contact with any adjacent right-angled step of said latch plate to restrain rotary movement of said latch plate by said first spring means from selected shift ratio positions, a plurality of V-shaped steps formed on said cam plate for urging said latch member out of contact with said latch plate upon the initial rotary movement of said control knob, a rotatable lock mechanism having a gear and gear-rack means associated therewith, said gear-rack means being movable through a plurality of manually actuated operating positions including a START position and adapted to cooperate with openings formed in said second toothed member to prevent the rotation of said second toothed member during the combination of either PARK or NEUTRAL positions of said control knob and selected operating positions of said lock mechanism, and to unlatch said latch member from said latch plate during the combination of the PARK position of said control knob and said START position of said lock mechanism.

Claim 12

A control mechanism for use with a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second externally toothed members rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said toothed members and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, a pair of interconnected bevel gears operatively connected between said first and second toothed members for driving said second toothed member in response to rotary movement of said first toothed member via said control knob, a gear arrangement including a sun gear, at least one pinion gear, and a ring gear, said sun gear being mounted for rotation with said first toothed member, a pointer element secured to said ring gear, said gear arrangement serving to cause said pointer element to rotate through one-half the arcuate length of said control knob, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second toothed member, a latch plate mounted adjacent sad cam plate for rotation independent of said cam plate, a notched opening formed in said cam plate, a pin secured to said latch plate and extending into said notched opening, the diameter of said pin being a predetermined amount smaller than the width of said notched opening, an actuating cable secured to said latch plate and operatively connected to said transmission for selectively establishing said shift ratios, first spring means for urging the rotation of said latch plate in a predetermined direction in order to move said actuating cable, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said latch plate, a plurality of right-angled steps formed on said latch plate, second spring means for urging said latch member into contact with any adjacent right-angled step of said latch plate to restrain rotary movement of said latch plate by said first spring means from selected shift ratio positions, a plurality of V-shaped steps formed on said cam plate for urging said latch member out of contact with said latch plate upon the initial rotary movement of said control knob, a rotatable lock mechanism having a gear and gear-rack means associated therewith, said gear-rack means being movable through a plurality of manually actuated operating positions including a START position and adapted to cooperate with openings formed in said second toothed member to prevent the rotation of said second toothed member during the combination of either PARK or NEUTRAL positions of said control knob and selected operating positions of said lock mechanism, and to unlatch said latch member from said latch plate during the combination of the PARK position of said control knob and said START position of said lock mechanism.

Claim 13

A control mechanism for use with a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second externally toothed members rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said toothed members and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, an endless chain mounted around said first and second toothed members for driving said second toothed member in response to rotary movement of said first toothed member via said control knob, a gear arrangement including a sun gear, at least one pinion gear, and a ring gear, said sun gear being mounted for rotation with said first toothed member, a pointer element secured to said ring gear, said gear arrangement serving to cause said pointer element to rotate through one-half the arcuate length of said control knob, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second toothed member, a latch plate mounted adjacent said cam plate for rotation independent of said cam plate, a notched opening formed in said cam plate, a pin secured to said latch plate and extending into said notched opening, the diameter of said pin being a predetermined amount smaller than the width of said notched opening, an actuating cable secured to said latch plate and operatively connected to said transmission for selectively establishing said shift ratios, first spring means for urging the rotation of said latch plate in a predetermined direction in order to move said actuating cable, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said latch plate, a plurality of right-angled steps formed on said latch plate, second spring means for urging said latch member into contact with any adjacent right-angled step of said latch plate to restain rotary movement of said latch plate by said first spring means from selected shift ratio positions, a plurality of V-shaped steps formed on said cam plate for urging said latch member out of contact with said latch plate upon the initial rotary movement of said control knob, a rotatable lock mechanism having a gear and gear-rack means associated therewith, said gear-rack means being movable through a plurality of manually actuated operating positions including a START position and adapted to cooperate with openings formed in said second toothed member to prevent the rotation of said second toothed member during the combination of either PARK or NEUTRAL positions of said control knob and selected operating positions of said lock mechanism, and to unlatch said latch member from said latch plate during the combination of the PARK position of said control knob and said START position of said lock mechanism.

Claim 14

A control mechanism for use with a vehicular transmission, said control mechanism comprising a bracket member, first and second externally toothed members rotatably mounted on said bracket member, a control knob operatively connected to one of said toothed members and manually rotatable into a plurality of predetermined circumferential positions corresponding to PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, and LOW transmission shift ratios, an endless chain mounted around said first and second toothed members for driving said second toothed member in response to rotary movement of said first toothed member via said control knob, a gear arrangement including a sun gear, at least one pinion gear, and a ring gear, said sun gear being mounted for rotation with said first toothed member, a pointer element secured to said ring gear, said gear arrangement serving to cause said pointer element to rotate through one-half the arcuate length of said control knob, a cam plate mounted for rotation with said second toothed member, a latch plate mounted adjacent said cam plate for rotation independent of said cam plate, a notched opening formed in said cam plate, a pin secured to said latch plate and extending into said notched opening, the diameter of said pin being a predetermined amount smaller than the width of said notched opening, an actuating cable secured to said latch plate and operatively connected to said transmission for selectively establishing said shift ratios, first spring means for urging the rotation of said latch plate in a predetermined direction in order to move said actuating cable, a latch member pivotally mounted adjacent said latch plate, a plurality of right-angled steps formed on said latch plate, second spring means for urging said latch member into contact with any adjacent right-angled step of said latch plate to restain rotary movement of said latch plate by said first spring means from selected shift ratio positions, a plurality of V-shaped steps formed on said cam plate for urging said latch member out of contact with said latch plate upon the initial rotary movement of said control knob, a rotatable lock mechanism having a gear and gear-rack means associated therewith, said gear-rack means being movable through a plurality of manually actuated operating positions including a START position and adapted to cooperate with openings formed in said second toothed member to prevent the rotation of said second toothed member during the combination of either PARK or NEUTRAL positions of said control knob and selected operating positions of said lock mechanism, and to unlatch said latch member from said latch plate during the combination of the PARK position of said control knob and said START position of said lock mechanism.