Transmission shift lever supporting structure

Claim 1

A shift lever supporting structure for pivotally supporting a shift lever secured to a rigid structure of a vehicle body, said lever being formed with an enlarged spherical portion, said shift lever supporting structure comprising: a hollow member secured to said rigid structure, said hollow member having a bottom portion; a fixed collar member secured to said hollow member; a bearing member held in said collar member and receiving therein the spherical portion of said shift lever so that said shift lever is pivotal about the spherical portion thereof relative to the fixed collar member; and fail-safe means for assuring the operative pivotal movement of said shift lever even when said spherical portion of the shift lever slips out of said collar member accidently, said fail-safe means including a stopper plate member disposed in the bottom portion of said hollow member and having therethrough a stopper opening through which one end portion of said shift lever passes, said stopper opening having substantially the shape of a circle having a diameter which is equal to the maximum diameter of said spherical portion of said shift lever, a portion of the periphery of said stopper opening projecting within the diameter of the circle so that, upon disengagement of said spherical portion from said bearing member of the fixed collar member, said spherical portion of the shift lever is brought into pivotal engagement with a portion of the periphery of the stopper opening and prevented from slipping out of said opening.