Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Mannoh Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Zenichi Nobata

Junichi Miyagi

Motoharu Akiyama

Yoshitaka Sekiya

A tiltable shift lever assembly for operating a transmission of a vehicle, including a shift lever disposed between a driver's seat and a front passenger's seat, so as to extend generally upward when placed in its operative position. The shift lever is supported pivotally about a first pivot axis substantially parallel to a transverse direction of the vehicle. The shift lever has an upper portion having a knob, a lower portion operatively connected to the transmission, and a coupling connecting the upper and lower portions such that the upper portion is pivotable, about a second pivot axis substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. A fixed guide member is disposed above the coupling of the shift lever, and has a guide slot formed in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The upper portion of the shift lever extends through the guide slot, and is guided by the guide slot for a pivotal movement of the shift lever about the first pivot axis. The guide member further has a lateral slot formed so as to extend in the transverse direction from one longitudinal position of the guide slot. The lateral slot permits the upper portion of the shift lever to be pivoted about the second pivot axis until the upper portion is placed in a substantially horizontal position thereof.

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Anjo, Japan

Zenichi Nobata