The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 11, 1998
Filed:
Jul. 24, 1996
Donald R Rempinski, Grand Haven, MI (US);
Phong T Tran, Kentwood, MI (US);
Ronald Bazany, Spring Lake, MI (US);
Anil Mandala, Spring Lake, MI (US);
Grand Haven Stamped Products, Grand Haven, MI (US);
Abstract
A shifter for an automatic transmission includes a base, a detent member attached to the base, and a shift lever pivotally attached to the base by a ball and socket pivot for multi-axial movement along a configured shift pattern. The shift pattern includes a first shift path segment for shifting the transmission in an automatic mode, a second shift path segment for shifting the transmission in a manual mode, and a transverse path segment for moving between the first and second path segments. In one form the shift pattern is H-shaped, and the shifter includes a pair of switches connected to a vehicle shift control circuit for upshifting and downshifting as the shift lever is selectively moved along the second shift path segment. In the shifter with the H-shaped pattern, an upper and lower leg are pivoted to the base. The lower leg is configured to interconnect with a linkage for operating the automatic transmission, and the upper leg is configured to engage the shift lever when the shift lever is in the first shift path segment but disengage the shift lever when the shift lever is in the second shift path segment. In another form the shift pattern is S-shaped, and the shifter is adapted to, in the manual mode, shift the automatic transmission to specific forward gears (eg first, second, third or overdrive gears) as the shift lever is moved to particular positions along the second shift path segment. The shifter preferably includes a brake-ignition-transmission-shift-interlock system including a bell crank pivoted to the detent member to control movement of the shift lever out of the park position.