Shift lever assembly with a pre-load releasable interlock

Abstract

A shift lever assembly (,) for a vehicle transmission (,) includes a housing (,), a selector lever (,) pivotally mounted with respect to the housing (,), a detent member (,), and a pawl (,). The selector lever (,) defines a longitudinal lever axis (,) along which a shift force is applied to selectively shift the transmission (,) between a plurality of shift positions. The detent member (,) is fixed with respect to the housing (,) and defines a plurality of detent gates (,) corresponding to the shift positions. The pawl (,) is mounted for movement with the selector lever (,) in and out of the detent gates (,). A roller assembly (,) is mounted to one end of the selector lever (,) and engages a stop (,). When the pawl (,) is in the park position and vehicle braking system (,) is not applied, the stop (,) prevents the lever (,) from moving longitudinally along the longitudinal lever axis (,). When a shift force is applied to the lever (,) before the braking system (,) is activated, the pawl (,) is pre-loaded against the detent gate (,). The assembly (,) includes an electromagnetic actuator (,) for disengaging the lever (,) from the stop (,) when the vehicle braking system (,) activated. The actuator (,) applies a secondary force to the lever (,) along a path that intersects the longitudinal lever axis (,). The actuator (,) can disengage the lever (,) to allow the pawl (,) to be shifted out of park even when the pawl (,) is under pre-load.