Gearshift mechanism
First Claim
1. An in-line gearshift mechanism for enabling an operator to initiate gear selection for a powershift transmission of an agricultural vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
- a shift lever having an operator engageable detent rod movable generally linearly in response to pressure placed thereon by said operator, said shift lever further including a roller coupled to said detent rod and movable linearly with said detent rod, and a gear encoder plate fixedly secured to said shift lever;
said gear encoder plate including a plurality of switch activating elements positioned thereon;
a shifter plate means having an opening formed therein, said opening defining a neutral position, and a forward downshift position, a forward position, a forward upshift position, a reverse downshift position, a reverse position and a reverse upshift position, each of said positions further being formed longitudinally in line with one another and adapted to receive said roller as said gearshift lever is moved linearly by said operator;
a switch plate positioned closely adjacent said gear encoder plate, said switch plate including a plurality of switches thereon responsive to said switch activating elements of said gear encoder plate as said gear encoder plate is moved in response to linear movement of said shift lever, said switches generating control signals indicative of which one of said positions said shift lever is in at a given time to thereby enable said operator to control shifting of said powershift transmission.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An in-line gearshift mechanism for use with a powershift transmission of an agricultural vehicle. The gearshift mechanism includes a shift lever assembly, a shifter plate and a switch plate each separated by a plurality of spacers and secured as an integral unit to a frame portion of an interior of the agricultural vehicle. The shifter plate includes a plurality of in-line detent positions defining forward upshift, forward, forward downshift, neutral, reverse downshift, reverse and reverse upshift detent positions at which the shift lever may be positioned. The shift lever includes a gear encoder plate on which a plurality of switch activating elements are positioned. As the shift lever is moved between the above-mentioned detent positions, the switch activating elements selectively actuate selected ones of a plurality of reed switches disposed on the switch plate. The reed switches generate signals indicative of the position of the shift lever, which may then be used to inform an external controller of the position of the shift lever and thus the desired operation (i.e., forward upshift, shift to neutral, etc.). In the preferred embodiment a neutral detection limit switch is also included which is actuated when the shift lever assembly is placed in the neutral position. The preferred embodiment also includes a throttle lever for adjusting the speed of an engine of the agricultural vehicle.
71 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An in-line gearshift mechanism for enabling an operator to initiate gear selection for a powershift transmission of an agricultural vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
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a shift lever having an operator engageable detent rod movable generally linearly in response to pressure placed thereon by said operator, said shift lever further including a roller coupled to said detent rod and movable linearly with said detent rod, and a gear encoder plate fixedly secured to said shift lever; said gear encoder plate including a plurality of switch activating elements positioned thereon; a shifter plate means having an opening formed therein, said opening defining a neutral position, and a forward downshift position, a forward position, a forward upshift position, a reverse downshift position, a reverse position and a reverse upshift position, each of said positions further being formed longitudinally in line with one another and adapted to receive said roller as said gearshift lever is moved linearly by said operator; a switch plate positioned closely adjacent said gear encoder plate, said switch plate including a plurality of switches thereon responsive to said switch activating elements of said gear encoder plate as said gear encoder plate is moved in response to linear movement of said shift lever, said switches generating control signals indicative of which one of said positions said shift lever is in at a given time to thereby enable said operator to control shifting of said powershift transmission. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An in-line gear shift mechanism for controlling a powershift transmission of an agricultural vehicle, said gear shift apparatus comprising:
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shift lever means engageable by an operator of said vehicle and movable generally linearly for controlling operation of said powershift transmission; said shift lever means including means for forming a detent rod manually engageable by said operator and roller means movable linearly in response to movement of said detent button means, and means forming a gear encoder plate operably associated with said shift lever means and positioned closely adjacent thereto so as to move longitudinally with said shift lever means; shifter plate means positioned closely adjacent said shift lever means including an aperture means for defining a neutral position, a forward position and a reverse position, each one of said positions being adapted to receive said roller means therein to thereby maintain said shift lever means in any selected one of said positions; and switch assembly plate means positioned closely adjacent said gear encoder plate means for causing a plurality of signals indicative of the position of said shift lever means as said shift lever means is moved linearly relative to said shifter plate means, said signals thereby indicating when said shift lever means is in said neutral, said forward and said reverse positions. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification