Automatic transmission shift indicator system
First Claim
1. A shift indicator system for electrically indicating the selected gear of an automatic transmission in a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a gear selector connects to a plate member in the transmission, said gear selector manually operative to rotate said plate member within a range of selectable transmission gears;
a switch movably engages a stepped cam surface of said plate member, such that each step of said cam surface correlates to one of said selectable transmission gears, and transmits an electrical signal being indicative of one of said selectable transmission gears, where said switch encodes said electrical signal using resistive multiplexing to indicate one of said selectable transmission gears;
a shift indicator electrically connects to said switch for displaying the selected transmission gear based on said electrical signal; and
a vehicle safety device electrically connects to said switch, said switch being operative to activate said vehicle safety device for a first selected transmission gear.
21 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic transmission shift indicator system is provided to electrically indicate the selected gear of an automatic transmission in a motor vehicle. The shift indicator system includes a gear selector, transmission locking plate, a switch and a visual shift indicator. The gear selector connects to a locking plate in the transmission and is manually operative by the vehicle'"'"'s driver to rotate the locking plate within a range of positions that correlate to each of the selectable transmission gears. The park neutral safety switch is modified to movably engage a stepped cam surface of the locking plate, so that each step corresponds to one of the selectable transmission gears. As the gear selector is shifted from gear to gear, the switch is actuated and thus transmits an electrical signal that is indicative of a selected transmission gear. The visual shift indicator decodes the selected transmission gear based on the resistance value of the electrical signal and displays the selected gear to the driver.
52 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A shift indicator system for electrically indicating the selected gear of an automatic transmission in a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a gear selector connects to a plate member in the transmission, said gear selector manually operative to rotate said plate member within a range of selectable transmission gears; a switch movably engages a stepped cam surface of said plate member, such that each step of said cam surface correlates to one of said selectable transmission gears, and transmits an electrical signal being indicative of one of said selectable transmission gears, where said switch encodes said electrical signal using resistive multiplexing to indicate one of said selectable transmission gears; a shift indicator electrically connects to said switch for displaying the selected transmission gear based on said electrical signal; and a vehicle safety device electrically connects to said switch, said switch being operative to activate said vehicle safety device for a first selected transmission gear. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An shift indicator system for electrically indicating the selected gear of an automatic transmission in a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a gear selector mechanically connects to a plate member in the transmission, said gear selector manually operative to rotate said plate member within a range of selectable transmission gears; a switch having a plurality of resistive circuit paths and movably engaging a stepped cam surface of said plate member, such that rotational movement of said plate member actuates said switch between said plurality of resistive circuit paths, said switch transmitting an electrical signal indicative of one of said selectable transmission gears based on actuation of said switch by said plate member; an electronic module electrically connects to said switch for decoding said electrical signal and generating a second electrical signal indicative of the selected gear; and a visual shift indicator electrically connects to said electronic module for displaying the selected gear based on said second electrical signal; a rear backup light electrically connects to said switch, said rear backup light being activated when the selected transmission gear is a reverse gear; and a starter solenoid electrically connects to said switch, said starter solenoid being activated when the selected transmission gear is at least one of a park gear and a neutral gear. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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Specification