JP4598207B2 - Pedal device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pedal device for an automobile or the like having both an accelerator (acceleration) mechanism and a brake (braking) mechanism.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An automobile can be exemplified as a moving body including a pedal device including an accelerator mechanism and a brake mechanism. Many cars are now automatic, with a footrest from the left, a brake pedal in the center, and an accelerator pedal on the right. The brake pedal and accelerator pedal are both depressed. On the other hand, a pedal device having both an accelerator mechanism and a brake mechanism has been proposed for the purpose of preventing an erroneous operation during dredging (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-142817, etc.). This pedal device supports an accelerator arm with a vertical axis, and operates the accelerator pedal by displacement in the left-right direction. The pedal device is referred to as a safety pedal, and is becoming widespread in a form in which the owner modifies the car himself / herself with the relaxation of regulations.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Most conventional safety pedals have a brake pad pivotally attached to an existing brake arm of a brake mechanism (see FIG. 2 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-142817). In this case, since the rotation axis of the existing brake arm is on the upper side, the shaft attachment portion of the brake pad with respect to the existing brake arm follows the rotational movement of the existing brake arm. On the other hand, the rotational motion of the brake pad itself is different from the rotational motion of the axially attached portion because the portion grounded on the floor surface is the rotational axis. Such a difference in rotational movement between the existing brake arm (part where the brake pad is attached to the brake pad) and the brake pad requires excessive braking force of the brake pad. In addition to impairing the operation feeling, this caused a shortage of pedaling force at the time of temporary stop such as waiting for a signal, and caused a problem that the automobile moved due to a creep phenomenon.
[0004]
The problem of operation feeling is also seen in the accelerator pedal. In the conventional safety pedal, the rotation axis of the accelerator pedal is arranged above the brake pad. For this reason, the accelerator pedal that rotates in the left-right direction is displaced while drawing an arc orbit from the left-right direction upward. However, the driver's foot pushing the accelerator pad draws an arc trajectory from the left-right direction downward with the heel placed on the floor as an axis, and thus there is a difference in rotational motion.
[0005]
In the safety pedal, a guide roller is arranged on the brake pad at the pressing start position of the accelerator pad so that the depressed foot can be surely pushed away from the accelerator pedal (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-142817). However, when guide rollers having the same diameter are arranged in order in the same row, it has been found that foot depression is equivalently applied to both guide rollers, and the foot may not move to the brake pad. In addition, when guide rollers of the same diameter are arranged in order in the same row, the gap formed between the copying surface of each roller and each guide roller becomes too large, causing the feet touching the guide roller to feel an unpleasant step, which in turn is operated. There was also a problem that impaired the feeling.
[0006]
The current safety pedal is attached using the existing brake mechanism as described. However, safety pedals cannot be produced for each vehicle model specification, and in order to handle a wide variety of vehicles with a small number of safety pedals, it is necessary to modify and replace existing brake arms. Such modifications and replacements are costly and labor intensive, making it difficult for general automobile owners who have no technology to adopt safety pedals, and preventing the spread of safety pedals. Therefore, in order to solve the problems related to the operational feeling of the safety pedal listed above, and to further promote the improved safety pedal, the structure of a safety pedal that can be easily installed by general owners was examined.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a result of the study, a pedal device in which an accelerator pad operated in the left-right direction is arranged on a brake pad attached to a brake arm, that is, a safety pedal, (a) an upper pad in which a brake pad is flexibly connected. And a pedal device provided with a chuck structure that is fixed to an existing brake arm or brake pad and is provided on the upper pad . The pedal device (a) In addition to the case of attaching the upper pad against existing brake mechanism, can also be used to if assembling the new brake mechanism.
[0008]
This pedal device (a) maintains the same operation feeling as before by dividing the brake pad and rotating the upper pad integrally with the brake arm. Further, if both are relatively biased in the bending direction so that the upper pad and the lower pad are substantially in the same plane in the initial state, the bent upper pad and the lower pad are substantially in the same plane in the initial state after stepping on. To restore quickly. This urging force gives moderate elasticity to the upper pad or the lower pad, and enhances the operational feeling against the stepping. The upper pad and the lower pad preferably have a configuration in which a bending axis is provided on a bridging arm extending from the upper pad (or lower pad), and the bending axis is attached to the lower pad (or upper pad). In the connection via the bridging arm, interference between the upper pad and the lower pad at the time of bending can be absorbed by a bending margin provided between the upper pad and the lower pad. The urging force for restoring the upper pad and the lower pad to substantially the same surface as the initial state can be applied by attaching a coil spring that pushes the upper and lower pads to the bridging arm.
[0009]
The upper pad and the lower pad preferably have a configuration in which a bending axis is provided on a bridging arm extending from the upper pad (or lower pad), and the bending axis is axially attached to the lower pad (or upper pad). In the connection via the bridging arm, interference between the upper pad and the lower pad at the time of bending can be absorbed by a bending margin provided between the upper pad and the lower pad. The urging force for restoring the upper pad and the lower pad to substantially the same surface as the initial state can be applied by attaching a coil spring that pushes the upper and lower pads to the bridging arm.
[0010]
In the safety pedal, (b) the rotation axis of the accelerator pad is arranged below the lower pad. This pedal device (b) can be used not only when an upper pad is attached to an existing brake mechanism but also when a new brake mechanism is assembled.
[0011]
By placing the rotation axis of the accelerator pad below the lower pad, the rotation movement of the accelerator pad becomes substantially equivalent to the rotation movement of the foot with the heel on the floor, thereby improving the operational feeling. The accelerator wire may be connected to the rod so that a rod interlocked with the accelerator pad is attached and the accelerator wire can be pulled in a tangential direction at the pressing start position of the accelerator pad. As a result, the accelerator wire can be routed around the back surface of the brake pad and operated by the accelerator pad, and the accelerator pad can be operated by pushing and pulling the accelerator wire by the rod. By connecting the rod and the accelerator wire so that the accelerator wire can be pulled in the tangential direction at the pressing start position of the accelerator pad, the resistance at the initial stage of the accelerator operation can be reduced. Further, when a return spring is provided for the rod, the appearance can be refreshed.
[0012]
Further, in the safety pedal, (c) a small-diameter and a large-diameter guide roller are provided side by side with respect to the lower pad from the accelerator pad pressing start position, and the copying surfaces of both guide rollers are lowered toward the pressing start position. Gradient. This pedal device (c) can be used not only when an upper pad is attached to an existing brake mechanism but also when a new brake mechanism is assembled.
[0013]
When the small and large diameter guide rollers are arranged in the order described above, the copying surface formed by both guide rollers has a downward slope toward the lower pad without the need for a large step between the two shafts. It can be transferred to the brake pad. At this time, if the large-diameter guide roller is provided side by side with respect to the small-diameter guide roller, the step between the two guide rollers may be increased. Therefore, the two guide rollers are provided so as to overlap each other in the radial direction.
[0014]
Specifically, the thickness of one or both of the guide rollers is reduced, the side surfaces of both guide rollers are brought close to each other, and the distance between the axes is set smaller than the sum of the radii of the guide rollers. Thereby, the level | step difference between each guide roller becomes small, and it does not impair operation feeling. Since the large-diameter guide roller works mainly to transfer the stepped foot to the brake pad, it is preferable to make the small-diameter guide roller thin and the large-diameter guide roller thick.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a pedal device (safety pedal) shown as an example of the present invention in a reference state (no accelerator operation and brake operation), FIG. 2 is a front view of the pedal device in a reference state, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the pedal device in the accelerator operating state, FIG. 5 is a side view of the pedal device in the brake operating state, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the pedal device in the brake operating state. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view showing the positional relationship between the two guide rollers 1 and 2 as viewed from the axial direction.
[0016]
The structure of the pedal device of this example will be described with reference to FIGS. The pedal device of the present invention is a so-called safety pedal, and an accelerator pad 6 that is operated in the left-right direction is disposed on brake pads 4 and 5 attached to the brake arm 3. The brake pad includes an upper pad 4 provided with a chuck structure for sandwiching an existing brake pad 7, and a lower pad 5 that is flexibly connected to the upper pad 4.
[0017]
The upper pad 4 includes a bolt protruding pad 9 having a rubber pad 8 attached to the upper surface thereof, and a tightening pad 10 for fastening the existing brake pad 7 to the bolt protruding pad 9. In this example, the upper pad 4 is fixed to the existing brake pad 7, but the upper pad 4 may be fixed to the brake arm 3. The upper pad 4 can be bent freely while forming an appropriate bending margin between the pads 4 and 5 by pivotally attaching a bridging arm 11 extending from the lower pad 5 to the fastening pad 10. Link. In this example, the coil spring 21 is attached to the axially attached portion of the bridging arm 11 with respect to the tightening pad 10, and an urging force for restoring the upper pad 4 and the lower pad 5 to substantially the same plane is applied.
[0018]
The lower pad 5 has a rotating shaft 12 of the accelerator pad 6 disposed below, and a small-diameter and large-diameter guide rollers 1 and 2 are provided at a portion corresponding to the pressing start position of the accelerator pad 6. The accelerator pad 6 is operated in such a manner that it is pushed on the side of the driver's foot, and a resin pad 23 having a low frictional force is stuck on the contact surface with the foot in order to realize a smooth accelerator operation. The rod 13 drawn out from the rotating shaft 12 is routed to the back surface of the lower pad 5 and connected so that the accelerator wire 14 can be pulled in the tangential direction from the pressing start position of the accelerator pad 6. By rotating the rod 13 in conjunction with the accelerator pad 6, the accelerator wire 14 can be pulled to operate the accelerator. The urging force in the returning direction of the accelerator pad 6 is applied by a return spring 22 connected to the end of the rod 13 on the back surface of the lower pad 5. Further, in this example, the end of the rod 13 is in contact with the stopper 15 fixed to the back surface of the lower pad 5 to determine the pressing start position of the accelerator pad 6.
[0019]
The small-diameter and large-diameter guide rollers 1 and 2 are respectively pivotally attached to support portions 16 and 17 extending from a portion where the upper edge of the lower pad 5 is cut out. The small-diameter guide roller 1 and the large-diameter guide roller 2 are arranged in order from the pressing start position of the accelerator pad 6, and the copying surface 18 (see FIG. 7) is inclined downward toward the pressing start position of the accelerator pad 6. The distance S between the shafts of the two guide rollers 1 and 2 is smaller than the sum of the radii r and R, and the small-diameter guide roller 1 and the large-diameter guide roller 2 are overlapped in the direction perpendicular to the axis in the axial direction (see FIG. ). Since the distance S between the shafts of both guide rollers 1 and 2 is short, the gap formed by both guide rollers 1 and 2 with respect to the copying surface 18 is small. As a result, the foot that has been stepped on is first caught by the large-diameter guide roller 2, and the foot is reliably guided to the brake pads 4, 5 in accordance with the down-gradient copying surface 18. When the accelerator operation is performed, the copying surface 18 functions as a sliding surface for smoothly moving the foot, thereby improving the accelerator operation.
[0020]
In addition, the lower pad 5 is provided with a support roller 20 on the back surface for supporting the entire pedal device by rolling the floor surface 19. Further, a rubber pad 8 similar to the upper pad 4 is attached to the lower side of the upper surface of the lower pad 5 so as to prevent the operated foot from slipping. The upper pad 4 and the lower pad 5 are aligned so as to be substantially flush with each other in the reference state, and bend between the bridging arm 11 and the upper pad 4 for the first time when the foot is depressed during a brake operation.
[0021]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 1-6, operation of the pedal apparatus of this example is demonstrated. First, when neither the accelerator operation nor the brake operation is performed, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the driver puts his / her heel on the floor surface 19 and puts his / her feet on the upper pad 4 to the lower pad 5. The accelerator pad 6 has returned to the pressing start position, and both guide rollers 1 and 2 are positioned outside the accelerator pad 6 at the position.
[0022]
When shifting from the reference state to the accelerator operation state, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the driver holds the heel on the floor 19 and the accelerator pad so that the foot F is tilted to the right with the heel as an axis. 6 is pressed. At this time, since the rotation shaft 12 of the accelerator pad 6 is in a position close to the heel, the rotational motion of the foot F and the rotational motion of the accelerator pad 6 are substantially equivalent, and the operation feeling is not impaired. When the foot F reaches both guide rollers 1 and 2, the copying surface 18 (see FIG. 7) functions as a sliding surface, and the foot F can naturally push the accelerator pad 6 to the right. When the pressing of the accelerator pad 6 is stopped, the accelerator pad 6 quickly returns to the pressing start position by the restoring force of the return spring 22 and the pulling force of the accelerator wire 14.
[0023]
When the foot F is stepped on from the accelerator operating state, the foot F is caught by the both guide rollers 1 and 2, and the foot F moves from the accelerator pad 6 to the brake pads 4 and 5 according to the descending slope of the copying surface 18. At the same time, the upper pad 4 is caught near the toe of the foot F, and the upper pad 4 is stepped on as it is as seen in FIGS. In particular, as clearly shown in FIG. 5, the stepping degree of the foot F is not different from the state of the conventional brake operation, and the lower pad 5 is attached to the stepped foot F from below. For this reason, the brake operation can be performed without feeling uncomfortable operation feeling. When the stepping is stopped, the bending force of the upper pad 4 and the lower pad 5 is quickly eliminated by the restoring force of the coil spring 21 and restored to substantially the same plane.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention improves the operation feeling of a pedal device, that is, a so-called safety pedal, in which an accelerator pad that is operated in the left-right direction is arranged on a brake pad attached to a brake arm. Specifically, division of the brake pad and review of the rotation axis of the accelerator pad reduce the pedaling force of the accelerator operation and the brake operation, and improvement of the guide roller brings about a favorable accelerator operation. These reduce the driver's feeling of fatigue and suppress the occurrence of creep in automatic vehicles. An automatic vehicle must step on a brake while waiting for a signal or the like, but according to the present invention, the fatigue in such a case is reduced, the certainty of braking holding is ensured, and safety is improved.
[0025]
In addition, the present invention presents a versatile attachment form particularly suitable for retrofitting a safety pedal to an existing brake mechanism. Specifically, by adopting a chuck structure for the brake pad, the brake pad can be attached regardless of the structure of the existing brake arm or brake pad. Thereby, it becomes possible to cope with a larger number of vehicle types with fewer types of variations, and a mass production effect by the same type of safety pedal can be achieved. In addition, a structure that can be easily installed even by a general automobile owner contributes to the spread of safety pedals. In addition, even in the case of a new installation, it is possible to realize easy assembly by applying the mounting structure of the present invention, and to increase production efficiency.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a pedal device in a reference state as an example of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the pedal device in a reference state.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the pedal device in an accelerator operating state.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the pedal device in an accelerator operating state.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the pedal device in a brake operation state.
FIG. 6 is a front view of the pedal device in a brake operation state.
FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view showing the positional relationship of the guide rollers.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Small-diameter guide roller 2 Large-diameter guide roller 3 Brake arm 4 Upper pad 5 Lower pad 6 Accel pad
12 Rotating axis
18 Copying surface S Distance between shafts of both guide rollers r Radius of small diameter guide roller R Radius of large diameter guide roller

Claims (3)

In the pedal device in which the accelerator pad that is operated in the left-right direction is arranged on the brake pad attached to the brake arm,
A pedal device comprising an upper pad and a lower pad in which a brake pad is flexibly connected, and a chuck structure that is fixed to an existing brake arm or brake pad is provided on the upper pad . Formed by arranging below the lower pad rotation axis of the A Kuserupaddo claim 1 pedal device according. The small diameter and large-diameter guide roller features in the described order from the lower pad from pressing the start position of the accelerator pad, the copying surfaces of the guide roller is formed by the downward slope toward the pressing start position claim 1 or 2 Any one of the pedal devices.

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