Accelerator / brake operation device

Abstract

To allow a brake side gear to easily return to an original position even if the brake side gear, which is returning to the original position, comes into contact with an accelerator side gear in an accelerator / brake operation device described as the background art.SOLUTION: An accelerator / brake operation device configured such that a foot operation mechanism 10 is displaced downward, the meshing between one tooth profile and the other tooth profile 21 is released, and the displacement of an accelerator operation mechanism is returned to an original position, is provided with an escape mechanism 3, 3 which, if the one tooth profile and the other tooth profile 21 come into a contact without meshing with each other during the process until the one tooth profile and the other tooth profile 21 mesh again after the release, temporarily displaces the other tooth profile 21 downward in response to the contact.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an accelerator-brake operating device, and more particularly to an improvement of a vehicle accelerator-brake operating device that prevents misoperation between the accelerator and the brake.

Background Art

[0002] The applicant of the present application has filed a patent application regarding a vehicle accelerator-brake operating device and obtained a patent (Patent Document 1). The operation of this accelerator-brake operating device will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0003] FIG. 5 shows a state where the foot operating mechanism 60 and the accelerator operating mechanism 70a are both in their original positions without receiving an external force. The brake-side gear 71 is disposed at the left end, and the lower teeth of the accelerator-side gear 72a face the teeth at the right end of the brake-side gear 71. The accelerator-side rotating body 62a is stationary with the upper teeth of the accelerator-side gear 72a abutting against the stopper 84. At this time, the wire fixing portion 83 is in its original position, and the accelerator wire 65 sets the accelerator opening to 0.

[0004] As shown in FIG. 6, when an accelerator operation is performed by pushing the arm portion 55b to the right with the right foot F, the brake-side gear 71 is displaced to the right, and the accelerator-side gear 72a that abuts and meshes therewith rotates the accelerator-side rotating body 62a forward against the accelerator-side return spring 64a. Along with this forward rotation, the wire fixing portion 83 is displaced to the left, the accelerator wire 65 is pulled, and the accelerator opening increases.

[0005] Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, when a brake operation is performed by stepping on the right foot F downward, the foot operating mechanism 60 moves downward, and the contact between the brake-side gear 71 and the accelerator-side gear 72a is released. As a result, the accelerator-side rotating body 62a rotates reversely by the biasing force of the accelerator-side return spring 64a, the accelerator-side gear 72a abuts against the stopper 84 and returns to its original position. The wire fixing portion 83 also returns to its original position, the accelerator wire 65 is retracted, and the accelerator opening is immediately set to 0.

[0006] With such a mechanism, the accelerator becomes an operation to move foot F to the right, and the brake becomes an operation to step on foot F downward. Next, when foot F is released from the foot operation mechanism 60, the foot operation mechanism 60 returns to the original position shown in FIG. 5 due to the force that the pedal arm 81 tries to return upward and the force that the brake side return spring 54 tries to extend to the left.

[0007] However, at this time, the brake side gear 71 that tries to return to the original position may come into contact with the accelerator side gear 72a that has returned to and been fixed at the original position first. As shown in FIG. 8, the slope of the brake side gear 71 that tries to return to the original position may contact the slope of the fixed accelerator side gear 72a, preventing the return of the brake side gear 71.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it easy for the brake side gear to return to the original position even when the brake side gear that tries to return to the original position contacts the accelerator side gear.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] To solve this problem, the present invention proposes an improvement to the accelerator-brake operating device listed in Patent Document 1. The accelerator-brake operating device listed in Patent Document 1 includes a foot operating mechanism that displaces vertically and horizontally and changes the brake depression amount according to the downward displacement, an accelerator operating mechanism that changes the accelerator opening according to the displacement amount, and a linkage mechanism that links the left-right displacement of the foot operating mechanism to the displacement of the accelerator operating mechanism. Among these, the linkage mechanism is composed of a releasable engagement between one tooth shape equipped on the accelerator operating mechanism and the other tooth shape equipped on the foot operating mechanism. And it is configured such that as the foot operating mechanism displaces downward, the engagement between the one tooth shape and the other tooth shape is released and the displacement of the accelerator operating mechanism returns to the original position. The one tooth shape and the other tooth shape are each formed in a serrated shape that meshes with each other, and the tooth shapes are arranged in a direction that makes it easy to maintain the engagement when the accelerator operating mechanism displaces in the direction of opening the accelerator opening.

[0011] In addition to the above configuration, an improvement is added in that a relief mechanism is provided that temporarily displaces the other tooth shape downward when the one tooth shape and the other tooth shape come into contact without meshing during the process until they mesh again after the release.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, even when the brake-side gear attempting to return to the original position contacts the accelerator-side gear, the brake-side gear is more likely to return to the original position.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention mainly focuses on the deformation of the foot operation mechanism described as the background art. As the accelerator operation mechanism facing the foot operation mechanism, for example, the structure of the accelerator operation mechanism 70a described as the background art is assumed.

[0015] In the present embodiment, the foot operation mechanism 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a brake side slide guide 1, a brake side slider 2, a support column 3.3, and a brake side return spring 4. A brake side gear 21 is bridged over the upper end of the support column 3,3.

[0016] To describe this in more detail, in the present embodiment, the brake side slide guide 1 is a linear slide rail extending in the left - right direction of the vehicle. Both ends of the slide rail are closed. Further, the slide rail is linearly opened upward along the longitudinal direction of the rail.

[0017] The brake side slider 2 is housed inside the brake side slide guide 1. The brake side slider 2 is slidable left and right inside the brake side slide guide 1. The brake side slider 2 is in the shape of a rectangular bar and has a length of about three - quarters of the brake side slide guide 1.

[0018] A pair of struts 3, 3 are fixed near the left and right ends of the brake-side slider 2 at their lower ends. The struts 3, 3 extend vertically upward from the brake-side slider 2 through the upper opening of the brake-side slide guide 1. Each strut 3, 3 includes a cylindrical tube 5, 5 and a shaft 6, 6 that can move up and down inside the tube 5, 5. Inside the tube 5, 5, springs 7, 7 are provided as elastic bodies that can expand and contract in the vertical direction. The lower ends of the springs 7, 7 are fixed to the bottom of the tube 5, 5 or the upper surface of the brake-side slider 2. The upper ends of the springs 7, 7 are fixed to the lower ends of the shafts 6, 6.

[0019] A rod-shaped brake-side gear 21 is bridged and fixed to the upper ends of the shafts 6, 6. The brake-side gear 21 is composed of a rod-shaped member along the left-right direction of the vehicle. The brake-side gear 21 has a plurality of serrated tooth shapes that continuously mesh with the accelerator-side gear 72a along the longitudinal direction on its upper surface. The bottom surface of the brake-side gear 21 is fixed to the upper ends of the shafts 6, 6 near one longitudinal end and the other end as described above.

[0020] The springs 7, 7 support the weight of the shafts 6, 6 and the weight of the brake-side gear 21 and keep the brake-side gear 21 substantially horizontal when no external force is applied to the brake-side gear 21. The springs 7, 7 also keep the brake-side gear 21 substantially horizontal when the brake-side gear 21 meshes with the accelerator-side gear 72a and displaces the accelerator-side gear 72a. When the brake-side gear 21 contacts the accelerator-side gear 72a fixed in the original position on the way back to the original position, the springs 7, 7 allow the brake-side gear 21 to be pushed down according to the external force received from the accelerator-side gear 72a. The specifications such as the strength of the springs 7, 7 are set to satisfy the above (1) to (3).

[0021] The brake-side return spring 4 has one end fixed to the right end of the brake-side slider 2 inside the brake-side slide guide 1. The other end of the brake-side return spring 4 is fixed to the inner wall of the right end of the brake-side slide guide 1. The brake-side return spring 4 is compressed when an external force is applied to the brake-side slider 2 in the rightward direction, allowing the brake-side slider 2 to be displaced to the right. Also, the brake-side return spring 4 holds the brake-side slider 2 at the left end (original position) inside the brake-side slide guide 1 when no external force is applied to the brake-side slider 2. The brake-side return spring 4 has specifications such as strength set to satisfy the above (1) and (2).

[0022] In the A-A cross section, the positional relationship among the brake-side slide guide 1, the brake-side slider 2, and the tube bodies 5 of the supports 3 is as shown in the figure. Reference numeral C is a dust cover that prevents foreign matter such as soil adhering to the footwear of the foot F from entering the inside of the brake-side slide guide 1. The longitudinal direction of the dust cover C covers the entire upper surface of the brake-side slider 2. The depth direction of the dust cover C covers the entire upper surface of the brake-side slide guide 1. The dust cover C is bridged and fixed to the tube bodies 5 of the supports 3, 3. The dust cover C is configured to slide integrally with the brake-side slider 2 and the tube bodies 5 of the supports 3, 3.

[0023] Figure 2 shows the structure for fixing the brake-side slide guide 1 to the vehicle's brake pedal 31. The brake-side slide guide 1 is arranged such that its bottom surface contacts the upper surface of the vehicle's brake pedal 31. The longitudinal direction of the brake-side slide guide 1 is along the left-right direction of the vehicle. The brake pedal 31 is arranged at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the brake-side slide guide 1. A fixing member 31a is provided below the brake pedal 31. The fixing member 31a is a flat metal member having a length in the left-right direction similar to that of the brake-side slide guide 1.

[0024] By sandwiching and tightening the brake pedal 31 between the brake-side slide guide 1 and the fixing member 31a, the brake-side slide guide 1 is fixed above the brake pedal 31. Bolt holes for inserting bolts are formed at both longitudinal ends of the brake-side slide guide 1. Also, bolt holes for inserting bolts are formed at both longitudinal ends of the fixing member 31a at positions corresponding to the bolt holes formed in the brake-side slide guide 1. By passing bolts through the bolt holes formed in the brake-side slide guide 1 and the bolt holes of the fixing member 31a formed at corresponding positions and tightening them with nuts, the brake-side slide guide 1 is fixed to the brake pedal 31. According to such a fixing structure, the accelerator and brake operation device of the present invention can be retrofitted to the brake pedal 31 of an existing vehicle.

[0025] In FIG. 1, the driver of the vehicle places the right foot F on the dust cover C and performs an accelerator operation and a brake operation. When the foot F slides to the right, the support 3 is pushed to the right and the brake-side slider 2 slides to the right. As a result, similar to the background art, the accelerator-side rotator 62a rotates in conjunction, and the depression of the accelerator is increased. Conversely, when the foot F is returned to the left, the brake-side return spring 4 also acts, and the brake-side slider 2 slides back to the left. As a result, similar to the background art, the accelerator-side rotator 62a rotates in the reverse direction, and the depression of the accelerator is reduced. Here, the support 3 also functions as an accelerator operator.

[0026] Also, when the foot F is depressed downward, the brake pedal 31 of the vehicle integrated with the brake-side slide guide 1 is depressed, and the brake is applied. At this time, similar to the background art, the accelerator-side rotator 62a is disengaged from the brake-side gear 21. As a result, similar to the background art, the accelerator-side rotator 62a immediately returns to its original position, and the state where the accelerator is not depressed is achieved. Here, the dust cover C also functions as a brake pedal.

[0027] After the driver removes the foot F from the dust cover C, the brake pedal 31 tries to return upward, and the brake-side slider 2 tries to return to the left. Due to these forces, the brake-side slide guide 1 and the brake-side slider 2 try to return to their original positions. At this time, as described above with reference to FIG. 8, there is a case where the brake-side gear 21 may contact the accelerator-side gear 72a before returning to the original position.

[0028] When the brake-side gear 21 contacts the accelerator-side gear 72a before returning to the original position, in FIG. 1, the shaft bodies 6, 6 move freely so as to release the brake-side gear 21 from the contacted accelerator-side gear 72a by the buffering of the springs 7, 7 inside the columns 3, 3. As a result, the brake-side gear 21 becomes easier to escape from the contacted accelerator-side gear 72a and easier to return to the original position. That is, the columns 3, 3 function as a release mechanism (elastic mechanism).

[0029] The above is the description of the foot operation mechanism 10. On the other hand, the accelerator operation mechanism 70a may be configured as shown in FIG. 3. The same parts as those in the background art of FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows the front view of the accelerator operation mechanism 70a as seen from the driver's seat side. The accelerator operation mechanism 70a includes a disk-shaped accelerator-side rotating body 62a having a rotation axis 82 at the center, and an accelerator-side gear 72a formed by a plurality of saw-tooth-shaped teeth continuously formed along the circumference of the accelerator-side rotating body 62a. Further, the accelerator operation mechanism 70a has an accelerator-side return spring 64a for returning the rotated accelerator-side rotating body 62a to the original position, and a wire fixing portion 83 provided on the accelerator-side rotating body 62a and connecting one end of the accelerator wire 65.

[0030] To describe this in more detail, in the present embodiment, the accelerator-side gear 22a continuously has serrated teeth extending for more than a half turn along the circumference of the accelerator-side rotating body 62a. The teeth of the accelerator-side gear 22a are arranged so as to be able to rotate the accelerator-side rotating body 62a in accordance with the displacement of the brake-side gear 21 while meshing with the teeth of the brake-side gear 21 of the foot operation mechanism 10. The accelerator-side return spring 64a is a spiral spring in the present embodiment. The spiral spring 64a is wound around the rotation axis behind the accelerator-side rotating body 62a. The central-side end of the spiral spring 64a is fixed near the rotation axis of the accelerator-side rotating body 62a. The outer-side end of the spiral spring 64a is fixed to a fixing member provided behind the accelerator-side rotating body 62a, which will be described later. The spiral spring 64a is arranged in a direction in which the load on the spring increases as the accelerator-side rotating body 62a rotates counterclockwise.

[0031] Figure 4 shows the structure for fixing the accelerator-side rotating body 62a to the vehicle. In the vehicle, the steering column S is attached obliquely to the running surface of the vehicle. An L-shaped fixing member 41 is fixed to the exterior of the steering column S. One end and the other end of the L-shaped fixing member 41 are respectively fixed to the exterior along the longitudinal direction of the steering column S. The L-shaped fixing member 41 is arranged such that the corner of the L protrudes downward of the vehicle. The short side of the fixing member 41 faces the driver side. The long side of the fixing member 41 faces downward.

[0032] A rotation shaft 82 protrudes toward the driver side and is fixed to the short side of the fixing member 41. A fixing member 42 is fixed to the rotation shaft 82. Further, the accelerator-side rotating body 62a is rotatably supported by the rotation shaft 82. The accelerator-side rotating body 62a is arranged on the driver side of the fixing member 42 along the rotation shaft 82. An accelerator-side return spring 64a is arranged between the accelerator-side rotating body 62a and the fixing member 42. As described above, the accelerator-side return spring 64a is a spiral spring in the present embodiment, with one end fixed to the accelerator-side rotating body 62a and the other end fixed to the fixing member 42.

[0033] Due to the arrangement of the fixing member 41 and the rotating shaft 82, the accelerator-side rotating body 62a is arranged in a direction approximately facing the driver. Due to its arrangement, the accelerator-side gear 72a and the brake-side gear 21 are engaged with each other.

[0034] Then, when the accelerator-side rotating body 70a is displaced counterclockwise as viewed from the driver's side in response to the displacement of the brake-side gear 21, the accelerator wire 65 is displaced in the direction of strengthening the depression of the accelerator. On the other hand, when the accelerator-side rotating body 70a is displaced clockwise as viewed from the driver's side in response to the displacement of the brake-side gear 21, the accelerator wire 65 is displaced in the direction of weakening the depression of the accelerator. Further, when the foot operation mechanism 10 is depressed downward and the engagement between the accelerator-side gear 72a and the brake-side gear 21 is released, the accelerator-side rotating body 70a returns to its original position by the action of the accelerator-side return spring 64a.

[0035] Here, the present invention is not limited to the scope of the above-described embodiment, and includes the scope of the invention described in the claims. For example, the forms of the brake-side slide guide and the brake-side slider may be any form in which the brake-side slider can slide left and right in response to an external force from the foot with respect to the brake-side slide guide. The form of the support column may be any form that slides left and right integrally with the brake-side slider and allows the brake-side gear that has received an external force from the accelerator-side gear to move up and down.

[0036] The form of the dust cover may be any form that can support the foot and suppress the intrusion of dust into the brake-side slide guide. The form of the fixing member that fixes the brake-side slide guide to the brake pedal may be any form that can fix the brake-side slide guide to the brake pedal. The form of the accelerator operation mechanism is not limited to the form shown in FIG. 3, and may be, for example, the form disclosed in Patent Document 1 shown as the background art. The fixing of the accelerator operation mechanism to the vehicle may be performed at a location other than the exterior of the steering column.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0037] 1 Brake-side slide guide 2 Brake-side slider 3 Support pillar (release mechanism, elastic mechanism) 4 Brake-side return spring 5 Tube body of the support pillar 6 Shaft body of the support pillar 7 Spring of the support pillar 10 Foot operation mechanism 21 Brake-side gear 31 Brake pedal 31a Fixing member to the brake pedal 32 Rotation shaft 33 Wire fixing part 41 Fixing member of the accelerator operation mechanism 42 Fixing member of the accelerator-side return spring 62a Accelerator-side rotating body 64a Accelerator-side return spring (volute spring) 65 Accelerator wire 70a Accelerator operation mechanism 72a Accelerator-side gear 82 Rotation shaft 83 Wire fixing part C Dust cover F Foot S Exterior of the steering column

Claims

1. A foot operation mechanism that displaces vertically and horizontally and changes the brake depression amount according to the downward displacement, an accelerator operation mechanism that changes the accelerator opening according to the displacement amount, and a linkage mechanism that links the left and right displacements of the foot operation mechanism to the displacement of the accelerator operation mechanism, wherein the linkage mechanism is composed of a releasable engagement between one tooth form provided on the accelerator operation mechanism and the other tooth form provided on the foot operation mechanism, configured such that the engagement between the one tooth form and the other tooth form is released as the foot operation mechanism displaces downward, and the displacement of the accelerator operation mechanism returns to the original position, in an accelerator-brake operation device, wherein the one tooth form and the other tooth form are each formed in a serrated shape that meshes with each other, and the tooth forms are arranged in a direction that facilitates maintaining the engagement when the accelerator operation mechanism displaces in the direction of opening the accelerator opening. An accelerator-brake operation device comprising a relief mechanism that temporarily displaces the other tooth form downward in response to contact when the one tooth form and the other tooth form come into contact without meshing during the process until the one tooth form and the other tooth form mesh again after the release.

2. The accelerator-brake device according to claim 1, wherein the relief mechanism includes an elastic mechanism that temporarily displaces the other tooth form provided on the foot operation mechanism downward.

3. The accelerator-brake device according to claim 2, wherein the elastic mechanism is provided independently at one end side and the other end side of the other tooth form that is linear in the left-right direction.

4. The accelerator-brake device according to claim 3, wherein a space for placing the foot is provided between the elastic mechanisms on the one end side and the other end side.

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