Parking brake lever support structure

Abstract

To improve support rigidity of a parking brake lever.SOLUTION: A parking brake lever 26 is rotatably attached to a parking brake lever bracket 28 fixed to a shift lever pedestal 18. A parking brake lever grip 30 is disposed between a steering wheel 10 and a grip 24 of a shift lever 20. A front end of a cable outer casing 34 is coupled to an extension part 28c of the parking brake lever bracket 28 and a rear end is coupled to a casing fixing base 36 on a floor tunnel part 16. A control force of the parking brake is supported by the cable outer casing 34 to improve support rigidity of the parking brake lever 26.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a support structure for a lever that operates a parking brake of a vehicle, and particularly relates to the support rigidity of the lever.

Background Art

[0002] In vehicle competitions such as gymkhana and drifting, the parking brake may be operated during driving to control the vehicle's attitude. When using a general vehicle for these competitions, since the parking brake lever is located far from the steering wheel and the shift lever, the operability of the parking brake is poor.

[0003] The following Patent Document 1 shows a parking brake device fixed to the upper part of the floor tunnel.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When the grip of the parking brake lever supported by the floor tunnel portion is arranged in the vicinity of the steering wheel or the shift lever, the grip will be located away from the floor tunnel portion upward. For this reason, there is a possibility that the support rigidity of the parking brake lever decreases.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to increase the support rigidity of a parking brake lever having a grip arranged in the vicinity of a steering wheel or a shift lever.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The parking brake lever support structure according to the present invention includes a parking brake lever whose grip is located between the grips of the steering wheel and the shift lever, a pedestal unit fixed to the floor tunnel portion of the vehicle and to which the parking brake lever is rotatably attached, and a support member whose front end is fixed at a position higher than the upper surface of the floor tunnel portion at the rear of the pedestal unit and whose rear end is fixed to the upper surface of the floor tunnel portion behind the pedestal unit.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] By supporting part of the force generated by the operation of the parking brake by the driver with the support member, the support rigidity of the parking brake lever is improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, terms representing relative positions and directions such as front, rear, left, right, up, and down represent relative positions and directions with respect to the vehicle. Also, in the left-right direction (width direction) of the vehicle, the side closer to the center line extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is referred to as the inner side in the vehicle width direction, and the far side is referred to as the outer side in the vehicle width direction. In each figure, the direction of arrow FR is forward, the direction of arrow UP is upward, the direction of arrow LH is leftward, and the direction of arrow OUT is the outer side in the vehicle width direction.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure in front of the driver's seat of a vehicle, particularly the steering wheel 10, the shift lever unit 12, and the parking brake lever unit 14, which are operators operated by the driver. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the parking brake lever unit 14. The structures shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are so-called right-hand drive vehicles where the right front seat is the driver's seat. The steering wheel 10 is substantially circular and is arranged in front of the driver, and is operated by the driver's left and right hands. The shift lever unit 12 and the parking brake lever unit 14 are arranged above the floor tunnel portion 16. The floor tunnel portion 16 is formed by bulging upward from the vehicle floor and is provided extending in the front-rear direction at the center in the left-right direction of the vehicle floor.

[0012] A shift lever pedestal 18 for mounting the shift lever unit 12 is fixed to the side portion of the steering wheel 10 on the upper surface of the floor tunnel portion 16. The shift lever pedestal 18 has a substantially hat-shaped cross-sectional shape, and the upper surface portion 18a is at a position higher than the upper surface of the floor tunnel portion 16. The shift lever unit 12 includes a shift lever 20 operated by the driver and a shift lever base 22 having a connecting mechanism for connecting the shift lever 20 and a shift wire (not shown). The shift lever 20 has a shift lever grip 24 gripped by the driver. The shift lever base 22 is fixed to the shift lever pedestal 18. The shift lever base 22 incorporates a mechanism for restricting the movement of the shift lever 20 to a predetermined pattern such as an H shape and connecting to a shift wire for transmitting the movement of the shift lever 20 to the transmission. The shift lever 20, particularly its shift lever grip 24, is located laterally and downward of the steering wheel 10.

[0013] The parking brake lever unit 14 has a parking brake lever 26 and a parking brake lever bracket 28 that rotatably supports the parking brake lever 26. The parking brake lever 26 has a parking brake lever grip 30 that the driver holds. The parking brake lever bracket 28 has a bottom surface portion 28a arranged to overlap the upper surface portion 18a of the shift lever pedestal 18 and a standing surface portion 28b arranged to extend upward from the right edge of the bottom surface portion 28a. When the parking brake lever bracket 28 is viewed from the rear, the bottom surface portion 28a and the standing surface portion 28b are arranged in a substantially L shape in mirror image. The bottom surface portion 28a is arranged to be sandwiched between the upper surface portion 18a of the shift lever pedestal and the shift lever base 22 and is fastened together with the shift lever base 22 to the shift lever pedestal 18. The standing surface portion 28b rotatably supports the parking brake lever 26, and the axis of its rotation extends in the left-right direction. When operating the parking brake, the driver pulls the parking brake lever 26 forward (i.e., rearward) and rotates it clockwise in FIG. 2. The standing surface portion 28b has, at its rear end, an extension portion 28c that extends rearward beyond the rear edges of the shift lever pedestal 18 and the bottom surface portion 28a. The shift lever pedestal 18 and the parking brake lever bracket 28 are integrated and fixed to the floor tunnel portion 16, constituting a pedestal unit to which the parking brake lever 26 is rotatably attached.

[0014] One end of a parking brake cable 32 is coupled to a parking brake lever 26. The parking brake cable 32 extends rearward, penetrates the upper surface of a floor tunnel portion 16, and further extends to the parking brake of a rear wheel of the vehicle along the lower side of the floor. When the parking brake lever 26 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2, the parking brake cable 32 is pulled forward. The front end of a cable outer casing 34 is fixed to the rear end of an extension portion 28c of a parking brake lever bracket. Further, the rear end of the cable outer casing 34 is fixed to a casing fixing base 36 on the floor tunnel portion 16. The cable outer casing 34 is a tubular member made of metal, typically aluminum, and guides the parking brake cable 32 passing through the inside of the tube.

[0015] The cable outer casing 34 has fixtures 38 and 40 at its front end and rear end. The fixtures 38 and 40 are coupled to an outer casing body 42, which is a tubular component, by a method such as welding. At the front end of the cable outer casing 34, the fixture 38 is coupled to the extension portion 28c of the parking brake lever bracket by a fastening element such as a bolt. Thereby, the front end of the cable outer casing 34 is fixed to the parking brake lever bracket 28. Further, at the rear end of the cable outer casing 34, the fixture 40 is coupled to the casing fixing base 36 fixed to the floor tunnel portion 16 by a fastening element such as a bolt. Thereby, the rear end of the cable outer casing 34 is fixed to the floor tunnel portion. Thus, the cable outer casing 34 is a supporting member in which the front end portion is fixed at a position higher than the upper surface of the floor tunnel portion at the rear of the pedestal unit, and the rear end portion is fixed to the upper surface of the floor tunnel portion behind the pedestal unit.

[0016] When the driver operates the parking brake, that is, when the parking brake lever 26 is pulled backward (toward the driver), this force is transmitted to the parking brake lever bracket 28 and the shift lever pedestal 18, and acts as a force to push the bottom surface portion 28a of the parking brake lever bracket 28 and the upper surface portion 18a of the shift lever pedestal backward. Also, when the parking brake is operated, tension is generated in the parking brake cable 32, and this tension acts as a force to pull the parking brake lever bracket 28 backward. The force for operating the parking brake lever 26 and the tension generated in the parking brake cable 32 act as backward forces on the pedestal unit (18, 28) that supports the parking brake lever 26. The cable outer casing 34 transmits the backward force generated by this operation of the parking brake to the floor tunnel portion 16 and disperses this force. By supporting the force from the operation of the parking brake at more sites, the support rigidity of the parking brake lever 26 is improved.

[0017] To resist the force from the operation of the parking brake, in addition to or instead of the cable outer casing 34, a stay may be provided that is coupled to the rear edge of the pedestal unit (18, 28) and the upper part of the more rearward floor tunnel portion 16.

[0018] Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship among the steering wheel 10, the shift lever grip 24, and the parking brake lever grip 30. In Figure 3, the left region shows the state as viewed from above, and the right region shows the state as viewed from the rear. In Figure 3, the movable range R, which is the range in which the shift lever grip 24 moves by the driver's shift operation, is shown, and the arrangement region A, which is the region where the parking brake lever grip 30 is arranged, is shown.

[0019] The arrangement area A of the parking brake lever grip 30 is defined between the movable range R of the shift lever grip 24 and the inner end in the vehicle width direction of the steering wheel 10 in the vehicle width direction, and in the vertical direction, it is defined by the lower edge of the movable range R and the upper end of the steering wheel 10. The range of the arrangement area A in the front-rear direction is defined such that the front edge is located further forward than the front edge of the movable range R and the front end of the steering wheel 10, and the rear edge is located further rearward than the rear edge of the movable range R and the rear end of the steering wheel 10.

[0020] By arranging the parking brake lever grip 30 within the arrangement area A, the movement line of the driver's hand between the steering wheel 10 and the shift lever grip 24 and the position of the parking brake lever grip 30 are brought closer, improving the operability of the parking brake.

Explanation of Signs

[0021] 10 Steering wheel, 12 Shift lever unit, 14 Parking brake lever unit, 16 Floor tunnel section, 18 Shift lever pedestal (pedestal unit), 18a Upper surface portion of the shift lever pedestal, 20 Shift lever, 24 Shift lever grip, 26 Parking brake lever, 28 Parking brake lever bracket (pedestal unit), 28c Extension portion of the parking brake lever bracket, 30 Parking brake lever grip, 32 Parking brake cable, 34 Cable outer casing, 36 Casing fixing base, 38, 40 Fixtures, 42 Outer casing body, R Movable range of the shift lever grip, A Arrangement area of the parking brake lever grip.

Claims

【Claim 1】 a parking brake lever positioned between the grips of the steering wheel and the shift lever, a pedestal unit fixed to the floor tunnel portion of the vehicle, to which the parking brake lever is rotatably attached, a support member having a front end fixed at a position higher than the upper surface of the floor tunnel portion at the rear of the pedestal unit and a rear end fixed to the upper surface of the floor tunnel portion behind the pedestal unit, comprising a parking brake lever support structure.

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