Pedal misoperation prevention mechanism

Abstract

To provide a pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism capable of suppressing erroneous operation of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal while reducing costs. [Solution] In an automatic vehicle, an accelerator pedal 2 is offset to the right from a specified position 2a, and a brake pedal 3 is offset to the right from a specified position 3a. The amount of deviation Xa of the accelerator pedal 2 to the right and the amount of deviation Xb of the brake pedal 3 to the right are each set to 30 to 50 mm. In addition, it is preferable to set the height of the brake pedal 3 from a floor surface 5 to the same level as the height of the accelerator pedal 2 from the floor surface or lower than the accelerator pedal.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism that suppresses a vehicle driver from accidentally stepping on an accelerator pedal instead of a brake pedal. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there have been many cases of serious accidents caused by drivers accidentally stepping on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal. In particular, automatic vehicles have become mainstream in recent years, rather than manual vehicles, and in automatic vehicles, both the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal are operated only with the right foot, without the left foot. As a result, accidents caused by pedal missteps have become more frequent.

[0003] Various proposals have been made to prevent such erroneous operation due to mistaking the accelerator pedal for the brake pedal. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an arrangement of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal in an automatic vehicle, in which the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are allocated to the left and right sides of the steering wheel, and the brake pedal is operated with the left foot and the accelerator pedal with the right foot. However, it is not easy to change from operating the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal with the right foot to operating the brake pedal with the left foot. For elderly people in particular, this means changing the way of operating that has been habitual for many years. If they operate the pedals in a hurry in an emergency, they may make mistakes. For this reason, it is not realistic as it may invite danger.

[0004] Patent document 2 discloses a device that aims to prevent the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal from being mistakenly depressed by installing a guide portion on the right side of the accelerator pedal and / or the left side of the brake pedal over a wide area from the dashboard to the floor, and by having the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal be depressed along the guide portion. However, the installation of the guide members is costly because it is necessary to prepare guide members of various sizes in accordance with the form (shape) of the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-308075 A [Patent Document 2] Utility Model Registration No. 3165756 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism that can suppress erroneous operation of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal while reducing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism according to claim 1 is characterized in that, in an automatic vehicle, the accelerator pedal is shifted to the right from a specified position, and the brake pedal is shifted to the right from a specified position. The device according to claim 2 sets the amount of rightward deviation of the accelerator pedal and the amount of rightward deviation of the brake pedal to 30 to 50 mm, respectively. The device according to claim 3 is such that the amount of deviation of the accelerator pedal to the right and the amount of deviation of the brake pedal to the right are approximately equal. The device according to claim 4 is one in which the height of the brake pedal from the floor surface is set to the same level as the height of the accelerator pedal from the floor surface or lower than the accelerator pedal. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the invention of claim 1, in an automatic vehicle, the accelerator pedal is offset to the right from its specified position, and the brake pedal is offset to the right from its specified position, so that the brake pedal is positioned directly in front of the right foot, making it easier to depress the brake pedal and reducing erroneous operation. In this case, it is preferable that the offset amount of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are each 30 to 50 mm. According to the device of claim 3, the amount of rightward shift of the accelerator pedal and the amount of rightward shift of the brake pedal are approximately the same, so that the relative positional relationship between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal remains the same as before, making it easy to operate without any discomfort. According to the invention of claim 4, the height of the brake pedal from the floor surface is set to the same level as the height of the accelerator pedal from the floor surface or lower than the accelerator pedal, so that the transition from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal can be made smoothly, and in an emergency, the brake operation can be performed slightly earlier. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of a pedal erroneous operation prevention mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in Fig. 1, the pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured to shift the accelerator pedal 2 to the right from a specified position 2a and to shift the brake pedal 3 to the right from a specified position 3a in an automatic vehicle. The amount of rightward shift Xa of the accelerator pedal 2 and the amount of rightward shift Xb of the brake pedal 3 are each about 30 to 50 mm. Conventionally, the specified position 3a of the brake pedal is positioned to the left of the position directly in front of the right foot when sitting in the driver's seat. By shifting this to the right by about 30 to 50 mm, the position of the brake pedal 3 is positioned directly in front of the right foot when sitting in the seat. Therefore, by stepping on the brake pedal 3 directly with the right foot, the brake pedal 3 can be easily (naturally) stepped on. This reduces the risk of accidentally stepping on the brake pedal 3 even in an emergency. In addition, by shifting the accelerator pedal 2 to the right from the specified position 2a by about 30 to 50 mm, the inner panel portion 4 acts as a guide when depressing the accelerator pedal 2 without adding any new parts, making it easier to depress the pedal.

[0011] The amount of rightward deviation Xa of the accelerator pedal 2 and the amount of rightward deviation Xb of the brake pedal 3 may be the same or different. However, if the amounts of deviation are approximately the same, the relative positional relationship between the brake pedal 3 and the accelerator pedal 2 remains the same as in the past, which is preferable since the pedals can be operated without any discomfort.

[0012] The height Hb of the brake pedal 3 from the floor surface 5 is set to be equal to the height Ha of the accelerator pedal 2 from the floor surface 5 or lower than the accelerator pedal 2. By setting in this way, in an emergency, when moving the right foot from the accelerator pedal 2 to the brake pedal 3, the driver can smoothly depress the brake pedal 3 by simply moving the right foot to the left without lifting it once. This allows the driver to depress the brakes earlier, even if only for a short time (about 0.01 to 0.5 seconds), thereby preventing the occurrence of an accident. FIG. 2 shows a case where the brake pedal 3 is set lower than the accelerator pedal 2. Conventional brake pedals are set higher than the accelerator pedal. Therefore, in order to move the right foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal and press it, the driver must first lift the right foot and move it to the brake pedal position before pressing the brake pedal. This action of lifting the right foot once takes time, even if it is only a short time. Even this short time can have a significant impact on the occurrence of an accident in an emergency. In contrast, if the height Hb of the brake pedal 3 from the floor surface 5 is set to the same level as the height Ha of the accelerator pedal 2 from the floor surface 5 or lower than the accelerator pedal 2, the brake can be applied by simply moving the right foot quickly to the left without requiring this short time, thereby preventing the occurrence of accidents.

[0013] Preferably, the brake pedal 3 is set at a lower position than the accelerator pedal 2. This is preferable because it reduces the risk of the side of the brake pedal 3 getting caught when the right foot is moved to the left.

[0014] As described above, according to the present invention, there is no need for a separate member such as a guide member, and therefore no cost is required. In addition, since there is no guide member, there is no hindrance when getting on and off the driver's seat. [Explanation of symbols]

[0015] 1. Pedal misoperation prevention mechanism 2. Accelerator pedal 2a Accelerator pedal in specified position 3. Brake pedal 3a Brake pedal in specified position 4 Inner panel section 5. Floor Ha Accelerator pedal height from floor Hb Brake pedal height from floor Xa Accelerator pedal deflection Xb Brake pedal deflection

Claims

1. A pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism for an automatic transmission vehicle, which is characterized in that an accelerator pedal is displaced to the right from a specified position, and a brake pedal is displaced to the right from a specified position.

2. 2. The pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the amount of rightward deviation of the accelerator pedal and the amount of rightward deviation of the brake pedal are each set to 30 to 50 mm.

3. 3. The pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the amount of rightward deviation of the accelerator pedal and the amount of rightward deviation of the brake pedal are substantially equal to each other.

4. 3. The pedal erroneous operation suppression mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the height of the brake pedal from the floor surface is set to be equal to or lower than the height of the accelerator pedal from the floor surface.

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