Automotive pedal arms

Abstract

To provide a light-weight pedal arm by improving rigidity and strength between a mounting portion of the pedal arm and a portion for connecting an output portion to make it difficult to twist.SOLUTION: A pedal arm for an automobile comprises: a kick plane for performing a pedal operation; a mounting portion for mounting the pedal arm to a supporting member of the pedal arm in a swingable state; and an arm portion extending between the kick plane and the mounting portion. The arm portion includes a connecting portion to which an output portion to a brake device is connected, and has a shape that bends or curves in a vehicle width direction at a portion between the connecting portion and the kick plane. The arm portion includes a convex portion that protrudes from a portion between the mounting portion and the connecting portion in a direction opposite to a direction in which the arm portion is bent or curved, and extends in a longitudinal direction of the arm portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pedal arm for an automobile. [Background technology]

[0002] Cited Document 1 describes a clutch pedal that includes an arm portion extending between a pedal step and a boss portion. The arm portion is formed by joining two metal plates. A bent piece portion is provided on the arm portion adjacent to the pedal step. In addition, both sides of the plate-like arm portion are each provided with a protrusion that protrudes in the vehicle width direction.

[0003] Patent Document 2 describes a pedal arm for a vehicle having a kick surface, a supported portion that is rotatably supported on a vehicle body, and an output portion that is connected to a vehicle device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-314562 [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-164897 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In a typical automobile pedal arm such as those in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, the arm portion has a shape that extends linearly from top to bottom when viewed from the front in a state where it is assembled to the vehicle.

[0006] Due to the arrangement of parts, it may be necessary to bend or curve the arm portion of the pedal arm in the vehicle width direction when the pedal arm is attached to the vehicle body. The pedal arm is attached to the pedal arm support member in a state in which it can swing. When the kick surface is stepped on, the pedal arm swings and displaces an output portion such as a push rod, thereby activating the brake device.

[0007] As described above, when the pedal arm is bent or curved in the vehicle width direction, when the kick surface of the pedal arm is stepped on, a force acts on the pedal arm so as to twist the pedal arm toward the side where the kick surface is located. The pedal arm is constrained at the mounting portion and the connection portion for the output portion, and the output portion is operated by utilizing the swinging of the pedal arm. For this reason, a large stress is likely to act from the mounting portion to the connection portion.

[0008] The pedal arm in Patent Document 1 is made by joining two metal sheets to form convex portions on both sides, which makes the manufacturing process complicated and disadvantageous in terms of weight.The pedal arm in Patent Document 2 is made by drilling holes in the pedal arm and welding a reinforcing material onto the holes, which also makes the manufacturing process complicated and disadvantageous in terms of weight due to the use of a reinforcing material.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight pedal arm that is less prone to twisting by improving the rigidity and strength between the mounting portion and the portion connecting the output portion in the pedal arm. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The above problem is solved by providing a pedal arm for an automobile which comprises a kick surface for operating the pedal, an attachment portion for attaching the pedal arm in a swingable state to a support member thereof, and an arm portion extending between the kick surface and the attachment portion, the arm portion having a connection portion to which an output portion to a brake device is connected, and which has a shape that is bent or curved in the vehicle width direction at the portion between the connection portion and the kick surface, and the arm portion having a convex portion between the attachment portion and the connection portion that protrudes in the direction opposite to the direction in which the arm portion bends or curves and extends in the longitudinal direction of the arm portion.

[0011] By providing the convex portion of the predetermined shape between the mounting portion and the output portion, which protrudes in the direction opposite to the direction in which the arm portion bends or curves, it is possible to provide rigidity and strength that can withstand the twisting caused by stepping on the kick surface. Since no reinforcing material is added to the convex portion, it is possible to reduce the weight of the pedal arm.

[0012] It is preferable that the protruding portion has a shape in which the protruding height gradually increases from the connecting portion toward the mounting portion, thereby enabling the device to exhibit higher rigidity and strength against twisting.

[0013] It is preferable that the width of the protrusion is gradually increased from the connection portion to the attachment portion, thereby achieving higher rigidity and strength against the torsion.

[0014] In the above-mentioned automobile pedal arm, it is preferable that the pedal arm serving as the base of the protrusion has a shape having a flat first portion, and the protrusion has a shape having a flat second portion disposed at the top. By having a shape having a flat first portion and a flat second portion, it becomes easier to measure the protruding height of the protrusion, facilitating quality control. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a lightweight pedal arm by improving the rigidity and strength between the mounting portion and the output portion, making it less susceptible to twisting. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a left side view showing a state in which a pedal arm according to a first embodiment is attached to a vehicle body. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the pedal arm according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part C in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a left side view of the pedal arm according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion BB′ in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of part D in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pedal arm according to the first embodiment, viewed from the right side. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pedal arm according to the first embodiment, viewed from the left side. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a pedal arm according to a second embodiment, taken along a line corresponding to the AA′ portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the pedal arm of the present invention will be described. Each embodiment described below is merely a limited example of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the exemplified embodiments.

[0018] [First embodiment] 1 to 9 show a pedal arm 1 according to a first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the pedal arm 1 of this embodiment is attached in a swingable state to a pedal arm support member 2 fixed to a vehicle body 3 via an attachment part 11 provided at the upper end part of the pedal arm 1. A kick surface 12 is provided at the lower end part of the pedal arm 1. A user operates the pedal arm 1 by stepping on the kick surface 12 with his foot.

[0019] The pedal arm 1 includes an arm portion 13 having a long shape extending between the kick surface 12 and the mounting portion 11. The arm portion 13 includes an output portion 4 to a brake device provided on a vehicle body and a connection portion 14 of the arm portion 13. When a user steps on the kick surface 12, the pedal arm 1 swings and the output portion 4 is displaced toward the front side of the vehicle body. This causes the brake device provided on the vehicle body 3 to operate.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 2, the arm portion 13 is bent in the vehicle width direction due to the arrangement of parts at the driver's seat of the vehicle body. When a user steps on the kick surface 12, a force that twists the arm portion 13 acts on the side where the arm portion 13 bends, with the straight line connecting the load point E on the kick surface 12 and the connection portion 14 as an axis. If the arm portion 13 is twisted, the operational feel of the pedal arm 1 will deteriorate, and in the long term, this will cause uneven wear and damage to the contact point or shaft portion between the mounting portion 11 and the support member 2 of the pedal arm 1, or the contact point or shaft portion between the connection portion 14 and the output portion 4.

[0021] The pedal arm 1 of this embodiment is provided with a protrusion 15 between the attachment portion 11 and the connection portion 14, which protrudes in a direction opposite to the direction in which the arm portion 13 is bent or curved and extends in the longitudinal direction of the arm portion. The protrusion 15 is formed by bending the material constituting the arm portion 13, and has a shape in which the material constituting the arm portion is raised. As shown in FIG. 4, the protrusion 15 has a shape in which the protruding height gradually increases from the connection portion 14 (see FIG. 5) toward the attachment portion 11 in a front view. The protruding height is based on the distance between the arm portion 13, with which the base end of the protrusion 15 contacts, and the apex of the protrusion 15.

[0022] 7, the convex portion has a shape in which the width gradually increases from the connection portion 14 toward the attachment portion 11. The width of the convex portion 15 is based on the boundary line between the base end of the convex portion 15 and the arm portion 13. In a side view, the convex portion 15 has arc-shaped upper and lower ends, the width of the upper end is larger than the width of the lower end, and the convex portion 15 is substantially elliptical in shape having a straight line portion connecting the upper end and the lower end.

[0023] The axis of torsion when the kick surface 12 of the pedal arm 1 is stepped on is shown by a dashed line in Fig. 2. By providing the convex portion 15 having the above-mentioned shape on the arm portion 13 on the side opposite to the bending direction of the arm portion 13, the shear center becomes closer to the axis of torsion compared to the case where the convex portion 15 is not provided or the convex portion 15 is provided on the same side as the bending direction of the arm portion. This makes it possible to improve the strength and rigidity against torsion caused by the load input to the area between the connection portion 14 and the attachment portion 11 when the kick surface 12 is kicked down.

[0024] In the pedal arm 1 of this embodiment, the convex portion 15 is shaped so that its protruding height gradually increases from the connection portion 14 toward the mounting portion 11, thereby providing greater strength and rigidity against torsion.

[0025] In the pedal arm 1 of this embodiment, the convex portion 15 has a shape in which its width gradually increases from the connection portion 14 toward the mounting portion 11, thereby configuring the pedal arm 11 to have higher strength and rigidity against torsion.

[0026] If the protrusion 15 is provided on the same side as the direction in which the arm portion 13 curves, the shear center is located in a direction away from the axis of torsion. If the protrusion 15 is provided on the same side as the direction in which the arm portion 13 curves, a satisfactory reinforcing effect against the load applied cannot be obtained by kicking down the kick surface 12.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, when the pedal arm 1 is viewed from the front side, the pedal arm 1, which is the base of the protrusion 15, has a shape having a flat first portion 131, and the protrusion 15 has a shape having a flat second portion 151 disposed at the top. When a first straight line 132 (dotted line) parallel to the first portion 131 and a second straight line 152 (dotted line) parallel to the second portion 151 are assumed, the first straight line 132 and the second straight line 152 are not parallel to each other, and form an angle θ1 between the first straight line 132 and the second straight line 152. The angle θ1 can be, for example, 0.5 to 10°.

[0028] It becomes easy to measure θ1 by providing the first portion 131 and the second portion 151. By measuring θ1 and checking whether the angle is set as designed, quality control can be easily performed when manufacturing the pedal arm.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 7, when the pedal arm 1 is viewed from the side, assuming a third straight line 155 and a fourth straight line 156 parallel to the boundary lines 153 and 154 between the protruding portion 15 and the arm portion 13, the third straight line 155 and the fourth straight line 156 are not parallel to each other, and form an angle θ2 between the third straight line 155 and the fourth straight line 156. The angle θ2 can be set to, for example, 1 to 10°. The boundary lines on the left and right of the protruding portion 15 are linear. This makes it easy to measure θ2. By measuring θ2, it is possible to easily perform quality control by checking whether the angle is set as designed.

[0030] The protrusion 15 has a shape extending in the extension direction of the arm portion 13. As shown in Fig. 3, the cross-sectional shape of the protrusion 15 in the short direction is arc-shaped on both the front and back sides, and has a flat portion 157 at the apex of the arc-shaped portion on the front side. As shown in Fig. 6, the cross-sectional shape of the protrusion 15 in the long direction has a flat portion at the apex on both the front and back sides, and has inclined portions at the upper and lower ends.

[0031] The protrusion 15 can be easily formed by press-molding a plate-shaped metal material. The arm portion 13 is plate-shaped with a width in a front view smaller than its width in a side view. The protrusion 15 is formed by bending a raw metal material, so that no extra metal material such as a reinforcing material is added, and no welding process is required for processing the protrusion 15. The protrusion 15 can improve the rigidity and strength of the arm portion 13 without increasing the weight of the pedal arm.

[0032] In the pedal arm 1 of this embodiment, the mounting portion 11 is composed of a hollow annular body as shown in Fig. 6. The pedal arm 1 is supported in a swingable state relative to the support member 2 by inserting a shaft into the hollow annular body and a through hole provided in the support member 2 for fixing the pedal arm 1 to the vehicle body. The configuration of the mounting portion is not limited to the example shown in Fig. 6 etc., and other configurations may be used, for example, a shaft may be provided at the upper end of the arm portion 13 and the shaft may be inserted into a through hole provided in the support member 2.

[0033] 1, the output unit 4 has a rod 41 and a bracket 42 provided at one end of the rod 41. As shown in Fig. 6, the pedal arm 1 is provided with a circular through hole as the connection part 14. The pedal arm 1 and the rod 41 of the output unit 4 are fixed in a swingable state by inserting and fixing a shaft 43 into the through hole constituting the connection part 14 and the through hole of the bracket 42.

[0034] The configuration of the connection part and the output part is not limited to the above example, and may be any configuration that can operate the brake device by utilizing the swing of the pedal arm caused by stepping on the kick surface 12. For example, a shaft may be provided on the arm part, and a bracket may be fixed to the shaft.

[0035] In the pedal arm 1 described above, the arm portion 13 is an example of a bent shape. The arm portion 13 may be curved in an arc shape with respect to the vehicle width direction.

[0036] In the pedal arm 1 described above, the arm portion 13 is bent to the right in the vehicle width direction when viewed from the driver's seat. The arm portion 13 may be bent or curved to the left in the vehicle width direction.

[0037] The shape of the kick surface 12 is not limited to the above example, and can be modified as appropriate.

[0038] The method for forming the protrusions is not limited to bending, and the protrusions may be formed by, for example, build-up welding.

[0039] [Second embodiment] The shape of the protrusion 15 may be changed as shown in Fig. 10. A pedal arm 1b according to a second embodiment shown in Fig. 10 includes a protrusion 15b extending along the extension direction of the arm portion 13, and having a flat portion 157 and inclined portions 158 adjacent to both ends of the flat portion 157 in a cross section in the short side direction.

[0040] 10, the top of the convex portion 15b is a flat portion 157b which is wider than the top of the arc-shaped portion described above. Therefore, a measuring tool is likely to be stable when measuring the protruding height of the convex portion 15b. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1 Pedal Arm 12 Kick surface 11 Mounting part 13 Arm section 4 Output section 14 Connection 15 Convex 131 Part 1 151 Part 2 1b Pedal arm 15b Convex part

Claims

1. The pedal includes a kick surface for operating the pedal, an attachment portion for attaching the pedal to a support member of the pedal arm in a swingable state, and a plate-like arm portion extending between the kick surface and the attachment portion and having a width in a front view smaller than a width in a side view, The arm portion includes a connection portion to which an output portion to a brake device is connected, and has a shape that is bent or curved in the vehicle width direction at a portion between the connection portion and the kick surface, the arm portion includes a protrusion between the attachment portion and the connection portion, the protrusion protruding in a direction opposite to a direction in which the arm portion is bent or curved and extending in a longitudinal direction of the arm portion, The convex portion has a shape such that the height of the protrusion gradually increases from the connection portion toward the mounting portion.

2. 2. The pedal arm for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the width of the protrusion is gradually increased from the connection portion to the attachment portion.

3. The pedal arm serving as a base of the protrusion has a shape having a first portion that is flat, 3. The pedal arm for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion has a shape having a second portion disposed at a top thereof and being flat.

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