Active Accelerator Pedal Worm Gear Space Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing active accelerator pedals are space-intensive due to their configuration, which is a challenge in the limited footwell of vehicles, and they often require complex and costly designs to provide haptic feedback effectively.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a pedal unit and an actuator unit with a worm gear, an electric drive, and a worm wheel, allowing for compact integration and self-locking properties that maintain positions with low power consumption, along with a spring element for damping and displacement sensors for precise force control, enabling efficient space use and robust feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a helical gear is used to transmit counterforce from the electric motor to the pedal, then the counterforce can be effectively transmitted, but the accelerator pedal occupies a very large amount of space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional helical gear mechanism with a worm gear mechanism. The worm gear consists of a worm (screw-like component) and a worm wheel (gear), which provides the necessary mechanical advantage for counterforce transmission while occupying significantly less space. The worm engages with the worm wheel teeth, creating a compact yet effective force transmission system that resolves the space occupation problem while maintaining the required counterforce transmission capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The worm gear mechanism utilizes a three-dimensional screw thread geometry rather than a planar gear arrangement. The worm thread wraps around a cylindrical core, creating a spatial engagement with the worm wheel that efficiently transmits force in a compact volume. This dimensional approach allows the same force transmission function to be achieved in a much smaller footprint compared to traditional helical gears.
2Reliability
If a complex mechanism is used to provide haptic feedback, then the feedback function can be achieved, but the device becomes expensive and complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The worm gear mechanism serves multiple functions simultaneously: it transmits the counterforce from the electric motor to the pedal, provides self-locking to maintain pedal position with minimal power consumption, and generates the haptic feedback sensation for the driver. By combining these functions into a single mechanism, the patent eliminates the need for separate components, thereby reducing device complexity and cost while maintaining reliable haptic feedback functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The worm gear's inherent self-locking property allows the system to maintain the pedal position and apply counterforce without requiring continuous active control or additional locking mechanisms. The geometry of the worm and worm wheel creates high friction and mechanical interlocking that automatically holds the position, reducing the complexity of control systems and eliminating the need for additional actuators or sensors to maintain force application.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration ensures a compact, inexpensive, and highly available active accelerator pedal that provides effective haptic feedback with minimal power consumption and reduced unwanted vibrations, optimizing space usage while maintaining desired counterforces.
Implementation Method 1
a worm gear with a worm and a driven worm element. The worm gear is arranged between the electric drive and the pedal unit
Implementation Method 2
The worm gear also has the advantage of a certain degree of self-locking, so that positions of the actuator unit for generating the counterforce are maintained with only a low power consumption
Implementation Method 3
the spring element can absorb vibrations and thus has damping properties, so that a driver on the pedal does not perceive any unwanted vibrations or the like
Implementation Method 4
a spring element which is arranged in an operative connection between the worm gear and the pedal. The spring element can apply an additional force
Implementation Method 5
The actuator unit includes an electric drive, in particular an electronically commutated DC motor
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an active accelerator pedal in a vehicle, comprising a pedal unit (2) that includes a pedal (20) arranged so as to be able to pivot about a pivot axis (21), and comprising an actuator unit (3) that includes an electric drive (5) and a worm gear (4) having a worm (40) and a driven worm element (41). The worm gear (4) is located between the electric drive (5) and the pedal unit (2), and the actuator unit (3) is designed to exert, on the basis of signals generated by the control unit (10), a force counteracting a pedal force applied to the pedal.