Pedal Arm Rotating Member Rearward Collision Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle pedals are prone to pushing rearward during a head-on collision, causing severe injury to the driver's foot and lower body due to their rigid metal construction, which complicates their release and increases weight, leading to potential safety defects.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus featuring a pedal arm with a cavity and a rotating member made of lightweight materials, including a reinforcing metal component, which is designed to restrain and release the pedal arm upon collision, reducing overall weight and maintaining rigidity by using a plastic rotating member with a metal reinforcing member and a supporting bracket system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a brake pedal is formed of highly rigid metal material to improve structural rigidity, then the rigidity of the brake pedal is improved, but the weight of the brake pedal increases to the extent that the brake pedal may not be properly released from the mounted position
Solution Approach 1:
The brake pedal is divided into multiple components: a pedal body, a pedal arm, and a rotating member. The pedal arm is separated from the rigid pedal body and connected via a rotating member, allowing the heavy rigid structure to remain stationary while the lighter pedal arm moves during braking operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating member is extracted from the traditional rigid pedal structure and designed as a separate component that can rotate relative to the pedal arm. This extracted rotating member allows the pedal arm to be released from the mounted position during collisions while maintaining structural rigidity where needed.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a brake pedal is designed to be released or bent during collision to prevent injury, then safety is improved, but the structural rigidity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The pedal arm is designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing it to rotate freely during normal braking operations but to be released during collisions. The rotating member enables this dynamic behavior, permitting the pedal arm to rotate toward the inside of the vehicle upon collision impact, preventing injury while maintaining rigidity in the overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the brake pedal assembly have different rigidity characteristics. The pedal body maintains high rigidity for structural support, while the pedal arm connected through the rotating member has localized flexibility to rotate during collisions, providing injury protection without compromising overall structural integrity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a pedal arm is designed to rotate freely to prevent injury during collision, then safety is improved, but the pedal arm may be pushed rearward into the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating member is pre-configured with a specific rotational direction that counteracts the rearward pushing force during collisions. When collision force is applied, the rotating member rotates in a direction toward the inside of the vehicle, generating a counter-action that prevents the pedal arm from being pushed rearward into the vehicle cabin.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for preventing a vehicle pedal from being pushed rearward upon a head-on collision of the vehicle is provided. The apparatus includes a collision bracket that is fixedly installed on a dash panel and a pedal arm formed by bending a plate along a predetermined reference line to form a cavity in a lengthwise direction thereof. A rotating member is disposed at an end of the pedal arm and strikes one side of the pedal arm upon colliding with the collision bracket, to rotate in a direction toward the inside of a vehicle and to release the pedal arm. A supporting bracket rotatably supports the pedal arm and the rotating member. The rotating member includes a coupling aperture upon which the supporting bracket is hinged and a plurality of arms which are oriented in different directions with respect to the coupling aperture.