Vehicle Pedal Guide Portion Diagonal Foot Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles, the existing operation pedal structures fail to reliably prevent the driver's foot from moving in the widthwise direction during front impacts, leading to increased lower leg injury due to deformation of the floor and collision with the pedal support member, especially in full-lap or offset collisions.
Innovation Solution
The operation pedal is designed with a guide portion that extends diagonally upward from one side to the other, guiding the driver's foot away from the pedal and support member, ensuring it moves into a safer area when impacted, reducing the risk of twisting forces and injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a spacer member is provided between the pedal pad and floor to prevent foot movement in widthwise direction, then safety is enhanced, but the floor may deform under impact causing the spacer member to become ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portion acts as an intermediary structure between the pedal pad and the foot, providing a controlled path for foot movement during impact. Instead of relying solely on the spacer member to prevent widthwise movement, the guide portion actively directs the foot along a predetermined safe path, mediating the interaction between the foot and the deforming floor structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide portion is pre-configured with a specific diagonal shape before impact occurs. This preliminary structural arrangement ensures that when impact happens and the floor deforms, the foot is already constrained to move along a safe diagonal path away from the pedal support member, rather than allowing random or harmful movement patterns.
2Ease of operation
If the operation pedal is supported to be swingable in the longitudinal direction, then normal operation is enabled, but the driver's foot collides against the pedal support member during impact increasing injury level
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portion introduces a diagonal dimension to foot movement, combining both longitudinal and widthwise components. Instead of allowing purely vertical or widthwise movement, the diagonal path at approximately 45 degrees redirects the foot's trajectory during impact, moving it away from the pedal support member while still permitting normal longitudinal pedal operation during non-impact conditions.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the guide portion extends diagonally upward from one side to the other, then the driver's foot is guided toward a safer area, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portion is merged with the existing pedal pad structure, forming an integrated component rather than a separate additive element. The guide portion utilizes the same material and manufacturing process as the pedal pad, combining the functions of the pad and guide into a single molded piece, thereby minimizing structural complexity while achieving the foot guidance function.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a structure of a vehicle operation pedal. A guide portion is provided to an accelerator pedal so as to rise toward a driver and to extend diagonally upward from the right to the left, thereby guiding a driver's foot, which moves upward along the accelerator pedal from the pedal pad, toward the left side.