Steering Pedal Disconnection Mechanism for Collision Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for disconnecting steering pedals from vehicular mechanisms during a head-on collision are complex, require intricate assembly, and may not ensure free turning of the pedal due to opposition from the actuator rod, posing risks to the driver.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring an impact receiving body with an appendage that breaks the actuator rod upon collision, allowing the pedal to turn freely, comprising a cross-sectionally hollow actuator rod and a support portion that contacts the pedal after disconnection, facilitating simpler assembly and effective disconnection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex lever and cam mechanisms are used to disconnect the pedal, then the disconnection function is achieved, but the device complexity increases and assembly becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential disconnection function from complex lever and cam mechanisms, retaining only the critical components: the actuator rod with its specific geometric shape that directly interacts with the pedal extension. This simplifies the device while maintaining the disconnection capability during collision.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex mechanisms to actively push the pedal away, the invention inverts the approach by designing the actuator rod and pedal extension geometry so that the pedal's own movement during collision naturally causes rod breakage. The system uses the collision force directly rather than converting it through complex mechanisms.
2Reliability
If cam-type components are used to cut the actuator rod, then disconnection is achieved, but the assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator rod is designed as a disposable component with a predetermined breakage point. Instead of using durable cam-type cutting components, the rod itself is configured to break cleanly at a specific location, simplifying manufacturing and assembly while achieving the disconnection function.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the actuator rod and pedal extension to create a predetermined breakage point. By carefully designing the cross-sectional dimensions and geometry at a specific location, the rod is ensured to break at the desired point during collision, eliminating the need for complex cutting mechanisms.
3Strength
If the actuator rod exerts opposition to pedal movement, then connection strength is maintained, but free turning of the pedal during collision is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator rod is pre-configured with a predetermined breakage point at a specific location. During normal operation, the rod maintains full strength, but during collision, the pre-designed weak point breaks first, allowing immediate free turning of the pedal without the rod's opposition. This preliminary design ensures both strength during operation and freedom during collision.
4Reliability
If the pedal moves towards the driver's feet during impact, then disconnection is achieved, but driver safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies preliminary anti-action by designing the actuator rod and pedal extension geometry to ensure the rod breaks before the pedal can move significantly towards the driver's feet. The predetermined breakage point is positioned and dimensioned to fail under collision forces, preventing the harmful movement of the pedal towards the driver.
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
The device ensures rapid and clean disconnection of the pedal from the mechanism, allowing free turning and reducing the risk of injury by simplifying the assembly process and ensuring the pedal moves away from the driver's feet during an impact.
Implementation Method 1
a rotating component secured to, and mounted on, the pedal with the capacity to turn freely around a shaft and through which the actuator rod is joined to the pedal; and an activating arm that can act, during a head-on impact of sufficient magnitude, on the rotating component, thereby provoking a partial rotation and, in turn, applying a moment of flexion to the actuator rod that splits it in its area of greater weakness
Implementation Method 2
an impact receiving body, with the capacity to turn around the said main shaft, adapted to impact with a non-deformable component of the vehicle as a consequence of a collision
Data Source
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AI summary
Device to disconnect a steering pedal from a vehicular mechanism whereto it is connected in the case of a head-on collision of the vehicle, applicable to pedals which, assembled with the capacity to turn around a main shaft, receive pressure from the foot and transfer its force to said device through an actuator rod; the device comprising an impact receiving body, with the capacity to turn around the aforementioned main shaft, adapted to receive an impact as a consequence of a collision, provided with an appendage located between the pedal and the actuator rod, facing the latter, and of a support portion adapted to run into a non-deformable component of the vehicle when a head-on collision of the vehicle occurs, obliging the impact receiving body to turn suddenly about the main shaft, in the same direction as the pedal when it receives the actuation from the foot, sufficient enough so that, in turn, the aforementioned appendage hits the actuator rod and breaks it.