JP2008204098A - Pedal type operation device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pedal type operation device of a vehicle which can obtain continuously stable operation feeling irrespective of variation in stepping down positions of a pedal operator. <P>SOLUTION: Pressure sensors 9A, 9B and 9C which detect stepping load are prepared on the pedal operator 5. A reaction force spring 7 and a support position adjustment device 8 are prepared between the pedal operator 5 and a vehicle body, and set load of the reaction force spring 7 is adjusted by changing a support position of the reaction force spring 7 by a support position adjustment device 8. Distance from a center of load distribution to a support shaft 3 of the pedal operator 5 is presumed based on detected values of the pressure sensors 9A, 9B and 9C and set load of reaction force spring 7 is adjusted by the support position adjustment device 8 according to the presumed distance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pedal-type operating device for a vehicle such as a brake pedal or an accelerator pedal.

A pedal-type operation device such as a brake pedal used in a vehicle has a pedal operator that is depressed by a driver supported on a vehicle body so as to be swingable. When the pedal is operated, an operation force is applied from the driver to an operation device such as a brake device. Is transmitted to the driver's foot from the reaction force spring of the operating device or the pedal operator (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
This operation reaction force, particularly the reaction force of the reaction force spring, gives the driver an appropriate feeling of operation and plays an important role for the driver to grasp the operation situation.
JP-A-6-144205

  By the way, in the case of the pedal-type operation device as described above, the reaction force of the pedal operator acting on the driver's foot changes depending on the stepping position on the pedal operator, that is, the distance from the rotation fulcrum to the stepping position. To do. For this reason, even if the amount of operation of the pedal operator is constant, if the stepping position on the pedal operator by the driver is close to the rotation fulcrum, a larger operation load is applied than when the driver is far from the rotation fulcrum. There must be. Therefore, the driver's operation load differs depending on the depression position of the pedal operator, and there is concern that the driver's operation feeling may vary greatly.

  Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide a pedal-type operation device for a vehicle that can always obtain a stable operation feeling regardless of variations in the depression position of the pedal operator.

The invention according to claim 1, which solves the above problem, is a pedal operator (for example, described later) that is swung around a rotation fulcrum (for example, a support shaft 3 in an embodiment described later) by stepping on by the driver. In the pedal-type operating device for a vehicle provided with the pedal operator 5 in this embodiment, load detecting means for detecting a stepping load acting on the pedal operator (for example, pressure sensors 9A, 9B, in embodiments described later) 9C) and a reaction force adjusting means (for example, a reaction force spring 7 and a support position adjusting device 8 in an embodiment described later) for adjusting the operation reaction force of the pedal operator, and detected by the load detecting means The load distribution center position is determined from the load, and the reaction force by the reaction force adjusting means is adjusted according to the distance from the load distribution center position to the pivot fulcrum of the pedal operator. Characterized in that it.
Thus, when the pedal operator is stepped on by the driver, the stepping load acting on the pedal operator is detected by the load detecting means, and the load distribution center position is determined based on the detected load. The magnitude of the operation reaction force by the reaction force adjusting means is adjusted according to the distance from the determined load distribution center position to the pivot fulcrum of the pedal operator.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the reaction force of the pedal operator is adjusted by the reaction force adjusting means in accordance with the distance from the load distribution center position on the pedal operator to the rotation fulcrum of the pedal operator. Therefore, a stable operation feeling can always be obtained regardless of variations in the depression position of the pedal operator.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a pedal-type operating device according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the pedal-type operating device 1 according to the present invention is applied to a brake pedal 2. In the brake pedal 2, a pedal operator 5 is integrally formed at a tip end portion of a pedal lever 4 that is swingably supported by a support shaft 3 on the vehicle body side, and the pedal operator 5 is operated by stepping on the sole of the driver. It has become so. Also, an arm 6 is integrally extended at the base of the pedal lever 4, and a brake device (not shown) is operated through the arm 6, and a pedal operator 5 is provided between the arm 6 and the vehicle body. A reaction force spring 7 (reaction force adjusting means) for applying an operation reaction force and a support position adjusting device 8 (reaction force adjusting means) for adjusting the vehicle body side support position of the reaction force spring 7 are provided.

  A plurality of pressure sensors 9A, 9B, 9C (load detection means) are installed on the tread surface 5a of the pedal operator 5 that is stepped on the driver's sole. In this example, three pressure sensors 9A, 9B, 9C having substantially the same width as the pedal operator 5 are installed on the tread surface 5a so that the distances L1, L2, L3 (see FIG. 2) from the support shaft 3 are different. Has been. The pressure signals detected by the pressure sensors 9A, 9B, and 9C are input to the controller 10, and the controller 10 performs an operation for estimating the distance L from the load distribution center position to the support shaft 3 to the support position adjusting device 8. On the other hand, a command signal corresponding to the estimated distance L, that is, a command signal for adjusting the operation reaction force so that the driver's operation load is always constant when a constant pedal operation is performed is output.

An example of calculation for distance estimation in the controller 10 is shown below.
The distances from the pressure sensors 9A, 9B, 9C to the support shaft 3 and the detection values of the pressure sensors 9A, 9B, 9C are determined as shown in Table 1, the estimated distance is L, and the detection values of the pressure sensors 9A, 9B, 9C Assuming that the sum of P is P, the estimated distance L can be obtained by an arithmetic expression such as the following expression (1).
L = L1 (P1 / P) + L2 (P2 / P) + L3 (P3 / P) (1)
(Except when P = 0)

  In the calculation represented by the above equation (1), the estimated distance L is obtained by adding the weights corresponding to the magnitudes of the loads to the distances L1, L2, and L3. Therefore, the weight applied to the distances L1, L2, and L3 increases as the applied load increases. The distance L estimated here is from the load center of the total load acting on the tread surface of the pedal operator 5 to the support shaft 3. Is almost equal to the distance.

Further, as the support position adjusting device 8, for example, a stepping motor 20 can be used.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an operation principle of the pedal type operating device 1 when the stepping motor 20 is used as the support position adjusting device 8.
In the case of this example, the support position (support pin 21) of the reaction force spring 7 is operated by the stepping motor 20. When the stepping motor 20 turns in the clockwise direction within the range of the set angle, the operation reaction force is weakened by the support position of the reaction force spring 7 approaching the pedal lever 4, and conversely, the stepping motor 20 is counteracted. When turning in the clockwise direction within the range of the set angle, the operation reaction force is strengthened by moving the support position of the reaction force spring 7 away from the pedal lever 4. Therefore, the operation reaction force is adjusted by appropriately controlling the rotation position of the stepping motor 20 according to the estimated distance L obtained as described above, and the fluctuation of the operation load due to the variation in the load distribution center position can be eliminated. it can.

Now, based on the case where the load distribution center position is on the pressure sensor L2 at the center of the pedal operator 5, the operation reaction force is weakened when the estimated distance L is L <L2, and the operation reaction force is obtained when L> L2. If the control for strengthening is performed, the rotation angle θ of the stepping motor 20 can be expressed by the following equation (2).
θ = k (L−L2) + e (2)
(Where k and e are constants)
Note that k is set so that an equivalent reaction force torque can be obtained regardless of the depression position of the pedal operator 5, e is a constant that the user can adjust the value by adjusting the knob or the like according to his / her preference, The initial value is set to 0.

  As described above, in this pedal type operating device 1, the distance from the load distribution center position on the pedal operator 5 to the support shaft 3 is estimated, and the reaction force spring 7 is detected by the support position adjusting device 8 according to the estimated distance. In order to adjust the set load, the fluctuation of the operation load due to the variation in the depression position of the pedal operator 5 can be eliminated. Therefore, according to this pedal-type operation device 1, it is possible to obtain a stable operation feeling at all times without being affected by variations in the depression position, even though the structure is very simple.

  Further, when the stepping motor 20 is used as the support position adjusting device 8, the support position of the reaction force spring 7 can be controlled quickly and with high accuracy. The fluctuation of the operation feeling can be reduced more reliably.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various design change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the pedal type operating device according to the present invention is applied to a brake pedal. However, it is also possible to apply to an accelerator pedal, a clutch pedal, and the like other than the brake pedal. In the above embodiment, the stepping motor is applied as the support position adjusting device. However, the support position adjusting device is not limited to the stepping motor, and various actuators using other motors, hydraulic pressure, and the like can be applied.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic partial cross-sectional side view showing an embodiment of the present invention when an upper side of a pedal operator is depressed. The perspective view which shows the same embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the principle of the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pedal type operating device 3 ... Support shaft (rotation fulcrum)
5 ... Pedal operator 7 ... Reaction force spring (Reaction force adjusting means)
8 ... Support position adjusting device (reaction force adjusting means)
9A, 9B, 9C ... Pressure sensor (load detection means)
10 ... Controller (Load detection means)
20 ... Stepping motor (support position adjusting device)

Claims (1)

In a pedal-type operation device for a vehicle including a pedal operator that is swung around a rotation fulcrum by stepping on by a driver,
Load detecting means for detecting a stepping load acting on the pedal operator;
A reaction force adjusting means for adjusting an operation reaction force of the pedal operator, and
The load distribution center position is determined based on the load detected by the load detection means, and the operation reaction force by the reaction force adjustment means is adjusted according to the distance from the load distribution center position to the rotation fulcrum of the pedal operator. A pedal-type operating device for a vehicle.

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