JP2001239930A - Vehicular brake device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain miniaturization while more skillfully performing brake operation by a driver getting used to an operation characteristic of a conventional hydraulic brake device. SOLUTION: A projecting engaging part 19 arranged in an arm part 18 of a brake pedal 15 is engaged with the free end 22 of a torsion coil spring 16, and the projecting engaging part 19 torsionally deforms the torsion coil spring 16 while engaging the free end 22 with the more base end side according to an increase in a stepping stroke S. The brake pedal 15 and the torsion coil spring 16 are arranged so that the increase quantity gradually increases according to an increase in the stepping stroke S over the whole stepping stroke range in stepping force F generated by reaction applied to the brake pedal 15 from the torsion coil spring 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle brake device used for an electric brake device and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a brake device for a vehicle, an electric brake device has been proposed in place of a hydraulic brake device. In this electric brake device, for example, the rotational displacement sensor detects the depression stroke of the brake pedal,
The brake electronic control device controls the brake actuator based on the detected stepping stroke to apply the brake. Therefore, unlike the conventional hydraulic brake device, the brake reaction force corresponding to the depression stroke, that is, the reaction force from the master cylinder and the brake does not act on the brake pedal, but the reaction force of the return spring acts. That is, in the electric brake device, the characteristic of the pedaling force with respect to the depression stroke when the driver depresses the brake pedal is a characteristic based on the reaction force of the return spring, and is different from the characteristic of a normal hydraulic brake device. I have. As a result, there is an inconvenience that it is difficult for a driver who is accustomed to the operation characteristics of the hydraulic brake device to perform the brake operation well.

FIG. 6 shows a brake control device proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-254778 to solve such a problem. When the brake pedal 50 is depressed by the brake control device, two compression coil springs 55 and 56 are moved between a first spring seat 52 provided on the arm portion 51 and a second spring seat 54 provided on the vehicle body 53 side. Compression deformation. Then, the stepping force of the brake pedal 50 is generated by the reaction force generated based on the amount of compressive deformation corresponding to the load applied according to the stepping stroke of the brake pedal 50.

In this brake control device, a conical compression coil spring 55 having a non-linear load-elastic deformation characteristic is used until the depression stroke of the brake pedal 50 becomes a predetermined depression stroke from "0" at the initial position. Only compression deformation occurs. When the stepping stroke exceeds the predetermined stepping stroke, the cylindrical compression coil spring 56 having a linear load-elastic deformation characteristic is also compressed and deformed in addition to the compression coil spring 55.

Accordingly, in this brake control device, the stepping stroke-stepping force characteristic of the brake pedal 50, as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 7, gradually increases in the first half of the entire stepping stroke range with an increase in the stepping stroke. However, in the latter half of the entire stepping stroke range, the pedaling force suddenly increases as the stepping stroke increases. That is, the characteristic approximates to the stepping stroke-stepping force characteristic of the hydraulic brake indicated by the dotted line in FIG. Therefore, a driver who is accustomed to the operation characteristics of the conventional hydraulic brake device can perform the brake operation more effectively.

[0006]

However, the above-described brake control device requires two springs 55 and 56 to obtain the characteristics shown by the solid line in FIG.
Therefore, the structure becomes complicated and the whole apparatus becomes large. Moreover, in the hydraulic brake device, the pedaling force gradually increases over the entire stepping stroke range, whereas in the above-described brake control device, the increasing amount of the pedaling force suddenly increases at a predetermined stepping stroke as a boundary. As a result, it was difficult for the driver to sufficiently perform the brake operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible for a driver who is accustomed to the operation characteristics of a conventional hydraulic brake device to perform a brake operation better. It is an object of the present invention to provide a brake device for a vehicle, which is capable of reducing the size of the entire device.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 elastically deforms by a load applied in accordance with a depression and return operation of a brake pedal, and the elastic deformation according to the amount of elastic deformation. In a vehicle brake device provided with a spring member that generates a depression force of a brake pedal by a reaction force, an increase amount of the depression force gradually increases with an increase in the depression stroke over the entire depression stroke range of the brake pedal. Thus, a vehicle brake device in which the brake pedal and the spring member are operatively connected.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the operative connection between the brake pedal and the spring member causes the amount of increase in the pedaling force to gradually increase with the increase in the stepping stroke over the entire stepping stroke range. A pedal force is generated.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the spring member is a torsion coil spring, and a fixed end of the torsion coil spring is fixed to a vehicle body side. The free end of the brake pedal is engaged with an engaging portion provided on an arm portion of the brake pedal so as to be twisted and deformed when the brake pedal is depressed and returned, and the engaging portion is increased as the depressing stroke increases. Is characterized in that the brake pedal and the torsion coil spring are arranged such that the free end engages more proximally and the amount of increase in the pedaling force gradually increases.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1,
In addition to the operation of the invention described in (1), the reaction force due to the torsional deformation of the torsion coil spring is provided on the arm portion of the brake pedal, and is applied via the engaging portion with which the free end of the torsion coil spring is engaged, and the pedaling force Is generated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, when the brake pedal is depressed, the sliding resistance between the engaging portion and the free end increases the depressing force of the brake pedal. Thus, when the brake pedal is returned, the sliding resistance acts to reduce the pedaling force.

According to the invention described in claim 3, according to claim 2
In addition to the operation of the invention described in the above, the sliding resistance acting between the engagement portion and the free end at the time of the depression operation and the return operation of the brake pedal causes the magnitude of the depression force with respect to a certain depression stroke in the depression step of the brake pedal. Is larger than the magnitude of the pedaling force for the same stepping stroke in the returning process. Therefore, the stepping stroke-stepping force characteristic is
It has hysteresis like the operating characteristics of a conventional hydraulic brake device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the spring member is a compression coil spring, and one end of the compression coil spring is fixed to a vehicle, and The other end is connected to the end of a wire wound around the base end of the brake pedal so that the brake pedal is compressed and deformed by the depression and return operations. The present invention is characterized in that the wire is extended from a position closer to the rotation center axis to a position farther from the rotation center axis.

According to the invention described in claim 4, according to claim 1 of the present invention,
In addition to the effect of the invention described in (1), a reaction force due to the compression deformation of the compression coil spring is applied via a wire wound around the base end of the brake pedal, thereby generating a pedaling force.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an electric brake device for a vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicular electric brake device 10 includes a vehicular brake device (hereinafter, simply referred to as a brake device) 11, a load sensor 12, a brake actuator 13, and a brake electronic control device (hereinafter, a brake ECU). 14).

The brake device 11 includes a brake pedal 15
And a torsion coil spring 16. The brake pedal 15 includes a pedal portion 17 and an arm portion 18.
Is supported by the vehicle body G so as to be rotatable about a rotation center axis C1 of a rotation shaft 18a provided at a base end (upper end) of the vehicle body G.
On the side surface of the arm portion 18, a convex engaging portion 19 is formed as an engaging portion extending parallel to the rotation shaft 18a. The brake pedal 15 is rotatable within a range from an initial position shown by a solid line in FIG. 1 when the driver does not perform a brake operation to a predetermined maximum depressing stroke also shown by a two-dot chain line. ing.

The torsion coil spring 16 is a spring having a substantially constant spring constant within its operating range, and is supported by the vehicle body G on the vehicle front side with respect to the brake pedal 15. The torsion coil spring 16 has a center axis C2 of the coil portion 20.
Is supported by the vehicle body G so as to be parallel to the rotation center axis C1 of the brake pedal 15, and its fixed end 21 is
0 and extends from the upper side to the front side of the vehicle and is fixed to the vehicle body G. On the other hand, the free end 22 of the torsion coil spring 16 is
It extends from the upper side of the coil section 20 to the rear side of the vehicle in the circumferential direction, and abuts on the lower side of the convex engagement section 19 from the front side of the vehicle.

The torsion coil spring 16 applies a reaction force based on the torsional deformation of the coil portion 20 to the brake pedal 15 via the convex engagement portion 19, and biases the brake pedal 15 to hold it at the initial position. Has become. When the brake pedal 15 is depressed from the initial position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the arm 18 rotates forward of the vehicle, and the free end 22 is moved forward by the convex engagement portion 19. Go to The movement of the free end 22 causes the coil portion 20 of the torsion coil spring 16 to be torsionally deformed, and the reaction force having a magnitude corresponding to the amount of the torsion deformation causes the brake pedal 15 to be deformed.
, A pedaling force F is generated.

At this time, as the stepping stroke S increases, the convex engaging portion 19 abuts the free end 22 toward the base end side (ie, closer to the coil portion 20) to twist and deform the coil portion 20. It has become. That is, the brake pedal 15
Is the longest distance L1 from the coil portion 20 on the free end 22 with which the convex engaging portion 19 engages when the
The distance becomes shorter as the stepping stroke S increases, and the same distance L2 at the time of the maximum stepping stroke becomes the shortest.

The free end 2 of the torsion coil spring 16
The pedaling force F generated by the reaction force applied to the brake pedal 15 from 2 through the convex engagement portion 19 increases the amount of increase in the stepping stroke S over the entire stepping stroke range. , A brake pedal 15 and a torsion coil spring 16 are arranged.

The load sensor 12 is, for example, a load cell of a strain gauge type, and includes a vehicle body G and a torsion coil spring 16.
Is provided so as to be interposed between the fixed end 21 and the fixed end 21.
The load sensor 12 detects a depression force F applied to the brake pedal 15 when the driver steps on the pedal, and outputs a detection signal to the brake ECU 14.

The brake actuator 13 is provided on a brake (not shown) and operates the brake by an electric signal. The brake ECU 14 receives a detection signal output from the load sensor 12 and operates the brake actuator 13 based on the detection signal so as to apply a brake with a strength corresponding to the pedaling force F.

Incidentally, the brake actuator 13 and the brake ECU 14 operate by the electric power supplied from the battery B. Next, the operation of the electric brake device for a vehicle configured as described above will be described.

When the driver steps on the brake pedal 15, the torsion coil spring 16 is torsionally deformed in accordance with the depression stroke S, and a reaction force having a magnitude corresponding to the amount of the torsion deformation is applied to the brake pedal 15.

At this time, as the stepping stroke S increases over the entire stepping stroke range, the convex engaging portion 19 moves from the free end 22 to the base end side, so that the torsion coil spring 16 moves from the torsion coil spring 16 to the brake pedal 15. The amount of increase in the reaction force applied to is gradually increased in the entire range of the depression stroke.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the depressing stroke-depressing force characteristic of the brake pedal 15 is such that the increasing amount of the depressing force F gradually increases as the depressing stroke S increases in the entire depressing stroke range.

According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) In the present embodiment, as the depression stroke S of the brake pedal 15 increases, the convex engagement portion 19 provided on the arm portion 18 engages the free end 22 of the torsion coil spring 16 toward the base end. In combination, the torsion coil spring 16 is torsionally deformed. Then, the brake pedal 15 and the brake pedal 15 are controlled so that the amount of increase in the stepping force F generated by the reaction force applied from the torsion coil spring 16 to the brake pedal 15 gradually increases with the stepping stroke S over the entire stepping stroke range. The torsion coil spring 16 was arranged. As a result, a driver who is accustomed to the operation characteristics of the conventional hydraulic brake device can perform the brake operation better.

(2) In addition, in this embodiment, when the brake pedal 15 is depressed, the convex engagement portion 19 and the free end 22
And the sliding resistance between them increases the pedaling force F and decreases the pedaling force F during the return operation. Therefore, the stepping stroke-stepping force characteristic has a hysteresis like the characteristic of the conventional hydraulic brake device, so that the driver can perform the brake operation more effectively.

(3) In addition, in this embodiment, the depression force F of the brake pedal 15 is generated only by the reaction force of one torsion coil spring 16. Therefore, as compared with a configuration in which two springs 55 and 56 are used as in a conventional brake control device, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be reduced by one less spring, and the size can be reduced. it can.

(4) In the present embodiment, the brake is applied to the brake device 11 of the electric brake device 10 for a vehicle, so that the driver can apply the brakes better by the electric control while preventing the driver from feeling uncomfortable when operating the brake. be able to.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. still,
This embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in that the brake device 11 of the first embodiment is changed to a brake device 30 and the load sensor 12 is changed to a rotational displacement sensor 40. Therefore, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. Only the brake device 30 and the rotational displacement sensor 40 will be described in detail.

The brake device 30 includes the brake pedal 3
1, a wire 32 and a compression coil spring 33 are provided.
The brake pedal 31 includes a pedal portion 34 and an arm portion 35, and is rotatable about a rotation center axis C <b> 3 of a rotation shaft 35 a at the upper end of the arm portion 35 by a driver's stepping operation on the pedal portion 34 via a bracket 36. Supported by a vehicle body (not shown). On the base end side of the arm portion 35, a plate cam-shaped pulling portion 37 is formed. The towing portion 37 is formed so that the rotation center axis C3 is the center of rotation, and the peripheral edge thereof is located farther from the rotation center axis C3 of the brake pedal 31 as the periphery thereof is closer to the vehicle front side. Towing unit 3
7 has a guide groove 38 which opens to the outer peripheral side along the periphery thereof.
Are formed. The wire 32 is wound around the pulling portion 37 along the guide groove 38, and one end thereof is fixed to the arm portion 35 on the vehicle rear side with respect to the rotation center axis C3. The other end of the wire 32 extends tangentially downward from the periphery of the pulling portion 37 toward the front of the vehicle.

The compression coil spring 33 is a spring having a substantially constant spring constant within its operating range.
One end of the bracket 1 is fixed to the bracket 36 on the front side of the vehicle. The compression coil spring 33 has its center axis C4
Is provided so as to be orthogonal to the rotation center axis C3 of the brake pedal 31 at a position separated from the vehicle front side by a predetermined distance, and the center axis C4 is located on the rotation surface of the traction portion 37. Have been. The compression coil spring 33 has
The other end of the wire 32 is inserted through the bracket 36, and a spring seat 39 fixed to the other end is in contact with the other end of the compression coil spring 33.

The compression coil spring 33 applies a reaction force based on the compression deformation to the brake pedal 31 via the spring seat 39 and the wire 32, and biases the brake pedal 31 to hold it at the initial position. . 4 and 5 when the brake pedal 31 is depressed from the initial position.
As shown in (2), the arm 35 rotates toward the front side of the vehicle, and the wire 32 is pulled by the pulling portion 37. The compression coil spring 33 is compressed and deformed by the pulling of the wire 32,
A stepping force F is generated on the brake pedal 31 by a reaction force having a magnitude corresponding to the amount of compression deformation.

At this time, as the stepping stroke S increases, the wire 32 is displaced from a position closer to the rotation center axis C3 to a position farther from the rotation center axis C3 and extends from the pulling portion 37. That is, when the brake pedal 31 is at the initial position, the distance L3 from the rotation center axis C3 where the wire 32 extends is the shortest, and as the stepping stroke S increases, the distance decreases and the maximum stepping stroke position increases. , The same distance L4 is the longest.

The rotational displacement sensor 40 is connected to the brake pedal 3
The input shaft (not shown) is connected to one rotation shaft 35a,
A rotation amount corresponding to a depression stroke S of the brake pedal 31 based on a driver's depression operation is detected, and a detection signal is output to the brake ECU 14.

The brake ECU 14 includes the rotational displacement sensor 4
The detection signal output by the control signal 0 is input, and the brake actuator 13 is operated based on the detection signal so as to apply the brake with the strength corresponding to the depression stroke S.

Next, the operation of the electric brake device for a vehicle configured as described above will be described. When the driver depresses the brake pedal 31, the compression coil spring 33 is compressed and deformed in accordance with the depression stroke S, and a reaction force having a magnitude corresponding to the amount of the compression deformation is generated.
Join.

At this time, as the stepping stroke S increases, the wire 32 extends at a position farther from the rotation center axis C3. For this reason, the amount of increase in the reaction force applied to the brake pedal 31 from the compression coil spring 33 gradually increases.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the depression stroke-depression force characteristic of the brake pedal 31 is the same as the first embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The characteristic is such that the increasing amount of the pedaling force F gradually increases with the increase of the pedaling force.

According to the present embodiment described in detail above, the effects (1), (3) and (4) of the first embodiment can be obtained. Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention other than the above-described embodiment will be listed.

In the second embodiment, the reaction force is obtained by compressing and deforming the compression coil spring 33 with an increase in the depression stroke S of the brake pedal 31. However, the tension coil spring is expanded and deformed. Alternatively, a reaction force may be obtained.

In the above embodiments, the torsion coil spring 16 or the compression coil spring 3 having a substantially constant spring constant
Although 3 is used, a spring whose spring constant increases with an increase in the amount of elastic deformation may be used. In this case, the pedaling force F can be increased by a larger increase amount as the stepping stroke S increases.

In the first embodiment, the load sensor 1
Although 2 is provided between the vehicle body G and the fixed end 21 of the torsion coil spring 16, it may be provided on the pedal portion 17 which is stepped on by the driver.

In the first embodiment, the pedaling force F applied to the brake pedal 15 is detected by the load sensor 12,
The brake is applied based on the detection result.
This is applied to the brake pedal 1 proportional to the stepping stroke S.
The rotational displacement amount of No. 5 may be detected by a rotational displacement sensor, and the brake may be applied based on the detection result.

In the second embodiment, the rotational displacement amount of the brake pedal 15 proportional to the depression stroke S is detected by the rotational displacement sensor 40, and the brake is applied based on the detection result. This is the brake pedal 15
May be detected by a load sensor and the brake is applied based on the detection result.

In the second embodiment, the shape of the periphery of the traction portion 37 of the brake pedal 31, that is, the state of change in the distance from the rotation center axis C 3, is determined by changing the stepping stroke-treading force characteristic into a quadratic curve. Shape. this,
The shape may be such that the step-on stroke-stepping force characteristic changes linearly.

In the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to the brake device 11 of the electric brake device 10 for a vehicle. However, the present invention may be applied to a brake device provided in a driving simulator. In this case, the discomfort felt by the operator during the simulation of the brake operation can be further reduced.

Hereinafter, the technical ideas grasped from each of the above embodiments will be described together with their effects. (1) The vehicle brake device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the spring member has a substantially constant spring constant. According to such a configuration,
Inexpensive spring members can be used.

(2) A brake device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a depression stroke detection sensor (rotation displacement sensor 40) for detecting a depression stroke of the brake pedal, and an electric signal. An electric brake device for a vehicle, comprising: a brake actuator that operates a brake by a brake; and a brake control device that controls the brake actuator so as to apply a brake in accordance with the depression stroke. According to such a configuration, it is possible to apply a brake by electric control while preventing the driver from feeling more uncomfortable when the brake is operated.

(3) A vehicular brake device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and a tread force detection sensor (a load sensor 1) for detecting a tread force applied to the brake pedal.
2) an electric brake device for a vehicle, comprising: a brake actuator that operates a brake by an electric signal; and a brake control device that controls the brake actuator so as to apply a brake with a strength corresponding to the pedaling force. According to such a configuration, it is possible to apply a brake by electric control while preventing the driver from feeling more uncomfortable when the brake is operated.

[0054]

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the amount of increase in the pedaling force gradually increases with the increase in the stepping stroke over the entire stepping stroke, so that the operation of the hydraulic brake device is performed. A driver who is accustomed to the characteristics can perform the brake operation better. In addition, since only one spring member is used, the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle electric brake device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state of a brake device.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a depression stroke-depression force characteristic.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicular electric brake device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state of a brake device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional electric brake device.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing a depression stroke-depression force characteristic.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: vehicle brake device, 15: brake pedal, 1
6: torsion coil spring as a spring member; 18: arm portion; 19: convex engagement portion as an engagement portion; 21: fixed end;
22: free end, 30: vehicle brake device, 31: brake pedal, 32: wire, 33: compression coil spring as a spring member, C3: rotation center axis, G: body, S: stepping stroke.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yukihiro Kato 2-1-1 Asahi-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi F-term (reference) 3D046 BB03 CC04 EE01 LL02 LL54

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular brake device comprising: a spring member that is elastically deformed by a load applied in accordance with a depression and return operation of a brake pedal and generates a depression force of the brake pedal by a reaction force corresponding to the amount of elastic deformation. A brake device for a vehicle, wherein the brake pedal and the spring member are operatively connected such that the amount of increase in the pedaling force gradually increases as the stepping stroke increases over the entire stepping stroke range of the brake pedal. 2. The spring member is a torsion coil spring, wherein a fixed end of the torsion coil spring is fixed to a vehicle body, and a free end of the torsion coil spring is twisted in accordance with a depression and return operation of the brake pedal. And engaged with an engaging portion provided on the arm portion of the brake pedal so as to be deformed.
The brake pedal and the torsion coil spring are arranged such that the engaging portion engages the free end more proximally with an increase in a stepping stroke, and the amount of increase in the stepping force gradually increases. 2. The vehicle brake device according to claim 1. 3. When the brake pedal is depressed, the sliding resistance between the engaging portion and the free end acts to increase the depressing force of the brake pedal, and when the brake pedal is returned, the sliding resistance increases. The vehicle brake device according to claim 2, wherein the resistance acts to reduce the pedaling force. 4. The spring member is a compression coil spring, and one end of the compression coil spring is fixed to a vehicle, and the other end of the compression coil spring is compressed and deformed when the brake pedal is depressed and returned. So that it is connected to the end of the wire wound around the base end of the brake pedal, and is displaced from a position closer to the center axis of rotation of the brake pedal to a position farther from the center axis of rotation of the brake pedal as the stepping stroke increases. The vehicle brake device according to claim 1, wherein the wire is extended.