JP2002052950A - Automobile driving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automobile driving device excellent in operatability and capable of saving power consumption. SOLUTION: A brake operation mechanism 9 comprises an intermittent brake mechanism 9A and a continuous brake mechanism 9B. In the intermittent brake mechanism 9A, tilting movement of an operating lever 10 moves a brake pedal 7 through operating force communication means 40 and 12. In the continuous brake mechanism 9B, the operating lever 10 is tilted to a direction different from the intermittent brake operating direction in order to be turned to a lock condition. Thus, the operating lever 10 cannot freely move to the intermittent brake operating direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile driving apparatus in which an accelerator and a brake can be operated with one operation lever.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3057214 discloses an automobile driving apparatus, particularly an automobile driving apparatus in which a single operating lever enables an accelerator operation and a brake operation to be easily operated by a physically handicapped person. Some have been disclosed.

[0003]

In the vehicle driving apparatus disclosed in the above publication, since the electromagnetic actuator is frequently used, the power consumption is large and the battery is quickly consumed. Therefore, there is a problem that the time that can be used by one charge and the travelable distance are short.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automobile driving device with low power consumption.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an accelerator operating mechanism and a brake operating mechanism sharing one operating lever, and the brake operating mechanism applies an operating force to the operating lever. An intermittent brake mechanism that exerts a braking force only when it is in operation, and a continuous brake mechanism that can hold a braking state even when the application of the operating force to the operation lever is released. The applied tilting operation force is transmitted to a brake pedal via operating force communication means, and the continuous brake mechanism moves the operation lever, which is tilted by the intermittent brake mechanism, in a tilt direction by the intermittent brake mechanism. By tilting in a direction different from the above, the lock state is set in which the return is restricted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the tilting operation of the operation lever by the continuous brake mechanism can be performed only when the braking force by the intermittent brake mechanism has reached a maximum. The configuration was adopted. Claim 3
In the invention according to claim 1 or 2, the operating lever is divided into a tilting member for continuous brake on the distal end side and a tilting member for intermittent brake on the base end side in the longitudinal direction thereof, and The tilting member for continuous brake and the tilting member for intermittent brake are tilted integrally during a brake operation, and only the tilting member for continuous brake is tilted during the continuous brake operation. By pressing a button of the provided grip, a configuration is provided in which a locked state in which the tilting operation of only the tilting member for continuous brake is restricted and a state in which the lock is released are switched.

[0007] The invention of claim 4 is the invention of claims 1 to 3.
In any one of the inventions, the operating lever is divided into a tilting member for accelerator on the distal end side and a tilting member for brake on the base end side in the length direction, and only the accelerator tilting member tilts at the time of accelerator operation, When the brake is operated, the accelerator tilting member and the brake tilting member are tilted integrally. The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The operation lever is provided with an armrest on which a hand holding the operation lever is placed.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the brake operating mechanism is a mechanical type using the operating lever and the operating force communicating means, the power of the battery is not required or the power consumption can be reduced. As a result, the use time and the traveling distance for one charge of the battery are increased. [Invention of Claim 2] When the braking force by the intermittent braking mechanism is at the maximum, the continuous braking mechanism operates, so that the vehicle can be parked with a large braking force.

[Invention of Claim 3] Switching between intermittent brake operation and continuous brake operation can be performed by a simple operation of tilting by pressing the button of the grip. [Invention of claim 4] When the brake is operated, since the distance from the tip of the operation lever to the fulcrum of the tilt is long, the brake can be reliably applied even if the operation force is weak. [Invention of claim 5] By placing a hand on the armrest,
The burden on the arm is reduced, making it less tiring when driving.

[0010]

[First Embodiment] Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an overall view of an automobile 1 for a physically handicapped person to which an automobile driving device according to the present invention is applied. Car for the physically handicapped 1
The vehicle includes a front wheel 3 driven by a steering wheel 2 and a rear wheel 5 driven by an electric motor (not shown). An operation seat 6 is provided on the floor. A brake pedal 7 (see FIG. 2) is installed on the floor below the handle 2, and an upper end of an operation lever 10 for accelerator operation or brake operation is provided on an instrument panel 11 on the left side of the handle 2. (Hereinafter, abbreviated as instrument panel 11). The automobile 1 for the physically handicapped is provided with an accelerator operation mechanism 8 and a brake operation mechanism 9 sharing one operation lever 10. In FIG. 2, the operation lever 10 and an operation force communication means operated by the operation lever 10 are provided. The state of connection with the link mechanism 12, the control cable 40 and the brake pedal 7 is shown in a side view. The arrow A in the figure indicates the forward direction of the vehicle 1 for the physically handicapped. The operation lever 10 is formed of a plate-like object made of a steel plate or the like having a predetermined width, and a shaft 13 at a base end thereof is pivotally supported by a bracket 15 fixed to a vehicle body frame, so that it can swing back and forth. Supported.

The operating lever 10 has an upper operating lever 10a (a tilting member for a continuous brake and a tilting member for a brake, which is a component of the present invention) and a lower operating lever 10b (a component of the present invention) at substantially the center in the longitudinal direction. (Intermittent brake tilting member and brake tilting member). The upper operation lever 10a is located on the back side of FIG.
(A left side in the traveling direction and a direction intersecting with the tilting direction of the operation lever 10 at the time of the intermittent brake operation).

An accelerator lever 17 (a tilting member for an accelerator, which is a component of the present invention) is rotatably supported on an upper end of the upper operating lever 10a by a shaft 18 (a tilting center when the operating lever 10 is operated by the accelerator). Have been. The accelerator lever 17 is urged to rotate clockwise in FIG. 2 (the forward direction of the vehicle body) in FIG. 2 by a spring member (not shown) such as a spiral spring mounted around the shaft 18. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a connecting portion of the accelerator lever 17.
As shown in detail, an engagement wall 17a protrudes from the front edge of the accelerator lever 17, and the engagement wall 17a is moved by the rotation urging force to the front end of the upper operation lever 10a. By contacting the rim, the accelerator lever 17 is maintained in the return position shown by the solid line in FIG. The accelerator lever 17 has an upper portion of the shaft 18 projecting upward through a slit 20 formed in the instrument panel 11. A cylindrical grip 21 for gripping during operation is attached to the side of the upper end of the accelerator lever 17.

An accelerator sensor 22 is fixed to the upper end side surface of the upper operation lever 10a below the shaft 18, and a roller 24 at the tip of the sensor arm 23 is elastically attached to the outer surface of the engagement wall 17a of the accelerator lever 17. In contact.
When the accelerator lever 17 is tilted in the forward direction (reverse direction of the vehicle body) against the urging force in the return direction, the roller 24 of the sensor arm 23 is engaged with the accelerator lever 17 as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. The sensor arm 23 swings by rolling on the outer surface of the joint wall 17a. The sensor arm 23 swings in accordance with the tilt angle of the accelerator lever 17 and outputs a signal corresponding to the swing angle. This output signal is input to a controller (not shown) to drive an electric motor (not shown) for driving the rear wheels. Thus, the accelerator operation mechanism 8 is configured.

Next, the brake operation mechanism 9 will be described. The brake operating mechanism 9 has an intermittent brake mechanism 9A that exerts a braking force only when an operating force is applied to the operating lever 10, and can maintain a braking state even when the application of the operating force to the operating lever 10 is released. And a continuous brake mechanism 9B. As shown in FIG. 4 in which the connecting portion between the upper operating lever 10a and the lower operating lever 10b is enlarged and shown in detail, a locking hook 25 is rotatably supported by a pin 26 at the lower end of the upper operating lever 10a. ing. On the other hand, the upper end of the lower operation lever 10b has an engaging pin 2 with which a hook 25a at the tip of the locking hook 25 can be engaged.
7 are planted. The distal end of the arm 25b extending from the proximal end of the locking hook 25 is
The solenoid 28 is fixed to the front end of the plunger 30 via a connecting bar 31. When the upper operation lever 10a is not tilted with respect to the lower operation lever 10b, the plunger 30 is retracted by the elasticity of the return spring built in the solenoid 28, and the locking hook 25 is The posture is indicated by a solid line. In this state, lock hook 2
5 is engaged with the inside of the enlarged diameter portion 27a of the engagement pin 27, whereby the upper operation lever 10a
Are locked so that the lower operation lever 10b cannot be tilted toward the back side of the paper surface of FIG.

The solenoid 28 is connected to a battery (not shown) via a button switch 29 attached to the free end surface of the grip 21.
When the push button 29a is pressed, the solenoid 28 is excited, the plunger 30 projects, and the locking hook 25 rotates about the pin 26 via the connecting bar 31. Thereby, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 4, the hook portion 25a of the locking hook 25 is disengaged from the engagement pin 27, so that the upper operation lever 10a can be tilted with respect to the lower operation lever 10b, and the lock is released. Becomes Thus, the continuous brake mechanism 9B is configured.

In FIG. 2, a distal end of a drive arm 35 extending from a base end of the lower operation lever 10b is connected to one end of a bell crank 36 pivotally supported by the bracket 15.
They are connected via a connecting arm 37. The link mechanism 12 is constituted by the drive arm 35, bell crank 36, and connection arm 37. And bell crank 3
One end of a control cable 40 (a cable which is a component of the present invention) is connected to the other end of the arm 6.
The control cable 40 is a cable in which the inner cable 41 is slidably inserted into the outer tube 43, and is arranged between the lower part of the link mechanism 12 and the front part of the brake pedal 7. One end of the control cable 40 is fixed to a bracket 45 fixed to the vehicle body below the link mechanism 12, and the other end is fixed to a bracket 44 fixed to the vehicle body at a front part of the brake pedal 7. Inner cable 41 protruding from a fixed end of control cable 40 fixed to bracket 45
Is connected to the other arm end of the bell crank 36 by a connecting member 46.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a mounting portion of the brake pedal 7. The base end of the brake pedal 7 is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction by being pivotally supported by the vehicle body frame 47.
Direction, and is always held in the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Brake pedal 7
A control arm 50 is disposed at a position in front of the vehicle, and its base end is pivotally supported by the vehicle body frame 47 and is supported so as to swing freely in the same direction as the brake pedal 7. At a free end of the control arm 50, a pressing roller 51 capable of pressing the arm portion 7a of the brake pedal 7 is pivotally supported. The lower end of the control arm 50 is connected to the end of the inner cable 41 projecting from the end fixed to the bracket 44 of the control cable 40 by a connecting member 52. The inner cable 41 is connected to the pressing roller 51 of the control arm 50 by the brake pedal 7.
A pretension acts in the direction of pressing the arm portion 7a of the pressing roller 5a, as shown by a solid line in FIG.
1 is in contact with the arm 7a. The pretension can be applied, for example, by a torsion spring (not shown) mounted around the shaft 13 of the lower operation lever 10b. Thus, the intermittent brake mechanism 9A is configured.

The brake pedal 7 is connected to a braking system for the front wheels 3 and / or the rear wheels 5 by a control cable or the like (not shown). When the brake pedal 7 is depressed, braking is applied.
Is released, the braking force is released. The more the brake pedal 7 is depressed, the greater the braking force becomes. Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
When the brake pedal 7 is in the state shown by the solid line in FIG.
That is, when the brake pedal 7 is at the return position and the brake pedal pressure is not applied to the brake pedal 7, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
The instrument panel 11 is in a neutral state located at a substantially middle portion of the slit 20 in the front-rear direction. In a state in which the application of the tilting force in the front-rear direction with the shaft 13 as a fulcrum to the operation lever 10 is released, a return spring (not shown)
The operation lever 10 returns to the neutral position.

When the ignition switch is turned on in the neutral state, the user grips the grip 21 and tilts the accelerator lever 17 backward. As described above, a signal corresponding to the tilt angle of the accelerator lever 17 is output from the accelerator sensor 22 as described above. Output and the electric motor is driven. Therefore, the vehicle travels at a speed corresponding to the tilt angle of the accelerator lever 17. The forward and backward movements of the vehicle body can be switched by operating a separate front and rear switch (not shown). The accelerator operation is performed by the tilting operation of the accelerator lever 17 as described above.

When the accelerator lever 17 is returned to the return position and further pushed forward, the upper operating lever 10a and the lower operating lever 10b are integrated with the accelerator lever 17 as described above, and the shaft 13 is used as a fulcrum to move forward. To tilt. Thereby, the bell crank 36 is connected to the connecting arm 37.
And the inner cable 41 of the control cable 40 is pulled. Then, the brake pedal 7
The control arm 50 at the back of swings forward,
As shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 5, the arm 7a of the brake pedal 7 is pressed by the pressing roller 51 of the control arm 50.
Is pressed, the brake pedal 7 swings. As a result, the braking system operates to apply braking, and the upper operating lever 10a and the lower operating lever 1
The intermittent brake mechanism is performed by the tilting operation of the operation lever 10 made of Ob. Also, as the tilt angle of the operation lever 10 forward increases, the brake pedal 7
When the swing amount of the control lever 10 increases and the braking force also increases, and the tilt angle of the operation lever 10 becomes maximum, the braking force also becomes maximum.

Then, as shown in FIG.
When the push button 29a of the grip 21 is pressed in a state where 0 is tilted to the maximum, that is, in a state where the braking force is at the maximum, the locking hook 25 is rotated by the operation of the solenoid 28 and the lock is released as described above. Is performed, and the upper operation lever 10a can be tilted to the left. Therefore, when the upper operating lever 10a is tilted and the forward pressing force is reduced, the accelerator lever 17 slightly moves backward as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 6 due to the returning force in the neutral direction. The rear edge thereof abuts against a stopper portion 20 a formed in the slit 20 of the instrument panel 11, the operation lever 10 is locked in a state where the tilting in the front-rear direction is restricted, and the projection 20 formed in the slit 20 is formed.
b restricts the upper operation lever 10a from tilting to the right. As a result, even if the hand is released from the grip 21, the operation lever 10 is locked in the forward / backward / left / right movement restriction state. As described above, the upper operation lever 10a is tilted leftward to operate the continuous brake mechanism 9B. A braking function is exerted.

To release the continuous brake state, the user grips the grip 21 and pushes it forward, and then moves it rightward, whereby the upper operation lever 10a tilts rightward, and accordingly, the locking hook The hook portion 25a of FIG.
The hook portion 25a engages with the engagement pin 27 in a state where the tilting posture of 0a is completely returned. Thus, the upper operation lever 10a is locked with respect to the lower operation lever 10b. In addition, the engagement pin 27 is provided on the inner edge of the hook portion 25a.
A tapered surface for passing over the enlarged diameter portion 27a is formed. When the upper operation lever 10a is locked with respect to the lower operation lever 10b, braking is still applied, and the braking force is released by loosening the forward pushing force of the grip 21.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the brake operating mechanism 9 is of a mechanical type using the operating lever 10, the control cable 40 as the operating force communicating means, and the link mechanism 12, so that battery power is not required. Alternatively, power consumption can be reduced. This allows
The use time and mileage from one charge of the battery is increased. In addition, since the continuous braking mechanism 9B operates when the braking force of the intermittent braking mechanism 9A is at the maximum, the vehicle 1 for the physically handicapped can be parked with a large braking force.

The button switch 29 of the grip 21
It is possible to switch between the intermittent brake operation and the continuous brake operation by a simple operation of merely tilting the upper operation lever 10a by pressing. When the brake is operated, the shaft 13 which is a fulcrum of tilting from the tip of the operation lever 10 is used.
Because the distance to is long, the brake can be applied reliably even if the operating force is weak. As shown in FIG. 8, if an armrest 57 for placing a wrist portion of a hand gripping the grip 21 of the operation lever 10 on the accelerator lever 17 of the operation lever 10 is provided, by placing a hand on the armrest 57, The burden on the arm is reduced, making it harder to get tired when driving.

[Modifications] The technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiment.
What is described below is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the intermittent brake operation direction is set in the front-back direction, but may be set in the up-down, left-right direction. (2) In the above embodiment, the continuous brake operation direction is set in the left-right direction, but may be set in the front-back, up-down direction. (3) In the above embodiment, the operation lever has a three-piece structure, but may have a one-piece structure or a two-piece structure.

(4) In the above embodiment, the tilting fulcrum for the accelerator operation and the brake operation are different, but the tilting fulcrum for both operations may be the same.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle for the physically handicapped of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a connection state of an operation lever, a link mechanism, and a control cable.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a connected state of an accelerator lever.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a connection portion between an upper operation lever and a lower operation lever.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a connection state near a brake pedal.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an operation lever and a slit.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between an accelerator lever and a slit.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a modification in which an armrest is provided on a grip.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Car for physically disabled 7 ... Brake pedal 8 ... Accelerator mechanism 9 ... Brake mechanism 9B ... Continuous brake mechanism 9A ... Intermittent brake mechanism 10 ... Operation lever 10a ... Upper operation lever (tilting member for continuous brake, tilting member for brake) 10b ... Lower operating lever (tilting member for intermittent brake, tilting member for brake) 12 ... Link mechanism 17 ... Accelerator lever (tilting member for accelerator) 21 ... Grip 29 ... Button switch 40 ... Control cable (cable) 57 ... Armrest

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G05G 5/08 G05G 5/08 9/00 9/00 A

Claims (5)

[Claims] An intermittent brake including an accelerator operation mechanism and a brake operation mechanism sharing one operation lever, wherein the brake operation mechanism exerts a braking force only when an operation force is applied to the operation lever. A continuous brake mechanism capable of maintaining a braking state even when the application of the operating force to the operation lever is released, wherein the intermittent brake mechanism transmits a tilt operation force applied to the operation lever to an operation force communication unit. The continuous brake mechanism is configured to perform a return by tilting the operation lever that is tilted by the intermittent brake mechanism in a direction different from the tilt direction of the intermittent brake mechanism. An automobile driving device characterized in that it is configured to be in a restricted locked state. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tilting operation of the operation lever by the continuous brake mechanism is enabled only when a braking force by the intermittent brake mechanism reaches a maximum. Car driving equipment. 3. The operation lever is divided into a tilting member for continuous brake on a distal end side and a tilting member for intermittent brake on a base end side in a longitudinal direction thereof. The tilting member for brake is tilted integrally, and only the tilting member for continuous brake tilts during continuous brake operation,
By pressing a button of a grip provided on the tilting member for continuous brake, a lock state for restricting the tilting operation of only the tilting member for continuous brake and a state for releasing the lock are switched. The vehicle driving device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The operating lever is divided into an accelerator tilting member on the distal end side and a brake tilting member on the base end side in the longitudinal direction, and only the accelerator tilting member tilts when the accelerator is operated, and the brake operation is performed. 4. The vehicle driving device according to claim 1, wherein the tilting member for the accelerator and the tilting member for the brake are sometimes tilted integrally. 5. The vehicle driving device according to claim 1, wherein the operation lever is provided with an armrest on which a hand for grasping the operation lever is placed.