JP2004338434A - Pedal supporting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pedal supporting structure capable of certainly preventing a drop of a pedal bracket due to bolt looseness even when the pedal bracket is fastened with a bolt from the downside. <P>SOLUTION: The pedal supporting structure has a connection bracket 30. One end side 30a of the bracket 30 is connected with a rear part 6 of the pedal bracket 4, and the other end side 30b is connected with a guide mechanism 14 by fastening the bolt 39 from a lower part. The connection of the connection bracket 30 with the guide mechanism is released by relative movement to the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the guide mechanism of the pedal bracket. The bolt 39 fastens the connection bracket by the guide mechanism over the upper surface 4d of the pedal bracket, and a distance C between a fastening position of the bolt and the upper surface section of the pedal bracket is set shorter than the entire length L of the bolt. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pedal support structure, and more particularly, to a structure for mounting a brake pedal or the like provided on a vehicle to a vehicle body.
[0002]
[Related background art]
The driver's seat of the vehicle is provided with a brake pedal for operating a service brake. The brake pedal is generally attached to a dash panel via a pedal bracket. More specifically, the brake pedal usually extends along a dash panel, has a pedal pad at a lower end, and is configured to be rotatably supported at an upper end by a pedal bracket.
[0003]
Also, recently, in order to improve the safety of the lower limbs of the occupant during a frontal collision of the vehicle, even if the dash panel retreats due to the collision, the brake pedal pedal pad must escape to the front of the vehicle. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
In Patent Document 1, for example, a front end side of a pedal bracket (30) is fixed to a dash panel (16), a rear end side is detachably connected to a cowl inner panel (22) by bolts, and an instrument panel force ( A slide guide plate (64) extending from the deck cross member (72) and having a U-shape in side view is disposed between the pedal bracket (30) and the cowl inner panel (22), and the slide guide plate (64) is provided. ) Is jointly fastened to the cowl inner panel (22) with the above-mentioned bolt.
[0004]
According to this configuration, when an external force equal to or more than a predetermined value acts on the front portion of the vehicle, the pedal bracket (30) separates from the cowl inner panel (22), and thus the slide guide plate (64), and the pedal bracket (30) The rear end slides obliquely backward and downward along the slide guide plate (64), whereby the pedal pad (48) of the brake pedal (10) is rotated and displaced so as to escape around the pedal bracket toward the front of the vehicle. The safety of lower limbs is ensured.
[0005]
On the other hand, the pedal bracket (30) is coupled to the instrument panel force (72) via the slide guide plate (64) by fastening with bolts, so that the support strength of the brake pedal (10) is normally provided. Is sufficiently secured.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-268667
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the case of the configuration of Patent Literature 1, the bolt for detachably connecting the pedal bracket (30) to the cowl inner panel (22) and the slide guide plate (64) has a good workability in a vehicle assembling process, for example. The fastening is performed from the lower side, so that there is no member on the lower side of the pedal bracket (30) for the tool approach.
[0008]
However, if there is a space below the bolt for fastening the pedal bracket (30), the bolt may be loosened due to severe vibration of the vehicle, etc. in a vehicle that frequently uses rough roads. Therefore, there is a problem that the bolt may fall off if the bolt is left unnoticed without being noticed.
The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to ensure that even when the pedal bracket is fastened from below by bolts, the bolts are securely removed by loosening. It is to provide a pedal support structure that can be prevented.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the pedal support structure according to claim 1, a front end portion is fixed to the vehicle body side, extends to the vehicle rear side, and a pair of side surface portions that rotatably support the upper end of the pedal and A pedal bracket having an upper surface portion for connecting the side surface portions upward, a guide mechanism provided with a rearwardly inclined surface on the vehicle rear side of the pedal bracket and fixed to the vehicle body, and one end side of the pedal bracket And the other end side is connected to the guide mechanism by tightening a bolt from below, and the connection with the guide mechanism is released by the relative movement of the pedal bracket with respect to the guide mechanism toward the vehicle rear side. A pedal support structure provided with a connection bracket, the bolt being connected to the connection bracket above an upper surface of the pedal bracket. With fastening the serial guide mechanism, the distance between the top portion of the pedal bracket and the fastening position of the bolt, is characterized by being shorter than the overall length of the bolt.
[0010]
Therefore, the connection bracket is bolted to the guide mechanism from below so that the connection to the guide mechanism is released by the relative movement of the pedal bracket to the guide mechanism toward the rear of the vehicle. The connecting bracket and the guide mechanism are fastened above the upper surface of the bracket, and the distance between the fastening position of the bolt and the upper surface of the pedal bracket is set shorter than the entire length of the bolt. Even if the bolt is likely to be loosened due to severe vibration of the vehicle, etc., the head of the loosened bolt will come into contact with the upper surface of the pedal bracket located below, and The progress is prevented, and the bolt is securely prevented from falling off due to loosening. This ensures the function of the pedal.
[0011]
Further, in the pedal support structure according to claim 2, the connecting bracket is connected to the guide mechanism by a bolt from below before the other end is connected to the guide mechanism before one end is connected to a rear portion of the pedal bracket. Features.
Therefore, it is possible to perform a bolt fastening operation from below to the guide mechanism on the other end side of the connection bracket without deteriorating the workability, and to easily connect the connection bracket and the guide mechanism above the upper surface of the pedal bracket. It is possible to fasten.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of a pedal support structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a side view of a pedal support structure according to the present invention provided in a driver's seat of a vehicle. Hereinafter, the configuration of the pedal support structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 1, the pedal support structure according to the present invention mainly includes a brake pedal unit 1 including a brake pedal 2, a pedal bracket 4 and an extension 6, and a pair of vehicle body side walls that extend in the vehicle width direction and have both ends. A guide bracket unit 10 fixed by welding to a deck cross member 20 mainly supporting an instrument panel (not shown), and a support interposed between the brake pedal unit 1 and the guide bracket unit 10. And a bracket (connection bracket) 30.
[0014]
In the brake pedal unit 1, a pedal pad 3 on which an occupant steps is provided at a lower end of the brake pedal 2, and an upper end of the brake pedal 2 is rotatably connected to a rear portion of the pedal bracket 4 in a vehicle longitudinal direction. ing. More specifically, the pedal bracket 4 has a U-shaped cross section, a pair of side surfaces 4b, 4b extending from the upper surface 4a and opening downward. The upper end of the brake pedal 2 has a pair of side surfaces 4b, 4b rotatably supported.
[0015]
The pedal bracket 4 extends obliquely with its rear end raised in the vehicle front-rear direction. The front end of the pedal bracket 4 is attached to a dash panel 40 that partitions an engine room and a cabin (vehicle compartment). More specifically, a brake booster (power booster) 50 is mounted on the engine room side of the dash panel 40 so as to face the front end of the pedal bracket 4, and penetrates the dash panel 40 from the brake booster 50 and A plurality of stud bolts 52 project toward the cabin so as to penetrate the flange 4c at the front end of the pedal bracket 4, and the stud bolts 52 are fastened to the pedal bracket 4 by the nuts 5 with the dash panel 40 and the flange 4c interposed therebetween. As a result, it is fixed to the dash panel 40.
[0016]
On the other hand, an extension 6 is joined to the rear end of the pedal bracket 4 by welding or the like so as to close the opening of the pedal bracket 4. More specifically, the extension 6 also has a U-shaped cross section, a pair of side surfaces 6b, 6b extending from the vertical surface 6a and opening to the pedal bracket 4 side, and a pair of side surfaces 6b, 6b of the extension 6 are formed. The pair of side portions 4b, 4b of the pedal bracket 4 are overlapped and joined.
[0017]
In addition, beads 4e are formed on the pair of side surfaces 4b, 4b of the pedal bracket 4 so as to protrude outward and increase in width as going downward.
The extension 6 extends downward, and a brake switch 7 for detecting an operation state of the brake pedal 2 is attached to a tip of the extension 6.
On the other hand, the guide bracket unit 10 includes a guide support bracket 12 that opens downward from the deck cross member 20 in a U-shaped cross section and extends obliquely with its front end lowered toward the front of the vehicle. A guide bracket (guide mechanism) 14 extends from the front end toward the rear of the vehicle and is joined by welding or the like. Specifically, the guide bracket 14 also has a U-shaped cross section, a pair of side surface portions 14b, 14b extending from the upper surface portion 14a to open downward, and downward toward the vehicle rear, that is, downward. It extends gently curved. In other words, the guide bracket 14 is entirely curved in a “H” shape when viewed from the side, and is inclined downward and backward.
[0018]
The support bracket 30 is bent in a “reverse L” shape when viewed from the side, and the bent vertical surface portion 30a on one end side extends downward and is joined to the extension 6 on the brake pedal unit 1 side by a bolt 38. The upper surface portion 30b on the end side extends forward of the vehicle and is joined to the guide bracket 14 by bolts 39. The support bracket 30 also has a U-shaped cross section, and a pair of side surface portions 30c, 30c continuously extends from the vertical surface portion 30a and the upper surface portion 30b, and is open toward the front and downward of the vehicle.
[0019]
Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a detailed view of the assembled state of the support bracket 30, the extension 6, and the guide bracket 14. As shown in FIG. A notch 32 is formed, and a cutout 33 is formed in the upper surface 30b of the support bracket 30 and extends forward of the vehicle and includes a narrow portion 33a and a widened portion 33b, while a circular hole is formed in the inner surface of the extension 6. A weld nut 6c to which a bolt 38 is screwed is provided via a through hole, and a weld nut 14c to which a bolt 39 is screwed through a round hole is provided on the back surface of the guide bracket 14.
[0020]
More specifically, the support bracket 30 is fixed to the extension 6 by fastening the bolt 38 to the weld nut 6 c through the round hole 31, and the bolt 39 passes through the narrow portion 33 a of the notch 33. It is fixed to the guide bracket 14 by being fastened to the weld nut 14c. That is, the support bracket 30 is configured such that the vertical surface portion 30a and the pair of side surface portions 30c, 30c cover the vertical surface portion 6a and the pair of side surface portions 6b, 6b of the extension 6 from the outside with respect to the portion on the vertical surface portion 30a side. On the other hand, the portion on the upper surface portion 30b side is joined to the upper surface portion 14a so as to be located between the pair of side surface portions 14b, 14b of the guide bracket 14, and attached to the guide bracket 14. I have.
[0021]
The extension 6 is provided with a protrusion 6 d extending toward the support bracket 30 side, and the protrusion 6 d engages with the notch 32.
FIG. 3 shows a procedure for assembling the brake pedal unit 1, the guide bracket unit 10, and the support bracket 30 in a vehicle assembling process.
[0022]
As shown in the figure, the support bracket 30 is previously attached to the guide bracket unit 10 side, that is, the deck cross member 20 side in a separate step. That is, the support bracket 30 is fastened to the guide bracket 14 from below by the bolt 39 via the notch 33 formed in the upper surface portion 30b, and is integrally modularized with the deck cross member 20.
[0023]
Therefore, in the vehicle assembling process, after the brake pedal unit 1 is mounted on the dash panel 40, the modularized deck cross member 20 with the support bracket 30 mounted thereon is supported by the support bracket 30 as shown by a white arrow in the drawing. Is attached to the vehicle body side wall while approaching and fitting to the extension 6 of the brake pedal unit 1. More specifically, the deck cross member 20 is fixed to the side wall of the vehicle body while aligning the brake pedal unit 1 and the support bracket 30 so that the protrusion 6 d provided on the extension 6 engages with the notch 32 of the support bracket 30. I do. Then, the support bracket 30 is fastened to the extension 6 by a bolt 38 from the driver's seat side.
[0024]
Hereinafter, the operation of the thus constructed and assembled pedal support structure will be described.
First, the basic operation of the pedal support structure will be briefly described.
As described above, the upper surface portion 30b of the support bracket 30 is fastened with the bolt 39 via the notch 33 formed in the upper surface portion 30b, and a widened portion 33b is provided on the vehicle front side of the notch 33. On the other hand, since the guide bracket 14 is fixed to the pair of vehicle body side walls via the deck cross member 20, when a large external force toward the rear of the vehicle acts on the support bracket 30 via the pedal bracket 4, the support bracket is supported. The bracket 30 is displaced to the rear of the vehicle and detaches from the bolt 39.
[0025]
Therefore, when the dash panel 40 is retracted by being pushed by the drive system components in the engine room due to, for example, a frontal collision of the vehicle, the brake pedal unit 1 is also retracted accordingly. The support bracket 30 is displaced to the rear of the vehicle and easily detaches from the bolt 39.
When the support bracket 30 is detached from the bolt 39 in this manner, the support bracket 30 slides along the upper surface portion 14a of the guide bracket 14 which is bent in an "L" shape when viewed from the side, and Push down the rear edge. When the rear end of the pedal bracket 4 is pushed down, the bead 4e is crushed and the pedal bracket 4 is bent, so that the pedal pad 3 of the brake pedal 2 rotates toward the front side of the vehicle.
[0026]
Thereby, even in the case where the dash panel 40 is retracted at the time of a frontal collision or the like, the pedal pad 3 of the brake pedal 2 can escape to the front of the vehicle, and the safety of the lower limbs of the occupant can be improved. it can.
Next, the operation of the pedal support structure according to the present invention will be described.
As described above, the support bracket 30 is attached to the guide bracket 14 in advance by fastening the upper surface portion 30b extending forward of the vehicle with the bolt 39 from below, and in a subsequent step, the vertical surface portion 30a is attached to the driver's seat. It is fastened by bolts 38 from the side and attached to the extension 6. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the support bracket 30 is attached to the extension 6, the rear end 4 d of the upper surface portion 4 a of the pedal bracket 4 exists below the bolt 39. In other words, the support bracket 30 and the guide bracket 14 are fastened by the bolt 39 above the upper surface 4 a of the pedal bracket 4.
[0027]
Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a detailed sectional view of a portion around a fastening portion between the support bracket 30 and the guide bracket 14 by the bolt 39. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface portion 30b of the support bracket 30 and the pedal bracket are shown. A gap dimension (distance) C between the upper surface portion 4 and the upper surface portion 4a is set to a size that allows the head of the bolt 39 to enter, and is set to be at least shorter than the entire length L of the bolt 39 (C <L).
[0028]
Thus, for example, in a case where the vehicle makes heavy use on rough roads, even if the bolt 39 is loosened due to the vibration of the vehicle, the head of the bolt 39 contacts the rear end 4d of the upper surface 4a of the bracket 4. The bolts 39 come into contact with each other (indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 4), so that the bolts 39 do not loosen any more, and fall due to the loosening of the bolts 39 is reliably prevented.
[0029]
That is, in the pedal support structure according to the present invention, the support bracket 30 is bent in an “inverted L” shape when viewed from the side, and the upper surface portion 30b extending forward of the vehicle is joined to the guide bracket 14 in advance by the bolt 39. Since the vertical surface portion 30a extending downward in the later step is joined to the brake pedal unit 1 side by the bolt 38, the bolt 39 is fastened from the lower side, and is likely to fall due to slack. However, the upper surface 4a of the pedal bracket 4 can be favorably positioned below the bolt 39 without deteriorating the workability of the fastening operation of the bolt 39, and even if the bolt 39 is loosened. The upper surface 4a can prevent the slack from progressing, and can reliably prevent the bolt 39 from dropping due to the slack. As a result, the function of the pedal can always be kept good.
[0030]
The embodiment of the pedal support structure according to the present invention has been described above, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, in the above embodiment, the pedal bracket 4 and the extension 6 are separate bodies, but they may be integrated, or the guide support bracket 12 and the guide bracket 14 may be integrated.
[0031]
Further, in the above embodiment, the extension 6 is provided with the protrusion 6d, but the protrusion 6d may be provided if there is no problem in workability and the like.
In the above embodiment, the pedal support structure of the brake pedal 2 is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may of course be a pedal support structure such as a clutch pedal.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the pedal support structure of the first aspect of the present invention, the connection bracket is released from the connection with the guide mechanism by the relative movement of the pedal bracket toward the vehicle rear side with respect to the guide mechanism. The bolt is fastened to the guide mechanism from below, but the bolt is fastened to the connection bracket and the guide mechanism above the upper surface of the pedal bracket, and the bolt is fastened between the bolt fastening position and the upper surface of the pedal bracket. Since the distance is set shorter than the total length of the bolts, even if the vehicle is likely to be used on rough roads and the bolts may be loosened due to severe vibration of the vehicle, etc. The head of the bolt contacts the upper surface of the pedal bracket located below to prevent the slack from progressing, and the bolt can be securely prevented from falling off due to the slack. That. Thereby, the function of the pedal can be secured.
[0033]
According to the pedal support structure of the second aspect, the connection bracket is connected to the guide mechanism by the bolts from below before the other end is connected to the rear portion of the pedal bracket before the one end is connected to the rear portion of the pedal bracket. Fastening the bolt to the guide mechanism at the other end of the bracket from below without deteriorating workability, and easily connecting the connection bracket and the guide mechanism above the upper surface of the pedal bracket. Can be.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a pedal support structure provided in a driver seat of a vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a detailed view of an assembled state of a support bracket, an extension, and a guide bracket.
FIG. 3 is a view showing an assembling procedure of a brake pedal unit, a guide bracket unit, and a support bracket in a vehicle assembling process.
FIG. 4 is a detailed sectional view of a portion around a fastening portion of a support bracket and a guide bracket by a bolt.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Brake pedal unit 2 Brake pedal 4 Pedal bracket 4a Upper surface part 4b Side surface part 6 Extension 10 Guide bracket unit 14 Guide bracket (guide mechanism)
14c Weld nut 20 Deck cross member 30 Support bracket (connection bracket)
30a Vertical surface (one end side)
30b Upper surface (other end side)
33 Notch 38 Bolt 39 Bolt C Clearance dimension (distance)
L bolt overall length

Claims (2)

A front end portion fixed to the vehicle body side, extending to the rear side of the vehicle, a pedal bracket having a pair of side surface portions rotatably supporting the upper end of the pedal and an upper surface portion connecting the side surface portions upward,
A guide mechanism that is provided with a rearwardly inclined surface on the vehicle rear side of the pedal bracket and is fixed to the vehicle body side,
One end is connected to a rear portion of the pedal bracket, and the other end is connected to the guide mechanism by tightening a bolt from below. The relative movement of the pedal bracket with respect to the guide mechanism toward the rear side of the vehicle causes the guide mechanism to move relative to the guide mechanism. And a connection bracket from which the connection of the pedal is released.
The bolt fastens the connection bracket and the guide mechanism above the upper surface of the pedal bracket, and the distance between the fastening position of the bolt and the upper surface of the pedal bracket is greater than the total length of the bolt. The pedal support structure is also set to be short. 2. The pedal support according to claim 1, wherein one end of the connection bracket is connected to the guide mechanism by a bolt from below before one end is connected to a rear portion of the pedal bracket. 3. Construction.

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