JP2005239047A - Accelerator device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide stable pedal effort characteristic in linear as an accelerator device. <P>SOLUTION: The accelerator device 1 is provided with an acceleration arm 12 including an acceleration pedal 11; a support case 13 internally including an arm base end 12a and turnably supporting the base end 12a through a spindle 14; returning springs 16, 17 for urging the turning of the acceleration arm 12 in a returning direction; and an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration opening. A friction piece 19 slidable with a flat inner surface 13d of the support case 13 is interposed between the arm base end 12a and the returning springs 16, 17. Both contact surfaces of the arm base end 12a and the friction piece 19 are inclined relative to the urging direction of the returning springs 16, 17. When the acceleration arm 12 is turned, the load of the returning springs 16, 17 received by the friction piece 19 is converted to a direction where the friction piece 19 is pressed to the inner surface 13d of the support case 13 by inclination of both contact surfaces to bring the friction piece 19 into slide contact with the support case 13. Hysteresis is given to the pedal effort at stepping-on and returning of the acceleration pedal 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an accelerator device that is used in, for example, an electronically controlled throttle device for a vehicle engine and includes an accelerator pedal and an accelerator sensor that detects the amount of depression of the pedal.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic control slot device in which an accelerator cable is abolished is known as a device employed in a vehicle engine or the like. An accelerator device is used for this device. The accelerator device includes an accelerator pedal and an accelerator sensor that detects an amount of depression of the pedal as an accelerator opening. The electronically controlled throttle device controls the throttle valve opening (throttle opening) based on the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator sensor.

  As a technique regarding an accelerator device, for example, there are those described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 below. The accelerator pedal device of Patent Document 1 includes a pedal arm that can be moved from a rest position to a maximum step position by a pedal force transmitted from an accelerator pedal, a pedal shaft that supports the pedal arm in a swingable manner, and the pedal arm toward the rest position. A return spring that is urged to return, and a frictional force generation mechanism that generates a frictional force as the pedal arm moves. The frictional force generating mechanism has a sliding guide path and frictional force varying means. The sliding guide path defines a sliding surface that generates a frictional force, and specifically includes a cylindrical housing. The frictional force varying means increases the frictional force generated when the pedal arm moves toward the maximum depressed position according to the amount of movement, and the frictional force generated when the pedal arm moves toward the rest position. The frictional force is changed in accordance with the movement of the pedal arm and disposed in the sliding guide path so as to decrease in accordance with the movement amount. Specifically, the frictional force varying means includes a movable friction member slidably mounted in the housing, a return spring that biases the movable friction member back to its original position, and a free end of the pedal arm. A first abutting member disposed between the movable friction member and a second abutting member disposed between the movable friction member and the return spring.

  The travel pedal device of Patent Document 2 includes a travel pedal plate, a compression spring that applies a return force to the travel pedal plate, and one friction element for generating force hysteresis when the travel pedal plate is operated. The friction element is abutted by a compression spring. A lever laid rotatably is coupled to the travel pedal plate. The recess provided in the lever has an inner surface that is obliquely cut, and is in close contact with the inner surface so that the wedge-shaped outer surface of the friction element can be repositioned. The outer surface of the friction element facing the wedge-shaped outer surface is in close contact with the inner wall of the casing or the friction surface provided on the inner wall.

  In the accelerator device of Patent Document 3, a base end portion of an accelerator arm is supported by a support case, and a friction portion including an arc-shaped contact surface is provided on the support case. A friction piece including an arc-shaped contact surface that is in contact with the contacted surface is attached to the base end portion of the accelerator arm. It arrange | positions so that the contact surface of this friction piece may circumscribe the to-be-contacted surface of a friction part. Then, when the accelerator arm rotates, the contact force of the friction piece together with the base end of the accelerator arm is brought into sliding contact with the contact surface of the friction part, so that the pedaling force is reduced between the stepping on the accelerator pedal and the returning side. Is provided with hysteresis.

International Publication WO 01/19638 A1 Pamphlet European Patent Application Publication No. EP 0 748 713 A2 JP 2004-9821 A

  However, in the accelerator pedal device of Patent Document 1 described above, the pedal arm rotates, whereas the movable friction member, the return spring, the first contact member, and the second contact member mounted in the housing move linearly. It is supposed to be. For this reason, it is difficult for the characteristics of the pedal force transmitted from the accelerator pedal to be linear. Further, since the contact surfaces of the housing and the movable friction member are curved surfaces, the pedaling force characteristics may become unstable due to the curved surface accuracy.

  On the other hand, in the traveling pedal device of Patent Document 2 described above, since the contact surfaces of the friction elements are curved surfaces, the pedaling force characteristics may be unstable due to the curved surface accuracy. Further, since there is only one friction element, the surface pressure on the contact surface of the friction element tends to increase and the pedaling force change tends to increase.

  Further, in the accelerator device of Patent Document 3 described above, since the contact surface of the friction piece and the contacted surface of the friction portion are curved surfaces, there is a risk that the pedaling force characteristics may become unstable due to the curved surface accuracy. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an accelerator device capable of obtaining a linear and stable pedaling force characteristic.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes an accelerator arm having an accelerator pedal at a distal end portion and a base end portion of the accelerator arm, and the base end portion is rotated via a support shaft. A support case that can be supported, a return spring that urges the rotation of the accelerator arm in the return direction to return the accelerator pedal to the return position, and an accelerator sensor that detects the amount of rotation of the accelerator arm as the accelerator opening; The friction device has an outer surface that is interposed between the base end portion of the accelerator arm and the return spring and is slidable on the flat inner surface of the support case, and the base end portion of the accelerator arm. Both contact surfaces of the friction piece are inclined with respect to the biasing direction of the return spring, and when the accelerator arm rotates, the load of the return spring received by the friction piece is inclined by the inclination of both contact surfaces. By The hysteresis is applied to the pedaling force when the accelerator pedal is depressed and returned by changing the direction in which the outer surface of the friction piece is pressed against the inner surface of the support case and sliding the friction piece against the support case. The purpose.

  According to the configuration of the above invention, hysteresis is imparted to the pedal force when the accelerator pedal is depressed and when the accelerator pedal is depressed only by attaching the friction piece to the basic configuration including the accelerator pedal, the accelerator arm, the support case, and the return spring. . In addition, since the inner side surface of the support case that is the sliding contact partner of the outer side surface of the friction piece is flat, the outer side surface of the friction piece is pressed against the inner side surface of the support case with a stable force even during sliding contact. Further, the inclination angle of the both contact surfaces and the urging force of the return spring can be arbitrarily set according to the design necessity.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, an auxiliary friction piece that is in sliding contact with the inner surface of the support case is provided at the base end of the accelerator arm. The purpose is that.

  According to the configuration of the invention described above, in addition to the operation of the invention described in claim 1, the thrust position of the base end portion of the accelerator arm is stabilized, and the load for pressing the friction piece against the support case is halved. Further, by appropriately changing the coefficient of friction of the auxiliary friction piece, the sliding contact resistance is changed, and the pedaling force characteristic when the accelerator pedal is depressed and when it is returned can be arbitrarily changed.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, a linear and stable pedal force characteristic can be obtained. Further, the depression force of the accelerator pedal and its hysteresis can be arbitrarily set by setting the inclination angle of the contact surface and the biasing force of the return spring.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the pedaling force of the accelerator pedal can be stabilized and wear of the friction piece can be suppressed. Further, the pedaling force characteristic can be arbitrarily adjusted.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an accelerator device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a side view of the accelerator device 1 and FIG. 2 shows a front view of the accelerator device 1. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the main internal structure of the accelerator apparatus 1.

  In this embodiment, the accelerator device 1 is used in an electronically controlled throttle device for a vehicle engine. The accelerator apparatus 1 includes, as a basic configuration, a resin-made accelerator arm 12 having an accelerator pedal 11 at the tip, a resin-made support case 13, a support shaft 14 formed integrally with the support case 13, and an accelerator sensor 15. And a pair of return springs 16 and 17 made of a metal coil spring. In this embodiment, the accelerator arm 12 and the support case 13 are each formed of “6-nylon” containing glass fiber.

  The accelerator pedal 11 is integrally formed at the distal end portion of the accelerator arm 12. A pedal stopper 11 a that extends downward is integrally formed on the lower side of the accelerator pedal 11. When the accelerator pedal 11 is stepped on by the driver, the pedal stopper 11a makes the driver feel that the driver is fully open by hitting the floor. The accelerator pedal 11 is provided so that it can be depressed between a fully closed position and a fully open position. That is, the support case 13 includes a base end portion (hereinafter referred to as “arm base end portion”) 12 a of the accelerator arm 12, and supports the arm base end portion 12 a so as to be rotatable via the support shaft 14. To do. As a result, the accelerator pedal 11 and the accelerator arm 12 are provided so as to be operable between a fully closed position as a return position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a fully open position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  The support case 13 includes a main body case 13A and a lid case 13B. As shown in FIG. 1, the lid case 13B is fixed to the main body case 13A with screws 18. Attachment holes 13a for inserting attachment bolts are formed at three corners of the main body case 13A. The pair of return springs 16 and 17 urges the rotation of the accelerator arm 12 in the return direction in order to return the accelerator pedal 11 to the fully closed position. The two return springs 16 and 17 can function as the fail-safe when one of them becomes ineffective.

  The accelerator sensor 15 is provided inside the lid case 13B. The accelerator sensor 15 detects the amount of rotation of the accelerator arm 12 as the accelerator opening in conjunction with the operation of the accelerator pedal 11. An electrical wiring connector 13b is formed on the top of the lid case 13B.

  FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the accelerator sensor 15 and the like. The support shaft 14 includes a pair of protrusions 14a and 14b formed to face the inner side surfaces 13d and 13f of the main body case 13A and the lid case 13B. Shaft holes 12e and 12f formed in the arm base end portion 12a are assembled to the projections 14a and 14b via the bush 21. The accelerator sensor 15 includes a sensor lever 15a, a sensor brush 15b provided on the lever 15a, and a sensor substrate 15c arranged corresponding to the brush 15b. The base end portion of the sensor lever 15a is connected to a support pin 12g projecting from the shaft hole 12f, and is provided to be rotatable around the support pin 12g. The sensor substrate 15c includes an electrode that contacts the brush 15b and an output circuit that outputs a signal corresponding to the rotation amount of the sensor lever 15a as an accelerator opening. The sensor substrate 15c is connected to a terminal 15d provided on the connector 13b.

  Accordingly, as the accelerator pedal 11 is operated, the arm base end portion 12a rotates about the support shaft 14, so that the sensor lever 15a rotates about the support pin 12g together with the arm base end portion 12a. The rotation of the sensor lever 15a is replaced by the movement of the brush 15b with respect to the sensor substrate 15c, and the rotation amount is output from the sensor substrate 15c as the accelerator opening. The sensor lever 15a rotates in the forward direction when the accelerator pedal 11 is depressed in the fully open direction, and rotates in the reverse direction when the accelerator pedal 11 is operated in the fully closed direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a friction piece 19 that functions as a spring receiver is interposed between the arm base end portion 12 a and the return springs 16 and 17. The friction piece 19 is attached to the front side of the arm base end portion 12a. A spring receiver 13c is formed inside the main body case 13A facing the friction piece 19. Return springs 16 and 17 are provided between the friction piece 19 and the spring receiver 13c. As shown in FIG. 5, the friction piece 19 has a pin 19c extending rearward. As shown in FIG. 6, a built-in hole 12c corresponding to the pin 19c is formed on the front side of the arm base end portion 12a. The friction piece 19 is supported by the arm base end portion 12a by incorporating the pin 19c into the assembly hole 12c.

  FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the support case 13 cut along the expansion and contraction directions of the return springs 16 and 17. The main body case 13A and the lid case 13B have flat inner side surfaces 13d and 13f, respectively. The friction piece 19 has a flat outer surface 19a that can slide on the inner surface 13d of the main body case 13A. The contact surfaces 12b and 19b of both the arm base end portion 12a and the friction piece 19 are inclined by a predetermined inclination angle θ1 with respect to the biasing direction X of the return springs 16 and 17. An auxiliary friction piece 20 is provided on the side surface side of the arm base end portion 12a. The auxiliary friction piece 20 has a flat outer surface 20a that is in sliding contact with the flat inner surface 13f of the lid case 13B. As shown in FIG. 8, the auxiliary friction piece 20 has a protrusion 20b protruding rearward. An assembly hole 12d corresponding to the protrusion 20b is formed on the side surface side of the arm base end portion 12a. The auxiliary friction piece 20 is supported by the arm base end portion 12a by assembling the protrusion 20b into the assembly hole 12d. In this embodiment, the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 are formed using “polyacetal” as a material.

  FIG. 9 shows an enlarged main part of FIG. In this accelerator device 1, the load on the return springs 16 and 17 (spring load Fsp) received by the friction piece 19 when the accelerator arm 12 rotates is applied to the outside of the friction piece 19 by the inclination of the contact surfaces 12b and 19b. The direction in which the side surface 19a is pressed against the inner side surface 13d of the main body case 13A (load vector direction D1) and the direction in which the outer side surface 20a of the auxiliary friction piece 20 is pressed against the inner side surface 13f of the lid case 13B (load vector direction D2) And the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 are brought into sliding contact with the cases 13A and 13B, respectively, so that hysteresis is applied to the pedal force when the accelerator pedal 11 is depressed and returned.

  In FIG. 9, an intermediate point between the contact areas of both contact surfaces 12b and 19b is “P1”, and both end points of the contact areas are “P2, P3”, respectively. The first intersection line that intersects the contact surfaces 12b and 19b perpendicularly through the intermediate point P1 is defined as “L1”, and the second and third elements that intersect the contact surfaces 12b and 19b perpendicularly through the end points P2 and P3. The intersecting lines are respectively “L2, L3”. In this embodiment, the first intersection line L1 passes through the outer surfaces 19a, 20a of the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20, the second intersection line L2 passes through the end of the outer surface 19a of the friction piece 19, The three intersecting lines L3 are set so as to pass through the end of the outer surface 20a of the auxiliary friction piece 20. Here, the points where the first intersecting line L1 intersects each of the outer surfaces 19a and 20a are defined as “Q1, Q2”, the points where the second intersecting line L2 intersects the end of the outer surface 19a are represented as “Q3”, and the third intersecting line. A point where L3 intersects with the end of the outer surface 20a is defined as “Q4”. Here, the distance between both points Q1, Q3 and the distance between both points Q2, Q4 are set to be as short as possible. This is to reduce stick slip when the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 are in sliding contact with the cases 13A and 13B. A rotational moment acts on the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 by the spring load Fsp. Due to this rotational moment, force is applied to the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 with the points Q1 and Q2 as moment points, and the end points Q3 and Q4 act as contact points. At this time, the end points Q3 and Q4 are shaken and cause stick slip. Therefore, by shortening the distance between the two points Q1 and Q3 and the distance between the two points Q2 and Q4 as much as possible, the vicinity of each of the end points Q3 and Q4 acting as a contact point is constrained, and each of the end points Q3 and Q3 is restricted. Q4 is less likely to shake, thereby preventing stick-slip.

  According to the accelerator device 1 of the present embodiment described above, the accelerator arm 12 is connected to the support shaft 14 as the accelerator pedal 11 is stepped on or returned, as indicated by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in FIG. Is rotated with respect to the support case 13. At this time, the outer side surface 19a of the friction piece 19 together with the arm base end portion 12a is in sliding contact with the inner side surface 13d of the main body case 13A, and the outer side surface 20a of the auxiliary friction piece 20 is in sliding contact with the inner side surface 13f of the lid case 13B. Thereby, hysteresis is given to the pedaling force when the accelerator pedal 11 is depressed and returned. That is, when the pedal is depressed, the sum of the urging force of the return springs 16 and 17 and the sliding contact resistance between the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 is applied to the driver's foot as a depression force. On the other hand, at the time of return, the force obtained by subtracting the sliding contact resistance from the urging force of both return springs 16 and 17 is applied to the driver's foot as a stepping force. Thereby, hysteresis is given to the pedaling force when the accelerator pedal 11 is depressed and returned.

  FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the pedal effort and the accelerator pedal stroke (pedal stroke). In the graph, the thick line indicates the characteristic of the present embodiment, and the broken line indicates the characteristic of the conventional example (accelerator device described in Patent Document 3). As is apparent from this graph, the relationship between the pedal stroke and the pedaling force shows a linear characteristic. It can also be seen that there is a significant difference in the pedaling force between the stepping direction and the return direction. Here, the pedaling force in the stepping direction is larger than the base pedaling force, and the pedaling force in the returning direction is smaller than the base pedaling force. As is apparent from this graph, the pedal effort hysteresis HS1 of this embodiment is significantly larger than the pedal effort hysteresis HS2 of the conventional example. Since the pedaling force hysteresis is relatively large, it is possible to give the driver an operational feeling with a sag between when the accelerator pedal 11 is depressed and when it is returned.

  According to the accelerator device 1 of this embodiment, the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 are simply added and assembled to the basic configuration including the accelerator pedal 11, the accelerator arm 12, the support case 13, the return springs 16 and 17, and the like. Thus, hysteresis is applied to the depression force of the accelerator pedal 11. Moreover, the friction piece 19 is also provided as a spring receiver. For this reason, the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 for providing the pedaling force hysteresis can be assembled relatively easily with respect to the basic configuration. Further, since the inner side surfaces 13d and 13f of the cases 13A and 13B, which are the sliding contacts of the outer side surfaces 19a and 20a of the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20, are flat, the outer side surfaces of the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 19a and 20a are pressed against the inner side surfaces 13d and 13f of the cases 13A and 13B with a stable force even during sliding contact. For this reason, according to this accelerator apparatus 1, a linear and stable pedaling force characteristic can be obtained. Further, at the time of designing the accelerator device 1, the inclination angle θ1 of the contact surfaces 12b and 19b and the urging force of the return springs 16 and 17 can be arbitrarily set according to the design necessity. For this reason, the depression force of the accelerator pedal 11 and its hysteresis can be arbitrarily set by setting the inclination angle θ1 and the urging force.

  In this embodiment, in addition to the friction piece 19, an auxiliary friction piece 20 is provided on the arm base end portion 12a. Accordingly, the thrust position of the arm base end portion 12a is stabilized, and the load for pressing the friction piece 19 against the support case 13 is halved. For this reason, the depression force of the accelerator pedal 11 can be stabilized, and the wear of the friction piece 19 can be suppressed. Further, by appropriately changing the friction coefficient of the auxiliary friction piece 20 by changing the material or the like, the sliding contact resistance with respect to the inner side surface 13f of the lid case 13B is changed, and the pedaling force characteristics when the accelerator pedal 11 is depressed and returned are arbitrarily changed. It is done. In this case, a plurality of types of auxiliary friction pieces 20 having different friction coefficients are prepared in advance, and an operator selects an optimum auxiliary friction piece 20 from among them, so that when the accelerator pedal 11 is depressed and returned. The pedaling force characteristic can be adjusted arbitrarily.

  According to the accelerator device 1 of this embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 9, the stick slip can be effectively prevented by setting the inclination angle θ1 of the contact surfaces 12b and 19b at the friction piece 19 and the arm base end portion 12a. Since it can prevent, a smooth accelerator feeling can be obtained.

  According to the accelerator device 1 of this embodiment, the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 are formed using “polyacetal” as a material, and the main body case 13A and the lid case 13B that are slidable contacts are made of “6-nylon containing glass fiber”. ”As a material, the friction coefficient 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 can reduce the change in the coefficient of friction over a long period of time. For this reason, the characteristic change regarding pedal effort hysteresis can be decreased, and the durability as the accelerator device 1 can be improved.

  According to the accelerator device 1 of this embodiment, since the friction piece 19 is also used as a spring receiver, a dedicated installation space for the friction piece 19 is not required. For this reason, the friction piece 19 for imparting pedaling force hysteresis can be compactly assembled with respect to the basic configuration of the accelerator device 1, and the accelerator device 1 can be downsized.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the meaning of invention, it can also implement as follows.

  In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the outer surfaces 19 a and 20 a of the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 19 are flat surfaces, respectively. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 19 The outer side surfaces 19a and 20a may be curved surfaces. In this case, even if a rotational moment acts on the friction piece 19 and the auxiliary friction piece 20 by the spring load Fsp, the surface contact between the outer side surfaces 19a and 20a and the inner side surfaces 13d and 13f of the cases 13A and 13B is made. Can be secured, and stick-slip can be prevented.

The side view which concerns on one Embodiment and shows an accelerator apparatus. The front view which shows an accelerator apparatus. The side view which shows the main internal structures of an accelerator apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows the structure etc. of an accelerator sensor. The top view which shows a friction piece. The figure which shows the front side of an arm base end part. Sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the support case along the predetermined direction. The figure explaining the assembly | attachment of the auxiliary | assistant friction piece to an arm base end part. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the principal part of FIG. The graph which shows the relational characteristic of pedal effort and pedal stroke. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view according to FIG. 9 according to another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Accelerator apparatus 11 Accelerator pedal 12 Accelerator arm 12a Arm base end part 12b Contact surface 13 Support case 13d Inner side surface 13f Inner side surface 14 Support shaft 15 Accelerator sensor 16 Return spring 17 Return spring 19 Friction piece 19a Outer side surface 19b Contact surface 20 Auxiliary friction Piece 20a outer surface

Claims (2)

An accelerator arm having an accelerator pedal at the tip;
A support case that encloses the base end of the accelerator arm and rotatably supports the base end via a support shaft;
A return spring that urges rotation of the accelerator arm in a return direction to return the accelerator pedal to a return position;
In an accelerator device comprising an accelerator sensor for detecting the amount of rotation of the accelerator arm as an accelerator opening,
A friction piece interposed between a base end portion of the accelerator arm and the return spring, and having an outer surface slidable on a flat inner surface of the support case;
Contact surfaces of both the base end portion of the accelerator arm and the friction piece are inclined with respect to the biasing direction of the return spring, and when the accelerator arm rotates, the friction piece The load of the return spring to be received is converted into a direction in which the outer surface of the friction piece is pressed against the inner surface of the support case by the inclination of the contact surfaces, and the friction piece is brought into sliding contact with the support case. Thus, the accelerator device is characterized in that hysteresis is given to the pedaling force when the accelerator pedal is depressed and when the accelerator pedal is depressed. The accelerator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an auxiliary friction piece slidably contacting with an inner surface of the support case is provided at a base end portion of the accelerator arm.

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