JP2006264632A - Braking operation input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive braking operation input device capable of obtaining good operation feeling that rigid feel is enhanced according to increase of an operation stroke. <P>SOLUTION: A fulcrum position adjustment mechanism 8 for varying a fulcrum position of rotation of a braking operation member 2 is provided on a braking operation input device 1 provided with a braking operation member 2 and a stroke simulator for giving the stroke according to operation force of the braking operation member to the braking operation member 2. As the fulcrum position adjustment mechanism 8, a mechanism is used, for example, in which reaction force is added from the stroke simulator 6<SB>-1</SB>to 6<SB>-3</SB>to a plurality of links 3, 4, 5 having fulcrums 3a, 4a, 5a of rotation respectively and operation of the link 3, 4, 5 successively occurs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is applied to a so-called by-wire type vehicle brake system that generates an electric signal corresponding to a brake operation and generates a braking force by controlling a hydraulic actuator or an electric actuator based on the electric signal. Brake operation input device suitable for

  In order to prevent the driver from feeling unsatisfied with the response of the brake pedal in the by-wire brake system, the following Patent Document 1 describes two types of coil springs (conical spring and cylindrical) having different spring constants. Has proposed a brake control device including a brake operation input device combined with a mold spring. Further, Patent Document 2 below includes a master cylinder for handling a safe, and normally generates an electric signal corresponding to a brake operation by operating a stroke simulator by lever rotation with a first rotating shaft as a fulcrum. In the event of an emergency, a brake operation input device that stops the operation of the stroke simulator and operates the master cylinder by switching the rotation fulcrum of the lever to the second rotation shaft has been proposed.

  In the brake operation input device of the brake control device disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the stroke of the brake pedal is less than a set value, only the spring force of the conical spring acts on the brake pedal as a reaction force. When the stroke exceeds the set value, the spring force of the two springs is added to act as a reaction force on the brake pedal. An operation feeling with a so-called changing stroke feeling is obtained, and when the brake pedal stroke exceeds a set value, an operation feeling with a so-called rigidity feeling that the change in the operation stroke is small relative to the change in the operation force is obtained. It is supposed to be. Such an operation feeling is said to be a good operation feeling.

  However, with the above structure of Patent Document 1, in order to obtain an operation feeling with rigidity that is preferable when the stroke of the brake pedal exceeds a set value, the stroke of the brake pedal is set. Cylindrical springs that are compressed after exceeding the value need to have a large spring constant, and such springs are generally thick and expensive, thus increasing the cost of brake operation input devices. Let

  In addition, since the operation feeling of the brake operation input device is determined only by the characteristics of the spring, it is difficult to obtain a good operation feeling that increases the sense of rigidity as the operation stroke increases.

On the other hand, in the brake operation input device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the stroke simulator is composed of one spring, and the position of the first rotation shaft where the reaction force against the brake operation during normal operation becomes the rotation fulcrum of the lever. Since the FS characteristic (change in operation stroke with respect to change in brake operation force) is constant, the rigidity at the stroke ratio cannot be changed. There are drawbacks.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-254778 JP 09-118208 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive brake operation input device that can obtain a good operation feeling without the above-mentioned problems.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a brake operation member that rotates and strokes around a fulcrum in response to a brake operation, and an operation of the brake operation member that is connected to a connection point of the brake operation member. In a brake operation input device comprising a stroke simulator that applies a stroke according to force to the brake operation member, a distance from the fulcrum to the connection point by changing the position of the fulcrum according to the stroke of the brake operation member A fulcrum position adjusting mechanism for changing the ratio of L1 and the distance L2 from the fulcrum to the input point of the brake operating member is provided.

Preferred embodiments of the brake operation input device of the present invention are listed below.
(1) The ratio of the distance L1 from the fulcrum to the connection point and the distance L2 from the fulcrum to the input point of the brake operation member according to an increase in the stroke of the brake operation member. The position of the fulcrum is changed in the direction of decreasing / L1.
(2) The fulcrum position adjusting mechanism displaces the fulcrum in a direction approaching the input point in accordance with an increase in the stroke of the brake operation member.
(3) A plurality of brake operation members each having a fulcrum of rotational movement are connected in sequence, and the brake operation member rotates to a position regulated by the stopper according to an increase in the stroke of the brake operation member, The structure is such that the rotation of the brake operation member occurs in order from the brake operation member on the side where the distance from the input point to the fulcrum is large, and the position of the fulcrum changes stepwise in a direction approaching the input point.
(4) Each of the plurality of brake operation members has a stroke simulator connected to a connection point of each brake operation member, and the number of operations of the stroke simulator increases as the stroke of the brake operation member increases. In addition, the fulcrum approaches the input point so that the reaction force against the brake operation increases stepwise.
(5) The fulcrum position adjustment mechanism includes an electrically controlled drive source, and the fulcrum is moved by the drive source to electrically control the ratio of the distance L1 to the distance L2, L2 / L1. What I did.

  In this invention, the position of the fulcrum of the rotational movement of the brake operation member is changed, and the change in the ratio between the distance L1 from the fulcrum to the connection point and the distance L2 from the fulcrum to the input point of the brake operation member due to the change. Is used to change the ratio of the brake operation force to the brake operation stroke. Therefore, it is possible to realize and provide an inexpensive brake operation input device that does not require an expensive spring having a large spring constant and reduces the cost.

  In addition, since the operation feeling changes due to the change of the fulcrum position, there is a feeling of stroke at the beginning of the brake operation, and on the other hand, when the brake operation stroke exceeds a predetermined stroke, a good operation feeling with rigidity is obtained. You can also.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a brake operation input device 1 of the first embodiment. The brake operation input device 1 of the first embodiment includes a brake operation member 2 configured by connecting a plurality of (three in the figure) links 3, 4, 5 (link 5 is a brake pedal), and each link. Three attached stroke simulators 6 ₋₁ , 6 ₋₂ , 6 ₋₃ , three stoppers 7 ₋₁ , 7 ₋₂ , 7 ₋₃ for restricting the rotation amount of each link, and the present invention The fulcrum position adjusting mechanism 8 is attached.

  Each of the links 3 to 5 constituting the brake operation member 2 has fulcrums 3a, 4a, and 5a for rotational movement. The rotation fulcrum 3a of the link 3 is attached to the fixed part. Further, the rotation fulcrum 4 a of the link 4 is formed by a connection pin of the link 4 with respect to the link 3. Similarly, the rotation fulcrum 5 a of the link 5 is formed by a connection pin of the link 5 with respect to the link 4. Furthermore, the link 5 is provided with an input point (stepping board) 5b.

Each of the stroke simulators 6 ₋₁ , 6 ₋₂ , and 6 ₋₃ is configured by a coil spring. These stroke simulator, 6 _-1 between the fixed part and the link 3, between 6 _-2 link 3 and link 4, are respectively disposed between 6 _-3 link 4 and the link 5 ing. Further, the spring force of each of the stroke simulators 6 _{-1 to} 6 _-3 is set so that the link rotation by the brake operation occurs in the order of the link 3, the link 4, and the link 5. The rotation order of the links is the distance L1 from the fulcrums 3a, 4a, 5a to the stroke simulator connection points J1, J2, J3 for each link (see FIG. 3. In the embodiment, the distance L1 changes according to the brake operation. ) and fulcrum 3a of each link from the input point 5b, 4a, and the distance L2 to 5a, so determined by the spring force of the stroke simulator ₆ -1 _{to 6 -3,} the stroke simulator ₆ -1 _{to 6 -3,} The springs having the same spring constant may be used (however, the same is not essential).

The stopper 7 _-1 fixing unit for stopping the rotation of the link 3, the stopper _7-2 link 3 to stop the rotation of the link 4, the stopper 7 _-3 for stopping the rotation of the link 5 are respectively provided in the link 4. The fulcrum position adjusting mechanism 8 is configured by combining the above elements.

In the brake operation input device 1 according to the first embodiment configured as described above, when an operation force (stepping force) is applied to the input point 5b, the link 3 is first moved from the position shown in FIG. in until, i.e., rotates about the fulcrum 3a while receiving a reaction force from the stroke simulator _6-1 to the position shown in FIG. 2 (b) striking the stopper 7 _-1.

Next, when the operation stroke of the brake operation member 2 exceeds the first predetermined stroke, the rotation fulcrum moves to the position 4a, and the link 4 rotates while receiving a reaction force from the stroke simulator _6-2 (FIG. 2). (See (c)). The link 4 hits the stopper _7-2 at the position where the operation stroke reaches the second predetermined stroke and is prevented from further rotation. For this reason, the rotation fulcrum is moved to the position 5a and the link 5 is moved. It rotates while receiving a reaction force from the stroke simulator _6-3 (see FIG. 2D).

  In this way, the fulcrum position changes with an increase in the stroke of the brake operation member 2, and the ratio L2 / of the distance L1 from the fulcrum to the stroke simulator connection point and the distance L2 from the fulcrum to the input point of the brake operation member. L1 becomes small and the boost ratio of the pedal effort decreases. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a good operation feeling in which the rigidity feeling gradually increases as the stroke increases without increasing the spring constant of the spring of the stroke simulator. FIG. 6 shows the FS characteristic determined by the change in the positional relationship between the fulcrum and the input point and the reaction force of the stroke simulator.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to use an expensive spring having a large spring constant, the cost of the brake operation input device can be reduced.

FIG. 4 shows the brake operation input device 11 of the second embodiment. In the brake operation input device 11 of the second embodiment, the fulcrums 13a, 14a, 15a of the links 13, 14, 15 constituting the brake operation member 12 are provided in the middle of each link and attached to each link. stroke simulator _{16 -1,} 16 -2, are arranged in a position far away from the input point 15b than _{16 -3} fulcrum 13A～15a. The fulcrum 13a is attached to the fixed part. Further, the fulcrums 14a and 15a are constituted by link connecting pins, and these configurations may be considered basically the same as the brake operation input device 1 of the first embodiment.

Stopper ₁₇ -1 for restricting an amount of rotation of each _link 17 -2, _{17 -3,} which are respectively attached to the link 13, 14, 15, the fixed portion of the stopper _{17 -1,} the stopper _{17 -2} The link 13 may be provided with a stopper _17-3 on the link 14, respectively. As described above, the link connection state and the arrangement of the stroke simulator can be changed as appropriate, and a free design for the mounting space is possible. Even if the fulcrum position of the link, the connection point of the stroke simulator, and the like are different, the operating state of the fulcrum position adjusting mechanism 18 configured by combining the above elements is not much different from that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 5). . Further, the FS characteristic is the same as that of the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 6, and it is possible to obtain a good operation feeling in which a feeling of rigidity increases with an increase in stroke.

  FIG. 7 shows a brake operation input device of the third embodiment. The brake operation input device 21 of the third embodiment includes a brake operation member (that is, a brake pedal in the figure) 22, a set of stroke simulators 23, a fulcrum position adjustment mechanism 24, an electronic control device 25 (ECU), A stroke sensor 26 that detects the stroke of the brake operation member 22, a treading force sensor 27 that detects an operation force applied to the brake operation member 22, and a changeover switch 28 that inputs a fulcrum position switching signal to the electronic control unit 25. It is configured.

  The stroke simulator 23 includes a cylindrical first spring seat 23a, a second spring seat 23b slidably inserted into the first spring seat 23a, and a first spring seat 23a and a second spring seat 23b. The coil spring 23c is arranged, a connecting rod 23d integral with the second spring seat 23b, and a stopper 23e that holds the second spring seat 23b in the cylinder of the first spring seat 23a. The first spring seat 23 a of the stroke simulator 23 is connected to the fixed portion by a pin 29, and the connecting rod 23 d is connected to the brake operation member 22 by a pin 30.

  The fulcrum position adjuster 24 includes a movable member 24a that is slidably attached to the brake operation member 22, a motor 24b as a power source, and a power transmission element that transmits a driving force from the motor 24b to the movable member 24a. -Pinion) 24c. A rotation fulcrum 22a of the brake operation member 22 is provided on the movable member 24a, and the position of the fulcrum 22a changes as the movable member 24a moves. Therefore, the ratio (L2 / L1) of the distance L1 from the fulcrum 22a to the connection point of the stroke simulator 23 with respect to the brake operation member 22 and the distance L2 from the fulcrum 22a to the input point 22b of the brake operation member 22 changes. The boost ratio changes.

  In the brake operation input device 21 of the third embodiment, when the stroke of the brake operation member 22 exceeds a predetermined stroke, the motor 24b is driven to reduce the ratio (L2 / L1) (the fulcrum 22a is input). The FS characteristic of FIG. 8 can be obtained by controlling the position of the fulcrum 22a in the direction approaching the point 22b. In addition, the FS characteristic can be switched according to the driver's preference. By operating the changeover switch 28, the position of the fulcrum 22a can be changed to achieve a characteristic with a long stroke as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. In addition, when a so-called sudden brake is applied at a high operation speed of the brake operation member 22, a high braking force can be generated with a short stroke by setting a short stroke characteristic indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. .

  It should be noted that the sudden braking is determined by the electronic control unit 25 based on a signal from the stroke sensor 26, and a command is sent to the motor 24b from here to switch the FS characteristic to a characteristic having a short stroke. Further, the braking force at this time may be controlled according to the output of the pedal force sensor 27, and the control is also performed by a command from the electronic control device 25. In this way, the device that electrically controls and changes the fulcrum position of the rotation of the brake operation member also has a good operation feeling according to the driver's preference and braking situation with an inexpensive configuration that does not use an expensive spring Can be obtained.

  The stroke simulator only needs to be able to mechanically apply a reaction force to the brake operation member, and may be an elastic body such as a spring other than the coil spring or rubber other than the spring. Further, the control of the fulcrum position by the motor can also be adopted in a brake operation input device such as a variable link pedal constituted by a plurality of links.

The side view which shows the outline | summary of the brake operation input device of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the operation condition of the brake operation input device of 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing of ratio of distance L2 from the fulcrum of rotation of a brake operation member to a stroke simulator connection point, and distance L2 from the said fulcrum to the input point of a brake operation member The side view which shows the outline | summary of the brake operation input device of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the operation condition of the brake operation input device of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the FS characteristic of the brake operation input device of 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment The partially broken side view which shows the outline | summary of the brake operation input device of 3rd Embodiment The figure which shows the FS characteristic of the brake operation input device of 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1, 11, 21 the brake operation input device 2,12,22 brake operating member 3～5,13～15 link 3a~5a, 13a~15a, 22a fulcrum 5b, 15b, 22b input point ₆ -1 _{to 6 -3,} 16 _-1 to 16 _-3, 23 stroke simulator 23a first spring seat 23b second spring seat 23c coil spring 23d connecting rod 23e stopper ₇ -1 _{to 7 -3,} 17 -1 _{to 17 -3} stopper 8,18,24 Support point adjustment mechanism 24a Movable member 24b Motor 24c Power transmission element 25 Electronic control unit 26 Stroke sensor 27 Treading force sensor 28 Changeover switch 29, 30 Pins J1, J2, J3 Connection point

Claims (6)

  A brake operation member that rotates and strokes around a fulcrum according to a brake operation, and a stroke that is connected to a connection point of the brake operation member and corresponds to the operation force of the brake operation member is applied to the brake operation member. In a brake operation input device comprising a stroke simulator, the position of the fulcrum is changed according to the stroke of the brake operation member, and the distance L1 from the fulcrum to the connection point and from the fulcrum to the input point of the brake operation member A brake operation input device provided with a fulcrum position adjusting mechanism for changing the ratio of the distance L2.   The fulcrum position adjusting mechanism has a ratio L2 / L1 between a distance L1 from the fulcrum to the connection point and a distance L2 from the fulcrum to the input point of the brake operation member according to an increase in the stroke of the brake operation member. The brake operation input device according to claim 1, wherein the position of the fulcrum is changed in a decreasing direction.   The brake operation input device according to claim 2, wherein the fulcrum position adjusting mechanism displaces the fulcrum in a direction approaching the input point in accordance with an increase in stroke of the brake operation member. A plurality of brake operation members each having a fulcrum of rotational movement are connected in sequence, and the brake operation member rotates to a position where the brake operation member is regulated by a stopper in accordance with an increase in stroke of the brake operation member. The rotation of the fulcrum occurs in order from the brake operation member on the side where the distance from the input point to the fulcrum is large, and the position of the fulcrum changes stepwise in a direction approaching the input point. Item 4. The brake operation input device according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   Each of the plurality of brake operation members has a stroke simulator connected to a connection point of each brake operation member, and the number of operation of the stroke simulator increases as the stroke of the brake operation member increases, and The brake operation input device according to claim 4, wherein the fulcrum approaches the input point and a reaction force against the brake operation increases stepwise.   The fulcrum position adjusting mechanism includes an electrically controlled drive source, and the fulcrum is moved by the drive source to electrically control the ratio of the distance L1 to the distance L2, L2 / L1. The brake operation input device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein

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