JP2007176248A - Parking brake device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parking brake device having an operation lever on a seat. <P>SOLUTION: In the parking brake device 1 in which an operation lever 11 is provided on a seat 2 of a driver's seat, and a brake operation unit 15 for pulling a brake cable 16 in response to the turning operation of the operation lever 11 is arranged on a vehicle body, a pinion 12 coaxial with a rotary shaft 13 of the operation lever 11 is provided on the operation lever 11, and a rack 13 to be advanced by the engagement of the pinion 12 from a stage in which the operation lever 11 is raised is provided on the vehicle body. The rack 13 and a brake operation unit 15 are connected to each other via an intermediate cable 14, a pinion 12 is rotated by the rotational operation of the operation lever 11, and the rack 13 is advanced by the rotation of the pinion 12. The advancement of the rack 13 is transmitted to the brake operation unit 15 by the intermediate cable 14, and the brake operation unit 15 pulls the brake cable 16 in the parking brake device 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a parking brake device in which an operation lever is provided on an automobile seat.

  The operating lever of the parking brake device normally protrudes from between the seats of the driver's seat and the passenger seat. There is a problem that the operational relationship changes due to the change in positional relationship. From this, a parking brake device has been proposed in which an operation lever is provided in a driver's seat and the operation lever can be adjusted in the front-rear position together with the driver's seat so that the operation feeling is constant (Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, an operation lever (parking brake operation lever) and a slide rail provided with ratchet teeth and a plurality of pin holes are provided on the seat of the driver's seat, and a lock pin for engaging or releasing the operation lever and the slide rail is provided. A parking brake device provided separately is disclosed (see claims 1 to 3 in addition to the claims of Patent Document 1). In this parking brake device, a brake cable is connected to a slide rail, and if necessary, an operation lever is engaged with the slide rail by a lock pin to link the two and pull the brake cable.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-191964

  When the operation lever is provided on the driver's seat, the relative positional relationship between the seat and the operation lever will not change, so the operation feeling of the operation lever can be kept constant, but if the brake cable is directly connected to the operation lever, Since the operation lever can be adjusted in the front-rear position, the effective length of the brake cable (the length required for the wheel brake mechanism) becomes longer or shorter, which may change the braking state. Therefore, the parking brake device of Patent Document 1 separates the operation lever that rotates and the slide rail that pulls the brake cable, and interlocks them with a lock pin as necessary to prevent a change in the braking state. . However, the lock pin must be operated separately from the operation lever, and there is a problem that the operability of the entire parking brake device is impaired.

  Moreover, the parking brake apparatus of patent document 1 provides the ratchet mechanism in the slide plate, and can maintain the state which pulled the brake cable independently by the slide rail. From this, it can be considered that the lock lever is intentionally removed and the operation lever is tilted so that the operation lever does not protrude from the seat portion of the seat while the braking state is maintained. However, since it is difficult to connect the operation lever and the slide plate again with the lock pin, there is a problem that it is not practical to tilt the operation lever. Therefore, the problem seen in the parking brake device of Patent Document 1, that is, a configuration in which the rotation operation of the operation lever is transmitted to the brake actuating part, or the operation lever is tilted and stored in a state where the braking state is created. We examined a parking brake device with an operating lever.

  What has been developed as a result of the study is a parking brake device in which an operating lever is provided on the seat of the driver's seat, and a brake operating unit that pulls the brake cable in response to the rotating operation of the operating lever is arranged on the vehicle body. A pinion that is coaxial with the control lever is provided on the operation lever, a rack that moves forward when the pinion engages with the operation lever is provided on the vehicle body, the rack and the brake operating unit are connected by an intermediate cable, and the operation lever A parking brake device in which the pinion is rotated by rotating the pinion, the rack is advanced by the rotation of the pinion, the advance of the rack is transmitted to the brake operating unit by an intermediate cable, and the brake operating unit pulls the brake cable.

  The parking brake device according to the present invention is characterized in that a rack and pinion mechanism including a pinion provided on the operation lever and a rack provided on the vehicle body is employed as a configuration for transmitting the rotation operation of the operation lever to the brake operating unit. Thereby, even if the front and rear positions of the operation lever are adjusted in accordance with the seat, the rack can be advanced according to the rotation amount of the pinion regardless of the positional relationship where the pinion meshes with the rack. Here, it is preferable that the pinion has a fan shape having teeth in a range where the pinion is engaged with the rack from the stage where the operation lever is raised. As a result, the pinion does not bite into the rack when the operation lever is tilted and retracted, and the operation lever is not caused by the adjustment of the front-rear position of the seat, and conversely, the rack does not retract freely.

  The rack provided on the vehicle body is provided with a track hole and a connection hole, which are elongated holes extending in the forward and backward directions. The track hole engages a guide protrusion protruding from the vehicle body at the front end, and the connection hole connects the connecting portion of the intermediate cable to the rear end. It is good to make it the structure engaged with. The track hole determines the rack advance / retreat range and the rack retraction limit by engaging the guide protrusion with the front end. By connecting the connecting portion of the intermediate cable to the rear end, the connecting hole can reliably pull the intermediate cable as the rack advances. Also, as will be described later, when the operation lever is tilted while maintaining the braking state by the lock mechanism, the intermediate cable connection part can move toward the front end of the coupling hole, so that the intermediate cable is not affected by the backward movement of the rack. I'll do it.

  In the parking brake device of the present invention, by providing a lock mechanism in the brake operating portion, the operation lever can be tilted and stored while maintaining the braking state. Specifically, the brake actuating portion is provided with a lock mechanism that selectively maintains and releases the tension of the brake cable according to the number of times of the tension of the intermediate cable, thereby causing the operation lever to advance the rack, When the intermediate cable is pulled, the brake operating part pulls the brake cable and the lock mechanism can tilt the operation lever while maintaining the tension of the brake cable. When the cable is pulled, the brake actuating part pulls the brake cable and the lock mechanism releases the brake cable and then the operation lever can be tilted.

  In addition, when a lock mechanism is provided in the brake operating part, if the operation lever is provided with an urging means in the push-down direction, the lock mechanism maintains the brake cable tension or releases the brake cable tension. When the rotation of the operation lever is stopped, the operation lever can be tilted according to the biasing means. As a result, except for the rotation operation, the operation lever is automatically tilted and stored, and does not protrude from the seat portion of the seat.

  Similarly, if the rack is provided with an urging means in the backward direction, the urging force is applied when the operation of the operation lever is stopped in a state where the lock mechanism maintains the brake cable tension or releases the brake cable tension. The rack can be retracted according to the means, and the operation lever can be tilted according to the rack. The biasing means provided on the rack also has a function of reliably returning the rack to the initial position.

  The parking brake device according to the present invention adopts a rack and pinion mechanism including a pinion provided on the operation lever and a rack provided on the vehicle body as a configuration for transmitting the rotation operation of the operation lever to the brake operating unit, thereby matching the seat. The operating feeling of the operating lever can be kept constant while adjusting the operating lever back and forth. In addition, by disposing the lock mechanism that is selectively maintained and released according to the number of pulls of the intermediate cable in the brake operating portion, it is possible to retract and store only the operation lever while maintaining the braking state.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a parking brake device 1 according to the present invention as seen from the upper right obliquely upper side, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the parking brake device 1 of the present example as seen from an obliquely lower right front, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the seat 2 as viewed from diagonally above and to the left front. For convenience of explanation, the decorative cover 118 of the operation lever 11 is omitted except for FIG.

  First, the configuration of the parking brake device 1 of this example will be described. 1 to 4, the parking brake device 1 of the present example is referred to as an inner side surface of the seat portion 21 of the driver's seat 2 (in this example, the side between the driver seat and the passenger seat is referred to as an inner side surface). The same applies to the following.) The operation lever 11 is provided, the rack 13 is provided on the inner side surface of the inner rail 221 of the frame 22 that constitutes the track of the seat 2 to adjust the front-rear position, and the seat 21 of the seat 2 A brake operating unit 15 is provided at a position between the outer rail 222 and the inner rail 221 of the gantry 22, and the rack 13 and the brake operating unit 15 are connected by an intermediate cable 14. The brake actuating portion 15 is preferably provided at a hidden position that is not visually recognized from the outside, and may be provided at a location other than under the seat portion 21 of the seat 2 as long as it is the hidden position. However, from the viewpoint of shortening the intermediate cable 14, it is preferable to provide it under the seat portion 21 of the seat 2 as in this example.

  The operation lever 11 has the same configuration as that of a conventionally known parking brake device, and the decorative cover 118 hides other than the grip 111 that is rotated. The operation lever 11 of this example is attached to a lever base 114 attached to the inner surface of the seat portion 21 of the seat 2 in the decorative cover 118 so as to be freely rotatable via a rotation shaft 113. The lever base 114 is fixed to the inner surface of the seat 2 via a lever mounting bracket 115 that is integrated with the seat portion 21 of the seat 2 and slides along the inner rail 221 of the gantry 22. ing. The pinion 12 is a fan-shaped member attached to the opposite lever body 112 across the rotary shaft 113 and a grip 111 extending forward from the rotary shaft 113, and has a large number of teeth 121 on the fan-shaped edge. The pinion 12 is attached to the lever main body 112 so as to be engaged with the rack 13 after the operation lever 11 is raised to a certain degree. That is, if the operation lever 11 is tilted until the grip 111 is leveled, the engagement between the pinion 12 and the rack 13 is completely eliminated, and the rack 13 is moved forward and eventually the brake operating portion until the operation lever 11 is slightly lifted. 15 is not in a braking state.

  In addition, the operation lever 11 of this example bridges a lever return spring (coil spring) 117 between the base arm 116 protruding forward of the lever base 114 and the base of the grip 111, and gives an urging force in the tilting direction. ing. As a result, when the rotation operation to be caused is stopped and the operation lever 11 is released, the operation lever 11 automatically falls, and the rack 13 can also be retracted within a range where the pinion 12 is engaged. Further, as described above, the operation lever 11 is in a free state when the pinion 12 does not engage with the rack 13, but since it is biased in the direction to be tilted by the lever return spring 117, it is tilted and the seat 2 seats. There is no possibility that the operating lever 11 housed below the portion 21 will rattle.

  The rack 13 is a plate member provided with three track holes 132 which are elongated holes extending in the forward / backward direction and one connection hole 133, and a plurality of teeth 131 which mesh with the pinion 12 are provided on the upper edge. In the rack 13 of this example, the forward / backward direction and the front / rear position adjustment direction of the seat 2 coincide with each other, so that each track hole 132 and the connection hole 133 extend in the front / rear position adjustment direction of the seat 2. Are aligned in the front-rear position adjustment direction of the seat 2. The teeth 131 that mesh with the pinion 12 may be formed integrally with the rack 13, or a member provided with only the teeth 131 may be attached to the rack 13. The range where the teeth 131 are arranged is a rack where the front and rear adjustment range of the seat 2 and the pinion 12 are engaged so that the pinion 12 can be surely engaged even when the operation lever 11 whose front and rear position is adjusted according to the seat 2 is rotated. 13 is a long range that is more than the total length of the advance.

  The three track holes 132 are arranged in series and at equal intervals in the forward / backward direction of the rack 13, protrude from the rack mounting bracket 134 fixed to the inner rail 221 of the gantry 22 of the seat 2, and extend in the direction of adjusting the longitudinal position of the seat 2. Three guide projections 135 arranged in series and at equal intervals are respectively engaged with the front end. The guide projection 135 of this example is a bolt projecting from the rack mounting bracket 134, and the nut is engaged with the rack 13 by screwing a nut onto the bolt projecting from each track hole 132. In this way, the rack 13 in which a plurality of, preferably three or more guide protrusions 135 are engaged with the corresponding track holes 132 is supported by all the guide protrusions 135, and the forward / backward direction is the direction of adjusting the front / rear position of the seat 2 Because it is regulated, it is guided in a stable and reliable direction. The rack 13 can advance in a range in which the rear end of the track hole 132 is engaged with the guide protrusion 135 whose position is fixed.

  The connection hole 133 may be provided in any part of the rack 13 as long as it is parallel to the track hole 132, but in this example, the overhanging portion 139 formed under the track hole 132 provided in the forefront of the rack 13 It is provided in parallel with the track hole 132. The rack 13 moves forward within the range of the length of the track hole 132, and when the lock mechanism of the brake operating unit 15 is activated, only the rack 13 moves backward while the intermediate cable 14 is kept pulled. The length of the connecting hole 133 is made equal to the length of the track hole 132 so that the connecting portion 143 of the intermediate cable 14 engaged with 132 can be relatively advanced. The length of the connecting hole 133 may be longer than the length of the track hole 132.

  The intermediate cable 14 has a cable cover 141 fixed to a support flange 145 provided on the rack mounting bracket 134, and a pin 144 of the connection portion 143 attached to the front end of the cable wire 142 extending from the support flange 145 is connected to the rear end of the connection hole 133. Is engaged. The connection portion 143 is a U-shaped member in plan view with a width sandwiching the overhang portion 139, and only the rack 13 is retracted while maintaining the state where the intermediate cable 14 is pulled. Therefore, the pin 144 that engages with the track hole 132 is provided. The distance between the bent portion 146 of the connecting portion 143 and the pin 144 is set equal to the retracting length of the rack 13 so that the rack 13 can retract relatively with respect to the rack 13 so as not to prevent the rack 13 from retracting. ing.

  In addition, the rack 13 of this example has a rack 13 return spring 138 (coil spring) between a hook-shaped rack side hook 136 protruding from a part of the lower edge and a bracket side hook 137 provided on the rack mounting bracket 134. ) Is applied, and a reverse bias is applied. As a result, the rack 13 can be retracted even after the engagement with the pinion 12 is eliminated. Since the pinion 12 attached to the operation lever 11 is set so as to engage with the rack 13 at the initial position regardless of the front-rear position adjustment of the seat 2, the rack 13 with which the engagement with the pinion 12 is eliminated. It is preferable to always be able to return to the initial position.

  For example, a conventional tilting parking brake device that can be stored by tilting the operating lever 11 uses a coil spring or the like as an urging means for returning the operating lever 11 or a component corresponding to the brake operating unit 15 of the present invention to the initial position. It was. In the parking brake device 1 of the present invention, the rack 13 is reliably returned to the initial position by the rack return spring 138 spanned between the rack 13 and the rack mounting bracket 134.

  The brake operating unit 15 pulls a brake cable 16 extending to a brake mechanism (not shown) to make the brake mechanism work to create a braking state, and loosens the brake cable 16 to stop the brake mechanism to make a non-braking state It is a module that returns to. The specific configuration is free, and it is sufficient to have a lock mechanism (not shown) that selectively maintains and releases the tension of the brake cable 16 according to the number of times of the tension of the intermediate cable 14. The simplest example is a configuration in which the operation lever of a conventionally known tilting parking brake device is omitted. In the present invention, since the configuration and the installation location of the brake operating unit 15 are not limited, the tilting parking brake device in which the operation lever is omitted can be provided on the vehicle body in a sideways posture. As a result, the brake actuating part 15 has a flat structure in the height direction, and the height of the space in which the brake actuating part 15 is provided can be suppressed. Thus, as in this example, the brake actuating part 15 is located below the seat part 21 of the seat 2. 15 can also be provided.

  5 to 10 are side views showing the relationship between the front / rear position adjustment of the seat 2 and the rotation operation of the operation lever 11, FIG. 5 is an initial non-braking state in which the operation lever 11 is tilted, and FIG. FIG. 7 shows a brake rotation operation state in which the lever 11 is raised, FIG. 7 shows a brake maintenance state in which the operation lever 11 is housed while maintaining the braking state, FIG. 8 shows a seat adjustment state in which the seat 2 is retracted while maintaining the braking state, and FIG. FIG. 10 shows a release rotation operation state in which the operation lever 11 is raised again, and FIG. 10 shows a return non-braking state in which the operation lever 11 is tilted.

  Next, the relationship between the front-rear position adjustment of the seat 2 and the operation of the parking brake device 1 of this example will be described. When the seat 2 is positioned forward with respect to the gantry 22 and the brake actuating portion 15 is in the initial non-braking state, the operation lever 11 is positioned forward in accordance with the seat 2 as shown in FIG. Yes. In this initial non-braking state, the pinion 12 provided on the operation lever 11 is not engaged with the rack 13, so that the rack 13 is retracted according to the bias of the rack return spring 138, and the guide protrusion 135 is engaged with the front end of the track hole 132. The connecting portion 143 of the intermediate cable 14 is engaged with the rear end of the connecting hole 133.

  When the operating lever 11 is raised from the initial non-braking state, the pinion 12 starts to mesh with the rack 13, and the rack 13 moves forward so as to be pushed out by the pinion 12, as shown in FIG. The intermediate cable 14 is pulled by the rack 13, and the braking state of the brake operating unit 15 is created by the pulling of the intermediate cable 14, and the lock mechanism of the brake operating unit 15 maintains the braking state. The braking state can be confirmed by turning on a brake operation lamp or the like as in the prior art. It is preferable that the pulling amount of the intermediate cable 14 necessary for the brake operating unit 15 to create a braking state is as small as possible. This means that the amount of advance of the rack 13 is small and the amount of rotation of the pinion 12 necessary for the advance of the rack 13 is also small. However, since the grip 111 in the operation lever 11 is longer than the pinion 12 from the rotation shaft 113, a larger amount of rotation can be ensured than the pinion 12, and the operability is not impaired.

  In the braking state, the actuated operating lever 11 extends the lever return spring 117, and the lever return spring 117 is urged in the direction of tilting by the force that the lever return spring 117 tries to contract. Further, the rack 13 pushed forward by the engagement of the pinion 12 extends the rack return spring 138, and the rack 13 is urged in the backward direction by the force that the rack return spring 138 tries to contract. From now on, when the operation lever 11 is released, the operation lever 11 can be stored so as not to protrude from the seat portion 21 of the seat 2 as the lever return spring 117 contracts as shown in FIG. Further, the rack 13 is retracted by the meshing with the pinion 12 when the operation lever 11 is tilted and the lever return spring 117 is contracted, and can return to the initial position.

  In the brake maintenance state in which the operation lever 11 is housed, the pinion 12 and the rack 13 are completely separated, and the rack 13 can be adjusted in the front / rear position even if the operation lever 11 is adjusted in the front / rear position according to the seat 2. There is no. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the seat 2 can be moved backward while the braking state of the parking brake device 1 is maintained. If the seat 2 is retracted, it can be similarly advanced. At this time, since the operation lever 11 is tilted downward from the seat portion 21 of the seat 2, the operation for adjusting the position of the seat 2 is not hindered. Further, when the operation lever 11 is tilted and stored in the non-braking state, the front and rear positions of the seat 2 can be adjusted without adjusting the front and rear positions of the rack 13 as described above.

  In the present invention, by providing the operation lever 11 on the seat 2, the position of the operation lever 11 with respect to the seat 2 adjusted in the front-rear position is fixed, and the operation lever 11 adjusted in the front-rear position according to the seat 2 is rotated at any position. It is characterized in that the feeling of operation is constant even when operated. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the operating lever 11 is raised at the position of the retracted seat 2, the rack 13 moves forward so that the pinion 12 is again engaged with the rack 13 and pushed out by the pinion 12. Then, when the operating lever 11 is raised to a degree slightly exceeding the initial raising, the rack 13 moves forward by the excess amount, and the intermediate cable 14 is pulled a lot. As a result, the lock mechanism of the brake operating unit 15 can release the maintenance of the braking state and return to the non-braking state. The return to the non-braking state can be confirmed by turning off the brake operation lamp or the like as in the prior art.

  When the brake actuating portion 15 enters the non-braking state, the lever return spring 117 is contracted by releasing the hand from the operation lever 11, and the operation lever 11 is tilted as shown in FIG. Can be stored so that it does not protrude from. In addition, the rack 13 is retracted due to the engagement of the intermediate cable 14 that the brake operating unit 15 pulls to return to the initial state and the pinion 12 when the operation lever 11 falls, and the lever return spring 117 contracts. Can return to position. As described above, the parking brake device 1 of the present invention can make the operation feeling of the rotation operation of the operation lever 11 constant even if the position of the operation lever 11 is changed in accordance with the seat 2 to be adjusted in the front-rear position. Regardless of the non-braking state, if the operation lever 11 is tilted, the seat 2 can be freely adjusted in the front-rear position.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a parking brake device according to the present invention as viewed from the diagonally upper front. It is the perspective view seen from the front right slanting lower part showing the parking brake device of this example. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view corresponding to FIG. It is the expansion perspective view seen from the left front diagonal upper direction which abbreviate | omitted the sheet | seat. It is a side view showing the initial non-braking state where the operation lever is tilted. It is a side view showing the brake rotation operation state which caused the operation lever. It is a side view showing the braking maintenance state which accommodated the operation lever, maintaining the braking state. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a sheet adjustment state in which the seat is moved backward while maintaining a braking state. It is the side view showing the release rotation operation state which raised the operation lever again. It is a side view showing the return non-braking state which pushed down the operation lever.

Explanation of symbols

1 Parking brake device
11 Control lever
111 grip
112 Lever body
113 Rotation axis
117 Lever return spring
12 Pinion
13 racks
131 teeth
132 Track hole
133 Connecting hole
135 Guide projection
138 Rack return spring
14 Intermediate cable
143 connection
15 Brake actuator
16 Brake cable 2 seat
21 Seat
22 frame

Claims (5)

In a parking brake device in which an operation lever is provided on a seat of a driver's seat and a brake operation unit that pulls a brake cable in response to a rotation operation of the operation lever is arranged on the vehicle body, a pinion that is coaxial with a rotation shaft of the operation lever A rack that moves forward when the pinion is engaged with the vehicle from the stage when the operation lever is raised is provided on the vehicle body, and the rack and the brake operating unit are connected by an intermediate cable. The pinion is rotated by rotating the operation lever. A parking brake device, wherein the rack is advanced by rotation of the pinion, the advance of the rack is transmitted to a brake operating unit by an intermediate cable, and the brake operating unit pulls the brake cable. The rack is provided with a track hole and a connecting hole, which are long holes extending in the advancing and retracting direction. The track hole engages a guide protrusion protruding from the vehicle body at the front end, and the connecting hole engages the connecting portion of the intermediate cable with the rear end. The parking brake device according to claim 1. The brake actuating part is provided with a lock mechanism for selectively maintaining and releasing the tension of the brake cable according to the number of times of the tension of the intermediate cable, causing the operation lever to advance the rack, and when the rack pulls the intermediate cable. The brake operating part pulls the brake cable and the lock mechanism can pull the operation lever while maintaining the tension of the brake cable. When the rack pulls the intermediate cable, the brake is moved forward by re-raising the operation lever. The parking brake device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operating portion pulls the brake cable and the lock mechanism can release the pull of the brake cable and then tilt the operation lever. The operation lever is provided with a biasing means in the push-down direction, and when the rotation of the operation lever is stopped with the lock mechanism maintaining the brake cable tension or releasing the brake cable tension, the operation lever is tilted according to the biasing means. The parking brake device according to claim 3, which can be used. The rack is provided with a biasing means in the backward direction, and when the rotation of the operation lever is stopped with the locking mechanism maintaining the tension of the brake cable or the tension of the brake cable being released, the rack is moved according to the biasing means. The parking brake device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the parking brake device can be moved backward and the operation lever can be tilted according to the rack.

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