JP2013112257A - Accelerator device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an accelerator device capable of maintaining rotation of an accelerator pedal, and capable of adjusting a load of an biasing means for energizing the accelerator pedal.SOLUTION: When a pedal arm 20 rotatably arranged in a housing 10 is operated for stepping by a driver, the pedal arm 20 and a pedal rotor 30 integrally rotate. A spring 50 biases the pedal rotor 30 in an inverse direction of a stepping direction of the driver. A support member 70 for supporting the spring 50 is arranged in an opposite side end of the pedal rotor 30 of the spring 50. A driving means 80 can adjust the load of the spring 50 by moving the support member 70 in the expansion direction of the spring 50. Thus, even when the driving means 80 causes failure and the movement of the support member 70 becomes difficult, the accelerator device can return the pedal arm 20 to a full closure position by restoring force of the spring 50.

Description

  The present invention relates to an accelerator device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an accelerator device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls a vehicle speed state in accordance with a force by which a driver steps on an accelerator pedal (hereinafter referred to as “stepping force”).
The accelerator device described in Patent Literature 1 includes a current force return device that can adjust the reaction force of the accelerator pedal with respect to the driver's pedaling force. This current force return device is composed of a fixed portion composed of a coil carrier and a coil, a movable portion composed of an operating thrust bar, a magnet and a yoke, and a mechanical spring that biases the operating thrust bar toward the accelerator pedal. Yes. When the accelerator pedal is rotated by the driver's stepping force, the operation thrust bar comes into contact with the accelerator pedal by the urging force of the mechanical spring. When the coil is energized, a magnetic attraction force is generated between the coil and the magnet, and the relative movement between the fixed portion and the movable portion is suppressed, so that the reaction force of the accelerator pedal with respect to the pedaling force of the driver increases.

Special table 2007-526177

However, in Patent Document 1, if the current force return device breaks down when the accelerator pedal is in the fully closed state and the movable part and the fixed part are fixed, the accelerator pedal may be unable to rotate.
Also, if the current force return device breaks down when the accelerator pedal is fully open and the movable part and the fixed part are fixed, the force of the mechanical spring of the current force return device does not act on the accelerator pedal. There is a risk that it will not return to the fully closed position.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an accelerator device capable of maintaining the rotation of an accelerator pedal and adjusting the load of a biasing means that biases the accelerator pedal.

In order to achieve the above object, an accelerator apparatus according to claim 1 includes a housing, an accelerator pedal, a biasing means, a support member, and a driving means.
The housing can be attached to the vehicle. The accelerator pedal is rotatably provided in the housing and is depressed by the driver.
The urging means urges the accelerator pedal in a direction opposite to the stepping direction of the driver. The support member is provided at the end of the urging means on the accelerator pedal side or the end of the urging means opposite to the accelerator pedal, and supports the urging means.
The drive means can adjust the load of the urging means by moving the support member in the extending and contracting direction of the urging means.
As a result, it is possible to perform active control in which the driver arbitrarily adjusts the load of the urging means according to his / her preference.
Further, the accelerator device can suppress the sudden acceleration of the vehicle by increasing the load of the urging means by the driving means when the pedaling force applied to the accelerator pedal by the driver is abruptly increased. Thereby, the fuel consumption of the vehicle in which the accelerator device is mounted can be improved.
Furthermore, the accelerator device is configured such that the function of the driving means and the function of the urging means are independent of each other. For this reason, the rotation of the accelerator pedal is performed by the restoring force of the urging means. Therefore, even if the drive means fails and it becomes difficult to move the support member, the accelerator pedal can be returned to the fully closed position by the restoring force of the urging means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the accelerator device includes a guide portion that extends from the drive means in the expansion / contraction direction of the urging means and guides the support member in that direction.
Thereby, the moving amount of the support member is proportional to the elastic force of the biasing means. Therefore, the driving means can accurately adjust the load of the urging means.

According to the invention described in claim 3, the biasing means is a compression coil spring.
The drive means moves the support member so that the length of the compression coil spring is shorter than the free length of the compression coil spring.
Thereby, even when the drive means adjusts the load of the urging means to be the smallest, the accelerator pedal is reliably returned to the fully closed position by the restoring force of the urging means.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the driving means is provided outside the housing.
Thereby, a drive means can be attached, without changing physiques, such as a conventional housing and an accelerator pedal.

According to the invention described in claim 5, the driving means is provided between the accelerator pedal and the urging means.
This prevents the drive means from protruding outside the housing, so that the housing can be easily attached to the vehicle.

It is sectional drawing of the accelerator apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the II-II line of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the state adjusted so that the spring load of the accelerator apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention might be enlarged. It is sectional drawing of the state adjusted so that the spring load of the accelerator apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention might be made small. It is a side view of the spring of the accelerator apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the accelerator apparatus by 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
An accelerator device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS.
The accelerator device 1 is mounted on a vehicle and controls each part of the engine according to the amount of depression of the pedal arm 20 by the driver. The accelerator apparatus 1 of this embodiment employs an accelerator-by-wire system, converts the rotation angle of the pedal arm 20 into an electric signal by the rotation angle sensor 3, and outputs it to an electronic control unit (ECU) 4 of the vehicle. The ECU 4 controls each part of the engine, such as the injection amount of the throttle device and the injector, based on the signal from the rotation angle sensor 3 and vehicle speed information, and controls the operating state of the engine.
Hereinafter, the direction in which the pedal arm 20 rotates due to an increase in the pedaling force accompanying the driver's stepping operation is referred to as the accelerator opening direction, and the opposite direction is referred to as the accelerator closing direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the accelerator apparatus 1 includes a housing 10, a pedal arm 20, a pedal rotor 30, a spring 50 as an urging unit, a support member 70, and a driving unit 80. The pedal arm 20 and the pedal rotor 30 correspond to an “accelerator pedal” recited in the claims.
The housing 10 is formed in a substantially box shape from resin, for example. The housing 10 includes a bottom plate 11, a top plate 12, left and right side plates 13, 14 and the like. The bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 are formed to face each other. The left and right side plates 13 and 14 are formed substantially parallel to each other, and connect the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12. The housing 10 is provided with an opening 15 through which the pedal arm 20 is inserted.
Mounting holes 111 and 112 are provided in the bottom plate 11. The housing 10 is attached to the vehicle body by attaching bolts or the like to the attachment holes 111 and 112. A bottom cover 16 is attached to the bottom plate 11.

The shaft member 60 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and one end is rotatably supported by a hole 131 formed in one side plate 13 and the other end is rotatably supported by a hole 141 formed in the other side plate 14. ing.
Two magnets 62 and 63 are fixed inside a recess 61 provided at one end of the shaft member 60 in the axial direction. A magnetic flux flows between the two magnets 62 and 63 perpendicular to the rotation axis O of the pedal arm 20.
The rotation angle sensor 3 has a Hall IC 64 that is fixed to the housing 10 and protrudes inside the recess 61 of the shaft member 60. The Hall IC 64 outputs a voltage signal corresponding to the direction of the magnetic flux of the two magnets 62 and 63 that changes as the shaft member 60 rotates. This voltage signal is transmitted to the ECU 4 of the vehicle from a connector (not shown) attached to the housing 10.

The pedal arm 20 has a cylindrical portion 22 and an extending portion 23. The cylindrical portion 22 of the pedal arm 20 is fixed to the shaft member 60. As a result, the pedal arm 20 can rotate with respect to the housing 10 with the center of the shaft member 60 as the rotation axis O. In the pedal arm 20, an extending portion 23 extending radially outward from the cylindrical portion 22 passes through the opening 15 of the housing 10 and extends to the outside of the housing 10.
A pedal rod and a pad (not shown) are connected to the extending portion 23 of the pedal arm 20.

The pedal rotor 30 has an annular portion 31 and a spring holding portion 33. The annular portion 31 of the pedal rotor 30 is inserted through the shaft member 60. The pedal rotor 30 is rotatable relative to the pedal arm 20 with the annular portion 31 facing the cylindrical portion 22 of the pedal arm 20 in the axial direction and the center of the shaft member 60 as the rotation axis O. The spring holding portion 33 of the pedal rotor 30 extends from the annular portion 31 in the radially outward direction.
A substantially dish-shaped holder 34 is provided on the top plate side of the spring holding portion 33. The holder 34 has an end face 35 on the spring holding portion side that is recessed in a dome shape. A spring 50 is provided between the holder 34 and the top plate 12. The holder 34 operates on the spring holding portion 33 so that when the pedal rotor 30 rotates about the rotation axis O, the spring 50 expands and contracts in the axial direction.

The spring 50 is a double coil spring composed of an outer coil spring 51 and an inner coil spring 52. Both the outer coil spring 51 and the inner coil spring 52 are compression coil springs. The spring 50 biases the holder 34 toward the spring holding portion 33 side of the pedal rotor 30. Thereby, the pedal rotor 30 is urged by the spring 50 in the accelerator closing direction.
A cylindrical member 53 made of rubber or the like is inserted between the outer coil spring 51 and the inner coil spring 52 to suppress vibration of the spring 50.

A plurality of first helical teeth 21 are provided in the rotation direction on the outer wall of the cylindrical portion 22 of the pedal arm 20 on the pedal rotor side. A plurality of second helical teeth 32 are provided in the rotation direction on the outer wall of the annular portion 31 of the pedal rotor 30 on the pedal arm side. The first helical tooth 21 and the second helical tooth 32 can contact each other.
A substantially disc-shaped first friction plate 41 is provided between the side plate 14 of the housing 10 and the pedal rotor 30. The first friction plate 41 is attached to the side wall of the housing 10.
An annular second friction plate 42 is provided between the side plate 13 of the housing 10 and the pedal arm 20. The second friction plate 42 is attached to the pedal arm 20.

  When the driver depresses the pedal arm 20 and a pedaling force is applied to the pedal arm 20, the first helical tooth 21 and the second helical tooth 32 are engaged with each other, and the pedal arm 20 and the pedal rotor 30 are axially connected to each other. Thrust force to release is generated. For this reason, a frictional force is generated between the first friction plate 41 and the pedal rotor 30. Further, a frictional force is generated between the second friction plate 42 and the side plate 13 of the housing 10.

  When the spring 50 is compressed according to the rotation angle of the pedal arm 20, the urging force of the spring 50 is increased. For this reason, the frictional force generated in the first friction plate 41 and the frictional force generated in the second friction plate 42 increase in accordance with the rotation angle of the pedal arm 20. As described above, a frictional force having a magnitude corresponding to the rotation angle of the pedal arm 20 acts on the pedal arm 20 and the pedal rotor 30, so that predetermined hysteresis characteristics are exerted on the rotation of the pedal arm 20 in the accelerator opening direction and the accelerator closing direction. Given.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a support member 70 is provided at the end of the spring 50 opposite to the holder 34. The support member 70 includes a shaft portion 71, a flange portion 72, a cylindrical portion 73, and a convex portion 74. The shaft portion 71 extends in the expansion / contraction direction of the spring 50. The flange portion 72 extends in an annular shape from the shaft portion 71 in the radially outward direction. The cylindrical portion 73 extends in a cylindrical shape from the outer edge of the flange portion 72 toward the holder. The convex part 74 protrudes from the center part of the flange part 72 to the holder side. The end of the spring 50 opposite to the holder 34 is in contact with the flange portion 72 located between the cylindrical portion 73 and the convex portion 74. As a result, the spring 50 is locked to the support member 70, and movement in the radial direction is restricted.

The shaft portion 71 of the support member 70 extends inside the driving means 80.
The driving means 80 is attached to the top plate 12 of the housing 10 on the side opposite to the spring 50 of the support member 70. The driving unit 80 is a linear actuator, and a motor such as a stepping motor or a servo motor is exemplified as the driving method. The drive unit 80 rotates a motor (not shown) by the current supplied from the ECU 4. The drive unit 80 is configured to be able to move the shaft portion 71 of the support member 70 in the extending and contracting direction of the spring 50 by the rotation of the motor.
The driving means 80 is provided with a cylindrical guide portion 81. The guide portion 81 extends in the expansion / contraction direction of the spring 50. The inner wall of the guide part 81 and the outer wall of the cylindrical part 73 of the support member 70 are in sliding contact. As a result, the support member 70 is guided to the inner wall of the guide portion 81.

FIG. 3 shows a state where the driving means 80 is adjusted to increase the spring load.
When an electric current is supplied from the ECU 4 to the driving unit 80, the motor of the driving unit 80 rotates, and the support member 70 is guided by the inner wall of the guide portion 81 and moves to the holder side. Thereby, the spring 50 is compressed and the set length is shortened. Accordingly, the elastic force acting on the pedal arm 20 from the spring 50 is increased. The set length refers to the length of the spring 50 in the fully closed state of the accelerator device 1 in which the first contact portion 27 of the pedal arm 20 and the second contact portion 17 of the housing 10 are in contact.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the driving means 80 is adjusted to reduce the spring load.
When an electric current is supplied from the ECU 4 to the drive unit 80, the motor of the drive unit 80 rotates in the reverse direction, and the support member 70 is guided by the inner wall of the guide portion 81 and moves to the opposite side of the holder 34. As a result, the spring 50 extends in the expansion / contraction direction and the set length becomes longer. Accordingly, the elastic force acting on the pedal arm 20 from the spring 50 is reduced.
In a state where the drive means 80 adjusts the spring load to the minimum, the set length L1 of the spring 50 is shorter than the free length L2 of the spring 50 shown in FIG. Thereby, even when the drive means 80 adjusts the spring load to the minimum, the pedal arm 20 is reliably returned to the fully closed position by the restoring force of the spring 50.

In the present embodiment, the following effects are obtained.
(1) In this embodiment, when a current is supplied from the ECU 4 to the driving unit 80, the driving unit 80 moves the support member 70 and adjusts the load of the spring 50. Accordingly, the driver can give a command to the ECU 4 and arbitrarily adjust the load of the spring 50.
Further, when the pedaling force applied to the pedal arm 20 by the driver is suddenly increased, it is possible to increase the load of the spring 50 by supplying a current from the ECU 4 to the driving means 80, thereby suppressing the sudden acceleration of the vehicle. . Thereby, the fuel consumption of the vehicle in which the accelerator apparatus 1 is mounted can be improved.
(2) In this embodiment, the function of the drive means 80 and the function of the spring 50 are comprised independently of each other. For this reason, the rotation of the pedal rotor 30 and the pedal arm 20 is performed by the restoring force of the spring 50. Therefore, even if the driving means 80 breaks down and it becomes difficult to move the support member 70, the pedal arm 20 can be returned to the fully closed position by the restoring force of the spring 50.
(3) In the present embodiment, the support member 70 is guided by the guide portion 81 in the expansion and contraction direction of the spring 50. For this reason, the moving amount of the support member 70 and the elastic force of the spring 50 are proportional. Therefore, the drive means 80 can adjust the load of the spring 50 accurately.
(4) In this embodiment, the drive unit 80 adjusts the load of the spring 50 so that the set length of the spring 50 is shorter than the free length of the spring 50. For this reason, even when the load of the spring 50 is the smallest, the restoring force of the spring 50 is ensured, and the pedal arm 20 can be returned to the fully closed position.
(5) In the present embodiment, the driving means 80 can be attached with a simple configuration without changing the physique of the conventional housing and pedal arm 20.

(Second Embodiment)
An accelerator device according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
In the second embodiment, the drive means 82 is provided in the spring holding portion 33 of the pedal rotor 30. The end face 83 on the bottom plate side of the driving means 82 is recessed in a dome shape. As a result, when the pedal rotor 30 rotates about the rotation axis O, the driving means 82 operates on the spring holding portion 33 so that the spring 50 expands and contracts in the axial direction.

The support member 70 supports the end portion of the spring 50 on the pedal rotor side. The support member 70 is guided by the guide portion 81 and can move in the extending and contracting direction of the spring 50.
Also in the second embodiment, when a current is supplied from the ECU 4 to the motor of the driving means 82, the support member 70 moves in the expansion / contraction direction of the spring 50 by the rotation of the motor. Thereby, the load of the spring 50 can be adjusted.
In the second embodiment, the driving means 82 is provided inside the housing 10. For this reason, since the drive means 82 is prevented from projecting to the outside of the housing 10, the housing 10 can be easily attached to the vehicle.

(Other embodiments)
In the plurality of embodiments described above, the driving means is constituted by a linear actuator. On the other hand, in the present invention, the driving means may be constituted by a linear motor or an air cylinder.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Accelerator apparatus 10 ... Housing 20 ... Pedal arm (accelerator pedal)
30 ... Pedal rotor (accelerator pedal)
50 ... Spring (biasing means)
70 ... support members 80, 82 ... driving means 81 ... guide portion

Claims (5)

A housing attachable to the vehicle;
An accelerator pedal that is rotatably provided in the housing and is depressed by a driver;
An urging means for urging the accelerator pedal in a direction opposite to the stepping direction of the driver;
A support member that is provided at an end of the urging means on the accelerator pedal side or an end of the urging means opposite to the accelerator pedal, and supports the urging means;
An accelerator device comprising: drive means capable of adjusting a load of the urging means by moving the support member in an expansion / contraction direction of the urging means.   The accelerator apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a guide portion that extends from the driving unit in the expansion / contraction direction of the biasing unit and guides the support member in the expansion / contraction direction of the biasing unit. The biasing means is a compression coil spring,
The accelerator device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit moves the support member such that a length of the compression coil spring is shorter than a free length of the compression coil spring.   The said drive means is provided in the outer side of the said housing, The said support member provided in the edge part on the opposite side to the said accelerator pedal of the said urging | biasing means can be moved. The accelerator apparatus as described in any one.   The drive means is provided between the accelerator pedal and the urging means, and is capable of moving the support member provided at an end of the urging means on the accelerator pedal side. Item 4. The accelerator device according to any one of items 1 to 3.

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