JP2018119639A - Clutch pedal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress generation of hammering sound when the step-in of a clutch pedal is released.SOLUTION: A boss 23 of a clutch pedal is rotatably supported by a bolt via a collar 41. A lock ball mechanism 5 is incorporated in the boss 23, and a lock ball 51 is energized toward an outer peripheral surface of the collar 41. On the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 on which the lock ball 51 slides when an oscillation position of the clutch pedal is in the vicinity of an OFF position, an inclined part 45 is provided for inclining toward the boss 23 side toward a direction along a movement direction of the lock ball 51 when the step-in of the clutch pedal is released. When the lock ball 51 moves along the inclined part 45, a component force of an energization force of a coil spring 52 acts as resistance with respect to the rotation of the boss 23, the oscillation speed in the step-in release direction of the clutch pedal lowers, and the oscillation speed of the clutch pedal lowers. Thereby, generation of hammering sound when the clutch pedal reaches the OFF position is suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a clutch pedal device for switching engagement and release of a clutch mechanism mounted on a vehicle or the like. In particular, the present invention relates to an improvement for suppressing the generation of a hitting sound when releasing the depression of a clutch pedal.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a clutch pedal device having a clutch pedal that is depressed to switch engagement and disengagement of a clutch mechanism of a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission, a mechanism for reducing the pedal force required for the operation of the clutch pedal is provided. Things are known. For example, Patent Document 1 includes an urging mechanism in which the urging direction of the clutch pedal to the pedal lever is switched between a pedal return direction and a pedal depression direction with a turnover point as a boundary.

JP 2006-17256 A

  However, in the conventional clutch pedal devices, when the depression of the clutch pedal is released and the clutch pedal returns to the OFF position (a position where the depression operation force (stepping force) does not act), the depression release speed by the driver is high. In this case, a part of the clutch pedal collides with the stopper provided at the OFF position at a relatively high speed, and a large hitting sound is generated, which may give a passenger an uncomfortable feeling.

  The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a clutch pedal device capable of suppressing the generation of a hitting sound when releasing the depression of the clutch pedal.

  The solution means of the present invention for achieving the above object is based on a clutch pedal device including a clutch pedal for switching engagement and release of the clutch mechanism. The clutch pedal device includes a support shaft that swingably supports the clutch pedal, a cylinder portion that is provided on the clutch pedal and through which the support shaft is inserted, and a space between the support shaft and the cylinder portion. A collar interposed between the cylinder portion and the collar, and a lock ball biased toward the outer peripheral surface of the collar, and the cylinder portion of the cylinder portion by swinging of the clutch pedal. Inclination toward the cylinder portion toward the direction along the moving direction of the lock ball when the depression of the clutch pedal is released on the outer peripheral surface of the collar on which the lock ball slides with rotation An inclined portion is provided.

  Due to this specific matter, when the depression of the clutch pedal is released, the cylinder portion of the clutch pedal rotates around the outer periphery of the collar, and accordingly, the lock ball slides on the outer peripheral surface of the collar. As the release of the clutch pedal proceeds, the lock ball reaches an inclined portion (an inclined portion inclined toward the cylinder portion side) provided on the outer peripheral surface of the collar. When the lock ball moves along the inclined portion, an urging force is applied to the lock ball toward the outer peripheral surface of the collar, so this urging force (more specifically, the downward direction of the inclined portion) Component force) acts as a resistance against the rotation of the cylinder portion (rotation in the direction in which the depression of the clutch pedal is released). For this reason, the rotational speed of this cylinder part falls. That is, the swing speed in the direction of releasing the depression of the clutch pedal is reduced. Therefore, even when the depressing speed of the clutch pedal by the driver is high, the rocking speed when the clutch pedal returns to the OFF position is low, and the hitting sound when returning to the OFF position (due to contact with the stopper) Occurrence of sound).

  In the present invention, the outer peripheral surface of the collar on which the lock ball slides with the rotation of the cylinder portion caused by the swing of the clutch pedal is directed in the direction along the moving direction of the lock ball when the depression of the clutch pedal is released. An inclined portion that is inclined toward the cylindrical portion side is provided. Thus, when the lock ball moves along the inclined portion, the urging force acting on the lock ball is rotated by the cylinder portion (rotation in a direction in which the clutch pedal is released). It will act as a resistance to, and the rotation speed of the cylinder part can be reduced. For this reason, the rocking speed when the clutch pedal returns to the OFF position can be lowered, and the occurrence of a hitting sound when returning to the OFF position can be suppressed.

It is the front view which looked at the clutch pedal device in an embodiment from the vehicle interior side. It is sectional drawing which shows the support mechanism which supports a clutch pedal so that rocking | fluctuation is possible. It is a side view of a color and a rock ball. It is a figure which expand | deploys and shows the cross section of the boss | hub and collar along the IV-IV line | wire of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 for explaining the operation when the depression of the clutch pedal is released. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the clutch pedal stroke and clutch pedal effort in each of embodiment and a comparative example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment demonstrates the case where this invention is applied to the clutch pedal apparatus with which the vehicle carrying a manual transmission was equipped.

-Schematic configuration of clutch pedal device-
FIG. 1 is a front view of the clutch pedal device 1 as viewed from the vehicle interior side, and shows only main components constituting the clutch pedal device 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a support mechanism 4 that supports the clutch pedal 2 in a swingable manner.

  As shown in these drawings, the clutch pedal device 1 includes a clutch pedal 2, a pedal bracket 3, and a support mechanism 4 that supports the clutch pedal 2 on the pedal bracket 3 so as to be swingable.

  The clutch pedal 2 includes a pedal arm 21 and a pedal portion 22. An upper end portion of the pedal arm 21 is swingably supported by the pedal bracket 3 by the support mechanism 4. The pedal portion 22 is provided at the lower end portion of the pedal arm 21, and the clutch pedal 2 swings when the driver steps on and releases the pedal portion 22 to perform a predetermined clutch operation (release operation and release operation). Engaging operation) is performed. That is, hydraulic pressure is generated in a clutch master cylinder (not shown) by the swing of the clutch pedal 2 by the depression operation of the pedal portion 22, and the release operation of the clutch mechanism is performed by this hydraulic pressure acting on the clutch mechanism. Further, the clutch mechanism 2 is engaged by releasing the hydraulic pressure acting on the clutch mechanism by the swing of the clutch pedal 2 by the depression release operation of the pedal portion 22.

  The pedal bracket 3 includes a base plate 31 attached to a vehicle body (for example, a dash panel that partitions the engine room and the vehicle compartment), and a pair of sides extending from the left and right ends of the base plate 31 toward the vehicle interior side (the front side in FIG. 1). Plates 32 and 32 are provided. Bolt insertion holes 33 and 33 are formed at positions facing each other in the side plates 32 and 32 (see FIG. 2).

  A cylindrical boss 23 whose center line extends in the horizontal direction is joined to the upper end of the pedal arm 21 by means such as welding. The dimension in the direction along the center line of the boss 23 (the left-right direction in FIG. 2) is set slightly shorter than the distance between the side plates 32 of the pedal bracket 3.

  A cylindrical collar 41 is inserted into the boss 23. The outer diameter of the collar 41 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the boss 23, and a slight gap S is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the boss 23 and the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41. The dimension of the collar 41 in the direction along the center line substantially coincides with the distance between the side plates 32 and 32 of the pedal bracket 3, and the collar 41 cannot rotate relative to the pedal bracket 3. It is fixed to.

  Bushes 42 and 42 are attached to both ends of the boss 23. The bush 42 includes a cylindrical portion 42a and a flange portion 42b formed integrally with the outer end of the cylindrical portion 42a. The outer diameter dimension of the cylindrical portion 42 a substantially matches the inner diameter dimension of the boss 23. Further, the inner diameter dimension of the cylindrical portion 42 a substantially matches the outer diameter dimension of the collar 41. Further, the thickness dimension of the flange portion 42 b is set to about ½ of the difference between the distance dimension between the side plates 32, 32 and the dimension in the direction along the center line of the boss 23. The cylindrical portions 42a, 42a of the bushes 42, 42 thus configured are interposed between the boss 23 and the collar 41, and the flange portions 42b, 42b are interposed between the boss 23 and the side plates 32, 32. As a result, the boss 23 can rotate relative to the collar 41 without play between the boss 23 and the collar 41 and between the boss 23 and the side plates 32 and 32. Yes.

  Then, in a state where the center hole of the collar 41 and the bolt insertion holes 33, 33 formed in the side plates 32, 32 are aligned, one side plate 32 (the right side side in FIG. The bolt 43 is inserted from the bolt insertion hole 33 of the plate 32 to the bolt insertion hole 33 of the other side plate 32, and the tip of the bolt 43 (the tip of the other side plate 32 through the bolt insertion hole 33) ), The clutch pedal 2 is supported so as to be swingable about the bolt 43.

  With this configuration, the bolt 43 corresponds to a support shaft (support shaft for swingably supporting the clutch pedal) according to the present invention, and the boss 23 is a cylinder portion (provided on the clutch pedal and supported by the support shaft) according to the present invention. This corresponds to the cylinder portion through which is inserted. The collar 41 is interposed between the bolt (support shaft) 43 and the boss (tube portion) 23. With this configuration, the support mechanism 4 is configured.

  The pedal arm 21 is engaged with a return spring (not shown) that urges the pedal arm 21 to the return side (depressing release side of the clutch pedal 2). Energizing power is given.

-Configuration to suppress the generation of sound-
Next, a configuration for suppressing the occurrence of a hitting sound when releasing the depression of the clutch pedal 2, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described.

  The boss 23 is provided with a lock ball mechanism 5. The lock ball mechanism 5 is configured by housing a lock ball 51 and a coil spring 52 in a through hole 23a formed at a central position in the width direction (a direction along the center line) of the boss 23. Specifically, the through hole 23 a is formed through the boss 23 from the outer peripheral surface to the inner peripheral surface along the radial direction of the boss 23. A metal lock ball 51 having a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole 23a is accommodated inside the through hole 23a, and the outside of the lock ball 51 (the radius of the boss 23). A coil spring 52 that urges the lock ball 51 toward the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 is disposed on the outer side in the direction. The outer end (opening on the outer peripheral side) of the through hole 23 a is sealed with a blocking plate 53. For example, the outer end of the through hole 23 a is sealed by welding the sealing plate 53 to the outer peripheral surface of the boss 23. For this reason, the coil spring 52 is disposed in a compressed state between the lock ball 51 and the blocking plate 53, thereby urging the lock ball 51 toward the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41.

  With such a configuration, when the clutch pedal 2 is swung by the depression operation and the depression release operation of the clutch pedal 2 and the boss 23 is rotated accordingly, the lock ball is moved along with the rotation of the boss 23. 51 slides on the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41. FIG. 3 is a side view of the collar 41 and the lock ball 51. When the clutch pedal 2 swings due to the depression operation of the clutch pedal 2, the lock ball 51 slides on the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in the drawing as the boss 23 rotates. On the other hand, when the clutch pedal 2 swings by the depression release operation of the clutch pedal 2, the lock ball 51 slides on the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 in the direction indicated by the arrow B in the drawing as the boss 23 rotates. become.

  On the other hand, on the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41, an inclined portion 45 is provided at a portion where the lock ball 51 slides. In FIG. 3, an inclined portion 45 that protrudes upward from a circular outer peripheral surface is provided on the upper portion of the collar 41. Hereinafter, the shape of the inclined portion 45 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing a cross section of the boss 23 and the collar 41 taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2 (only a predetermined range in the circumferential direction is developed). The inclined portion 45 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 on which the lock ball 51 slides when the swing position of the clutch pedal 2 is in the vicinity of the OFF position (a position where the stepping operation force does not act).

  Specifically, in FIG. 3, the position of the lock ball 51 when the clutch pedal 2 is in the OFF position and the clutch pedal 2 are in the ON position (the position where the depression amount (clutch pedal stroke) of the clutch pedal 2 is maximized). The range of the position of the lock ball 51 at this time is the angle α in the figure, α 1 is the position of the lock ball 51 when the clutch pedal 2 is in the OFF position, and α 2 is the position where the clutch pedal 2 is in the ON position. The position of the lock ball 51 at the time. The inclined portion 45 is in the vicinity of the position α1 of the lock ball 51 when the clutch pedal 2 is in the OFF position, and the moving direction of the lock ball 51 when the depression of the clutch pedal 2 is released (FIG. 3). And it is formed in the inclined surface which inclines toward the boss | hub 23 side (outer peripheral side) toward the direction along the movement direction of the lock ball 51 shown by arrow B in FIG. That is, when the operation of releasing the depression of the clutch pedal 2 is performed and the lock ball 51 slides along the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 (the lock ball 51 together with the boss 23 in FIG. ), The inclined portion 45 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 on which the lock ball 51 slides when the swing position of the clutch pedal 2 reaches the vicinity of the OFF position.

  By providing such an inclined portion 45, when the depression of the clutch pedal 2 is released, the lock ball 51 reaches the inclined portion 45 of the collar 41, and the lock ball 51 moves along the inclined portion 45. Since the urging force (the urging force by the coil spring 52) toward the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 is acting on the lock ball 51 when moving, the component force of this urging force (the descending of the inclined portion 45) Direction component) acts as a resistance to the rotation of the boss 23 (rotation in the direction in which the depression of the clutch pedal 2 is released). As a result, the rotational speed of the boss 23 is reduced, and the swing speed of the clutch pedal 2 in the depression release direction is reduced.

  The inclination angle of the inclined portion 45 is determined so that the swing speed in the release release direction of the clutch pedal 2 becomes a desired speed (speed for making the volume of the hitting sound described later within an allowable range) or It is set as appropriate by simulation.

  A stopper portion 46 for holding the swinging position of the clutch pedal 2 at the OFF position is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 adjacent to the inclined portion 45. The stopper portion 46 is adjacent to the inclined portion 45 and is directed toward the side opposite to the boss 23 (inner peripheral side) in a direction along the moving direction of the lock ball 51 (the direction in which the release of the clutch pedal 2 is advanced). Boss 23 side (outer peripheral side) in a direction along the moving direction of the lock ball 51 (the direction in which depressing of the clutch pedal 2 proceeds) that is continuous with the first inclined surface 46a and that is continuous with the first inclined surface 46a. And a second inclined surface 46b inclined toward the surface. That is, the stopper portion 46 is configured as a groove portion formed by the inclined surfaces 46a and 46b, and the lock ball 51 is fitted into the stopper portion 46, whereby the swing position of the clutch pedal 2 is held at the OFF position. It is supposed to be.

-Release operation of clutch pedal 2-
Next, the operation when the depression of the clutch pedal 2 is performed in the clutch pedal device 1 configured as described above is shown in FIG. 5 (corresponding to FIG. 4 for explaining the operation when the depression of the clutch pedal 2 is released). This will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the depression of the clutch pedal 2 is released, the boss 23 of the clutch pedal 2 rotates around the outer periphery of the collar 41, and as a result, as shown by the arrow B in FIG. The outer peripheral surface of 41 is slid. As the release of the clutch pedal 2 proceeds, the lock ball 51 reaches the inclined portion 45 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41. As shown in FIG. 5B, when the lock ball 51 moves along the inclined portion 45, a biasing force toward the outer peripheral surface of the collar 41 is applied to the lock ball 51 by the coil spring 52. Therefore, this urging force (more specifically, the component force in the downward direction of the inclined portion 45; see the arrow C shown by the broken line in FIG. 5B) is the rotation of the boss 23 (the clutch pedal 2). This acts as a resistance to the rotation in the direction in which the stepping is released. For this reason, the rotational speed of the boss 23 decreases. That is, the swinging speed of the clutch pedal 2 in the depressing release direction decreases.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the swing position of the clutch pedal 2 reaches the OFF position, the lock ball 51 gets over the upper end of the inclined portion 45 and fits into the stopper portion 46. At this time, since the rotational speed of the boss 23 is decreasing, the sound of hitting (the sound of hitting due to contact with the stopper portion 46) when reaching the OFF position (when fitting into the stopper portion 46) is generated. Will be suppressed. When the lock ball 51 is fitted into the stopper portion 46, the swing position of the clutch pedal 2 is held at the OFF position.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the clutch pedal stroke and the clutch pedal depression force in each of the embodiment and the comparative example (a clutch pedal device that does not include the lock ball mechanism 5 and the inclined portion 45). The solid line in the figure represents the relationship between the clutch pedal stroke and the clutch pedal effort in the embodiment. The broken line in the figure represents the relationship between the clutch pedal stroke and the clutch pedal depression force in the comparative example. An arrow X in the figure shows an example of changes in the clutch pedal stroke and the clutch pedal depression force when the clutch pedal 2 is depressed, and an arrow Y in the figure indicates that the depression of the clutch pedal 2 is performed. 2 shows an example of changes in clutch pedal stroke and clutch pedal depression force when being pressed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the comparative example, in the range where the clutch pedal stroke becomes smaller by releasing the depression of the clutch pedal, the clutch pedal depression force becomes smaller as the clutch pedal stroke becomes smaller. In this case, when the clutch pedal reaches the OFF position, there is almost no resistance to the swing of the clutch pedal, and when the release speed of the clutch pedal by the driver is high, the swing speed of the clutch pedal also increases. As a result, the hitting sound may increase. On the other hand, in the embodiment, in the range where the clutch pedal stroke becomes smaller by releasing the depression of the clutch pedal, there is a range where the clutch pedal depression force becomes larger as the clutch pedal stroke becomes smaller. In this case, as described above, when the clutch pedal reaches the OFF position, resistance to the swing of the clutch pedal is generated, and the clutch pedal swings even when the depressing speed of the clutch pedal by the driver is high. The speed can be lowered, and the occurrence of a hitting sound can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the depression release speed of the clutch pedal 2 by the driver is high, generation of a hitting sound when the clutch pedal 2 returns to the OFF position can be suppressed. , It does not give the passenger a sense of incongruity.

-Other embodiments-
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, All the deformation | transformation and applications included in a range equivalent to a claim and the said range are possible.

  For example, in the embodiment, the inclination angle of the inclined portion 45 is uniform over the entire inclined portion 45. The present invention is not limited to this, and the inclination angle of the inclined portion 45 may be gradually changed. For example, there is a configuration in which the inclination angle of the inclined portion 45 with which the lock ball 51 contacts gradually increases as the release of the clutch pedal 2 proceeds.

  The present invention can be applied to a clutch pedal device that can suppress the generation of a hitting sound when releasing the depression of the clutch pedal.

1 Clutch pedal device 2 Clutch pedal 23 Boss (cylinder part)
41 Color 43 Bolt (support shaft)
45 Inclination 51 Rock Ball 52 Coil Spring

Claims (1)

In a clutch pedal device having a clutch pedal for switching engagement and release of a clutch mechanism,
A support shaft for swingably supporting the clutch pedal;
A cylindrical portion provided on the clutch pedal and through which the support shaft is inserted;
A collar interposed between the support shaft and the cylindrical portion;
A lock ball disposed between the cylindrical portion and the collar and biased toward the outer peripheral surface of the collar;
The outer peripheral surface of the collar on which the lock ball slides as the cylinder part rotates due to the swing of the clutch pedal is along the moving direction of the lock ball when the depression of the clutch pedal is released. A clutch pedal device, characterized in that an inclined portion that is inclined toward the tube portion side in a direction is provided.

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