JP2021036393A - Pedal arm - Google Patents

Abstract

To make it possible to thin a steel plate member forming a hollow pedal arm, by using simple fixing means not relying on fixing means such as welding or caulking.SOLUTION: A pedal arm pivotally supported by a brake pedal device comprises: a pedal arm body 14 having a hollow, long cross-section formed by steel plate members 34R, 34L disposed with a space therebetween; and a fixed bracket member 22 for apparatus operation, which is fixed to the pedal arm body 14. The fixed bracket member 22 has a body portion 40 for a shaft-like member having a non-circular cross-section orthogonal to an axial direction thereof. An insertion hole 36, into which the body portion 40 can be inserted, is formed in the steel plate member 34 on one side. A rotation-stop projection 52 is formed on a leading-end surface, in an insertion direction, of the body portion 40. In the steel plate member 34R on the other side, a rotation-stop hole 38 is formed in a position in a relative-rotation direction different from the insertion hole 36 formed in the steel plate member 34L on the one side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a pedal arm. In particular, the present invention relates to a pedal arm applied to a brake pedal device of a vehicle such as an automobile.

Vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with a braking device to stop the vehicle. There are various types of braking devices, one of which is a braking device that is operated by stepping on the foot. The brake device is arranged in the lower part of the front part of the driver's seat of a vehicle such as an automobile, and is attached to the pedal support of the vehicle body.

The brake pedal device has a long pedal arm body, a pedal tread that is attached to one end side of the pedal arm body and is operated by the operator's foot, and a pedal arm body that is rotatably supported by the pedal support. It is provided with a boss portion disposed on the other end side of the dull arm main body.

By the way, since the pedal arm body has a long shape, the weight increases when it is formed of a solid steel member. For this reason, it is often the case that a steel plate is formed into a hollow shape to reduce the weight. The pedal arm body is equipped with various members for operating the brake and the like. In order to fix and attach various members to the pedal arm body, conventionally, a method of fixing and attaching by arc welding is generally adopted (see Patent Document 1 below). For this reason, weldable metal members are often used as various members.

Further, as a method of fixing various members to the pedal arm body without welding, various members are attached to the pedal arm by caulking or the like (see Patent Document 2 below).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-171463 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-248019

By the way, in the brake pedal device, it is an issue to further reduce the weight. Therefore, it is desired to further reduce the thickness of the steel plate forming the hollow pedal arm body.

However, when various members are fixed to the hollow pedal arm body described above by arc welding, if the thickness of the steel plate of the pedal arm body made of steel plate is reduced and welded, the steel plate melts down during arc welding. There is a problem. That is, when the method of integrating by arc welding is adopted, there is a limitation of the plate thickness due to welding heat, and there is a limit to thinning the steel plate.

Further, when various members are fixedly attached to the pedal arm body by caulking or the like, caulking work or the like for fixing is required, and it is necessary to provide a caulking process as an attachment process.

Therefore, the present invention was devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is hollow by a simple fixing means such as welding or caulking. The purpose is to make it possible to reduce the thickness of the steel plate member forming the pedal arm body.

In order to solve the above problems, the pedal arm according to the present invention takes the following means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a pedal arm body having a hollow and long cross section formed by arranging steel plate members at intervals and a predetermined position in the long direction of the pedal arm. A pedal arm pivotally supported by a vehicle pedal device including a fixing bracket member for operating a device, which is arranged in a space between the steel plate members and fixed to the pedal arm, and is the fixed bracket member. Has a main body of a shaft-shaped member having a non-circular cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axial direction, and the main body of the fixed bracket member is inserted into a steel plate member on one side forming the space between the two. An insertion hole having a shape corresponding to a non-circular cross section is formed, and a rotation stop protrusion is formed on the tip surface of the main body in the insertion direction, and the other side forming the spacing space. The steel plate member is a pedal arm in which a rotation stop hole in which the rotation stop protrusion is fitted is formed at a position in a relative rotation direction different from the insertion hole formed in the steel plate member on one side.

The second invention of the present invention is the pedal arm of the first invention described above, and the rear surface in the insertion direction facing the inner side surface of the steel plate member on one side of the main body is inserted into the insertion hole. It is a pedal arm having a tapered surface shape that becomes thicker in the rotation direction as the rotation stop protrusion portion fits into the rotation stop hole.

The third invention of the present invention is the pedal arm according to the first invention or the second invention described above, wherein a rotation shaft protrusion is provided on the tip surface of the main body in the insertion direction, and the rotation stop protrusion is provided. The steel plate member on the other side is formed as the same rotation axis as the portion, and the rotation shaft fitting hole into which the rotation shaft protrusion is fitted is formed as the same rotation axis as the rotation stop hole. It is a pedal arm.

A fourth invention of the present invention is a pedal arm according to any one of the first to third inventions described above, wherein the fixing bracket member is made of resin.

A fifth invention of the present invention is a pedal arm according to any one of the first to fourth inventions described above, wherein the vehicle pedal device is a brake pedal device, and the fixed bracket member is operated. The operation unit piece is a pedal arm, which is an operating member that operates the switch operating shaft of the brake lamp switch when the pedal arm is rotated.

The sixth invention of the present invention is the pedal arm of the fifth invention described above, in which the rotation axis position of the main body of the fixed bracket member is set on the operating axis of the switch operating shaft of the brake lamp switch. It is a pedal arm.

According to the means of the present invention described above, the hollow pedal arm body is formed by fixing the fixing bracket member to the hollow pedal arm body as a simple fixing means that does not use fixing means such as welding or caulking. It is possible to reduce the wall thickness of the steel plate member.

It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the brake pedal device. It is a perspective view which shows the pedal arm extracted from the brake pedal device shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the pedal arm of FIG. 2 in an exploded manner. It is a perspective view which shows the fixing bracket member which concerns on this embodiment. It is a V arrow view of the fixed bracket member shown in FIG. It is a VI arrow view of the fixed bracket member shown in FIG. It is VII arrow view of the fixed bracket member shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship in the rotation direction of the insertion hole formed in the left side steel plate member of a pedal arm, and the rotation stop hole formed in a right side steel plate member. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship between the fixed bracket member and the insertion hole before rotation in the state which the fixed bracket member is inserted from the insertion hole of the left steel plate member of a pedal arm main body, and is arranged between the right steel plate member. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship between the fixed bracket member after rotation, and an insertion hole in the state of FIG. A rotation stop protrusion formed on the tip surface of the fixed bracket member before rotation in a state where the fixing bracket member is inserted from the insertion hole of the left steel plate member of the pedal arm body and arranged between the fixing bracket member and the right steel plate member. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship with the rotation stop hole formed in the right steel plate member. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a rotation stop protrusion of a fixed bracket member after rotation and a rotation stop hole formed in the right steel plate member in the state of FIG. 11. It is a perspective view which shows the state which fixed bracket member is fixed and attached to the pedal arm body. It is a figure which shows the arrangement relationship of a brake lamp switch and a fixed bracket member.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment relates to a pedal arm of a brake pedal device installed in the lower part of the front part of the driver's seat of a vehicle such as an automobile. The directions such as up / down, front / back, left / right, etc. in the description of each figure are indications when viewed in the traveling direction of a vehicle such as an automobile. However, the indications specifically shown individually are based on the indications. Further, when the left and right components are present on the left and right, when the left and right components are individually designated, L is added to the trailing part of the code indicating the component, the left component is L, and the right component is L. Shown with R.

<About the brake pedal device 10>
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the brake pedal device 10. FIG. 2 shows the pedal arm 12 in FIG. 1 extracted. FIG. 3 shows the pedal arm 12 in an exploded manner. The brake pedal device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is generally arranged in the lower part of the front part of the driver's seat of a vehicle such as an automobile. The brake pedal device 10 includes the pedal arm 12 shown in FIG. The pedal arm 12 rotates a long pedal arm body 14, a pedal tread 16 attached to the lower end of the pedal arm body 14 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a pedal arm body 14 formed at the upper end. It includes a boss portion 18 that is movably attached.

An instrument panel (not shown) and a dash panel (not shown) are arranged as vehicle body components in the front part of the driver's seat of a vehicle such as an automobile, and the pedal of the brake pedal device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged on these panels. The support 20 is arranged. The pedal support 20 is arranged such that the right side pedal support 20R and the left side pedal support 20L sandwich the boss portion 18 of the pedal arm main body 14. The boss portion 18 at the upper end of the pedal arm main body 14 shown in FIG. 2 is pivotally supported and attached by a support shaft 26 suspended between the pedal supports 20R and 20L shown in FIG. As a result, the pedal arm 12 including the pedal arm main body 14 is rotatably supported by the pedal support 20, and the brake operation is performed by stepping on the pedal tread surface 16 at the lower end with a foot.

Therefore, the pedal tread 16 is integrally attached to the lower end of the long pedal arm main body 14, and is positioned so that the driver can step on the pedal with his / her foot. The pedal tread 16 has a shape that can be easily operated, and in the present embodiment, the tread plate has a horizontally long rectangular shape. The stepping operation by the pedal tread 16 is a link mechanism engaged with the booster connecting engagement hole 62 formed in the middle of the pedal arm main body 14 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 by the rotation of the pedal arm main body 14. It is transmitted to the brake booster (not shown) through (not shown). Then, the brake operation hydraulic cylinder is operated to operate the brake.

As shown in FIG. 2, a fixed bracket member 22 which is an operating member for detecting a brake operating operation is installed between the boss portion 18 at the upper end and the pedal tread 16 at the lower end of the pedal arm main body 14. .. In the present embodiment, the installation position of the fixed bracket member 22 is a position slightly above the central portion of the pedal arm main body 14 in the longitudinal direction as seen in each of FIGS. 1 to 3. Specifically, the position is slightly above the position of the booster connection engaging hole 62 described above. The fixed bracket member 22 of the present embodiment is for operating the brake lamp switch 24 (see FIG. 14), which will be described later. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the pedal support 20 of the present embodiment is provided with a brake lamp switch bracket 28 for attaching the brake lamp switch 24. The brake lamp switch bracket 28 shown in FIG. 1 is shown with a mounting hole 30 for mounting the brake lamp switch 24 (see FIG. 14).

As will be described in detail in FIG. 14 described later, the brake lamp switch 24 is attached to the mounting hole 30 of the brake lamp switch bracket 28, and the fixed bracket member 22 is operated by rotating the pedal arm 12 (see FIG. 1). It is operated by the part piece 32.

<Pedal arm body 14>
Next, the pedal arm main body 14 will be described with reference to FIG. The pedal arm main body 14 is formed of two long steel plate members 34. In the present embodiment, the right steel plate member 34R arranged on the right side and the left side steel plate member 34L arranged on the left side are formed. The two steel plate members 34R and 34L are arranged at intervals, and both end edges extending in the longitudinal direction are integrally joined by welding or the like. As a result, the space between the steel plate members 34R and 34L is formed in a hollow shape. The pedal arm main body 14 in a state of being integrated as a hollow shape is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The left steel plate member 34L in the present embodiment corresponds to the steel plate member on one side of the present invention, and the right steel plate member 34R corresponds to the steel plate member on the other side.

At positions where the fixed bracket member 22 is arranged in the steel plate member 34 constituting the pedal arm main body 14, an insertion hole 36 for inserting the fixed bracket member 22 and a rotation stop hole 38 for stopping the rotation of the fixed bracket member 22 are provided. And the rotary shaft fitting hole 60 is formed. Specifically, the insertion hole 36 is formed in the left steel plate member 34L, and the rotation stop hole 38 and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 are formed in the right steel plate member 34R as one hole shape. As can be seen from the illustrated state of FIG. 3, the positional relationship between the insertion hole 36 and the rotation stop hole 38 with respect to the rotation direction of the fixing bracket member 22 is different. The reason will be described later.

<Fixed bracket member 22>
Next, the fixed bracket member 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. As described above, the fixed bracket member 22 is a member attached to the pedal arm main body 14 in order to operate the brake lamp switch 24 (see FIG. 14). FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the fixed bracket member 22 alone. FIG. 5 shows a view taken along the line V of FIG. FIG. 6 shows a view taken along the line VI of FIG. FIG. 7 shows a view taken along the line VII of FIG. As shown in each of these figures, the fixing bracket member 22 includes a main body portion 40 and an operation portion piece 32.

<Main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22>
As is well shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 is formed as a shaft-shaped member, and the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft-shaped member is formed into a non-circular cross-sectional shape. Has been done. In this embodiment, it is formed in an oblong cross-sectional shape.

<Operation part piece 32 of the fixed bracket member 22>
As is well shown in FIG. 4, the operation portion piece 32 of the fixed bracket member 22 is integrally formed and arranged on one side portion of the main body portion 40 of the shaft-shaped member. One side portion of the main body portion 40 in which the operation portion piece 32 is arranged is the rear side in the direction in which the main body portion 40 is inserted into the insertion hole 36. One side portion of the main body portion 40 and the operation portion piece 32 are connected via the connecting portion 42 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The outer shape of the connecting portion 42 is the shape shown by the broken lines Y1 and Y2 shown in FIG.

As is well shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the operation portion piece 32 is formed in an L shape, and includes an operation surface piece 44 and a connection portion piece 46. A rib 48 is arranged so as to straddle the operation surface piece 44 and the connection portion piece 46. As shown in FIG. 14, the rib 48 is for reinforcing the operation surface piece 44 because the operation surface piece 44 is a part piece for operating the brake lamp switch 24.

<Rotation stop protrusion 52>
As shown in each of FIGS. 4 to 7, a rotation stop protrusion 52 is formed on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 in the insertion direction so as to project from the tip surface 50 in the insertion direction. Has been done. The shape of the rotation stop protrusion 52 is a smaller diameter of the elliptical shape of the main body 40, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the elliptical center line of the main body 40 and the rotation stop protrusion 52 C0 is formed as the same center line.

<Rotating shaft protrusion 54>
Further, as shown in each of FIGS. 4 to 7, a rotary shaft protrusion 54 projects from the tip surface 50 in the insertion direction on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 in the insertion direction. Is formed. The shape of the rotating shaft protrusion 54 is circular, and the center position of the circular shape is the elliptical center line of the main body 40 and the rotation stop protrusion 52 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. It is formed on the same center line as C0. As shown in FIG. 5, the size of the circular diameter of the rotating shaft protrusion 54 is larger than the elliptical short side width of the rotation stop protrusion 52 and larger than the elliptical short side width of the main body 40. It is formed small. Further, as is well shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, the protrusion height of the rotary shaft protrusion 54 from the tip surface 50 is formed to be higher than the protrusion height of the rotation stop protrusion 52 described above.

<Tapered surface shape 58 of the rear end surface 56 in the insertion direction of the fixed bracket member 22>
The rear end surface 56 of the fixed bracket member 22 in the insertion direction of the main body 40 has a portion formed in a tapered surface shape 58. The portion formed in the tapered surface shape 58 is the range shown by the hatching of the virtual line of the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. Since FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the front end surface 50 of the fixed bracket member 22, the range of the tapered surface shape 58 shown by hatching of virtual lines is defined as a state when the front end surface 50 in FIG. 5 is the rear end surface 56. It is shown. The range of the tapered surface shape 58 indicated by the hatching of the virtual line is formed on the rear end surface 56 excluding the range of the connecting portion 42 formed by Y1 and Y2 indicated by the broken line. The tapered surface shape 58 is formed on a tapered surface that gradually becomes thicker in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Then, in FIG. 5, the rear end surface 56 other than the tapered surface shape 58 shown by the hatching of the virtual line is uniformly formed at the surface height of the tapered surface shape having the thickest wall thickness.

6 and 7 show well the tapered surface shape 58 formed on the rear end surface 56 of the main body 40. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the axial length of the main body 40 is the length between the thickest portion of the tapered surface shape 58 on the rear end surface 56 and the surface position of the front end surface 50. Let b be, and let a be the length between the first (thin) position of the tapered surface shape 58 on the rear end surface 56 and the tip height of the rotation stop protrusion 52 formed on the front end surface 50, then a = b. It has become. That is, the height change of the rear end surface 56 due to the tapered surface shape 58 is the same as the height of the rotation stop protrusion 52 formed on the front end surface 50. Therefore, the axial lengths of a and b are the same as the hollow space widths set by the left and right steel plate members 34L and 34R forming the pedal arm main body 14.

<Insert hole 36>
Next, the insertion hole 36, the rotation stop hole 38, and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 formed in the pedal arm main body 14 will be described with reference to FIG. The insertion hole 36 is formed in the left steel plate member 34L constituting the pedal arm main body 14, and the rotation stop hole 38 and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 are formed in the right steel plate member 34R. First, the insertion hole 36 will be described. The hole shape of the insertion hole 36 formed in the left steel plate member 34L is a hole shape through which the main body portion 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 shown in FIG. 4 can be inserted, and in the present embodiment, it is similar to the cross-sectional shape of the main body portion 40. It has an elliptical shape. Then, through the insertion hole 36, the main body 40 of the fixing bracket member 22 can be inserted into the space formed between the left and right steel plate members 34L and 34R.

<Rotating stop hole 38 and rotating shaft fitting hole 60>
Subsequently, the rotation stop hole 38 and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 will be described with reference to FIG. The rotation stop hole 38 and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 are formed in the right steel plate member 34R as described above. The rotation stop hole 38 and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 are integrally formed as one hole shape. That is, the rotation stop hole 38 and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 are formed by being overlapped with each other. Specifically, the center positions K0 of both are set to the same position, and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 is formed at the center position of the rotation stop hole 38. Therefore, both sides of the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 are formed in the shape of the rotation stop hole 38.

The hole shape formed as the rotation stop hole 38 is formed so that the rotation stop protrusion 52 formed on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be fitted. ing. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the shape is an ellipse similar to the protrusion shape of the rotation stop protrusion 52.

Similarly, in the hole shape formed as the rotary shaft fitting hole 60, the rotary shaft protrusion 54 formed on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is fitted. It is formed in a shape that allows it to be formed. Specifically, since the rotary shaft protrusion 54 of the present embodiment has a circular shape, the rotary shaft fitting hole 60 is also formed into a similar circular shape. However, as described above, since the shape is formed as one hole shape with the rotation stop hole 38, only a part of the circular shape is shown as the shape of the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 in FIG. Has been done.

<Positional relationship between the insertion hole 36, the rotation stop hole 38, and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60>
Further, subsequently, the positional relationship between the insertion hole 36, the rotation stop hole 38, and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 will be described with reference to FIG. The insertion hole 36 formed in the left steel plate member 34L and the rotation stop hole 38 and the rotation shaft fitting hole 60 formed in the right steel plate member 34R are arranged as follows. The intersection of the elliptical longitudinal center line S1 of the insertion hole 36 and the lateral center line S2 is S0, and the elliptical longitudinal center line K1 and the lateral center line K2 of the rotation stop hole 38 Assuming that the intersection is K0, S0 and K1 are positioned so as to overlap on the horizontal axis M. The horizontal axis M is an insertion direction line for inserting the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 into the pedal arm main body 14. Therefore, the arrangement positions where the insertion holes 36 and the rotation stop holes 38 are formed are opposite positions. Therefore, the center line C0 of the main body 40 and the horizontal axis M at the time of insertion into the insertion hole 36 are the same axis.

However, the positional relationship between the center line S1 in the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 36 and the center line K1 in the longitudinal direction of the rotation stop hole 38 in the rotation direction about the horizontal axis M is different, that is, in the rotation direction. The arrangement is offset. In this embodiment, the positions are arranged so as to be displaced in the rotation direction by about 70 degrees. As a result, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, when the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 is inserted through the insertion hole 36, the rotation stop protrusion formed on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 The portion 52 cannot be fitted into the rotation stop hole 38, and is fitted into the rotation stop hole 38 by rotating the main body portion 40 by 70 degrees.

The rotary shaft protrusion 54 formed on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 is such that the portion projected from the rotation stop protrusion 52 rotates even when the rotary shaft protrusion 54 is inserted through the insertion hole 36. It fits into the shaft fitting hole 60. This is because the circular shape of the rotating shaft fitting hole 60 is formed as a circular shape centered on the horizontal axis M, and the rotation stop protrusion 52 is also formed as a circular shape centered on the center line C0. Then, the rotation operation of the main body 40 is performed in the state where the rotation stop protrusion 52 is fitted into the rotation shaft fitting hole 60.

The position of the rotation stop hole 38 formed in the right steel plate member 34R of the pedal arm main body 14 in the hole direction, that is, the position setting of the center line K1 in the longitudinal direction is set in the rotation stop hole 38 by the rotation stop protrusion 52. The position is set so as to be in the state shown in FIG. Details will be described later.

<How to attach and fix the fixing bracket member 22 to the pedal arm body 14>
Next, a method of attaching and fixing the fixing bracket member 22 to the pedal arm main body 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12. FIG. 9 shows the rotation of the main body 40 in a state where the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 is inserted from the insertion hole 36 formed in the left steel plate member 34L of the pedal arm main body 14 and arranged between the pedal arm main body 14 and the right steel plate member 34R. The positional relationship with the previous insertion hole 36 is shown. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the main body 40 and the insertion hole 36 after rotation in the state of FIG. The illustrated state of FIGS. 9 and 10 is a state diagram viewed from the inside of the left steel plate member 34L. FIG. 11 shows the positional relationship between the rotation stop protrusion 52 formed on the tip surface 50 of the fixed bracket member 22 before rotation of the main body 40 and the rotation stop hole 38 formed on the right steel plate member 34R in the state of FIG. Is shown. FIG. 12 shows the positional relationship between the rotation stop protrusion 52 after rotation and the rotation stop hole 38 formed in the right steel plate member 34R in the state of FIG. The illustrated state of FIGS. 11 and 12 is a state diagram viewed from the outside of the right steel plate member 34R.

<State before rotation of fixed bracket member 22>
To attach the fixed bracket member 22 to the pedal arm main body 14, first, as shown in FIG. 9, the main body portion 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 is inserted into the insertion hole 36 formed in the left steel plate member 34L, and the pedal is attached. It is located in the hollow space of the arm body 14. FIG. 11 shows a rotation stop hole 38 and a rotation shaft fitting hole 60 formed in the right steel plate member 34R in the position state, and a rotation stop protrusion 52 formed on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22. The positional relationship with the rotating shaft protrusion 54 is shown. As shown in FIG. 11, when the main body 40 of the fixing bracket member 22 is only inserted, the rotation stop protrusion 52 and the rotation stop hole 38 are in a state of being displaced in the rotation direction, and the two are fitted to each other. It is in a state where it cannot be done.

However, the rotation shaft protrusion 54, which is formed to have a higher protrusion height than the rotation stop protrusion 52, has a height in a range formed higher than the rotation stop protrusion 52 even when the main body 40 is only inserted. Is in a state of being fitted into the rotating shaft fitting hole 60. This is because the rotating shaft protrusion 54 and the rotating shaft fitting hole 60 are formed in a similar circular shape and are arranged at the same axis. In this way, the rotating shaft protrusion 54 of the main body 40 is fitted into the rotating shaft fitting hole 60 in the inserted state, so that the subsequent rotational operation of the main body 40 is rotated into the rotating shaft fitting hole 60. Since the shaft protrusion 54 is supported by the shaft, its rotation is reliably performed.

The states of FIGS. 9 and 11 are states before the main body 40 of the so-called fixed bracket member 22 is rotated. Therefore, the tip of the rotation stop protrusion 52 formed on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 is in contact with the inner surface of the right steel plate member 34R. The rear end surface 56 of the main body 40 is in the same position as the inner surface of the left steel plate member 34L. That is, the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 is located between the left and right steel plate members 34L and 34R in the axial length a state shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

<Rotating state of fixed bracket member 22>
The fixing bracket member 22 is rotated from the state of FIGS. 9 and 11 in the direction indicated by the thick dotted arrow in FIGS. 9 and 11. The rotation of the fixed bracket member 22 is performed by manually operating the operation unit piece 32 of the fixed bracket member 22. The rotation of the fixed bracket member 22 also rotates the main body 40. Due to the rotation of the main body 40, the tapered surface shape 58 of the rear end surface 56 of the main body 40 slides and moves along the inner surface of the left steel plate member 34L, and the main body 40 is seen on the right in FIGS. 6 and 7. The acting force that tries to press and move in the direction works. This acting force is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the main body 40 made of resin and the expanding elastic deformation between the left and right steel plate members 34L and 34R until fitting, which will be described later.

<State after rotation of fixed bracket member 22>
10 and 12 show a state after the fixed bracket member 22 is rotated in the direction of the arrow of the thick line. In this state, as shown in FIG. 12, the rotation stop protrusion 52 formed on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 is fitted into the rotation stop hole 38 formed on the right steel plate member 34R, and the main body The rotation of 40 is restricted, and the pedal arm body 14 is positioned and fixed.

The fitting of the rotation stop protrusion 52 and the rotation stop hole 38 is the elastic deformation force of the main body 40 which is compressively and elastically deformed by the tapered surface shape 58 formed on the rear end surface 56 described above, and both the left side and the right side. This is performed by releasing the elastic expansion deformation force between the steel plate members 34L and 34R. Further, the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 in this state is in contact with the inner surface of the right steel plate member 34R. Further, in the fitting of the rotating shaft protrusion 54 and the rotating shaft fitting hole 60 in this state, the rotation stop protrusion 52 is fitted and moved to the rotation stop hole 38 as compared with the fitting state before the rotation of the main body 40. It becomes a mating state that has moved by the amount of the movement.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the elliptical position that defines the outer shape of the rear end surface 56 of the main body 40 by the rotation of the main body 40 is the elliptical position of the insertion hole 36 formed in the left steel plate member 34L. Is a positional relationship that is offset in the direction of the arrow on the thick line. As a result, the surface portion of the rear end surface 56 that is out of the position of the insertion hole 36 is in contact with the inner surface of the left steel plate member 34L. Specifically, the surface portion of the rear end surface 56 other than the tapered surface shape 58 is in contact with the inner surface of the left steel plate member 34L.

In the state after the rotation of the main body 40 described above, the main body 40 is fixedly positioned and attached to the pedal arm main body 14 in a state of being sandwiched between the right side steel plate member 34R and the left side steel plate member 34L. That is, the main body 40 is in a state in which the front end surface 50 is in contact with the inner surface of the right steel plate member 34R (state in FIG. 12), and the rear end surface 56 is in contact with the inner surface of the left steel plate member 34L (FIG. 12). It is arranged and attached as (10 state). Then, in such a state, the rotation stop protrusion 52 formed on the tip surface 50 shown in FIG. 12 is fitted into the rotation stop hole 38 formed on the right steel plate member 34R, and the rotation stop projection portion is positioned in the rotation direction. To. FIG. 13 shows a state in which the fixing bracket member 22 is assembled to the pedal arm main body 14 in this way.

<Arrangement of brake lamp switch 24>
FIG. 14 shows the arrangement relationship with the brake lamp switch 24 in a state where the fixed bracket member 22 shown in FIG. 13 is assembled to the pedal arm main body 14. The brake lamp switch 24 is mounted and mounted in the mounting hole 30 of the bracket 28 for the brake lamp switch shown in FIG. The brake lamp switch 24 includes a switch operating shaft 64, and as seen in FIG. 14, the switch operates by moving the switch operating shaft 64 in the vertical direction. In FIG. 14, the operation portion piece 32 of the fixed bracket member 22 moves downward due to the rotation of the pedal arm main body 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Along with this, the switch operating shaft 64, which is arranged in contact with the operating surface piece 44 of the operating unit piece 32, also moves downward to perform a switching action.

In the present embodiment, the arrangement relationship between the brake lamp switch 24 attached to the brake lamp switch bracket 28 and the rotation axis of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 is as follows. That is, the rotation axis C0 of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 is located at the position on the operation axis H1 of the switch operation shaft 64 of the brake lamp switch 24. Normally, the switch operating shaft 64 is urged with a spring acting force downward as seen in FIG. 14 in order to act as a switch for the brake lamp switch 24. However, due to the above arrangement configuration, bending stress is not applied to the fixed bracket member 22.

<Action and effect of this embodiment>
According to the present embodiment, the fixed bracket member 22 can be moved into the pedal arm main body 14 by a simple operation of inserting the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 22 into the space between the hollow pedal arm main body 14 and rotating the fixed bracket member 22. Can be attached and fixed to. That is, as in the conventional case, it can be mounted and fixed by a simple fixing method that does not rely on fixing means such as arc welding or caulking. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the steel plate member forming the hollow pedal arm. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the weight. Furthermore, the mounting and fixing work becomes easy.

<Other Embodiments>
Although the specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can also be implemented in various other embodiments.

For example, the above embodiment is the case of the pedal arm 12 used in the brake pedal device 10 applied to a vehicle such as an automobile, but the pedal arm of the present invention can be widely applied to a vehicle pedal device. is there. That is, the pedal arm main body 14 is formed in a hollow shape, and the fixing bracket member 22 is arranged and fixed in the hollow portion, which can be widely applied to other uses.

Further, the hollow pedal arm main body 14 in the above embodiment is formed by arranging two left and right steel plate members 34R and 34L at intervals. However, it may be a pedal arm main body in which one steel plate member is formed in a U shape to form an interval space.

Further, the cross-sectional shape of the shaft-shaped member forming the main body portion 40 of the fixed bracket member 12 in the above embodiment is an elliptical shape. However, any other shape may be used as long as it has a non-circular cross-sectional shape.

Similarly, the shape of the rotation stop protrusion 52 in the above embodiment is also an elliptical shape, but it may be a non-circular shape.

Further, in the above embodiment, the rotary shaft protrusion 54 is provided on the tip surface 50 of the main body 40 of the fixed bracket member 12, but the rotary shaft protrusion 54 may not be set. However, by setting the rotation shaft protrusion 54, there is an advantage that the rotation operation of the main body 40 after the pedal arm main body 14 is inserted into the space can be surely and easily performed.

<Effects of each invention described in "Means for Solving Problems">
Finally, the action and effect of the above-described embodiment corresponding to each invention in the above-mentioned "means for solving the problem" will be added.

First, according to the first invention, since the long pedal arm body has a hollow steel plate shape, the weight can be reduced as compared with the solid pedal arm body. Further, since the fixing bracket member is fixedly attached to the pedal arm body without welding, the steel plate does not melt down as in the conventional case, and the steel plate forming the pedal arm body can be further thinned. It is possible to achieve this, and it is possible to further reduce the weight.

In particular, according to the first invention, the main body of the fixed bracket member to be fixedly mounted in the hollow pedal arm main body is attached by inserting the main body through an insertion hole formed in the steel plate member on one side. It can be mounted and fixed by a simple mounting operation of rotating. That is, by inserting the main body of the fixed bracket member through the insertion hole and rotating it, the rotation stop protrusion formed on the tip surface of the main body fits into the rotation stop hole formed on the steel plate member on the other side. It is positioned and fixed.

Next, according to the second invention, the rear surface in the insertion direction facing the inner side surface of the steel plate member on one side of the main body portion has a tapered surface shape having a wall thickness in the rotation direction. As a result, the main body of the fixed bracket member is on one side and the other side in a state where the main body is inserted between the steel plate members on one side and the other side and rotated, and the rotation stop protrusion is fitted in the rotation stop hole. It is placed between the steel plate members of the above with high accuracy.

Next, according to the third invention, the rotary shaft protrusion formed on the tip surface of the main body of the fixing bracket is fitted into the rotary shaft fitting hole formed in the steel plate member on the other side, and the main body is formed. Rotation is performed after the part is inserted. As a result, the rotation work of the main body of the fixed bracket member can be reliably performed.

Next, according to the fourth invention, the fixing bracket member is made of resin. As a result, the weight of the pedal arm can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to reduce the impact sound generated when the pedal arm returns after releasing the foot from the pedal tread.

Next, according to the fifth invention, the pedal arm main body is applied to the pedal arm of the brake pedal device, and the fixed bracket member is an operating member that operates the brake lamp switch when the pedal arm is operated. It can be suitably implemented for a brake pedal device.

Next, according to the sixth invention, the position of the rotation axis of the main body of the fixed bracket member is set on the operating axis of the brake lamp switch. As a result, bending stress is not applied to the fixed bracket member due to the acting force of the brake lamp switch.

10 Brake pedal device 12 Pedal arm 14 Pedal arm body 16 Pedal tread 18 Boss part 20 Pedal support 20R Right side pedal support 20L Left side pedal support 22 Fixed bracket member 24 Brake lamp switch 26 Support shaft 28 Brake lamp switch bracket 30 Mounting hole 32 Operation Part 34 Steel plate member 34R Right steel plate member 34L Left steel plate member 36 Insertion hole 38 Rotation stop hole 40 Main body 42 Connection part 44 Operation surface piece 46 Connection part piece 48 Rib 50 Tip surface 52 Rotation stop protrusion 54 Rotation shaft protrusion 56 Rear end surface 58 Tapered surface shape 60 Rotating shaft fitting hole 62 Booster connection engaging hole 64 Switch operating shaft

Claims (6)

A pedal arm body having a hollow and long cross section formed by arranging steel plate members at intervals, and arranged in the space between the steel plates at predetermined positions in the long direction of the pedal arm body. A pedal arm that is pivotally supported by a vehicle pedal device provided with a fixing bracket member for operating a device that is installed and fixed to the pedal arm body.
The fixed bracket member has a main body of a shaft-shaped member having a non-circular cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axial direction.
The steel plate member on one side forming the spacing space is formed with an insertion hole having a shape corresponding to a non-circular cross section into which the main body of the fixed bracket member can be inserted.
A rotation stop protrusion is formed on the tip surface of the main body in the insertion direction.
The steel plate member on the other side forming the spacing space is formed with a rotation stop hole in which the rotation stop protrusion is fitted at a position in a relative rotation direction different from the insertion hole formed in the steel plate member on the one side. There is a pedal arm. The pedal arm according to claim 1.
The rear surface of the main body portion in the insertion direction facing the inner surface of the steel plate member on one side is rotated from the state of being inserted into the insertion hole until the rotation stop protrusion is fitted into the rotation stop hole. A pedal arm that has a tapered surface shape that is thickened in the direction of rotation. The pedal arm according to claim 1 or 2.
A rotation shaft protrusion is formed on the tip surface of the main body in the insertion direction as the same rotation axis as the rotation stop protrusion.
A pedal arm in which a rotating shaft fitting hole into which the rotating shaft protrusion is fitted is formed in the steel plate member on the other side as the same rotation axis as the rotation stop hole. The pedal arm according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The fixed bracket member is a pedal arm made of resin. The pedal arm according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The vehicle pedal device is a brake pedal device.
The fixed bracket member has an operation unit piece, and the operation unit piece is a pedal arm that operates the switch operation shaft of the brake lamp switch when the pedal arm is rotated. The pedal arm according to claim 5.
A pedal arm in which the position of the rotation axis of the main body of the fixed bracket member is set on the operating axis of the switch operating shaft of the brake lamp switch.

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