JP2023134021A - Pedal support structure - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a pedal support structure in which a pedal bracket supporting a brake pedal can smoothly come off from a vehicle member when receiving a load obliquely from a front.SOLUTION: A pedal bracket is connected with a dash panel and a vehicle body member at a vehicle body rear side relative to the dash panel. The vehicle body member and the pedal bracket are connected through a spherical joint including an inner ball and an outer ring which rotatably supports the inner ball around a center thereof. The inner ball is fixed to the vehicle body member. The pedal bracket has a slit opening to a vehicle body front side, an upper side and a lower side, and the outer ring is fitted to the slit. The inner ball freely rotates relative to the outer ring in the spherical joint. A direction of the aperture of the slit at the vehicle body front side is changed according to a load direction at the time of collision so that the pedal bracket easily comes out from the outer ring.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a pedal support structure in which a brake pedal is supported by a pedal bracket that is connected to a dash panel and to a vehicle body member rearward of the dash panel.

Patent Document 1 discloses a brake pedal support structure. In that structure, a brake pedal is supported by a pedal bracket. The pedal bracket is connected to a dash panel and a vehicle body member (instrument panel reinforcement) behind the dash panel. The pedal bracket includes an upper wall portion that is attached to a mounting surface formed on a vehicle body member. An opening is formed in the upper wall. The vehicle body member has a clip nut fixed to the mounting surface so as to open rearward, and an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the rear from the rear end of the mounting surface. The upper wall portion has a portion that defines the rear portion of the opening portion held by the clip nut, and includes a guide portion that makes surface contact with the clip nut from the outside in the vehicle width direction and extends in the front-rear direction.

In the support structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the dash panel is deformed rearward due to a load applied from the front, such as when a vehicle is involved in a head-on collision, the upper wall portion of the pedal bracket is smoothly removed from the clip nut. That is, the pedal bracket comes off from the vehicle body member. When the dash panel deforms rearward, the brake pedal also moves rearward as the dash panel deforms. At this time, if the brake pedal remains connected to the vehicle body member, there is a risk that the brake pedal moving backward may interfere with the driver. By releasing the pedal bracket from the vehicle body member, the rear sides of the pedal bracket and the brake pedal are freed and interference with the driver is alleviated.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-192874

In the support structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, the upper wall portion of the pedal bracket includes a guide portion that makes surface contact with the clip nut from the outside in the vehicle width direction and extends in the front-rear direction. When a load is applied from the front to the rear of the vehicle, the pedal bracket moves smoothly along the guide portion and can be easily removed from the clip nut (i.e., vehicle member). However, when a load is applied diagonally from the front, the direction in which the guide portion extends and the direction of the load do not match, which reduces the probability that the pedal bracket will smoothly come off from the clip nut (i.e., the vehicle member). The present specification provides a structure in which a pedal bracket that supports a brake pedal can be smoothly removed from a vehicle member even when a load is applied diagonally from the front.

The pedal support structure disclosed in this specification is a pedal support structure in which a brake pedal is supported by a pedal bracket that is connected to a dash panel and connected to a vehicle body member rearward of the dash panel. The vehicle body member and the pedal bracket are connected via a spherical joint that includes an inner ball and an outer ring that rotatably supports the inner ball around its center. The inner ball is fixed to the vehicle body member, and the pedal bracket includes a slit that opens toward the front, upper, and lower sides of the vehicle body, and the outer ring fits into the slit.

In the spherical joint, the inner ball can freely rotate relative to the outer ring. Therefore, the pedal bracket rotates depending on the direction of the load at the time of collision. Since the direction of the opening of the slit at the front of the vehicle body changes depending on the direction of the load at the time of a collision, the outer ring easily comes off from the pedal bracket. According to the above-mentioned support structure, the pedal bracket that supports the brake pedal can be smoothly removed from the vehicle member even when a load is applied diagonally from the front.

Details and further improvements of the technology disclosed in this specification will be explained in the following "Detailed Description of the Invention".

It is a side view of the support structure of an Example. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper rear part of the pedal bracket and the spherical joint (a view in which the spherical joint is separated from the pedal bracket). FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the upper rear part of the pedal bracket and the spherical joint. FIG. 4(A) is a plan view of the pedal bracket before the collision load F is applied. FIG. 4(B) is a plan view of the pedal bracket after a collision load is applied. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing how the pedal bracket rotates around a horizontal axis.

A pedal support structure 2 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of the pedal support structure 2. FIG. The pedal support structure 2 includes a pedal bracket 10, a spherical joint 20, and a guide plate 6. "Front", "left", and "top" in the coordinate system in the figure mean the front of the vehicle, the left side of the vehicle, and the top of the vehicle, respectively.

The pedal bracket 10 is a metal fitting that pivotally supports the brake pedal 5, and is fixed to the dash panel 3 and the instrument panel reinforcement 4. The dash panel 3 is a partition plate that partitions an engine room and a cabin of an automobile. The instrument panel reinforcement 4 is one of the members (vehicle body members) for ensuring the strength of the vehicle body. The instrument panel reinforcement 4 is a beam extending in the vehicle width direction, and both ends thereof are connected to the A-pillar. The instrument panel reinforcement 4 is located further back than the dash panel 3 in the vehicle body.

The front part of the pedal bracket 10 is fixed to the dash panel 3, and the upper rear part of the pedal bracket is fixed to the instrument panel reinforcement 4 via a spherical joint 20. The instrument panel reinforcement 4 is provided with a guide plate 6, and the spherical joint 20 is fixed to the guide plate. The guide plate 6 is a plate facing the upper rear part of the pedal bracket 10. A tab 7 is provided on the upper surface of the guide plate 6, and the tab 7 comes into surface contact with the outer periphery of the cylindrical instrument panel reinforcement 4, so that the guide plate 6 is integrated with the instrument panel reinforcement 4.

As will be described in detail later, the spherical joint 20 includes a spherical inner ball 21 and an outer ring 22 that rotatably supports the inner ball 21. The outer ring 22 is press-fitted into a slit (described later) of the pedal bracket 10. A rod 23 extends from the upper end of the inner ball 21, and the rod 23 is fixed to the guide plate 6 (that is, the instrument panel reinforcement 4) with bolts 8.

As mentioned above, the pedal bracket 10 pivotally supports the brake pedal 5 so that the brake pedal 5 swings around the shaft 15. Note that, in the figure, illustration of a transmission mechanism that transmits the swinging motion of the brake pedal 5 to the brake device is omitted.

The structure around the spherical joint 20 will be explained in detail. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the upper rear part of the pedal bracket 10 and the spherical joint 20. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the spherical joint 20 separated from the pedal bracket 10. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, the tip of the rod 23 of the spherical joint 20 is connected to the guide plate 6 of the instrument panel reinforcement 4, but the upper part of the rod 23, the instrument panel reinforcement 4, and the guide plate 6 are not shown. .

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the upper rear part of the pedal bracket 10 and the spherical joint 20. FIG. 3 is a cross section of the pedal bracket 10 cut along a plane that is perpendicular to the vehicle width direction (the "left" axis direction of the coordinate system in the drawing) and passes through the center CP of the inner ball 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pedal bracket 10 includes a top plate 11 and a pair of side plates 12. A shaft 15 is fixed to the pair of side plates 12, and the brake pedal 5 is swingably supported by the shaft 15.

The upper plate 11 of the pedal bracket 10 is provided with a slit 13 that is open at the top and bottom and at the front of the vehicle. The opening of the slit 13 at the front of the vehicle is referred to as a slit front opening 14. The width of the slit front opening 14 is smaller than the maximum width of the slit 13 in the vehicle width direction.

A spherical joint 20 fits into the slit 13. As described above, the spherical joint 20 includes the inner ball 21 and the outer ring 22 that rotatably supports the inner ball 21. The outer ring 22 has a cylindrical outer shape, and the cylinder fits into the slit 13 of the pedal bracket 10. More precisely, the outer ring 22 is press-fitted into the slit 13 and fixed to the pedal bracket 10.

As mentioned above, the width of the slit front opening 14 is smaller than the maximum width of the slit 13 in the vehicle width direction, so the outer ring 22 (spherical joint 20) fitted into the slit 13 does not easily come off. . However, when a strong load (typically a collision load) is applied, the outer ring 22 (spherical joint 20) may come off the slit 13.

In front of the slit front opening 14 of the pedal bracket 10, a sufficient extra space SP is secured to accommodate the spherical joint 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inner surface of the outer ring 22 is curved so as to come into surface contact with the spherical surface of the inner ball 21. Since the spherical surface of the inner ball 21 is in surface contact with the inner surface of the outer ring 22, the outer ring 22 can freely rotate around the center CP of the inner ball 21. The outer ring 22 can rotate around any of three orthogonal axes (roll axis, pitch axis, yaw axis).

Since the pedal bracket 10 is fixed to the outer ring 22, the pedal bracket 10 and the brake pedal 5 can freely rotate together with the outer ring 22 around the center CP of the inner ball 21. However, as mentioned above, the pedal bracket 10 is fixed to the dash panel 3 and therefore does not normally rotate.

The advantages of the pedal support structure 2 will be explained. A feature of the pedal support structure 2 is that the pedal bracket 10 is connected to the instrument panel reinforcement 4 via a spherical joint 20. When the dash panel 3 deforms rearward, such as when the vehicle receives a collision load from diagonally from the front, the pedal bracket 10 may rotate around the center CP while moving backward. The outer ring 22 of the spherical joint 20 fits into the slit 13 which is open at the front. When a collision load is applied from the side of the slit front opening 14, the pedal bracket 10 easily comes off from the spherical joint 20. A margin space SP is secured in front of the slit front opening 14. Since the extra space SP is secured, the spherical joint 20 is not prevented from completely coming off from the slit 13. When the pedal bracket 10 is completely removed from the spherical joint 20 fixed to the strong instrument panel reinforcement 4, the rear portions of the pedal bracket 10 and the brake pedal 5 become free from the strong instrument panel reinforcement 4. When the pedal bracket 10 and the brake pedal 5, which are still restrained by the instrument panel reinforcement 4, move backward as the dash panel 3 deforms rearward, there is a possibility that they will strongly interfere with the driver. If the pedal bracket 10 and the brake pedal 5 are released from the restraints of the instrument panel reinforcement 4 when retreating, interference with the driver is alleviated.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the movement of the pedal bracket 10 when a collision load F is applied diagonally from the left front. FIG. 4(A) is a plan view of the pedal bracket 10 before the collision load F is applied. FIG. 4(B) is a plan view of the pedal bracket 10 after a collision load is applied. In addition, in FIG. 4, the guide plate 6 is shown by a virtual line. Further, the guide plate 6 extends rearward than the instrument panel reinforcement 4, but that portion (portion extending rearward than the instrument panel reinforcement) is omitted from illustration. In FIG. 4(B), a virtual line labeled 10a represents the pedal bracket 10 before a collision load is applied.

Before a collision load is applied, the slit front opening 14 faces the front of the vehicle. When a collision load F is applied diagonally from the front left, the dash panel 3 (not shown in FIG. 4) deforms diagonally rearward to the right, and in response to the deformation of the dash panel 3, the pedal bracket 10 also moves toward the center CP (of the inner ball 21). center) in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4(B). Then, the slit front opening 14 faces the direction in which the collision load F is directed. The pedal bracket 10 moves in the direction of the collision load F. The outer ring 22 moves relatively so as to be pushed out of the slit 13 through the slit front opening 14. As a result, the pedal bracket 10 comes off from the outer ring 22 (spherical joint 20). The pedal bracket 10 is easily disengaged from the spherical joint 20 even in response to a collision load F applied diagonally from the front.

In front of the slit front opening 14, a space SP sufficient for the spherical joint 20 to enter is secured, and the pedal bracket 10 is completely released from the restraint of the spherical joint 20 (namely, the instrument panel reinforcement 4). The pedal bracket 10 and brake pedal 5 that move backward are completely free from restraint by the instrument panel reinforcement 4, and do not strongly interfere with the driver.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing how the pedal bracket 10 rotates around the horizontal axis. For example, when the dash panel 3 (not shown in FIG. 5) subjected to a collision load is lifted upward, the pedal bracket 10 rotates around the center CP in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5. Further, when the dash panel 3 deforms rearward, the pedal bracket 10 receives a rearward collision load. The spherical joint 20 is removed from the pedal bracket 10 through the slit front opening 14. An extra space SP is secured in front of the slit front opening 14, so that the spherical joint 20 is not prevented from completely coming off from the slit 13. As a result, the pedal bracket 10 and the brake pedal 5 that move backward are completely freed from the restraint of the instrument panel reinforcement 4.

A guide plate 6 is arranged above and behind the pedal bracket 10. The guide plate 6 curves downward toward the rear (see FIG. 3). The pedal bracket 10 freed from the restraint of the instrument panel reinforcement 4 is guided by the guide plate 6 and moves rearward and downward. It is possible to reduce the possibility that the pedal bracket 10 (and the brake pedal 5) will interfere with the driver during a frontal collision.

Points to note regarding the techniques described in the examples will be described. The pedal bracket 10 is connected to the dash panel 3 and to a vehicle body member rearward of the dash panel 3. The instrument panel reinforcement 4 of the embodiment is an example of a vehicle body member located behind the dash panel 3 in the vehicle body. The pedal bracket 10 may be attached via a spherical joint 20 to a vehicle body member other than the instrument panel reinforcement 4, which is located behind the dash panel 3.

Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely illustrative and do not limit the scope of the claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and changes to the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims as filed. Furthermore, the techniques illustrated in this specification or the drawings can achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of the objectives has technical utility in itself.

2: Pedal support structure 3: Dash panel 4: Instrument panel reinforcement 5: Brake pedal 6: Guide plate 7: Tab 8: Bolt 10: Pedal bracket 11: Top plate 12: Side plate 13: Slit 14: Slit front opening 15: Shaft 20 : Spherical joint 21: Inner ball 22: Outer ring 23: Rod

Claims (1)

A pedal support structure that supports a brake pedal by a pedal bracket that is connected to a dash panel and connected to a vehicle body member rearward of the dash panel,
The vehicle body member and the pedal bracket are connected via a spherical joint that includes an inner ball and an outer ring that rotatably supports the inner ball around its center,
the inner ball is fixed to the vehicle body member,
The pedal bracket is provided with a slit that is open toward the front, upper side, and lower side of the vehicle body, and the outer ring is fitted into the slit.
Pedal support structure.

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