JPH10305740A - Pedal device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the foot of an occupant from falling off the foot rest part of a pedal and generation of twisting of the ankle, even if the leg of the occupant moves by inertia at the time of a collision by providing a fall-off prevention member operating at the time of the collision to prevent the foot of the occupant from falling off from the foot rest part of the pedal on the pedal operated by the occupant. SOLUTION: A pedal 4 is provided with a foot rest part 4a and an arm part 4b extending upward by bending from the rear surface of the part 4a. The upper end of an arm part 4b is pivotally attached to a bracket 5 mounted on a dashboard 3 via a pivot 4C and the foot rest part 4a can be stepped in an oblique from lower side toward a toeboard 2. On the rear surface of the foot rest part 11a, an air bag 6 is mounted, a gas generator is incorporated, the gas generator is operated by signals from a collision sensor 7 at the time of a collision and the air bag 6 swells to both of the left and right sides of the foot rest part 4a. Even if the leg of an occupant moves by inertia at the time of the collision, the air bag 6 becomes a stopper and the foot (a) is prevented from falling from the foot rest part 4a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pedal device for a vehicle such as an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal which is operated by an occupant's foot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle pedal generally includes a footrest on which an occupant's foot is placed, and an arm which bends from the back of the footrest and extends upward. The upper end of the arm is attached to the vehicle body. It is pivotally attached so that the footrest can be stepped diagonally forward and downward.

In a head-on collision, the occupant's lower limb may move due to inertia, and the foot may slip off the footrest of the pedal, causing a twist of the ankle.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of preventing an occupant's foot from dropping off from a footrest of a pedal during a collision.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems,
According to the present invention, the pedal operated by the occupant's foot is provided with a fall-off prevention member that operates in the event of a collision, which prevents the occupant's foot from falling off the footrest of the pedal.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the occupant's lower limb moves by inertia at the time of a collision, the foot does not fall off the footrest portion of the pedal and the ankle does not twist.

Here, the stopper comprises a stopper member having a fall prevention member attached to the side of the foot rest so as to be able to move up and down, an actuator which operates in the event of a collision, and an interlocking mechanism which raises the stopper member by the operation of the actuator. It is conceivable to prevent the foot from falling off from the mounting part with a stopper member,
This complicates the structure.

On the other hand, if the falling-off prevention member is constituted by an airbag which bulges to the side of the footrest portion of the pedal in the event of a collision, the airbag functions as a stopper for the foot,
The fall of the foot from the footrest is prevented, and an actuator or an interlocking mechanism is not required, so that the structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. Further, by using the airbag, the impact acting on the foot via the vehicle body at the time of collision can be reduced.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a floor panel of a vehicle body, which includes a toe board 2 rising diagonally forward from a front end of the floor panel 1, and a dashboard 3 extending upward from an upper end of the toe board 2. And toe board 2
The dashboard 3 and the dashboard 3 constitute a front panel portion of the cabin.

In the passenger compartment, a pedal 4 for an accelerator, a brake, and the like, which is operated by a foot a of the occupant, is disposed in front of the front plate portion. The pedal 4 includes a footrest 4a and an arm 4 that is bent from the back surface of the footrest 4a and extends upward.
b, the upper end of the arm 4b is pivotally connected to the bracket 5 attached to the dashboard 3 via the pivot 4c, and the footrest 4a can be stepped diagonally forward and downward toward the toe board 2. Like that.

An airbag 6 is mounted on the back surface of the foot rest 4a. The airbag 6 has a built-in gas generator (not shown), and when a collision occurs, the gas generator is activated by a signal from the collision sensor 7, and as shown in FIGS. The foot rest 4a swells to both left and right sides.

According to this, even if the lower leg of the occupant moves by inertia at the time of collision, the air bag 6 acts as a stopper to prevent the foot a from falling off from the foot rest 4a. Further, the impact transmitted from the toe board 2 and the floor panel 1 to the foot a is also reduced.

[0013]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the foot from falling off the footrest portion of the pedal at the time of a collision, and to reduce the cost by using an airbag. In addition, the impact acting on the foot via the vehicle body at the time of a collision can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A is a side view of an example of the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a side view showing a state at the time of the collision, and FIG. 1C is a perspective view showing a state at the time of a collision.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Pedal 4a Footrest 6 Airbag

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pedal device for a vehicle, wherein a pedal operated by an occupant's foot is provided with a drop-off preventing member that operates in a collision to prevent the occupant's foot from falling off a footrest of the pedal. 2. The pedal device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the falling-off preventing member is formed of an airbag that expands to the side of the footrest portion of the pedal in the event of a collision.