JPH11342763A - Acceleration pedal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a favorable acceleration operability across a long term by preventing the wear of the shaft hole peripheral edge of a support shaft and bracket. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a pedal arm 2 on whose intermediate part a support shaft 4 is fixed and on whose end an acceleration pedal 1 is installed, a bracket 3 for supporting the support shaft 4 turnably, a return spring 10, arranged around the support shaft 4, for energizing the pedal arm 2 in a reverse actuating direction and an acceleration opening sensor 20 installed on the bracket 3 and generating a signal showing the acceleration opening in response to the turning of the pedal arm 2. A cylinder body 6 is fitted into a hole formed on the side wall 3b of the bracket 3 and the support shaft 4 fitted with a sleeve 7 is inserted turnably in the cylinder body 6. As the cylinder body 6 is fixed to the side wall of the bracket 3, a load is not applied to its inside sleeve 7 and support shaft 4 and the wear of a turning part can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an accelerator pedal device for an automobile, and more particularly, to a cableless accelerator pedal device provided with an accelerator opening sensor for detecting an accelerator opening.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cableless accelerator pedal device for electrically transmitting the opening of an accelerator pedal to a throttle valve without passing through an accelerator cable, an accelerator opening sensor is conventionally mounted on a support shaft of the accelerator pedal. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an accelerator pedal device having a structure in which an accelerator opening sensor is rotated in accordance with the amount of depression of a pedal (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-160348).

[0003]

In this type of conventional accelerator pedal device, an accelerator pedal arm is rotatably supported on a bracket via a support shaft, and an accelerator opening sensor is directly connected to the support shaft. At the same time, a return spring for urging the accelerator pedal toward the depressed side is fitted around the outer periphery of the support shaft, and the rotor of the accelerator opening sensor rotates according to the amount of depression of the accelerator. This is a structure for outputting a signal indicating the accelerator opening.

Incidentally, a conventional accelerator pedal device connected to a throttle device via a cable conventionally used in a general automobile, or an electronic control type in which an accelerator pedal and an accelerator opening sensor are connected by an accelerator cable. In the accelerator pedal device, since there is sliding resistance of the accelerator cable, an appropriate amount of depressing force is generated, and the depressing force is appropriately increased in accordance with the amount of depressing the accelerator pedal, and rotation in the anti-depressing direction is performed. The sliding resistance is generated moderately even when moving, thereby improving the operability of the accelerator.

However, in the above-described cable-less accelerator pedal device, since such sliding resistance does not occur, a one-way bearing and a friction plate are provided on the bearing portion of the support shaft, and the operation of the member in the anti-depressing direction is performed by the action of this member. Only during rotation, frictional resistance is generated on the support shaft of the accelerator pedal.

However, a torsion coil spring is externally fitted to the support shaft as a return spring, and one end of the torsion coil spring is locked to the pedal arm and the other end is locked to a part of the bracket. When the support shaft rotates when the pedal is operated, the return spring is largely twisted in the diameter reducing direction, and the inside of the return spring hits the support shaft, and the torsional force acts in the radial direction of the support shaft. For this reason, frictional resistance occurs on the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft and the periphery of the shaft hole of the bracket that supports the support shaft, and when the accelerator pedal operation is repeated for a long time, the periphery of the support shaft and the hole of the bracket become uneven. As a result, the accelerator pedal may not return to an appropriate position due to wear of the shaft hole and the support shaft.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is intended to prevent abrasion of a shaft hole and a periphery of a shaft hole of a bracket,
An object of the present invention is to provide a cable-less accelerator pedal device that can obtain good accelerator operability for a long period of time.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an accelerator pedal device according to the present invention comprises a pedal arm having a support shaft fixed to an intermediate portion and an accelerator pedal attached to a distal end, and a support shaft being rotated. A bracket to be supported, a return spring disposed around the support shaft to bias the pedal arm in the anti-depressing direction, and a bracket mounted on the bracket to indicate an accelerator opening according to the rotation of the pedal arm. In a cableless accelerator pedal device having an accelerator opening sensor that generates a signal, a cylindrical body is fitted into a hole formed in a side wall of the bracket, and a support shaft is rotatably inserted into the cylindrical body. It is characterized by being.

Here, instead of the cylindrical body, a cylindrical part may be formed integrally with the side wall of the bracket. Further, a structure may be adopted in which a sleeve is provided on the outer periphery of the support shaft, and the sleeve portion is rotatably fitted into the cylindrical body or the cylindrical portion. Furthermore, a collar is fitted on the support shaft on the side opposite to the side on which the sleeve is provided, and a shaft cylinder is provided on the outer periphery of the support shaft so as to sandwich the side wall of the bracket between the collar and the sleeve. A configuration in which a compression coil spring is interposed therebetween so as to apply a pinching force to the side wall portion may be employed.

[0010]

In the accelerator pedal device having the above-mentioned structure, the support shaft rotates when the accelerator pedal is depressed, and the sleeve, the shaft cylinder, etc. provided on the outer periphery of the support shaft support the fixed bracket. Rotating with the shaft, the return spring is twisted in the same direction. At the time of rotation of the support shaft, on one side of the support shaft, the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body serve as sliding surfaces. ·To support.
Also, at this time, since the return spring is twisted in the diameter reducing direction, even if the return spring is loosely fitted to the shaft cylinder or the cylindrical body, the vicinity of the arc portion at one end of the return spring comes into contact with the cylindrical body, and there is a radial direction. Apply a load.

However, since the cylindrical body is fixed to the side wall of the bracket, no load is applied to the inner sleeve or the support shaft, and the rotating part does not wear.
Therefore, as in the related art, the peripheral portions of the shaft holes of the support shaft and the bracket are worn unevenly, and due to the wear of the shaft hole and the support shaft,
It is possible to prevent a problem that the accelerator pedal does not return to an appropriate position.

Further, on the other side of the support shaft, the side wall of the stationary bracket is held so as to be sandwiched between the collar and the shaft cylinder, and the support shaft is supported while generating frictional resistance therebetween. A radial load is applied to the barrel from the return spring at the other side of the spindle, but the barrel rotates together with the spindle, and the side wall of the bracket is sandwiched between the collar and the barrel. The edge of the hole provided in the side wall does not wear unevenly, and an appropriate frictional resistance is generated at the contact surface between the side wall, the collar, and the barrel when the support shaft rotates. Let
An operation feeling of a stepping accelerator can be generated, and stable accelerator operability can be obtained.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 shows a front view with a partial cross section of the accelerator pedal device, FIG. 2 shows a left side view thereof, and FIG. 3 shows a partially enlarged front view with a cross section. This accelerator pedal device basically includes a bracket 3 and a bracket 3
, A pedal arm 2 supported via a support shaft 4, an accelerator pedal 1 fixed to the pedal arm 2, an accelerator opening sensor 20 mounted on a bracket 3, and externally fitted around the support shaft 4. And a return spring 10 for urging the pedal arm 2 in the anti-depressing direction.

A support shaft 4 is fixed at a right angle to an intermediate portion of the pedal arm 2. The bracket 3 is formed by bending both sides vertically toward the front to form a U-shaped cross section, and a hole for passing the support shaft 4 is formed in the left side wall 3a and the right side wall 3b. The support shaft 4 is
A large diameter portion is provided at the left end and a small diameter portion is provided at the right end. The pedal arm 2 is fixed at a right angle to the large diameter portion, and a screw 4b is formed at the small diameter portion.
A serration portion 4a is provided on the left side of the middle diameter portion. A collar 8 made of a synthetic resin (for example, polyacetal) is fitted into the serration portion 4a, and the shaft cylinder 5 is inserted into the shaft 4 on the right side of the serration portion 4a by a clearance fit that is movable in the axial direction. And between the collar 8 and the barrel 5
The bracket 3 is assembled so as to rotatably sandwich a peripheral portion of a hole provided in the left side wall 3 a of the bracket 3.

On the other hand, a bush-like cylindrical body 6 is fitted into a hole provided in the right side wall 3b of the bracket 3. A flange portion is provided at an end of the cylindrical body 6, and the flange portion is put out of the right side wall portion 3b, and is fitted and fixed in a hole in a form in which the cylindrical portion is inserted inside. The cylindrical body 6 fitted into the hole of the right side wall 3b of the bracket 3 is made of a metal such as brass, for example, and forms a bearing.

The support shaft 4 is inserted into the cylindrical body 6, and a sleeve 7 made of synthetic resin (for example, polyacetal) is inserted into the outer periphery of the support shaft 4 by a clearance fit. The outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 7 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 6 serve as sliding surfaces. Further, a compression coil spring 11 is interposed between the shaft cylinder 5 and the sleeve 7 at an intermediate portion of the support shaft 4, and the compression coil spring 11 is connected to the collar 8 via the shaft cylinder 5 by the spring force of the compression coil spring 11. A force sandwiching the left side wall 3a of the bracket 3 is generated therebetween, and when the support shaft 4 rotates, an appropriate frictional resistance is generated between the left side wall 3a, the collar 8, and the shaft cylinder 5. This frictional resistance is set by adjusting the spring force of the compression coil spring 11 and the like so as to obtain a satisfactory operation feeling with depression when the accelerator pedal is depressed or released.

When assembling the support shaft 4, the shaft cylinder 5, the sleeve 7, the return spring 10 and the like to the bracket 3, first, the return spring 10 and the shaft cylinder 5 are arranged at fixed positions in the bracket 3, The support shaft 4 with the collar 8 fitted to the tip is passed through the hole in the left side wall 3a of the bracket 3 and is also inserted into the shaft tube 5, so that the shaft tube 5 is inserted through the middle diameter portion of the support shaft 4, and Screw 4
The compression coil spring 11 is inserted from the side b, and the sleeve 7 is inserted into the support shaft 4. Then, a washer 9 is fitted to the tip of a spindle protruding outward from the cylindrical body 6 of the right side wall 3b of the bracket 3, and a nut 12 is screwed into the male screw 4b, and tightened and fixed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the right end of a return spring 10 made of a torsion coil spring wound around the outer circumference of the shaft cylinder 5 and the cylindrical body 6 is locked inside the bracket 3, The left end of the return spring 10 is hung on the pedal arm 2, and the torsion spring force of the return spring 10 urges the pedal arm 2 in the anti-depressing direction. In this state, as described above, the spring force of the compression coil spring 11 causes a force to pinch the left wall portion 3a of the bracket 3 between the collar 8 and the shaft 8 via the shaft cylinder 5, thereby rotating the support shaft 4. At times, an appropriate frictional resistance is generated between the left side wall 3a, the collar 8, and the barrel 5.

The accelerator opening sensor 20 is attached to the upper left wall 3a of the bracket 3. The attachment of the accelerator opening sensor 20 is tightened and fixed by passing a fixing screw through a long hole provided on the bracket side, and the mounting angle of the sensor can be adjusted by loosening the fixing screw.

A rotor 21 is rotatably disposed at the center of the accelerator opening sensor 20, and a brush is fixed to an inner end of the rotor 21 via a brush support (not shown). A substrate having a resistor pattern is attached to an inner wall facing the brush, and the brush contacts the substrate. Rotor 21
, A return coil spring 22 for urging it toward the fully closed detection position side is externally fitted.

The left end of the rotor 21 projects from the hole provided in the left side wall 3a of the bracket 3 toward the pedal arm, and a crank mechanism having the rotor 21 as a crank shaft is provided at the left end. That is, the crank arm 16 is
Is fixed at a right angle to its axis at the end of the crank arm 16
The crank pin 17 is attached to the tip of the rotor in parallel with the rotor shaft, and the rotor 21 is rotated by moving the crank pin 17 back and forth in FIG.

Further, an engaging portion is provided at the distal end of the pedal arm 2, and the engaging portion is engaged with the crank pin 17. The engaging portion fixes the band plate 18 to the distal end of the pedal arm 2 so that the crank pin 17 is inserted and held in a long hole-shaped space formed between the distal end of the arm 2 and the band plate 18 with a gap. It is formed.

With this crank mechanism, the pedal arm 2
Is tilted, the rotor 21 of the accelerator opening sensor 20 rotates according to the amount of depression of the pedal arm 2. A stopper 19 made of a synthetic resin is mounted on the bracket 3 behind the engaging portion, and the tip of the pedal arm 2 when not operated comes into contact with the stopper 19 and stops.

The accelerator pedal device having such a configuration is as follows.
Like a normal automobile, the bracket 3 is attached to a lower portion of a driver's seat in a room by fixing the bracket 3 with a fixing screw or the like.
A terminal of the accelerator opening sensor 20 is connected to a constant voltage power supply, and an output terminal thereof is connected to a control processing circuit of a throttle valve.
A throttle valve driving device is connected to an output side of the control processing circuit.

Next, the operation of the accelerator pedal device having the above structure will be described. When the accelerator pedal 1 is not operated, that is, when the accelerator pedal is fully closed, the pedal depression stroke of the accelerator pedal and its pedaling force (torque of the support shaft) are determined. Is located at point A in FIG.

When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 1,
The pedal arm 2 rotates about the support shaft 4 against the urging force of the return spring 10. At this time, the tip of the pedal arm 2 tilts in a direction opposite to the direction in which the pedal is depressed, that is, in the forward direction in FIG. The rotor 21 of the accelerator opening sensor 20 is rotated clockwise in FIG.

When the accelerator pedal 1 is depressed, the support shaft 4 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2. At this time, the collar 8 provided on the outer periphery of the support shaft 4
The shaft cylinder 5, the compression coil spring 11, the sleeve 7, the washer 9, and the nut 12 rotate together with the support shaft 4, and the return spring 10 is twisted. When the support shaft 4 rotates, as shown in FIGS.
On the right side of the support shaft 4, the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 7 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 6 serve as a sliding surface, and the cylindrical body 6 receives and supports the load applied to the support shaft 4 on this sliding surface. The left side of the support shaft 4 holds the stationary left side wall portion 3a of the bracket between the collar 8 and the shaft cylinder 5, and supports the support shaft 4 while generating frictional resistance therebetween.

At this time, since the return spring 10 is twisted in the diameter reducing direction, even if the return spring 10 is loosely fitted to the shaft cylinder 5 or the cylindrical body 6, the vicinity of the right end arc portion of the return spring 10 contacts the cylindrical body 6. Then, the vicinity of the left end circular arc portion comes into contact with the shaft cylinder 5, and a load is applied in the arrow direction (radial direction) shown in FIG. However, since the cylindrical body 6 is fixed to the right side wall portion 3b of the bracket 3, no radial load is applied to the inner sleeve 7 and the support shaft 4, and the rotating portion does not wear.

As shown by the arrow in FIG. 5, a radial load is applied from the return spring 10 to the shaft cylinder 5 on the left side of the support shaft 4, but the shaft cylinder 5 rotates together with the support shaft 4 and the bracket 4 Since the left side wall 3a of the shaft 3 is pinched between the collar 8 and the shaft cylinder 5, the outer periphery of the shaft hole provided in the left side wall 3a is not unevenly worn. When turning,
An appropriate frictional resistance is generated at both contact surfaces of the left side wall portion 3a, the collar 8, and the barrel 5, and an operation feeling of a stepping accelerator is generated, and stable accelerator operability can be obtained. During this time, the rotor 21 of the accelerator opening sensor 20 rotates via the crank mechanism in accordance with the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 1, and a signal indicating the accelerator opening is output therefrom.

On the other hand, when the foot is released from the accelerator pedal 1,
In order to reduce the treading force, the point shifts from point B in FIG. 6 to point C. Thereafter, the support shaft 4 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 by the spring force of the return spring 10 and shifts from point C to point D. The accelerator pedal returns to the non-depressed state.

Even at the time of this counter-stepping rotation, the support shaft 4
On the right side, the sleeve 7 is held in the cylindrical body 6 and pivots, so that little wear occurs. On the left side of the support shaft 4, the left side wall 3a is connected to the collar 8 in the same manner as when stepping on. Since the cylinder 5 is held between the cylinders 5 by the compression coil spring 11 and an appropriate frictional resistance is generated on the support shaft 4 between the cylinders 5, the accelerator pedal 1 operates so as to return gently to obtain stable accelerator operability. be able to.

The broken line shown in the graph of FIG. 6 is a case of a conventional accelerator pedal device in which the cylindrical body 6 is not fitted to the right side wall 3b of the bracket 3, but in this case, a hole in the right side wall of the bracket is formed. Since the peripheral edge directly contacts the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve and the sleeve rotates together with the support shaft, when the pedal is repeatedly depressed, the contact surface of the sleeve is worn, and the spring force of the return spring is reduced. 6, the accelerator pedal cannot return to the start position.

On the other hand, according to the accelerator pedal device of the present invention, as described above, the cylindrical body 6 is fixed to the right wall 3b of the bracket 3, and the support shaft 4 is inserted through the sleeve 7 inside the cylindrical body 6. Therefore, the load in the radial direction by the return spring 10 is held by the cylindrical body 6. For this reason, no frictional load is applied to the sleeve 7 and the support shaft 4 and uneven wear does not occur in the rotating portion. When the accelerator pedal is depressed and returned, the points A to D in FIG. It is possible to satisfactorily return to the starting position while changing the pedaling force as shown in FIG.

In the above embodiment, the cylindrical body 6 manufactured as a single part is fitted and fixed in the hole provided in the right side wall 3b of the bracket 3; A cylindrical portion may be integrally formed, and the support shaft 4 with the sleeve 7 fitted therein may be rotatably inserted into the cylindrical portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an accelerator pedal device showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the accelerator pedal device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged half sectional view near a support shaft 4.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of a support shaft 4 part.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between a pedal stroke and a pedaling force.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-Accelerator pedal 2-Pedal arm 3-Bracket 4-Support shaft 5-Axle tube 5b-Incline convex portion 6-Cylinder 7-Sleeve 8-Collar 10-Return spring 20-Accelerator opening sensor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pedal arm having a support shaft fixed to an intermediate portion and an accelerator pedal attached to a distal end, a bracket for rotatably supporting the support shaft, and a pedal disposed around the support shaft and including the pedal. A return spring that urges the arm in the depressing direction, and an accelerator opening sensor that is mounted on the bracket and generates a signal indicating the accelerator opening in accordance with the rotation of the pedal arm. The accelerator pedal device according to claim 1, wherein a cylindrical body is fitted into a hole formed in a side wall of the bracket, and the support shaft is rotatably inserted into the cylindrical body. 2. A pedal arm having a support shaft fixed to an intermediate portion and an accelerator pedal attached to a distal end, a bracket for rotatably supporting the support shaft, and a pedal disposed around the support shaft, A return spring that urges the arm in the depressing direction, and an accelerator opening sensor that is mounted on the bracket and generates a signal indicating the accelerator opening in accordance with the rotation of the pedal arm. The accelerator pedal device according to claim 1, wherein a cylindrical portion is integrally formed on a side wall portion of the bracket, and the support shaft is rotatably inserted into the cylindrical portion. 3. The accelerator pedal device according to claim 1, wherein a sleeve provided on an outer periphery of the support shaft is rotatably fitted into the cylindrical body or the cylindrical portion. 4. A collar is fitted on a support shaft on a side opposite to a side on which the sleeve is provided, and a shaft cylinder is provided on an outer periphery of the support shaft so as to sandwich a side wall of the bracket between the collar and the collar. The accelerator pedal device according to claim 3, wherein a compression coil spring is interposed between the sleeve and the shaft cylinder so as to apply a pinching force to the side wall portion.