RU2490144C1 - Automotive combined accelerator and brake pedal - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: transport.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to automotive industry. Combined automotive pedal comprises functions of accelerator and brake. Both functions are integrated in one with front and rear thrusts sliding in the floor lengthwise groove for braking and engine rpm control by mutually opposite pedal travels along vehicle lengthwise axis. To control accelerator, driver presses on rear thrust to slide the pedal against vehicle motion. To brake the vehicle, driver presses on front thrust to displace the pedal in direction of vehicle motion. Said pedal when release is forced back by springs in neutral position furnished with retainer. Said combine pedal may be arranged on partition, not at the floor, separating the pedal from engine compartment. Initial setting of pedal is designed for maximum foot size. Adjustment of pedal to drive individualities along with initial adjustment of drive seat and rearview mirrors are performed by shifting of one of said thrusts.

EFFECT: higher safety.

2 dwg

Description

The present invention relates to the field of transport engineering, in particular to automobile control pedals, and can be used in their manufacture.

Cars, except for those equipped with manual control, are equipped with pedals used by the driver to control systems and units with the help of the feet. The pedal control system is mounted on the chassis of the vehicle and contains articulated pedals, supports, shafts, levers, springs and stops.

Currently, most cars are equipped with three pedals - clutch, brake and accelerator. The clutch pedal is controlled by the left foot. Separate brake and accelerator pedals are located nearby and are controlled by the same movement of the right leg moved between them, but act on the car in exactly the opposite way. The brake pedal is designed to activate the working brake system of the car in order to slow down or stop the vehicle. The accelerator pedal, also controlled by the right foot, regulates the engine speed, therefore, the speed of the car. Therefore, when the driver wants to slow down or stop the car, he must raise his right foot from the accelerator pedal, transfer it to the brake pedal, and then press it. Physical movement of a foot from one pedal to another not only takes time, but can also cause errors.

The traditional arrangement of the accelerator and brake pedals next to each other is not optimal, as a result of which operational errors occur, especially in emergency situations when the driver in a state of stress and fright cannot quickly and accurately get his foot on the brake pedal, which would avoid an accident. Traffic accidents caused by the fact that the driver mixed up the accelerator pedals and the brakes while moving his legs are dangerous, not only speed increase at the moment of the desired braking, but also sharp braking in the dense stream at speed when the driver planned to accelerate, for example, to overtake . Such an error can occur due to the deviation of the driver from the normal position, another reason may be the slipping of a foot from one pedal to another, which can be a serious threat not only to the driver and passengers of this vehicle, but also to other road users.

Moving a foot from one pedal to another takes a few tenths of a second, resulting in extra meters of braking distance during emergency braking in an emergency, which may be crucial to prevent an accident. Most of the accidents are due to the fact that when driving at high speed in situations of sudden danger, the reaction time of the driver of the vehicle was insufficient for a safe stop of the car. Reducing the time between detection of a threat and the beginning of effective braking is one of the most urgent tasks. In emergency situations, the driver must quickly and accurately get his foot on the brake pedal.

A number of pedal assembly designs are known in which a combined pedal is used to eliminate one or more of these drawbacks, combining the functions of accelerator pedals and car brakes and minimizing the necessary movements of the right leg in an emergency.

In the patent ES 2254277 dated 06.16.2006, B60K 26/02, B60T 7/06, G05G 1/30, G05G 1/36 the above pedals are combined into one, but this did not bring any advantages, because here, to change the function, the foot moves from one edge of the pedal to the other, losing time.

US 2004139818 dated July 22, 2004, B60K 26/02, B60T 7/06, G05G 1/44, G05G 1/487 describes a design in which individual gas pedals and brakes are stored, but their shape and relative position are changed, which allows pressing each of them without moving his leg. The pedal works according to a similar principle, presented in patent EP 2076406 dated July 8, 2009, B60K 26/00, but here the unreliable design of the accelerator pedal sliding laterally on the brake pedal.

In patents DE 2655798 dated 06/15/1978, B60T 11/10, B60T 7/04; EP 0363634 from 04/18/1990, B60K 26/00, G05G 1/46; DE 19930675 dated January 11, 2001, B60K 26/02, G05G 1/30, G05G 1/445; EP 1286849 dated 03/05/2003, B60T 11/10, B60T 7/04, B60T 7/12, G05G 1/36, G05G 9/08, B60K 26/02, B60K 26/04; WO 2004020240 dated 03/11/2004, B60T 7/06, G05G 1/30; DE 10247421 04/29/2004, B60K 26/00, B60T 7/06, B60T 7/12, B60T 8/00, B60W 10/06 braking and acceleration are performed by one pedal and are separated only by the deviation angle, i.e. by pressing it. The neutral position necessary for gear shifting is located in the middle of the pedal stroke, and the need to find it in the absence of an automatic return to this position makes these structures difficult to implement.

Patents GB 1063067 dated March 30, 1967, B60T 11/10, G05G 1/30, G05G 1/405, G05G 1/42, G05G 1/445, G05G 1/46, G05G 5/03; SI 9100002 dated 06/30/1993, B60K 26/00, B60T 7/06; KR 100159860 from 08.13.1998, B60K 26/02; DE 29818357 dated 05/12/1999, B60K 26/02, B60T 13/66, B60T 7/06, G05G 1/38, G05G 1/445, G05G 5/03; WO 0135184 dated 05/17/2001, G05G 1/30; EP 1156943 dated 11.28.2001, B60K 26/02, B60K 31/00, B60T 7/04, B60T 8/00, B60T 8/48, B60W 10/06, B60W 10/18, B60W 30/18, B60W 40 / 08 represent the design of the combined pedal with the axis of rotation in the middle. Pressing one of the parts provides acceleration or braking, but it is inconvenient to turn part of the pedal a large angle for anatomical reasons. A non-physiological control method leads to rapid driver fatigue. The pedal works similarly in patent WO 2004006039 dated January 15, 2004, G05G 1/30, G05G 1/445, only here it is divided into separate parts - upper and lower, articulated on a common axis. In patent CH 690909 of 02.28.2001, B60K 26/00, B60T 7/06, G05G 1/30, G05G 1/445 pedal without an axis, but the control is similar. According to a similar principle, pedals work in US patents 4120387 from 10.17.1978, B60T 17/06, B60T 7/06, B60W 10/04, B60W 10/18, G05G 1/30, G05G 1/42, G05G 1/445 and DE 10048737 from 01/02/2003, B60K 26/02, B60T 7/04, G05G 1/30, but here two pedals are installed one above the other.

In patents WO 9728496 from 08/07/1997, B60K 26/02, B60T 7/02, B60T 7/06, G05G 1/00, G05G 1/30 and DE 10118436 from 10/17/2002, B60T 7/04, G05G 1/30 , G05G 1/445 describes the design of the combined pedal, when pressed strongly, braking occurs, and a rotary pedal is fixed at its lower end, the accelerator is controlled by changing the rotation angle of it. An electronic lock is provided, which evaluates the force of pressing, and on this basis determines which function to use at the moment. The disadvantage of this solution is the relative complexity of the proposed system due to the presence of blocking with a kind of dependence.

Thus, the proposed options for the combined accelerator and brake pedals are either not reliable enough, or require significant system complexity, or change existing management skills.

In view of the foregoing, to reduce the braking time, a relatively simple and reliable design of the combined pedal is required, which does not require moving the legs and a significant change in existing driving skills.

The aim of the invention is to develop the design of the combined pedal, combining the functions of braking and speed control, free from the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art of the existing and proposed pedal assemblies. A system with an integrated pedal should reduce emergency braking time and completely eliminate the risk that the driver will press the wrong pedal in such a situation. The system under development should also be able to function in conjunction with existing brake systems without any additional electronic or electrical interlocks. Braking should be carried out by familiar or similar movements of the driver, as in fractions of a second in an emergency braking situation, it is difficult to perform complex and unfamiliar operations.

The claimed invention to eliminate the above disadvantages proposed such a design for controlling the brake and accelerator of the car, in which two functions are combined in one pedal that does not require moving the legs when changing the function, which avoids the loss of time for this and ensures the absence of specific errors.

The present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows a side view of the combined sliding brake pedal and accelerator in the neutral position with the following notation: 1 - combined pedal with stops 2 and 3 and the control element 10, which by means of springs 7 and 8 fixes the pedal in the neutral position relative to the actuating elements of the brake systems 5 and adjusting engine speed 6. Arrow A shows the direction of the vehicle, arrow B indicates pedal 1. The free movement of pedal 1 is limited by the distance 9 between the rods 5 and 6 of the actuator s of two integrable systems.

The pedal 1 moves forward and backward along a longitudinal groove in the floor 4 of the cab for braking and controlling engine speed using the mutually opposite pedal movements along the longitudinal axis of the car. To control the accelerator system, the driver by means of an emphasis 3 moves the pedal 1 against the direction of movement of the vehicle, for braking - by an emphasis 2 along the course. The initial installation of the stops 2 and 3 of the pedal 1 is designed for the maximum possible shoe size. Adjusting the pedal for the individual driver’s characteristics is carried out by shifting one of the stops along the pedal 1. This setting is carried out simultaneously with the initial adjustment of the driver's seat, rear-view mirrors, etc. The terms “longitudinal” and “transverse” used here should be considered in relation to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

When you release the pedal, for example, to change gears, it returns to the neutral position under the action of springs 7 and 8, which does not have the effect of braking or acceleration. In order to avoid possible pendulum oscillation of the pedal under the action of the springs, in such a situation a pedal neutral position lock is provided (not shown in FIG. 1), which is, for example, a well-known design with a steel ball extended by a spring into the fixing recess.

Taking into account that the driver operates the brake pedal with greater force than the accelerator pedal, the usual foot movement is used, which is currently used for braking, especially emergency, when the driver instinctively rests on the brake and clutch pedals.

The design of the combined pedal shown in FIG. 1 is convenient for use on trucks and buses. In cars, the seat height is lower than the height of the knee joint of the seated driver, so the legs are pulled forward and the foot is in an inclined position. For convenience, the combined pedal can be tilted similarly to existing pedals, moving from the cab floor to the partition 11 separating it from the engine compartment (Fig. 2a), or adapted for movement along an arc (Fig. 2c).

In the existing design of the pedal assembly, to start the car’s movement after stopping, it is necessary to simultaneously smoothly release the clutch pedal and press the accelerator pedal, which causes some difficulties due to the anatomical inconsistency of such joint movements. In the claimed design, the movement of the legs at the moment the vehicle starts to move is changed: both legs in this case move in the same direction, which facilitates control. Changing the method of controlling the accelerator pedal in this system is not critical, because it occurs in the absence of stress associated with sudden driver decisions. The inventive system also facilitates the process of starting the car after stopping on the rise, which in the existing design of the pedal assembly requires specific control skills associated with the quick rearrangement of the right foot from one pedal to another. In addition, when driving in traffic jams, requiring frequent changes of movement and stops, the driver no longer needs to perform constant movements of his right foot between the brake and accelerator pedals, so labor and fatigue are reduced.

The combined pedal combines two functions, which greatly simplifies the management of the vehicle and prevents traffic accidents caused by mistakenly depressing the wrong pedal, slipping the legs from one pedal to another, and also simultaneously pressing both pedals. The advantage of the multifunctional pedal is that the driver can switch from controlling engine speed directly to braking without moving the foot between the pedals, so the braking effect is achieved much faster, thereby reducing the braking distance, increasing road safety in an emergency. The combined sliding pedal cannot mix up gas and brake, as To use different functions, two mutually opposite pedal movements are used, which will not allow you to make a mistake in the control process.

An additional advantage is that the system is easy to learn, since the braking method is not changed, because inhibition, especially emergency braking, often occurs instinctively, on a subconscious level. Controlling the accelerator pedal does not require such a rush, so there may be changes in the nature of control.

The essence of the claimed invention lies in the fact that in order to improve road safety due to the elimination of the cause of traffic accidents caused by erroneously pressing the wrong pedal, slipping the legs from one pedal to another, and also pressing both pedals at the same time, and reducing the time spent in an emergency situation, the driver is braking due to the movement of the foot between the pedals, the design of the brake pedals and the car’s accelerator has been changed. Instead of the existing system of separate pedals, one combined sliding pedal is used, combining two functions, which allows the driver to switch from controlling engine speed directly to braking without moving the foot between the pedals, so the braking effect is achieved much faster, thereby reducing the braking distance, increasing road safety movements in a critical situation. A multifunctional sliding pedal cannot mix up gas and brake, as To use different functions, two mutually opposite pedal movements are used, which will not allow you to make a mistake in the control process. The driver does not need to move the right foot between the pedals, which simplifies driving.

The closest in technical essence to the claimed invention is patent DE 3342830 from 06/05/1985, B60K 26/02, B60T 7/04, G05G 1/42, in which the combined sliding brake and accelerator pedal is used, but in this design it is difficult to brake, not pressing the accelerator pedal at the same time. Changing the driver’s actions during braking can lead to an accident, as in extreme situations, the driver acts instinctively without hesitation.

The technical result of the claimed invention is to eliminate the cause of traffic accidents caused by erroneously pressing the wrong pedal, slipping a foot from one pedal to another, and also simultaneously pressing both pedals, and reducing the time spent by the driver in an emergency braking due to moving the foot between pedals.

The specified technical result is achieved due to the fact that the design of the brake pedals and accelerator of the car is changed, instead of the existing system of separate pedals, one combined sliding pedal is used that combines two functions. The advantage of the combined pedal is that the driver can switch from controlling engine speed directly to braking without moving the foot between the pedals, so the braking effect is achieved much faster, thereby reducing the braking distance, increasing road safety in an emergency. A multifunctional sliding pedal cannot mix up gas and brake, as To use different functions, two mutually opposite pedal movements are used, which will not allow you to make a mistake in the control process. The driver does not need to perform the movement of the right foot between the pedals, therefore, driving is simplified, labor intensity and fatigue are reduced.

Improving road safety due to eliminating the cause of traffic accidents caused by erroneously pressing the wrong pedal, slipping a foot from one pedal to another, and also pressing both pedals at the same time means that the design of the brake and accelerator pedals has been changed. Instead of the existing system of separate pedals, one combined sliding pedal is used, combining two functions, which allows the driver to switch from controlling engine speed directly to braking without moving the foot between the pedals, so the braking effect is achieved much faster, thereby reducing the braking distance, increasing road safety movements in a critical situation. A multifunctional sliding pedal cannot mix up gas and brake, as To use different functions, two mutually opposite pedal movements are used, which will not allow you to make a mistake in the control process. The driver does not need to perform the movement of the right foot between the pedals, which simplifies the management of the vehicle, reduces the complexity and fatigue.

New significant features of the claimed invention are:

- improving road safety due to the elimination of the causes of traffic accidents caused by erroneously pressing the wrong pedal, slipping the legs from one pedal to another, and also simultaneously pressing both pedals;

- changing the design of the brake pedals and the accelerator of the car due to the fact that instead of the existing system of separate pedals, one combined sliding pedal is used;

- the combination of the two functions with the multifunctional pedal significantly simplifies the process of driving a vehicle, reduces the complexity and fatigue of the driver;

- eliminating the need to move the legs between the pedals to switch from controlling engine speed to braking, allows you to achieve the braking effect much faster, which is of great importance in a critical situation;

- the use of two mutually opposite movements of the combined sliding pedal to engage different functions will not allow to confuse the gas and the brake.

This description does not limit the scope of the invention, and is intended to sufficiently disclose information, is an example embodiment of the invention, and although preferred embodiments have been presented in the description, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the options above. A person skilled in the art can envision numerous changes to the details in accordance with the information disclosed herein, as well as other variations and modifications of the basic ideas of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In particular, it should be understood that any embodiments related, for example, not only to cars with an internal combustion engine, but also to other types of vehicles, the main source of movement of which may be, for example, an electric motor, are determined by the present invention in accordance with its the claims, and all of the above structural elements can be used in combination or separately. For example, instead of rods 5 and 6 of actuators, cables can be used.

Comparison of the claimed technical solution with the prior art in scientific, technical and patent documentation as of the priority date in the main and related sections shows that the set of essential features of the claimed solution was not known - therefore, it meets the patentability condition of “novelty”.

The analysis of known technical solutions in the art showed that the proposed device has features that are not available in the known technical solutions, and using them in the claimed combination of features makes it possible to obtain a new technical effect, therefore, the proposed technical solution has an inventive step compared to the existing level technicians.

The proposed technical solution is industrially applicable, because can be manufactured industrially, efficiently, feasibly, reproducibly, therefore, meets the patentability condition "industrial applicability".

Claims (1)

A combined automobile accelerator and brake pedal, characterized in that both functions are combined in one combined sliding pedal with front and rear stops, which moves along a longitudinal groove in the cab floor for braking and controlling engine speed using mutually opposite pedal movements forward and backward along the longitudinal the axis of the car, to control the accelerator system, the driver, pressing on the rear stop of the pedal, shifts it against the direction of movement of the car, for braking - on the front stop, shifting direction of travel, when the pedal is released, for example, to switch the transmission it springs back under the action of a lock equipped with a neutral position having no braking or accelerating effect, since in cars, the seat height is lower than the height of the knee joint of the sitting driver, then the legs are stretched forward and the foot is in an inclined position, so the combined pedal can be tilted by moving from the cab floor to the partition separating it from the engine compartment, or adapted to move in an arc , the initial installation of the pedal stops is designed for the maximum possible shoe size, pedal adjustment for the individual characteristics of the driver, carried out simultaneously with the initial adjustment of the water seat of Tell, rearview mirrors, the shift is carried out along one of the abutments pedal.

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