WO2006073289A2 - The manual mechanism for acceleration and its fixing of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A manual mechanism for an acceleration and its fixing of a vehicle are disclosed, in which it is possible to accelerate a vehicle by installing an operation lever and an operation button part at a portion in which a driver can manually operate while a vehicle is driving, and an acceleration fixing and releasing can be freely performed during the running of a vehicle. In addition, an inconvenience and work load needed for a pedal operation may decrease by decreasing the number of footing works during an operation of a vehicle, so that a driver can conveniently operate the system of a vehicle.

Description

Title: THE MANUAL MECHANISM FOR ACCELERATION

AND ITS FIXING OF VEHICLE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a manual mechanism for an

acceleration and its fixing of a vehicle, and in particular to a manual mechanism

for an acceleration and its fixing of a vehicle in which it is possible to accelerate

a vehicle by installing an operation lever and an operation button part at a

portion in which a driver can manually operate while a vehicle is driving, and an

acceleration fixing and releasing can be freely performed during the running of a

vehicle. In addition, an inconvenience and workload needed for a pedal

operation may decrease by decreasing the number of footing works during an

operation of a vehicle, so that a driver can conveniently operate the system of a

vehicle.

Background Art

Generally, a pedal apparatus is provided so as to perform a running

speed control and includes an acceleration pedal for accelerating the speed of a

vehicle, and a brake pedal for decelerating or braking the vehicle. In the case of

a manual transmission vehicle, a clutch pedal is further provided for a speed

transmission operation. Each pedal provided at the vehicle is operated by pressurizing the

same using a foot during an operation of a vehicle. For example, the

acceleration and brake pedals are operated by a right foot, and the clutch pedal

is operated by a left foot.

However, the above pedal operations need much work and load. In

particular, when a driver should drive a vehicle for a long time, fatigue increases

too much due to the repeated operation of the pedal for thereby causing a big

pain, so that a safety drive may not be obtained.

In the case that the automatic transmission vehicle which does not use

the clutch pedal, since the clutch pedal is removed, many problems occurring

due to the repeated operations of the pedals may be overcome. However, in the

case of the truck or large size vehicle, since almost vehicles are provided with

the manual transmission, it is impossible to adapt many convenient features of

the automatic transmission to the manual transmission vehicle.

The applicant of the present invention filed an invention (Korean patent

application No. 2005-0001477, filing date: January 7, 2005) of a manual

apparatus for an acceleration and acceleration fixing of a vehicle in which the

footing work of the driver is minimized during the running of the vehicle with

respect to all vehicles, and any inconvenience and work load needed for the

pedal operation may decrease.

The above manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an

acceleration fixing operation of a vehicle includes a manual operation lever which is installed at a portion in which a driver can manually operate and is

formed of a lever fixing member operating in a housing 101 when a power is

applied thereto and being formed of an electromagnet 122 for fixing a lever, a

lever fixing member which is provided for a fixing and releasing operation, and a

fixing releasing button 125; a cable 104 of which one end is connected with the

operation lever 100, and the other end is connected with an acceleration

operation element of a vehicle for a vehicle acceleration at the time when it is

pulled by a rotation of the operation lever; a brake switch 133 which operates

when the brake pedal is pressurized; a clutch switch 140 which is turned on

when the clutch pedal 20 is pressurized; an operation circuit unit which supplies

power or does not supply to the lever fixing member in accordance with the

lever fixing button, the fixing release button, the brake switch and the clutch

switch.

According to the manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an

acceleration fixing of a vehicle, it is possible to accelerate the vehicle by

manually operating the operation lever, the lever fixing button and the fixing

release button. The accelerating fixing and release may be selectively

performed. The number of footing operations by the driver during the running of

the vehicle may decrease, so that it is possible to decrease the inconvenience

and work due to the pedal operations, and the driver can more conveniently

drive the vehicle. However, the operation of the acceleration pedal 10 depends

on the operational force of the driver applied to the operation lever 100. Since the lever part, which pulls the handle part and the cable, is integrally formed, it

is needed to install the cable 104 which is needed so as to operate the

acceleration pedal 10 up to the installation portion of the operation lever 100

which is positioned remotely from the acceleration pedal 10, so that the

installation procedure is complicated and inconvenient. There are many limits

for obtaining installation positions due to other elements and interferences, and

the outer look may be poor.

In addition, the manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an

acceleration fixing of the vehicle is capable of accelerating the vehicle and the

accelerating fixing and release. Since there is not a device for a brake operation

of the vehicle, so that all operations are dependent on the driver's foot operation.

The fatigue and pain of the driver may increase due to the repeated footing

operation of the brake pedal.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the

above problems.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a manual

apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration fixing of a vehicle in which it

is possible to accelerate a running vehicle based on a simple manual operation,

and an acceleration fixing and release may be selectively performed. An

installation is easy, and it is free to select the installation position. An outer look may be good. A brake operation may be easily performed during the driving

operation.

Effects of Invention

The present invention has advantages that it is possible to accelerate a

running vehicle, and acceleration fixing and release may be selectively

performed, and installation is simple, and the installation position can be freely

selected. An indoor and outer look of a vehicle may be good.

In addition, since it is possible to simply operate a brake during a driving

operation, fatigue and workload of the driver may decrease as compared to the

conventional art in which all operations are performed only based on the driver's

foot operation. The convenience of use may be significantly enhanced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a construction of a manual operation

apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration fixing of a vehicle according

to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view illustrating an operation lever part of a manual

apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration fixing for a vehicle according

to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a view illustrating a driving lever part of a manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration fixing of a vehicle according

to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a disassembled perspective view of an example of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating a handle operation box for an

operation of a manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an

acceleration fixing of a vehicle according to the present invention;

Figure 6 is a view illustrating an example of a brake operation member

provided at a manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an

acceleration fixing of a vehicle according to the present invention; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an acceleration

pedal part of a manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an

acceleration fixing of a vehicle according to the present invention.

Best mode for carrying out the invention

To achieve the above objects of the present invention, in a manual

mechanism for an acceleration and its fixing of a vehicle which includes a brake

pedal with a brake switch, a clutch pedal with a clutch switch, and an

acceleration pedal for thereby accelerating a running vehicle with a simple

manual operation using the same, and acceleration fixing and releasing

operations can be selectively performed, there is provided an improved manual mechanism for an acceleration and its fixing of a vehicle which comprises an

operation lever part which is installed at a portion in which a driver can manually

operate while a vehicle is running and includes a deceleration pressure switch

and an acceleration pressure switch which are rotatably installed in the interior

of a housing for thereby generating an acceleration signal and a deceleration

signal based on a driver's operation, with a lever on switch and a lever off

switch being provided at the operation lever part for inputting an operation

signal for a fixing and releasing operation of the operation lever; a driving lever

part which includes a rotation arm rotatably installed in the interior of the

housing, a cable of which one end is connected with the rotation arm, and the

other end is connected with an acceleration operation element of the vehicle, a

lever driving motor normally or reverse rotating based on a deceleration signal,

an acceleration signal and a control signal in accordance with the operation of

the operation lever part, a lever fixing member installed at the housing for

selectively fixing or releasing the rotation arm, and an arm driving member for

forwardly and backwardly rotating the rotation arm by rotating the lever fixing

member based on the driving force of the lever driving motor; and a controller

which receives an operation signal of each switch for thereby controlling the

driving of the driving lever part.

The operation lever includes a handle part which includes a lever on

switch and a lever off switch with a driver's operational force being applied thereto; a lever part which is connected with a lower end of the handle part and

is rotatably engaged with a hinge part being disposed at the center of the

housing, and includes a first protrusion which pressurizes an operation spring of

the acceleration pressure switch at a lower end, and a second protrusion which

pressurizes an operation spring of the deceleration pressure switch; and a

return member which returns the lever part to its original position when an

external force is removed in a state that the lever part is moved forward or

backward.

The driving lever part includes a return member of which one end is

connected with the rotation arm, and the other end is connected with the

housing so that the rotation arm returns to its original position when the external

force applied to the rotation arm is removed; and the rotation arm includes an

extension portion formed at the upper side with respect to the center rotation

hinge engaged at a hinge shaft of the housing, with the lever fixing member

being selectively engaged by the extension portion, and with a narrow portion

being formed at the lower side with an engaging groove being connected with

the cable and being inserted into the narrow portion; and the lever fixing

member is formed of an electromagnet which generates a magnetic field based

on the power in accordance with a control signal of the controller, and a guide

protrusion is formed at one side for guiding a rotational angular movement, and

a circular shaped guide hole is formed at the housing for receiving the guide

protrusion therein. The arm driving member includes a driving roller which is installed at a

shaft of the lever driving motor; a driving wire which is wound on the driving

roller, with one end of the same being connected with one side of the lever

fixing member, and with the other end of the same being connected with the

other side of the lever fixing member; a plurality of guide rollers which are

installed at inner both sides of the housing so that the driving wire can move

with a certain tensional force.

There is further provided a variable resistor constituted in such a

manner that when the lever fixing member is rotated, the rotation angle value is

measured and applied, and when the fixing state of the rotation arm by the lever

fixing member is released, the lever fixing member returns to its original position

by the angle applied to the controller for thereby driving the lever driving motor,

with the variable resistor being contacted with the lever fixing member.

A handle switch box is provided at a handle of the vehicle so that a

driver's manual operation is easy, with the handle switch box being provided for

initializing the operations of an acceleration button and a deceleration button

and a handle off switch when the acceleration signal and the deceleration signal

applied to the controller so that the acceleration and deceleration operations are

performed based on the lever driving motor is inputted thereto.

There are further provided a brake pressure switch for receiving an

input signal so that a brake operation of a vehicle can be performed based on a

manual operation during a running of a vehicle; and a brake operation means which performs the same pressurizing operation as the pressurizing operation

of the brake pedal with the brake operation means being operated in

accordance with a control of the controller when the input signal based on the

pressurizing operation of the brake pressure switch is inputted into the controller.

The brake pressure switch is provided at the operation lever part in

which a driver can manually operate.

The brake operation member includes a brake driving motor which

operates in accordance with an input signal of the brake pressure switch; a fluid

clutch which includes a first rotation part which rotates by receiving a rotational

force of the brake driving motor in the interior of the clutch housing having a

hydraulic oil therein and is formed of a plurality of main driving force wings, and

a second rotation part which has an output shaft on which a plurality of driven

driving force wings are engaged and are rotated by a hydraulic pressure

generated based on a rotation operation of the first rotation part in the interior of

the clutch housing corresponding to the outer portion of the main driving force

wings; a clutch roller which is engaged at an output shaft exposed to the outside

of the second rotation part, with a brake cable being wound on the clutch roller,

with the brake cable being provided so as to pressurize the brake pedal; and a

brake return member which applies a reverse direction rotational force based on

the elastic recovery force to the output shaft when the normal direction

rotational force applied to the clutch roller is removed, and the non-load state

becomes. There are provided an AD converter in which a running speed signal is

received from the vehicle speed detection sensor provided at the vehicle and is

processed and provided to the controller, and a memory in which the signal

applied from the AD converter is stored in accordance with the controller, and

the running speed during the normal speed operation of the vehicle is stored in

the memory and is initialized based on the operation of each button and the

operation of the brake pedal and the clutch pedal, and when the vehicle starts

running again, the vehicle automatically returns to the earlier normal running

speed stored in the memory in accordance with a control signal of the controller.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described

with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a construction of a manual operation

apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration fixing of a vehicle according

to the present invention, Figure 2 is a view illustrating an operation lever part of

a manual apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration fixing for a vehicle

according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a view illustrating a driving lever

part of a manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration

fixing of a vehicle according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a disassembled

perspective view of an example of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a perspective view

illustrating a handle operation box for an operation of a manual operation

apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration fixing of a vehicle according to the present invention, Figure 6 is a view illustrating an example of a brake

operation member provided at a manual operation apparatus for an acceleration

and an acceleration fixing of a vehicle according to the present invention, and

Figure 7 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an acceleration pedal

part of a manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an acceleration

fixing of a vehicle according to the present invention.

The manual operation apparatus for an acceleration and an

acceleration fixing of a vehicle according to the present invention is designed so

as to accelerate a running vehicle, while a clutch pedal and an acceleration

pedal being operated, and as to selectively perform an acceleration and an

acceleration fixing operation. As shown in Figures 1 through 4, there are

provided an operation lever part 200 provided with various operation buttons

and switches for inputting an operation signal by a driver; a driving lever part

300 which performs an acceleration speed and deceleration in accordance with

an operation signal of the operation lever part 200; a controller 400 which

receives an operation signal of each switch and controls the driving of the

driving lever part 300 and the entire operations of the manual operation

apparatuses. The operation lever part 200 and the driving lever part 300 are

separately constituted. The operation lever part 200 is installed at a portion in

which the driver can easily operate, such as a space between the transmission lever of the vehicle and the consol box. Since the driving lever part 300 is

separately provided, it may be installed at an engine room of the side of the

acceleration pedal or at a space near the driver's seat, so that the installation is

easy, and the selection of the installation position is free, and the outer look of

the vehicle can be enhanced.

The operation lever part 200 is rotatably installed in the interior of the

housing 210 which has a certain cubic shape and includes a deceleration

pressure switch 220 and an acceleration speed pressure switch 230 so as to

generate a deceleration and acceleration speed signal of the vehicle based on

the driver's operation. There are provided a lever on switch 240 and a lever off

switch 250 which are provided with an operation signal for the fixing and

releasing operation of the operation lever.

As shown in Figure 2, the operation lever part 200 will be described in

detail. The operation lever part 200 comprises a handle part 260 which is

vertically installed in a slot (not shown) formed at an upper side of the housing

210 and includes a lever on switch 240 and a lever off switch 250 at the upper

side of the same. The operation lever part 200 further comprises a lever part

270 which is connected with a lower side of the handle part 260 and is rotatably

engaged at the housing 210 by disposing a center hinge part 271 and which

includes a first protrusion 272 which pressurizes an operation spring 232 of an acceleration pressure switch 230, and a second protrusion part 274 which

pressurizes the operation spring 222 of the deceleration pressure switch 220 at

the other side. There is further provided a return member 280 which returns to

the acceleration position when an external force is not applied in a state that the

lever part is forwardly or backwardly moved.

In addition, the return member 280 includes a first compression spring

282 of which one end is connected with the upper side of the lever part 270,

and the other end is connected with an inner side of the housing 210, and a

second compression coil spring 284 of which one end is connected with an

upper side of the lever part 270, and the other end is connected with an inner

side of the other end of the housing 210.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the driving lever part 300 includes a

rotation arm 320 which is rotatably installed in the interior of the housing 310

having a certain cubic shape, a cable 330 of which one end is connected with

the rotation arm 320 and the other end is connected with an acceleration

operation element (acceleration pedal) of the vehicle, a lever driving motor 340

which rotates in the normal or reverse direction based on the deceleration and

acceleration speed signal based on an operation of the operation lever part 200,

a lever fixing member 360 which is rotatably installed at the housing and

operates based on the fixing member driving part which is driven based on the control of the controller 400 which fixes or release the rotation arm 320, and an

arm driving member 350 which forwardly or backwardly rotates the rotation arm

320 by rotating the lever fixing member based on the driving force of the lever

driving motor 340.

In addition, the driving lever part 300 includes a return member 370 of

which one end is connected with the rotation arm 320 and the other end is

connected with the housing 310 so that it returns to its initial position when an

external force is removed from the rotation arm 320. The lever fixing member

360 includes an electromagnet which generates magnetic forces based on the

power in accordance with a control signal of the controller 400. A guide

protrusion 361 is protruded from one side so that a rotational angular rotation is

guided, and a guide hole 311 is formed at the housing in an arc shape for

receiving the guide protrusion 361 therein, so that the rotation (in the arc

direction) of the lever fixing member 360 is guided.

As shown in Figure 4, the guide hole 311 may pass through the cover

member 314 of the housing 310 or may be formed of a circular protrusion

having a guide hole at the inner side of the cover member 314.

A variable resistor 362 is installed at the housing 310 so that when the

lever fixing member 360 is rotated, the rotation angle value is measured and

outputted, and the fixing state of the rotation arm 320 is released based on the lever fixing member 360 (for example, the driver foots the brake pedal, and the

lever fixing member 360 is distanced from the rotation arm), the lever fixing

member 360 returns to its original position by the angle value applied to the

controller. Here, the housing 310 contacts with the lever fixing member.

In addition, the variable resistor 362 converts the voltage valve from the

intermediate terminal into a digital value as a constant voltage is applied to both

ends of the same, so that the rotation angle of the electromagnet (lever fixing

member) is measured. It is formed of a known construction. The contact

member provided at the electromagnet operates in sync with the rotation of the

electromagnet and contacts with the variable resistor installed at the housing.

The above construction is not limited thereto. Various modifications may be

possible.

In addition, the arm driving member 350 includes a driving roller 352

which is installed on the shaft of the lever driving motor 340, a driving wire 354

of which one end is connected with the lever driving member 360, and the other

end is connected with the other side of the lever driving member 360, with the

driving wire being wound on the driving roller 352, and a plurality of guide rollers

356 which are installed at both sides of the housing 310 so that the driving wire

354 is moved with a certain tensional force. In the present invention, preferably

two guide rollers 356 are provided at both inner sides of the housing 310. In Figure 4, reference numeral 390 represents a cooling fan for cooling

the inner temperature which increases due to a heat radiating operation during

the operation of the electromagnet.

In addition, the rotation arm 320 includes the lever fixing member 360

provided at the upper side with respect to the center rotation hinge part

engaged to the hinge shaft of the housing body 312 of the housing 310, and the

extended part 322. The engaging groove 325 engaged with the cable 330 at the

lower side is integrally formed of a narrow part 324.

As shown in Figure 3, when the lever driving motor 340 is rotated in the

normal direction, the lever fixing member 360 is rotated in the clockwise

direction, and the rotation arm 320 fixed thereto is rotated in the clockwise

direction. As the cable 330 of which one end is connected with the lower end of

the rotation arm 320 is pulled, the vehicle is accelerated. As shown in Figure 7,

in the structure of the acceleration pedal connected with the other end of the

cable 330, as the cable is pulled, the cable 330 is upwardly guided by the roller

520 provided at the lower side of the acceleration pedal 500 so that the

acceleration pedal 500 is operated, and the end of the same is connected with a

connection tube 540 installed at a bracket 530 of the back surface of the

acceleration pedal, and an operation rod (not shown) of the rotation lever 550 is

inserted into the connection tube 540, and the acceleration cable 560 is engaged at the rotation lever 550. The throttle valve (not shown) connected with

the acceleration cable 560 is guided, so that a vehicle is accelerated. Reference

numeral 570 is a return spring which returns the acceleration pedal.

The structure of the acceleration pedal 500 is the same as the

conventional structure of the Korean patent application No. 2005-0001477, filing

date: January 7, 2005. Various modifications may be possible. Here, the cable

330 may be directly connected with the throttle valve.

As shown in Figure 5, in the manual apparatus for an acceleration and

an acceleration fixing of the vehicle according to the present invention, it is

designed so as to enhance a driver's operation and convenience. The handle

switch box 600 may be provided at a steering handle 700 of the vehicle in

various shapes, with the handle switch box 600 being provided with the

acceleration button 610 and the deceleration button 620 for performing an

acceleration and deceleration operation by the lever driving motor 340, and a

handle off switch 630 for initializing the acceleration and deceleration operations.

As shown in Figures 1 , 2 and 6, in the manual apparatus for an

acceleration and an acceleration fixing of a vehicle according to the present

invention, there are provided a brake pressure switch 810 which is provided

with an input signal based on the manual operation so that a brake operation of

a vehicle is performed, and a brake operation member 820 which performs the same pressurizing operation as the pressurizing operation of the brake pedal

(not shown) while being operated in accordance with a control of the controller

400 when the input signal is applied to the controller 400 based on the

pressurizing operation of the brake pressure switch 810.

In addition, as shown in Figure 2, the brake pressure switch 810 is

preferably provided at the handle part 260 of the operation lever part 200 in

which the driver's manual operation can be easily performed. A pressure sensor

(not shown) is provided in the interior of the brake pressure switch 200 so that

the difference of the electric characteristic values is detected based on the size

of the pressure of the driver and is applied to the controller for thereby

performing a control of the brake operation member 820 by the controller.

In addition, the brake operation member 820 includes a brake driving

motor 822 operating in accordance with an input signal of the brake pressure

switch 810, a fluid clutch 824 operating based on the brake driving motor 822, a

clutch roller 826 on which the brake cable 830 is wound, which is engaged at

the output shaft 824c of the fluid clutch 824 and pressurizes the brake pedal,

and a brake return member 828 which applies a pulling force so that the brake

pedal returns, with the brake pedal being pressurized as the reverse direction

rotational force is applied when the normal rotation force applied to the clutch

roller 826 is removed. Here, the brake return member 828 is preferably formed of a coil spring, so that it is compressed within a range (operation range in

which the brake pedal us fully operated) determined when the output shaft is

rotated, and it is compressed no longer, so that the finished state of the brake is

maintained. Namely, it operates like the driver foots the brake. When the

rotational force is removed from the output shaft, the output shaft is rotated in

the reverse direction by the stored elastic recovering force of the coil spring, so

that the pressured state of the brake pedal is released.

The fluid clutch 824 is formed in the operation structure similar with the

torque converter adapted to the automatic transmission. The fluid clutch 824

includes a first rotation part formed of a plurality of main driving force wings

824b provided at the input shaft 824a which rotates by receiving a rotational

force of the brake driving motor 822 in the interior of the clutch housing 821

having a hydraulic oil therein, and a second rotation part in which a plurality of

driven driving force wings 824d which rotate based on the hydraulic pressure

generated by the rotation of the first rotation part in the interior of the clutch

housing 821 corresponding to an outer portion of the main driving force wing

824b. The above construction is not limited thereto. Various constructions

having the same operation and effects may be provided.

As shown in Figure 1 , in the manual apparatus for an acceleration and

an acceleration fixing for a vehicle according to the present invention, it is constituted in such a manner that the apparatus is initialized based on each

button operation, brake pedal and clutch pedal while the vehicle runs at a

constant speed. When the vehicle with the above set value runs again, the

normal speed is automatically obtained based on the above apparatus. In an

AD converter 920, the running speed signal applied from the vehicle speed

detection sensor 910 provided at the vehicle is received and processed and is

applied to the controller 400. The signal applied from the AD converter 920 is

stored in the memory 930 in accordance with a control of the controller. The

clutch switch and brake switch are turned on based on the operations of the

clutch pedal and brake pedal during the operation of the vehicle, and the

acceleration and deceleration are initialized. When each switch is turned off,

and the vehicle runs again, the controller 400 allows the lever driving unit 300 to

drive the lever driving part 300, which includes the lever driving motor 340,

based on the data stored in the memory 930, so that the vehicle runs at the

earlier speed.

Since the constructions of the vehicle speed detection sensor 910, the

clutch switch and the brake switch are previously installed at the vehicle and are

known arts, so that the detailed description of the same will be omitted.

The operation of the present invention will be described with reference

to Figures 1 through 7. As shown in Figure 2, the handle part 260 is pushed forward, and the

lever part 270 is rotated. When the first protrusion 272 is rotated in the

clockwise direction, the pressure is applied to the acceleration pressure switch

230 with the operational spring 232 disposed, and the pressure signal operating

to the acceleration pressure switch 230 is applied to the controller (400:

microcomputer).

When the input signal is applied to the controller, the lever fixing

member 360 is operated based on a control of the controller 400, and a

magnetic force is applied to the rotation arm 320, and the rotation arm gets fixed

at the lever fixing member. At the same time, as shown in Figures 3, 4 and 7,

the lever driving motor 340 is driven, and the arm driving member 350 is

operated. The driving roller 352 is rotated in the clockwise direction and is

guided by the guide rollers 356. When the driving wire 354 is pulled, the lever

driving member is rotated in the clockwise direction based on a tensional force

transferred to one side of the lever driving member 360, and the rotation arm

320 fixed thereto is rotated. The cable 330 connected with the engaging groove

325 of the narrow part 324 is pulled, and the operation is performed in the same

manner as the acceleration pedal 500 is footed. As shown in Figure 7, the

acceleration cable 560 is pulled, and the vehicle is accelerated.

On the contrary, when the handle part 260 is pulled backward, the lever part 270 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the second protrusion 274 is

rotated in the counterclockwise direction, and the pressure is applied to the

deceleration pressure switch 220 with the operation switch 222 disposed, so

that the pressure signal applied to the deceleration pressure switch 220 is

applied to the controller 400.

The lever driving motor 340 is rotated in the reverse direction in

accordance with a control of the controller 400, and the arm driving member

350 starts driving. The driving roller 352 is rotated in the counterclockwise

direction, and the driving wire 354 is guided by the guide rollers 356 and are

pulled in the opposite direction. The rotation arm 320 fixed at the lever fixing

member 360 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, and the cable 330

connected with the engaging groove 325 at the side of the narrow portion 324 is

pulled in the reverse direction, and the connected acceleration pedal returns,

and the deceleration function of the vehicle is performed.

During the acceleration and deceleration operations, when the driver

wants the constant speed operation, the lever on switch 240 is operated. The

controller allows the lever fixing member 360 to operate the electromagnet in

accordance with an operation signal, and it is fixed at the extension portion 322

of the rotation arm 320, so that the running speed of the vehicle is fixed at a

constant speed. In addition, in the above state, when the acceleration and the

deceleration running are needed, the handle part 260 is adjusted to the

acceleration or deceleration position. A desired speed may be obtained by

operating the acceleration button 610 or the deceleration button 620 provided at

the steeling handle 700 of the vehicle. Since the input part, namely, the handle

switch box 600 for performing the acceleration or deceleration operations is

provided at the steeling handle 700 of the vehicle 600, so that the driver can

use it conveniently.

In addition, when the lever off switch 250 of the operation lever part 200

or the handle off switch 630 of the handle 700 is operated during the running of

the vehicle with the above operations, the controller 400 is reset, and all control

values are initialized.

With the operation of the handle part 260 of the operation lever part 200

and the acceleration and deceleration buttons of the handle 700, as the vehicle

runs at a constant speed, when the drivers operates the brake pedal (not

shown), the brake switch detects the above operation and applies to the

controller 400, and the controller initializes the operation lever part 200 and

allows the electromagnet 360 to operate for thereby releasing the magnetic

force. Since the fixing force applied to the rotation arm 320 is removed, the

rotation arm is pulled by the elastic force of the return member 370 and returns to the original position. At this time, the lever fixing member 360 returns to the

initial position, namely, the controller allows the lever driving motor 340 to

operate in the reverse direction by the rotation angle value applied to the

controller 400 based on the variable resistor 362, so that the lever fixing

member 360 returns.

In the above state, when the driver releases the pressurizing operation

of the brake pedal, the controller 400 allows the lever driving motor 340 to

operate so that the vehicle runs at a corresponding running speed

corresponding to the operation timing of the brake pedal by extracting the data

stored in the memory, with the data being detected by the vehicle speed

detection sensor 910 and being processed by the AD converter 920 and being

stored in the memory 930, whereby the vehicle runs at the constant speed

based on the operation mechanism.

While the vehicle runs, when the driver operates the clutch pedal, the

signal detected by the clutch switch is applied to the controller, and the

controller 400 initializes the operation lever part 200 and releases the fixing

force of the electromagnet 360. The lever driving motor 340 is operated, and the

driving lever part 300 is initialized. In this state, when the driver releases the

pressurizing operation of the clutch pedal, the controller 400 extracts the data

which are detected by the vehicle speed detection sensor 310 provided at the vehicle and are processed by the AD converter 920 and are stored in the

memory 930, so that the vehicle runs at a speed corresponding to the operation

timing of the clutch pedal.

When the driver operates the brake pressure switch 810 provided at the

handle part 260 of the operation lever part 200, the controller 400 detects the

same and allows the brake driving motor 822 to operate. The rotational force is

applied to the input shaft 824a of the fluid clutch 824 connected with the

coupling disposed at the motor shaft, so that the main driving wings 824f formed

at the input shaft are rotated, and the pressure applied to the oil in the interior of

the clutch housing 821 is transferred to the driven driving force wings 824d, and

the output shaft 824c is rotated. The clutch roller 826 engaged at the output

shaft 824c is rotated, and the brake cable 830 connected with the clutch roller

826 is pulled, and the brake pedal (not shown) connected with the brake cable

830 is operated, so that the braking function of the vehicle is obtained.

In addition, the pressure sensor (not shown) is provided at the brake

pressure switch 810, so that the driver can detect the size of the operational

force. The controller 400 controls the rotational speed of the brake driving motor

822 in accordance with the level of the operational fore for thereby adjusting the

operation speed of the brake.

In a state that the vehicle stops due to a traffic of the road, the output shaft 824c of the fluid clutch 824 is rotated within a set range, and the brake

driving motor keeps rotating in a state that the brake pedal is pressurized, so

that the input shaft 824a of the fluid clutch 824 is rotated, and the main driving

wings 824b is rotated, and the hydraulic pressure is applied to the driven driving

force wings 824d. Therefore, the hydraulic pressure is applied so that the driven

driving force wings 824d are not rotated, and the output shaft 824c is not rotated

in the reverse direction, so that it is possible to obtain the same effect as when

the driver foots the brake pedal.

In the vehicle is in the braked state, when the operation of the brake

pressure switch 810 is released, the operation of the brake driving motor 822

stops, and the rotation of the input shaft 824a of the fluid clutch 824 stops.

When the hydraulic pressure applied to the driven driving force wings 824d is

removed, the elastic recovering force of the brake return member 828

compressed by the rotational force of the output shaft 824c is applied to the

output shaft 824c, and the output shaft is rotated in the reverse direction, so that

the pulled brake cable 830 is extended, so that the brake penal returns to its

original position, and the braking operation is released.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without

departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be

understood that the above-described examples are ⁽not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather

should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the

appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within

the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds

are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims:

1. In a manual mechanism for an acceleration and its fixing of a vehicle

which includes a brake pedal with a brake switch, a clutch pedal with a clutch

switch, and an acceleration pedal for thereby accelerating a running vehicle with

a simple manual operation using the same, and acceleration fixing and

releasing operations can be selectively performed, an improved manual

mechanism for an acceleration and its fixing of a vehicle, comprising:

an operation lever part which is installed at a portion in which a driver

can manually operate while a vehicle is running and includes a deceleration

pressure switch and an acceleration pressure switch which are rotatably

installed in the interior of a housing for thereby generating an acceleration

signal and a deceleration signal based on a driver's operation, with a lever on

switch and a lever off switch being provided at the operation lever part for

inputting an operation signal for a fixing and releasing operation of the operation

lever;

a driving lever part which includes a rotation arm rotatably installed in

the interior of the housing, a cable of which one end is connected with the

rotation arm, and the other end is connected with an acceleration operation

element of the vehicle, a lever driving motor normally or reverse rotating based

on a deceleration signal, an acceleration signal and a control signal in

accordance with the operation of the operation lever part, a lever fixing member

installed at the housing for selectively fixing or releasing the rotation arm, and an arm driving member for forwardly and backwardly rotating the rotation arm

by rotating the lever fixing member based on the driving force of the lever

driving motor; and

a controller which receives an operation signal of each switch for

thereby controlling the driving of the driving lever part.

2. The mechanism of claim 1 , wherein said operation lever includes:

a handle part which includes a lever on switch and a lever off switch

with a driver's operational force being applied thereto;

a lever part which is connected with a lower end of the handle part and

is rotatably engaged with a hinge part being disposed at the center of the

housing, and includes a first protrusion which pressurizes an operation spring of

the acceleration pressure switch at a lower end, and a second protrusion which

pressurizes an operation spring of the deceleration pressure switch; and

a return member which returns the lever part to its original position

when an external force is removed in a state that the lever part is moved

forward or backward.

3. The mechanism of claim 1 , wherein said driving lever part includes a

return member of which one end is connected with the rotation arm, and the

other end is connected with the housing so that the rotation arm returns to its

original position when the external force applied to the rotation arm is removed; and said rotation arm includes an extension portion formed at the upper side

with respect to the center rotation hinge engaged at a hinge shaft of the housing,

with the lever fixing member being selectively engaged by the extension portion,

and with a narrow portion being formed at the lower side with an engaging

groove being connected with the cable and being inserted into the narrow

portion; and said lever fixing member is formed of an electromagnet which

generates a magnetic field based on the power in accordance with a control

signal of the controller, and a guide protrusion is formed at one side for guiding

a rotational angular movement, and a circular shaped guide hole is formed at

the housing for receiving the guide protrusion therein.

4. The mechanism of claim 1 , wherein said arm driving member includes:

a driving roller which is installed at a shaft of the lever driving motor;

a driving wire which is wound on the driving roller, with one end of the

same being connected with one side of the lever fixing member, and with the

other end of the same being connected with the other side of the lever fixing

member;

a plurality of guide rollers which are installed at inner both sides of the

housing so that the driving wire can move with a certain tensional force.

5. The mechanism of claim 1 , further comprising a variable resistor

constituted in such a manner that when the lever fixing member is rotated, the rotation angle value is measured and applied, and when the fixing state of the

rotation arm by the lever fixing member is released, the lever fixing member

returns to its original position by the angle applied to the controller for thereby

driving the lever driving motor, with the variable resistor being contacted with

the lever fixing member.

6. The mechanism of claim 1 , wherein a handle switch box is provided at a

handle of the vehicle so that a driver's manual operation is easy, with the handle

switch box being provided for initializing the operations of an acceleration button

and a deceleration button and a handle off switch when the acceleration signal

and the deceleration signal applied to the controller so that the acceleration and

deceleration operations are performed based on the lever driving motor is

inputted thereto.

7. The mechanism of claim 1 , further comprising:

a brake pressure switch for receiving an input signal so that a brake

operation of a vehicle can be performed based on a manual operation during a

running of a vehicle; and

a brake operation means which performs the same pressurizing

operation as the pressurizing operation of the brake pedal with the brake

operation means being operated in accordance with a control of the controller

when the input signal based on the pressurizing operation of the brake pressure switch is inputted into the controller.

8. The mechanism of claim 7, wherein said brake pressure switch is

provided at the operation lever part in which a driver can manually operate.

9. The mechanism of claim 7, wherein said brake operation member

includes:

a brake driving motor which operates in accordance with an input signal

of the brake pressure switch;

a fluid clutch which includes a first rotation part which rotates by

receiving a rotational force of the brake driving motor in the interior of the clutch

housing having a hydraulic oil therein and is formed of a plurality of main driving

force wings, and a second rotation part which has an output shaft on which a

plurality of driven driving force wings are engaged and are rotated by a

hydraulic pressure generated based on a rotation operation of the first rotation

part in the interior of the clutch housing corresponding to the outer portion of the

main driving force wings;

a clutch roller which is engaged at an output shaft exposed to the

outside of the second rotation part, with a brake cable being wound on the

clutch roller, with the brake cable being provided so as to pressurize the brake

pedal; and

a brake return member which applies a reverse direction rotational force based on the elastic recovery force to the output shaft when the normal

direction rotational force applied to the clutch roller is removed, and the non-

load state becomes.

10. The mechanism of one among claims 1 through 9, wherein there are

provided an AD converter in which a running speed signal is received from the

vehicle speed detection sensor provided at the vehicle and is processed and

provided to the controller, and a memory in which the signal applied from the AD

converter is stored in accordance with the controller, and the running speed

during the normal speed operation of the vehicle is stored in the memory and is

initialized based on the operation of each button and the operation of the brake

pedal and the clutch pedal, and when the vehicle starts running again, the

vehicle automatically returns to the earlier normal running speed stored in the

memory in accordance with a control signal of the controller.