JP2001071784A - Accelerator pedal device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an accelerator pedal device which is small, has excellent depressing operability, and can ensure safety. SOLUTION: An inner rotating body 2 is provided outside a pedal shaft 3 via a spring clutch 5 and provided inside a housing 10. Between the housing 10 and the inner rotating body 20,
A multi-plate friction mechanism 30 composed of a disc body locked in the rotation direction, a pressing spring 40, and a rotating cam mechanism 50 are coaxially arranged. When the accelerator pedal 2 is depressed and the pedal shaft 3 rotates, the inner support plate 34 rotates and generates a frictional force with the outer support plate 32, which causes the rotation load of the pedal shaft 3. The rotation of the pedal shaft 3 causes the inner support cam 54 to rotate, pushes and separates the outer support cam 52, and increases the load on the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 via the pressing spring 40, so that the frictional force increases. When the pedal shaft 3 returns, the spring clutch 5 is disengaged, and the accelerator pedal 2 reliably returns.

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, such as an electronic accelerator device, for electrically detecting the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal, and more particularly to an improvement in the operability of depressing an accelerator pedal and a reduction in size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an accelerator pedal device, an electronic accelerator device that electrically detects the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal by using a displacement sensor or the like instead of a cable type device that pulls a throttle cable in response to depression of the accelerator pedal. Such an accelerator pedal device is generally used in such a manner that a load is large when the accelerator pedal is depressed and a return force of the accelerator pedal is reduced when the accelerator pedal is released (returned). A hysteresis mechanism for generating a different load (frictional force) is provided. Traditionally,
(1) Various hysteresis mechanisms are provided at a position opposite to the pedal with respect to the rotation center axis of the pedal, or (2) A hysteresis mechanism using a single friction plate interlocked with the rotation axis of the accelerator pedal is provided. Have been.

[0003]

However, in the case of the above (1), since the hysteresis mechanism is provided at a portion opposite to the accelerator pedal with respect to the rotation center axis of the accelerator pedal, the entire accelerator pedal and the hysteresis mechanism are provided. Becomes large and requires a large mounting space.
In the case of (2), a constant frictional force is always generated irrespective of the depression amount of the accelerator pedal, so that there is a problem that operational comfort is impaired.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide an accelerator pedal device which is small, has excellent durability, and is excellent in stepping operability and safety.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a housing having a cylindrical inner peripheral wall and a cylindrical outer peripheral wall disposed at a predetermined distance from the inner peripheral wall are provided. An inner rotating body which is provided inside the housing and whose outer peripheral wall is rotatably supported around an axis of a center axis of the inner peripheral wall; and an outer rotating side of the inner rotating body with respect to the inner peripheral wall of the housing. A plurality of substantially disk-shaped outer support plates supported in a rotational direction of the inner peripheral wall and supported so as to be displaceable in a central axis direction of the inner peripheral wall, and an inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall of the inner rotating body. A plurality of substantially disk-shaped inner support plates, the sides of which are locked in the rotation direction of the inner rotating body and are displaceably supported in the center axis direction of the inner peripheral wall, are disposed between the inner peripheral wall and the outer peripheral wall. A multi-plate friction mechanism, which is alternately arranged and laminated; Load applying means for applying a load in a direction to reduce the laminated thickness of the plurality of outer support plates and the plurality of inner support plates, wherein the load applying means increases the load according to the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal, A pedal shaft that rotates in response to operation of an accelerator pedal and includes a pedal shaft that rotationally drives the inner rotating body, and when the accelerator pedal is depressed, the outer support plate and the inner support plate of the multi-plate friction mechanism. A hysteresis characteristic is provided in the operation of the accelerator pedal by a frictional force generated between the two.

A second aspect of the present invention is a pedal shaft which is rotated in response to operation of an accelerator pedal, a hysteresis generating means for giving a hysteresis characteristic, and which is fitted to the outside of the pedal shaft. A spring clutch for driving the generating means,
A hysteresis characteristic is provided in the operation of the accelerator pedal.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the load applying means includes a coil spring for pressing a laminated end of the plurality of outer support plates and the plurality of inner support plates at one end.
A cam mechanism for displacing the locking portion of the coil spring in a direction to reduce the lamination thickness in conjunction with a pedal shaft that rotates in response to operation of the accelerator pedal.

According to a fourth aspect, in the third aspect, the inner rotating body includes a spring clutch fitted to the outside of the pedal shaft, and is rotated by the pedal shaft only when the accelerator pedal is depressed. It is characterized by being performed. According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect, the spring clutch, the inner rotating body, the multi-plate friction mechanism, and the load applying unit are arranged coaxially with respect to the pedal shaft, and the pedal shaft and the housing are arranged in a coaxial manner. It is characterized by being housed between.

[0009]

According to the present invention, when the accelerator pedal is depressed and the pedal shaft rotates, the inner rotating body is driven to rotate accordingly, and is locked in the rotating direction of the inner rotating body. The plurality of inner support plates rotate.
In the multi-plate friction mechanism, the inner support plate and the outer support plate are alternately arranged and laminated, and both the inner support plate and the outer support plate are displaceable to the inner rotating body and the housing in the axial direction of the inner peripheral wall, respectively. The inner support plate and the outer support plate come into close contact with each other by applying a load corresponding to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal in the direction in which the thickness in the stacking direction becomes smaller. As the load applying means, for example, a stacked end of the plurality of outer support plates and the inner support plate is pressed by a coil spring and interlocked with a pedal shaft that rotates in response to operation of an accelerator pedal. And a cam mechanism for displacing the coil spring.

For this reason, when the inner support plate rotates together with the inner rotating body, a frictional force is generated between the inner support plate and the outer support plate, and the greater the depression amount of the accelerator pedal, the greater the force required. Parallel hysteresis characteristics are obtained. As a result, in the depression operation of the accelerator pedal biased by the return spring or the like, when the accelerator pedal is depressed, a large force corresponding to the sum of the force against the return spring and the friction force generated in the multi-plate friction mechanism is applied. However, when the pedal is depressed once, only the biasing force of the return spring provided on the accelerator pedal acts on the leg in the opposite direction, so the load on the leg during depression is reduced. In addition, the fatigue of the legs for maintaining the state is less likely to occur.

Conversely, when the accelerator pedal is loosened, the accelerator pedal can be easily returned to its original position by the action of a biasing force such as a return spring provided on the accelerator pedal.
As described above, a large force is required when the accelerator pedal is depressed, and a small hysteresis characteristic is obtained by reducing the force for returning the accelerator pedal. In addition to eliminating excessive depression of the pedal, the load on the leg during depression is reduced, and when the depression is loosened, the accelerator pedal can be securely returned, and an accelerator pedal device excellent in operability can be provided. Therefore, the present invention can provide an accelerator pedal device that is small, has excellent durability, and is excellent in operability.

In the second and fourth aspects, a spring clutch for driving the hysteresis generating means when the accelerator pedal is depressed is provided, so that the hysteresis generating means is fixed for some reason and cannot rotate. Even if there is, the accelerator pedal can be returned to the original state by stopping the depression of the accelerator pedal. As a result, an idling mechanism can be provided to the accelerator pedal, and an accelerator pedal device excellent in safety can be provided.

According to the fifth aspect, the spring clutch, the inner rotating body, the multi-plate friction mechanism, and the load applying means are arranged coaxially with respect to the pedal shaft and housed between the pedal shaft and the housing. The spring clutch, the inner rotating body, and the multi-plate friction mechanism can be concentrated around the pedal shaft, and the load by the load applying means can be easily applied to the multi-plate friction mechanism from the axial direction.
In the accelerator pedal device, non-parallel hysteresis characteristics are secured, and in particular, by arranging the multi-plate friction mechanism around the pedal axis, a means for generating a friction force required for the hysteresis characteristics can be secured with a small configuration. For,
The size of the device can be reduced.

[0014]

1 and 2 show an accelerator pedal device 1 according to the present invention. In the accelerator pedal device 1,
Reference numeral 2 denotes an accelerator pedal, reference numeral 3 denotes a pedal shaft, reference numeral 4 denotes a pedal return spring, reference numeral 5 denotes a spring clutch, and a locking end 5a protruding in a centrifugal direction is formed at one end. Reference numeral 10 denotes a housing, 20 denotes an inner rotating body, 30 denotes a multi-plate friction mechanism, 40 denotes a pressing spring, 50 denotes a rotary cam mechanism, 6 denotes a closing lid, and 7 denotes a bracket fixed to a vehicle compartment.

The housing 10 has a substantially cylindrical housing chamber 11 formed on the inner side, and a locking displacement groove 13 arranged on the inner peripheral wall 12 of the housing chamber 11 and having a circumferential direction divided into four equal parts is provided on the housing 10. It is formed along the center axis direction of the shaft 3. One end surface of the housing 10 forming the housing chamber 11 forms a closed surface in which a support hole for supporting the pedal shaft 3 is formed, and the other end surface is open.
In the state of being housed inside, it is closed by a closing lid 6 in which a supporting portion for supporting the pedal shaft 3 is formed.

The inner rotating body 20 has a large diameter and a small diameter part, and a center hole 21 through which the pedal shaft 3 penetrates at the center.
On the large diameter portion 23 side, a locking groove 22 for locking the locking end 5a of the spring clutch 5 is formed continuously from the center hole 21. On the outer peripheral wall of the small-diameter portion 24 of the inner rotating body 20, a locking displacement groove 25 is formed along the central axis direction of the pedal shaft 3, which is arranged by dividing the circumferential direction into four equal parts.

The multi-plate friction mechanism 30 includes four outer convex pieces 3 fitted into the respective locking displacement grooves 13 of the inner peripheral wall 12 of the housing 10.
1 and an inner support plate 34 having four inner convex pieces 33 fitted into the engagement displacement grooves 25 of the small diameter portion 24 of the inner rotating body 20 are alternately overlapped with each other. Perimeter wall 1
2 and a small-diameter portion 24 in a stacked state.
The outer support plate 32 and the inner support plate 34 are each formed of a substantially disk-shaped thin plate. Here, the outer support plate 32 is disposed so as to be in contact with the large-diameter portion 23 of the inner rotating body 20, and thereafter, a total of four inner support plates 34 and outer support plates 32 are provided.
Are alternately arranged and stacked.

The pressing spring 40 is provided with a rotary cam mechanism 5 described later.
0 to change the frictional force of the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 by changing the load applied to the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 in the stacking direction. The entire multi-plate friction mechanism 30 is urged and pressed by its elastic force by contacting the inner support plate 34 at the end of the mechanism 30. Each outer support plate 32 and inner support plate 34 of the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 is pressed by the pressing spring 40, so that in the multi-plate friction mechanism 30, each outer support plate 32 On the other hand, in the locking displacement groove 13, it is impossible to rotate in the circumferential direction of the storage chamber 11 and is displaceable in the direction of the center axis of the pedal shaft 3. Similarly, each inner support plate 34 is The piece 33 cannot be displaced with respect to the inner rotating body 20 in the rotation direction of the inner rotating body 20, and can be displaced in the direction of the center axis of the pedal shaft 3.

The rotary cam mechanism 50 is, like the outer support plate 32 of the multi-plate friction mechanism 30, provided with the inner peripheral wall 12 of the housing 10.
An outer support cam 52 provided with four outer convex pieces 51 fitted into each of the locking displacement grooves 13 and an inner support cam 54 arranged to face the outer support cam 52. Outer support cam 52
The inner support cam 54 is formed of an annular member having a plurality of arc-shaped claws 55 and 56, respectively.
Numerals 56 are arranged along the center axis direction of the pedal shaft 3 at positions obtained by equally dividing the outer periphery of the annular member into six.

Each of the claws 55 and 56 has one of the right sides 55 a and 56 a in the direction along the central axis of the pedal shaft 3.
The other inclined sides 55b and 56b form a predetermined angle (for example, 40 to 50 degrees) with respect to the center axis direction of the pedal shaft 3, and the outer support cam 52 and the inner support cam 54 , 56 are opposed to each other, so that each claw portion is disposed between the claw portions of the cam on the opposite side. The lengths of the tips of the claws 55 and 56 are limited so as to be parallel to the circumferential direction. Thus, the cam mechanism 50 is downsized in the axial direction.

The inner support cam 54 has an outer support cam 52
The inside diameter of the claw portion 56 is provided on the inside of the claw portion 56, and the center of the inside support cam 54 is provided on the outer surface of the pedal shaft 3 for stopping rotation. 3a
Is formed with an inner flat surface 54a.

With the above configuration, the rotary cam mechanism 50
When the pedal shaft 3 is rotated by depressing the accelerator pedal 2 and the inner support cam 54 is rotated inside the outer support cam 52, the inclined side 56b of the claw portion 56 is not rotated. Abut the outer support cam 5
2 is pushed away from the inner support cam 54, and the outer support cam 52 is displaced in the direction of the accelerator pedal 2 along the direction of the center axis of the pedal shaft 3, whereby the pressing spring 4
0 is pressed to increase the load on the multi-plate friction mechanism 30.

Conversely, when the depression of the accelerator pedal 2 is loosened and the accelerator pedal 2 returns, the pedal shaft 3 rotates in the reverse direction and the inner support cam 54 rotates in the reverse direction inside the outer support cam 52. The contact spring between the inclined side 56b of the claw 56, which has pushed the outer support cam 52 apart, and the inclined side 55b of the outer support cam 52, is loosened. As a result, the pressing force applied to the pressing spring 40 is reduced, and the load on the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 is reduced.
In this embodiment, the pedal shaft 3 is set to rotate by an angle of 16.3 ° when the accelerator pedal 3 is rotated from the released state to the maximum depressed state.

Hereinafter, the operation of the accelerator pedal device 1 according to the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described. When the accelerator pedal 2 is depressed and displaced in the direction of black arrow A in FIG. 2, the pedal shaft 3 rotates in the direction of black arrow B in FIG. 2, whereby the spring clutch 5 is tightened to the pedal shaft 3. And rotate with the pedal shaft 3 in the direction of the black arrow C. Accordingly, the inner rotating body 20 in which the locking end 5a of the spring clutch 5 is locked and the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 locked by the locking displacement groove 25 of the inner rotating body 20
Are rotated in the directions of black arrows D and E, respectively.

On the other hand, each outer supporting plate 32 of the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 locked by the locking displacement groove 13 of the housing 10.
Does not rotate, and the thickness of the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 in the laminating direction of the outer support plate 32 and the inner support plate 34 of the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 decreases as indicated by the black arrow F by the pressing spring 40. , A frictional force is generated at the contact surface between the inner support plate 34 and the outer support plate 32, and in order to depress the accelerator pedal 2, a large force that resists this frictional force is required. Become.

On the other hand, in the rotary cam mechanism 50, the outer support cam 52 is non-rotatably locked by the locking displacement groove 13 of the housing 10, whereas the inner support cam 54 is locked by the rotation of the pedal shaft 3. Accordingly, it turns in the direction of the black arrow G. Thereby, the claw portion 56 of the inner support cam 54 has the inclined side 5
The outer support cam 52 is displaced in the direction of the accelerator pedal 2 as shown by a black arrow H, by contacting the inclined side 55b of the outer support cam 52 with the inclined side 55b. Thus, the outer support cam 52 presses the pressing spring 40 against its elastic force, and the pressing spring 40 presses the outer supporting cam 5.
2 applies a load to the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 with an elastic force corresponding to the amount of displacement. For this reason, in the multi-plate friction mechanism 30, as the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 2 increases, the outer support plates 32 and the inner support plates 34 move along the respective locking displacement grooves 13 and 25 along with the black arrow F. , And a large gap is generated between the outer support plates 32 and the inner support plates 34, thereby generating a large frictional force. Therefore,
In the depressing operation of the accelerator pedal 2, as the depressing amount increases, a larger depressing force is required to resist the frictional force generated by the multiple disc friction mechanism 30.

Conversely, when the depression of the accelerator pedal 2 is loosened in the direction indicated by the white arrow L and the pedal shaft 3 rotates in the direction of the white arrow M, the inner rotating body 20 generates friction against the outer support plate 32. The generated inner support plate 34 is locked. In this state, the locking end 5 of the spring clutch 5
a is locked in the locking groove 22 of the inner rotating body 20. Therefore, when the pedal shaft 3 rotates in the white arrow M direction, the winding of the spring clutch 5 around the pedal shaft 3 is loosened, and only the accelerator pedal 2 and the pedal shaft 3 rotate integrally, and the inner rotating body 20 and the inner support The plate 34 does not rotate. Therefore, if the depression of the accelerator pedal 2 is loosened, the multi-plate friction mechanism 3
0, friction between the outer support plate 32 and the inner support plate 34,
Regardless of the contact state, the accelerator pedal 2 can be reliably returned to the release position. For this reason, even if a trouble such as the outer support plate 32 and the inner support plate 34 of the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 being stuck occurs, an idle swing mechanism is formed to surely return the accelerator pedal 2 to the original position. Therefore, safety in the accelerator pedal device 1 can be ensured. In this case, the spring clutch 5 and the pedal shaft 3
Although some friction is caused by the contact with the pedal, the torque of the pedal return spring 4 is adjusted in consideration of the friction torque due to the contact to set the hysteresis characteristic.

On the other hand, in the rotary cam mechanism 50, when the pedal shaft 3 rotates in the white arrow M direction, the inner support cam 54
Rotates in the direction of the white arrow N. Thereby, the inclined side 55b
The outer support cam 52 which has been pushed away by the inclined side 56b via the inner side is pushed back in the white arrow Q direction and displaced by the elastic force of the push spring 40 in the white arrow P direction, and the load applied to the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 Becomes smaller. As a result, the frictional force generated on the friction surface between the outer support plate 32 and the inner support plate 34 decreases.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the rotation state (rotation angle) of the pedal shaft 3 and the friction torque generated with the rotation in the above operation. In FIG. 3, a solid line X indicates a torque characteristic when the accelerator pedal 2 is depressed, and a solid line Y indicates a torque characteristic when the accelerator pedal 2 is returned. As shown in the figure, when the accelerator pedal 2 is depressed, the torque characteristic generated by the pedal return spring 4
As the magnitude of the depression (the rotation angle of the pedal shaft) increases, a larger torque is generated. On the other hand, when returning, the frictional force between the spring clutch 5 and the pedal shaft 3 is reduced by the magnitude of the depression (the pedal). Regardless of the rotation angle of the shaft), it can be seen that the torque characteristic appears as a torque reduced by a certain amount with respect to the torque characteristic generated by the pedal return spring 4.

As described above, according to the present invention, the gradient of the friction torque between when the accelerator pedal 2 is depressed and when it is returned is different, and non-parallel hysteresis characteristics can be provided.
Also, a spring clutch 5 is provided to
Is rotated only in one direction, so that the accelerator pedal 2 can be securely returned in the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 even if the plates are stuck, and safety can be ensured. Further, since the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 for generating non-parallel hysteresis characteristics, the rotating cam mechanism 50, and the like are provided around the pedal shaft 3, the accelerator pedal device 1 can be small. Further, since the multi-plate friction mechanism 30 is used, a large friction torque can be generated in spite of being a small-sized device, and the operation comfort in the depressing operation of the accelerator pedal 2 is improved.

In the above embodiment, the substantially cylindrical housing is shown. However, the outer shape may be different from the cylindrical shape as long as a cylindrical inner peripheral wall is provided inside. In the above embodiment, six pawls are provided in the rotary cam mechanism, but the number of pawls may be 3 to 8 as long as the load can be changed by displacing in the rotation range of the pedal shaft. In the above embodiment, in the multi-plate friction mechanism, the number of each plate is four, but may be a different number such as 6 to 12. Further, the number of concave pieces and convex pieces provided on the inner and outer support plates is not limited to four in this embodiment, and is not particularly limited as long as it is three or more.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an accelerator pedal device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an assembly diagram showing an accelerator pedal device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship between a rotation angle of a pedal shaft and a friction torque in the accelerator pedal device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Accelerator pedal device 2 Accelerator pedal 3 Pedal shaft 4 Pedal return spring 5 Spring clutch 10 Housing 11 Housing room 12 Inner peripheral wall 13 Locking displacement groove 20 Inner rotating body 22 Locking groove 24 Small diameter portion (outer peripheral wall) 25 Locking displacement groove Reference Signs List 30 multi-plate friction mechanism 32 outer support plate 34 inner support plate 40 pressing spring (load applying means) 50 rotating cam mechanism (load applying means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A housing having a cylindrical inner peripheral wall, and a cylindrical outer peripheral wall disposed at a predetermined distance from the inner peripheral wall inside the housing, wherein the outer peripheral wall is formed on the inner peripheral wall. An inner rotating body rotatably supported around an axis of a central axis of the peripheral wall; an outer peripheral side of the inner rotating wall is locked in a rotation direction of the inner rotating body with respect to the inner peripheral wall of the housing; A plurality of substantially disk-shaped outer support plates supported displaceably in the center axis direction, and the outer peripheral wall of the inner rotating body,
Its inner peripheral side is locked in the rotation direction of the inner rotating body,
A multi-plate friction mechanism in which a plurality of substantially disk-shaped inner support plates that are displaceably supported in the center axis direction of the inner peripheral wall are alternately arranged and laminated between the inner peripheral wall and the outer peripheral wall; A means for applying a load in a direction to reduce the laminated thickness of the plurality of outer support plates and the plurality of inner support plates in the multi-plate friction mechanism, wherein the load is increased according to the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal. Load applying means, and a pedal shaft that rotates in response to the operation of the accelerator pedal and rotationally drives the inner rotating body. When the accelerator pedal is depressed, the outer support plate of the multi-plate friction mechanism is provided. An accelerator pedal device, wherein a hysteresis characteristic is provided in operation of the accelerator pedal by a frictional force generated between the accelerator pedal and the inner support plate. 2. A pedal shaft which rotates in response to an operation of an accelerator pedal, a hysteresis generating means for imparting a hysteresis characteristic, and a hysteresis generating means which is fitted to the outside of the pedal shaft and which is provided when the accelerator pedal is depressed. An accelerator pedal device comprising: a driving spring clutch, wherein a hysteresis characteristic is imparted to the operation of the accelerator pedal. 3. The load applying means includes: a coil spring that presses a stacked end of the plurality of outer support plates and the plurality of inner support plates at one end, and rotates in response to an operation of the accelerator pedal. 2. The accelerator pedal device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cam mechanism for displacing a locking portion of said coil spring in a direction to reduce said lamination thickness in conjunction with a pedal shaft to be operated. 4. The internal rotating body includes a spring clutch fitted to the outside of the pedal shaft, and is driven to rotate by the pedal shaft only when the accelerator pedal is depressed. Item 3. The accelerator pedal device according to Item 3. 5. The spring clutch, the inner rotating body, the multi-plate friction mechanism, and the load applying means are arranged coaxially with respect to the pedal shaft and housed between the pedal shaft and the housing. The accelerator pedal device according to claim 4, wherein: