Arrangement for permitting vehicle foot pedal retraction, and vehicle incorporating same

ES 2 248 239 T3

DESCRIPTION

Arrangement to allow retraction of a vehicle and vehicle pedal incorporating this arrangement.

Field of the invention

This invention relates, in a first aspect, to an arrangement for allowing retraction of the pedal of a vehicle away from the driver in a crash situation, and although the device is normally effective on the brake pedal, the principles described could be applied to any other pedal (clutch pedal and accelerator pedal), and in a second aspect, to a vehicle that incorporates this device. Background of the invention

Some proposals for such devices work on the principle of moving the axes of rotation of the brake pedal, see documents GB 2279625, EP 0757946, EP 0788931. Other proposals release the pedal pivot from its support, see document WO 97/28029 . Still other proposals are described in EP 0810124, EP 0827885, EP 0836968. Document WO 97/06036 describes a proposal to bend the pushrod of the impeller to allow retraction of the pedal, but with whatever system or device is employed, a vital requirement is that the device can never interfere with normal operation. brake system. Other proposals are disclosed in WO 97/30876, in which the push rod is bent close to the brake impeller, and in EP-A-0904990, in which the push rod is bent at its center. The push rod is connected to the bar by a rotating element.

Object of the invention

A basic object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement to allow retraction of a vehicle pedal, and a vehicle incorporating the same.

Summary of a first aspect of the invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an arrangement is provided to allow a retraction of a vehicle pedal, which can act on a push rod, in a frontal collision of sufficient magnitude, wherein the arrangement comprises (i) a pushrod is a low ductility material that has a zone of weakness;

(ii) a rotary member is attached to, and mounted on, a pedal bar for free rotation around the pivot, by which rotary member the pedal is operationally coupled to the push rod^heh; and (iii) a means of displacement is provided to cause a partial rotation of the rotary element in a frontal impact of sufficient magnitude, to apply a bending moment to the push rod to split the push rod through its zone of weakness, thereby disconnecting the push rod from the pedal to allow free movement of the pedal and thus to allow retraction of the pedal away from the driver's feet.

Summary of a second aspect of the invention

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a motor vehicle comprising an arrangement according to the first aspect.

Advantage (s) of the invention

Since the pushrod is relatively short in length and is, in service, subjected only to compressive loads, there is no operational disadvantage in being produced from a low-quality, low-ductility material, satisfactory for the intended function. Consequently, when the rotating member applies a relatively low level bending moment to the pushrod, the pushrod easily snaps through its area of ​​weakness and fracturing the pushrod instantly disengages the pushrod from the pedal, thereby releasing the pushrod. the movement limitation pedal in the retract direction away from the driver that is otherwise present due to the connections to the pushrod, thus allowing the pedal to retract, by rotation around its conventional pivot, away from the feet, etc. of the driver.

Preferred or optional features

The push rod comprises a main length of a first diameter and a second integral length of reduced diameter, with the zone of weakness disposed at the transition between the two diameters.

Both the main length and the second length are circular in section.

The rotating element has a through hole through which the reduced diameter length of the push rod can pass.

The through hole of the rotating element is a circular hole.

In a first embodiment, the rotating element is rotated by a positional displacement of a mass of components (such as a front engine / transmission assembly) which, in a frontal collision situation of sufficient magnitude, is subjected to a relatively rearward movement of sufficient distance.

In a second embodiment, the rotating member is rotated, in a frontal crash situation of sufficient magnitude, as a result of a component engaging the conventionally provided traversing bar.

Brief description of the drawings

An embodiment of an arrangement to allow retraction of a vehicle pedal is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation;

Figure 2 is a side elevation;

Figure 2a corresponds to Figure 2, but shows the positions of the various components in a crash situation;

Figure 3 is a front perspective view from one side, and Figure 4 corresponds to Figure 3, but is from the other side and on a slightly enlarged scale. Detailed description of the drawings

In the drawings an arrangement 1 is illustrated to allow a retraction of a vehicle pedal and specifically a brake pedal bar 2, in the event that a vehicle in which arrangement 1 is installed is involved in a crash situation frontal of sufficient magnitude.

Bar 2 is provided at one end with a pedal cover 3 and is attached at its other end to a transverse tube 4 rotatably mounted on a fixed shaft (not shown) supported through side walls of a pedal box (not shown). shown) for rotary motion about an axis 5.

Between its ends, the bar 2 supports a fixed axis 6, fixed axis 6 on which a rotating element 8 can rotate freely about an axis 7. The element 8

The rotary ES 2 248 239 T3 has a through hole 9, so that a reduced diameter length 10 of a reciprocatingly movable brake impeller push rod 11 can pass through the hole 9, but a length 12 of A larger diameter cannot, the change in diameter providing a W zone of weakness.

A headed shaft 13 protrudes laterally from one side of a radial arm 14 connected to and forming part of the rotary element 8 and engages an arcuate slot 15 in an activation arm 16, which is normally in a fixed position, but can be displaced in a frontal impact of sufficient magnitude. The length of the slot 15 is such that, in a non-shock situation, the slot 15 has no effect on the normal rotational movement of the rod 2 and the reciprocating movement of the push rod 11.

However, in a frontal collision situation that produces sufficient deformation, the headed shaft 13 first engages one end of the slot 15 and, in a continued deformation, the activation arm 16 rotates the rotary element 8, through of the radial arm 14, until the rod 11 of the brake impeller splits through its zone W of weakness, which is its transition point between the reduced diameter part 10 and the larger diameter part 11, thus disconnecting the bar 2 from the brake actuator, so that the bar 2 no longer presents a rigid obstruction, but is free to rotate away from the feet or lower parts of the driver's legs.