Patent Publication Number: US-7908939-B2

Title: Accelerator pedal

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a mechanical organ type accelerator pedal, and particularly, to a mechanical organ type accelerator pedal to improve an operation feeling and reduce driver&#39;s fatigue while achieving stability and economic feasibility. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, an accelerator pedal of a vehicle is a device which regulates an inhalation quantity of fuel-air mixture in a gasoline engine, and regulates an injection quantity of fuel in a diesel engine, to control number of revolution of an engine. The accelerator is classified into a pendant type which is hung on a dashboard and an organ type which is disposed on a floor panel depending on a mounting structure. 
     Recently, a mechanical accelerator pedal is widely used to control the quantity of combustion by opening/closing a throttle valve in a carburetor through an acceleration cable. 
     However, a conventional mechanical accelerator pedal gives a driver a rough operation feeling, accordingly, a problem is found in that the rough operation feeling increases driver&#39;s fatigue. 
     In addition, since the opening/closing of the throttle valve cannot be operated with accuracy, unexpected waste of fuel is inevitably generated, thus making worse fuel efficiency as well as stability. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been devised to solve the above problem. An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical organ type accelerator pedal in which an organ type pedal is employed to serve as a mechanical accelerator pedal while maintaining the function of the mechanical accelerator pedal which controls an opening/closing operation of a throttle valve in a carburetor through an acceleration cable to improve an operation feeling and thus reduce driver&#39;s fatigue, and to enable an accurate operation of the throttle valve to achieve stability and economic feasibility, and to improve the interior look to upgrade a vehicle. 
     In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a mechanical organ type accelerator pedal which includes: a housing that is fixedly disposed to a floor panel under a driver&#39;s seat; a foot plate whose one end is coupled hingedly with the housing and the other end is disposed to be rotated in a vertical direction of the housing by driver&#39;s stepping force on the pedal; a pedal arm that is coupled with one end of a connecting cable connected to an acceleration cable and disposed to be rotatable inside the housing in conjunction with the operation of the foot plate; a carrier that penetrates the housing to connect the foot plate and the pedal arm an elastic means that is disposed to be supported by the housing and the carrier at both ends to apply restoring force to the carrier; and a cover that is coupled with the housing to cover an opening at one side of the housing and has a center protrusion at one side, the center protrusion being inserted in the center part of the carrier and serving as a rotating fulcrum. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing preferred embodiments thereof in detail with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a mechanical organ type accelerator pedal according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the mechanical organ type accelerator pedal according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3A  is a right side view illustrating an assembly of the pedal of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged view of portion B shown in  FIG. 3A . 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a pedal arm and a carrier in the pedal of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial enlarged view illustrating an elastic means disposed in the device of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of  FIG. 3A , illustrating the coupled condition of the pedal arm. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a mechanical organ type accelerator pedal according to the present invention. 
     A mechanical organ type accelerator pedal according to the present invention, as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 6 , is composed of a housing  10  that is fixedly disposed to a floor panel  1  under a driver&#39;s seat, a foot plate  20  whose one end is coupled hingedly with the housing  10  and the other end is disposed to be rotated in a vertical direction of the housing  10  by driver&#39;s stepping force on the pedal, a pedal arm  30  that is coupled with one end of a connecting cable  5  connected to an acceleration cable  3  and disposed to be rotatable inside the housing  10  in conjunction with the operation of the foot plate  20 , a carrier  40  that penetrates the housing  10  to connect the foot plate  20  and the pedal arm  30 , an elastic means that is disposed to be supported by the housing  10  and the carrier  40  at both ends to apply restoring force to the carrier  40 , and a cover  50  that is coupled with the housing  10  to cover an opening at one side of the housing  10  and a center protrusion  51  is formed at one side of the cover  50  so as to be inserted in the center part of the carrier  40  and to serve as a rotating fulcrum. 
     Here, in the mechanical organ type accelerator pedal according to the invention, when the connecting cable  5  pulls the acceleration cable  3  in accordance with the operation of the pedal arm  30 , a throttle valve is opened to control the quantity of combustion. 
     In the meantime, the housing  10  is composed of a body  11  and a plate coupling part  13 . 
     The body  11  has an accommodation space  11   a  therein to accommodate the pedal arm  30  and the elastic means. An upper side of the body facing the foot plate  20  in the accommodation space  11   a  has a carrier hole  11   b  through which the carrier  40  passes, and a front side of the body facing the acceleration cable  3  in the accommodation space  11   a  has a cable hole  11   c  through which the connecting cable  5  passes. 
     In addition, the cover  50  is coupled with the body  11  at one side by using a plurality of screws  57  to cover the accommodation space  11   a.    
     The plate coupling part  13  is formed to extend from the body  11 , and a coupling hole  13   a  that is opened in one direction is formed in the width direction L. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3B , which is an enlarged view of portion B in  FIG. 3A , one end of the foot plate  20  is inserted in the coupling hole  13   a . Particularly, a hinge film  21  that is integrated to one end of the foot plate  20  is inserted in the coupling hole  13   a  to serve as a hinge. 
     The pedal arm  30  is composed of the cylindrical part  31  which is formed by forming a flange  31   b  in a circumferential direction around a protrusion hole  31   a  to protrude in a lateral direction, a protrusion hole  31   a  being located between the carrier hole  11   b  and the cable hole  11   c  in the accommodation space  11   a , and is formed through the center portion at both sides of a cylinder part  31  such that the center protrusion  51  of the cover  50  is inserted in the protrusion hole, a front arm  33  which is formed to extend toward the cable hole  11   c  from the outer surface of the cylindrical part  31  and coupled with the connecting cable  5  at a leading end of the front arm, and a rear arm  35  which is formed to extend toward the carrier hole  11   b  from the outer surface of the cylindrical part  31  and coupled with the lower end of the carrier  40  at a leading end of the rear arm. 
     As the center protrusion  51  of the cover  50  is inserted in the protrusion hole  31   a  of the cylindrical part  31 , the pedal arm  30  is able to seesaw inside the accommodation space  11   a  when an external force is applied. 
     In the meantime, the flange  31   b  formed at both side surfaces of the cylindrical part  31  is inserted in flange holes  11   d  and  53   d  formed in the body  11  of the housing  10  and the cover  50 , respectively, to be coupled therewith. 
     Here, a bushing  60  is inserted between the flange  31   b  and the flange holes  11   d  and  53   d , and the bushing  60  prevents abrasion arising from friction. 
     The carrier  40  is disposed to penetrate the carrier hole  11   b , and the upper end of the carrier is coupled with the foot plate  20  and the lower end of the carrier is coupled with the rear arm  35  of the pedal arm  30 . 
     Here, the lower end of the carrier  40  is formed in a fork shape to be fitted with a rod  35   a  which is provided at the end of the rear arm  35 . 
     In addition, the carrier  40  serves to prevent the foot plate  20  from being rotated by its weight and thus overlapped on the housing  10 . 
     A compression spring  70  is used as the elastic means, the upper end of the compression spring  70  is inserted in an upper hole  35   b  formed at the lower side of the rear arm  35 , and the lower end of the compression spring is inserted in a lower hole  11   e  formed at the lower side of the body  11  in the accommodation space  11   a.    
     Although the number of the compression spring  70  is one in the present invention, it is not limited thereto; for example, a double structure in which two springs having different diameters are overlapped with each other may be provided if necessary. 
     Hereinafter, operation and effect according to the embodiment of the invention will be described. 
     When a driver steps on the foot plate  20 , the foot plate  20  rotates toward the housing  10  by the hinge film  21 , and thus the carrier  40  descends. 
     The descent of the carrier  40  causes a rotation arm  30  to rotate clockwise with respect to the center protrusion  51 , from the condition shown in  FIG. 3A , and at this moment, the compression spring  70  is deformed such that the entire length is shortened. 
     As the rotation arm  30  rotates, the connecting cable  5  is pulled, and accordingly the acceleration cable  3  is pulled in conjunction with the connecting cable so as to open/close the throttle valve, thereby controlling the quantity of combustion. 
     When the foot of the driver is removed from the foot plate  20 , the rotation arm  30  is rotated counterclockwise by restoring force of the compression spring  70 , and the carrier  40  ascends, and the foot plate  20  is rotated away from the housing  10  so as to return to an initial position. 
     At this moment, the connecting cable  5  and the acceleration cable  3  that are pulled toward the housing  10  return to an initial position to prepare for the next operation. 
     In addition, when the foot plate  20  is reversely rotated, the maximum rotation angle is restricted by the carrier  40 ; therefore, the foot plate  20  returns to the initial position at all times to prepare for the next operation. 
     Therefore, in the mechanical organ type accelerator pedal according to the invention, an organ type pedal is employed to serve as a mechanical accelerator pedal while maintaining the function of the mechanical accelerator pedal which controls an opening/closing operation of a throttle valve in a carburetor through an acceleration cable to improve an operation feeling and thus reduce driver&#39;s fatigue. 
     In addition, an accurate operation of the throttle valve is enabled by the improved operation feeling, and unexpected waste of fuel is reduced to achieve economic feasibility. 
     Further, the mechanical organ type accelerator pedal according to the invention has an improved stability. 
     That is, the foot plate  20  which is rotated toward the housing  10  by driver&#39;s stepping force on the pedal rotates reversely away from the housing  10  when the foot of the driver is removed from the pedal so as to return to the initial position. At this time, if a driver&#39;s shoe or cloth is caught on the foot plate  20 , the foot plate  20  deviates from a normal condition shown in  FIG. 4 , and is pulled back completely. 
     The above-described case may occur when a vehicle travels on a steep incline. 
     However, according to the invention, since the carrier  40  restricts the maximum rotation angle of the reverse rotation of the foot plate  20 , the foot plate  20  is prevented from deviating from the normal condition and being pulled back completely as described above, thereby improving stability of the vehicle. 
     On the contrary, when the vehicle travels on a steep downhill road, the foot plate  20  is forced to rotate toward the housing  10  by its weight, but the carrier  40  which has received force from the compression spring  70  through the pedal arm  30  restricts the rotation of the foot plate  20 , thus improving stability of operation. 
     As described above, the mechanical organ type accelerator pedal according to the present invention improves an operation feeling and reduces driver&#39;s fatigue, and improves fuel efficiency by improving fuel consumption ratio, and improves stability via the compression spring and the carrier which restricts the maximum angle of the reverse rotation of the foot plate. 
     Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.