Patent Publication Number: US-9411359-B2

Title: Accelerator pedal apparatus for vehicle

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0086543 filed Jul. 23, 2013, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates, in general, to an accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle in which, even when a hinge of a pedal pad is broken, the pedal can be operatively manipulated, thereby ensuring safe driving. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Generally, an accelerator pedal apparatus in a vehicle is divided, according to a mounting structure, into a pendant type accelerator pedal which is mounted suspended from a dashboard and an organ type accelerator pedal which is mounted to a floor panel. 
     In the case of an organ type accelerator pedal, a motion of a pad is the same as a motion of a driver&#39;s ankle, so that a driver can advantageously manipulate the organ type accelerator pedal more conveniently than a pendant type accelerator pedal. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an exemplary organ type accelerator pedal apparatus includes a pedal housing  1  which is fixedly mounted to a panel of a vehicle body (a floor panel) located below a driver seat; a pad  3 , one end of which is connected to a pad-coupling part  1   a  of the pedal housing  1  via a hinge  2 , so as to pivot via manipulation by a driver&#39;s foot; a pedal arm  5  which is disposed and mounted in an internal space  1   b  of the pedal housing  1  such that the pedal arm can pivot on a pivot axis  4  relative to the pedal housing  1 ; a carrier  6  which connects the pad  3  and one end of the pedal arm  5 ; and an elastic member  7  which is mounted to be supported, at both ends thereof, to the other end of the pedal arm  5  and an inner surface of the pedal housing  1 , so as to provide an elastic restoring force to the pivot motion of the pedal arm  5 . 
     However, in such an organ type accelerator pedal apparatus, since the hinge of the pad protrudes to the outside and a pad coupling which couples the pad is provided with a single hinge, if the hinge is broken, the pad cannot be supported by the hinge, adversely affecting the driving and thus possibly causing an accident. Thus, there is a need for a pedal structure which does not affect driving even upon breakage in the hinge of the pedal pad. 
     The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing an accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle which, even when a hinge of a pedal pad is broken, allows the pedal pad to normally operate, thereby ensuring driving safety while providing reliability for manipulation of the pedal pad. 
     In an aspect of the present invention, an accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle, may include a pedal pad configured to be depressed by a driver, a pedal bracket, a first hinge pivotally coupling the pedal pad to the pedal bracket, and a second hinge having an elastically-operated articulated structure, wherein the second hinge is mounted to the pedal bracket and connected to the pedal pad, the second hinge being spaced apart from the first hinge. 
     The pedal pad may include an upper pad part and a lower pad part, and the second and first hinges are connected to the upper pad part and the lower pad part, respectively. 
     The lower pad part is provided, on an upper portion thereof, with a mounting groove, and a lower portion of the upper pad part is slidably inserted into the mounting groove. 
     The upper pad part is tapered such that a width of the lower portion decreases downwards. 
     A length of the upper pad part to be inserted into the mounting groove is longer than a maximum displacement of the upper pad part sliding over along and moved in the mounting groove when the pedal pad is fully manipulated. 
     The first hinge is a film member that is connected to a lowermost end of the pedal pad as a center of rotation. 
     The second hinge extends in a circular shape curved upwards from the pedal bracket and is connected to the pedal pad. 
     According to the present invention, the pedal pad is provided with plural hinges, so that, even when one of the hinges is broken, the hinge function can be still maintained, thereby allowing the pedal pad to normally operate. Also, the accelerator pedal apparatus employs an articulated hinge structure, thereby providing uniform depression to the pedal pad. 
     Accordingly, the present invention can ensure driving safety while providing reliable, uniform manipulability of the pedal pad. 
     The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1 and 2  are views showing an organ type accelerator pedal apparatus according to the related art. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a view showing an upper pad part and a first hinge of the accelerator pedal apparatus of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is a view showing the first hinge and a second hinge of the accelerator pedal apparatus of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are views showing the operation of the accelerator pedal apparatus of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. 
     In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     Hereinbelow, a description is made in detail of a preferred embodiment of an accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 4  is a side view of the accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle shown in  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 5  is a view showing an upper pad part and a first hinge of the accelerator pedal apparatus of  FIG. 3 , and  FIG. 6  is a view showing the first hinge and a second hinge of the accelerator pedal apparatus of  FIG. 3 . 
     The accelerator pedal apparatus for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is of an organ type, which includes a pedal bracket  100  which is fixedly mounted to a panel of a vehicle body which is disposed below a driver seat, a pedal pad  200 , one end of which is connected to a pad coupling  120  of the pedal bracket  100  via a hinge so that the pedal pad is able to be manipulated by a driver, a pedal arm which is elastically pivotally mounted in the pedal bracket  100 , and a carrier  140  which is connected to the pedal arm and the pedal pad  200 . 
     Specifically, as shown in  FIGS. 3 to 6 , the accelerator pedal apparatus includes: a pedal pad  200  which is located on a front lower side of a driver seat so as to be depressed by a driver, a first hinge  160  which pivotally couples the pedal pad  200  to a pedal bracket  100  which is fixedly mounted on the front lower side of the driver seat, and a second hinge  180  which has an elastically articulated structure and which is mounted spaced apart from the first hinge  160  to the pedal bracket  100  in such a manner as to be connected to the pedal pad  200 . 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of the hinges is connected to the pedal pad, so that, even when one of the hinges is broken, the pedal pad  200  can be stably pivoted. 
     The hinge includes first and second hinges  160  and  180 , which are mounted to the pedal bracket  100  such that the first and second hinges are connected to the pedal pad  200 . The first hinge  160  is formed from a film member that is connected to a lowermost end of the pedal pad  200  as the center of rotation for the pedal pad  200 . The first hinge  160  may have a hinge structure commonly used in an organ type pedal. The first hinge  160  including the film member can save on manufacturing cost and contributes to a simplified structure. 
     The pedal pad  200  is pivotally mounted to the pedal bracket  100  via the first hinge  160 . Further, the second hinge  180  is also mounted to the pedal bracket  100  to support the pedal pad  200 . 
     Here, the second hinge  180  is mounted to the pedal bracket  100  in such a manner as to be spaced a distance apart from the first hinge  160 , preferably rearwards from the first hinge  160  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The second hinge  180  displaced rearwards from the first hinge  160  is not exposed to the outside, thereby being prevented from being broken by environmental factors. 
     The second hinge  180  has an elastically-operated articulated structure. The elastically-operated articulated structure of the second hinge  180  minimizes the reaction of the pedal pad  200  occurring when a driver manipulates the pedal pad  200 , thereby mitigating a driver&#39;s fatigue. 
     The second hinge  180  extends from the pedal bracket  100  in a circular shape curved upwards and is connected to the pedal pad  200 . 
     The curved shape of the second hinge  180  can mitigate the reaction of the pedal pad  200  when a driver manipulates the pedal pad  200 . Here, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the second hinge  180  is preferably curved from the forward side to the rearward side so as to enhance elastic deformation of the second hinge  180  which is obtained by the articulated structure. 
     While the plurality of hinges mounted to the pedal pad  200  may require a further force when a driver manipulates the pedal pad  200 , such an articulated structure of the second hinge  180  can reduce a driver&#39;s effort to manipulate the pedal pad. Further, the articulated structure of the second hinge  180  may be modified such that the number and thickness of joints thereof varies so as to properly set an elastic force of the second hinge, thereby providing a uniform force required to manipulate the pedal pad  200 . 
     The pedal pad  200  may include an upper pad part  220  and a lower pad part  240 , to which the second and first hinges  180  and  160  may be respectively connected. The upper and lower pad parts  220  and  240  are configured such that the upper pad part  220  slips out along the lower pad part  240  when a driver manipulates the pedal pad. 
     In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first and second hinges  160  and  180  are coupled to the pedal pad  200 , and the second hinge  180  has an articulated structure and is mounted to the rearward side of the first hinge  160 . In this state, when the driver manipulates the pedal pad  200 , the first hinge  160  serves as the center of rotation for the pedal pad  100 , and the second hinge  180  pivots the pedal pad  200  while joints thereof are elastically deformed. Here, as the displacement of the pedal pad  200  increases, the deformation force of the second hinge  180  increases. However, such an increase in the deformation force of the second hinge  180  causes the reaction applied to the pedal pad  200  to increase, so that the reaction of the pedal pad  200  may not be sufficiently reduced. 
     To avoid this, the upper and lower pad parts  220  and  240  are configured to be able to slip over each other. Specifically, the lower pad part  240  is provided, on an upper portion thereof, with a mounting groove  242  such that the upper pad part  220  is slidably inserted into the mounting groove  242  from a lower portion thereof. 
     Such an inter-slidable connection between the upper and lower pad parts  220  and  240  is shown in  FIGS. 5 to 7 . Here, a sectional area of the mounting groove  242  of the lower pad part  240  is formed to be larger than that of the lower portion  222  of the upper pad part  220 , thereby allowing the lower portion of the upper pad part  220  to smoothly slip over in the mounting groove during manipulation of the pedal pad  200 . 
     Further, the upper pad part  220  may be tapered such that a width of the lower portion  222  to be inserted into the mounting groove  242  decreases downwards. 
     The pedal pad  200  includes the upper and lower pad parts  220  and  240  which are inter-slidable. When the upper pad part  220  slips out along the lower pad part  240  during the manipulation of the pedal pad  200 , the upper pad part  220  may engage with the mounting groove  242  of the lower pad part  240  so as thus to cause an unsmooth slipping action because the slipping of the upper pad part is conducted along the lower pad part  240  during pivoting operation. Thus, the tapered lower portion of the upper pad part  220  ensures smooth slip action in the mounting groove  242  when a driver manipulates the pedal pad  200 . 
     As described above, the inter-slidable connection between the upper and lower pad parts  220  and  240  during manipulation of the pedal pad  200  mitigates deformation load caused by the second hinge  180 , thereby preventing an excessive deformation of the second hinge  180 . Further, the slipping movement between the upper and lower pad parts  220  and  240  during manipulation of the pedal pad  200  also provides easy manipulation for a driver. 
     A length of the lower portion  222  of the upper pad part  220  to be inserted into the mounting groove  242  may be longer than a maximum displacement of the upper pad part  220  slid and moved in the mounting groove  242  when the pedal pad  200  is fully manipulated. 
     If the lower portion  222  of the upper pad part  220  is not sufficiently inserted into the mounting groove  242  of the lower pad part  240 , upon complete manipulation of the pedal pad  200 , the upper pad part  220  may be decoupled from the mounting groove  242 . Thus, the lower portion  222  of the upper pad part  220  has a sufficient length to be deeply inserted into the mounting groove  242  such that, even when the pedal pad  200  is manipulated to the maximum stroke, the lower portion  222  is not moved out of the mounting groove  242 , thereby preventing the upper and lower pad parts  220  and  240  from being separated from each other. 
     The operation of the exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 7A and 7B . In an initial state where the pedal pad  200  is not yet manipulated, the lower portion  222  of the upper pad part  220  is fully inserted into the mounting groove  242  of the lower pad part  240 , and the pedal pad  200  is supported by the carrier  140 , the first hinge  160 , and the second hinge  180 . In this stage, when a driver manipulates the pedal pad  200 , the upper and lower pad parts  220  and  240  are pivoted about the first hinge  160 , and as the depression pressure on the pedal pad increases, the second hinge  180  of articulated structure is increasingly folded and deformed, so that the upper pad part  220  slips over along the lower pad part  240 . 
     Such an operation improves the manipulation of the pedal pad  200 , and causes the second hinge  180  to be elastically deformed so as to mitigate the effort of a driver to depress the pedal pad. 
     Further, the hinge structure for pivoting the pedal pad is configured to have the first and second hinges  160  and  180 , so that, even when one of the hinges is broken due to environmental factors or structural durability issues, the pedal pad can be normally operated. 
     Accordingly, such a configuration can ensure driving safety while providing reliable, uniform manipulability for the pedal pad. 
     Although a exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been described 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. 
     For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner” and “outer” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures. 
     The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.