Patent ID: 8701521

Claim:
A pedal device for a motor vehicle, comprising: a dash panel separating an inside of a passenger compartment of the vehicle from an outside of same, the dash panel being configured to be deformed toward a rear of the vehicle when an impact load exceeding a predetermined value is applied to a front of the vehicle during a frontal collision of the vehicle; a pedal bracket attached to a panel surface of the dash panel facing the inside of the passenger compartment, the pedal bracket having a lateral wall extending along the panel surface and a pair of lengthwise walls projecting from respective opposite ends of the lateral wall into the passenger compartment; a pedal including a supporting shaft rotatably penetrating through the pair of lengthwise walls and a pedal arm suspended from the supporting shaft; and shaft detachment means configured to allow one end portion of the supporting shaft to be disengaged from a corresponding one of the lengthwise walls of the pedal bracket during the frontal collision while maintaining an opposite end portion of the supporting shaft being supported by the other of the pair of lengthwise walls of the pedal bracket, wherein: a pedal stroke sensor for detecting a swing of the pedal is arranged on the pedal bracket at a distance from the pedal, the pedal stroke sensor and the pedal are connected to each other by a transmission mechanism for transmitting the swing of the pedal to the pedal stroke sensor, the transmission mechanism includes permission means for permitting disengagement of the one end portion of the supporting shaft from the one lengthwise wall during the forward collision, the shaft detachment means includes a butt member attached to the other of the pair of lengthwise walls and a guide member attached to the passenger compartment, such that, during the frontal collision, the guide member makes contact with the butt member and forces the guide member in a downward direction, wherein the transmission mechanism is constituted by a link mechanism including an output arm projecting from an outer peripheral surface of the supporting shaft, an input arm connected to an input part of the pedal stroke sensor, and a link member connecting the output and input arms to each other, and the permission means includes ball joints relatively movably connecting the link member and the input and output arms of the link mechanism.