Patent Document

TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, which prevents an external object from entering a clearance space under a pedal arm and a pedal when the vehicle is running, thereby preventing fatal traffic accidents. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a foot pedal unit  1  of a general vehicle. In some cases, an external object E such as a solid and bulky thing, for example, a can, a drinking container, a water bottle, etc. or a floor mat used in a vehicle may freely move while the vehicle is running and during an acceleration motion, sudden stop, veering, etc., may enter a clearance space  6  provided for an operation of the foot pedal unit  1  including a clutch, a brake, and an accelerator, that is, a space formed between a lower surface  4  of the foot pedal unit  1  and an indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle. 
         [0003]    According to research reports of the National Police Agency and the Road Traffic Safety Authority, in a physical situation such as an acceleration, sudden stop, veering, etc. when a vehicle is running, an external object such as a solid and bulky thing, for example, a can, a drinking container, a water bottle, etc., having a rod or cylindrical shape, or a floor mat used in a vehicle may enter a gap formed between the foot pedal unit, particularly a lower part of the brake, and an upper surface of the floor surface of a vehicle. In this case, even when a driver pushes the brake, the vehicle does not stop as intended so that uncontrollable and severe accidents may often occur. Regarding the clutch and accelerator, when a driver tries to push the clutch or accelerator to change the speed of a vehicle or accelerate to pass other vehicles on a highway or motorway, if an external object enters a space under a pedal, the intended acceleration is not obtained and the vehicle may be hit by a vehicle behind. 
         [0004]    A vehicle may perform a sudden start, sudden stop, sudden veering, ascending, descending, etc. according to road conditions or unexpected situations. In this state, when an external object used or provided in a vehicle enters a clearance space provided for the operation of a foot pedal unit and then a driver, who is not aware of this situation, pushes a pedal to accelerate or stop the vehicle according to a driving situation, the pedal does not work, and thus, the vehicle enters an uncontrollable state and a rear-end collision or other collisions may occur. 
         [0005]    Recently, foot pedal unit accidents due to the insertion of an external object have been reported by many broadcasting companies in prime time news. 
         [0006]    As an example of a conventional technology, Korean Patent Publication No. 2007-0067658 (2007.6.28) discloses an object prevention device main body  60  that is provided at a lower side of a pedal  3 . However, an external object may enter a space under a pedal arm  2  by passing around the rear side of the object prevention device main body  60 , and thus, the object is trapped by the object prevention device main body  60 , which may be more dangerous than a case when no object prevention device main body  60  is used. Thus, since accidents may be insufficiently prevented and installation of products is not easy, the conventional technology is not widely employed, although it is one of the necessary safety devices for a driver. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, the device having an improved structure to prevent the external object from entering a clearance space under a pedal arm and a pedal when the vehicle is running, thereby preventing traffic accidents. 
       Technical Solution 
       [0008]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, the foot pedal unit comprising a pedal arm and a pedal coupled to an end portion of the pedal arm, the device including a main body formed of an elastic member that is elastically deformable, arranged between a lower surface of the foot pedal unit and an indoor floor surface of the vehicle, and coupled to at least one of the foot pedal unit and the indoor floor surface, in which the main body is formed to prevent the external object from entering a space under the pedal arm and the pedal. 
         [0009]    The main body may be coupled to the indoor floor surface of the vehicle. 
         [0010]    The main body may be formed of at least one elastic member selected from a group consisting of synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, silicon, foamed resin, and urethane. 
         [0011]    The elastic member may be waterproof coated. 
         [0012]    A groove portion into which the pedal arm is inserted may be formed in an upper surface of the main body. 
         [0013]    The main body may include a surface member that is a pipe member having a hole therein and a predetermined sectional shape extending along a center axis, and an internal member arranged in the hole of the surface member and maintaining the sectional shape of the surface member. 
         [0014]    The surface member and the internal member may be integrally formed. 
         [0015]    The internal member may have a net-type section extending along the center axis C of the surface member, in which a plurality of through-holes having one of a variety of shapes including a diamond shape, a polygonal shape, a circular shape, and an oval shape are continuously arrayed. 
         [0016]    The internal member may include a reinforcement plate that is a plate member extending to a rear side from a front surface portion of the surface member that comes in contact with a foot of a driver. 
         [0017]    The reinforcement plate may be formed only in a portion of a front end portion on an imaginary line that horizontally connects the front surface portion of the surface member to a rear surface portion of the surface member. 
         [0018]    The main body may include a side plate that closes the hole of the surface member. 
         [0019]    The surface member may include a pedal arm corresponding unit formed to correspond to a shape of a lower surface of the pedal arm, and a pedal corresponding unit formed to correspond to a shape of a lower surface of the pedal. 
         [0020]    The main body may include an abrasion prevention unit that is arranged in a portion that comes in contact with a foot of a driver. 
         [0021]    The main body may be a wall structure surrounding a space formed between a lower surface of the foot pedal unit and the indoor floor surface of the vehicle. 
         [0022]    The main body may include a pair of side wall members arranged to be separated from each other, and a front wall member closing a front end portion of the pair of side wall members. 
         [0023]    The front wall member may be a folded wall member having a plurality of folds that are extendable and compressible in a vertical direction. 
       Advantageous Effects 
       [0024]    According to the present invention, the device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle includes a main body formed of an elastic member that is elastically deformable and arranged between a lower surface of the foot pedal unit and an indoor floor surface of the vehicle. Accordingly, the external object does not enter a clearance space under a pedal arm and a pedal during running of a vehicle, and thus, traffic accidents may be prevented. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a conventional vehicle foot pedal unit; 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  illustrates a state in which the device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle of  FIG. 2  is installed at a foot pedal unit of a vehicle; 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  illustrates a state in which a pedal is pressed and a pedal arm is rotated when the device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle of  FIG. 2  is installed at the foot pedal unit of a vehicle; 
           [0030]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0032]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0033]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of  FIG. 8 , illustrating a state in which a pedal is pressed and thus a pedal arm is rotated when the device is installed on the foot pedal unit; 
           [0034]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0035]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view taken along line XI-XI of  FIG. 10 , illustrating a state in which the device is installed on the foot pedal unit; 
           [0036]      FIG. 12  illustrates a state in which, a pedal is pressed and thus a pedal arm is rotated when the device is installed on the foot pedal unit; 
           [0037]      FIG. 13  illustrates an applied example of the device of  FIG. 10  that is installed for both of a clutch and a brake; and 
           [0038]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     BEST MODE 
       [0039]    Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by explaining preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the attached drawings. 
         [0040]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3  is a side view of the device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle of  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 4  illustrates a state in which the device for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle of  FIG. 2  is installed at a foot pedal unit of a vehicle. 
         [0041]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 to 4 , a device  100  for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle according to the present embodiment prevents an external object E from entering a space under the foot pedal unit  1  of a vehicle, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , and includes a main body  10 , a coupling member  20 , and an abrasion prevention member  30 . The foot pedal unit  1  includes the pedal arm  2  that is rotatably provided and the pedal  3  that is coupled to an end portion of the pedal arm  2 . 
         [0042]    The main body  10  is formed of an elastic member that is elastically deformable, is arranged between the lower surface  4  of the foot pedal unit  1  and the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle, and includes a surface member  11  and an internal member  12 . 
         [0043]    The main body  10  may be formed of at least one elastic member selected from a group consisting of synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, silicon, foamed resin, and urethane. In the present embodiment, the main body  10  is manufactured of polyurethane foamed resin that is waterproof-coated after foaming processing. 
         [0044]    Accordingly, the main body  10  exhibits a superior compression rate such that, when an uncompressed size is 100%, the main body  10  may be easily compressed by a compression force to a size of about 10-20% of the original size, and a superior self-restoration feature when a compression force is removed. 
         [0045]    The surface member  11  has a predetermined sectional shape extending along a center axis C, is a pipe member having a hole H therein, and includes a pedal corresponding unit  13  and a pedal arm corresponding unit  14 . The pedal arm corresponding unit  14  has a concave shape in a rear upper surface of the main body  10  to correspond to the shape of the lower surface  4  of the pedal arm  2 . The pedal corresponding unit  13  has a convex shape in a front upper surface of the main body  10  to correspond to the shape of a lower surface of the pedal  3 . 
         [0046]    The internal member  12  is arranged in the hole H of the surface member  11  to maintain a sectional shape of the surface member  11 . The internal member  12  has a net-type section extending along the center axis C of the surface member  11  in which a plurality of through-holes H 1  having a variety of shapes including a diamond shape, a polygonal shape, a circular shape, an oval shape, etc. are continuously arrayed. In the present embodiment, the internal member  12  has a net-type section in which the through-holes H 1 , each having a diamond shape, are continuously arrayed. In the present embodiment, the surface member  11  and the internal member  12  are formed to have the same thickness T 1 . 
         [0047]    A reinforcement plate  18 , which is a plate member horizontally extending to a rear side from a front surface portion  15  of the surface member  11  that comes in contact with a foot of a driver, is inserted in a front lower portion of the internal member  12 . Since the reinforcement plate  18  is formed only in a portion (L 1 -L 2 ) of a front end portion on an imaginary line C 1  horizontally connecting the front surface portion  15  of the surface member  11  and a rear surface portion  16  of the surface member  11 , the reinforcement plate  18  is not inserted in a portion (L 2 ) of a rear end portion of the internal member  12 . 
         [0048]    In the present embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , since a thickness T 2  of the reinforcement plate  18  is larger than a thickness T 1  of the surface member  11  and the internal member  12 , a counterforce of the reinforcement plate  18  in response to an axial force and a bending force is greater than that of the surface member  11  and the internal member  12 . 
         [0049]    In the present embodiment, the internal member  12  is integrally formed with the surface member  11 , which may be mass-produced by manufacturing a cutting mold corresponding to the sectional shape of the main body  10  and performing a punching process using the cutting mold. 
         [0050]    The coupling member  20  is used to couple a lower surface portion  17  of the surface member  11  and the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, a double-sided tape having an adhesive force on opposite surfaces thereof is used as the coupling member  20 . 
         [0051]    The abrasion prevention member  30  is arranged at a portion that may come in contact with the foot of a driver. In the present embodiment, a pad formed of a nonwoven fabric that exhibits superior durability and may be easily folded is used as the abrasion prevention member  30 . The abrasion prevention member  30  is attached on the front surface portion  15  of the surface member  11 . 
         [0052]    The device  100  configured as above is formed of an elastic member that is elastically deformable and is arranged between the lower surface  4  of the foot pedal unit  1  and the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle. Since the device  100  includes at least one of the lower surface  4  of the foot pedal unit  1  and the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle, the external object E does not enter the clearance space  6  under the pedal arm  2  and the pedal  3  while the vehicle is running so that traffic accidents may be prevented. 
         [0053]    Also, since the device  100  prevents the external object E from entering the clearance space  6  under the pedal arm  2  and the pedal  3  while the vehicle is running, a traffic accident that may occur when the vehicle is not able to stop when stopping of the vehicle is required and a traffic accident that may occur when the vehicle is hit by another vehicle running behind because the vehicle is not able to accelerate when accelerating of the vehicle is required may be prevented. Also, installation of the device  100  may provide a driver with a sense of safety. 
         [0054]    In addition, since the device  100  is installed in the clearance space  6  between the lower surface  4  of the foot pedal unit  1  and the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle, dust coming from the outside does not accumulate in the clearance space  6 , thereby not contaminating the inside of the vehicle. Accordingly, cleaning the vehicle including the inside thereof becomes easy, and thus, a comfortable driving environment may be provided to a driver. 
         [0055]    Since the lower surface portion  17  of the main body  10  of the device  100  is coupled to the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle, the main body  10  does not escape from the clearance space  6  under the pedal arm  2  and the pedal  3  while the vehicle is running. 
         [0056]    Since the main body  10  of the device  100  is formed of at least one elastic member selected from a group consisting of synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, silicon, foamed resin, and urethane, the main body  10  exhibits a superior compression rate when the pedal  3  is pressed by the driver as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , and a superior self-restoration feature to restore the original shape of the main body  10  when the pedal  3  is not pressed as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0057]    Since the elastic member of the main body  10  of the device  100  is waterproof-coated, deterioration of the self-restoration feature and durability due to intrusion of moisture from the outside may be prevented. 
         [0058]    In addition, since the main body  10  of the device  100  includes the surface member  11  having a predetermined sectional shape extending along the center axis C and being a pipe member having the hole H therein and the internal member  12  arranged in the hole H of the surface member  11  and maintaining the sectional shape of the surface member  11 , the device  100  may easily maintain the original shape even when inserted into the clearance space  6  and exhibits a superior self-restoration feature. 
         [0059]    Since the surface member  11  and the internal member  12  of the main body  10  of the device  100  are integrally formed together, a coupling process or an adhesion process between the surface member  11  and the internal member  12  is unnecessary, and thus, a manufacturing process may be simplified and the total manufacturing cost may be reduced. 
         [0060]    Also, since the internal member  12  of the device  100  is formed as a net-type section, in which the through-holes H 1  having a variety of shapes including a diamond shape, a polygonal shape, a circular shape, an oval shape, etc. are continuously arrayed and extend along the center axis C of the surface member  11 , the compression rate and self-restoration feature of the internal member  12  may be improved, the material costs of the internal member  12  may be reduced, and a sense of decoration may be improved, compared to a case when no through-holes H 1  are formed. 
         [0061]    In addition, since the internal member  12  of the device  100  includes the reinforcement plate  18 , which is a plate member extending to the rear side from the front surface portion  15  of the surface member  11  that comes in contact with the foot of a driver, even when a horizontal compression force is applied to the main body  10  by the foot of a driver, the main body  10  may easily maintain the original shape. 
         [0062]    Since the reinforcement plate  18  is formed only in the portion (L 1 -L 2 ) in the front end portion of the imaginary line C 1  horizontally connecting the front surface portion  15  of the surface member  11  and the rear surface portion  16  of the surface member  11 , the device  100  may be easily installed in the foot pedal unit  1  having a different length or shape according to the type of a vehicle. In other words, a space, as long as the length L 2  along which the reinforcement plate  18  is not inserted, exists for the length of the foot pedal unit  1  in an area where the device  10  may be installed. 
         [0063]    Also, since the surface member  11  includes the pedal arm corresponding unit  13  formed to corresponding to the shape of the lower surface  4  of the pedal arm  2  and the pedal corresponding unit  14  formed to correspond to the shape of the lower surface of the pedal  3 , the device  10  may be installed by being easily inserted into a space under the lower surface  4  of the foot pedal unit  1 . 
         [0064]    Since the main body  10  includes the abrasion prevention member  30  that is arranged in a portion that may come in contact with the foot of a driver, the outer circumferential surface of the surface member  11  of the device  100  may be prevented from being damaged or abraded due to repeated contacts with the foot of a driver. 
         [0065]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a device  200  for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Since the structure and effect of the device  200  according to the present embodiment are almost the same as those of the device  100  according to the above-described embodiment, the detailed descriptions of the device  200  will be omitted herein and only differences between the device  200  and the device  100  will be discussed below. 
         [0066]    The device  200  includes a main body  210  having a pair of side plates  19  closing the hole H of the surface member  11 , instead of the main body  10 . The side plates  19  is a member formed of the same material as that of the surface member  11 . Accordingly, the device  200  may prevent intrusion of a relatively small object E or moisture through the through-holes H 1  of the internal member  12 . 
         [0067]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a device  300  for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Since the structure and effect of the device  300  according to the present embodiment are almost the same as those of the device  100  according to the above-described embodiment, the detailed descriptions of the device  300  will be omitted herein and only differences between the device  300  and the device  100  will be discussed below. 
         [0068]    The device  300  includes a main body  310  that is manufactured as a single mass without additional spaces therein, instead of the surface member  11  and the internal member  12 . The main body  310  is manufactured of a polyurethane (PU) foamed resin that is waterproof-coated after foaming processing, like the main body  10 . However, considering a compression rate, a foaming rate is increased to be higher than that of the main body  10  so that a foamed resin having a relatively large amount of air bubbles may be used. 
         [0069]    Since the device  300  includes the main body  310  that is manufactured as a single mass, a cutting mold having a complicated structure to form the through-holes H 1  does not need to be manufactured, and thus the overall manufacturing costs may be reduced. 
         [0070]    In the present embodiment, although the inside of the main body  310  is completely filled without any additional space, the main body  310  may have a structure in which a concave space portion (not shown) is inwardly recessed from a rear surface or a lower surface of the main body  310 . 
         [0071]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a device  400  for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Since the structure and effect of the device  400  according to the present embodiment are almost the same as those of the device  300  according to the above-described embodiment, the detailed descriptions of the device  400  will be omitted herein and only differences between the device  400  and the device  300  will be discussed below. 
         [0072]    The device  400  includes a main body  410  having a groove portion  141  formed in an upper surface thereof and in which the pedal arm  2  may be inserted. 
         [0073]    Accordingly, with regard to the device  400 , when a driver presses the pedal  3  as illustrated in  FIG. 9 , a front end portion of the main body  410  disposed under the pedal  3  is compressed relatively much and a rear end portion of the main body  410  disposed under the pedal arm  2  is not compressed or is compressed relatively less. Compared to a case when no groove portion  141  is formed, a resistance force felt by the driver when pressing the pedal  3  is reduced. 
         [0074]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a device  500  for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Since the structure and effect of the device  500  according to the present embodiment are almost the same as those of the device  100  according to the above-described embodiment, the detailed descriptions of the device  500  will be omitted herein and only differences between the device  500  and the device  100  will be discussed below. 
         [0075]    The device  500  includes a main body  510  that is a wall structure surrounding the clearance space  6  formed between the lower surface  4  of the foot pedal unit  1  and the indoor floor surface  5  of a vehicle, instead of the main body  10 . 
         [0076]    In the present embodiment, the main body  510  includes a pair of side wall members  511  arranged at the left and right sides of the pedal arm  2  and a front wall member  512  closing a front end portion of the side wall members  511 . The side wall members  511  and the front wall member  512  have the same structure and material as the main body  10  of the device  100 , whereas a width of the surface member  11  of each of the side wall members  511  in the left and right directions is relatively shorter than a width of the main body of the device  100  in the left and right directions. 
         [0077]    Since the main body  510  has a wall structure surrounding the clearance space  6  formed between the lower surface  4  of the foot pedal unit  1  and the indoor floor surface  56  of the vehicle, the device  500  is advantageous in that overall material costs are lower than those of the devices  100 ,  200 ,  300 , and  400 . 
         [0078]    Since the main body  510  includes the side wall members  511  arranged to be separated from each other and the front wall member  512  closing the front end portion of the side wall members  511 , the device  500  is advantageous in that the main body  510  may be mass-produced by punching a sheet of a PU foamed resin material and having a relatively small thickness. 
         [0079]    Also, regarding the device  500 , when a driver presses the pedal  3  as illustrated in  FIG. 12 , the front wall member  512  disposed under the pedal  3  is compressed relatively much and the side wall members  511  disposed under the pedal arm  2  are not compressed or is compressed relatively less. Thus, a resistance force felt by the driver when pressing the pedal  3  is reduced. Also, a fatigue destruction phenomenon of the side wall members  511  is reduced so that a usage life of the device  500  is increased. 
         [0080]      FIG. 13  illustrates an application example of the device  500  of  FIG. 10  that may simultaneously protect both of a foot pedal unit  1   a  of a brake and a foot pedal unit  1   b  of a clutch. The application example of the device  500  includes three side wall members  511  and one front wall member  512 . 
         [0081]    In the application example of the device  500 , since the number of the side wall members  511  in use is reduced by one compared to a case of using two devices  500 , the overall manufacturing costs may be reduced and the device  500  may be structurally stable. 
         [0082]    In the present embodiment, although the main body  510  has a plane shape of a “π” shape, the plane shape of the main body  510  may be modified to have a plane shape corresponding to the plane shape of the foot pedal unit  1 . 
         [0083]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of a device  600  for preventing an external object from entering a space under a foot pedal unit of a vehicle, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Since the structure and effect of the device  600  according to the present embodiment are almost the same as those of the device  500  according to the above-described embodiment, detailed descriptions of the device  600  will be omitted and only the differences between the device  600  and the device  500  will be discussed below. 
         [0084]    The device  600  according to the present embodiment includes a front wall member  612 , which is a folded wall member having a plurality of folds capable of being vertically extended or compressed, instead of the front wall member  512  where the through-holes H 1 , each having a diamond type, are continuously arrayed. 
         [0085]    The front wall member  612  is a so-called zebra structure that is manufactured of a synthetic resin sheet having a small thickness. Since the front wall member  612  is a folded wall member having a plurality of folds that may be vertically extended or compressed, fatigue destruction is not generated even when repeated pressing operations of the pedal  3  occur, and thus, the device  600  has a superior compression rate when the pedal  3  is pressed. 
         [0086]    Also, as the front wall member  612  may perform a function of the abrasion prevention member  30  of the device  100 , the device  600  has the advantage of not requiring separate attaching of the abrasion prevention member  30 . 
         [0087]    Although in the above-described embodiments the main body  10  is mass-produced through a punching process using a cutting mold after manufacturing the cutting mold corresponding to the sectional shape of the main body  10  of  FIG. 3 , the main body  10  may be mass-produced by an extrusion molding method instead of the punching process. 
         [0088]    Although in the above-described embodiment the main bodies  10 ,  210 ,  310 ,  410 , and  510  are each coupled to the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle, the main bodies  10 ,  210 ,  310 ,  410 , and  510  may be each coupled to the foot pedal unit  1  only or both of the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle and the foot pedal unit  1 . 
         [0089]    Although in the above-described embodiments a double-sided adhesive tape is used as the coupling member  20  to couple the lower surface portion  17  of the main body  10  and the indoor floor surface  5  of the vehicle with each other, other coupling methods such as screw coupling or Velcro coupling may also be used. 
         [0090]    Although in the above-described embodiments the abrasion prevention member  30 , which is a pad of an unwoven fabric material, is used as the abrasion prevention unit arranged in a portion that may come in contact with the foot of a driver, other abrasion prevention members formed of a variety of materials may also be used. Also, a foaming rate is partially reduced in a portion that may come in contact with the foot of a driver so that a hard portion may be formed. 
         [0091]    As described above, according to one or more of the above embodiments of the present invention, the main body is formed of an elastic member that is elastically deformable and arranged between the lower surface of the foot pedal unit and the indoor floor surface of the vehicle. Thus, an external object may not be inserted in the clearance space under the pedal arm and the pedal while a vehicle is running, and thus, traffic accidents may be prevented. 
         [0092]    While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments using specific terminologies, the embodiments and terminologies should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Therefore, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Technology Category: 4