US-20260125033-A1 - PEDAL DEVICE

US20260125033A1US 20260125033 A1US20260125033 A1US 20260125033A1US-20260125033-A1

Abstract

A pedal device includes a pedal and a reaction force generation mechanism. The reaction force generation mechanism includes a resilient device and a first holder. The first holder contacts the resilient device from one side, which is a side where the pedal is placed. The first holder has a primary disengagement stopper. The reaction force generation mechanism includes a second holder that contacts the resilient device from another side, which is opposite to the one side. The second holder has a secondary disengagement stopper. In a non-depressed state of the pedal, the pedal limits movement of the first holder toward the one side. When the pedal no longer limits and thus releases the movement of the first holder, the secondary disengagement stopper limits the movement of the first holder relative to the second holder beyond a predetermined limit toward the one side.

Inventors

Yasuhisa Fukuda
Masashi Arao
Daisuke HOKUTO

Assignees

DENSO CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20260102
Priority Date: 20220525

Claims (10)

1 . A pedal device for a vehicle, comprising: a support body that is configured to be installed to a vehicle body of the vehicle; a pedal that is configured to swing relative to the support body and is configured to be depressed by a human driver of the vehicle from an operating side of the pedal which is predetermined; a reaction force generation mechanism that is supported by the support body and is placed on a counter-operating side of the pedal that is opposite to the operating side of the pedal, wherein the reaction force generation mechanism is configured to generate a reaction force against a depression force that is applied from the human driver to the pedal; and a coupling rod, wherein: the reaction force generation mechanism includes: a resilient device that includes at least one resilient member which is resiliently deformable in one direction; a first holder that contacts the resilient device from one side, which is a side where the pedal is placed, in the one direction; and a second holder that contacts the resilient device from another side, which is a side opposite to the one side, in the one direction; the reaction force generation mechanism includes a first coil spring and a second coil spring which are coupled in series in a transmission path of the depression force and are resiliently deformable in the one direction; the at least one resilient member includes the first coil spring and the second coil spring; the coupling rod is provided between the pedal and the first holder; the first holder is configured to be urged by the pedal through the coupling rod in response to application of the depression force to the pedal; and an angle, which is defined between the one direction and the coupling rod, changes in response to swing motion of the pedal.
2 . The pedal device according to claim 1 , wherein the second holder is coupled to the support body such that the second holder is movable along an imaginary plane that is perpendicular to a pedal central axis which serves as a rotational center of the swing motion of the pedal.
3 . The pedal device according to claim 1 , wherein: the coupling rod has a rod distal end portion located on the counter-operating side; the first holder has a depressible surface which faces the one side in the one direction and is in contact with the rod distal end portion; the rod distal end portion is configured to urge the depressible surface and slide relative to the depressible surface in response to depression of the pedal by the human driver; and a surface of the rod distal end portion, which is configured to slide relative to the depressible surface in response to the depression of the pedal, is a convex curved surface.
4 . The pedal device according to claim 1 , wherein: the reaction force generation mechanism includes an intermediate holder that is placed between the first coil spring and the second coil spring in the transmission path of the depression force; and the intermediate holder is provided as a separate component that is separate from and different from the first holder and the second holder.
5 . The pedal device according to claim 1 , wherein: the reaction force generation mechanism includes a plurality of holders, wherein the plurality of holders are coupled in series through the at least one resilient member in the transmission path of the depression force and are relatively movable with respect to each other in the one direction; the plurality of holders include the first holder and the second holder; the first holder is a one-side holder among the plurality of holders and is positioned closest to the one side in the one direction among the plurality of holders, and the second holder is an other-side holder among the plurality of holders and is positioned closest to the another side in the one direction among the plurality of holders, and one of the one-side holder and the other-side holder includes an outer guide portion that is shaped in a tubular form extending in the one direction; and another one of the one-side holder and the other-side holder includes an inner guide portion that is fitted into the outer guide portion such that the inner guide portion is movable relative to the outer guide portion in the one direction.
6 . The pedal device according to claim 5 , wherein the outer guide portion is placed on a radially inner side of the first coil spring and the second coil spring.
7 . The pedal device according to claim 5 , wherein the inner guide portion is placed on a radially outer side of the first coil spring and the second coil spring.
8 . The pedal device according to claim 1 , wherein: the reaction force generation mechanism includes a plurality of holders, wherein the plurality of holders are coupled in series through the at least one resilient member in the transmission path of the depression force and are relatively movable with respect to each other in the one direction; the plurality of holders include the first holder and the second holder; the reaction force generation mechanism includes a plate spring that has one end portion and another end portion; the one end portion of the plate spring is fixed to the support body; and the second holder is an other-side holder among the plurality of holders and is positioned closest to the another side in the one direction among the plurality of holders, and the second holder is coupled to the another end portion of the plate spring such that the second holder is not movable relative to the another end portion of the plate spring.
9 . The pedal device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first holder and the second holder is made of resin or metal.
10 . The pedal device according to claim 1 , wherein the pedal is a brake pedal.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of U.S. Application No. 18/955,590, filed November 21, 2024, which is a continuation application of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2023/016315 filed on April 25, 2023, which designated the U.S. and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-85295 filed on May 25, 2022. The entire disclosures of all of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a pedal device for a vehicle. BACKGROUND As a pedal device for the vehicle, there has been proposed a pedal simulator. The pedal simulator includes: a brake pedal; an operation rod which is coupled to the brake pedal; a cylinder; a piston which receives a force of the operation rod at an inside of the cylinder; a plurality of coil springs; and a plurality of spring seats. The coil springs are received in the cylinder in a resiliently compressed and deformed state, thereby resiliently supporting the piston and generating an urging force against a force of the operation rod. Furthermore, the spring seats are received in the cylinder and support the coil springs in a state where each of the spring seats is interposed between corresponding two of the coil springs. The piston is moved in the axial direction of the cylinder, which is a moving direction of the piston in the cylinder, when the piston is urged by the operation rod in response to depression of the brake pedal by a human driver. Additionally, the cylinder has a stopper wall on a side of the piston, which is opposite to the coil springs in the axial direction of the cylinder. In a non-depressed state of the brake pedal where the driver does not depress the brake pedal, the piston is moved toward the operation rod side by the urging force of the coil springs, but the piston stops when the piston abuts against the stopper wall. SUMMARY This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. According to the present disclosure, there is provided a pedal device for a vehicle, including a support body, a pedal and a reaction force generation mechanism. The pedal is configured to swing relative to the support body and is configured to be depressed by a human driver of the vehicle from an operating side of the pedal. The reaction force generation mechanism is supported by the support body and is placed on a counter-operating side of the pedal that is opposite to the operating side of the pedal. The reaction force generation mechanism is configured to generate a reaction force against a depression force that is applied from the human driver to the pedal. The reaction force generation mechanism includes a resilient device, a first holder and a second holder. The resilient device includes at least one resilient member which is resiliently deformable in one direction. The first holder contacts the resilient device from one side, which is a side where the pedal is placed, in the one direction. The first holder has a primary disengagement stopper. The second holder contacts the resilient device from another side, which is a side opposite to the one side, in the one direction. The second holder has a secondary disengagement stopper. The pedal is configured to limit movement of the first holder toward the one side in the one direction to maintain a compressed and deformed state of the resilient device in the one direction when the pedal is in a non-depressed state where the pedal is not depressed by the human driver. When the pedal no longer limits and thus releases the movement of the first holder toward the one side in the one direction, the secondary disengagement stopper abuts against the primary disengagement stopper in the one direction to limit the movement of the first holder relative to the second holder beyond a predetermined limit toward the one side in the one direction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle in which a pedal device of a first embodiment is installed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pedal device of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-section of the pedal device of the first embodiment which is perpendicular to a pedal central axis. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross-section of the pedal device of the first embodiment which includes a central axis of a release-time stopper of a pedal. FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view of a portion V of FIG. 3 in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a one-side holder of a reaction force generation mechanism of the pedal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a view taken in