Patent Application
20090064816
The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Korean Application Serial Number 10-2007-0092278, filed on Sep. 11, 2007, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a kick down switch of an accelerator pedal apparatus that provides kick-down operation feeling to a driver, thereby improving operational feeling, reducing fatigue, and meeting both stability and economical efficiency.
In general, when a vehicle quickly requires normal speed before entering an express highway or intends to pass a vehicle ahead, that is, when a vehicle should be quickly accelerated, kick down switches are formed to allow all kinds of vehicles more rapidly travel. When a driver kicks an accelerator pedal and a throttle valve is thus fully opened, a vehicle is quickly accelerated thereafter while a transmission is automatically shifted to a low stage (automatic transmission vehicle), and a manual transmission vehicle is accelerated by shift down.
Meanwhile, in recent years, all kinds of automatic transmission vehicles have the above-mentioned kick-down function, but a function of providing kick-down operation feeling to a driver through an accelerator pedal is insufficient. For this reason, the function of providing kick-down operation feeling to a driver is being actively researched.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a kick down switch of an accelerator pedal apparatus that provides kick-down operation feeling, which is generated during the traveling, to a driver, thereby improving driver's operational feeling, reducing fatigue, and meeting both stability and economical efficiency.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a kick down switch of an accelerator pedal apparatus includes a switch housing, a switch lever, and a spring member. The switch housing is fixed to a pedal arm, and includes a housing protrusion that protrudes from an inner wall thereof toward an inner receiving space. The switch lever is provided in the switch housing so as to come in contact with the pedal arm housing and the housing protrusion during the operation of the pedal arm. Both ends of the spring member are fixed to the switch housing and the switch lever so that the spring member provides an elastic reaction force to the switch lever so as to provide kick-down operation feeling to a driver through the pedal arm when the housing protrusion and the switch lever come in contact with each other.
The kick down switch according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on an accelerator pedal apparatus, and provides kick-down operation feeling to a driver according to the operation of the pedal arm, thereby improving operational feeling, reducing fatigue, and meeting both stability and economical efficiency.
For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description with the accompanying drawings, in which:
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to accompanying drawings.
A kick down switch according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on an accelerator pedal apparatus, and the accelerator pedal apparatus is an apparatus that can improve driver's operational feeling, reduce fatigue, and meet both economical efficiency and stability.
As shown in
A kick down switch 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is fixed to pedal arm 20.
Kick down switch 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a switch housing 110, a switch lever 120, a spring member 130, and a noise reducing member 140. The switch housing is fixed to pedal arm 20, and includes a housing protrusion 112 that protrudes from the inner wall thereof toward an inner receiving space 111. The switch lever is provided in switch housing 110 so as to come in contact with pedal arm housing 10 and housing protrusion 112 during the operation of pedal arm 20. Both ends of spring member 130 are fixed to switch housing 110 and switch lever 120 so that the spring member provides an elastic reaction force to switch lever 120 so as to provide kick-down operation feeling to a driver through pedal arm 20 when housing protrusion 112 and switch lever 120 come in contact with each other. The noise reducing member is disposed in spring member 130 so as to reduce the noise caused by the resonance that is generated when the length of spring member 130 is rapidly changed due to the operation of switch lever 120.
When being rotated with respect to pedal arm housing 10, a part of pedal arm 20 faces a portion 11 of pedal arm housing 10 that is fixed to the dashboard below the driver's seat. Switch housing 110 is fixed to this portion.
Switch housing 110 is inserted into a receiving space (not shown) formed in pedal arm 20 and then welded to the pedal arm, thereby being fixed to the pedal arm.
Switch housing 110 has a rectangular parallelepiped appearance, and receiving space 111 formed in the switch housing is opened toward pedal arm housing 10.
Hinge holes 113, which are used to connect the switch housing with switch lever 120, are formed in switch housing 10.
Switch lever 120 includes a first lever 121 and a second lever 122. The first lever includes a first lever protrusion 121a coming in contact with pedal arm housing 10 during the operation of pedal arm 20. One end of the first lever is hinge-connected to switch housing 110 so that the first lever can be rotated in receiving space 111 when pedal arm housing 10 and first lever protrusion 121a come in contact with each other. One end of the second lever is rotatably hinge-connected to first lever 121, and a second lever protrusion 122a coming in contact with housing protrusion 112 protrudes from the other end thereof.
Hinge protrusions 121b, which protrude from both surfaces of one end of first lever 121, and hinge protrusions 121b are fitted to hinge holes 113 formed in switch housing 110.
The both ends of spring member 130 are fitted to spring protrusions 114 and 122b, which are formed on switch housing 10 and second lever 122, so that the spring member is provided in a linear shape.
Hinge protrusions 121c protrudes from both surfaces of a portion of first lever 121 adjacent to first lever protrusion 121a, and hook-shaped hinge grooves 122c fitted to hinge protrusions 121c are formed at one end of second lever 122 facing first lever 121.
Housing protrusion 112 is formed to include an inclined section 112a, a maximum protrusion section 112b, and a protrusion decrease section 112c. The inclined section protrudes from the inner wall of switch housing 110 so as to be inclined, and allows a driver to perceive that this section is a kick-down start portion when coming in contact with second lever protrusion 122a by pedal arm 20. The maximum protrusion section continuously protrudes from inclined section 112a, and allows a driver to perceive that this section is a kick-down maximum portion when coming in contact with second lever protrusion 122a. The protrusion decrease section continuously protrudes from maximum protrusion section 112b, and allows a driver to perceive that this section is a maximum rotated portion of pedal arm 20 when coming in contact with second lever protrusion 122a. A groove 115, into which second lever protrusion 122a is inserted when first lever protrusion 121a does not come in contact with pedal arm housing 10, is formed at a portion of the inner wall of switch housing 110 connected to inclined section 112a.
Noise reducing member 140 is made of an ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) that is excellent in vibration insulation and noise reduction. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.
Noise reducing member 140 may also be made of a sponge.
The operation of the embodiment according to the present invention will be described below.
In
In this case, first lever protrusion 121a of first lever 121 is spaced apart from pedal arm housing 10, and second lever protrusion 122a of second lever 122 is inserted into groove 115 formed on the inner wall of switch housing 10.
In this state, if a force is applied to pedal 21 and pedal arm 20 is rotated with respect to pedal arm housing 10 due to the applied force, first lever protrusion 121a comes in contact with pedal arm housing 10.
In this case, first lever 121 is rotated about hinge protrusions 121b in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in
Accordingly, second lever protrusion 122a inserted into groove 115 is separated from groove 115 and comes in contact with inclined section 112a of housing protrusion 112.
When housing protrusion 112 comes in contact with inclined section 112a, the upper end of second lever 122 is slightly moved to the left side from the position shown in
The restoring force of spring member 130, which is transmitted to second lever 122, is transmitted to pedal arm housing 10. However, since pedal arm housing 10 is fixed to the dashboard, pedal arm housing 10 is not pushed. In contrast, the force pushing pedal arm housing 10 is substantially produced on switch housing 110 as a reaction force.
In this case, the reaction force is transmitted to a driver through pedal arm 20, so that the driver can perceive that the present time is kick-down start time through pedal arm 20.
In this state, the driver further steps on pedal 21 to increase the force applied to pedal 21. Accordingly, the rotation angle of pedal arm 20 is further increased, so that first lever 121 is further rotated in the counterclockwise direction and is in the position shown in
In
Accordingly, the reaction force of spring member 130 is maximum, and the driver receiving reaction force through pedal arm 20 can accurately perceive that the present time is kick-down maximum time.
Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide improved operational feeling to a driver, to significantly reduce fatigue caused by the operation of pedal arm 20, and to meet both stability and economical efficiency.
Meanwhile, in
In this state, second lever protrusion 122a is separated from maximum protrusion section 112b and comes in contact with protrusion decrease section 112c. Accordingly, a driver receives the decreased reaction force of spring member 130 through pedal arm 20.
Further, in
After that, if a driver removes a force applied to pedal 21, first and second levers 121 and 122 return to the initial positions as shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2007-0092278 | Sep 2007 | KR | national |
