CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0146020, filed on Nov. 4, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a foldable brake pedal apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

In recent years, there has been a rapid progress in the development of a smart vehicle incorporating autonomous driving technology in which the vehicle navigates to a destination by itself even though a driver does not directly operate a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake, etc.

If the autonomous driving mode becomes popular, the driver may select either one of a manual driving mode in which the driver manually drives the vehicle and an autonomous driving mode in which the vehicle drives to the destination by itself such that the driver does not need to manually drive the vehicle.

In the autonomous driving mode, the driver is expected to stretch out and take a comfortable rest, however we have discovered that the driver's rest may be interfered by an accelerator or brake pedal disposed in a space below a driver's seat, if the pedal remains exposed indoors.

In addition, the autonomous driving mode is a mode in which a driver does not operate the accelerator or brake pedal of a vehicle. Accordingly, if the driver operates the pedal during the autonomous driving, a vehicle controller may thus end its control for the autonomous driving by determining that the driver wants to end the autonomous driving and directly drive the vehicle.

We have also found that since the pedal of the vehicle is installed to be exposed to the space below the driver's seat, there is a risk that the driver unknowingly operates (mal-operates) the pedal in the autonomous driving mode. In this case, an accident may occur depending on a road situation or a distance between vehicles.

The contents described as the related art have been provided only for assisting in the understanding for the background of the present disclosure and should not be considered as corresponding to the related art known to those skilled in the art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a foldable brake pedal apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle in which: a pedal pad protrudes from a pedal housing to be exposed toward a driver to make it possible for the driver to operate the pedal pad, in a manual driving mode in which the driver directly drives the vehicle; and the pedal pad is inserted into the pedal housing and blocked from being exposed to the driver to make it impossible for the driver to operate the pedal pad, in an autonomous driving mode, thereby allowing the driver to take a comfortable rest in the autonomous driving mode, and furthermore, improving the driver's safety by preventing the driver's mal-operation of the pedal in the autonomous driving mode.

Another form of the present disclosure provides a foldable brake pedal apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle, which implements a stepping pressure using a high-load spring module, and may thus use a low-capacity motor used in a general foldable accelerator pedal apparatus, thereby having a reduced cost.

Still another form of the present disclosure provides a foldable brake pedal apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle, which connects a high-load spring module and an actuator with each other using two pivoted levers, and thus has an efficient layout structure, thereby having a reduced overall size.

According to one form of the present disclosure, a foldable brake pedal apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle includes: a pedal housing fixedly installed in a space below a driver's seat; a high-load spring module disposed in the pedal housing and implementing a stepping pressure; a pedal pad having a lower end pivotably coupled to the pedal housing to allow its upper end to be pivoted in forward and backward directions when operated by the driver's feet, and coupled to one end of the high-load spring module to be changed to a hidden state by being inserted into the pedal housing or to a popped-up state by protruding from the pedal housing, as the high-load spring module is moved; an actuator fixedly installed in the pedal housing to generate power to move the high-load spring module; a first pivoted lever connected to the actuator and pivoted by the power of the actuator; and a second pivoted lever connecting the first pivoted lever and the high-load spring module with each other to transmit a pivoting force of the first pivoted lever to the high-load spring module.

The foldable brake pedal apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle may further include an actuator control printed circuit board (PCB) fixedly installed in the pedal housing and electrically connected to the actuator to control an operation of the actuator.

The foldable brake pedal apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle may further include a plurality of pedal sensors fixedly installed in the pedal housing, connected to the pedal pad by a sensor lever, and each generating a signal related to vehicle braking when the pedal pad is pivoted by the driver's operation.

The foldable brake pedal apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle may further include a pad spring disposed on a hinge portion at the lower end of the pedal pad, having opposite ends respectively coupled to the pedal housing and the pedal pad, and providing the pedal pad with an elastic force to allow the pedal pad to be moved in a direction in which the pedal pad is inserted into the pedal housing.

A forward surface of the pedal housing may include: a vertical surface extending vertically with reference to a floor of the vehicle; a first inclined surface extending obliquely backward from a lower end of the vertical surface; a second inclined surface extending obliquely downward from a lower end of the first inclined surface; and a horizontal surface extending horizontally from a lower end of the second inclined surface, and wherein when the pedal pad is in the hidden state, the first pivoted lever and the second pivoted lever may be folded at an acute angle, and one end of the second pivoted lever coupled to the high-load spring module may be supported on the first inclined surface.

A forward surface of the pedal housing may include: a vertical surface extending vertically; a first inclined surface extending obliquely backward from a lower end of the vertical surface; a second inclined surface extending obliquely downward from a lower end of the first inclined surface; and a horizontal surface extending horizontally from a lower end of the second inclined surface, and wherein when the pedal pad is in the popped-up state, the first pivoted lever and the second pivoted lever may be unfolded to extend straight, and one end of the second pivoted lever coupled to the high-load spring module may be supported on the second inclined surface.

A forward surface of the pedal housing may include: a vertical surface extending vertically; a first inclined surface extending obliquely backward from a lower end of the vertical surface; a second inclined surface extending obliquely downward from a lower end of the first inclined surface; and a horizontal surface extending horizontally from a lower end of the second inclined surface, and wherein one end of the second pivoted lever coupled to the high-load spring module may be supported on the first inclined surface when the pedal pad is in the hidden state, supported on the second inclined surface when the pedal pad is in the popped-up state, and moved while being always in contact with the first inclined surface or the second inclined surface in a process in which the pedal pad is changed to the hidden state or to the popped-up state.

The pedal pad may include: a main pad having a pad surface operated by the driver's foot based on the state in which the pedal pad is popped-up; and a support pad covering between the main pad and the pedal housing, and a lower end of the main pad and a lower end of the support pad may be simultaneously penetrated through by one hinge pin and pivotably coupled to the pedal housing.

When the pedal pad is in the hidden state, the main pad may be inserted into the support pad, and the support pad may be inserted into the pedal housing; and when the pedal pad is in the popped-up state, the support pad may be pulled out and protrude from the pedal housing, and the main pad may be pulled out and protrude from the support pad.

The high-load spring module may be pivotably coupled to the main pad; when the pedal pad is changed from the hidden state to the popped-up state, the main pad may be pulled out and protrude from the support pad by the movement of the high-load spring module; and when the pulling-out of the main pad is ended, a main protrusion formed on a forward edge of the main pad may be in contact with a support protrusion formed on a backward edge of the support pad, and the main pad may pull the support pad backward, thereby pulling out the support pad to protrude from the pedal housing.

A stopper protrusion may be formed to protrude outward from a forward edge of the support pad, and caught on the pedal housing when the support pad is pulled out from the pedal housing, thereby controlling the pulling-out of the support pad.

The high-load spring module may be pivotably coupled to the main pad; when the pedal pad is changed from the popped-up state to the hidden state, the main pad may be inserted into the support pad by the movement of the high-load spring module; and when the insertion of the main pad is ended, the pad surface of the main pad may be in contact with a backward edge of the support pad, and the main pad may push the support pad forward, thereby allowing the support pad to be inserted into the pedal housing.

A housing protrusion may be formed to protrude inward from an inner surface of the pedal housing, and when the support pad is inserted into the pedal housing, the forward edge of the support pad may be caught on the housing protrusion, thereby controlling the insertion of the support pad.

A sensor pin may be coupled to the main pad; and the sensor pin may be coupled to a sensor lever of a pedal sensor fixed to the pedal housing; and the pedal sensor may generate a signal related to vehicle braking when the main pad is pivoted by the driver's operation.

When the pedal pad is in the popped-up state, a lower end of the pad surface may be in contact with the pedal housing to serve as a pad stopper.

The hinge pin may be disposed below a lower end of the pad surface to allow the lower end of the pad surface to be exposed from the pedal housing when the pedal pad is in the popped-up state.

The one end of the high-load spring module and one end of the second pivoted lever may be pivotably coupled to each other by a spring pin; and a coupling point of the spring pin may be disposed eccentrically to one side with respect to a longitudinal center line of the high-load spring module.

The first pivoted lever and the second pivoted lever may be pivoted by an operation of the actuator to move the high-load spring module to allow the pedal pad to be pivoted, and a pedal sensor does not generate a signal related to vehicle braking to prevent a malfunction of the pedal when a sensor lever connected to the pedal pad is pivoted as the pedal pad is pivoted by the operation of the actuator.

In a case where the pedal pad is in the popped-up state and the actuator is not operated, a pedal sensor may generate a signal related to vehicle braking only when a sensor lever connected to the pedal pad is pivoted as the pedal pad is pivoted relative to the pedal housing by the driver's operation.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

