A pedal reaction force applying device includes an acceleration pedal used in a stepping-in operation and a returning operation, a motor configured to apply a pedal reaction force acting on an acceleration pedal in the stepping-in operation and the returning operation, a power transmitting device provided between the acceleration pedal and the motor and including a speed-reduction mechanism, an operation direction determiner configured to determine an operation direction of the acceleration pedal, and a reaction force controller configured to control the pedal reaction force on the acceleration pedal. The reaction force controller controls a magnitude of the pedal reaction force by controlling a power of the motor based on the operation direction of the acceleration pedal determined by the operation direction determiner.

An accelerator pedal device includes a housing which pivotably supports a pedal arm, a return spring, a magnetic position sensor which detects an angular position of the pedal arm, and a drive source, a return lever, and a control circuit board serving as an active control mechanism which controls to push back the pedal arm toward a rest position under predetermined conditions, a circuit for a Hall element of the position sensor is arranged on the control circuit board. According to the above, a conventionally-required circuit board dedicated to a position sensor is not required to be arranged and the position sensor is connected via bus bars and the like while eliminating lead wire and the like.

A reaction force control system for a pedal that is configured to stably operate a vehicle in which an operating mode can be shifted between normal and one-pedal modes, without requiring a complicated operation, and without disturbing a driver. An operating mode is selected from a one-pedal mode in which a drive force and a brake force are controlled by manipulating an accelerator pedal, and a normal mode in which drive force is controlled by manipulating the accelerator pedal, and the brake force is controlled by manipulating the brake pedal. Reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal is increased for a predetermined period of time when shifting from one of the operating modes to the other one, and thereafter the reaction force is adjusted in accordance with a position of the accelerator pedal in the other one of the operating modes.

An accelerator device includes a pad configured to receive an input force from a driver, a case attachable to a vehicle body and having a front wall facing the pad, and an internal movable mechanism housed in the case. The internal movable mechanism includes a shaft that is rotatably supported in the case and a pedal extending outward from an outer peripheral portion of the shaft. An arm is arranged to pass through an opening provided in the front wall and to connect the pad and the pedal, and a cushioning member is provided in the front wall, to be inserted between the pedal or the arm and the front wall in an accelerator fully-closed state, and to be inserted between the pad and the front wall in an accelerator fully-open state.

The embodiments described herein concern a reconfigurable throttle-by-wire pedal subsystem for a vehicle and associated methods. One embodiment detects a pedal error in which a driver of the vehicle mistakenly actuates an accelerator foot pedal unit of the vehicle instead of a separate brake pedal of the vehicle, the accelerator foot pedal unit controlling a throttle of the vehicle, and performs the following in response to the detected pedal error: reconfiguring the accelerator foot pedal unit to control a braking subsystem of the vehicle instead of the throttle and reconfiguring a haptic feedback of the accelerator foot pedal unit from a throttle-by-wire mode to a brake-by-wire mode.

A pedal for a motor vehicle is provided, having a pedal arm with at least one first resetting spring and with a friction system comprising a separate friction element and a friction surface of the base part corresponding to the separate friction element. The friction system features a rocker arranged in a rotatable manner on the base part and the at least one first resetting spring is arranged between the separate friction element and the rocker. The separate friction element is connected in a pressure-transmitting manner with the pedal arm by the at least one first resetting spring and at least one connection element. At least one second resetting spring is arranged between one bearing part connected in a pressure-transmitting manner with the pedal arm by the at least one connection element and the base part or the rocker.

A method for determining jumps and/or inflection points in an activation characteristic of an activation unit includes activating the activation unit using an activator, wherein different activation areas, separated from one another by the jumps and/or inflection points, are defined by the activation characteristic. Different activation forces for activating the activator are respectively set in the activation areas. The jumps and/or inflection points are determined by activating the activator by continuously determining activation travel values of the activator, respectively assigning an activation speed characteristic variable to the determined activation travel values, continuously forming value pairs from the determined activation travel value and the assigned activation speed characteristic variable, and checking, based on the value pairs which are formed whether significant changes occur in the activation speed. The jumps and/or inflection points in the activation characteristic are assigned to activation travel values at which significant changes occur in activation speed.

A reaction force control system configured to control a reaction force applied to a pedal without reducing an operational feeling. A controller reduces a reaction force applied to the pedal mildly from a second reaction force to a first reaction force at a rate D upon satisfaction of a predetermined condition. The rate D is determined based on a depression of the pedal, a pedal force applied to the pedal, an elapsed time, or a predetermined function.

A foldable pedal apparatus of a vehicle with a hysteresis module, may include a pedal pad is in a popped-up state of protruding from a pedal housing to be exposed toward a driver, in a manual driving mode in which the driver directly drives the vehicle; the pedal pad is in a hidden state of being inserted into the pedal housing and blocked from being exposed to the driver, in the autonomous driving mode in which the driver does not directly drive the vehicle; and hysteresis may be implemented by a hysteresis module when the pedal pad is operated.

An accelerator pedal device according to the present invention is provided with: a pedal arm (30) having an accelerator pedal; a resin housing (10) for supporting the pedal arm such that the pedal arm is swivelable about a prescribed axial line (S) between a rest position and a maximum stepping position; and a return spring (40) that applies a biasing force for returning the pedal arm to the rest position. The housing includes: a boss section (11i) through which a bolt (B) for fixing the housing to a vehicle body is made to pass; and a full open stopper (11n) for specifying the maximum stepping position in the vicinity of the boss section.