A driving assistance device enables a driver who manually performs an accelerator operation and a steering operation to easily retain an accelerator operation state in a constant state. A driving assistance device includes a manually operable accelerator operation unit in the vicinity of a steering wheel provided in front of a driver seat in a vehicle cabin. The accelerator operation unit is operable in a state where the steering wheel is gripped and an operation reaction force of the accelerator operation unit exhibits an inflection point POI at which the operation reaction force rapidly becomes large in response to an increase in an operation amount of the accelerator operation unit.

An accelerator pedal system includes a pedal lever, a lock mechanism, an actuator, and an ECU. The lock mechanism can restrict the operation of the pedal lever. The actuator switches between a locked state in which the operation of the pedal lever is restricted by the lock mechanism and an unlocked state in which the operation of the pedal lever is not restricted. The ECU includes a lock operation determination unit and an actuator control unit. The lock operation determination unit resumes the locked state by the drive of the actuator after a release from the locked state due to the step-on operation of the pedal lever during the automatic drive control in the locked state, when (i) the automatic drive control is continued or (ii) a resuming of the automatic drive control is detected.

An accelerator pedal system includes a pedal lever, a lock mechanism, an actuator, and an ECU. The pedal lever operates in accordance with a step-on operation. The lock mechanism is capable of restricting the operation of the pedal lever. The lock mechanism can switch a locked state in which the operation of the pedal lever is restricted by the lock mechanism and an unlocked state in which the operation of the pedal lever is free from restriction by the lock mechanism. The ECU includes a locking operation determination unit, an actuator control unit, and an information acquisition unit. The locking operation determination unit determines switching of a locking operation by the lock mechanism. The actuator control unit controls a driving operation of an actuator. The locking operation determination unit locks the pedal lever when the vehicle is traveling on a specific position in an automatic driving mode.

This power transmission device includes a motor, a worm connected to a rotating shaft of the motor, and a worm wheel engaged with the worm and disposed at an operation pedal side with respect to the worm, wherein a biasing member which biases the motor in a direction in which the worm and the worm wheel come in contact with each other when the motor is driven is disposed between the motor and a housing.

An accelerator pedal system includes a pedal lever, a lock mechanism, an actuator, and an ECU. The pedal lever operates according to a step-on operation. The lock mechanism can restrict an operation of the pedal lever. The actuator switches between a locked state in which the operation of the pedal lever is restricted by the lock mechanism and an unlocked state in which the operation of the pedal lever is not restricted. The ECU includes a lock operation determination unit and an actuator control unit. The lock operation determination unit unlocks the pedal lever when an approaching object from behind is detected during a travel of a vehicle in the locked state.

An automotive vehicle includes a body having a passenger compartment and a movable pedal housing which is movable between first and second positions with respect to the passenger compartment. The vehicle additionally includes at least one pedal which is operably coupled to the housing and actuatable by an occupant. The vehicle also includes an actuator operably coupled to the pedal and to the housing. The actuator is configured to apply a resistive force to the pedal to resist motion of the pedal. The actuator is configured to selectively move the housing between the first and second positions. The vehicle further includes at least one controller configured to, in response to satisfaction of a first operating condition, control the actuator to move the pedal housing to the first position, and, in response to satisfaction of a second operating condition, control the actuator to move the pedal housing to the second position.

A vehicle control system is provided, which includes a steering angle detector configured to detect a steering angle of a steering wheel by the operator, the steering wheel is mounted on the vehicle, a speed detector configured to detect a traveling speed of the vehicle, a reaction-force generator configured to generate a reaction force of the steering wheel, and a controller. The controller includes a processor configured to execute a lateral acceleration calculating module to calculate a lateral acceleration based on the traveling speed and the steering angle, a rigidity characteristic setting module to set the reaction force so that a rigidity value that is a ratio of the reaction force to the steering angle increases as the lateral acceleration increases, and a reaction-force control module to control the reaction-force generator so that the reaction force becomes the reaction-force value set by the rigidity characteristic setting module.

A vehicle control system is provided, which includes an operating amount detector configured to detect an operating amount by an operator, of an operation mechanism comprising at least one of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal, a speed detector configured to detect a vehicle traveling speed, a reaction-force generator configured to generate a reaction force of the pedal, and a controller. The controller includes a processor to execute an acceleration calculating module to calculate an acceleration based on the traveling speed and the operating amount, a rigidity characteristic setting module to set the reaction force so that a rigidity value that is a ratio of the reaction force to the operating amount increases as the acceleration increases, and a reaction-force control module to control the reaction-force generator so that the reaction force generated by the reaction-force generator becomes the reaction-force value set by the rigidity characteristic setting module.

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.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a reaction force generating apparatus which can be improved in size and weight. In the reaction force generating apparatus (10) having: an arm (44) which is rotated by a load, and an electric motor (12) for applying a reaction force to the arm (44), the reaction force generating apparatus (10) further has: a support shaft (32) which is rotatably installed in a transmission passage (14) through which a reaction force is transmitted to the arm (44); a gear (36) which is rotatably attached to the support shaft (32); a sector gear (40) which is disposed on a downstream side of the transmission passage (14) from the gear (36), and coupled to the gear (36); an output shaft (38) which is rotatably installed in the transmission passage (14), and to which the sector gear (40) and the arm (44) are attached; and a one-way clutch (37) which is interposed between the support shaft (32) and the gear (36) in the transmission passage (14), wherein the one-way clutch (37) has: an engaged state in which, when the gear (36) is rotated in a first direction, the one-way clutch (37) connects the transmission passage (14) to the arm (44); and a released state in which, when the gear (36) is rotated in a second direction, the one-way clutch (37) blocks the transmission passage (14), and the sector gear (40) has a meshing portion (40B) formed within a specific angular range in a rotation direction.