Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R2021/003—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks characterised by occupant or pedestian
  • B60R2021/0039—Body parts of the occupant or pedestrian affected by the accident
  • B60R2021/0046—Feet
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
  • B60R2021/0206—Self-supporting restraint systems, e.g. restraining arms, plates or the like
  • B60R2021/0213—Self-supporting restraint systems, e.g. restraining arms, plates or the like mounted on floor
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
  • B60R21/04—Padded linings for the vehicle interior ; Energy absorbing structures associated with padded or non-padded linings

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a cellar with feet located at the front of the seat for the driver of a motor vehicle, and arranged to protect the foot of the driver. It also relates to a motor vehicle having a cellar with feet in front of the seat for the driver.
• Pedals typically for the accelerator, the brakes or the clutch, are generally mounted mobile in the cellar with feet at the front of the driver's seat of a motor vehicle, under the dashboard and the steering wheel.
• These pedals which generally consist of a pad attached to the end of a lever or core, are used to drive the vehicle.
• the seat belt and airbags can hold the trunk and the head of the driver.
• Air bags may also be provided in the cellar with feet located at the front of the driver's seat, for example at the knee of the driver, to retain the driver's legs.
• airbags are not systematically provided. Indeed, they are expensive, occupy a large space and cause an increase in the weight of the vehicle.
• the driver's feet are projected towards the front of the vehicle. Since the driver generally has at least one of his feet resting on the pad of one of the pedals when the frontal impact occurs, the movement of the foot due to the shock generally causes the depression complete pedal on which is placed the foot, and sliding forward of the foot on this pedal.
• the front of the foot then leaves the pad of the pedal and is found in support on the lever thereof, which is constituted by a metal rod.
• This lever being much narrower than the pad of the pedal, and being often bent, it is not sufficient to hold the foot flat, which then has a tendency to tip on one side or the other of the lever of the pedal. pedal while twisting. This tilting and twisting greatly destabilizes the driver's foot and shin, which can lead to injury.
• the foot thrown forward during a frontal impact may also come into contact with the steering column of the vehicle which is located at the bottom of the cellar feet. This contact with the steering column may result in additional damage to the driver's foot or leg.
• Damage caused by the frontal impact can be aggravated in case of deformation of the passenger compartment. For example, if the cellar is deformed during the shock, the risk is greater than the foot or the leg of the user is destabilized.
• the present invention aims to overcome these disadvantages of the prior art.
• the invention aims to provide a cellar with feet of a motor vehicle, and a corresponding vehicle, to limit damage to the foot and leg of the driver when the vehicle is subjected to a frontal impact.
• the invention also aims to provide such a cellar feet and such a vehicle in which the appearance of the pedals and their perception by the user are not modified compared to the previous vehicles.
• Another object of the invention is to provide such a cellar and such a vehicle at a minimum cost, not bulky and does not increase the weight of the vehicle.
• a wall element of a cellar with feet intended to be mounted at the front of the driver's seat of a vehicle.
• the cellar with feet being configured to receive at least one pedal, comprising a pad, the pedal being movable between a raised position and a depressed position, the wall element having, according to the invention, a bearing surface of foot extending to the front of the location provided for the pad of the pedal, and substantially in the continuity of the upper surface of the pad when said pedal is in its depressed position, so as to maintain the foot of the driver to flat on said footrest surface in the event of a frontal impact of the vehicle.
• This device is advantageous because it makes it possible to stabilize the foot and the leg of the driver in the event of a frontal impact, without implementing an airbag.
• this wall element has a foot locking element at the front end of said foot support surface.
• a motor vehicle with a seat for the driver, a cellar with feet at the front of this seat and the less a pedal, comprising a pad, the pedal being movable in the cellar with feet between a raised position and a depressed position, of which, according to the invention, a wall element of the cellar with feet has a foot support surface extending at the front and substantially in continuity with the upper surface of the pad, when the pedal is in its depressed position, so as to keep the foot of the driver flat on the foot support surface in case of impact front of the vehicle.
• Such a vehicle provides driver's foot protection equivalent to that provided by vehicles with airbags in the driver's legs for lower cost, volume and weight.
• the foot support surface is located substantially in the same plane as said pad, when said pedal (2, 5) is in its depressed position.
• the wall element also has a foot locking element at the front end of the foot support surface.
• this locking element is constituted by a surface extending substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle.
• this wall element also has a cache portion capable of preventing contact of the driver's foot with the steering column of the vehicle.
• This portion of cover prevents the foot from getting hurt on contact with the steering column in case of impact, especially if the deformation of the front of the vehicle causes the displacement of the steering column.
• the pedal comprises a lever whose upper surface extends substantially in the continuity of the foot support surface.
• the width of the pad of the pedal is greater than 50 mm.
• the wall element forms a foot support block adapted to be fixed on a floor element of the foot cellar.
• this footrest block comprises a damping element placed at the rear of the wall element.
• the damping element serves to attenuate the violence of the shock to the driver's foot in the event of a frontal impact of the vehicle.
• the wall element is integrated with a floor element of the cellar with feet.
• the floor element comprises a damping element placed at the rear of the wall element.
• the damping element serves to attenuate the violence of the shock to the driver's foot in the event of a frontal impact of the vehicle.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a cellar with motor vehicle feet according to one embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the cellar with feet of Figure 1;
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cellar with motor vehicle feet according to another embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 4 is a top view of the bottom of the cellar with feet of Figure 3.
• Figures 1 and 2 are two partial views of a cellar with feet of a motor vehicle.
• This cellar with feet is the location for the legs and feet of the person sitting in the driver's seat. It is therefore at the front of the driver's seat, typically under the dashboard and the steering wheel of the vehicle.
• the cellar 1 is delimited by several wall elements among which can be distinguished, as an indication, a floor 11, an upper wall 12, a substantially vertical bottom wall 13 and an inclined floor wall 14 placed between the floor 11 and the bottom wall 13.
• Figures 1 and 2 also show a pedal 2 consisting of a shoe 21 and a lever, or core 22, which is pivotable about an axis 23 so as to take, in the foot cell 1, two positions.
• the first of these positions, called the raised position, is shown in solid lines in FIG. 1.
• the second of these positions, the depressed position of the pedal, is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1.
• the pedal 2 is represented in its depressed position.
• the inclined wall 14 of the cellar with feet 1 has a bearing block of the foot 3.
• This block 3, which can be integrated with the inclined wall 14 or reported on it has a foot support surface 31, substantially flat.
• This foot support surface 31 is substantially in continuity with the upper surface of the pad 21, and in front of the pad 21, when the pedal is in its depressed position.
• the foot support surface 31 is substantially in the plane defined by the surface upper pad 21 when the pedal 2 is in the depressed position.
• the foot support surface 31 is close to the pad 21 when the pedal 2 is in the depressed position.
• close is meant that the space between the shoe 21 and the foot support surface 31 is insufficient for the foot of the user to introduce it.
• the foot support surface 31 is also close to the lever 22 of the pedal 2, laterally to this lever, when the pedal 2 is in the depressed position, and the upper surface of this lever 22 is substantially in the plane
• the driver of the vehicle has his foot on the shoe 21 of the pedal 2 at the moment when a frontal impact of the vehicle occurs, this foot, projected forward, will tend to push the pedal 2 into its depressed position, and slide forward, along the pad 21 and then to the front of this pad 21.
• the forefoot will therefore be supported both on the lever 2 of the pedal 2 and the foot support surface 31.
• the upper surfaces of the shoe 21 and the lever 22 and the foot support surface 31 being substantially in the same plane, the foot of the user will remain in support of flat and will not be twisted.
• the foot support block 3 also has a second surface, called the locking surface 32, which limits the foot support surface 31 at the front thereof.
• This locking surface 32 forms an angle with the foot support surface 31, so as to block the forward sliding of a foot on the foot support surface 31.
• this surface s' extends substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle.
• the blocking surface is a substantially planar surface. Any other surface that can allow blocking of the tip of a sliding foot forward can however be considered, as an alternative, without departing from the scope of the invention.
• Figures 3 and 4 show another embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 3 shows a part 4 fulfilling functions of floor, bottom wall and side wall of a cellar with feet. It also shows a pedal 5, comprising a shoe 51, and a lever 52 pivoting about an axis 53 with respect to a pedal support 54 connected to the vehicle.
• Part 4 has, at the front of the pedal pad, a foot support block 6 having a foot support surface 61 and a locking surface limiting the foot support surface at the front of the pedal. this, and forming an angle with the foot support surface so as to be substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle.
• the foot support surface 61 may be extended to the end of the pad. This extension must then remain substantially in the plane of the lever and the pad in depressed pedal position. This extension must also remain close to this lever and pad, that is to say close enough so that the foot does not get caught between this surface and the pad or the pedal lever.
• the pedal 5 is shown in Figure 3 in its raised position. However, in its depressed position
• the upper surfaces of the shoe 51 and the lever 52 are in continuity and substantially in the same plane as the foot support surface 61.
• FIG. 4 is a partial view from above of part 4, showing the foot support block 6.
• this foot support block 6 is constituted by a plastic shell 64 fixed on the piece 4 and covering a damping element 65, which may be for example made of foam or polystyrene.
• the presence of this damping element 65 under the plastic shell 64 allows the footrest surface 61 and the blocking surface 62 to be deformed under the effect of a large pressure. These surfaces can thus, by deforming, mitigate the effort inflicted on the foot and the leg of the user, during a frontal impact.
• the surface of the foot support block can be part of the part 4.
• the foot support surface 61 and possibly the blocking surface 62 are then defined directly in room 4.
• FIG. 4 shows that the top of the foot support block 6 is shaped so as to provide a passage 67 facing an opening defined in part 4. This passage is intended to surround the steering column (not shown) of the vehicle leaving a free space around this column.
• the plastic shell 64 comprises a cover portion 63 intended to partially cover the steering column, and to avoid the direct contact of this steering column with the driver's foot, even in the case of a shock that deforms the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
• the implementation of the support surfaces according to the invention reduces the damage to the foot and leg of the driver in the event of a frontal impact, even in the absence of air bags in this leg.
• This implementation can therefore make it possible to manufacture vehicles meeting the safety standards in force by saving the cost of an airbag, as well as its weight and the space that would be necessary to implement this cushion.
• the embodiments shown have only one pedal in the cellar feet. Of course, several pedals are usually present, and foot support surfaces according to the invention can be implemented at each of these pedals.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=41228601

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2009
  • 2009-04-02 FR FR0952122A patent/FR2943968B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2010
  • 2010-03-30 WO PCT/FR2010/050589 patent/WO2010112758A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2010-03-30 EP EP10717681A patent/EP2414201A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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