Brake pedal apparatus for automotive vehicle

A brake pedal apparatus for an automotive vehicle having a dash floor panel and a vehicular body structural member, comprising:

• a pedal bracket fixedly secured to a dash floor panel and at a coupling position to a lower wall portion of a vehicular body structural member and carrying thereon a pivot shaft;
• a pivot bracket pivotally supported on the pivot shaft and having a pedal shaft;
• a pedal arm pivotally supported on the pedal shaft;
• a slide plate held in slidable engagement with the pedal bracket;
• an impact absorbing section located between the coupling position and the pivot shaft to permit a relative movement of at least the pivot shaft and the lower wall portion of the vehicular body structural member in a fore and aft direction of an automotive vehicle for thereby absorbing an impact energy when the pedal bracket encounters an impact force exerted rearward in a vehicle compartment at a level beyond a given load such that when the pivot shaft and the coupling position are moved in a contracted condition relative to one another, the pivot bracket disengages from the slide plate to allow the pivot bracket to rotate counterclockwise about the center of the pivot-shaft;
• a restrictor section located—at a coupling point and engaging with a part of the pivot bracket to restrict a pivotal movement thereof in a counterclockwise direction under a condition where the pedal bracket remains in a normal position relative to the vehicular body structural member, the restrictor section being operative to move with the vehicular body structural member relative to the part of the pivot bracket when the pedal bracket encounters the impact force exceeding the given load exerted in the rearward direction of the automotive vehicle;
• and
• a fixture coupling member composed of a bolt inserted from an upward position of the automotive vehicle to fixedly connect the slide plate and the pedal bracket to the vehicular body structural member, wherein the restrictor section includes a threaded portion of the bolt.

A brake pedal apparatus for an automotive vehicle having a dash floor panel and a vehicular body structural member, comprising:

• a pedal bracket fixedly secured to a dash floor panel and at a coupling position to a lower wall portion of a vehicular body structural member and carrying thereon a pivot shaft;
• a pivot bracket pivotally supported on the pivot shaft and having a pedal shaft;
• a pedal arm pivotally supported on the pedal shaft;
• a slide plate held in slidable engagement with the pedal bracket;
• impact absorbing means allowing at least the pivot shaft and the lower wall portion of the vehicular body structural member to move relative to one another in a fore and aft direction of an automotive vehicle for thereby absorbing an impact energy when the pedal bracket encounters an impact force exerted rearward in a vehicle compartment at a level beyond a given load such that when the pivot shaft and the coupling position are moved in a contracted condition relative to one another, the pivot bracket disengages from the slide plate to allow the pivot bracket to rotate counterclockwise about the center of the pivot shaft;
• and
• releasable connecting means coupling at least the slide plate and the pedal bracket to one another and operative to release a coupling state between the slide plate and the pedal bracket when the pedal bracket encounters the impact force exerted rearward at the level beyond the given load, wherein the connecting means is located in respective forward end portions of the slide plate and the pivot bracket.

A brake pedal apparatus for an automotive vehicle having a dash floor panel and a vehicular body structural member, comprising:

• a pedal bracket fixedly secured to a dash floor panel and at a coupling position to a lower wall portion of a vehicular body structural member and carrying thereon a pivot shaft;
• a pivot bracket pivotally supported on the pivot shaft and having a pedal shaft;
• a pedal arm pivotally supported on the pedal shaft;
• a slide plate held in slidable engagement with the pedal bracket;
• impact absorbing means allowing at least the pivot shaft and the lower wall portion of the vehicular body structural member to move relative to one another in a fore and aft direction of an automotive vehicle for thereby absorbing an impact energy when the pedal bracket encounters an impact force exerted rearward in a vehicle compartment at a level beyond a given load such that when the pivot shaft and the coupling position are moved in a contracted condition relative to one another, the pivot bracket disengages from the slide plate to allow the pivot bracket to rotate counterclockwise about the center of the pivot shaft;
• restrictor means restricting a pivotal movement thereof in a counterclockwise direction under a condition where the pedal bracket remains in a normal position relative to the vehicular body structural member, the restrictor section being operative to move with the vehicular body structural member relative to the part of the pivot bracket when the pedal bracket encounters the impact force exceeding the given load exerted in the rearward direction of the automotive vehicle;
• and
• a fixture coupling means composed of a bolt inserted from an upward position of the automotive vehicle to fixedly connect the slide plate and the pedal bracket to the vehicular body structural member, wherein the restrictor means includes a threaded portion of the bolt.