阅读说明：本技术 用于自动驾驶车辆的可折叠踏板装置 (Foldable pedal device for autonomous vehicle ) 是由 金恩植 于 2020-09-08 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开涉及一种用于自动驾驶车辆的可折叠踏板装置。在驾驶员直接操作车辆的手动驾驶模式下,踏板垫向后旋转并在室内空间中弹出,以允许驾驶员操纵踏板垫。在驾驶员不直接操作车辆的自动驾驶模式下,踏板垫向前旋转并隐藏在发动机舱空间中,以防止暴露在室内空间中,并防止被驾驶员操纵。(The present disclosure relates to a foldable pedal apparatus for an autonomous vehicle. In a manual driving mode in which the driver directly operates the vehicle, the pedal pad is rotated backward and popped up in the indoor space to allow the driver to manipulate the pedal pad. In an automatic driving mode in which a driver does not directly operate the vehicle, the pedal pad is rotated forward and hidden in the engine compartment space to prevent exposure to the indoor space and manipulation by the driver.)

1. A foldable pedal apparatus for an autonomous vehicle, comprising:

a pedal pad installed to pass through a vehicle body panel provided in a space under a driver seat to separate an engine compartment space and an indoor space, the pedal pad being installed to be stepped on by a driver and to be switched between a hidden state in which the pedal pad is introduced into the engine compartment space and a pop-up state in which the pedal pad protrudes into the indoor space; and

an actuator to generate power to rotate the pedal pad such that the pedal pad enters the hidden state or the ejected state.

2. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a pedal housing fixedly installed to be located in the engine compartment space with respect to the vehicle body panel, wherein a hinge shaft is formed at a lower end of the pedal pad and rotatably coupled to the pedal housing, and

the pedal pad is installed such that an upper end portion of the pedal pad is rotatable in a front-rear direction about the hinge shaft formed at a lower end of the pedal pad.

3. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 2, wherein,

when the pedal pad is rotated forward about the hinge shaft formed at the lower end of the pedal pad, the pedal pad enters a hidden state in which the pedal pad is introduced into the engine compartment space.

4. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 2, wherein,

when the pedal pad rotates rearward about the hinge shaft formed at the lower end of the pedal pad, the pedal pad enters a pop-up state in which the pedal pad protrudes into the indoor space.

5. The foldable pedal device of claim 2, further comprising:

a pad spring having a first end supported by the pedal housing and a second end supported by the pedal pad,

wherein when a driver steps on the pedal pad, the pedal pad rotates forward about the hinge shaft, and the pad spring is compressed and accumulates elastic force, and

when the pedal pad is released, the pedal pad is rotated backward by the elastic force accumulated in the pad spring and returned to the original position.

6. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 5, wherein,

the pad spring includes a first spring and a second spring having different elastic forces from each other.

7. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 5, wherein,

a spring seat groove formed to be open in a forward direction is included in an inner portion of the pedal pad, and a second end of the pad spring is inserted into and supported by the spring seat groove.

8. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 2, wherein,

the pedal pad includes:

a main body portion passing through a panel hole formed in the vehicle body panel;

a rear surface covering a rear side of the main body and stepped on by a driver; and

a front surface covering a front side of the main body,

wherein a total size of each of the rear surface and the front surface of the pedal pad is set larger than a size of the panel hole such that the rear surface or the front surface seals the panel hole in the hidden state or the sprung state of the pedal pad.

9. The foldable pedal device of claim 8, wherein,

the top and bottom surfaces of the body portion are formed in an arc shape extending in a circumferential direction around the hinge shaft, and the top surface is longer than the bottom surface.

10. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 5, wherein,

the actuator includes:

a direct drive motor fixedly mounted in the pedal housing;

a plunger linearly pulled or pushed by the operation of the direct drive motor; and

a plunger spring for supporting the plunger,

wherein a pad operating member is formed integrally with the hinge shaft and protrudes into the pedal housing, and

in the hidden state and the ejected state of the pedal pad, the plunger is in contact with the pad operating member.

11. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 10, wherein,

the elastic force of the plunger spring is set to be greater than the elastic force of the pad spring.

12. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 10, wherein,

when power is supplied to the direct drive motor, the plunger is pulled to be inserted into the direct drive motor, the plunger spring is compressed and accumulates elastic force, and the pedal pad is rotated rearward about the hinge shaft by the elastic force of the pad spring and is ejected in the indoor space.

13. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 10, wherein,

when the power supply of the direct drive motor is blocked, the plunger protrudes from the direct drive motor by the elastic force of the plunger spring, the plunger pushes the pad operating member, the pedal pad rotates forward about the hinge shaft, the pad spring is compressed and accumulates the elastic force, and the pedal pad is hidden in the engine compartment space.

14. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 10 further comprising:

a non-contact pedal sensor fixedly installed in the pedal housing and provided with a printed circuit board inside;

a hinge shaft protrusion protruding from the hinge shaft toward the non-contact pedal sensor; and

a permanent magnet coupled to the hinge shaft protrusion to face the non-contact pedal sensor.

15. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 14, wherein,

the non-contact pedal sensor is configured to detect a rotation angle of the pedal pad by a magnetic field strength that varies with a change in a rotational position of the permanent magnet when the pedal pad rotates, and to generate an acceleration-related signal or a braking-related signal, and is used to control power supply to the direct drive motor.

16. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 14, wherein,

when the pedal pad rotates and the position of the permanent magnet changes due to the plunger moving in response to the operation of the direct drive motor, the non-contact pedal sensor does not generate a signal related to acceleration or a signal related to braking to prevent an erroneous operation.

17. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 14, wherein,

the non-contact pedal sensor is configured to generate an acceleration-related signal or a braking-related signal only when the driver manipulates the pedal pad in the ejected state in a non-operating state of the direct drive motor and the position of the permanent magnet changes due to rotation of the pedal pad.

18. The foldable pedal apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the pedal pad is one of the constituent elements of the accelerator pedal device or one of the constituent elements of the brake pedal device.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a foldable pedal device for an autonomous vehicle (autonomous vehicle), and more particularly, to a foldable pedal device for an autonomous vehicle, in which a pedal pad protrudes into an indoor space to be manipulated by a driver in a manual driving mode, and in which the pedal pad is introduced into an engine compartment space to prevent the pedal pad from being exposed in the indoor space and to prevent the driver from inadvertently manipulating the pedal pad.

Background

An autonomous vehicle is an intelligent vehicle that employs an autonomous driving technique by which the vehicle can automatically travel to a set destination without the driver manipulating a steering wheel, an accelerator, a brake, and the like. Nowadays, such autonomous vehicles are rapidly developing. To facilitate commercialization thereof, an autonomous vehicle can select between a manual driving mode (in which a driver directly operates the vehicle) and an autonomous driving mode (in which the vehicle automatically travels to a destination without driving operation or manipulation by the driver).

In the autonomous driving mode, the driver may wish to rest comfortably in the extended state. In particular, when pedals (such as an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal) provided in a space under the driver's seat are still exposed to an indoor space of the vehicle, they may interfere with the rest of the driver. Further, in an automatic driving mode in which the driver does not need to manipulate the pedal of the vehicle, when the driver manipulates the pedal, the vehicle controller determines that the driver wishes to terminate the automatic driving mode and directly operate the vehicle, and terminates the control of the automatic driving.

However, since the pedals of the vehicle are installed and exposed in the space under the driver's seat, the driver may unintentionally manipulate the pedals in the automatic driving mode (for example, in the case of erroneously manipulating the pedals), which may cause an accident due to the road condition, the distance between the vehicles, and the like. Therefore, there is a need to develop a new pedal device that exposes the pedal pad in the indoor space for the driver to manipulate in a manual driving mode in which the driver directly operates the vehicle, and prevents the pedal pad from being exposed in the indoor space in an automatic driving mode to prevent erroneous manipulation of the pedal pad.

The information disclosed in this section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and is not to be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art that is known to a person skilled in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a foldable pedal device for an autonomous vehicle, which exposes a pedal pad in an indoor space to allow a driver to operate in a manual driving mode in which the driver directly operates the vehicle, and introduces the pedal pad into an engine compartment space to prevent the pedal pad from being exposed in the indoor space, thereby preventing the driver from operating the pedal in an autonomous driving mode. Thus preventing erroneous manipulation of the pedal, thereby ensuring comfortable rest and safety of the driver in the automatic driving mode.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a foldable pedal device for an autonomous vehicle, comprising a pedal pad installed to pass through a body panel provided in a space under a driver seat to separate an engine compartment space from an indoor space, the pedal pad being configured to be stepped on or otherwise contacted by a driver and to be switched between a hidden state in which the pedal pad is introduced into the engine compartment space and a pop-up state in which the pedal pad protrudes into the indoor space, and an actuator configured to generate power to rotate the pedal pad so that the pedal pad is brought into the hidden state or the pop-up state.

The foldable pedal device may further include a pedal housing fixedly mounted to be located in the engine compartment space with respect to the vehicle body panel. The hinge shaft may be formed at a lower end of the pedal pad and rotatably coupled to the pedal housing. The pedal pad may be installed such that an upper end portion of the pedal pad is rotatable in a front-rear direction about a hinge shaft formed at a lower end of the pedal pad.

When the pedal pad is rotated forward about the hinge shaft formed at the lower end thereof, the pedal pad may be brought into a hidden state in which the pedal pad is introduced into the engine compartment space. When the pedal pad is rotated rearward about the hinge shaft formed at the lower end thereof, the pedal pad may be brought into a pop-up state in which the pedal pad protrudes into the indoor space.

The foldable pedal device may further include a pad spring installed such that a first end of the pad spring is supported by the pedal housing and a second end of the pedal pad is supported by the pedal pad. When the driver steps on the pedal pad, the pedal pad may rotate forward about the hinge shaft, and the pad spring may be compressed and accumulate elastic force. When the driver releases the pedal pad, the pedal pad may rotate backward by the elastic force accumulated in the pad spring and may return to the initial position.

The pad spring may include a first spring and a second spring having different elastic forces from each other. The pedal pad may include a spring seat groove formed to be open in the forward direction at an inner portion thereof. The second end of the cushion spring is insertable into and supported by the spring seat recess. The pedal pad may include a main body portion passing through a panel hole formed in the vehicle body panel, a rear surface formed to cover a rear side of the main body portion and to be engaged by the driver, and a front surface formed to cover a front side of the main body portion. The total size of each of the rear surface and the front surface of the pedal pad may be set larger than the size of the panel hole such that the rear surface and the front surface seal the panel hole in a hidden state or an ejected state of the pedal pad.

The top and bottom surfaces of the body part may be formed in an arc shape extending in a circumferential direction around the hinge shaft, and the top surface may be formed longer than the bottom surface. The actuator may include a direct drive motor fixedly installed in the pedal housing, a plunger linearly pulled or pushed by operation of the direct drive motor, and a plunger spring installed to support the plunger. The pad operating member may be integrally formed with the hinge shaft and may protrude into the pedal housing. The plunger is contactable with the pad operating member in a hidden state and an ejected state of the pedal pad.

The elastic force of the plunger spring may be set to be greater than that of the pad spring. When power is supplied to the direct drive motor, the plunger is pulled to be inserted into the direct drive motor, the plunger spring is compressed and accumulates elastic force, and the pedal pad is rotated rearward about the hinge shaft by the elastic force of the pad spring and is ejected in the indoor space.

When the power supply of the direct drive motor is blocked, the plunger protrudes from the direct drive motor by the elastic force of the plunger spring, the plunger pushes the pad operating member, the pedal pad rotates forward about the hinge shaft, the pad spring compresses and accumulates the elastic force, and the pedal pad can be hidden in the engine compartment space. The foldable pedal apparatus may further include a non-contact pedal sensor fixedly installed in the pedal housing and provided with a printed circuit board inside, a hinge shaft protrusion protruding from the hinge shaft toward the non-contact pedal sensor, and a permanent magnet coupled to the hinge shaft protrusion to face the non-contact pedal sensor.

The non-contact pedal sensor may be configured to detect a rotation angle of the pedal pad by a magnetic field strength varying with a change in a rotational position of the permanent magnet when the pedal pad rotates, and generate an acceleration-related signal or a braking-related signal, and the non-contact pedal sensor may be configured to control power supply of the direct drive motor. When the pedal pad rotates and the position of the permanent magnet changes due to the plunger moving in response to operation of the direct drive motor, the non-contact pedal sensor may not generate an acceleration-related signal or a braking-related signal to prevent erroneous operation.

The non-contact pedal sensor may be configured to generate the acceleration-related signal or the braking-related signal only when the driver manipulates the pedal pad in the pop-up state in a state where the direct drive motor is not operated, and the position of the permanent magnet is changed due to the rotation of the pedal pad. The pedal pad may be one of the constituent elements of the accelerator pedal device, and may also be one of the constituent elements of the brake pedal device.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a foldable pedal apparatus for an autonomous vehicle according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a coupled perspective view of FIG. 1 according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the foldable step apparatus of FIG. 2 with a portion of the body panel and step housing removed in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 showing an ejected state of the pedal pad protruding into the indoor space according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating normal rotational operation of the pedal pad of FIG. 4 according to the present disclosure; and

fig. 6 is a view illustrating a hidden state in which the pedal pad of fig. 4 is introduced into an engine compartment space according to the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

It should be understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or other similar terms as used herein include motor vehicles in general, such as passenger automobiles including Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, combustion-plug hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and other alternative fuel (e.g., fuel derived from resources other than petroleum) vehicles.

While exemplary embodiments are described as performing exemplary processes using multiple units, it should be understood that exemplary processes may also be performed by one or more modules. Additionally, it should be understood that the term controller/control unit refers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor, and is specifically programmed to perform the processes described herein. The memory is configured to store modules that the processor is specially configured to execute to perform one or more processes described further below.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated list items.

Hereinafter, a foldable pedal apparatus for an autonomous vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 1 to 6, a foldable pedal device for an autonomous vehicle according to the present disclosure may include a pedal pad 100, the pedal pad 100 being installed to pass through a body panel 10, the body panel 10 being disposed in a space under a driver's seat to separate an engine compartment space and an indoor space, the pedal pad 100 being installed to be stepped on by a driver and being switchable between a hidden state (the pedal pad 100 is introduced into the engine compartment space) and a pop-up state (the pedal pad 100 protrudes into the indoor space), and an actuator 200 configured to generate power to rotate the pedal pad 100 such that the pedal pad 100 is brought into the hidden state or the pop-up state.

The vehicle body panel 10 disposed under the driver seat to separate the engine compartment space and the indoor space may be a surface covered with a carpet. Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may further include a pedal housing 300 fixedly installed to be located in an engine compartment space with respect to the body panel 10. The pedal housing 300 may include a left housing 310 and a right housing 320 that are disposed apart from each other. The pedal housing 300 may include a hollow inner space therein for accommodating the actuator 200 and a non-contact sensor to be described below.

The pedal pad 100 may include a hinge shaft 400 integrally formed therewith. The hinge shaft 400 may be formed at a lower end of the pedal pad 100 and rotatably coupled to the pedal housing 300. The pedal pad 100 may be installed such that the upper end of the pedal pad 100 can rotate in the front and rear direction about a hinge shaft 400 formed at the lower end of the pedal pad. When the pedal pad 100 is rotated forward about the hinge shaft 400 formed at the lower end of the pedal pad, the pedal pad 100 is brought into a hidden state. In the hidden state, the pedal pad 100 is introduced into the engine compartment space. When the pedal pad 100 rotates backward about the hinge shaft 400, the pedal pad 100 enters a pop-up state in which the pedal pad 100 protrudes into the indoor space.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may further include a pad spring 500 installed to support a first end of the pad spring 500 by the pedal housing 300 and to support a second end of the pad spring 500 by the pedal pad 100. When the driver steps on the pedal pad 100, the pedal pad 100 rotates forward about the hinge shaft 400, and the pad spring 500 is compressed and accumulates elastic force. When the driver releases the pedal pad 100, the pedal pad 100 is rotated backward by the elastic force accumulated by the pad spring 500 and returned to the original position.

The pedal force can be adjusted by adjusting the elastic force of the pad spring 500. In addition, in order to prevent a minute vibration of the pedal pad 100, the pad spring 500 may include a first spring 510 and a second spring 520 having different elastic forces from each other. However, the number of springs of the cushion spring 500 is not limited to two. The spring pad 500 may be a compression coil spring.

The pedal pad 100 may include a spring seat groove 110 formed therein, and the spring seat groove 110 is open in the forward direction. The second end of the cushion spring 500 may be inserted into the spring seat recess 110 to obtain support. Therefore, the pad spring 500 can be more stably mounted. The pedal pad 100 may include a main body portion 120 passing through a panel hole 11 formed in the vehicle body panel 10, a rear surface 130 covering a rear side of the main body portion 120 and may be formed to be stepped on by a driver, and a front surface 140 covering a front side of the main body portion 120.

The spring seat recess 110 may be formed as a concave recess in the body portion 120 and may open in the forward direction through the front surface 140. The total size of each of the rear surface 130 and the front surface 140 of the pedal pad 100 may be set larger than the size of the panel hole 11 formed on the vehicle body panel 10. Therefore, when the pedal pad 100 is in the hidden state or the sprung state, the rear surface 130 or the front surface 140 of the pedal pad 100 seals the panel hole 11.

When the pedal pad 100 is rotated forward about the hinge shaft 400 and introduced into the engine compartment space in a hidden state, the rear surface 130 of the pedal pad 100 contacts the body panel 10 and seals the panel hole 11. When the pedal pad 100 is rotated rearward about the hinge shaft 400 and protruded into the indoor space in the sprung state, the front surface 140 of the pedal pad 100 contacts the vehicle body panel 10 and seals the panel hole 11.

In the hidden state or the sprung state of the pedal pad 100, the rear surface 130 or the front surface 140 of the pedal pad 100 seals the panel hole 11, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the panel hole 11, ensuring smooth operation of the pedal pad 100. Further, since the rear surface 130 or the front surface 140 of the pedal pad 100 seals the panel hole 11 by contacting with the vehicle body panel 10, the rear surface 130 or the front surface 140 of the pedal pad 100 also functions as a stopper for adjusting the rotation angle of the pedal pad 100.

In the pedal pad 100, the top surface 121 and the bottom surface 122 of the body portion 120 may be formed in an arc shape extending in a circumferential direction about the hinge shaft 400. In the structure of the pedal pad 100 in which the upper end portion of the pedal pad 100 is rotated in the front and rear direction about the hinge shaft 400 formed at the lower end of the pedal pad 100 and the main body portion 120 of the pedal pad 100 passes through the panel hole 11 of the vehicle body panel 10, since the top surface 121 and the bottom surface 122 of the main body portion 120 may be formed in an arc shape extending in the circumferential direction about the hinge shaft 400, it is possible to minimize a gap formed between the top surface 121 and the panel hole 11 or a gap formed between the bottom surface 122 and the panel hole 11, thereby increasing the matching with the vehicle body panel 10 and minimizing the introduction of foreign substances.

The actuator 200 according to the present disclosure may include a direct-drive motor (direct-drive motor)210 fixedly installed in the pedal housing 300, a plunger 220 linearly pulled or pushed by the operation of the direct-drive motor 210, and a plunger spring 230 installed to support the plunger 220. The direct drive motor 210 may be implemented as a linear motor and may be electrically connected to a power source.

According to the present disclosure, the pad operating member 600 may be integrally formed with the hinge shaft 400. The pad operating member 600 may protrude into the pedal housing 300. In the hidden state and the ejected state of the pedal pad 100, the plunger 220 is always in contact with the pedal operation member 600. The elastic force of the plunger spring 230 of the actuator 200 may be set to be greater than that of the pad spring 500. Accordingly, the pedal pad 100 can be brought into the ejected state while overcoming the elastic force of the pad spring 500 by the elastic force of the plunger spring 230.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may further include a non-contact pedal sensor 700 fixedly installed in the pedal housing 300, a hinge shaft protrusion 800 protruding from the hinge shaft 400 toward the non-contact pedal sensor 700, and a permanent magnet 900 coupled to the hinge shaft protrusion 800 to face the non-contact pedal sensor 700. The non-contact pedal sensor 700 may include a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) disposed in the non-contact pedal sensor 700 to face the permanent magnet 900. The PCB is electrically connected to a power source (e.g., a battery) through wires.

When the pedal pad 100 rotates about the hinge shaft 400, the hinge shaft protrusion 800 connected to the hinge shaft 400 rotates, and the rotational position of the permanent magnet 900 coupled to the hinge shaft protrusion 800 changes. In particular, the non-contact pedal sensor 700 may be configured to detect the rotation angle of the pedal pad 100 by the magnetic field strength varying with the change of the rotational position of the permanent magnet 900, and generate a signal related to acceleration or a signal related to braking.

Further, the non-contact pedal sensor 700 may be configured to control the supply of electric power to the direct drive motor 210 constituting the actuator 200. The non-contact pedal sensor 700 can advantageously reduce operating noise and further improve the accuracy of the output signal, as compared to a contact sensor directly connected to other components by a link or the like. The pedal pad 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be configured as one of components of an accelerator pedal device or components of a brake pedal device.

Fig. 2 and 4 illustrate an ejected state in which the pedal pad 100 is rotated backward and protrudes into the indoor space. When power is supplied to the direct drive motor 210 by the control function of the non-contact pedal sensor 700, the plunger 220 may be pulled (e.g., moved leftward) to be inserted into the direct drive motor 210, and the plunger spring 230 may be compressed and accumulate elastic force. Meanwhile, the pedal pad 100 is rotated rearward about the hinge shaft 400 by the elastic force of the pad spring 500 to be protruded into the indoor space to be in an ejected state.

As shown in fig. 4, when the pedal pad 100 is in the ejected state, the pedal pad 100 protrudes from the vehicle body panel 10 into the indoor space, and the driver can perform normal manipulation by stepping on the rear surface 130 of the ejected pedal pad 100. Fig. 5 shows a state where the driver steps on the pedal pad 100 popped up in the indoor space and pushes forward.

When the driver steps on the pedal pad 100 ejected in the indoor space, the pedal pad 100 rotates forward about the hinge shaft 400, the pad spring 500 is compressed, and the pad operating member 600 rotates backward and away from the plunger 220. Meanwhile, due to the rotation of the pedal pad 100, the hinge shaft protrusion 800 connected to the hinge shaft 400 rotates, and the rotational position of the permanent magnet 900 coupled to the hinge shaft protrusion 800 is changed. In particular, the non-contact pedal sensor 700 may be configured to detect the rotation angle of the pedal pad 100 by the magnetic field strength varying with the change of the rotational position of the permanent magnet 900 and generate a signal related to acceleration or a signal related to braking.

Fig. 6 shows a hidden state in which the pedal pad 100 is rotated forward to be hidden in the engine compartment space and thus prevented from being exposed to the indoor space. When the power supply to the direct drive motor 210 is blocked by the control function of the non-contact pedal sensor 700, the plunger 220 may protrude from (e.g., move rightward) the direct drive motor 210 by the elastic force of the plunger spring 230, and the pad operating member 600 may be pushed by the plunger 230. Accordingly, the pedal pad 100 is rotated forward about the hinge shaft 400, and the pad spring 500 may be compressed and accumulate elastic force. Thus, the pedal pad 100 can be hidden in the engine compartment space.

As shown in fig. 6, when the pedal pad 100 is in the hidden state, the space under the driver's seat is increased, and thus the driver can comfortably rest in the relaxation mode without being disturbed by the pedal. Further, safety can be ensured by preventing erroneous pedal manipulation in the automatic driving mode.

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that the non-contact pedal sensor 700 does not generate a signal related to acceleration or a signal related to braking when the position of the permanent magnet 900 is changed and the pedal pad 100 is rotated due to the plunger 220 moving linearly in response to the operation of the direct drive motor 210, so as to prevent an accident due to the wrong manipulation of the pedal. In other words, when the pedal pad 100 enters the pop-up state shown in fig. 4 or the hidden state shown in fig. 6 due to the operation of the actuator 200, the non-contact pedal sensor 700 does not generate a signal related to acceleration or a signal related to braking despite the change in the position of the permanent magnet 900, thereby preventing an accident due to a wrong manipulation of the pedal.

However, as shown in fig. 5, the non-contact pedal sensor 700 may be configured to generate a signal related to acceleration or a signal related to braking only when the driver manipulates the ejected pedal pad 100 in a state where the actuator 200 is not operated and the position of the permanent magnet 900 is changed due to the rotation of the pedal pad 100, thereby further ensuring stable operation.

As apparent from the above description, according to the foldable pedal device for an autonomous vehicle of the present disclosure, in a manual driving mode in which a driver directly operates the vehicle, the pedal pad 100 is rotated backward and popped up in an indoor space by the operation of the actuator 200 to allow the driver to manipulate the pedal pad 100, and in an autonomous driving mode in which the driver does not directly operate the vehicle, the pedal pad 100 is rotated forward and hidden in an engine compartment space by the operation of the actuator 200 to prevent exposure to the indoor space and manipulation by the driver. Therefore, the driver can comfortably rest in the automatic driving mode. Further, safety can be ensured by preventing erroneous pedal manipulation in the automatic driving mode.

Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure as disclosed in the accompanying claims.