MINOR PROJECT

Project Topic- The Combined Pedal for brake and accelerator.

Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology

Guided by Prepared By
Dr. Vilas Warudkar Ashutosh Singour 161116265
(As. Professor) Lucky Kandra 161116266
Mechanical Engineering Samyak Jain 161116069
Department Sudhanshu Joshi 161116284
 ABSTRACT

 Everyone have two legs to operate three pedals when driving a four wheels
vehicles which are accelerator, clutch and brake where confusion may
occurs at any instant situation. This project is to conclude that this new
mechanism results in avoiding interference of braking during acceleration
and vice versa. Moreover, it is advantageous over conventional pedals. This
combined pedal mechanism thus provides a driving control which permits
the quick and smooth transition from acceleration to braking, without
needing to transfer the foot from one pedal to another. The rapid increase
in number of vehicles on roads day by day, demands an exploration of such
mechanism to get rid of driver’s effort and reduce road accidents.
INTRODUCTION
 Introduction

 Cars have been equipped with the same foot-pedal arrangement since the
days of the afore. The clutch is to the left, the accelerator to the right and the
brake in the middle.
 The right foot should be used for pressing the accelerator and the brake.
 This arrangement guarantees, that the throttle is released as the driver
brakes.
 However, it also means that the foot almost always is placed at a distance from
the brake, that is; on the accelerator, thus movement time adds to brake
reaction time.
 The foot may be inaccurately placed on the brake resulting in bad braking
performance and it may even miss the brake and hit the accelerator.

 If the accelerator is pressed instead of the brake in a car with automatic

transmission it can cause an instance of so called unintended acceleration, the
driver persists in pressing what he believes is the brake though it is the
accelerator.
 The Automotive vehicle has become one of modern Society's deadliest
killers, in addition to injuring thousands of lives every year.

 Nowadays the increment in the death rate of India is 20% because of the
accidents on the highways.

 If we research about the reason of these accidents, in most of the

cases, it is due to the delay in the foot movement between the brake
and accelerator pedals.

 There are some tragedies and reports of different transportation

authorities which shows the exact same reason.
 It was reported by the transportation authorities of Japan that there were
1,108 accidents or near-accidents caused by sudden acceleration of the car
during 1994.

 It was reported that thirty-five of them were caused even whilst pressing
down the brake pedal. (Nihei and Maruyama, 1995).

 Sixty-two of them could eventually stop. Eighty-six of them could not stop or
had difficulty in stopping even though they pressed down the brake pedal.

 The authorities reported that there was no malfunction of the brake system in
those cars according to their own inspection.

 The authorities suggested in the report that drivers need to press down the
brake pedal more firmly and fastly.
 SANTAMONICA FARMER ACCIDENT

 On the afternoon of July 16, 2003, George Weller, then age 86, drove his 1992 Buick
LeSabre westbound down Arizona Avenue in Santa Monica, California toward the
city's popular Third Street Promenade. The last few blocks of the street, before it
ends at the ocean, had been closed to vehicle traffic for the biweekly farmers'
market.
 Weller's car struck a 2003 Mercedes-Benz S430 sedan that had stopped to allow
pedestrians through a crosswalk, then accelerated around a road closure sign,
crashed through wooden sawhorses, and plowed through the busy marketplace
crowd, traveling nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) at speeds between 40 and 60 mph (60
and 100 km/h). The entire sequence of collisions took at least 10 seconds.
 By the time the car came to a halt, ten people had been killed and 63 were injured.
Weller told investigators he had accidentally placed his foot on the accelerator
pedal instead of the brake, then tried to brake but could not stop.
It is being observed that it takes longer to brake in an emergency with separate
pedals. It takes at least 0.2 seconds to move your foot from one pedal to other
and hence, at 80 kilometres per hour this adds five meters to vehicle’s stopping
distance.
 So We have made an improvement by combining the foot brake pedal
and accelerator pedal movement.

 It essentially consists of a joint pedal for operating the brake and

accelerator, arranged in such a form that its action to affect one or the
other function is carried out without the possibility of error, and without
one function interfering with the other.

 Hence this innovation can help us to reduce the death rate by 7% to 10%
since this can be used in the any 4 wheeler.
 OBJECTIVE

 1. Study and understand the issues driver faces while switching the
pedals.

 2. Come up with more ergonomic and improved pedal mechanism

design.

 3. Eliminate operators risk of pressing wrong pedal.

 4. Reduce reaction time in braking.

Literature Survey
 It’s not the first time the pedals have been rearranged. Henry Ford was the
first to introduce the three-pedal car in 1909. His Model T’s accelerator was
a lever on the steering column, while the three pedals were a brake, a gear
shift and a clutch.
 Ford later decided that the brake and accelerator should be close to each
other and operated alternately. By 1928, the Model A had an accelerator
pedal and a separate gear control. Automatic transmissions later made the
clutch obsolete.
 Rickard Nilsson et al.,(2002) conducted an experiment and concluded that,
the transition from the standard pedal to the combined brake–accelerator
system is easy and relatively painless. Incorrect driving behaviors quickly
abate, mostly before the driver completed 500 km of driving.
 Ajinkya Bhonge et al.,(2016) involved in a development process of pedal that
has been carried to replace the existing Standard pedal for various benefits
and observed that their weight reduction of due to use of aluminium alloy
7075.
METHODOLOGY
 Construction & Working

 The pedal is mounted in the same position as the conventional

brake.

 The right foot is placed on the pedal an should stay there

during the drive.
 The pedal has two major components.
1. Moving Pedal
2. Fixed Frame
 Fixed frame is attached on the brake pedal arm.
 This pedal arm is also hinged according to the suitable pedal ratio.
 A heel support prevents the foot from slipping off the pedal

Brake
Pedal arm

Heel
Support
 Moving pedal is hinged on the frame in such a way that its major
portion is on lower side.

 The acceleration cable is attached to the lower pedal portion.

 Frame acts as the base for the pedal movement.

 There can be two motions possible by this system.

1. Rotation of the pedal about the hinge support.
2. The movement of brake pedal arm due to direct force applied on
the pedal.
 Accelerating Action
1. For acceleration the driver smoothly lift hinged pedal part by forefoot.
2. As the acceleration cable is attached to the lower pedal portion, so the rotation
movement of pedal causes the tension in acceleration cable which results in
acceleration of vehicle.
 Braking Action
1. For braking action driver presses the pedal by applying direct force on the
pedal with the whole foot.
2. This force results in movement of the brake arm lever which further results
in braking of the vehicle.
Design Analysis
CAD Design of pedal
(Isometric View)
CAD Design of pedal
(Side View)
CAD Design of assembly
(Isometric View)
CAD Design of assembly
(isometric View)
CAD Design of assembly
(Side View)
Ansys analysis of braking force
(Isomatric view)
Ansys analysis of braking force
(Side view)
Results, Conclusions &
Discussions
Benefits of combined pedal system over conventional system

 For the sudden stopping of vehicle, driver should have press the brake pedal as
fast as can. Response time should be as less.
 But in conventional system, the driver removes his foot from the accelerator and
then he presses the brake pedal. This results in increase response time.
 Also there is possibility of pressing the wrong pedal.
 But in combined pedal system, there is only one pedal to control acceleration and
braking.
 When we press the pedal with whole foot, it results in braking.
 If we think about a situation for ex. While driving a car, suddenly a child come in
front of the vehicle. In this very little time, we press the pedal with full force so that
our car can stop as soon as possible to avoid the accident. In conventional system
due to higher response time and risk of pressing the wrong pedal, the probability
of accident is very high. But in combined system as the response time is very less,
so the probability of accident is much less.
 Generally our unconscious mind always try to push the pedal, in combined
system this always results in braking. As the acceleration cable is attached to
the lower portion of the pedal, pressing of the pedal does not start the
accelerating action.
 In combined system, acceleration require a special movement of the pedal by
the use forefoot, so the acceleration process is always intentional.
 Now if we take a situation, where we are accelerating, and suddenly we
require braking action so we press the pedal hardly. In this condition, as
moving pedal is hinged in such a way that lower portion is major portion, so
our foot will apply the force on the major which result in settling of the moving
pedal in fixed frame and only the braking action will be done.
 In short we can say that braking motion of pedal will block the acceleration
motion.
 Similarly the acceleration action is always going to be intentional and require
a special motion by the forefoot, so it will not have enough force to have
braking action simultaneously. So accelerating action will not have braking.
 This system eliminates the risk of pressing the wrong pedal.
ADVANTAGES

 This combined pedal mechanism thus provides a driving control which

permits the quick and smooth transition from acceleration to braking,
without needing to transfer the foot from one pedal to another.
 Easy to operate.
 Little modification only .
 Lower will be the cost as compared to conventional system.
 Lesser response time.
 For physically challenged persons the pedal is more useful because they no
need to change their foot.
 Suitable for all four wheelers.
Limitations

 Driver can not shift his leg in rest position throughout the driving.
 Working of pedal becomes more complex than conventional system.
References

 International Journal of Research in Aeronautical and Mechanical

Engineering Vol. no. 4Pages:131 to 138 Author: Sahil Arora
 International Journal of advance research in Science and Engineering Vol.
No. 68 Issue No. 07 Author: N. Ramachandran, R. Raghul.
 United states patent Appl. No. 58,397 Filed: July 1970 Inventor: Yukinori
Kawaguchi
 Electronic Brake Force Distribution Control - A Sophisticated Addition to
ABS http://papers.sae.org/920646/
 SAE Technical Paper 2000-01-0556, 2000 http://www.carprogrammer
.com/Z28/PCM/FAQ/Delphi_Driv e_by_wire_2000-01-0556.pdf
 Acknowledgement

We express our deep sense of gratitude to our respected guide Prof. Vilas
Warudkar Sir for their valuable help and guidance, We are thankful to them
for the encouragement they have given us in completing the project. We are
also thankful to all the other faculty & staff members of our department for
their kind co-operation and help.

Lastly, we would like to express our deep apperception towards our classmate
s and our indebtness to our parents for providing us the moral support and
encouragement.
THANK YOU