Brake pedal apparatus for vehicle

Claim 1

A brake pedal apparatus for a vehicle provided with a dash panel and a body structural member located upwardly rearward of the dash panel in the vehicle, comprising: a pedal bracket having a side wall connected to the dash panel, an upper wall connected to an upper end of the side wall, and a pivot shaft mounted to the side wall, the upper wall being attached to the body structural member; a pivot bracket pivotally supported on the pivot shaft and having a pedal shaft located forward of the pivot shaft in the vehicle; a pedal arm pivotally supported on the pedal shaft; a slide plate having an opening through which the pivot bracket protrudes, attached to the body structural member and located between the body structural member and the pedal bracket, the pivot bracket being normally held in engagement with the slide plate; an impact absorbing section permitting relative movement of the pivot bracket and the body structural member, at which the slide plate is attached, in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle when the pedal bracket encounters an external force directed rearward of the vehicle at a level beyond a predetermined load, in such a manner that the pivot bracket disengages from the slide plate to allow the pivot bracket to rotate about the pivot shaft while rotating the pedal shaft therewith rearwardly downward of the vehicle; and a rotational motion assisting section formed on the pivot bracket to have a rear distal end projecting rearward of the vehicle and normally held in an inoperative position, the rotational motion assisting section being operable to be brought into abutting engagement with at least one of the body structural member and a rear edge of the opening of the slide plate to promote rotational movement of the pivot bracket about the pivot shaft caused by the impact absorbing section when the slide plate and the pivot bracket are moved relative to each other.