Pressure sensitive signal device for vehicle brake pedal
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A force sensitive sensor for a vehicle brake pedal assembly including a brake pedal, comprising:
- an optical coupler carried in said vehicle brake pedal assembly, said optical coupler including first and second members and means defining an optical coupling between said members which varies proportional to a force applied to said brake pedal;
wherein said optical coupler generates an optical coupler output signal responsive to said optical coupling so that said output signal is proportional to said force applied to said brake pedal.
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Abstract
A brake pedal actuation sensor includes an optical coupler. In a preferred embodiment: the optical sensor is carried by a housing; a shutter is provided to interrupt the optical coupling according to the distance between the housing and a bearing; the shutter is carried by the bearing; and the distance between the housing and the bearing is dependent upon the force applied to the brake. Additionally, a circuit responsive to an output of the optical coupler is provided for generating an electrical output signal indicating brake pedal actuation.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A force sensitive sensor for a vehicle brake pedal assembly including a brake pedal, comprising:
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an optical coupler carried in said vehicle brake pedal assembly, said optical coupler including first and second members and means defining an optical coupling between said members which varies proportional to a force applied to said brake pedal; wherein said optical coupler generates an optical coupler output signal responsive to said optical coupling so that said output signal is proportional to said force applied to said brake pedal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A vehicle brake pedal actuation indicator comprising:
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an optical coupler carried in a vehicle brake pedal assembly and generating an optical coupler output signal which provides an indication of vehicle brake pedal actuation, said optical coupler output signal proportional to a once applied to a vehicle brake pedal of said vehicle brake pedal assembly; a controller coupled to said optical coupler to receive said optical coupler output signal and generating a controller output signal in response to said optical coupler output signal; and a driver providing a circuit output in response to said controller output signal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A vehicle brake actuation indicator for a vehicle having a power source and a braking system including a brake pedal for actuating said braking system, comprising:
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brake actuation sensing circuitry responsive to movement of said vehicle brake pedal; and a power supply connected to said vehicle power source, said power supply outputting pulsed power to said brake actuation sensing circuitry whereby said actuation sensing circuitry receives power from said power supply intermittently. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A sensor for detecting brake pedal actuation in a vehicle having a brake pedal, a braking system and a member that is movable to actuate the braking system, said sensor comprising:
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an optical coupler carried by a housing which receives a bearing; a means for translating a force applied to the brake pedal into a relative distance between said housing and said bearing; and wherein said optical coupler generates an optical coupler output signal proportional to said relative distance between said housing and said bearing. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A vehicle brake actuation indicator comprising:
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an optical coupler generating an optical coupler output signal which provides an indication of actuation of a vehicle brake pedal, said output signal proportional to a force applied to said vehicle brake pedal; a comparing means coupled to said optical coupler for comparing said output signal of said optical coupler with a reference, said comparing means including an output; and means coupled to said output comparing means for providing at lest one circuit output signal in response to an output signal of said means for comparing. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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36. a force sensor for a vehicle brake system, comprising;
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a housing; a brake element; means for translating a force exerted on one of said housing and said brake element into a relative distance between said housing and said brake element; and an optical coupler, said optical coupler including an optical coupler source coupled to an optical coupler sensor via an optical coupling, said optical sensor generating an output signal dependent upon said optical coupling and said optical coupling proportional to said distance between said housing and said brake element whereby said optical coupler generates an optical coupler output signal proportional to said force. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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Specification