Adjustable brake, clutch and accelerator pedals
First Claim
1. A control pedal comprising, in combination:
- an upper arm having a vertically extending planar portion and a slot in the planar portion;
a screw secured to the upper arm and spaced apart from the planar portion;
a nut threadably engaging the screw and adapted to move axially along the screw upon rotation of the screw;
a motor operatively connected to the screw to selectively rotate the screw;
a lower arm having an upper end extending adjacent the upper arm at a side of said upper arm opposite the nut and a pedal at a lower end; and
a guide laterally extending through the slot from the lower arm to the nut, the guide operatively connected to the nut and the lower arm for movement of the guide along the slot and linear fore aft movement of the pedal upon rotation of the screw.
15 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An adjustable control pedal for a motor vehicle includes an upper arm and a lower arm carrying a pedal and selectively movable relative the upper arm to adjust the position of the pedal. The upper arm has a vertically extending flat or planar portion and a substantially horizontal slot formed at the planar portion. A drive screw is secured to the upper arm and is laterally spaced apart from the planar portion generally parallel to the slot. A drive nut threadably engages the drive screw and moves axially along the drive screw upon rotation of the drive screw. A motor is connected to the drive screw to selectively rotate the drive screw in one direction or the other. The lower arm has a guide extending into the slot which is connected to the drive nut for linear fore-aft sliding movement of the guide along the slot upon rotation of the drive screw and resulting linear fore-aft movement of the pedal. The drive screw is secured to the upper arm through a first self-aligning ball/socket joint and the drive nut is secured to the lower arm through a second self-aligning ball/socket joint so that the drive screw and the drive nut automatically self align as the drive nut travels along the drive screw. The drive screw is preferably secured to the upper arm by a snap-fit connection.
53 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A control pedal comprising, in combination:
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an upper arm having a vertically extending planar portion and a slot in the planar portion;
a screw secured to the upper arm and spaced apart from the planar portion;
a nut threadably engaging the screw and adapted to move axially along the screw upon rotation of the screw;
a motor operatively connected to the screw to selectively rotate the screw;
a lower arm having an upper end extending adjacent the upper arm at a side of said upper arm opposite the nut and a pedal at a lower end; and
a guide laterally extending through the slot from the lower arm to the nut, the guide operatively connected to the nut and the lower arm for movement of the guide along the slot and linear fore aft movement of the pedal upon rotation of the screw. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A control pedal comprising, in combination:
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an upper arm;
a screw secured to the upper arm;
a nut threadably engaging the screw and adapted to move axially along the screw upon rotation of the screw, the screw being secured to the upper arm through a pivotable joint to align the screw and the nut for the axial movement of the nut along the screw;
a motor operatively connected to the screw to selectively rotate the screw; and
a lower arm carried by the upper arm and having a pedal at a lower end, the lower arm operatively connected to the nut for fore and aft movement of the pedal relative to the upper arm upon rotation of the screw. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A control pedal comprising, in combination:
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an upper arm;
a screw secured to the upper arm;
a nut threadably engaging the screw and adapted to move axially along the screw upon rotation of said screw;
a motor operatively connected to the screw to selectively rotate the screw; and
a lower arm carried by the upper arm and having a pedal at a lower end, the lower arm operatively connected to the nut for fore and aft movement of the pedal relative to the upper arm upon rotation of the screw, the lower arm being connected to the nut through a pivotable joint to align the nut and the screw for the axial movement of the nut along the screw. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A control pedal comprising, in combination:
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an upper arm;
a screw;
an attachment secured to the upper arm and supporting the screw;
a nut threadably engaging the screw and adapted to axially move along the screw upon rotation of the screw;
a motor operatively connected to the screw to selectively rotate the screw;
a lower arm carried by the upper arm and having a pedal at a lower end, the lower arm operatively connected to the nut for fore and aft movement of the pedal relative to the upper arm upon rotation of the screw; and
wherein one of the upper arm and the attachment has an opening and the other of the upper arm and the attachment has a protrusion extending into the opening, and one of the opening and the protrusion has a resiliently deformable portion which deforms to a clearance position during insertion of the protrusion into the opening to allow insertion of the protrusion into the opening and resiliently moves From the clearance position to an interference position after insertion of the protrusion onto the opening to deny undesired withdrawal of the protrusion from the opening such that the attachment is secured to the upper arm without use of fasteners. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A control pedal comprising, in combination:
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an upper arm;
a screw;
an attachment secured to the upper arm and supporting the screw;
a nut threadably engaging the screw and adapted to axially move along the screw upon rotation of the screw;
a motor operatively connected to the screw to selectively rotate the screw;
a lower arm carried by the upper arm and having a pedal at a lower end, the lower arm operatively connected to the nut for fore and aft movement of the pedal relative to the upper arm upon rotation of the screw; and
wherein one of the upper arm and the attachment has an opening and the other of the upper arm and the attachment has a protrusion extending into the opening, the protrusion is adapted to allow insertion of the protrusion into the opening but to deny undesired withdrawal of the protrusion from the opening such that the attachment is secured to the upper arm without use of fasteners, the opening is formed in a vertically extending planar portion of the upper arm, at least a portion of the protrusion is resiliently deformable, and the protrusion is provided with at least one resiliently deformable finger. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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Specification