Three axis adjustable automotive foot controls

• US 6,553,298 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2002
• Issued: 04/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Truck Intellectual Property Co. LLC (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: International Truck Intellectual Property Co. LLC (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Smythe, Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US10/161,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20020148668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 323 Days
• Field of Search: 701/49, 180/334, 745/12, 745/13, 434/62, 434/71
• US Class Current: 701/49
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 26/00 Arrangements or mounting of propulsion unit control devices in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 26/02 of initiating means or elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/06 Disposition of pedal
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 1/405 infinitely adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20528 Foot operated
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20534 Accelerator

Abstract

A control pedal assembly for a vehicle. Two or more control pedals are engaged to a pedal mounting system base component through a number of components that are slideably engaged to one another. The construction and arrangement of the components that are slideably engaged to one another and the engagement of those components to the control pedals and the pedal mounting system base component is such that the position of at least two control pedals is adjustable relative to one another. One or more positioning actuators are engaged to the components that are slideably engaged to one another. The positioning actuators, when activated, slide the slideably engaged components relative to one another and thus change the position of one or more control pedals. One or more position control apparatus are connected to the positioning actuators so that an operator of the vehicle can activate the positioning actuators to adjust the position of the control pedals. Pedal driven components such as pedal position sensors and hydraulic master cylinders are flexibly linked to the systems of the vehicle so that the control pedals remain functional regardless of the position to which the operator has adjusted them.

Claims

1. A computer program product for a position control computer that has various computer control devices and that is controllably linked to one or more positioning actuators of a vehicle component assembly that has one or more position adjustable vehicle components mounted to a mounting base through one or more series of slider components and reactor components that are slideably engaged and where the one or more positioning actuators are each constructed of a motivating device that when activated slideably drives a slider component relative to a reactor component, and wherein the driving direction of the motivating device is selectable so that the reactor component and slider component can be selectively driven in either direction relative to one another and wherein each positioning actuator may include a rotary electric servomotor which is the motivating device and to which the position control computer is controllably linked, a driven nut, and a threaded shaft, and where the rotary electric servo motor of each positioning actuator is engaged to either a slider component or a reactor component, the driven nut of each positioning actuator is engaged to whichever of the slider component and reactor component the rotary electric servo motor is not engaged to and the threaded shaft of each positioning actuator is engaged to an output shaft of the rotary electric servo motor and threadedly engaged to the driven nut so that activation of the rotary electric servo motor causes the slider component and reactor component to be slideably driven relative to one another, and where the vehicle component assembly further includes one or more adjustment limiting systems that are electrically linked to the rotary electric servo motor and/or the position control computer and which adjustment limiting systems disable activation of one or more of the positioning actuators in one direction when a slider component and reactor component are slideably driven to an outer limit of an intended range of relative positions for the slider component and reactor component so that the positioning actuator is prevented from slideably driving the slider component and reactor component to a relative position outside the intended range of positions for that slider component and reactor component, and where each rotary electric servo motor may be a rotary electric stepper motor that creates electric signals that are received by the position control computer and which the position control computer can use to determine how many revolutions and fractions thereof the rotary electric servo motor has driven through during any given period of time and wherein the threaded shaft has a constant thread pitch, and wherein the vehicle component assembly may also include one or more position sensors that are linked to the position control computer in a manner such that the position control computer can determine the relative position of one or more pairs of slider components and reactor components that are slideably engaged to one another, and wherein for each unique position in space in which each position adjustable vehicle component may be positioned there is a set of position coordinates that describe that position, said computer program product comprising:

(a) A computer useable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing the position control computer to perform the steps of;

i) determining the position coordinates of each of the position adjustable vehicle components;

ii) displaying the position coordinates of each of the position adjustable vehicle components so that a first user of the position control computer may be aware of the position coordinates of each of the position adjustable vehicle components;

iii) upon said first user or a second user acting upon the computer control devices of the position control computer in a certain manner, activating one or more of the motivating devices of the positioning actuators to slideably drive one or more of the slider components relative to the reactor components that they are slideably engaged to until the user stops acting upon the computer control devices in said certain manner; and

iv) receiving input from said first user, said second user, or a third user related to the position coordinates that the user would like each position adjustable vehicle component to be located at and, after being commanded to position the position adjustable vehicle components at those position coordinates, activating various ones of the motivating devices of the vehicle component assembly until the position coordinates of each position adjustable vehicle component are equal to the position coordinates input by said first user, said second user, or said third user.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:

(a) said computer program product embodied in computer readable medium causes the position control computer to further perform the steps of;

i) receiving from a user of the position control computer one or more vehicle component position profiles and an equal number of associated vehicle component position profile names;

ii) upon being commanded by the user to store said vehicle component position profiles and associated vehicle component position profile names, storing each of said vehicle component position profiles and each associated vehicle component position profile name received from the user of the position control computer in computer memory in a linked manner; and

iii) upon a user of the position control computer selecting a vehicle component position profile name and commanding the position control computer to drive the position adjustable vehicle components to position coordinates of an associated vehicle component position profile, activating various motivating devices until the position coordinates of each position adjustable vehicle component are equal to said vehicle component position profile associated with said vehicle component position profile name selected by the user.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein:

(a) upon initiation of a survey mode of operation of said computer program by a user and before termination of said survey mode of operation of said computer program by the user, said computer program product embodied in computer readable medium causes the position control computer to perform the steps of;

i) prompting the user for profile information of a current survey participant;

ii) upon entry of profile information of said current survey participant, and being commanded by the user to store said profile information, storing said profile information of said current survey participant in computer memory;

iii) prompting a user to select one of a plurality of said vehicle component position profile names;

iv) after said user selects a vehicle component position profile name, activating various motivating devices until the position coordinates of the position adjustable vehicle components are equal to the position coordinates of said vehicle component position profile associated with said vehicle component position profile name that was selected by the user;

v) prompting said user for comments and/or scoring from said current survey participant related to said vehicle component position profile associated with said vehicle component position profile name that said user has selected;

vi) upon entry of said comments and/or scoring from said current survey participant and being commanded by the user to store said comments and/or scoring, storing in computer memory said comments and/or scoring from said current survey participant;

vii) repeating steps iii through vi until each of a select set of vehicle component position profiles that are stored in memory have been studied by said current survey participant or until said user of the position control computer commands the position control computer to advance to a next survey participant; and

viii) repeating steps i through vii until said user of the position control computer chooses to terminate operation of said survey mode of operation of said computer program.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein:

(a) said computer program product embodied in computer readable medium causes the position control computer to more specifically perform the steps of;

i) upon initiation of operation of said computer program, positioning each position adjustable vehicle component in a home position, for which position coordinates are known, by activating each motivating device of the positioning actuators in a predetermined direction until each respective slider component and reactor component reach a relative position at an outer bound of an intended range of positions for that respective slideably engaged slider component and reactor component and the adjustment limiting system of the vehicle component assembly disables activation of each motivating device in said predetermined direction;

ii) subsequently calculating, based upon the electrical signals received by the position control computer from each rotary electric stepper motor, the total number of revolutions and fractions thereof that each rotary electric stepper motor has been driven in each direction since the position adjustable vehicle components were located at the home position;

iii) calculating, based upon a total number of revolutions of each rotary electric stepper motor in each direction and the constant thread pitch of each respective threaded shaft, a total displacement of each position adjustable vehicle component in each direction from said home position; and

iv) calculating, based upon a total displacement of each position adjustable vehicle component in each direction and position coordinates of said home position, position coordinates of each position adjustable vehicle component.