Pedal assembly having a hysteresis mechanism
First Claim
1. A pedal assembly for use in association with a vehicle, comprising:
- a pedal support adapted for mounting to the vehicle, said pedal support including a pivot shaft extending along a pivot axis, said pivot shaft having an outer circumference and an outer bearing surface formed directly on said outer circumference of said pivot shaft;
a pedal arm including a lever portion and a mounting portion, said mounting portion rotatably engaged to said pivot shaft to allow pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis;
a clamp arm pivotally coupled to said pedal arm, said clamp arm having a compression surface facing said bearing surface of said pivot shaft;
a biasing member engaged between said pedal support and said clamp arm and arranged to apply a biasing force to said clamp arm to pivot said clamp arm relative to said pedal arm and toward said pivot shaft to provide direct frictional engagement between said compression surface of said clamp arm and said bearing surface of said pivot shaft;
wherein said mounting portion of said pedal arm defines a space and wherein said mounting portion includes a pair of oppositely disposed flanges defining said space therebetween with said clamp arm positioned within said space, said biasing member arranged to apply said biasing force to said clamp arm to pivotally displace said clamp arm within said space of said mounting portion toward said pivot shaft to provide said direct frictional engagement between said compression surface of said clamp arm and said bearing surface of said pivot shaft; and
wherein application of an activation force onto said lever portion of said pedal arm provides said pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis, said pivotal movement of said pedal arm increasing said biasing force applied to said clamp arm by said biasing member to correspondingly increase said frictional engagement between said compression surface of said clamp arm and said bearing surface of said pivot shaft to provide increased resistance to further pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A pedal assembly for use in association with a vehicle includes a pedal support adapted for mounting to the vehicle. The pedal support includes a pivot shaft extending along a pivot axis and having an outer bearing surface. A pedal arm is rotatably engaged to the pivot shaft to allow pivotal movement of the pedal arm about the pivot axis. A clamp arm is pivotally coupled to the pedal arm and has a compression surface. A biasing member is engaged between the pedal support and the clamp arm and is arranged to apply a biasing force to the clamp arm to pivot the clamp arm relative to the pedal arm and toward the pivot shaft. Application of an activation force onto the pedal arm pivots the pedal arm about the pivot axis, which in turn increases the biasing force applied to the clamp arm by the biasing member to correspondingly increase frictional engagement between the compression surface of the clamp arm and the bearing surface of the pivot shaft to provide increased resistance to further pivotal movement of the pedal arm.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A pedal assembly for use in association with a vehicle, comprising:
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a pedal support adapted for mounting to the vehicle, said pedal support including a pivot shaft extending along a pivot axis, said pivot shaft having an outer circumference and an outer bearing surface formed directly on said outer circumference of said pivot shaft; a pedal arm including a lever portion and a mounting portion, said mounting portion rotatably engaged to said pivot shaft to allow pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis; a clamp arm pivotally coupled to said pedal arm, said clamp arm having a compression surface facing said bearing surface of said pivot shaft; a biasing member engaged between said pedal support and said clamp arm and arranged to apply a biasing force to said clamp arm to pivot said clamp arm relative to said pedal arm and toward said pivot shaft to provide direct frictional engagement between said compression surface of said clamp arm and said bearing surface of said pivot shaft; wherein said mounting portion of said pedal arm defines a space and wherein said mounting portion includes a pair of oppositely disposed flanges defining said space therebetween with said clamp arm positioned within said space, said biasing member arranged to apply said biasing force to said clamp arm to pivotally displace said clamp arm within said space of said mounting portion toward said pivot shaft to provide said direct frictional engagement between said compression surface of said clamp arm and said bearing surface of said pivot shaft; and wherein application of an activation force onto said lever portion of said pedal arm provides said pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis, said pivotal movement of said pedal arm increasing said biasing force applied to said clamp arm by said biasing member to correspondingly increase said frictional engagement between said compression surface of said clamp arm and said bearing surface of said pivot shaft to provide increased resistance to further pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A pedal assembly for use in association with a vehicle, comprising:
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a pedal support adapted for mounting to the vehicle, said pedal support including a pivot shaft extending along a pivot axis, said pivot shaft having an outer bearing surface; a pedal arm including a lever portion and a mounting portion, said mounting portion rotatably engaged to said pivot shaft to allow pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis, wherein said mounting portion of said pedal arm includes a pair of oppositely disposed flanges defining a space therebetween; a clamp arm pivotally coupled to said pedal arm, said clamp arm positioned within said space between said pair of oppositely disposed flanges and pivotally coupled to said pair of oppositely disposed flanges by a pivot pin, said clamp arm having a compression surface facing said bearing surface of said pivot shaft; and a biasing member engaged between said pedal support and said clamp arm and arranged to apply a biasing force to said clamp arm to pivot said clamp arm relative to said pedal arm and toward said pivot shaft to provide frictional engagement between said compression surface and said bearing surface; and wherein application of an activation force onto said lever portion of said pedal arm provides said pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis, said pivotal movement of said pedal arm increasing said biasing force applied to said clamp arm by said biasing member to. correspondingly increase said frictional engagement between said compression surface of said clamp arm and said bearing surface of said pivot shaft to provide increased resistance to further pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis.
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20. A pedal assembly for use in association with a vehicle, comprising:
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a pedal support adapted for mounting to the vehicle, said pedal support including a pivot shaft extending along a pivot axis, said pivot shaft having an outer bearing surface; a pedal arm including a lever portion and a mounting portion, said mounting portion including a pair of oppositely disposed flanges defining a space therebetween, at least one of said flanges defining a pivot shaft opening arranged along said pivot axis and sized to rotatably receive said pivot shaft therein to allow pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis; a clamp arm positioned within said space between said pair of oppositely disposed flanges and pivotally coupled to said pedal arm, said clamp arm having a compression surface facing said bearing surface of said pivot shaft; a position sensing device located adjacent one of said oppositely disposed flanges, said position sensing device operable to sense a pivotal position of said pedal arm relative to said pedal support and to generate an output signal representative of said pivotal position; and a biasing member engaged between said pedal support and said clamp arm and arranged to apply a biasing force to said clamp arm to pivot said clamp arm relative to said pedal arm and toward said pivot shaft to provide frictional engagement between said compression surface and said bearing surface; and wherein application of an activation force onto said lever portion of said pedal arm provides said pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis, said pivotal movement of said pedal arm increasing said biasing force applied to said clamp arm by said biasing member to correspondingly increase said frictional engagement between said compression surface of said clamp arm and said bearing surface of said pivot shaft to provide increased resistance to further pivotal movement of said pedal arm about said pivot axis. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification