Machine element or mechanism – Control lever and linkage systems – Foot operated
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-16
2004-08-31
Luong, Vinh T. (Department: 3682)
Machine element or mechanism
Control lever and linkage systems
Foot operated
Reexamination Certificate
active
06782775
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-391310 filed Dec. 22, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a pedal device provided on an automotive vehicle, such as a brake pedal device and an accelerator pedal, and more particularly to an improved vehicle pedal device wherein the position of an operating portion of a pedal arm in its non-operated state is movable in the longitudinal or running direction of the vehicle.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There is widely known a pedal device for an automotive vehicle, such as a brake pedal device and an accelerator pedal device. Such a pedal device includes a pedal arm which is pivotally supported by a stationary bracket fixed on the vehicle and which has an operating portion in the form of a pedal pad, for instance, at its lower end, so that the pedal arm is operated at its operating portion. The pedal device is arranged to push or pull a desired power transmitting member, or to convert its operating stroke or force into an electric signal. One type of the pedal device which has been proposed is adapted such that the operating portion of the pedal arm in its non-operated state is movable in the longitudinal or running direction of the vehicle. Examples of the pedal of the type indicated above are disclosed in JP-B2-6-40292 (first prior art pedal device) and JP-B2-2-39807 (second prior art pedal device). These pedal devices are easily operable by an operator of the vehicle, irrespective of the specific physical characteristics of the operator, since the non-operated position of the operating portion of the pedal arm is adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle relative to the vehicle operator.
In the first prior art pedal device indicated above, the pedal arm including the operating portion is movable through a pair of parallel straight elongate holes along a straight line, with its attitude kept constant. In the second prior art pedal device, the pedal arm including the operating portion is movable through an arcuate elongate hole along a circular arc.
However, the first prior art pedal device adapted to translate the pedal arm while keeping its attitude does not necessarily permit the vehicle operators with their legs having different lengths to manipulate the pedal arm with a sufficiently high degree of operational ease. Described in detail, when the pedal arm is placed at its non-operated position or the rearmost position nearest to the operator's seat in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the operator's foot generally approaches the operating portion of the pedal arm in an almost vertical direction, to press down the operating portion. If the attitude of the operating portion of the pedal arm is designed to have an operating surface which faces comparatively upwards when the pedal arm is placed at its non-operated position, the pedal arm cannot be necessarily manipulated by the foot with a sufficiently high degree of operational ease at its operating surface facing comparatively upwards, when the pedal arm has been considerably operated in the forward direction toward its fully operated position. Conversely, if the attitude of the operating portion of the pedal arm is designed to have an operating surface which faces comparatively rearwards when the pedal arm is placed at its fully operated position, the pedal arm cannot be depressed with ease when the pedal arm is placed at its non-operated position.
In the second prior art pedal device, the operating portion of the pedal arm is located at a comparatively low position when the pedal arm is placed at its non-operated position nearest to the vehicle operator's seat. Further, the operating surface of the operating portion faces comparatively upwards when the pedal arm is placed at its non-operated position. Accordingly, the pedal arm can be manipulated with a high degree of operational ease, irrespective of the adjusted position of the operating portion of the pedal arm in the non-operated state (at the non-operated position). However, the second prior art pedal device suffers from a relatively high cost of manufacture due to difficult formation of the arcuate elongate hole for guiding the pedal arm, and the use of an expensive arcuate rack for arcuate movement of the pedal arm.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a pedal device which is easy and economical to manufacture and which permits changes in the level and attitude of the operating portion of the pedal arm as desired, depending upon the adjusted position of the operating portion of the pedal arm in its non-operated state in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The above object may be achieved according to any one of the following modes of this invention:
(1) A pedal device mounted on a bracket fixed to a body of an automotive vehicle, and including a pedal arm having an operating portion at a lower end thereof, and a position adjusting device operable to adjust a position of the operating portion in a longitudinal direction of the automotive vehicle when the pedal arm is placed in a non-operated state thereof, the position adjusting device comprising:
a first member having a pair of guides;
a second member disposed movably relative to the first member in a substantially vertical plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction, and having a pair of guide pieces which are movable in engagement with the pair of guides, respectively; and
a positioning device operable to establish a desired relative position between the first and second members, by moving the pair of guides and the pair of guide pieces relative to each other, the positioning device permitting the first and second members permitting the first and second members to maintain the desired relative position after the desired relative position is established,
wherein one of the first and second members has the operating portion and is movable relative to the other of the first and second members, to move the operating position in the longitudinal direction,
and wherein the pair of guides are formed such that an attitude of the operating portion changes as the operating portion is moved in the longitudinal direction.
In the pedal device constructed according to the above mode (1) of this invention, the first and second members are connected and movable relative to each other through engagement of the pair of guides and the pair of guide pieces, to move the operating portion of the pedal arm in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, while the pedal arm is placed in its non-operated state. Further the pair of guides are formed to change the attitude of the operating portion as the operating portion is moved in the longitudinal direction. For instance, the operating surface of the operating portion of the pedal arm is gradually inclined upwards as the non-operated position of the operating portion is moved in the rearward direction of the vehicle toward the seat of the vehicle operator. This arrangement permits the pedal arm to be operated with a high degree of operational ease at the suitably inclined operating surface of the operating portion, irrespective of the non-operated position of the operating portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
Further, the present pedal device is arranged such that the attitude of the operating portion of the pedal arm is changed with a change in the longitudinal position of the operating portion of the pedal arm in the non-operated state, by a simple mechanism which has the pair of guides and the pair of guide pieces engaging. For example, the pair of guides are straight guides which intersect each other. Accordingly, the pedal device is simple in construction and economical to manufacture. In addition, the guides can be formed at desired positions, so as to reduce the size of the pedal device, while assuring a required degree of strength at the connection of the first and
Luong Vinh T.
Toyoda Iron Works Co., Ltd.
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