Abstract:
An improved brake pedal fastener adapted for use with a tandem-type braking system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the brake pedal fastener is expandable and biased toward a closed position so that the fastener can be securely applied to and removed from varying sized brake pedals in a quick and easy manner.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of tandem vehicle braking systems and, more particularly, to an improved brake pedal fastener adapted for use with a towed vehicle braking system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     When traveling by motor home, it is often desirable to tow a secondary vehicle behind the motor home. During such trips, it becomes necessary to brake the towed vehicle so as to avoid undue wear on the brakes of the motor home. Various methods of braking the towed vehicle in tandem with the motor home are well known in the art. A typical braking system is comprised of a pedal depressing apparatus that communicates with the towed vehicle&#39;s onboard braking system. Such apparatus are generally further comprised of a telescoping shaft or rod that is mechanically or hydraulically actuated, or is spring-biased. The shaft is typically mounted between the towed vehicle brake pedal and the steering wheel or the seat of that towed vehicle. When the shaft is actuated, the towed vehicle brake pedal is depressed and the towed vehicle is slowed in relation to the towing vehicle (such as a motor home, truck or car). 
     Regardless of how it is actuated, the shaft of the pedal depressing apparatus must be interconnected to the brake pedal of the towed vehicle. Various mechanisms are known in the art to accomplish this task. Known devices exist, which securely grip a brake pedal, but these devices are not easily and quickly installed or removed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,321 to Harness discloses, among other things, a pedal-engaging clamp that is comprised of top and bottom clamp portions secured onto the brake pedal by bolts and wing nuts. The antiquated bolt and wing nut configuration of the Harness device precludes easy installation and removal. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,719 to Streutker discloses, among other things, a pedal clamp with a rigid plate having a pair of fingers that are spaced from the main body of the plate and a moveable plate that is rotatably tightened against the front of the brake pedal. Like the Harness device, the Streutker pedal clamp cannot be quickly installed or removed because the moveable plate must be screwed or unscrewed. Thus, there is a need for a brake pedal fastener that can be quickly and easily installed and removed. 
     Other brake fasteners are known, which can be more quickly installed than the Harness and Streutker devices. However, these fasteners are not easily separated from the brake system for maintenance purposes, nor are they universally adaptable for use with piston-type tandem brake systems. It would be advantageous to have an easily installable/removable brake pedal fastener that could be used with multiple tandem braking systems. Moreover, it is important for the pedal fastener to be modular so that it could be replaced or serviced. 
     Another problem exists with known brake pedal fasteners. Of those fasteners that may be quickly installed and removed, there are no known devices that grip the brake pedal by four or more surfaces and are easily and quickly adaptable for use with multiple sizes of brake pedals. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,797 to Springer discloses, among other things, a C-channel type brake pedal engaging member, which is retained by flanges around the sides of the pedal. Although Springer&#39;s engaging member appears to be capable of gripping a brake pedal by four surfaces, it not adjustable to accept multiple sizes of brake pedals. Other known devices, like that disclosed by Streutker, grip the brake pedal at three or less surfaces of contact (e.g., the front, top and back of the pedal). Since the towed vehicle is typically unoccupied, it would be advantageous to ensure that brake fastening device grip as many surfaces as possible in order to ensure that the device does not become dislodged in transit. Thus, there is a need for a more secure brake fastener that can be easily adapted for use with multiple sizes of brake pedals. 
     To obtain a complete understanding of the aforementioned patents, reference should be made directly thereto. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is designed to overcome the aforementioned problems and meet the aforementioned, and other, needs. It is thus one aspect of the present invention to provide an expandable, brake pedal fastener that can be adapted for use with varying sizes of brake pedals and which typically will contact at least four surfaces of the brake pedal. Another aspect of this invention is to provide a brake fastener that can be easily adapted for use with a piston-type tandem braking system. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, an improved brake pedal fastener adapted for use with a tandem braking system, is provided, comprising: 
     (a) a stationary plate having a front side and a rear side; 
     (b) a moveable plate having a front side and a rear side, wherein the rear side of the moveable plate is slidably interconnected to the front side of the stationary plate; and 
     (c) a coupling interconnected to the rear side of the stationary plate. 
     The present invention offers an alternative to traditional brake pedal engaging devices by offering an inexpensive, secure device. Now, an operator can more quickly and easily attach and remove a secure tandem braking system on a variety of brake pedals. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener in use with a brake pedal; 
     FIG. 1A is a side perspective view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener in a closed position; 
     FIG. 1B is a side perspective view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener in an open position; 
     FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener; 
     FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener; 
     FIG. 4 is a right side perspective view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener; 
     FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener; 
     FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener; and 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener in use with the piston-type tandem brake system. 
    
    
     The following components and numbers associated thereto are shown in the drawings and provided here for ease of reference: 
     
       
         
               
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 # 
                 Component 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 2 
                 Brake pedal fastener 
               
               
                 4 
                 Stationary plate 
               
               
                 6 
                 First slot 
               
               
                 8 
                 Second slot 
               
               
                 10 
                 Coupling 
               
               
                 12 
                 Coupling aperture 
               
               
                 14 
                 Flange of stationary plate 
               
               
                 16 
                 Movable plate 
               
               
                 18 
                 First flange 
               
               
                 20 
                 Second flange 
               
               
                 22 
                 First pin of stationary plate 
               
               
                 24 
                 First pin of movable plate 
               
               
                 26 
                 First spring 
               
               
                 28 
                 Second pin of stationary plate 
               
               
                 30 
                 Second pin of movable plate 
               
               
                 32 
                 Second spring 
               
               
                 34 
                 Piston-type tandem braking 
               
               
                   
                 system 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there are, as shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, preferred embodiments of the invention. The reader is to understand that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspects of the invention to the embodiments illustrated. 
     The present invention recognizes the limited nature of traditional brake fastening devices for tandem braking systems and offers a solution to the difficulty of quickly and securely installing these devices on various sized brake pedals. Thus, the present invention presents an improvement to traditional brake pedal fasteners. 
     Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a side perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention in use with a brake pedal. Substantially rectangular brake pedals of various sizes can be used with the brake pedal fastener  2 . FIG. 1A depicts a side perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention in a closed position. The brake pedal fastener  2  is manually expanded to an open position (See FIG. 1B) and then slipped over the desired brake pedal. In one embodiment, the flanges ( 14 ,  18 ,  20 ) of the brake pedal fastener  2  straddle the brake pedal stem and grip top, bottom, front, and rear surfaces of the brake pedal. 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 depict front prospective and rear elevation views of one embodiment of the present invention. In general, the brake pedal fastener  2  is comprised of a stationary plate  4  and a moveable plate  16  with flanges ( 18 ,  20 ) for gripping the pedal. The moveable plate  16  is slidably interconnected to the stationary plate  4  via a first slot  6  and a second slot  8  in the stationary plate  4 . The moveable plate  16  is spring-biased toward a closed position. A coupling  10  adapted for use with a piston-type tandem braking system is interconnected to the rear side of the stationary plate  4 . 
     In one embodiment, the stationary plate  4  is comprised of a vertical plate with a flange  14  which is bent upward, thus, creating a generally J-like shape. As one skilled in the art can appreciate, the flange  14  may also be perpendicular to the bottom of the stationary plate  4 , thus, creating an L-shape. Regardless of the resulting shape, the flange  14  is used to grip at least the bottom surface of the brake pedal and, for added stability, the rear surface as well. 
     In order to provide a mechanism for slidably interconnecting the moveable plate  16  to the stationary plate  4 , the stationary plate  4  is further comprised of at least one slot. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the stationary plate  4  has a vertical, first slot  6  in parallel to a second slot  8 . A first pin  22  and a second pin  28  protrude from the back of the stationary plate  4  and are used in connection with a biasing means to keep the moveable plate  16  in a closed position. In one embodiment, the biasing means comprises a first spring  26  and a second spring  32 . 
     The moveable plate  16  is generally comprised of a vertically-mounted plate with at least one finger-like flange for gripping the top and rear surfaces of the brake pedal. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the preferable embodiment has a first flange  18  and a second flange  20 . Mounted in parallel on the rear of the moveable plate  16  are a first pin  22  and a second pin  28  at a distance that corresponds to the first slot  6  and second slot  8 . The first pin  22  and second pin  28  protrude through the rear of the stationary plate  4  via the first slot  6  and second slot  8 . 
     In order to ensure that the moveable plate  16  is tightly secured against the top of the brake pedal, a biasing means (such as a first spring  26  or similar device) is interconnected between the first pin of the stationary plate  22  and the first pin of the moveable plate  24 . See FIG.  4 . Similarly, a second spring  32  may also interconnect to a second pin of the stationary plate  28  and the second pin of the moveable plate  30 . See FIGS. 3,  5 , and  6 . Used in tandem, the first spring  26  and the second spring  32  keep the moveable plate  16  biased toward a closed position. It is also possible to have the plate secured using rubber straps. 
     The stationary plate  4  and moveable plate  16  are generally comprised of rigid non-brittle materials which are durable and not likely to wear, deflect, or break during continual use. Metals and metal alloys such as stainless steel, carbon steel, titanium, and aluminum are preferable materials, as are numerous other metals commonly known in the art. Additionally, plastics, fiberglass, and other similar materials may also be used which have similar physical properties. 
     In order to operate the brake pedal fastener  2 , an operator manually expands the moveable plate  16  upward with one hand while holding the stationary plate  4  with the other hand. The brake pedal fastener  2  is placed over the front of the brake pedal and the moveable plate  16  is released As a result, the brake pedal fastener  2  is firmly interconnected to the brake pedal, leaving the coupling  10  readily accessible for attachment to the piston-type tandem braking system  34 . FIG. 7 depicts one embodiment of the brake pedal fastener  2  in use with the piston-type tandem braking system  34 . 
     While an effort has been made to describe some alternatives to the preferred embodiment, other alternatives will readily come to mind to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it should be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not intended to be limited to the details given herein.