Patent Publication Number: US-2005115355-A1

Title: Pedal

Description:
The invention relates to a pedal for a vehicle according to the preamble of claim  1 , comprising a pedal body which has a first pedal arm and a second pedal arm, and an adjustment unit which is arranged on the pedal body and which has at least one toothing, the first pedal arm being adjustable in relation to the second pedal arm by intermeshing of the toothing.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,986 discloses an adjustable pedal in which a first pedal arm is arranged on a bearing block so as to be rotatable about an axial pin, the bearing block having two openings in which the axial pin is rotatably mounted. In addition, an adjustable second pedal arm is provided which is arranged on the first pedal arm and which can be pivoted about a joint pin with respect to the first pedal arm. The adjustable second pedal arm has, at the end facing away from the joint pin, a tread surface. In an upper section, having the joint pin, of the controllable second pedal arm an elongated hole is formed in which a sliding block is movably arranged, the sliding block being guided in the elongated hole by means of a shaft. The sliding block has an opening with an internal thread. At the end of the elongated hole facing away from the joint pin, the upper section has an opening, the opening in the section and the opening in the sliding block being penetrated by a lever screw which is provided with a thread. At one end, the lever screw is attached to the first pedal arm by means of two supports. A pinion, which engages in an intermeshing fashion with a worm thread which is formed on the axial pin, is formed between the two supports on the lever screw. The axial pin has, at one end, a gear mechanism which intermeshes with a gearwheel. The gearwheel is connected to an engine via a control cable. A disadvantage with this type of pedal is the fact that the adjustment unit has a complicated design and is thus susceptible to malfunction so that the pedal can then only be adjusted to a restricted degree, or cannot be adjusted at all anymore. In addition, the large number of components makes the manufacturing process complex and therefore costly. It is also disadvantageous that the adjustable pedal arm can be pivoted or adjusted about a joint pin which is arranged on the first pedal arm, giving rise to a restricted adjustment range, which is limited to a pivoting circle for the tread surface so that a desired pedal position cannot be set for all persons.  
      The object of the invention is to specify a pedal according to the preamble of claim  1  which permits reliable adjustment and activation.  
      This object is achieved according to the invention with the pedal mentioned at the beginning by means of the defining features of claim  1 , wherein the toothing is arranged at the first pedal arm, and wherein the first pedal arm is moveable along the toothing.  
      The two pedal arms can be adjusted with respect to one another by means of intermeshing of the toothing, as a result of which the effective length of the entire pedal body can be adapted individually for different users. By virtue of the different lengths of the pedal body, a different lever arm for activating the pedal is also provided, the force which is produced in order to activate the pedal and the force which is transmitted by the pedal always being the same. The pedal body must have sufficient strength and rigidity for any length in order to reliably absorb and transmit the forces which occur. In order to be able to obtain the same degree of rigidity of the two pedal arms for any length of the pedal body, according to the invention an elongated hole which is arranged on one of the pedal arms is provided, a roller which is provided on the other pedal arm being arranged in the elongated hole, as a result of which the two pedal arms are reliably guided with respect to one another during the adjustment so that the pedal body has a high degree of strength and rigidity for any length of the pedal body, permitting reliable activation of the pedal.  
      Advantageously arranging the toothing on the first pedal arm makes it possible, on the one hand, for the first pedal arm to be connected directly to the adjustment unit, as a result of which an adjustment force which is to be transmitted from the adjustment unit to the first pedal arm without significant losses, which may arise, for example, due to friction or the like, is transmitted. The force which is to be applied to adjust the pedal arm is thus reduced and can be provided by a person activating the adjustment unit in an easy way, for example by turning a screw or the like. Motorized support of the adjustment unit is not necessary. On the other hand, a complicated design of the adjustment unit on the pedal body is avoided so that the adjustment unit is not susceptible to malfunctions caused by individual components, and reliable adjustment of the pedal arm is carried out.  
      In one preferred embodiment, the toothing has a curved profile, as a result of which the pedal can advantageously be adjusted on a curved line. This has the advantage that the pedal can not only be moved in relation to a driver, forwards or rearwards or upwards or downwards, but also can be moved in both directions simultaneously so that when there are different drivers with different leg lengths the pedal can be moved as required into the position which is preferred by the driver, and is thus the ideal one. The adjustability of the pedal into an ideal position enables the pedal to be activated safely, thus permitting the vehicle to be driven safely. The curved profile of the toothing is not restricted to a specific arc of a circle, with the result that, for example, a radius of the toothing may be formed in a progressive or degressive fashion in order to provide a greater degree of variability for the position of the pedal in a desired range.  
      The adjustment unit advantageously has a gearwheel element which is coupled to a worm wheel, the gearwheel element and the worm wheel being provided in a housing which is embodied as a separate component. This ensures that the adjustment unit can be manufactured easily and without a large degree of effort. In addition, when a malfunction of the adjustment unit occurs, this permits the problem to be easily eliminated, for example by replacing the faulty part. To do this all that is necessary is to release the housing in which the adjustment unit is provided from the pedal and to replace it with a new one. There is thus no need for costly installation and removal of the pedal arm to be adjusted, or even of the entire pedal. A costly period of time at a workshop for a defective adjustment unit to be replaced is thus avoided since the adjustment unit can be replaced by anyone simply and easily.  
      In one advantageous embodiment, the second pedal arm is formed from a first part and a second part, the first pedal arm being advantageously arranged between the two parts. This provides the advantage that the two pedal arms are secured in relation to one another, the first pedal arm which is to be adjusted being reliably secured between the two parts of the second pedal arm, as a result of which the two pedal arms can be securely connected in any position which is provided by the adjustment of the two pedal arms. Furthermore, the secure connection of the two pedal arms ensures that the pedal can be activated safely.  
      The adjustment unit advantageously has a guide which is arranged on the second pedal arm, as a result of which the adjustment distance of the first pedal arm is predefined unambiguously during the adjustment, and the first pedal arm is prevented from tilting with respect to the second pedal arm, the guide being expediently of multicomponent construction.  
      Further advantages and features of the invention emerge from the following description and from the dependent claims. 
    
    
      The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the appended drawings and by means of a preferred exemplary embodiment of a pedal according to the invention, in which:  
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of a pedal according to the invention,  
       FIG. 2  shows a sectional view of the pedal from  FIG. 1 ,  
       FIG. 3  shows a plan view of the pedal from  FIG. 2 , and  
       FIG. 4  shows an exploded view of the adjustment unit of the pedal from  FIG. 1   
    
    
      FIGS.  1  to  3  show a pedal according to the invention which is embodied as a brake pedal  1  and in which a first pedal arm  2  and a second pedal arm  3  are coupled to one another by means of an adjustment unit  4 , the brake pedal  1  having an extent which follows a mirror-inverted S.  
      The first pedal arm  2  which is embodied as a flat body with a flat side  2   a  and an edge side  2   b  is divided into an adjustment section  5 , an activation section  6  and a connecting section  7 , the adjustment section  5  being coupled to the second pedal arm  3  via the adjustment unit  4 , and being connected by an end facing away from the adjustment unit  4  to the activation section  6  by the connecting section  7 .  
      The activation section  6  and the adjustment section  5  each have a circular-arc-shaped extent, but one radius of the adjustment section  5  is made larger than a radius of the activation section  6 , resulting in an overall shape for the first pedal arm  2  which is equal to two Cs placed one on top of the other, the connecting section  7  forming a knee between the two other sections.  
      At an end of the activation section  6  facing away from the connecting section  7 , a tread surface  8  is attached to the edge side  2   b.    
      The adjustment section  5  has on part of the edge side  2   a  a toothing  9  which has a profile which follows the curvature of the adjustment section  5 . The toothing  9  extends approximately over a central region of the edge side  2   a  of the adjustment section  5 , and an elongated hole  10  which extends in parallel with the toothing  9  is formed in a central region of the flat side  2   a  of the adjustment section  5 .  
      The second pedal arm  3  which is embodied as a hollow body has a pivoting section  11  and a guide section  12 , the second pedal arm  3  being formed from a first part  13  and a second part  14  which are connected to one another by a plurality of clip devices  15 . The adjustment section  5  of the first pedal arm  2  is movably arranged between the two parts  13 ,  14 .  
      The first part  13  of the second pedal arm  3  is formed from a flat material with a flat side  13   a,  eight slit-shaped openings  16  being formed in the region of the pivoting section  11  in an edge region of the flat side  13   a.    
      The guide section  12  of the first part  13  has an essentially rectangular shape with rounded corners. Three further slit-shaped openings  16  are formed in the region of the guide section  11  in the flat side  13   a,  on the edge region of said section, and a U-shaped cutout  17 , into which the adjustment unit  4  is inserted, is formed in a central region, three attachment bores  18  for attaching the adjustment unit  4  being formed around the cutout  17 .  
      The second part  14  is formed from a flat material which has a U-shaped cross section, a base of the U forming a flat side  14   a,  and the limbs of the U forming a circumferential border  14   b  for the second part  14 . Eight clip-shaped projections  19  are arranged in the region of the pivoting section  11  on the border  14   b  at an approximately equal distance from one another. A further three clip-shaped projections  19  are provided on the border  14   b,  in the region of the guide section  12 .  
      A clip connection  15  is composed of, in each case, one slit-shaped opening  16  and one clip-shaped projection  19  so that the first part  13  and the second part  14  of the second pedal arm  3  are connected to one another by means of eleven clip connections  15 , eight clip connections  15  being arranged on the pivoting section  11  and three clip connections  15  being arranged on the guide section  12 . It goes without saying that the two parts  13  and  14  of the second pedal arm  3  can also be connected to one another by means of some other type of attachment, for example by rivets or screws.  
      At an end facing away from the first pedal arm  2 , the first and the second parts  13  and  14  each have a bore  20   a,    20   b  which are provided in alignment with one another. The two bores  20   a  and  20   b  together form a bearing device  21  for the second pedal arm  3  in which a bearing tube  22  is arranged.  
      The pivoting section  11  of the second pedal arm  3  extends in an arcuate shape with a curvature which has an opposed orientation with respect to the curvature of the adjustment section  5  of the first pedal arm  2 .  
      The second pedal arm  3  has an interior which is formed by the flat side  13   a  of the first part  13 , the flat side  14   a  of the second part  14  and the border  14   b.  The adjustment section  5  of the first pedal arm  2  is partially arranged in the interior, two break-throughs  23   a  and  23   b  being formed in the border  14   b,  the adjustment section  5  extending into the interior through the first break-through  23   a,  and out of the interior through the second break-through  23   b.    
      The guide section  12  of the second pedal arm  3  has a guide  24  which is of multi-part construction and in which the adjustment section  5  of the first pedal arm  2  is arranged. The border  14  which is formed in the region of the guide section  12  forms a first part of the guide  24 , the adjustment section  5  bearing against it with its edge region  2   b.    
      In a central region of the guide section  12 , a roller  58  is attached to the inside of the flat side  14   a  and is provided inside the elongated hole  10  and guides it. At a distance from the roller  58  a bolt  59  is arranged which is also provided in the elongated hole  10  and defines an end position for the adjustment of the first pedal arm  2 .  
      A first rectangular guide block  25  is arranged in the region of the break-through  23   a  on the inside of the flat side  14   a  by means of two rivets  26 , in such a way that one long side  25   a  of the guide block  25  guides the edge side  2   b  lying opposite the toothing  9  of the adjustment section  5 . At the end of the guide section  12  which faces the first pedal arm  2 , a structurally identical, further guide block  25  is provided in the region of the second break-through  23   b  on the inside of the flat side  14   a,  which guide block guides the edge side  2   a  with the toothing  9  in the same way.  
      A housing  27  which covers the cutout  17  is arranged on the flat side  13   a  of the first part  13 , the housing  27  which is illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the housing having a base  28  which is embodied as a flat side, two limbs  29 ,  30  which are embodied as flat sides and one side  31 , which lies opposite the base  28  and is formed in a semicircular shape, as edge sides. The edge sides are connected to one another by means of a first base side  32  and a second base side  33 , the first base side  32  having an opening  34  and a circular depression  35  being formed in the second base side  33 .  
      A circular projection  36  is formed on the limb  29 , the projection  36  being of hollow construction and being connected to an interior cavity  37  of the housing  27 .  
      The housing  27  is attached to the flat side  13   a  by means of three attachment devices  40  which is embodied in one piece with the housing  27 . One of the attachment devices  40  is arranged in the center of the base  28 , and one each of the attachment devices  40  is arranged on an edge region of the semicircular side  31 .  
      Each of the attachment devices  40  is composed of a cylindrical base element  41  with an outer casing  42  and two end sides  43   a,    43   b,  the outer casing  42  being partially flattened and being formed in one piece on the housing  27  and extending beyond the radius. On one end side  43   a,  four quarter-circle-shaped attachment clips  44  are provided which together form a circle and protrude beyond the base side  32  which bears against the flat side  13   a,  the attachment clips  44  being of elastic construction. In one end region, the attachment clips  44  have a collar  45  which is embodied on one side.  
      In each case one attachment clip  44  is used to attach the housing  27  to the flat side  13   a  of the second part  13  of the second pedal arm  3  in one of the three attachment bores  18  which are arranged around the cutout  17 , a securing force for the housing  24  being provided by the elastic tensioning of the attachment clips  44 . By means of the collar  45  which is formed on the attachment clips  44 , the attachment clips  44  are additionally prevented from sliding back out of the attachment bores  18 .  
      The housing  27  is formed in a half-open fashion by means of the opening  34 , on the side which is in contact with the cutout  17 , with the result that an internal cavity  46  of the housing  24  forms, with the part of the interior of the second pedal arm  3  which lies under the cutout  17 , a common attachment space for the adjustment unit  4 , the toothing  9  which is arranged on the first pedal arm  2  extending in the attachment space.  
      The internal cavity  37  is divided into a first region  38  which has a semicircular cross section, and a second region  39  which has a rectangular cross section.  
      In the first region  38 , a cylindrical gearwheel element  47  with an end side  48  is rotatably arranged so as to rest on the second base side  33 , a projection  48 ′, which comes to rest in the depression  35 , being formed on the end side  48 .  
      A gearwheel  49  is arranged on an end of the gearwheel element  47  facing away from the projection  48 ′. The gearwheel element  47  extends out of the opening  34  in the second base side  33 , teeth  50  of the gearwheel  40  engaging in an intermeshing fashion with the toothing  9 . At the end of the gearwheel element  47  which faces away from the gearwheel  49 , a circumferential worm toothing  51  is formed. Three spacer elements  57  which are formed as pins are provided on the side of the gearwheel  47 , the attachment clips  40  being additionally pushed onto the spacer elements  57  in order to attach the housing  27  to the brake pedal  1 .  
      In the second region  39  of the cavity  37 , a pin  53  is arranged which has, in a central region, an axially extending indent  53   a,  around the periphery of which a worm thread  52  is formed. The pin  53  is rotatably arranged, at the one end, with a first cylindrical end section  54  in the projection  36  which is of hollow construction, and at the other end with a second cylindrical end section  55  on the inside of the limb  30 . The pin  53  extends with the first cylindrical end section  54  beyond the projection  35  and has an internal profiling  56 .  
      The gearwheel element  47 , the pin  53  and the housing  27  are provided as a separate component, the pin  53  being firstly guided by the projection  35  into the housing  27  and being secured in the first region  38  by the depression which is arranged on the inside of the limb  30 . Then, the gearwheel element  47  is introduced into the housing  27 , the worm toothing  51  engaging with the worm thread  52 . The housing  27  is then attached to the first part  14  of the second pedal arm  3  by means of the three attachment devices  40 , the attachment clips  44  being pressed into the attachment bores  18  which are arranged around the cutout  17 . The teeth  50  of the gearwheel  49  engage here with the toothing  9  which is arranged on the first pedal arm  2 .  
      The adjustment of the first pedal arm  2  with respect to the second pedal arm  3  then functions as follows:  
      The pin  53  is rotated in the desired direction by means of a simple tool, for example a screwdriver or a similar hand-held tool which has a fitting which fits the internal profiling  56  of the end section  54 .  
      The worm thread  52  which is arranged on the pin  53  intermeshes with the worm toothing  51  which is arranged on the gearwheel element  47 , and said worm thread  52  transmits the rotational movement of the pin  53  to the gearwheel element  47 . The gearwheel  49  which is arranged on the gearwheel element  47  is thus also made to rotate, the teeth  50  of the gearwheel  49  intermeshing with the toothing  9  which is arranged on the first pedal arm  2 . As a result of the intermeshing, the first pedal arm  2  is moved with respect to the second pedal arm  3 , along the toothing  9 , the guide  24  guiding the first pedal arm  2  during the adjustment.  
      As a result of the partial arrangement of the toothing  9  on the edge side  2   a  of the first pedal arm  2 , end settings for the brake pedal  1  are predefined in both adjustment directions since adjustment is possible only in the region of the toothing  9 , limitation or shortening of the adjustment distance of the first pedal arm  2  being possible by means of a corresponding arrangement of the roller  8  and of the bolt  59 .  
      The invention has been explained in more detail above with reference to an adjustment unit  4  which comprises the pin  53  with the worm thread  52  and the gearwheel element  47  with the gearwheel  49  and the worm toothing  51 . It has to be understood that the adjustment unit  4  can also have further gear mechanism elements, permitting advantageous transmission from a first gear mechanism element which is activated by a user, and from the toothing  9  which is arranged on the first pedal arm  2 .  
      The invention has been described in more detail above with reference to an adjustment unit  4  which permits the first pedal arm  2  to be adjusted by adjustment which is brought about by the user. It has to be understood that the adjustment unit can also be supported by an external force which is brought about, for example, by an electric motor. In addition it is possible to provide for the external force to be additionally excited by specific external influences to adjust the pedal. For example, the electric motor can thus be coupled to a sensor which detects a frontal impact of the vehicle, with the result that, when there is a frontal impact, the sensor transmits a signal to the electric motor, causing the electric motor to adjust the pedal, the adjustment direction being predefined in such a way that the first pedal arm  2  is moved into a position which clears a foot well which is arranged around the pedal.