Abstract:
A holding device for the pedal mechanism of a motor vehicle is presented, which has at least one pedal block ( 1, 2 ) with pedals ( 4, 6 ) fastened thereto pivotably and a baseplate ( 3 ). The baseplate ( 3 ) and the pedal block ( 1, 2 ) are made of plastic in one piece. The pedal block ( 1, 2 ) for holding a pedal ( 4, 6 ) has a mount for the pivot axis of the respective pedal ( 4, 6 ). The mount is made of two side walls ( 8, 9, 10, 11 ) located opposite each other. The side walls ( 8, 9, 10, 11 ) are formed of sheet metal and the mount is injection molded in the plastic pedal block. The sheet metal mount forms a deformation device for the release of the pivot axis ( 5, 7 ) in the case of an accident of the motor vehicle.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention pertains to a holding device for the pedal mechanism of a motor vehicle, which usually contains at least one brake pedal and a gas pedal and, moreover, in vehicles with manually shifted transmission, additionally a clutch pedal. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Holding devices of the type described in the introduction are known in many different designs in the automobile industry. They comprise essentially the pedal block with the pedals fixed to them pivotably and a baseplate, to which the pedal block is fixed, and which is in turn fixed usually to the firewall of a motor vehicle, e.g., by means of screw connections. The pedal blocks and the baseplate may be manufactured from sheet metal or diecast magnesium or aluminum, and pedal blocks that are screwed directly to the vehicle without a baseplate have been known as well. 
   Recent developments have been made in the area of the holding devices for the pedal mechanism of motor vehicles point, toward making the pedal block in one piece with a baseplate from a plastic. In this case parts of the brake booster housing may be additionally made in one piece with the plastic baseplate on the side facing away from the pedal block. 
   To avoid risks of injury to the driver of the vehicle, pedal separation mechanisms have been known, which utilize the introduction of force from the outside, which is caused by an accident, to drive at least one separating wedge between two metallic side walls of a mount on which the pedal lever or the pedal levers is/are pivotably mounted in order to make possible as a result the release of the bearing element carrying the pedal lever. These designs, which form a deformation device, are also known as a “pedal release system.” They bring about the release of the pivot axis and consequently the separation of the pedal from the pedal block, so that the penetration of the pedal into the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, which would be caused by an accident, is prevented from occurring. The holding devices used in such release systems have the drawback that the design possibilities are limited, especially concerning the geometric design of the metallic components, and the metallic components have an increased weight, which counteracts especially the efforts to have a consistent lightweight design in motor vehicle manufacture. Moreover, the systems known hitherto are very bulky and have a complicated design, so that their mounting and removal is complicated and consequently rather difficult. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a holding device for the pedal mechanism of a motor vehicle, which offers the advantage of a great freedom in design in the use of the holding device within the framework of a pedal release system and is, moreover, characterized by reduced weight and simpler manufacture. Furthermore, the present invention shall accomplish the object of meeting the requirements of modern motor vehicle manufactures in terms of the modular design of assembly units, which makes it possible to considerably reduce the depth of manufacture. 
   According to the invention, a holding device for the pedal mechanism of a motor vehicle has a pedal block with pedals fixed thereto in a pivotable manner and a baseplate. The baseplate and the pedal block are made of plastic in one piece. The pedal block for holding a pedal has a mount for a pivot axis of the pedal. The mount is formed by two side walls located opposite each other. The two side walls are sheet metal and the mount is injection molded into the plastic pedal block. “Injection molded” means in this connection that plastic is injection molded at least partially around the mount and the side walls in a plastic injection molding operation during the manufacture of the holding device according to the present invention. The mount, consisting of sheet metal, forms a deformation device for the release of the pivot axis of the pedal in the case of an accident of the motor vehicle. 
   Such a design embodiment unites the hitherto conflicting advantages of a holding device known from the state of the art, which is made of sheet metal, and the advantages of a construction made of plastic. The mount manufactured from sheet metal is a component that can be accurately determined by calculation with respect to deformations occurring in an accident for the pivot axis of the particular pedal. In addition, the side walls, in which the pivot axis is accommodated, can be manufactured by means of an inexpensive process together with the rest of the one-piece holding device. Due to the one-part design according to the present invention, cumulative tolerances are, moreover, avoided, so that it was possible to achieve, on the whole, a considerable reduction in the tolerance of the holding device. 
   Furthermore, the fact that the holding device is made of plastic in one piece substantially increases the design possibilities of optimally utilizing the conditions prevailing in the area of the firewall and of fully or partially integrating supplementary components in the baseplate and/or the pedal block. 
   According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is, moreover, proposed that the baseplate have a seal injection-molded according to the two-component process (2 C process) on the rear side facing away from the pedal block for sealing an opening provided in the motor vehicle body for the baseplate. The injection molding of the seal substantially reduces the depth of manufacture. 
   It also proved to be advantageous to already integrate a clutch master cylinder and/or a vacuum tank, which is necessary especially in modern diesel-powered vehicles, in the baseplate of the housing. 
   Corresponding to another advantageous embodiment of the subject of the present invention, the mount for a pivot axis of the pedal, which is made of two side walls located opposite each other, consists of sheet metal and is injection molded in the pedal block, may have a hole, which is coated with plastic during the manufacture of the holding device and forms a bearing element after the completion of the holding device. 
   To make it possible to lead components such as a steering cross-shaft through the baseplate, it is proposed according to a variant of the present invention that an opening be provided in the baseplate, the opening having a seal extending around the steering cross-shaft and closing the opening with the steering cross-shaft installed. The introduction of the steering cross-shaft into the holding device offers advantages in terms of the reduction of the depth of manufacture, because the holding device as a component module has in its entirety additional components that can be automatically fastened to the holding device at the firewall during the finishing of a motor vehicle. The total number of individual components to be supplied decreases as a result during the final assembly. 
   In addition, provisions are made in the advantageous embodiment of the present invention for the baseplate of the holding device to have the mount, e.g., in the form of a mounting plate, for an electronic module unit for detecting the position of the gas pedal and for transmitting the data determined in the process to downstream assembly units (E gas module). The integration of this mount in the baseplate facilitates the mounting of such an E gas module, which can now likewise be performed before the final assembly. Moreover, it is possible to integrate additional mounts for switching devices, brackets and stops in both the baseplate and the plastic area of the pedal block. 
   The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a synoptic perspective view of the holding device according to the present invention from the passenger cell side; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective side view corresponding to arrow Y in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a synoptic perspective view of the holding device as viewed from the engine compartment side facing away from the passenger cell side; 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional detailed view corresponding to line B—B in  FIG. 3 ; and 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view corresponding to line C—C in  FIG. 2 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to the drawings in particular, the holding device for the pedal mechanism of a motor vehicle is shown in  FIG. 1 . The holding device has two pedal blocks  1 ,  2  as well as a common baseplate  3 . The pedal block  1  is used for the pivotable mounting of a clutch pedal  4  by means of a pivot axis  5 . A brake pedal  6  is mounted in the pedal block  2  by means of a pivot axis  7 . The two pivot axes  5  and  7  are located in the front area of the pedal blocks  1  and  2  facing away from the baseplate  3 . These front areas are formed from sheet metal and comprise essentially two side walls  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11  each. In their rear area facing the baseplate, the side walls  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11  have a greater distance, in which the brake pedal  6  and the clutch pedal  4  are accommodated. The side walls  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11 , just as the distance between them, are traversed by the respective pivot axes  5  and  7 . The side walls  8  and  9  as well  10  and  11  are converged by means of oblique planes in the front area facing the passenger cell and they form a respective holding strap  12  and  13 . 
   The holding strap  12 ,  13  is used to fasten the pedal block  1 ,  2  to a transverse bar of a motor vehicle, by means of through holes arranged within the holding strap. The transverse bar is not shown more specifically here. 
   The two side walls  8  and  9  form a common holding strap  12  at the pedal block  1 . The pedal block  2  has an identical design corresponding to the pedal block  1 , and the two side walls  10  and  11  form a common holding strap  13 . The pedal blocks  1 ,  2  with the corresponding side walls  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11  form a common, one-piece assembly unit with the baseplate  3 , and the side walls  8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11  made of sheet metal are injection molded in the respective plastic pedal block  1  and  2 . The cross-sectional view in  FIG. 5  along line C—C from  FIG. 2  makes it clear that the side walls  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11  are connected to the respective pedal block  1  and  2  by means of a bent end area of the side walls  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11 . The bent area is used to increase the rigidity in the area of the connection between the plastic and the sheet metal. 
     FIG. 1  also shows clearly that the holding device has a gas pedal  14  as an additional actuating instrument besides a clutch pedal  4  and a brake pedal  6 . The gas pedal  14  is part of a so-called E gas module  15 , which is provided as an electronic assembly unit for detecting the position of the gas pedal and transmitting the data thus obtained to downstream assembly units. The E gas module  15  is a prefabricated assembly unit and is placed on a mounting plate  16 , which is an integral part of the baseplate  3  in the example being shown. However, the E gas module may, of course, also be fastened subsequently to the baseplate  3 . 
   The mount for a pivot axis  5 ,  7  of the pedal  4 ,  6 , which mount is made of two side walls  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11  located opposite each other, consists of sheet metal and is injection molded in the pedal block  1 ,  2 , forms a hole each, which is coated with plastic during the manufacture of the holding device and acts as a bearing element  31  after the completion of the holding device. This means that the bearing element  31 , which is a bearing bush here, as is apparent from  FIG. 1 , is formed directly during the manufacture of the holding device in an injection molding operation. The webs  32  are the connection to the plastic pedal block  1 ,  2 . 
   The lateral perspective view in  FIG. 2  shows, on the one hand, the pedal blocks  1  and  2  as well as the baseplate  3  as the essential components. This figure also shows clearly that a brake booster housing  17  is arranged on the rear side of the baseplate  3 , which faces away from the pedal blocks  1 ,  2  and points in the direction of the engine compartment. The brake booster housing  17  has a two-part design and has a lower part  18  on the baseplate side as well as an upper part  19  placed thereon. The lower part  18  may, of course, also be an integral part of the baseplate  3  of the holding device, and a brake booster housing  17  made on the whole in one piece with the baseplate  3  is also within the scope of the present invention. 
   Moreover, a vacuum tank, which is designated by  20  as a whole and is used as a pressure storage means especially in modern diesel-powered vehicles, is arranged on the rear side of the baseplate  3 . The vacuum tank  20  has a two-part design and comprises a lower part  21  and an upper part  22 . The lower part  21  is integrated within the baseplate  3  here and the upper part  22  is placed on the lower part  21  and is welded to same. 
   Moreover, the housing  23  of a clutch master cylinder, whose arrangement can be seen from the perspective view in  FIG. 3 , is located on the rear side of the baseplate  3  facing away from the engine compartment. In addition, this figure also shows that the baseplate  3  of the holding device has an opening  24 , which is provided for passing through a steering cross-shaft  25 . The steering cross-shaft  25  is part of the steering column of the corresponding vehicle and at its two free ends, it has connection means for the upper and lower parts of the motor vehicle steering column, which are not shown specifically here for clarity&#39;s sake. The steering cross-shaft  25  is placed in the opening  24  of the baseplate  3  during the preassembly of the entire module of the holding device, and a seal  26  that extends around the steering cross-shaft  25  and closes the opening is placed to seal the opening  24  and is fastened to the baseplate  3  by means of suitable fastening means. The seal  26  is designed such that due to its rigidity, it can hold the steering cross-shaft  25  in its position in the opening  24  of the baseplate  3  during the preassembly and the transportation of the entire holding device. In addition, the seal  24  is used to muffle the noises occurring in the engine and, e.g., for sealing against the penetration of moisture or gas from the engine compartment. 
   To achieve an additional reduction in the engine noises, the baseplate has a circular seal  27  on the rear side facing the engine. The seal  27  is injection molded on the baseplate  3  according to the 2 C process during the manufacture of the injection-molded part of the baseplate  3 . 
   The cross section of the baseplate is shown in an enlarged view in  FIG. 4  in its edge area with the seal  27  injection molded there, the view in  FIG. 4  corresponding to a cross section along line B—B in  FIG. 3 . This figure shows that the seal  27  has two sealing lips  28  and  29  and is introduced into a groove  30  of the baseplate with its underside facing away from the sealing lips  28 ,  29 . According to an advantageous embodiment, the material of the seal  27  may be tetrapolyethylene (TPE), and this material harmonizes especially well with the polyamide (e.g., PA 66 GF 35) of the baseplate  3  during the manufacture of the baseplate  3 . 
   While a specific embodiment of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.