Patent ID: 7127964

Claim:
A pedal device for automobiles with two pedal levers that are neighboring each other, comprising a plurality of sensor units that detect pedal position, each sensor unit including at least one stationary sensor head and at least one movable sensor element that is kinematically linked to a respective one of said pedal levers, said pedal levers being arranged on a pedal axis with the sensor element of each pedal lever being within an effective range of a respective sensor head, each sensor head having an effective sensing direction directed toward a movable sensor element and approximately vertical to the pedal axis, the effective sensing directions of said sensor heads being generally parallel to each other, each sensor element being mounted to a respective pedal lever so as to be movable relative to a sensing face of a respective sensor head in a distance changing manner in said effective sensing direction such that an interface distance between said sensing face and said sensor element changes as said pedal lever pivots on said pedal axis, at least one of the sensor units having two sensor heads to which two oppositely tilted sensor elements are assigned, the stationary sensor heads being arranged in proximity to each other, both oppositely tilted sensor elements being arranged between the pedal axis and the sensor heads in a butterfly arrangement, and all the sensor heads being integrated into a common assembly unit.