Patent ID: 6860170

Claim:
A control pedal assembly comprising, in combination: a support structure having a guide surface; a pedal arm carrying a pedal at a lower end of the pedal arm; wherein the pedal arm is pivotable relative to the support structure about a pivot axis between a released position and an applied position; wherein the guide surface is fixed in position to prevent movement relative to the pivot axis as the pedal arm pivots between the released position and the applied position; a hysteresis device secured to an upper end of the pedal arm and engaging the guide surface so that the hysteresis device moves along the guide surface as the pedal arm pivots between the released position and the applied position; wherein a distance between the guide surface and the pivot axis varies so that the hysteresis device applies an increasing normal force to the guide surface to create an increasing friction force that opposes motion of the hysteresis device as the pedal arm pivots from the released position to the applied position; and wherein the hysteresis device is resiliently deflected as the hysteresis device moves along the guide surface when the pedal arm pivots between the released position and the applied position.