Patent ID: 7516683

Claim:
A pedal box incorporating a control pedal of an automobile, wherein the pedal is pivotally mounted on a main pivot shaft which is held in a fixed position in the pedal box and which passes through an elongate slot in the pedal, the main pivot shaft being normally held at one end of the slot by a blocking plate which is held in position by a latch member in latching engagement with the blocking plate, the latching engagement maintained by a shear pin preventing rotation of the latch member, wherein when the pedal box is mounted in the automobile, which is involved in a frontal impact and causes a force to be applied to the shear pin breaking the shear pin allowing the latch member to disengage from the blocking plate releasing the blocking plate, permitting the blocking plate to fall away and allowing the main pivot shaft to traverse the slot in the pedal together with rotation of the pedal away from contact with the feet of a driver of the automobile.