They Invented What? (No. 45)

U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,565:  Adjustable pedal assembly with electronic throttle control.

JW Note:  In honor of the KSR v. Teleflex opinion issued this week . . . actually, isn’t “TIW?” what the Supreme Court said?

 

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable pedal assembly for a vehicle comprising;

a support (18) for mounting to a vehicle structure;

an adjustable pedal assembly (22) having a guide member (62) rotatably supported by said support (18) for pivotal movement about a pivot axis (26); and

a pedal arm (14) supported on said guide member (62) for rectilinear movement in fore and aft directions relative to said support (18), said guide member (62) and said pivot axis (26) between various adjusted positions;

an electronic control (28) supported on said support (18) and responsive to pivotal movement of said pedal arm (14) and said guide member (62) about said pivot axis (26),

said electronic control (28) being fixed relative to said support (18) such that said pedal arm (14) moves in fore and aft directions with respect to said electronic control (28), said electronic control (28) being responsive to pivotal movement of said guide member (62) about said pivot axis (26) for providing a signal (32) that corresponds to pedal arm (14) position as said pedal arm (14) pivots said guide member (62) about said pivot axis (26).

2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pedal arm (14) is in sliding engagement with said guide member (62) and extends from said guide member (62) to lower pad end.

3. An assembly as set forth in claim 2 including a drive for moving said pedal arm (14) along said guide member (62).

4. A vehicle control pedal apparatus (12) comprising:

a support (18) adapted to be mounted to a vehicle structure (20);

an adjustable pedal assembly (22) having a pedal arm (14) moveable in force and aft directions with respect to said support (18);

a pivot (24) for pivotally supporting said adjustable pedal assembly (22) with respect to said support (18) and defining a pivot axis (26); and

an electronic control (28) attached to said support (18) for controlling a vehicle system;

said apparatus (12) characterized by said electronic control (28) being responsive to said pivot (24) for providing a signal (32) that corresponds to pedal arm position as said pedal arm (14) pivots about said pivot axis (26) between rest and applied positions wherein the position of said pivot (24) remains constant while said pedal arm (14) moves in fore and aft directions with respect to said pivot (24).