GB1565505A

GB1565505A - Adjustable pedal assembly for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB1565505A
Application number: GB4052175A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Lucas Industries Ltd
Current assignee: ZF International UK Ltd
Priority date: 1975-10-03
Filing date: 1975-10-03
Publication date: 1980-04-23
Also published as: JPS5244923A; ES452066A1; IT1072944B; DE2644626A1; FR2326737A1

Description

(54) ADJUSTABLE PEDAL ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE (71) We, LUCAS INDUSTRIES LIMITED, a British Company of Great King Street, Birmingham B19 2XF, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to an adjustable pedal assembly for a vehicle.

In order for different drivers of the vehicle to have the most advantageous and comfortable position for driving, it is usual to provide for adjustment of the seat and sometimes also the steering wheel. In some vehicles it is not convenient to provide for seat adjustment and instead provision may be made for adjusting the accelerator, brake and, when fitted, clutch pedals. However, this entails problems associated with the need for the functions to be controlled by the pedals to remain unaltered by adjustment of the pedals.

It is the object of this invention to provide an adjustable pedal assembly for a vehicle in which adjustment is facilitated without effecting the functions controlled by the pedals.

In accordance with the present invention an adjustable pedal assembly comprises a member with at least one pedal operatively mounted thereon for controlling a function of the vehicle, said member being mounted on links arranged to act as a parallelogram linkage providing for adjustment between the member and a part of the vehicle on which the assembly is carried, adjustment being, in use, in a direction towards and away from a drivers seat in the vehicle, and the or each pedal being connected to transmission means arranged to react upon the said member directly, said means being arranged in use to control an associated vehicle function, said transmission means being operatively unaffected by adjustment of the member.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation view of a part of a vehicle incorporating an adjustable pedal assembly constructed in accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of an alternative construction.

Figure 1 illustrates the drivers seat 10 of a vehicle, particularly a taxi. The seat is nonadjustable in a fore and aft direction and is fixed to an upright bulkhead separating the driving compartment from the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

Situated in front of the drivers seat is a steering wheel 11, on a column 12 inclined with respect to the floor 13. Mounted ahead of the steering wheel 11 is a dashboard assembly indicated diagrammatically at 14.

The dashboard assembly 14 is mounted in turn upon a portion of the vehicle frame indicated at 15 which also supports a pedal assembly to be described.

The pedal assembly includes at least one pedal 16, in this example two being provided, namely an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal, both of the pendant type.

The pedal assembly may also include a clutch, where this is required by the form of transmission fitted to the vehicle. The vehicle to which the assembly shown is intended to be fitted however, has electrical drive from an electric motor powered by electrical storage batteries. No clutch is therefore required.

The pedals 16, 17 are mounted upon a member 18 by a parallelogram linkage comprising two side by side pairs of parallel links, one pair being shown at 20, 21. One end of each of these is pivoted on the portion 15 of the vehicle frame and their other ends are pivoted to the member 18. To lock this parallelogram linkage in any selected position there is a locking bar 22 having half circular recesses 23 along its length. This co-operates with a flat deflectable bar 24 on which is a slidable spring loaded peg 25. Sliding of the peg lengthwise of the bar enables it to lock in any one of the recesses 23. The peg 25 is fixed in relation to the member 15 whereas the bars 22 and 24 are fixed to the member 18 which carries the pedals.There is provision for manually unlocking the peg 32 to allow a new setting to be selected, the member 18 with its attachments being movable about the axes of the links 20, 21.

To connect the respective pedals with their associated controls, there are transmission means in the form of Bowden cables 16a, one being shown. One end of the inner wire of each such cable is connected to the pedal and the outer casing of the cable is secured to and reacts directly upon the member 18.

At their opposite ends, the cables are connected in conventional manner to the associated control devices or mechanisms (not shown) in the form of accelerator and brake mechanism respectively. This arrangement enables adjustment of the member 18 to take place without in any way affecting the control functions which are controlled by the pedals and, in particular, without affecting any adjustment of the travel of the pedals in relation to the associated devices or mechanisms Figure 2 shows the parts of an alternative construction which differs from the Figure 1 construction. The bars 22 and 24 are replaced by an angle section part 26 in one side of which a series of spaced holes 27 are provided. A latch, including a peg 28 carried on a pivotable lever 29, engages with the holes 27 to lock the part 26 in any selected position.The lever is loaded by a spring 30 into its locked position. The part 26 is fixed to the member 18 and the lever 29 is pivoted at 31 to the fixed member 15. In this construction, the member 18 is connected to the member 15 by a parallelogram linkage similar to that shown in Figure 1.

It has been found that relatively small adjustment lengthwise of the vehicle of the pedal assembly suffices to provide a comfortable and advantageous driving position for drivers of different stature. It is possible for this assembly to be fitted in a vehicle in which seat adjustment is also provided for, but it has been found that provision of both is not necessary in most vehicles. In particular however, in a vehicle such as a taxi provision for adjustment of a driving seat is undesirable.

Furthermore the arrangement contributes to safety in that the firmly fixed type of seat is capable of withstanding greater impact than a seat on a sliding adjustable frame.

In place of the Bowden cables, other transmission means may be furnished between the pedals and their associated controls. However it is essential that in all cases, the adjustment of the pedals should not affect the adjustment of the associated control nor the travel of the pedal in relation to such controls.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. An adjustable pedal assembly for a vehicle comprising a member with at least one pedal operatively mounted thereon for controlling a function of the vehicle, said member being mounted on links arranged to act as a parallelogram linkage providing for adjustment between the member and a part of the vehicle on which the assembly is carried, adjustment being, in use, in a direction towards and way from a drivers seat in the vehicle, and the or each pedal being connected to transmission means arranged to react upon said member directly said means being arranged in use to control an associated vehicle function, whereby said transmission means is operatively unffected by adjustment of the member.

2. An adjustable pedal assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the parallelogram linkage includes locking means for retaining the member in any selected adjusted position.

3. An adjustable pedal assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which the locking means comprises a bar having a plurality of notches and a peg releasably engaged therewith to retain the member in any selected adjusted position.

4. An adjustable pedal assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the pedal or each pedal is pivotally mounted on said member which is adjustable and is connected to means for controlling the appropriate vehicle function through flexible transmission means.

5. An adjustable pedal assembly as claimed in claim 4 in which the flexible transmission means is a Bowden cable, of which an inner member is connected to the pedal and an outer casing is secured to and reacts directly on the member on which the pedal is pivotally mounted.

6. An adjustable pedal assembly as claimed in claim 5 in which the locking means comprises a part having a series of holes and a peg carried on a lever, said peg being releasably engageable in any one of said holes to retain the member in any selected adjusted position.

7. An adjustable pedal assembly for a vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. manually unlocking the peg 32 to allow a new setting to be selected, the member 18 with its attachments being movable about the axes of the links 20, 21. To connect the respective pedals with their associated controls, there are transmission means in the form of Bowden cables 16a, one being shown. One end of the inner wire of each such cable is connected to the pedal and the outer casing of the cable is secured to and reacts directly upon the member 18. At their opposite ends, the cables are connected in conventional manner to the associated control devices or mechanisms (not shown) in the form of accelerator and brake mechanism respectively. This arrangement enables adjustment of the member 18 to take place without in any way affecting the control functions which are controlled by the pedals and, in particular, without affecting any adjustment of the travel of the pedals in relation to the associated devices or mechanisms Figure 2 shows the parts of an alternative construction which differs from the Figure 1 construction. The bars 22 and 24 are replaced by an angle section part 26 in one side of which a series of spaced holes 27 are provided. A latch, including a peg 28 carried on a pivotable lever 29, engages with the holes 27 to lock the part 26 in any selected position.The lever is loaded by a spring 30 into its locked position. The part 26 is fixed to the member 18 and the lever 29 is pivoted at 31 to the fixed member 15. In this construction, the member 18 is connected to the member 15 by a parallelogram linkage similar to that shown in Figure 1. It has been found that relatively small adjustment lengthwise of the vehicle of the pedal assembly suffices to provide a comfortable and advantageous driving position for drivers of different stature. It is possible for this assembly to be fitted in a vehicle in which seat adjustment is also provided for, but it has been found that provision of both is not necessary in most vehicles. In particular however, in a vehicle such as a taxi provision for adjustment of a driving seat is undesirable. Furthermore the arrangement contributes to safety in that the firmly fixed type of seat is capable of withstanding greater impact than a seat on a sliding adjustable frame. In place of the Bowden cables, other transmission means may be furnished between the pedals and their associated controls. However it is essential that in all cases, the adjustment of the pedals should not affect the adjustment of the associated control nor the travel of the pedal in relation to such controls. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. An adjustable pedal assembly for a vehicle comprising a member with at least one pedal operatively mounted thereon for controlling a function of the vehicle, said member being mounted on links arranged to act as a parallelogram linkage providing for adjustment between the member and a part of the vehicle on which the assembly is carried, adjustment being, in use, in a direction towards and way from a drivers seat in the vehicle, and the or each pedal being connected to transmission means arranged to react upon said member directly said means being arranged in use to control an associated vehicle function, whereby said transmission means is operatively unffected by adjustment of the member.