GB2304863A

GB2304863A - Controlling throttle and brake pedals from a driver's arm

Info

Publication number: GB2304863A
Application number: GB9517441A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Matthew Frederick Harrison; Peter Fairhurst; David Andrew Bennett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-08-25
Filing date: 1995-08-25
Publication date: 1997-03-26
Anticipated expiration: 2015-08-25
Also published as: GB2304863B; GB9517441D0

Abstract

The throttle and brake pedals 8, 9 of a motor vehicle are controllable by a driver's arm via a control mechanism which includes a harness 3 worn on the arm and two sleeved cables 4, 12 and 5, 13. Outer sleeve 4 is connected at its ends to the upper seat belt mounting 18 via bracket 7 and to the brake pedal, inner cable 12 is connected at its ends to the footwell and to support 24, and the brake pedal is actuated by the deliberate motion of the operator's elbow. The throttle pedal is actuated by the deliberate motion of the operator's wrist via pivoted element 25 and the sleeved cable 5, 13. The outer sleeves of each of the cables are fixed to the foot pedals by demountable clamps (10, 11, figure 4). The element 25 may be hung from a fixing (27, figure 3) when not in use.

Description

CONTROL MECHANISM This invention relates to a system by which a human operator may actuate two foot pedals, such as might be found in a motor vehicle, by means of sleeved cables and a harness which is worn on one arm.

The need to drive a motor vehicle without using the standard foot operated pedals fitted is common. This need has prompted the generation of a number of solutions to such problems, most of which involve systems of hand actuated rods attached to the foot pedals. Such solutions are generally relatively simple mechanical systems and some allow for universal fitting to most types of motor vehicle.

However, the need to maintain a fixed grip on the actuating system precludes many natural hand or arm movements which the user might want to make while driving, such as gripping the steering wheel with both hands while cornering. In addition to this, such systems often require the user to adopt a particular sitting position which cannot be altered and therefore may become uncomfortable if maintained for long periods.

The present invention provides a means of actuating two foot pedals allowing the user increased freedom of hand and arm movement over existing systems, through the use of two sleeved cables which connect the foot pedals via adjustable clamps to a harness worn on the user's arm. The throttle pedal is actuated by the pulling of one of the inner cables relative to its outer sleeve as a result ofthe motion ofthe users wrist. The brake pedal is actuated by the pulling the second inner cable relative to its outer sleeve as a result of the motion of the users elbow.

A number of embodiments of this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure: 1 shows the layout of the cable and arm harness system fitted to the foot pedals of a typical motor vehicle.

Figure: 2 shows one embodiment of a system by which both inner cables may be pulled using a harness which is worn on the operators arm.

Figure: 3 shows one embodiment of a second fixing for the outer sleeve of the brake pedal actuating cable which utilises the upper mounting for a passenger seat belt restraint system. The figure includes one embodiment of a hook device from which the arm harness may be hung when not in use.

Figure: 4 shows one embodiment of an adjustable clamp fixing the outer sleeve of one of two cables to one of two foot pedals.

Figure: 5 shows one embodiment of a fixing which attaches the inner cables of two sleeved cables to the floor of a motor vehicle.

Figure: 6 shows a second embodiment of a fixing which attaches the inner cables of two sleeved cables to the floor of a motor vehicle.

Referring to Figure: 1, the user 1 may grip the steering wheel 2 with two hands in the conventional way and is allowed significant movement of both arms and as such may carry out various other functions of driving such as the operation of switches. There are two sleeved cables 4,5 whose outer sleeves 6, 7 are attached in turn to the brake pedal 8 and the throttle pedal 9 using adjustable clamps 10, 11. Both inner cables 12, 13 are attached to the floor using a fixing 14. The sleeved cables are routed across the footwell of the car 15, and up the door pillar 16. The outer sleeve of cable 4 is attached at one end to the adjustable clamp 10 fitted to the brake pedal 8, and is attached to a bracket 17 fixed at the upper mounting of the driver seat belt restraint 18 at the other end.The user wears a harness 3 on one arm to which the inner cable associated with the brake pedal, and both the inner cable and outer sleeve associated with the throttle pedal are fixed. The user may actuate the brake pedal 8 via the sleeved cable 4 by straightening the arm upon which the harness 3 is worn, which is kept slightly bent during normal driving. The user can also actuate the throttle pedal 9 via the sleeved throttle cable 5 by a flexing of the wrist.

Referring to Figure: 2, the inner cable 12 associated with the brake pedal (8 in Figure: 1) is attached to a harness (3 in Figure: 1) with a fixing 19. The inner cable 13 associated with the throttle pedal (9 in Figure: 1) passes over pulley 20 and is fixed to the harness with a fixing 21. The outer sleeve of the throttle cable is attached to the harness with the fixing 22. The user may pull on the inner cable 12 by the straightening ofthe arm and thus actuate the brake pedal. The user may pull on the inner cable 13 by the flexing of the wrist and thus actuate the throttle pedal. One embodiment of the harness would comprise two principle components: an arm support 24 and a hand ring 25. These two components are joined together by a pivot 23.

The arm support is kept in place against the operator's arm using one or more easy to release bands such as 26. A flexing of the operator's wrist causes a pivoting motion of the hand ring about the pivot 23 and results in a pulling ofthe inner cable 13 which in turn actuates the throttle pedal. Cable 13 is made to pass around pulley 20 in order to provide a larger motion in the cable than would be achieved if the cable were directly attached to the hand ring. The harness is shown in its simplest form in Figure: 2. Ergonomic shaping of the components 24, 25 would add to the comfort of the operator.

Referring to Figure: 3, the outer sleeve 6 ofthe cable (4 in Figure: 1) associated with the vehicle's brake pedal (8 in Figure: 1) is fixed to the upper mounting of a seat belt restraint system 18 using the bracket 17. The upper seat belt restraint mounting is utilised as it is a strong point on all motor vehicles, designed to withstand the application of considerable point loads. The support 17,27 may be attached with the minimum of tools. The harness (3 in Figure: 1) may be hung from the fixing 27 to the upper seat belt restraint mounting when not in use. The use of a hanging point eliminates the problems of reduced access to the vehicle due to bulky control systems causing an obstruction, as is common with existing control systems utilising rods.

Referring to Figure: 4, the outer sleeve of a sleeved cable 4,5 may be fitted to a foot pedal 8, 9 using the adjustable clamp 10,11. The clamp comprises a back plate 28 and a front plate 29.

The clamp is so designed to allow easy fitting to most shapes and sizes of foot pedal. The clamp may be fitted with a minimum of tools. The back plate 28 has a substantial slot open from the top edge, which allows the front plate 29 to be located centrally on the foot pedal with positive location being provided by the back plate straddling the lever arm 30 of the foot pedal.

Referring to Figure: 5, the inner cables 12,13 of both sleeved cables (4,5 in Figure: 1) may be attached to the footwell 15 of a motor vehicle using the fixing 14. The fixing is attached to the vehicle floorpan or bulkhead by drilling small diameter holes and retaining the fixing with a number of bolts. In this embodiment, the inner cable 12,13 of a sleeved cable (4,5 in Figure: 1) is held captive in a suitably contoured slot. The cable may be retained in position with a suitable clip (not shown). The cable can be released easily for quick removal of the control system.

Referring to Figure: 6, the inner cables 12,13 of both sleeved cables (4,5 in Figure: 1) may be attached to the footwell 15 of a motor vehicle using a second embodiment of the fixing 14. In this embodiment, the inner cable 12,13 of a sleeved cable (4,5 in Figure: 1) is supplied with a flat ended termination which is held for easy release to the fixing 14 by a pin 31.

Claims

1 A control mechanism which allows a human operator to actuate two foot pedals as might be found on a motor vehicle through the use of a harness worn on the arm.

2 A control mechanism a claimed in Claim 1 which uses sleeved cables to connect the operators arm harness to the foot pedals.

3 A control mechanism as claimed in Claim 1 and Claim 2 which, when not in use, can be hung from a fixing located on the upper mounting point of an existing seat belt restraint system in order to provide unobstructed access to the vehicle for any person wishing to occupy the driving position.

3 A control mechanism as claimed in Claim 1 and Claim 2 which makes use of the upper mounting point of a seat belt restraint system as a fixing point for the outer sleeve of one or more cables.

4 A control mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2 and Claim 3 which uses adjustable or otherwise clamps on the foot pedals of the vehicle as a means of retaining the outer sleeves of control cables.

5 A control mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2, Claim 3 and Claim 4 which uses a fixing on the floor or other structural member of the vehicle to retain the inner cables of sleeved control cables.

6 A harness as claimed in Claim 1 whereby the inner cable of a sleeved cable is pulled by a mechanism actuated by the motion of the operators elbow.

7 A harness as claimed in Claim 1 whereby the inner cable of a sleeved cable is pulled by a mechanism actuated by the motion of the operators wrist.

8 A harness as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 6 and Claim 7 whereby the movement of the inner cable of a sleeved control cable resulting from the movement of the operators arm is magnified by a system of one or more pulleys in order to appropriately match the comfortable displacements of a person's arm while driving to the displacements of a cable required in order to effectively actuate a foot pedal to which it is attached.

9 A harness as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 6, Claim 7 and Claim 8 which can be hung from a fixing on the upper mounting of a seat belt restraint system when not in use.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS A control mechanism which allows a human operator to actuate the throttle and brake foot pedals of a motor vehicle independently from one another by means of a harness provided which is worn on one arm and to which two sleeved cables are fitted so that the pedals are connected to the harness in such a way that the upper mounting point of an existing seat belt restraint system is used as a fixing point for the upper end of the outer sleeve of one or more cables, and adjustable or otherwise clamps are used as means of fixing the lower ends of the outer sleeves of the cables to their respective foot pedals with fixing points for the inner cables being added to the floor or other structure of the vehicle so that the throttle foot pedal may be actuated by a deliberate movement of the operator's wrist and the brake foot pedal may be actuated by a deliberate movement of the operator's elbow.

2 A control mechanism as claimed in Claim 1 whereby the movement of the inner cable of a sleeved cable as a result of the movement of the operator's arm in the harness provided is magnified by a system of one or more pulleys in order to appropriately match the comfortable forced displacements of the operator' s arm with the cable displacements and tensions required to effectively actuate the foot pedal to which the cable is attached.