In a motor vehicle, it is important, for the comfort of the operator, and for safe operation of the vehicle, to be able to adjust the position of the operator's feet relative to the control pedals of the vehicle. In automobiles, this is generally accomplished by fore and aft adjustment of the operator's seat, or by a combination of fore and aft adjustment and vertical adjustment. However, in larger vehicles, seat adjustment is frequently not provided. Where seat adjustment is provided, whether in an automobile or in a larger vehicle, it can give rise to other problems, such as dangers associated with seat track failure, and positioning the operator too close to the steering wheel, or too low for proper vision of the road.
Various pedal position adjustment mechanisms have been proposed. Examples are the adjustable suspended pedal mechanisms described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,964,125, 6,151,984, 6,305,239 and 6,374,695, the adjustable floor pedal systems described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,047 and U.S. patent publication 2002/0157497.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,047, a floating floor is adjustable fore and aft by a motor. The floating floor carries not only the pedals, e.g. a brake and throttle pedal, but also electrical transducers which produce electrical signals in response to pedal movement. In U.S. patent publication 2002/0157497, the brake component is carried along with the pedal, and connected to the vehicle brakes via flexible hydraulic hoses.
In many vehicles, although the throttle is electrically controlled, the brake is operated pneumatically or hydraulically. An electrical transducer can be mounted on a floating floor without giving rise to serious problems. However, a hydraulic or pneumatic valve requires fluid lines, which are typically relatively stiff, and would be liable to fail, due to cracking or chafing as a result of repeated flexure, if connected to a floating floor. Moreover, these brake valves are relatively heavy, and it is not practical to mount them for movement along with a pedal. On the other hand attempting to operate a fixed brake valve from a brake pedal mounted on a floating floor would entail other problems, namely, making a simple mechanical connection between the adjustable brake pedal and the fixed brake valve, and maintaining a uniform brake pedal effort throughout the range of pedal position adjustment.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds