Description

The present invention relates to a pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such pedal assemblies for motor vehicles, with at least one support and at least two pedals, each comprising a pedal arm mounted to said at least one support and pivot able around a corresponding pivot axis, a sensor for detecting a rotational movement of said pedal arm around said pivot axis and an interface for an electrical contact of said sensor with a control unit of said motor vehicle, are well known in different em bodiments.

Furthermore, from the DE 10 2007 059 376 A1 a pedal assembly for a motor vehicle is known, too. This pedal assembly is designed as a modular pedal assembly with two frame-like supports and two pedals, each comprising a pedal arm mounted to the cor responding support and pivotable around a corresponding pivot axis.

It is an object of the invention to provide a pedal assembly for a motor vehicle, which shows an easy design.

This object of the invention is solved by a pedal assembly for a motor vehicle accord ing to claim 1 , wherein said at least one support is designed as a single base plate for said at least two pedals and at least one of said at least two pedals is housed by said single base plate, whereat said pedal arm of said housed pedal is extending through a pedal arm opening of said single base plate.

A main advantage of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention is, that the inventive pedal assembly shows an easy design, thus can be realized with less effort. Furthermore, the inventive pedal assembly can be manufactured with less material and less assembly work. Therefore, the inventive pedal assembly for a motor vehicle can be cost saving. This can be achieved by the inventive pedal assembly for a motor vehicle.

Further advantageous developments of the inventive pedal assembly for a motor vehi cle are apparent from the sub-claims as well as from the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention by means of the attached Figures.

Basically, the design of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the inven tion can be of any suitable shape, material, dimension and number of pedals as well as number of pedals housed by said single base plate. Advantageously, at least two of said at least two pedals are housed by said single base plate. That way, the design of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention is further simplified.

A preferable development of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention is, that said single base plate is designed, that said at least one pedal housed by said single base plate is mountable from a rear side of said single base plate, whereat said rear side is facing a frame of said motor vehicle said pedal assem bly is mounted to. Flereby, the design of the inventive pedal assembly for a motor ve hicle according to the invention is furthermore simplified. A separate cover for housing this pedal is not necessary. Moreover, a major problem of pedal assemblies for motor vehicles is, that there is always a risk of getting debris like small stones into the mech anism of the pedal assembly. The pedal assembly according to the aforementioned embodiment of the invention solves or reduces this problem by employing an easy design, too. This is especially true for pedal assemblies designed for so called stand ing pedals for motor vehicles.

A preferable development of the aforementioned embodiment of the inventive pedal assembly for a motor vehicle is, that said single base plate is comprising a frame part for said at least one pedal housed by said single base plate. That way, the single base plate can be realized with less material and shows an easy design, too. Another advantageous development of the pedal assembly according to the invention is, that said pedal arm of said at least one pedal housed by said single base plate comprises a central part corresponding to said single base plate and an actuation part linked to said central part in a power transmitting manner. Hereby, the assembly of the at least one pedal housed by said single base plate is simplified. Furthermore, the size of the pedal arm opening for said pedal arm of said at least one pedal housed by said single base plate can be reduced. Thus, the risk of getting debris like small stones into the mechanism of the pedal assembly can be reduced, too.

A further advantageous development of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle ac cording to the invention is, that said at least two pedals comprise at least one pedal not housed by said single base plate, whereat said at least one pedal not housed by said single base plate is housed by a separate cover mounted to said single base plate. That way, the assembly of said at least one pedal not housed by said single base plate can be done from a front side of said single base plate positioned opposite to a rear side of said single base plate facing a frame of said motor vehicle the in ventive pedal assembly is mounted to. Moreover, said pedal housed by said separate cover mounted to said single base plate can be accessed quite easily without the need for dismounting the inventive pedal assembly form said frame of said motor ve hicle.

Another advantageous development of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle accord ing to the invention is, that said sensor of said pedal housed by said single base plate is designed as a separate sensor module and incorporated through a sensor opening of said single base plate. Hereby, said sensor of said pedal housed by said single base plate can be assembled to the single base plate quite easily. Furthermore, said sensor can be preconfigured and/or sourced from a supplier more easily.

A particular preferable development of the aforementioned embodiment of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention is, that said interface corre sponding to said sensor of said pedal housed by said single base plate is designed as an integral part of said separate sensor module. Thus, said interface and said sensor corresponding to said interface can be preconfigured and/or sourced from a supplier as a single part. No further workload for electrically and mechanically connecting said interface to said separate sensor module or to another type of sensor configuration has to be spent.

In general, said single base plate and/or said separate cover can be of any kind, shape, material, dimension and position to the rest of the inventive pedal assembly for a motor vehicle. Advantageously, said single base plate and/or said separate cover are/is built from plastics. Plastics are available in a broad variety with different charac teristics. Furthermore, plastics are lightweight material and easy to process.

Another advantageous development of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle accord ing to the invention is, that said at least two pedals of said pedal assembly are de signed as an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. Every motor vehicle, with an auto matic gearbox or with a manual gearbox, does have at least an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. Thus, the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to this embod iment can be produced in a high number of units. Despite this, the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention may comprise other kinds of pedals, too.

For example, the inventive pedal assembly may comprise three pedals, namely a clutch pedal, a brake pedal and an accelerator pedal. Other embodiments may com prise only a clutch pedal and a brake pedal.

The Figures are schematic illustrations of a pedal assembly for a motor vehicle ac cording to the invention, wherein only the details necessary for the understanding of the invention are shown. Parts with the same function are marked by the same refer ence numbers.

It is shown by:

Fig. 1 an embodiment of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention in a perspective view facing a front side of the pedal assembly,

Fig. 2 the embodiment of Fig. 1 in an exploded view and Fig. 3 the embodiment of Fig. 1 in a perspective view facing a rear side of the pedal assembly.

Fig. 1 displays an embodiment of a pedal assembly 2 for a motor vehicle in a first per spective view with a single support 4 and two pedals, namely an accelerator pedal 6 and a brake pedal 8. Said first perspective view is showing said single support 4 from a front side of said single support 4, which is facing a user of said pedal assembly 2 and arranged opposite to a rear side of said single support 4. Said single support 4 is designed as a single base plate for said two pedals 6, 8 and made from plastics. Said accelerator pedal 6 comprises a pedal arm 10 and said brake pedal 8 comprises a pedal arm 12. Each pedal arm 10, 12 is mounted to said single support 4 and pivot able around a corresponding pivot axis, namely a pivot axis of said pedal arm 10 of said accelerator pedal 6 and a pivot axis of said pedal arm 12 of said brake pedal 8. Both of said two pedals 6, 8 are housed by said single base plate 4, whereat said pe dal arm 10 of said accelerator pedal 6 is extending through a pedal arm opening 7 of said single base plate 4 and said pedal arm 12 of said brake pedal 8 is extending through a pedal arm opening 9 of said single base plate 4. Said pedal arms 10, 12 as well as said corresponding pedal arm openings 7, 9 are shown in an exploded view in Fig. 2. Said motor vehicle is not displayed.

Said pivot axis of said pedal arm 10 of said accelerator pedal 6 is symbolized by a broken line 14 and said pivot axis of said pedal arm 12 of said brake pedal 8 is sym bolized by a broken line 16. Furthermore, said pedal assembly 2 comprises a sensor 18 for detecting a rotational movement of said pedal arm 10 of said accelerator pedal 6 around said pivot axis 14 and a sensor 20 for detecting a rotational movement of said pedal arm 12 of said brake pedal 8 around said pivot axis 16. Each of said sen sors 18, 20 of said accelerator pedal 6 and said brake pedal 8 is designed as a sepa rate sensor module and incorporated through a sensor opening 22, 24 of said single base plate 4. Said separate sensor module 18 of said accelerator pedal 6 and said sensor module 20 of said brake pedal 8 as well as said corresponding sensor open ings 22, 24 of said single base plate 4 are shown in an exploded view in Fig. 2. An interface 26 for an electrical contact of said sensor 18 with a control unit of said motor vehicle and an interface 28 for an electrical contact of said sensor 20 with said control unit of said motor vehicle each is incorporated in said corresponding separate sensor module 18, 20, namely said interface 26 is incorporated in said separate sen sor module 18 corresponding to said accelerator pedal 6 and said interface 28 is in corporated in said separate sensor module 20 corresponding to said brake pedal 8. Thus, said interface 26 is designed as an integral part of said separate sensor module 18 and said interface 28 is designed as an integral part of said separate sensor mod ule 20. Said control unit is not displayed.

Fig. 3 displays said pedal assembly 2 in a second perspective view showing said pe dal assembly 2 from a rear side of said base plate 4, which is facing a frame of said motor vehicle said pedal assembly 2 is mounted to. Said frame of said motor vehicle is not displayed. As can be seen best from Fig. 3, said single base plate 4 is comprising a frame part 30 for said accelerator pedal 6 and said brake pedal 8, each housed by said single base plate 4.

In the following, the function of said embodiment of a pedal assembly for a motor ve hicle according to the invention is explained by means of Fig. 1 to 3.

In order to manufacture said pedal assembly 2 said accelerator pedal 6 and said brake pedal 8 each are assembled from said rear side of said single base plate 4 via said frame part 30 of said single base plate 4; see Fig. 3. Said pedal arms 10, 12 of said accelerator pedal 6 and said brake pedal 8 each are fed through said correspond ing pedal arm openings 7, 9 of said single base plate 4 from said rear side of said sin gle base plate 4. Thus, after the assembly of said accelerator pedal 6 and said brake pedal 8 said pedal arm 10 of said accelerator pedal 6 is extending through said pedal arm opening 7 and said pedal arm 12 of said brake pedal 8 is extending through said pedal arm opening 9. See Fig. 1.

Said separate sensor module 18 of said accelerator pedal 6 is inserted into said sen sor opening 22 of said single base plate 4 and said separate sensor module 20 of said brake pedal 8 is inserted into said sensor opening 24 of said single base plate 4. See Fig. 2.

A user of said pedal assembly 2, namely a driver of said motor vehicle, is pressing said pedal arm 10 of said accelerator pedal 6 in order to accelerate said motor vehicle. Said pedal arm 10 is pivoted around said pivot axis 14 of said pedal arm 10. This pivot action of said pedal arm 10 around said pivot axis 14 is detected by said separate sensor module 18 corresponding to said accelerator pedal 6. Said aforementioned pivot action of said accelerator pedal 6 is transferred to said control unit of said motor vehicle via said interface 26 of said separate sensor module 18. In case said user is no longer pressing said pedal arm 10 of said accelerator pedal 6, said pedal arm 10 is pivoted in opposite direction around said pivot axis 14 of said pedal arm 10. This pivot action of said accelerator pedal 6 is transferred to said control unit of said motor vehi cle, too.

The function of said brake pedal 8 is analog to the function of said accelerator pedal 6 explained above. Thus, said user of said pedal assembly 2 is pressing said pedal arm 12 of said brake pedal 8 in order to decelerate said motor vehicle. Said pedal arm 12 is pivoted around said pivot axis 16 of said pedal arm 12. This pivot action of said pe dal arm 12 around said pivot axis 16 is detected by said separate sensor module 20 corresponding to said brake pedal 8. Said aforementioned pivot action of said brake pedal 8 is transferred to said control unit of said motor vehicle via said interface 28 of said separate sensor module 20. In case said user is no longer pressing said pedal arm 12 of said brake pedal 8, said pedal arm 12 is pivoted in opposite direction around said pivot axis 16 of said pedal arm 12. This pivot action of said brake pedal 8 is also transferred to said control unit of said motor vehicle.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention discussed before.

Of course, the invention is not limited to an inventive pedal assembly comprising an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. For example, another embodiment of the inven- tion may comprise an acceleration pedal, a brake pedal and a clutch pedal. Still an other embodiment of the invention may comprise a brake pedal and a clutch pedal.

In contrast to the embodiment of the invention explained, said pedal arm of said at least one pedal housed by said single base plate may comprise a central part corre sponding to said single base plate and an actuation part linked to said central part in a power transmitting manner. Hereby, the assembly of the at least one pedal housed by said single base plate is simplified. Furthermore, the size of the pedal arm opening for said pedal arm of said at least one pedal housed by said single base plate can be re duced. Thus, the risk of getting debris like small stones into the mechanism of the pe dal assembly can be reduced, too.

Furthermore, it is possible, that said at least two pedals comprise at least one pedal not housed by said single base plate, whereat said at least one pedal not housed by said single base plate is housed by a separate cover mounted to said single base plate. That way, the assembly of said at least one pedal not housed by said single base plate can be done from a front side of said single base plate positioned opposite to a rear side of said single base plate facing a frame of said motor vehicle the in ventive pedal assembly is mounted to. Moreover, said pedal housed by said separate cover mounted to said single base plate can be accessed quite easily without the need for dismounting the inventive pedal assembly form said frame of said motor ve hicle. A preferred embodiment of the aforementioned embodiment could be, that said separate cover is built from plastics. Plastics are available in a broad variety with dif ferent characteristics. Furthermore, plastics are lightweight materials and easy to pro cess.

A main advantage of the pedal assembly for a motor vehicle according to the invention is, that the inventive pedal assembly shows an easy design, thus can be realized with less effort. Furthermore, the inventive pedal assembly can be manufactured with less material and less assembly work. Therefore, the inventive pedal assembly for a motor vehicle can be cost saving. This can be achieved by the inventive pedal assembly for a motor vehicle. List of reference numbers

2 Pedal assembly

4 Single support, designed as a single base plate

6 Accelerator pedal

7 Pedal arm opening of single base plate 4 for pedal arm 10

8 Brake pedal

9 Pedal arm opening of single base plate 4 for pedal arm 12

10 Pedal arm of accelerator pedal 6

12 Pedal arm of brake pedal 8

14 Pivot axis of pedal arm 10

16 Pivot axis of pedal arm 12

18 Separate sensor module for accelerator pedal 6

20 Separate sensor module for brake pedal 8

22 Sensor opening of single base plate 4 for separate sensor module 18

24 Sensor opening of single base plate 4 for separate sensor module 20

26 Interface of separate sensor module 18

28 Interface of separate sensor module 20

30 Frame part of single base plate 4