AMENDED CLAIMS

received by the International Bureau on 28 September 2018 (28.09.18)

1. A pedal emulator for a motor vehicle comprising:

an outer housing (22, 104) defining a central opening;

an emulator piston (28, 102) extending through the central opening;

a damper (46, Dl) operatively coupled to the emulator piston (28, 102);

a first spring (34, SI) disposed concentrically around the damper (46, Dl);

a second spring (38, S2) disposed concentrically around the first spring (34, SI), the first spring (34, SI), the second spring (38, S2), and the damper (46, Dl) being connected in parallel to resist movement of the emulator piston (28, 102) into the outer housing (22, 104); a third spring (56, S3) connected in series with the first spring (34, SI), the second spring (38, S2), and the damper (46, Dl), wherein the first and second springs are coil springs and wherein the pedal emulator is adapted to provide a first force response during a first portion of travel of the emulator piston (28, 102), a second force response during a second portion of travel of the emulator piston (28, 102), and a third force response during a third portion of travel of the emulator piston (28, 102).

2. The pedal emulator of claim 1 wherein the third spring (56, S3) is a wave spring.

3. The pedal emulator of claim 1 further including an elastomeric spring element (62, S4) in series with the damper (46, Dl).

4. The pedal emulator of claim 1 further including a non-contact position sensor (72, 74) within the outer housing (22, 104) to detect movement of the emulator piston (28, 102).

5. The pedal emulator of claim 1 further including a non-contact force sensor within the outer housing (22, 104) to detect a force input applied to the emulator piston (28, 102).

6. A pedal emulator for a motor vehicle, comprising:

an outer housing (22) for mounting the pedal emulator to a vehicle structure;

a control rod (24) for mounting the pedal emulator to a vehicle pedal, wherein the control rod (24) is moveable with respect to the outer housing (22); and

a parallel circuit therebetween, the parallel circuit including a first spring (34) in series with a second spring (38) as a first series circuit to oppose movement of the control rod (24) into the outer housing (22), the first and second springs (34, 38) being coil springs, the 2

parallel circuit further including a damper (46) connected in parallel with the first series circuit and a hysteresis generating system (30, 40).

7. The pedal emulator according to claim 6, wherein the parallel circuit includes a second series circuit of at least two springs (38, 44), the second series circuit being connected in parallel with the first series circuit, the damper (46), and the hysteresis generating system (30, 40).

8. The pedal emulator according to claim 7, wherein the springs (34, 42) of the first series circuit and the springs (38, 44) of the second series circuit bias the control rod (24) in a rest position of the pedal emulator.

9. The pedal emulator according to any one of claims 7 to 8, wherein the springs (34, 42) of the first series circuit and the springs (38, 44) of the second series circuit at least partially each have a linear spring characteristic or a progressive spring characteristic.

10. The pedal emulator according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein each spring (34, 42) of the first series circuit is arranged in a force-transmitting manner between two bearing parts (30, 36, 52) which correspond to one another and which guide the spring travel of the spring (32, 42) limit.

11. The pedal emulator according to claim 10, further including an additional spring (62) having a progressive spring characteristic is positioned to engage the damper (46).

12. The pedal emulator according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein the hysteresis generating system (30, 40) is a friction system with at least two frictionally engaged friction partners (30, 40) with mutually corresponding friction surfaces (64, 66) is formed.

13. The pedal emulator according to claim 12, wherein the friction system is pre- tensioned in the rest position of the pedal emulator such that the mutually corresponding friction surfaces (64, 66) are pressed against each other.

14. The pedal emulator according to claim 13, wherein the mutually corresponding friction surfaces (64, 66) of the friction partners (30, 40) are parallel to the direction of the 3

spring force of the springs (34, 42) of the first series connection and wherein the corresponding spring force is deflected by 90° to urge the friction partners (30, 40) against each other.

15. The pedal emulator according to any one of claims 6 to 14, further including a displacement sensor (72, 74) for detecting the relative movement between the outer housing (22) and the control rod (24).

16. The pedal emulator according to any one of claims 6 to 16, wherein the pedal emulator includes a force sensor for detecting the force applied to the control rod (24).

17. The pedal emulator according to claim 16, wherein the force sensor includes first and second sensor springs (56, 60) arranged in series with the parallel circuit.

18. A brake pedal emulator for a vehicle braking system comprising:

a housing (104) defining a central opening;

an emulator piston (102) extending through the central opening;

a damper (Dl) operatively coupled to the emulator piston (102);

a first spring (SI) disposed concentrically around the damper (Dl);

a second spring (S2) disposed concentrically around the first spring (SI);

a lower spring seat (114) receiving an end portion of the first spring (SI) and an end portion of the second spring (S2); and

a third spring (S3) engaged with the lower spring seat (114) opposite of the first spring (SI) and the second spring (S2), wherein the first and third springs (SI, S3) cooperate to provide a first force response during a first portion of travel of the emulator piston (102) into the housing (104) while the second spring (S2) is not compressed, and wherein the first and second springs (SI, S2) are coil springs and the first, second, and third springs (SI, S2, S3) cooperate to provide a second force response during a second portion of travel of the emulator piston (102) into the housing (104).

19. The brake pedal emulator of claim 18 wherein the third spring (S3) is disposed concentrically around a fourth spring (S4), wherein the third spring (S3) and the fourth spring (S4) are arranged in parallel to provide a third force response during a third portion of travel of the emulator piston (102). 4

20. The brake pedal emulator of claim 18 wherein the first spring (SI) is positioned within an annular channel (120) of the emulator piston (102) and an annular channel (122) of the lower spring seat (114).

21. The brake pedal emulator of claim 18 further including an intermediate spring seat (112) disposed above the lower spring seat (114), wherein the second spring (S2) is positioned within an annular channel (121) of the intermediate spring seat (112) and an annular channel (124) of the lower spring seat (114).

22. The brake pedal emulator of claim 18 wherein the first and second springs (SI, S2) are coil springs, the third spring (S3) is a wave spring, and the fourth spring (S4) is a resilient bumper.

23. The brake pedal emulator of claim 18 further including a non-contact position sensor within the housing (104) to detect movement of the emulator piston (102) relative to the housing (104).

24. The brake pedal emulator of claim 18 further including a non-contact force sensor within the housing (104) to detect a force input applied to the emulator piston (102).

25. The brake pedal emulator of claim 18 further including a haptic actuator adapted to provide vibratory feedback to a brake pedal of the vehicle braking system.

26. The brake pedal emulator of claim 25 wherein the vibratory feedback is in response to activation of a vehicle motor or in response to a transmission gear selection.

27. The brake pedal emulator of claim 25 further including a regenerative power supply for providing power to the haptic actuator.

28. A method comprising:

providing a brake pedal emulator (100) including an emulator piston (102), the emulator piston (102) being operatively coupled to a brake pedal, wherein the brake pedal emulator (100) is adapted to provide a first force response during a first portion of travel of 5

the emulator piston (102) and a second force response during a second portion of travel of the emulator piston (102);

detecting a sequence of actuations of the brake pedal using the brake pedal emulator (100) for conversion into a selected driver input command; and

providing vibratory feedback to the brake pedal using a haptic actuator, the vibratory feedback being in response to the selection of a driver input command.

29. The method according to claim 28 wherein the driver input command is a transmission shift command, an engine start command, or a motor start command.

30. The method according to claim 28 wherein the vibratory feedback varies in accordance with the driver input command.

31. The method according to claim 28 wherein the vibratory feedback includes a first frequency or intensity to provide confirmation of a first driver input command and a second frequency or intensity to provide confirmation of a second driver input command.

32. The method according to claim 28 further including converting the actuations of the emulator piston (102) into electrical power for operation of the haptic actuator.

33. The method according to claim 28 wherein the second force response is greater than the first force response to provide a greater resistance to depression of the brake pedal.

34. The method according to claim 33 wherein the brake pedal emulator (100) is adapted to provide a third force response during a third portion of travel of the emulator piston (102).

35. The method according to claim 34 wherein the third force response is greater than the second force response to provide a greater resistance to further depression of the brake pedal.