US4901426A | 1990-02-20 | |||
US5230134A | 1993-07-27 | |||
US2900203A | 1959-08-18 | |||
US4500224A | 1985-02-19 | |||
US4538339A | 1985-09-03 |
1. | A pedal rod assembly made of a two part subassembly, and comprising, in combination, (a) a first part constituting a rod shaped and formed to define an elongated cylinder shaped rod having a ball at one end, a reduced diameter portion extending axially away from said ball, a tapered outwardly expanding transition portion, and a body portion extending axially therefrom and being of a uniform diameter throughout and terminating in a radially disposed end wall, said end wall having a recess formed therein, (b) a second part constituting a flat head part shaped and formed to define a body portion having a through opening extending therethrough and having an axially extending boss projecting from one end wall thereof which is sized and shaped to be complementarily received within said recess in said first part, (c) a crimped joint formed between the first and second parts after the boss of said second part is inserted into the recess of the first part and said end wall of said first part is seated against the end wall of the second part, said crimped joint comprising interfitted bonded together recess and detent means formed by displaced material projecting inwardly from the outer first part into and against the adjoining surfaces of the inner second part, whereby the first and second parts are united into an integral unitary pedal rod. |
2. | A pedal rod as defined in claim 4 and further characterized by said second part having formed thereon a plated coating of protective material to enhance its resistance to adverse environmental factors. |
3. | A pedal rod as defined in claim 4 wherein said first part is made of 12L14 steel material of suitable ductility for stamping and machining of a selected work piece. |
4. | A pedal rod as defined in claim 4 wherein said second part is made of 10101020 flat rolled steel for effecting formation of said second part in a single stroke punching operation. |
5. | A pedal rod as defined in claim 5 wherein said plated coating is formed of a yellow die chromate. |
6. | A pedal rod as defined in claim 4 wherein the crimped joint comprises six separate crimps: (a) four in circumferentially spaced portions of the peripheral surface of the body portion of the first part inwardly adjacent the end wall of the first part, and (b) two in diametrically opposite sides of 5 said first part at the end wall thereof. |
7. | A pedal rod comprising in combination, a rod part having a ball at one end and an elongated cylindrically shaped body portion terminating in a radial end wall, 10 said body portion having an axially inwardly extending recess formed in said radial end wall, a head part having an end wall and a projecting boss extending from said end wall for 15 insertion in to the recess in said radial end wall, said head part having said boss inserted into said rod part at said recess, thereby to form a subassembly wherein the rod part is a first outer part and the head part is a second inner part, and a crimped joint between the inner and outer parts and comprising fitted together recess and detent means bonding the rod part and the head part into a unitary integrated unit pedal rod. |
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S P E C I F I C A T I O N
TITLE
TWO PIECE PEDAL ROD AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME
RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial Number 08/045,654 filed April 9, 1993 entitled "Adjustable Pedal Rod and Method of Making Same. "
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention
This invention relates specifically to a pedal rod of the type utilized in the vehicular vehicle industry
and wherein devices are actuated by an operator exerting
force via a rod-like instrumentality interconnecting a foot or hand operated member and the operating mechanism of a vehicle such as the braking system of a car or truck.
The Prior Art
In my prior Patent No. 4,901,426, I have disclosed
and claimed the methods and equipment for forming threads or thread segments by pressing and without rotation in
a pedal rod construction.
In my prior patent issuing on co-pending allowed
application Serial Number 07/833,665, now issued as U. S. Patent 5,230,134, I have disclosed how the respective threaded portions of a mechanical joint may be formed in such a manner as to be matched or intentionally mismatched to afford a selective locking effect as two
threadedly related parts are joined together.
In my parent application, of which the present disclosure is a continuation-in-part, Serial Number 08/045,654 filed April 9, 1993, it was contemplated that there be provided an adjustable, preset, threaded and torqued pedal rod assembled to a mean dimension supplied
by the customer and then securely locked into firm assembly for utilization without further adjustment in
the assembly line of the customer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the principles of the invention,
it is contemplated that there be provided a two piece pedal rod which is strong and efficient and which can be
quickly and conveniently manufactured with great economy,
thereby providing a pedal rod unit which is price
competitive and entirely reliable for its intended
purpose.
The two separate pieces are a head part and a shaft part which are formed without any threads or screw thread segments whatsoever. Moreover, the head part may be made
of a different material than the shaft part, thereby
affording the possibility of selectively and
independently plating or coating one or the other of the component elements of the pedal rod assembly, thereby to protectably enhance the resistance of the part to environmental factors such as rust and corrosion by road
chemicals. Such coating or plating can also effect color
coding. For example, by so treating the head part selectively with a colored plating operation the parts of different original equipment manufacturers may be distinguished from one another, even though the parts are
produced on the same production line. Such optional
plating operation can be effected without the risk of
adversely affecting the assembly joints on the other
part.
The two separate parts are permanently bonded into
firm assembly with one another simply by press fitting and are locked together permanently by pressure crimping, thereby to provide a crimped joint having as many as six
separate crimping elements.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pedal rod unit constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
Figure 2 is an elevational view showing a side
elevation of the shaft part of the present invention, but
with parts broken away and with parts shown in cross-
section to illustrate additional details of the features
incorporated in the shaft part.
Figure 3 is an elevational view showing in side elevation the head part of the present invention prior to its joinder in assembly with the shaft part.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line IV-IV of Figure 3 and showing additional details of the head part.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line
V-V of Figure 3 and showing still additional structural
features of the head part.
Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view showing the crimped joint after assembly of the two parts and the crimped joinder thereof.
Figure 7 is a cross- sectional view taken on line
VII-VII of Figure 6.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial Number 08/045,654 filed
April 9, 1993 entitled "Adjustable Pedal Rod and Method
of Making Same."
It is believed that the method technology of the
present invention and the preferred sequencing of the manufacturing techniques will be understood from the description which follows.
A metal bar stock can be employed to provide both
of the two separate components, or two elements, of the pedal rod provided in accordance with this invention.
Thus, in the practice of the present invention, it
is my objective to provide a pedal rod such as that
illustrated in Figure 1 and identified generally at 10. The pedal rod 10 consists of two separate elements or parts constituting a rod or shaft part 11 and a head part 12. The head part 12 is a flat rolled steel exhibiting
the characteristics 1010 to 1020, or 8620 steel. This material is particularly suitable for conducting
automated punch press operations and I have found it to be particularly appropriate for use in making the head parts in accordance with the principles of the present
invention. It should be understood of course, that
persons of skill in the art might select a material of
a different formulation which would not be a departure
from the spirit of this invention. However, the specified material is designated as constituting the best
mode of my discovery.
For the rod or shaft elements in the performance
environment of an automotive braking assembly, I have selected material of Rockwell "B" 95-105 12L14 steel.
That material I have found to be particularly appropriate for machining and stamping operations, especially when
such operations are conducted on automated machinery as is generally contemplated in prescribing modern low cost
manufacturing techniques. Referring now to Figure 2, the rod or shaft part is formed by machining a rod-shaped cylindrical work
piece into an elongated cylindrically shaped body having
a ball 13 at its free end, adapted to cooperate with the
mechanism with which the pedal rod is associated. Extending axially away from the ball 13 is a reduced diameter shaft portion 14 which merges with a transition
stage formed as an outwardly tapered section 15 and
expanding to a larger diameter body portion which is of
uniform diametral size throughout its length as shown at
16 and extending to the end of the work piece. The body
portion 16 terminates in an end wall 17 which is disposed
to extend radially.
As is disclosed in one of my earlier applications, it is contemplated that there be formed by a stamping step a spring seating shoulder 18, the formation of which is quickly and conveniently afforded by displacing the
metal of the surface so that a plurality of projections form a seating shoulder extending radially outwardly of the body portion 16. It will be appreciated that the only machining step required to finish the rod or shaft element 11 is form the ball 13 and its related transition portions and a
seating recess 19 in the end wall 17 of the rod or shaft
element 11. The step of forming recess 19 is accomplished by drilling and reaming the recess, for example, on a multiple spindle screw machine, which may also be used to form the ball 13. The recess 19 is
essentially cylindrical in shape and extends inwardly of
the end wall 17 on a center line axis of the rod or shaft
part 11.
Turning now to Figures 3, 4 and 5, it will be noted that the head part 12 can be formed in a punch press
operation simply by punching in a single stroke the
configuration shown in Figure 3, namely, by providing a
main body portion 20 having a through opening 21 centrally disposed therein. A curved outer edge is shown at 22 disposed approximately in concentric spacing
relative to the opening 21 and terminating in spaced
parallel side walls 23 and 24. The side walls 23 and 24 terminate in a flat planar
end wall 25 from which projects at a central axial position a generally rectangular boss 26 having a rounded
pilot end 27. The opposite sides of the boss 26 are notched as at 28 and 29, to provide a relief space in
which crimped material may be displaced during a
subsequent assembly operation. It should be understood that the boss 26 is sized and shaped so that it can be received within the recess 19. It is not cylindrical.
Rather, it is essentially rectangular in cross-section.
However, it can be fitted within the recess 19 for the purposes which will be described in greater detail.
It will be appreciated that the rod or shaft
element 11 and the head part or element 12 constitute
first and second parts which may be axially advanced selectively to successively engage the boss 26 into the recess 19, thereby to accomplish assembly of the two parts. This assembly can be accomplished mechanically and
could be automated if so desired. However, one of the features of the present
invention is that the two different parts afford a technique of manufacture which enables selective color
coding or plating to be accomplished without adversely affecting the integrity of the assembled parts.
For example, some automobile manufacturers desire
to afford parts which are exposed to corrosion of road chemicals such as salt and other ice melting compounds
with special protection. Such manufacturers require that the head part of the pedal rod assembly, especially, be
plated or protectively coated, since it is the head part that projects outside of the protective assembly.
Since the head part 12 of the present invention is
made as a completely separated part, and is even made of
a material which is different than the material or stock
from which the rod or shaft part 11 is made, it is
possible to afford the original equipment manufacturer a plating or color coding option at a nominal cost, since the head parts can be separately plated, without any adverse effect on the structural and functional
characteristics of the rod or shaft element, and without
adding any cost to the manufacturing price of the rod or shaft element.
For example, the head parts may at this stage be subjected to a yellow die chromate plating procedure so
that they will not only be protectively plated and given
an increased protection against the potentially harmful effects of a tough operating environment but will also
be very distinctively colored, thereby serving to clearly and unmistakably identify the particular pedal rod of
which the plated head element is a part as that of a
specific customer.
As disclosed in my parent application pedal rods are operatively connected in the actuating train of a motion mechanism actuated by the operator of a vehicle.
The head shown at 12 is illustrated in a single bar form,
although those versed in the art will readily recognize that the head 12 could also take the form of a clevis, a form of pedal rod configuration often used by foreign manufacturers of motor vehicles, or a so-called offset
head, which some OEM automobile manufacturers prefer for
space accommodation reasons.
In any event, once the head part 12 is ready for assembly to the rod or shaft part 11, the boss 26 is inserted into the recess 19. In this regard, the rounded
end shown at 27 on the end of the boss 26 eases entry of
the generally rectangularly shaped boss into the
cylindrically shaped recess and facilitates the assembly,
particularly if such assembly operation is being effected
by automated machinery.
As will be evident from an inspection of Figures
6 and 7, the two parts are press fit together so that the
end wall 17 of the part 11 seats snugly up against the wall 25 of the part 12 and the boss 26 extends fully and
completely into the recess 19.
At this juncture, the first and second parts may
be permanently bonded and assembled together by pressure crimping at as many as six separate locations. Thus in
Figures 6 and 7, four circumferentially spaced crimps 30 are shown, each of which constitutes an axially extending elongated slot which displaces material
inwardly from the outer part 11 into a bonding relation
with the inwardly adjacent part 12. Since the assembly of the first and second parts relates the body portion
of the rod or shaft part as an outer part surrounding an inner part provided by the boss of the second part, it should be noted how the material from the body portion
16, or outer part, is actually displaced radially
inwardly into the notches 28 and 29 formed in the surface
of the boss 26, or inner part. Further, the other two
crimps displace material from the body portion 16 into
close bonding relation with the surfaces of the boss 26,
thereby placing the two parts in firm assembly with one another. To further insure good bonding, two additional spaced end crimps as shown at 31 may also be employed. The crimps 31 are disposed on diametrically
opposite sides of the body 16 right at the end wall 17. In effect, the crimped joint forms and functions
as recess and detent means which operate to bond the inner and outer parts into an integrated unitary assembly so that the two parts constitute a single pedal rod unit
exhibiting unusual strength and versatility, but capable
of being produced on modern machinery at reduced cost.
Although various minor modifications might be suggested by those skilled in the art, it should be
understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as
reasonably and properly come within the scope of my
contribution to the art.