Claims
- 1. An adjustable pedal apparatus comprising:
a support configured for attachment to a vehicle; a pedal-supporting subassembly with an upper portion pivotally engaging the support, a lower portion supporting a pedal construction, and a track adjustment mechanism connecting the upper and lower portions, the track adjustment mechanism including a track defining at least one guide channel extending horizontally, and a follower slidably engaging the track, the follower including a bearing shoe made of bearing material that is located in and slidably engages the channel, the bearing shoe including a resilient portion engaging the track that is at least partially compressed so that the bearing shoe takes up any slack and sloppiness between the track and follower; an adjuster for adjusting the pedal construction along the track mechanism; and an actuator coupled to the pedal-supporting member and adapted for operative connection to a control system of a vehicle for operating the control system when the pedal-supporting member is moved.
- 2. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the follower is hat-shaped, and includes edges shaped to slidably engage upper and lower flanges on the track for linear movement, at least one of the edges having the bearing shoe positioned thereon.
- 3. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein the bearing shoe is molded onto the one edge.
- 4. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the pedal includes a brake pedal and wherein the actuator includes a push rod adapted for coupling to a vehicle brake system.
- 5. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the resilient portion includes a relief slot formed in the bearing material and further includes a strip of the bearing material adjacent the relief slot and flexible into the slot, the strip engaging a side of the channel.
- 6. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 5, wherein the strip includes crush ribs that engage the side of the channel.
- 7. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 6, wherein the strip includes three crush ribs.
- 8. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the bearing shoe includes a second resilient portion located in the channel and spaced from the first-mentioned resilient portion, the second resilient portion being at least partially compressed so that the bearing shoe takes up any slack and sloppiness between the track and follower.
- 9. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the bearing shoe provides a static frictional drag of about 5 pounds force.
- 10. In an adjustable pedal apparatus that includes a pedal-supporting subassembly with an upper portion adapted to pivotally engage a support, a lower portion supporting a pedal construction, and a track adjustment mechanism connecting the upper and lower portions, the track adjustment mechanism including a track defining at least one guide channel, and a follower slidably engaging the track, an improvement comprising:
the follower including a bearing shoe made of bearing material that is located in and slidably engages the track, the bearing shoe including a resilient portion engaging the track that is at least partially compressed so that the bearing shoe takes up any slack and sloppiness between the track and follower.
- 11. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 10, wherein the follower is hat-shaped, and includes edges shaped to slidably engage upper and lower flanges on the track for linear movement, at least one of the edges having the bearing shoe positioned thereon.
- 12. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 11, wherein the bearing shoe is molded onto the one edge.
- 13. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 10, wherein the resilient portion includes a relief slot formed in the bearing material and further includes a strip of the bearing material adjacent the relief slot and flexible into the slot, the strip engaging a side of the channel.
- 14. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 10, wherein the bearing shoe includes crush ribs engaging the channel for taking up any slack.
- 15. A bearing construction for use in a pedal-supporting subassembly having an upper portion, a lower portion supporting a pedal construction, and a track adjustment mechanism connecting the upper and lower portions, the track adjustment mechanism including a track defining at least one guide channel extending horizontally, and a follower slidably engaging the track, the follower including a bearing shoe made of bearing material that is located in and slidably engages the channel, the bearing construction comprising:
a stiff portion engaging the follower; and a resilient portion engaging the track that is adapted to be at least partially compressed into the channel so that the bearing shoe takes up any slack and sloppiness between the track and follower.
- 16. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 15, wherein the resilient portion includes a relief slot formed in the bearing material and further includes a strip of the bearing material adjacent the relief slot and flexible into the slot, the strip engaging a side of the channel.
- 17. The adjustable pedal apparatus defined in claim 15, wherein the bearing shoe includes crush ribs engaging the channel for taking up any slack.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-assigned application Ser. No. 09/782,561 (unofficial), filed Feb. 13, 2001, entitled ADJUSTABLE PEDAL APPARATUS, which in turn claims benefit of provisional applications filed under 37 C.F.R. 1.53(c), including provisional application Ser. No. 60/204,439, filed May 15, 2000, entitled ADJUSTABLE PEDAL APPARATUS, and provisional application Ser. No. 60/254,016, filed Dec. 7, 2000, entitled ADJUSTABLE PEDAL APPARATUS WITH NONLINEAR ADJUSTMENT PATH. This application is further related to co-assigned application Ser. No. 09/782,563 (unofficial), filed Feb. 13, 2001, entitled PEDAL WITH TONGUED CONNECTION FOR IMPROVED TORSIONAL STRENGTH.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60204439 |
May 2000 |
US |
|
60254016 |
Dec 2000 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09782561 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Child |
09820012 |
Mar 2001 |
US |