DESC:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
AUTOMATIC ADJUSTABLE VEHICLE CONTROL PEDALS AND METHOD OF ADJUSTING THEREOF

Applicant:
Tata Motors Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Having address:
Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street,
Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400001,
Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
[0001] The present application claims priority from Indian provisional patent application no. 202221030960, filed on May 30, 2022. The entire contents of the aforementioned application are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present disclosure generally relates in general to the field of automobiles. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to an improved control pedal for a motor vehicle and method of adjusting thereof, more particularly, to a control pedal for a motor vehicle which is selectively adjustable to desired positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Control pedals are typically provided in a motor vehicle, such as an automobile, which are foot operated by the driver. Separate control pedals are provided for operating brakes and an engine throttle. When the motor vehicle has a manual transmission, a third control pedal is provided for operating a transmission clutch. A front seat of the motor vehicle is typically mounted on tracks so that the seat is forwardly and rearward adjustable along the tracks to a plurality of positions so that the driver can adjust the front seat to the most advantageous position for working the control pedals.
[0004] Automotive vehicle controls pedals are designed considering the standard anthropometry. Hence the entire population cannot use the control systems more effectively. Especially short height population finds difficultly in reaching the pedals. However, people drive the vehicle with few adjustments in the seat, steering column or leaning forward and coming close to the steering wheel to access the pedals. In the event of a crash, the airbag may cause severe injuries and deaths when they deploy in a scenario where the driver sits too close to the steering wheel. This driving seating posture may lead to long-term health concerns due to improper posture.
[0005] Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an adjustable control pedal assembly design which enables safe driving of existing vehicles for short height population without compromising safety and ergonomics comfort.
[0006] The existing vehicle control pedal have single piece of pedal lever, which will not be adjusted to reach the comfortable position to the non-standard population.
[0007] An object of the invention is to obviate or alleviate the above stated problems and to provide an adjustable control pedal lever assembly.
[0008] The information disclosed in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the present subject matter and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
[0009] The present disclosure is directed to overcome one or more limitations stated above or any other limitations associated with the conventional systems.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The principal object of this invention is to provide an adjustable control pedal lever assembly.
[0011] Another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable control pedal to reach the comfortable position to the non-standard population.
[0012] Another object of this invention is to provide a method for automatically adjusting control pedal position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] Before the present system are described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or an apparatus, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiment that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosure. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular version or embodiment only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to an automatic adjustable control pedal for a motor vehicle and the aspects are further elaborated below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.
[0014] The present invention provides an automatic adjustable control pedal for a motor vehicle which overcomes at least some of the above-noted problems of the related art. According to the present invention, an adjustable control pedal includes an adjustable control pedal system, comprising a top pedal lever, a bottom pedal lever. A locking pin (solenoid valve with plunger), a pedal mounting assembly, custom toothed gear and reversible electric motor, wherein one end of the top lever is configured to be hinged to a pedal mounting assembly and other end is securely connected in one of the predetermined positions as per the requirement of the driver to the bottom pedal lever by combination of the mounting bolt along with the plunger in solenoid valve, the system is further configured to change the angular position of bottom pedal lever with respect to top pedal lever by rotating bottom pedal lever about the mounting bolt and to lock through the plunger in solenoid valve in one of the holes provided on the bottom pedal lever and the hole provided on the top pedal lever to constitute the desired orientation of the lever.
[0015] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The present invention discloses an automatic adjustable control pedal system. The system comprises of a top pedal lever configured to be pivotally mounted on a mounting assembly, a bottom pedal lever configured to be pivotally mounted on the bottom portion of the top pedal lever at a pivot joint, a brake booster configured to be connected to the top pedal lever at the pivot joint through a mounting bolt, a solenoid valve configured to be mounted on the top pedal lever for locking the bottom pedal lever at a desired position and an electric motor configured to rotate the bottom pedal lever. The electric motor is configured with a gear to engage with corresponding teeth provided on pivotal end of the bottom pedal lever. The automatic adjustable control pedal is configured with a control switch to select desired position of the control pedal. The electric motor is configured to rotate the bottom pedal lever in clockwise/anticlockwise direction with respect to the top pedal lever on activation of the control switch. The solenoid valve and the electric motor are configured to be operated in a predefined sequence through a control unit based on a signal received from the control switch. The control unit is configured to actuate the solenoid valve to retract the plunger to unlock the bottom pedal lever from the top pedal lever. The control unit is configured to operate the electric motor to rotate the bottom pedal lever about pivot joint by a predetermined degrees based on the position selected on the control switch. The control unit is configured to actuate the solenoid valve to extend the plunger for locking the angular position of the bottom pedal lever upon rotation of the bottom pedal lever to desired angular position. The bottom pedal lever is configured with plurality of locking holes corresponding to the desired pedal adjustment positions.
[0017] The present invention further discloses a method for adjusting a control pedal comprising steps of selecting a desired control pedal position on a control switch ; receiving a signal of the selected control pedal position by a control unit; actuating a solenoid valve by the control unit to unlock a bottom pedal lever from a top pedal lever; operating an electric motor by the control unit to rotate the bottom pedal lever with respect to a top pedal lever by a predetermined degrees based on the selected control pedal position; and actuating a solenoid valve by the control unit to lock the bottom pedal lever on the top pedal lever.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0018] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, example constructions of the disclosure are shown in the present document, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus disclosed in the document and the drawing.
[0019] The present subject matter is described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer various features of the present subject matter.
[0020] Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of an existing control pedal lever (Prior Art);
[0021] Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of an automatic adjustable control pedal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] Figure 3 illustrates a side and front perspective views with surrounding mounting assembly of the automatic adjustable control pedal, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view of the automatic pedal adjustment mechanism with control unit, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] Figure 5A illustrates a perspective view of the automatic pedal adjustment for position 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] Figure 5B illustrates a perspective view of the automatic pedal adjustment for position 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0026] Figure 6 illustrates a perspective view of the custom toothed gear engagement with the bottom pedal lever, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the system and method illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0028] The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which forms the subject of the claims of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, the conception and specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying other devices, systems, assemblies and mechanisms for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that, such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristics of the disclosure, to its device or system, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.
[0029] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. Although any system and method similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, systems and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.

[0030] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described but is to be accorded the widest scope consist in this regard, in a generic sense.

[0031] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present subject matter, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the present subject matter will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the present subject matter to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the present subject matter is intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and other embodiments, which may be included within the scope of the invention.

[0032] The present subject matter provides a reliable and effective automatic adjustable control pedal system.

[0033] The present subject matter provides a reliable and effective adjustable control pedal system, comprising a top pedal lever, a bottom pedal lever, a plunger with solenoid valve, a pedal mounting assembly, custom toothed gear and reversible electric motor.

[0034] One end of the top pedal lever is configured to be hinged to a pedal mounting assembly and other end is securely connected in one of the predetermined positions as per the requirement of the driver to the bottom pedal lever by combination of the mounting bolt along with a plunger with solenoid valve.

[0035] To change the angular position of bottom pedal lever with respect to top pedal lever by rotating bottom pedal lever about the mounting bolt and locked through plunger in solenoid valve in one of the holes provided on the bottom pedal lever and the hole provided on the top pedal lever to constitute the desired orientation of the lever and to form an integral pedal lever.

[0036] Henceforth, the present disclosure is explained with the help of one or more figures of exemplary embodiments. However, such exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limitation of the present disclosure. In the figures neither the vehicle nor the complete control pedal assembly is depicted for the purpose of simplicity. The control pedal assembly of any vehicle including but not limiting to passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and the like.

[0037] FIG.2 shows a pedal lever (3) split into two parts as a top pedal lever (3a) & a bottom pedal lever (3b) to enable the comfortable and reachable position. The top pedal lever (3a) has one small hole (9) at bottom end for position alignment and locking, and similarly bottom pedal lever (3b) has small holes (10) at top end.

[0038] Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 3 to 6 show an automatic adjustable control pedal for a motor vehicle. The pedal lever assembly comprises of a top pedal lever (3a) and a bottom pedal lever (3b) pivotally mounted to the top pedal lever (3a) at a pivot joint. A brake booster (2) is connected to the top pedal lever (3a) at the pivot joint through a mounting bolt (5). The top pedal lever (3a) is fixed to the mounting assembly (1) through a hinge pin (4). The top pedal lever (3a) comprises of a hole (9) at bottom end for position alignment and locking, and similarly the bottom pedal lever (3b) comprises of holes (10) at top end. A solenoid valve (6) is mounted on the top pedal lever (3a) such that the plunger (13) of the solenoid valve can extend through the hole (9) of the top pedal lever (3a) and through the corresponding hole (10) of the bottom pedal lever (3b) to lock the relative position of bottom pedal lever (3b) with respect to the top pedal lever (3a). A reversible electric motor (8) is provided to rotate a custom toothed gear (7) which is engaged with the tooth provided on the top portion of the bottom pedal lever (3b), as shown in Figure 6. When the electric motor (8) is operated, it rotates the custom toothed gear (7) by a predefined degree of rotation in turn rotating the bottom lever (3b) with respect to the top pedal lever (3a) to achieve desired position. The locking holes (10) in bottom pedal lever (3b) are used for adjusting different positions as per requirements of the different population. In an embodiment, multiple locking holes (10) can be provided on the bottom pedal lever (3b) based on desired number of pedal adjustment positions.

[0039] As shown in Figure 4, a control switch (12) is provided to select the desired position of the pedal by the user. The control switch (12) sends a signal corresponding to the selection of the position by the user to a control unit (11). Based on the signal from the control switch (12), the control unit (11) sends the signal to the solenoid valve (6) to disengage the top pedal lever (3a) and bottom pedal lever (3b) by moving the plunger (13) in solenoid valve (6), then the same signal is provided to the electric motor (8) to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b) with respect to bottom pedal lever (3b) about the mounting bolt (5), and finally the top pedal lever (3a) and bottom pedal lever (3b) are engaged at desired position by the movement of plunger (13) of solenoid valve (6) to form an integral pedal lever for further functionality of the control pedal.

[0040] The control unit (11) and control switch (12) as shown in figure 4 is used to sequence the operations of solenoid valve (6) and reversible electric motor (8). Reversible electric motor (8) has the functionality to rotate the custom toothed gear (7) in clockwise and anti-clock wise directions by a predetermined degrees of freedom to operate the bottom pedal lever (3b) to the desired position as per the requirement of the different population as shown in figures 5A and 5B. Custom toothed gear (7) engagement with the bottom pedal lever (3b) is shown in figure 6.

[0041] The control unit (11) sends signal to the reversible electric motor (8) which has the functionality to rotate the custom toothed gear (7) in clockwise and anti-clock wise directions to operate the bottom pedal lever (3b) to the desired position i.e., position 1 as shown in Figure 5A or position 2 as shown in Figure 5B, as per the requirement of the different population. The custom toothed gear (7) engages with the bottom pedal lever (3b), small locking holes in bottom pedal lever (3b) are used for adjusting different positions as per requirements of the different population.

[0042] The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof.

[0043] Advantages of the present subject matter:
• Design enables safe driving of existing vehicles for short height population without compromising safety and ergonomics comfort.
• Obviate or alleviate the long-term health issues due to driving posture.

[0044] Accordingly, present invention discloses an automatic adjustable control pedal system. The system comprises of a top pedal lever (3a) configured to be pivotally mounted on a mounting assembly (1), a bottom pedal lever (3b) configured to be pivotally mounted on the bottom portion of the top pedal lever (3a) at a pivot joint, a brake booster (2) configured to be connected to the top pedal lever (3a) at the pivot joint through a mounting bolt (5), a solenoid valve (6) configured to be mounted on the mounting assembly (1) for locking the bottom pedal lever at a desired position and an electric motor (8) configured to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b). The electric motor (8) is configured with a gear (7) to engage with corresponding teeth provided on pivotal end of the bottom pedal lever (3b). The automatic adjustable control pedal is configured with a control switch (12) to select desired position of the control pedal. The electric motor (8) is configured to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b) in clockwise/anticlockwise direction with respect to the top pedal lever (3a) on activation of the control switch (12). The solenoid valve (6) and the electric motor (8) are configured to be operated in a predefined sequence through a control unit (11) based on a signal received from the control switch (12). The control unit (11) is configured to actuate the solenoid valve (6) to retract the plunger (13) to unlock the bottom pedal lever (3b) from the top pedal lever (3a). The control unit (11) is configured to operate the electric motor (8) to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b) about pivot joint by a predetermined degrees based on the position selected on the control switch (12). The control unit (11) is configured to actuate the solenoid valve (6) to extend the plunger (13) for locking the angular position of the bottom pedal lever (3b) upon rotation of the bottom pedal lever (3b) to desired angular position. The bottom pedal lever (3b) is configured with plurality of locking holes (10) corresponding to the desired pedal adjustment positions.
[0045] The present invention further discloses a method for adjusting a control pedal comprising steps of selecting a desired control pedal position on a control switch (12); receiving a signal of the selected control pedal position by a control unit (11); actuating a solenoid valve (6) by the control unit (11) to unlock a bottom pedal lever (3b) from a top pedal lever (3a); operating an electric motor by the control unit (11) to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b) with respect to a top pedal lever (3a) by a predetermined degrees based on the selected control pedal position; and actuating a solenoid valve (6) by the control unit (11) to lock the bottom pedal lever (3b) on the top pedal lever (3a).
[0046] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include the following:
[0047] Some embodiments of the present subject matter provide an adjustable control pedal lever assembly.
[0048] Some embodiments of the present subject matter provide a method for automatically adjusting control pedal position.
[0049] Although implementations for an automatic adjustable vehicle control pedal have been described in language specific to structural features and/or system, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or described. Rather, the specific features are disclosed as examples of implementations.
[0050] Reference numerals:
Reference Numeral Description
1 Pedal mounting assembly
2 Link to brake booster
3 Single piece of Pedal lever
3a Top pedal lever
3b Bottom pedal lever
4 Hinge pin
5 Mounting bolt
6 Solenoid valve
7 Custom toothed Gear
8 Reversible Electric Motor
9 Hole on Top lever for position alignment
10 Holes on Bottom lever for different positions
11 Control unit
12 Control switch
13 Plunger

,CLAIMS:
1. An automatic adjustable control pedal system comprising:
a top pedal lever (3a) configured to be pivotally mounted on a mounting assembly (1);
a bottom pedal lever (3b) configured to be pivotally mounted on the bottom portion of the top pedal lever (3a) at a pivot joint;
a brake booster (2) configured to be connected to the top pedal lever (3a) at the pivot joint through a mounting bolt (5);
a solenoid valve (6) configured to be mounted on the top pedal lever (3a) for locking the bottom pedal lever at a desired position; and
an electric motor (8) configured to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b).

2. The automatic adjustable control pedal system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electric motor (8) is configured with a gear (7) to engage with corresponding teeth provided on pivotal end of the bottom pedal lever (3b).

3. The automatic adjustable control pedal system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the automatic adjustable control pedal is configured with a control switch (12) to select desired position of the control pedal.

4. The automatic adjustable control pedal system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the electric motor (8) is configured to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b) in clockwise/anticlockwise direction with respect to the top pedal lever (3a) on activation of the control switch (12).

5. The automatic adjustable control pedal system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the solenoid valve (6) and the electric motor (8) are configured to be operated in a predefined sequence through a control unit (11) based on a signal received from the control switch (12).

6. The automatic adjustable control pedal system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the control unit (11) is configured to actuate the solenoid valve (6) to retract the plunger (13) to unlock the bottom pedal lever (3b) from the top pedal lever (3a).

7. The automatic adjustable control pedal system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the control unit (11) is configured to operate the electric motor (8) to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b) about pivot joint by a predetermined degrees based on the position selected on the control switch (12).

8. The automatic adjustable control pedal system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the control unit (11) is configured to actuate the solenoid valve (6) to extend the plunger (13) for locking the angular position of the bottom pedal lever (3b) upon rotation of the bottom pedal lever (3b) to desired angular position.

9. The automatic adjustable control pedal system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom pedal lever (3b) is configured with plurality of locking holes (10) corresponding to the desired pedal adjustment positions.

10. A method for adjusting a control pedal comprising steps of:

a. selecting a desired control pedal position on a control switch (12);
b. receiving a signal of the selected control pedal position by a control unit (11);
c. actuating a solenoid valve (6) by the control unit (11) to unlock a bottom pedal lever (3b) from a top pedal lever (3a);
d. operating an electric motor by the control unit (11) to rotate the bottom pedal lever (3b) with respect to a top pedal lever (3a) by a predetermined degrees based on the selected control pedal position; and
e. actuating a solenoid valve (6) by the control unit (11) to lock the bottom pedal lever (3b) on the top pedal lever (3a).