Claims:We Claim:
1. A foot pedal assembly (100) for a vehicle, said foot pedal assembly (100) comprising:
a pedal arm (102) having a first end for engaging a foot (102a) and a bearing pedestal (102b);
a mechanical stopping device (104) attached to the bearing pedestal (102b) and adapted to get engaged with a snap hook inside the bearing pedestal (102b) on application of load more than a certain threshold;
a force measuring element (106) attached to said bearing pedestal (102b) in a way that movement of said pedal arm (102) causes change in output characteristics of said force measuring element (106).

2. The foot pedal assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said force measuring element (106) connected to an Engine control unit (108) for transmitting the change in output characteristics of said force measuring element (108).

3. The foot pedal assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mechanical stopping device (104) comprises a snap lock adapted to get engaged with the snap hook inside the bearing pedestal (102b), on application of load more than a certain threshold load value.

4. The foot pedal assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said force measuring element (106) receives the energy from battery of said vehicle.

5. The foot pedal assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said the foot pedal assembly (100) is an accelerator pedal assembly of a vehicle.

6. The foot pedal assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said the foot pedal assembly (100) comprises an amplifier adapted to receive the output characteristics in the force measuring element (106) and send it to the engine control unit (108).
, Description:Complete Specification:

The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of the invention
[0001] Present invention relates generally to a foot pedal assembly for a vehicle. The invention relates in specific to a system and method to detect the overload applied on an accelerator pedal in a vehicle.

Background of the invention
[0002] In vehicles, the pedals for operating a motor vehicle, for example, the accelerator, brake and clutch pedals have included a drive by wire electronic throttle without any cables from the accelerator pedal to the device it is intended to operate. The acceleration pedal module consists of the accelerator pedal and an angular position sensor as potentiometer or touchless hall-effect sensor. This sensor registers the movement and position of accelerator. The signal can be output in analog or digital form. The accelerator pedal is mostly made out of plastic.

[0003] In the existing design, there is a concern that the driver can abuse the accelerator pedal by pressing the pedal in excess of the prescribed force required to operate the pedal. This will result in pedal breakage or permanent deformation of the pedal. However, none of the existing solutions provide a solution to detect if the pedal is breaking or deformation is due to excess load.

[0004] The prior art US7278337B2 discloses an accelerator pedal module for controlling the power of a driving engine having a pedal lever which is retained rotatable about a pivot axis on a bearing block and which actuates a sensor shaft of a rotation sensor, the sensor shaft being coaxial with the pivot axis. At least a part of the sensor shaft is directly supported rotatable in a bearing bore of a bearing region that is integral with the bearing block, of which bearing region at least a part of the radially outer circumferential surface forms at least one bearing face for the pedal lever.
[0005] Another prior art US4510906A discloses accelerator pedal control mechanism provides a positional stop to resist pedal depression beyond a point at which optimum fuel economy is realized during vehicle acceleration. The position of the stop relative to the accelerator pedal is controlled by an electronic circuit that is programmed to select the desired point of accelerator depression for a given condition of engine operating parameters. A caged limit spring is carried on the underside of the accelerator pedal for engagement with the stop, thus allowing the operator to sense the additional resistance of the spring through the accelerator pedal when the appropriate amount of accelerator depression is reached. The spring allows the operator to override the programmed control by pressing on the accelerator pedal with sufficient force to overcome the limit spring.

Brief description of the accompanying drawing
[0006] Different modes of the invention are disclosed in detail in the description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing:

[0007] Fig. 1 illustrates a system for reducing individual accessory load for an engine, of a vehicle according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0008] Fig. 2 illustrates operating stages of the system of Fig. 1, according to one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments

[0009] Figure 1 illustrates a foot pedal assembly 100 for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The foot pedal assembly 100 comprises a pedal 102 having a first end for engaging a foot 102a and a second end connected to a bearing pedestal 102b. In one embodiment, the foot pedal assembly 100 is an accelerator pedal assembly of a vehicle. The foot pedal assembly 100 comprises a mechanical stopping device 104 attached to the bearing pedestal 102b, and a force measuring element 106. Each component is described in details below.

[0010] The mechanical stopping device 104 attached to the bearing pedestal 102b and adapted to get engaged with a snap hook inside the bearing pedestal 102b on application of load more than a certain threshold. In one embodiment, the mechanical stopping device 104 includes a snap lock adapted to get engaged with the snap hook inside the bearing pedestal 102b, on application of load more than a certain threshold load value. For example, when a load of more than 200N is applied on the pedal 102, the snap lock in the mechanical stopping device 104 will be engaged with the snap hook inside the bearing pedestal, which cannot be removed later.

[0011] The force measuring element 106 is attached to the bearing pedestal 102b in a way that movement of said pedal arm 102 causes change in output characteristics of said force measuring element 108. According to an embodiment, the force measuring element 106 is connected to an Engine control unit 108 for transmitting the change in output characteristics of the force measuring element 106. In the foot pedal assembly 100, the movement in the pedal arm 102 causes movement in force measuring element 102.

[0012] Fig. 2 illustrates operating stages 200a, 200b, and 200c of the system of Fig. 1, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0013] When pedal arm 102 is in low idle position, the mechanical stopping device 104 is not hooked to the bearing pedestal 102b, as shown in the stage 200a of Fig. 2. In working of the foot pedal assembly 100, when the user presses the pedal 102, the pedal moves from low idle position to mechanical stop position. In mechanical stop position, the pedal 102 is not in contact with the mechanical stopping device 104 and the stopping device 104 is not hooked to the bearing pedestal 102b, as shown in the stage 200b of Fig. 2. On application of further force on the pedal 102, then the pedal 102 comes in an over pressed position, the pedal 102 presses the mechanical stopping device 104, and the snap lock of the mechanical stopping device 104 get engaged with the snap hook inside the bearing pedestal 102b, as shown in the stage 200c of Fig. 2. In the situation of the operating stage 200c of Fig. 2, the pedal 102 can continue to operate normally, however the engagement of the mechanical stopping device 104 with the bearing pedestal 102b indicates excess load applied on the pedal 102.

[0014] This engagement caused the force measuring element 106 to create change in output characteristics, which transmits to the Engine control unit 108. In one embodiment, the foot pedal assembly 100 includes an amplifier adapted to receive the output characteristics in the force measuring element 106 and send it to the engine control unit 108.

[0015] In one embodiment, the bearing pedestal 102b includes an internal stopper 103a adapted to ensure the mechanical stop of the pedal in the mechanical stop position. In some situations, abuse can occur if user keeps on applying force on the pedal even after reaching the mechanical stop position. In such situations, an external mechanical stopper 103b is provided with the pedal 102 adapted to stop the pedal in case of overload force application.

[0012] By using this foot pedal assembly 100 as disclosed above, pedal breakage or deformation happened due to excess load application can be detected. In certain situations, pedal abuse man occur if the driver still presses the pedal even after the pedal reaches the mechanical stop position leading to pedal undergoing higher stress values leading to a fatigue failure or pedal breakage. Such causes can be identified by using this foot pedal assembly 100. This will eliminate errors in synchronicity of the output voltage. Advantage of Taking Multiple output is to increase accuracy and monitor the Main Output characteristic, designing of second lowered output characteristic helps ECU to Trigger Limp home mode if synchronicity of first output fails as a safety feature vehicle operates at minimal performance of standard. Also here, the moving parts are less as compared to the conventional type of foot pedal so by employing the mechanical stopping device 104 with the bearing pedestal 102b the lifetime of the foot pedal assembly 100 is improved.

[0013] ‘Adapted’ or ‘arranged’, in the context of the instant disclosure, refers to the technical capability or the technical capacity of a component, in relation to which the term ‘adapted’ or ‘arranged’ is used, to carry out or executed a specified action or actions, upon the requirement of the specified action or actions to be carried out or executed. Moreover, the usage of the term ‘adapted’ or ‘arranged’ here, is in reference with the normal technical capability or technical capacity of the component, imparted by the design or the structure or the composition of the component, and not in reference with any special or extraneous capability or capacity, beyond the scope of the normal technical capability or technical capacity. Therefore, there is a need to address this problem

[0016] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.