FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2005
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“A Safety Device Comprising a Pedal Blocker for Support to a Swivelling Pedal
of a Motor Vehicle”
APPLICANT
TATA MOTORS LIMITED
of Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street,
Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400001, Maharashtra, India; Nationality: Indian
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:-

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present disclosure relates to a safety device for support of a swivelling pedal of a motor vehicle, and more particularly relates to the safety device comprising a pedal blocker assembly deployed in proximity to the swivelling pedal for support in a motor vehicle. The pedal blocker assembly is activated when a head-on collision of the motor vehicle is detected.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Generally motor vehicle comprises foot controls with the pedals for operating the motor vehicle. In case of frontal crash or collision, sudden deceleration of motor vehicle causes forward movement of occupant due to inertia. The sudden deceleration of the vehicle might occur in such a way that the driver's foot becomes trapped under a pedal, thereby causing undue harm to the occupant of the driver's seat. This possess the occupants at high risk of hitting the pedal assembly and other interior hard points. This forms major cause of injuries to occupants.
[0003] In order to avoid such harm, especially foot injuries, to the occupant, pedal blockers are provided. Conventional pedal blocker is made of steel rods and brackets and is widely used across all industries to control pedal intrusions. However due to packaging and design constraints, the conventional pedal blocker cannot be designed very close to pedals due to which its effectiveness is reduced. This results in heavy design of pedal blocker assembly. Also it has discomfort issue for some occupants as the pedal blocker touches the driver or occupant foot in some cases.
[0004] Therefore, there remains a need of a robust pedal blockers that can be deployed close to the pedal.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The principal object of the embodiments herein is to provide a safety device comprising a pedal blocker assembly deployed in proximity to the swivelling pedal, a Front Restraint Sensor Unit (FRSU), and an Electronic Controller Unit (ECU). When the ECU gets a signal from the FRSU during accident or collision the signal triggers the pedal blocker assembly deployment. The pedal blocker assembly is designed in such a way that it will have locking feature when it is fully deployed.
[0006] Another object to the embodiments herein is to provide a pedal blocker assembly comprising a pair of vertical rods each of which is connected in parallel to each other, and a deformable rod provided within the vertical rod in a spatial position. The deformable rod is configured to deform in a forward position in an event of a head-on collision of the motor vehicle.
SUMMARY
[0007] In one aspect the object is satisfied by providing a safety device for support of a swivelling pedal of a motor vehicle. The safety device comprises a pedal blocker assembly deployed in proximity to the swivelling pedal, a Front Restraint Sensor Unit (FRSU) placed at a front side of the motor vehicle to detect a head-on collision of the motor vehicle, and an Electronic Controller Unit (ECU) connected to the FRSU and the pedal blocker assembly. The pedal blocker assembly comprises a pair of vertical rods each of which is connected in parallel to each other, and a deformable rod connected within each of the vertical rods in a spatial position. The ECU is configured to trigger the deformable rod to deform in a forward position in response to detection of the head-on collision.
[0008] In an embodiment, a diameter of the vertical rod is larger than a diameter of the deformable rod.

[0009] In an embodiment, the deformable rod remains in the special position until the head-on collision is detected by the FRSU.
[0010] In an embodiment, the deformable rod is in U shaped. However, it is not limited to U shape, it can be of any shape which serve the same purpose. Generally the deformable rod and the push rod is of U shape, but not limited to the same. In an embodiment, the pedal blocker assembly is connected to a cross car beam (CCB) of the motor vehicle.
[0011] In another aspect the object is satisfied by providing a pedal blocker assembly deployed in proximity to a swivelling pedal for support in a motor vehicle. The pedal blocker assembly comprises a pair of vertical rods each of which is connected in parallel to each other, and a deformable rod provided within the vertical rod in a spatial position, wherein the deformable rod is configured to deform in a forward position in an event of a head-on collision of the motor vehicle.
[0012] In an embodiment, the head-on collision of the motor vehicle is detected by the FRSU placed at a front side of the motor vehicle.
[0013] In an embodiment, the deformable rod is trigged to deform in the forward position by the ECU connected to the FRSU in response to detection of the head-on collision.
[0014] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0015] The proposed safety device comprising self-adjustable pedal blocker assembly is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a safety device comprising a pedal blocker assembly for support of a swivelling pedal of a motor vehicle, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0017] FIG. 2a illustrates a front view of the pedal blocker assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0018] FIG. 2b illustrates a side view of the pedal blocker assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates an example pedal blocker assembly mechanism, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0020] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. Also, the various embodiments described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. The term “or” as used herein, refers to a non-exclusive or, unless otherwise indicated. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein can be practiced and to further enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly,

the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0021] The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features and it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such, the present disclosure should be construed to extend to any alterations, equivalents and substitutes in addition to those which are particularly set out in the accompanying drawings. Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are generally only used to distinguish one element from another.
[0022] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1-3, there are shown preferred embodiments.
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a safety device for support of a swivelling (1) pedal of a motor vehicle (2), according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The safety device comprises a pedal blocker assembly (3), a Front Restraint Sensor Unit (FRSU) (7) and an Electronic Controller Unit (ECU) (8). The pedal blocker assembly (3) deployed in proximity to the swivelling pedal (1). The pedal blocker assembly (3) is connected to a cross car beam (CCB) (4) of the motor vehicle (2). The pedal blocker assembly (3) comprises a pair of vertical rods (5) each of which is connected in parallel to each other, and a deformable rod (6) connected within each of the vertical rods (5) in a spatial position (9).
[0024] The FRSU (7) is placed at a front side of the motor vehicle (2) to detect a head-on collision of the motor vehicle (2). The ECU (8) is connected to the FRSU (7) and the pedal blocker assembly (3). The ECU (8) is configured to trigger the deformable rod (6) to deform in a forward position (10) in response to detection of the head-on collision. The deformable rod (6) remains in the special position until the head-on collision is detected by the FRSU.

[0025] FIG. 2a illustrates a front view of the pedal blocker assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. FIG. 2b illustrates a side view of the pedal blocker assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The pedal blocker assembly (3) deployed in proximity to the swivelling pedal (1) and is connected to a cross car beam (CCB) (4) of the motor vehicle (2). The pair of vertical rods (5) each of which is connected in parallel to each other, and a deformable rod (6) provided within the vertical rod (5) in a spatial position (9). The deformable rod (6) is configured to deform in a forward position (10) in an event of a head-on collision of the motor vehicle (2) and restrict pedal intrusion further towards occupant. In an embodiment, a diameter of the vertical rod (5) is larger than a diameter of the deformable rod (6). In embodiment, the deformable rod (6) is in U shaped. However, one can envisage any other similar shape that would achieve the same purpose. The deformable rod (6) is not limited to U shape.
[0026] The head-on collision of the motor vehicle (2) is detected by the FRSU (7) placed at a front side of the motor vehicle (2). The deformable rod (6) is trigged to deform in the forward position (10) by the ECU (8) connected to the FRSU (7) in response to detection of the head-on collision. The deformable rod (6) remains in the special position until the head-on collision is detected by the FRSU.
[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates an example pedal blocker assembly mechanism, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. Unlike the conventional pedal blockers, it is possible to deploy the proposed pedal blocker assembly very close to the pedal which improves the effectiveness and robustness of the system. The pedal blocker assembly (3) is self-adjustable and will activate during the collision event. The basic operation consist of, when the ECU (8) gets a signal from the FRSU (7) during accident the signal triggers the pedal blocker deployment as indicated at (11) in the FIG. 3. For example, the ECU (8) process the single/data

received from the FRSU (7) and take decision based on input single/data. The ECU (7) sends the signal to the vertical rod (5) that pedal blocker take the bottom position during collision event by moving in the forward direction and restrict pedal intrusion further towards occupant as indicated at (12) in the FIG. 3.
[0028] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

We Claim:
1. A safety device for support of a swivelling pedal (1) of a motor vehicle (2),
comprising:
a pedal blocker assembly (3) deployed in proximity to the swivelling pedal (1), wherein the pedal blocker assembly (3) comprising:
a pair of vertical rods (5) each of which is connected in parallel
to each other, and
a deformable rod (6) connected within each of the vertical rods
(5) in a spatial position (9);
a Front Restraint Sensor Unit (FRSU) (7) placed at a front side of the motor vehicle (2) to detect a head-on collision of the motor vehicle (2); and
an Electronic Controller Unit (ECU) (8) connected to the FRSU (7) and the pedal blocker assembly (3), wherein the ECU (8) is configured to trigger the deformable rod (6) to deform in a forward position (10) in response to detection of the head-on collision.
2. The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a diameter of the vertical rod (5) is larger than a diameter of the deformable rod (6).
3. The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the deformable rod (6) remains in the special position until the head-on collision is detected by the FRSU.
4. The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the deformable rod (6) is in U shaped.
5. The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pedal blocker assembly (3) is connected to a cross car beam (CCB) (4) of the motor vehicle (2).

6. A pedal blocker assembly (3) deployed in proximity to a swivelling pedal
(1) for support in a motor vehicle (2), comprising:
a pair of vertical rods (5) each of which is connected in parallel to each other; and
a deformable rod (6) provided within the vertical rod (5) in a spatial position (9), wherein the deformable rod (6) is configured to deform in a forward position (10) in an event of a head-on collision of the motor vehicle (2).
7. The pedal blocker assembly (3) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the head-on collision of the motor vehicle (2) is detected by a Front Restraint Sensor Unit (FRSU) (7) placed at a front side of the motor vehicle (2).
8. The pedal blocker assembly (3) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the deformable rod (6) is trigged to deform in the forward position (10) by an Electronic Controller Unit (ECU) (8) connected to the FRSU (7) in response to detection of the head-on collision.
9. The pedal blocker assembly (3) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the deformable rod (6) remains in the special position until the head-on collision is detected by the FRSU.
10. The pedal blocker assembly (3) as claimed in claim 6, wherein a diameter of the each of the vertical rods (5) is larger than a diameter of the deformable rod (6).
11. The pedal blocker assembly (3) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the pushrod is in U shaped.

12. The pedal blocker assembly (3) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the pedal blocker assembly (3) is connected to a cross car beam (CCB) (4) of the motor vehicle (2).