Pedal assembly for a vehicle

A pedal assembly for a vehicle, comprising:

• at least one pedal box having a mounting assembly supporting a pivot pin and a pedal pivotably coupled to the pivot pin, the pedal being actuatable by an occupant;
• and
• an actuator coupled to the pedal box and configured to actuate the pedal box among a plurality of distinct positions, the plurality of distinct positions including a deployed position and a stowed position, the actuator being configured to actuate the pedal box to the deployed position in response to a deploy command from a controller and to actuate the pedal box to the stowed position in response to a stow command from the controller;
• and
• an arcuate track and a pivotable interface having a first portion and a second portion being pivotable relative to the first portion, wherein the at least one pedal box comprises a first pedal box slidably coupled to the arcuate track and a second pedal box fixedly coupled to the second portion.

A method of controlling an automotive vehicle comprising:

• providing a vehicle with a first actuator configured to control vehicle acceleration or braking, a controller configured to selectively control the first actuator in an autonomous mode according to an automated driving system, at least one pedal box having a mounting assembly supporting a pivot pin and a pedal pivotably coupled to the pivot pin, an arcuate track fixedly coupled to the interior structural point of the vehicle, a pivotable interface having a first portion fixedly coupled to the interior structural point and a second portion being pivotable relative to the first portion, wherein the at least one pedal box comprises a first pedal box slidably coupled to the arcuate track and a second pedal box fixedly coupled to the second portion, and a second actuator coupled to the pedal box and configured to actuate the pedal box among a plurality of distinct positions including a deployed position and a stowed position;
• in response to the controller controlling the first actuator in the autonomous mode, automatically controlling the second actuator, via the controller, to actuate the pedal box to the stowed position;
• and
• in response to the controller not controlling the first actuator in the autonomous mode, automatically controlling the second actuator, via the controller, to actuate the pedal box to the deployed position.