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US 12,600,324 B1Granted
Vehicular pedal with latching foot pad
AssigneeCTS Corporation
InventorJohn Clark
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of assembling a vehicular foot pedal includes providing a pedal arm and a foot pad having a front surface configured for engagement by a driver's foot. The foot pad is assembled to a distal portion of the pedal arm along an assembly direction parallel to a normal surface vector of the front surface. The foot pad is latched to the pedal arm by a flexible latch member integral to a rear surface of the foot pad, the flexible latch member extending through a corresponding opening in the pedal arm.
Claims20
A vehicular foot pedal comprising:
- an elongate pedal arm;
- a foot pad provided at a distal end of the pedal arm for engagement by a foot of a driver to rotate the pedal arm, wherein the foot pad includes a frontal surface configured to face toward the foot of the driver;
- and
- a latching system removably securing the foot pad to the pedal arm,
- wherein the latching system includes a latching member protruded from a rear surface of the foot pad, and a corresponding opening in the pedal arm positioned to receive the latching member in an assembly direction, and
- wherein the latching member comprises a post protruding along a post axis parallel to the assembly direction and a flexible arm extending from the post transverse to the assembly direction, wherein the flexible arm terminates in a tip portion that sits outside a perimeter of the corresponding opening in a state in which the flexible arm is in a non-deflected state and in which the foot pad is secured to the pedal arm by the latching system, and
- wherein the flexible arm extends generally tangentially from the post as viewed along the post axis.
4 more elements
A vehicular foot pedal comprising:
- an elongate pedal arm including a proximal mounting portion and a distal end;
- a foot pad provided at the distal end of the pedal arm, the foot pad having a frontal surface configured for engagement by a foot of a driver to rotate the pedal arm about the proximal mounting portion;
- and
- a latching system removably securing the foot pad to the distal end of the pedal arm,
- wherein the latching system includes a latching member including a post protruded along a post axis from a rear surface of the foot pad and a corresponding opening in the distal end of the pedal arm positioned to receive the latching member in an assembly direction, and
- wherein a flexible arm of the latching member that extends from the post transverse to the assembly direction has a first bending stiffness against a force at a free tip portion thereof parallel to the assembly direction and a second bending stiffness, less than the first bending stiffness, against a force at the free tip portion perpendicular to the assembly direction so that the flexible arm is more easily deflected about the post axis than deflected toward the post axis.
3 more elements
A method of assembling a vehicular foot pedal, the method comprising:
- providing a pedal arm;
- providing a foot pad having a frontal surface configured for engagement by a driver's foot;
- assembling the foot pad to a distal portion of the pedal arm along an assembly direction parallel to a normal surface vector of the frontal surface;
- and
- latching the foot pad to the pedal arm by a latching member integral to a rear surface of the foot pad and including a post and a flexible arm extending transverse to a post axis defined by the post, the latching member extending through a corresponding opening in the pedal arm,
- wherein, during latching, a free tip portion of the flexible arm of the latching member is deflected generally about the post axis.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.