Pedal assembly having a hysteresis generating structure

A pedal assembly for a vehicle comprising;

• a housing (20) presenting two spaced apart inner surfaces (22), a pedal arm (24) having a first end (26) and a second end (28) and pivotally connected to said housing (20) for movement between and parallel to said inner surfaces (22),
• a hysteresis mechanism (30) responsive to reaction forces between said pedal arm (24) and said inner surfaces (22) of said housing (20) for providing resistance to pivotal movement of said pedal arm (24) relative to said housing (20),
• said mechanism including a first brake element (32) and a second brake element (34) each presenting a brake shoe (36) with said brake shoes (36) frictionally engaging said inner surfaces (22) of said housing (20) and movable relative to one another along a braking axis (B) extending between said inner surfaces (22),
• characterized by each of said brake elements (32, 34) including a pair of parallel ramps (46) spaced from one another along said braking axis (B) and offset from one another laterally in a direction transverse to said braking axis (B) with said pair of ramps (46) of one brake element (32, 34) in sliding engagement with said pair of ramps (46) of the other brake element (32, 34) to move said brake elements (32, 34) relative to one another along said braking axis (B) in response to said reaction forces causing said sliding movement between said ramps (46).