US2258007A - Accelerator control device - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 7, 1941; H. D. GONDERMAN ACCELERATOR COI JTROL DEVICE Filed May 11, 1940 #42040 0.- o/vafip/m/v 1N VENTOR. WW

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 7, 1941 2,258,007 ACCELERATOR CONTROL DEVICE Harold D. Gonderman, Nappanee, Ind; assignor ofdone-half to George D. Martin, Nappanee,

' L Application May 11, 1940 Se rialN0. 334,482

8 Claims. (o1.192'--s) v This invention relates to accelerator control devices. Considerable trouble, which commonly leads to excessive fatigue, is experienced by clriversof motor vehicles on long trips, and this may even lead to physical disability of individuals who continuously undergo this condition' over long periods of time. This is caused by the fact that in trucks, busses and automobiles,=the accelerator control constitutes a pedal which is generally so positioned and constructed that the operator must constantly hold his foot thereon as long as the Vehicle is operated, if safe operation is to be achieved. 1

;By reason'of the fact that in the conventional construction of trucks, busses and the like the brake pedal and clutch pedal are positioned directly in front of the operator for safety purposes, 'the position of theaccelerator pedal is slightly to'one side of the position of the operator. Hence, on long trips, the driver is faced with the ecessity of continuously holding his leg at an unnatural position in order to constantly maintain his foot on the accelerator pedal. The combined factors of unnatural position and inability toshift the leg muscles to re-' lieve the; strain thereon incident'to said position, frequently result in a cramped muscle condition in the legs of the operator. This is especially true with truck drivers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, and others who drive a motor vehicle for a large proportion of their working hours and for long periodsat a time. I

"The cramped condition extends throughout the muscles of the entire leg and becomes very painful. To counteract the condition, many such drivers are forced to rub theleg muscles and to apply lin'ament thereto quite frequently at stops; and it is well recognizedamong such drivers that a cramped leg condition is one or the occupational disabilities to whichthey are subject. In some instances, the condition has' been known to create more or less of an'atrophy in the leg muscles. There have even been cases wherein the legha's become shortened with resulting crippling 'o f the operator. Also, there have been instances in which the operator has become paralyzed in-one leg forsubstantialperiods of time and to an extent rendering him unfit forwork and requiring medical treatment for a long time. f Iti's', therefore the primary object of this inventiori to provide a control mechanismoperable by foot and adapted to retain anydesired adjustment, so that the operator need notcohtihuously maintain his foot upon the accelerator pedal.

will provide the convenience of accelerator control through afoot pedal, while at the 'same'tim'e eliminating the necessity for constant contact with the pedal. i 1 F Y A further object is to provide a novel device by means of which any desired's'etting of 'an accelerator maybe maintained, subject to instan-' taneous release for safety purposes. i

A further object is to provide an accelerator control device with means for maintaining the accelerator in any desired position, together with means associated with a brake pedalfor'return ing-the accelerator pedal to idling position upon brake operation.

A further object is to provide an accelerator control device with an adjustable pedal whose position may be adjusted in conformity with the needs of'any particularoperator; V

A further object is to-provide a device. ofthis character having a member connected with a throttle valve for-control of the throttle valve upon longitudinal movement of the member, together with spring pressed means acting "upon the longitudinal member'for releasably locking said member in any desired position or longitudinal adjustment.

'Other'objects will be apparent from the def scription and appended claims.

In the drawing: i Fig. 1' is a fragmentary sectional view of the foot' board of a motor vehicle showing in elevation a foot accelerator, brake" pedal, vehicle engine and associated parts, with my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view directed upwardly and rearwardly at the acceler-' ator, brake and clutch pedals.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail sectional viewof one 'element of my invention.

Fig. 4 is a view of the cable with a spring section. I

Referring to the drawing which illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; the numeral l0 designates a vehicle frame which supports an internal combustion engine I l ,and a footboard having'an inclined portion I2 and a vertical portion [3. The vehicle is provided with the usual steering post 14, and the engine is'providediwith' the usual intake manifold 'l 5 and carburetor lir having ajcontrol lever ll. The clutch pedal-l8 is suitablymounted on a clutch-oper- 'atin'grod or other member [9, and brake pedal zfiissui tably mounted upon a brake operating 7 rod or memberZ I. It will be understood that the A further object is tofprovidea'device which constructions as here illustrated 'are for purposes of illustration only, and that any conventional form for mounting the clutch and brake pedals may be utilized, said pedals l8 and 20 each comprising a portion extending upwardly from the inclined floor board l2 through opening 22 with the operating mechanisms l9 and 2| thereof being disposed beneath the foot board l2.

Any suitable accelerator pedal 23 is mounted in the usual position to the right of the brake pedal 20 as viewed by the operator, and preferably is of a length to receive both the ball and the heel of the foot. The pedal 23 preferably includes a projection 24 intermediate its ends pivoted at 25 to a supporting memberlfi which is secured to the foot board 1 2 by nuts 21 above and below the board. The mounting member 26 is preferably of such a length that the spacing of the pedal from the foot board l:2 may be readily adjusted by means of nuts 21; and if desired, by the use of a U-bolt type of mounting (not shown), the pivot 25 may assume a position at an angle to the plane'of the foot board l2. Suitable lugs 28 project :from the bottom ,face of the front or upper end of the accelerator pedal 23, and have pivoted thereto at 29 a link 30 extending freely through an opening 3] in foot board 12. 1A bracket .32 is carried by the front side of the vertical foot board l3 and has pivoted thereto at .33 a bell-crank lever. One arm 34 of the bell crank lever is pivoted to link 30 at 35. The other arm ,36 of the bell crank lever is pivoted at 3] with ,a link 38 extending substantially horizontally forwardly for pivotal connection at 39 with the throttle valve operating lever IT.

The normal or idling position of the parts, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, is such that the portion 36 of the bell crank lever is slightly inclined in a forward direction, and is spaced from the foot board to permit swinging thereof to rea ryvard ly inclined position. Rearward swinging of the bell crank imparts a pull upon the throttle valve lever l'l by'substantially longitudina-l movement of the link 38.

Suitably supported upon the engine H at a point between the carburetor and the bell crank lever is a cylindrical housing 40 provided with a suitable mounting base 4|, The outer end of the member 40 is open and is externally screw threaded. A closure cap 42 is threaded on said member. The member 40 is elongated and has a pair :of openings '43 formed therein in diametricallv opposed relati n n r-mediate its Iengt for passage of the link 38 therethrough. The openings 43 are preferably vertically elongated to accommodate a limited amount of vertical play and an ular tilting of link 38. A coil spring 44 is mounted at the inner end .of the housing 44!, and presses a plate 145 in an outward direction against the rod 38. A coil spring 45 in the outer end of member 40 presses upon a" bearing plate 41 in opposed relation to plate 45, said spring tfi'beine retained by the cap 42.

It will be seen from the above that whenever the accelerator pedal 23 is tilted to shift the longitudinal position of the horizontal link 38 connected with the throttle valve lever H, such longitudinal movemen of d 38 is es s ed y r the spring pressed plates 45 and 41; and that when a desired position of the accelerator pedal 23 has been set, he spring p e e plates 45 an 41 will serve to maintain the same. For this purpose, the plates 45 and 41 are preferably formed in .a manner to provide a substantial area .of friction contact with the rod 38. Hence, when the accelerator pedal 23 has once been set,

the driver may remove his foot therefrom and permit his leg to assume a natural and comfortable position, thereby eliminating all possibility of cramping of the leg muscles.

Should any emergency arise, the operator may quickly kick the pedal to either further depress the same in accelerating direction or release the same to idling position, and thereafter be free to operate the brake. However, for safety purposes, it is desirable that the accelerator pedal 23 may be automatically restored to idling position at any time when immediate operation of the brake pedal '20 is necessary. For this purpose there is here shown mounted upon the brake operating shaft 2|, a lever 50, although it will "be understood that the lever 50 may constitute a rojection from the pedal 20 per se. This lever 50 has a short cable 5i connected or secured to its outer .end. The cable 5| passes through an opening 52 in the foot board [2 and is connected at its opposite end to the rear end of the accelerator pedal23 at 53.

The parts are sopositioned that when the accelerator pedal 23 is in idling position and the brake pedal 20 and lever 50 are in releasing position, the cable 5| will be slack. The length of the cable is such that only the maximum depression of the pedal '23 in accelerating .direction will tighten the cable 50 while the brake pedal 20 remains in releasing position. Also the length of the lever 50, the point of connection of cable 5l therewith, and the point of connection of the cable with the accelerator pedal are all so adjusted that when the accelerator pedal 23 is in idling position, and the brake pedal 20 is in'maximum depressed position, the cable will again be tight.

It will readily be seen that this arrangement of the parts is such that, assuming the accelerator pedal to be adjusted to a position for desired speed labove idling speed, operation of the brake pedal tightens the cable 5| before full brake releasing position is reached, and continued opertion of 1 the brake pedal will pull upon the cable and upon the accelerator pedal to return the latter to idling position. Hence, there is no disadvantage in the fact that the accelerator pedal will normally maintain any position to which it has been set by the operator. From the standpoint of safety, it will be-observed that in any emergency wherein'the driver would, as a matter of course, operate the brake pedal, the very action of operating the brake pedal will serve to return the accelerator to idling position. The cable will preferably include an extensible position such as a spring 55, to accommodate adjustment or variation of the throw or range of movement of the brake pedal.

It will be understood that the device as herein described and illustrated is illustrative only of the novelty and utility of this invention, and that the invention is susceptible of other embodiments than that illustrated.

I claim:

1. The combination with an automotive vehicle having an engine, a throttle valve, and root operated means for controlling said valveincluding a longitudinally shiftable element, of a housing fixed on said engine and having a pamagc therein through which said element loosely extends, and spring pressed means carried by said housing and pressing transversely against said element t releasably clamp said element in selected position.

2. The combination with an automotive vehicle having an engine, a throttle valve, and foot operated means for controlling said valve including a longitudinally shiftable element, of an elongated housing fixed on said engine and having diametrically opposed openings therein through which said element loosely extends, and

springs in opposite ends of said housing pressing inwardly against said element.

3. The combination with an automotive vehicle having an engine, a throttle valve, and foot operated means for controlling said valve including a longitudinally shiftable element, of an elongated housing fixed on said engine and having diametrically opposed openings therein through which said element loosely extends, springs in opposite ends of said housing pressing inwardly toward said element, and friction plates engaging said element and pressed into clutching relation to said element by said springs.

4. Accelerator control means adapted for use with a longitudinally shiftable accelerator element, comprising an elongated housing having opposed openings intermediate its length in which said element is freely shiftable, and spring pressed members in said housing pressing against opposite sides of said element.

5. The combination with an automotive vehicle having an engine, a throttle valve, a brake pedal, and an accelerator pedal for controlling said valve, said accelerator pedal having an idling position, of frictional means for holding said controlling means in selected position, and lost motion means actuated by said pedal for returning said controlling means t idling position against the action of said holding means, said lost motion means accommodating actuation of either pedal without interference from the other when the other is in normal inoperative position.

6. The combination with an automotive vehicle having a throttle valve, a brake pedal, and means for controlling said throttle valve including a pivoted foot pedal, of means for normally holding said controlling means in. selected position, a member juxtaposed to said foot pedal and shiftable by said brake pedal in a direction op posite that in which said foot pedal is shifted, and a cable connected at its ends to said shiftable member and foot pedal at points thereof having paths of movement of substantially equal lengths, said cable being of a length equal to the distance between the inoperative position of one pedal and normal operative position of the other pedal.

7. The combination defined in claim 6, wherein said cable includes an extensible portion accommodating depression of said brake pedal beyond normal operative position.

8. The combination defined in claim 6, wherein said cable includes an extensible coil spring element as a portion thereof.

HAROLD D. GONDERMAN.

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