Claims
- 1. A parking brake for a vehicle comprising:
a mounting bracket having a stop; a handle assembly pivotally mounted on said mounting bracket for rotation about a first axis between a brake release position and a brake applied position; a cam pivotally mounted on said handle about a second axis offset from said first axis, said cam biased to engage said stop; an actuator operably connected to a clutch, said clutch frictionally engaging said cam for selectively retaining said cam relative to said handle; wherein movement of said actuator responsively moves said clutch to release the cam enabling said cam to move relative to the handle, and in response to releasing said actuator, said clutch retains said cam relative to said handle to prop said handle in a position between the brake release position and the brake applied position.
- 2. A parking brake as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cam has a cam surface having a varying radial extent from said second axis.
- 3. A parking brake as claimed in claim 2 wherein said clutch is a coil spring engaging said cam.
- 4. A parking brake as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cam includes a pivot pin and said coil spring is wound about said pivot pin.
- 5. A parking brake as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cam surface is a spiral shape.
- 6. A parking brake as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cam surface is an Archimedes spiral.
- 7. A parking brake as claimed in claim 1 wherein said handle has a pivot pin for pivotally mounting the handle to the mounting bracket and said actuator is slidably mounted in an end of the handle remote from said pivot pin.
- 8. A parking brake as claimed in claim 7 wherein said clutch is a coil spring engaging said cam and said actuator further comprises a rod engaging said coil spring.
- 9. A parking brake as claimed in claim 8 wherein said actuator is a button.
- 10. A parking brake as claimed in claim 9 wherein said cam has a cam surface having a varying radial extent from said second axis.
- 11. A parking brake as claimed in claim 10 wherein said cam includes a pivot pin and said coil spring is wound about said pivot pin.
- 12. A parking brake as claimed in claim 11 wherein said cam surface is a spiral shape.
- 13. A parking brake as claimed in claim 11 wherein said cam surface is an Archimedes spiral.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/693,306, filed on Oct. 20, 2000 which claims the benefit and priority under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/160,857, filed on Oct. 21, 1999.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60160857 |
Oct 1999 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09693306 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Child |
10271234 |
Oct 2002 |
US |