DESC:FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970)
and
The Patent Rules, 2005

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“BRAKE ACTUATING LEVER ASSEMBLY FOR TWO AND THREE WHEELED VEHICLES”

Endurance Technologies Limited
E-92, M.I.D.C. Industrial Area, Waluj,
Aurangabad – 431136, Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of Invention

[001] The present invention relates to a braking system of two and three wheeled vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a brake actuating lever assembly for two and three wheeled vehicles wherein said assembly is configured to get adjusted to suit different span requirement of lever depending on the user / rider of the vehicle.

Background of the Invention

[002] Two and three wheelers are generally provided with brake levers for actuating or operating braking devices such as hydraulic brakes, mechanical brakes, hydro-mechanical brakes, electromechanical brakes, etc. In these braking systems on the two and three wheeled vehicles, the span of the brake actuating lever is generally fixed / constant and this span is set up at the time of fitment of braking system on the vehicle at the manufacturing units of the vehicles. The user / rider of the vehicle cannot adjust the span of the brake actuating lever with respect to the handle bar of the vehicle as per his requirement. Therefore, when the rider of the vehicle changes, i.e. from taller person to shorter person or from male to female, this fixed span of the brake actuating lever creates discomfort for the rider to apply the brake which consequently may lead to poor braking and/or accident putting the safety of the rider at stake. This discomfort in braking due to fixed span of the brake actuating lever is faced due to variation in the palm geometry and body dimensions from rider to rider.

[003] Therefore, there is a need to address this problem and provide a solution to make the brake lever span adjustable with respect the handle bar of the vehicle as per the requirement of the user / rider at his end. There are variety of solutions to adjust the span of the brake lever with varying degree of success. One of the solutions disclosed by the patent No. US6516682B2 necessitates the use of a compression spring which have the tendency to fail due to buckling during the adjustment of the lever ratio. The failure of the spring generally occurs due to the uneven bending of the spring about a pivot point as the ends of the spring are at different distances from the pivot point. Thus, this solution is not full proof as it fails over the period of time completely collapsing the feature of brake lever span adjustment of the braking system.

[004] Apart from this, there are other systems also that provides the solution for adjustment of the brake lever span. But these systems have a complex and bulky mechanisms for brake lever span adjustment adding more weight of the handle bar of the vehicle which consequently demands more efforts by the rider for its adjustment. In addition of these lacunae of these brake lever span adjusting solutions, the mechanisms employed leads to wear and tear of the components, power loss during the operation of actual braking leading to the poor braking and increased overall cost of the assembly. Therefore, to address these challenges of the brake lever span adjusting solutions available in the public domain, there is a long pending unmet need to provide a robust, user friendly and cost effective brake actuating lever assembly for two and three wheeled vehicles having a very simple lever span adjustment solution by different riders/users having different hand or palm sizes without compromising the operational performance.

[005] The present invention provides a brake lever assembly that addresses the limitations of the prior art and provides a solution wherein the brake lever span with respect to the handle bar is easily adjusted as per the requirement of the rider (tall person, short person, male rider, female rider, teenagers, etc.) in light of different palm sizes or dimensions so as to enable the brake lever assembly to be easily operable ensuring efficient braking and thereby the safety of the rider.

Objectives of the Present Invention

[006] The main object of the present invention is to provide a brake actuating lever assembly for a two and three wheeled vehicles.

[007] Another object of the present invention is to provide the brake actuating lever assembly which is configured to get adjusted to suit the requirement of different users having different lever ratio / span requirement.

[008] Another objective of the present invention is to provide the brake actuating lever assembly which is durable and has an extremely long life that eliminates the need of repairing or changing it during the lifetime of a vehicle.

[009] Another objective of the present invention is to provide the brake actuating lever assembly which is user friendly and provides easy and comfortable operation of the brakes with no extra efforts by the users having different palm size.

[0010] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide an adjustable brake lever assembly which is robust and at the same cost effective ensuring the effective braking of the vehicle and safety of the rider.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0011] This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description when read with reference to the following drawings, wherein

[0012] Figure 1 discloses a perspective view of the brake actuating lever assembly along with the master cylinder assembly mounted on the handlebar of a two / three wheeler as per the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 discloses an exploded view of the brake actuating lever assembly along with the master cylinder assembly as disclosed in Fig. 1 as per the present invention.

[0014] Figure 3a shows an exploded view of the brake actuating lever assembly viewed from top in accordance with the present invention.

[0015] Figure 3b shows an exploded view of the brake actuating lever assembly viewed from bottom in accordance with the present invention.

[0016] Figure 4 presents a cut sectional view of the adjustment knob and the cam of the brake actuating lever assembly of the present invention.

[0017] Figures 5a and 5b disclose perspective views of the cam viewed from top and bottom, respectively in accordance with the present invention.
[0018] Figure 6 discloses an intelligent positioning of an elastic member in the brake actuating lever assembly in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Present Invention

[0019] The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which must not be viewed as restricting the scope and ambit of the invention.

[0020] Referring to Fig. 1 and 2, the brake actuating assembly (2000) comprises of a master cylinder assembly (30) and a brake actuating lever assembly (1000). The said master cylinder assembly (30) is configured to be fastened or attached to a handlebar (10) of a two or three wheeler. The master cylinder assembly (30) is fastened to the handlebar (10) with the help of a fastening cap (20) locked in place by a set of fastening screws (20-S). Further, the master cylinder assembly (30) includes a master cylinder body (30B) positioned to be in contact with a piston (50) in a manner such that a piston return spring (60) is fitted in between the master cylinder body (30B) and the piston (50). The piston (50) further is connected to an actuator (80) such that a piston circlip (55) is placed in between the piston (50) and the actuator (80). The said actuator (80) is surrounded by a protection boot (70) in a manner such that the protection boot (70) blocks the entry of the dust particles to the master cylinder assembly (30).

[0021] Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the brake actuating lever assembly (1000) of the present invention comprises of a primary lever (100), a secondary lever (200), brake lever screw (300), an adjustment knob (400), a cam (500), an elastic member (700) and a circlip (600).
[0022] The primary lever is configured to have a gripping portion (LG) and a connecting portion (LC) wherein the connecting portion (LC) is configured to have an upper lip (UL) and a lower lip (LL). The said lips (UL and LL) are separated by a recess (R) which acts as a housing for the cam (500). The upper lip (UL) and the lower lip (LL) has thorough openings (CH and SH) formed at their respective apex ends. Further, the lower lip (LL) is configured to have a rectangular cavity /slot (110) formed in between the openings (CH and SH) and a mounting hole (M1) formed next to the said slot (110). The thorough openings (CH, SH) facilitates the connection among the primary lever (100), cam (500) and the secondary lever (200). Thus, the openings (CH, SH) operatively connect the primary lever (100), the cam (500) and the secondary lever (200) with each other.

[0023] The secondary lever (200) is configured to have a base body (200B) and a cylindrical connecting portion (200C). The said connecting portion (200C) is integral to the base body (200B) and has an internal bore (210) wherein the said bore (210) is configured to receive the actuator (80) of the master cylinder assembly. The integration of the base body (200B) and connecting portion (200C) forms an unitary unit of the secondary lever (200). The connecting portion (200C) also has a rocker (200R) wherein the said rocker (200R) mates with the cam during the braking action. Further, the base body (200B) has a thorough opening (200H) which facilitates the connection of the primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200). Furthermore, the connecting portion has a mounting hole (M2) formed on its outer peripheral surface in a manner such that the said hole (M2) is positioned in alignment with the mounting hole (M1) of the primary lever (100).

[0024] The primary lever (100) and secondary lever (200) are connected to each other with the help of a brake lever screw (300) wherein the said screw (300) passes through the opening (200H) of the base body (200B) of the secondary lever (200) in a manner such that the brake lever screw (300) acts as a pivot (P) between the said primary lever (100) and secondary lever (200). The secondary lever (200) is in contact with the actuator (80) of the master cylinder assembly (30) through the bore (210) of the connecting portion (210C) of the secondary lever (200) wherein the said bore (210) is configured to receive the actuator (80).

[0025] The cam (500) of the brake actuating lever assembly (1000) is configured to have a profile of fidget spinner having a thorough opening (500H) at its center. The said cam (500) is configurable for two step, three step, four step, and like adjustments of the span of the brake actuating lever with respect to the handle bar. The most preferred adjustment of the span of brake actuating lever on the Indian two and three wheeled vehicles is three step adjustment based on the anthropometric data of Indian two and three wheeled riders. Therefore, the said cam (500) with fidget spinner profile has been selected for three level / step adjustment of the span of the brake actuating lever as shown in Figs. 5a and 5b.

[0026] The cam (500) with fidget spinner profile has at least three troughs (510, 520 and 530) formed on its outer peripheral surface. Each of the said troughs (510, 520 and 530) is configured to have different depth measured from the outer peripheral surface of the said cam (500). In other words, the base point (DBP) of each of the troughs (510, 520 and 530) is at different distance from the central axis of the cam. Further, the cam (500) has a stepped profile (540) around its central opening (500H) on its lower surface (500L) and said stepped profile (540) is received in a counter depression formed on the inner surface of the primary lever (100). The stepped profile (540) of the cam (500) is adapted to eliminate the possibility of reverse fitment of the cam (500) with the primary lever (100) during the assembly process.

[0027] The adjusting knob (400) is configured to have an integrated stud (400S) wherein the said stud has a D-profiled cross section with a groove formed at its distal end so as to receive the circlip (600). The said D-profiled stud (400S) of the adjusting knob (400) passes through the openings (H) of the lips (UL and LL) of the primary lever (100) and the opening (500H) of the cam (500). The said opening (500H) of the cam (500) has a matching D-profiled geometry as that of the stud (400S) of the adjusting knob (400). The stud (400S) of the adjustment knob (400) is axially locked into the lower lip (LL) of the primary lever (100) with the help of a circlip (600) wherein the said circlip is fitted in the groove formed on the distal end of the stud (400S). The D-profiled sectional shape of the stud (400S) of the adjustment knob (400) facilitates the positive locking and prevents the slip in between the cam (500) and the adjustment knob (400) during the rotation of the adjustment knob (400). Further, the adjustment knob (400) is configured to have numeric indications (N) on its top surface to indicate the current selection of the lever span for the rider. Also, the adjustment knob (400) has serrations (S) on its outer peripheral surface of the knob so as to provide a better grip to the user during adjustment of lever span of the brake actuating lever with respect to the handle bar of the vehicle.

[0028] Referring to Fig. 6, the elastic member (700) is fitted in the rectangular cavity / slot (110) of the lower lip (LL) of the primary lever (100). The elastic member (700) is configured to have a pair of mounting ends (E1 and E2) and said elastic member (700) does bear the functional analogy as that of an extension spring. The elastic member (700) is positioned in a rectangular slot (110) formed on the lower lip (LL) of the primary lever (100) in a manner such that it connects the primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200) with the help of the mounting holes (M1 and M2) formed on the primary and secondary levers (100 and 200), respectively. Further, the extension elastic member (700) is positioned in a manner such that the distance (D) from both the ends (E1 and E2) of the extension elastic member (700) to the pivot point (P) formed by the brake lever (300) is same forming a profile of an isosceles triangle with the points (P, E1 and E2) as shown in Fig. 6.

[0029] The cam (500) acts as the bridge between the primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200) wherein the rocker (200R) of the secondary lever (200) meshes / mates with respective troughs (510, 520, 530) of the cam (500) so as to transmit the force during operation of the brake. The secondary lever (200) is configured to act as an interconnecting member forming three junctions viz. (i.) the first junction formed between the connecting portion (200C) of the secondary lever (200) and the cam troughs (510, 520, 530); (ii.) the second junction formed in between the bore (210) of the connecting portion (200C) of the secondary lever (200) and the actuator (80); and (iii.) the third junction formed in between the primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200) at the pivot point (P) formed by the brake lever (300).

[0030] As far as the working of the adjustable brake lever assembly (1000) of the present invention is concerned, the user / vehicle rider has to push the primary lever (100) in forward direction by one hand i.e. away from the handlebar and simultaneously rotate the adjustment knob (400) in any direction (clockwise or anticlockwise) in order to change the lever span as per the need of the user. The rotation of the adjustment knob (400) leads to the engagement of the rocker (200R) of the secondary lever (200) with the corresponding troughs (510, 520, 530) of the fidget spinner profiled cam (500). The engagement of the rocker (200R) with the different troughs (510, 520, 530) causes a change in the distance between primary lever (100) resting point and the center of the cam (500) by the means of different troughs of cam (500) which realizes the achievement of different lever ratio.

[0031] The pushing of the primary lever (100) in forward direction relative to the handle bar (10) causes generation of tensile forces in the extension spring type elastic member (700). The unique positioning of the elastic member (700) of the present invention wherein the ends (E1 and E2) of the extension elastic member (700) are equidistant (D) from the common pivot point (P), facilitates the generation of uniform resistive forces in the extension elastic member (700). Theses uniform resistive forces acts as to bring the primary lever (100) back to its initial position upon removal of the load without any buckling as would be experienced by an elastic member under compressive forces. Thus, this unique construction of the brake lever actuating assembly (1000) imparts the technical advancement in the field of brake lever span adjustment mechanisms and eliminates the technical challenges of the prior art.

[0032] The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) in accordance with the disclosed embodiment provides the following technical advantages that contributes to the advancement of technology:
- It provides an improved brake actuating lever assembly capable of adjusting the lever span very easily as per the comfort of the user.
- It provides a robust mechanism thus eliminating the chances of buckling of the extension elastic member which consequently helps in enhancing the life of the brake actuating lever assembly.
- It provides a compact and simple lever span solution leading to reduce the assembly cycle time and the overall effective cost of the system.
- The human efforts required for operating the braking system are drastically reduced by 50 per cent.
- It provides the user friendly and at the same time robust brake actuating lever assembly ensuring the effective braking of the vehicle and thereby the safety of the rider.

[0033] The adjustable brake lever assembly (1000) of the disclosed invention hence overcomes the limitation of the known solutions of adjusting the lever span in braking units. The said brake lever assembly (1000) as described above utilizes a fidget spinner profiled cam (500) having a plurality of troughs (510, 520 and 530) of different depth and the elastic member (700) uniquely positioned so as to have its ends (E1 and E2) at an equal distance (D) from the pivot point (P). A person skilled in the art can change the number of troughs of the cam (500) and the positioning of the elastic member (700). Hence, such changes must not be viewed as taking the emerging variants/embodiments out of the scope of claims of the disclosed invention.

[0034] It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
,CLAIMS:We Claim

1. A brake actuating lever assembly (1000) for two and three wheeled vehicles comprising of a cam (500), an adjustment knob (400), a primary lever (100), a secondary lever (200), a brake lever screw (300), an elastic member (700) and a circlip (600); wherein,
- the cam (500) of the brake actuating lever assembly (1000) is configured to have a profile of fidget spinner having a thorough opening (500H) at its center;
- the adjustment knob (400) is configured to have an integrated stud (400S) and said stud has a D-profiled cross section with a groove formed at its distal end so as to receive the circlip (600);
- the primary lever is configured to have a gripping portion (LG) and a connecting portion (LC), and said connecting portion (LC) is configured to have an upper lip (UL) and a lower lip (LL);
- the secondary lever (200) is configured to have a base body (200B) and a cylindrical connecting portion (200C), and said connecting portion (200C) is integrated to the base body (200B) forming a unitary unit of the secondary lever (200); and
- said primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200) are connected to each other with the help of the brake lever screw (300) which passes through an opening (200H) of the base body (200B) of the secondary lever (200) and is configured to act as a pivot (P) between the primary lever (100) and said secondary lever (200).

2. The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein
- the upper lip (UL) and the lower lip (LL) are separated by a recess (R) and said recess (R) is configured to act as a housing for the cam (500);
- the upper lip (UL) and the lower lip (LL) has thorough openings (CH and SH) formed at their respective apex ends, and said openings (CH, SH) are configured to operatively connect the primary lever (100), the cam (500) and the secondary lever (200);
- the lower lip (LL) is configured to have a rectangular cavity /slot (110) formed in between the openings (CH and SH) and a mounting hole (M1) formed next to the said cavity / slot (110); and
- said rectangular cavity / slot (110) of the lower lip (LL) of the primary lever (100) forms a housing for the elastic member (700) to get fitted therein.

3. The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 2, wherein
- the cam (500) with fidget spinner profile is configured to have at least three troughs (510, 520 and 530) formed on its outer peripheral surface;
- each of the said troughs (510, 520 and 530) is configured to have different depth measured from the outer peripheral surface of the said cam (500);
- said cam (500) has a stepped profile (540) around its central opening (500H) on the lower surface (500L) of the cam (500); and
- said stepped profile (540) of the cam (500) is configured to get received in a counter depression formed on the inner surface of the primary lever (100) to eliminate the possibility of reverse fitment of the cam (500) with the primary lever (100) during the assembly process.
4. The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 3, wherein
- the opening (500H) of the cam (500) has a matching D-profiled geometry as that of the stud (400S) of the adjusting knob (400);
- said D-profiled stud (400S) of the adjusting knob (400) is configured to pass through the openings (H) of the lips (UL and LL) of the primary lever (100) and the opening (500H) of the cam (500), and is axially locked into the lower lip (LL) of the primary lever (100) with the help of a circlip (600) wherein the said circlip is fitted in the groove formed on the distal end of the stud (400S); and
- the D-profiled sectional shape of the stud (400S) of the adjustment knob (400) is configured to have a positive locking so as to prevent the slip in between the cam (500) and the adjustment knob (400) during the rotation of the adjustment knob (400).

5. The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 4, wherein
- the adjustment knob (400) is configured to have numeric indications (N) on its top surface to indicate the current selection of the lever span for the rider; and
- said adjustment knob (400) has serrations (S) on its outer peripheral surface of the knob so as to provide a better grip to the user during adjustment of lever span of the brake actuating lever with respect to the handle bar of the vehicle.

6. The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 2, wherein
- the elastic member (700) is configured to have a pair of mounting ends (E1 and E2) and said elastic member (700) does bear the functional analogy as that of an extension spring; and
- said elastic member (700) is positioned in the rectangular slot (110) formed on the lower lip (LL) of the primary lever (100) in a manner such that it connects the primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200) with the help of the mounting holes (M1 and M2) formed on the primary and secondary levers (100 and 200), respectively.

7. The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the extension elastic member (700) is positioned in a manner such that the distance (D) from both the ends (E1 and E2) of the extension elastic member (700) to the pivot point (P) formed by the brake lever (300) is same forming a profile of an isosceles triangle with the points (P, E1 and E2).

8. The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) as claimed in any of the claims 4 and 6, wherein
- the secondary lever (200) is configured to have a bore (210) in its connecting portion (200C) and said bore (210) is configured to receive the actuator (80) of the master cylinder assembly;
- said connecting portion (200C) has a rocker (200R) and said rocker (200R) is configured to mate with the cam (500) during the braking action;
- the base body (200B) of the secondary lever (200) has a thorough opening (200H) configured to connect the primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200); and
- the connecting portion (200C) of the secondary lever (200) has a mounting hole (M2) formed on its outer peripheral surface in a manner such that the said hole (M2) is positioned in alignment with the mounting hole (M1) of the primary lever (100).

9. The brake actuating lever assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 8, wherein
- the cam (500) is configured to act as the bridge between the primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200) wherein the rocker (200R) of the secondary lever (200) meshes / mates with respective troughs (510, 520, 530) of the cam (500) so as to transmit the force during operation of the brake; and
- the secondary lever (200) is configured to act as an interconnecting member forming three junctions, the first junction formed between the connecting portion (200C) of the secondary lever (200) and the cam troughs (510, 520, 530), the second junction formed in between the bore (210) of the connecting portion (200C) of the secondary lever (200) and the actuator (80), and the third junction formed in between the primary lever (100) and the secondary lever (200) at the pivot point (P) formed by the brake lever (300).

Dated this 13th day of June, 2024

Sahastrarashmi Pund
Head – IPR
Endurance Technologies Ltd.

To,
The Controller of Patents,
The Patent Office, at Mumbai