DESC:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
A PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM OF A VEHICLE

Applicant:
Tata Motors Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Having address:
Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street,
Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400001,
Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
[001] The present application claims priority from Indian Patent application no. (201921011545) filed on 25th March, 2019.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[002] The present subject matter described herein generally relates to a parking brake system of a vehicle and more specifically it relates to a locking mechanism for a parking brake system of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND
[003] A parking brake, also called an emergency brake, is generally a mechanical hand lever operated brake. However many modern vehicles are equipped with hydraulic or electronic type parking brakes as well. A parking brake prevents the movement of the vehicle generally in the parked condition and it also prevents the vehicle from rolling down a hill or moving further. The mechanical parking brakes effectively bypasses the entire hydraulic / pneumatic system. In the event of a total brake failure (for example, a ruptured hydraulic / pneumatic line), the vehicle can still be brought to a safe stop by operating the mechanical parking brake.
[004] The mechanical parking brakes are configured with cables and levers to operate the brakes. When a parking brake lever is pulled, these cables attached to the parking brake lever transmit the necessary force to the brake shoes to keep the vehicle in place or to stop the vehicle. If the vehicle has disc brakes and you pull the parking brake, then the cables engage a corkscrew device that pushes a piston into the brake pads, which stop the vehicle. In both instances, the parking brake bypasses the regular hydraulic / pneumatic brakes to stop the vehicle. Parking brakes also have a self-locking system, which means that the brakes won’t be applied unless the lever is released. To release the brakes, a separate control is often fitted (for example, a button on the handle). In other instances, the release is accomplished by pushing the brake all of the way through its travel.
[005] The parking brake system, the most popular type at present, uses a hand-lever. One end of the hand lever is connected directly to the brake cable while the other end forms the handgrip, with a release press button. This lever is pivoted on a ratchet bracket. When the driver pulls up the lever arm, the spring-loaded pawl slides over the ratchet teeth causing maximum cable tension. At this point the lever is released, and the vehicle park-pulls up the hand lever slightly and parking brake is applied. To release the parking brake, the driver has to relax the tension on the pawl. This is achieved by pressing a press-button (located at the tip of the hand lever) with the thumb; so that the pawl teeth are rotated, clear of the ratchet teeth. This causes the hand lever to return fully down to the released position.
[006] With this current arrangement, the parking brake can be disengaged by anyone in the vehicle (even a child), without the permission of the driver. This leads to hazardous / accidental situation. Hence a safety mechanism is required to prevent unintentional release of the parking brake.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[007] An object of the present subject matter is to provide a locking mechanism to prevent unintentional release of a parking brake.
[008] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a second safety mechanism for unintentional release of the parking brake.
SUMMARY
[009] Before the present system is described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or device, as there can be multiple possible embodiments that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to a parking brake system of a vehicle, and the aspects are further elaborated below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.
[0010] The present subject matter describes a parking brake system of a vehicle. The parking brake system comprises a parking brake lever, a push button and a locking mechanism. The parking brake lever is configured to be rotatable about a pivoting end, to engage and disengage the parking brake of the vehicle. The push button may be located at another end of the parking brake lever to unlock the movement of the parking brake lever. The locking mechanism may be connected between the parking brake lever and a floor of the vehicle. The locking mechanism is configured to prevent movement of the parking brake lever in a raised position of the locking mechanism and to allow movement of the parking brake lever in a collapsed position of the locking mechanism.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the present document example constructions of the disclosure, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and device disclosed in the document and the drawing. The detailed description is described with reference to the following accompanying figures.
[0012] Figure 1 illustrates a view of a conventional parking brake system.
[0013] Figure 2 illustrates a view of the present parking brake system in locked position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0014] Figure 3 illustrates a view of the present parking brake system in unlocked position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0015] Figure 4 illustrates a view of present parking brake system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0016] The figures depict various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any devices and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, devices and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.
[0018] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0019] The figure 1 illustrates a conventional parking brake system (1). One end of a parking brake lever (2) is connected to a primary brake cable (3) which may be pulled by operating the parking brake lever (2). The parking brake lever (2) is rotatable about one pivot point to pull or release the primary brake cable (3). Another end of the parking brake lever (2) comprises a push button (4) to release the primary brake cable (3) and to disengage the parking brakes (1). The primary brake cable (3) through a brake equalizer (5) is connected to the secondary cables (6) of respective brake shoes (7). When the parking brake lever (2) is pulled, the brake shoes (7) are expanded to apply the brakes and when the parking brake lever (2) is released, the brake shoes (7) contract to allow movement of wheels.
[0020] In the conventional parking brake system, the parking brake can be disengaged by pressing the push button and then pushing down the parking brake lever. With this arrangement, the parking brake can be disengaged easily and unintentionally by anyone in the vehicle (even a child), which can lead to an accidental condition.
[0021] The present subject matter discloses a system to inhibit the parking brake disengagement easily by a child or a co-passenger unknowingly. The existing parking brake lever is designed and manufactured in such a way, that the user will have to carry out additional operation to disengage the parking brake which cannot be done easily by the child.
[0022] Now referring to figure 2, the parking brake system 100 is disclosed in accordance to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The parking brake system 100 comprises a parking brake lever 102, a push button 104 and a locking mechanism 110. The parking brake lever 102 may be configured to be rotatable about a pivoting end 102a. The rotational movement of the parking brake lever 102 causes to engage or disengage the parking brakes of the vehicle. The parking brake lever 102 may be further connected by a cable 106 to actuate the parking brakes on pulling of the parking brake lever 102. The push button 104 may be located at another end 102b of the parking brake lever 102 to unlock the movement of the parking brake lever 102. The locking mechanism 110 may be connected between the parking brake lever 102 and a floor 108 of the vehicle. The locking mechanism 110 may be configured to prevent movement of the parking brake lever 102 in a raised position of the locking mechanism 110. In an embodiment, the locking mechanism 110 may be a collapsible bar 110 configured to lock the movement of the parking brake lever 102 in a fully raised position. Therefore, to disengage the parking brakes, the driver has to release the locking mechanism first by collapsing it and then by pressing the push button 104, the parking brake lever 102 may be pushed down (shown in figure 3).
[0023] The figure 2 illustrates a locked position of the parking brake lever 102 wherein the locking mechanism 110 is in raised position. Hence when the parking brakes are applied by pulling the parking brake lever 102 up, the locking mechanism 110 also gets raised and locks itself in fully raised position. After this the driver can not release the parking brakes without unlocking the locking mechanism as the down movement of the parking brake lever 102 is also locked.
[0024] Further the figure 3 illustrates an unlocked position of the parking brake lever 102 wherein the locking mechanism 110 is in collapsed position. As the locking mechanism collapses, the parking brake lever 102 gets unlocked to be pushed down. Hence the parking brakes are released after collapsing the locking mechanism 110, pressing the push button 104 and by pushing down the parking brake lever 102.
[0025] In an embodiment, the locking mechanism 110 may be a foldable bar which may be hinged at its center to allow folding of the locking mechanism 110 for unlocking of the parking brake lever 102. The foldable bar 110 may be configured to fold or collapse by applying force at the hinged point of the foldable bar 110 to allow down movement of the parking brake lever 102. The foldable bar 110 may be comprise of an arrester or a coupler to allow folding only in one side and to lock the foldable bar 110 in the raised position.
[0026] In an embodiment, the foldable bar 110 may be hinged at one end of the foldable bar. In this case the other end of the foldable bar 110 is configured to rotate about the hinged end of the foldable bar 110.
[0027] In another embodiment as shown in figure 4, the locking mechanism 110 may be a telescopic bar 110 wherein at least one end of the telescopic bar 110 may be hinged. The telescopic bar 110 is configured to be locked automatically when pulled to a fully raised position Further the telescopic bar 110 may be configured to collapse by pressing a button 112 to allow down movement of the parking brake lever 102. In raised position, the telescopic bar 110 is configured to lock the down movement of the parking brake lever 102. Hence the parking brakes are released after collapsing the telescopic bar 110 by pressing the button 112, pressing the push button 104 and by pushing down the parking brake lever 102.
[0028] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include the following.
[0029] Some embodiments of the subject matter enable to provide a locking mechanism to prevent unintentional release of parking brakes of a vehicle.
[0030] Some embodiments of the subject matter enable to a second safety mechanism for the parking brakes of the vehicle.
[0031] Some embodiments of the subject matter enable to avoid accidental situations arising due to unintentional release of parking brakes of the vehicle.
[0032] Although implementations for the parking brake system 100 of a vehicle have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features are disclosed as examples of implementation for the parking brake system 100 of a vehicle.
,CLAIMS:
1. A parking brake system (100) of a vehicle, wherein the parking brake system comprises:
a parking brake lever (102) configured to be rotatable about a pivoting end (102a), to engage and disengage the parking brake of the vehicle;
a push button (104) at another end (102b) of the parking brake lever (102) to unlock the movement of the parking brake lever (102) and
a locking mechanism (110) connected between the parking brake lever (102) and a floor (108) of the vehicle;
wherein the locking mechanism (110), in a raised position, is configured to prevent movement of the parking brake lever (102).
2. The parking brake system (100), as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism (110) is a collapsible bar (110).
3. The parking brake system (100), as claimed in claim 2, wherein the collapsible bar (110) is configured to be a foldable bar (110), hinged at center.
4. The parking brake system (100), as claimed in claim 3, wherein the foldable bar (110) is configured to be collapsed by applying force at the hinged point of the foldable bar (110).
5. The parking brake system (100), as claimed in claim 2, wherein the collapsible bar (110) is configured to be a foldable bar (110), hinged at one end of the foldable bar (110).
6. The parking brake system (100), as claimed in claim 2, wherein the collapsible bar (110) is configured to be a telescopic bar (110).
7. The parking brake system (100), as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one end of the telescopic bar (110) is configured to be hinged.
8. The parking brake system (100), as claimed in claim 6, wherein the telescopic bar (110) is configured to be locked automatically when pulled to a fully raised position.
9. The parking brake system (100), as claimed in claim 6, wherein the telescopic bar (110) is configured to be collapsed by pressing a button (112).