Parking Brake Lever

Field of the Invention:

This invention relates to "Parking Brake Lever" and more particularly for locking the parking brake lever of a two wheeler.

Background of the Invention:

Conventionally parking brake for two-wheeler is provided with locking device for rear brake, which is hand lever or pedal operated. The locking device is operated to lock the rear brake to park the vehicle. In general hand brake lever has locking device, which is operated with the help of index finger.

To properly operate the locking device, three fingers are use to hold the brake lever and the thumb wrap around the handle grip for support. In this condition the index finger is used to operate the locking device lever. The current method makes it difficult to hold on to the brake lever with last three fingers and requires more effort and strain. Moreover for small fingers it becomes more difficult to operate the parking brake.

Ergonomically it is always preferred to operate the switches or low efforts levers with thumb than index finger. The thumb operated locking lever design in the prior art makes the thumb to move 90 degree, which results in high strain on opponens police and abductor pollicis brevis muscle of hand, which is also lead to usage of two hands to operate the device and hence the present invention has been devised keeping this in mind.

Summary of the Invention:

The present invention has been devised in view of the above difficulty and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a parking brake lever which can be locked easily.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a parking brake lever locking mechanism which can be operated by pushing it forward with the help of a thumb.

Another object of the present invention is to design a locking mechanism for parking brake lever which requires a minimum travel of thumb resulting in less strain on hand.

Another object of the present invention is to design a locking mechanism for parking brake lever wherein it is operated by thumb around the centerline of bow grip to facilitate easy locking operation.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide locking device for parking brake lever which requires minimum number of parts.

Further object of the present invention is to provide a locking device for parking brake lever which is of light weight.

Yet further object of the present invention is to provide a locking device for parking brake lever which is easily retrofittable.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of Illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein

FIG. 1 is a conventional scooter type motorcycle.

FIG. 2 shows the bottom view of handle bar with brake lever assembly and locking lever according to one of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows brake lever rear casting according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows section view of locking lever according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows section view of the locking lever assembled to handle bar according to one of the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention:

The present invention is for any two wheelers which uses the hand lever to operate the parking brake. For the purpose of illustration a scooter type motorcycle is described first where the present invention is being applied.

For the purpose of illustration a scooter of the general type is illustrated for the application. Referring to figure 1, a front wheel, 2 denotes a front fork, 3 denotes a front fender, 4 denotes a front cover, 5 denotes a leg shield made of resin or metal, 6 denotes a handle bar cover, 7 denotes a headlight, 8 denotes a handle bar ,17 denotes a rear fender and 18 denotes tail lamp.

The center of the body forms a low floor board 9 for functioning as a part for putting feet and a under cowl 10 which is located below the rider's seat and covers at least a part of the engine. The under cowl is made up of metal or resin. The under cowl is hinged to the seat 11. A utility box 12 opens from the rear end to hinged portion. The utility box 12 is provided under the seat extending longitudinally of a vehicle body and the inside of the utility box has a large capacity so that a large article can be housed. A main frame 14 extended along the center of the body before and behind and made of a metallic pipe and is provided under the floor board 9. A swing type power unit 13 is coupled to the rear end of the main frame 14.

A rear wheel 15 is supported on one side of the rear end of the swing type power unit 13.
The swing type power unit 13 is suspended in the rear of a body frame.

The side covers 16 both on left and right sides, covers the utility box 12 and other parts of the vehicle, thereby providing a good appearance to the vehicle.

In the scooter type motorcycle the hand lever is used to lock the parking brake. Hand operated rear brake for two wheeler is operated with left hand only, as per global regulation. According to one of the embodiment of the present invention and referring to figure 2, figure 3, figure 4, and figure 5, the rear brake is used as parking brake. The brake lever 201 is hinged on brake lever holder assembly 202. The said brake lever 201 can swivel within the limited range. The said brake lever 201 is connected to rear brake assembly through brake cable.

The said brake lever 201 is provided with an engage portion 301 on brake lever 201. A retrofittable adjustable clamp 401 is mounted on to the handle bar 203, which can be adjusted according to the handle bar dimensions, by a special screw. Further a hinge bracket 501 is welded to the said clamp 401. A locking lever 502 attached to the hinge bracket 501 with a torsion spring 503 and a screw 504, wherein the locking lever 502 when pushed by the thumb gets engaged with the said engage portion 301 on the brake lever 201. The said torsion spring 503 ensure the retraction of locking lever 201 when the brake lever 201 is further pulled towards the handle bar 203 to shift from locked condition to unlocked condition.

The said brake lever 201 is manufactured with aluminium die - casting. The said engage portion 301 on brake lever is also cast along with the main body of brake lever 201 hence making it a single member. The said engage portion 301 is preferably of rectangular slot to ensure firm engagement while making the casting detect free.

The locking lever 502 operating region is positioned below the handle grip and in between the handle grip 204 and brake lever 201. This position ensures no fouling of rider hand with the lever on normal riding or relaxed riding conditions, it further ensures easy reach for thumb to operate the locking lever.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.

We Claim:

1. A locking device adapted to be mounted upon an automobile handle bar comprising:

a brake lever attached to a brake lever holder assembly;

an engage portion on brake lever;

a retrofittable adjustable clamp mounted on to the handle bar;

a hinge bracket welded to the clamp; and

a locking lever attached to the hinge bracket with a torsion spring and a screw;

wherein the locking lever is pushed by the thumb to get engaged with the said engage portion on the brake lever.

2. The locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said clamp is adjusted with the help of a screw.

3. The locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said locking lever is pushed after the brake lever is pulled towards the handle bar.

4. The locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said torsion spring ensure the retraction of locking lever when the brake lever is further pulled towards the handle bar to unlock the brake.

5. The locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said locking lever is provided with provisions to avoid downward movement of brake lever.