JP2001171496A - Parking brake operating lever device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parking brake operating lever device having a bendable operating lever simple in structure, low in cost without operational complication and allowing an occupant to easily move in a cross direction between a driver's seat and a front passenger's seat. SOLUTION: A first lever member 20 is pivotally supported to a striker plate 18 rotatably around a first axis 22. A wire for controlling a parking brake is connected to the first lever member 20, and the first lever member 20 is provided with a lock latch 28 provided with a claw part detachably engaged with a ratchet tooth 12. A second lever member 34 is provided in the state of one end being pivotally fixed to the first lever member 20 so as to be rotatable around a second axis 36. A toggle spring 50 is disposed between the first and second lever members 20, 34. When a line that connects both end locking points of the toggle spring 50 is on one side of the second axis 36, the first and second lever members 20, 34 are integrally rotated around the first axis 22 to actuate or release the parking brake.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a parking brake operation lever device which is normally disposed on the side of a driver's seat in a vehicle such as a cab-over type truck.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vehicle interior of a vehicle such as a cab-over type truck, a large number of ratchet teeth are fixed to a vehicle body member such as a floor of the vehicle interior near a driver's seat, usually at a side portion thereof. A lock striker arranged in a sector and an operation lever pivotally connected at one end to the lock striker are connected to the operation lever, and one end of a cable for operating a parking brake is connected to the operation lever.
A parking brake operation lever device (hereinafter simply referred to as an operation lever device in some cases) having a structure in which a lock latch having a locking tooth that engages with the ratchet teeth to hold the operation lever in a brake operating position is detachably mounted. ) Is provided.

On the other hand, on narrow roads, garages or crowded shopping streets, it is sometimes desirable that an occupant such as a driver moves from a driver seat to a passenger seat or from a passenger seat side to a driver seat. In a normal operation lever device, the operation lever is formed of a single rigid member in the length direction, and when the brake is operated, the operation lever is largely erected upward from the vehicle cabin floor. There is a problem that the movement of the occupant is significantly impeded.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem of the ordinary operation lever device, the operation lever is divided into two parts in the longitudinal direction and is composed of an upper lever member and a lower lever. When the parking brake is operated and released, the operation lever is divided into two parts. The upper and lower lever members are coupled by a special coupling structure and operated in the same manner as a single-member operation lever.When the occupant moves between the driver's seat and the passenger seat, the coupling structure is Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-64332 discloses, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-64332 in which the occupant is released by manual operation of the occupant, and the upper lever member is pivoted and bent with respect to the lower lever member to facilitate the movement of the occupant. However, the operating lever device disclosed in the above-mentioned patent publication has a disadvantage that the connecting structure provided between the upper and lower lever members is an extremely complicated structure composed of a large number of components, which increases the manufacturing cost. In order to release the structure and make the upper lever member bendable with respect to the lower lever member, and to combine the upper lever member and the lower lever member integrally and restore the normal state, the occupant's conscious special special An operation, for example, an additional operation such as sliding of a slider is required, so that the operation is troublesome.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and corresponds to a movement between a driver's seat and a passenger's seat in a state where a parking brake is actuated. It is a main object of the present invention to provide a parking brake operation lever device which has a simple and inexpensive structure which can be easily bent and secures the easiness of movement and which does not require a troublesome operation.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a striker plate which is fixed in a vehicle interior and has ratchet teeth, and which is supported by the striker plate so as to be rotatable around a first axis. A first lock latch rotatably supported by the ratchet teeth and an end of a parking brake operating wire connected to the first latch latch.
A ratchet spring disposed on the first lever member for urging the lock latch to engage the ratchet teeth; and a second ratchet spring provided on the first lever member.
Pivotally rotatable about its axis, having a grip at its free end, and applying an artificial unlocking force to displace the lock latch to the unlocked position against the urging force of the ratchet spring. A second lever member accommodating an unlocking member, one end of which is locked to the second lever member on the grip side of the second axis and the other end of the first lever on the first axis side of the second axis; A toggle spring locked to the member, wherein the wire connecting both ends locking points of the toggle spring is separated to one side with respect to the second axis, and the wire is pulled in the brake operating direction. Engaging the second lever member with the first lever member so that the second lever member and the first lever member integrally rotate about a first axis with respect to a rotation direction; Grayed ends engaging connecting stop point line the second
In a second position separated from the axis on the other side, the second lever member is configured to rotate around the second axis in the opposite direction to bend and displace with respect to the first lever member. A parking brake operation lever device is provided.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a side view showing a state where a parking brake (not shown) is operated, and FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. In the drawing, reference numeral 10 generally indicates a parking brake operating lever device. The operating lever device 10 has a large number of ratchet teeth 12 arranged in a row on an outer peripheral edge of a sector shape, and a lower flange portion 14 is bolted and screwed. A striker plate 18 fixed to the cabin floor 16 of a vehicle such as a truck by a fixing means such as

A first lever member 20 having a U-shaped cross section is rotatably supported on the striker plate 18 by a pivot 22 such as a pin or a bolt.
The center line of the pivot 22 forms a first axis. One end of a brake control wire 24 for operating and releasing a parking brake (not shown) is connected to the first lever member 20, and the first lever member 20 is braked by engaging with the ratchet teeth 12. A lock latch 28 having a pawl 26 for holding the lock in a position or a brake release position is rotatably supported by a pivot 30. The lock latch 28 is ratcheted by a ratchet spring 32 composed of a torsion spring in the illustrated case. It is always elastically urged in the direction in which it meshes with the teeth 12.

The first lever member 20 has a U-shaped cross section.
One end portion of the second lever member 34 having a letter shape is inserted,
The second lever member 34 is rotatably pivoted via a pair of pivot pins 36 forming a second axis, and a grip 38 is fitted on the free end of the other end of the second lever member 34. First lever member 2
0 and the second lever member 34 constitute an operation lever 40. In the state of FIG.
The inner surface of the end of the second lever member 34 opposite to the pivot 22 and the outer surface of the top wall 34a of the second lever member 34 on the first lever 20 side are in contact with each other. When the operation force is applied, the operation lever 40 including the first and second lever members 20 and 34 integrally rotates about the first axis, that is, the pivot 22 as a single lever member.
When a counterclockwise operation force is applied as described later, only the second lever member 34 rotates downward around the second axis, that is, the pivot pin 36.

A release rod 42 constituting an unlocking member is slidably housed inside the second lever member 34, and a knob 44 is mounted on an end of the release rod 42 on the grip 38 side, and the other end is provided on the other end. In the parking brake operating state shown in FIG.
Is in contact with the operating end on the opposite side. The knob 4
4 is elastically urged by a return spring 46 housed in the second lever member 34 so as to protrude outward from the end of the grip 38 by a predetermined length when no external operation force is applied. Have been.

A first spring locking member 46 is bridged between a pair of substantially parallel side plates 20b of the second lever member 20, and a pair of substantially parallel side plates 34b of the second lever member 34. A second spring locking member 48 is bridged therein,
Both ends of the toggle spring 50 are locked by the first and second spring locking members 46 and 48. Operation lever 40
However, in the normal state shown in FIG. 1, a line connecting both ends of the toggle spring 50 is located on one side of the second axis, that is, the center line of the pivot pin 36 (upward in FIG. 1). , The clockwise rotational moment about the second axis acts on the second lever member 34, and the inner surface of the top wall 20a of the first lever member 20 as described above. And the outer surface of the top wall 34a of the second lever member 34 abuts, and both lever members 20, 34 operate as the operating lever 40 substantially consisting of a single lever member.

When the brake is released from the brake operating state shown in FIG. 1, the occupant grasps the grip 38 and presses the knob 44 against the return spring 46 with his / her finger, similarly to a normal operation lever device, thereby releasing the release rod 42. Moves right in FIG. 1 and the lock latch 28 rotates clockwise about the pivot 30 against the ratchet spring 32,
Since the engagement between the claw portion 26 and the ratchet teeth 12 is released, when the grip 38 is pressed downward while the knob 44 is being pressed, the first lever member 20 and the second lever member 34 are caused by the spring force of the toggle spring 50. The wire 24 is displaced downward by rotating counterclockwise around the first axis, that is, the center line of the pivot 22, while being integrally locked, and the parking brake is released. Therefore, when the pressing of the knob 44 is stopped, the release rod 4 is pressed by the urging force of the return spring 46.
2 returns to the initial position, the claw portion 26 of the lock latch 28 engages with the new latch tooth 12 corresponding to the brake release position, and the operation lever 40 is held at a position rotated below the position shown in FIG. You.

Next, in order to facilitate movement between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat in the brake operating state of FIG. 1, when the occupant grips the grip 38 and pushes the operating lever 40 downward with a stronger force than usual, One lever member 20 includes a lock latch 28
The toggle spring 50 is overcome and the second lever member 34 is rotated about the second axis, i.e., the center line of the pivot pin 36, while the claw portion 26 of the second engagement member 26 is engaged with the ratchet teeth 12 and held in the brake operating state. At this time, toggle spring 5
The second lever is displaced to a second position which is separated from the other end (below the center line of the pivot pin 36 as shown in FIG. 3) beyond the second axis by the line connecting the locking points at both ends of the second lever. The member 34 is bent and held at that position by the biasing force of the toggle spring 50 until it comes into contact with the stopper 52 provided on the first lever member 20. In this state, the upward projection of the operation lever 40 from the passenger compartment floor 16 is reduced, so that the occupant can easily move in the vehicle width direction in the passenger compartment. The position of the stopper 52, that is, the bending position of the second lever member 34 is appropriately set according to the shape of the passenger compartment floor 16, and the stopper 52 is a member other than the first lever member 20, for example, a vehicle. It may be provided on the room floor 16.

The second lever member 3 bent as described above
When the occupant 4 returns to the normal position shown in FIG. 1, the occupant may hold the grip 38 and pull upward in a clockwise direction with a force exceeding the biasing force of the toggle spring 50. The line connecting the points is again displaced to a position above the second axis, and the first and second lever members 20 and 3
4 returns to a state in which the operation lever 40 is integrally formed. Reference numeral 54 in the figure denotes a resin cover that covers the base of the operation lever device, and reference numeral 56 denotes a slit provided in the cover 54 to allow the second lever member 34 to rotate. Since the operation lever device has a simple structure in which the toggle spring 50 is disposed between the first and second lever members 20 and 34, an extremely complicated connection like the operation lever device disclosed in the above-mentioned patent publication. Since no structure is required, there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced. Further, it is only necessary to push the second lever member 34 downward with a slightly larger force than at the time of normal brake release, and there is no additional trouble such as sliding the slider, so that there is an advantage that there is no troublesome operation. Moreover, by setting the spring force of the toggle spring 50 appropriately, there is an effect that a sense of moderation in operation can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented with various changes and modifications within the scope of the claims. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the toggle spring 50 is housed inside the first lever member 20 and the second lever member 34.
And the side plates 20b and 34 of the second lever members 20 and 34
b. In addition, the present invention can be widely applied not only to a center brake dedicated to parking widely used for trucks and the like but also to an operation lever device for controlling a parking brake operating member in a service brake of a passenger car or the like.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, a striker plate fixed to a vehicle interior and having ratchet teeth, and a ratchet tooth rotatably supported by the striker plate around a first axis. A first lever member rotatably supporting a lock latch that is engaged with and disengaged from a first lever member to which an end of a wire for operating a parking brake is connected;
A ratchet spring disposed on the lever member for urging the lock latch into engagement with the ratchet teeth; and a free end portion rotatably supported by the first lever member for rotation about a second axis. With a grip on
A second lever member accommodating an unlocking member for displacing the lock latch to the unlocking position against the urging force of the ratchet spring by applying an artificial unlocking force; and one end of the second lever member on the grip side with respect to the second axis. A toggle spring locked to the second lever member and having the other end locked to the first lever member on the first axis side from the second axis, and a locking point at both ends of the toggle spring; In a first position in which the connecting line is separated to one side with respect to the second axis, the second lever member and the first lever member integrally rotate about the first axis with respect to the rotational direction of pulling the wire in the brake operating direction. The second lever member is engaged with the first lever member so as to rotate at a second position, and a line connecting both ends of the toggle spring is separated from the second axis by a second position. The second lever member is configured to rotate around the second axis in the opposite direction to bend and displace with respect to the first lever member, so that movement in the vehicle width direction between the driver's seat and the passenger seat is performed. Since a parking brake operation lever device having a bendable operation lever that can be easily operated, has a simple structure, is inexpensive, and has no inconvenience in operation can be provided, it is industrially useful.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an operation lever device showing a normal parking brake operation state in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II in FIG. 1 and viewed in a direction indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the operation lever 40 is bent while the parking brake is operated in the operation lever device shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Parking brake operation lever device, 12 ... Ratchet tooth, 16 ... Cabin floor, 18 ... Striker plate, 20 ... 1st lever member, 22 ... Axis (the center line is 1st axis), 24 ... Brake control wire , 28: lock latch, 32: ratchet spring, 34: second lever member, 36: pivot pin (the center line of which is the second pivot),
38 grip, 40 operating lever, 42 release rod (lock release member), 46 first spring locking member, 4
8: second spring locking member, 50: toggle spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A first striker plate fixed in a vehicle interior and having ratchet teeth;
While being rotatably supported about the axis of and supporting a lock latch that is engaged with and disengaged from the ratchet teeth,
A first lever member to which an end of a wire for operating a parking brake is connected; a ratchet spring disposed on the first lever member for urging the lock latch to engage with the ratchet teeth; The first lever member is rotatably supported about a second axis, has a grip at its free end, and locks against the urging force of the ratchet spring by applying an artificial unlocking force. A second lever member accommodating an unlocking member for displacing the lock lever to the unlock position, one end of which is locked to the second lever member on the grip side with respect to the second axis, and the other end of which is first with respect to the second axis. A toggle spring that is locked to the first lever member on the axis side, and a line connecting both ends of the toggle spring is separated to one side with respect to the second axis. In the first position, the second lever member is connected to the first lever member such that the second lever member and the first lever member integrally rotate about the first axis with respect to a rotational direction for pulling the wire in the brake operating direction. To engage,
In a second position in which a line connecting both ends of the toggle spring is separated to the other side with respect to the second axis, the second position
The lever member rotates about the second axis in the opposite direction to the first axis.
A parking brake operating lever device configured to bend and displace with respect to a lever member.