Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Takeo Yamasaki

Tomio Tachino

Yohichi Furuta

Masayoshi Tanikawa

A vehicle hand brake lever assembly for actuating the vehicle parking brake. The lever assembly includes an axially slidable plunger mounted on a support and having one end connected with a brake actuating member. The plunger and the support have a ratchet mechanism for holding the plunger at the brake applying position. The ratchet mechanism can be released by rotating the plunger about its longitudinal axis. A handle assembly is provided at the other end of the plunger and comprises a handle having a handle shaft. A sleeve fitted to a cylindrical guide member is secured to one of the sleeve and the handle shaft, and a lock member to the other. The lock member is axially slidably received in the guide member and provided with a cam profile for cooperation with a cam profile provided on the sleeve. The lock member is spring biased toward the sleeve so that the cam profiles are normally engaged with each other to thereby maintain the handle shaft at a predetermined relationship with respect to the plunger. The lock member further has axial projections and the guide member has an end wall formed with cutouts for receiving the axial projections on the lock member when the handle shaft is pulled axially against the biasing force to thereby connect the handle shaft with the plunger so that the plunger can be rotated about its longitudinal axis to release the ratchet mechanism on the plunger.

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Kariya, Japan

Takeo Yamasaki