Vehicle parking brake control

Claim 2

A vehicle parking brake control comprising a support, an actuator mounted on said support to move between release and apply positions, the movement of said actuator to said apply position being effective to set the vehicle parking brake, a member associated with said actuator and movable from a normal position to a hold position when said actuator is moved from said release position to said apply position, the vehicle parking brake being held in a set condition when said member is retained in said hold position and being released when said member is returned to said normal position, a latch movably mounted on said support and automatically engageable with said member to retain the member releasably in said hold position when the member is moved to such position, an impactor mounted on said support for movement between a cocked position in which the impactor is spaced from said latch and a striking position in which the impactor slams against said latch, means for releasably retaining said impactor in said cocked position when said member is in said hold position, and energy storing means associated with said impactor and positioned to be loaded as an incident to movement of said member from one of its positions to the other of its positions, said energy storing means being operable when loaded to bias said impactor away from said cocked position and toward said striking position whereby said impactor is propelled away from said cocked position upon being released by said retaining means and slams against said latch to release the latter from said member and permit the member to return to its normal Position to release the vehicle parking brake.

Claim 3

A vehicle parking brake control as defined in claim 1 further including means engageable with said impactor to move the latter from said striking position to said cocked position when said member is moved from one of its positions to the other of its positions.

Claim 4

A vehicle parking brake control as defined in claim 1 in which said energy storing means are positioned to be loaded as an incident to movement of said member from its normal position to its hold position.

Claim 5

A vehicle parking brake control as defined in claim 3 in which said energy storing means comprises a spring connected between said impactor and one of said actuator and said member.

Claim 6

A vehicle parking brake control as defined in claim 1 in which said energy storing means are positioned to be loaded as an incident to movement of said member from its hold position to its normal position.

Claim 7

A vehicle parking brake control as defined in claim 5 further including means for moving said impactor from said striking position to said cocked position as said member moves from its hold position to its normal position, said energy storing means comprising a spring adapted to be loaded when said impactor is moved to said cocked position.

Claim 8

A vehicle parking brake control as defined in claim 1 in which said member comprises a toothed sector which is moved back and forth between said normal and hold positions by back and forth movement of said actuator between its release and apply positions.

Claim 9

A vehicle parking brake control as defined in claim 1 in which said member comprises a toothed sector, a lost-motion connection between said sector and said actuator and effective to move said sector to said hold position when said actuator is moved to said apply position while allowing said sector to remain in said hold position when said actuator is moved to its release position, and means biasing said actuator toward its release position so as to automatically return the actuator to such position immediately after the actuator has been moved to its apply position.

Claim 10

A vehicle parking brake control comprising a support, an actuator mounted on said support to pivot between release and apply positions, the movement of said actuator to said apply position being effective to set the vehicle parking brake, a toothed sector connected to said actuator and pivotable from a normal position to a hold position when said actuator is pivoted from said release position to said apply position, the vehicle parking brake being held in a set condition when said toothed sector is retained in said hold position and being released when said sector returns to said normal position, a pawl pivotally mounted on said support and urged into engagement with said sector so as to ratchet relative to the sector when the latter is moved from its normal position and to retain the sector releasably in its hold position when the sector reaches such positions, an impactor pivotally mounted on said support to swing between a cocked position in which the impactor is spaced from said pawl and a striking position in which the impactor slams against said pawl, means for releasably retaining said impactor in said cocked position when said sector is in said hold position, a spring acting on said impactor and positioned to be loaded as an incident to movement of said sector from one of its positions to the other of its positions, said spring being operable when loaded to bias said impactor away from said cocked position and toward said striking position whereby said impactor is propelled away from said cocked position by said spring upon being released by said retaining means and slams against said pawl to release the latter from said sector and permit the sector to return to its normal position to release the vehicle parking brake, and means engageable with said impactor during the return of said sector to its normal position and operable as an incident to such engagement to move said impactor to Said cocked position.

Claim 11

A vehicle parking brake control comprising a support, an actuator mounted on said support to pivot between release and apply positions, the movement of said actuator to said apply position being effective to set the vehicle parking brake, a toothed sector connected to said actuator and pivotable from a normal position to a hold position when said actuator is pivoted from said release position to said apply position, the vehicle parking brake being held in a set condition when said toothed sector is retained in said hold position and being released when said sector returns to said normal position, a pawl pivotally mounted on said support and urged into engagement with said sector so as to ratchet relative to the sector when the latter is moved from its normal position and to retain the sector releasably in its hold position when the sector reaches such positions, an impactor pivotally mounted on said support to swing between a cocked position in which the impactor is spaced from said pawl and a striking position in which the impactor slams against said pawl, means for releasably retaining said impactor in said cocked position when said sector is in said hold position, a spring acting on said impactor and positioned to be loaded as an incident to movement of said sector from one of its positions to the other of its positions, said spring being operable when loaded to bias said impactor away from said cocked position and toward said striking position whereby said impactor is propelled away from said cocked position by said spring upon being released by said retaining means and slams against said pawl to release the latter from said sector and permit the sector to return to its normal position to release the vehicle parking brake, and means engageable with said impactor during the return of said sector to its normal position and operable as an incident to such engagement to move said impactor to Said cocked position.

Claim 12

A vehicle parking brake control comprising a support, a first member mounted on said support and movable between a normal position and a hold position, the vehicle parking brake being held in a set condition when said first member is retained in said hold position and being released as said first member returns to said normal position, a second member on said support and automatically engageable with said first member to retain the first member releasably in its hold position when the first member is moved to such position, a releaser on said support and movable between a first position in which the releaser permits said members to remain in engagement and a second position in which the releaser forces one of said members out of engagement with the other of said members, means for releasably retaining said releaser in said first position when said first member is in said hold position, energy storing means associated with said releaser and positioned to be loaded as an incident to movement of said first member from one of its positions to the other of its positions, said energy storing means being operable when loaded to bias said releaser away from said first position and toward said second position whereby said releaser is urged away from said first position by said energy storing means upon being released by said retaining means and forces said one member out of engagement with said other member to permit the first member to return toward its normal position and release the vehicle parking brake, and means engageable with said releaser during movement of said first member from one of its positions to the other of its positions and operable as an incident to such engagement to move said releaser to said first position.

Claim 13

A vehicle parking brake control comprising a support, a first member mounted on said support and movable between a normal position and a hold position, the vehicle parking brake being held in a set condition when said first member is retained in said hold position and being released as said first member returns to said normal position, a second member on said support and automatically engageable with said first member to retain the first member releasably in its hold position when the first member is moved to such position, a releaser on said support and movable between a first position in which the releaser permits said members to remain in engagement and a second position in which the releaser forces one of said members out of engagement with the other of said members, means for releasably retaining said releaser in said first position when said first member is in said hold position, energy storing means associated with said releaser and positioned to be loaded as an incident to movement of said first member from one of its positions to the other of its positions, said energy storing means being operable when loaded to bias said releaser away from said first position and toward said second position whereby said releaser is urged away from said first position by said energy storing means upon being released by said retaining means and forces said one member out of engagement with said other member to permit the first member to return toward its normal position and release the vehicle parking brake, and means engageable with said releaser during movement of said first member from one of its positions to the other of its positions and operable as an incident to such engagement to move said releaser to said first position.