Manual cable release apparatus for a motor actuated park brake for a vehicle

A brake apparatus comprising:

• brake means including a drive motor having a shaft that is rotatable about an axis for actuation of the brake means, and a housing disposed about the shaft;
• jaw-tooth clutch means for selectively locking the shaft against rotation about the axis, the jaw-tooth clutch means having a rotating jaw operatively attached to the shaft for rotation about the axis, and a translating jaw operatively connected to the housing for non-rotatable translation along the axis and into engagement with the rotating jaw, the rotating and translating jaws each having axially directed mating teeth affixed on mating surfaces of the jaws, the jaw-tooth clutch thereby locking the shaft against rotation about the axis;
• means for moving the translating jaw along the axis for selectively engaging and disengaging the mating teeth of the jaws of the jaw-tooth clutch;
• the means for moving the translating jaw along the axis having a cam shaft disposed about the shaft of the drive motor and rotatable independently thereof about the axis, the cam shaft having on an outer periphery thereof a cam surface, the translating jaw having a bore therein configured for passage therethrough of the cam shaft, the bore defining a ramp surface configured for mating engagement with the cam surface of the cam shaft, the cam surface and ramp surface being cooperatively configured such that rotation of the cam shaft in a first direction about the axis causes the cam surface to engage the ramp surface and drive the translating jaw away from the rotating jaw, and rotation of the camshaft in a second direction about the axis causes the cam surface to disengage from driving engagement with the ramp surface, thereby allowing the translating jaw to move toward the rotatable jaw;
• the means for moving the translating jaw also having means for rotating the cam shaft in a first and a second direction about the axis through an angular displacement between a first angular position of the cam shaft where the jaw-tooth clutch means is disengaged and a second position of the cam shaft where the jaw-tooth clutch means is engaged;
• the means for rotating the cam shaft having a clutch actuation motor operatively attached to the cam shaft by clutch drive means for rotating the cam shaft in the first and second directions about the axis, the clutch actuation motor including a shaft extending therefrom and rotatable about a second axis;
• the clutch drive means including a sector gear having a hub for attachment to the cam shaft and a web extending radially outward from the hub to a rim having the gear teeth extending therefrom, and a pinion affixed to the clutch actuation motor shaft, the pinion having gear teeth in mating engagement with the gear teeth extending from the cam shaft such that rotation of the shaft of the clutch actuation motor about the second axis rotates the cam shaft about the first axis, to thereby selectively engage and disengage the jaw-tooth clutch;
• and
• a cable release apparatus having cable means including a cable operatively connected to the sector gear for allowing the cam shaft to rotate freely back and forth through the angular displacement of the cam shaft between the first and second angular positions without movement of the cable from a non-engaged position of the cable, and for engaging and applying a tensile force from the cable to the sector gear for rotating the cam shaft to the first position from any point in the angular displacement between the first and second angular positions of the cam shaft.