Pedal actuated bicycle brake system

A braking mechanism for actuating a supplemental brake associated with a bicycle, said braking mechanism being used in association with a pedal-actuated brake for actuating a rear wheel brake, the rear wheel brake being a coaster brake and including at least a cone having a key and a threaded axle defining a keyway, the threaded axle being rotatable relative to the key, the bicycle including a frame having a rear fork for mounting a rear wheel, the frame including an upper frame member and a lower frame member, said apparatus comprising:

• a brake lever arm defining a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end being adapted to engage the brake cone key, said distal end being adapted to slidably mount on said bicycle frame to allow said brake lever arm to rotate through a selected degree about an axis of the threaded axle, said brake lever arm defining an indexing pin fixed to and extending orthogonally away from said brake lever arm, said brake lever arm further defining a slotted opening proximate said distal end thereof, and oriented substantially tangential to an arcuate path whose center point is at the axis of the coaster brake threaded axle, said brake arm being limited to rotational movement about the axis of the threaded axle with respect to the bicycle;
• a yoke for releasably securing an end of a conventional brake cable, the conventional brake cable being secured at an opposite end to the supplemental brake;
• a limiter cam defining a central opening having a tab configured to be received within the threaded axle keyway, said limiter cam defining a plurality of radially spaced-apart teeth, said brake lever arm indexing pin being received between a pair of said plurality of radially spaced-apart teeth;
• whereby said brake lever arm is permitted to rotate in each direction with respect to said limiter cam through a selected angle;
• and
• a mounting bracket carried by the bicycle frame, said bracket defining at least one opening for receiving a fastener for mounting said brake lever arm distal end.

A braking mechanism for actuating a supplemental brake associated with a bicycle, said braking mechanism being used in association with a pedal-actuated brake for actuating a rear wheel brake, the rear wheel brake being a coaster brake and including at least a cone having a key and a threaded axle defining a keyway, the threaded axle being rotatable relative to the key, the bicycle including a frame having a rear fork for mounting a rear wheel, the frame including an upper frame member and a lower frame member, said apparatus comprising:

• a brake lever arm defining a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end being adapted to engage the brake cone key, said distal end being adapted to slidably mount on said bicycle frame to allow said brake lever arm to rotate through a selected degree about an axis of the threaded axle, said distal end being permitted to move through an angular distance sufficient to activate the supplemental brake and limited to move through an angular distance to activate the coaster brake in the event of a supplemental brake failure, said brake lever arm defining an indexing pin fixed to and extending orthogonally away from said brake lever arm;
• a yoke for releasably securing an end of a conventional brake cable, the conventional brake cable being secured at an opposite end to the supplemental brake;
• and
• a limiter cam defining a central opening having a tab configured to be received within the threaded axle keyway, said limiter cam defining a plurality of radially spaced-apart teeth, said brake lever arm indexing pin being received between a pair of said plurality of radially spaced-apart teeth, whereby said brake lever arm is permitted to rotate in each direction with respect to said limiter cam through a selected angle, said limiter cam teeth being radially spaced-apart to limit bi-directional rotation of the brake cone to assure proper bearing play is maintained while permitting sufficient bi-directional rotation of said brake lever arm.