Safety release feature

A parking brake actuating assembly for installation in a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle having a brake system that is actuated to prevent vehicle wheel rotation and hence rolling movement of the vehicle by applying tension to a vehicle brake cable that connects to the brake system, the parking brake actuating assembly comprising:

• a mounting structure mountable to the motor vehicle;
• a stationary sector carried by the mounting structure and having a plurality of teeth;
• a brake lever mounted for pivotal movement relative to the sector and adapted to be operatively connected to the vehicle brake cable, the brake lever being pivotable (a) in a brake applying direction to a braking position to apply tension to the vehicle brake cable and (b) in a brake releasing direction opposite the brake applying direction to a released position to relieve tension on the vehicle brake cable;
• a pawl mounted to the brake lever for movement between (a) an engaged position wherein the pawl engages the teeth of the sector to prevent the brake lever from pivoting in the brake releasing direction when the brake lever is in the braking position, and (b) a disengaged position wherein the pawl is disengaged from the teeth to allow the brake lever to pivot from the braking position thereof towards and into the released position thereof;
• an elongated rigid release member mounted to the brake lever for longitudinal movement relative to the brake lever between normal and depressed positions, the release member having an outer activation portion that extends exteriorly of the brake lever such that manually depressing the activation portion moves the release member from the normal position to the depressed position;
• and
• a resilient motion-absorbing member spaced inwardly from the activation portion and operatively connecting the release member to the pawl, the motion-absorbing member being constructed such that, when the brake lever is operatively connected to the vehicle brake cable and moved to the braking position thereof with the pawl in the engaged position thereof, (a) moving the brake lever in the brake applying direction to relieve a cable tension load from the pawl and manually moving the release member to the depressed position thereof transfers force to the pawl through the motion-absorbing member such that said force moves the paw from the engaged position thereof to the disengaged position thereof via the motion-absorbing member, and (b) moving the release member to the depressed position thereof without also moving the brake lever in the brake applying direction to relieve the cable tension load compresses the motion-absorbing member without moving the pawl from the engaged position thereof.