1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a parking brake and shift mechanism, and more particularly to a parking brake and shift mechanism for vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
The two design parking break and shift mechanism designs for four wheeled vehicles comprise transmission-mounted and frame-mounted. Both serve as a parking brake and shift mechanism by preventing movement of the transmission shaft. Regardless of design all parking brake mechanisms are placed outside of the engine. The design and fabrication of outside the engine parking brake and shift mechanisms is not only more complex but occupies a larger volume.
Motorcycle engines are popularly employed in a great variety of four wheeled vehicles, such as all terrain vehicles (ATVs) due to their low weight and small size. Various ATV parking brake and shift mechanisms employ a latching mechanism (such as a rocker arm or cam) to latch the parking shift gear wheel to the transmission shaft. This type of mechanism, however, is rather complex. Moreover, if the existing design of the engine and related equipment is modified by the addition of a parking brake and shift mechanism, the level of complexity persists, resulting in difficulty in layout, excessive design modification, and increased development costs.