A hand brake valve is an important accessory to a vehicle. It is used for pneumatically braking motor vehicles such as utility trucks and towing vehicles. In addition to providing braking control, the hand valve is often integrated into the steering column. While the hand valve is a handy accessory, some drivers use it for unnecessarily complicated or time consuming purposes. Some drivers, however, choose to ignore the hand valve and use it in an unacceptable manner.
A hand brake, also known as an emergency brake or parking brake, is a mechanism that is used to keep a vehicle stationary when it is parked. It operates independently of the main braking system and is usually activated by a lever or pedal in the vehicle's cabin. The hand brake is an important safety feature that helps to prevent the vehicle from rolling away or sliding on an incline when parked.When the lever housing is mounted on the steering column, the shift gate will be blocked. Hence, the actuating member slides a short distance along the sliding path, and the hand valve is activated.
The actuating member can be in the form of a cam disk. This component, when pushed, acts as the actuating mechanism for the locking element. As the locking element is slid over the locking groove, the lower face of the actuating member is forced by the spring 21 in the shift handle.The actuating mechanism can also be implemented in the form of an electrical switching element. In this case, the actuating member is a plunger-operated switch. The switching element may be mounted on the hand brake valve itself or on the lever housing.
