Patent ID: 7757825

Claim:
A brake mechanism for connecting to the brake rigging of a railway car, said brake mechanism comprising: a. a housing; b. a first handle; c. a first gear rotatably mounted in said housing with respect to said first handle; d. a second gear rotatably mounted in said housing in operative engagement with said first handle and with the railway car brake rigging; e. a clutch having a clutch recess formed therein said recess having a sloped first end and an engaging second end, said clutch being operatively disposed between said first handle, said first gear and said second gear, wherein said clutch is moveable between a clutch first position in which said first handle is rotationally coupled to said first and said second gears and a clutch second position in which said second gear rotates with respect to said first handle; f. a locking mechanism mounted in said housing and in operative engagement with said first gear and said clutch, said locking mechanism comprising (i) a pawl operatively coupled to said first gear so that said first gear is rotatable in a first direction but rotationally fixed with respect to said pawl in an opposite second direction, and (ii) said pawl in operative engagement with said clutch, said pawl moveable between a first position where said clutch is in said clutch first position and a second position where said clutch is releasably maintained in said clutch second position, wherein when said pawl is in said second position, a portion of said pawl is received in said clutch recess such that said first handle can rotate in said first direction but is rotationally fixed in said opposite second direction.