Patent ID: 8496092

Claim:
A parking brake lever apparatus for a vehicle comprising: a parking brake lever being capable of operating a braking device which brings a wheel of a vehicle into a locked state or an unlocked state; a holder member having a rotating shaft configured to pivotally support the parking brake lever; a latchet mechanism configured to fix the parking brake lever in the locked position where the braking device is in the locked state; and a release button configured to release the fixation of the parking brake lever in the locked position by the latchet mechanism; said latchet mechanism includes: a first latchet member having a plurality of teeth projecting toward the parking brake lever along the direction of an axis of the rotating shaft of the holder member and becoming unrotatable by being engaged with the holder member; a second latchet member provided separately from or integrally with the parking brake lever and having a plurality of teeth for engaging the plurality of teeth of the first latchet member; and a spring member configured to energize the first latchet member toward the second latchet member; the first latchet member and the second latchet member are set in such a manner that end surfaces of the respective teeth on the side facing the direction of the axis of the rotating shaft come into contact with each other when the parking brake lever is in an unlocked position where the braking device is in the unlocked state; the first latchet member is moved toward the second latchet member by the spring member and the respective teeth of the first latchet member and the second latchet member engage with each other when the parking brake lever is in the locked position where the braking device is in the locked state; and a release shaft extending in the direction of the axis of the rotating shaft and being configured to move the first latchet member away from the second latchet member is connected to the release button.