Patent ID: 8235183

Claim:
A ball ramp brake comprising a housing, an actuator selectively rotatable about an axis to cause actuation of the brake, a plurality of depressions oriented circumferentially in said actuator and becoming progressively shallower in a first circumferential direction, a plurality of circumferentially oriented depressions in said housing adjacent to said actuator, said housing depressions becoming progressively shallower in a second circumferential direction, said depressions in said actuator and in said housing each having a first angle of depression and a second angle of depression, said first angle being greater than said second angle, and a button and ramp assembly including a plurality of buttons secured in said actuator, and a plurality of ramps carried by said housing, said buttons and said ramps being circumferentially and radially aligned so as to engage one another, each of said ramps including a first angled surface and a second angled surface, said first angled surface having a steeper angle than said second angled surface, said button being in contact with said first angled surface of said ramp and said housing being in contact with said second angled surface of said ramp when said actuator is in an unactuated position, wherein said balls and said depressions in said actuator and in said housing create a gap between said button and said ramp when said actuator is in a fully actuated position.