AU711315B2

AU711315B2 - Parking brake for motor vehicles, towed vehicles, or suchlike

Info

Publication number: AU711315B2
Application number: AU15933/97A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Kurt Kober; Armin Rampp
Original assignee: Koerber AG; Al Ko Kober SE
Current assignee: Al Ko Kober SE
Priority date: 1996-01-20
Filing date: 1997-01-20
Publication date: 1999-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 2017-01-20
Also published as: EP0869888A1; CN1088018C; WO1997026162A1; AU1593397A; EP0869888B1; ES2156356T3; DE59703547D1; DE29600996U1; PT869888E; CN1198134A

Description

Aidridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations Wellington, New Zealand Applicant: Attorney: Date: The public limited company AL-KO Kober AG Ichenhauser Str. 14 89359 Kbtz, DE Ernicke, B.Eng.

Klaus Ernicke, B.Eng.

Patent Attorneys Schwibbogenplatz 2b D-86153 Augsburg 17-Jan-19 97 File reference: 330-631 er/ze Priority: Prioity:DE-G 296 00 996.2 of 20-Jan-1996

DESCRIPTION

Parking Brake for Motor Vehicles, Towed Vehicles, or Suchlike The invention relates to a parking-brake for motor vehicles, towed vehicles, or suchlike.

Such a parking-brake is disclosed in WO 95/27642. It has a clamping ratchet mechanism which detachably connects the hand-brake lever to the cable-line. The clamping ratchet mechanism has a hollow-box-shaped slider, which is connected to the hand-brake lever, and in which are arranged a pull-rod which has a set of teeth on it and which is connected to the cable line and two clamping-pieces, also with Steeth on them. The clamping-pieces are guided on the pull-rod and inside the slider; 15 on the far ends of the clamping pieces, i.e. the ends that are distal to the cable-line, there are wedge-like enlargements which co-act with matching wedge surfaces on the slider. Shifting the slider to put the brake on thus leads to entrainment of the clamping-pieces are made of an elastic material and are thus brought resiliently into engagement with the teeth on the pull-rod.

**5 It is desirable to improve the design of the parking-brake and the clamping ratchet :mechanism. According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a parking brake for motor vehicles, towed vehicles, and suchlike, with a releaseable clamping oooo, S" ratchet mechanism for transferring force of the movement of a hand-brake lever to at least one cable-line leading to a wheel brake; in which the clamping ratchet mechanism has a slider, a longitudinally-movable clamping element with a set of teeth and a pulling-element with a complementary set of teeth, and an applying device which brings the sets of teeth into mesh when the hand-brake lever is pulled up, wherein the pulling-element has, at least on one side, the set of teeth that co-act with the clamping element, and, on the other side, a planar wall whereby it is guided against an adjacent internal surface of the slider.

The parking-brake according to the invention makes it possible to ensure the engagement of the teeth of the pulling-element and the complementary teeth of the clamping-element irrespective of the state of the brake and effects of the weather, and in particular to avoid geometric overprecision. In addition, it offers better possibilities for ensuring the release of the clamping ratchet mechanism without problems due to the condition of the brake or effects of the weather.

In one preferred form of the invention, the pulling-element comprises a pull-rod and the clamping element is in the form of a clamping-piece. The pulling element of the parking-brake has a set of teeth on one edge-surface, and on its opposite side it is guided on the slider. Thus, when the clamping-piece engages the set of teeth on the pull-rod, the pull-rod is subjected to appropriate resistance. This increases the operational safety of the brake.

In the invention, the clamping-piece is preferably only floatingly mounted on the slider, and can move at right angles to the pull-rod. This provides various benefits.

For one thing, the pull-rod can be mounted later, and inserted into the slider on i which the clamping-piece is already mounted. Furthermore, the clamping-piece can be made metal, and can be resistant to bending. It therefore has greater strength 20 than the prior-art elastic clamping element made of plastic. This is particularly favourable for the strength and wearing-properties of the teeth.

Preferably the complementary teeth are not provided all the way along the clamping-piece, but only in the region on the opposite side from the surface of the oo: wedge-like wall-thickening of the clamping-piece. This partial set of complementary teeth projects beyond the neighbouring web-surface of the clamping-piece. As a result, when the complementary teeth of the clamping-piece engage the teeth of the pull-rod, there is still clearance between the tips of the unengaged teeth of the toothed-rod and the web-surface of the clamping-piece facing said unengaged teeth.

The clamping ratchet mechanism according to the invention preferably has a releasing device which automatically moves the clamping-piece away from the pullrod when the brake is off, thus disengaging the teeth; during this operation the releasing device exerts a tilting moment on the clamping-piece, in co-operation with a spring on the slider, and swivels the clamping-piece away from the toothed rod.

For this purpose, it is best if the teeth are provided more or less only on the head of the clamping-piece; thus the clamping-piece essentially always sits with its wedgesurface against the matching wedge-surface of the slider, and its position is thus determined.

The invention also provides an alternative solution to the technical problem posed.

In this alternative solution, the clamping-element is no longer in the from of a sliding part, but instead is designed as a bell-crank lever. This bell-crank lever is S. 15 mounted on the slider rotatably, in the region where its two legs join. One of the 15 lever's legs runs parallel to the pull-rod, and has at its free end a complementary set of teeth, which are pressed by the action of a spring into mesh with the teeth on the pull-rod. The purpose of the other leg, however, is to meet a stop, which is fixed in position and ensures that the complementary teeth disengage reliably from the teeth on the pull-rod.

this example as well, to avoid having overprecise geometry, and to ensure *reliable engagement of the sets of teeth, the bell-crank lever has an elongated hole running parallel to the pull-rod whereby it is mounted on a bearing bolt connected O to the slider. If, therefore, when the brake is being applied, the teeth and complementary teeth are facing one another tip-to-tip and there is a danger that they cannot engage properly, then the bell-crank lever performs an evasive movement, due to its elongated-hole mounting-arrangement, with the result that the teeth can always engage one another securely.

So that the teeth, once engaged, cannot be released inadvertently during the movement of the hand-brake lever, Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 6 Wellington, New Zealand mutually juxtaposed wedge-surfaces or matchingly-curved surfaces are provided on the leg-end bearing the complementary teeth and on the adjacent region of the slider, their slope being such that a force-component supporting the engagement of the sets of teeth arises when the hand-brake lever is being pulled up.

It has proved advantageous for the legs of the bell-crank lever to be arranged, and mounted, on the outside surface of the slider. Accordingly, the upright leg-ends are connected to each other by a web which bridges the slider, bears the complementary teeth, and is spring-loaded by pressure-springs pushing in the direction of the teeth of the pull-rod.

The invention is shown diagrammatically in the drawings, by way of example. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a front view of a clamping ratchet mechanism with slider, clamping-piece, and pull-rod; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the clamping ratchet mechanism, with the cut made at line II-II in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the pull-rod at line III-III in Fig. 2; Figs. 4 5 show different operational positions of the clamping ratchet mechanism of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a side-view of a variant of the clamping ratchet mechanism; Fig. 7 is a cross-section through the pull-rod, along line V-V in Fig. 6; Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 7 Wellington, New Zealand Fig. 8 is an enlarged partial cross-section through the region where the teeth of the pull-rod and the complementary teeth of the bell-crank lever engage one-another; Fig. 9 is an enlarged, detailed view of a variant of the clamping ratchet mechanism shown in Figs. 1 to 5; and Figs. 10 11 show overall views of the parking-brake, looking from the side and from the top.

Figs. 10 and 11 are overviews of a parking-brake The parking-brake (39) has a hand-brake lever detachably connected, by means of a movable clamping-ratchet mechanism to one or more cable-lines leading to the wheel brakes (not shown). When the parking-brake is applied, the clamping ratchet mechanism (41) connects the hand-brake lever (40) securely to the cable-line or lines and transmits the tensional forces arising. When the hand-brake lever (40) is in the off-position, the clamping ratchet mechanism breaks this connection. The parking-brake (39) can also have a cable-line adjuster (47) to eliminate play in the cable-line or lines This adjuster (47) is operative when the hand-brake lever is in the disconnected, off position.

The clamping ratchet mechanism (41) has a slider preferably only one clamping-piece and a pulling element connected to the cable-line The slider (3) is movably connected to the hand-brake lever (40) by means of an external bearing e.g. a journal bearing The cable-line ends in a pulling-element preferably in the form of a pull-rod and is guided by the slider The slider is formed as a clamping-housing, and has inside it a hollow space with a prismatic cross- Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 8 Wellington, New Zealand section (see Fig. 5) running right through it and intended for guiding the pull-rod and the clamping-piece The clamping-piece is mounted floatingly on the slider and is guided in the hollow space in such a way as to be movable transversely and longitudinally relative to the pull-rod In the axial direction, the clampingpiece can be moved forward and backward inside the slider with limited play. The clamping-piece which is more or less U-shaped, encloses one of the internal walls (18) of the slider When the parking brake (39) is being applied, the clampingpiece is moved towards the pull-rod and brought into engagement with the latter. By means of a disconnecting device the clamping-piece is removed from the pull-rod again when the parking-brake (39) is released. The internal width of the hollow space is sufficiently large to permit these transverse movements.

The clamping-piece and the other parts of the clamping ratchet mechanism (41) can be made of metal, particularly steel or sintered metal. The clamping-piece can be designed as a stiff component with little bendability.

As shown in particular in Fig. 2, the pull-rod with its prismatic cross-section preferably has a set of teeth e.g. saw-like teeth, on only one of its sides. The sides of these saw-like teeth are at different angles: the steeper, essentially perpendicular sides face towards the cable-line and the less steeply inclined sides face in the opposite direction. These teeth will be engaged by complementary teeth provided on the clamping-piece On that end of the clamping-piece that faces away from the cable-line there is a wedge-shaped thickening (11) )qNof the wall, whose outward-facing wedge-surface (12) co- Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 9 Wellington, New Zealand acts with a complementary wedge-surface (13) on the adjacent inner wall of the slider This wedge arrangement forms the applying-device When the handbrake lever (40) is being pulled up and the slider is being moved forward, away from the cable-line the slider will push the clamping-piece sideways, by means of the wedge arrangement, and will move it towards the pull-rod As a result, the teeth 8) will mesh, resulting in a positive, shapewise, locking connection between the slider with clamping-piece guided therein, and the pull-rod and cable line The clamping ratchet mechanism (41) is thus closed, and transmits the movements and forces of the hand-brake lever to the cable-line or lines In this example of an embodiment of the invention, the set of complementary teeth is arranged only in the region of the wall-thickening These complementary teeth (8) project slightly beyond the neighbouring wall region of the web (16) of the clamping-piece This means that there is a small clearance between the wall-region (15) of the web (16) and the points (17) of the teeth on the pull-rod when the complementary teeth of the clampingpiece are in mesh with the teeth on the pull-rod A sloping surface (44) can be provided at the lower end of the wall-region i.e. the end facing the cableline Optionally, when the parking-brake is off, the web (16) can come to rest against the smooth internal wall (18) of the slider Fig. 9 shows this design.

The rear edge-surface or rear side of the pull-rod that is, the opposite side to the side with the teeth is a planar surface, and sits against the likewise-planar inside surface (10) of the slider thus ensuring accurate guidance, positioning, and orientation of the pull-rod in the hollow space Thus, when the parking-brake (39) is pulled on, engagement of the teeth 8) is ensured irrespective of wear or other impairments to the operation of the parking-brake (39) and the wheel brake.

On the end of the clamping-piece facing the cable-line there is an angled projection which projectes behind a rear wall of the slider The projection is acted upon by one or more pressure-springs which are each arranged in a blind hole in the rear of the slider at a distance from the pull-rode and which run in the longitudinal direction of the pull-rod These pressure-springs push the clamping-piece in the direction of the cable-line and ensure that the wedge-surface (12, 13) of the clamping-piece and the slider are juxtaposed.

The parking brake (39) has a stop (21) which is fixed in position. The clamping- 15 piece with its projection sits against this stop (21) when the brake (39) is 15 in the offposition, and loads the pressure-spring or springs The stop (21) can .have a raised part, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, or it can be flat, as in Fig. 9.

The operation of the clamping ratchet mechanism (41) can be seen in Figs. 4 and 20 Fig. 4 shows the teeth and complementary teeth in mesh, with the hand brake (39) on. It will be seen that the angled projection (19) on the clamping-piece is *at a distance from the fixed stop When the brake is on, the slider together with the pull-rode is shown in the drawing as having been moved upward. The relaxing pressure-springs (20) push the projection (19) away downward in the 25 direction of the cable-line The clamping-piece slides downward along the wedge-surfaces (12, 13), at the same time moving sideways toward the pull-rod This can be seen in Fig. 4: note the distance of the web (16) from the internal wall (18) of the slider Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 11 Wellington, New Zealand The sets of teeth 8) come into mesh in the vicinity of the wall-thickening Between the tips (17) of the teeth and the wall-region (15) of the web (16) contiguous to the complementary teeth there is a small gap, which is not shown in particular in the drawing.

When the brake (39) is released, the hand-brake lever moves the slider toward the fixed stop (21) (downward, in Fig. and at the same time the releasing device (43) comes into operation, moving the clamping-piece away from the pull-rod and disengaging the sets of teeth (6, Figs. 4, 5, and 6 show two variants of the releasing device.

In the embodiment-example shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the angled projection (19) meets a raised contact-area (22) on the fixed stop The contact area (22) forms a fulcrum for the floatingly-mounted clamping-piece In this regard, it is important that the contact area (22) be between the pull-rod on the one hand, and the operating axes of the pressure-springs which are further out, on the other hand. Thus, when the projection (19) meets the contact area there results a clockwise (in the drawing) tilting moment On the one hand, as a result of this contact, the clamping-piece is pushed in the axial direction, away from the cable-line and on the other hand, it is turned rightwards. Due to the tilting moment the complementary teeth on the clampingpiece disengage from the teeth on the pull-rod The wedge-surfaces (12, 13) remain in contact. The overall effect is that the clamping-piece is moved transversely away from the pull-rod until, possibly, the web (16) comes to rest against the internal wall (18) of the slider Accordingly, Fig. 5 shows the situation with the parking-brake off, as a result of which the cable-line pulled by the wheel brake, moves downward (in the drawing in Fig. together with the pull-rod Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 12 Wellington, New Zealand In the variant shown in Fig. 9, the stop (21) is flat on top, and preferably does not extend right to the wall region (15) of the clamping-piece On the underside of the end of the projection (19) that is in contact with the pressure-spring there is an upward sloping bevel area The projection (19) can therefore tilt on the contact area (22) of the stop under the force of the laterally offset pressure-spring The contact area on the projection (19) can also be rounded. Here again, a tilting moment (46) is produced, which moves the clampingpiece sideways.

In both cases, the fixed stop (21) can be set back far enough so that the pressure-spring (20) is not pressed into a block and so that the projection (19) does not come into contact with the rear of the slider The spring action and the tilting moment (46) are thus always maintained when the brake (39) is off.

The invention enables the parking-brake (39) to adjust itself irrespective of the operating condition of the wheel brake or effects of the weather. This is connected with the fact that the clamping-piece is constantly subjected to the action of the pressure-spring (20) and is thus able to adjust itself, by a slight longitudinal movement along the inside wall (18) of the slider so that the sets of teeth 8) will always come into mesh when the hand-brake lever is pulled up.

Also, the cable-line adjustment (47) can come into operation when the parking-brake (39) is off. It has a spring (48) in a suitable place. This spring (48) is fixed in position at one end, and is connected directly or indirectly to the pull-rod at the other. The cable-line is preferably a Bowden cable, with a core connected to the pull-rod and a sheath that is fixed supportively in 71 position. When the clamping ratchet mechanism (41) is in Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 13 Wellington, New Zealand the released state, the spring (48) pushes or pulls the pull-rod through the slider and thereby tautens the core of the cable-line relative to the sheath. Thus the play in the cable-line is automatically eliminated when the brake is off (39).

Figs. 6 to 8 show an alternative from of embodiment of the invention. Here, the clamping-piece of Figs. 1 to 5 is in the form of a bell-crank lever (23) mounted rotatably on the slider The free end of one of the legs (25) (which is upright in Fig. 6) merges into a projecting bridging-web whose free surface bears the complementary teeth This leg with its bridging-web is subjected to the action of one or more pressure-springs which bear against an upright wall surface (35) of the slider and act at right angles to the teeth The other leg (24) of the bell-crank lever (23) has, at its free end a cam-like formation whose purpose is to come in contact with the fixed-position stop (21) when the parking-brake is to be released.

In the junction area (26) of the two legs (24, 25) of the bell-crank lever (23) there is an axis of rotation in the form of a bearing bolt (31) on which the bell-crank lever (23) is guided by way of an elongated hole This elongated hole (30) runs parallel to the pull-rod As can be seen in detail in Fig. 7, the bell-crank lever (23) is fork-like, and is mounted against the outer surfaces of the slider The upright legs (25) are connected to each other by the bridging-web which is arranged in a recess (38) (see Fig. 8) in the slider (3) and bridges the slider The bridging-web (36) of the bell-crank lever (23) has a wedge-surface (32) on the side of said web that faces the xaxis of rotation and this wedge-surface (32) operates Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 14 Wellington, New Zealand against a matching wedge-surface (33) on the slider The slope of these wedge-surfaces (32, 33) is selected so that when they meet wedge-surface (33) to wedge-surface (32) the complementary teeth tend to be pressed against the teeth of the pull-rod This variant of the invention too provides brakeadjustment, to eliminate play, and self-adjustment of the teeth 8) should their tips come in contact with one another. This is achieved by means of the elongated hole whereby the bell-crank lever (23) is able to move sufficiently, parallel to the pull-rod so that the complementary teeth come fully into mesh with the teeth of the pull-rod Fig. 8 is an enlarged detailed representation of the bridging-web (36) bearing the complementary teeth and showing the wedge-areas (32, 33). It will be seen that the complementary teeth can readily disengage from the teeth of the pull-rod when the bell-crank lever (23) is turned clockwise. This turning occurs due to the end of the lower leg (28) meeting the fixed stop For this purpose, it is advisable to have a relatively long lever arm (leg 24), with reference to the axis of rotation The invention is not limited to the two examples of its embodiment presented here, but extends to all other forms of embodiment that achieve the aim of the invention by similarly-acting means. In this regard, in particular, importance is to be placed on the clamping element or bellcrank lever with the complementary teeth being able to move relative to the slider to enable the sets of teeth 8) to mesh reliably.

The examples described can be modified in various ways. The sets of teeth 8) can constitute any other suitable locking ratchet mechanism that locks by fit or by force, with a wave profile. Furthermore, the design, Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations Wellington, New Zealand kinematics, and arrangement of the parts of the clamping ratchet mechanism relative to one another can be varied, e.g. by connecting the pulling-element to the hand-brake lever and the slider to the cable-line. Instead of the hand-brake lever, a different actuating member can be provided.

Variations are also possible with regard to the applying and releasing devices (42, 43). Also, the pull-rod can have more than one set of teeth, with smooth guide surfaces on the other side in each case. The sets of teeth are then arranged at an angle. In addition, a corresponding number of clamping-pieces will be provided.

Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 16 Wellington, New Zealand LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS i. Cable-line 2. Pulling-element, pull-rod 3. Slider, clamp-housing 4. Bearing, journal Hollow space 6. Locking ratchet mechanism, teeth 7. Clamping-piece 8. Locking ratchet mechanism, complementary teeth 9. Edge surface Internal surface 11. Thickening of wall 12. Wedge-surface 13. Complementary wedge-surface 14. Edge region Wall region 16. Web 17. Tip of tooth 18. Internal wall 19. Angled projection Pressure-spring 21. Stop, fixed in position 22. Contact area of stop 23. Bell-crank lever 24. Leg Leg 26. Junction of legs 27. End of leg 28. End of leg 29. Axis of rotation Elongated hole 31. Bearing bolt 32. Wedge-surface 33. Wedge-surface 34. Pressure-spring Aldridge Co Legal, Patent, Technical Translations 17 Wellington, New Zealand Wall-surface 36. Bridging-web 37. Blind hole 38. Recess 39. Parking brake Hand-brake lever 41. Separable connection, clamping-ratchet mechanism 42. Applying device 43. Releasing device 44. Sloping surface Sloping surface 46. Tilting moment 47. Cable adjustment 48. Spring

Claims

1. A parking brake for motor vehicles, towed vehicles, and suchlike, with a releaseable clamping ratchet mechanism for transferring force of the movement of a hand-brake lever to at least one cable-line leading to a wheel brake; in which the clamping ratchet mechanism has a slider, a longitudinally-movable clamping element with a set of teeth and a pulling-element with a complementary set of teeth, and an applying device which brings the sets of teeth into mesh when the hand- brake lever is pulled up, wherein the pulling-element has, at least on one side, the set of teeth that co-act with the clamping element, and, on the other side, a planar wall whereby it is guided against an adjacent internal surface of the slider.

2. A parking-brake as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamping-element is guided on the slider and is mounted so as to be able to move longitudinally and 15 transversely. 0

3. A parking-brake as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the clamping ratchet mechanism has a releasing device which removes the clamping-element *0:40 from the pulling-element. 0 00

4. A parking-brake as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the *0 0 0c= clamping element has a wedge-like wall-thickening whose wedge-surface lies against a complementary wedge-surface on the slider, and the complementary set of *teeth on the clamping-element is arranged on an edge region thereof facing away 25 from the wedge-surface.

A parking-brake as claimed in claim 4, wherein the complementary teeth on the clamping-element project beyond a neighbouring wall region. 19

6. A parking-brake as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a web of the clamping-piece has, at the end thereof facing the cable-line, an angular projection which projects behind a rear wall of the slider.

7. A parking-brake as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one pressure-spring with its working axis parallel to the pulling-element is arranged on the slider and acts on the angular projection.

8. A parking-brake as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the parking- brake has a stop, which is fixed in position, and which the clamping-element abuts when the brake is off; and a contact-area on the stop is arranged between the pulling-element and the pressure-spring.

9. A parking-brake as claimed in claim 8, wherein stop has a raised area and/or the angular projection has a sloping surface.

A parking-brake as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the ."clamping-element is made of metal, particularly sintered metal. 20

11. A parking-brake as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamping-element is in the form of a bell-crank lever pivotally mounted on the slider in the region of the junction of said bell-crank lever's legs, and the end of one of its legs distal to the cable-line has said complementary set of teeth projecting towards the set of teeth on the pulling-element, while the end of its other leg projects beyond the slider and co- operates with a stop at a position that is at a distance from the axis of rotation of the bell-crank lever.

12. A parking-brake as claimed in claim 11, wherein the bell-crank lever is mounted on a bearing bolt connected to the slider by means of an elongated hole parallel to the pulling-element.

13. A parking-brake as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the leg-end bearing the complementary set of teeth, and the adjacent region of the slider, have juxtaposed wedge-shaped or matchingly-curved surfaces whose slope is such that when the hand-brake lever is pulled up, a force-component supporting the engagement of the sets of teeth occurs.

14. A parking-brake as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the leg- end bearing the complementary teeth is supported, by at least one pressure-spring, against a wall-surface of the slider, said wall-surface being at a distance from said leg-end. A parking-brake as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the bell- crank lever is fork-like, with its legs being arranged on the outside of the slider and being connected to a web that bears the complementary set of teeth and bridges the slider.

S.

16. A parking-brake as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the pulling-element is in the form of a pull-rod. 20

17. A parking-brake substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5, 10 and 11 the accompanying drawings.

18. A parking-brake substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 6 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.