Abstract: A fluid pressure braking system for a vehicle equipped with a drive line retarder automatically reduces the braking pressure level communicated to the brakes controlling the driven wheels of the vehicle to adjust for the retardation effected by the retarder. The retarder is actuated automatically each time the brake is applied by calculating the appropriate retardation level as a function of the brake pressure being demanded by the vehicle operator and by the load carried by the vehicle.

Abstract: A filter assembly includes a base and a filter cartridge removably mounted on the base. The filter cartridge is held in place on the base by a first set of latching members or fingers. When the cartridge is to be changed, a clipping ring from which the fingers extend is rotated relative to the base, urging the fingers up a camming surface to thereby release the first set of fingers and allow the seal between the cartridge and base to be broken, while the cartridge is retained on the base by a longer second set of fingers. Upon additional rotation of the clipping ring, the longer fingers are released, thereby permitting removal of the cartridge from the base.

Abstract: A relay valve for a fluid pressure braking system includes a relay piston and a load piston which is responsive to the pressure at the inlet port of the relay valve to exert a biasing force on the relay piston loading the latter against the inlet/exhaust valve. The biasing force is opposed by fluid pressure at the inlet port acting across the effective area of the inlet/exhaust valve. The biasing force is greater than the spring force holding the inlet/exhaust valve closed, so that the valve responds immediately to pressure signals transmitted through the control port of the relay valve.

Abstract: A charge air system for an internal combustion engine includes a compressor wheel which is rotated to draw ambient air into a housing, compress the air, and to force the air through a discharge conduit into the the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine. The silencers may be placed in the inlet conduit or the outlet conduit to attenuate pressure fluctuations in the conduits, which are a source of significant noise.

Abstract: A microcontroller having two internal timers is used to calibrate the engine rpm and wheel speed signals of a vehicle and to time the output periods of these signals, which are transmitted to, for example, digital rpm and speed indicators.

Abstract: A liquid filter cartridge includes a centertube and a filtering media wrapped circumferentially about the centertube to provide a spirally wrapped media. The media includes a surface-type filtering medium having a predetermined porosity and a depth-type filtering medium which is disposed between the wraps of the surface-type filtering medium. The surface-type filtering medium is a filtering paper, and the depth-type filtering medium is an air laid batt which includes structural fibers tending to support the surface-type medium and to prevent the latter from collapsing under dynamic flow conditions. The depth-type medium is porous and offers little resistance to fluid flow, so that the liquid to be filtered can easily flow both radially from one of the layers of the surface-type medium to the adjacent layer, and also can flow circumferentially to thereby permit access for the liquid to be filtered over the entire area of the inner wraps of the surface-type medium.

Abstract: A fluid filter is disclosed which consists of a stack of discs which are formed form an air laid, nonwoven batt of randomly arrayed fibers. The batt includes a thermoplastic component to give the disc a self-supporting stiffness when molded. Each of the discs have radially extending contaminant collecting surfaces on the opposite sides thereof, and each have axially offset portions circumscribing the inner and outer diameters of the disc. Alternate disc in the stack are inverted, so that the axially offset portions on the inner and outer circumferences of the disc are brought into registration with one another. Accordingly, radially extending flow paths are defined between the disc to communicate fluid toward and away from the contaminant collecting surfaces. Ribs are provided on the contaminant collecting surfaces to maintain separation of the disc under dynamic flow conditions.

Abstract: A separating device for separating a pair of immiscible components from a fluid mixture, such as separating water from a diesel fuel oil/water mixture, includes a housing and a filter cartridge mounted on the housing such that the filter cartridge is oriented substantially horizontally. The housing includes an inlet fitting, an outlet fitting, and a sump for receiving the fluid component separated from the mixture. Because of the orientation of the housing, the coalesced water or heavier component of the fluid mixture tends to collect in the lower portion of the filter cartridge and drains into the sump, where it may be drained periodically. The lighter component or fuel oil is communicated to the outlet port or fitting.

Abstract: A dual circuit brake valve is provided with a delivery differential control mechanism which controls the differential between the delivery pressures of the primary and secondary braking circuits. The delivery differential control mechanism includes a spring retainer which is mounted on the end of the stem of the relay valve and which receives a spring-biased plunger. The plunger engages with the actuating member during the brake application to thereby transfer the force of the spring to the relay member and therefore to the valve members of the secondary circuit. This transfer of the spring force reduces the crack open pressure of the valve members controlling communication through the secondary circuit, to thereby reduce the differential between the pressures generated and the primary and secondary circuits.

Abstract: Fibers or other bulk material to be conveyed into an air forming system are fed in a continuous stream at a uniform rate to the air forming system by conveying the material into an elongated weight pan, weighing the pan, dropping the material onto a conveyor, and adjusting the speed of the conveyor to compensate for variations in weight. After a target weight in the pan is achieved, material is no longer fed into the pan, but the pan is not dumped until the conveyor has moved at least a distance equal to the length of the pan. The conveyor is at least twice as long as the pan, so that two dumps of the pan can be accommodated on the belt at the same time, thereby permitting the speed of the belt to be adjusted to feed the material into the air forming system at a substantially constant rate.

Abstract: A proportioning control valve for a fluid pressure braking system for a tractor-trailer combination vehicle permits unproportioned communication of control pressure when the tractor is pulling a trailer but proportions communication of control pressure when the tractor is operated without a trailer to establish a proportonally lower pressure level at the outlet of the valve. The control valve, when operating in the proportioning mode, is also responsive to pressure in the brake reservoir. When pressure in the reservoir drops below a predetermined level, the control valve proportions at a rate which increases the pressure level at the outlet at a rate greater than the rate of increase of control pressure until the unproportioned pressure level is attained.

Abstract: A fluid pressure braking system for a heavy vehicle is provided with a supply reservoir and a pair of service reservoirs which are charged from the supply reservoir through a corresponding pair of pressure protection valves. The emergency/parking braking system is charged directly from the supply reservoir through a pressure protection valve which is set to open at a pressure level greater than that at which the pressure protection valves protecting the service reservoirs open. Accordingly, it is not possible to release the emergency spring brakes until the service reservoirs are charged to a safe operating level, and it is not possible to bleed down both of the service reservoirs and to thereby effect an emergency brake application due to a single failure in the systems.

Abstract: A fluid filter and method for its manufacture in which an air laid batt is formed consisting of a randomly arrayed mixture of thermoplastic fibers and fibers which are not thermoplastic. The batt is cut into sections and is formed into cup-shaped articles in a heated mold. Accordingly, depending upon the degree of heat and pressure applied, the articles can be made of varying densities, to thereby provide articles of larger or smaller permeability and stiffness. The articles are then nested together to form a fluid filter in which fluid flows through the article of lowest density to remove the larger particles entrained in the fluid first, and then flows through articles of progressively higher density to remove progressively smaller particles. At least some of the particles have been heated and/or compressed sufficiently to be structurally self-supporting, thereby providing a filter article which does not need metallic centertube supports, etc., for structural rigidity.

Abstract: A brake slack adjuster includes a housing defining a pair of intersecting bores therein. A gear is rotatably mounted in one of the bores, and is splined to a cam shaft which mounts a cam brake actuator. A worm shaft is mounted in the other bore and a worm is rotatable with the worm shaft to turn the gear. The worm shaft is supported in the bore by a surface tapering toward the open end of the bore that cooperates with a retaining ring which is received in a circumferentially extending groove circumscribing the bore to retain the worm gear in the bore. The retaining ring terminates in an arm which tapers toward the open end of the bore and engages flats provided on the worm shaft which are adapted to receive a conventional mechanic's socket to turn the shaft when the brake is to be adjusted. The arm yieldably locks the shaft against rotation, to prevent the adjustment from backing off after it is made.

Abstract: A clutch drive mechanism (10) interconnects a vehicle engine (12) with a vehicle air compressor (14) to provide a driving connection therebetween when operation of the air compressor (14) is necessary to charge the vehicle reservoir (18) and to break the driving connection to the air compressor (14) when the reservoir (18) is fully charged. The drive mechanism (10) includes a clutch disc pack (82) which is controlled by a piston (52). Piston (52) responds to a pressure signal from a conventional unloader mechanism (20) to disengage the clutch mechanism (10) to disconnect the air compressor (14) from driving connection with the vehicle engine (12). A thrust bearing (68) provides a rotary connection between the piston (52) and the disc pack (82) and another thrust bearing (46) is provided between the output drive (36) and the clutch drive housing (26) so that axial forces or loads are transmitted to the housing (26) instead of to the compressor (14).

Abstract: Automatic slack adjuster (10) for a vehicle braking system is provided with a bifurcated driving link (64) which drives an adjustment shaft (44) in a direction backing off the brake adjustment during the initial portion of the brake application stroke and effecting adjustment of the brake during the terminal portion of the brake application stroke. The mechanism connecting the link (64) to the shaft (44) includes an adjustment effecting lever (74) which is engaged with one arm (60) of link (64) through a lost motion connection. A back-off lever (80) is connected to the arm (62) of link (64) with little or no lost motion so that the back-off lever (80) is actuated during the initial portion of the brake actuating stroke before the lost motion between the adjustment effecting lever (74) and arm (60) is taken up. Levers (74,80) are connected to the adjustment shaft (44) by corresponding coiled clutch springs (86,92).

Abstract: A dual circuit brake valve for an articulated vehicle is responsive to a pressure signal provided by the system tractor protection valve to provide a full brake application in both the primary and secondary braking circuits actuating the front and rear wheel brakes of the vehicle respectively when the portions of the articulated vehicle are connected for movement together. A proportioning piston is responsive to the pressure signal to proportion braking pressure in the secondary when the towing portion of the vehicle is operated in the "bobtail" mode without the towed portion of the vehicle. The brake valve includes mechanism for mechanically actuating the secondary circuit valve to provide a full brake application under emergency conditions during operation of the vehicle in the bobtail mode.

Abstract: A disc brake assembly (10) includes a rotor (12) having a pair of friction faces (14, 16) and a pair of friction elements (18, 20) disposed adjacent the friction faces. A caliper (32) is slidably mounted on a support member (22) by mounting mechanism (40). Mounting mechanism (40) includes a camming member (66) supported by the support member (22) and slidably engaged by the caliper (32) and a torsion spring (82) which yieldably rotates the camming member (66) into camming engagement with the caliper (32) and support member (22).

Abstract: A wedge actuated drum brake assembly uses a wedge-shaped actuating rod and a roller cage slidably mounted thereon to transmit actuating forces from a fluid pressure actuator to a pair of friction elements. The actuating rod and roller cage are provided with a compression spring between the rod and the roller cage and an extension spring between the roller cage and the housing within which the actuating rod and roller cage are movably mounted. The extension spring opposes the compression spring during initial movement of the actuating rod to thereby cancel the spring forces acting on the cage. A flexible boot interconnects the rod and the wall of the housing and includes a bead that is clamped with the end coil of the extension spring between a shoulder on the housing and a portion of the fluid pressure actuator that extends into the housing.

Abstract: A disc brake is actuated through a mechanical linkage comprising a power screw (54) which is rotatably mounted within the housing (22) and a piston or power nut (38) which is threadedly engaged with the power screw (54) and which also is engaged with the friction element (32). An annular thrust collar (70) is installed within the housing (22) and defines a thrust receiving surface (73) which faces a surface (62) on the power screw (54). Brake reaction forces are transmitted to the wall of the housing (22) without loading the bolts (86) in tension by way of the surfaces (62, 73) of the thrust collar (70), the surface (108) and the retaining ring (66). A take-up ring (84) made of a deformable material is carried in the groove (82) of the thrust collar (70) so that, when a brake is manufactured, the thrust collar (70) is first installed in the bore and the retaining ring (66) is then installed in the groove (64).