Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Pederson and Company, LLC
  • Patent number: 6450587
    Abstract: A safety-enhancing automatic brake control system automatically applies and maintains the brakes in the applied state, when one or more conditions exist at various stations around/in the vehicle or equipment that make vehicle movement dangerous. A preferred controller electrically, electronically, or otherwise connects to various sensors at the vehicle stations, validates the signal(s), and then actuates a mechanism that manages the air, brake fluid, mechanical brake linkage/cable, electric, or other mechanism that applies the brakes. In an air brake system, a solenoid valve blocks and vents the air line to release a piston that normally counteracts a spring mechanism. In a hydraulic brake system, a piston or spring, for example, powers a secondary piston rod and piston in a master cylinder to apply the brakes. In the case of a spring-actuated system, a release unit such as a piston may be used to counteract the spring for releasing the brakes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: 55 Brake Company
    Inventors: G. David MacGregor, Noble Hamilton, Dale Maslonka