Abstract: In a shock absorber unit for vehicles of the double-tube type a piston rod guiding member is provided at respective first ends of a cylinder and a container surrounding the cylinder. The first end of the container engagingly surrounds a radially outer face of the piston rod guide member. The container is tube-shaped and has substantially constant wall thickness along its total length. The radially outer surface of the piston rod guiding member is provided with at least one radially inward directed recess or at least one radially outward directed projection. The first end of the container is deformed such as to engage this projection or recess respectively. A sleeve member engagingly surrounds the first end of the container. This sleeve member is also provided with a deformation which deformation is in engagement with the deformation of the container.

Abstract: An arrangement for automatic adjustment of a braking gap in a drum brake of the type in which a pair of brake shoes is expanded (moved away from each other) into engagement with the inside face of a brake drum. A brake lever abuts at its one end upon one brake shoe to cause extension of the shoe. A support shaft is extensible at a right angle with the brake lever and includes a portion tapered in its extending direction. An adjusting lever is loosely inserted over the support shaft and has its one end abutting upon one end face of the brake lever. An adjusting gear for permitting extension of an adjusting member engages with the other pawl-shaped end of the adjusting lever. A compression spring is interposed between the extended head of the support shaft and the adjusting lever. A predetermined load applied on the spring causes the adjusting lever to be biased toward the brake lever and urged against the tapered face of the support shaft.

Abstract: For application to railway cars having limited available transverse space for the brake system, a system of vertically extending brake levers and longitudinally extending brake rods is used to apply the air brake force to wheels located at opposite ends of the car.

Abstract: A MacPherson strut type suspension including a shock absorber operatively disposed between vehicle wheels and a vehicle body of a motor vehicle, the shock absorber having a piston rod; a coil spring disposed in association with the shock absorber to elastically support the vehicle body; a core member secured to an end of the piston rod of the shock absorber; an insulator rubber securely connected between the core member and the vehicle body; and a stop device for restricting the movement of the core member in the axial direction of the piston rod of the shock absorber when the axial movement of the piston rod exceeds a predetermined distance, thereby effectively damping high and low frequency vibrations applied to the suspension while prolonging the life of the insulator rubber.

Abstract: A simplified water brake unit has greater capacity per unit weight and is readily maintained due to a two piece readily disassembled housing, one part of which provides a firm, accurate support for the stator, and which also has longer seal life because of a seal chamber bleed which relieves the high pressure from behind the inner high pressure seal by providing a communication to the inlet.

Abstract: A suspension spring assembly for a motor vehicle includes a helical spring having an end coil and a support of elastic material having a helically ascending seating face receiving the end coil. The slope of the ascending seating face at least equals that of the end coil in the unloaded state of the helical spring and further, the seating face is adjoined by a stepped portion for abruptly terminating the seating face.

Abstract: A vortex flow shock absorber includes a piston having a vortex chamber therein. The piston communicates with one fluid chamber defined in a absorber cylinder via a vortex chamber and with the other fluid chamber separated from the former by the piston via a flow restricting opening. One-way valve is provided in a piston rod which defines a fluid passage permitting one way flow of the fluid from the vortex chamber to one of the fluid chamber. The one-way valve is responsive to an excessive fluid pressure in the vortex chamber to relieve the fluid pressure exceeding a predetermined value. The piston and piston rod are attached together with pressure welding. This simplifies the assembling operation of the piston onto the piston rod.

Abstract: A box spring assembly which includes a generally rectangular frame, a welded wire grid disposed above and aligned with the frame, a plurality of upwardly extending limited deflection wire springs which are mounted at their lower ends on the frame and at their upper ends are secured to the welded wire grid, and corner springs which are yieldable and are supported on the corners of the frame so as to support the corners of the grid. Each of the limited deflection springs is formed at its upper end with an attaching portion that is readily secured to the grid by conventional clips and includes wire sections which provide additional spaced supports for the grid. Improved cross rails in the frame support the springs and improved corner springs support the corners of the grid.

Abstract: The invention relates to a spring (40) for a disc brake of the type comprising a caliper (10) mounted slidingly parallel to the axis of a rotating disc (30) on a fixed support by way of at least two axial sliding surfaces (14, 18) formed on the caliper (10) and on the fixed support and maintained elastically in contact, and two friction members (22, 24) received in anchorage and in axial sliding motion in an opening (34) in the fixed support to become frictionally engaged with the opposed faces of the disc on actuation of a brake motor (32).

Abstract: A disc brake (10) of the floating caliper type wherein the caliper (14) is slidably mounted on the torque plate (34) by two guide pins (60) which are received in complementary grooves (62, 66) in the torque plate and caliper and which are held to the torque plate by screw bolts (74) passing through bores (72) in the adjacent portions of the torque plate. The pins and grooves have sufficient wrapping engagement to allow limited sliding movement of the caliper on the pins while precluding separation of the caliper from the pins. When one guide pin is released by unscrewing the related bolts, the caliper may be pivoted about the other pin and then removed from the torque plate.

Abstract: In a disc brake, two cams on a single shaft simultaneously urge brake shoes into frictional contact with both sides of the disc.

Abstract: The end mounting blocks of full elliptic leaf spring suspension systems are preferably retained by flanged ends on the leaf springs protruding into corresponding openings or slots on the end blocks. The end blocks also include end walls adapted to be abuttingly engageable with the flanged ends. By such a construction, the end blocks are restricted or limited from excessive movement in either a forward or rearward direction relative to the leaf spring ends. The end blocks also include load-receiving members for engaging the ends of the leaf springs whereby the area of load-transferring engagement between the end blocks and the leaf spring ends increases as the leaf springs resiliently deflect under increased load on the suspension system.

Abstract: A gas spring comprising a cylinder, a rod slidably extending from the cylinder, and a novel locking mechanism. The mechanism comprises first and second axially contiguous recesses in the circumference of the rod, a locking member normally located in the first recess and snappingly and rockingly movable between two recesses, and axially spaced first and second actuating members cooperating with the locking member. The first actuating member comprises an engaging portion and a releasing portion being circumferentially spaced therefrom. The releasing portion acts to displace the locking member to the second recess. The second actuating member comprises an engaging portion for locking the rod and also for displacing the locking member to the first recess, and axially and circumferentially inclined guide walls for circumferentially displacing the locking member thereby guiding the same between the releasing portion and engaging portions in response to the movement of the rod.

Abstract: Because of the inverse relationship between spring actuating force generated by a compressed spring and the variable tangent angle of incidence between arcuate cam surfaces of opposed circular cam segments with cooperating cam followers, declining axial spring force, upon spring extension, is variably increased to a normal braking force of constant magnitude in a disc brake.

Abstract: An band brake mechanism for an automatic transmission of an automobile, wherein a size and form of a band hoop is determined so that the band hoop may occupy a position by the elasticity in which any portion of the band hoop is not in contact with a drum when the band hoop is in set position before braking.Projections formed in one body with a housing are arranged around the band hoop for supporting and locating the band hoop in the set position, so that the full length of the band hoop keeps the constant space to the peripheral surface of the drum.

Abstract: The invention relates to a hydraulically-operating shock and vibration absorber or damper, having a cylinder closed at one end, a piston slidable within the cylinder, the piston being connected with a hollow piston rod extending out of the open end of the cylinder. The interior of the piston rod and the cylinder define a chamber filled with an incompressible damping fluid. A space is defined in the piston rod separated from the chamber by a slidable separating piston. The space contains a compressible agent. The damping fluid is pressed out of one portion the chamber, through the control port, into another portion when the shock absorber is under load. The compressible damping agent is air or gas under normal pressure or else pressurized.

Abstract: Single tube vehicle suspension strut with built-in shock absorber in which the piston rod is formed from tubing that provides a reservoir for shock absorber fluids and further featuring this type piston valving with the deflecting spring discs and cooperating metering pin construction which can readily reduce high pressure build-up and which can be adjusted to provide ride and level control. This unit can be used to provide a leveling feature with the gas spring in the piston tube operatively connected to suitable controls for pressurized gas and exhaust.

Abstract: A box spring assembly which includes a generally rectangular frame, a welded wire grid disposed above and aligned with the frame, a plurality of upwardly extending limited deflection wire springs which are mounted at their lower ends on the frame and at their upper ends are secured to the welded wire grid, and improved corner springs which are yieldable and are supported on the corners of the frame so as to support the corners of the grid. Each of the corner springs is a limited deflection spring formed at its upper end with an attaching portion that is readily secured to the grid by a conventional clip and including upright columns which will yield under load and which will also engage the frame to limit deflection.

Abstract: A brake system for a railway vehicle and method of making same are provided and such brake system comprises a brake rod member, a horizontal supporting member which is adapted to support the rod member for sliding movements thereon, and an antifriction component carried by the supporting member with the component serving to minimize wear and enable antifriction movements during the sliding movements and wherein the component comprises a solid strip portion of substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration with the system further comprising at least one self-contained clip device for locking the strip portion against the supporting member and the clip device comprises a pair of resilient parallel legs and locking projections extending from the outer end portions of the parallel legs toward each other, with the clip device being disposed with the parallel legs embracing opposed vertical surfaces of the supporting member and with the projections snap locked beneath a bottom surface thereof.

Abstract: A spider for a brake having dual web brake shoes to be utilized at the wheel end of a heavy duty truck or trailer axle includes a pivoting end support plate mounted at a hole therethrough at a first axial location on the axle to extend radially outwardly therefrom to include at its extended end a pair of pivot pins for the support of each of the webs of each brake shoe. An actuation support plate is mounted at an opening therethrough at a second axial location on the axle which is separated from the first axial location. The extended end of the actuation support plate is capable of supporting a cam actuator which will operate on the opposite ends of the brake shoes from the pivot pins. There are included side plates which extend axially along opposite sides of the axle to secure the pivotal support plate and the actuation support plate to each other.