Abstract: In a self-energizing disc brake of the spreading type, an intermediate metal plate located between the friction linings on an adjacent pair of rotatable friction discs includes portions which project radially with respect to the linings, and the portions include slots which define fins to facilitate cooling.

Abstract: A combination in-line brake slack adjuster and air chamber for connection to a vehicle brake shaft lever arm includes an air chamber and a piston movable in the air chamber. The slack adjuster is of the compression type and is coaxially attached at one end to the piston and at the opposite end is adapted for connection to a vehicle brake shaft lever arm. The slack adjuster reacts to a coaxially applied brake application force by the piston to apply a force to the brake shaft lever arm and automatically takes up and lets out slack as determined by movement to a full brake application position to maintain a generally uniform travel of the piston during brake application.

Abstract: A bent wire spring module provided with spirally-formed attaching elements at its upper end for interengagement with the border wires of a grid frame.

Abstract: A brake rod protector for a brake rod in a braking system of a railway vehicle to repair a worn brake rod or to provide protection against wear along an area where wear normally occurs. The protector includes a metal base plate shaped to conform with the brake rod and be attached thereto by welding or the like and a body of plastic material bonded to the outer surface of the base plate and to be slidably engageable with a member of the braking system or the railway vehicle.

Abstract: A single-cylinder, truck-mounted brake assembly for a railway vehicle truck in which low-cost, lightweight, truss-type brake beams are employed, with one beam having the single brake cylinder mounted thereon. Force-transfer levers pivotally-mounted to the respective brake beams at the beam-midpoint are interconnected by force-transmitting members that pass through openings in the bolster to move the brake beams into brake shoe/wheel engagement when a brake application is made. The brake rigging is set up so that the transfer lever bail imparted to the force-transmitting members is split. With respect to the force-transfer lever connected to the one force-transmitting member (brake cylinder), this has the effect of the brake cylinder piston skewing equally on opposite sides of the cylinder centerline to prevent piston seal leakage.

Abstract: An air spring for motor vehicles including first and second end members, at least one of which is a piston, with an intervening flexible sleeve forming a fluid pressure chamber therebetween sealingly connected to the end members. A continuous annular sealing band clamps at least one end of the flexible sleeve within an annular recess formed on the inside surface of an annular wall portion of one of the end members within an open end of the end member by compressing the sleeve material between the band and wall, and without deforming the band or wall of the end member beyond their elastic limits. In one embodiment, the annular wall of the end member is formed of plastic and is deformed outwardly but maintained within its elastic limits upon insertion of the band within the open end.

Abstract: An air spring formed by a pair of spaced end members and an intervening tubular elastomeric sleeve forms a fluid pressure chamber therebetween for mounting between spaced portions preferably of a vehicle to provide damping and to absorb road shock on the vehicle. Each of the end members is provided with a surface formed with a series of convex projections and concave intervening areas which align with similarly shaped projections and concave areas on an adjacent snap ring. The snap rings compress the ends of the tubular sleeve against the corresponding end cap surfaces to provide a secure clamping engagement therewith. The various projections and surfaces form at least two radially spaced pinch areas on each of the end members and an intervening expansion area in combination with a squeeze area and subsequent terminal expansion area which ensures a change of direction of the reinforcement cords within the sleeve ends to securely clamp the sleeve ends therebetween.

Abstract: An air spring for motor vehicles including first and second end members, at least one of which is a piston, with an intervening flexible sleeve forming a fluid pressure chamber therebetween sealingly connected to the end members. A continuous annular sealing band clamps at least one end of the flexible sleeve within an annular recess formed on the inside surface of an annular wall portion of one of the end members within an open end of the end member by compressing the sleeve material between the band and wall, and without deforming the band or wall of the end member beyond their elastic limits. In one embodiment, the annular wall of the end member is formed of plastic and is deformed outwardly but maintained within its elastic limits upon insertion of the band within the open end.

Abstract: An airspring for motor vehicles which includes a pair of spaced end members with an intervening flexible elastomeric sleeve forming a fluid pressure chamber therebetween, for absorbing shock forces exerted on the vehicle caused by variations in the surface of the roadway. An elongated flexible strap of synthetic fabric such as nylon, is formed as a closed loop and is connected to and extends between the end members within the pressure chamber. The flexible strap limits the expansion of the flexible sleeve in an extended direction to prevent damage to the airspring without effecting the external configuration of the airspring and without materially effecting movement of the airspring in the jounce direction.

Abstract: Wheel chock blocks may be comprised of bodies of various ultra-lightweight foam materials, such as expanded polystyrene. A coating may be provided which integrally covers such bodies to form a skin effect for dispersing pressures applied thereto over such body. Thus, effective use is made of the entire compressive strength of the block, which further permits practical use of even such ultra-lightweight materials. Such coating may be formed with hardened latex paint, which paint also slightly penetrates the foam body so as to further enhance the skin effect thereof.

Abstract: The valve comprises a hollow body (36, 37, 40) provided with a first inlet or outlet opening (38) and a second outlet or inlet opening (41) for a hydraulic fluid, and the following elements:(a) a hollow slide (58) slidably mounted inside a hollow sleeve (56) slidably mounted in the body and coaxial with the slide (58);(b) an elastic element (61) bearing against the body (40) and biasing the slide into abutment against an annular end of the sleeve and the sleeve (56) into abutment against an annular seat (58) of the body;(c) and the annular bearing section (59) of the slide (58) on the sleeve (56) is less than the annular bearing section (57) of the sleeve on its seat (58), the sleeve being moreover provided with apertures (66) communicating with the first opening (38).This valve avoids deterioration of the suspension of a heavy vehicle travelling at high speed over uneven ground.

Abstract: A range spring assembly for a differential pressure responsive device which includes a spring retainer plate configured for coaction with a movable portion of a device, such as a bellows or diaphragm. A flat spiral spring in spaced relation to the retainer plate is provided with a clamp disc. A plurality of helical range springs are equiangularly disposed about a circumference inwardly of the periphery of the retainer plate, each of the range springs having a first end thereof securely attached to the retainer plate adjacent the center thereof, with the other ends being selectively attachable to the clamp disc, whereby the range may be readily established by locking one or more ends of the helical springs for providing the desired spring bias for the selected range.

Abstract: A floating-caliper disc brake is designed to prevent both tangential and radial oblique wear of the brake linings, especially under high brake stress. To achieve this, the floating caliper, which is guided displaceably on a brake carrier in the direction of the disc axis and carries a brake piston and which engages over the brake disc, forms a frame which in the transitional region of the transverse frame leg on the run-out side, extending in the direction of the disc axis, and of the longitudinal frame leg supported on one brake pad is more pliant than in the transitional region between the longitudinal frame leg and the transverse frame leg located on the run-in side. The brake piston is arranged in the frame so as to be offset in the forward direction of rotation of the brake disc relative to the surface center of gravity of the brake pad actuable by the said brake piston, and the longitudinal frame leg supported on one brake pad extends level with the brake piston.

Abstract: A piston valving and seal mechanism is for a fluid shock absorbing device. A piston is mountable on a piston rod of the device. The piston has an outer periphery, rebound chamber face and compression chamber face. A piston seal is movably mounted in a groove where the piston rebound chamber face and outer periphery meet. The seal is adjacent compression passages in the outer periphery. A seal retainer plate along the piston rebound chamber face with a backing spring bias the seal. The plate is raised from the rebound chamber face and includes passages through the plate for fluid flow through the plate and into underlying recoil passages in the piston. The seal acts as a check valve for the compression passages. A separate recoil passage valve plate on the compression chamber face, with a backing spring, acts as a valve for the recoil passages.

Abstract: A hydroelastic mount for interposition between two units to be insulated from each other, for example a motor-drive unit and the structure of a motor vehicle, the mount comprising an elastic mass (1) disposed between two carrying armatures (17, 18), two chambers (6, 12) which are filled with liquid, interconnected by a communication passageway (8) and at least partly defined by elastic walls (1, 13). The two chambers (6, 12) have an annular shape and the mount defines a central empty space (21) for the passage of a connecting rod (20) between one of the carrying armatures (18) and the unit to which it is connected. This arrangement simplifies the assembly when the unit to be insulated is placed thereunder.

Abstract: A disc brake includes a caliper movable relative a mounting bracket to press a pair of friction pads against opposite sides of a disc to apply a braking action. A tubular sleeve slidably extends through a guide hole formed through one either caliper or the mounting bracket in the axial direction of the disc. A bolt extends through the sleeve and is threaded into a threaded hole formed in a mounting surface of the other of the caliper and the mounting bracket. First and second retainer rings are mounted on the bolt and clamped respectively between a bolt head and one end of the sleeve and between the mounting surface and the other end of the sleeve. First and second tubular elastic boots covering the opposite end portions of the sleeve extend outward from said guide hole, respectively. One end of the first boot is secured to the first retainer ring while the other end is secured to the one of the caliper and the bracket.

Abstract: A suspension rubber bushing pivot installation for automobiles and the like incorporates an upsetting washer and expedients associated therewith in the bushing proper which coact under tightening of a fastener bolt to enhance the rattle-free frictional engagement of the latter with its supporting chassis bracket.

Abstract: A viscoelastic damper which is adapted to control the vibration of a structural member, a tank, a pipe, etc. which may be caused by an earthquake or wind while producing minimum reaction force when the structural member and so on is slowly displaced as a result of the thermal deformation of the member itself or another member connected thereto. Such a property of a viscoelastic damper can be obtained by using dilatant liquid which presents relatively small resistance when the speed of the motion is small and produces progressively great resistance as the speed of the motion increases. To the end of enhancing this favorable property of the viscoelastic damper, the shoulder surfaces that are exposed to the dilatant liquid are rounded. By providing a spiral groove or projection in the member exposed to the dilatant liquid to produce rotational motion between the two ends of the damper, this property is enhanced even more.

Abstract: In e.g. a projectile launcher, an arresting sleeve (12) absorbs energy by deformation, which is necessary to arrest a piston (15) from which a counter-mass or a projectile is ejected. The counter-mass (17) should be dispersed as rapidly as possible on exit, in order not to endanger those in the vicinity of the gunner. According to the invention the arresting sleeve (12) has annular peripheral grooves (13,14) on its outer face and also on its inner face of equilateral triangular cross-section, and the piston (15) has a cartridge (16) holding the counter-mass (17), which at its forward end has a greater wall thickness than at its rearward end.

Abstract: A fluid-filled resilient bushing including a resilient member interposed between inner and outer sleeves, and an elastically yieldable partition member. The resilient member and the partition member cooperate with a sealing sleeve to define a pressure-receiving chamber and an equilibrium chamber, which are disposed opposite to each other in a first direction in which the bushing receives a vibrational load. The chambers communicate with each other through an orifice. The bushing includes a stopper block which has a stopper portion disposed within the pressure-receiving chamber, so as to extend in the radial direction. The stopper portion has a radial end face whose periphery is spaced apart from the periphery of the pressure-receiving chamber. A damping member is fixedly provided on the radial end face of the stopper portion.