Expanding Patents (Class 188/78)
  • Patent number: 4955458
    Abstract: A drum brake assembly having a parking brake actuating lever is so arranged that the parking brake cable end may be assembled in a blind fashion to the end of the actuating lever. The cable is provided with an enlarged end or button. The cable and spring are inserted through a guide tube and pushed inwardly into the brake assembly with the guide tube or a combination of the guide tube in a separate spring guide placing the cable button in a alignment so that it is aimed at a funnel-like guide and retention member formed on the end of the parking brake actuating lever. Further axial movement of the parking brake cable and its enlarged end result in a camming action which moves the enlarged end upwardly through and beyond the slot after which it snaps back downwardly to be positioned to be able to apply cable tension forces to the parking brake actuating lever.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 11, 1990
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Ronald L. Shellhause
  • Patent number: 4907678
    Abstract: A cam actuated drum-type brake having an improved mounting arrangement for the power unit that actuates the brake. The actuator for the brake includes a camshaft rotatably journaled within a tube that is affixed to the backing plate and to which is affixed a mounting bracket that mounts the power unit. The mounting bracket has a mounting portion for the power unit and is disposed at an angle to the axis of rotation of the brake drum and also at an angle to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the drum. The arrangement is such that the mounting bracket may be moved without necessitating disassembly of the brake or removal of the brake drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1990
    Assignee: Lucas Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: John A. Urban
  • Patent number: 4889213
    Abstract: A safety device for an internal combustion engine powered implement and for disabling the operation of the internal combustion engine by means of a brake. The safety device includes a braking lever and a control lever which are both mounted on a single pivot member. Two springs are provided, the first of which normally urges the braking lever into contact with the flywheel of the internal combustion engine to prevent rotation thereof. The second spring biases the control lever into a rest position wherein the deadman control lever assumes its normal non-operated position and allows adjustment of control effort. The braking lever and control lever are mounted on the pivoting member by means of bushings to permit independent pivoting movement of the levers when the deadman lever is operated. The control lever contacts the braking lever by means of an abutment surface thereby rotating the braking lever out of contact with the flywheel and permitting the engine to operate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1989
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: Lee E. Roller
  • Patent number: 4886134
    Abstract: A drum brake assembly having a parking brake actuating lever is so arranged that the parking brake cable end may be assembled in a blind fashion to the end of the actuating lever. The cable is provided with a button. The lever has a return spring which has one end attached to the lever and the other spring secured to the backing plate about a parking brake cable opening through the backing plate. The spring end attached to the lever has a retaining ramp and a hook end, the retaining ramp being above an open channel formed on the lever end and the hook end being secured to the lever one end above the channel. The cable button is inserted axially through the backing plate opening provided for the cable and through the spring, being guided by that spring, to a point above the channel open receiving end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 12, 1989
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Mayjue A. Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 4872533
    Abstract: A parking brake assembly of the blind-cable-connection type including a backing plate containing an opening, a helical guide spring arranged to guide a flexible resilient inner cable member toward a ramp surface on a parking brake lever for the blind connection to the inner cable member to the lever, characterized in that the angle of inclination of the ramp surface relative to the cable axis is contained in a plane that is both parallel with the longitudinal axis of the lever and that is inclined at an acute angle relative to the axis of the inner cable member. This construction permits the parking brake lever to be simply and economically formed from a blank of flat metal stock, the cable-retaining slot being defined by a slot contained between bifurcated portions of the ramp surface. The helical guide spring includes portions having tightly wound turns, thereby to assist in connecting the spring with the backing plate and/or with the parking brake lever.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1989
    Assignee: Orscheln Co.
    Inventors: Billy G. Boyer, Lloyd M. Nelson, Wayne L. Soucie, William K. Hayes
  • Patent number: 4841999
    Abstract: The brake drum cleaner assembly includes a water hose, and a unitary spray adapter of plastic or the like releasably connected by a clamp or the like to the water hose. The adapter has a rear tubular stem portion inserted in one end of the hose and connected to a front expended spray head portion defining a plurality of water spray orifices. The front head portion can be cylindrical, spherical or anotehr shape and the orifices can be round, elongated, curved, etc. The exterior of the rear stem portion of the adapter may be convoluted, stepped, etc., to facilitate anchoring in the water hose. A water pulsator can be connected to the rear end of the adapter to cause water passing through the adapter to pulse outer the orifices for improved cleaning. The method includes drilling a hole through a brake backing plate, then passing the rear stem portion of the adapter out therethrough and connecting to the water hose, while leaving the spray front head portion within the drum cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1987
    Date of Patent: June 27, 1989
    Inventor: Donald Danko
  • Patent number: 4838389
    Abstract: The invention relates to a protective device of drum-brake operating shafts of trucks and touring trailers. This device is essentially constituted by a protective sleeve (4) mounted on the bushing (5) of the operating shaft (1) of the clearance cam (3) of the brake shoes. This sleeve (4), extended up to the operating lever (2), comprises a packing (6) at each one of the extremities of its bore. The axis of the bore (4d) is upwardly offset in relation to the axis of the sleeve (4), of a distance X corresponding to one half of the clearance arranged between the shaft (1) and the bore (4d). A sectoral wearing plate (10) is disposed at the lower portion of the bore (4d). The sleeve (4) is mounted at the connecting bridge (8) by an annular collar (4a) with an indexing key (4b) and of the housing (9), existing at the beginning, or of a tab molded with the sleeve (4).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1987
    Date of Patent: June 13, 1989
    Inventor: Gaby Mamery
  • Patent number: 4757882
    Abstract: A mechanically-operated drum brake device which comprises a pair of brake shoes each coming in contact with an anchor at one end portion on the same side and engaging with a floating type actuator and a brake lever rotatably supported on the actuator at their other end portions, respectively. There is provided structure for holding in place the brake shoes and the actuator relative to a back plate at a predetermined distance therebetween in the axial direction of a brake drum. There is also provided a stop member to control the inward contracting movement of the brake shoes when the brake is released.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1986
    Date of Patent: July 19, 1988
    Assignee: Nissin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Isao Idesawa
  • Patent number: 4732240
    Abstract: A drum brake assembly with the brake shoe lining friction surface subtending over a total effective friction surface arc length between the shoe heel and toe ends of about 49.degree. on the first or primary shoe, symmetrical about the shoe horizontal center line, and about 57.degree. on the second or secondary shoe, similarly symmetrical. The first or primary shoe may have about the same friction surface arc length as the second or secondary shoe in some instances, each then preferably being about 50% of the friction surface arc length of the prior art typical secondary shoe lining of about 117.degree.. Different methods of reducing the effective friction surface arc lengths are disclosed, as well as the effect on brake effectiveness variations the invention has on brake assemblies, both with the same lining material composition and different lining material compositions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 22, 1988
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas A. Flaim
  • Patent number: 4646885
    Abstract: A drum brake assembly is described to comprise a dual drum brake housing mounted to a vehicle wheel or shaft to be rotated therewith. The dual drum brake housing has two axially extending, concentric, radially spaced drum surfaces defining an annular channel between them. A torque member is fixed against rotation with the vehicle wheel and an expandable friction lining assembly is mounted to the torque member. The friction lining assembly is positioned within the annular channel and carries radially outward and radially inward facing friction linings. Upon expansion of the friction lining assembly each of the friction linings is moved into contact with the corresponding drum surface, thereby transferring braking force to the wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1987
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Dante S. Giardini
  • Patent number: 4583754
    Abstract: A transmission for muscle-operated vehicles or appliances for converting forward and backward movements into rotational movement having a constant direction of rotation by means of two freewheeling devices which are driven alternately in opposite directions and act on a shaft in identical directions, wherein at least one additional freewheeling device is driven at the same time, though it operates in the opposite direction, a clutch mechanism either permitting the freewheeling devices to act in the same direction on the shaft for forward motion, or permitting the freewheeling devices to act in opposite directions on the shaft for reverse motion, or permitting none of the freewheeling devices to act on the shaft during idling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 1984
    Date of Patent: April 22, 1986
    Inventor: Klaus Seeliger
  • Patent number: 4572567
    Abstract: A snubbing device for a suspended grapple or the like operable by pressurized fluid in a cavity between a pin and housing of a universal joint which actuates a ramp to cause a retarding reaction between the pin and housing to prevent free swinging of the grapple.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1984
    Date of Patent: February 25, 1986
    Assignee: Timberjack Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas E. Johnson
  • Patent number: 4570761
    Abstract: Herein disclosed is a cabling structure of a parking cable for a drum brake which is equipped with a backing plate, a brake shoe and a parking lever. A pulley is hinged in a swinging manner to the backing plate or the brake shoe and is formed with two arcuate grooves having different radii measured from the hinging axis. First and second cables are hung in the two arcuate grooves, respectively, and are connected to a brake actuating mechanism and the parking lever, respectively. The direction of leading out the parking cable can be different from that of the force for pulling the parking lever without any breakage of the parking cable. The pulley may alternatively be formed with one arcuate groove. Then, the second cable connected to the parking lever is retained on the pulley such that it extends to partially contact with the first cable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1984
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1986
    Assignee: Akebono Brake Industry Company Ltd.
    Inventor: Takashi Inoue
  • Patent number: 4232765
    Abstract: A drum brake includes a brake shoe having a web, a hand brake lever pivotally attached to the brake shoe by a rivet extending through the hand brake lever and the web and having a stepped rivet shaft formed of adjoining first and second rivet shaft portions and a spring disc mounted on the rivet shaft to compensate for a play between the web and the hand brake lever. The spring disc is situated between the hand brake lever and the web and is firmly riveted to the web by the first rivet shaft portion passing through the hand brake lever. The spring disc has a central radial annular portion of an outer diameter which is greater than the diameter of the first rivet shaft portion. The spring disc further has at least one spring tab starting at the end of the outer diameter of the annular disc portion and extends out of the plane thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1979
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1980
    Assignee: Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Kurt Rupprecht
  • Patent number: 4016958
    Abstract: A mechanical brake assembly actuated by pivotal movement of a lever carried by the assembly. Braking force is applied to the brake shoes by motion transmitting members which comprise a link pivotally mounted to a backing plate and an upstanding pin. The pins transfer braking forces from the actuator lever body to the brake shoes while the pivotally mounted links permit movement of the actuating lever to equalize the radial braking force applied to each shoe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1975
    Date of Patent: April 12, 1977
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Gene A. Yoak, Glenn E. McKay