Rockwell International Corporation

Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems Limited

Rockwell-golde G.m.b.h.

David J Edwards

David J Dettloff

Donald G Walker

Jonathan L Wemple

Peter Baum

Charles Giacomazza

Donn C Knight

Roger Gooch

Richard G Bond

An improved camshaft sealing arrangement includes seals at each end of the camshaft housing. In addition, seals and washers are positioned between the camshaft and the slack adjuster connection. The combined seals provide a camshaft that is less likely to require maintenance than prior art camshafts. The seal adjacent the cam contacts an outer periphery of the camshaft housing. This seal also provides a thrust bearing washer surface against the camshaft. The seals between the camshaft and the slack adjuster include washers to properly secure and position the seals, the camshaft and the slack adjuster.

Sealing arrangement for brake camshaft

A brake lining wear indicator is attached to a drum brake shoe backing plate adjacent the brake lining. The indicator provides a visual gage dimension that assists in the determination of when the brake linings should be replaced. This determination can be made in a very short period of time without requiring a physical measurement of the thickness of the brake lining on each brake shoe.

Lining wear indicator for a drum brake

An improved bracket member for a vehicle brake system is disclosed. The bracket member has a wing bracket at one end for mounting of a brake actuating mechanism and a mounting plate at the opposite end for connection to the spider of the brake assembly. A hollow tubular member is positioned between the wing bracket and mounting plate and securely affixed to each of them, such as by welding. The tubular member can be of any length depending on the vehicle and applicable clearance space. The mounting plate is secured such as by fasteners to the brake assembly. Also, the tubular member protrudes through the mounting plate and is adapted to be separately securely connected to the brake assembly. The end of the tubular member can be securely attached to an opening in the brake assembly in a number of ways, such as by an interference fit, press fit, wedge fit, compression fit in combination with a spanner nut, pinch joint or the like. The end of the tubular member can also be knurled or splined. In another embodiment, the end of the tubular member can be welded to the brake assembly spider.

Brake bracket assembly

An improved brake shoe table includes the edges of the brake shoe table being bent radially inwardly relative to the remainder of the table by between 45 and 90 degrees. The bent edges increase the rigidity of the brake shoe and also reduce localized lining wear by bringing the lining into contact with a brake drum in a more uniform fashion. Moreover, the improved brake shoe design has unexpectedly decreased the operation noise associated with the use of a cam brake system.

Cam brake shoe with formed edges

A hitch pin for maintaining a clevis pin in a bore including a continuous wire member formed to include a straight portion ending in a constant radius hinge portion. A parallel portion extends from the hinge portion to a constant radius barb portion. The termination of the barb portion is located on the side of the straight portion opposite the parallel portion and resiliently maintained there by properties of the hinge portion as accentuated by material properties of the wire itself. The hitch pin may be installed in a bore defined in a clevis pin by applying force to the hinge portion after inserting the leadin portion in the bore. During installation, the barb portion is resiliently deformed about the clevis pin and returns to a preinstalled position when the hitch pin installation has been completed. Any forces attempting to remove the hitch pin cause the barb portion to strike the clevis pin presenting a mechanical obstruction to removal.

Clevis pin retainer clips

An automatic slack adjusting mechanism for a rotary oscillatory cam actuated brake assembly including an elongated housing having an opening therethrough and a bore, a worm gear rotatably mounted in the opening, a shaft mounted for rotation in the bore and having a worm nonrotatably secured thereto and drivingly engaging the gear. A detent part in the housing is axially fixed relative to the bore and a link is pivotally connected to one end of a plunger assembly and to the housing whereby pivotal movement of the link relative to the housing will move the plunger assembly relative to the detent part and the detent will rotate the plunger, the worm and the worm gear upon return movement of the plunger assembly following outward movement of the assembly beyond a predetermined distance relative to the detent. The detent part includes a spring biased pawl extending into toothed engagement with a helical toothed surface portion of the plunger. The opening includes a first, second and third bore having successively smaller diameters and forming flanges intermediate thereof. The worm gear is maintained in sliding relation with the second bore and a first intermediate flange by an annular retainer which is disposed in the third bore in abutting relation with a second intermediate flange. The retainer includes an annular channel formed from two coaxial axially extending portions connected by a radially extending portion which is filled with an elastomeric material which forms an annular face seal maintained proximate an annular face of the worm gear. The opposing annular faces include seals which cooperatively define a sealed area which extends radially inwardly of said annular face portions.

Automatic slack adjusting mechanism including a low friction adjusting

For automobile drum brakes of the simplex and duo-duplex forms of construction, each having two brake shoes (10) floatingly mounted on a brake bracket (1), a special support is proposed for the one end of the brake shoe web (10) of each brake shoe (8), this support being constituted basically of a support pin (26) rotatable about its central axis, which possesses a recessed bearing surface, on which a corresponding counter-surface (35) of the brake shoe web (10) is slidably journalled. The new support makes possible the maintaining of a constant brake coefficient throughout the full range of wear of the brake lining (12).

Automobile drum brake

A brake assembly wherein a reciprocable wedge actuator projects into an actuator housing containing two oppositely slidable brake shoe associated plungers disposed in aligned bores having a common axis and a fluid pressure motor unit has a tubular support by which it is mounted on the housing with the wedge actuator extending between a fluid pressure responsive element of said motor and the inner ends of said plungers, the housing having a bore into which the tubular support extends, flange means on the tubular support and on the housing concentric with the bore, one of the flange means comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced lugs, and a split lock ring having means extending radially inward from each edge to engage the flange means and secure the tubular support to the housing.

Growing community of inventors

Shelby Township, MI, United States of America

David J Edwards