Indian Head Industries, Inc.

Henry T Dangson

Alan C Lesesky

Graydon J Choinski

Richard J Rink

Bob Weant

Ronald S Plantan

Steve Lepard

Robin Jenkins

Casey Zella

A method of monitoring lateral force of a coil spring having a body and opposing end coils is disclosed. A fixture includes a base defining a planar surface with a shaft that extends from said planar surface at a normal angle to said planar surface. An axis defined by the coil spring is aligned with the shaft. Angular displacement from the shaft of an end coil is measured, and the angular displacement is correlated with a lateral force value.

Method of identifying and reducing lateral force of a coil spring

A brake monitoring system generally includes a plurality of brake monitors mounted on each of a plurality of brake actuators. Each brake monitor generally comprises a sleeve mounted to a push rod which moves relative to a stone shield on the brake actuator. The displacement of the sleeve relative to the stone shield is measured to determine the stroke of the brake actuator. This information is sent via an RF transmitter to a controller which determines the condition of each of the brakes.

Brake monitoring system

An improved spring brake actuator includes a dome extending into the service chamber from the center housing. The spring chamber push rod is formed with a plate having a cross-section corresponding to the dome. The service chamber diaphragm as well as the service chamber piston are also formed with surfaces that correspond to the shape of the dome. The surfaces 'stack up' to ensure alignment between the spring chamber push rod and the service chamber push rod. The use of the dome also provides additional stroke to the spring chamber push rod without requiring additional axial length for the overall brake actuator.

Brake actuator with centering dome in service chamber

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Charlotte, NC, United States of America

Henry T Dangson