Kelsey-hayes Company

Larry L Last

Anthony C Evans

An actuating lever for a parking and emergency brake mechanism for use in a vehicle drum brake assembly includes a backing plate mounted on the vehicle for supporting a pair of brake shoes. A service brake mechanism is provided for selectively moving the brake shoes apart from one another into frictional engagement with an inner friction surface of a brake drum mounted on a wheel of the vehicle. The brake shoes include respective web portions which are generally flat and crescent-shaped. Arcuate table portions are secured to the opposed outer curved surfaces of the web portions, such as by welding, and friction pads are secured to the outer arcuate surfaces of the table portions of the brake pads. An aperture is formed through the upper end of the web portion of one of the brake shoes. The actuating lever for the parking and emergency brake mechanism is pivotally supported on the one brake shoe. The actuating lever includes a generally flat and arcuate body portion having a stiffening rib formed along a portion thereof. A hollow cylindrical boss is formed integrally with the upper end of the body portion, extending upwardly from one side thereof. The upstanding integral boss of the actuating lever extends through the aperture formed through the upper web portion of the brake shoe. As a result, the actuating lever is retained on the brake shoe for pivoting movement relative thereto about the boss without any undesirable looseness or play therebetween, and without the use of additional parts or significant installation time.

Parking and emergancy brake actuating lever for drum brake assembly

A method of installing a vehicle spindle and brake assembly on a vehicle component. First, the spindle and brake assembly are 'preassembled' into a complete brake unit. The preassembled spindle and brake assembly includes a spindle, a rotatable component, a bearing member for supporting the rotatable component relative to the spindle, and a brake mounting plate secured to the spindle and adapted to support brake friction pads. The preassembled spindle and brake assembly further includes a plurality of inwardly extending vehicle mounting lugs carried by the spindle, and a plurality of outwardly extending wheel mounting lugs carried by the rotatable component. Next, the preassembled spindle and brake assembly is positioned on a vehicle component such that the vehicle mounting lugs extend through a plurality of corresponding lug receiving apertures formed in the vehicle component. The preassembled spindle and brake assembly can then be secured relative to the vehicle component. In order to accomplish this method, an improved spindle and brake assembly is needed, wherein the plurality of vehicle mounting lugs are secured relative to the spindle prior to installing the preassembled spindle and brake assembly on the vehicle component.

Vehicle brake assembly and method of installation

A dual mode drum brake assembly having an improved duo-servo parking and emergency brake lever mechanism includes a pivot lever pivotally supported relative to a first brake shoe and operatively coupled to exert an outward force on the first brake shoe when the parking brake is actuated. According to one feature of the invention, a hold down assembly extends through an aperture formed in a web of the first brake shoe, and through an aperture formed in the pivot lever to secure the first brake shoe to a backing plate and to pivotally connect the pivot lever to the web. According to another feature of the invention, an adjuster lever of a first strut member is pivotally supported on the first brake shoe, and the pivot lever is pivotally supported on the first brake shoe generally intermediate the first strut member and a second strut member.

Dual mode drum brake assembly

A generally hat-shaped disc for a disc brake system is provided with an inner cylindrical surface serving as the drum of a drum in hat parking brake. A unitary backing plate supports the parking brake assembly and provides integral mounting parts for the fist type sliding caliper of the disc brake assembly.

Hydraulic disc brake drum-in-hat parking brake assembly

An automatic adjusting mechanism for a drum brake is disclosed. A spring-loaded adjusting lever is pivotally mounted on the web of one of the brake shoes such that the pivotal movement of the adjusting lever is limited to a predetermined amount of rotation. The adjusting lever is preferably of a stamped construction and includes discreet axially-protruding pads for low-friction engagement with the web of the brake shoe upon which it is mounted.

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Northville, MI, United States of America

Larry L Last