Lucas Industries Limited

Lucas Industries Public Limited Company

Nt Door Controls Limited

Michael D Knight

Philip A Taft

David P Yates

Door closer unit

The fifth wheel of an articulated vehicle comprising the coupling between a semi-trailer and a tractor is provided with measuring apparatus for measuring forces imparted from the semi-trailer. The apparatus comprises a sensing device for measuring horizontal loads, and a sensing device for measuring vertical loads. The signals from the sensing devices and are fed into an electronic controller, in turn to cause the brakes on the trailer to be applied to achieve balanced braking, anti-lock control, and traction control of the wheels. A tractor fitted with a braking system of the brake-by-wire type with a conventional semi-trailer, without modifications to semi-trailer or to the braking components of the semi-trailer can therefore be used.

Braking systems for articulated vehicles

A brake actuator has a body containing a pair of brake-applying members which may be actuated hydraulically to separate the friction elements of a brake into engagement with a rotatable braking surface. The members are interconnected by a mechanism in the form of a shaft of which respective end portions are provided with reversible threaded portions of opposite hand which engage corresponding threads within the members, the shaft being constrained against axial movement between bearings. Any excess movement of one of the members relative to the other is transmitted to that other member such as to cause an opposite and proportional force on the other member to substantially equalize the wear rates on the friction elements.

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Birmingham, United Kingdom

Michael D Knight