Caterpillar Tractor Co.

Paul C Rosenberger

Peter F Prillinger

Alfred W Sieving

Donald A Hickman

John H Hrabak

Michael K Lloyd

William F Fisher

A differential including a housing having an internal surface defining a chamber, a drive gear secured to the housing externally thereof, a pair of side gears within the housing, a spider within the housing and between the side gears and extending into the housing at spaced locations on the internal surface, pinions journalled on and carried by the spider within the housing and engaged with the side gears, elongated recesses in the internal surface at the spaced locations, and noncircular thrust washers interposed between the internal surface and the corresponding one of the pinions, the washers being a size and shape to be tightly received within the recesses and about the sides thereof for a substantial distance to fix the washer against rotation relative to the housing.

Thrust washer construction for differential

An annular single piston brake arrangement is disclosed for selective holding engagement of a rotatable member of a drive train. The brake arrangement includes a support structure, an annular brake piston axially reciprocably and nonrotatably mounted within the support structure, a plurality of springs mounted intermediate the support structure and the brake piston for biasing it concentrically toward peripheral brake holding engagement of the rotatable member, a fluid retractor for holding the brake piston in a disengaged condition overcomingly against the action of the springs, and a fluid actuator for biasing the brake piston concentrically towards peripheral brake holding engagement of the rotatable member.

Annular single piston brake arrangement

Dual master cylinders are arranged to apply hydraulic pressure to a single set of vehicle brakes through a double check valve and single brake fluid conduit. A first of the master cylinders is actuated by compressed air in response to manipulation of an operator's service brake control, while the second master cylinder is actuated to a lesser extent by compressed air responsive to an operator's retarder control. A modulatable emergency brake control may independently and simultaneously actuate both master cylinders together with a third master cylinder coupled to separate brakes. Thus, braking capacity remains available if the service brake system or the retarder brake system or both should fail, or if the emergency system should itself fail while either the service system or the retarder system remains functional. Upon a significant lowering of emergency system air pressure, a warning is given to the operator who may then initiate controlled emergency braking until the air pressure reaches a predetermined minimum at which point all three master cylinders are automatically actuated and the brakes cannot be released until emergency system operating pressure is restored. Further means are present to warn of incipient failure of other parts of the system, and means are provided for optionally inactivating a portion of the vehicle brakes when not needed which means is overrideable by the emergency system described above. Further means speed response of the system to actuation and release of brake controls and provide for rapid automatic purging of air from the hydraulic portion of the system.

Brake master cylinder construction

A strain-limiting fastening apparatus for containing a source of potential energy in entrapped relation between a pair of axially separable members includes a plurality of fasteners securable to one of the members for substantially axially holding the other member thereto in opposition to the source of potential energy, and a plurality of stops on the other member for limiting the degree of maximum axial adjustment of an individual fastener to a predetermined incremental amount until all of the fasteners have been adjusted to this amount, to thereby limit the degree of cocking of the other member during the assembly or disassembly thereof in order to minimize unequal loading of the fasteners by the source of potential energy.

Strain-limiting fastening apparatus

A brake system having spring applied fluid pressure released brakes is provided with an auxiliary source of pressure for release of the brakes and a valve that is locked into an inoperative position effective to thereby render it tamper-proof.

Growing community of inventors

Decatur, IL, United States of America

Paul C Rosenberger