Brakes – Vehicle – Hub or disk
Patent
1980-12-12
1983-07-05
Halvosa, George E. A.
Brakes
Vehicle
Hub or disk
74391, 74467, 74607, 74781R, 180 88, 188 727, 188264B, 192 93A, 192113B, B60T 106
Patent
active
043913512
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates generally to vehicle power trains and, more particularly, to means for actuating a brake and supporting a differential employed thereon.
BACKGROUND ART
One subassembly of the power train of a fork lift truck includes a differential, two jack shafts a wheel drive assembly on each jack shaft, and means for supporting these components with respect to the frame of the lift truck. This power train subassembly also includes a braking system for each wheel which employs either shoe brakes or disc brakes.
Disc brakes have heretofore not received wide utilization on fork lift trucks because of the problems of space and lubrication. A lift truck has a very small, central hub area which greatly limits the size, the type of brake and the means for actuating the brake. Lubrication for wet disc brakes is a problem if direct lubrication is required from the differential. An open tube is necessary and direct fluid access must be provided between the differential and the brakes. If separate lubrication is required, then the differential and the jack shafts must be sealed.
Further problems with disc brakes include providing mechanical actuation when the brakes are used for parking and hydraulic actuation when the brakes are used as service brakes. In addition, the disc brakes and the actuating system must permit both easy removal of the differential and also support for the differential during operation.
Prior work in the field of mounting lift truck differentials includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,986 entitled "Split Pillow Block For Mounting A Differential" by W. Shipitalo, issued on July 18, 1978; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,988 entitled "Vehicle Including Differential Mounting" issued July 18, 1978 to H. Hildebrecht.
Prior designs for actuating lift truck disc brakes include U.S. Pat. No. 3,048,241 entitled "Disc Brake Actuating And Adjusting Mechanism" by O. K. Kelley et al., issued on Aug. 7, 1962; U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,763 entitled "Mechanical Actuating Mechanism For Disc Brake" by Bernard Laverdant, issued on Feb. 1, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,118 entitled "Full Disc Brake With Rotating Brake Discs" by Hermann Klaue, issued on July 4, 1972, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,400 entitled "Parking Actuator For Disc Brake" by Richard T. Burnett et al., issued on Oct. 31, 1972.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention a power train subassembly for a vehicle such as a fork lift truck having a frame, a support assembly rigidly affixed to the frame, a wheel assembly rotatably mounted on the support assembly, a differential having a jack shaft extending therefrom and a brake operatively associated with said wheel assembly and actuatable between an engaged and disengaged condition is contemplated. The improvement comprises means for mechanically actuating the brake between said engaged and disengaged condition and supporting said differential on said support assembly.
The problem of incorporating disc brakes into the limited space of the central hub area of a compact vehicle, such as a fork lift truck, has been met by the brake actuator disclosed herein. The actuator mechanically applies the brakes by an axial movement created from a rotational input about the jack shafts.
The difficulty of lubricating disc brakes in fork lift trucks is overcome either by utilizing each support tube as a conduit for lube oil from the differential or by sealing off the lube oil from the differential with a dynamic seal. In the latter case the disc brakes are independently lubricated.
One feature of the present invention is that the support tubes which actuate the brakes also support the differential with respect to the frame of the lift truck.
A further feature of the present invention is that the differential can be easily removed from the drive line of a fork lift truck after first removing the support tubes and the jack shafts.
Other aspects, objects and advantages of this invention can be obtaine
REFERENCES:
patent: 1316057 (1919-09-01), Parker
patent: 3048241 (1962-08-01), Kelley et al.
patent: 3638763 (1972-02-01), Laverdant
patent: 3674118 (1972-07-01), Klano
patent: 3701400 (1972-10-01), Burnett et al.
patent: 4100986 (1978-07-01), Shipitalo
patent: 4100988 (1978-07-01), Hildebrecht
patent: 4317498 (1982-03-01), Jirousek et al.
Jirousek Norman F.
Shipitalo William M.
Halvosa George E. A.
Hickman Alan J.
Towmotor Corporation
LandOfFree
Parking disc brake actuator does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Parking disc brake actuator, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Parking disc brake actuator will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1436085