Longevity Claim for Disc Brake
Page 62
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ALTHOUGH aircraft design has little in common with that of heavy road vehicles, there are certain aspects, such as brakes for example, in which the problems are related. Patent No. 662,071, comes from the Wingfoot Corporation, Akron, Ohio, U.S.A., and shows an aircraft brake capable of -absorbing large amounts of kinetic energy, which is said to operate over long periods without the
need for attention.
The brake is of the disc type and comprises a pair of stationary flanges (1 and 2). The friction facings are fixed to three items—a spider (3), a central one (4) and the outer flange, all of which are splined to permit endwise sliding. The running portion consists of a pair of rings (5 and 6), which are keyed to the hub, but can also slide axially.
The braking force is applied by three hydraulic pistons, one of which is shown at 7. Automatic adjustment is given by a movable spring-abutment; this is a mushroom head fitted with a tail (8). The tail is frictionally gripped by a packing so that it does not return easily, and so sets the piston to a new zero after wear has occurred.
A CHAIN-TENSIONING DEVICE
PATENT No. 662,060, comes from Morris Motors, Ltd., Cowley, Oxford, and deals with tensioning devices for chains, especially those used for driving an overhead camshaft. The conventional method is to use a sprung rubbing block or jockey sprocket applied to the back of the chain; this, however, causes unnecessary wear by
hack-flexing the links, The object of the invention is to avoid these deflections.
The drawing shows the arrangement in position on the front of an engine. The driving sprocket (1) on The crankshaft drives a sprocket (2) on an inter
mediate countershaft to give a 2-to-1 reduction shaft. From the counterpaft a pair of equal-size sprockets (3 and 4) transmit the drive to' the camshaft (5).
By the use or this layout, the 2-to-1 reduction is obtained from the countershaft, thus enabling small sprockets to be used at top and bottom, where space is limited.
The tensioning method is applied to the countershaft, which is held in bearings free to slide both vertically and horizontally, a spring loading being applied to the horizontal motion. By this means, the slack is taken up and the tension is equally divided between the two chains.
TRACTOR OF NOVEL DESIGN
ASI MALE design for a small tractor is shown in patent No. 661,662 by, Paul Wolf and Co., Geneva, Switzerland. The chief feature is its versatility bosh for transporting and for implement driving.
The driving unit is a two-cylindered horizontally opposed engine (1) coupled to a transmission consisting of a gearbox and back axle unit. The frame consists of a tube (2) on which the front axle (3) is arranged to pivot freely. The rear unit is attached by a clamp (4) so that the effective wheelbase can be varied.
The steering rod is also provided with a means for adjustment (5) to suit the frame length. A weight (6) can be fixed to the tube to give increased wheel grip.
The central frame contains a journalled shaft which can be used to drive a powered implement attached to the front as shown at 7. The drive for the shaft is arranged by bringing the two ends (8 and 9) into line and coupling them by sprockets or pulleys. The body is attached very simply and can readily be removed or tipped about pivot 10.
At the centre of gravity of the body there is an opening in the floor. Normally, this is kept covered, but when the body has to be carried any distance the driver can get beneath it and, by thrusting his head through the opening he can take the weight on his shoulders.
AN IMPROVED OIL-FUEL FILTER
WHEN an oil-fuel filter has to be cleaned, it usually results in unwanted air being admitted to the fuel system, and in the case of an oil engine, the system has to be free of air bubbles before the engine can be started. A filter which can be renewed without permitting the ingress of air forms the subject of patent No. 662,478; from the Pram Corporation, East Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
Referring to the drawing, the fuel enters via art inlet port (not shown) and reaches the outside of the filter cart
ridge (1). Passing through this, the fuel flows up the central tube, passes over a wall (2) and reaches the exit port (3).