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Disc Brake Actuation
Page 90
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ADISC brake actuating mechanism is shown in patent No. 823,875. Although illustrated for hydraulic operation it can be used with rod or cable linkages. (H. Klaue, Uberlingen/ Bodensee, Germany.)
The drawing is a section through the mechanism. A hydraulic piston (1) when energized, turns a ring (2) through a small angle. The ring is provided with numerous blind bores in each of which lies a ball (3). The co-operating presser plate has sloping ramps for the balls to ride upon so that when the ring is turned, the balls climb the ramps and exert lateral force upon the disc assembly.
A coil spring (4) retracts the ring when hydraulic pressure drops and the presser plate assembly is returned to the normal position by a saucer-shaped spring.
SEMI-TRAILER STEERING
PATENT No. 825,292 describes an automatically steered semi-trailer bogie the action of which can be altered for manceuvring in reverse. (American European Engineering Corp., Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A.) ivdiagrammatic plan view of a tandemaxled semi-trailer bogie is shown in the drawing. The bogie subframe is pivoted on a turntable and can swivel with respect to the main frame members (1). Me foremost axle (2) is attached r'igidly to the bogie frame and swings with it. The rearmost axle can, however, pivot independently and is guided by a pair of curved brackets (3).
This axle is fitted with a triangular extension (4) terminating in a ball-joint (5) and joined to a lever attached to a longitudinal shaft. An upper lever (6) on the shaft is ball-jointed to a rod (7). This is fixed to the main frame, and relative movement caused by cornering rocks the shaft to swing the rear axle over to an angle.
By transferring the locking pin (8) to the other rod (9), the steering action can be made to work in the opposite direction to assist reversing.
BOWDEN CABLE LUBRICATION
1-1 A TOOL designed to facilitate the lubrication of Bowden cables is covered by patent No. 825,301. (Morris Motors, Ltd., Cowley, Oxford.) The tool, which is used in conjunction with a standard grease gun, is rather like a nutcracker, and has steel end plates (1) and rubber die blocks (2), each provided with a semi-circular groove (3). One of the die blocks is drilled to communicate with a conventional grease nipple (4).
In use, the tool is closed over the end of a Bowden cable. The steel plates grip the outer casing and the rubber blocks make a tight joint around the inner cable forming a seal around the assembly. Thus lubricant injected through the nipple must enter the space between the wire and its outer casing.
DISC-BRAKED FRONT AXLE
"rHE subject of patent No. 825,044 is
• a steered and driven axle consisting of swinging half-shafts and fitted with disc brakes. The discs are mounted so that they are not affected by axle deflections. (Harry Ferguson Research, Ltd., " Abbotswood." Stow-on-the-Wold, Glos.)
The bevel and crownwheel are of normal type. The differential planet-carrier is journalled in the axle-casing on roller bearings (1) and is provided with unusually long tubular extensions (2). These form the journal bearings for the disc assemblies which comprise bearing sleeves (3) and the actual discs (4).
The half-shafts are splined into the sun-bevels as shown at 5. This permits slight axial movement. The discs are attached to the axles by two-armed spiders (6) which transmit the braking forces. The spiders are keyed to the discs by ball-ended studs (7). This permits both axial and angular deflections between the discs and the half-shafts.
Details of the caliper assemblies (8; are not included in this patent. References are made to two earlier patent numbered 731,938 and 770,323.
AIR-POWERED STEERING
APOWER-ASSISTED steering system employing compressed air as the amplifying force is shown in patent No. 825,290._ Several claims are made, the main one concerning design of the aircontrol valve mounted on the steering column. (Clayton Dewandre Co., Ltd., Titanic Works, Lincoln.) A section of the valve assembly is shown in the drawing. The steering column (1) carries a sun-bevel (2) which operates a similar lower shaft (3) Via planet bevel gears (4). Movement of the column causes the planet-carrier pin (5) to attempt to rotate about the column axis. In doing so it operates air inlet and exhaust valves. These are not shown in the drawing, but lie close to the ball-ends (6) on the carrier pin.
Normally the lower shaft is turned by the air cylinder (not shown) to follow-up the action of the column. Should the air supply fail, the carrier pin is arrested by its abutments and the manual forces are applied through the gears to the lower shaft. The air valves provide resistance at the steering wheel proportional to the servo power being applied so that some " feel " remains. Shocks arising from the road surface are absorbed by the air cylinder, which automatically corrects sudden wheel deflection.