Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60T—VEHICLE BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF; BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF, IN GENERAL; ARRANGEMENT OF BRAKING ELEMENTS ON VEHICLES IN GENERAL; PORTABLE DEVICES FOR PREVENTING UNWANTED MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES; VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS TO FACILITATE COOLING OF BRAKES
  • B60T7/00—Brake-action initiating means
  • B60T7/02—Brake-action initiating means for personal initiation
  • B60T7/04—Brake-action initiating means for personal initiation foot actuated
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05G—CONTROL DEVICES OR SYSTEMS INSOFAR AS CHARACTERISED BY MECHANICAL FEATURES ONLY
  • G05G5/00—Means for preventing, limiting or returning the movements of parts of a control mechanism, e.g. locking controlling member
  • G05G5/12—Means for preventing, limiting or returning the movements of parts of a control mechanism, e.g. locking controlling member for holding members in an indefinite number of positions, e.g. by a toothed quadrant

Definitions

• This invention relates to braking systems for vehicles, and more particularly to a mechanical means for maintaining a brake pedal in a depressed (brakes-on) position when the brakes have first been applied by foot.
• the inelastic flexible elongate element used in my invention contacts both the pedal and the vehicle chassis which lies generally in the direction of depression of the pedal. It should be noted here that my use of the term “vehicle chassis” encompasses all parts of the vehicle structure which are rigidly fixed with respect to the basic chassis.
• the contact may be either a fixed contact or a contact where movement is possible.
• the nature of such contact is entirely dependent on the type of elongate element used and the nature of the movement preventing means which with the elongate element acts to prevent the pedal from returning from its depressed position. I. shall consider types of movement preventing means in more detail later in my specification. Typical "contacts" are these;
• one end of the elongate element is fixed to the pedal and the other end to a device mounted on the chassis for taking up slack;
• both ends of the elongate element are fixed to the chassis and it contacts the pedal via a contact element which allows for smooth, non-binding motion of the pedal in contact with and relative to the elongate element when the pedal is depressed;
• both ends of the elongate element contact the pedal, one fixed and one via a device for taking up slack, the elongate means contacting the chassis via a ring or pulley fixed to the chassis.
• this can be, for example, a simple lateral protrusion of the pedal, this being profiled so as to allow smooth non-binding motion. This can be aided by coating the protrusion with a friction-reducing material such as PTFE or nylon.
• the contact element may be a pulley rotatably mounted on the pedal, or a suitably shaped shoe affixed thereto.
• the inelastic, flexible elongate element may be chosen from any suitable material known to the art. It may be, for example, rope, cord, wire or synthetic filament.
• both ends are fixed to the vehicle chassis, typically with one attachment on the bulkhead on which the brake pedal pivots and the other attachment in a convenient location, for example, under the dashboard, the elongate element will often be attached at the dashboard end via a spring which maintains the elongate element perpetually taut and in constant contact with the pedal.
• elongate elements of my invention which require specific types of points of contact.
• the elongate element may contact the pedal via a toothed sprocket rotatably mounted on the pedal.
• the elongate element may be supplied by a correspondingly toothed wheel.
• a particularly useful embodiment is one where the element is a wire which is wound on a spring-loaded spool, the spring loading being such that it tends to retract the wire in the manner of a retractable flexible tape measure. This spool can be attached to the pedal and the wire to the bulkhead on which the pedal pivots (or vice versa).
• the spring loading has insufficient strength of its own accord to depress the pedal, but sufficient to take up any slack when the pedal is depressed.
• the invention also comprises a reversible activatable movement preventing means which acts in concert with the elongate element so as to prevent any movement of the pedal away from a depressed position.
• the movement-preventing means acts so as to restrict movement, and is activatable (either manually or automatically) and reversible (that is, it can be similarly deactivated).
• the nature of the movement-preventing means depends entirely on the nature of the movement to be restricted. For example, it may be the linear movement of the elongate means which is to be prevented by the direct application of, for example, friction braking thereto.
• a rotatable component such as a toothed sprocket, toothed wheel or spool in the embodiments described hereinabove which is to be prevented.
• the movement-preventing means may be selected from among a wide range of possible mechanisms known to the art and activation/ deactivation may be achieved by vacuum, fluid pressure, mechanical, electromagnetic or other suitable means. I especially prefer electromagnetic means.
• the spool may be made of an electromagnetic material and be located in touching contact with an electromagnet, the energising of which would prevent the spool from turning.
• Figure 1 is a part longitudinal cross-section of a part of a vehicle showing the position of the brake pedal and a mechanical means according to the invention.
• Figure 2 is a cross-section of a mechanical means in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
• Figure 3 is a cross-section of a mechanical means in a plane transverse to that of Figure 2 along the line A-A .
• Figure 4 is a cross-section of a mechanical means in a plane transverse to that of Figure 2 along the line B-B .
• a brake pedal 1 is pivotally mounted on a motor vehicle. To this pedal is rigidly fixed a flat drum 2, the axis of the drum being horizontal. Within this drum is a spool 3, this spool being made from a single piece of ferromagnetic material and having the following configuration in sequence; a first cylindrical portion 4 of diameter relatively small compared to that of the drum, a first circular flange portion 5 having a diameter greater than that of the first cylindrical portion, a second cylindrical portion 6 of diameter greater than that of the first cylindrical portion but less than that of the first flange portion, and a second circular flange portion 7 whose diameter is almost that of the internal diameter of the drum.
• This spool is rotatably mounted coaxially with the drum on an axial bolt 8, the first cylindrical portion being adjacent to a flat end wall of the drum.
• a length of wire 9 is affixed to the spool and wound on the second cylindrical portion, the wire passing out of the drum through an orifice 10 and being fixed to an adjacent bulkhead at 11.
• Attached to the first cylindrical portion 4 is a spring 12 which seeks to turn the spool such that the wire is wound into the drum. This spring has insufficient force to pull the brake pedal itself, but it has sufficient force to make the spool take up the slack wire when the pedal is manually depressed.
• a ring-shaped electromagnet 13 Within the drum is a ring-shaped electromagnet 13, this being coaxial with the spool and being rigidly fixed such that it has sliding contact with the second circular flange portion 7 of the spool. When energised, the electromagnet clamps itself to the second circular flange, prohibiting rotational movement of the spool.
• the spool need not be a single piece of ferromagnetic material but may comprise several sections which can be affixed together.
• the other parts of the spool may be, for example, wood, plastics or aluminium.
• the mechanical means could be fitted to the bulkhead of the vehicle and the free end of the wire to the pedal.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
• Braking Elements And Transmission Devices (AREA)
• Mechanical Control Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=3696809

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 1985
  • 1985-07-30 EP EP19850903790 patent/EP0188578A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1985-07-30 WO PCT/AU1985/000172 patent/WO1986001015A1/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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