Apparatus having automatic centrifugal brakes for wheels
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorEvan E. Jacobson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus including a shaft, a wheel cylindrically mounted on the shaft, a cylinder coaxial with the wheel and having an inner wall, and at least two centrifugal braking assemblies mounted on the wheel uniformly distributed in a circumferential direction is provided. Each centrifugal braking assembly includes a brake member pivotally mounted on the wheel and having at least one curved friction surface, a cam pivotally mounted on the wheel and in slidable contact with the brake member, and a spring connected between the cam and a pin mounted on the wheel. The brake member, the cam, and the spring cooperate to rotate the curved friction surface of the brake member and in turn, contact with the inner wall of the cylinder when a rotational speed of the shaft exceeds a first predetermined value.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- an engine;
- a device having at least one cylindrical section having a stationary inner wall with an inner diameter;
- a rotatable shaft operatively connected to the engine, journaled within and coaxial with the at least one cylindrical section of the device;
- a wheel, having an outer diameter, concentrically mounted on the shaft, wherein the inner diameter of the stationary inner wall of the at least one cylindrical section of the device is greater than the outer diameter of the wheel;
- and
- at least two centrifugal braking assemblies mounted on the wheel uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction,
- wherein each said centrifugal braking assembly includes:
- a brake member pivotally mounted on the wheel at a proximal end and having at least one curved friction surface at a distal end,
- a cam pivotally mounted on the wheel at a first end and in slidable contact with the brake member, and
- a spring connected between a second end of the cam and a pin mounted on the wheel, and
- wherein each brake member, each cam, and each spring are configured to cooperate to rotate each at least one curved friction surface of each brake member into contact with the stationary inner wall of the at least one cylindrical section of the device when a rotational speed of the rotatable shaft exceeds a first predetermined value without rotating the inner wall of the at least one cylindrical section.
An apparatus comprising:
- a shaft;
- a wheel, having an outer diameter, concentrically mounted on the shaft;
- a cylinder, coaxial with the wheel and having a stationary inner wall with an inner diameter, wherein the inner diameter of the stationary inner wall of the cylinder is greater than the outer diameter of the wheel;
- and
- at least two centrifugal braking assemblies mounted on the wheel uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction,
- wherein each said centrifugal braking assembly includes:
- a brake member pivotally mounted on the wheel at a proximal end and having at least one curved friction surface at a distal end,
- a cam pivotally mounted on the wheel at a first end and in slidable contact with the brake member,
- a spring connected between a second end of the cam and a pin mounted on the wheel, and
- wherein each brake member, each cam, and each spring are configured to cooperate to rotate each at least one curved friction surface of each brake member into contact with the stationary inner wall of the cylinder when a rotational speed of the shaft exceeds a first predetermined value without rotating the stationary inner wall of the cylinder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.