Automatic slack adjuster torque limiting link

A slack adjuster, comprising:

• a housing having a brake actuator arm and an aperture for receiving a brake cam shaft;
• a worm wheel co-axially located within the housing aperture, the worm wheel being configured to co-axially engage the brake cam shaft for conjoint rotation;
• a yoke connected to the brake actuator arm, the yoke being configured to receive and transfer a brake application force to the brake actuator arm;
• an adjuster drive arranged to rotate the worm wheel relative to the housing to adjust an amount of rotational slack in the slack adjuster;
• and
• an adjuster link extending between the yoke and the adjuster drive,
• wherein
• the adjuster link is configured to transfer a slack adjustment movement from the yoke to the adjuster drive,
• the adjuster link includes a resilient portion, the resilient portion including a lower portion of an adjuster link upper portion which axially overlaps an upper portion of an adjuster link lower portion in an axial-overlap region of the resilient portion,
• the adjuster link lower portion and the adjuster link upper portion are biased against one another in a direction which minimizes a length of the adjuster link by a resilient element in contact with the adjuster link lower portion and the adjuster link upper portion in the axial-overlap region,
• the resilient element is a spring in the resilient portion which biases the adjuster link upper portion axially toward the adjuster link lower portion, and
• the resilient portion is configured to change an axial length of the adjuster link when the brake application force applied to the adjuster link by the yoke exceeds a predetermined minimum force by axial displacement of the axially overlapping portions of the lower portion of the adjuster link upper portion relative to the upper portion of the adjuster link lower portion.