Land vehicles incorporating brake systems and methods therefor

A land vehicle comprising:

• a frame structure including a front cage that at least partially defines an operator cabin and a rear compartment positioned rearward of the front cage in a longitudinal direction;
• a plurality of wheels supported by the frame structure;
• and
• a brake system coupled to each one of the plurality of wheels, wherein each brake system includes
• a disc having a plurality of notches defined between circumferentially adjacent teeth of the disc,
• a first braking device configured to contact an outer face of the disc to resist rotation of one of the plurality of wheels, and
• a second braking device configured to contact one or more teeth of the disc to resist rotation of the one of the plurality of wheels,
• wherein:
• the disc includes an outer annular surface that extends circumferentially to at least partially define an outer diameter of the disc,
• the teeth are disposed at an inner diameter of the disc,
• the first braking device is configured to contact the outer face of the disc without enclosing the outer annular surface,
• the first braking device includes a housing having an open cavity extending axially therethrough that is at least partially arranged radially inward of the inner diameter of the disc,
• the open cavity extends axially all the way through the housing of the first braking device, and
• the housing of the first braking device defines a unitary structure that surrounds the open cavity.

A method of operating a land vehicle that includes (i) a frame structure having a front cage that at least partially defines an operator cabin and a rear compartment positioned rearward of the front cage in a longitudinal direction, (ii) a plurality of wheels supported by the frame structure, and (iii) a brake system coupled to each one of the plurality of wheels, the method comprising:

• operating the land vehicle in a park operating range;
• and
• operating the brake systems when the land vehicle is in the park operating range, wherein operating the brake systems when the land vehicle is in the park operating range comprises selectively activating one or more electronic parking brake mechanisms of each brake system and selectively activating one or more parking pawl mechanisms of each brake system,
• wherein selectively activating one or more electronic parking brake mechanisms of each brake system comprises contacting an outer face of a disc with a first braking device to resist rotation of a wheel coupled to the disc,
• wherein contacting the outer face of the disc with the first braking device comprises contacting the outer face of the disc without enclosing an outer annular surface of the disc that extends circumferentially to at least partially define an outer diameter of the disc,
• wherein the first braking device includes a housing having an open cavity extending axially therethrough that extends radially inward beyond an inner diameter of the disc,
• wherein the housing includes a first exterior face and a second exterior face arranged opposite the first exterior face,
• wherein the open cavity extends axially through at least one of the first and second exterior faces to define at least one opening in the at least one of the first and second exterior faces, and
• wherein the housing defines a unitary structure that surrounds the open cavity.