Cable actuated tow brake system
OwnerDavid F. Baileyinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cable actuated tow brake system to remotely monitor and control the braking of a towed vehicle comprising a actuator cable secured to a pulley wherein the actuator cable is coupled between a pulley drive motor and the brake pedal assembly of the towed vehicle to selectively displace the brake pedal of the towed vehicle to apply the brakes of the towed vehicle proportionally to the towing vehicle when the brakes of the towing vehicle are applied.
Claims26
A cable actuated tow brake system to control the braking of a towed vehicle comprising an actuator cable coupled to a pulley disposed within a brake control assembly and the brake pedal assembly of the towed vehicle, said pulley operatively coupled to a drive motor to rotate said pulley to selectively displace the brake pedal of the towed vehicle to apply the brakes of the towed vehicle proportionally to the braking of the towing vehicle when the brakes of the towing vehicle are applied, said brake control assembly comprises an enclosure secured to the towed vehicle and including a front wall, rear wall, top wall and bottom wall to house said pulley and said drive motor and further including a cable guide including a cable opening formed in said front wall of said enclosure and having a pair of substantially parallel rollers forming a slot or opening therebetween to receive said actuator cable therethrough.
A cable actuated tow brake system to control the braking of a towed vehicle comprising an actuator cable coupled to a pulley disposed within a brake control assembly and the brake pedal assembly of the towed vehicle, said pulley operatively coupled to a drive motor to rotate said pulley to selectively displace the brake pedal of the towed vehicle to apply the brakes of the towed vehicle proportionally to the braking of the towing vehicle when the brakes of the towing vehicle are applied wherein a proximal end of said actuator cable including a diameter coupled to said pulley is disposed within a pulley block cavity wherein a groove is formed in a circumference of said pulley to receive a proximal portion of said actuator cable, said groove having a depth equal to or less than twice said diameter of said actuator cable.
A cable actuated tow brake system to control the braking of a towed vehicle comprising an actuator cable coupled to a pulley disposed within a brake control assembly and the brake pedal assembly of the towed vehicle, said pulley operatively coupled to a drive motor to rotate said pulley to selectively displace the brake pedal of the towed vehicle to apply the brakes of the towed vehicle proportionally to the braking of the towing vehicle when the brakes of the towing vehicle are applied wherein a proximal end of said actuator cable including a diameter is coupled to said pulley disposed within a pulley block cavity and a groove formed in a circumference of said pulley having a depth equal to or less than two diameters of said actual actuator cable to prevent said actuator cable from crossing over itself in said groove.
A cable actuated tow brake system to control the braking of a towed vehicle comprising an actuator cable coupled between a pulley disposed within an enclosure and a brake pedal assembly of the towed vehicle, said pulley is operatively coupled to a reversible drive motor to increase tension on said actuator cable to displace a brake pedal of the brake pedal assembly of the towed vehicle to apply the brakes of the towed vehicle proportionally to the braking of a towing vehicle when the brakes of the towing vehicle are applied and to decrease tension on said actuator cable to release the brakes of the towed vehicle when the towing vehicle is not braking, said reversible drive motor is movably disposed within said enclosure to selectively engage a force sensor when tension is applied to said actuator cable displacing the brake pedal and a microcontroller coupled to said reversible drive motor to control the operation of said reversible drive motor, said microcontroller includes logic to compare a sensor signal generated by said force sensor proportional to the force applied to the brake pedal assembly by said actuator cable when the brakes of the towing vehicle are applied and the current motor operating said reversible motor and to generate a signal to reverse operation of said reversible motor when the motor current exceeds the preestablished motor current correlating with the force applied to said actuator cable to reduce tension on said actuator cable.
A cable actuated tow brake system to control the braking of a towed vehicle comprising an actuator cable coupled between a pulley disposed within an enclosure and a brake pedal assembly of the towed vehicle, said pulley is operatively coupled to a reversible drive motor to increase tension on said actuator cable to displace a brake pedal of the brake pedal assembly of the towed vehicle to apply the brakes of the towed vehicle proportionally to the braking of a towing vehicle when the brakes of the towing vehicle are applied and to decrease tension on said actuator cable to release the brakes of the towed vehicle when the towing vehicle is not braking, said reversible drive motor is movably disposed within said enclosure to selectively engage a force sensor when tension is applied to said actuator cable displacing the brake pedal and further including a brake pedal assembly position sensor to sense the rotational position of said pulley and generate a pulley signal indicative of the amount of said actuator cable taken-up on said pulley and to generate a signal indicative of the amount of the said actuator cable taken-up on said pulley and a microcontroller coupled to said reversible drive motor to control the operation of said reversible drive motor, said microcontroller includes logic to correlate a force sensor signal sensed by said force sensor proportional to the force applied to the brake pedal assembly by said actuator cable when the brakes of the towing vehicle are applied and the pulley signal indicative of the rotation position of said pulley and to generate a signal to reverse operation of said reversible motor when the force sensor signal exceeds the correlation with the force applied to said actuator cable to reduce tension on said actuator cable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.