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US 5,392,691 AGranted
Stone shield for air brake actuator with welded yoke
AssigneeIndian Head Industries, Inc.
InventorThomas O. Schultz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shield for a brake actuator has a bore closely surrounding a piston rod which is welded to a yoke. The shield is formed with a plurality of slits that allow portions of the shield between the slits to bend radially outwardly and allow the yoke to move through the bore. Thus, the invention allows the use of a yoke which is welded to a piston rod, and also allows the use of a shield which closely surrounds the piston rod.
Claims21
A brake actuator comprising:
- a chamber defined by at least a first housing member including an opening;
- a piston received in said chamber, and having a piston rod extending through said opening and out of said chamber;
- a yoke connected to said piston rod at a location outwardly of said chamber, said piston rod having a first outer dimension, said yoke having a second outer dimension greater than said first outer dimension;
- and
- a shield received in said opening and having a bore of a diameter slightly greater than said first outer dimension such that said bore closely surrounds said piston rod, and said bore being capable of expanding radially outwardly such that said yoke may pass through said bore.
2 more elements
A method of assembling a brake actuator comprising the steps of:
- (1) providing a piston by connecting a piston to a piston rod at a first end, and welding a yoke to a second end of said piston rod, wherein said yoke and said piston have greater outer diameters than said piston rod;
- (2) inserting one of said piston and said yoke through a shield wherein the shield is constructed to have a bore of an inner diameter slightly greater than the outer diameter of said piston rod, said bore being radially expandable to allow passage of said one of said yoke and said piston head;
- and
- (3) securing said shield to a housing for a brake actuator such that said piston is received within said housing, said piston rod extending through said bore in said shield and outwardly of said housing, and said yoke being received outwardly of said housing.
1 more element
A stone shield for use with a brake actuator comprising:
- a shield body having a central bore of a first diameter selected to closely circumscribe the outer diameter of a piston rod in a brake actuator;
- and
- at least one slit extending radially outwardly from said bore and through the thickness of said shield, such that said slit facilitates the radial bending of portions of said shield to allow a member attached to the piston rod which has a larger outer dimension than the piston rod to pass through said bore by expanding the inner diameter of said bore.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.