Wheels and brakes for vehicles

A braking system for an automotive vehicle comprising, in combination:

• A) a wheel comprising:
• (i) a generally-cylindrical wheel rim for mounting a tire thereon;
• (ii) a wheel disc carrying said wheel rim and extending radially-inwardly from said generally-cylindrical wheel rim towards a rotational axis of said wheel for mounting said wheel upon a rotatably-driven, or free-wheeling rotatable wheel support of said automotive vehicle;
• (iii) a cylindrical support which is secured to said wheel disc and which is disposed radially-inwardly of said generally-cylindrical wheel rim;
• and
• (iv) a plurality of radially-inwardly facing brake lining structures, said brake lining structures being secured to said cylindrical support, said brake lining structures extending at least partially around, and having a center of radius which are coincident with, said rotational axis of said wheel;
• B) a) a rotatably-driven or free-wheeling wheel support which is secured to a non-rotational part of said vehicle along said rotational axis of said wheel;
• (b) a plurality of brake shoes, each said brake shoe having radially-opposed outer curved surfaces, said brake shoes being mounted upon said non-rotatable part of said vehicle in spaced positions around said rotational axis of said wheel support, said plurality of brake shoes comprising a pair of diametrically-opposed brake shoes, each said brake shoe being operatively connected to a fluid-operated cylinder mechanism for moving said brake shoes in a braking action;
• and
• (c) a pressurized-fluid operating system for moving said brake shoes in a braking action radially-outwardly from inactive positions towards, and frictionally-engaging, said radially-inwardly-facing brake lining structures, and for returning said brake shoes radially-inwardly upon termination of said braking action, said pressurized-fluid operating system including primary additional structure for effecting movement of said brake shoes to further inactive positions, said primary additional structure further including secondary additional structure for drawing pressurized-fluid from said braking system, and a master cylinder and a valve which has a normally-open position and a closed position, said valve being disposed between said master cylinder and said secondary additional structure so as to disconnect said pressurized-fluid in said master cylinder from the remainder of said system during operation of said secondary additional structure for drawing said pressurized-fluid from said braking system;
• whereby, on braking action, said radially-opposing outer surfaces of said brake shoes are moved towards, and frictionally engage, said radially-inwardly facing brake lining structures which are secured to said wheel.