Patent · US Expired

Automatic adjusting strut

US4276966A · kind A · utility

8Cited by
6References
15Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 16, 1978
Grant dateJul 7, 1981
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 16, 1998

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
  • CPC primaryF16D65/563
  • WIPO fieldMechanical elements
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A generally self-contained automatic adjusting strut having many uses including that of an automatic adjuster for the shoes of a friction brake. The unit comprises a carrier having a threaded strut expansible outwardly therefrom by means of a star wheel. The star wheel is periodically rotated to compensate for wear adjustment by an adjusting lever pivoted to the carrier and containing an actuating tang that extends between two abutments on the carrier which limit the rotation of the adjusting lever to a prescribed amount, as for example, 11/2 teeth of the star wheel. The actuating tang also projects through an opening in the adjacent brake shoe, which is spaced from an abutment edge of the shoe by a prescribed distance (for example 0.040 inches) less than a companion pair of abutments on the carrier, and one of which is the return stop for the actuating tang. The unit includes a combination torsion and compression spring for holding the actuating tang against one of the companion abutments of the carrier, and a second spring is provided for biasing the carrier towards the opposite shoe. The second spring, therefore, assures that the previously described clearance is maintained betw…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.