Load responsive vehicle-brake regulator

Claim 1

A BRAKE REGULATOR FOR A FLUID-OPERATED BRAKE SYSTEM HAVING A MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER AND WHEEL CYLINDERS OF AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE HAVING A CHASSIS DISPLACEABLE RELATIVE TO AN AXLE UPON LOADING OF THE VEHICLE TO A VARIABLE EXTENT, SAID REGULATOR COMPRISING VALVE MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE TRANSMISSION OF FLUID PRESSURE IN SAID BRAKE SYSTEM FROM SAID MASTER CYLINDER TO SAID WHEEL CYLINDERS AND INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE VALVE MEMBER LINEARLY SHIFTABLE IN RESPONSE TO FLUID PRESSURE GENERATED BY SAID MASTER-CYLINDER; SAID VALVE MEMBER FORMING A PRESSURE-TRANSMITTING PISTON INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID BRAKE CYLINDER AND SAID WHEEL CYLINDERS AND HAVING A VALVED PASSAGE FOR TRANSMISSION OF FLUID THEREBETWEEN IN AT LEAST SOME OPERATIVE POSITIONS OF SAID MEMBER; A PAIR OF TANDEM-DISPOSED RESILIENT MEANS BEARING UPON SAID VALVE MEMBER AND OF DIFFERENT STIFFNESS; AT LEAST ONE ABUTMENT MEANS LINEARLY SHIFTABLE IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF SAID CHASSIS AND SAID AXLE AND BEARING UPON THE TANDEMDISPOSED PAIR OF RESILIENT MEANS FOR STRESSING SAME, SAID PAIR OF RESILIENT MEANS CONSISTING OF A PAIR OF COAXIAL COIL COMPRESSION SPRINGS ALIGNED WITH SAID ABUTMENT MEANS AND SAID VALVE MEMBER IN THE DIRECTION OF LINEAR DISPLACEMENT THEREOF AND INTERMEDIATE SAID ABUTMENT MEANS AND SAID VALVE MEMBER, THE COIL SPRING PROXIMAL TO SAID VALVE MEMBER HAVING A STIFFNESS GREATER THAN THAT OF THE COIL SPRING DISTAL FROM SAID VALVE MEMBER WHEREBY THE TOTAL LINEAR STROKE OF SAID ABUTMENT MEANS RELATIVE TO SAID VALVE MEANS EQUALS THE SUM OF THE AXIAL COMPRESSIONS OF SAID COIL SPRINGS, SAID COIL SPRINGS BEING AXIALLY COMPRESSED UPON RELATIVE DISPLACEMENT OF SAID ABUTMENT MEANS AND SAID VALVE MEANS IN REVERSE RELATIONSHIP TO THE RESPECTIVE STIFFNESS COEFFICIENTS; COMMON HOUSING MEANS FOR SAID ABUTMENT MEANS, SAID COIL SPRING AND SAID VALVE MEANS, AND A PAIR OF CONNECTING MEMBERS RESPECTIVELY MOUNTED ON SAID ABUTMENT MEANS AND SAID HOUSING, ONE OF SAID CONNECTING MEMBERS BEING PIVOTALLY JOINED TO SAID CHASSIS, THE OTHER OF SAID CONNECTING MEMBERS BEING PIVOTALLY JOINED TO SAID AXLE; AND MEANS INCLUDING SAID CONNECTING MEMBERS FOR EFFECTING RELATIVE DISPLACEMENT OF SAID HOUSING AND AT LEAST ONE OF SAID AXLE AND SAID CHASSIS WHEREBY THE TANDEM COIL SPRINGS ARE LOADED BY SAID ABUTMENT MEANS WITH A CHARACTERISTIC RELATIVE TO THE LOADING OF SAID VEHICLE, IN SUBSTANTIALLY INVERSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VEHICLE SUSPENSION.