Auxiliary brake and braking system

Claim 1

An auxiliary braking device for a vehicle having a frame, an axle carried by said frame, a wheel at opposite ends of said axle, comprising, in combination: a sheave secured relative to and concentric with at least one of said wheels for rotation therewith; a resilient rod member extending about said sheave in a common plane therewith over at least 180* of the sheave circumference, said rod member being movable toward and away from the bottom of the sheave groove; friction elements independently mounted on said rod member within the limits of the rod member extension, each of said friction elements comprising a pair of longitudinal half sections each longitudinally grooved so as to facilitate mounting of said half sections, and fastening means for securing said half sections together, said rod member having retaining beads thereon formed at opposite ends of each said friction elements for independently mounting said elements thereon, said friction elements being movable by said rod member into and out of frictional engagement with the sidewalls defining the groove of said sheave; and means mounted on said vehicle for moving one end of said rod member toward and away from said axle, thereby effecting movement of said rod member extension toward and away from said groove bottom and movement of said friction elements into and out of frictional engagement with said sheave groove sidewalls, said means mounted on said vehicle axle comprising a reversible electric motor, a beam arranged parallel to said axle and having mounting arms extending toward said axle and secured thereto, said motor being operatively connected to said rod member one end for effecting the movement thereof toward and away from said vehicle axle.