Sealed liquid cooled brake assembly

Claim 2

A brake assembly comprising: a housing having a backing plate member and a cover section joined in fluid sealing relationship to form a braking chamber, friction braking means in said braking chamber, a support member having said backing plate member detachably secured thereto by securing means, brake actuating means in said housing remote from said support member and axially opposite said backing plate member for energizing said friction braking means, one of said members including a spindle adapted to have a wheel hub rotatably mounted thereon to be braked by said friction braking means and mounted thereon in fluid sealing relation with said housing, a brake cooling fluid pump chamber is said brake assembly on the opposite side of said friction braking means from said brake actuating means and having a brake cooling fluid pump therein, drive means for said pump within said brake assembly housing and adapted to be connected in drive relation with the wheel hub to be braked, and passage means within said brake assembly including said pump chamber and said braking chamber and providing for connection to heat exchanger means remote from said brake assembly and further providing for the circulation by said pump of colling fluid in heat receiving relation with said friction braking means and the delivery of heated cooling fluid to the remote heat exchanger means and the receipt by the brake assembly of cooled cooling fluid from the remote heat exchanger means.

Claim 3

The brake assembly of claim 1, said pump chamber being defined in part by said support member and in part by said backing plate member.

Claim 4

The brake assembly of claim 1 in which said backing plate member and said housing cover section are joined by suitable permanent means such as a weld so that said brake assembly housing including said braking means is removable from and replaceable on said support member is service only as a unit.

Claim 5

The brake assembly of claim 1 in which said pump drive means includes a first gear adapted to be driven by the wheel hub to be braked and a second gear in drive relation with said first gear and connected to drive said pump, the pump drive means overall ration being such that the speed of said pump is greater than the speed of the wheel hub when the hub is rotating on said spindle.

Claim 6

The brake assembly of claim 1, said pump housing being a part of at least one of said members and said pump chamber being defined in part by said at least one of said members and in part by a pump cover plate, said pump drive means including a pump shaft extending into said pump chamber and having a pump impeller mounted thereon, said pump impeller and said pump drive means and said pump cover plate being retained in the operative position by said at least one of said members and suitable securing means.

Claim 7

The brake assembly of claim 1, said brake actuating means including a pressure chamber formed in said brake assembly housing cover, a brake apply piston mounted in said chamber and movable to engage and disengage said friction brake means in braking relationship, and brake adjusting mechanism including a bank pressed on the outer diameter section of said piston and being wider in an axial direction than the outer diameter section of said piston and having one edge remote from the said friction braking means engageable with a suitable abutment formed on said brake assembly housing cover in said braking chamber, and a Belleville spring mounted in said braking chamber with the outer periphery thereof engaging suitable abutment means formed on said brake assembly housing cover and the inner periphery thereof engaging the edge of said adjusting band adjacent to said friction braking means, so that brake applying movement of said piston acts against said Belleville spring, with a predetermined amount of such brake applying movement causing said Belleville spring to be so engaged with the abutment means associated therewith as to prevent further movement of said adjusting band while permitting further movement of the piston, thereby causing a slipping action between said band and said piston to reposition said band on said piston in a direction remote from said friction braking means to establish a retracted position of said piston requiring less retracting movement than prior actuating movement as determined by the amount of lineal slippage of said band on said piston during the brake applying movement.