Brake

Claim 2

In a braking mechanism, opposed flanges, spaced side members joined to said opposed flanges to form a unitary ring-shaped housing, braking plates in the ring-opening of the housing, means mounting said braking plates for relative movement toward one another, means normally biasing said braking plates apart, and means for moving said braking plates relatively toward one another in opposition to the bias to apply a braking load to a moving member in said ring opening and at the same time apply force through one of said braking plates to one of said opposed flanges in a direction away from said other flange so that the braking load will be resisted by tension in said side members, said housing being formed by ring-shaped members secured in substantially face-to-face engagement, each member being of sheet material and having bosses deformed from the plane of the sheet, said bosses receiving pins that form part of said mounting means.

Claim 3

A brake comprising an endless ring-shaped housing, said housing being formed by companion ring-shaped members secured in face-to-face relationship to form opposed flanges that are integrally joined by side flanges, each ring-shaped member including channel-shaped bosses of arcuate configuration such that the secured members provide pairs of axially aligned openings at said opposed flanges and with the axis of one pair of openings being parallel to the axis of the other pair of openings, a support member mounted in each pair of aligned openings and spanning the space therebetween, spaced apart braking plates for engagement with a brake disc therebetween, said braking plates being mounted on said support members for relatively shifting movement toward and away from each other, resilient means biasing said braking plates away from each other, said opposed flanges supporting said plates in their positions away from each other in opposition to said resilient means, and actuator means operable in opposition to said resilient means for moving said braking plates relatively toward one another.

Claim 4

A brake comprising an endless ring-shaped housing, said housing being formed by companion ring-shaped members secured in face-to-face relationship to form opposed flanges that are integrally joined by side flanges, each ring-shaped member including channel-shaped bosses of arcuate configuration such that the secured members provide pairs of axially aligned openings at said opposed flanges and with the axis of one pair of openings being parallel to the axis of the other pair of openings, a support member mounted in each pair of aligned openings and spanning the space therebetween, spaced apart braking plates for engagement with a brake disc therebetween, said braking plates being mounted on said support members for relatively shifting movement toward and away from each other, resilient means biasing said braking plates away from each other, said opposed flanges supporting said plates in their positions away from each other in opposition to said resilient means, and actuator means operable in opposition to said resilient means for moving said braking plates relatively toward one another.

Claim 5

A brake according to claim 2 in combination with a mounting plate having means for rigid attachment to a vehicle, said support members passing through said mounting plate for mounting said housing shiftably thereon so that operation of said actuator means serves to shift one of said braking plates into engagement with said brake disc and also to shift said housing to bring the other braking plate into contact with said brake disc.

Claim 6

A brake according to claim 2 in combination with means for rigidly attaching said housing to a vehicle, and means slidably attaching said brake disc to said vehicle so that operation of said actuator means serves to shift one of said braking plates into engagement with said brake disc and also to shift said brake disc into engagement with the other braking plate.

Claim 7

A brake according to claim 2 including additional bosses on each ring-shaped member that cooperate to provide spaced edges on one of said opposed flanges for supporting a braking plate at spaced apart regions.

Claim 8

A brake according to claim 2 in which the housing has means defining an additional opening in one of said opposed flanges and intermediate said support members for receiving said actuating means.

Claim 9

A brake according to claim 6 in which said actuator means comprises a lever pivotally mounted on one of said opposed flanges and movable to apply force to one of said braking plates.

Claim 10

A brake according to claim 6 in which the means defining said additional opening comprises additional bosses on said ring-shaped members providing spaced edges for supporting a braking plate at spaced apart regions.