Control means for auxiliary brake device

Claim 1

An auxiliary brake 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 each said wheel for rotation therewith, a flexible cable extending about said sheaves over at least 180* of each sheave circumference, said cable being movable toward and away from the bottom of each sheave groove, a plurality of friction elements carried by said cable into and out of frictional engagement with the side walls defining the groove of each said sheave, and control means for moving said cable to draw said friction elements into and out of frictional engagement with each said sheave groove side walls with an equalizing force in both a forward and reverse direction of vehicle motion, said control means comprising a first flexible cable element interconnecting at its opposite ends portions of said cable extending away from each said sheave near the remainder of each sheave circumference, a cable drum rotatably mounted on said frame about an axis parallel to said vehicle axle, and a second flexible cable element mounted at one end to the periphery of said drum and mounted at its Opposite end to said first cable element substantially midway between said interconnected cable portions, thereby the auxiliary brake may be applied upon rotation of said cable drum in one direction causing said cable portions to be moved toward one another to thereby equally draw said friction elements into frictional engagement with each said sheave groove side walls during forward and reverse directions of vehicle motion, said first flexible cable element flexing between its said ends as said second cable element is moved away from said sheave to thereby move said opposite ends toward one another.