Brake assembly
A brake assembly for use with a rotating shaft such as on the wheel of a vehicle or on industrial equipment. The brake assembly includes a first brake pad, a second brake pad, a lever having a plurality of concave surfaces and corresponding plurality of convex surface, a bracket, a ball bearing moveable into and out of each of the plurality of concave surfaces and a spacer positioned between the lever and the second brake pad. The spacer contacts the lever radially outwardly of the convex surfaces.
1 . A brake assembly comprising:
a first brake pad;
a second brake pad;
a lever having a plurality of concave surfaces and corresponding plurality of convex surfaces;
a ball bearing housed in each of the plurality of concave surfaces; and
a spacer positioned between the lever and the second brake pad, the spacer having a surface adapted to surround the convex surfaces and to contact the lever radially outwardly of the convex surfaces.
2 . The brake assembly of claim 1 wherein the lever is bent.
3 . The brake assembly of claim 1 and further including a plurality of outer pins.
4 . The brake assembly of claim 3 wherein the plurality of outer pins have double shoulders.
5 . The brake assembly of claim 3 wherein the plurality of outer pins is four outer pins.
6 . The brake assembly of claim 3 and further including springs surrounding at least one of the plurality of outer pins.
7 . The brake assembly of claim 3 wherein the plurality of outer pins extends from the first brake pad to a bracket.
8 . The brake assembly of claim 1 and further including a plurality of shims positioned between the spacer and the second brake pad.
9 . The brake assembly of claim 8 wherein the shim adjacent the spacer is not moveable relative to the spacer.
10 . The brake assembly of claim 8 wherein the plurality of shims is rotatable relative to each other.
11 . The brake assembly of claim 1 wherein the spacer is fabricated of low carbon steel.
12 . The brake assembly of claim 1 wherein the surface of the spacer contacting the lever is ring shaped.
13 . The brake assembly of claim 1 and further including a center pin.
14 . The brake assembly of claim 13 wherein the center pin extends through the lever, the spacer, and the second brake pad.
15 . The brake assembly of claim 1 wherein the plurality of concave surfaces is three concave surfaces.
16 . The brake assembly of claim 1 wherein the surface of the spacer contacting the lever is adapted to evenly transfer load to the first and second brake pads.
17 . A brake assembly comprising:
a first brake pad;
a second brake pad;
a lever having a plurality of concave surfaces and corresponding plurality of convex surfaces;
a ball bearing housed in each of the plurality of concave surfaces;
a thrust bearing; and
a spacer positioned between the lever and the thrust bearing, the spacer having a first surface adapted to contact the lever radially outwardly of the convex surfaces and having a second surface adapted to contact the thrust bearing.
18 . The brake assembly of claim 17 wherein the first surface is ring shaped and the second surface is disc shaped.
19 . The brake assembly of claim 17 wherein the thrust bearing is a needle bearing.
20 . A brake assembly comprising:
a first brake pad;
a second brake pad;
a lever having a plurality of concave surfaces and corresponding plurality of convex surfaces;
a bracket;
a plurality of outer pins;
a center pin;
a ball bearing housed in each of the plurality of concave surfaces;
a thrust bearing; and
a spacer positioned between the lever and the second brake pad, the spacer having a ring shaped surface adapted to contact the lever radially outwardly of the convex surfaces and having a disc shaped surface adapted to contact the thrust bearing.