Hydraulic motor brake

1. A hydraulic motor brake for selectively providing load holding torque to a hydraulic motor having a drive shaft extending therefrom, said hydraulic motor brake comprising:

a brake housing mountable to a hydraulic motor, said brake housing defining an internal chamber and a port for receiving pressurized hydraulic fluid from a source fluidly connected to said port, a biasing member portion of said brake housing including a radially outward facing surface facing radially away from a longitudinal axis of the hydraulic motor brake;

a plurality of friction-producing members located within said internal chamber and operable to apply load holding torque to the drive shaft of the hydraulic motor;

a plate fixedly mounted to said brake housing within said internal chamber;

a piston mounted within said internal chamber for bi-directional translation relative to said brake housing and said plate along the longitudinal axis, said piston extending about said plate and defining a brake release chamber with said brake housing and said plate, said brake release chamber being in fluid communication with said port for receiving pressurized hydraulic fluid from said port;

a biasing member positioned within the biasing member portion of the brake housing, said biasing member being operable to exert a biasing force on said piston biasing said piston along said longitudinal axis for engagement with said friction-producing members, a first portion of the piston extending longitudinally away from said plate and longitudinally overlapping the biasing member; and

a seal element positioned on the radially outward facing surface of the biasing member portion of the brake housing and radially between the radially outward facing surface and the first portion of the piston,

wherein said piston is operable to translate along said longitudinal axis away from said plate and disengage from said friction-producing members in response to pressurized hydraulic fluid being received by said brake release chamber from said port and exerting a force on said piston sufficient to overcome the biasing force exerted on said piston by said biasing member.

2. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 1 , wherein said brake release chamber comprises a chamber having a variable volume.

3. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 2 , wherein movement of said piston causes variation in the volume of said brake release chamber.

4. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 1 , wherein said piston comprises a sleeve portion extending about said longitudinal axis, and wherein said plate comprises a disc-like member extending about said longitudinal axis and being received within said sleeve portion of said piston.

5. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 1 , wherein said piston comprises a disc portion extending about said longitudinal axis and parallel to said plate.

6. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 1 , wherein said piston defines a bore extending therethrough, and wherein said brake housing has a portion protruding into said internal chamber and received at least partially within said bore of said piston.

7. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 6 , wherein said plate is fixedly mounted to said portion of said brake housing.

8. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 1 , wherein said brake housing defines a bore extending therethrough and said piston defines a threaded bore coaxially aligned with said bore of said brake housing, wherein said bore of said brake housing and said threaded bore of said piston are configured to receive a fastener, and wherein said piston is further operable to translate along said longitudinal axis away from said plate and disengage from said friction-producing members in response to tightening of said fastener into said threaded bore of said piston.

9. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 1 , wherein said brake housing is detachably attachable to the hydraulic motor.

10. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 1 , wherein said hydraulic motor brake further comprises a wear plate detachably secured to said brake housing.

11. The hydraulic motor brake of claim 10 , wherein said wear plate is interposed between said brake housing and the hydraulic motor when said brake housing is attached to the hydraulic motor.

12. A hydraulic motor brake for selectively providing load holding torque to a hydraulic motor having a plurality of threaded bores for receiving a corresponding first plurality of fasteners and having a protruding drive shaft, said hydraulic motor brake comprising:

a brake housing defining a longitudinal axis and having a first end and a longitudinally-disposed second end, said brake housing defining a first plurality of brake housing bores extending between said first end and said second end and arranged for coaxial alignment with the threaded bores of the hydraulic motor, and a second plurality of brake housing bores, said brake housing further defining an internal chamber and comprising a plurality of friction-producing members operable to selectively exert load holding torque to the drive shaft of the hydraulic motor or not exert load holding torque to the drive shaft of the hydraulic motor; and

a wear plate having a first end and a longitudinally-disposed second end, said wear plate being detachably attachable to said brake housing with said first end of said wear plate abutting said second end of said brake housing, said wear plate defining a first plurality of wear plate bores extending between said first end and said second end, said first plurality of wear plate bores of said wear plate being arranged for coaxial alignment with said first brake housing bores, said wear plate defining a second plurality of wear plate bores arranged for coaxial alignment with said second plurality of brake housing bores;

wherein said brake housing and said wear plate are detachably attachable to the hydraulic motor as a single unitary component by insertion of the first plurality of fasteners through said first plurality brake housing bores and said first plurality of wear plate bores, and into the threaded bores of the hydraulic motor, and by subsequent tightening of the first plurality of fasteners,

wherein said wear plate is further detachably securable to said brake housing by insertion of a second plurality of fasteners through said second plurality of wear plate bores and into said second plurality of brake housing bores of said brake housing; and

wherein the second plurality of brake housing bores and the second plurality of wear plate bores are arranged circumferentially around the longitudinal axis such that first and second circumferentially adjacent ones of the second plurality of brake housing bores and corresponding first and second ones of the second plurality of wear plate bores are separated by a first angle about the longitudinal axis, and the first and a third circumferentially adjacent ones of the second plurality of brake housing bores and the corresponding first and a third ones of the second plurality of wear plate bores are separated by a second angle about the longitudinal axis, the first and second angles being unequal.

13. The hydraulic brake of claim 12 , wherein said wear plate is interposed between said brake housing and the hydraulic motor when said hydraulic brake is attached to the hydraulic motor.

14. The hydraulic brake of claim 12 , wherein said second end of said wear plate abuts the hydraulic motor when said hydraulic brake is attached to the hydraulic motor.

15. The hydraulic brake of claim 12 , wherein said hydraulic brake further comprises a plate secured to and within said brake housing, and wherein said hydraulic brake further comprises a piston mounted within said brake housing for bi-directional movement along the longitudinal axis.

16. The hydraulic brake of claim 15 , wherein said plate and said piston at least partially define a brake release chamber therebetween having a variable volume.

17. The hydraulic brake of claim 15 , wherein said hydraulic brake further comprises a biasing member operable to exert a biasing force on said piston tending to engage said piston with said friction-producing members, wherein said wear plate defines an internal chamber for receiving the drive shaft of the hydraulic motor, and wherein said plate is located longitudinally between said internal chamber of said wear plate and said piston so as to at least partially minimize cycling of said biasing member.

18. A hydraulic motor brake for selectively providing load holding torque to a hydraulic motor having a drive shaft extending therefrom, said hydraulic motor brake comprising:

a brake housing mountable to a hydraulic motor, said brake housing defining an internal chamber and a port for receiving pressurized hydraulic fluid from a source fluidly connected to said port, a biasing member portion of said brake housing including a wall having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defining a biasing member bore;

a plurality of friction-producing members located within said internal chamber and operable to apply load holding torque to the drive shaft of the hydraulic motor;

a plate fixedly mounted to said brake housing within said internal chamber;

a piston mounted within said internal chamber for bi-directional translation relative to said brake housing and said plate along a longitudinal axis, said piston extending about said plate and defining a brake release chamber with said brake housing and said plate, said brake release chamber being in fluid communication with said port for receiving pressurized hydraulic fluid from said port;

a biasing member positioned within said biasing member bore and located between said brake housing and said piston, said biasing member being operable to exert a biasing force on said piston biasing said piston along said longitudinal axis for engagement with said friction-producing members; and

a seal element positioned on the outer surface of the wall of the biasing member portion of the brake housing and between the outer surface and the piston along a reference line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis,

wherein said piston is operable to translate along said longitudinal axis away from said plate and disengage from said friction-producing members in response to pressurized hydraulic fluid being received by said brake release chamber from said port and exerting a force on said piston sufficient to overcome the biasing force exerted on said piston by said biasing member; and

wherein said brake housing defines a bore extending therethrough and said piston defines a threaded bore coaxially aligned with said bore of said brake housing, wherein said bore of said brake housing and said threaded bore of said piston are configured to receive a fastener, and wherein said piston is further operable to translate along said longitudinal axis away from said plate and disengage from said friction-producing members in response to tightening of said fastener into said threaded bore of said piston.