Lifting a Car to Stop It 



A brake which raises the rear wheels clear 

 off the ground. Of course the car has to stop 



Two flat semi-circular steel shoes placed between the body of the car and the inside of the rear 

 wheel on each side, are pushed down by a lever in such a manner as to lift the rear wheels 



AN unusual type of automobile emer- 

 /"\ gericy -brake stops the car by lifting 

 the rear or power wheels clear off the 

 ground. It consists of two flat semi-circular 

 steel shoes thick at the top and tapering 

 off at the bottom. These are placed be- 

 tween the body of the car and the inside 

 of the rear wheel on each side. 



A toothed rack is cut along each edge of 

 the upper side of the shoe, the rack- teeth 

 respectively meshing with the teeth of two 

 ordinary spur-gears slipped loosely over 

 the rear-axle housing and provided with 

 cam-shaped clutches on their facing sides. 

 A collar with reverse cam-shaped clutches 

 is rigidly attached to the axle between each 

 of the two spur gears. Two rollers carried 

 on studs attached to the vehicle frame are 

 employed to contact with the under or 

 bottom side of each steel shoe and keep 

 the racks on its upper face always in 

 mesh with the two loose spur gears. 



Either one of the spur gears may be 

 rigidly attached to the turning rear axle 

 by sliding it into contact with the clutch 

 collar. The rotation of the collar revolves 

 the gear in contact with it so that it causes 

 the shoe to be moved down into contact 

 with the ground and lift the rear wheel 

 clear off the road. The friction between 

 the shoe and the ground causes the vehicle 

 to come to a gradual stop without the 

 shock incident to the operation of the 



conventional band brake. When the shoe 

 has been lowered the specified distance, 

 further downward motion is prevented by 

 the teeth of the gear running off those on 

 the rack, the thicker section at the top of 

 the shoe serving as a wedge to hold it in 

 that position. 



The lowering of the car-wheels on the 

 ground after a stop, is accomplished by 

 unclutching the first gear from the axle 

 collar and clutching the other one. The 

 same direction of rotation of the axle is 

 made to lift the shoe up off the ground by 

 means of a small gear interposed between 

 the gear in clutch and the rack teeth. 



The clutching of either gear with the 

 collar between is secured by means of a 

 longitudinal lever with a double-acting 

 bell crank and pedal on the floorboard of 

 the driver's cab. 



Two pedals and two levers are employed, 

 one for each set of loose gears. One pedal 

 is made to suffice for the similar-sized 

 gears on each side of the car by means of 

 a crosswise equalizer at the rear as shown. 

 This assures simultaneous action by each 

 shoe. 



Obviously the automobile will come to a 

 comparatively short stop upon the appli- 

 cation of the brake and will not be likely 

 to skid or slide even on a steep grade as 

 long as the steel shoes remain on the 

 ground in their braking position. 



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