Importance

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Abstract

An improved braking apparatus having a jaw type clutch coupled to an electrical solenoid through a ball spline mechanism provides significantly greater braking capacity in a given volume than other types of braking devices. The ball spline is configured to significantly reduce the internal friction load which the electrical solenoid must overcome to apply or release the brake, resulting in a smaller physical size and current draw of the solenoid. The jaw clutch and ball spline are also configured to reduce or absorb shock loads on various internal components of the braking apparatus when the brake is engaged. By configuring the ball spline and jaw clutch to function as shock absorbers in addition to performing their primary functions, the need for separate elastomeric shock absorbers, etc., is eliminated. The electrical solenoid utilizes a pair of strategically shaped and located conical surfaces on the plunger and electromagnetic core of the solenoid to provide an optimal balance between actuation force, stroke, and current draw, by placing the conical surfaces in such a manner that both the primary magnetic flux and the leakage flux generated by the electromagnetic coils combine and contribute to generating the actuation force exerted by the electrical solenoid. A bifilar winding within the electrical solenoid provides a substantially identical amount of actuation force for a given stroke and current draw, when the bifilar winding is provided with electrical current from either of two independent sources of electrical current. Drain passages and a coating that is resistant to retention of a condensate thereupon applied to the conical surfaces of the solenoid provide a mechanism for insuring that fluid condensing on the conical surfaces does not inhibit operation of the electrical solenoid.

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First Claim