Ausco Lambert disc brake
Encyclopedia
The Ausco Lambert disc brake is an unusual brake
Brake
A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....

 where an axially-expanding shoe assembly is sandwiched between two linked rotating discs. It may be thought of as an "inside out" disc brake
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...

: instead of pads pinching a disc, the pads expand inside a hollow disc.

History

Ausco Lambert brakes were introduced about 1950 and used commercially in some Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....

 cars and some Farmall tractor
Farmall tractor
Farmall was a model name and later a brand name for tractors manufactured by International Harvester . The Farmall name was usually presented as McCormick-Deering Farmall and later McCormick Farmall in the evolving brand architecture of IH....

s. Chrysler reportedly used either too few cones and balls, or cones or balls that were not hard enough given the number used; they could deform under brake load, leading to brake failures. Chrysler returned to conventional drum brakes and stopped further development of the Ausco Lambert brake.

Pad Expansion

The Ausco Lambert brake also has an unusual mechanism
Mechanism
Mechanism may refer to:*Mechanism , rigid bodies connected by joints in order to accomplish a desired force and/or motion transmission*Mechanism , explaining how a feature is created...

 to expand the brake pads. It uses two flat rings, both with pad material on one side and conical divots on the other side. Two rings are placed together with the conical divots facing together and a ball bearing in each pair of divots. When the rings are rotated relative to each other, the balls roll up the ramp faces of the conical divots, pushing apart the two rings.

Self Energizing

The Ausco Lambert brake is self-energizing. It holds one ring rigidly and lets the other rotate freely, without a stop. The rotation direction is arranged so the direction of free rotation is the same as the hollow brake "disc". Thus, the disc tends to pull the ring in the direction that further applies the brake. A shallower cone angle increases the amount of self-energizing effect. Self-energizing brakes are more subject to brake fade
Brake fade
Vehicle braking system fade, or brake fade, is the reduction in stopping power that can occur after repeated or sustained application of the brakes, especially in high load or high speed conditions...

, but it appears part of the Ausco Lambert design is to reduce the exponential gain of drum
Drum brake
A drum brake is a brake in which the friction is caused by a set of shoes or pads that press against a rotating drum-shaped part called a brake drum....

 and band
Band brake
A band brake is a primary or secondary brake, consisting of a band of friction material that tightens concentrically around a cylindrical piece of equipment to either prevent it from rotating , or to slow it . This application is common on winch drums and chain saws and is also used for some...

brakes, and thus reduce grabbiness and hot fade.

Self Release

When the disc rotates the opposite direction of ring rotation, the brake tends to self-release. This is common also for drum brakes and is acceptable for uses where hard braking is in one direction.
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