English to French Tech/Engineering Law: Patents, Trademarks, Copyright Gerotor with brake assembly

Recently, the assignee of the present invention has developed, and has begun to commercialize a gerotor motor including an integral brake package which, for many vehicle applications, is quite satisfactory in performance, is fairly simple and inexpensive, and is quite compact. The gerotor motor and brake package referenced above is illustrated and described in U.S. Patent No. 6,132,194, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

Typically, brake packages which are used with hydraulic motors, and especially those brake packages used as integral brake packages with LSHT gerotor motors, are of the "spring-applied, pressure-released" type as is now well known to those skilled in the art. In other words, the braking members (e.g., friction discs, etc.) are biased toward braking engagement by some sort of spring arrangement, and are move toward a brake-disengaged condition by hydraulic pressure. As is now well known to those skilled in the art, the hydraulic pressure to disengage the brake may be internal case pressure, or an external "pilot" pressure from a system charge pump, or any other suitable source of pressure, the details of which are not essential features of the present invention.

As is also well known to those skilled in the art, one of the primary performance criteria of a brake package of the type to which the present invention relates is the "load holding capacity" of the brake assembly. In a typical spring-applied, pressure-released brake assembly, the load holding capacity (or load holding torque) is a direct function of the springs which bias the brake assembly into braking engagement.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improved method for setting the load holding torque of a brake package operably associated with a hydraulic motor. The motor is of the type comprising a housing defining a fluid inlet and a rotary fluid displacement mechanism including an output member and an output shaft and means for transmitting torque from the output member to the output shaft. The brake package is of the spring-applied type and includes a brake portion operably associated with the output member, and a piston member moveable between a first retracted position, and a second, engaged position under the influence of a biasing spring. A member is disposed adjacent the piston member and has a forward surface comprising a spring seat for the biasing spring.