Safety cover for auxiliary brake operating casing

A shatter-proof safety cover for the casing of an auxiliary brake mechanism mounted on trucks or trailers, is provided. The cover fits about the casing containing the auxiliary brake operating mechanism and which is subjected to the same air pressure as primarily employed for operating the brakes. The cover is removably retained on the casing by chains or other devices temporarily secured to some stationary part of the vehicle and prevents portions of the casing from flying about and injuring maintenance personnel if the casing had previously been weakened due to exposure to the elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a safety cover for metallic casing mounted on a 
vehicle in an exposed location and which is subjected to great internal 
pressures. 
Such casings are usually mounted adjacent the wheels of large vehicles of 
the trailer-truck type and contain auxiliary mechanism therewithin for 
automatically setting the brakes on such vehicle in case of a drop in 
pressure of the fluid conventionally used in operating the normal braking 
system; as when the vehicle is stopped. Such auxiliary brake operating 
mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,992,630 issued to Leighton et 
al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,536 issued to Fites. 
The casing containing the auxiliary brake operating mechanism deteriorates 
in time due to exposure to the elements to being hit by objects lying on 
the road such as stones and the walls weaken due to rusting. It has 
happened in the past that such casings, after being thus weakened, have 
exploded due to the large internal pressures therein and caused parts to 
fly about at great speed and have inflicted grave injuries to personnel in 
the vicinity who service and maintain the vehicles. 
In order to prevent parts of the auxiliary brake operating mechanism from 
flying about when the casing shatters, we have devised a cover to be 
placed temporarily about the casing when the vehicle is being serviced, so 
as to insure the safety of the workers, which cover may be easily applied 
to the casing and removed therefrom at will. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
The main object of the invention is to provide a shield or safety cover for 
the casing of an auxiliary brake operating mechanism which is attached to 
a vehicle at a wheel to be braked, so as to shield personnel from shock or 
injury if the casing should explode. 
A secondary object of the invention is to provide a hold-down means for the 
above mentioned shielding cover to retain it on the casing and prevent it 
from flying off in the event the casing explodes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
As shown in FIG. 1, the auxiliary brake operating mechanism 1 is mounted on 
the rear axle housing of the vehicle adjacent a wheel. While only the two 
rear auxiliary brake operating devices are shown it is understood that 
there may be one at each wheel which is provided with a brake therefor. 
The shielding cover 3 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is made of a metal which 
is capable of withstanding the shock of an explosion without shattering or 
cracking if the casing 1 of the auxiliary brake operating mechanism should 
suddenly give way due to internal stresses. The cover 3 is of the shape, 
and to fit over the casing 1 and is provided at its closed end with an 
opening 9 to accommodate a control member projecting from the casing and 
used for adjusting, disabling or emergency release usually provided with 
the auxiliary brake device. 
In operation, as shown in FIG. 4, the shielding cover 3 is slid over the 
casing 1 and the chains 5, which may have hooks or similar devices 
attached to their free ends, are detachably secured to the chassis or rear 
axle cover 7 to maintain the cover on the casing. While the device of our 
invention is simple and easy to produce, it fills a need to protect 
workers servicing large vehicles provided with auxiliary brake devices. 
Having thus described the invention and its utility with the particularity 
required by the statutes, the spirit and scope of the invention for which 
patent protection is sought are depicted by the following claims.