ted power flow.BRAKE SYSTEMThe automobiles moving, but it needs something to stop it however, the Panhard-Levassor motor-car of 1890s way of braking is not going to stop much. The Panhard-Levassor motor-car used a wooden shoe that would press against a solid rubber tire the same as the horse carriages of that time. Later, band brakes were used. Band brakes used a strap that wrapped around a drum that revolved with the engine and would tighten with the pull of a lever. In 1902, Renault invented the standard drum brake in which he used a cast iron drum that rotated with the wheel. Two brake shoes hinged together were mounted elsewhere so that they didnt rotate with the wheel. When the driver applies the brakes, the shoes push against the inside of the drum.Another braking mechanism came into play in the mid-1930s know as hydraulic brakes. Hydraulic brakes use the same principle of Renaults drum brakes but consist of a master cylinder that is connected to by fluid filled lines rather than a cable. When the brakes are applied the fluid in the lines push the master cylinder against the shoes, and the shoes against the drum. Frederick Lanchester experimented with another type of brake system as early as 1902. However, disc brakes never gain popularity until the 1950s. Disc brakes have a disc instead of a drum. The disc has two shoes on either side that grip the disc when the brakes are applied.Lastly, and most recently, antilock brakes. Antilock brakes have been around since the 50s. They were first seen on a airplanes and by 1985 Mercedes-Benz was the first automobile to have antilock brakes as a standard. Antilock brakes are what they are, they dont lockup. The reason for this is a hydraulic sensor that maintains a constant pressure related to the speed of travel. If the sensors detect the wheels are about to lockup, the computer sends a signal to a valve, which reduces the pressure in the fluid lines. It doesnt matter if ...
