Given the kind of person you are and the interests you have, you might have seen a Jake brake. It is officially known as The Jacobs Engine Brake, which works as a diesel engine retarder. It basically slows down and controls your vehicle. Despite its popularity, many people still don’t know who invented the Jake Brake and why should one choose it over engine break. Read this article to learn more about it and facts related to Jake brake vs engine brake as well.
1. What is a Jake Brake?
Jake brake is a compression release mechanism that is available in a few vehicle engines that use diesel. When the Jake brake is turned on, the vehicle is slowed down as the exhaust valves open to allow the release of compression gas from the compartment of the cylinders. They are usually found in large vehicles like trucks and not in small vehicles like cars or bikes.
Although some people modify their vehicles to make room for the vehicle brake as it gives a more robust experience than the engine break. However, it can be a rather expensive upgrade as well as a difficult one too. In the next segment, you will see who invented the jake brake, so read on. (See What are 7 Electric Motor Parts?)
2. Who invented the Jake Brake?
Jake brake was invented by Clessie Cummins in 1965. They had an urgent requirement for a compression brake that could fulfill their need of slowing the vehicle as soon as the brake is turned on. The company soon got a patent from Jacob and Jake brake, who at that time were manufacturing engine brakes. Throughout the prolonged work, Clessie Cummins, who invented the jake brake, trademarked the word Jake brake and made a generic notation. Although other companies make the same brake but are required to refer to them as Jake Brake. Check out the 10 Facts about ESP Malfunction.
3. What is Engine Brake?
Nowadays, the engine brake is just another name for Jake Brake but before the patent of Jacob and Jake Brake in 1965, Clessie Cumins was the most famous company for making premium quality engine brakes.
In those days, engine brakes were known as the decompression wheel. They used to be present outside exhaust wheels and once the brakes were turned ON, the wheels would move speedily to allow the compressed gas to decompress as soon as possible. However, engine brakes have a shorter life span due to the spinning wheel that often screeches with the outside wall of exhaust valves. Although it never catches fire as the gas inside the valves is not inflammable. (See What is an Oil Change?)
4. How does a Jake Brake Function?
Let’s discuss its function after you read who invented the jake brake. Suppose you are in a vehicle that has Jake brake and the acceleration in the car has caused the gas from outside smoke to get stored in the compression cylinder. Now, this will allow the vehicle to get fast according to the pressure or force that is applied to the acceleration pedal.
So, if you want to slow down the vehicle, you will apply force on the Jake break. Then the exhaust valve will begin its work, as the cylinder that is generating gas will stop compressing and will begin decompressing. Thus, the hydraulic system available with the exhaust valve on the cylinder will decompress the gas out of the chassis of the cylinder to the rear. (See 8 Fuel Types For Cars)
5. What are the Limitations of Jake Brake?
When the vehicle has been accelerating for a very long time without any form of decompression or Jake brake, the compressing cylinder keeps on collecting the gas to make the vehicle faster as the driver demands it. The experience of the Jake Brake system depends on the type of vehicle you are driving.
The capacity of a cylinder can also be quite low, which thereby won’t accommodate a large amount of gas. So, the quantity that the cylinder intakes might not be beneficial and won’t produce the amount of speed output as per your expectation. Additionally, if the cylinder becomes full, most of the time the gas is dissipated from the back as non-renewable waste. But sometimes the waste generated is far more dangerous as it will keep on filling the cylinder and the car will abruptly stop or the cylinder will explode. (See How to Change Transmission Fluid and Filter?)
6. Why is it Banned in Some Places?
You already know who invented the jake brake and how it functions, note that as Jake Brake can be a very dangerous machine, there were rules and regulations set by the law and government on how these things would be manufactured. The Jake Brake has to be made of a particular size, with particular input and output that will help it to function properly.
However, due to these regulations, the vehicle makes so much more noise than it ever did as the compression compartment or cylinder has to chunk out gas on a constant level to avoid any possibilities of danger. This led to some places banning the Jake brake or limiting the vehicle speed. (Also read What Is The Meaning Of OD Off?)
7. Jake Brake Vs Engine Brake: What is the Difference between them?
- Jake Brake was more of a newer technology that was meant for large vehicles like trucks. While engine brake was an older technology that was designed for both small vehicles like cars and bikes and large vehicles like trucks.
- The irony here is, that even though Jake Brake got a lot popular, the changes made by manufacturing companies led to the banning of this brake. Whereas the engine brake can still be found in every small vehicle as well as a large vehicle.
8. What are some Jake Brake Terms?
Jake brake seems to be an interesting technology and so it brings with it some amazing pieces of terms as well.
- You are familiar with the exhaust valve, which helps in pushing out the gas, and the cylinder is the container where the compressed gas is stored to thrust the engine.
- The hydraulic system turns out to be an important part as well. The hydraulic system works along with the exhaust valve to do the force transitions that are mainly required by the exhaust vehicle to pump out the decompressed gas from the container and out to the rear part of the vehicle.
