When pioneer automobile makers, searching for an effective braking system, looked back to the horse- powered carriages on which their vehicles were based, they realized, unfortunately, that no one had ever actually managed to design one. So for several years, brake technology dragged along behind that of engines and transmissions.
Carriage brake evolution had peaked in 1838 with the spoon brake—in essence, a crude lever and shoe system that forced a block of wood directly against the tire. Henry Ford avoided the dilemma of which braking system to fit to his Quadricycle in 1896 by not installing any. Instead, a lever released a drive belt and the vehicle (eventually) coasted to a stop. Drivers could assist the process by pressing their feet against the front wheels.
The introduction of pneumatic tires rendered a block-on-tire system impracticable. A leap forward came with the externally contracting band brake. Here, a flexible metal band or cable, covered with friction material, is forced via a lever or pedal, to contract tightly around a rotating drum or wheel hub, thereby slowing the rotation. While a great improvement, it wore rapidly and could malfunction due to dirt and bad weather. It was also far from effective at holding a heavy vehicle on an incline.
In 1899, Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1900), en route to deploying an internally expanding drum brake a year or so later, used a band brake incorporating a chassis-anchored cable, wound around a drum. Providing the vehicle was moving forward, the stopping power was Increased, without any extra effort from the driver, as the rotation of the drum tried to drag the cable around with it, increasing the force holding them together—in essence, a mechanical servo.
