IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO EDDY-CURRENT BRAKES

An eddy-current brake assembly (102) comprises: a plurality of magnets (210) each having a pair of poles; a shield (252), comprising magnetically conductive portions (262, 272) and magnetically non-conductive portions; and an actuator (430). The shield (252) and the magnets (210) are arranged to be moved relative to each other by the actuator (430) between an braking position, in which at least one pole of each of the pairs of poles is aligned with a corresponding magnetically conductive portion (272) of the shield (252), and a free-running position, in which said corresponding magnetically conductive portions (272) are misaligned from said poles.