PROTECTIVE CASING FOR A BRAKE CONTROL DEVICE COMPRISING AT LEAST TWO PARTS ASSEMBLED BY A REMOVABLE FASTENING SYSTEM

Abstract

The invention relates to a protective housing (1) for a brake control system, said housing comprising at least two parts assembled by a fixing system, the housing parts comprising at least one housing body (2) and one housing cover (3). The fixing system comprises an assembly part (4; 4') elastically deformable between an unstressed state and a stressed state, capable of being fixed to said body and to said cover by hooking two ends (5; 5') of the assembly part onto two retaining elements, one (6) of the two retaining elements being provided on said cover and the other retaining element (7) being provided on said body, said assembly part being fixed to said housing by elastic deformation of a middle part (8; 8') between the two ends of the assembly part. Figure for the abstract: [Fig. 1]

Description

Title of the invention: PROTECTIVE HOUSING FOR A BRAKE CONTROL DEVICE COMPRISING AT LEAST TWO PARTS ASSEMBLED BY A REMOVABLE FASTENING SYSTEM

[0001] The present invention relates in particular to a protective housing for a brake control device, such as a geared motor unit containing an electric motor, a reduction mechanism, etc., the housing comprising at least two parts assembled together and being designed to be fixed in a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, in the vicinity of a wheel. STATE OF THE ART

[0002] The brake control devices are enclosed in protective housings which are fixed near the wheels of a vehicle. They are thus subjected to strong vibrations and possibly to impacts or projections of various objects (stones, more or less large objects on the road) when the vehicle is moving.

[0003] Usually, the boxes are made in several parts: they comprise a box body in which the control devices to be protected are arranged and they comprise a closing cover which is securely fixed to the box body.

[0004] The cover is secured to the body of the box by means of strong glues or by means of very strong fixing devices, which prevent any opening of the box during vibrations of the vehicle.

[0005] These securing means make it impossible to open the case without them being destroyed.

[0006] However, during the quality control of the control device placed in its housing, it would sometimes be useful to be able to reopen the housing to access the control device in order to repair or modify what makes the control device non-compliant: in fact, when a control device does not pass the quality control, the assembly comprising the control device enclosed in its housing is discarded.

[0007] At a time when manufacturers are required to find solutions for repairing the devices they design, or to recycle the mechanical parts of the devices designed, the invention aims to allow the opening of a protective case in order to access its contents, while ensuring that the parts of the protective case are assembled in a sufficiently robust manner to withstand the shocks and vibrations that they may be subjected to when a vehicle is moving. Statement of the invention

[0008] The subject of the invention is a protective housing for a brake control system, said housing comprising at least two housing parts assembled by a fixing system, said at least two housing parts comprising at least one housing body and a housing cover.

[0009] The housing according to the invention is remarkable in that the fixing system comprises an assembly part elastically deformable between an unstressed state and a stressed state, capable of being fixed on said body of the housing and on said cover of the housing by hooking two ends of the assembly part onto two retaining elements, one of the two retaining elements being provided on said cover of the housing and the other retaining element being provided on said body of the housing, said assembly part being fixed on said housing by elastic deformation of a middle part comprised between the two ends of the assembly part.

[0010] Advantageously, the assembly part comprises steel, preferably spring steel.

[0011] Furthermore, according to one embodiment, said assembly part comprises a sandwich structure comprising a silicone layer.

[0012] Furthermore, the two said retaining elements comprise at least a first retaining rib which extends in a retaining direction, said rib being made to project from a wall of said cover and a retaining surface which extends in a plane parallel to the retaining direction, said retaining surface being arranged perpendicular to a side wall of the body of said housing and extending in the plane, a chamfer being made between the retaining surface and the side wall of said body of said housing. The chamfer in particular makes it easier to position the retaining part.

[0013] Preferably, at least one of the two hooking ends of the assembly part comprises a hook shape capable of receiving the retaining rib.

[0014] According to one embodiment, at least one of the two attachment ends of the assembly part comprises at least one projecting claw. It makes it possible to further retain the retaining part on the housing, and it also makes it possible to physically mark the housing in the event of reopening thereof.

[0015] Preferably, the assembly part has axial symmetry, the axis of symmetry being produced by a transverse fold of the middle part: this makes it possible in particular to avoid having to orient the assembly part when positioning it, which saves time.

[0016] According to a particular embodiment which will be presented later, said assembly part has a U-shaped, or substantially U-shaped, section in said stressed state and a W-shaped, or substantially W-shaped, section in said unstressed state.

[0017] More preferably, the invention relates to an assembly comprising a brake system comprising a protective housing as defined above.

[0018] It should be understood that the protective housing according to the invention can be applied both to electromechanical brakes and to hydraulic and electric brakes (APB).

[0019] Finally, the invention relates to a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising at least one assembly in accordance with the invention, the braking system of which is associated with a wheel of said vehicle.

[0020] LIST OF FIGURES

[0021] Other features and advantages of the invention will appear upon reading the detailed description of non-limiting embodiments and modes of implementation, and the accompanying drawings, where:

[0022] [Fig. 1] is a perspective view of a protective housing according to the invention,

[0023] [Fig.2] is a side view of the housing illustrated in [Fig. 1],

[0024] [Fig.3] is a perspective view of an assembly part of a housing of a protective housing according to the invention,

[0025] [Fig.4] is a side view of the assembly part shown in [Fig.3],

[0026] [Fig.5] is a sectional view along the plane V-V shown in [Fig.l], of a part of the housing according to the invention,

[0027] [Fig.6] is a sectional view illustrating only a part of the cover and a part of the body of the housing, shown in [Fig.5], and

[0028] [Fig.7] is a perspective view of a second assembly part of a protective housing according to the invention.

[0029] DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0030] The embodiments which will now be described are not limiting: it will be possible in particular to produce variants of the invention comprising only a selection of characteristics described below, isolated from the other characteristics described, if this selection of characteristics is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention compared to the state of the prior art.

[0031] Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples which will be described and numerous adjustments can be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, the various characteristics, forms, variants and embodiments of the invention can be associated with each other in various combinations to the extent that they are not incompatible or exclusive of each other.

[0032] The protective housing according to the invention can be applied both to electromechanical brakes and to hydraulic and electric brakes (APB).

[0033] [Fig.l] illustrates a protective housing 1 in accordance with the invention: it is designed for house a set of elements ensuring the operation of a floating caliper brake, for example a geared motor unit and a planetary gear system enabling the piston ensuring the movement of the caliper to be actuated, to ensure braking.

[0034] The protective housing 1 is self-supporting and forms a body of the geared motor.

[0035] The protective housing 1 comprises a housing body 2, usually made of metal, including aluminum in particular. It accommodates all the elements to be protected (gears, motor, etc.): the body of the box includes a lower part which has a substantially cylindrical shape, to accommodate the motor in particular, this lower part being overlooked by an upper part whose section is elongated, almost semi-elliptical, this upper part accommodating the epicyclic gears.

[0036] The housing 1 is closed by a cover 3, generally made of plastic material, of a shape complementary to that of the elongated upper part of the body 2 of the housing, the free edge of the cover 3 being positioned exactly on the free edge of the opening of the body 2 of the housing 1.

[0037] Traditionally, the two edges are fixed to each other by screwing.

[0038] The invention makes it possible to avoid using this fixing system: in fact, although allowing a strong assembly, the screwing can loosen over time, due to the vibrations that the protective casing undergoes, or due to climatic changes (alternating temperatures causing rotation of the screw).

[0039] The invention therefore proposes to replace the conventional screwing with another, more robust assembly system, which also makes it possible to quickly reopen the case if necessary, for example after an unsatisfactory quality control of the assembly.

[0040] This assembly system is visible in particular in figures 1 and 2: it comprises assembly parts 4 which are associated with protruding elements 30 and 20 which project from the side wall of the cover 3 and from the side wall of the body 2.

[0041] They are more visible in figures 5 and 6 in which they are shown in section: the protruding element 20 is a solid body of substantially rectangular section. The protruding element 30 is a hollow body also of substantially rectangular section, which is positioned in the extension of the protruding element 20 when the cover 3 closes the body 2 of the housing 1.

[0042] The fact that the protruding element 20 is solid results from the production of the body 2 of the metal box.

[0043] The fact that the protruding element 30 is hollow results from the production of the cover 3 in molded plastic material.

[0044] The lower protruding element 20 (when the elements 20 and 30 are superimposed, when the cover 3 closes the body 2 of the housing 1) has a flat lower face 7 and the upper protruding element 30 has a top wall (or top plate) 31 which is also substantially flat, and which extends along a plane parallel to that of the lower face 7 of the protruding element 20.

[0045] The assembly parts 4 are designed to hold the protruding elements 20 and 30 together.

[0046] A first example of embodiment is illustrated in particular in Figures 3 and 4.

[0047] The assembly part is made of spring steel: this means that this part can deform (it can be forced to deform) but as soon as the constraint ceases, it returns to its initial shape.

[0048] The assembly part 4 is made from a single piece: it has a middle part 8 and two ends 5 having a curved shape, forming a hook: the two hook-shaped ends 50 are both turned to the same side of the assembly part.

[0049] Each hook-shaped end terminates in a bar 52 (a flat termination) which extends across the width of the assembly part 4, and the ends of which each comprise a claw 51. Each claw 51 is oriented towards the inside of the assembly part.

[0050] Advantageously, the bar with claws is formed by lateral cutting in the thickness of the spring steel layer, at the level of the hook shape, then the end is folded in the opposite direction to the direction of the hook shape, to obtain the end bar.

[0051] Finally, the middle part 8 of the assembly part 4 comprises a fold line 80 which gives the middle part a hollow shape (slightly V-shaped) and which facilitates the deformation of the assembly element to constrain it.

[0052] The assembly part is thus made in a single piece, which gives it rigidity and robustness.

[0053] It is noted that the assembly part 4 has a symmetry and that the axis of symmetry is produced by the folding pin 80: this has the advantage of not having to worry about the orientation of the assembly element when it is positioned on the protruding elements 20 and 30.

[0054] To ensure the positioning and fixing of the hook-shaped ends 50 of the assembly part on the housing, the protruding elements 20 and 30 respectively comprise: a chamfer 9 and a projecting rib 60.

[0055] One end 5 is positioned, initially, on the protruding element 30 by positioning the hollow shape of the hook 50 of one end of the assembly part 4 around the projecting rib 60. In this position, the claws 51 of this first end of part 4 then come to bear on the foot of the rib 60, as can be seen in [Fig.5], which helps to keep the assembly part 4 in position on the protruding element 30.

[0056] Then, the other end 5 of the assembly part 4 is fixed on the protruding element 20 by deforming the middle part 8 to bring it closer to the surface of the outer walls of the protruding elements 20 and 30, and to position the other end 5 on the surface 70, the chamfer 9 helping the passage of this other end 5 for its positioning on the surface 70.

[0057] The claws 51 then come to bear on the retaining surface 70 of the protruding element 20.

[0058] Thus, the assembly part 4 is fixed to the body and to the cover of the housing by hooking its two ends 5 onto two retaining elements 7 and 6 that comprise the protruding elements 20 and 30, one 6 of the two retaining elements being provided on said cover 3 (the retaining element 6 being produced at least partially by the rib 60) of the housing and the other 7 retaining element being provided on said body of the housing: this retaining element 7 is produced at least in part by the surface 70 on which at least one claw 51 bears.

[0059] It can be seen in [Fig. 5] that the retaining rib 60 extends in a direction DI (called the “retaining direction”) which is parallel to the retaining surface 70 (plane PI).

[0060] When the assembly part 4 is in the unstressed position (see [Fig. 3] and 4), it has a W-shaped, or substantially W-shaped, section. When it is stressed (see [Fig. 5]) and is deformed, it then has a U-shape, or substantially a U-shape.

[0061] It is the elastic return force of the assembly part 4 in the constrained position, associated with the retaining elements 6, 7 (and the claws 51) which ensures that the cover 3 is held on the body 2 of the housing 1.

[0062] It is thus sufficient to deform the assembly part 4 to force its release, to allow the cover 3 of the housing 1 to be opened again.

[0063] The claws 51, however, will leave a mark on the retaining surface 70, which allows a person to identify whether a case has been opened or not.

[0064] According to the standards of use of the box 1, it is not authorized to use and open the installed boxes, for reasons of safety of proper operation and guarantee.

[0065] Nevertheless, it is appreciable to be able to open a box which would have been closed before its marketing, if only to access its contents in the event of non-compliance with a quality control, for example, to reuse certain parts.

[0066] The invention therefore makes it possible to both reopen the boxes before they are marketed, to identify a prohibited opening of the box after it has been placed on the market, and the assembly system is more effective than screwing which can loosen over time.

[0067] A second example of embodiment is illustrated in [Fig.7]: the assembly part 4' is illustrated in sectional view to show how it is made.

[0068] It comprises a sandwich structure composed of an internal layer 41 of elastomer material (of the silicone type for example) surrounded by two layers 40 of spring steel. The three layers form the middle part 8' of the assembly part 4'.

[0069] The ends 5', of the middle part 8', are made in a single piece with the outer layer 40 of spring steel: the bar with claws is formed by lateral cutting in the thickness of the spring steel layer, at the level of the hook shape, then the end is bent in the opposite direction to the direction of the hook shape, to obtain the end bar.

[0070] The production of an assembly part with a sandwich structure makes the assembly part even more robust than the assembly part produced with a single layer of spring steel.

[0071] In the illustrated embodiment, four assembly assemblies are provided, one assembly assembly comprising two protruding elements 20 and 30 positioned one on top of the other and held together by an assembly part 4: the assembly assemblies are provided around the housing so that they face each other two by two.

[0072] It should be understood that the housing according to the invention could comprise more or fewer assembly assemblies, without departing from the scope of the invention, the housing comprising at least one. Preferably, if it comprises two, the two assembly assemblies are arranged opposite each other around the housing.

[0073] Nomenclature:

[0074] 1 - Protective case

[0075] 2 - body of the case

[0076] 3 - case cover

[0077] 4 - assembly part (1st embodiment)

[0078] 4' - assembly part (2nd embodiment)

[0079] 5 - ends of the assembly part 4

[0080] 5'- ends of the assembly part 4'

[0081] 6 - first element of retention

[0082] 7 - second retaining element

[0083] 8 - middle part of the assembly part 4

[0084] 8' - middle part of the assembly part 4'

[0085] 9 - Chamfer

[0086] 20 - protruding element of the body 2

[0087] 30 - protruding element of the cover 3

[0088] 31 - top plate of the protruding box 30

[0089] 40 - spring steel layer

[0090]

[0091]

[0092]

[0093]

[0094]

[0095]

[0096]

[0097]

[0098] 41 - elastomer layer, preferably silicone 50 - curved shape - hook shape 51 - claw 52 - end bar 60 - retaining rib 70 - retaining surface 80 - fold line of the middle part 8 DI - retaining direction PI - retaining plane

Claims

Claims

1. Protective housing (1) for a brake control system, said housing comprising at least two housing parts (2, 3) assembled by a fixing system, said at least two housing parts comprising at least one housing body (2) and one housing cover (3), characterized in that the fixing system comprises an assembly part (4; 4') elastically deformable between an unstressed state and a stressed state, capable of being fixed to said housing body (2) and to said housing cover (3) by hooking two ends (5; 5') of the assembly part onto two retaining elements (6, 7), one (6) of the two retaining elements being provided on said housing cover (3) and the other retaining element (7) being provided on said housing body (2), said assembly part (4; 4') being fixed to said housing by elastic deformation of a middle part (8; 8') between the two ends (5;5') of the assembly part (4; 4').;

2. Protective housing according to claim 1, characterized in that said assembly part (4, 4') comprises steel, preferably spring steel.

3. Protective housing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said assembly part (4') comprises a sandwich structure comprising a silicone layer (41).

4. A protective housing according to claim 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that said two retaining elements (6, 7) comprise at least a first retaining rib (60) extending along a retaining direction (D1), said rib being formed as a protrusion from a wall of said cover (3) and a retaining surface (70) extending along a plane (P1) parallel to the retaining direction (D1), said retaining surface (70) being formed perpendicular to a side wall of the body (2) of said housing and extending along the plane (P1), a chamfer being formed between the retaining surface (70) and the side wall of said body (2) of said housing.

5. A housing according to claim 4, characterized in that at least one of the two attachment ends (5; 5') of the assembly part (4; 4') has a hook shape (50) adapted to receive said retaining rib (60).

6. Housing according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the two ends hooking (5; 5') of the assembly part (4; 4') comprises at least one projecting claw (51).

7. Housing according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the assembly part (4; 4') has axial symmetry, the axis of symmetry being produced by a transverse fold (80) of the middle part (8).

8. Housing according to claim 7, characterized in that said assembly part (4, 4') has a U-shaped, or substantially U-shaped, section in said stressed state and a W-shaped, or substantially W-shaped, section in said unstressed state.

9. An assembly comprising a floating caliper brake system, said brake system comprising a protective housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

10. Vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising at least one assembly according to claim 9, characterized in that said brake system is associated with a wheel of said vehicle.

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