Floating Caliper

Abstract

To improve the productivity of a floating type caliper having a design plate.SOLUTION: A design plate 4 is fixed to a caliper mount 3 by restoring force generated by the elastic deformation of a plurality of attaching portions integrally formed on the design plate 4. The attaching portion is equipped with a first locking portion 42 locked to a second bridge portion 31 storing a slide pin 21 relating to the supporting of a caliper body 2, and a second locking portion 43 locked to an outer side bridging portion 35 connecting a pair of outer side torque receiving portions 33 in a rotor circumferential direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a floating caliper. [Background technology]

[0002] A floating caliper includes a caliper body having a cylinder portion that houses a piston and a claw portion that is disposed opposite the cylinder portion. The claw portion is disposed on the outer side in the vehicle width direction and is visible from outside the vehicle. Therefore, it has been known to attach a design plate that covers the outer surface of the claw portion to the caliper body in order to improve the design of the caliper and protect the parts. An example of this design plate is described in Patent Document 1. In this example, the design plate (referred to as a decorative plate in Patent Document 1) is fixed to the caliper mount (also referred to as a caliper bracket) with screws. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 04979670 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, a configuration in which the design plate is fixed to the caliper mount with screws requires the creation of screw holes and torque management when tightening the screws. The machining and design changes required for the mount and caliper body to create the screw holes are extensive work. Furthermore, to prevent screw damage and loosening, the screws must be tightened with the appropriate torque when removing and installing the design plate, and such torque management often requires separate equipment. As such, the conventional configuration leaves room for improvement in terms of the productivity of floating calipers, including the ease of assembling the design plate. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the productivity of floating-type calipers having design plates. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a floating-type caliper according to claim 1 includes a caliper body having a cylinder portion that slidably accommodates a piston, claw portions that straddle a disc rotor in the axial direction of the rotor and are arranged opposite to the cylinder portion on the vehicle outer side in the axial direction, and a first bridge portion that straddles the disc rotor and connects the cylinder portion and the claw portions, and a caliper mount that supports the caliper body slidably in the axial direction of the disc rotor via a pair of slide pins, the caliper mount including a second bridge portion that accommodates the slide pins, a pair of outer-side torque receiving portions that extend from one end of the second bridge portion in the radial direction of the disc rotor and receive torque of the disc rotor on the vehicle outer side in the axial direction, a pair of inner-side torque receiving portions that extend from the other end of the second bridge portion in the radial direction of the disc rotor and receive torque of the disc rotor on the vehicle inner side in the axial direction, and a pair of outer-side torque receiving portions that connect the pair of outer-side torque receiving portions to each other Disc rotor The floating caliper includes a caliper mount including an outer bridge portion connected circumferentially, and a design plate disposed opposite the claw portion on the vehicle outer side in the axial direction. The design plate is fixed to the caliper mount by an elastic restoring force generated by elastic deformation of a plurality of mounting portions formed integrally with the design plate, and the mounting portions include a first locking portion that locks with the second bridge portion and a second locking portion that locks with the outer bridge portion.

[0006] According to this, the design plate is fixed to the caliper mount by elastic force generated by elastic deformation of multiple mounting portions integrally formed with the design plate. These mounting portions include a first locking portion that locks to the second bridge portion and a second locking portion that locks to the outer bridge portion. Therefore, the design plate can be fixed to the caliper mount by the elastic force of the mounting portions without the need for screws. Furthermore, because the design plate is fixed to the caliper mount by multiple locking portions (first locking portion and second locking portion) spaced apart radially from the disc rotor, even if the elastic force of the mounting portions varies slightly, the design plate is effectively prevented from tipping in the axial direction, and clearance with the tire wheel (wheel) located on the vehicle's outer side is effectively maintained. Therefore, while maintaining high reliability in the fixation, the design plate assembly workability is improved. Furthermore, the caliper mount processing required for the design plate assembly can be minimized, such as by eliminating the need for additional threaded holes in the caliper mount. Therefore, the productivity of floating-type calipers having design plates can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a floating caliper without the design plate of the present invention attached. [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view showing a disc brake device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] 3 is a front view of the disc brake device of FIG. 2 as viewed from the rotor axial direction. [Figure 4] Cross section AA of Figure 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a design plate of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a disc brake device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a design plate of a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Each drawing used in the description is a conceptual diagram. In the description, the axial direction of the disc rotor R will be referred to as the "rotor axial direction," the radial direction of the disc rotor R will be referred to as the "rotor radial direction," and the circumferential direction of the disc rotor R will be referred to as the "rotor circumferential direction." Furthermore, the inside of the disc rotor R in the vehicle width direction will be referred to as the "rotor axial inner side (also referred to as the vehicle inner side or simply the inner side)," and the outside of the disc rotor R will be referred to as the "rotor axial outer side (also referred to as the vehicle outer side or simply the outer side)." In other words, one axial side of the disc rotor R is the outer side, and the other axial side of the disc rotor R is the inner side.

[0009] (First embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. For ease of explanation, Figure 1 shows a disc brake device without a design plate of the present invention, which will be described later, attached. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the disc brake device includes a disc rotor R that rotates together with the wheel, and a floating caliper 1. The floating caliper 1 of this embodiment includes a caliper body 2, a caliper mount 3, a slide pin 21, and a design plate 4. The caliper mount 3 is a metal member (torque member) attached to a non-rotating member of the vehicle body.

[0010] 1 and 2, the caliper mount 3 includes a pair of second bridge portions 31 arranged side by side in the rotor circumferential direction, a pair of inner-side torque receiving portions 32, a pair of outer-side torque receiving portions 33, an outer-side bridging portion 34, and an inner-side bridging portion 35. The pair of second bridge portions 31 straddle the disc rotor R in the rotor axial direction on the outer side of the rotor in the rotor radial direction. The pair of outer-side torque receiving portions 33 indirectly receive torque from the disc rotor R via pads (not shown) that press against the disc rotor R during braking, and extend from one outer-side end of the pair of second bridge portions 31 toward the inner side in the rotor radial direction. The outer-side bridging portion 34 bridges the inner ends of the pair of outer-side torque receiving portions 33 in the rotor radial direction. The pair of inner-side torque receiving portions 32 indirectly receive torque from the disc rotor R via pads (not shown) that press against the disc rotor R during braking, and extend radially inward from the other ends (inner-side ends) of the pair of second bridge portions 31. The inner-side bridge portion 35 bridges the inner ends of the pair of inner-side torque receiving portions 32 in the radial direction of the rotor.

[0011] A pin guide hole (not shown) extending in the rotor axial direction is formed in each of the pair of second bridge portions 31. A slide pin 21 is inserted into the pin guide hole so as to be slidable in the rotor axial direction. The caliper body 2 is attached to the caliper mount 3 via the slide pin 21 so as to be relatively movable in the rotor axial direction.

[0012] The caliper body 2 is a metal member (for example, an aluminum member) and includes a slide pin 21, a cylinder portion 22, a first bridge portion 23, and a claw portion 24. The first bridge portion 23 straddles the disc rotor R in the rotor axial direction on the outer side in the rotor radial direction, connecting the claw portion 24 and the cylinder portion 22. The claw portion 24 constitutes the outer portion of the caliper body 2 in the rotor axial direction. The cylinder portion 22 constitutes an inner portion of the caliper body 2 in the rotor axial direction, and slidably accommodates a piston (not shown). The cylinder portion 22 faces the claw portion 24 in the rotor axial direction, with the disc rotor R interposed therebetween.

[0013] 2 and 3, the design plate 4 is disposed opposite the rotor axial outer side (outer surface) of the claw portion 24 for the purpose of improving the design of the floating-type caliper 1 and protecting the components. The design plate 4 of this embodiment is, for example, a metal part, and is attached to the caliper mount 3 by the elastic restoring force of mounting portions 42 to 44, which will be described later. 5, the design plate 4 includes a plate portion 41 disposed opposite the claw portion 24 on the outer side in the rotor axial direction, and first to third locking portions (mounting portions) 42 to 44 extending integrally from the plate portion 41. The plate portion 41 is a plate-shaped member that covers at least a portion (the entire surface in this embodiment) of the surface of the claw portion 24 on the outer side in the rotor axial direction.

[0014] A first locking portion 42 constituting an attachment portion is integrally formed on the outer side in the rotor radial direction of the plate portion 41 (upper side in FIG. 5). The first locking portion 42 includes a base end portion 421 and a hook portion 422. The base end portion 421 extends from a part of the plate portion 41 toward the inner side in the rotor axial direction, and the hook portion 422 is formed to extend so as to curve from the tip of the base end portion 421 toward the inner side in the rotor radial direction (lower side in FIG. 5).

[0015] A second locking portion 43, which constitutes a mounting portion similar to the above, is integrally formed on the inner side in the rotor radial direction of the plate portion 41. The second locking portion 43 includes a base end portion 431 and a hook portion 432. The base end portion 431 extends from a part of the plate portion 41 toward the inner side in the rotor axial direction, and the hook portion 432 is formed to extend so as to curve from the tip of the base end portion 431 toward the outer side in the rotor radial direction. Note that while FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which three second locking portions 43 are provided, the number may be, for example, up to two or only one.

[0016] Third locking portions 44, which constitute mounting portions similar to those described above, are integrally formed on both sides of the plate portion 41 in the rotor circumferential direction. The third locking portions 44 include a spacing portion 441 and a clamping portion 442. The spacing portion 441 extends from both ends of the plate portion 41 in the rotor circumferential direction toward the center in the circumferential direction, and its tip is curved toward the outer side in the rotor axial direction. The clamping portion 442 is arranged in parallel with the spacing portion 441 at both ends of the plate portion 41 in the rotor circumferential direction, extends from both ends toward the inner side in the rotor axial direction, and its tip is curved toward the outer side in the rotor circumferential direction of the plate portion 41. The third locking portions 44 may also be provided at a position closer to the inner side in the rotor radial direction of the plate portion 41.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2 , the first locking portion 42 engages with a groove-shaped recess 36 provided on the outer side of the second bridge portion 31 in the rotor axial direction. When the second locking portion 43 engages with the outer bridge portion 34 while the first locking portion 42 is engaged with the recess 36, the first locking portion 42 elastically deforms and engages with the recess 36 with a restoring force toward the inner side in the rotor radial direction. The restoring force here refers to an elastic force (elastic restoring force) generated when the first locking portion 42 expands toward the outer side in the rotor radial direction. Furthermore, the hook portion 422 abuts against the wall of the recess 36 in the rotor axial direction, thereby restricting movement of the design plate 4 in the rotor axial direction. Note that, for example, a protruding portion (not shown) may be provided instead of the groove-shaped recess 36, and the first locking portion 42 may engage with this.

[0018] When the outer bridge portion 34 is viewed from the outer side in the rotor axial direction, the second locking portions 43 are arranged side by side along a curved shape at the center of the rotor circumferential direction of the outer bridge portion 34 and engage with a surface of the outer bridge portion 34 facing the inner side in the rotor radial direction. When the second locking portions 43 are engaged with the outer bridge portion 34 while the first locking portions 42 are engaged with the recesses 36, the second locking portions 43 elastically deform and engage with the outer bridge portion 34 with a restoring force toward the outer side in the rotor radial direction, similar to the first locking portions 42 described above. The restoring force here refers to an elastic force (elastic restoring force) generated when the second locking portions 43 are expanded toward the inner side in the rotor radial direction, as described above. Furthermore, when the hook portions 432 abut against the surface of the outer bridge portion 34 facing the inner side in the rotor axial direction, movement of the design plate 4 toward the outer side in the rotor axial direction is restricted.

[0019] In addition to the rotor radial elastic restoring force in the first locking portion 42 and the second locking portion 43 described above, when the first locking portion 42 and the second locking portion 43 are locked to the caliper mount 3, if the third locking portion 44 generates an elastic restoring force that moves the plate portion 41 away from the outer torque receiving portion 33 toward the outer side in the rotor axial direction, it becomes possible to more reliably generate an elastic restoring force in the rotor axial direction in the first locking portion 42 and the second locking portion 43.

[0020] 4, the separating portion 441 of the third locking portion 44 is pressed against a wall surface of the outer-side torque receiving portion 33 facing the outer side in the rotor axial direction, and the third locking portion 44 generates an elastic restoring force that separates the plate portion 41 from the outer-side torque receiving portion 33 toward the outer side in the rotor axial direction. The clamping portion 442 of the third locking portion 44 abuts against a surface of the wall surface that is visible when the outer-side torque receiving portion 33 is viewed from the outside in the rotor circumferential direction, which is closer to the inner side in the rotor radial direction, and presses the wall surface of the outer-side torque receiving portion 33 with an elastic restoring force. This elastic restoring force of the clamping portion 442 is a force that is generated when the clamping portion 442 is widened toward the outside in the rotor circumferential direction.

[0021] The first locking portion 42 locks with an elastic restoring force acting radially inward in the rotor to the groove-shaped recess 36 or protrusion-shaped projection provided on the outer side of the rotor axial direction of the second bridge portion 31. The second locking portion 43 locks with an elastic restoring force acting radially outward in the rotor to the inner side of the rotor radial direction of the outer-side bridge portion 34. As a result, the first locking portion 42 and the second locking portion 43 securely attach the design plate 4 so that it does not come off the outer side in the rotor axial direction.

[0022] In addition to the above configuration, the design plate 4 of this embodiment is equipped with a third locking portion 44 including a separation portion 441 that presses, in the rotor axial direction, a surface of the caliper mount 3 that is visible when the floating-type caliper 1 is viewed from the claw portion 24 side in the rotor axial direction, and a clamping portion 442 that presses the rotor circumferential outer side of the outer-side torque receiving portion 33 toward the rotor circumferential inner side. As an example, the separation portion 441 presses a substantially central position in the rotor radial direction of the outer-side torque receiving portion 33, and the clamping portion 442 presses a surface that is closer to the rotor radial inner side among the surfaces that are visible when the outer-side torque receiving portion 33 is viewed from the rotor circumferential outer side. The configuration including the first to third locking portions 42 to 44 as described above effectively restricts movement of the design plate 4 in the rotor radial direction, rotor axial direction, and rotor circumferential direction, and effectively prevents rattling of the design plate.

[0023] (Second embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration of the design plate. Similar or equivalent components to those of the first embodiment, other than the design plate, are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the design plate 5 has a plate portion 51 formed three-dimensionally to conform to the unevenness of the claw portion 24. The second locking portion 53 passes between the outer bridge portion 34 and the claw portion 24 and includes first to third portions 531 to 533 that lock onto the rotor axially inner side of the outer bridge portion 34. The first locking portion 52 has the same function as the first locking portion 42 in the first embodiment, and the separation portion 541 constituting the third locking portion 54 has the same function as the separation portion 441 in the first embodiment, and the clamping portion 542 has the same function as the clamping portion 442 in the first embodiment.

[0024] The second locking portion 53 is formed on the rotor radially inner side of the plate portion 51. The first portion 531 is formed so as to extend from a part of the plate portion 51 toward the rotor axially inner side. The second portion 532 is bent and extends from the tip of the first portion 531 toward the rotor radially inner side. The third portion 533 is bent and extends from the tip of the second portion 532 toward the rotor axially outer side. The second locking portion 53 presses the rotor axially inner side of the outer-side bridge portion 34, the side facing the disc rotor R, toward the rotor axially outer side. The first locking portion 52 and the second locking portion 53 lock the design plate 5 so that it does not come off toward the rotor axially outer side, thereby assembling the design plate 5. With these configurations, if the first locking portion 52 comes off from the recess 36 or protruding portion provided on the second bridge 31 for some reason, the first portion 531, the second portion 532, and the third portion 533 will attempt to maintain an locked state by sandwiching the outer bridge portion 34 in the rotor radial direction, thereby effectively preventing the decorative plate 5 from falling off. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] R disc rotor 1 Floating caliper 2 Caliper body 21 Slide pin 22 Cylinder section 23 First Bridge Section 24 Claw 3 Caliper mount 31 Second Bridge Section 32 Inner torque receiving part 33 Outer torque receiving part 34 Outer bridge section 35 Inner side bridge section 36 Recess 4 Design plate (first embodiment) 41 Plate section 42 First locking portion 421 Proximal end 422 Hook part 43 Second locking part 431 Proximal end 432 Hook part 44 Third locking part 441 Separation part 442 Clamping part 5 Design plate (second embodiment) 51 Plate section 52 First locking portion 53 Second locking part 531 Part 1 532 Part 2 533 Part 3 54 Third locking part 541 Separation part 542 Clamping part

Claims

1. a caliper body including a cylinder portion that slidably accommodates a piston, claw portions that straddle a disc rotor in an axial direction of the rotor and are arranged to face the cylinder portion on the vehicle outer side in the axial direction, and a first bridge portion that straddles the disc rotor and connects the cylinder portion and the claw portions; a caliper mount that supports the caliper body slidably in the axial direction of the disc rotor via a pair of slide pins, the caliper mount including: a second bridge portion that accommodates the slide pins; a pair of outer-side torque receiving portions that extend from one end of the second bridge portion in a radial direction of the disc rotor and receive torque of the disc rotor on a vehicle outer side in the axial direction; a pair of inner-side torque receiving portions that extend from the other end of the second bridge portion in a radial direction of the disc rotor and receive torque of the disc rotor on a vehicle inner side in the axial direction; and an outer-side bridge portion that connects the pair of outer-side torque receiving portions to each other in the circumferential direction of the disc rotor; a design plate disposed opposite the claw portion on the vehicle outer side in the axial direction; A floating caliper comprising: The design plate is fixed to the caliper mount by a restoring force generated by elastic deformation of a plurality of mounting portions formed integrally with the design plate, The mounting portion includes a first locking portion that locks onto the second bridge portion and a second locking portion that locks onto the outer bridge portion. A floating caliper comprising:

2. 2. The floating caliper according to claim 1, wherein the second bridge portion has a recess or a protrusion that engages with the first engaging portion.

3. The design plate is 3. The floating caliper according to claim 1, further comprising a third locking portion that presses against a surface of the caliper mount that is visible when the floating caliper is viewed from the claw portion side in the axial direction.

4. The design plate is 4. The floating-type caliper according to claim 1, further comprising a clamping portion that presses a surface of the outer torque receiving portion facing outward in the circumferential direction.

5. The second locking portion is a first portion passing through a gap between the radially inner side of the claw portion and the outer-side bridge portion from the vehicle outer side toward the vehicle inner side in the axial direction; a second portion extending from the first portion and passing through a vehicle inner side of the outer-side bridge portion in the axial direction from the radially outer side toward the radially inner side, The floating caliper according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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