Disc Brake Pad Geometry for Jam-Free Circumferential Fitting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disc brake systems for heavy vehicles face challenges in pad retention and foolproof fitting, particularly in radial orientations that are prone to jamming and require heavy calipers for securement, making them difficult to handle and maintain.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates brake pads with complementary circumferential profiles that allow for transverse insertion and pivoting about a fixed center, providing secure retention and reducing the likelihood of incorrect orientation, along with a smaller, simpler pad retainer, and a backplate with stiffening ribs for improved structural integrity and noise reduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If radial insertion method is used for brake pad fitting, then the brake pad can be fitted without removing the brake caliper, but the fitting process is prone to jamming and requires heavy calipers for securement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional radial insertion method by implementing circumferential insertion. Instead of inserting the brake pad radially through the caliper, the pad is inserted circumferentially from the outer edge of the rotor, eliminating the jamming issue and allowing use of lighter calipers while maintaining secure retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The brake pad and caliper are designed with asymmetric circumferential profiles including tapered surfaces. The pad has a tapered circumferential surface that mates with a corresponding tapered surface in the caliper, creating a self-aligning, foolproof fitting mechanism that prevents incorrect orientation and ensures reliable retention.
2Ease of operation
If radial insertion method is used, then fitting can be done with little skill, but there are no functional benefits in terms of pad retention and foolproofing
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric circumferential profiles with tapered surfaces create a foolproof fitting system. The geometry allows insertion only in the correct orientation, providing visual and mechanical clues that prevent wrong orientation. This maintains ease of operation while adding significant foolproofing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tapered circumferential surfaces automatically guide and align the brake pad during insertion. The geometry itself performs the alignment function, eliminating the need for operator skill or external alignment tools, while simultaneously providing foolproof orientation verification.
3Reliability
If heavy calipers are used for securement, then pad retention is reliable, but the calipers are difficult to handle and manipulate
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting from radial to circumferential insertion, the patent eliminates the need for heavy caliper securement mechanisms. The circumferential geometry with tapered surfaces provides inherent retention through the mating profiles, allowing use of lighter, more manageable calipers while maintaining reliable pad retention.
4Device complexity
If conventional pad retention structures are used, then the system is simple, but there are no functional benefits in terms of retention security
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric circumferential profiles with tapered surfaces create a retention structure that is both simple and secure. The geometry provides inherent retention through the interlocking profiles, eliminating the need for complex additional retention mechanisms while ensuring secure pad retention.
Data Source
AI summary
A brake pad, a disc brake, and a method of fitting a brake pad. At least one of a first brake pad and a second brake pad and corresponding support structures may have complementary profiles on circumferential faces thereof arranged so as to permit the brake pad to be inserted into a corresponding support structure in a transverse direction of the brake pad and at an angle to a circumferential direction of the support structure.