Vehicle Brake Actuator Locking Lever for Compact Parking Brake Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing actuator assemblies for vehicle brakes face challenges in compactness and reliability, particularly in narrow structural spaces, and require improvements for efficient integration and operation, especially in parking brake modes.
Innovation Solution
The actuator assembly incorporates a locking lever mounted rotatably on a carrier assembly with a locking actuator, featuring a locking tooth that engages with a locking contour on the output shaft, along with a gear unit and spindle drive configuration that allows the activating carriage to be displaced between retracted and extended positions without self-locking, enabling reliable operation and automatic return to the retracted position when not activated.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the locking assembly is designed with a locking lever extending perpendicular to the output shaft axis, then the locking mechanism is simple and effective, but the actuator assembly occupies excessive space and cannot be integrated into narrow structural spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The locking lever is reoriented to extend parallel to the output shaft axis instead of perpendicular, utilizing the axial dimension for locking tooth engagement. This dimensional reconfiguration reduces the radial footprint of the locking assembly, enabling compact integration into narrow structural spaces while maintaining reliable locking functionality through the locking tooth engaging with the locking contour on the output shaft.
2Ease of operation
If the gear unit and spindle drive are configured as non-self-locking, then the activating carriage can automatically return to the retracted position when not activated, but the system requires additional energy input to maintain the extended position
Solution Approach 1:
The non-self-locking configuration of the gear unit and spindle drive enables the activating carriage to automatically return to the retracted position under its own weight or elastic restoring forces when not actively driven, without requiring additional locking mechanisms or energy input to maintain the retracted state. The system serves itself by utilizing inherent mechanical properties rather than active control for the return stroke.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration results in a compact, reliable, and energy-efficient actuator assembly that can be easily integrated into small spaces, ensuring the vehicle brake is always in a defined state, even without power, and allows for reliable activation and deactivation of the parking brake mode.
Implementation Method 1
a locking tooth, which can be selectively brought into engagement with a locking contour provided on the output shaft
Implementation Method 2
The gear unit of the actuator assembly can here comprise a gear train and/or a planetary gear stage
Implementation Method 3
The planetary gear stage is preferably arranged behind the gear train in a flow of power from the electric motor to the spindle drive
Implementation Method 4
The locking actuator is preferably a linear actuator
Implementation Method 5
an electric motor fastened to the carrier assembly and which is coupled drivingly to the activating carriage via a gear unit and a spindle drive
Data Source
AI summary
An actuator assembly for a vehicle brake is described. It comprises a carrier assembly (22) on which an activating carriage (88) for a brake lining is guided linearly. Moreover, an electric motor fastened to the carrier assembly (22) is provided which is coupled drivingly to the activating carriage via a gear unit and a spindle drive such that the activating carriage can be displaced selectively between a retracted position and an extended position. In addition, the actuator assembly comprises a locking assembly (106) for selectively immobilizing in rotation an output shaft (38) of the electric motor. The locking assembly (106) here comprises a locking lever (114) which at a first end (116) is mounted rotatably on the carrier assembly (22) and at a second opposite end (118) is coupled to a locking actuator (112). A locking tooth (124) is moreover positioned between the first end (116) and the second end (118). A method for activating an actuator assembly for a vehicle brake is furthermore presented.