Disc Brake Caliper Coding to Prevent Wrong Shaft Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Disc brakes often have interchangeable brake shafts with different gear ratios, making it difficult to ensure correct installation for specific vehicle types, leading to potential incorrect usage.
Innovation Solution
The brake caliper's installation opening is designed with specific dimensions that only allow the correct brake shaft to fit, preventing incorrect installation by ensuring a mismatch in dimensions, thus ensuring the correct gear ratio is used for the intended application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple brake shafts with different gear ratios are made interchangeable, then versatility and adaptability are improved, but reliability deteriorates due to risk of incorrect installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by designing the installation opening with specific dimensional characteristics that are asymmetric relative to different brake shaft types. The opening has a first dimension in a first direction and a second dimension in a second direction, creating a unique geometric signature that only matches the correct brake shaft for that application. This asymmetric design ensures that incorrect brake shafts cannot be installed, resolving the reliability issue while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by creating specific dimensional properties at the installation opening location that are tailored to the intended application. The opening's dimensions in specific directions are locally optimized to accept only the correct brake shaft, while other parts of the brake system remain universal. This localized differentiation enables both versatility and reliability.
2Reliability
If the installation opening is designed with specific dimensions for coding, then reliability is improved by preventing incorrect installation, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the coding function with the structural support function by designing the installation opening to serve dual purposes. The opening's dimensional characteristics provide coding information to prevent incorrect installation, while simultaneously serving as the structural opening through which the pressure piece is guided during assembly. This merging eliminates the need for separate coding components, maintaining simplicity while ensuring reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The installation opening is designed as a multi-functional element that performs both coding and structural support functions. By making the opening itself the coding mechanism through its dimensional properties, the design achieves reliability without adding extra parts. The opening universally serves both as the access path for assembly and as the identification feature for correct shaft installation.
3Reliability
If the brake shaft dimensions are constrained to fit the installation opening, then reliability is improved by ensuring correct shaft installation, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by constraining dimensions only at the critical installation interface (the brake shaft portion that passes through the opening), while allowing other portions of the brake shaft to maintain manufacturing flexibility. The dimensional constraints are locally applied only where needed for coding and fitment, preserving ease of manufacture for the rest of the component.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a disc brake, in particular for commercial vehicles, with a brake shaft (36) and a brake caliper (10) having an installation opening (28) for installing the brake shaft, the brake shaft being matched to the brake caliper in such a way that it serves to apply the brake can. According to the invention, the brake caliper and the brake shaft each have a code that only allows the brake shaft to be installed through the installation opening if the two codes match, the installation opening has a first dimension (BS1) in a first direction and a second dimension (HS2) in a second direction transverse to the first direction and the brake shaft has a first dimension (BW2) in the first direction and a second dimension (HW2) in the second direction, with the coding being associated with the first dimension of the brake shaft are smaller than the first dimension of the installation opening and the second dimension of the brake shaft is smaller than the second dimension of the installation opening, and a device (12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22) for limiting the first and/or the second Dimension of the installation opening and a device for supporting / guiding a pressure piece (24) at least partially overlap.