Utility Vehicle Disc Brake Wear Detection With Visual Reference Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disc brake wear detection systems for commercial vehicles require significant structural effort and are not easily readable when the vehicle wheel is mounted, making them cumbersome for maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A disc brake design featuring a brake carrier with a material projection and a mechanically reworked flat reference surface on the brake caliper, allowing for visual wear detection of brake pads and discs even when the vehicle wheel is mounted, with surfaces that indicate new, maximum, and intermediate wear conditions, facilitating precise visual inspection and easy manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If rotary potentiometers or complex wear detection components are used, then measurement precision of brake wear is improved, but device complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the wear measurement function from complex electronic sensors and implements it through simple geometric reference surfaces and material projections. The wear indication is achieved by comparing the position of a material projection on the brake carrier with reference surfaces on the brake caliper, eliminating the need for rotary potentiometers or other complex measurement components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified geometric copies of measurement references through machined surfaces and material projections. Instead of using complex electronic sensors, it employs replicated geometric features (reference surfaces and projections) that provide wear indication through their relative positions, making the measurement system simple yet precise.
2Loss of information
If wear detection markings are placed on the brake carrier, then visual recognizability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates because the vehicle wheel must be dismantled for inspection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the wear detection features (material projection and reference surfaces) in the radial dimension of the brake assembly, specifically on the outer peripheral region of the brake carrier and corresponding brake caliper areas. This allows wear information to be visible from the vehicle exterior through the wheel assembly without requiring wheel removal, as the features are located in a dimension accessible from outside the wheel.
3Ease of manufacture
If cast surfaces are used for wear detection features, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to casting inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates the reference surfaces and material projections as integral features during the casting process, establishing the basic geometric framework in advance. Subsequent machining operations then refine only the critical wear measurement surfaces to the required precision, rather than machining entire components. This preliminary casting action simplifies manufacturing while ensuring precision where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different manufacturing qualities to different regions: the bulk of the brake carrier and caliper are cast with standard tolerances for ease of manufacture, while only the specific reference surfaces and material projection features require high precision machining. This localized application of precision machining to critical wear measurement areas maintains manufacturing simplicity overall while achieving the required measurement accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a disc brake (1) for a utility vehicle, comprising: a brake carrier (2) engaging a brake disc (22) and having a flange region (13) for securing the brake carrier (2) to a vehicle axle of the utility vehicle, and a receiving region (14) for supporting at least one brake pad (23, 24); a brake caliper (3) held on the brake carrier (2) such that it can move axially in the direction (x) of a rotational axis of the brake disc (22), wherein brake pads (23, 24) can be positioned within the brake caliper (3) on both sides of the brake disc (22) and during braking can be pressed against the brake disc (22) by means of an actuating device; a device for visual wear detection of brake disc and/or brake pad wear, wherein the device for visual wear detection has a material protrusion (6) formed in the flange region (13) of the brake carrier (2), and a mechanically finished, flat reference surface (12) formed on the brake caliper (3) and oriented perpendicular to the movement direction (x) of the brake caliper (3), wherein the material protrusion (6) has multiple mechanically finished, flat surfaces (8, 9 ,10) oriented behind one another in the movement direction of the brake caliper (3) and perpendicular to the movement direction (x) of the brake caliper (3), wherein the surfaces (8, 9, 10) of the material protrusion (6) and the reference surface (12) of the brake caliper (3) are positioned in such a way that they can be simultaneously visually detected from a predetermined viewing direction.