Disk Brake Wear Adjustment Device with Ball Ramp Clutch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Disc brakes face challenges in maintaining optimal wear adjustment due to space constraints and the need for weight and cost savings, with existing adjustment devices being cumbersome and difficult to replace.
Innovation Solution
A compact adjustment device is designed around a threaded ram, featuring a rolling body arrangement with a ball ramp clutch and energy storage element, allowing for easy maintenance and efficient wear compensation, integrated with a synchronizing mechanism for synchronized operation with the disc brake's spindle units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a compact adjustment device is designed around a threaded ram with rolling element arrangements, then the device complexity and space requirements are reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment device is designed with a nested structure where the drive element with rolling element arrangements is positioned within the support body, and the output element is integrated with the threaded ram assembly. This nesting approach compactly arranges multiple functional components in a limited space while maintaining their individual functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment device is segmented into distinct functional elements: a support body for structural support, a drive element with rolling element arrangements for motion transmission, and an output element for actuation. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while simplifying the overall device architecture.
2Ease of repair
If the adjustment device is designed for easy replacement during maintenance, then the ease of repair is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment device is designed as a self-contained modular unit with clearly defined boundaries and standardized connection interfaces. The drive element, output element, and support body are integrated into a replaceable assembly that can be removed and installed as a single unit, simplifying maintenance operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment device incorporates universal mounting features and standardized interfaces that allow it to be replaced without custom fabrication or complex alignment procedures. The design enables the same replacement procedure to be used across different brake caliper configurations.
3Speed
If a high gear ratio is used in mechanical adjustment devices, then the adjustment speed is improved, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces complex mechanical gear mechanisms with a direct-acting threaded ram system. The threaded ram converts rotational motion from the brake rotary lever directly into linear adjustment motion, eliminating the need for intermediate gear trains and achieving efficient adjustment without high gear ratios.
Solution Approach 2:
The threaded ram utilizes the curved helical thread geometry to transform rotational input into linear output motion. This curved mechanical advantage provides continuous force multiplication and motion conversion without requiring separate gear components, simplifying the overall mechanism.
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
The solution provides a space-saving, easily exchangeable adjustment device that ensures quick adjustment of wear, reduces energy consumption, and maintains optimal brake performance even under high loads, while simplifying assembly and maintenance processes.
Implementation Method 1
a rolling element arrangement, one of which is designed as a rolling bearing and one as a ball ramp coupling with a freewheel
Implementation Method 2
a power storage element for generating a preload force for the ball ramp coupling and the overload coupling
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an adjusting device (11a) for adjusting friction surface wear on brake linings (3) and a brake disk (2) of a disk brake (1), especially for a motor vehicle, comprising a brake application device, preferably a rotary brake lever (9), the adjusting device (11a) being couplable to the brake application device, preferably the rotary brake lever (9), on the drive side, and to a spindle unit (5, 5') of the disk brake (1) on the output side. The adjusting device (11a) comprises: a) a drive element on both sides of which a rolling element assembly is axially arranged, one of which is designed as a rolling bearing and the other as a ball ramp clutch with a freewheel; b) a pressure element coupled to the ball ramp clutch and forming an overload clutch together with a portion of the ball ramp clutch; c) an output element coupled to the pressure element for coupling to a coupling wheel (20a), which is designed for coupling to the spindle unit (5, 5'); d) an energy storage element for generating a pre-tensioning force of the ball ramp clutch and the overload clutch; and e) a support body, one end of which is connected to a bearing plate and around which the drive element, the rolling element assemblies, the overload clutch, the output element and the energy storage element are arranged axially in series with the bearing plate, the energy storage element being arranged between a bearing portion of the support body and the pressure element. The invention further relates to a disk brake (1) comprising the adjusting device (11a) and a method for operating a wear adjustment device (11).