Floating Brake Caliper Frame Structure for Stiffness and Centering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing brake calipers are cumbersome, require numerous components, suffer from high deformability, and fail to ensure proper centering after braking, leading to residual torque and aesthetic challenges.
Innovation Solution
A brake caliper design featuring a frame-shaped caliper body with integrated sliding guides and springs connected to pad guide pins, reducing components and deformability, ensuring proper centering, and allowing standard tool processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a traditional U-shaped caliper body is used, then the caliper can be manufactured with simple geometry, but the caliper body becomes highly deformable and difficult to customize aesthetically
Solution Approach 1:
The caliper body is divided into a first portion and a second portion connected by a bridge-like connection, creating a frame-shaped structure that improves stiffness while maintaining manufacturability through modular construction
Solution Approach 2:
The caliper body utilizes a frame-shaped composite structure combining multiple portions and connection elements, achieving enhanced structural rigidity through the composite arrangement rather than relying on a single U-shaped geometry
2Shape
If aesthetic plates are added to customize the caliper body, then aesthetic customization is achieved, but the device complexity increases due to additional coupling means
Solution Approach 1:
The aesthetic customization features are integrated directly into the frame-shaped caliper body structure itself, merging the aesthetic function with the structural components rather than adding separate aesthetic plates with additional coupling mechanisms
3Ease of operation
If a traditional sliding system with multiple components is used, then the pad sliding function is achieved, but the number of components and manufacturing processes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sliding guides are integrated directly into the frame-shaped caliper body structure, merging the guidance function with the structural components and eliminating the need for separate sliding system components
Solution Approach 2:
The bridge-like connection and frame structure serve multiple functions simultaneously: providing structural support, enabling sliding motion, and guiding the pads, thereby reducing the need for dedicated separate components for each function
4Ease of operation
If guide pins and sliding springs are used for pad guidance, then the sliding function is achieved, but the weight of the caliper increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guidance and spring functions are integrated into the frame-shaped caliper body structure itself, eliminating the need for separate heavy guide pins and sliding spring components while maintaining the pad sliding guidance function
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
Improves stiffness, reduces residual torque, enhances aesthetics, and simplifies manufacturing by minimizing components and tools required.
Implementation Method 1
a spring configured to apply an elastic bias to the pads so as to bias the pads away from the brake disc
Implementation Method 2
a cylinder adapted to accommodate a hydraulic piston capable of applying a thrust action to the pads
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a brake caliper (1) of the floating type of a disc brake (100) comprising:a bracket or support element (2) configured to be connected to a vehicle,a caliper body or floating element (3),wherein the caliper body (3) comprises a first caliper body portion or caliper body vehicle-side portion (3.1), wherein the first caliper body portion (3.1) delimits at least one housing seat (5) for thrust means (5a);wherein the caliper body (3) comprises a second caliper body portion or cantilevered caliper body portion (3.2), wherein the second caliper body portion (3.2) projects from the first caliper body portion (3.1) at least in the axial direction (A-A);at least one caliper body sliding guide or caliper body guide pin (11), wherein said at least one caliper body sliding guide (11) is arranged between said caliper body (3) and said bracket (2) to allow a relative sliding between the caliper body (3) and the bracket (2) along an axial direction (A-A);at least two pads (6) having a support plate (7) and a friction material lining (8), each of said at least two pads (6) being positionable on a side of a brake disc (4) of said disc brake (100) facing opposite braking surfaces (4a) of a braking band (4b) of the brake disc (4);said brake disc (4) being a rotor adapted to rotate about a rotation axis (10) which defines said axial direction (A-A), parallel to said rotation axis (10), a radial direction (R-R), orthogonal to said rotation axis (10), and a circumferential direction (C-C) orthogonal to said radial (R-R) and axial (A-A) directions;at least one pad guide pin (12) supported by said bracket (2) and which extends in the axial direction (A-A), said pads (6) being slidingly mounted to said pad guide pin (12) so as to allow said pads (6) to slide in the axial direction (A-A) along said pad guide pin (12);at least one spring (15), shaped to be arranged straddling the brake disc (4), wherein said spring (15) applies an elastic bias to the pads (6) so as to elastically bias the pads (6) away from the brake disc (4) and so as to cause, by means of at least one of said pads (6), the caliper body (3) to slide in said axial direction (A-A), in the direction in which the second caliper body portion (3.2) moves away from the brake disc (4);wherein said spring (15) is also connected to said pad guide pin (12) in addition to being connected to said pads (6).