Modular Brake Carrier Mounting for High-Torque Utility Axles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing brake arrangements for commercial vehicles face challenges in assembling and modifying between drum and disc brake types after the axle element is completed, limiting flexibility and requiring permanent connections that hinder the transmission of high braking torques.
Innovation Solution
A modular brake assembly design featuring an axle element with protruding brackets and fastening surfaces that allow for detachable attachment of either drum or disc brake carriers, enabling flexibility in brake type selection during final assembly while maintaining high torque transmission capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a welded connection is used between the brake carrier and axle element, then high braking torques can be transmitted, but the assembly is permanent and practically impossible to dismantle
Solution Approach 1:
The connection between brake carrier and axle element is segmented into separate functional zones: fastening surfaces for attachment/detachment and brackets for torque transmission. This allows the connection to be made and undone while maintaining torque capacity during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The brackets act as intermediary elements that transfer braking torques from the brake carrier to the axle element without requiring the fastening screws to bear these loads. This mediator structure enables both easy assembly and high torque transmission.
2Ease of manufacture
If a screw connection is used to attach the brake carrier to the axle element, then easy assembly and disassembly is enabled, but the screw connection must also transmit high braking torques
Solution Approach 1:
The brackets serve as intermediary torque transmission elements that take over the force transmission function from the fastening screws. The screws only perform their fastening function while the brackets handle the braking torques, separating these two functional requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The torque transmission function is extracted from the fastening connection and assigned to dedicated bracket structures. This separation allows the screw connection to focus solely on attachment while brackets handle the mechanical loads.
3Strength
If the axle element is designed for a specific brake type, then high braking torques can be transmitted, but flexibility to change brake types after assembly is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The axle element is designed with universal fastening surfaces and brackets that can accommodate different brake types (drum or disc brakes). The standardized interface allows the same axle element to support various brake configurations while maintaining high torque transmission capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The brake system configuration becomes dynamic rather than fixed - the brake carrier can be detached and replaced with different types during assembly or maintenance, allowing the system to adapt to different requirements while the axle element remains unchanged.
Data Source
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AI summary
A brake arrangement for a utility vehicle is proposed, having an axle element (1) for mounting a wheel hub, the rotational axis of which coincides with the longitudinal axis (A) of the axle element (1), and having a drum brake or disc brake which comprises both elements which are fixed on the axle and elements which can be rotated with the wheel hub. A constituent part of the elements which are fixed on the axle is a brake carrier (40) which transmits the brake forces to the axle element (1) and is mounted on a fastening section (4) of the axle element (1). In order to provide a brake arrangement which is suitable for the transmission of high brake torques and can be used in a modular manner with the possibility, depending on the requirement and the intended use, to still combine very different brake carriers (40) with one and the same axle element at a late stage of the axle assembly and even within the context of the final assembly, and thus to arrive at a maximum freedom in the assembly process, the axle element (1) on the fastening section (4) consists of a main body (5) which is arranged on the longitudinal centre axis (A) and of first and second brackets (6, 7) which project to the outside from the main body (5) on sides thereof which face away from one another. In order to support the brake carrier (40), at least one fastening surface (6A, 6B; 7A, 7B) with a surface perpendicular (N) tangentially with respect to the longitudinal centre axis (A) and parallel to the surface normal (N) of a fastening surface on the other bracket (7; 6) is configured on each of the two brackets (6; 7).