Pivoting Bicycle Brake Pad Assembly for Noise and Heat Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic disc brakes for bicycles suffer from noise emissions, vibrations, and heat generation during braking, which are exacerbated by the use of support walls and fixed calipers, leading to increased weight and friction losses.
Innovation Solution
A brake arrangement with a pivotable brake pad design using a pivot bearing assembly and torque support, where brake pads are pivotably connected to the caliper body, allowing braking forces to be primarily tensile, reducing the need for support walls and enhancing heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If support walls are used to support brake pads during braking, then the brake pads are securely held in the caliper, but the support walls absorb enormous braking forces leading to increased weight and structural complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the support walls entirely from the caliper structure. Instead of having the caliper body contain support walls that absorb braking forces, the brake pads are self-supported through their own structural design - the pad body extends to form integral support surfaces that contact the brake disc, eliminating the need for separate support wall structures in the caliper.
Solution Approach 2:
The brake pad is designed with differentiated local structures: the pad body has a first support surface for radial support and a second support surface for axial support, while the caliper provides only clamping function. This local specialization allows each component to perform its optimal function without unnecessary structural burden.
2Reliability
If support walls are used to prevent brake pad ejection, then the brake pads remain secured during braking, but the caliper requires a single-piece construction increasing manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the support function from the caliper structure entirely. The caliper is reduced to providing only the hydraulic clamping function through its pistons and housing, while the support function is completely transferred to the brake pad structure itself, which has integral support surfaces formed as part of the pad body.
3Power
If brake pads are pressed against the brake disc with high force, then effective braking is achieved, but heat is transferred from brake pads to caliper heating the hydraulic fluid
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the heat generation function entirely from the caliper system. By designing the brake pads with integral support surfaces that contact the brake disc, the pads themselves become the primary heat dissipation structures. The caliper housing is removed from the heat transfer path, preventing thermal conduction to the hydraulic fluid while maintaining full braking power through the pad-disc interface.
4Temperature
If cooling fins are added to brake pads for heat dissipation, then heat dissipation is improved, but weight and installation space increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality optimization by forming the support surfaces as integral parts of the brake pad body with optimized geometry. The first support surface extends radially and the second support surface extends axially, creating efficient heat dissipation paths through the pad structure itself without adding external cooling fins or attachments.
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 effectively prevents noise emissions and vibrations while reducing weight and improving heat dissipation, ensuring reliable and efficient braking performance.
Implementation Method 1
The leading-edge sections of the brake pads are pivotably connected to the pivot bearing assembly
Implementation Method 2
The torque support enables the pivoting movement of the brake pads to be blocked, at least radially outwards, during braking
Implementation Method 3
the brake pads often heat up considerably. This heat is then transferred from the brake pads to the brake caliper, which can lead to undesirable heating of the hydraulic fluid
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a~3b
Figure 3c~3d
AI summary
Hydraulic brake assembly (1) for a bicycle (100) with a brake caliper (202) and with two brake pads (203), each with an inlet-side and an outlet-side section (213, 223). The brake caliper (202) comprises a caliper body (212) which overlaps a brake disc (211), and a receiving device (222) for connecting the brake pads (203) to the caliper body (212). The receiving device (222) includes a pivot bearing assembly (204) with a bolt element (214) and a torque support (205). The bolt element (214) is fixedly mounted to two leg assemblies (232) of the caliper body (212). The inlet-side sections (213) of the brake pads (203) are pivotally connected to the pivot bearing assembly (204). The torque support (205) blocks a pivoting movement of the brake pads (203) radially outwards.The outlet-side sections (223) of the brake linings (203) are arranged at least in the circumferential direction (210) in a main direction of rotation (220) with a defined distance (206) to the receiving device (222) and to the caliper body (212), so that the outlet-side sections (223) of the brake linings (203) cannot be supported in the circumferential direction (210) in the main direction of rotation (220) during a braking process.