Rail Brake Caliper Integrated Wear Adjuster
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing brake caliper designs for rail vehicles often have wear adjusters located at one end of the caliper arms, separate from the force generating device, which can lead to inefficiencies and a lack of direct force measurement on the caliper arms.
Innovation Solution
A brake caliper design where the wear adjuster is integrated within a common housing with the brake cylinder, featuring a spindle and spindle nut that move along a linear axis, allowing direct force measurement and adjustment of the caliper arms, with a sensor to monitor the spindle's position and control the spindle nut's rotation for precise wear adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the wear adjuster is arranged separately from the force generating device at one end of the caliper arms, then the wear adjustment function is provided, but the device complexity increases and direct force measurement becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The wear adjuster is integrated into the common housing with the brake cylinder and force generating device, combining multiple functions (force generation, wear adjustment, and measurement) into a single compact unit. This eliminates the need for separate external linkage and reduces overall device complexity while maintaining all necessary functions.
2Reliability
If the wear adjuster is arranged separately from the force generating device, then the wear adjustment function is provided, but the measurement precision of force acting on caliper arms deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The force generating device and wear adjuster are merged into a common housing, enabling direct measurement of the force acting on the caliper arms through integrated sensors. This close integration allows for precise force measurement that would be difficult to achieve with separate components.
3Device complexity
If the wear adjuster is integrated within a common housing with the brake cylinder, then the device complexity is reduced and force measurement is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple components (brake cylinder, force generating device, wear adjuster, sensors) are merged into a single common housing, reducing the number of external linkages and connections required. This integration simplifies the overall system architecture and reduces manufacturing complexity despite the precision requirements for internal component alignment.
4Reliability
If external linkage is used for wear adjustment, then the wear adjustment function is provided, but the productivity of the brake system deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The wear adjuster is extracted from external linkage arrangements and integrated directly into the common housing with the brake cylinder. This eliminates intermediate linkages and connections, reducing the number of moving parts and potential failure points, thereby improving brake system productivity and response time.
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
This design enables efficient wear adjustment and direct force measurement on the caliper arms, reducing the need for external linkage and improving the overall performance of the brake system by ensuring accurate positioning and wear monitoring.
Implementation Method 1
a brake piston (21) which can be moved by pressure acting on it in the brake cylinder (22) along the linear axis of motion (3)
Implementation Method 2
The wedge (23) can be moved by the brake piston (21) between a first pressure roller (24) and a second pressure roller (25)
Implementation Method 3
The spindle nut (12) can be rotated by a drive (15), so that the spindle (8) is moved by it along its linear axis of motion (3)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a brake with a brake cylinder and integrated wear adjuster, which has brake shoes at the ends of its two clamping arms. A force-generating device is arranged between the clamping arms at the end opposite the brake shoes, and a connection, e.g., approximately midway, is located between the ends of the clamping arms, about which the clamping arms are pivotable. The force-generating device is articulated to the clamping arms by a first support, which is arranged at the first end of a housing, and a second support, which is arranged at the opposite second end of the housing. The first support is connected to the first end of a spindle. The second support is fixed to the housing at a distance from the first support, e.g., at a second end of the housing opposite the first end along the spindle axis.