Rotor Clip Assembly With Shaped Pin to Prevent Lug Damage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rotor clips for brake assemblies are prone to bending or breakage due to high forces acting perpendicular to the force transmission, leading to damage and increased manufacturing and assembly complexity, particularly with high-torque applications like aircraft braking systems.
Innovation Solution
A clip assembly using a single shaped pin with a dumbbell or peanut cross-section, which provides improved stress distribution and reduced risk of damage to the carbon rotor lug, allowing for simpler and quicker assembly compared to traditional rivet-based systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional rivet-based fastening systems are used to secure rotor clips, then the clips can be firmly attached to transfer drive force, but the rivets are subject to high perpendicular forces causing bending or breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The pin is segmented into a head portion and a shaft portion with different cross-sectional dimensions. The shaft portion has a smaller cross-section than the head portion, allowing it to flex under perpendicular loads while the head portion maintains attachment strength. This segmentation enables the fastener to accommodate stress variations without failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin's cross-sectional dimensions are varied along its length, with the head portion having larger dimensions than the shaft portion. This parameter change allows the pin to provide both strong attachment at the head and flexibility in the shaft region, resolving the contradiction between strength and reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If rivet-based fastening systems are used, then clips can be secured in place, but the rivet heads protrude beyond the clip surface causing damage or interfering with other parts
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having the fastener head protrude outward from the clip surface, the pin head is designed to be recessed or flush with the clip surface. This inversion of the traditional rivet head configuration eliminates the protrusion problem while maintaining secure attachment.
3Reliability
If high-strength rivets are used to provide required strength and security, then clip attachment is reliable, but the rivets are expensive and difficult to manufacture and use
Solution Approach 1:
The pin is designed as a simple, inexpensive fastener that can be easily manufactured and replaced. Rather than using expensive, complex rivets, the pin provides sufficient reliability for its application while being cost-effective and simple to produce, embodying the principle of using simpler, more economical components when adequate performance can be achieved.
4Reliability
If traditional multi-step assembly processes are used for clips, then proper alignment and securing can be achieved, but the assembly process is time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The pin combines multiple functions into a single component: it provides alignment guidance, structural support, and fastening security all in one element. This merging eliminates the need for separate alignment fixtures and multiple fastening operations, thereby improving assembly speed while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin serves multiple purposes simultaneously: it acts as an alignment guide, a structural support element, and a fastening mechanism. This multi-functionality reduces the number of assembly steps required while ensuring proper installation, thus improving productivity without sacrificing assembly precision.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A clip assembly for a rotor disk of a brake assembly, the clip assembly comprising: a half-cap clip (500) arranged to fit over an end of a lug of the rotor disk, the half-cap clip having two opposing sides (512, 514) and an end (516) across the two opposing sides, and a top and bottom surface, the top and bottom surfaces, the sides and the end defining a receptacle to receive the rotor lug, the half-cap clip having an aperture (511) in each of the sides; and a pin (200) having a pin head (201) and a pin body (202) extending from the pin head along an axis (A) of the pin, the pin having a cross-section defining an elongate shape having rounded ends (202, 206); and wherein the apertures (511) in the sides of the half-cap clip are shaped to receive the pin body.