Smart Brake Pad Sensor Integration Using Screen-Printed Piezoelectrics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current production technologies for piezoelectric sensing devices are expensive and time-consuming due to multiple mechanical steps and machining processes, limiting their widespread adoption in applications like smart brake pads.
Innovation Solution
The use of screen-printing technology to directly integrate and polarize piezoelectric sensors on the vehicle brake pad, reducing production steps and enabling in-situ polarization, which simplifies the manufacturing process and reduces costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional mechanical pressing and machining processes are used to produce piezoelectric sensing devices, then the devices can be manufactured with proper structural integrity, but the production process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate manufacturing steps (electrode deposition, piezoelectric material application, and device assembly) into a single screen-printing process. The screen-printing technique allows simultaneous deposition of electrodes and piezoelectric material in one operation, eliminating the need for separate mechanical pressing and machining steps while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical hydraulic pressing and machining operations with a screen-printing process. Instead of using mechanical presses to form piezoelectric ceramics and subsequent machining to create electrodes, the invention uses screen-printing to directly deposit both the piezoelectric material and electrodes in a non-mechanical, additive manner.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple separate production steps are used for制造 piezoelectric sensors, then each step can be optimized for quality, but the overall production time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges electrode fabrication and piezoelectric material formation into a single screen-printing step. The process applies electrode paste and piezoelectric material paste sequentially on the same substrate in one continuous operation, eliminating transfer and repositioning steps between operations while maintaining precise positioning through screen-printing alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary electrode pattern creation through screen-printing before final piezoelectric material deposition. The electrode structure is pre-formed with precise geometric patterns through screen-printing, which then serves as the foundation for subsequent piezoelectric material application, ensuring proper alignment and reducing final assembly time.
3Reliability
If piezoelectric sensors are manufactured separately and then installed on brake pads, then the sensors can be tested independently, but the integration process becomes complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges sensor fabrication and brake pad assembly into a single integrated process. The piezoelectric sensing device is manufactured directly on the brake pad substrate using screen-printing, eliminating separate sensor production and assembly operations. The sensor becomes an intrinsic part of the brake pad structure rather than an attached component.
Solution Approach 2:
The brake pad substrate serves dual functions: as the structural base for the brake pad and as the mounting platform for the piezoelectric sensor. The same substrate that provides mechanical support for braking also provides the foundation for electrode deposition and sensor functionality, eliminating the need for separate mounting structures and reducing integration complexity.
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 approach results in a cost-effective, robust, and sensitive force sensing device that can be mass-produced, capable of measuring brake pad temperature and forces, with a simplified production process and integrated electrodes, enhancing the efficiency of sensor integration.
Implementation Method 1
Piezoelectricity is the electric charge that accumulates inside a particular type of solid materials in response to external applied mechanical stress
Implementation Method 2
a strong electric field of several kV/mm can be applied to create an asymmetry in the previously unorganized ceramic compound. The electric field causes a reorientation of the spontaneous polarization
Data Source
AI summary
Various systems, devices, and methods for a vehicle smart brake pad comprising a sensor such as a force sensing device, and a production process thereof. For example, a production process of a vehicle brake pad can include the following steps in time sequence: applying an electrical circuit a support plate; screen printing on the electrical circuit of at least a first electrode; screen printing on the at least first electrode of a sheet of piezoelectric material; screen printing on the sheet of at least a second electrode; applying a friction pad on the support plate; and bulk polarizing the sheet of piezoelectric material by a supply of power to the at least first and second electrodes.