Spring-Applied Brake Assembly for Precise Air Gap Setting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spring-applied brakes face challenges in precisely setting the air gap between the armature plate and the magnet housing due to manufacturing tolerances, leading to inefficient operation and complex, costly assembly processes.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a connecting element that engages with a counterpart pressed into a blind hole of the magnet housing, allowing for adjustable penetration depth of the threaded sleeve to compensate for component tolerances, thereby optimizing the air gap setting. This is achieved through a press plunger with offset sections that ensure the desired air gap dimension during assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If plastically deformable spacer bushings are used to set the air gap, then the desired air gap can be achieved, but the assembly process becomes complex and time-consuming requiring special equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses temporary spacers (gauges) that are discarded after serving their purpose of defining the air gap during assembly. These simple, inexpensive spacers are inserted between the flange and magnet housing to maintain the correct air gap distance, then removed after welding fixes the components in position. This eliminates the need for complex adjustable mechanisms while achieving precise air gap setting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary positioning of the flange and magnet housing using temporary spacers before the final welding operation. The spacers are placed in advance to establish the correct air gap, allowing the components to be welded in the precise position required. This preliminary action ensures the air gap is set correctly before the components become permanently fixed.
2Manufacturing precision
If temporary spacers are used to ensure desired air gap, then precise air gap setting is achieved, but the assembly requires welding equipment and becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs inexpensive temporary spacers that are used only during assembly to define the air gap. These spacers are simple machined pieces that can be easily manufactured and discarded after use. They eliminate the need for complex permanent adjustment mechanisms while maintaining precise air gap control during the welding process.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the flange and magnet housing are welded together, then permanent alignment is achieved, but disassembly for repair becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces temporary spacers as intermediary elements between the flange and magnet housing during assembly. These spacers maintain the correct alignment and air gap during welding, but their temporary nature allows the components to be separated later if repair is needed. The spacers mediate the assembly process without creating permanent bonds, enabling both precise alignment during assembly and potential disassembly for maintenance.
4Manufacturing precision
If component tolerances are not compensated, then manufacturing is simpler, but the air gap cannot be precisely set leading to inefficient operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses temporary spacers as intermediary elements that compensate for component tolerances. The spacers are precisely dimensioned to account for tolerance variations in the flange, brake disk, and armature plate, ensuring the correct air gap is achieved despite manufacturing variations. This intermediary approach allows standard tolerance components to be used while still achieving precise air gap setting for optimal operation.
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 solution simplifies the assembly process, reduces equipment requirements, and allows for easy disassembly and repair, while ensuring an optimized and tolerance-independent air gap setting, leading to improved operational efficiency and reliability of the spring-applied brake.
Implementation Method 1
an electromagnet which has a magnet housing and a coil accommodated therein
Implementation Method 2
a set of compression spring elements which are arranged between the armature plate and the magnet housing and which act on the armature plate in an axial direction
Data Source
AI summary
An electromagnetically actuated spring-applied brake comprises a brake disk which can be arranged on a shaft in a non-rotatable but axially displaceable manner, an electromagnet which has a magnet housing and a coil accommodated therein, an armature plate arranged to be displaceable axially between the brake disk and the magnet housing and a flange, which is arranged non-rotatably on the magnet housing by a connecting element. The brake disk and the armature plate are arranged between the flange and the magnet housing. The connecting element engages in a counterpart which is designed to correspond to the connecting element and is pressed into a blind hole provided by the magnet housing. The edge of the counterpart facing the magnet housing is arranged at a distance from the bottom of the blind hole while leaving a gap space having a residual volume.