Brakes – Wheel – Axially movable brake element or housing therefor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-15
2001-10-09
Oberleitner, Robert J. (Department: 3613)
Brakes
Wheel
Axially movable brake element or housing therefor
C188S073100, C188S370000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298954
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a brake caliper, in particular one for use in motor vehicles, wherein said caliper bridge has two legs arranged at right angles to it and a housing with a bore for an actuating cylinder mounted on one of the legs.
These types of brake calipers are generally known and are relatively heavy. This is generally considered a disadvantage because, on the one hand, the weight of the brake caliper has a direct influence on the total weight of the vehicle and, on the other hand, it detrimentally affects the operating and suspension characteristics of the chassis since it represents additional mass. Consequently, many efforts have been made to reduce the weight of brake calipers. For example, aluminum materials are used in many cases since aluminum has a low specific weight; yet it also has a low load capacity and low stiffness with regard to load. Consequently, this lack of adequate strength and rigidity has to be compensated by larger cross-sections. However, larger cross-sections, particularly in the area of the caliper bridge, mean that the permissible diameter of the brake disk has to be reduced, and this in turn has a negative effect on the braking power.
Therefore the object of the present invention is to provide a brake caliper with flectional strength that exhibits low weight as well as small material cross-sections in the vicinity of the caliper bridge, so that the diameter of the brake disk can be as large and effective as possible.
Another purpose of the present invention, is to provide a simple way of manufacturing such a brake caliper.
These objects are solved by means of the characterizing features of Patent claim
1
in that at least one hollow chamber is provided within the caliper bridge and this hollow chamber is delimited on all sides by supporting surfaces.
The present invention offers the advantage that the brake caliper does not have a solid cross-section but rather a closed hollow section with essentially the same flectional strength as a solid cross-section. In view of these characteristics a considerable reduction in weight and low space requirements can be achieved. The brake caliper with a hollow cross-section according to the present invention can be produced at low cost by casting and does not require any machining operations.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention each chamber has at least one outlet leading to the outside and such outlet can be used to introduce and remove a casting core in order to produce the chamber. Moreover, each outlet can be used for ventilation and draining purposes during production and operation. In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, two outlets are arranged diagonally to one another in each chamber, in which case draining is especially reliable and quick.
Another advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the caliper bridge exhibit two chambers and an opening between the two chambers, with the outlets running into this opening. During production of the caliper, the opening serves as a place of accommodation for the cores of the chambers lying opposite each other. This also provides the possibility of using a single one-piece core for producing the chambers.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the opening between the chambers has ribs along the side walls, with such ribs being in alignment with the upper and lower walls. The ribs reinforce the overall structure and provide more flectional strength to the connection of the leg that is mounted between the two chambers on the side of the fist.
Another advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that each chamber have struts extending from the radial upper wall to the radial lower wall. The struts can be made in the course of the casting procedure by designing the cores correspondingly and give the brake caliper higher resistance to bending stress.
In an embodiment according to Patent claim
11
the brake caliper is designed in two parts, with the mould joint running at a right angle to the cylinder axis on the side of the housing. With this design it is possible to use different materials for the housing and the fist of the brake caliper. Thus, it is possible, for example, to make the fist of steel and the housing of aluminum.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention the brake caliper is designed in two parts, with the mould joint running parallel to the cylinder axis. The two halves of the caliper are welded together along the mould joint by means of electron-beam welding. The highly focused electron beam ensures that, for one, the two halves are joined together securely along their entire cross-section and, for another, results in an extremely limited heat affected zone along the edges of the welding seam so that thin cross-sections, in particular near the chambers, can retain their original and unchanged material characteristics.
According to Patent claim
14
, a process for producing a brake caliper according to the present invention is proposed. In this case, a core with undercuts and a core print is moulded by casting in a mould with moulding materials. The core print is located within the area of an opening of the caliper bridge, and after being cast in a mould the core and the undercuts are expelled through an outlet in the chamber.
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Doll Andreas
Weiler Rolf
Continental Teves AG & Co OHG
Oberleitner Robert J.
Rader & Fishman & Grauer, PLLC
Siconolfi Robert A.
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