Brakes – Wheel – Axially movable brake element or housing therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-30
2003-08-26
Lavinder, Jack (Department: 3613)
Brakes
Wheel
Axially movable brake element or housing therefor
C277S636000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06609593
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a disc brake which is advantageously used for imparting a braking force to a vehicle.
In general, a disc brake comprises: a mounting member mounted on a non-rotatable portion of a vehicle; a caliper displaceable in an axial direction of the disc relative to the mounting member and adapted to press friction pads against the disc; guide bores formed in one of the mounting member and the caliper and extending in the axial direction of the disc; sliding pins attached to the other of the mounting member and the caliper and inserted into the guide bores so as to support the caliper in a slidable manner; and protective boots for protecting slide surfaces of the guide bores and the sliding pins (as is disclosed in, for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Public Disclosure Nos. 10-331879 and 11-108089).
A disc brake of the above-mentioned type in the related art is described below, with reference to
FIGS. 18
to
20
. In the drawings, reference numeral
1
denotes a mounting member integrally attached to a non-rotatable portion of a vehicle. The mounting member
1
includes a pair of arms
1
A separated in a circumferential direction of a disc
16
(described later) and extending over an outer periphery of the disc
16
in an axial direction thereof. A pair of friction pads
3
(described later) are adapted to be guided in the axial direction of the disc
16
between the arms
1
A.
Reference numeral
2
denotes a caliper slidably supported by the mounting member
1
through sliding pins
7
described later. The caliper
2
comprises a bridge portion
2
A extending over the outer periphery of the disc
16
between the arms
1
A of the mounting member
1
, an inner leg portion
2
B provided on an inner side of the bridge portion
2
A and having a cylinder bore (not shown) defined by an inner circumferential surface thereof and an outer leg portion
2
C provided on an outer side of the bridge portion
2
A. Further, pin mounting portions
2
D protrude from the inner leg portion
2
B in leftward and rightward directions in
FIG. 18
, with the sliding pins
7
being attached thereto.
The friction pads
3
are positioned at opposite sides of the disc
16
between the arms
1
A of the mounting member
1
. The friction pads
3
are adapted to be slidably guided in the axial direction of the disc
16
between the arms
1
A of the mounting member
1
and pressed against opposite surfaces of the disc
16
by the caliper
2
.
Reference numeral
4
denotes a pair of guide bores which are formed in the arms
1
A, respectively. Each guide bore
4
is a hole having a bottom and having a circular cross-section, and extends in the axial direction of the disc
16
. Each sliding pin
7
is slidably inserted into the guide bore
4
and guided in the axial direction.
Reference numeral
5
denotes a cylindrical protrusion extending from each arm
1
A of the mounting member
1
radially outward of the guide bore
4
. As shown in
FIG. 19
, a first boot mounting groove
6
is formed in an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical protrusion
5
. The first boot mounting groove
6
includes side surfaces
6
A and
6
B and extends along an entire circumference of the cylindrical protrusion
5
.
The reference numeral
7
denotes the pair of sliding pins
7
. The sliding pins
7
are attached to pin mounting portions
2
D of the caliper
2
and each includes a pin shaft portion
7
A in a cylindrical form having a generally constant outer diameter. The pin shaft portion
7
A has one end thereof slidably inserted into the guide bore
4
and the other end thereof protruding from the guide bore
4
. The protruding end of the pin shaft portion
7
A is connected to an annular protruding portion
7
B protruding in a radially outward direction thereof and a caliper fixed portion
7
C in a hexagonal form integrally connected to the annular protruding portion
7
B on a side thereof opposite the pin shaft portion
7
A.
An outer circumferential surface of the protruded end side of the pin shaft portion
7
A includes a second boot mounting groove
8
positioned between the annular protruding portion
7
B and the caliper fixed portion
7
C and having side surfaces
8
A and
8
B and also includes a tapering guiding surface
9
extending between an outer circumferential surface of the pin shaft portion
7
A and an outer circumferential surface of the annular protruding portion
7
B so as to increase a diameter of the sliding pin
7
in a direction from the pin shaft portion
7
A to the annular protruding portion
7
B. As is described later, the guiding surface
9
is adapted to guide a pin-side mounting portion
15
of a protective boot
11
toward the second boot mounting groove
8
. Further, the caliper fixed portion
7
C of the sliding pin
7
is fixed to the pin mounting portion
2
D of the caliper
2
by means of a pin bolt
10
.
Each of the protective boot
11
is adapted to protect slide surfaces of the guide bore
4
and the sliding pin
7
. As shown in
FIG. 19
, the protective boot
11
is formed as a bellowslike cylindrical body made of an elastic material, such as rubber, and disposed so as to enclose the sliding pin
7
.
The protective boot
11
comprises a bellows portion
12
in the form of a cylinder enclosing the sliding pin
7
and adapted to extend and contract in the axial direction, a guide-bore-side mounting portion
13
connected to one end of the bellows portion
12
and mounted with an interference fit into the first boot mounting groove
6
of the mounting member
1
, and the above-mentioned pin-side mounting portion
15
connected to the other end of the bellows portion
12
through a connecting portion
14
and mounted with an interference fit into the second boot mounting groove
8
of the sliding pin
7
. The protective boot
11
provides a seal against entry of a foreign matter such as dust or rain water into an area between slide surfaces of the guide bore
4
and the sliding pin
7
.
The disc
16
is adapted to rotate together with a wheel of the vehicle. The friction pads
3
apply a braking force to the disc
16
during a braking operation.
In the above-mentioned disc brake in the related art, a brake fluid is externally supplied to the inner leg portion
2
B (cylinder bore) of the caliper
2
, to thereby effect a sliding motion of a piston (not shown) in the cylinder bore and press the inner-side friction pad
3
against the disc
16
.
In this instance, the caliper
2
receives a reaction force acting in a direction away from an inner side of the disc
16
and the sliding pin
7
integral to the caliper
2
slidably moves in the same direction through the guide bore
4
of the mounting member
1
, to thereby enable the caliper
2
to press the outer-side friction pad
3
against the disc
16
. Consequently, the disc
16
receives a braking force applied from opposite sides thereof by the friction pads
3
.
Next, referring to
FIG. 20
, a description is made with regard to an operation for mounting of the protective boot
11
. First, prior to insertion of the sliding pin
7
into the guide bore
4
of the mounting member
1
, the guide-bore-side mounting portion
13
of the protective boot
11
is fitted into the first boot mounting groove
6
of the mounting member
1
, to thereby attach the protective boot
11
to the mounting member
1
in a state such that it freely extends from the mounting member
1
.
Subsequently, using an automatic mounting apparatus (not shown), the pin shaft portion
7
A of the sliding pin
7
is inserted through the pin-side mounting portion
15
of the protective boot
11
into the boot and gradually inserted into the guide bore
4
of the mounting member
1
in a direction indicated by an arrow A.
Consequently, as shown in
FIG. 20
, the guiding surface
9
of the sliding pin
7
is brought into sliding contact with the pin-side mounting portion
15
of the protective boot
11
. When the sliding pin
7
is further inserted into the guide bore
4
, the bellows portion
12
of the protecti
Ishii Hideaki
Tokunaga Takahiro
Lavinder Jack
Siconolfi Robert A.
Tokico Ltd.
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