Disc brake

Details Disc brake Disc brake

1999-11-03

2001-09-11

Oberleitner, Robert (Department: 3613)

Brakes

Wheel

Axially movable brake element or housing therefor

C188S073360, C188S073380

Reexamination Certificate

active

06286636

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc brake for a vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a structure of the disc brake which is capable of preventing an abnormal sound from being generated, when the disc brake is operated, at an engaging portion where a pad and a support portion, which are assembled into the disc brake, engage with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
A disc brake having a structure as shown in
FIGS. 6 and 7
is known as a disc brake for a vehicle. The disc brake is disclosed in JP-A-9-79296. As shown, a support member
2
is disposed close to a part of a rotor
1
, which rotates together with a wheel (not shown) of the vehicle. The support member
2
is firmly supported on a suspension device (not shown) provided on the vehicle body side. The support member
2
supports a caliper
3
in a state that the caliper
3
is movable in the axial directions of the rotor
1
(the axial direction is back-and-forth direction, in other words, direction vertical to the drawing surface of
FIG. 6
, or is vertical direction when viewed in FIG.
7
). A pair of run-in and run-out side support portions
4
and
5
are located at both ends of the support member
2
, while being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the rotor
1
. The top ends of those support portions
4
and
5
are each bent to be shaped like U. Each of the support portions
4
and
5
is disposed astride the outer peripheral portion of the rotor
1
in the vertical direction in
FIG. 6
(in other words, vertical direction when viewed in FIG.
7
). The first ends of pads
6
are supported by the run-in side support portion
4
, while being slidable in the axial direction of the rotor
1
. The second ends of those pads
6
are supported by the run-out side support portion
5
, while being also slidable in the axial direction. The run-out side support portion
5
receives brake torque, which is generated, when the braking is effected, by friction of the pads
6
against the side surfaces of the rotor
1
and act on those pads
6
. In the embodiment, the run-out side support portion
5
is located at the run-out side end (in other words, left end in
FIGS. 6 and 7
when the rotor
1
is rotated from the right side to the left side, in the direction “a” of an arrow in FIGS.
6
and
7
).
Engaging protrusions
8
are protruded from both ends of a back plate
7
of each pad
6
. Engaging grooves
9
are formed in the inner side surfaces of the run-in side and run-out side support portions
4
and
5
, respectively. The engaging protrusions
8
are respectively brought into contact with the engaging grooves
9
such that the engaging protrusions
8
are movable in the axial direction of the rotor
1
, and the engaging portions will be referred to as a run-in engaging portion and a run-out engaging portion. Thus, the pads
6
are respectively movable to and from the side surfaces of the rotor
1
, while being supported on the support member
2
.
The caliper
3
is supported by the support member
2
while straddling the pair of the pads
6
. The caliper
3
is provided with cylinder portions
10
and caliper claws
11
. The cylinder portions
10
include pistons for pressing the pads
6
against the rotor
1
.
Pad clips
12
, which is formed with an elastic metal plate, for example, a stainless steel plate, are provided at the portions of the support member
2
where the support member supports both ends of the pads
6
. The pad clips
12
elastically press the pads
6
to thereby prevent unsteady motions of those pads, which is caused by rattling during the vehicle running. Each of the pad clips
12
partly covers the inner surface of the corresponding engaging groove
9
. In this case, a small clearances
13
exist between the part of the pad clip
12
where the pad clip covers the inner surface of the engaging groove
9
and the corresponding engaging protrusion
8
. The clearances
13
are dimensionally selected so as to secure smooth displacement of the pads
6
in the axial direction of the rotor
1
in a normal state, and further even when the back plates
7
and/or the support member
2
are varied in dimension. The back plates
7
are formed with stainless steel plates and the support member
2
is made of cast iron. Accordingly, those component parts become rusty. In this case, the resultant products somewhat vary the dimensions of those and related component parts. For example, the corrosive products formed on the back plates
7
yield slight dimension increase of the back plates
7
or the outside dimensions of the engaging grooves
9
are also somewhat varied.
In the conventional disc brakes having the structure shown in
FIGS. 6 and 7
, the clearances
13
are selected to be wide enough to allow the pads
6
to smoothly displace in the axial directions of the rotor
1
even when the outer periphery edge of the back plates
7
and/or the support member
2
made of cast iron are rusted, and as a result, the back plates
7
increase their dimensions and the engaging grooves
9
decrease their dimensions. With use of such clearances
13
, the pads
6
sometimes rapidly moves with respect to the support member
2
. When the disc brake is operated for braking the vehicle, the pads
6
come into frictional engagement with the rotor
1
, and are displaced in the circumferential direction of the rotor
1
. At this time, the clearances
13
associated with the run-out side support portion
5
disappear, while at the same time the back plates
7
impact against part of the pad clips
11
, to thereby generate a beat sound, called a cronk sound. Also when the disc brake is not operated, the pads
6
displace while resisting the elastic force by the pad clips
12
, to sometimes generate noisy vibrations called rattle sounds. Increasing the elastic forces of the pad clips
12
may prevent generation of such noisy vibrations. However, this approach is not desirable for the following reasons. The elastic force increase makes the assembling work of the disc brake complicated, and further restricts movements of the pads
6
, and hence a drag resistance increases between the pads
6
and the rotor
1
in a non-braking mode.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a disc brake which ensures reliable displacement of the pads with respect to the support member and eliminates the unsteady motions of those pads with respect to the same. The object of the present invention is attained by a disc brake for braking with a rotor rotating together with a wheel, and the disc brake comprises pads, a support member, elastic member, and a caliper. The pads respectively includes a pair of first engaging portions having first slanted surfaces. The first slanted surfaces have a first distance therebetween in a direction parallel to a rotating direction of the rotor. The support member straddles the rotor and is supported on a body. The support member also includes a pair of second engaging portions respectively having second slanted surfaces. The pair of second engaging portions has a second distance therebetween in the direction parallel to the rotating direction of the rotor. The elastic member is disposed on the pads and presses the pads in a direction which shortens a third width defined by an adjacent pair of the first and second slanted surfaces, respectively. The caliper is guided by the support member and includes at least one piston which moves the pair of the pads. The first and second distances are gradually changed along the first and second slanted surfaces. Engaging protrusions are provided to one of the pairs of the first and second engaging portions, each of the engaging protrusions includes a first width in a direction parallel to a line connecting a center of the rotor and a center of each of the pads, and includes one of the first and second slanted surfaces. Engaging grooves are provided to the other of the pairs of the first and second engaging portions, each of the e

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Disc brake does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Disc brake, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Disc brake will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2455472