The present invention relates to a disk brake used to brake a vehicle.
Normally, a disk brake employed for an automobile or the like includes a pair of inner and outer friction pads, a caliper, and a mount member. The inner friction pad and the outer friction pad are disposed on the both sides of a disk rotor attached to a rotatable portion of the vehicle, respectively. The caliper presses these inner and outer friction pads against the disk rotor. The mount member is fixed to a non-rotatable portion such as a knuckle of the vehicle via two attachment holes. This mount member supports each of the pair of inner and outer friction pads and the caliper movably in a disk axial direction. More specifically, slide pins are fixed to a pair of arm portions of the caliper, respectively, and this pair of slide pins is slidably inserted through a pair of pin fitted insertion portions of the mount member, by which the caliper is supported by the mount member movably in the disk axial direction (refer to PTL 1).
PTL 1: Japanese Patent Application Public Disclosure No. 2013-113378
In the invention discussed in the above-described patent literature, PTL 1, an intermediate point between the pair of pin fitted insertion portions of the mount member is located at generally the same position in the circumferential direction of the disk rotor as the central axis of a cylinder portion of the caliper, in which a piston is axially movably supported. However, actually, the center of gravity of the caliper including an electric motor and the like is offset toward one pin fitted insertion portion side, and therefore sliding resistance may increase between the slide pins and the pin fitted insertion portions.
Under these circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a disk brake capable of improving slidability between slide pins of a caliper and pin fitted insertion portions of a mount member.
To achieve the above-described object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a first disk brake includes a mount member attached to a non-rotatable portion of a vehicle so as to extend across over a disk rotor via two attachment portions and including a pair of pin fitted insertion portions extending in an axial direction of the disk rotor, a caliper supported slidably along the axial direction of the disk rotor relative to the mount member via first and second slide pins slidably fitted in the pair of pin fitted insertion portions, respectively, and at least one pair of friction pads attached movably in the axial direction of the disk rotor relative to the mount member at positions on both surface sides of the disk rotor. The at least one pair of friction pads is configured to press both surfaces of the disk rotor by the caliper. A piston configured to press any one of the friction pads is contained in the caliper so as to be able to protrude, and the caliper includes a bottomed cylindrical cylinder portion and a driving portion. The cylinder portion contains a piston thrust mechanism configured to thrust the piston. The driving portion is supported on a bottom portion side of the cylinder portion so as to apply a thrust force to the piston thrust mechanism. The first slide pin is disposed on a closer side to a center of gravity of the driving portion than the second slide pin is in a direction along a first straight line connecting centers of the two attachment portions. A distance from a straight line connecting an intermediate point of the first straight line and a center of the disk rotor to the first slide pin is longer than a distance from the straight line connecting the intermediate point of the first straight line and the center of the disk rotor to the second slide pin.
Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, a second disk brake includes a mount member supporting at least one pair of friction pads positioned on both surface sides of a disk rotor and fixed to a non-rotatable portion of a vehicle via two attachment portions, and a caliper including a pair of slide pins slidably supported in a pair of pin fitted insertion portions, respectively. The pin fitted insertion portions are disposed on an outer side in a radial direction of the disk rotor with respect to the two attachment portions of the mount member. The caliper is configured to press the friction pad by a pressing member contained inside the caliper. The disk brake further includes an electric motor configured to transmit a thrust force to a thrust mechanism configured to move the pressing member. The electric motor is provided in the caliper so as to be arranged side by side with the pressing member in a circumferential direction of the disk rotor. The pair of slide pins is disposed in the caliper in such a manner that an intermediate point of a second straight line connecting central axes of this pair of slide pins is located on the electric motor side in the circumferential direction of the disk rotor with respect to an intermediate point of a first straight line connecting centers of the two attachment portions.
The disk brake according to each of the one aspects of the present invention can improve the slidability between the slide pins of the caliper and the pin fitted insertion portions of the mount member.
A disk brake 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to
As illustrated in
First, the mount member 3 will be described in detail with reference to
The first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12 are formed into bottomed cylindrical shapes including pin holes 17 and 17, in which the first and second slide pins 61 and 62 are inserted through, respectively. The opening sides and bottom portion sides of the pin holes 17 and 17 of the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12 face the inner side and the outer side, respectively. The outer-side support portion 15 is integrally connected to the outer sides of the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12. The inner-side support portion 14 is integrally connected to portions of the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12 that are spaced apart from the outer-side support portion 15 to the inner side along the disk axial direction.
The inner-side support portion 14 includes a pair of inner-side arm portions 19 and 20 and an inner-side beam portion 21. The inner-side arm portions 19 and 20 have one end portions integrally connected to the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12, respectively. The inner-side beam portion 21 integrally connects the other end portions of this pair of inner-side arm portions 19 and 20 to each other. Each of the inner-side arm portions 19 and 20 bears a braking torque transmitted from the inner friction pad 4 when the vehicle is braked while running forward or backward. Support recessed portions 23 and 23 are formed on facing surfaces of these inner-side arm portions 19 and 20, respectively. These support recessed portions 23 and 23 are each formed into a generally squared U-like shape (or an open sided rectangle-shaped sectional configuration) in cross section. Then, as illustrated in
First and second attachment holes 25 and 26 are formed at generally both end portions of the inner-side beam portion 21 in the disk circumferential direction. The first and second attachment holes 25 and 26 are used to attach the mount member 3 to the non-rotatable portion of the vehicle, and extend through the inner-side beam portion 21 along the disk axial direction. The first and second attachment holes 25 and 26 correspond to two attachment portions. Then, the pair of first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12 are located on the outer side in the radial direction of the disk rotor D with respect to the pair of first and second attachment holes 25 and 26. In a plan view illustrated in
Further, in the plan view illustrated in
The outer-side support portion 15 includes a pair of outer-side arm portions 32 and 33 and an outer-side beam portion 34. The outer-side arm portions 32 and 33 have one end portions integrally connected to the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12, respectively. The outer-side beam portion 34 integrally connects the other end portions of this pair of outer-side arm portions 32 and 33 to each other. Each of the outer-side arm portions 32 and 33 bears a braking torque transmitted from the outer friction pad 5 when the vehicle is braked while running forward or backward. Support recessed portions (not illustrated) are formed on facing surfaces of these outer-side arm portions 32 and 33, respectively. The support recessed portions are each formed into a generally squared U-like shape in cross section. Then, the outer friction pad 5 includes engagement portions (not illustrated) protruding from the both side portions thereof, respectively. The engagement portions are engaged with the support recessed portions of the respective inner-side arm portions 32 and 33, and are supported movably in the directions toward and away from the disk rotor D. The pair of inner-side arm portions 19 and 20 of the inner-side support portion 14 is formed so as to be longer than the pair of outer-side arm portions 32 and 33 of the outer-side support portion 15. As a result, the inner-side beam portion 21 of the inner-side support portion 14 is disposed on the radially inner side of the disk rotor D with respect to the outer-side beam portion 34 of the outer-side support portion 15. Then, the disk rotor D is disposed at a portion of the mount member 3 between the inner-side support portion 14 and the outer-side support portion 15, i.e., between the inner-side friction pad 4 supported on the inner-side support portion 14 movably in the disk axial direction, and the outer friction pad 5 supported on the outer-side support portion 15 movably in the disk axial direction.
Next, the caliper 6 will be described with reference to
The caliper 6 integrally includes the caliper main body 50, a driving unit 51, and a housing 52 containing a part of this driving unit 51. The caliper main body 50 integrally includes the cylindrical cylinder portion 56, a claw portion 57, and a pair of first and second caliper arm portions 59 and 60. The cylinder portion 56 is opened to the inner friction pad 4. The claw portion 57 extends from the cylinder portion 56 to the opposite side across over the disk rotor D, and is attached in abutment with the outer friction pad 5. The pair of first and second caliper arm portions 59 and 60 extends from the cylinder portion 56 outward.
A guide bore 58 is formed in the cylinder portion 56. A piston 73 of the driving unit 51 is slidably fitted in the guide bore 58. As illustrated in
The driving mechanism 51 includes the electric motor 70, a speed reduction mechanism 71, a piston thrust mechanism 72, and the piston 73. The electric motor 70 serves as a driving portion. The speed reduction mechanism 71 powers up a rotational force output from this electric motor 70. The piston thrust mechanism 72 converts the rotational motion from this speed reduction mechanism 71 into a linear motion to apply a thrust force to the piston 73. The piston 73 presses the inner friction pad 4 by receiving the thrust force from this piston thrust mechanism 72. The piston 73 corresponds to a pressing member. The electric motor 70 is disposed so as to be arranged side by side with the cylinder portion 56 (the piston 73) of the caliper main body 50 along the disk circumferential direction. A rotational shaft 70A of the electric motor 70 protrudes into a first housing portion 76 of the housing 52.
The speed reduction mechanism 71 functions to power up the rotational force output from the electric motor 70 and transmit it to the piston thrust mechanism 72. The speed reduction mechanism 71 is contained in the first housing 76 of the housing 52. For example, a planetary gear speed reduction mechanism is employed as the speed reduction mechanism 71. The piston 73 is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape. The piston 73 is supported movably along the axial direction in the guide bore 58 of the cylinder portion 56. The inner friction pad 4 is located at a position facing the bottom portion of the piston 73 in a state held by the inner-side support portion 14 of the mount member 3. A space in the cylinder portion 56 between the bottom portion of this cylinder portion 56 and the bottom portion of the piston 73 is defined as a hydraulic pressure chamber 75, into which a brake hydraulic pressure is supplied from a master cylinder via a hydraulic pressure circuit (both are not illustrated). The piston thrust mechanism 72 is formed by a rotation-linear motion conversion mechanism that converts the rotational motion output from the speed reduction mechanism 71 into the linear motion to apply the thrust force to the piston 73 and also holds the piston 73 at the braking position. This piston thrust mechanism 72 is contained between the bottom portion of the cylinder portion 56 and the bottom portion of the piston 73. For example, a screw mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, a ball and ramp mechanism, and the like are employed alone or in combination as necessary as the piston thrust mechanism 72.
The housing 52 includes the first housing portion 76 and a second housing portion 77. The first housing portion 76 contains the speed reduction mechanism 71 while extending so as to cover the outer periphery of the bottom portion of the cylinder portion 56. The second housing portion 77 is provided in a protruding manner so as to have a bottomed cylindrical shape extending integrally from near the end portion of the first housing 76 in the longitudinal direction thereof toward the disk rotor D side. An opening of the housing 52 (the first housing portion 76) on one side is air-tightly closed by a cover 78. In the shape as viewed in the plan view illustrated in
The first housing portion 76 is formed in such a manner that the outer peripheral end portion in the longitudinal direction thereof on one side where the cylinder portion 56 is fixed is shaped like a large circular arc, and the outer peripheral end portion in the longitudinal direction thereof on the other side where the second housing portion 77 (the electric motor 70) is located is shaped like a small circular arc. Then, in the plan view illustrated in
A connector portion 80 is integrally provided in a protruding manner at the end portion of the first housing portion 76 on the first pin fitted insertion portion 11 side in the longitudinal direction thereof. In the plan view illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Next, the functions of the disk brake 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
First, the function when the disk brake 1 brakes the vehicle as a normal hydraulic brake according to an operation performed on a brake pedal (not illustrated) will be described.
When the brake pedal is pressed by a driver, a brake hydraulic pressure according to a force pressing the brake pedal is supplied from the master cylinder into the hydraulic pressure chamber 75 in the cylinder portion 56 of the caliper main body 50 via the hydraulic pressure circuit. As a result, the piston 73 advances (moves rightward in
After that, when the driver releases the brake pedal, the supply of the hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder is stopped, and therefore the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic pressure chamber reduces. As a result, the piston 73 is retracted to the original position due to a resilience force of the piston seal from the elastic deformation, and therefore the braking force is released.
Further, when a parking brake, which is one example of the function for keeping the vehicle in a stopped state, is actuated, the electric motor 70 is driven and the rotational force thereof is transmitted to the piston thrust mechanism 72 via the speed reduction mechanism 71 of the driving unit 51 and is converted into the linear motion of the piston 73. Then, the piston 73 advances, and the disk rotor D is sandwiched by the inner and outer friction pads 4 and 5 and thus the braking force is generated. Then, the piston 73 is kept at the braking position due to the piston thrust mechanism 72. As a result, the braking force is maintained, and the actuation of the parking brake is completed.
After that, when the parking brake is released, the electric motor 70 is rotationally driven in a release direction for separating the piston 73 away from the disk rotor D. As a result, the speed reduction mechanism 71 is rotationally driven in a release direction for returning the piston 73 and the piston 73 is retracted to the original position due to the resilience force of the piston seal from the elastic deformation, and therefore the braking force is completely released.
In the above-described manner, the disk brake 1 according to the present embodiment is configured in such a manner that the first slide pin 61 is disposed on the closer side to the center of gravity O2 of the electric motor 70 than the second slide pin 62 is (the distance M1<the distance M2) in the direction along the first straight line 28 connecting the radial centers of the first and second attachment holes 25 and 26 of the inner-side support portion 14, and the distance L1 from the third straight line 30, which connects the intermediate point A of the first straight line 28 between the first and second attachment holes 25 and 26 and the center O3 of the disk rotor D, to the first slide pin 61 is longer than the distance L2 from the above-described third straight line 30 to the second slide pin 62. Due to this configuration, the disk brake 1 allows the positions of the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12 (the first and second slide pins 61 and 62) to be set as appropriate based on the position of the center of gravity of the caliper 6 including the electric motor 70 and the like, thereby being able to improve the slidability between the first and second slide pins 61 and 62 and the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12.
Further, in the disk brake 1 according to the present embodiment, the electric motor 70 has the center of gravity O2 at the position closer to the intermediate point B of the second straight line 29 between the first and second slide pins 61 and 62 than to the intermediate point A of the first straight line 28 between the first and second attachment holes 25 and 26. Due to this configuration, the disk rotor 1 can further improve the slidability between the first and second slide pins 61 and 62 and the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12.
Further, in the disk brake 1 according to the present embodiment, the radially outer peripheral portion of the first slide pin 61 is located on the outer side in the radial direction of the disk rotor D with respect to the connector portion 80. Due to this configuration, the disk brake 1 can protect the connector portion 80 from, for example, snow attached on the inner surface of the wheel (not illustrated).
Furthermore, in the disk brake 1 according to the present embodiment, the electric motor 70 has the center of gravity O2 at the position between the first straight line 28 between the first and second attachment holes 25 and 26, and the second straight line 29 between the first and second slide pins 61 and 62. Due to this configuration, the disk brake 1 can improve the slidability between the first and second slide pins 61 and 62 and the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12, and, moreover, can protect the electric motor 70 and the speed reduction mechanism 71 from, for example, the snow attached on the inner surface of the wheel.
Furthermore, in the disk brake 1 according to the present embodiment, the first and second slide pins 61 and 62 are each arranged in the caliper 6 in such a manner that the intermediate point B of the second straight line 29 between these first and second slide pins 61 and 62 is located on the electric motor 70 side with respect to the intermediate point A of the first straight line 29 between the first and second attachment holes 25 and 26 in the direction of the first and second straight lines 28 and 29 (generally the disk circumferential direction). Due to this configuration, the disk brake 1 can improve the slidability between the first and second slide pins 61 and 62 and the first and second pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12.
The above-described embodiment may be employed for an electric disk brake that drives the electric motor 70 to generate the braking force at the time of normal braking.
Possible configurations as the disk brake 1 based on the above-described embodiment include the following examples.
According to a first configuration, the disk brake 1 includes the mount member 3 attached to the non-rotatable portion of the vehicle so as to extend across over the disk rotor D via the two attachment portions (25 and 26) and including the pair of pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12 extending in the axial direction of the disk rotor D, the caliper 6 supported slidably along the axial direction of the disk rotor D relative to the mount member 3 via the first and second slide pins 61 and 62 slidably fitted in the pair of pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12, respectively, and the at least one pair of friction pads 4 and 5 attached movably in the axial direction of the disk rotor D relative to the mount member 3 at the positions on the both surface sides of the disk rotor D. The at least one pair of friction pads 4 and 5 is configured to press the both surfaces of the disk rotor D by the caliper 6. The piston 73 configured to press any one of the friction pads 4 and 5 is contained in the caliper 6 so as to be able to protrude, and the caliper 6 includes the bottomed cylindrical cylinder portion 56 and the driving portion (70). The cylinder portion 56 contains the piston thrust mechanism 72 configured to thrust the piston 73. The driving portion (70) is supported on the bottom portion side of the cylinder portion 56 so as to apply the thrust force to the piston thrust mechanism 72. The first slide pin 61 is disposed on the closer side to the center of gravity O2 of the driving portion 70 than the second slide pin 62 is in the direction along the first straight line 28 connecting the centers of the two attachment portions (25 and 26). The distance L1 from the straight line 30 connecting the intermediate point A of the first straight line 28 and the center O3 of the disk rotor D to the first slide pin 61 is longer than the distance L2 from the straight line 30 connecting the intermediate point A of the first straight line 28 and the center O3 of the disk rotor D to the second slide pin 62.
According to a second configuration, in the first configuration, the driving portion (70) has the center of gravity O2 at the position closer to the intermediate point B of the second straight line 29 connecting the central axis of the first slide pin 61 and the central axis of the second slide pin 62 than to the intermediate point A of the first straight line 28.
According to a third configuration, in the first or second configuration, the driving portion (70) includes the connector portion 80 at the end portion thereof on the closer side to the first slide pin 61 in the circumferential direction of the disk rotor D. The radially outer peripheral portion of the first slide pin 61 is located on the outer side in the radial direction of the disk rotor D with respect to the outer peripheral wall of the connector portion 80.
According to a fourth configuration, in any of the first to third configurations, the driving portion (70) has the center of gravity O2 at the position between the first straight line 28 connecting the centers of the two attachment portions (25 and 26) and the second straight line 29 connecting the central axis of the first slide pin 61 and the central axis of the second slide pin 62.
According to a fifth configuration, the disk brake D includes the mount member 3 supporting the at least one pair of friction pads 4 and 5 positioned on the both surface sides of the disk rotor D and fixed to the non-rotatable portion of the vehicle via the two attachment portions (25 and 26), and the caliper 6 including the pair of slide pins 61 and 62 slidably supported in the pair of pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12, respectively. The pin fitted insertion portions 11 and 12 are disposed on the outer side in the radial direction of the disk rotor D with respect to the two attachment portions (25 and 26) of the mount member 3. The caliper 6 is configured to press the friction pad 4 by the pressing member (73) contained inside the caliper 6. The disk brake 1 further includes the electric motor 70 configured to transmit the thrust force to the thrust mechanism 72 configured to move the pressing member (73). The electric motor 70 is provided in the caliper 6 so as to be arranged side by side with the pressing member (73) in the circumferential direction of the disk rotor D. The pair of slide pins 61 and 62 is disposed in the caliper 6 in such a manner that the intermediate point B of the second straight line 29 connecting the central axes of this pair of slide pins 61 and 62 is located on the electric motor 70 side in the circumferential direction of the disk rotor D with respect to the intermediate point A of the first straight line 28 connecting the centers of the two attachment portions (25 and 26).
The present invention shall not be limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, and the present invention shall not necessarily be limited to the configuration including all of the described features. Further, a part of the configuration of some embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Further, some embodiment can also be implemented with a configuration of another embodiment added to the configuration of this embodiment. Further, each of the embodiments can also be implemented with another configuration added, deleted, or replaced with respect to a part of the configuration of this embodiment.
The present application claims priority under the Paris Convention to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-137742 filed on Jul. 23, 2018. The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-137742 filed on Jul. 23, 2018 including the specification, the claims, the drawings, and the abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1 disk brake
3 mount member
4 inner friction pad
5 outer friction pad
6 caliper
50 caliper main body
51 driving unit
11 first pin fitted insertion portion
12 second pin fitted insertion portion
25 first attachment hole (attachment portion)
26 second attachment hole (attachment portion)
28 first straight line
29 second straight line
30 third straight line
56 cylinder portion
61 first slide pine
62 second slide pin
70 electric motor (driving portion)
72 piston thrust mechanism (thrust mechanism)
73 piston (pressing member)
80 connector portion (driving portion)
A intermediate point
B intermediate point
D disk rotor
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018-137742 | Jul 2018 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2019/028220 | 7/18/2019 | WO | 00 |