The present disclosure relates to vehicular disc brake assemblies that include a drum brake component, and more particularly, to vehicular disc brake assemblies that include a floating disc rotor component and a parking brake component.
An integrated one-piece rotor disc and drum-in-hat assembly avoids a need for fasteners between the rotor and the hat. However, the rigid connection between the drum-in-hat and the rotor does not accommodate thermal expansion of the rotor during heavy braking action, which situation may induce extreme stresses at or about the rotor and lead to cracking and/or distortion. Rotor distortion can cause vibration and judder across rotor brake surfaces, rough or irregular braking pulsations, a reduced service life and performance of the rotor and increased maintenance costs. In addition, when a damaged or worn rotor requires replacement, the entire integrated assembly must be replaced, which is expensive and time consuming.
With previous drum-in-hat arrangements, such replacement would necessarily include replacement of both the drum and the rotor disc, exacerbating the waste and expense of the brake repair.
Being an integrated brake assembly, the entire brake assembly must be constructed from a single, common material, which may not necessarily be the ideal choice for each component. For example, one material for the rotor may comprise cast iron, which when used as the material for the hub and drum components of previous drum-in-hat arrangements, increases the overall weight of the brake assembly unnecessarily.
There is a need, therefore, to provide a hat or hub and rotor assembly that eliminates bending stresses and promotes uniform torque transfer, so as to minimize bending and fatigue stresses to increase the life and reliability of the brake device. Additionally, there remains an unmet need in the art to optimize and simplify attachment of floating disc brake rotors to wheel hats or hubs which arrangement also includes a parking brake mechanism.
With previous drum-in-hat arrangements, a need to remove and repair the parking brake will necessarily require removal of the brake rotor, adding to the time, effort and expense of the repair.
With some vehicles, it is desired to operate the vehicle on public roadways with a parking brake component intact and to race the same vehicle with the parking brake component removed to save weight and enhance performance while racing. The previous drum-in-hat arrangements do not provide a convenience for doing so.
A need exists to include a parking brake drum with a disc brake rotor in a way that avoids all of the aforementioned deficiencies of the brake assembly.
There is also a need to provide a brake drum and wheel hat assembly that promotes service life and reliability of the brake device, while also providing an assembly that is lower in weight and adaptability to racing.
The teachings herein provide a floating rotor drum assembly comprising a disc brake component, a drum brake component and a mounting component, wherein the disc brake component comprises a rotor having an inner annular edge portion and a plurality of rotor tabs at spaced locations about the annular edge portion. The drum brake component comprises drum body and a plurality of drum tabs at spaced locations about an outer annular portion of the drum body, whereas the mounting component comprises a mounting flange and a plurality of mounting assembly tabs at spaced locations about the mounting flange. Adjacent pairs of the mounting assembly tabs define slots therebetween and preferably each of the mounting assembly tabs comprises a retention ring flange. The slots, the rotor tabs in the drum tabs are mutually arranged such that the rotor tabs and the drum tabs are each received in the slots. A retention ring is arranged to engage with the retention ring flanges of the mounting assembly tabs such that upon engagement, the retention ring spans the slots so as to axially retain the rotor tabs and the drum tabs in the slots.
In an embodiment, the mounting flange includes a rim portion; and the rotor tabs and the drum tabs are axially retained between the retention ring and the rim portion of the mounting flange.
In an embodiment, the rotor tabs extend radially inwardly and the drum tabs extend radially outwardly, with the drum tabs and the rotor tabs being in a superposed relation while retained in the slots by the retention ring.
Preferably the retention ring flanges comprise an axially directed flange portion and a radially inwardly directed flange portion.
In an embodiment, the retention ring is radially yieldable, and the drum body and the retention ring flanges are radially spaced apart to define an annular space therebetween. The annular space is sufficient to receive the retention ring when the ring is in a radially contracted condition, whereupon the contracted retention ring may be released into engagement with the retention ring flanges.
In an embodiment, the floating rotor and drum brake assembly further comprises a substitute fixture useable as a substitute for the brake drum component which is retainable with the retaining ring. The substitute fixture may comprise a plurality of radially outwardly extending tabs configured like the drum tabs such that upon engagement of the retention ring with the retention ring flanges, the retention ring spanning the slots axially retains the rotor tabs and the radially outwardly extending tabs of the substitute fixture in the slots. In an embodiment, the substitute fixture further comprises a ring and the plurality of radially outwardly extending tabs that are disposed about the ring. In another embodiment, the substitute fixture is a separable portion of the drum brake component, useable in the absence of the drum body.
The teachings herein also provide a method of combining a brake rotor and a brake drum in a brake assembly, the method comprising: establishing a floating connection between the brake rotor and a mounting flange by locating tabs of the rotor in slots established between mounting tabs of the mounting flange; supporting a brake drum at the floating connection by superposing tabs of the drum body with the rotor tabs at the slots; and retaining the superposed rotor and drum tabs with a ring.
Included also is a method of centering a brake drum in a disc brake assembly, comprising: establishing a floating connection between a disc brake rotor and a mounting assembly by locating a plurality of rotor tabs in slots established uniformly about the mounting assembly; and establishing a floating connection between a brake drum and the mounting assembly by locating a plurality of drum tabs in the slots established uniformly about the mounting assembly such that the rotor tabs and the drum tabs are mutually superposed.
The disclosure includes a method of preparing a vehicle for an event, comprising: removing a brake drum body from a brake assembly by disengaging a ring that in an engaged condition retains the brake drum body in the brake assembly; replacing the brake drum body with a fixture configured to be retainable by the ring when in an engaged condition, the fixture lacking a drum body; and re-engaging the ring so as to retain the fixture in the brake assembly in lieu of the brake drum body. In an embodiment, the method further comprises centering the fixture with a plurality of radially extending tabs disposed about the fixture.
The disclosure also sets forth an article for preparing a vehicle for an event, wherein a brake drum body is removable from a brake assembly by disengaging a ring that in an engaged condition retains the brake drum body in the brake assembly, the article comprising a fixture configured to replace the brake drum body by being retainable by the ring when the ring is in an engaged condition, with the fixture lacking a drum body. In an embodiment, the fixture comprises a plurality of radially extending tabs disposed about the fixture.
The present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific exemplary implementations thereof have been shown in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific exemplary implementations is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed herein. This disclosure is to cover all modifications and equivalents as defined by the appended claims. It should also be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating principles of exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Moreover, certain dimensions may be exaggerated to help visually convey such principles. Further where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the drawings to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Moreover, two or more blocks or elements depicted as distinct or separate in the drawings may be combined into a single functional block or element. Similarly, a single block or element illustrated in the drawings may be implemented as multiple steps or by multiple elements in cooperation. The forms disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:
The words and phrases used herein should be understood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the understanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in the relevant art. No special definition of a term or phrase, i.e., a definition that is different from the ordinary and customary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art, is intended to be implied by consistent usage of the term or phrase herein. To the extent that a term or phrase is intended to have a special meaning, i.e., a meaning other than the broadest meaning understood by skilled artisans, such a special or clarifying definition will be expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional manner that provides the special or clarifying definition for the term or phrase.
For example, the following discussion contains a non-exhaustive list of definitions of several specific terms used in this disclosure (other terms may be defined or clarified in a definitional manner elsewhere herein). These definitions are intended to clarify the meanings of the terms used herein. It is believed that the terms are used in a manner consistent with their ordinary meaning, but the definitions are nonetheless specified here for clarity.
Each of the following terms written in singular grammatical form: “a,” “an,” and “the,” as used herein, may also refer to, and encompass, a plurality of the stated entity or object, unless otherwise specifically defined or stated herein, or, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the phrases “a device,” “an assembly,” “a mechanism,” “a component,” and “an element,” as used herein, may also refer to, and encompass, a plurality of devices, a plurality of assemblies, a plurality of mechanisms, a plurality of components, and a plurality of elements, respectively.
Each of the following terms: “includes,” “including,” “has,” “'having,” “comprises,” and “comprising,” and, their linguistic or grammatical variants, derivatives, and/or conjugates, as used herein, means “including, but not limited to.”
About: As used herein, “about” refers to a degree of deviation based on experimental error typical for the particular property identified. The latitude provided the term “about” will depend on the specific context and particular property and can be readily discerned by those skilled in the art. The term “about” is not intended to either expand or limit the degree of equivalents which may otherwise be afforded a particular value. Further, unless otherwise stated, the term “about” shall expressly include “exactly,” consistent with the discussion below regarding ranges and numerical data.
Above/below: In the following description of the representative embodiments of the invention, directional terms, such as “above”, “below”, “upper”, “lower”, etc., are used for convenience in referring to the accompanying drawings. In general, “above”, “upper”, “upward” and similar terms refer to a direction toward the earth's surface along a wellbore, and “below”, “lower”, “downward” and similar terms refer to a direction away from the earth's surface along the wellbore. Continuing with the example of relative directions in a wellbore, “upper” and “lower” may also refer to relative positions along the longitudinal dimension of a wellbore rather than relative to the surface, such as in describing both vertical and horizontal wells.
And/or: The term “and/or” placed between a first entity and a second entity means one of (1) the first entity, (2) the second entity, and (3) the first entity and the second entity. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements). As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of”.
Any: The adjective “any” means one, some, or all indiscriminately of whatever quantity.
At least: As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements). The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.
Based on: “Based on” does not mean “based only on”, unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase “based on” describes both “based only on,” “based at least on,” and “based at least in part on.”
Couple: Any use of any form of the terms “connect”, “engage”, “couple”, “attach”, or any other term describing an interaction between elements is not meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between the elements and may also include indirect interaction between the elements described.
Determining: “Determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions and therefore “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing and the like.
Embodiments (Forms): Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one aspect,” “an aspect,” “some aspects,” “some implementations,” “one implementation,” “an implementation,” or similar construction means that a particular component, feature, structure, method, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment, aspect, or implementation is included in at least one embodiment and/or implementation of the claimed subject matter. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or “in some embodiments” (or “aspects” or “implementations”) in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment and/or implementation. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, methods, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or implementations.
Exemplary: “Exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
May: Note that the word “may” is used throughout this application in a permissive sense (i.e., having the potential to, being able to), not a mandatory sense (i.e., must).
Operatively connected and/or coupled: Operatively connected and/or coupled means directly or indirectly connected for transmitting or conducting information, force, energy, or matter.
Optimizing: The terms “optimal,” “optimizing,” “optimize,” “optimality,” “optimization” (as well as derivatives and other forms of those terms and linguistically related words and phrases), as used herein, are not intended to be limiting in the sense of requiring the present invention to find the best solution or to make the best decision. Although a mathematically optimal solution may in fact arrive at the best of all mathematically available possibilities, real-world embodiments of optimization routines, methods, models, and processes may work towards such a goal without ever actually achieving perfection. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the present disclosure will appreciate that these terms, in the context of the scope of the present invention, are more general. The terms may describe one or more of: 1) working towards a solution which may be the best available solution, a preferred solution, or a solution that offers a specific benefit within a range of constraints; 2) continually improving; 3) refining; 4) searching for a high point or a maximum for an objective; 5) processing to reduce a penalty function; 6) seeking to maximize one or more factors in light of competing and/or cooperative interests in maximizing, minimizing, or otherwise controlling one or more other factors, etc.
Order of steps: It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method are recited.
Throughout the illustrative description, the examples, and the appended claims, a numerical value of a parameter, feature, object, or dimension, may be stated or described in terms of a numerical range format. It is to be fully understood that the stated numerical range format is provided for illustrating implementation of the forms disclosed herein, and is not to be understood or construed as inflexibly limiting the scope of the forms disclosed herein.
Moreover, for stating or describing a numerical range, the phrase “in a range of between about a first numerical value and about a second numerical value,” is considered equivalent to, and means the same as, the phrase “in a range of from about a first numerical value to about a second numerical value,” and, thus, the two equivalently meaning phrases may be used interchangeably.
It is to be understood that the various forms disclosed herein are not limited in their application to the details of the order or sequence, and number, of steps or procedures, and sub-steps or sub-procedures, of operation or implementation of forms of the method or to the details of type, composition, construction, arrangement, order and number of the system, system sub-units, devices, assemblies, sub-assemblies, mechanisms, structures, components, elements, and configurations, and, peripheral equipment, utilities, accessories, and materials of forms of the system, set forth in the following illustrative description, accompanying drawings, and examples, unless otherwise specifically stated herein. The apparatus, systems and methods disclosed herein can be practiced or implemented according to various other alternative forms and in various other alternative ways.
It is also to be understood that all technical and scientific words, terms, and/or phrases, used herein throughout the present disclosure have either the identical or similar meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, unless otherwise specifically defined or stated herein. Phraseology, terminology, and, notation, employed herein throughout the present disclosure are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Referring to
Referring to
The brake assembly 100 further includes a mounting component (assembly) 110, which can be a hat or a hub or any other suitable mounting assembly for a floating disc brake rotor. Preferably, the mounting component (assembly) 110 comprises a cylindrical (or frustoconical) axial body 111 having axially opposed first and second ends, a rotor mounting flange 115 which may extend radially at or near the first end of the axial body 111 and a plurality of mounting assembly tabs 112 having retention ring flanges 118. Preferably, the plurality of mounting assembly tabs 112 are uniformly spaced about the rotor mounting flange 115 and form slots 114 interspersed therebetween. Accordingly, adjacent pairs of mounting assembly tabs 112 define an individual slot 114.
In an embodiment, the drum brake component 150 preferably comprises an outer rim 152 and a plurality of drum tabs 154 which extend radially outwardly of from the outer rim 152. Preferably, the slots 114 of the mounting assembly 110, the rotor tabs 124 of the brake rotor component 120 and the drum tabs 154 of the drum brake component 150 are structured and mutually arranged such that the slots 114 receive both the rotor tabs 124 and the drum tabs 154. A retention ring 130 is provided for securing (retaining) the rotor tabs 124 and the drum tabs 154 in the slots 114 located between adjacent pairs of the mounting assembly tabs 112. By such arrangement, a “floating” connection is established between mounting assembly 110 and both the rotor component 120 and the drum component 150, which accommodates thermal expansion in both the rotor 120 and the drum 150, while also alleviating stresses that might otherwise arise in the aforementioned components were they otherwise rigidly connected. By effecting retention with the retention ring 130, and a need for studs or bolted connections between the components are avoided. The known tendencies of bolted connections to exacerbate stresses and cracking in brake connections are also avoided.
Referring specifically to
Referring now to
Referring back to
Referring now to
Still referring to
Referring now to
It is envisioned that in other embodiments, the relative positioning of the drum tabs 154 and the rotor tabs 124 between portions of the ring 130 and the assembly flange 115 could be reversed from that shown in
Referring now to
Referring to
As part of the aforementioned “floating” connection, the drum tabs 154 are in a superposed relation to the rotor tabs 124, which accommodates displacement of the rotor and drum tabs 124,154 relative to one another. Accordingly, as the rotor 120 becomes heated during heavy or prolonged braking, the rotor component 120 is allowed to thermally expand and its tabs 124 are allowed to displace relative to the drum tabs 154 and the slots 114 of the mounting assembly 110, as may be required. Such a “floating” arrangement relieves stresses that might otherwise arise with a rigid (integral or bolted) connection. Likewise, any heating and thermal expansion of the drum 150 (or the lack of any relative to the rotor 120) is likewise accommodated.
The uniform distribution of the drum tabs 154 about the drum body 156 and their floating retention in the slots 114 of the mounting assembly 110 provides a capacity of the drum component 150 to self-center, which feature facilitates and simplifies assembly of the brake assembly 100. Likewise, the uniform distribution of the rotor tabs 124 about the inner circumferential edge portion 123 of the rotor component 120 and their floating retention in the slots 114 of the mounting assembly 110 provides a capacity of the rotor component 120 to self-center, which feature also facilitates and simplifies assembly of the brake assembly 100.
In an embodiment the mounting component 110 is constructed from an aluminum alloy to save weight, the rotor component 120 is constructed from a cast iron and the drum body 150 is constructed from a suitable iron alloy. Other suitable materials may be utilized depending upon the particular application, vehicle and performance requirements. The modular nature of the brake assembly 100 provides an enhanced degree of freedom in the selection of materials for its various components (the mounting assembly 110, the rotor 110, the drum 150 and the ring 130)
Referring to
Referring to
An advantage of the described brake assembly 100 is that it may achieve a floating connection for both its rotor disc component 120 and its drum component 150 without resort to apertures, through holes or studs in either of those components.
Preferably, each rotor tab 124 and each mounting assembly tab 112 of the mounting assembly 120 subtend substantially equal angles (have substantially the same arcuate extent), whereas the retention ring flanges 118 form an interrupted annular slot sized to receive the retention ring 130 about an axial end of the rotor mounting flange 118.
The retention ring 130 may comprise a continuous spiral ring having substantially flat or planar axial faces and an inner wave spring portion, the retention ring 130 being structured and arranged to fit within the retention ring flanges 118 of the plurality of mounting assembly tabs 112.The incorporation of the retention ring 130 in combination with the retention ring flanges 118 is advantageous in avoiding the necessity of drilling holes or apertures in either or both of the rotor tabs 124 or the mounting assembly tabs 124 for securing the rotor 120 to the rotor mounting assembly 110 and thus to the hat or hub. In one form the retention ring 130 can be a split ring or circlip, which is a resilient metal ring having an open space between the ends, or a spiral ring having overlapping ends, or an essentially continuous spiral ring having flat axial faces with a wave spring between them. In this context, the ring is continuous in the sense that it has a multiple turn spiral structure, which is not interrupted by a gap in the ring. The spiral rings are advantageous since rotation of the brake assembly during vehicular movement can result in the gap in a split ring moving into alignment with a contact situs between the radial sides of the rotor and mounting assembly tabs. In both forms the spiral rings leave no ring gap for such alignment, making for a more secure engagement.
Preferably, when the rotor 120 is mounted onto the rotor mounting assembly 110, the rotor tabs 124 and the mounting assembly tabs 112 are substantially coplanar, each having first and second axial surfaces which substantially align. This configuration minimizes the moment arm that would be otherwise created by an axial displacement of first and second axial surfaces, such that torque transfer upon braking is primarily in-plane, and bending stresses within the brake assembly 100 are minimized.
For purposes of mounting, the mounting assembly 110 may be provided with circumferential series of bolt-receiving apertures 113 or bolts, as desired.
Preferably, each of the rotor tabs 124 presents a side surface, which extends radially and is driven by matching side surfaces of the mounting assembly tabs 112. The rotor tabs 124 and the mounting assembly tabs 112 have matching radial oriented surfaces which are in substantially direct contact with one another. Preferably, the respective matching side surfaces are precision machined, such that they are in direct contact with one another, resulting in sufficient elastic deformation to substantially equalize the stresses experienced during braking. This direct contact avoids the need for compression deformation of metal plates or spacers which can cause eccentric movement of the parts, causing an out of balance condition and ultimately cracking and failure of the rotor and/or mounting assembly tabs. Preferably, a small clearance between the surfaces permits the rotor disc to “float” to accommodate thermal expansion.
Referring now to
When the substitute ring element 500 is in place, the weight of a substantial portion of the brake drum body 156 is absent. The availability of the substitute ring element 500 allows an operator of a vehicle to readily remove the brake drum body 156, and replace it with the substitute ring element 500 by simple manipulation of the retention ring 130 in the manner previously described. Such replacement provides weight savings for purposes of racing a vehicle that is also qualified for non-racing use where a parking brake is desired or required.
It is envisioned that the substitute ring element 500 may take various forms beyond what is shown in
Amongst the various embodiments described herein, the retention ring 130 can be an inner retention ring, which is radially compressed to be placed into the retention ring flanges and then released to expand into place, or an outer retention ring, which is radially expanded to be placed into the retention ring flanges and then released to contract into place.
Referring now also to
Further illustrative, non-exclusive examples of assemblies and methods according to the present disclosure are presented in the following enumerated paragraphs. It is within the scope of the present disclosure that an individual step of a method recited herein, including in the following enumerated paragraphs, may additionally or alternatively be referred to as a “step for” performing the recited action.
PCT1. A floating brake rotor and drum assembly, comprising: a disc brake component comprising: a rotor having an inner annular edge portion; and a plurality of rotor tabs at spaced locations about the inner annular edge portion; a drum brake component comprising a drum body; and a plurality of drum tabs at spaced locations about an outer annular portion of the drum body; a mounting component comprising: a mounting flange; and a plurality of mounting assembly tabs at spaced locations about the mounting flange, adjacent pairs of the mounting assembly tabs defining slots therebetween, the mounting assembly tabs comprising retention ring flanges; the slots, the rotor tabs and the drum tabs mutually arranged such that the rotor tabs and the drum tabs are each received in the slots; a retention ring arranged to engage with the retention ring flanges, upon engagement with the retention ring flanges, the retention ring spanning the slots so as to axially retain the rotor tabs and the drum tabs in the slots.
PCT2. The floating brake rotor and drum assembly of paragraph PCT1, wherein the mounting flange includes a rim portion, the rotor tabs and the drum tabs being axially retained between the retention ring and the rim portion of the rotor mounting flange.
PCT3. The floating brake rotor and drum assembly of paragraph PCT1 or PCT2, wherein the rotor tabs extend radially inwardly and the drum tabs extend radially outwardly, the drum tabs and the rotor tabs in a superposed relation while retained in the slots by the retention ring.
PCT4. The floating brake rotor and drum assembly of paragraph PCT3, wherein the retention ring flanges comprise an axially directed flange portion and a radially inwardly directed flange portion.
PCT5. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of paragraph PCT4, wherein the retention ring is radially yieldable, the drum body and the retention ring flanges being radially spaced apart to define an annular space therebetween, the annular space sufficient to receive the retention ring in a radially contracted condition, whereupon the retention ring being releaseable into engagement with the retention ring flanges.
PCT6. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of paragraph PCT4, wherein the outer annular portion of the drum body is located at an intermediate location along the drum body.
PCT7. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT6, wherein the rotor tabs and the mounting assembly tabs are substantially coplanar.
PCT8. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT7, wherein the rotor tabs and the mounting assembly tabs are free of apertures and through holes.
PCT9. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT8, wherein the rotor tabs and the mounting assembly tabs have matching radial oriented surfaces in direct contact with one another.
PCT10. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT9, wherein the retention ring is a split ring.
PCT11. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT10, wherein the retention ring is a spiral ring having overlapping terminal ends.
PCT12. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT11, wherein the retention ring is a multi-turn spiral ring having substantially flat or planar axial faces and an inner wave spring portion.
PCT13. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT12, wherein the retention ring flanges extend axially through slots formed between the plurality of rotor tabs and beyond axial surfaces of the rotor tabs.
PCT14. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT13, wherein the retention ring flanges form an interrupted annular slot about an axial end of the rotor mounting flange, the slot sized to receive the retention ring.
PCT15. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT14, wherein each rotor tab and each mounting assembly tab subtend angles which are substantially equal.
PCT16. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of any of paragraphs PCT1-PCT15, further comprising a substitute fixture useable as a substitute for the brake drum component and retainable with the retaining ring.
PCT17. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of paragraph PCT16, wherein the substitute fixture comprises a plurality of radially outwardly extending tabs configured like the drum tabs such that upon engagement of the retention ring with the retention ring flanges, the retention ring spanning the slots axially retains the rotor tabs and the radially outwardly extending tabs of the substitute fixture in the slots.
PCT18. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of paragraph PCT17, wherein the substitute fixture further comprises a ring, the plurality of radially outwardly extending tabs being disposed about the ring.
PCT19. The floating rotor and drum brake assembly of paragraph PCT18, wherein the substitute fixture is a separable portion of the drum brake component, useable in the absence of the drum body.
PCT20. A method of combining a brake rotor and a brake drum in a brake assembly, the method comprising: establishing a floating connection between the brake rotor and a mounting flange by locating tabs of the rotor in slots established between mounting tabs of the mounting flange; supporting a brake drum at the floating connection by superimposing tabs of the drum body with the rotor tabs at the slots; and retaining the superposed rotor and drum tabs with a ring.
The apparatus and methods disclosed herein are applicable to the automotive industry.
It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multiple distinct embodiments with independent utility. While each of these embodiments has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the embodiments includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where the claims recite “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.
It is believed that the following claims particularly point out certain combinations and subcombinations that are directed to one of the disclosed embodiments and are novel and non-obvious. Embodiments of other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of the present claims or presentation of new claims in this or a related application. Such amended or new claims, whether they are directed to a different embodiment or directed to the same embodiment, whether different, broader, narrower, or equal in scope to the original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the present disclosure.
While the present disclosure has been described and illustrated by reference to particular embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the invention lends itself to variations not necessarily illustrated herein. For this reason, then, reference should be made solely to the appended claims for purposes of determining the true scope of the present disclosure.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/219,597, filed on Sep. 16, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62219597 | Sep 2015 | US |