Background of the Invention
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to power screw type disc brakes and more particularly to power screw type disc brakes having internal force or clearance sensing automatic, single acting (i.e. operates automatically in the slack take-up direction only) slack adjusters.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Power screw type disc brakes of the type wherein rotation of an externally threaded shaft, known as the power screw, acts upon an internally threaded member, known as the power nut, to apply a clamping force to the friction material on one or both sides of a brake disc are well known in the prior art. Examples of such power screw disc brakes may be seen by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,976,168; 4,014,411; 4,022,300; 4,036,330 and 4,050,549, the disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated by reference.
Several of the prior art power screw disc brakes utilize external slack adjusters of the manual or automatic type. Such external slack adjusters were typically incorporated into the lever arms by which rotational movement was applied to the power screw and were often identical or substantially identical to automatic slack adjusters utilized for "S" cam expanding shoe drum brakes. Examples of such external slack adjusters are well known in the prior art and may be seen by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,507,369; 3,901,357; 4,256,208 and 4,351,419 the disclosures of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Other designs of the prior art power screw type disc brakes utilize internal automatic slack adjusters of both the force sensing and the stroke sensing type. Examples of such prior art power screw disc brakes may be seen by reference to the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,976,168 and 4,014,411.
The prior art power screw d.sc brakes utilizing stroke sensing automatic slack adjusters, both of the internal and external type, were not totally satisfactory as stroke sensing automatic slack adjusters tend to overadjust the brakes. The prior art power screw disc brakes utilizing external slack adjusters, of both the stroke sensing and clearance sensing type, were not totally satisfactory as the slack adjuster was not enclosed and protected within the disc brake mechanism and as the disc brake mechanism could not be specifically designed for a specific type of automatic slack adjuster.
The prior art power screw disc brakes utilizing internal automatic slack adjusters of the clearance sensing type minimize many of the drawbacks of the above mentioned types of power screw disc brakes but were not totally satisfactory as the structure of the automatic slack adjustment mechanism tended to be rather complicated, expensive to produce, require an undesirably large amount of space, difficult to maintain, difficult to manually backoff and/or less reliable than desired.
Summary of the Invention
In accordance with the present invention, the drawbacks of the prior art have been overcome or minimized to the extent that a power screw type disc brake having an internal, automatic, single acting, clearance sensing slack adjuster of relatively simple, compact and reliable design is provided. The above is accomplished by utilizing a selectively rotatable power screw which cooperates with a power nut to engage and disengage the disc brake, and a torque limiting friction clutch of the disk type to drive an adjustment member to automatically adjust for sensed excessive clearance in the brake mechanism. A spring biased one-way ratchet comprising two face ratchet surfaces, one of which is nonrotationally fixed to the actuator housing, is configured to be lockingly engaged in the direction of rotation rotating the adjustment member in the slack increasing direction and configured to override to allow rotation of the adjustment member in the slack decreasing, or slack take-up direction of rotation.
A portion of the power screw and/or the power nut is cup shaped to define an internal cavity within which is received the torque limiting friction clutch and the ratchet spring to provide a compact mechanism.
Accordingly, a power screw disc brake with an internal, single acting, automatic clearance sensing slack adjuster is provided which is compact and utilizes relatively well known, inexpensive and reliable components such as a reliable friction clutch as the force or clearance sensing mechanism and a reliable ratchet connection to provide the anti-backoff function.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved disc brake of the power screw type utilizing an internal, single acting automatic slack adjuster of the clearance or force sensing type.
This and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of the power screw disc brake actuating and automatic slack adjustment mechanism of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial view of a portion of the mechanism of FIG. 1.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. The words "upwardly," "downwardly," "rightwardly" and "leftwardly," will designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" will designate directions of rotation as viewed from the right of the drawings to which reference is made. The words "inwardly" and "outwardly" will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the device and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.
The power screw disk brake actuation and automatic clearance sensing slack adjustment mechanism 10 of the present invention may be seen by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Briefly, pivotal movement of lever member 12 about its rotational axis 14 is effective to axially advance and retract a pressure member 16 of a known caliper assembly (not shown) to apply and release, respectively, friction materials to a disc brake disc (not shown). Caliper and disc constructions utilized in power screw and other type disc brake assemblies are well-known in the prior art and the specific structures thereof form no part of the present invention. Although the present invention is particularly well suited for utilization in an air actuated power screw disc brake, it is understood the present invention is equally applicable to hydraulically and or electrically actuated power screw disc brakes.
Typically, the upper end of lever 12, which is preferably a one-piece stamping or casting, is drivingly attached to an air motor of known type to cause selective pivotal movement of lever 12. As is known, an air motor has a limited effective stroke and accordingly it is desirable that the running clearance, or slack, between the caliper assembly friction pads and the disc be maintained at no less than a predetermined minimum to prevent dragging of the disc and at no greater than a predetermined maximum to prevent exceeding the effective length of the air motor stroke required to apply the disc brake. The requirement for maintaining the disc brake slack within predetermined limits, and the use of automatic and/or manual slack adjusters to achieve same, is well-known in the prior art.
Lever 12 is nonrotatably attached as at spline connection 19 to a rotatable externally threaded member, or power screw, 18. Power screw 18 includes an elongated shaft portion 20 extending rightwardly from actuator and caliper housing 22 and provided with an internal bore 24. At its leftward end, power screw 18 is provided with an enlarged outer diameter portion 26 which carries external power threads 28. Enlarged diameter portion 26 of power screw 18 is also provided with an enlarged inner diameter bore 30 having internal splines 32 formed therein and an intermediate inner diameter bore portion 34 interposed bore portions 24 and 30. A pressure plate or housing member 36 is fixed to housing 22 and defines an inner bore 38 for rotatably supporting the power screw 18 in housing 22 and for carrying a thrust washer or bearing 40 for transmitting axial thrust on power screw 18 to the housing.
An internally threaded power nut member 42 is axially movably but nonrotatably received within housing 22 as by a spline connection or the like (not shown). Power nut 42 is of a generally cup shaped structure comprising a base portion 44 and a hollow axially extending wall portion 46 provided with internal power threads 48 threadably engaged with the external power threads 28 carried by the power screw 18. Accordingly, rotation of power screw 18 relative to housing 22 will result in axial movement of power nut 42 relative to housing 22.
A piston or push rod member 50 comprising an enlarged diameter centrally located flange portion 52, a rightwardly or inwardly extending shaft portion 54 and a leftwardly or outwardly extending shaft portion 56 is retained within housing 22 for axial and rotational movement relative thereto. The rightward face 58 of flange portion 52 of push rod 50 abuts the leftward face 60 of power nut 42 for axial movement therewith to apply and release the disc brake by means of the pressure plate 16 which is threadably carried by shaft portion 56 of push rod 50 by means of external threads 62 provided on shaft portion 56 and internal threads 64 provided on the pressure member 16. Pressure member 16 is nonrotatably fixed to housing 22 and thus rotation of push rod 50 will axially advance or retract pressure member 16 relative to push rod 50 and power nut 42 to adjust the running clearance or slack in the disc brake. A seal member 66 is provided between the pressure member 16 and housing 22 to seal the interior mechanisms of housing 22.
Opposite ends of a torsional return spring 68 are received within thrust plate 36 and power screw 18 to rotationally urge power screw 18 to its at rest or brake disengaged position. A return spring in the air chamber mechanism (not shown) may also be utilized to supplement the return function of lever 12 and power screw 18. A compression spring 70 extends between the rightward face 72 of flange portion 44 of power nut 42 and a spring seat washer axially fixed to the shaft portion 54 of push rod 50 to resiliently maintain surfaces 58 and 60 of push rod 52 and power nut 42, respectively, in resilient abutting retention.
In operation, to apply the disc brake by forcing pressure member 16 axially leftwardly and to then release the brake by movement of pressure member 16 axially rightwardly, lever 12 is pivoted about axis 14 causing a rotation of power screw 18 which results in a leftward axial movement of power nut 42, push rod 52 and pressure member 16. To release the brake, lever member 12 is pivoted to its at rest position by retraction of the unshown air motor and by return torsion spring 68 resulting in a rightward axial movement of power nut 42, and push rod 52 and pressure member 16 which are spring biased by compression spring 70 to move axially with power nut 42.
To maintain the running clearance of the disc brake within predetermined limits, mechanism 10 is also provided with an automatic single acting, clearance sensing, automatic slack adjustment mechanism. As mentioned above, push rod 50 is rotatably and axially moveable within housing 22 and carries pressure member 16 threadably attached thereto at internal adjustment threads 64 and external adjustment threads 62. Pressure member 16 is axially moveable but rotationally fixed relative to housing 22. Accordingly, rotation of push rod member 50 relative to housing 22 and pressure member 16 will result in an axial movement of pressure member 16 relative to the push rod for purposes of adjusting the slack or running clearance of the brake. The base portion 44 of power nut 42 is provided with an internal bore 76 for receipt of inwardly extending shaft portion 54 of the push rod member 50. The inner end 78 of shaft portion 54 is piloted in bore portion 34 of power screw 18 and is rotatable relative thereto. The inner end 78 of shaft portion 54 is provided with a fitting 80, such as a hex fitting o: the like, for manual adjustment purposes as will be described in greater detail below. Shaft portion 54 is provided with external splines 82 along at least a portion of its outer pheriphery on which are slideably but substantially non rotationally received clutch plates or discs 84. A plurality of clutch discs 86 are splined to power nut 18 at internal splines 32 thereof for slideably but substantially non rotational movement relative thereto. Clutch discs 84 and 86 are interdigitated to form a clutch disc pack and are biased into frictional engagement by means of a clutch spring 88, preferably a Belleville washer, retained by a retaining washer 90, to compress the clutch discs between retaining spring 88 and the shoulder 92 defined by the intersection of bore portions 30 and 34. Accordingly, rotation of power screw 18 will result in an equal rotation of push rod member 50 in the absence of the slipping of the clutch disc pack defined by clutch discs 84 and 86. Rotation of push rod 50 will result in pressure member 16 moving axially outwardly or inwardly relative to push rod 50 for slack take-up or increasing purposes. The friction disc clutch 84-86 is designed to have a maximum torque transfer capacity sufficient to overcome the frictional resistance to rotation of push rod member 50 when the brake friction materials are not in contact with the brake disc but insufficient to overcome the resistance to rotation of push rod 50 when the brake friction pads are in contact with the brake disc. Accordingly, the friction clutch 84-86 provides a force or clearance sensing automatic slack adjustment as is well-known in the prior art.
Abutting faces 58 and 60 of push rod 50 and power nut member 42, respectively, are provided with annular arrays of ratchet teeth 94 and 98, respectively, to define a one-way face ratchet mechanism resiliently biased into contact by return spring 70. Ratchet teeth 94 fixed to power screw member 42 are rotationally fixed relative to housing 22 and co-act with ratchet 98 fixed to push rod 50 to override or ratchet in the direction of rotation of push rod 50 resulting in an axially outward movement of pressure member 16 relative to push rod 50, or the slack take-up direction of rotation of push rod 50. Ratchet teeth 94 and 98 are designed to engage in a positive manner preventing relative rotation therebetween in the other direction of rotation and thus, when engaged, prevent rotation of push rod member 50 in a direction of rotation tending to move pressure member 16 axially inwardly or rightwardly or in the slack increasing direction of rotation. Ratchet teeth 94 and 98 thus defined a positive anti-backoff mechanism for adjustment and actuation mechanism 10.
As may be seen by reference to FIG. 2, the spline connection between power nut member 18 and driven clutch discs 86 is provided with a degree of back-lash or lost motion 100 allowing a predetermined rotation of power screw 18 and predetermined axial movement of power nut 42, and pressure member 16 which moves axially therewith, prior to rotation of push rod 50. This predetermined lost motion 100 is sufficient to maintain a predetermined running clearance between the brake friction members and brake disc. Of course, as is known in the prior art, the lost motion required to maintain the desired running clearance may be provided at the splined connection 19 between lever 12 and power screw 18, at the splined connection between the power screw 18 and the driving clutch disc 86, at the splined connection between the push rod 50 and the driven clutch discs 84 and/or at the threaded connection between push rod 50 and pressure member 16.
In operation, pivotal movement of lever 12 will result in a rotational movement of power screw 18 and axial advancement of power nut 42 push rod 50 and pressure member 16 as has been discussed above to apply the brakes. If application of the brakes requires a rotational movement of power sc:ew 18 equal to or less than that required to take up lost motion 100, which is an indication that the running clearance of the brakes is within predescribed limits, no automatic adjustment of the brake occurs. If application of the brakes requires rotational movement of power screw 18 beyond that required to take up the lost motion 100, the friction discs 84 and 86 will transmit a rotational motion to push rod 50 from power screw 18. Such rotational movement of push rod 50 relative to housing 22, and pressure member 16 rotationally fixed thereto, will result in an axially outward advancement of pressure member 16 relative to push rod 50 to decrease the slack in the brake. Rotational movement of push rod 50 relative to housing 22 and power nut member 42 rotationally fixed thereto will result in a ratcheting action of the resiliently engaged ratchet face surfaces 94 and 98. Upon engagement of the brake friction surfaces with the brake disc, the torque required to continue to rotate push rod 50 relative to housing 22 and pressure member 16 will exceed the torque transfer capacity of the friction discs 84 and 86 and the friction discs will slip. Accordingly, rotation of the power screw member 18 beyond that required to bring the friction pads into contact with the brake discs, i.e. that portion of rotation of the power screw resulting in deformation of the brake components rather than in clearance take-up of the brake components, will not result in a slack adjustment rotation of push rod 50 and thus mechanism 10 is a force or clearance sensing type of automatic slack adjustor. On the return rotation of power screw member 18, power nut 42 and push rod 52 and pressure members 16 which are biased by spring 70 to move axially therewith will move to the retracted position. Rotation of push rod member 50 as a result of torque supplied by friction discs 84 and 86 will be prevented by the one-way ratchet defined by ratchet teeth 94 and 98 also biased into connected by spring 70. Accordingly, retraction of the brake will not result in a backing off of the force member 16.
The internally threaded bore of pressure member 16 is provided with a seal member 102 and the outer end of bore 24 of power screw 18 is provided with a removeable seal plug 104 which is removeable for access from the exterior of the brake to fitting 80 via bore 24.
A seal 108 is provided between the exterior surface of power screw 18 and housing plate member 36. For manual adjustment of the brake, such as for manual back-off of the brake for installing new friction pads or the like, seal 104 is removed and a tool having an end complementary with the fitting 80 at the inner end of push rod 50 is inserted through the bore and into contact with the fitting 80. The push rod 50 is then urged outwardly or leftwardly against the bias of spring 7 to disengage the one-way ratchet 94-98 allowing the push rod 50 to be rotated in the slack decreasing direction of rotation. The tool utilized will preferably be in the form of a lever as rotation of the push rod 50 by means of fitting 80 will require overcoming the frictional resistance to rotation provided by clutch discs 84 and 86.
Accordingly, it may be seen that a power screw type of disc brake is provided having an internal automatic, single acting clearance sensing type of slack adjustor utilizing simple and reliable components. The clearance sensing function of the automatic slack adjustor is provided by the friction disc pack comprising friction discs 84 and 86 biased into contact by Belleville washer 88 and the one-way or anti-backoff function of the automatic slack adjustor is provided by the one-way face ratchet comprising ratchet teeth 94 and 98 biased into contact by return spring 70.
While the present invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that various modifications and rearrangement of the components is possible within the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
I claim: